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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
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