By the time of Witbooi’s decisive call to arms, Morenga had already established himself as a focus for resistance, vilified in the European newspapers as ‘an elusive brigand’, but acknowledged by indigenes and colonists alike as a type of African Robin Hood. Like Samuel, he forbade his men to harm non-combatants and also took and paroled prisoners.
After successfully storming one military post he informed the authorities so they could give medical attention to the wounded. Whenever he raided European farms and disarmed the occupants, he provided them with detailed requisition orders for the items taken. His style of combat also included a sense of humour. After an ambush that deprived a German company of all its horses, he wrote a note to the immobilized commander requesting that he look after his nags better, to ensure they were worthy of theft.
Such exploits earned the respect not only of his European adversaries, but of a flock of African recruits. His guerrilla force grew from only eleven at the time of Waterberg, to about 400 by early 1905.
Source:
Cocker, Mark. “Cruelty and Brutality.” Rivers of Blood, Rivers of Gold: Europe's Conquest of Indigenous Peoples. Grove Press, 2001. 336. Print.
Further Reading:
Hendrik Witbooi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrik_Witbooi_(Namaqua_chief)
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