to that of the old American pilgrim fathers, only much less intolerant,
fairly strict sabbatarians, and jealous in maintaining national and
individual morality. About forty years ago a small group seceded from
the Dutch Reformed Church and formed a separate connection under the
name of "Enkel gereformende Kerk" (simply reformed Church), more
generally known under the sobriquet of "Doppers." This cult is identical
with the parent Church, and differs only in a somewhat stricter church
discipline and the rejection of the hymns from the common psalm and
hymn-book upon the ground that many of them are tainted with dangerously
anti-scriptural doctrine.[15] These Doppers are really very worthy
people, but noted for their strong conservatism and adherence to old
habits and customs, even in the matter of dress. President Krüger is one
of their prominent members and so is General Piet Cronjé.
The devotional habits of the Boers form one of their national
characteristics. The family collect at dawn for morning worship, led by
the parent or else by the tutor--it consists of a hymn,
Scripture-reading, and prayer--similarly before retiring at night,
devout grace before and after each meal. These practices are not relaxed
when travelling with their wagons or when in the field. On Sundays an
extra (forenoon) service is added. Strangers and travellers receiving
hospitality are always courteously and unostentatiously admitted to
those family devotions. One may thus meet with one or more wagons camped
in the wilderness and find a cluster of men, women, and children
engaged in happy devotions and singing psalms or hymns in the familiar
old "Herrenhut" melodies, or one may come upon a scene where men just
returned to camp, begrimed and still perspiring from a day's hunt or
battle, join with husky voices an already assembled group in the
customary service.
Such practices of piety cannot fail to have a salutary effect upon the
young, nor can it be with justice said that the bulk of the people are
inconsistent in their conduct, though formality and insincerity are
sadly frequent enough, and in late years a decadence in seriousness and
an increase of frivolity instead have marked the present epoch,
especially among those who are exposed to the pernicious influences and
contaminations incidental to town life. The old Free Stater mentioned
before expressed the expectation that the present war and trials will
tend to check that declension, and in that way prove to have a
compensating character for good. During my frequent travels it had been
my privilege as a guest to make the acquaintance of numerous truly
Christian Boer families, both well-to-do and poor. On one occasion I had
to accept the hospitality at a farmhouse of one named Brits,[16]
nicknamed "vuil" or dirty Brits. This was an old blind widower; his
household was composed, besides himself, of an old brother, also a
widower, and the family of a son-in-law. After the evening meal the
service was led by the blind man, the daughter reading some chapters in
the Bible indicated by him. The two old men and I occupied separate cots
in one small side room. Happening to wake up at dawn the following
morning, I saw those old men sit up facing each other, with their feet
upon the floor, and begin their morning hymn of praise, after which the
house resounded with younger voices from the other end with a similar
song. I do not call to mind any special untidiness at that poor blind
man's house to warrant his sobriquet; my recollections are, on the
contrary, of the happiest, and I mentally called him clean Brits, clean
every whit. In another part of the country I was privileged to meet with
a family, which included a grown-up blind daughter,' who had St. John's
Gospel in raised letters. While reading with her fingers her upturned
face would shine with joy when repeating some of the salient, consoling,
and sustaining verses. And how common are the records among those simple
Boers of happy and triumphant death-bed scenes of old and young,
softening the grief of the bereaved believers. Frivolous education and
advanced surroundings are accountable for a certain waning of the
original habits of serious piety; this is to some extent more the case
among the Cape Colonial and Orange Free State Boers, the declension
appearing greatest with those residing in or in close proximity to
towns. Among the men of exemplary and consistent piety in the Transvaal
are conspicuous: President Krüger, State Secretary Reitz,
Commandant-General Joubert, General Piet Cronjé, and others holding
highest positions, and also many of the Volksraad members, including the
late General Kock.
Upon the occasion when the Transvaal Executive, with the assembled
Volksraads, finally determined upon war, and the momentous matter had
been considered of handing over the passports to Mr. Greene, the British
agent, just before signing them, President Krüger was observed occupied
in silent prayer for a few moments, while many of the others bowed their
heads similarly engaged, after which the documents were firmly
completed. When the first commandoes were about to depart for the field,
the President addressed a farewell to the burghers, assuring them that
God's aid could confidently be implored for their just cause; he also
quoted part of the Verse, "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall
lose it," intending it as an exhortation for the timorous, warning them
of the greater danger incurred by retreat or flight than when
maintaining a manful stand. (The reader will know that the above
quotation does not complete the verse, the rest being, "But whosoever
shall lose his life for my sake or for the Gospel shall preserve it.")
It points to the operation of most persevering and subtle agencies and
potent illusions that could mislead and carry away the chief men and the
most intelligent of the Boer nation so far as to engender the erroneous
convictions which caused them to court the present war and to consider
it just. As to the bulk of the people, they are in turn led astray by
their leaders' example and opinions as victims of the general delusion.
These convictions, together with the acceptance of Afrikaner Bond
doctrines, have developed into quite a national infatuation, a kind of
Boer Koran, invested with similar fanaticism. Analogies are assumed as
existing between the case of the Israelites brought by Moses through the
wilderness, and led by Joshua into the conquered possession of their
promised Canaan. Following those prototypes, Paul Krüger is held as
having guided the Boer nation thus far through the mazes of political
troubles, and so also is General Joubert,[17] now their leader in the
conquest, South Africa in its entirety being considered as rightfully
belonging to them. The Orange River stands for Jordan, dividing as yet
the possessions of the people, and the analogy only needs completion by
a Pisgah for President Krüger. That such hallucinations have taken deep
root appears from the fact that the wife of President Krüger dreamt of
the accomplishment of such a typical history, and that her husband had
died at an early stage of the conquest. Such complete faith is attached
to the prophetic import of that dream that the President was prevailed
upon to permit its publication in full detail some time in November
last. The President's death was anticipated within two months after. (I
am far from referring to those incidents in a mocking mood, but rather
to show the intense sincerity of Boer convictions, confounding the
Christian's exalted calling with one which is temporal; and I fancy that
those very Boers, if equally well instructed, might sadly eclipse some
of us who have the privilege and also the responsibility of enjoying
correct teaching.)
The writer has endeavoured to represent in a true light both the
character of the Boer nation and its responsibility in regard to the
origin of the present deplorable war. The reader will be able to judge
whether that people is wilfully guilty, or whether the circumstances
admit of generous, mitigating condonement, always considered apart from
that horrible Hollander element which has been the root and instigating
cause of all the evil.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 15: Some readers will recognise the significance, the
protective competence, the keen and reliable instinct which enable
untutored believers to discern and detect doctrinal leaven insidiously
concealed in the garb of worship.]
[Footnote 16: At Modder River, on the road between Bloemfontein and
Kimberley.]
[Footnote 17: At the time, December, 1899, when this was intended for
publication.]
PHYSIQUE AND HABITS
We have noted in former pages that the Boers' ancestry some two
centuries ago was composed of about two-thirds of sturdy Dutch peasants,
artizans, etc., while the other third consisted mostly of French
Huguenots.
It is known that the immigrant class, though generally somewhat poor,
are uniformly men and women endowed with an adventurous, self-reliant
spirit and with unimpaired health. Naturally none but robust persons
were permitted to join the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope.
We see in that combination the patient, resolute quality prevailing in
Holland and the more ardent, vivacious, and chivalrous character found
with the French people. The Huguenot refugees belonged undisputably to
the cream of that impulsive nation--intellectual, educated, and
fearless--whilst both portions were pervaded with deep-rooted religious
fervour and habituated to moral and temperate lives.
Those combined qualities and habits would naturally be transmitted to
the progeny; prosperity and splendid climatic conditions tended still
further to develop a virile physique of first order. The moral and
physical standards were maintained by the practice of men and women
marrying early in life, and by occupations which required the people to
pass most of their time in the open. Educationally, there was
unavoidably some retrogression, but there is always plenty of scope in
the existence of colonists in a new country for the exercise of a
vigorous mind in the study of nature, in overcoming difficulties and in
cultivating the faculty of resourcefulness.
Whilst missing the intellectual benefits of advanced civilization, the
people escaped the dangers of its vitiating tendencies, thus preserving
a healthy mental calibre as well as robust physical health. In addition
may be mentioned a very notable fecundal power, which accounts for the
phenomenally rapid increase of the people. All those conditions have
continued to be maintained with the successive generations up to now.
Those who joined in the exodus north of the Orange River in 1835 and the
years following comprised the most indomitable and best endowed of that
stalwart race. Twenty years of a nomadic life after that and until they
got somewhat settled down served to weed out the weaklings among them;
since then their mode of life accorded well to keep up the highest
physical standard, not pampered with many comforts, inured to hardships
and to out-of-door exercise, with a diet consisting very largely of meat
and venison, coupled with energetic exercise of mind and body (the women
sharing in the less arduous duties). All this constituted a regimen and
training which did not fail to keep the people in a constant condition
of high efficiency and equipoise for the performance of tasks and for
surmounting difficulties needing more than usual strength, endurance,
and fortitude.
The rough labour all over South Africa is done mostly by Kaffirs and
other coloured people. A Boer farmer will have from two to ten or more
Kaffirs (men and women) employed for out-of-door work and for domestic
drudgery. Often absent from home on hunting trips and sometimes on
commando, the men entrust their work on such occasions (as is now the
case during the present war) to the care of their wives and daughters,
assisted by some younger sons, if the family includes any, or else
simply with the aid of Kaffir servants. Sometimes they are without any
such help, when they take a pride in doing it alone.
Girls as well as boys learn to ride on horseback when quite young. It is
quite a usual thing to see women riding astride fashion, collecting
sheep and cattle, or driving their horse carts and spiders (carriages),
unattended by males, over distances of over twenty and thirty
miles--women spanning in ox-teams to their travelling wagons, driving
them with long whips on journeys occupying one or more days. During the
Kaffir wars the Boers used to trek (travel) in bodies with their wagons,
which would serve to form a laager or fort, their families and
belongings being placed in the centre. During an attack the women would
attend to the men's wants, reload their rifles, and even take a more
active part in repelling the enemy, many of them being also crack shots.
The above-stated efficient and hardy habits with men and women apply
more to the people in the two Republics, and particularly so to those of
the Transvaal, while the Colonial Boers on the whole have had no such
experience, but instead have lived in uninterrupted peace and comfort
for generations, and may be classed with farmers of any other
well-governed and protected country or colony. The Boer farmers in the
northern portions of the Cape Colony, however, approximate to those of
the Orange Free State in hardy habits and ability to fend for themselves
when in difficulty. But with the Transvaal Boers the training incident
to wars, hunting, and nomadic movements has been more sustained, and
they are thus in best form and fitness of efficiency compared with all
the rest.
In the Orange Free State nearly every man above fifty years of age has
had the experience of the three years' Basuto war in 1865-67, and almost
all above forty are very expert huntsmen and crack shots. Quite a good
number have also taken part in the Transvaal war against the English in
1880; the rest have been trained by the elder veterans, and, though not
so well seasoned, are good horsemen, expert with the rifle, and
competent in the field. As to the Transvaalers, the men have all had
plenty of field practice before the previous war with England and since,
in subduing formidable Kaffir rebellions, the last being the operations
against the Magato chief, which terminated just before the outbreak of
the present Anglo-Boer war.
Besides this, game had continued longer in abundance in the Transvaal,
and is still hunted with success in the northern low veldt and in the
adjacent Portuguese territory. Added to this, the young Boers in the
Cape Colony, Natal, Orange Free State, and Transvaal have been
encouraged to attain proficiency in rifle practice and competence in the
field, ostensibly for the gratification of keeping up old traditions,
but in reality to be prepared for the struggle against England meditated
by the Afrikaner Bond.
About thirty odd years ago the Orange Free State and Transvaal were
still swarming with all sorts of game. Venison was the staple diet.
Lions and leopards also infested those States, but these and the game
have been pretty well extirpated since, except in some of the lower
parts of the Transvaal. In the earlier days ammunition was costly and
hard to procure, and the use had to be husbanded accordingly. It became
thus a practice never to pull a trigger unless with intense aim and the
certainty of an effective shot. A man would go out stalking for an hour
or so with perhaps but one or two charges, and would rarely fail in
bringing home the kind of game wanted--either a springbock, blesbock, or
wildebeest (gnu). In hunting lions, the lads would form part of the
company for the purpose of being taught. The boys would learn that if a
lion meant to attack he would approach to within twenty or thirty
yards, and then straighten himself up before making the final charge. It
was during that short halt that the disabling or killing shot would have
to be delivered. Father and son would then be standing ready--the son to
fire first; if unsuccessful, the animal would be brought down by the
father. If there were a larger party and the lions numerous, the lessons
would be learnt so much better by way of emulation. The boys soon
realized that a lion, means business only when he advances silently and
with smoothed gait, but that bristling up and roaring is a sure prelude
to his skulking off. What we read of the terror-inspiring roar is to the
Boer stripling pure romance and non-sense; but what he does realize is
that he must hit the animal in a vital spot at the right moment or else
run the risk of being clawed and bitten. The confidence, however, which
he has in his gun gives him all the requisite nerve, and mishaps are of
very rare occurrence. Those lion hunts used to be very profitable, not
only for the valuable skins, but especially when a number of young cubs
were also caught, which would realize considerably high prices from
menagerie purveyors.
At the age of about eight years a boy would be taught to ride on
horseback; when twelve years old he would be an expert horseman and a
deadly rifle shot as well; at sixteen he would be able to perform all
farm duties and rank with pride and confidence as an efficient burgher
to take the field against any enemy. His brain is not addled with school
lore, but is thoroughly versed and taught from nature's book. Hardened
to the fatigue of long rides over unfamiliar country in search of stray
cattle, the Boer youth has often to subsist upon a bit of dried biltong
(junked beef or venison), endure at intervals scorching heat and
drenching rains, swim rivers, and pass the night with a stone for a
pillow and his saddle as the only shelter, while his horse, securely
hobbled, feeds upon the grass around. Never will he lose his way; if
landmarks fail him and clouds hide moon and stars, he is guided by wind,
the run of water or his horse's instincts. Accustomed to wide horizons,
he can promptly distinguish objects at a distance, which, to an
ordinarily good eyesight, would need careful scanning through a
field-glass.
He is expert in finding and following any trail, and can promptly tell
the imprint from whatever animal it might be, or of whatever human
origin; an ideal scout and unsurpassed as a pioneer. When travelling
over roadless country the Boer's instinct will direct him in tracing
the most practicable route for his wagons, and with his experience he
can foretell what kind of topography he will in succession have to
traverse, avoiding unnegotiable spots and unnecessary detours, and when
about to halt, a surveying gaze will locate the safest and most suitable
position for his temporary camp. Such capacities serve with obvious
advantage in defensive and offensive war tactics. Prompt in seizing an
advantage and in avoiding danger, he has also learnt to be an adept in
ruses to decoy and mislead an enemy, and as for self-help and
resourcefulness, there is hardly a situation or difficulty conceivable
which will not be successfully surmounted. The usual Boer can also fend
for himself and cope with the minor perplexities of every-day life in
the field, which would strand a less initiated man. He can cook, bake
bread, mend clothes, make boots, repair saddles, harness, and vehicles,
and is full of expedients and able to make shift. Most of them know how
to shoe their horses, whilst many of them are expert also in working
wood and metals and similar handicrafts. In short, the Boers make ideal
scouts and are unique as colonizing pioneers. In their nomadic
wanderings and frequent wars, the Boers have gained much useful
experience in tactics, strategy, and in the wiles of diplomacy too.
They also learnt to adopt methods of organization, of cohesion, combined
action, and a certain amount of discipline among themselves.
They elect as subordinate and chief leaders men whose abilities and
influence have commended them for such responsible appointments. Before
committing themselves to any very important step these leaders would
first confer with the people, who in turn would generally be easily
swayed to their opinions, and who found by experience that it was safest
to follow their judgment. It thus also became a habit to leave the main
thinking over to those leaders, which enhanced unanimity and led to a
self-imposed obedience and discipline recognised as necessary for the
common welfare and also indispensable for common safety.
So prevalent had the practice become of deferring to the opinions of
their leaders that it engendered an apathy among the people against
considering political and public matters which were not altogether of
engrossing importance. Public meetings would be poorly attended, and at
elections not half the votes were recorded. "Let the elected heads see
to it; they are paid for doing the controlling and thinking work"--that
used to be the general feeling. But during the past twenty years public
interest has by degrees been successfully aroused by the activities of
the Afrikaner Bond; the former apathy and distaste to the consideration
of public concerns have given place to a more lively identification even
with politics, but the tendency of being swayed by men of influence of
their own kind remains unchanged.
The Boers are great smokers--tobacco appears to have no hurtful effects
whatever upon them, but seems rather to serve as a grateful sedative.
The first thing offered on meeting a Boer is his tobacco pouch, and if
one is a guest at his house, this is followed by one or more cups of
coffee. This is drunk by men and women in large quantities, often
without sugar, but very weak. The people are justly famed for cordial
hospitality to strangers, and the pleasing tact and unostentatious
correct politeness met with from the most ordinary and uneducated Boer
are only accountable for on the theory that that particular culture of
manners has been transmitted from his noble French ancestry of a couple
of hundred years ago.
In stature the men near the average of six feet (say five feet ten
inches)--full-bearded, brawny-limbed, and of stalwart build, suggesting
a homeric capacity for aggression and resistance. They present a
standard of sturdy and active manhood, which would have delighted the
critical eye of Frederick the Great for the formation of his very best
regiments. What is really singular is the infinitesimally small
proportion of ineffective and sickly men found left behind when all the
commandoes are called out, and also the considerable number of hale old
men above sixty who voluntarily join the field. And when the hardy
training and general high efficiency are considered down to the youth of
sixteen, one may estimate the formidableness of such a foe, all well
mounted on tough and nimble horses, well provisioned and provided with
the best weapons extant, guided by very competent chiefs and European
advisers--withal self-reliant and conscious of a superior aggressive and
defensive capability for repeating their splendid ancestral records of
prowess. Add to this inbred patriotism stimulated to an enthusiasm
approaching fanaticism by a mind fashioned to the belief that their war
is against an unjust usurper destined to be overthrown; it all sums up a
long way towards balancing numerical inferiority and inexperience in the
science of modern warfare. As to military science, they are apt to
become quickly tutored into proficiency by daily observation and
experience, and by the coaching of the numerous military officers who
have joined their ranks.