These were
perhaps the finest natural warriors upon earth, marksmen, hunters,
accustomed to hard fare and a harder couch. They were rough in
their ways and speech, but, in spite of many calumnies and some few
unpleasant truths, they might compare with most disciplined armies
in their humanity and their desire to observe the usages of war.
A few words here as to the man who led this singular host. Piet
Joubert was a Cape Colonist by birth--a fellow countryman, like
Kruger himself, of those whom the narrow laws of his new country
persisted in regarding as outside the pale. He came from that
French Huguenot blood which has strengthened and refined every race
which it has touched, and from it he derived a chivalry and
generosity which made him respected and liked even by his
opponents. In many native broils and in the British campaign of
1881 he had shown himself a capable leader. His record in standing
out for the independence of the Transvaal was a very consistent
one, for he had not accepted office under the British, as Kruger
had done, but had remained always an irreconcilable.
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