A young Swede’s dream to see the world as a sailor ended in 1877 when his three-masted ship, the Ellen Browse, was wrecked on the South African coast near East London. A young Swede’s dream to see the world as a sailor ended in 1877 when his three-masted ship, the Ellen Browse, was wrecked on the South African coast near East London. He could not have foreseen the adventures that he would experience thereafter as a soldier in the Ninth Frontier War, the Zulu War of 1879 and the Basuto Gun War, nor that he would make his fortune mining for gold and diamonds at Barberton, Colesberg and Kimberley. His first-hand, vivid and often amusing descriptions of events and people – soldiers, Boers, their leaders, Africans, mine magnates and Uitlander miners – encompassed the prevailing conditions between the two Boer Wars. This is a fascinating book about important events in our South African history, from an unusual perspective. Highly recommended. — Prof. Jeff Peires.