CHAPTER XI.

Cronje's Surrender and the Occupation of Bloemfontein.

Cronje Hard Pressed--Cronje Capitulates--Cronje and Roberts Meet--The Detailed Report of Roberts--Kruger Willing to Compromise--From Modder River to Bloemfontein--Kruger and Steyn's Address to Lord Salisbury--Lord Salisbury's Answer--The British Cordially Greeted in Bloemfontein--The Press on Mediation

Official List.

of the Royal Canadian Soldiers Gone to South Africa

NOTE.--Official lists of Second and Third Contingents not being complete at time of issuing FIRST VOLUME, they will be inserted in full in SECOND VOLUME.

Illustrations.

The Illustrations in this volume have NO FOLIOS. There are 64 FULL PAGES of PLATES, and 448 pages of reading matter, making a total of 512 pages.

Glossary of Boer Terms.

That the readers of this volume may understand the meaning of certain Boer names and words which the author has found it necessary to use, we append the following glossary of those most frequently employed:

Aarde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Earth, ground Afgang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Slope Baas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Master Beek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brook Berg . . . . . . . Mountain (the plural is formed by adding en) Boer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Farmer Boom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tree Boschveldt . . . . . . . . . . . An open plain covered with bush Broek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marsh, pool Buitenlander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Foreigner Burg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A town Burgher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A citizen Commandeer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To levy troops Commando . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A body of armed men Daal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A valley Dorp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A village Drift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A ford Dusselboom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pole of an ox wagon Fontein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A spring or fountain Gebied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . District Hout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wood, timber Inspan . . . . . . . . . . To harness or tether horses or cattle Jonkher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gentleman of the Volks Raad Karroo . . . . . . . A geographical term for a certain district. In Hottentot, a "dry place" Kerel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A chap, or fellow Klei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clay Kloof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A valley or ravine Kop, or Kopje . . . . . . . . . . . . A hill or small mountain Kraal . . . . . . . . . . . . A place of meeting, headquarters Kruger . . . . . . . . . The family name of present president of South African Republic Krantz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A precipice Laager . . . . A fortified camp, but often applied to any camp, fortified or not Landdrost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Local governor Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Course, channel Modder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mud Mooi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pretty Nachtmal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lord's Supper Nieuwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Oom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Uncle Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bed of a dried-up salt marsh Poort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A passage between mountains Raad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Senate Raadsher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Senator Raadhuis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Senate hall Raadzael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parliament house Rand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edge, margin Rooinek . . . . . Term of contempt applied to British by Boers Ruggens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A barren, hilly country Schantze . . . . . . A heap of stones used to protect a marksman against opposing rifle fire Slim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cunning, crafty Sluit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A ditch Spruit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creek Staat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . State Stad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A town or city Transvaal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Across the valley Trek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A journey Trekken . . . . . . . . . . . . . To travel, or pull away from Uit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Outside Uitspan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To unharness, to stop Uitlander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . An outsider or newcomer Vaal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Valley Veldt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A prairie, or treeless plain Veldtheer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The general in command Vley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A prairie-like meadow Volks Raad . . . . . . . . . House of commons or representatives Voortrekkers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pioneers Vrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Housewife Witwaterstrand . . . . . . . . . . . The edge of the White Water Zuid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South

The correct pronunciation of Boer words is very difficult to a speaker of the English tongue, hence the attempt to give it in above glossary is omitted. The language is as peculiar to South Africa as the jargon French of lower Louisiana is to that country and even more unlike Holland Dutch than the Creole dialect is unlike Parisian French. While the Boer speech was primarily Dutch, it has been so modified by isolation from the mother country for more than two centuries, and by contact with the native African tribes, and by the influx of French, Spanish and Maylay elements, that a native Hollander is scarcely able to understand it, even when written, and to speak it, as the Boers do, he finds impossible.