CHAPTER XVII. 

 BOER "VOORTREKKERS" AND COMMANDOS. 



The Dutch farmers (" Boers ") who trekked from 

 the Cape Colony in 1836-7, were probably the most 

 resourceful, confident, and brave pioneers the 

 world has produced. They had vast tracts of fertile 

 country at their disposal, to graze their stock or to 

 cultivate at will and they led a more or less nomadic 

 life. With enormous herds of antelopes to fill their 

 larders, they could command native labour, which 

 cost little or nothing, and notwithstanding the 

 dangers and hardships incidental to occupation of 

 unexplored wilds, the healthy open air life in a 

 glorious climate, with its daily exciting experiences, 

 appealed to them. The children were born and grew 

 up on the veld and inherited the restless trekking 

 spirit. When the game was destroyed, and the land 

 became occupied, many of the pioneers and their 

 descendants found it difficult to conform to the more 

 settled conditions. Native labour became less plenti- 

 ful and more expensive ; there were not adequate 

 markets for any stock or produce they had for sale ; 

 the farms they obtained (without direct payment) 

 had but little value in their eyes and were frequently 

 sold for a few pounds and the former owners became 

 landless and poor. Again, under the Roman -Dutch 

 law of inheritance, similar to the " Code Napoleon " 

 the larger farms, which supported a numerous family, 

 were sub-divided on the death of the parents among 

 the children. They could not all make a living on 

 these small portions of the original farm, and piece 

 by piece the ground was sold to strangers, A typical 



