1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So back 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: when this pandemic began, we selected ten episodes to go 5 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 1: on our Offbeat History Playlist, which was a playlist that 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: we dropped of things that were a little more light 7 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: in tone so that there might be a nice distraction. 8 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: And one of the things that I had selected to 9 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:34,840 Speaker 1: include was our two parter on the Great American Hippo 10 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: Ranch Plan. And so in re listening to those just 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 1: for a quality check, I realized that I mentioned during 12 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 1: them that it would be really, really fun to do 13 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: an entire episode on Fritz Duquine because his life was 14 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: I don't know a better word to describe it, bananas. 15 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: It's a it's a journey, a very a lot of journey. 16 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: I mean, I I envy both his bravado and his energy. 17 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:05,559 Speaker 1: But so here I am. It's almost four years later, 18 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: finally doing that thing. Uh, and that two parter has 19 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: spawned another two parter because we are talking about a 20 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: man who changed his life story to suit his needs. 21 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: He worked under an estimated forty aliases, and he lived 22 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: a life that was very full, but it also directly 23 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: involves a lot of significant historical events. And one of 24 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: the things that Ducane excelled at was escaping custody. And 25 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,279 Speaker 1: this first part is going to cover his early life 26 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: up to an escape that serves as a major shifting 27 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: point in his life. And then next time we will 28 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: cover a whole bunch of his time as a saboteur, 29 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:44,960 Speaker 1: spy and journalist, among other things, right up to the 30 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: end of his life. And I want to give you 31 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: heads up that this episode does contain brief mentions of 32 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: sexual violence. Decane's parents, Abraham and Minna, lived in East 33 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: London in Cape Province, South Africa, and Abraham was a 34 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: hunter who just lowly built up a fortune by selling 35 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: hides as well as tusks and horns. The Duquesnes were bowers. 36 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: These were Dutch and Huguenot settlers and their descendants who 37 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: made their homes in Southern Africa starting in the seventeenth century. 38 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,519 Speaker 1: Frist was born on December twenty one, eighteen seventy seven, 39 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: and his full name was Frederick Luguno Jubert Ducaine, and 40 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: at this point the spelling of that last name was 41 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: d u q u e n n e. His spelling 42 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 1: of it changed later on in his life. Yeah, if 43 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: you hear someone who is a French speaker pronounced it, 44 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: particularly the way his parents spelled it, it will be 45 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: more like Duquenne, where that a sound is a little softer. 46 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,920 Speaker 1: And then as he lived his life, Duquesne in that 47 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 1: sort of harder a sound, americanized style became part of 48 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: it and he started spelling it differently. The blurred nature 49 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,639 Speaker 1: of Fritz's life story begins right there at the beginning, 50 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: at least in terms of how he presented himself. This 51 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: will come up over and over that he kind of 52 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: crafted his persona h I don't even want to say carefully, 53 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: because he was sloppy in details at times, but to 54 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: suit his needs. And while he was born in the 55 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: Duquesne home, what he liked to tell people was that 56 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: he was born on the run as his parents traveled 57 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: with other white European descendant Afrikaners and were attacked by 58 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: a group of black Africans. He claimed that he came 59 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: into the world hearing gunfire. This was just one of 60 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: the many stories that Fritz would eventually tell as he 61 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: crafted this very complicated and completely unverifiable backstory, despite the 62 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: fact that he spent most of his time as a 63 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: teen being educated in England, he claimed that in those 64 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 1: same years he had been captured by a Bantoo speaking 65 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: tribe and had saved himself by making the daughter of 66 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: the tribal leader fall in love with him. A lot 67 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: of this is racially very problematic. Oh yeah, Like the 68 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: whole story of of of European colonialism in South Africa 69 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: is like, we're going to touch on it some, but 70 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: like there's a lot of pieces that are very racist 71 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: and problematic. Oh yeah, we will talk about Duquesne as 72 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: an adventurer, but we don't really delve into the the 73 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: really problematic and difficult thing that the attitude of virtually 74 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: all white European descendant men who categorized themselves as adventurers 75 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: had really really unfortunate and incorrect attitudes about the people 76 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: that were native to the places they like to explore. 77 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: It's coming up on the show many times. So I 78 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: felt like Duquesne's story is busy enough. We didn't need to, uh, 79 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,160 Speaker 1: you know, kind of venture over that territory again. Um, 80 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: But the Ducheans did certainly find themselves in the conflict 81 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: between the black and white inhabitants of South Africa. Fritz 82 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: is actually alleged to have killed a Zulu man who 83 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: was attacking his mother when he was still just a boy, 84 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: and then to have been involved in a much larger 85 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: battle between the Dutch descendant Africanners and a group of 86 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: Bantu men when he was just well. And while these 87 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: stories do seem to have at least been grounded in 88 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: some actual events of conflict, we should note that this 89 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: information comes from sources that are all written from the 90 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,719 Speaker 1: Boer point of view. In eighteen o six, the Cape Colony, 91 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: which had been controlled by the Dutch until this point, 92 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: fell under British control during the Napoleonic Wars. This led 93 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: to a lot of friction between the Boers and Britain 94 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: over a number of issues. The biggest one was Britain's 95 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: antislavery stance. Many Boers decided to move to more rural areas. 96 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 1: They eventually founded Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Written 97 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:43,039 Speaker 1: recognized those independent republics. Although it's violence between the Boors 98 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: and the native Bantu people's escalated. Britain moved in its 99 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: troops into these republics under the pretext of keeping the peace. 100 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: There's really a motivation in this whole mix that was 101 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: outside of diplomacy and politics for Britain. That was the 102 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: discovery of gold and diamonds in the area, and the 103 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: ports around the Cape that were active trade routes also 104 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:05,839 Speaker 1: added value to trans of all that Britain was really 105 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: eager to control. Yeah, it was initially like, oh, sure, 106 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: you have your own countries. That's fine. Wait, your countries 107 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: have stuff. Uh, we have that stuff. We have to 108 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,159 Speaker 1: help you. We're helping, We're helping. Uh. This is of 109 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:20,720 Speaker 1: course the very broad strokes version of all of this, 110 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 1: but ultimately a struggle for control of the region escalated, 111 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: unsurprisingly into military conflict. The first of these, which was 112 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: called the First boo Or War or sometimes the First 113 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,159 Speaker 1: Anglo Boer War or the Transvaal Rebellion, and you will 114 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: even find other names, started in December eighteen eighteen, and 115 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,039 Speaker 1: it resulted in a British defeat. Fritz was just three 116 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,160 Speaker 1: years old when this played out, but the ongoing hostility 117 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: toward Great Britain in the area was part of a 118 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: culture that he just grew up in, and in an 119 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: odd twist. Despite this anti Anglo sentiment, Fritz was, as 120 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: we mentioned just a moment ago, sent to England for 121 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 1: school as a teenager allow Julie, at the behest of 122 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: an uncle on his mother's side, who recognized that there 123 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,039 Speaker 1: was just no comparable education in southern Africa. The story 124 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: goes that after attending private school and graduating, Fritz moved 125 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: on first to Oxford for a year and then to 126 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: the Belgian at Cole Militaire in Brussels. When he was 127 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:22,280 Speaker 1: there he learned about artillery and engineering as well as explosives. 128 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: He also became proficient in fencing and swordsmanship, and according 129 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: to the kind of legendary Duquesne accounts, this resulted in 130 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: the deaths of three different challengers in duels the rose 131 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: over the affections of young ladies. These assertions, though, are 132 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: not really backed up with any kind of attendance records 133 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: at Oxford or at Cold Militaire, and there is also 134 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: an alternative account of these years, also told at various 135 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: points by Duquesne, in which he claimed that he had 136 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: been en route to Europe from Africa a board a 137 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: steamer after a break between his English schooling and his 138 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: advanced studies so Be where he went to university, when 139 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: suddenly his plans shifted. According to this story, he said 140 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: that he met a man on that journey while he 141 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: was on the ship, who convinced him that he would 142 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: learn more if he took his school money and used 143 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 1: it to travel around the world, And so the two 144 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: men set off together, and allegedly this journey ended when 145 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: Ducaine's father caught up to the pair in Singapore partying 146 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: like crazy and then sent Fritz back to school. But 147 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: as Fritz was either on a globe trotting, drinking binge 148 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: with his new much older friend, or learning about explosives 149 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:36,719 Speaker 1: in military school, the issues between the Boors and the 150 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: British back home were escalating. This would become the Second 151 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,840 Speaker 1: Boer War. There were a lot of circumstances in the 152 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 1: mix leading to the cause of this. The ideologies of 153 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: Britain versus the Orange Free State and the Republic of 154 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: Transvaal also known as the Republic of South Africa were 155 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:56,320 Speaker 1: still at odds. Annexation of parts of Transvall by Britain 156 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: were once again the focus, as was this battle over 157 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 1: the control of valuable resources like gold. In things boiled 158 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 1: over and twenty two year old Fritz was ready to fight. 159 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: Fritz claimed that he had been summoned to return home 160 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,120 Speaker 1: from Europe to join the fight in a letter from 161 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: his father, but it seems as though Abraham Ducane was 162 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: actually already dead. By an ultimatum, though was issued jointly 163 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 1: by Transvaal and the Orange Free State, that British troops 164 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: had to be out of Boer territory by October. Even 165 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: that did not happen, and so on October twelfth war 166 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:37,600 Speaker 1: was declared by the Boers and Britain began closing all 167 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: of the ports along the coast. Duquesne arrived home, whether 168 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: at the behest of his father or someone else, as 169 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 1: all of this was happening sometime in December. We'll get 170 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 1: into Fritz's life in the military after we pause for 171 00:09:51,200 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 1: a quick sponsor break. Fritz was commissioned as a lieutenant 172 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 1: and was assigned under the command of Piat Jubet, the 173 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 1: Commandant General of the Republic. Now. Fritz claimed throughout his 174 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,680 Speaker 1: life that Jubert was his uncle. His mother's maiden name 175 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 1: was Hubert, and he said that Piet had been the 176 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: one to send him to school in England, but that 177 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: family tie has never actually been confirmed. Initially, the Boers 178 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: fared quite well in the war against the British. Although 179 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: the Transvaal and Orange Free State military was made up 180 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: of farmers and hunters, many of them led pretty nomadic lives. 181 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,080 Speaker 1: Those were men who could shoot and track as a 182 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:37,679 Speaker 1: matter of course, from the time they were kids, and 183 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 1: they were comfortable out in the beld, that's the undeveloped 184 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 1: grasslands of southern Africa. This entire conflict was harder for 185 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:49,719 Speaker 1: the British soldiers than anticipated. Britain had become kind of 186 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:53,680 Speaker 1: accustomed to just swooping into areas of conflict with nations 187 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: that had less fortified militaries and then wrangling just efficient 188 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 1: and decisive victories. That's not what happened here. There was 189 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: a lot of back and forth in the fight with 190 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: the Boers, and Fritz thrived in the conflict. He became 191 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,319 Speaker 1: so well known for his stealth that people started calling 192 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:13,199 Speaker 1: him the Black Panther of the Veld. Although that may 193 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: have been the nickname that he gave himself, he definitely 194 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 1: told people about it for the rest of his life. Though. Yeah, 195 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:23,319 Speaker 1: anytime you look up any sort of article about him, 196 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: anytime he appears people will use that moniker, and I 197 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: still wonder if he just decided, like I'm a black panther, 198 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,640 Speaker 1: I'm a black panther of the veld Um. In early 199 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,680 Speaker 1: spring of nineteen hundred, Fritz Dukane was actually injured in 200 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,000 Speaker 1: the war. He was shot in his right shoulder and 201 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,319 Speaker 1: he continued fighting, though, even as the Boers found themselves 202 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 1: with fewer and fewer successes. To be clear, this was 203 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:50,679 Speaker 1: a lot of incredibly bloody fighting. There were a lot 204 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,199 Speaker 1: of men lost for both the Boers and Britain uh 205 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,319 Speaker 1: and in some cases the far militia of the Boers, though, 206 00:11:57,360 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: were able to take advantage of their knowledge of the 207 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,320 Speaker 1: term rain and make themselves almost undetectable to British troops, 208 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: and that offered them a chance to open fire without 209 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 1: the enemy ever anticipating it. This is kind of one 210 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: of those conflicts where you see some shifting away from 211 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 1: traditional military engagement into more guerrilla warfare. As the tide 212 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 1: had turned, there were concerns that the finances of chanz 213 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 1: walls Burg government could fall into the hands of the British, 214 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,640 Speaker 1: and a plan was made to move the country's gold 215 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 1: stores to Europe in secret so millions of pounds of 216 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: gold the exact value ranges from a million dollars to 217 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 1: five million dollars was loaded with other valuable state papers 218 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 1: onto a series of wagons to be taken quietly to 219 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 1: the coast and then sent on from there. And allegedly 220 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:51,320 Speaker 1: none other than Fritz Ducane got involved in this whole story. 221 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 1: So Fritz, according to the tale, intercepted the wagons with 222 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,240 Speaker 1: fake credentials that he was carrying that claimed to be 223 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 1: from Transwall's president Paul Krueger. Ducuese had several other men 224 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:06,680 Speaker 1: with him, white accomplices, as well as several black servants, 225 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: and they took those wagons that they had common to 226 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:12,880 Speaker 1: here deeper into the wilds. It is possible that once 227 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: the gold was stashed in a series of caves, Ducane 228 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,760 Speaker 1: actually conspired with the head of a nearby tribe to 229 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 1: have all of his men killed in exchange for the 230 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: oxen that had been pulling the wagons, leading him to 231 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 1: be the only one left alive who knew the gold's whereabouts. 232 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 1: We do not know if this story is true. I 233 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: feel like we say that after everything uh conveniently, all 234 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 1: of the players in this story, other than Duquesne were 235 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 1: killed or would be impossible to track down per his story, 236 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,559 Speaker 1: but he used this tale once again as a yarn 237 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 1: that would bolster his reputation throughout his life. In June 238 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: of nineteen hundred, he was injured, he had a lance 239 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:55,560 Speaker 1: go through his foot, and Ducane went on the run, 240 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:58,959 Speaker 1: but was soon captured by the British. It was only 241 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:03,679 Speaker 1: the first of seven real captures. He escaped when the 242 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,400 Speaker 1: town that the British troops took him to for imprisonment 243 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:09,359 Speaker 1: turned out to have burned down, and in the confusion 244 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,000 Speaker 1: upun Having discovered that their destination was burned down, Fritz 245 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 1: made a run for it, and then, after finding another 246 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,880 Speaker 1: group of Boer fighters andy real military structure was gone 247 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: at this point, he joined up with them. They were 248 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 1: defeated in their next fight, though, and he was taken 249 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 1: prisoner again. This time, he started up a friendly conversation 250 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: with one of the soldiers to get that soldier relaxed, 251 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 1: and then as they crossed a bridge, Fritz hit the 252 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: soldier hard over the head, knocking him out, and then 253 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: jumped into the river. He managed to hide in the 254 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: bush by the bank until the British troops gave up 255 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: looking for him and moved on. Duquesne planned to then 256 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:48,840 Speaker 1: travel on foot until he could get to a port, 257 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:51,760 Speaker 1: with the hope being that he could get on a 258 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: boat and be taken to where he could rejoin the 259 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: main thrust of the Boer forces. But after a few 260 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 1: days of walking, he was captured by colonists from Portugal 261 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: and he was turned over to British authorities. From there, 262 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: he was transported to the port city of Lorenzo Marquez 263 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: now known as Maputo in Mozambique, and he was put 264 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 1: in an actual prison. It was actually like a cell 265 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: in a castle style prison. Uh That made his plans 266 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 1: for escape a little bit limited, but of course that 267 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: was always his plan. Literally every time he got in 268 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: hot water, his next thought was how can I get 269 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,119 Speaker 1: out of here? He managed to slip through a ventilation 270 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,840 Speaker 1: shaft into another room at one point, but that was 271 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: not a cell. But then he was seen right away 272 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 1: and was immediately taken back into custody and put back 273 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: into his cell. From there he was shipped to Lisbon, 274 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: where he was jailed, but found it much more comfortable 275 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 1: than his previous captivity had been. He claimed to have 276 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 1: befriended the jailer and also had a romance with that 277 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: man's daughter, but whether or not it was comfortable to 278 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 1: Caine still wanted out. He eventually managed to escape again, 279 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,040 Speaker 1: although the details are not clear. This time he made 280 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 1: his way to Brussels after in Kiddies and Paris, and 281 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:05,720 Speaker 1: he made contact with Transvaal's representative there that was William 282 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: Johannes Lads. It was there and through this discussion with 283 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: Lads that Decane's life as a spy began. Uh. Yeah, 284 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: we'll do a brief aside and say that there you 285 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: could have some pedantic discussions over whether he was more 286 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: of a saboteur or a spy. At various points in 287 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: his nefarious dealings career, um he got labeled a spy generally, 288 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 1: So even though this particular part to me seems more 289 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: like a saboteur, we'll go with it. Uh. Lades suggested 290 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 1: that Fritz pose as a board defector and joined the 291 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,240 Speaker 1: British military. This was something that happened a number of 292 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 1: times as some of the Boers got tired of the fighting, 293 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: and Fritz's background and his military expertise ensured that he 294 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:50,080 Speaker 1: would be sent right back to the Anglo Boer War there, 295 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 1: the plan was that he would desert and join up 296 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 1: with the Boers again. But this plan was really really risky. 297 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: As we said, defectors not that uncommon, but they were 298 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: known as judas Boers and they were viewed with utter 299 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: contempt by their countrymen, and it was entirely possible that 300 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: Fritz would be shot on site by his fellows before 301 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:12,560 Speaker 1: he could reveal his ruse. When Decaine got back to 302 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:16,400 Speaker 1: South Africa in March of nineteen o one, he was horrified. 303 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:19,960 Speaker 1: Most of the Boer farms had been burned. There was 304 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: a huge homeless population of Boer women and children who 305 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: had lost their husbands and fathers to the fighting. They 306 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,200 Speaker 1: were put into camps that were poorly managed and resulted 307 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,600 Speaker 1: in really high mortality rates and sheer misery for those 308 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: who managed to survive. But the real horror for Fritz 309 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:40,640 Speaker 1: Ducane was learning what happened to his family. He thought, 310 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:42,720 Speaker 1: because they were so rural and it would just be 311 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,640 Speaker 1: his mom and his sister who was a little bit younger, 312 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,040 Speaker 1: and his uncle who was blind, that people would just 313 00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:50,679 Speaker 1: leave them alone. But their farm had been burned, like 314 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:54,720 Speaker 1: so many others. The one surviving servant had told him 315 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:58,320 Speaker 1: that his uncle had been hanged and then mutilated, his 316 00:17:58,359 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: mother and sister had both been raped by British soldiers. 317 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: His sister had been shot, and his mother was then 318 00:18:04,359 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: taken to camp as a prisoner disguised in his British uniform. 319 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 1: Fritz was able to find his mother at a nearby camp, 320 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: and she was very, very sick, dying according to Fritz's 321 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: later account, of syphilis, and she had a seven month 322 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: old baby. Decane knew that he couldn't save his mother, 323 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 1: so he made her a promise quote, as long as 324 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: I live, I will never draw one breath but to 325 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: pay back the English for what they have done. I 326 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,280 Speaker 1: pledge my soul that for every drop of rotten, poisoned 327 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,359 Speaker 1: blood in your body, I will kill a hundred Englishmen. 328 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,720 Speaker 1: So for Fritz this completely changed his drive to fight 329 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 1: the British on behalf of his people. It's just a 330 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: personal vendetta. He spoke for the rest of his life 331 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:51,120 Speaker 1: about how deeply he hated all Englishmen for what had 332 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 1: happened to his family, and he held a special level 333 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,199 Speaker 1: of hatred for Field Marshal Horatio Kitchener, who headed up 334 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: the British military effort during the time and had directed 335 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: this scorched Earth campaign and bore territory, and Duquesne immediately 336 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:09,679 Speaker 1: set to work on his first act of vengeance. His 337 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: plan was to turn Cape Town, which was a place 338 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: that had become sort of the English headquarters in South Africa, 339 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: into a place with as much pain and suffering for 340 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:21,280 Speaker 1: Great Britain as the misery that they had caused the Boers. 341 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:25,439 Speaker 1: With about twenty conspirators, he planned a massive bomb attack 342 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:29,720 Speaker 1: for the night of October eleventh, nineteen o one. Explosives 343 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,199 Speaker 1: were to be placed throughout the city, at the docks, 344 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:37,640 Speaker 1: at the utilities, around municipal buildings, basically everywhere, and as 345 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: part of this plot for It's actually attended a social 346 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 1: event that night in his full British uniform. He was 347 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,879 Speaker 1: quite respected within the British Army. But then as he 348 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 1: tried to leave the event, Duchese was arrested on charges 349 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:53,199 Speaker 1: of conspiracy against the British government and espionage. And it 350 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: turned out that one of the twenty men that Fritz 351 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 1: had trusted had become worried that his own property in 352 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,960 Speaker 1: Cape Town would be destroyed by all this, so he 353 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 1: blabbed the entire scheme to British authorities. So hang on 354 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:08,880 Speaker 1: to that betrayal. We are about to get into its repercussions, 355 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,159 Speaker 1: but first we're going to take a quick break to 356 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:23,159 Speaker 1: hear from the sponsors. Fritz Duchane, still technically a British 357 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,840 Speaker 1: Army officer, was court martial and when he was questioned 358 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 1: along with the nineteen other men, Fritz confessed to his 359 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,480 Speaker 1: own involvement in the plot, but claimed the other men 360 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:34,880 Speaker 1: were strangers to him. The only one that he could 361 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: not deny knowledge of was the man who turned him in. 362 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:41,359 Speaker 1: When Fritz was called a trader, he denied it, saying, quote, 363 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:45,719 Speaker 1: I am a Boer, not a Britisher. Duchese continued. He 364 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:49,160 Speaker 1: explained to the court his political point of view that 365 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: Britain had invaded where the Boers were simply trying to 366 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 1: live their lives as they wished, and he also revealed 367 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:56,919 Speaker 1: what had happened to his family at the hands of 368 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:01,359 Speaker 1: British soldiers. Fritz and his accomplice Is were declared guilty 369 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: and sentenced to be shot at sunrise the following day, 370 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,159 Speaker 1: but Fritz Decane did not die. With the dawn in 371 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,359 Speaker 1: the night, a British general made him an offer that 372 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,879 Speaker 1: if he gave the British Army the communication codes that 373 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 1: the Boers were using, he could live to fight for 374 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: his country. He would not be freed, but he also 375 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 1: would not be executed. He grudgingly agreed with this. He 376 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: watched the firing squad carry out the sentence on his 377 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,160 Speaker 1: co conspirators before he was taken to a cell where 378 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: he was asked to translate a number of Boer communications. 379 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:38,439 Speaker 1: Ducaine always claimed that he didn't translate the codes and 380 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:42,240 Speaker 1: betray his country, but instead created new codes to confuse 381 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:45,399 Speaker 1: the British. He also wrote a number of letters to 382 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:48,399 Speaker 1: his captors complaining about the food and the treatment that 383 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:52,159 Speaker 1: he was receiving, including a list of expletives that he 384 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 1: had been called and saying, quote, this is not likely 385 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 1: to do any good and hurts the feelings of the 386 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,960 Speaker 1: prisoner that just tickled me. In the midst of all 387 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 1: of this, He's like, my feelings are hurt when you 388 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,639 Speaker 1: call me these bad names. And of course he tried 389 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: to escape. That was his jam. So this is pretty ingenious. 390 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,119 Speaker 1: We mentioned it briefly in the Hippo episode, but we 391 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:16,600 Speaker 1: can go into a little more detail here. He used 392 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:20,600 Speaker 1: a spoon like the classic old school movie Troupe to 393 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,399 Speaker 1: scrape away the mortar that was holding the stones of 394 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: the exterior wall of his cell, and he did this 395 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,200 Speaker 1: slowly over time until he felt like he had gotten 396 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:31,959 Speaker 1: enough stones loose that he could get out. But when 397 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,560 Speaker 1: the night came that he thought that he was ready, 398 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 1: there was enough loose mortar for him to escape. As 399 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:41,120 Speaker 1: he was pushing them out, a stone from above those stones, 400 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,120 Speaker 1: which had lost its support as he had been scooting 401 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:47,159 Speaker 1: those stones below out, fell on top of him and 402 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,160 Speaker 1: it pinned him to the ground. So from that point 403 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 1: on he was kept in irons. He was also shipped 404 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:55,879 Speaker 1: away to Bermuda on a ship that sailed from Cape 405 00:22:55,880 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 1: Town on November seven one, which carried three forty prisoners 406 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,879 Speaker 1: of war. As part of this change in circumstance, he 407 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 1: was told that he was exiled from South Africa forever. 408 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: He took this news very badly, but he was oddly 409 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,639 Speaker 1: okay with a transfer to a penal colony in Bermuda 410 00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: I s meant that he might have another chance at escape. 411 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: He tried to put together an escape plan during the voyage, 412 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,400 Speaker 1: which involved taking the captain of the ship prisoner that 413 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,399 Speaker 1: was foiled by the men being a little cavalier with 414 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:31,359 Speaker 1: their discussions and being found out. As a consequence, all 415 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,720 Speaker 1: of the conspirators and that attempt were placed in cells 416 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 1: with worse conditions than the already rough situation that they 417 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 1: had been in prior to this plan. Yeah, they they 418 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:47,160 Speaker 1: had apparently had you know, not great provisions, cleanliness, etcetera. 419 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:49,159 Speaker 1: Before this, But then they were just put in like 420 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: the grossest part of the ship. Uh. Fritz maybe learning 421 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:56,119 Speaker 1: that you can't trust groups, tried to escape on his 422 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: own leader when his shackles had been removed so that 423 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,920 Speaker 1: he could get some exercise on deck. He actually killed 424 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:04,679 Speaker 1: a guard in the process and threw him overboard, and 425 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,400 Speaker 1: then he hid in a hawse hole, hoping to jump 426 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 1: into the water when night fell, but he was recaptured 427 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:13,119 Speaker 1: before that could happen. But because there was no body, 428 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:17,440 Speaker 1: he was not officially found guilty of murder. Throughout this journey, 429 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: he wrote a number of letters to various authorities about 430 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,560 Speaker 1: his poor treatment in the awful provisions. This is something 431 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,159 Speaker 1: that became sort of a hobby throughout all of his 432 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,240 Speaker 1: various imprisonments in life, of which there were a lot 433 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 1: more to like. I was like, well, I tried to escape, 434 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 1: I might have murdered someone. I definitely conspired with the 435 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: other prisoners, but they're treating me so bad. I would 436 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 1: really like better food. So once the ship got to Bermuda, 437 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:50,280 Speaker 1: conditions improved considerably for the Boer POWs, although they were 438 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:54,879 Speaker 1: still captive. Then Fritz, as ever, was plotting with escape possibilities. 439 00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 1: They were on small islands apart from the main island, 440 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,200 Speaker 1: so the prisoners had more freedo of movement within these 441 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: military camp zones. There were some escape attempts by other prisoners, 442 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,959 Speaker 1: particularly because there were a number of Boer sympathizers on 443 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: the main island who would harbor them, but most of 444 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,960 Speaker 1: them were recaptured. Yeah. Once once British authorities realized like, oh, 445 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:17,920 Speaker 1: they're making a run for the island because these people 446 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: will let them stay in their houses, they started watching 447 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: those houses and the islands a little more tightly, even 448 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,560 Speaker 1: in shackles. Though, Fritz, who had always been a ladies 449 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:30,439 Speaker 1: man since he was a teenager, managed to woo a 450 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:34,280 Speaker 1: young woman while in Bermuda. Alice Wortley was the daughter 451 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:37,199 Speaker 1: of the u S director of Bermuda's agriculture and she 452 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: found Fritz Duchane fascinating, even though she literally met him 453 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:45,200 Speaker 1: when he was in shackles sitting with other prisoners. Uh 454 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 1: he was well educated and he could speak multiple languages, 455 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,919 Speaker 1: and the two of them were really strongly drawn to 456 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 1: one another. As the word reached Duquesne about the Anglo 457 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,640 Speaker 1: Boer War coming to a close and peace terms being 458 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,879 Speaker 1: reached in May of nineteen two shifted his plans a 459 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,199 Speaker 1: little bit. He still wanted to escape, but there was 460 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:06,360 Speaker 1: no home that he could go back to, and there 461 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: was no fight that he could take up there on 462 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: the part of his people. So Fritz, like all the 463 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:15,160 Speaker 1: other Boer POWs, was offered release if he signed an 464 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,040 Speaker 1: oath of allegiance to the British Crown. A lot of 465 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:21,560 Speaker 1: the other Boer prisoners readily did so, but Fritz and 466 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:23,920 Speaker 1: a number of the other men were just not willing to, 467 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,680 Speaker 1: even though refusing meant that they would stay in prison. 468 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: Fritz was making other plans, so one night, during a rainstorm, 469 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,440 Speaker 1: Duquese made his move. He slipped out of his tent 470 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 1: through a barbed wire fence and, in what he described 471 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 1: as the thrill of his life, swam through water filled 472 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,080 Speaker 1: with sharks to the main island, where he sought help 473 00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 1: from one of those known Boer sympathizers. She actually knew 474 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 1: that it was a little dicey to take anybody in 475 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:54,280 Speaker 1: at this point because of the heightened awareness, and so 476 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: she handed him off to another sympathizer, and that person 477 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:00,919 Speaker 1: helped him make his way to the capital city of Hamilton's. 478 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:03,600 Speaker 1: Duquesne knew that he could not just board a ship. 479 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,800 Speaker 1: He was a wanted man. All of the docks and 480 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 1: the ships in ports were being watched, so he set 481 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,040 Speaker 1: up a life for himself in Hamilton's. First, he disguised 482 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 1: himself by shearing off all of his hair. Then he 483 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,879 Speaker 1: made the acquaintance of a sex worker named Vera and 484 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 1: became her manager. But this was of course, not something 485 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:25,560 Speaker 1: he intended to be his new life. It was a 486 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:29,920 Speaker 1: means to an end. Meeting men to arrange rendezvous with 487 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:33,040 Speaker 1: Vera meant that he heard all the latest information about 488 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:35,680 Speaker 1: what was happening at the docks from the sailors who 489 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:39,720 Speaker 1: made up a significant portion of that business. Moreover, it 490 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:42,960 Speaker 1: gave him a chance to steal clothing from one of 491 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:46,400 Speaker 1: Vera's customers one night and then pretend to be that 492 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 1: drunken sailor when returning to his ship, which was the Margaret. 493 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,520 Speaker 1: By the time Duquesne was discovered as a stowaway, the 494 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: Margaret was well on its way to Baltimore. Fritz has 495 00:27:57,080 --> 00:27:59,199 Speaker 1: spent more than a day at that point in the 496 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:03,480 Speaker 1: brig because when he had boarded, apparently stumbling drunk, which 497 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 1: was fake, the first mate had thrown him in there 498 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 1: to sober up, not realizing it was not their regular 499 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:12,880 Speaker 1: crew member but an interloper. The once Boer spy had 500 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: found himself aboard a very nice yacht belonging to Isaac 501 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:19,840 Speaker 1: Edward Emerson. This was the inventor of the ant acid 502 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:25,200 Speaker 1: Bromo Seltzer. Emerson questioned the stowaway and got Ducane's entire story, 503 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:27,639 Speaker 1: at least as Fritz chose to tell it, of the war, 504 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: his imprisonment, his unwillingness to swear an oath to Britain, 505 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: and his escape from prison. When Emerson asked Ducane if 506 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:37,919 Speaker 1: he had ever been at sea, Fritz said no, but 507 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: that he thought he would make a good steward, and 508 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:44,320 Speaker 1: Emerson agreed that he would and allegedly replied, I think 509 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 1: everything will turn out fine for you in America. So 510 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 1: while the yacht's owner seemed to like Fritz, the captain 511 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 1: did not. Nuchane was convinced he would be turned in 512 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:57,200 Speaker 1: if he arrived in Baltimore with the ship, so he 513 00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:01,280 Speaker 1: plotted an opportunity to jump and swim to sure After 514 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:05,520 Speaker 1: studying maps of their planned course as the Margaret slid 515 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 1: past Great Fox Island in Chesapeake Bay, he made his 516 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:12,479 Speaker 1: move and he arrived after a swim in Maryland. He 517 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: next made his way to Pennsylvania and then to Paterson, 518 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:17,520 Speaker 1: New Jersey, where he had a contact and a place 519 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:21,560 Speaker 1: to stay. Incidentally, ten years later, when Duquane applied for 520 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:25,160 Speaker 1: naturalization to become a citizen of the US, he said 521 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 1: that he had arrived in Baltimore on September twelve night, 522 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,240 Speaker 1: you know, to aboard the Margaret as a crew member 523 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:36,480 Speaker 1: and an immigrant from Bermuda. So this is where we 524 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,440 Speaker 1: are going to take a pause in Fritz's story because 525 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:43,240 Speaker 1: I mean, next time it's gonna get really weird. Yeah, 526 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:49,320 Speaker 1: Oh Fritz. Um, I have a grudging sort of love 527 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:54,160 Speaker 1: for him because he's very fun. For listener mail, I 528 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:57,600 Speaker 1: am gonna read one from our listener Ashley, which is 529 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:01,600 Speaker 1: about our emergency medicine episodes, and Ashley writes, Hi, Tracy 530 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 1: and Holly, my partner and I listened to your emergency 531 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:07,080 Speaker 1: medicine episodes together and love them. My partner is an 532 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:09,200 Speaker 1: e R resident in a major city, and I'm a 533 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: historian and an archaeologist. Your episodes have been getting me 534 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: through my days working remotely and kept my spirits up. 535 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,400 Speaker 1: Thank you for all you do, um, Ashley, thanks to 536 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:22,000 Speaker 1: both you and your partner for having jobs that are important. UM. 537 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 1: Keeping history alive is always very dear to our hearts, 538 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: and of course anyone working in emergency medicine right now 539 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: needs to have all of the accolades thrust upon them. 540 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 1: She also writes some great topics you may be interested in. Uh, sure, 541 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: it's a few that are pretty cool, and she said, 542 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 1: if you read all of this, thank you for taking 543 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:44,680 Speaker 1: the time, and thank you for making an awesome podcast. UM. 544 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:48,480 Speaker 1: We almost never read our suggestions in listener mail out 545 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: loud because we might use them. UM, but I wanted 546 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:56,440 Speaker 1: to make sure to thank Ashley, especially because her partner 547 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,120 Speaker 1: is an e R residence super important, and that also 548 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:02,360 Speaker 1: means that Ashley is living in a heightened state of 549 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:06,400 Speaker 1: probably stressed as well. So thank you both, because uh, 550 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:08,680 Speaker 1: we would be lost without you. Um. If you would 551 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:09,920 Speaker 1: like to write to us, you can do so at 552 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:12,240 Speaker 1: the History podcast at i heart radio dot com. 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