o
continue the struggle so long. If the Boers had not been so wonderfully
resourceful, and understood so well how to lighten their burdens and
solve their problems, they never could have held out so long.

Surrounded on almost every side by British dominions, with all imports
cut off, they were bound to fall back on their own limited resources.
When these were exhausted, they had to plan some way out of the
difficulty. And so ingeniously did they contrive to find the wherewithal
for the prosecution of the war, and the necessaries of life, that it
must have appeared hopeless to the enemy at times that the Republicans
should ever be reduced to such an extremity that they could help
themselves no longer.

And this is the way they planned. When their boots wore out, men were
appointed to tan hides and make boots; even the women busied themselves
in this kind of work. When there was a great scarcity of soap,--an
article used also by Boers,--the women boiled a serviceable substance
with the help of the ashes of various weeds. When the British began
destroying the mills everywhere mills were mounted on waggons and
carried off on the approach of the enemy. When tobacco failed the
burghers, Nature made provision once more. Leaves of different kinds of
trees were taken, dried and soaked in a weak solution of tobacco
extract, and when dry these leaves answered the purpose of tobacco. The
fine handicraft of great-grandmothers in the spinning of wool was
revived. The women-folk, constructing spinning-wheels from old
sewing-machines, spun wool beautifully, and knitted socks and other
articles as fine and as strong as any that can be bought in shops. When
the English took or burnt all their vehicles they reconstructed others
from the remnants of the burnt ones. One woman was seen with a cart in
which two plough wheels were placed. It looked strange, but answered the
purpose well enough. When salt was not to be had for love or money,
wells were dug in the pans and salt water was found, from which, by a
process of evaporation, salt was obtained. In this manner one problem
after the other was solved. As to their clothes, overcoats were made of
sheep-skins, and some burghers wore complete suits made of leather. The
worn-out clothes were patched with soft leather and then they were said
to be "armoured." Besides this there was the "shaking out" process, as
it was called by the burghers. The Boers thought that they were quite
justified in