The Petticoat Commando Part 16

Mr. Gordon, Consul-General for United States.

The latter lived in Johannesburg, but attended all the meetings held in Pretoria in connection with the Concentration Camps.

From General Maxwell the committee of investigation got permission to inspect the Camp at Irene, called the "Model Camp," and with the statistics obtained there, as well as the official statistics of all the camps in the Transvaal, the Diplomatic Corps drew up a report, which went to prove that unless immediate steps were taken to arrest the appalling death-rate, the Boer population in the camps would be extinct within a period of three years.

Copies of this report were sent to the Military Governor and Lord Kitchener, and to ten foreign Powers, with copies of the second pet.i.tion.

What diplomatic correspondence then pa.s.sed between England and the foreign Powers we shall never know, for the utmost secrecy was observed throughout; but what we do know is, that the famous commission of inquiry, the "Whitewash Committee," so-called by the Pro-Boers in England, was very soon afterwards sent out. It consisted of six English ladies, and as a result of their investigations some of the inland camps were removed to the coast, the rations increased, additional medical and other comforts provided, and the general condition of the camps improved to such an extent that after some months the death-rate decreased considerably, continuing to do so until it became nearly normal. But, as I have said before, not until over 20,000 women and children had been sacrificed as a direct result of being torn from their homes, exposed to the elements, and herded together under conditions which only the strongest could survive. It would take too much s.p.a.ce to insert copies of the pet.i.tions here, but they are to be found in Hansie's Dutch book on the Irene Concentration Camp, published in Holland from her diary a year after the war.

The following statistics of what is known as "Black October 1901" are taken from the Blue Books of England and will give the reader an idea of the number of camps in the Transvaal alone, the number of their inhabitants, and the full death-rate within the period of thirty-one days:--

TOTAL CENSUS OF DEATHS, ETC. ETC., OCCURRING IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, TRANSVAAL ONLY, DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 1901.

Camps. Census. Deaths.

1. Barberton 1,907 12 2. Balmoral 2,580 70 3. Belfast 1,397 33 4. Heidelberg 2,173 41 5. Irene 3,972 101 6. Johannesburg 2,937 29 7. Klerksdorp 3,822 176 8. Krugersdorp 5,500 90 9. Middelburg 5,602 127 10. Mafeking 4,783 410 11. Nylstroom 1,819 52 12. Pietersburg 3,598 41 13. Potchefstroom 7,467 90 14. Standerton 3,005 215 15. Vereeniging 920 9 16. Volksrust 5,280 47 17. Vryburg 1,256 53 ------ ------ 58,018 1,596 ------ ------

During this terrible month there was a population of 112,619 in all the Concentration Camps in South Africa. There were 3,156 deaths, i.e.

a death-rate of 28 per 1,000 per month. After "Black October" the mortality decreased steadily, as will be seen from the following figures:

Population. Deaths.

November 1901 117,974 2,807 December 1901 117,017 2,380 January 1902 114,376 1,805 February 1902 113,905 638 March 1902 111,508 402 April 1902 112,733 298 May 1902 116,572 196

CONSULAR REPORT ON THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS

The following is the Report on the Concentration Camps by the Committee appointed by the Consular Corps of the Transvaal in response to a renewed appeal addressed to them by the Committee of Boer Women of Pretoria. The appeal was supported by three of the Consuls.

The Committee, which you have appointed to examine the situation in the prisoners' camps, where Boer women are concentrated, though they could not always obtain the required accurate information, have gained sufficient results to arrive at the conclusions as laid down in short in the following report:--

I.--In order to formulate a clear idea of the situation the Committee has laid down the following tables:

(a) Showing the population and deaths in the Camps during April 1901, compiled from the official reports of the Inspector-General of the Camps.

(b) The death-rate in the Camps of the Transvaal calculated from Table A, as well as from reports published in the Official Gazette, and according to other trustworthy information.

(c) The death-rate in the Camps at Bloemfontein and Kroonstad, compiled from the notices in the Official Gazette of the Orange Free State.

(d) Diseases and deaths according to Official Gazette.

II.--Although the returns are not complete through absence of returns for whole weeks in the official publications, we may arrive at the following conclusions:

1. That the death-percentage in the Camps surpa.s.ses all hitherto-known proportions.

2. That the death-rate amounts to 14 times that of Pretoria, which has, according to Dr. Stroud, an average of 25 per thousand per year.

3. That the death-rate among the children confined to the Camps has increased to an alarming extent.

The Committee, basing their verdict partly on the repeated a.s.sertions of public opinion, on the communications of eye-witnesses, on the evidence given by certain witnesses in a case before the Military Court at Pretoria, and finally on the personal observations of four members of the Consular Corps, to whom permission was granted to visit the Camp at Irene, feel compelled to believe the princ.i.p.al causes of diseases, carrying in their train such an abnormal death-rate, to be:

1. The difficulties and misery and privations to which the Boer families are subject after having been driven from their farms (their journeys often lasting about 20 days).

2. The insufficient quant.i.ty and frequently even bad quality of articles of food distributed among them. Often the food given to the children is in every respect inadequate to their wants.

3. The great fall in temperature during the night.

4. The insufficient protection against cold experienced in the tents by the healthy population, and all the more by the invalids.

5. The absence of clothing and blankets.

6. The insufficient providing for invalids and the inadequate state of medical stores.

7. The want of employees for the sanitary service in the Camps.

In view of the importance of the problem put before the Committee, they have drawn up the above report and have sent copies of same to all the members of the Consular Corps.

(Signed) S.S. PITNER.

P. CINATTI.

BN. OSTMANN.

TABLE A

DIRECT CAUSES OF THE DEATHS IN THE CAMPS OF THE IMPRISONED BOERS, COMPOSED ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER ARTICLES TILL JULY 10TH, 1901.

Diseases. Number of Deaths.

Measles 123 Inflammation of the lungs 50 Dysentery 45 Inflammation of the bowels 35 Consumption 33 Diarrhoea 29 Bronchitis 27 Old age 21 Inflammation of the stomach 15 Malaria 18 Cramps 15 Measles and bronchitis 14 Typhoid fever 14 Weakness (Debility) 13 Heart disease 12 Croup 11 Old age 11 Cramps and inflammation of the stomach 10 Measles and weakness 11 Lying-in fever and child-birth illness 5 Measles and inflammation of the lungs 4 Inflammation of the brain 4 Diphtheria 4 Consumption and measles 4 Disease of the kidneys 6 Measles and diarrhoea 3 Measles and dysentery 3 Exhaustion 3 Inflammation of the bowels 3 Debility 2 Heart disease 4 Inflammation of the kidneys and debility, diseases through teething, asthma, influenza 6 Various 26 Not cla.s.sified 57 --- 641

_Summary and Percentage_

Cases. Percentage.

Simple and complicated measles 149 23 Diseases of the respiratory organs 106 17 Diseases of the bowels 105 17 Fever 67 10 Debility, old age, consumption 75 12 Convulsions 15 2 Debility through old age 13 2 Heart disease 12 2 Not cla.s.sified 57 9 Various 42 6 --- 641 cases.

TABLE B

DEATH-RATE OF THE IMPRISONED BOERS IN THE CAMPS OF THE TRANSVAAL ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL REPORTS AND TRUSTWORTHY INFORMATION.

------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | | Camps and Months. | Number of prisoners + | under 8 years. | | | +-----------+-----------+-----------+ | | | | | Male. | Female. | Total. | ------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ Middelburg April | 666 | 626 | 1,292 | Potchefstroom April | 1,577 | 4,147 | 5,724 | May 1-17th | 1,605[B] | 4,207[B] | 5,812[C] | Standerton April | 584 | 553 | 1,137 | Volksrust April | 1,911 | 1,667 | 3,578 | Irene April | 2,134 | 1,589 | 3,703 | " May | 2,364[B] | 1,738[B] | 4,102[C] | " June | 2,593[B] | 2,007[B] | 4,600[C] | Johannesburg April | 1,705 | 1,465 | 3,170 | May 1-27th | 1,770[B] | 1,515[B] | 3,285[C] | All Camps in | | | | Transvaal April | 11,098 | 12,714 | 23,612 | ------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+ | Death Rate for the Period Indicated. | Camps and Months +------------------------+----------------------+ | Under 8 years. | Per 1,000 per ann. | | | Under 8 years. | +-------+--------+-------+------+--------+------+ | Male. | Female.| Total.| Male.| Female.| pr. | | | | | | | 1000 | ------------------------+-------+--------+-------+------+--------+------+ Middelburg April | 5 | 4 | 9 | 86 | 77 | 83 | Potchefstroom April | 7[A] | 17[A] | 24 | 53 | 39 | 54 | May 1-17th | 8 | 17 | 25 | 106 | 86 | 94 | Standerton April | 5[D] | 20[D] | 25 | 104 | 372 | 255 | Volkstust April | 5 | 21 | 26 | 32 | 153 | 87 | Irene April | 14[A] | 35[A] | 49 | 79 | 270 | 161 | " May | 19 | 49 | 68 | 58 | 331 | 200 | " June | 38[A] | 97[C] |135[E] | 177 | 588 | 366 | Johannesburg April | 9 | 82 | 91 | 62 | 681 | 349 | May 1-27th | 12 | 67 | 79 | 94 | 598 | 325 | All Camps in | | | | | | | Transvaal April | 69 | 171 |240 | 75 | 161 | 122 | ------------------------+-------+--------+-------+------+--------+------+

A: According to the proportion for the month of May.

B: According to the proportion for the month of April.

C: Average number from April till July 9th.

D: According to the proportion for Volksrust.

E: Statement by a nurse in service at Irene.