The Petticoat Commando Part 17

Without further comment the figures are borrowed from the official reports of the month of April or published in the _Official Gazette_.

TABLE C

RETURN OF DEATHS OF THE IMPRISONED BOERS IN THE CAMPS OF BLOEMFONTEIN AND KROONSTAD (ORANGE FREE STATE) ACCORDING TO THE "OFFICIAL GAZETTE."

--------------------------+---------------------------------+ | Number of Deaths. | +-----+-------+----------+--------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | Children | | Camps. | Men.| Women.| under 8 | Total. | | | | yrs. | | --------------------------+-----+-------+----------+--------+ Bloemfontein from April | | | | | 2nd till July 2nd, 1901 | 33 | 80 | 198 | 311 | | | | | | Kroonstad from April | | | | | 1st till May 16th, 1901 | 8 | 8 | 41 | 57 | | | | | | Kroonstad from May 26th | | | | | till June 23rd, 1901 | 9 | 12 | 26 | 47 | --------------------------+-----+-------+----------+--------+

--------------------------+----------------------------------------------+ | Causes of Death. | --------------------------+----------+--------+----------+---------+-----+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Lung and|Typhoid, | | | Camps. |Infectious|Heart |Dysentery,|Debility,| Per | |Disease. |Disease.|Diarrhoea.|Old Age. |1000.| --------------------------+----------+--------+----------+---------+-----+ Bloemfontein from April | | | | | | 2nd till July 2nd, 1901 | 101 | 99 | 107 | 4 | 309 | | | | | | | Kroonstad from April | | | | | | 1st till May 16th, 1901 | 15 | 16 | 24 | 2 | 195 | | | | | | | Kroonstad from May 26th | | | | | | till June 23rd, 1901 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 6 | 213 | --------------------------+----------+--------+----------+---------+-----+

Number of prisoners till June 1st: Bloemfontein, 4,339; Kroonstad, 2,638.

TABLE D

RETURNS OF DEATHS AND DISEASE OF THE IMPRISONED BOERS IN THE ENGLISH CAMPS OF THE TRANSVAAL DURING APRIL 1901.

----------------+---------------------------------------+ | Number of Prisoners. | +---------+---------+---------+---------+ | | | | | | Men. | Women. |Children.| Total. | Camps. | | | | | ----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ Barberton | 38 | 151 | 236 | 425 | Middelburg | 191 | 475 | 626 | 1,292 | Irene | 892 | 1,242 | 1,569 | 3,703 | Johannesburg | 505 | 1,200 | 1,465 | 3,170 | Potchefstroom | 322 | 1,255 | 4,147 | 5,724 | Klerksdorp | 120 | 350 | 521 | 991 | Krugersdorp | 234 | 381 | 473 | 1,088 | Vereeniging | 175 | 312 | 346 | 833 | Heidelberg | 377 | 327 | 432 | 1,136 | Standerton | 271 | 313 | 653 | 1,237 | Volksrust | 452 | 1,459 | 1,667 | 3,578 | Mafeking | 96 | 140 | 529 | 765 | +---------+---------+---------+---------+ Total | 3,673 | 7,605 | 12,664 | 23,942 | ----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+

----------------+-----------------------------------------------------+ | Number of Cases during April 1901. | +---------+---------+-----------+--------+------------+ | | | | | Deaths | | Men. | Women. | Children. | Total. | during the | Camp. | | | | | Month. | ----------------+---------+---------+-----------+--------+------------+ Barberton | 6 | 26 | 27 | 59 | 4 | Middelburg | 29 | 46 | 55 | 130 | 9 | Irene | 51 | 85 | 181 | 317 | 49 | Johannesburg | 3 | 26 | 110 | 139 | 90 | Potchefstroom | 3 | 30 | 29 | 62 | 24 | Klerksdorp | -- | 7 | 12 | 19 | 2 | Krugersdorp | -- | -- | 2 | 2 | -- | Vereeniging | 5 | 8 | 11 | 24 | 5 | Heidelberg | 13 | 21 | 32 | 66 | 2 | Standerton | 10 | 17 | 20 | 47 | 35 | Volksrust | 14 | 19 | 33 | 66 | 26 | Mafeking | 12 | 96 | 44 | 152 | 4 | +---------+---------+-----------+--------+------------+ Total | 146 | 381 | 556 | 1,083 | 250 | ----------------+---------+---------+-----------+--------+------------+

This table is compiled from an official report by an attendant of the Prisoner-Camps.

CHAPTER XIII

A CONSULAR VISIT TO IRENE CAMP

The story of the pet.i.tions, related in the previous chapter, had, as I have said before, taken place during the time of Hansie's sojourn at Irene. She knew nothing about it at the time because, naturally, her mother's letters contained no hint of the agitation with the Consuls at Pretoria, and she was absorbed in her own "agitations" in the Camp, her stormy interviews with the Commandant, her hopeless struggles against disease and death.

If ever a Concentration Camp was mismanaged, Irene was, and the six volunteer nurses, not being paid servants, but having taken up their work for love and at no small sacrifice to themselves, left no stone unturned to bring about the necessary improvements.

How futile their poor little efforts were! How powerless they found themselves against the tide of wilful misunderstanding, deliberate neglect, unpardonable mismanagement!

The number of deaths in the Camps increased every day, and Hansie, wiping the h.o.a.r-frost from her hair when she woke, half-frozen, in her tent, wondered how many of her little patients had been mercifully released by death that night.

For always, when she resumed her work, there were _childish_ forms stretched out in their last sleep.

One morning, when she found that there had been five deaths during the night, in her ward alone, she took the train to Pretoria, straight to General Maxwell's office.

"Come and see for yourself, General. The people are starving, and they lie on the cold ground with little or no covering. Fuel they have nothing to speak of, medical comforts are always out of stock----"

With a heavy frown he asked:

"Why are these things not reported to me?"

"I don't know," she answered miserably. "We thought you knew. We can do nothing with the Commandant----"

A great deal more was said on both sides, revelations, not to be repeated here, made by the unhappy girl, and the Governor's sympathetic face grew stern with righteous indignation as she proceeded.

"I will investigate the matter for myself," he said. "But you look ill--why don't you come home and take a good rest?"

"I am only sick with misery, General; but if you will speak to the Commandant and insist on better management in the Camp, we may still be able to save a great many lives. There is no time to lose. If the people are not provided with better food and warmer covering during this intensely cold weather, the mortality will be something appalling next month."

A few days later, one beautifully crisp and clear Sunday morning, General Maxwell and his A.D.C., Major Hoskins, rode over to Irene to pay the Camp a surprise visit--and a "surprise" it must have been indeed, of no pleasant nature, to the Commandant, judging by his black looks afterwards.

The General asked to see Miss van Warmelo and demanded to be shown through her ward, inspected her worst cases, visited the overcrowded tents. He seemed much impressed by the scenes he witnessed that day, and issued orders to the effect that all complaints from her ward were to be attended to promptly, and that a distribution of blankets and warm clothing should be made immediately.

There were no blankets "in stock" the day before, but they were produced on this occasion with remarkable alacrity.

The Governor inspected the foodstuffs and the small supply of medical comforts (which was _always_, I may say here, kept in stock for inspection, and was not touched for the use of the inmates of the Camp, when the stores ran out).

On leaving, the Governor said to Hansie with marked emphasis:

"I shall be obliged if you will make your complaints _to me_ in future."

Her ward was now in a somewhat better condition, and she was preparing to leave for home for a month's rest and recreation.

Although there were never more than six volunteer nurses in the Camp at a time, there were quite as many again in Pretoria, waiting to take the place of those obliged to go home on sick leave, and one of them was immediately sent to take charge of Hansie's ward.

Tragic were the parting scenes witnessed in that ward next day, and, as Hansie laughingly extricated herself from the crowd, she promised to come back "very soon," little thinking that she would be in their midst again on the morrow.

The new nurse, an inexperienced girl, after having gone through the ward once with Hansie, quietly fainted away.

"Shall I stay?" Hansie asked her, when she had recovered.

"Oh no; I must get used to it. But what must I do when the babies are dying like that?"

"You must pray to G.o.d to take them quickly. Very little can be done to save them. Report your worst cases to the doctor regularly every day; then, at least, the responsibility does not rest on your shoulders."

It was terrible, leaving them all in such a state.

Arrived at Harmony, Hansie found a note from Mr. Cinatti asking her to come over to the Consulate immediately, because Dr. Kendal Franks, who was visiting Irene next day, wished to see her before he left.

She went at once, and found a dinner-party in progress at the Consulate, the German Consul, Baron Ostmann, the Austrian Consul, Baron Pitner and his wife, one of the directors of the Dynamite Company, and Dr. Kendal Franks. She was shown into a private study, where Mr. Cinatti joined her, in great excitement.

"Come in to dinner," he urged, but Hansie wished to see only Dr.

Franks and said she would wait.

"Tell me," she said before Mr. Cinatti left her. "Is there any danger for my mother in connection with those pet.i.tions?"

"Oh no, my dear, I think not. I hope not. The penalty" (he said "penality") "would be very great. You won't mention it to Dr. Franks, will you?"

"Of course not," Hansie laughed, and when he flew in a few moments later, with a silver dish containing bon-bons, he whispered excitedly: "He's coming now. Be on your guard! Take some of these, they contain _rum_." Dear Mr. Cinatti, how he enjoyed an atmosphere of danger! How he revelled in secret adventures, and how he would have appreciated the conspiracies at Harmony, at a later date, if it had been possible for the van Warmelos to take him into their confidence!