Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-02

country which we had developed by the
sweat OF our brow, and so there was Ma
1uba Hill. You know about that?" Here
Mr. Kruger blinked slyly and n laugh went
around among the Beers. so. now con-
tinued Dom Paul. taking up his pipe and
dropping into parallels, the gold fields are
like beautiful rich young woman. Every
body wants her. and when they cannot get
her they do not want any one else to pos
sess her"
Can the English starve you out?" I
then asked Dom Paul
III the Lord wills it, yes" he replied. IF
not. the English can build n wall around
us as high as Jericho. and we will live
and prosper" BY cutting off all supplies
the English military expect and hope to
speedily bring the Beers to terms in event
OF war. Against this Kruger has provided
py building Storehouses and granaries.
where meat and grain kept in great
quantities.
The great drawback to the Transvaal is
that she lacks a seaport The most con-
Venfent one is Delagoa bay. owned by the
Portuguese. AS Portugal is mortgaged to
England. the latter country controls 1t. I
asked Mr. Kruger II he intended taking this
port. but he only replied: Cursed be he
who removes his neighbours landmarks"
An Undermined Town.
Towering over Johannesburg is big
fort. and working in subterranean pas
sages the Beers. it is said. have undermined
the whole town. even to Commissioner
street. where the pride of Johannesburg
buildings are located. The Beers can mus
ter 300" men, all well armed and good
marksmen They have warehouses full of
ammunition. and could AUTOMATICALLY with
their present defenses and power TO wreck
Johannesburg and the mines. afford suffi-
cient menace to Great Britain to make her
hesitate.
Mr.. Kruger is now seventy-six years old,
and has been elected to the presidency four
times His salary is $500 year with
Sl,1o for coffee This he drinks black and
hof fhn h,,-r
the hair off dog. His life has certainly
been remarkable one, and at different
stages he has been a farmer herdsman
hunter: soldier. clergyman. ambassador.
triumvir. fnancier. head of the army and
Is now serving his fourth term as presi-
dent In recent years he has bought and
sold land good deal. and is reputed to be
very wealthy. His habits and method of
living are so simple. however, that he could
have saved nearly all his salary in these
years. which would give him tidy for
tune.
The Presidents Wife.
AS he closed our interview Mr. Kru-
ger went across the hall into a low CELL
inged. whitewas shed room and leaned for a
moment over placid faced, motherly lit
tie woman, who was seated on rocking
chair. darning stockings. This was Mrs.
Kruger who. though one never hears of
her, interested me nightly. because she
seemed so utterly obliViouS to the tur-
moils that are besetting her husbands ma
ton. She got Mr.. Krugers hat. escorted
him to the door and then Went back to her
work. 1t was difficult to think of her as
the first lady of the land. Yet she has been
Mr.. krugers constant helpmeet through
all the years of his public life. and their
affection for each other seems to have
grown with each succeeding year. She is
Mr.. kruger's second wife. and was Miss
Du Plessis. name of prominence in South
Africa. krugers first wife was an aunt
of Miss Du Plessis, and bore him one son,
who died. Sixteen children We're the fruit
of this second marriage. and of those seven
are living. The girls comfortably mar
ried to burghers in and about Pretoria, and
the boys take active interest in the
army. One son-in-law. Captain Eloff. has
made himself famous by building the most
expensive mansion in South Africa He
has accrued a fortune in real estate opera
tons. and is supposed to be worth 5000
600. One of kruger's sons acts his sec
rotary and another is captain of an infan-
try company. Mr.. and Mrs. Kruger live
in little two-story cottage, painted white
and covered in front with morning glory
vines Their ambition is to their
ton Independent of Great Britain. and
then spend their last days peacefully and
quietly in this little home.