A West Pointer with the Boers /

by John Y. Fillmore Blake

Little Megs, who since the surrender has changed her name to Mrs. Jan—, took desperate chances on many occasions, and actually supplied the Boers near Pretoria with ammunition, clothing, boots, etc. Her father's farm was a few miles out of town, and she would get a permit to go there and back and bring in vegetables. She always drove out with four horses to her cart, and came back with two, leaving the others with the commando. Sometimes, English officers would accompany her, and often she felt much alarmed, but her coolness and nerve always brought her out all right. Several times she was under heavy fire, being caught between the Boer and English lines. Many shot and shell passed over her head and many came near catching her, but never did she waver. When all was over, she would pursue her way and deliver her contraband goods. She was in constant communication with a young lady, a cousin of hers, in far away Cape Colony. This cousin was a Miss Maggie Joubert, about twenty-three years old, and one of the pluckiest and most daring young ladies in the world. Her people are wealthy, but are Africanders to the backbone, and took the desperate chance of losing their property in order to help the cause of freedom. Most of our information as to what was going on in Cape Colony came from letters written by Miss Maggie Joubert to her little cousin Megs in Pretoria. Little Megs would give this information to Captain Naude, and he, in turn, would bring it out to the commandos, so our lines of communication were complete and our information genuine. Miss Joubert would write on one side of the paper an ordinary family letter, and leave the opposite side blank. On the blank side she would write with lemon juice for her ink, and tell all about the English, where they were, what they were doing, the location of forts, etc. She would also tell all about the Boer forces, where they were and what they were doing. She also sent these letters to prisoners in the far away Islands, and kept them well informed. She knew at least one in every place who knew her method.

For two years she kept this up, but about six months before peace was made, the English began to suspect her, because she wrote so many letters. To one of her letters to little Meg in Pretoria they applied the hot iron, and out came the lemon juice as black as ink. This exposed her, for the English now read all about the movements of their troops in the Colony, their location, etc. Two police were sent to arrest her at once. She was carried away to Wellington, and locked up in a cell. After remaining there for a week, she was taken to the Paarl and imprisoned. Neither her people or any one else was allowed to see her.

After a few weeks she was tried by a military court. This court tried to find out from her whether she had given any information to the enemy outside their lines. She always answered: "You have my letters, and must find out for yourselves." Little Megs was inside the English lines, and she was never in any way suspected of being a spy. The court found Miss Joubert guilty of treason, and sentenced her to five years hard labor. She told the court that she could stand just as much as they could give her. She was returned to her cell and very closely confined.

MISS MAGGIE JOUBERT
The beautiful Boer Spy who was imprisoned in an English cell for six months.

Lord Kitchener commuted the sentence to six months' imprisonment without hard labor. The matron of the prison secured her some silks and she spent her time making fancy articles. In the evening she would sing the Volkslied (National Anthem) and then say the Boer prisoner's prayer, one verse of which is as follows:

"When shall I be, shall I be returning
To my dear old plaats, to my good old home
Where the duiker, spring-bok, and Koedoe roam
And the hot fire of freedom is burning?"

Miss Joubert's daily rations consisted of one bottle of milk, one pound of bread, and one pound of meat. This food without change for six months, proved too much for her. She fell very ill, and how she lived to the end of the time, she cannot explain. She was considered a dangerous character, and a close damp cell must be her home, and in that home she was doomed to live or die on food that would probably kill a Kaffir.

Major Benson of the Intelligence Department, by way of consolation, told her that after enjoying the blessings of English liberty for two years, she had acted like a cur, and therefore deserved to suffer. She replied that she was proud of all her acts, and she was ready to suffer for them.

Several other ladies are lying in prison cells to-day charged with giving the Boers information, and probably will remain there until death comes to their rescue and frees them. Miss Joubert and her comrades who have been locked within prison cells all know what it is to be grossly insulted by the English officer, and all have suffered. Little Megs and her associates in Pretoria, and Miss Joubert and her companions in Cape Colony are all noble and grand women. The flame of patriotism glowed in their hearts. All were ready to be sacrificed to save the Africander people from being shackled with the chains of the slave. All spurned danger and faced death itself. They are patriots, and their names will endure.