THE BOER. 25 



money; whilst the poor wretches have often been 

 bound to an apprenticeship of 21 years (which they 

 did not comprehend), any attempts at escape being 

 met with savage floggings and shootings. But these 

 are not purely Boer characteristics. I remember the 

 floggings on English-managed eastern sugar-estates 

 twenty-three years ago, and the flagellations of the 

 Stanley expedition are not yet effaced from memory. 



This conflict between Boers and Kafirs still quietly 

 exists. The following was published and guaranteed 

 as true by the 4 Uitenhage Times ' of this year * : 



" A Dutch farmer and his wife living far north in the 

 Transvaal, with no near neighbours, were surprised 

 one day by twelve strange Kafirs. The farmer, who 

 was outside the house, was bound hand and foot ; then, 

 entering the house, the Kafirs began ill-treating the 

 poor woman, but on the suggestion of one of their 

 number, ordered her at once to cook a large pot of 

 mealie pap. This the poor woman did in the presence 

 of the Kafirs, although her clothes were torn from her 

 back, and she was almost naked. When the pap was 

 ready they all squatted round the pot and ordered 

 the woman to get them sugar. She had only a canister 

 and that was in the wagon box ; she was told to 

 fetch it. She remembered also at the same time that 

 there was a bottle of poison in the wagon box, which 

 her husband had bought for killing wild animals. 

 Swiftly and secretly she shook the contents of the 

 little bottle among the sugar, and shaking the canister 

 well up, handed it to the Kafirs who helped themselves 

 liberally, with the result that in a short time they were 

 all suffering agonies and went outside one by one. 

 Trembling at what she had done, at the escape she 

 had from death or worse, and for the safety of her 

 husband, the poor creature waited in the house for 

 some time ; but eventually went out and found all 

 twelve Kafirs dead, and her husband bound hand and 

 foot in the kraal, but otherwise uninjured. She 



* Copied by the ' Press,' Pretoria, Feb. 18, 1891. 



