AFRICANER REBELS. 2 3 



barbarity, their hearts beat hard. It had not yet entered their minds to do 

 violence to the farmer. Jager, with his brothers and some attendants, moved 

 slowly up towards the door of the house. Titus, the next brother to the chief, 

 dreading that the farmer in his wrath might have recourse to desperate mea- 

 sures, took his gun with him, which he easily concealed behind him, being 

 night. When they reached the front of the house, and Jager, the chief, had 

 gone up the few steps leading to the door, to state their complaints, the far- 

 mer rushed furiously on the chieftain, and with one blow precipitated him to 

 the bottom of the steps. At this moment Titus drew his gun from behind, 



fired on P , who staggered backward, and fell. They then entered the 



house, the wife having witnessed the murder of her husband, shrieked, and 

 implored mercy. They told her on no account to be alarmed, for they had 

 nothing against her. They asked for the guns and ammunition which were 

 in the house, which she promptly delivered to them. They then straitly 

 charged her not to leave the house during the night, as they could not ensure 

 her safety from others of the servants, who, if she and her family attempted 

 to flee, might kill them. 



" This admonition, however, was disregarded. Overcome with terror, 

 two children escaped by a back door. These were slain by two Bushmen, 

 who had long been looking out for an opportunity of revenging injuries they 



had suffered. Mrs. P escaped in safety to the nearest farm. Africaner, 



with as little loss of time as possible, rallied the remnant of his tribe, and, 

 with what they could take with them, directed their course to the Orange 

 River, and were soon beyond the reach of pursuers, who, in a thinly scattered 

 population, required time to collect. He fixed his abode on the banks of the 

 Orange River ; and afterwards, a chief ceding to him his dominion in Great 

 Namaqua-land, it henceforth became his by right, as well as by conquest. 



" Attempts were made on the part of the Colonial Government and the 



farmers to punish this daring outrage on the P family ; but though 



rewards were offered, and commandoes went out for that purpose, Africaner 

 dared them to approach his territories. Some of the farmers had recourse to 

 another stratagem to rid the frontiers of such a terror ; they bribed some of 

 the Bastards, who were in the habit of visiting the colony, from the upper 

 regions of the Orange River. This gave rise to a long series of severe, and 

 sometimes bloody conflicts between the Africaners and the chief Berend and 

 his associates, — Berend being iuqjelled by a twofold reward, and Africaner by 

 a desire to wreak his vengeance on the farmers, who were once his friends, 

 the instigators of the deeply laid scheme. Though these two chiefs dreadfully 

 harassed each other, neither conquered ; but continued to breathe against each 

 other the direst hatred, till, by the gospel of peace, they were brought to 'beat 

 their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into priming-hooks.' " 



" As soon as Africaner had discovered the origin of the plot, which had 



