The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-05-05
A SKETCH OF cRoNJE
BY an Hnglishman Who was once
His Guest.

] {. y
us that Mr.. Cronje's cart?" l asket
Standing outside the Royal Hotel a
Potchefstroom was ramshackle Cap,
cart, drawn by four useful but unkemp
nags, in the charge of a Cape boy
CARRIED in dirty flannels and straw ha
that bore the Guards ribbon. It was tt
him that addressed my inquiry, say
writer in the London Mail.
ga, Baas!" replied the boy, ane
swinging my bag and gun case into tn.
front, l sat down behind Willem, the
coachman.
A drive of some three miles along the
banks of the MOOT river brought us to
the homestead, which differed in no way
from the ordinary farmhouse of the
ordinary Boer, save, perhaps, that it
was even untidier, if possible, than
usual.
The low one-storied bungalow boast
ed the conventional stoop, decorated
with a couple of dilapidated cane chairs
and dozen witl1ered plants rooted in
rusty paraffin tins. Mynheer Cronje
was on the stoop prepared to receive
visitors. The inevitable salutations
passed: "Goe' morrer, Dom, hou gaat
Diet van dag?" and the reply, "Goe'
morrer neef"-and then we lapsed into
English, which Cronje speaks fuently,
if with slight foreign accent.
My invitation was for weekend
shooting. My host explained that he
thought it unlikely that we should get
any buck as the deer OF the country are
called, but that birds in plenty would be
at Our disposal. He mentioned the dix
kop, species of plover; the korfaan; a
delicious bird to eat, and quite luxury
in South African households; also if we
were lucky, perhaps, a paauw, which is
a kind of lesser bustard, and allied to
the turkey.
Next morning Cronje and his guests
took horse and rode some four miles to
Wei, or lake, which lay on the confines
OF his farm. Here we off saddled, knee
battered the horses, and turned them to
Craze. Taking our guns we hid behind
kopjc, and an ant heap, waiting for
anything that might come our way.
The sun was high in the heavens, and
sport was scarce. However, after alter
nate doing, watching, lunching, and re-
newed expectation, we managed to col
lect fair mixed bag, including all the
birds that we had been promised, and
also some three brace of rcd-legged
cartridges, a good variety, and closely
akin to the bird we are used to at home.
Unfortunately for us, we did not
sight buck the whole day, although
Cronjc assured us that a herd had
crossed his farm only twenty-four hours
before. So we had to put tip with feath-
cred game alone, and we rode back at
night heavily laden with Our days bag.
In the evening l had long political
discussion with the great little man.
not dreaming at that period that within
few years he would be leading
an army OF his own followers against
that OF the British empire. Cronje's
opinions we're extraordinarily out Of
harmony with his otherwise peaceful
manner. He declared that the uitland-
ers, as whole, were a curse to the
country, although he was pleased to
add that personally he had many good
friends among them. He did not pa
rade his religion, as is the usual Boer
habit, but declared that uitlander money
had perverted the supplemented
burgher from his bucolic ways of peace
and isolation.