The young Boer farmer took aim at a large rhinoceros. At the age of twenty, Paul Kruger was already an experienced hunter. He had first killed a lion when he was only eleven years old. Today, he pursued a rogue rhinoceros. As he pulled the trigger of his massive elephant gun, the gun exploded in his hands! Suffering a severely injured thumb in the mishap and the wounded, angry rhinoceros charging, Kruger immediately fled on foot, managing to keep ahead of the angry rhino until the beast collapsed on the ground.
Kruger made his way back to camp. His young wife gently washed his injured thumb in turpentine. Yet, in spite of her care, the wound developed gangrene within a few weeks. Far away from any experienced medical care, Paul Kruger sat down on the ground with his knife in hand. With steely resolve, he amputated the shattered remnants of his own thumb! Next, he plunged the remaining bloody stump into the stomach of a goat in order to disinfect it, following a trusted Boer remedy.
Paul Kruger was a tough son of the Veld, the African grassland. He was born on a farm in 1825. As a young boy, he participated in the “Great Trek,” when Dutch settlers moved northward from Cape Colony (also known as the Cape of Good Hope) to unclaimed land. Paul’s early education had been a simple one that consisted of Bible lessons taught by his father. After lunch each day, whether at their farm or on trek, the father gathered his many children around him, having each son and daughter recite important passages from the Bible.
When he was eleven years old, Paul not only killed his first lion, but he also took part in the bloody Battle of Vegkop. This battle occurred as the Matabele, a fierce warrior tribe, sought to drive out the Voortrekkers (Boer farmers migrating northward) moving in.
In that battle, the Voortrekkers’ laager (a fortification of encircled wagons) was assaulted by 5,000 Matabele under the command of African tribal chief Mzilikazi. Stamped into young Kruger’s memory was the horrendous sound-and-smell of battle as the multitude of audibly hissing warriors (sounds they made while in combat) hurled their assegais (short, extremely sharp spears) at the handful of men, women, and children within the laager. When the bloody day was over, only two Boer farmers had been killed! Meanwhile, scores of dead Matabele warriors littered the ground in every direction.
While still a youth, Paul Kruger came under the influence of American missionary Daniel Lindley. Because of Lindley, Kruger’s Bible knowledge, which he had received from his father, was deepened. Throughout his life—as a farmer, a husband, a general, and eventually as the president of the South African Republic—the Word of God became the dominant authority for Paul Kruger.
When he was sixteen, Kruger married a girl named Maria. The young couple settled on a farm of their own. But their happiness was cut short. Maria and their baby girl died of malaria. This was a hard blow to the young farmer, but he bowed submissively to Providence; Kruger buried his wife and baby on the farm where they had started their life together.
Following the death of his first wife, Kruger married a girl named Gezina. God blessed the couple with fifty-four years of marriage, and together they would raise sixteen children. Throughout his stormy life of war and political intrigue, his faithful wife Gezina was always a steady, loving influence to her husband.
Paul Kruger was a firm, committed Christian. He knew large sections of the Bible by heart. The Krugers united with the “Dopper Church.” Dopper is derived from the word that describes the instrument that snuffs out a candle. Often, it was used in derision because people referred to as “doppers” were said to snuff the joy out of life.
Doppers, who were members of the most conservative of the Afrikaner Protestant churches, dressed in black, forbade dancing, frowned upon organs and other musical instruments, and could be recognized by their distinctive clean-shaven lips and fringed beards.
However, despite the name of his church, Paul Kruger’s home was anything but somber! The Krugers loved each other dearly, and they had a happy marriage. They loved to sing the Psalms, and the reverent husband and father would always lead the way with his deep bass voice.
Paul Kruger also had a bright sense of humor. He loved to play practical jokes on good friends and acquaintances. For example, there was one trick he enjoyed playing on other Boer hunters: when the other men were not paying attention, he would push on the stomach of a dead lion. His quick jab to the lion’s stomach would produce a rush of air through the animal’s throat, causing the dead lion to “roar” as if coming to life!
Even while a young man, Kruger was recognized as a leader of men. He was elected field cornet (the equivalent of a lieutenant) when he was still in his twenties and began to lead commandos against troublesome tribal chiefs. He was noted for bold, daring tactics as well as for his personal bravery in battle.
The political history of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State is a complicated one. However, one fact is clear: Paul Kruger became the dominant figure of Boer history for half a century. He first served as Commandant-General, then on the Executive Council, and finally as president of the South African Republic.
In the face of British annexation, Paul Kruger asserted that the Transvaal was the land of his forefathers, and that the British Empire had no grounds for encroachment. In the company of other Boer leaders, Kruger traveled to England in 1877 to protest against British annexation and to state the claims for Boer independence. Reportedly, Kruger refused to bow to Queen Victoria, asserting that he would bow to none but God alone. The queen graciously excused the awkward manners of the Boer farmer, and even thoughtfully copied the way that Kruger poured his coffee so that he would not be embarrassed.
Kruger stated his case effectively, gained the support of British Prime Minister William Gladstone, saw the annexation overturned, and restored the independence of the Boer republics. He returned to South Africa as the hero of his people.
For the remainder of his life, Kruger was adored by some and despised by others. When gold was discovered in 1886, a stream of foreign immigrants, called “uitlanders” by the Boer farmers, flooded into the South African Republic. Greed, intrigue, and political maneuvering all combined to bring increasing tension between the British colonies and the Boer republic.
The struggle between the two finally resulted in war. Against overwhelming odds, the Boer farmers gallantly fought the British. When Kruger was asked why he was “attacking a lion with a pocketknife,” the old Boer farmer answered grimly that he did not seek out the encounter. He replied, “Would you be such a coward that you would not defend yourself with a pocketknife if you were attacked by a lion?”
Refusing to surrender, Paul Kruger was finally forced into exile from the Africa he so loved. Throughout Europe—in France, Germany, and the Netherlands—he was welcomed as a hero who had bravely stood alone against British Imperialism.
By this time, Paul Kruger was an old man, increasingly deaf and blind. He received the news that his country was devastated and that his beloved Gezina had died in Africa. Kruger never lived to set foot again upon the soil of his native land. He died in Switzerland in 1904, his open Bible at his side.
In spite of the defeat of his cause, Paul Kruger left a tremendous legacy. Although he died in exile, his cause was not lost. He left behind sixteen children and more than 100 grandchildren who would continue the struggle for the resurrection of the Boer heritage. A national park in South Africa is named for him, and his face is stamped on gold coins (Krugerrand) to this day. All over South Africa, as well as in the Netherlands and Belgium, streets, schools, and towns are named after him.
When faced with impossible odds, a man of faith in the Almighty will never give up. Kruger lived not for himself but for his children and his grandchildren. He faced lions, elephants, rhinos, the Matabele, and even the British Empire for the sake of his children and his grandchildren.
He fought when he could, he ran when he had to, but he never surrendered, knowing that ultimately God alone gives the victory. Like Paul Kruger, we may never see our greatest hopes realized, but we can always trust that “the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Revelation 19:6).
Sources and Further Reference:
Meintjes, Johannes. President Paul Kruger: A Biography. London, UK: Cassell, 1974.
