E-text prepared by Jeannie Howse, Jonathan Ingram,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(/c/)

 

Transcriber's Note:


Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has been preserved.

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected in this text.
For a complete list, please see the end of this document.

 

 

THE WRITER

THE WRITERToList



THE PETTICOAT
COMMANDO

OR

BOER WOMEN IN SECRET SERVICE




By

JOHANNA BRANDT




WITH TEN ILLUSTRATIONS




MILLS & BOON, LIMITED
49 RUPERT STREET
LONDON, W.
Colonial Edition






Published 1913









To

HANSIE'S MOTHER

AS A PEACE-OFFERING
FOR HAVING BROUGHT HER INTO PUBLICITY
IN DIRECT OPPOSITION
TO HER WISHES





[vii]


FOREWORDToC


In introducing the English version of this book I venture to bespeak awelcome for it, not only for the light which it throws on somelittle-known incidents of the South African war, but also because ofthe keen personal interest of the events recorded. It is more than ahistory. It is a dramatic picture of the hopes and fears, the devotionand bitterness with which some patriotic women in Pretoria watchedand, as far as they could, took part in the war which was slowlydrawing to its conclusion on the veld outside.

I do not associate myself with the opinions expressed by the writer asto the causes of the war or the methods adopted to bring it to an end,or as to the policy which led to the Concentration Camps, and thecauses of the terrible mortality which prevailed during the firstmonths of their existence. On these matters many readers will holddifferent opinions from the writer, or will prefer to let judgment bein suspense and to look to the historian of the future for a finalverdict. We are still too near the events to be impartial. But thisbook does not challenge or invite controversy. Fortunately for SouthAfrica, most of us on both sides can now discuss the events of the warwithout bitterness and [viii]understand and respect the feelings of thosewho were most sharply divided by these events from ourselves.

The greater part of the narrative comes from a diary kept during thewar with unusual fullness and vividness. The difficulty experienced bythe writer of the diary in communicating to friends outside Pretoriainformation about what was passing inside, and in unburdening herselfof the feelings roused in her by the events of the war, made the diarymore than usually intimate. To understand fully many of the narr

...

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