THE BOER OF TO-DAY. 341 



respectable, I mean — who had a stake in the land to 

 lose, were not a bit sorry when you English took 

 over the country. But let me tell you one thing : 

 your Government went quite the wrong way to work. 

 Now if they had made maaters (chums) with Oom 

 Paul (Kruger) and a few other of our leading men 

 and given them posts, and if they had listened a 

 little to them, and especially if Colonel Lanyon and 

 others had not been so terribly hoogmoedaag (high 

 and mighty), all would have gone well. And I will 

 further say that I and numbers of farmers — indeed, 

 the majority of them — would, if the proposals of our 

 leaders had been given ear to, have been British 

 subjects to-day — ay, and peaceable ones to boot. 

 But your administrators and colonels and captains 

 all rode too high a horse. Instead of conciliating 

 they threatened ; instead of trying to understand us, 

 they laughed at us. You must understand, too, 

 there were always among us numbers of freebooting 

 and disaffected men — those with nothing to lose 

 and everything to gain by disturbance ; therefore, 

 immediately these saw an opening they began to 

 agitate; after which Kruger, Joubert, and other 

 disappointed men were soon persuaded to join as 

 leaders. And then, as you know, the gathering at 

 Paard Kraal was got together, and shortly the war 

 began. Naturally I, like many another, when war 

 was proclaimed, dare not refuse to join my 

 countrymen, although I wanted no fighting ; if I had 

 done so ruin would have fallen upon me, my flocks and 

 farms would have been confiscated, and I should have 

 left heeltemaal kaal (quite naked). Well, I joined the 

 commando, and went to Laing's Nek, Ingogo, and 

 Majuba. You have heard the story of Majuba Hill, 



