The Real Kruger and the Transvaal

# The Real Kruger and the Transvaal

This 1900 publication by Street & Smith assembles three essays examining the Second Boer War from multiple perspectives. Fred. A. McKenzie, an Englishman, contributes "Paul Kruger: His Life Story," a biographical portrait characterizing the Transvaal president as a primitive patriarch—essentially self-educated, illiterate except for Bible reading, subsisting on simple fare, and ruling through commanding personality rather than modern administrative machinery. The account details Kruger's daily routines: morning receptions for burghers, parliamentary attendance at the Volksraad, administrative work centralizing all decisions through the Executive Council, and evening family prayers. McKenzie emphasizes Kruger's religious sincerity, personal incorruptibility, and obstinate adherence to purpose. The second section, "The Transvaal Boer Speaking for Himself," by C.N.T. Du Plessis of Johannesburg, presents the Boer perspective. Charles T. Bunce concludes with "A Brief History of the Transvaal Republic," providing historical context. The publication aims to provide American readers balanced coverage of both the English and Boer cases regarding the war's origins.