BOER WAGON WITH FJKKWOOD. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE BOER. 



AV here are the Boers? The Boer a farmer. Grass-fires and their conse- 

 quences. Habits of the farmer. Peculiar theology of the Boer which 

 governs his life and action. Boer relations to the Kafirs. Violence of 

 Church disputes. President Kriiger. Some causes of the Boer War. 

 -The Boers as soldiers. Homely life of the President ; his great 

 influence with the Boers. Many farmers now wealthy men. Physical 

 characteristics of the Boers ; their supposed dislike to the British ; their 

 mistrust of the Hollanders. 



ONE of the first questions I asked after residing a short 

 time in Pretoria, the capital of Boer-land, was, where 

 are the Boers "? They are not to be found employed in 

 the Government offices, for here Hollanders are generally 

 engaged ; they do not keep stores at least, so seldom, 

 that the exception proves the rule ; there are no Boer 

 clerks in mercantile offices, no handicraft or manufac- 

 ture carried on by them. British, Dutch, and German 

 are the nationalities which compose the population ; 

 but where are the Boers ? Beyond the farmers who 

 bring in their produce and firewood for sale, and can 

 be found at the early morning market, the Boer is a 

 visitor at Pretoria, and the same remark applies to all 

 the towns of the Transvaal. 



The Boer is a farmer, or, more correctly, a dweller on 

 the veld he loves solitude and cares nothing for the 

 outside world. I had frequent business relations with 

 one, which occasioned almost weekly visits, and as we 



