Blue Shirt and Khaki: A Comparison

by James F. J. Archibald

Gordon Highlanders entering Pretoria, June 5, 1900.

Types of the crowd who watched the British entry.

During the first few days of the occupation Lord Roberts started the machinery of his wonderful government, and in a very short time everything was running smoothly. All stores and storehouses were put under guard and the contents commandeered for military use; although, when the stock was the property of private individuals, a good price was paid for it. If the burghers had had sufficient presence of mind or the inclination to destroy all the stores in Pretoria, the army under Lord Roberts would have been not only seriously embarrassed, but in a very critical condition. As it was, a sufficient quantity of Boer rations was left to keep the British going until the railroad was opened. In one building enough forage had been left by the Boers to keep the stock supplied until more could arrive. A single match would have prevented this, but one of the Boer commandants said regarding it, “Oh, it would be such a wanton destruction of property!” They preferred to allow it all to fall into the hands of their enemies than to burn it. If they had destroyed it the horses would have had practically nothing to eat, and all operations would necessarily have been stopped.

A corps of correspondents came in with Roberts’s army, and they were all very anxious to hear of the events that had occurred on the Boer side. Mr. Dinwiddie, of Harper’s Weekly, was one of the first in Pretoria; he had but recently come over from the Philippines, where he had been with General Lawton, but he had seen all the British advance since Bloemfontein. I had last seen him during the Cuban campaign. Another veteran of the Santiago campaign was Mr. Atkins, of the Manchester Guardian. The famous war correspondent, Mr. Bennett Burleigh, was also among the first to arrive. He is one of the oldest in the profession, and before he began writing he fought with the Confederacy during our Civil War. Mr. Barnes and Mr. Jenkins were two more of the American correspondents, although they were representing English papers.

Some of the wagons that were used by the correspondents and the attachés were grotesque affairs. One of them was a pie-wagon, with a door in the back; its possessor had cut a hole in the roof and run a stovepipe out so that he could cook in any kind of weather. There were a good many grocers’ wagons, but the most common conveyance was the two-wheeled Cape cart.

As soon as Lord Roberts took possession, he issued a conciliatory proclamation, telling the burghers who wished to lay down their arms and take the oath binding them to neutrality that they would not be made prisoners of war. A number availed themselves of this offer, and most of them kept their promises; but subsequent events made many of them take up arms again.

The execution of young Cordua for conspiracy did much to help the Boer cause by reviving fainting spirits with the spur of new indignation. Everyone in Pretoria knew that there had been no plot whatever, and that the rumors of the supposed conspiracy had been spread by the agents of the British government. The young man was known to be simple-minded, and therefore was not responsible for his actions, but his death was a great stimulus to those fighting for the Boer cause. The proclamation regarding the burning and destroying of all farms in the vicinity of a railroad or telegraph line that was cut also sent many men back into the field and made many new recruits. No matter how loyal a feeling a farmer might have towards the English, he could not prevent some one from coming down from the hills in the night and blowing up the tracks or bridges somewhere within ten miles of his home; but if this happened his house was burned, and almost invariably the burghers who were thus deprived of their homesteads went on commando to stay to the bitter end.

One proclamation was issued compelling every man and boy to register his presence in Pretoria; and another, ordering that all firearms of every description be turned in to the provost marshal; this included sporting rifles, shotguns, gallery rifles, and, in fact, every arm that called for powder. It was not permitted to any one to ride or drive a horse, or ride a bicycle, without having obtained a special permit. Most of these orders were quite necessary and did no one any great harm. At times the restriction was troublesome, but that was all; and, upon the whole, considering the fact that the town was under military rule, the British government was lenient.

The women of Pretoria were intensely bitter against the British, and did not scruple to show it. For several days not one was seen on the streets. After a time they came out of their houses, but very seldom would they have anything to say to the invaders. They showed the same spirit said to have been shown by our colonial women towards the British, the same that the women of the Southern States showed towards the Northern soldiers, and the same that the French women felt against the Germans. In their hearts was bitter hatred, but politeness and gentle breeding toned their actions to suavity that was sometimes mistaken for weakness by a race that has never been noted for its subtle sense of discrimination.