WITH THE BOERS

New Zealand Mail, 22 January 1902, Page 61

WITH THE BOERS

GERMAN MERCENARIES. £ A SADTALE. ] . onresentative of the “Midland .] 4 P /« nU tli Africa) recently interS of the Germans who were ; y ,e " e f to fifht for the Boers, and 1 i’rtuowin- Ts his interesting state- i the f«|[ o Vrin ° 1 wit h the permit signed . Camped by Captain Fenwick, staff a "‘■ o P the commandant, our repre- , offi mtive wended his way to the gaol, sentativ „ ao i were to be seen miliar kliaki and the equally * bo Tor re 1 pngaree round the hat, defa,tmf,nemberf of the Cradock Town Guard- " ho are at present doing guard i,tv here, owing, it is presumed, to , * -t> number of political and military i the i .rj-ini stone walls of prisoners- » than ever dull the 1 g mUv Si the sandbags on the anc f fnd 'vM ! s, anil made one think of Ihf inscription cf Dante as they apt t’.io front entrance: —“Abanprcacb t v ,. !10 enter here.” All Jocnn feelings and fears which cur gl ° "Vertative had were, however, r P ‘t-lv dispelled bv the cheery ‘Good (! ’" ckl ff ' rf l gaoler, Mr Kirkham, morning or tn- , , v;ho one questions if he cm had A FIT OF BLUES ! j„ his life, always—despite surround- j j n <re—looking cheeriul and happy. As { 0 „e“ passed tlirougii the doors, there . came a whiff from cocking operations, ; these and other matters being superinteded by Mrs Kirkham. My pass having been ;crutinised and found , “correct.” and having signed my name 1 in the visitors’ book. I accompanied tho gaoler to one of the passages, where j I was permitted to interview the prisoners. who were presently introduced to me. First of all, let me correct | a wrong impression which has got 1 abroad in the’ town as to their nation- j ality. They are not Russian Jews, but : Germans, and their home is at Swine- j munde. They loft the Fatherland when j the war started, sailing to Lorenzo ! Marquez by the Hertzog. One of them | t j !C younger—is quite an intelligent ! young fellow, and apparently of the ar- I tisai "class, and informed our represen- | tative that when he left Germany lie j paid his second-class fare out, and nad, J in addition. £250 in hard cash. 'You I are fairly well-to-do now, I presume?” j A LOOK OF DISGUST came over Ins countenance, and witli a shrug of the shoulder which only a German can give, lie exclaimed that he was penniless, for the Beers had not paid him a farthing. Evidently prompt payment for services rendered is not in the rules guiding the Boer Commandants. On arrival at Lorenzo Marquez the two men went on to Pretoria, where they joined the Boer forces. “What induced you to join?” I queried. “Well,” came the reply, “we were told a great many times on arrival in this country that Germany was about to assist the Boers, and then the war would bo speedily finished, and there would bo a splendid opportunity for us,” and, therefore, they joined, and had been fighting ever since. They had served under Be la Rey and Kemp, Smuts and others. Their experiences during the war could not be entered upon, as they spoke very poor and broken English, and so tho conversation led up to their capture. They were, not in the fight with the 17th Lancers near Tarkastad, but they heard that the Boer loss was, as usual, one killed and three or four wounded, but they knew better, and ■ never again would believe the false and misleadxg reports issued by the Boers. When about fifteen or twenty miles from Adelaide, their hor ■; being knocked up. they got left behind, and on looking round for a place where they could j'est, they suddenly found themselves surrounded, and were glad to find themselves in the hands of the British. Why were they glad? came the query. Wejl, tlie treatment was very bad indeed. Food was scarce, and was mostly meat, and in fact, on some days there was nothing else to be had but meat. Of course when they came to a farm they fared better, as they were allowed to help themselves ancl take what they wanted, but in such cases those who arrived first got tho best of everything,’ and those uiio came in at the finish got little or nothing. To further illustrate the bad treatment meted out to them, tho elder or the prisoners had expressed a wish

to be allowed to surrender to the British. This came to the ears of the commandant, and he was quickly held up by four strong men, his back bared, and

FIFTEEN LASHES ADMINISTERED with the sjambok. His back was cut horribly, and even now, though the flogging was administered a fortnight ago, there is still plenty of evidence that the thrashing was a most unmerciful and cruel one—and, continued they, there are plenty in the commando who would surrender if they dare, but they are all afraid of being found out, anil they knew what tin consequence* would be. The commandants treat them worse than if they were lvafflrs. Words could not express their gratitude for the kind treatment meted out- to them by the British, and on every hand they had experienced every kindness and excellent treatment.