Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1907-07-14
A HERO OF BOER WAR
TELLS OF WCISSITUDES
BANIsHED FROM NATIVE LAND
FOR ALL TIME
Now Working In Los Angeles In Order
to save Money with Which
to Send for His
Children


Although 1t has been many months since
the Boer war closed with disaster to the
Young republic few Of the heroes OF thai
war of the kopjes have come to this
country and still fewer to Los Angeles
Although practically stranger IN
strange land, Capt. c. Van de watering
hero of the conflict. has come tc
America, exiled from his native land while
II may remain in the English dominion
and expects to bring his two children mere
The little family, without the wife ano
mother who was shot almost In her nus
bands arms, will settle for good In this
southland
AS a commander of a squad of scouts In
the Boer war, Capt. Van de Watering
passed through many thrilling scenes, mar
rowly escaping the sentence of death.
The captain has recently arrived In Los
Angeles from New York city, and In an
interview yesterday said:
An Official In johannesburg
st was captain of the police force OF
Johannesburg in the Transvaal republic,
South Africa, before the Boer war. When
the war broke out in 1899 prevailed upon
several members of my police force to go
with me to the front. and there we were
placed under the command of Gen. Jou-
bert to meet the British army at Lady
smith
'I could not undergo the treatment i'm
nosed upon me and my men by Gen. Jou-
bert, and we went under the command OF
Gen. Christian De Wet. 1 had ten men
under my command, all of whom were
muscular men, able to perform much
hardship through the training gave them
for the arduous scout work
At this point Capt. Van de Watering
straightened up and showed an extremely
well developed muscular form and ply
sique.
Great Hardshlps
'You see," continued Capt. Van de Wat
ering. that I had to show myself good
example of muscular strength and dura-
bility, and 1 had the choice of the best
squad of men I could find.
TT was a necessity for us to be strong
and hearty men to endure the extreme
hardships we were constantly obliged to
encounter At times we were compelled to
each carry on our backs a field piece
weighing $50 pounds over the hills kopjes)
in our work.
Violated Flag of Truce
81 have passed through many thrilling
experiences. At one time a colonel of the
London yeomanry, near the Modder river,
after raising his flag of truce and after we
had completely cornered him and MS
SQUAD. fired at me, the bullet grazing my
forehead. l was much surprised at this
breach of etiquette even in war, and had
a right TO shoot him dead on the spot, but
I refrained and proceeded to capture him
and his squad The British officer apollo
l. T., -I,n fncy nd
l made a compact with him that 1 would
not divulge his name TO the world as con-
nected with the shooting.
81 was always on the alert in devising
ways and means TO accomplish my ends,
and often put on a uniform of British
captain by night and passed the sentries
of the English camps and messed with the
British officers in order to ascertain their
methods of attack on the Beers. And
right in the midst of my sociability with
the British officers they expressed to me
their surprise that the Beers were kept
so well posted on the manner Of the
British attacks.
But my well laid plans and schemes
were thwarted at last, and 1 got into
hotbed of Britishers who found out my
methods of procedure and 1 was captured.
I was imprisoned, but after while they
were sufficiently lenient to give me
parole. OF course 1 was glad to get that
much liberty and l took advantage of 1t to
the extent that upon seeing that the
Beers were still fighting and hard pushed
broke my parole and returned to my
station in the army.
Banlshed from Home
"I continued with many hardships in my
scouting and was again captured by the
Britishers. knew then that my life was
at stake as soon as 1t was found out that
1 had jumped my parole given me while in
their custody after my first capture.
braved it out upon being sent to Helena
to await my sentence, which was the pen
atty of death. But as it was close to the
end of the war when 1 was recaptured
was let out with the conditions that the
Britishers should confiscate all my prop
erty and that l should leave the British
dominion never to return to 1t again.
These were the conditions with which
was forced to comply. But the sad feature
of the whole is that my wife who was
with me in one of our raids, was shot and
killed A shot from a British squad hit
her in the head while she was riding a
horse by my side. I placed her with me
on my horse and fastened to the nearest
hospital, with the blood flowing from the
wound that ended her life
Working for Children
81 had two children that 1 was forced
to leave with relative in South Africa
was compelled to come to America, and
landed in New York with scarcely dollar
to my name. I had previous knowledge CT
the work 1 am engaged in at present, and
am working hard as the manager of the
Auditorium Turkish baths to earn money
to get my children here with me-"
MORE SUITS BRING
WENTWORTH WORRY
Two new suits were filed in the superior
court yesterday against the Wentworth Hote
company of Pasadena, both in the form o.
mechanics liens for labor performed and ma
terial furnished.