Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 March 1900 — PIET JOUBERT DEAD. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PIET JOUBERT DEAD.

.r- j'";,*< . ■■■■ -■ TRANSVAAL’S FAMOUS GENERAL PASSES AWAY. Hie Death a ; 'Grcat Lons to the Boers — He Was the Organizer of Their Army and Rival of President Krnger—Beat British at Maj üba Hill. The death of Gen. Joubert was announced Wednesday by way of Ixjrenzo Marques. Two days previous I’retpria dispatches told of the serious illness of the famous Boer chieftain. Gen. Pietrus Jacobus Joubert, commander general of the Transvaal forces, better knowu as Piet Joubert, or “Wien Pfct’UtHlim Peter), was born about «ix-ty-^gj^tny£iirs ago. He was descepded from an old Fiwh Ilugueuot family .which settledin South Africa many years ago.' 'He was born in Cape Colony, but ' wis'taifcu by his parents, wheu 7 years. ft# Grunge Free State, where he , w.|s tppght ffyom early childhood to shoot ‘Stfaiglit and hate the British. He la deI scHbHii a;) having been utterly fearless, schdoting he had but little, and he never saw a newspaper until he was 19 years jOlfl. r In consequence of the acquisition of Natal by tliq, British his family moved from Natal and settled in the TransvaaL Soon afterward he became a burgher of the South African republic and a daring fighter. It was <luring the wars with the natives that Joubert became acquainted with Paul Kruger, and the two men became bosom friends. He was elected vice-president of the Transvaal in 189(5, defeated Sir George Colley at Majuba Hill in 1881, and acted as president of the republic in 1883-1884,’ during Kruger’s absence jn Europe. ' Gen. Joiibert was always in fpvor of the use of force instead of diplomacy, and President Kruger on several occa-

sions had grcnt difficulty in repressing his hot-headed colleague, notably in 187 V, when Joubert, with Kruger and Pretoritts, was planning the rebellion to overthrow British rule in the Transvaal. The result was Majuba Hill and the practical independence of the Transvaal. It was Joubert who organized the army of the South African republic, later on, dividing the country into seventeen military departments, and.each of these departments into smaller divisions, with commandants, Held cornets and lieutenants of various ranks in charge. According to the general’s plans, every man became a trained soldier without leaving his farm, and had his equipment ready at hand. To such a point of perfection was the system carried that within fortyeight hours after the present war was declared the Bwr nation was under arms. "It was also due to Gen. Joubert that the South African republics succeeded in amassing the immense stores of war munitions and provisions which have stood them in such good stead during tile conflict now in progress. When the Jameson raiders were locked up in Pretoria jail Joubert was strongly in favor of their immediate execution. It wns not until Joubert and Kruger had been closeted together for a whole night that the more merciful counsels of Kruger prevailed. In November last it was reported that Gen. Joubert had been killed in action, and later reports said he was dangerously wounded and had to use a cart in order to follow the operations in the field.

GEN. PIET JOUBERT.