Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-02-17
THE WAR BROKE
A BOER'S HEART
GENERAL cRoNJE, WHO DIED RE-
GENTLY, CRIED AT DISSOLUTION.
On His Return From Prison at Helena
the Warrior Found Scared and
BIoodstained country-His An
swer to Criticisms.

General Piet Cronje. who died at
Klarksdorp. in the Transvaal. was one OF
the foremost of the Boer leaders who
fought off the English armies in the
earlier part of the veldt campaign.
Had it not been for his capture by
Lord Roberts at Paardeberg in 1900 he
probably would have been as much of
a thorn in the side of the English COM
mander in the course OF the guerrilla
fighting after the organized resistance
of the burghers had been broken down
as was Christian De Wet. Cronje's Sec
ond in command. He was a typical
Lion Of the Veldt." to give him one of
the melodramatic titles which were
common at the time of the fighting.
Rough, crude, blunt spoken, with an
almost medieval Christianity and re-
spect for truth, Cronje was true type
of the Dutch peasant. a peasant who
possessed the brains of a leader of men
" e amt no dub of a fighter. old Pet"
was one of the sayings in the English
camps. not meaning Cronje, but the av-
erage Boer.
Piet Cronje came of the old Dutch
stock which was the mainstay of the
South African republics. He was born
about 1885. Like all the veldt men. he
became farmer, just as his father
and his fathers father had BEEN farm
ers. At the time of the first Boer war
he came into prominence through his
work at Potchefstroom. which he COM
PEELED TO capituiate by withholding
from its English garrison the knowl-
edge that an armistice had been de-
clared. This was an exhibition of Boer
trickery that was typical. II was the
memory of it, no doubt. that made
Lord Roberts so eager to defeat Cronje
in the second war. Cronje was sturdy
Christian, but when it came to a little
thing like wilfully deceivlng an enemy,
he never thought twice about H. Rob-
erts remembered that trick and
avenged il in the later campaign by
the capture which later led to the
breaking of the old mans heart.
Along with many of his comrades
after the capture, the Boer leader was
shipped to st. Helena. where he stayed
util the r-was over His captors |
liberated him in 1902 and sent him back /
to- South Africa, but his return was not !
a happy one. His old farm had gone to !
ruin; his stock was dispersed. the |
buildings destroyed Suffering was |
everywhere. Some friends offered to |
end him money. but ne decided instead |
% pledge his lands for a government |
oan. 1t was when the necessity of |
paying off this debt became pressing
hat he consented to come to America
Is the principal feature of the South
African War Show a sort of Buffalo
3ill-Barnum & Bailey organization,
at Brighton Beach
Every day while this show lasted the
I'D general used to appear in the ring
It the head of his burghers and 70
through the same program of sham
Ittack on an English convoy. with the
nd of his career ct Paardeberg as the /
'onclusion. There was something mex
'ressibly pathetic about it all, and
many military men of this country and
broad did not hesitate to express their
Indignation at what they termed a dis
race to the military profession. II was
nseemly. they said. that a man who
lad been general officer should per-
orm in circus. Tired. sad-eyed Pet
ROME stood their criticism for while
'efore he replied. 1t was a simple. di-
ect reply. but it went home.
In the first place. | am not a mem
er of the military profession. he said.
Therefore. cannot disgrace it, II
ought as patriot, not as 4 soldier
the average soldier was as little a
bowman as |. there would not be so
lany brilliant uniforms covering duh
nen. British soldiers have said that
is beneath the dignity of general
% become a circus performer. Some Of
he men who have said this are the
zen ! fought They are the men who