THE BOER AT HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11200, 21 October 1899, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE BOER AT HOME.

J • i LIGHT ON Tkn/IR ODD WAYS. j [by a woman who lives amongst them.] The history of the times gives a pretty clear idea of a Boer's character, of which d'oggul obstinacy, natural sunning, fanatical superstition take the lead. I Few Englishmen coming from home know how to deal with them. The Boer is reared to equality and a hatred to the English, which might be modified by a study of their character, assisted by speaking tk-ir language. One great drawback has been their reluctance to advancement in any form. Naturally of phlegmatic and indolent tern-, perament, they have been satisfied to live ' only— that by making a living the easiest way possible. Little ene'rpv was needed in the breeding of cattle or sheep— had the wide veldt to let them loose in, they bartered for the necessaries of life with hides and wool from their sheep, the country abounded in fruits, game, etc., so that till the development of the diamond and gold fields they were little less than savages; in fact, not much more j at the present time, without referring to | those in the immediate neighbourhood of i Pretoria. Religion is a prominent feature of their lives; but in my experience it is j used as a cloak of many iniquities; it does ; not keep them from being great liars, for i their promises must always be taken with more than a pinch of salt. godly BUT UNCLEANLY. '"The Great Unwashed" is a term used by [ the Uitlanders, and truly may it be applied !to them; out we must not fail to recognise i that there is some good in the most seamy I characters. They are faithful to their own, ■ hold in great veneration their President and Predikant, and are hospitable; and if , met with on their own ground can be even , generous and open-handed to an Uitlander. ' Of course, our unfortunate encounters with ] them have filled them with bluster, but I they are morally, if not physically, cowards, | and my poor opinion is that nothing but a i good thrashing will make them acknowledge ! the English as the actual saviours of their country, rather than enemies. THE DOER'S HOME. The ordinary homestead is built in a primitive manner, square and ugly, with hermetically sealed windows; the floors are made of j mud from the dam, stamped by Kaffirs, [ the ton layer being mixed with bullock's and j goat's blood, which hardens, and gives it in ■> time, by continued smearings of cow manure, a polished surface, somewhat like mahogany. i This smearing process, which is dqne by the 1 hand, is an abomination to new-comers, but ! it is marvellous how one gets accustomed to ! it, and really not to dislike the fresh cow- , stable smell; at any rate it is preferable to I others more revolting. Oom Paul is said I greatly to dislike the planked floors of his i villa in Pretoria, and Madam Kruger votes ■ them noisy, and only fit for Rooineks. MANURE FOR MEDICINE. | The Boer puts this manure to many j uses, more particularly in outlying districts I where no doctor is to be had. I found a family of three to four children completely | covered with it in a case of measles; filthy : as it seems it often serves as a cure in many other ailments also. Herbs and roots - from the veldt are also much used. For 1 scarlet fever a sheep or goat is killed and cleaned; the sufferer is sewn in it while it is warm, allowing a space for the head. It ' draws out the fever, makinc the carcase ' quite black, but more often than not the ! result is good. In cases of snake bites a ! gash is made under the wing of a live foul and the wound inserted; in a short time the fowl drops dead, and another is sacrificed. A cure depends on the part affected, but very little can be done for bites in I vital parts. j OVERCROWDING. I The homestead comprises an entrance hall, ' or vorkamma, kitchen, and one general bedroom, fitted up with a good - sized fourposter, in which six or seven somehow find roomparents and children, and not infre- , quently grown-up sons or daughters, The floor seems almost a place of honour, for 1 i one time a doctor, on being summoned to a • siick woman, found the family scattered about the floor, and was shown by the Boer t the vacaat place next his wife. " Make j yourself comfortable, doctor—plenty of room for us both if the old vrouw gets closer to the wall." Needless to add the doctor excused himself by saying "his cart was always fitted up with sleeping necessaries." THE BOER WOMAN. There is not half the sickness among men as women, the former's love of hunting and open air saving him, while the women re- | main stagnant at home. To the ordinary | Boer woman life is on great laze, if I • mav use such a word. Excepting the quarI terly preparation for Nachtmal they seldom i stir from their seats. Surrounded by HotI tentot parasites, who, for a ricketty horse or I old trek ox once a-year, together with a ' weekly bushel of meal, will work and wait ' on them hand and foot, the desire for action . becomes less and less till outraged nature , refuses to work, they become enormously ! fat, and close their lives victims to their i own laziness. Tn lieu of exercise they use very strong medicines; this also makes great havoc among them; they being in no wise prevented by their husbands. The Boer delights in many wives, especially if the latter be childless; it touches their " amour propre" if the family name is not likely to be per. i petuated. Their religion will not allow them j to barter as the Kaffirs, although at the ! same time they keep an eye open for increase of wealth as well as youth. Their morals are not nearly so fine as the Kaffirs, TIIE SICK WOMAN'. Our doctor, who, by-the-by, was permitted to practice in the immediate neign- [ bourhood of our camp, was called into a i woman whom he found dying. He saw there was nothing to be done beyond soothing her last moments, and for that purpose left a bottle of medicine. On his departure he reprimanded the farmer for not sending to him earlier. The next morning the Boer came into rlio camp, and with many groans and tears ir.formed the doctor his poor vrouw was dead, "and, oh, doctor, sho died directly after taking your medicine." The doctor grasped his meaning at once. Seizing the Boer bv the arm, he hurried him into his buggy, drove rapidly to the homestead, which was crowded inside and out with friends iinj relations, demanded the draught bottle from which one was taken, and finished the remainder. Then turning to the crowd, who were whispering mysteriously together, accused said: " There, Pietz, if my medicine killed your wife I shall be a dead man before I get back to the camp." The old sinner married a fourth wife before the end of the month. THE WATER THEY DRINK, It is really marvellous that they are not swept off the face of the earth altogether, i Our scientists would be astonished to see j the water drunk by the Boers. They gulp j it down full of life from these dams—water ! in which oxen stand and pigs wallow, and ] where the manure on its banks fester in the j baking sun. I have seen in times of j a huge dam shrunken to a small pond of green slime, and still they drank, OccaI sionally typhoid and diphtheria make havoc amongst them, but they are too indolent to ' correct the error. HADN'T WASHED TIER feet for 30 years. The English doctors usually tackled a patient with a bath, rightly believing their ailments to arise from unclean living, but they are very indignant at the treatment sometimes. "Allamachte man," screamed an old vrouw, who had been ordered a hot mustard foot-bath, "do you want to kill me! I haven't washed my feet for the last 30 years." No persuasion would induce her to submit. | But, again, amongst the Doppers—a j Quaker-like sect fast disappearing— is i usual for the men folk before supper to have their feet washed in a basin of wiw, • and wiped either by the mistress or the. .uottentot help, thus carrying out the Biblical custom. HOW THEY LIVE AND COOK. They live very simply; their staple food is mutton and rice, or mutton and stamped mealies. Christmas is the only time they 1 kill an ox—that is, in the sheep districts. The Transvaal is more for cattle-breeding. Bread is made from corn in remote- places, which they only cultivate their own use, and is very often ground by hand, A leaven j , 01 sour dmi is used, but it would astonish 1 ■ our housewives to know .that in the winteri i 1 -v

the dough is made to rise by placing it in the beds they get up from. This discovery made us fight shy of iioer bread, and learn to make our own. Before Nachtmal the whole homestead is employed m making rusks, cooking meats, and good things for their journey. This Nachtmal—literally the. Lord's Supper—is a church festival held j about once in three months, but when the church is too far distant many have to . content themselves by a yearly visit, for it often takes a week or more by bullock waggon from some of the farms. It is a rare time for business to the storekeepers, for the Boers will buy almost anything for the sake of it. Outside the town it is like a huge fair. Service is kept up during the day with short intervals, so that they can go in batches. ON THE SHOOT. The principal amusement is shooting, while the Hottentots and Kaffirs, who enjoy the times immensely, keep up their fires, make coffee, and toast the skewered meat, which tastes uncommonly good in the open. The girls rush off to the stores and lay in a stock of finery, and indulge in the luxury of a tin of sardines and condensed milk, which they eat together. A GOOD PRIEST. A Dutch pastor has a jolly fat living amongst the Boers. His house is free, and he enjoys a good salary. His larder overflows with good things, his garden is kept in order, and not seldom his vineyard, and his wife may have her pick of maids to work for her.. His word is law, and he has the sweet privilege of preaching at them. One must not infer that such Godfearing people content themselves with a quarterly or yearly worship. A LONG, LONG PRAYER. We were once invited to one of their Sunday services, which we accepted. We found the family of eight seated piously round the room, which, by-the-by, was redolent with fresh smearing and bile oil, which had been rubbed on to the' chairs. Our host, a thin, red-haired little chap—spectacled and proper—motioned us to seats near him, then commenced to read and expound. He became excited, almost furious, and the womenfolk bent their heads and occasionally uttered, "Amen!" followed by groans. Then came a prayer—at which I was surprised they knelt, as at church they generally stand—and the whole scene changed. Directly the parental eye was turned out came from the pockets of the youngsters bits of toys, marbles, or what not; two little chaps' had a quiet fight, while the older ones began to crochet and plait the girls' hair. They were up to the dodge, and knew what to expect. We were not, and knew not that the prayer was to last over an hour. Our position was ludicrous, being so near the host, who was wanning up by -our proximity. We did not like to get up, but, host or no host, I could not endure it to the end, so got up and sat down, much to their astonishment. The prayer over, we expected to file out, but not a bit of it._ A long-winded sermon followed. Words— probably most eloquent if we had understood them—came out by theyard, lasting fully two hours. What holiness! The Book was closed with a snap, and our fiery host snatched up a short sjambok, and hurried outside to administer justice, interlarded with choice oaths, to a Kaffir, who had been unfortunate enough to let the calves enter the kraal where the cows were. CRUEL TO THEIR OXEN. That was my first and last Boer service. They are more .than cruel to their oxen. Not only do they goad them and dislocate their .tails, but in several instances they have twisted the poor brutes' tongues out. Such a case happened in Graap Reinet in 1879, when I was there. Needless to say their cruelty in war is equally refined. THE LADIES NEVER CHANGE THEIR CLOTHES. It is a well-known fact that the Boers, women included, seldom change their garments, unless laid up with sickness. A woman will sometimes remove her bodice (if very warm) on going to bed and replace itwith a shawl. She gets up and commences her day in the same clothes week in and week out. Really wealthy farms keep up this custom. After the "Raid in Johannesburg the President's bodyguard drove through the town, that we should not forget they had beaten us. It made us feel vcrv sore, and it seemed grim irony that these filthy-looking unkempt creatures should have the crow over us, now TO DEAL WITH A BOER. One has to go a roundabout way in dealing with the Boers. An Englishman going up to a farm on business thoughts intent stands little chance if he cannot speak Dutch. He more often than not has the floor slammed in his face or is ordered offno matter if he or his horses are starving. Not even by bribery can he get what he wants, though perhaps they are more amenable to that form of late years, in the more civilised parts. AH AMUSING EXPERIENCE. The right way to get what you want is to saunter up, pipe in hand, give the time of day, and offer your pouch of English tobacco; this the Boer loves, and an invitation to enter follows. You pass your hand over the dirty moist- palm of each member of the household, who stand in a row to go through the ceremony. You are. offered i seat and a cup of vile coffee. You fall to, passing flattering remarks on the dirtyfaced children, and lapse into forgetfulness under the cloud of smoke which soon fillj the unventilated room. In half an hour you remember your errand, and gently suggest you would like, say, a couple of goats, and offer tobacco. This goes on for perhaps a couple of hours, but you aro no nearer the mark. They seem to enjoy the manoeuvres, and won't help you in the least. At last, in desperation, you ask for a plain yes or no. Unless they have taken a particular fancy, to you it will be the latter, and you leave it for a more opportune time, We were iortunate enough to make a splendid bargain on the Kimberley line. For T4s I became possessor (on hire) of two goats and their twin kids. With the latter the mess table was supplied for several days. In the bargain it was arranged the goats should bo returned when dry, and replaced bv two others in full milk. This was actually carried out with a second edition of kids, so for several months we were supplied with rich milk and butter, a rare luxury; for the Boer, even if he be the possessor of herds of cattle or goats, rarely uses the milk for domestic uses; in fact, during the winter, tho cattle are taken to the bush-veldt and never milked. POWERS OF ENDURANCE. The Boers have great powers of endurance ; they will go all day hunting with only a small flask of water and a lump of biltong (dried ox or wild buck flesh), remain in their saddles the whole day, and be ready for a repetition the next. They are excellent shots, being allowed a gun from almost infancy, and it is simply marvellous how they can track the spoor of animals or ostriches; they may be out for days, but thev will run them down in the end. The horses are small, badly fed, and seldom groomed, but they also are a hardy race. THE CHILDREN. The Boers' children are brough up to ride without saddles, and follow the chase very early in life. Till the opening .up of th? Randt, few schools were established, and then only in a few principal dorps or town 3. The Boers (if their inclination led that way) employed a tutor, either a better educated Dutchman or a luckless colonial detained on route for pastures new by want of cash We have even met well-born Englishmen down on their luck at some of the better farms. MONEY. Formerly money was very scarce in the Transvaal, and the Exchequer boasted but c few pounds in Pretoria before the opening of the Randt, but since then the Boers have become almost prodigal in the use of it. Many farmers' wives absolutely did not know the value of money at the selling tf their gold-bearing farms—a rare time for the purchasers. One old tante, on seeing the piles of sovereigns, exclaimed, "Allamachte Piet, now I can have some enamelled pots in the kitchen 1" Several Boers round auout Pretoria have built some fine houses, but they still retain their dirty habits and customs. It seems no amount of money can civilise them. AFTER THE RAID. After the Raid nothing was too difficult to accomplish; they would exterminate the English altogether. . They would first take Natal and all English ships in harbour, go round to Capetown and do ditto, then set sail for . England and conquer that. They ' firmly believed it, too, though it is surprising that Oom Paul has not taught them ! bitter, having visited England and seen the - strength of our army,-