The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-10-16
A MEMBER OF
THE IRISH BRIGADE
F. J. Turner Left the TransvaaI
But a Few Weeks
Ago.

dSdluSl liit bIlliSu III the ulliCuiticS IN
the TransvaaL Mr.. Turner is an Ameri- /
can mining man and he arrived on the |
Alameda Thursday on his way home from |
South Africa having fought side by side |
with the Beers all through the war. He |
was member of the Irish brigade which |
fought at Glencoe, Dundee and Modder- |
spruit; he helped drive General White |
back into Ladysmith, was under Botha |
at the time of Buffers first and second
attempts to cross the Tugela and helped
to capture the very guns which Lord Rob-
erts' son lost his life in endeavoring to
save. Later he went to the Free State
and was under Generals Del La Rey and
Phil Botha all during that mastery re-
treat from Bloemfonteir to Johannes
burg and Pretoria.
Mr. Turner cannot say enough about
the kiad-heartedness and goodness of the
men who were his comrades during the
past year of warfare He has the great
est admiration both for their soldierly
qualities and for them as men. He be-
lieves that better race of men and
women never grew.
1t is a most interesting tale that Mr..
Tuner tells of his experiences in the
Transvaal. His home was on Long ISL
and, New York, and a number of years
ago he left home and went to Alaska.
There he made stake and, hearing of
the rich gold finds in the Transvaal, he
started for South Africa. He landed at
Port Natal and went to johannesburg.
Here for time he was connected with
the Ferreira mine as machinist.
BEFORE THE JAMESON RAID.
This was in 1895, shortly before the jam
eson raid. Rumors of the raid reached his
ears, and he was approached by repre-
sentatives of the "capitalistic ring as
he called it, and asked to take up arms
for the so-called Reform party. He was,
however, in sympathy with the Beers and
he refused to have any hand In the pro-
posed uprising against the Government.
Rather than do So he left Johannesburg
and went to Rhodesia. where he prospect
ed on his own account and located sever
al claims but found that owing to the ra-
pacity of the Chartered Land Company
of which Cecil Rhodes was the head, he
could not do anything. The company de-
manded a 30 per cent royalty, and this he
could not stand, so he was practically
fl oxen out.
Il remained in Rhodesia about a year
or more" said Mr.. Turner, land then de-
cided to return to Johannesburg. I work
ed for Frazer & Chalmers there for a
long time and became pretty well ac-
quainted all along the Reef.
BOERS ARE HOSPITABLE.
And right here at the outset I want to
say that / never met a more hospitable
people or people more easy to get along
with. The Beers of the whole Witwaters-
rand district / learned to know pretty
well, and / never saw anywhere people
who had so much freedom. The English
talk SO much about the oppressive meas
ures against the foreigners, and they
charge the Beers with being harsh and
unjust. Perhaps it is harsh of them
to punish criminals as they do, for they
have little mercy for burglars and other
criminals, and if a man is found guilty of
crime he gets a long sentence right at
the start instead of lecture and a light
sentence, as in the United States. But by
that means they keep down the percent
age of crime, even if their methods do
Sc en- to be harsh to us.
1.-THE British in those days. after the
jameson raid was over and done with,
were apparently great friends with the
Beers. But soon English emissares be-
gan to try to stir up difficulties. But
| they could get few to side with them, for
al one who had lived long in Johannes
burg would know that there was no bet
ter place for men to prosper than in Jo-
hannesburg. Finally these English sche-
nperS resorted to scheme to get
up gigantic petition to the Queen OF
! England to stop the alleged oppression of
\ English subjects in Johannesburg. They
| had been squealing for some time about
equal rights and the franchise and things
i of that kind.
4 MINERS DID NOT SIGN.
II had been acquainted all along the
Rand in connection with my business and
/ in a personal canvass of the whole dis
trict during ninety days while that petit
4 ton was being circulated, / found just
/ five men who had signed that petition
\ Where they got the % 900 names that were
signed to that paper 1 don't know. but
/ they were not the better class of English
miners, I sure of that.
Something over fifteen months ago
/ went down into Natal and there / came
! across emissaries of the British Govern
ment going about among the people try
ing to secure names to a petition to the
Queen. asking that the complaint from
the Johannesburg English be listened to
heard on many occasions these men re-
buned. for people in Natal knew of the
state of affairs in Johannesburg and thai
these troubles We're simply being foment
ed in the interest of the big capitalists.
Il was back in Johannesburg when the
war began. ] had been married then fol-
three years. my wife having come dowr
from New York to marry me, and m,
family was in the City, so I was in
\ quandary as 10 my position. NV sympa.
thies were all with the Beers for / real
lied fully what had caused the war. 81
L decided that I would throw in my for
tunes with the Beers. ] went to Acting
Ccmmandant Schultz and told him that
wanted to go to the front, and he Offered
to fit me out, but all asked was a riff,
and ammunition, and this was furnished
me- So / went to the front and Their,
joined the Irish Brigade. which was ther
at Glencoe.
"A good deal has been written and sait
about that Irish Brigade which was un
true. When / joined it it included abou
$50 well-armed men,, nearly all of then
having been men who had worked in the
mines in johannesburg, and all of then
fine fellows, who had gone into the wal
on. the Boer side because they thought, a.
i did, that the Beers We're in the right
Our commander was Colonel Blake,