In the Concentration Camps which the English established in the summer of the year 1900 for the accommodation of the women and children in the South African Republics, the pestilences soon gained the upper hand. Lord Roberts had made arrangements to concentrate the families of the Boers in camps; since the farms of the Boers were systematically burned, these camps were supposed to protect their wives and children against starvation, and at the same time the wives and children served as hostages for their husbands and fathers. When the location of these camps was decided upon, not sanitary, but military considerations were taken into account; it was necessary that they should be controlled from a near-by fortress. They soon became overcrowded, the supply of water was inadequate, and there was much uncleanliness. The inhabitants of the camps were mostly women, children, and old men; thus, for example, in October 1901, of the people living in the camps in the Orange Free State, 55 per cent were children under fifteen years of age, 31.9 per cent were women, and 13.1 per cent were men, mostly old men. According to the reports submitted to Parliament the condition of health in the Concentration Camps in Natal and in the Cape Colony was not unfavourable, but in those in Transvaal and Orange it was very bad. The following statistics, covering the time between June and September 1901, relate to the Concentration Camps in the Transvaal:[309] NUMBER OF INHABITANTS. _Month._ _Men._ _Women._ _Children._ _Total._ June 8,576 16,078 19,811 44,465 July 9,665 20,012 24,462 54,139 August 10,496 22,036 25,983 58,515 September 10,581 22,226 26,599 59,406 —————— Average 54,131 NUMBER OF DEATHS. _Month._ _Men._ _Women._ _Children._ _Total._ _Annual death-rate._ June 26 48 310 384 103·6 July 51 118 748 917 203·2 August 32 185 1,014 1,231 252·5 September 75 165 1,014 1,254 253·3 ————— Average 209·8 In regard to the Orange Free State the following statistics, including the month of October, were compiled: