BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2711, 4 March 1916, Page 9

BOOKS OF THE DAY

THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA

In the overwhelming. importance of the war' as it has been fought out on the two main' battle fronts in Europe, ine is apt to overlook and .underestimate the importance of the rebellion which, fomented -and assisted by German gold, broko out in South Africa in' September, 1914, and the conquest of German South-West. Africa, which followed tho quelling of the outbreak of which Do Wet was ono of tho chief leaders. Nevertheless; the two campaigns so successfully' carried out by General Botha and tho loyalist Union forces presented many curious and noteworthy features, and were well worthy of being -anado' the ' subject of e detailed chronicle. Two books recently published possess, in this connection, considerable' interest. One. by far the more important, is entitled "The Capture of Do Wet," by P. J. Samp-, son (London, Edward Arnold). Tne other, "South-West Africa During the German Occupation, 1884-1914," by 'Albert F. Calvert (T. Werner Laurie), relates, as its title denotes, the history of the great territory which Great Britain foolishly allowed to fall into German hands, but which, thanks to the loyalty, courage, and capacity of the great South African statesman-general, is once again part and parcel .of the British Empire. Mr. Sampson's interesting resume , of l.the . 'main ovents ofthe South African rebellion makes it clear that/ the implacable racialism of a certain section ot tho Duteli rendered them ready and easy tools in the hands of the Germans. He gives sonio interesting thumb-nail portraits of the leaders of the rebellion; Beyers was an intensely religious man, who suffered from an irrepressible megalomania; De Wet had two grievances: first, that Botha and Smuts had put his friend, the Anglophobe' Hertzog, out of t'he Union Cabinet;, and, second, that he, the great Do Wet. had been actu. oily fined for sjamboking a native! Marite i Mr. Sampson describes as a compound of", enormous strength, inordinate vanity, and little education. Of all the rebels he was "most open to tho influence of German gold." Fourie, liko Beyers, was a man "whose hatred of British dominance had' grown to u disease." Muller was "an eminently respectable director of the Government Land Bank at Pretoria," and Kemp, a ("born fighter, a typical' veldsman." Nothing was more ouriously expressive of' the ignorant fanaticism of the rebel burghers than the part played in the outbreak by the so-oalled Boer prophet, ,Van Rensburg/ who becamo famous as "Oom Niklaas." during the Boer War, for his alleged divinations concerning the whereabouts. of the British troops, and who was a great friend of General Delarey. Van Rensburg's predictions exeroised. a groat influence over the disloyalists. ' Van Rensburg was a great dreamer, end not only were his'visions passed on. from mouth to' mouth, but "tho old man put down hundreds in a book, for remembrance." One, now' specially recalled to' romembrance 'by the superstitious burghers, was to the effect that the prophet saw. seven bulb engaged in:furious conflict:" . • , There was a red bull,' a blue bull, a black bullj a - grey bull, and bulls of other tints representing the. various'nations of Europe.- How the prophet knew them by their colours no one but himself knows, but he satisfied'himself-that the grey, fellow. was Germany, that the red hull was Britain, and the black bull France. And, behold, . they had terrific fights, and after much gore the black bull went under, also tho ;ed- bull,' and all the other bulls, save the grey bull. The'interpretation of such a simple dream was obvious.. Germany was' some day to prevail over Franco, and Britain and Russia, and all the countries of tho earth 1 Putting this with the mysterious dream of Delarey and the fateful '15,' it was quite clear • that the day had now come whereof . their fathers had told them. Did the intelligent people of the Lichtenburg swallow this • cock-and-bull-story ? Only too willingly, and whon Commandant Wolmarans and Field-Cornet I; E. Classen announced that a meeting would be held at Truerfontein on 'August 15, they no longer had any doubts, and joyfully prepared for the great day. Mr. Sampson gives a detailed narrative of Botha's operations u gainst the rebels. Tho truculence. of De Wet and other of the . rebel leaders compelled many burghers, at first unwilling, to {ock to their standard, and for a ,time matters wore an ugly and very danger.' ous aspect. ; - Once, however, Botha took command, the complexion of affairs rapidly altered. The dash, determination, and fine strategy, of..:the Siatesman-rGeneral proved irresistible. The campaign was conducted on thoroughly lines, motor-cars playing no unimportant part in the capturo of De Wet. When the old rascal was at last '"rounded' up"—his party's final lide was of fifty miles,' soma-of them"quenching their thirst by killing a horse and drinking its blood"—he re. marked that "the race is run,".and grimly observed to his burghers—doubt, less to cheer their drooping spirits— that he "would , hang higher than any of them." The lesson, says Mr. Samp, son, of -the novel capture of ~:the old General is that,' "given petrol, tho motor-car can beat tho horse over even desert country—a useful revelation to those whoso lot is cast in sandy places." The distance • covered, was something over 200 miles in the course of 3G hours. The author's final chapter describes the campaign against the Germans in the South-West. The enemy seems to havo displayed in South Africa all tho same" brutality and utter disregard for tho rules of decontly-conducted warfare which havo marked his conduct in Europe, but all to ; no purpose. Ha was; prodigal in his use of-mines no fewer than 6000 were discovered by the Union troops —but only six men lost their livos thereby. As for the poisoning of tho wells, Mr. Sampson writes: "More poisonous sheep dip was used by the enemy in poisoning wells than would be required to dip all the sheep in th» Onion of South Africa, yet by some strange good fortune, not a singlo man lost his life through poisoned water." Mr. Sampson's volume, which should find a placo in every library where tliero is a shelf of "wai books," contains a large number of ex. cellent illustrations, portraits of loyalist and rebel leaders, scenes ic the rebellion, etc. (New Zealand price 12s. Gd.) Mr Calvert's book, "South-West •Africa, .1884-1914" _ (Werner Laurie), mves a useful and interesting sketch of tile history of the territory from .tho day when, in 1884, owing to the apathy and stupidity of the Colonial Office, Germany was allowed to annex it, and thus destroy, as was remarked by one writer of the day, "tho symmotry of a South Africa, .which, in future vears, if not entirely British from the Cane to tile Zambesi, at any rate bade fair to become a great confederation of States s.id colonies under the protection of

tho British flag." Mr. Calvert gives un interesting description of the country, its natural resources — much greater' than was at ono time imagined —and of the German system of colonial government. It is, however, the long series of illustrations —over 200 in all —reproductions of photographs of the country, its industries, and inhabitants, European settlers and natives alike—which constitutes the most attractive feature of Mr. Calvert's book, and makes it a desirable addition to a public library. Tho book is, the author explains, one of a series of similar volumes descriptive of the several possessions comprising Germany's disappearing colonial Empire. It is dedicated to General Botha, ''who is now realising the Imperial ambition for the formation of an All-British South Africa." (New Zealand price, 4s. 6d.)