SURRENDER SCENES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12070, 13 September 1902, Page 3 (Supplement)

SURRENDER SCENES.

BURGHERS' RUSH FOR WHITB COLLARS.

The .story of Low the Boers surrendered id told in a recent Gazette in the reports of the! officers to -whom Lord Kitchener entrusted the duty of superintending the laying dow* of aims. All the reports agree as to the satisfac* tion shown by the Boers at the conclusion! of peace. "It they did not display enthusi-* asm," says General Bruce Hamilton, speak-i ing of the Eastern Transvaal, "they cer-a tainly appeared quite ready to lay down, 1 . their arms and to accept the terms arrangedlj by their leaders." , They seem to have been agreeably sar-i prised at the thoughtful arrangements made! for their comfort. In some cases a horn meal was cooked for them, while in th«' Orange River Colony each man received wi tot of rum in which to drink the King'*' health. h There was no feeling of hostility towards-. "Tommy Atkias," and one general mentions, that the burghers lent no time in joining in. a camp conceit. They reserve their chief admiration, however, for the Highlanders*! whose pipes. General Walter Kitchener re-; ports, afforded " evident pleasure." Some remarkable scenes attended the surrenders in the Orange Colony:"The road; into Winburg after the surrender looked much like onejeading from a big race meet-* ing. Burghers galloped along, shouting, and laughing, and challenging any officer from the general down to race with them? , while every sort of conveyance rolled at its top speed along the bumpy veldt road; riders and drivers all heading for the concentration camp, delighted that the surrender was over." The appearance of the commandos varied according to the amount of attention they, had recently received from the British columns. While some were clean, "fit," and well-fed, others were ragged, hungry, and unkempt. One man had a springbok skin sewn round him for a coat. But a larg* number were "tough, hardy, weather-beaten men in the prime of life." " The majority of the burghers evidentlyhad small sums of money hidden, says General Elliott. After a commando had" been in a town a few days a transformation scene*) occurred, white " collars and respectable clothes and hats replacing dirty, war-won* garments. To General W. Kitchener in the Western Transvaal the officers appeared to be divisible into two classes. A few were greybearded, tall, typical, "old'' Boers, keen-' eyed and shrewd of feature. These were extremely cordial, and seemed genuinely satisfied with the peace. The majority "of the officers were younger men of a more foreign or European type. They wore "goatee"' beards, and had a generally alert, soldierlike appearance. The Boers will be easy to manage by people whom they know and understand,. ■ General Bruce Hamilton states, and he recommends that for a time the services of' some of the Boer field-cornets should be retained so as to avoid friction. In the Western Transvaal, however, the burghers begged that they might not be put under the magistracy of a Boer who had fought against them.