THE BUSH-BOYS,

OR

ADVENTURES IN THE WILDS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA.

CHAPTER I.

THE BOERS.

Hendrik Von Bloom was a _boer_.

When I called Hendrik Von Bloom a boer, I did not mean him any
disrespect. Quite the contrary.

All the same it may be well to explain that Mynheer Hendrik had not
always been a boer. He could boast of a somewhat higher condition--that
is, he could boast of a better education than the mere Cape farmer
usually possesses, as well as some experience in wielding the sword. He
was not a native of the colony, but of Holland; and he had found his way
to the Cape, not as a poor adventurer seeking his fortune, but as an
officer in a Dutch regiment then stationed there.

His soldier-service in the colony was not of long duration. A certain
cherry-cheeked, flaxen-haired Gertrude--the daughter of a rich boer--had
taken a liking to the young lieutenant; and he in his turn became vastly
fond of her. The consequence was, that they got married. Gertrude's
father dying shortly after, the large farm, with its full stock of
horses, and Hottentots, broad-tailed sheep, and long-horned oxen, became
hers. This was an inducement for her soldier-husband to lay down the
sword and turn "vee-boer," or stock farmer, which he consequently did.

These incidents occurred many years previous to the English becoming
masters of the Cape colony. When that event came to pass, Hendrik Von
Bloom was already a man of influence in the colony and "field-cornet" of
his district, which lay in the beautiful county of Graaf Reinet. He was
then a widower, the father of a small family. The wife whom he had
fondly loved,--the cherry-cheeked, flaxen-haired Gertrude--no longer
lived.

History will tell you how the Dutch colonists, discontented with English
rule, rebelled against it. The ex-lieutenant and field-cornet was one of
the most prominent among these rebels. History will also tell you how
the rebellion was put down; and how several of those compromised were
brought to execution. Von Bloom escaped by flight; but his fine property
in the Graaf Reinet was confiscated and given to another.

Many years after we find him living in a remote district beyond the
great Orange River, leading the life of a "trek-boer,"--that is, a
nomade farmer, who has no fixed or permanent abode, but moves with his
flocks from place to place, wherever good pastures and water may tempt
him.

From about this time dates my knowledge of the field-co