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FOREWORDToC
FOREWORDToC
In introducing the English version of this book I venture to bespeak a welcome for it, not only for the light which it throws on some little-known incidents of the South African war, but also because of the keen personal interest of the events recorded. It is more than a history. It is a dramatic picture of the hopes and fears, the devotion and bitterness with which some patriotic women in Pretoria watched and, as far as they could, took part in the war which was slowly drawing to its conclusion
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INTRODUCTIONToC
INTRODUCTIONToC
If, by inspiring feelings of patriotism in the hearts of some of my readers, especially those members of the rising generation to whom this story of adventure may appeal, I succeed in raising the standard of national life, this book will have achieved the purpose for which it was written, and I shall feel more than compensated for having set aside the reluctance with which I faced the thought of the publicity when first I began the work. I have tried to give the public some idea of what was done
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CHAPTER IToC
CHAPTER IToC
When, on October 11th, 1899, shortly before 5 o'clock in the afternoon, martial law was proclaimed throughout the Transvaal and Orange Free State, South Africa, and after the great exodus of British subjects had taken place, there remained in Pretoria, where the principal events recorded here took place, a harmonious community of Boers and sympathisers, who for eight months enjoyed the novel advantage of Boer freedom under Boer martial law. The remaining English residents were few in number, and
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CHAPTER IIToC
CHAPTER IIToC
Before we begin relating the events with which this book is actually concerned, and which took place, as we have said in the previous chapter, exclusively in and around the capital, I must ask my reader to turn his attention for a few moments to that great mining centre, Johannesburg, "The Golden City" of South Africa. If it was hated by the Boers before the war as the cause of all the unrest in their beloved country, the unwelcome revolution in the calm simplicity of their hitherto peaceful lif
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CHAPTER IIIToC
CHAPTER IIIToC
In attempting to chronicle the events which surround the surrender of Johannesburg, the mind involuntarily pauses, and a picture, which reminds one of the fairy-tales of one's childhood, is called up in imagination. In 1886 Johannesburg could only boast of a few tin shanties—the beginnings of a mining camp; fourteen years later the British troops marched through the streets of a modern city. And what has been the history of these fourteen years? In the history of the older European nations devel
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CHAPTER IVToC
CHAPTER IVToC
After her brothers' departure, described in Chapter I, Hansie fastened her "Vierkleur," a broad band of the Transvaal colours, round her hat, and announced her intention of going into town to see the British troops come in. Her mother thought it a most unseemly proceeding, and declined to accompany her wilful daughter, but the latter did not wish to miss what she knew would become an historical event of great importance, and rode away on her bicycle, accompanied by her faithful retriever, Carlo.
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CHAPTER VToC
CHAPTER VToC
The conspicuously bright hues of the "Vierkleur" round Hansie's hat attracted the attention of the new-comers in Pretoria, and she was often asked what they represented. In course of time other girls donned their colours, flaunting them in the face of the enemy on every possible occasion. Now perhaps this was indiscreet, but, after all, what harm could it do? It was a certain comfort to them, and there could be no objection to their taking a public stand for their own, under British martial law.
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CHAPTER VIToC
CHAPTER VIToC
At this time the procuring of passes and permits became the order of the day, and it is inconceivable the amount of red-tape that had to be gone through in the process. For women living alone and having no menfolk to send to the offices, this was especially annoying. Hours were spent in waiting, and applicants were frequently sent from one official to another, and from one department to another, on unimportant matters. This brought Hansie into touch with the very men whose society she had resolv
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CHAPTER VIIToC
CHAPTER VIIToC
Life at Pretoria was at this time far from pleasant for the Boers who remained loyal to their cause. Most people who had the means, or were not bound to the country by the closest ties, let their houses and went to Europe until the war was over. Many of those who did not leave of their own free will were sent away to the coast, where they were considered safe from plotting against the British, and the few remaining Boer families were apparently on their best behaviour, above all dreading the fat
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CHAPTER VIIIToC
CHAPTER VIIIToC
If the method of writing between the lines in chemicals presented itself to Mrs. van Warmelo's mind for a moment, it was dismissed as too crude and well-known, and, in consequence, too dangerous. And yet she found her thoughts reverting persistently to chemicals as the only solution to the problem before her. One day she took the strained juice of a lemon and wrote a few words with it on a sheet of white paper. When dry, there was no trace of the written words to be seen until she had passed a h
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CHAPTER IXToC
CHAPTER IXToC
That there is more than one man of the name of Jan Celliers in South Africa I know, but there is only one Jan Celliers who can be honoured by the title "Poet and Patriot," and that is the remarkable personality of our friend in Pretoria, J.F.E. Celliers. I have chosen him as the subject of this chapter, not so much because of the important, I may almost say revolutionary part he has played in the building up of South African literature since the war, as on account of the unique patriotism displa
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CHAPTER XToC
CHAPTER XToC
The exquisite summer of 1901 was drawing to a close. January and February had been months of unsurpassed splendour and riotous luxury in fruit and flowers, each day being more gorgeous than the last. The glorious sunsets, the mysterious and exquisitely peaceful moonlight nights were a never-ending source of joy to our young writer, thrilling her being with emotions not to be described. Each morning at 5 o'clock, while the rest of the idiotic world lay asleep within its cramped boundary of brick
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CHAPTER XIToC
CHAPTER XIToC
How the routine of life at Harmony was broken in upon by news "from the front" that April month in 1901, I shall endeavour to relate. Hansie coming home one morning from a shopping expedition, found her mother in a state of suppressed excitement. Everything was as much as possible "suppressed" in those days—goodness only knows why, for surely it would have been better for the nervous and highly strung mind if an occasional outburst could have been permitted. Hansie suffered from the same complai
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CHAPTER XIIToC
CHAPTER XIIToC
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.—Isa. liv. 7 and 8. The hand which holds my pen to-day trembles. From the beginning it was not my intention to touch upon the Concentration Camps, but this story of the war would be incomplete without at least a brief outline of that which played so important a part during t
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CHAPTER XIIIToC
CHAPTER XIIIToC
The story of the petitions, related in the previous chapter, had, as I have said before, taken place during the time of Hansie's sojourn at Irene. She knew nothing about it at the time because, naturally, her mother's letters contained no hint of the agitation with the Consuls at Pretoria, and she was absorbed in her own "agitations" in the Camp, her stormy interviews with the Commandant, her hopeless struggles against disease and death. If ever a Concentration Camp was mismanaged, Irene was, an
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CHAPTER XIVToC
CHAPTER XIVToC
It was in the winter of 1901, while Hansie was at the Irene Concentration Camp, as one of six volunteer nurses from Pretoria, that Mrs. van Warmelo began her first adventures with the spies, and it has always been a source of keen regret to Hansie that she was not in Pretoria at the time. But one cannot have everything, and the knowledge she gained in the Camp was more valuable to her than any other experience she went through during the war. I have merely touched on the Concentration Camps in t
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CHAPTER XVToC
CHAPTER XVToC
If what theosophists say be true, that thoughts are living forces, then it seems to me that the subtle power and influence of a national maxim must be far-reaching and powerful in its effect on the national mind. Of this we had ample proof as the war proceeded. With "Might is right" working ceaselessly in a hundred thousand brains, some people in South Africa and England began to believe that might was right, and with "All is fair in love and war" held up by the united force of a million minds,
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CHAPTER XVIToC
CHAPTER XVIToC
The following story was related to Hansie by her mother soon after her return from the Irene Camp, and must be repeated here for its connection with subsequent events. One afternoon in June Mrs. van Warmelo had been visited by a young friend, Miss F., with a man whom she introduced as her brother, an unexpected arrival from Europe. "Indeed!" Mrs. van Warmelo exclaimed. "What a delightful surprise it must have been to you!" "Yes, but he is leaving again very, very soon. In fact"—here Miss F.'s ma
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CHAPTER XVIIToC
CHAPTER XVIIToC
Among other things, Mr. Willem Botha warned his friends at Harmony against having a single incriminating document in the house. "Detection means death for all concerned," he said one day, "but without written evidence the worst the enemy can do is to send you out of the country or to a Concentration Camp. Destroy every paper of a dangerous nature you may have, as I have done, and then you need never feel anxious." This wise counsel was all very well, but Hansie had a mania for "collecting," and
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CHAPTER XVIIIToC
CHAPTER XVIIIToC
There were so many events of importance during the month of July 1901 that there is great difficulty in choosing the right material from Hansie's diary. No wonder that that period seems to have been in a state of chaos, for the things to which we attached the greatest importance "ended in smoke," and seemingly small incidents assumed gigantic proportions before the glorious spring broke over the country. Hansie was busy preparing for her tour of inspection through the Camps, though to tell the t
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CHAPTER XIXToC
CHAPTER XIXToC
It would be a simple matter for me to fill this volume many times by relating the thrilling experiences and adventures of people unknown to me personally and yet known sufficiently by intimate friends who guarantee their truth and veracity, but this is not my intention in writing this book. A brief outline, however, of the history of one of the principal members of the Secret Committee, during the war, will not be out of place here, because of his close connection with the "Petticoat Commando."
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CHAPTER XXToC
CHAPTER XXToC
The documents sent out to General Botha, and referred to in Chapter XV, were connected with the report of the Consuls, but the very first thing sent to the commandos by Mrs. van Warmelo was a copy of the first petition, tightly packed in a walnut, one of a handful which she gave the spy, with instructions not to eat any of them on the road. He also took a verbal message to the effect that though the condition of the Camps was bad, everything was being done in town to bring about the necessary im
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CHAPTER XXIToC
CHAPTER XXIToC
"Was there no fear of betrayal through the servants at Harmony?" I have often been asked since the war, and this reminds me that a short introduction to the other inmates of the property will be necessary for the reader's benefit and understanding. The lower portion of Harmony, through which the Aapies river runs, was occupied by Italian gardeners, who employed a varying number of Kaffir labourers in the extensive fruit and vegetable gardens. The upper part, on which the house stood, was entirel
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CHAPTER XXIIToC
CHAPTER XXIIToC
Thank God for the early rains! After the long winter months, dry and dusty, terrific storms pass over the country, torrents of rain, lashing hailstones. The beautiful world is washed clean, and everywhere the moist brown earth gives promise of a plentiful supply of fresh young grass, which means food for the weary underfed horses on commando, and new life, new hopes to the men. Only the middle of August and already the first summer rains are falling! Thank God again! The cruel strain of anxious
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CHAPTER XXIIIToC
CHAPTER XXIIIToC
Mr. Willem Bosch, a cripple, unable to take active work upon himself, acted as Secretary to the Committee, Mr. Els was old and infirm, and Mr. Botha, as we have heard, had been struck by lightning and was frequently prostrate with headaches of an intensely severe nature. But for these infirmities these men would have been on commando with their brother burghers. The wider circle of conspirators consisted of ten or twelve men and women, who carried out the instructions of the Committee, but in no
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CHAPTER XXIVToC
CHAPTER XXIVToC
Uninterrupted communication had once more been established between the conspirators, and all was going well. So it seemed! But the Prince of Darkness was at work. And with him an accursed band of Judas-Boers. How can I tell the tale? How force into the background of my mind and soul the unspeakable horror with which all my being is filled when I contemplate this aspect of the war, in order to collect my thoughts sufficiently to find the words I need? That week the town was full of spies. Captain
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CHAPTER XXVToC
CHAPTER XXVToC
That the inborn sense of humour of the Dutch South African race should have been stunted in its growth, if not completely crushed, by the horrors of the war, would be small cause for surprise to most people who have given the matter a thought. But to those of us acquainted with the facts, an entirely different and wholly comprehensible aspect of the case has been made manifest. The blessed gift of humour is only sharpened by the hard realities of life, can never be appreciated to the full in the
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CHAPTER XXVIToC
CHAPTER XXVIToC
The events about to be recorded in this chapter have just reminded me of an incident which took place immediately after the occupation of the capital. An old Kaffir, who had been with the English just before Pretoria was taken, told Mrs. van Warmelo that three Boer men had ridden out on bicycles to the English lines, and held consultation with them—traitors evidently, in secret understanding with the enemy, to whom they took information of some sort. The old Kaffir wound up his remarks by saying
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CHAPTER XXVIIToC
CHAPTER XXVIIToC
It was only a few days after the van Warmelos had parted from Mr. Botha that Mr. J. Joubert arrived at Harmony with the tidings that four men had again entered the town that night. One of them was a lad of nineteen, young Erasmus, whose parents had been killed by lightning when he was a child, and to whom Mrs. Joubert had been a second mother. When he arrived at their home that night they were very angry with him, and demanded what he meant by coming into the very heart of danger. He meekly answ
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CHAPTER XXVIIIToC
CHAPTER XXVIIIToC
Events moved quickly in those days. The conspirators had hardly had time to recover from the shock of the recent arrests, they were just beginning to wonder what would happen if their unsuspecting friends from commando walked into the pitfalls prepared for them, racking their brains for plans to avert such a catastrophe, when the very thing they feared took place. Instead of the familiar figure of Willie Botha coming up the garden path with news, Mrs. Malan drove up with Jannie Joubert's fiancée
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CHAPTER XXIXToC
CHAPTER XXIXToC
As far as was known, no men were arrested that night. The man who had escorted the spies through Sunnyside and over the railway line, the dauntless van der Westhuizen with the bandaged arm, had left them not far from the wire enclosure, and had then waited some time, listening for sounds of commotion. As no shots had broken the stillness of the night, he had every reason to believe that they had escaped with their lives. For some weeks there was a "lull in spies." But there was no lack of other
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CHAPTER XXXToC
CHAPTER XXXToC
Not until it became positively known at Harmony, towards the middle of October, that the members of the Secret Committee had been sent away to Bermuda, did Mrs. van Warmelo and Hansie breathe freely again. The suspense of five full weeks was over at last, a suspense not to be described, and never to be forgotten by those who endured it. It did not seem possible to grasp the fact that those brave men had escaped with their lives, and Hansie, looking up at the stars that night, felt that she had l
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CHAPTER XXXIToC
CHAPTER XXXIToC
It was at the time when the northern territories were being swept by the enemy for the first time that Mrs. van Warmelo heard that a relative of hers had been put over the border, and was staying with her husband at the Grand Hotel in Pretoria. She therefore asked Hansie to call at the hotel to inquire whether she could be of any assistance to them in their trouble, and Hansie donned her prettiest frock that very afternoon on her "calling" expedition, Carlo walking with unusual sedateness by her
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CHAPTER XXXIIToC
CHAPTER XXXIIToC
One afternoon when Mrs. van Warmelo and Hansie were returning home, as they passed the house occupied by one of the biggest "lords" in the British Army, they saw an exquisite black kitten sitting on the steps leading from the street to the garden. Such a kitten! Coal black she was, except for a snowy shirt front and four dainty, snow-white paws. A delicate ribbon of pale blue satin was fastened in a bow round her neck, and she blinked at the passers-by in friendly consciousness of her superior b
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CHAPTER XXXIIIToC
CHAPTER XXXIIIToC
As we have said, the Committee of women had decided on Harmony as the only safe spot for harbouring Captain Naudé on his next visit. It was still hemmed in by troops on every side, and, as the weeks went by, and the van Warmelos became more convinced that their name had not been betrayed with those of the Secret Committee, they settled down with a sense of peaceful security and prepared themselves once more for the reception of their friends. Their wonderful "escape" was a topic of daily convers
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CHAPTER XXXIVToC
CHAPTER XXXIVToC
Needless to say, there was not much peace or rest for any one that night. Mrs. van Warmelo and Hansie kept guard all night in the dining-room. Every time Carlo barked outside they sprang up in alarm, their hearts throbbing, their breath held up in listening suspense, but nothing happened; and when day broke and the glorious sunlight flooded the garden, all their fears vanished, and they felt as if they had been harbouring spies all their lives. They were up early, and as soon as their guests hea
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CHAPTER XXXVToC
CHAPTER XXXVToC
The Captain's visit was not an unmixed joy. Some bitter revelations were made, much pathos mixed with the humours of the situation and tragic experiences related by all—but on these I shall merely touch, as unavoidable and necessary for the completion of my story. After the treachery of their own people and the arming of the natives, nothing troubled the men so much as the fact that the fighting burghers were, in some parts of the country, suffering from sore gums and showing signs of scurvy, ca
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CHAPTER XXXVIToC
CHAPTER XXXVIToC
As the afternoon wore on, an extreme nervousness came over all at Harmony, a feeling of tense anxiety which no words can describe, and was betrayed in a restless flitting through the house, arranging something here, peering through the blinds at the camp of the Military Mounted Police. Unconsciously voices were lowered and final instructions given in hushed tones. Only a few hours remained of the Captain's visit to Harmony and much had still to be arranged. The tension was broken by the arrival
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CHAPTER XXXVIIToC
CHAPTER XXXVIIToC
Hansie was one of those unfortunate women who cannot cry, but I believe she cried that night when the awful strain was over, the house quiet and deserted, and the feeling of "nothing to do but wait" creeping over her. She and her mother lay for hours listening for sounds of commotion in the suburb, following in spirit the brave men on their route to the free veld, so perilous and insecure, watching and praying for their safety. At last Hansie fell into a heavy, unrefreshing sleep, from which she
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CHAPTER XXXVIIIToC
CHAPTER XXXVIIIToC
It was the peacefullest, decentest raid I ever heard of, and it would be difficult to think of anything with a termination more tame and commonplace. But we have not got there yet. The events which led up to it must be got over first as briefly as possible, and then we go on to what was called a formal declaration of war between the inmates of the Military Camp and the two principal actors at Harmony. After the van Warmelos had discovered on December 20th, through the enemy's rank stupidity, tha
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CHAPTER XXXIXToC
CHAPTER XXXIXToC
Three weeks went uneventfully by. Visitors at Harmony were few and far between, for the story of the "raid" went quickly through the town, and many people who had been in the habit of visiting the van Warmelos, all unsuspecting of the cloud under which they rested, took alarm at this first open hint of danger and discreetly withdrew from the scene. When Hansie thought of them it was with some contempt and bitterness, but her mind was, at the time, occupied with more important matters, and her fa
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CHAPTER XLToC
CHAPTER XLToC
If I may dare to hope that there are, among my readers who have followed me with so much patience through this book, some sufficiently interested in the heroine to desire information on what befell her in her future lot, I should wish to give to them just a glimpse or two into scenes as totally different from the events recorded in this volume as night is from day. And to do this freely, unreservedly, I must endeavour to forget my close connection with the heroine, a connection the thought of wh
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CONCLUSIONToC
CONCLUSIONToC
The veil is lifted for one last brief glimpse. Ten years have gone by since the declaration of peace, ten years each more wonderful than the last, full to overflowing of life's rich experience of joy and grief. By some strange turn in the hand of Destiny, our heroine finds herself, after many vicissitudes, an inhabitant of the Golden City—that Golden City which had wrecked her youth and very nearly wrecked her life. For years it has seemed incredible to her that she should have been destined for
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