t that time the provision of food and shelter for each new
influx of refugees was a matter of great difficulty. Fortunately
Norval's Pont, being nearer the base of supplies than the other
camps, had a few marquees to spare. In two of these I opened the
first camp school, remaining for a fortnight as its headmaster.
The rest of the teachers were found in the camp itself. It was
apparent from the first that the school would be a success. The
children flocked to it, and the mothers who brought them were
well content with the arrangement that the religious instruction
should be given in Dutch and other lessons in English. Here, as
in several other camps which were visited later, I found that a
school, taught through the medium of Dutch, had already been
opened by some of the more serious-minded of the people. In this
case, an offer was made to me by the Commandant to suppress this
school and to send the children to my marquees. This I refused,
and in less than two months I had the gratification of knowing
that teachers and children had come voluntarily to the Government
school, and that the tents in which they had been taught formed
one of a row of six which were needed to accommodate the rapidly
increasing number of scholars."[306]

[Footnote 306: Report on "The Development of Education in the
Transvaal and Orange River Colony."]

[Sidenote: Over-sea teachers.]

After this initial success Mr. Sargant made arrangements, first from
Bloemfontein, and afterwards from Pretoria, for the establishment of
such schools in all the refugee camps; and by the end of May, 1901,
there were 4,000 children in the camp schools, as against 3,500 in the
town schools of the two colonies. In the following month it became
evident that the local supply of teachers would be insufficient to
meet the demands of the rapidly increasing schools; and Lord Milner
devoted much of his time during his leave of absence to making
arrangements for the introduction of a number of well-trained teachers
from England, and subsequently from the over-sea colonies. Before
these welcome reinforcements could arrive, however, the number of
children in the camp schools, apart from the Government schools in the
towns, had risen to 17,500, and the supply of South African teachers
was exhausted. "In many cases," says Mr. Sargant, "the services of
young men and