CRONJE AND THE BOERS

HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE BOER PEOPLE AND LIFE OF GENERAL CRONJE.

22 pages, frontispiece portrait, 7 illustrations, decorated white paper wrappers with a portrait of General Cronje, stapled binding.

Not in A South African Bibliography. Written to promote the South African Boer War Exhibition (sometimes called the Boer War Spectacle) at the Louisiana Purchases Exposition (St Louis World’s Fair) 1904. Mounted by Frank Fillis with the assistance of General Ben Viljoen the exhibition was touted in the official program as ‘The Greatest and Most Realistic Military Spectacle known in the History of the World’. The major battles of the war were re-enacted twice a day over a period of several months with a cast of 600 Boer and British veterans culminating at the end of the show with General de Wet’s ‘escape’ on horseback leaping from a height of 11 (35 feet) metres into a pool of water. Initially there was some opposition to the Exhibition. Attempts were made to dissuade General Cronje from participating. ‘As late as March of 1904, his recent comrade-in-arms, General de la Rey, denounced the coming performance as a “shameful production.” True to his stubborn Dutch ancestry, once Cronje had made up his mind, he proved inflexible. Although the rotund veteran daily surrendered to the late British enemy, his St. Louis did provide one single and notable victory. On July 5, 1904 St. Louis thrilled when the “Lion of Paardeberg” married Mrs. Stertzel, widow of a friend killed in the famous siege.’ (Missouri Historical Review, April 1967).