El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-09
Dom Paul Kruger
Short Sketch of His Life and Battles.

Stephspus Johannes Paulus Kruger,
President of the Transvasl, Is the most
interesting public character today to
interview. Upon being introduced you
first conclude that be has been greatly
ov~eres,imated. He SCENE nothing
more than a shrewd old hunter, who. by
constant contuct with wild animals aud
savage Ksffrs, has developed a wsriness
that makes him suspicious OF every
thing and everybody. He does not
have the penetrating eye" usually as
cribed to great men. On the contrary,
Q puff of flesh underneath his eyes, as q
rule, permits one to see buta narrow
CLEAN, giving u the impression OF
stiffness.
His legs are so short and slender that
you wonder how they bear the weight
of q heavy. thick and solid body. His
head Is big, with nose and ears to
match, and bis neck concealed by
beard, hair and coat collars so that you
cannot determine whether or not ha
indulge in neckwear. At home be is
usually putting a short briar pipe and
as he handles this you notice that the
thumb of his left ham is missing.
There is q story in connection with
this that This honor will tell you bet
ween plffs If he Is in the mood. 1t
gives an idea of the grit which is q
Characteristic of the old Beers.
STORIES OF PHYSICAL COURAGE.
Mr.. Kruger, when a young man, was
out hunting r beets one day with q
rifle which had not beer used for q
long time. While tinkering with a
charge the gun exploded, tearing his
left thumb in shreds. Kruger's COM
panions wanted to give up the hunt
and hurry to the nearest surgeon. but
the intrepid young Boer refused. TAX
ing out his hunting knife, he placed
the lscerated thumb on the stock OF
the rifle, n amputated 1t himself By
tying about the stumpa piece of raw
hide he stopped the flow OF blood, and,
winding around it his red handker-
chief, be continued the sport.
Physical robustness and courage
have contributed greatly toward Kru-
gers success as the leader Of a nation.
He is absolutely fearless, though not
reckless, and since boyhood has known
how to act quickly in an emergency.
Unlike other famous men, little has
been lold of his personal history. None
but the older generation of Beers
know much about it and they regard 1t
a. a sort of divine narrative that ia
not to be irreverently discussed.
All through his life Kruger has had
narrow escapes from death. and his
C6TGeT, IL uCUallCQ lui1ys WOQAo OO
thrilling. When only IA years old, he
and his little sister strayed away from
the iaager down in Cape Colony, where
the elder Kruger had settled on emil
grating from Germany, and while play
ing, were suddenly attacked by q Loop
ard. Young Kruger's only Weapon was
q jack-knife, but, shielding his sister
with one arm, he met the vicious
spring Of the leopard with the other,
I'D oftAa a h1n01u afprrnr1a sr1noaodad
in stabbing it to death.
One is hardly warranted either In
speaking slightingly of loom" Psul's
legs, for they once ran q race that
made him famous all through the
native tribes in South Africa. A
Kafir chief had become celebrated for
his running ability and had never been
beaten until challenged by q number
of young Beers. who chose Kruger to
represent them. 1t was decided that
the two should run for twelve hours,
aud The man leading at the end of that
time was to have some sort of a prize.
At the end of eleven hours the Kafhr
dropped in his tracks unconscious,
while Kruger kept on to the finish,
and, according to q OF his compan-
ions, was so fresh then that he took
part in q hunting trip.
1t is the appearance OF rough hardi-
4ooa oAo ahoSPS soeS
fret impresses one on meeting loom"
Paul, but when the man begins to talk
and unfold gradually his mental power
you forget all else but Kruger, the
diplomat n careful statesman.
CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS.
The first question I put to Dom Paul
was why he did not give the Uitlander
the right to vote, which the English
put forth as the chief cause for COM
plant.
Mr.. Kruger smoked hard for q mo-
ment, then laid down his pipe, and
placing his hands on his knees, said:
"A man annot serve two masters.
Either he will hate the one and cling
to the other or despise the one and
love b other. Now, the Englishman
wants to do this He demands the
franchise from me, desires to become a
bureher, and yet. when it comes to
trouble, he would forsske US in a mo-
ment and claim the protection of the
chance to vote? They do not take any
interest in our country. They have
not come here to settle. They wish Is
no good. l want to be fair with every
one who ONE here to live. and when
he has proved that he is q good citizen
and has come to help US, l want him to
vote. But we have a law for bigamy
in the Trapsvael, and 1t is necessary
for a man to put off his old love tefOre
taking On a new"
When one has lived in johannesburg
he recognizes the truth of Mr.. kruger's
reply. The Rand is a stamping ground
for q great mass of people from a~llsover
the earth. Very few remain there
ove q or two years, and only that
long. for the most part, because they
cannot raise b money to get away.
They are only concerned in making a
fortune rapidly, and returning to q
pleasant country as quickly as possible.