Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-07-01
TRAITS OF GEN. DE WET.
His Goodness. His Strictness md His
Infnilfng Humor

! -A'"" -. IiiHes-S IN the Worlds Work
| Inc most marked characteristics of the
| commandment general are his impert urbabil.
lty under adverse conditions, his jealous
devotion to official work, his effervescent
huiiiof' MS kindness to the burghers and
prisoners, his great regard for the opinions
OF the enemy, and his unbounded inextin-
gulshable faith in the ultimate success of
his and his countrys cause. Although the
greater part of his life has been devoted to
peaceful pastoral pursuits, De Wet is as
calm fighter as though he had been a
soldier from his youth. At Rooiyaal. in
June, while Lord Kitchener and thirty
thousand troops We're trying to capture
him, De Wet spent half a day In leisure;y
looking over his devastated farm. AS he
was returning to his lager dfspatcb
rider brought him the information that the
British mad occupied a certain favorable
position Come, he said quietly as he
remounted his pony, ''let US scoot!" The
following day Kitchener reported De Wet
escape.
In his official capacity as commandment
general of all the Free State forces De
Wet is most stern. He demands that his
orders be obeyed to the letter. and when
an officer deviates to the slightest extent
he court-martials him. When a burgher
disobeys his commands he quickly becomes
furious and threateningly draws of his
coat with the purpose of in1icting corporal
punishment. During a skirmish near the
ten-tfmes captured village of Thaba N'Chu
In June several burghers refused to hold a
certain position. After they had refused
second time he beat them with the long
raWhide stambok he always carries After
the tight he sought out the men and apollo
glzed to them. At Lindley he ordered his
brother, General Peter De Wet to move
his commando to a certain position. The
brother questioned the advisability of the
movement, and the commandant general
r m nj U tod
his place, whereupon Peter De Wet sur
rendered to the British.
By his men he is regarded as the great
est humorist in the Commands. and they
are constantly enjoying his jokes. Not
long ago he promised three prisoners their
freedom If they agreed to carry a MESA ee
to their general. The message which the
British general read was, Please chain
these three men; am catching them every
day. In April he and fifteen of his men
rode to De Wetsdorp, where he was born
for the purpose of visiting his father.
Late in the evening they discovered that
McQueenies Irish Fusiliers, 300 strong. oc-
cupied the town. Promptly he sent this
grim message to the British commander:
Surrender. or we shall annex you" At
sunrise next morning De Wet had his en-
tire commando on the spot, and after q
short battle the fusiliers were captured
While he was leading his forces northward
from Wepener to Thaba N'Chu, with the
British In close pursuit. he received mes
sage from one Of the commandments in the
rear asking for reinforcements for that
part of the hard-pressed column. De Wet
replied: IF you can't fight your way
you deserve to be caught" After |
capturing vast quantities of stores and
clothing, 1900 shells and enough small !
arms ammunition to supply his army for |
more than two years, on his own farm at |
Rcoivaal in June De Wet remarked to one |
Of his generals: That's better crop !
than I ever raised on that place in peace |
times" Even in his favorite way of Civ |
ing command to move, Come, let us |
scoot," there Is a touch of humor, for the |
last word is one he has borrowed from his |
enemy's language.