26 THE BOERS MAKE WAR ON THE BAKWAINB. 
making dams and canals, and at the same time to support 
themselves. I have myself been an eye-witness of Boers 
coming to a village, and, according to their usual custom, 
demanding twenty or thirty women to weed their gardens, 
and have seen those women proceed to the scene of unre- 
quited toil, carrying their own food on their heads, thoir 
children on their backs, and instruments of labor on thoii 
shoulders. Nor have the Boers any wish to conceal the 
meanness of thus employing unpaid labor: on the contrary, 
every one of them, from Mr. Potgeiter and Mr. Gert 
Kneger, the commandants, downward, lauded his own 
humanity and justice in making such an equitable regula- 
tion. “We make the people work for us, in consideration 
of allowing them to live in our country.” 
The Boers' determined to put a stop to English traders 
going past Kolobeng, by dispersing the tribe of Bakwains 
and expelling all the missionaries. Sir George Cathcart 
proclaimed the independence of the Boers, tho best thing 
that could have been done had they been between us and 
the Cadies. A treaty was entered into with these Boers j 
an article for the free passage of Englishmen to the coun- 
try beyond, and also another, that no slavery should be 
allowed in the independent territory, wero duly inserted, 
as expressive of the views of her majesty’s government at 
homo. “But what about tho missionaries'/” inquired the 
Boers. “ You may do as you please with them ” is said to 
have boon the answer of tho “ Commissioner.” This re- 
mark, if uttered at all, was probably made in joke : design* 
ing men, however, circulated it, and caused tho general 
belief in its accuracy which now prevails all over the coun- 
try, and doubtless led to the destruction of three mission- 
stations immediately after. Tho Boers, lour hundred in 
number, were sent by the late Mr. Pretorius to attack the 
Bakwains in 1852. Boasting that tho English had given 
up all tho blacks into their power, and had agreed to aid 
them in their subjugation by preventing all supplies of 
ammunition from coming into the Beehuana country, they 
