The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-09-05
HOLMES TOOK
A BACK SEAT
In Kimberly Would Not Swear
Allegiance to the
Queen.

L, r. Holmes, who came to Homo
lulu from Newcastle as mate of the
bark General Fairchild, went through
the siege of Kimberly during the South
African war and counts it as great
honor that he is, by the terms of Cecil
be placed in the center of the Kimber-
ly siege medal which he won because
of his conduct during the siege.
Of the many men concerned in the
celebrated siege of the Griqualand
West mining town only fourteen hum
dred received medals and Holmes is one
of these. During the siege he paid
highly for the medal for Mauser bull
let one day tore off the middle finger
of his right hand. This was during
one of the battles fought around Kim
berly.
Before the war started there was
quite demand for sailors in Cape
town. Mining managers wanted them
to go up country to take charge of
the big cables in the mines. Holmes
was one of the men of the sea who
who went up country" He got
Mines at Kimberly, where diamonds
were common but deadly dangerous to
any civilian who bought them except
from the mine owner himself, as the
law there provides for Imprisonment
for many years of any one buying dia-
monds from the natives who work in
the mining compounds, and an Illicit
buyer seldom gets out of the country
without being caught as all of the re-
gion for miles around the mines is
covered with a network of spies. The
Kimberly mines were largely owned by
Cecil Rhodes. Holmes became head
rigger" in the mines.
When the war broke out he Joined
the Kimberly town guards and soon
became a corporal. Holmes is man
of gigantic stature and strength and he
was known all over the besieged town
as "The Yank Genrul." The hundreds
of kaffirs who loafed about the town
during the early part of the siege fear
ed Holmes more than they would forty
devils, for the kaffirs considered that
he was capable of picking up fifty of
them at once and hurting them across
country for many miles into the sea.
BY and by matters became SO serious
in the town that it was decided by the
authorities to have every man in the
guards take the oath of allegiance to
the Queen. When Holmes heard of
this order he let out tremendous
oath but it was not one of allegiance
to anybody except to the flag of Uncle
Sam. Persuasion was of no use as far |
as he was concerned He said to his
commanding officer: 'I'll fight for you |
beggars but I'll be ID if I'd give ,
up my country for the sake of cor |
poraPs job. I'd rather stow my sails !
and be private" The officer prompt +
ly set Holmes back to place as a ,
tall private in the rear ranks. t
Holmes says that Rhodes was the
salvation of the besieged town. He t
chased out about ten thousand kaffirs |
from he could not feed and then gave i
the food to the starving white people. 4
AS soon as the siege was raised Holmes
went back to his work in the mines. .
Later he decided to make run down +
to Port Elizabeth Tn arrival there he
found the town under martial law.
The schooner Honolulu was in port and !
getting a breath of fresh air Holmes
decided to go on that vessel to New
castle. In Newcastle he left that YES
sci and came over here on the General
Fairchild.
Holmes fought as hoy on a naval
vessel during the American civil war !
He has a reputation in almost every
port that an American vessel touches |
at as strong man and disciplinarian |
and there is seldom any trouble with |
a crew of a vessel that he is on. He
is now mate of the ship e. NJ. Phelps. |