The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-05
EXPERIENCES WITH DOM PAUL.
By ONE WHO WAS FOR MONTHS A
GUEST IN HIS HOUSE.

a Common Man; Uncommon Mind.
His Coffee, Cuspidore and Pipe;
His Hntred Of the EngIlsh-Has
Not Spoken a Word of the Ian
guage Since 1S83-HOw He Saved
His Sister by a Hand to Hand
Fight With "A Panther-His Love
for AmerIca-AIIOwed $4,000 a
Year to Buy Coffee for His Guests.
New York. Nov. 3.-The writer has been
much with Dom Paul Kruger. What is
here written is gathered wholly from per
sonal experience or what the President OF
the Transvaal has told me.
First pray to God for guidance and in
SEPARATION, then fight" This is his motto
Imagine yourself standing in the pres
ence OF. a man about six feet three inches
in hight. somewhat stoop shouldered and
built like a giant; his hair white with
years; his features homely and coarse,
wearing an ill-ntuug black double-breast-
cd Prince Albert coat reaching below the
knees; such a man is Dom Paul. Void Of
book learning. not talented above the av-
erage man, armed only with his natural
craftiness, he has been a thorn in the side
Of the greatest diplomatists and states
men in England for twenty years.
He was born on oct. 10, 1925, near the
present town of Graft Reinet, Cape Col
ony. His parents were South African
farmers, who had left their home in Hol-
land a few years before Paul was born,
hoping for good fortune in the new. coun-
try. But 1t did not come. They remain
ed mere squatters and at the time Paul
was born his parents owned only two or
three slaves, which meant little. The flu
ture President of the Transvaal was chris
tened S. J. Paul Kruger, but at an early
age the first two initials were dropped.
He uses them now when signing state pa
pers.
Paul was taught at an early age to pray
and handle a gun At years of age
he was the best shot in that section. He
was a fearless boy. When he was
years old his parents resented British reg
ulations and moved to the northeastern
part of Natal colony, not far from Lady
smith, the first important strategic point
in this war.
There were two other children in the
family, a girl and boy, both younger
native fight in the Natal colony and the
sister lived to see her brother made Pres
ident of the Transvaal
When Kruger was about II years Of age
his father, sister and he went with the
bullock team some distance into the
Orange Free State. The senior Kruger
was forced to remain and told Paul t.
take the team home and to hook after his
sister.
I'm take care of her. father" was the
reply.
Everything went well until Paul and his
sister were about five miles from home
Then a panther appeared in the road The
sixteen bullocks, in the team, took fright
and ran away. The jolting of the crude
wagon threw the sister from the seat into
the roadway, where she was completely
at the mercy of the panther. Paul at
once realized her danger, and though ne
was unarmed ran to her rescue. The pan
Their by this time stood with cleaning
eyes over the girl. Paul tackled the pam
Their in a hand-to-hand battle. 1t was a
fierce struggle, and as Kruger himself
told me he believed once or twice that the
panther was going to prove too much for
him. But finally he got hold on IN
animals throat and literally choked the
creature to death. With the grit of bu l.
dog, Kruger held his grasp on the pan
Tiers throat and only released 1t when the
animal gave up its struggles in death.
First Meeting With Kruger.
1t was in the latter part of 1879 that
first had the pleasure of meeting Paul
! Kruger He was then man over 50 years
of age, but as strong, erect and robust as
the average man of 35. He seemed to
possess the strength of a giant. The Beers
at that time were on the verge of war
with the British. When l was introduced
to Kruger he was suspicious of me, and it
was only when assured that l was an
American that he became at all laxative.
In those days, Kruger would talk Eng
dish, but since the visit of Sir Henry Lock
to Pretoria in 1898, the Transvaal President
has positively refused to utter one word of
| English The Kruger of 1879 was a poor
man. he had difficulty in supplying his
family with the necessities of life for be-
| sides his wife he had ten children to care
| for. He lived then in a humble farm
house, but he left the farm to care for
| itself, for he had q more important mat
ter TO attend to--the creation of revo-
luton against the English. Gen. p. j.
Joubert, the now commander of the Boer
| forces and Vice President of the Trans
| Vaal, young Prctorius, son of the country S
| first President and Kruger were planning
for the Boer uprising which came the fol-
| lowing year, resulting in the independence
of the Boets in 1881. 1t was these three
that man3sed the campaign against the
| English forces under Gen. Cooley at Ma
/ juba hill
| The next time that l met Kruger was in
| 1894 Although he was now the President
of a nation ard reputed tc he worth $780,
000, found him as simple and as demo-
cratic as he was in the days of 1879 when
! he was unknown to fame and had hard
work TO support his family. 1t was on this
occasion that I realized the great qualities
of this man. He cordially invited me TO
become his guest du Sy the short time
that I was to remain in Pre- toria an invi-
tation which l readily accepted He would
not talk English to me on this o,casi n.
! so had TO carry on my conversation with