In the Shadow of Death | Page 8

country is to be cleared? Well,
these must go to Concentration Camps, from which so many never
returned. We do not wish to dwell on the sufferings of Boer women and
children; but what we are proud to note is that when military operations
were conducted against the weak and defenceless, the burgher was
touched to the centre of his heart. Call a Boer by what name you please,
but of this be assured--he is a man who, above all, loves his family, and

has pride and pleasure in his home, be it never so humble. When,
therefore, a destructive policy was adopted, who shall realise fully what
passed through the minds of these as they stood watching the lurid
flames of their burning homes, and heard how in the camps their
families were dying in scores? Cronje's capture, Prinsloo's surrender,
and all the hard fighting they had to do, seemed but trifles as compared
to this, by far the saddest, phase of the South African War.
Another dark day, and the curtain drops. We refer to that day when the
documents were signed and peace was concluded. Then, indeed, the
darkness seemed tangible Who shall number the tears shed on that
day--tears of men, women, and even children? Tears of men who had
fought for almost three years, who had sacrificed their all, who had but
one object in view, one ideal to pursue; who loved liberty and
independence, with an amazing love. Tears of women, who had spent
many months either in camps, or in the open veldt; women whose
husbands and sons had fallen in the war, whose infants were laid low in
many a graveyard. Tears of children, who had lost their parents,
children who never more would know the love of a mother, the
protection of a father. With one voice the whole people lamented the
loss of their beloved Fatherland.
And how did the officers who had to subscribe to these terms of peace
feel? Let one[A] who was present speak:
"Never shall I forget what I witnessed there. General De Wet showed
that there was no chance any longer of continuing the struggle ... I see
him yet, that unyielding man, with his piercing eyes, his strong mouth
and chin--I see him there still, like a lion fallen into a snare. He will not,
he cannot, but he must give up the struggle! I still see the stern faces of
the officers, who up to that moment had been so unbending. I see them
staring as if into empty space. I see engraved upon their faces an
indescribable expression, an expression that seemed to ask: 'Is this the
bitter end of our sufferings and our sorrows, of our faith and our strong
crying to God?' How great was their emotion! I saw the lips of men
quiver who had never trembled before a foe. I saw tears brimming in
eyes that had been dry when they had seen their dearest laid in the

grave....
"Everything was as silent as death when acting President Burger took
the pen in his hand. I looked at my watch; it was five minutes past
eleven on the 31st day of May in the year 1902.
"President Burger signed. President Steyn was not there. Our hearts
bled at the thought that he had been seized by a dangerous malady; and
yet it seemed to me that something was owed to that malady, since it
prevented the President of the Orange Free State from doing what
would have caused him the greatest pain in the world. He had said once:
'To set my hand to a paper to sign away the Independence of my
people--that I shall never do.' Sad circumstances, which he might then
almost have called fortunate, had brought it about that what he would
not do, that he could not do. The document was signed! All were silent
in that room where so much had been spoken."
We quote the terms of peace in full:--
"His Excellency General Lord Kitchener, and His Excellency Lord
Milner, on behalf of the British Government, and Messrs. M.T. Steyn, J.
Brebner, General C.R. De Wet, General C. Olivier, and Judge J.B.M.
Hertzog, acting as the Government of the Orange Free State, and
Messrs. S.W. Burger, F.W. Reitz, Generals Louis Botha, J.H. de la Rey,
Lucas Meyer, and C. Krogh, acting as the Government of the South
African Republic, on behalf of their respective burghers, desirous to
terminate the present hostilities, agree on the following articles:--
"I. The burgher forces in the field will forthwith lay down their arms,
handing over all guns, rifles, and munitions of war in their possession
or under their control, and desist from any further resistance to the
authority of His Majesty King Edward VII., whom they recognise