orks,
undertook the management of the project, and they continued to preside
over the labours of several hundred women who worked in the High Court
Building in Pretoria until the British forces entered the city. Thousands
of suits of clothing and overcoats were made and forwarded to the burghers
in the field to protect them against the rigors of the South African
winter's nights.

One of the most conspicuous parts played in the war by the Boer women was
that of urging their husbands and sons to abbreviate their
leaves-of-absence and return to their commandos. The mothers and wives of
the burghers of the Republics gave many glorious examples of their
unselfishness and deep love of country, but none was of more material
benefit than their efforts to preserve the strength of the army in the
field. When the burghers returned to their homes on furloughs of from five
days to two weeks the wives urged their immediate return, and, in many
instances, insisted that they should rejoin their commandos forthwith upon
pain of receiving no food if they remained at home. It was one of the
Boer's absolute necessities to have a furlough every two or three months,
and unless it was given to him by the officers he was more than likely to
take it without the prescribed permission. When burghers without such
written permits reached their homes they were not received by their wives
with the customary cordiality, and the air of frigidity which encompassed
them soon compelled them to return to the field. The Boer women despised a
coward, or a man who seemed to be shirking his duty to his country, and,
not unlike their sisters in countries of older civilisation, they
possessed the power of expressing their disapprobation of such acts. It
was not uncommon for the women to threaten to take their husbands' post of
duty if the men insisted upon remaining at home, and invariably the ruse
was efficient in securing the burghers' early return.

During the war there were many instances to prove that the Boer women of
the end of the century inherited the bravery and heroic fortitude of their
ancestors who fell victims to the Zulu assegais in the Natal valley, in
1838. The Boer women were as anxious to take an active part in the
campaign as their grandmothers were at Weenen, and it was only in
obedience to the rules formulated by the officers that Amazon corps were
absent from the commandos. Instances were not rare of women trespassing
these regulations,