TOPIC:

My name is Burton and I am writing a senior thesis about "Why Americans Fought in the Boer War".

I need help finding information about a certain Pennsylvanian named John N. King (Or John. H. King), who fought for the Boers. He went by the nickname "Dynamite Dick" and was renowned for his colorful personality.

My trouble stems from an article called, " Taking Sides In The Boer War " by Byron Farwell. In the article, Farwell claims that King almost blew up a Portuguese Railway, blackmailed the British government, and was arrested for brawling in a local saloon. It's a fascinating story, but because Bryon Farwell cites no sources I hesitate to use it.

If anyone can help find the primary sources for Bryon Farwell's article (which I will post an excerpt of below) I would be extremely grateful!



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Excerpt from Taking Sides in The Boer War ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"J. H. King, called “Dynamite Dick,” won a reputation for his skill in blowing up trains and bridges and for his reckless bravery. His first notable feat was performed during the Battle of Vaalkrantz when Alec Brand, son of a former president of the Orange Free State, lay seriously wounded between the lines. King and another man crawled out under heavy fire and brought Brand in to safety.

When in September, 1900, the bulk of the Transvaal army was pushed back against the border of Mozambique, some Boers escaped by fleeing north into the dry, inhospitable bush veld in what is today Kruger National Park, while some three thousand men, including most of the foreign volunteers, crossed the border into Portuguese territory. Abandoned at the town of Komatipoort on the frontier lay locomotives, railway cars, and stacks of supplies and ammunition. Dynamite Dick King destroyed all he could; then he, too, crossed the border and made his way to Lourenço Marques on the coast.

(This is the paragraph I need help finding sources for) King knew that both the British and the Portuguese were anxious that the stone railway bridge at Komatipoort not be destroyed, so he went straight to the British consul, declared that the bridge was mined, and swore he would blow it up unless he was given £3,000. The consul stalled while he telegraphed a warning to Lord Roberts and in reply was told that Komatipoort and the bridge were safely in British hands. King, meanwhile, had been arrested by the police for brawling in a local saloon. He was deported on a Portuguese warship and disappeared from history."

Just done an online search of British Newspapers for 1899-1902 and have found 5 articles relating to "Dynamite Dick"/John N King. They are too long to post on here but below are screenshots of the start of 3 of them. I will email you the full pages in PDF format of all 5. Not sure how much use they will be to you and obviously I cannot vouch for the veracity of any of them. Regards, David.

Thank you so much for the help with these sources! These helped a lot for the last quarter of my project and I made sure to give you credit in the paper. In fact, during my senior defense last week, one of the professors mentioned that the section with your sources was their favorite part of the paper.

Out of curiosity, what archive do you use to find these new paper articles?

Delighted to have been of help and thanks for the acknowledgement.

My enhanced membership of FindMyPast gives me access to past newspapers. If you just want to look at past newspapers I am sure there is a cheaper way of doing it.

Regards, David