South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 1 (of 8): From the Foundation of Cape Colony to the Boer Ultimatum of 9th Oct. 1899Creswicke, Louis
History
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 1 (of 8): From the Foundation of Cape Colony to the Boer Ultimatum of 9th Oct. 1899
Creswicke, Louis
South African War, 1899-1902; Transvaal (South Africa) -- History
"Paul Kruger is so well known from the many portraits and
caricatures that have appeared in recent years, as well as
descriptions of him, that one from me seems superfluous. His clumsy
features, and small cunning eyes, set high in his face, with great
puffy rings beneath them, his lank straight locks, worn longer than
is usual, the fringe of beard framing his face, even his greasy
frock-coat and antiquated tall hat have been pourtrayed times
without number. He is a man of quite 75 years of age now, and his
big massive frame is bent, but in his youth he possessed enormous
strength, and many extraordinary feats are told of him. Once seen he
is not easily forgotten. He has a certain natural dignity of
bearing, and I think his character is clearly to be read in his
face--strength of will and cunning, with the dulness of expression
one sees in peasants' faces. 'Manners none, and customs beastly,'
might have been a life-like description of Kruger. The habit of
constantly expectorating, which so many Boers have, he has never
lost. He is quite ignorant of conversation in the ordinary
acceptation of the word; he is an autocrat in all his ways, and has
a habit of almost throwing short, jerky sentences at you generally
allegorical in form, or partaking largely of scriptural
quotations--or misquotations quite as often. Like most of the Boers,
the Bible is his only literature--that book he certainly studies a
good deal, and his religion is a very large part of his being, but
somehow he misses the true spirit of Christianity, in that he leaves
out the rudimentary qualities of charity and truth."
GERMANS AND UITLANDERS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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