The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-22
GEN. JOUBERT-FIGHTER
something About the Famous Trans
VaaI Commander.
From the Chicago Tribune.


FROM the Chicago Tribune.
,.fs etting that the man who won back
.-,.~so5euoe for the Beers should lead
.s.,, in their last fight for that which
49,, nr,ze so dearly. Gen. Joubert, in
-. v.avs a typical Boer-tall. burly,
hr,re profoundly attached to his coun-
49, 5as none of the obstinaey which usu-
M. marks the Boer character. He is 6S.
- +. tnrlling to think of this brave old
ito, leading the little Boer army
;rst the might of England. He is
u-abohlv wiser than Kruger, who earnest
=. bole,ss that the Beers can beat Eng
~ agafD as they did in 1881. Joubert is
- M such delusion. He knows the
LIVER of England. II leave it now to
Ero5 P" he said the other day. 1T may be
his will that the Transvaal shall perish. 1
can only do my best"
,fore tban his best, of course, he cannot
A. Rut the fear that this may be the
lat war he will lead will not deter Gen.
T,rhert from entering into the fray with
- grost hone that God may be on the side
81 The little battalions He will fight with
a sword in his hand and Bible in his
pocket 49,. ,,,.
and even progressive, in peace, he is fear
mi in war I well remember talking of
war with Verestchagin, the great war
nsirter who has taken part in the wars
70 has uainted. writes a Pretoria corre-
,nondent of a London paper. War" said
ver4stchagin makes beasts of us all.
The soldier forgets he is a man when he
,s cutting his fellowmen to pieces and
shooting them down like dogs. He fOrsets
when he is killing man, that somewhere
here is a little child crying for its faith
or What has he to do with that? 1t is
like killing game-I never remember feel
inc sorry that I had killed a man. That
was what I was there for. 1t is so alb
surd to be human in war. The savages are
the only logical fighters l ever knew; they
kin their men and eat them"
Joubert does not kill British soldiers and
eat them. but he does not pretend to find
room in war for pity and humanitarian
Ism How can you murder man gently?
he would probably ask if attacked on the
polnt. It was this terrible consistency of
Cen Joubert which nearly cost DR.. Jane
son and his fellow-raiders their lives.
The story is worth retelling. Everybody
remembers how cleverly Joubert trapped
the raiders But for his promptness that
page of history might have been written
in a different way But the Boer general
can do what no other general in the world
can 40. mobilize the whole of his army
within fortv-eight hours. 1t was this which
enabled him to meet the raiders at Kru-
gersdorp and march them off to prison. He
would heve liked to shoot them down. He
has no sympathy with revolt against law
ard order and had Joubert he n president
instead Of Kruger there would have been
a monument in South Africa to-day in
merory Of Or Jim" and his friends
bo 81 o. IN con RNArs
excitedly discussing the fate Of those with
in Jouheri would have satisfied the crowd
by Immediately executing the raiders, but
KruEers judgment was wiser this time.
Az ri2ht the two sat up together, and
when dawn broke Com Paul he'd triumph
ed. Jou eft went 10 speak to the crowd.
"Fellow-hurghers. said he, '"f you had
a beautiful flock of sheep, and a neieh-
boris dogs got into the pasture and killed
them, what would you do? Would YOU pick
up Your rifle and straightaway proceed 10
shoot these dogs, thus making yourself "a
be to grea er damage tran the sheep des-
uoyed, or would You lay hold on those
dogs ard cary them 10 your neighhor, say
Ing: Now. here are your dogs ] caught
them in the act. Pay me for the damage.
done, and they shall be returned to your
There was pause. and when The crowd
seemed % Rave arasped the situation, the
general drove his argument home.
we have the neighbor's dogs in jail
here. What SHIN we do with them?"
So Kruger had his way, and sent his IA
nous bin to Mr.. Chamberlain for a mil
lions worth of moral and intellectual
damage."
Joubfrt has leen one Of the B 'er leaders
Tor thirty years. Porn in Cape Colony, he
comes Of an Oh French Hb1gueno- family.
who h7d long been sa'ted in South Afri-
ca and he grew up. like most other Beers,
on a iarm. Joubert still works on his farm
When the stale can do w th6ut him, but
ms abliies We're recognized from the be
ginning Of the republic, and In due course
ne hacane sta Q s attorney ord vice pr ST
gen Of the Council once. for sho tinoe,
me- Was Acting Pr sid mt Of The Renu lie
,1 lae abs nc of Prfs'd MT Kruger, but
Ae ms never a. aimed his ambition 10 he
,ecled President though once or twice
ne has come almost within an ace"
ln0ush Kruger and he grew up as bosom
ri s. Joubelt was Krugers opponent IN
y, nest race for the pres denoy He lost.
H4s'r p2lled twice as many votes as
Yo'osit, and at the close Of TIE election
XVI. ,l'l up TO his fr end, shook hands with
",.'t ana made MIN COMMUNICATIVE chief.
e ,'.I IN raation they have maintain
ever since
-"e General knows his army WELL lie
'S divided the Transvaal into seventeen
O''Hs with commander for each d.
S9"' These. again, are subdivided. and
o0IoeEls signal the Beers leave their
f,51 10 their wives and march to the
~ livery BOer has rifle always ready
20 supplies for q fortnight in his
,ooseao d. nd he is every ready TO re-
l9Nl TO his Generals cali The faith of
a., ,'o,rs in the General is touching. but
~ H.l surprising. remembering that Hon