The Orange people of Bloemfontein were easy to deal with, but that did not mean the Orange people in the countryside were the same as those in the cities.
Because the Orange Free State's economy was much like that of the former Republic of the Transvaal, most people in the Orange Free State lived in the countryside.
The rural Orange people were each dependent on large landowners, so they were no easier to manage than those in the cities. Moreover, the large influx of Transvaal people had further strengthened the Transvaal presence in the countryside.
The Transvaal Provisional Government had also set its sights on the Orange countryside, and its claws, the Transvaal Restoration Army, began "going down to the countryside."
In towns such as Bloemfontein, the Transvaal Restoration Army had an easier time getting its way, but once they left the cities, they ran into hard nails.
Bosland Village, west of Bloemfontein.
A squad of Transvaal Restoration Army cavalry attempted to enter Bosland Village to collect taxes.
"What! Collect taxes?" Karim, the chief of Bosland Village, looked at this group of unwelcome guests with some amusement.
"Chief Karim, this is an order from the Governor's Mansion in Bloemfontein, so we hope you can understand the government's difficulties."
Before Karim, these Transvaal Restoration Army soldiers did not dare act arrogantly, because twenty or thirty armed men beside Karim were glaring at them like tigers watching prey.
"This is truly a joke. I've lived in Orange for so many years and never paid taxes. You're the first people who've dared ask me for money."
Karim was not joking. The two Boer countries, like the United States before them, simply had no tax-collecting departments, so even Karim's grandfather's generation had never paid taxes.
"Times have changed, Chief Karim. Orange used to be