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Published Jul 30, 2007
The Jungle Man
Rather than stirring up war propaganda and following his "gut reactions"
ERB might have looked into the situation in Africa with some balance and
come up with something less offensive to the German people. Jan Christian
Smuts, the leader of the English troops was himself a Boer, and, P. J.
Pretorius, one of the heroes of the fighting, was another. Of course, the
Boer's had no love for the "Hun" but, the story, as in every war, was not as
black and white as ERB was in the habit of writing.
The following account was gleaned from "Death in the Silent Places" by Peter
Hathaway Capstick. His story, like Tarzan's own was filled with a hatred of
Germans and a desire for revenge.
P.J. Pretorius, was a descendant of the famous Boer Voortrekker general
who gave his name to Pretoria, South Africa. He was a dark-complexioned
man who looked more like a Somali or an Arab than a European. He rode
transport for the British South Africa Company in 1893 during the war with
King Lobengula of the AmaNdebele Zulu. Over the years he wandered over
much of the Zambezi region, even penetrating as far as "King Khama's
Country," modern Botswana. He lived in the Congo with Pygmies, fought
cannibals, dug for gold, and most critically for his future as a soldier, became
an ivory hunter and later poachers in German East Africa.
In 1904, he was arrested by the Germans for killing cannibals who were
trying to kill him. After two years of imprisonment and red tape, he found
that the German authorities had sold off his entire cattle herd of 774 head to
favored politicians for 150 English pounds. Several years later, when he had
built his farm up again, he was forced to tell it to Hauptmann (Captain)
Blake, a German officer. It was then that Pretorius became an ivory poacher
-- to recover his losses -- and to become a thorn in Hun flesh.
When WWI began, August 14, 1914, he was in German territory shooting
elephants. A native patrol under Leutnant Wak almost captured him but left
him wounded in both legs. He was picked up by friendly natives and carried
across the Ruvuma to the Portuguese side of the river. One thought burned
in his brain -- revenge. Up at Mazewa, he discovered that Dr. Da Costa and
his wife had both been butchered by the Germans. He had to open the
wound in his leg to let out the poison, but he finally reached Malindi on Lake
Nyassa, British Central Africa, 26 days after being shot!
Months later, Pretorius went to the recruiting office in Pretoria, South Africa,
but was flatly refused. They thought his story to be too fantastic -- he
must be a German agent. Weeks later, all this reversed. He was summoned
to meet Admiral King-Hall aboard the battleship "Goliath." His mission was
to find the German battle cruiser "Konigsberg," which was hidden somewhere
up the Rufiji -- his old hunting grounds.
The British center of operations for this hunt was 22 miles off the mouth of
the Rufiji -- the island of Mafia. Pretorius picked six ruffians and kidnapped a
couple of locals, who were only too willing to act as their guides. They found
the well-camouflaged ship, and after a few more trips back and fourth to get
the correct bearings (even going into the German camp to get the location of
the accompanying torpedo boats) the ship was blasted to eternity. It had
been tracked, stalked and hunted to her den by a lean, quiet, dark-faced
man who had learned not to like Germans.
Actually, the whole operation took months to accomplish. Pretorius spent
the rest of the war behind enemy lines as the chief scout to General Jan
Smuts, commander of the South African Allied forces.
During the battle for Taveta, General von Lettow-Vorbeck staged a
withdrawal action, badly mauling the South African infantry and the Second
Rhodesians. But Pretorius' suggestion to cut off the water to Salaita had
worked. During most of his action, he moved like a ghost through enemy
territory gathering information. He got so close to the Germans that one
day, in a trench he thought was deserted, he was saluted as one of their
officers.
Pretorius was known as "Jungle Man." He was so wary that he never slept
twice in the same place while in the field. He had a sort of "sixth sense" and
once he moved his dry troops (20 men) into the rainy night just before his
camp was attacked. Another time he witnessed 7 of his men being slowly
hung from trees by the Hun, so all the stories of atrocities were not
imagined by ERB. The famous hunter and scout, Frederick Courteney
Selous, was killed by a sniper when he acted as a replacement at the last
minute on one of the missions planned for Pretorius. Obviously, he didn't
have the same "sixth sense." Later, another good man, van de Merwe, was
taken by perhaps the same sniper out to get Pretorius. He was a man with a
price on his head.
Pretorius was indeed a thorn in the side of Lettow-Vorbeck throughout the
war. He persuaded more than 2000 German territorial natives to revolt and
fight for the Allies -- for which he won a bar for his "Distinguished Service
Order" medal. In his last engagement, he took the Tafel column on the
Ruvuma river right under the nose of Lettow-Vorbeck. 4,500 of the enemy
surrendered to the nearby General Hannyngton, commander of King's
African Rifles, after Pretorius had managed to starve them into submission
by his scorched-earth policy.
After the war, Pretorius returned to his adventurous life of big-game
hunting. He was a pioneer in film making to record the charges of
dangerous game, particularly lions, which he killed mere feet in front of the
camera's lens.
A very shy and modest man, he was persuaded by a good friend, Mr. L.L.
leSueur of Johannesburg, to make notes of his fascinating life. It came out
as "Jungle Man" in 1948, nearly three years after his death in 1945 at the
age of sixty eight.
It seems there was a real Tarzan out there in those days.
The Jungle Man
Rather than stirring up war propaganda and following his "gut reactions"
ERB might have looked into the situation in Africa with some balance and
come up with something less offensive to the German people. Jan Christian
Smuts, the leader of the English troops was himself a Boer, and, P. J.
Pretorius, one of the heroes of the fighting, was another. Of course, the
Boer's had no love for the "Hun" but, the story, as in every war, was not as
black and white as ERB was in the habit of writing.
The following account was gleaned from "Death in the Silent Places" by Peter
Hathaway Capstick. His story, like Tarzan's own was filled with a hatred of
Germans and a desire for revenge.
P.J. Pretorius, was a descendant of the famous Boer Voortrekker general
who gave his name to Pretoria, South Africa. He was a dark-complexioned
man who looked more like a Somali or an Arab than a European. He rode
transport for the British South Africa Company in 1893 during the war with
King Lobengula of the AmaNdebele Zulu. Over the years he wandered over
much of the Zambezi region, even penetrating as far as "King Khama's
Country," modern Botswana. He lived in the Congo with Pygmies, fought
cannibals, dug for gold, and most critically for his future as a soldier, became
an ivory hunter and later poachers in German East Africa.
In 1904, he was arrested by the Germans for killing cannibals who were
trying to kill him. After two years of imprisonment and red tape, he found
that the German authorities had sold off his entire cattle herd of 774 head to
favored politicians for 150 English pounds. Several years later, when he had
built his farm up again, he was forced to tell it to Hauptmann (Captain)
Blake, a German officer. It was then that Pretorius became an ivory poacher
-- to recover his losses -- and to become a thorn in Hun flesh.
When WWI began, August 14, 1914, he was in German territory shooting
elephants. A native patrol under Leutnant Wak almost captured him but left
him wounded in both legs. He was picked up by friendly natives and carried
across the Ruvuma to the Portuguese side of the river. One thought burned
in his brain -- revenge. Up at Mazewa, he discovered that Dr. Da Costa and
his wife had both been butchered by the Germans. He had to open the
wound in his leg to let out the poison, but he finally reached Malindi on Lake
Nyassa, British Central Africa, 26 days after being shot!
Months later, Pretorius went to the recruiting office in Pretoria, South Africa,
but was flatly refused. They thought his story to be too fantastic -- he
must be a German agent. Weeks later, all this reversed. He was summoned
to meet Admiral King-Hall aboard the battleship "Goliath." His mission was
to find the German battle cruiser "Konigsberg," which was hidden somewhere
up the Rufiji -- his old hunting grounds.
The British center of operations for this hunt was 22 miles off the mouth of
the Rufiji -- the island of Mafia. Pretorius picked six ruffians and kidnapped a
couple of locals, who were only too willing to act as their guides. They found
the well-camouflaged ship, and after a few more trips back and fourth to get
the correct bearings (even going into the German camp to get the location of
the accompanying torpedo boats) the ship was blasted to eternity. It had
been tracked, stalked and hunted to her den by a lean, quiet, dark-faced
man who had learned not to like Germans.
Actually, the whole operation took months to accomplish. Pretorius spent
the rest of the war behind enemy lines as the chief scout to General Jan
Smuts, commander of the South African Allied forces.
During the battle for Taveta, General von Lettow-Vorbeck staged a
withdrawal action, badly mauling the South African infantry and the Second
Rhodesians. But Pretorius' suggestion to cut off the water to Salaita had
worked. During most of his action, he moved like a ghost through enemy
territory gathering information. He got so close to the Germans that one
day, in a trench he thought was deserted, he was saluted as one of their
officers.
Pretorius was known as "Jungle Man." He was so wary that he never slept
twice in the same place while in the field. He had a sort of "sixth sense" and
once he moved his dry troops (20 men) into the rainy night just before his
camp was attacked. Another time he witnessed 7 of his men being slowly
hung from trees by the Hun, so all the stories of atrocities were not
imagined by ERB. The famous hunter and scout, Frederick Courteney
Selous, was killed by a sniper when he acted as a replacement at the last
minute on one of the missions planned for Pretorius. Obviously, he didn't
have the same "sixth sense." Later, another good man, van de Merwe, was
taken by perhaps the same sniper out to get Pretorius. He was a man with a
price on his head.
Pretorius was indeed a thorn in the side of Lettow-Vorbeck throughout the
war. He persuaded more than 2000 German territorial natives to revolt and
fight for the Allies -- for which he won a bar for his "Distinguished Service
Order" medal. In his last engagement, he took the Tafel column on the
Ruvuma river right under the nose of Lettow-Vorbeck. 4,500 of the enemy
surrendered to the nearby General Hannyngton, commander of King's
African Rifles, after Pretorius had managed to starve them into submission
by his scorched-earth policy.
After the war, Pretorius returned to his adventurous life of big-game
hunting. He was a pioneer in film making to record the charges of
dangerous game, particularly lions, which he killed mere feet in front of the
camera's lens.
A very shy and modest man, he was persuaded by a good friend, Mr. L.L.
leSueur of Johannesburg, to make notes of his fascinating life. It came out
as "Jungle Man" in 1948, nearly three years after his death in 1945 at the
age of sixty eight.
It seems there was a real Tarzan out there in those days.
"Major P. J. Pretorius - A Boer Who Fought for England"
http://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0793.html
http://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0793.html
Anne Zahalka
Reader
Reader