The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-08
10 ubert. General of the Beers,

There Is man In South Africa toward
whom the eyes OF the world viii turn and
every movement VIII be watched WITH ihe
greatest interest. He viii be the central
figure OF the great hoStiiities that are
soon TO commence in Southern Africa
between the British forces and the Beers.
This man is Generai Petrus Jacobus
Joubert- When the diplomacy OF Presi-
dent Paul Kruger has failed 10 bring
about peace with honor TO the Transvaal
the work OF General Joubert viii begin.
and from the moment that the first gun
is fred then Joubert viii be the central
figure in the South African crisis.
This Boer general is a man rough OF
speech. but a fighter whose cana ollit'es
the English well appreciate. JouAart was
born in the Cape Colony in the latter part
Of 1881. being six years younger than
Dom" Paul Kruger There is some
French Huguenot blood in his veins. .rom
which he gets his bulldog tenacity.
When a boy seven years OF age Joubert
was taken by his parents TO the Orange
Free State. He was taught from early
childhood TO detest the British. and that
mas been one great force in his life. aud II
Is TO this hatred Of the British thar
Jouoert owes the fact that he IS one OF
the greatest fighters that ever command
ed body OF men in an African campaign.
At an early age he learned how TO ham
die a gun and TO shoot with remarkable
accuracy. He was a young man when he
went 10 the Transvaal He soon made
| his power felt among the sturdy Beers
of those days. II was always said that
Joubert could lead a body of men more
successfully against hostile natives than
nfh IL O.. 81
came about that when there was an ugly
uprising among the natives that Joubert
was called upon TO lead detachment of
Beers TO queH the rebellion. In a very
short time the natives came to respect the
/ fighting qualities OF Joubert, and his pres
ence at the head of a Boer regiment had
marked effect on the natives
In appearance Joubert is about five
feet nine inches in height, stoutly built.
has a bushy gray beard. and a face
tanned by the African sun. There Is not
an ounce of superfiOus flesh on his per-
son. He is as strong as an OK and LOS
sesses an endurance that is remarkable
for a man of his age.
The writer first met this Boer general
in the latter part Of 1879 At that time
Joubert was one of the triumvirate who
were planning the rebellion 10 overthrow
/ British rule in the Transvaal. The others
were Kruger and Pretorius, who founded
the republics Of the Orange Free State
and the Transvaal. In those days Jou-
| bert was impetuous and il required all
| the sagacity Of Kruger to keep him in
check in order that he might not rush
| hostilities before the best moment had
come to strike the blow for freedom. IL
was hard work for Kruger but he man
aged TO do it. When the time, however,
came to fight the English, Joubert was
given complete control of all the ,f1er
forces. Kruger in all the battles took
his orders from Joubert and obeyad them
without a question, for the Transvaal
president had implicit faith in MS gen
erslship In 1894 the writer had the good
fortune to spend few days with zen
eral Kruger in the northern portion II
the Transvaa. while he was there with
large force Of men putting down a Ie-
bellion among the Malaboch natives.
Though there were over 5000 natives up
in arms, and Joubert had only LOCO a his
command, he put down the fighting Mala-
boch in very short time. capturing thei-
chief, who was a woman-the one. It Is
said, from whom Haggard received his
inspiration for his novel, She"
There is not an inch of the Transvaal
that Joubert does not know. and now. n
his sixty-eighth year, he Is as fun NJ IRE
and fight as he was in 1881, when he de-
feated the British at Majuba Hin. Beside
being the general of the Boer forces.
Joubert is also the vice president Of the
Transvaal, and next to Kruger stands
nearer to the hearts Of the Beers than
any man in the Transvaal. His notable
battles have been: Defeating the British
at Laing's Mex; defeating the Natal
troops, under General Cooley. at Majuba
Hill; completely suppressing the Swazies
In 1895, feat which the British were I'M
able to accomplish. though they tried Il
for years and finally turned over Swazie-
land to the Beers in 1895 as being a Dad
egg; but It did not take old Joubert long
TO trim the Swazies, and they are now
among the best behaved of the native
subjects Of old Kruger; and whipping
Jameson when he tried 10 raid johannes
burg.
This is the kind OF a man that the
British forces will have TO contend with
in the coming great struggle Behind
this man are also men Of like caiibre.
men who do not knaw when they are de-
feated.