South Africa
and the
Transvaal War

TRANSCRIBERS’ NOTE:

The following publishers’ note was bound into the middle of the book.
To simplify reading of that section and allow interested readers to
view it easily, it has been moved here.

Corrections are individually listed at the end of the text.

PUBLISHERS’ NOTE.

The prolongation of the War far beyond the calculation of those best able to form an
opinion on the subject has necessarily affected the plan of Creswicke’s “South Africa
and Transvaal War,” and in consequence the completion of the work in a manner
satisfactory to subscribers, and worthy of a book now widely recognised as a great
History of the Campaign, has been most carefully considered by both Author and
Publishers. They have decided to adhere closely to the plan of the work sketched
in the original prospectus; that is to say, Volume VI. will bring to a close the History
of the War so far as the annexation of the Transvaal is concerned. All the important
and daring movements that culminated in the occupation of Lydenburg and the flight
of Kruger are treated in graphic detail. A condensed account is also given of the
subsequent Guerilla Warfare down to March 1901.

At the end of the Volume will be found the valuable Appendix matter announced
in Prospectus:—

(1.) Gazetteer. This gives in alphabetical order all the information that is required as to
places in South Africa. Military terms are also fully explained.

(2.) Biographical Record. No attempt has been made elsewhere to deal biographically
in one list with the prominent actors connected with the South African Campaign. This list,
which would form in itself a good sized volume crowded with facts, will be of permanent value.

(3.) Recipients of the Victoria Cross: giving details regarding those who have
earned this honour during the War up to the date of publication.

It is evident, however, that the Guerilla operations, spread over so large an area
as they are, would themselves furnish material for an extensive book. In view,
therefore, of the importance of this unique development of the campaign, the military
interest of the story, and the many heroic deeds which deserve the fullest recognition
possible, the Publishers have decided to issue an additional and strictly supplementary
Volume dealing with Lord Kitchener’s regime as Commander-in-Chief and the
Guerilla War. This additional volume will be uniform as regards general style, number
of illustrations, price, &c., and it is hoped that it will be found possible to include in it
some account of the ultimate settlement and the resources of the new Colonies. The
Publishers are confident that subscribers will find this a valuable addition to the work.

Readers interested in this work are requested to assist the writer of the narrative
by forwarding authentic letters or accounts throwing light on the military operations
subsequent to Lord Roberts’s departure from South Africa. The names of correspondents
will not be made public, and their communications will be returned if desired.
All letters should be addressed, Louis Creswicke, Esq., c/o Messrs T. C. & E. C. Jack,
Causewayside, Edinburgh.

MUSTER OF THE CAPE TOWN GUARD ON THE PARADE GROUND CAPE TOWN, FOR INSPECTION BY
GENERAL BRABANT, JANUARY 12, 1901.

Photo by Alf. F. Hosking, Cape Town.

[Pg i]

South Africa
and the
Transvaal War

BY

LOUIS CRESWICKE

AUTHOR OF “ROXANE,” ETC.

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

IN SIX VOLUMES

VOL. VI.—FROM THE OCCUPATION OF PRETORIA TO
MR. KRUGER’S DEPARTURE FROM SOUTH AFRICA,
WITH A SUMMARISED ACCOUNT OF THE
GUERILLA WAR TO MARCH 1901

EDINBURGH: T. C. & E. C. JACK

MANCHESTER: KENNETH MACLENNAN, 75 PICCADILLY

1901

[Pg ii]

Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.
At the Ballantyne Press

[Pg iii]

CONTENTS—Vol. VI

[Pg iv]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS—Vol. VI.

[Pg v]

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE—Vol. VI.

JUNE 1900.

5.—The British flag hoisted in Pretoria.

7.—The 4th Battalion Derbyshire Regiment
(Sherwood Foresters) captured
by the enemy at Roodeval.

9.—Klerksdorp surrendered to General
Hunter.

11.—Lord Methuen gained a complete
victory over De Wet.

12.—Almond’s Nek having been forced the
previous day, the Boers evacuated
Laing’s Nek and Majuba at nightfall,
and General Buller encamped
four miles north of Volksrust.

The battle of Diamond Hill. Lord
Roberts defeated Botha 15 miles
east of Pretoria. The Boers retreated
in the night farther east.

13.—The Boers continued their aggressions
on the Senekal-Ficksburg
line. The Senekal-Winburg telegraph
line was damaged. General
Lyttelton occupied Wakkerstroom.

14.—Rustenburg occupied by General
Baden-Powell.

Botha’s rearguard surprised and
“thoroughly routed” by General
Ian Hamilton’s Mounted Infantry.

Position on Zand River attacked by
800 Boers with three guns. Enemy
driven off by General Knox.

15.—Column left Pretoria to meet General
Baden-Powell and repair telegraph
between Pretoria and Rustenburg.

18.—General Baden-Powell arrived at
Pretoria.

General Hunter occupied Krugersdorp.

19.—Lord Methuen defeated De Wet at
Heilbron.

20.—Extinction of rebellion in Cape
Colony. Surrender of De Villiers.

22.—Lord Dundonald occupied Standerton.

24.—General Clements defeated the Boers
at Winburg.

General Ian Hamilton occupied
Heidelburg.

26.—Boer attack repulsed near Senekal,
and enemy’s laager burned.

27.—Attack on British at Roodeval Spruit.
Boers beaten off.

JULY 1900.

1.—Generals Hunter and MacDonald
joined hands at Frankfort.

4.—General Buller’s forces and those of
the Commander-in-Chief joined at
Vlakfontein.

Entire railway from Natal to Johannesburg
in hands of the British.

General Paget drove the enemy from
strong positions towards Bethlehem.

7.—General Buller arrived at Pretoria.

Bethlehem captured by Generals
Clements and Paget. De Wet
put to flight.

11.—Squadron of Scots Greys, five companies
of the Lincolnshire Regiment,
with two guns of the O
Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery,
captured at Nitral’s Nek.
General Smith-Dorrien successfully
engaged the Boers near
Krugersdorp.

16.—Determined attacks by Boers on
left flank of British posts in the
Pretoria district. Enemy driven
off with loss.

19.—General Little engaged De Wet near
Lindley, and broke up his forces.

21.—Advance begun from Pretoria east,
along Delagoa Bay Railway.

A supply train, with 100 Welsh
Fusiliers, captured near Honing
Spruit.

23.—The Black Watch capture a hill
at Retief’s Nek. The Highland
Light Infantry were compelled
to retire from a steep hill above
the Nek.[Pg vi]

25.—Lord Roberts’s force reached Balmoral
on the way to Middelburg.
French’s Cavalry and Hutton’s
Mounted Infantry put Boers to
flight six miles south of Balmoral.

Boers flee in disorder before Lord
Roberts’s advance. General French
crosses Oliphant’s River.

26.—Philip de Wet, younger brother of
Christian de Wet, surrendered at
Kroonstad.

General Hunter occupied Fouriesburg.

General MacDonald, after fighting a
rearguard action, blocked Naauwpoort
Nek.

27.—Occupation of Middelburg by advance
guard of Lord Roberts
without opposition.

30.—Surrender of Generals Prinsloo, A.
J. Villiers, and Crowther, and
4000 Boers to General Hunter.

AUGUST 1900.

4.—Surrender of Harrismith to General
MacDonald.

10.—Discovery of the plot at Pretoria to
kidnap Lord Roberts and the
British officers.

Pursuit of De Wet continued.

12.—De Wet escaped.

16.—Eland’s River garrison relieved.

24.—Lord Roberts left for the front in
the Eastern Transvaal to operate
against General Botha.

25.—Lieutenant Hans Cordua shot in
Pretoria for his participation in
the plot against Lord Roberts.

26.—Great battle near Dalmanutha.

Capture of Commandant Olivier and
his two sons at Winburg.

27.—Important positions captured near
Dalmanutha.

28.—General Buller’s troops occupied
Machadodorp.

Bergendal occupied.

29.—Kruger fled to Nelspruit.

The Boers evacuated Helvetia,
which was occupied by General
Buller.

30.—British occupation of Waterval
Boven.

Release of about 2000 British prisoners
at Nooitgedacht.

SEPTEMBER 1900.

1.—Lord Roberts annexed to the British
Empire the South African Republic,
which henceforth will be
known as the Transvaal Colony.

4.—General Buller and Botha engaged
at Lydenburg.

Siege of Ladybrand raised.

6.—British occupied Lydenburg. Botha
retreated.

8.—Spitz Kop captured.

11.—Kruger, having fled from the Transvaal,
arrived in Portuguese territory,
and proceeded to Lorenzo
Marques.

13.—Lord Roberts issued a proclamation
calling upon the Boers to surrender.

General French occupied Barberton.

16.—British occupied Nelspruit.

20.—British occupation of Kaap Muiden.

24.—Arrival of the British at the Portuguese
frontier. Evacuation of all
the Boer positions near the frontier.

25.—Lord Roberts telegraphed to the
Lord Mayor of London that the
City Imperial Volunteers might
be expected home “before November
5th.”

Surrender of Boers to the Portuguese.

OCTOBER 1900.

3.—Return of General Buller to Lydenburg
after having marched through
the whole of the hilly country to
the north as far as Pilgrim’s Rest,
and having occupied the principal
Boer positions.

9.—Continuous series of engagements
in the Transvaal and Orange River
Colony, and defeat of De Wet,
who was driven north, across the
Vaal, at Venterstroom.

10.—General Buller prepared to return
home.

11.—Anniversary of Kruger’s insolent
ultimatum.

19.—Mr. Kruger left Lorenzo Marques
for Europe, and made his exit from
the political stage.

24.—General Buller left Cape Town for
England.

Koffyfontein besieged.

25.—The Transvaal formally annexed.

[Pg vii]

NOVEMBER 1900

3.—Koffyfontein relieved.

6.—Engagement with De Wet near
Bothaville.

16.—Conspirators against Lord Roberts
arrested.

18.—Lord Roberts met with an accident
at Johannesburg.

23.—Garrison at Dewetsdorp surrendered
to De Wet.

27.—General Charles Knox in touch with
De Wet at Beyersberg.

29.—Lord Kitchener took over the command
in South Africa.

DECEMBER 1900.

5.—De Wet crossed the Caledon
with a view to entering Cape
Colony.

11.—Lord Roberts left Cape Town for
England.

De Wet, after being turned northward
by General Knox, moved towards
Reddersburg.

13.—Reverse to General Clements near
the Magaliesberg.

Brabant’s Horse mishap near Zastron.

19.—Boers under Delarey routed.

Boer raid into Cape Colony.

21.—War Office arranged for reinforcements.

22.—Boer movement in Cape Colony
checked.

26.—General Charles Knox engaged
with De Wet near Leeuw
Kop.

28.—De Wet, frustrated in his attempt to
break through to the south, withdrew
to Senekal.

Cape raiders driven northward.

29.—British garrison at Helvetia captured.

30.—Preparations made for the frustration
of a more ambitious Boer raid
into Cape Colony.

JANUARY 1901

1.—“Call to arms” at Capetown. Enthusiastic
response.

7.—Boers attacked Belfast, Wonderfontein,
Nooitgedacht, Widfontein,
and Pan, and after sharp fighting
were dispersed.

10.—Machadodorp attacked by night. Post
gallantly defended.

12.—Boers driven eastward from Witwatersberg
by General French.

Activities in Cape Colony to frustrate
Hertzog’s advance.

22.—Death of Queen Victoria. Lamentation
throughout the world.

23.—Colonels De Lisle, Scobell, and Collenbrander
drove the enemy out of
Calvinia and Van Rhynsdorp, and
pursued him north to Carnarvon.

28.—General French marched eastward,
clearing the valley of the Wilge
River.

FEBRUARY 1901.

6.—General French, after encountering
little resistance, entered Ermelo.
General Smith-Dorrien repulsed
2000 of the enemy. His losses
were 23 killed and 52 wounded.

9.—Eastern movement continued in
deluges of rain, but invasion of
Natal by Botha eventually frustrated.

10.—De Wet, after many contests with
the British forces in Orange River
Colony, succeeded in crossing the
river at Sand Drift.

14.—Animated chases after De Wet.

23.—De Wet succeeded in recrossing the
river after losing 200 prisoners,
all his guns, ammunition, and
waggons.

27.—Lengthy negotiations for the promotion
of peace took place between
Lord Kitchener and Commandant
Botha, which negotiations eventually
fell to the ground.

[Pg viii]

OFFICIAL TABLE OF CASUALTIES IN SOUTH AFRICA.

The following is a table of casualties in the Field Force, South Africa, reported during the month of December 1900, and total casualties
reported since the beginning of the war, up to and including the month:—

[Pg ix]

T. C. & E. C. Jack. Edinburgh.

MAP ILLUSTRATING GENERAL BULLER’S CAMPAIGN IN NATAL—MAY-JUNE 1900.

[Pg 1]

SOUTH AFRICA AND THE TRANSVAAL WAR

CHAPTER I

TO QUEEN VICTORIA

PRETORIA

Pretoria, like most South African towns, dozes in the
lap of the hills, dozes tranquilly in a haven of generous
nature, as dozed her Dutchmen in the midst of growing
civilisation. The place from the distance is fair to the eye,
poplar-groved, verdant, and picturesque, with the glimmer
of red roofs cutting against the green, and veils of gauzy clouds,
now grey, now purple, now azure, interlacing the hills and linking
them with the sky. Its quaint, old, low-storeyed houses—in some cases
thatched like bungalows—and its more modern tenements roofed
with zinc, and bounded by pleasant rose-gardens tangled with
flowers, seemed to the new-comers strangely suburban in contrast
with the imposing Government buildings and shops which were
soon alive with all the fluster of nineteenth-century money-getting.

For the great entry made, the capital was swift to resume[Pg 2]
its everyday aspect, and trade grew even brisker than before.
Famine prices reigned: though in some hotels where comforts were
many, baths and sanitary arrangements were primitive. The Boers
were busy “making hay while the sun shone,” consequently living
became twice as expensive as in England; and, what was worse,
with the enormous and somewhat voracious army to be fed, supplies
threatened at no very remote date to become exhausted.

At first all things seemed to denote that the war was practically
over, that nothing remained but to accept the surrender of the
defeated Boers, and to settle quickly the administration of the
conquered Republics. By degrees, however, disappointment set
in—disappointment not unmixed with alarm. The redoubtable
Christian de Wet had theories of his own; he put on his shoulders
the mantle of the deposed Cronje, and set to work to show his
generalship by destroying the railway in the south, cutting the telegraph
wires, and generally harassing the lines of communication.
Indeed, there was every appearance that the late investing forces
might in their turn become invested in the capital. Postal and
telegraphic communications were cut, supplies and reinforcements
were menaced, and gradually the sunny outlook of conquest grew
nebulous.

The defeated forces also began to concentrate at Machadodorp,
beyond Middelburg, where Mr. Kruger was actively engaged in
conference with his friends. They were not devoid of funds, for it
was found that before leaving Pretoria the Boer officials had provided
themselves with £300,000 from the National Bank, and while this sum
lasted and he remained in the country, it was argued that Mr. Kruger’s
schemes of bribery and corruption might be expected to continue,
and even develop. Still Lord Roberts was undismayed! He had
foreseen attacks on his communications, but had hazarded all on the
one throw of reaching the capital before the Boers could gather
together their forces for organised resistance, pushing forward in
the only way possible if the conquered were to be left breathless.
Napoleon’s advice to one of his marshals, “A commander-in-chief
should never give rest either to the victor or the vanquished,” had
been followed to the foot of the letter, as the French say.

In this notable march the marvellous genius of Lord Roberts
had been shown in many ways, but in courage before all. He had
adapted his fighting dispositions on a system specially suitable to
the idiosyncrasies of the Boers—had observed their natural disinclination
to take the initiative, their failure to act on the offensive rather
than the defensive, and, on this discovery, had invented new tactics
which were exactly appropriate and eminently successful. His
infantry had made the centre of the advancing line to east and west
of the rail, perpetually threatening the enemy with frontal attack,[Pg 3]
while active and competent wings of mounted troops unceasingly
wheeled round both flanks, threatening to turn them so soon as
opportunity should offer. Thus the Boers, for fear of being outflanked,
were forced to extend their front till the central position—at
the railway line—became too weak for resistance, and they had
of necessity to retreat, and continue to retreat, till they were too
exhausted to do more than run.

At the Chief’s masterly combinations, his ingenious synchronal
schemes, his almost prophetic foresight regarding the positions of
the enemy, and the effect of his every move upon those positions,
it is impossible not to marvel—as at the amazing boldness and
rapidity of execution with which was developed a design which
brought him with his enormous army in little more than a month
from Bloemfontein to Pretoria.

From the following general order issued on his arrival at his
destination it is possible to understand the magnitude and the
daring of the Chief’s plan, which, merely to read of, renders one
almost breathless:—

“Pretoria, June 7.

“In congratulating the British Army in South Africa on the occupation of
Johannesburg and Pretoria, the one being the principal town and the other the
capital of the Transvaal, and also on the relief of Mafeking after a heroic defence
of over 200 days, the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-chief desires to place on
record his high appreciation of the gallantry and endurance displayed by the
troops, both those who have taken part in the advance across the Vaal River
and those who have been employed in the less arduous duty of protecting the
line of communication through the Orange River Colony.

“After the force reached Bloemfontein on March 13, it was necessary to
halt there for a certain period. Through railway communication with Cape
Colony had to be restored before supplies and necessaries of all kinds could be
got up from the base. The rapid advance from the Modder River, and the
want of forage en route, had told on the horses of the cavalry, artillery, mounted
infantry, and the transport mules and oxen, and to replace these casualties a
considerable number of animals had to be provided. Throughout the six weeks
the army remained halted at Bloemfontein the enemy showed considerable
activity, especially in the south-eastern portion of the Orange River Colony,
but by the beginning of May everything was in readiness for a further advance
into the enemy’s country, and on the 2nd of that month active operations were
again commenced.

“On May 12, Kroonstad, where Mr. Steyn had established the so-called
government of the Orange Free State, was entered. On May 17, Mafeking
was relieved. On May 31 Johannesburg was occupied, and on June 5 the
British flag waved over Pretoria.

“During these thirty-five days, the main body of the force marched 300 miles,
including fifteen days’ halt, and engaged the enemy on six different occasions.

“The column under Lieutenant-General Ian Hamilton marched 400 miles in
forty-five days, including ten days’ halt. It was engaged with the enemy
twenty-eight times.[Pg 4]

“The flying column under the command of Colonel B. Mahon, which relieved
Mafeking, marched at the rate of nearly fifteen miles a day for fourteen consecutive
days, and successfully accomplished its object, despite the determined
opposition offered by the enemy.

“The newly raised battalion of the City of London Imperial Volunteers
marched 500 miles in fifty-four days, only once having two consecutive days’
halt. It took part in twenty-six engagements with the enemy.

“During the recent operations the sudden variations in temperature between
the warm sun in the daytime and the bitter cold at night have been peculiarly
trying to the troops, and owing to the necessity for rapid movement the soldiers
have frequently had to bivouac after long and trying marches without firewood
and with scanty rations.

“The cheerful spirit in which these difficulties have been overcome and hardships
disregarded are deserving of the highest praise, and in thanking all ranks
for the successful efforts to obtain the objects in view, Lord Roberts is proud
to think that the soldiers under his command have worthily upheld the traditions
of her Majesty’s army in fighting, in marching, and in the admirable discipline
which has been maintained throughout a period of no ordinary trial and
difficulty.

(Signed) Roberts, Field-Marshal.”

As may be imagined, the man who could accomplish so much
in so short a span of time remained unperturbed by a vision of
clouds on the horizon. He knew that though with the fall of
Pretoria the campaign nominally ended, there were many minor
passages at arms to be expected in various parts of the two
Republics. There were the remnants of Botha’s army to north
and east; there were De Wet and his marauders playing havoc with
lines and telegraph wires, prowling in search of ill-defended convoys,
and inspirited to fresh deeds of aggression by the successful
capture of Colonel Spragge’s Yeomanry; there were Potchefstroom
and Klerksdorp to be occupied by Sir Archibald Hunter, and Griqualand
to be finally pacified by Sir Charles Warren.

[Pg 5]Still, it was unpleasant to receive the report that while the main
army had been advancing, an immense force of Boers, through a series
of unfortunate mistakes, had succeeded in capturing in the vicinity of
Vredefort Road, a convoy and an escort of a company and a half of
Highlanders on its way to Heilbron. The outline of the unhappy affair
was painful in the extreme. As the mysterious circumstances attending
the movements of the convoy have not yet been fully sifted, it
would be unfair to accept the numerous criticisms offered on the subject,
and details regarding the capture are so lost in the “fog of war,”
that it is difficult to give an account of the series of muddles that
brought about disaster. It appeared that though the enemy were
lurking everywhere the convoy was travelling from Winburg under
escort of only a company and a half “odd” men of the Brigade with
orders to pick it up at Kroonstad, which place was subsequently
changed to Heilbron. At Vredefort the party were to leave the
rail and go by road; but shortly it received orders to await an escort[Pg 6]
that was being sent from Heilbron. General Hector MacDonald
wired that it should not proceed further till escorted by a strong
force of mounted troops, infantry, and artillery, as he himself, during
his five days’ march, had been repeatedly in collision with the foe.
The officer in command laagered up. Next day an orderly reconnoitred
and failed to detect the presence of the enemy. Suspicion
had been aroused, however, by the disappearance of a Colonial conductor,
who, it seems, used the occasion to report to De Wet, who
promptly seized the time and the opportunity. He sent in with a
flag of truce a terse message, “I have 1200 men and five guns.
Surrender at once.” An hour earlier Major Haig with 600 men,
marching from Vredefort Road, had got to within two miles of the
convoy, but hearing that the railhead was threatened had turned back.
The convoy was therefore at De Wet’s mercy, and he knew it. He
refused to give any terms, so the small party capitulated! General
Hector MacDonald, in defence of his Highlanders, who were evidently
not at fault, gave a concise account of the circumstances
attending the misadventure—an account more trustworthy than
those of outsiders—

“While the Brigade was at Wynberg, a company of the Black Watch was sent
as escort to a convoy of pom-pom ammunition to Smalldeel railway station, and
a day or two later half a company of Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders with
captured arms and ammunition, and we were informed that they would join us
at Kroonstad. The Brigade, however, instead of going to Kroonstad, marched
by way of Ventersburg and Lindley to Heilbron, while the detached companies
marched by the railway to Roodeval. As we were opposed—practically surrounded—for
the last five days of our march, a wire was sent to Smalldeel not
to send in a convoy until it could be escorted by a strong force of mounted
troops, infantry, and artillery. The Commandant at Smalldeel, however, sent
away the convoy under escort of the company and a half of Highlanders, with
the result that it was captured. Perhaps the Commandant was acting under
orders from the army headquarters, and that remains to be seen.”

Certain it was that the Highland Brigade, who had already been
subsisting on frugal, one may say starvation, fare was left in a sorry
plight, and fully appreciated the significance of the saying that too
many cooks will spoil the broth. On the shoulders of which of the
cooks the blame will eventually rest remains to be seen.

It was the opinion of some that sufficient precautions were not
taken to insure the expedition’s transmission of supplies, and the
entrenchment and strong fortification of small bodies of troops sent
to guard the line of rail; and also that there was an insufficiently
co-ordinated system of intelligence, in consequence of which commanding
officers moving with detached forces were without definite
information regarding the movements and destination of other
forces, friendly or inimical, which might have to be encountered.[Pg 7]

The mishaps of Sanna’s Post—the capture of the Yeomanry and
other corps—were thought to have been occasioned by the absence
of a general staff—a general staff trained by years of practice to the
exigencies of life in the field. Such a staff of trained and picked
officers was educated by Napoleon for his use under his personal
supervision, while Lord Roberts, with a gigantic army of 200,000
men, had a merely improvised machine. He had certainly Lord
Kitchener at his elbow, but this officer’s duties developed into those
of the “handy-man”—now organiser, now fighter, now administrator
in rebellious districts—thus depriving the Chief of the clockwork
apparatus that should be represented by the General Staff, at a time
when generals and troops, like engines and railway carriages, had
to be timed to arrive and depart from stations on the hard-and-fast
principles of Bradshaw.

At this date with Lord Roberts in Pretoria were two and a half
infantry divisions, a cavalry division, and a mounted infantry division,
Wavell’s Brigade having been left at Johannesburg, while the
other half proceeded to the Capital.

General Hunter’s Division, joined by Colonel Mahon’s force,
was operating at Ventersdorp, while Colonel Plumer without
opposition occupied Zeerust, the officials agreeing to take the oath
provided they were protected from their fellow-countrymen. Elsewhere,
across the Orange River Colony, the troops were fairly well
expanded. General Colvile with the Highland Brigade was near
Heilbron, and south of him Lord Methuen, while at Lindley
was General Paget. At Senekal and Hammonia were General
Clements and General Rundle respectively. South of these again,
Generals Chermside and Brabant were operating.

It was imagined that the combined vigilance of these officers had
entirely protected the communications in the Orange River Colony,
but on the 7th of June the unquenchable Dutchmen succeeded in
cutting line and telegraph wire north of Kroonstad, and in taking
prisoners most of the 4th Battalion of the Derbyshires (Sherwood
Foresters), who were guarding the district. Of the battalion, the
Colonel, a lieutenant, and thirty-four rank and file were killed, five
officers and ninety-nine men were wounded, and the rest, save six,
made prisoners!

The story ran thus: At dusk on the 4th, the Derbyshire Militia
Regiment arrived at Roodeval and pitched their camp in the lee of
a string of kopjes that shelved away to the west, and terminated in
a high hump which, jutting out of the plain, commanded rail, camp,
and the surrounding hills. Owing to the darkness it was impossible
to do much in the way of reconnoitring, and though some scouts
and natives warned the commanding officers that Boers had been
espied in the vicinity, little notice was taken. The pickets, which[Pg 8]
had been posted on a range of kopjes north of the camp, were
strengthened, and some few shots fired at distant snipers. Then
the party laid themselves down to rest, and slept placidly. Before
dawn they were awakened by the furious crackling of musketry, and
even as the men turned out with their rifles, they dropped. One
after another as they left their tents fell victims to the unseen foe.
The fact was, the pickets had been attacked and driven in, and the
enemy occupied the range which commanded the British troops.
Presently the early morning was humming with shot and shell, the
Boers now having brought four big guns and a pom-pom to bear on
the unfortunate camp and the bald plain that surrounded it. Valiantly
the militiamen, raw and unfledged warriors as they were, fought; long,
bloody, and disastrous hours passed, and they, falling thick as autumn
leaves, continued to hold out in a completely defenceless position till
the plain was littered with dead and wounded—more than eighty of
them now lying in a trap from which it was impossible to escape.
Colonel Baird-Douglas,[1] wounded in four places, fought like a lion,
encouraging his men, and vowing to shoot the first who should
display a white flag. Then he dropped exhausted and breathed his
last. Finally 420 prisoners were taken, including the following
officers of the 4th Derbyshire Regiment:—

Captain J. Humber, Captain C. P. Piers, Captain A. M. W. Mohun-Harris,
Captain E. M. Wilmot, Captain R. C. Fenwick, Captain and Adjutant R. Britten,
Lieutenant P. C. Shepard, Second-Lieutenant A. C. Hewitt, Second-Lieutenant
J. L. Heymann, Second-Lieutenant H. L. Napier, Second-Lieutenant H. M.
Milward, Second-Lieutenant J. H. W. Becke, Second-Lieutenant J. H. Mathias,
Second-Lieutenant H. S. Anderson, Second-Lieutenant E. N. T. Collin, Hon.
Lieutenant and Quartermaster M. M’Guire. Among the killed were:—Lieutenant-Colonel
Baird-Douglas and Lieutenant Horley. Among the wounded:—Colonel
Wilkinson, Captain Bailey, Second-Lieutenants Hall and Lawder,
Lieutenant Blanchard, Canadian Infantry (attached to 4th Derbyshire).

It was said that after the capture the commandants, on bringing
the prisoners to the station, were seen cordially shaking hands with
a railway official as though exchanging congratulations. This circumstance
was one of many which bore witness to the innumerable
acts of treachery and duplicity with which commanding officers had
to contend.

Colour-Sergeant.

Sergeant-Major.

THE GRENADIER GUARDS.

Photo by Gregory & Co., London.

On the same day, in the same locality, there was another
engagement, which resulted in the capture of a number of the
Railway Pioneer Corps. According to an account in the Bloemfontein[Pg 9]
Post, the corps was awakened at 5.26 in the morning by an
unusual stir among the sentries. A moment afterwards a voice
was heard asking, “Can any one speak Dutch?” A man, evidently
a burgher, approached Captain Grant McDonnel and Lieutenants
Blanchard and Hayes with a note from the Boer commandant in
the vicinity, stating that he had 1200 men and five guns with him,
and adding that he would give the British force ten minutes in which
to surrender. The bearer, after delivering the note, went back to
a large body of Boers mounted on horses, who had by this time
approached so close as to be plainly visible.

The Pioneer Corps, realising their dangerous position, endeavoured
hastily to improvise a barricade with a number of railway trucks, and
also requisitioned a large quantity of biscuit and meat tins for the
purpose. The orders of Captain Gale were speedily carried out,
and soon his little force, numbering 160, were completely sheltered
behind the barricade. The Boers, after waiting the specified ten
minutes, and perceiving the efforts of the British to offer resistance,
immediately opened fire, pouring volley after volley on the force.
Captain Gale and two pioneers fell from the rifle fire, while shrapnel
shells bursting near killed three men. The enemy then directed
their heavy artillery on the barricades and station buildings, the
latter being practically destroyed. The Boers were now only fourteen
hundred yards away, and well hidden. An endeavour was
made to have the wounded conveyed to safety behind a large tank,
but a shell from the Boer guns exploded among the horses and the
animals stampeded.

Firing from heavy guns was afterwards heard coming from the
opposite direction to the Boers. Hopes were high among the
gallant force that relief was at last arriving from Kroonstad. The
pioneers, however, soon became too painfully aware that the firing
came from another body of the enemy, who had surrounded the
4th Derbyshire Regiment the same morning. Although the firing
continued, an outlying patrol attempted to reach the pioneers. The
whole of the Boer guns were now worked with increased energy,
and soon the want of ammunition compelled the British force to
surrender. The report then went on to say that Commandant
De Wet, mounted on an English charger, advanced and asked
the number of British killed. Looking at the dead body of
Captain Gale, the Boer commandant remarked sympathetically,
“Poor man. Very sad. Bury him at once.” He also courteously
allowed the body to be wrapped in a Union Jack. De Wet is a tall,
heavily built man, with a brown beard. He wore a tweed suit and
an overcoat, and carried a rifle and bandolier. Attached to his gold
chain was a medal, on which was a representation of Kruger’s head.
De Wet was very polite to his captives, and kindly expressed[Pg 10]
his sorrow at having to destroy two thousand bags of mails. Unless
he did so, he added, the young Boers would open the letters.

The bags were afterwards ripped open, and the Boers looted
the baggage. One burgher found a number of bank notes as part
of his spoil, while others obtained tobacco, cigars, and various
medical comforts. Lieutenant Thurston, Cape Pioneer Railway
Regiment, and Lieutenant Staffkett, Cape Pioneer Railway Regiment,
were made prisoners. Some of the prisoners were called
together and made to take off parts of their dress, which the Boers
then donned. The British wounded were well attended to, and were
subsequently removed to the Yeomanry Hospital at Kroonstad.

As a consequence of these attacks De Wet obtained possession
of the line, which became so twisted and uptorn as to resemble unfinished
Jacob’s ladders to heaven, while Pretoria found itself minus
its longed-for home letters, and standing hourly in fear of running
short of food. Still affairs were going on as though nothing had happened.
The Town Council temporarily continued its duties. An
English Burgomaster was chosen, and a new Court of Justice was
established. Colonel Maxse became the head of the police, and
many Colonials who volunteered for civil employment were given
posts of importance. Owing to the many acts of duplicity practised
by the Boers who had surrendered, more stringent regulations
regarding oath-breakers were promulgated. The publication of
malicious and false reports was forbidden, and a sharp look-out was
kept over the movements of the spies with which the capital was
still swarming.

One hundred and forty-eight officers, and 3039 men were released,
and these were rearmed from the 2000 stands of arms which
were given up in Pretoria on and after the British occupation. The
list of the officers who had been suffering imprisonment at the
hands of the Boers is a long one, and dates almost from the outset
of the war:—

18th Hussars—Lieutenant-Colonel B. D. Moller, Major H. A. F. Greville,
and Captain and Adjutant W. P. M. Pollock. Army Veterinary Department—Veterinary
Lieutenant F. H. Shore. 1st King’s Royal Rifles—Lieutenant
B. J. Majendie and Lieutenant F. M. Crum. 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers—Captain
M. P. E. Lonsdale, Lieutenant C. Garvice, Lieutenant C. T. W.
Grimshaw, and Second Lieutenant T. H. C. Frankland. 10th Mountain
Battery Royal Garrison Artillery—Major G. E. Bryant, Lieutenant G. D.
Wheeler, Lieutenant G. R. Nugent, Lieutenant W. H. Moore, and Second
Lieutenant G. T. W. Webb (attached). 1st Gloucester Regiment—Major
S. Humphery, Major W. R. P. Wallace, Captain S. Duncan, Captain Connor,
Lieutenant A. Bryant, Lieutenant F. C. Nisbet, Lieutenant R. M. M. Davy,
Lieutenant F. A. Brent, Lieutenant C. S. Knox, Lieutenant W. A. M. Temple,
Lieutenant A. H. Radice, Lieutenant J. Ingram, Lieutenant P. H. Short,
Lieutenant R. L. Beasley, Second Lieutenant W. S. Mackenzie, Second
Lieutenant H. H. Smith, Lieutenant and Adjutant W. L. B. Hill, Lieutenant[Pg 11]
and Quartermaster R. J. Gray. 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers—Lieutenant-Colonel
F. R. C. Carleton, Major F. H. Munn, Captain A. R. Burrowes, Lieutenant
A. E. S. Heard, Lieutenant C. E. Southey, Lieutenant W. G. B. Phibbs,
Lieutenant H. B. Holmes, Lieutenant A. H. C. MacGregor, Lieutenant A. L. J.
M. Kelly, Second Lieutenant R. J. Kentish, Second Lieutenant C. E. Kinahan,
and Second Lieutenant R. W. R. Jeudwine. Rhodesian Horse—Lieutenant
A. E. Harenick. Natal Carabineers—Lieutenant A. J. Gallwey. 2nd West
Yorks Regiment—Major H. de T. C. Hobbs. 2nd Northumberland Fusiliers—Major
W. E. Sturges, Captain E. W. Fletcher, Captain F. B. Morley, Second
Lieutenant G. R. Wake, and Second Lieutenant L. B. Coulson. 2nd Dorsetshire
Regiment—Lieutenant F. W. Radcliffe. 2nd Royal Irish Rifles—Captain
A. V. Weir, Lieutenant E. J. Christie, Second Lieutenant L. G. B. Rodney,
Second Lieutenant P. G. W. Maynard, Captain V. J. Kelly, Captain W. J.
M’Whinnie, Captain A. C. D. Spencer, Lieutenant E. H. Saunders, Second
Lieutenant T. L. B. Soutry, and Second Lieutenant J. C. Bowen-Colthurst.
1st Suffolk Regiment—Lieutenant S. J. B. Barnardiston, Captain W. G.
Thompson, Captain C. A. H. Brett, and Second Lieutenant F. W. Wood-Martin.
2nd Devonshire Regiment—Lieutenant-Colonel G. M. Bullock, Major
J. M’N. Walter, and Lieutenant G. N. F. Smyth-Osbourne. 2nd Essex Regiment—Lieutenant
W. F. Bonham. Royal Field Artillery—Lieutenant-Colonel
H. V. Hunt. 66th Battery Royal Field Artillery—Major W. Y. Foster, and
Lieutenant G. L. Butler (attached). 14th Battery Royal Field Artillery—Major
A. C. Bailward, Lieutenant A. C. Birch, and Second Lieutenant C. F.
Holford. Royal Scots Fusiliers—Captain D. H. A. Dick, Captain H. H.
Northey, Lieutenant E. Christian, Lieutenant M. E. M’Conaghey, Lieutenant
C. F. H. Rumbold, and Lieutenant G. C. Briggs. 1st Connaught Rangers—Captain
G. H. Ford-Hutchinson, and Second Lieutenant E. V. Jones. Cape
Mounted Police—Inspector E. W. Blyth, and Sub-Inspector W. A. Genllond.
South African Light Horse—Captain H. Fitzherbert. 12th Lancers—Lieutenant
N. M. H. Tristram. 2nd Coldstream Guards—Lieutenant H. Chandos-Pole-Gell.
Reserve of Officers—Lieutenant C. M. Grenfell, late 10th Hussars.
6th Dragoon Guards—Lieutenant F. E. Till. Royal Horse Guards—Captain
W. F. Ricardo. 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers—Captain W. F. Elmslie and Captain
G. H. B. Freeth. Royal Lancaster Regiment—Major G. A. Carleton. King’s
Royal Rifles—Major O. S. W. Nugent. 2nd Wiltshire Regiment—Major
H. A. Stock. Royal Engineers Militia—Lieutenant J. H. Prior (attached
Suffolk Regiment). 1st Oxfordshire Light Infantry—Major F. J. Evelegh.
Kitchener’s Horse—Captain W. Vaughan, Captain A. S. Arnold, Lieutenant
Burghuys, Lieutenant H. D. Duban, Lieutenant W. J. Horne, Lieutenant
J. Sampson, Lieutenant L. A. Myburgh, and Lieutenant N. A. N. Black.
6th Dragoons—Lieutenant G. K. Ansell. 2nd Bedford Regiment—Lieutenant
G. D. Jebb. 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers—Lieutenant D. Best (? Lieutenant
T. A. D. Best. Inniskilling Fusiliers). 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers—Lieutenant-Colonel
C. J. Blomfield. Victoria Rifles—Captain T. M. M’Inerney.
Scouts—Lieutenant W. Hockley. British South Africa Police—Lieutenant
H. Chapman. Royal Horse Artillery—Major J. C. Wray, Captain H. Rouse,
Captain G. H. A. White, Lieutenant F. H. G. Stanton, and Lieutenant F. L. C.
Livingstone-Learmonth. Northumberland Fusiliers—Lieutenant H. S. Toppin.
Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry—Lieutenant H. T. Cantan. 2nd Royal
West Kent—Lieutenant R. J. T. Hildyard. Army Service Corps—Lieutenant
C. J. Croxford. Indian Staff Corps—Lieutenant R. J. Stewart (attached Army
Service Corps). Roberts’s Horse—Veterinary Captain P. D. Bray, Lieutenant[Pg 12]
J. F. Hawkins, Lieutenant H. R. Horne, and Lieutenant T. J. Truter. King’s
Royal Rifle Corps—Lieutenant G. H. Martin. Welsh Regiment—Lieutenant
R. H. Metge. 1st Royal Dragoons—Second Lieutenant T. D. Pilkington.
Royal Artillery, Staff—Captain H. T. Tennant. Durham Light Infantry—Second
Lieutenant L. J. P. Butler. South African Light Horse—Captain
J. C. Kirkwood. Cape Police—Captain A. Bates. Brabant’s Horse—Captain
P. M. W. Little, and Lieutenant H. A. Steele. 9th Lancers—Lieutenant S. R.
Theobald. Yorkshire Light Infantry—Captain G. G. Ottley. 1st Australian
Horse—Lieutenant J. W. Wilkinson. 6th Dragoons—Lieutenant N. W. Haig.
Prince Alfred’s Volunteer Guards—Lieutenant W. B. Everton. Lumsden’s
Horse—Lieutenant C. E. Crane. Royal Engineers—Lieutenant M. T. Webber.
10th Hussars—Lieutenant Anderson Pelham, and Lieutenant Crichton. 2nd
East Kent—Lieutenant W. G. F. Barnard. Eastern Province Horse—Lieutenant
J. M. P. Bowker. 16th Lancers—Captain C. J. Eccles. Cameron
Highlanders—Captain MacEwen. Intelligence Department—Captain L. G.
Dennison. Police Magistrate—C. H. Hilliard. Newspaper Correspondents—Lord
Rosslyn, Lord C. Manners, and M. H. Donohue.

The following officers, prisoners of war, were found in hospital:—

Lieutenant the Hon. D. R. H. Anderson-Pelham, and Lieutenant C. W. H.
Crichton, 10th Hussars (convalescent after enteric fever); Lieutenant H.
Chapman, British South Africa Police (contusion, convalescent); Lieutenant
G. H. Martin, King’s Royal Rifle Corps (tonsillitis, cured); Lieutenant R. H.
Metge, 1st Welsh Regiment (neuralgia, cured); Lieutenant G. C. Briggs, 1st
Royal Scots Fusiliers (doing well); Major F. H. Munn, Royal Irish Fusiliers (neuralgia,
cured); Major J. C. Wray, Royal Horse Artillery (convalescent); Lieutenant
N. W. Haig, 6th Dragoons (enteric fever, seriously ill, but improving).

Nine hundred and ninety prisoners were removed, however, and,
it was believed, were taken some forty miles from Komati Poort.

On the 8th a curious experience was related by some of the
Canadian Mounted Infantry, who, happening to lose their way and
pass, unchallenged, the Boer lines, found themselves at the little town
of Hebron. The inhabitants imagining them to be the forerunners
of a British force, promptly surrendered arms and ammunition. The
Canadians, with a due sense of humour, engaged in the formalities
with becoming gravity, commandeered an ox-waggon, loaded it
with their booty and returned again through the Boer lines, plus
eighty-eight rifles and a big store of ammunition!

THE BATTLE OF DIAMOND HILL

The outlook was not a cheery one. The enemy, split into small
factions, were bent on playing havoc north and south, and horrible
rumours were afloat which contrived to annoy, perplex, and discourage
those who, in the absence of newspapers and correspondence,
gave rein to their imagination. General Maxwell, who was acting
as Governor of Pretoria in this emergency, inaugurated a system of
official bulletins, which served to distribute what intelligence there[Pg 13]
might be, and sustain the drooping spirits of the community. The
prolongation of the war, after all seemed to have been skilfully
accomplished, was depressing to even the most ardent and bellicose
mortals. Still more so was it to those who had had their fill of fighting,
and who could not number the list of their engagements even
with the fingers of both hands. It was known that Botha, after
the surrender of the city, had retired with a small force to a crevice
in the hills some fifteen miles east, astride the Delagoa Bay Railway,
and that round him he was gathering a goodly number of burghers,
who assisted him in intimidating other burghers who might have
been willing to tender their submission. As all overtures towards
peaceable negotiations failed, it was necessary to take definite action,
and this on the 11th of June Lord Roberts accordingly did. A
great combined enveloping movement was planned out. General
French, with Porter’s and Dickson’s Cavalry Brigades, and Hutton’s
Mounted Infantry, marched out on the left of the Chief, while General
Ian Hamilton with Broadwood and Gordon’s Cavalry Brigades,
and Ridley’s Mounted Infantry, and General Bruce Hamilton’s
Infantry Brigade on his right, prepared to assail the tremendous
frontage of the left of Botha’s position. The Dutchman, perched
on a series of steep and irregular hills, and strongly protected in
front, had placed most of his force on his flanks. These he knew
by experience to be his vulnerable points, and against these he
divined that Generals French and Ian Hamilton would be operating.
General Pole-Carew, in the centre, advanced his Division, numbering
some 6000 bayonets and twenty guns, in support of General
Ian Hamilton. He moved eastward along the line and engaged in
a duet with the enemy with long-range guns, a duet which lasted
during the whole day. It was found that the enemy’s position
extended some sixteen miles, their left, the Diamond Hill, being so
strong and so extended that movement of an enveloping kind was
thought to be almost impossible. Nevertheless, while General
French (assisted by Hutton’s Mounted Infantry), through country
inimical to cavalry operations, was perilously and vigorously engaged
in making a wide detour in order to envelop the right flank
of the enemy and hold him from swelling his numbers elsewhere,
General Ian Hamilton on the enemy’s left flank (some six miles
south of the line), his ambitions centred on Diamond Hill and the
line of rail beyond, operated correspondingly. Far to right, in a
somewhat crab-like fashion, moved the cavalry; Gordon’s Brigade—the
outer pincer as it were—wheeled round the almost impregnable
stronghold of the Boers; to left, Ridley’s Brigade and
De Lisle’s Corps of Mounted Infantry—forming the left or inner
pincer—twisted towards Pienaar’s Poort, while Broadwood’s Brigade—the
head and front of the creature—endeavoured to spit forth and[Pg 14]
pierce through this central gap, and if possible get behind the Boers
on Diamond Hill. Early in the day the southern slopes of
Diamond Hill became the scene of contest between Ridley’s
Brigade and the enemy, whose rifles poured their sleet over the
advancing mass and whose guns clamoured loudly in the distance.
Broadwood’s Brigade, meanwhile, began a bold advance—across
a spruit and over a plain to a passage towards the railway line—an
advance which was hailed more boisterously than pleasantly by a
converging storm from the enemy’s heavy guns. Still the cavalry
pushed forward, while Lieutenant Conolly with two horse guns was
set to clear the course. But the Boers, inch by inch, stubbornly contested
the way. The stentorian tones of warring artillery were
heard in an argument that lasted hours, while parties of Boer riflemen
approached with such audacity with a view to the annihilation
of the gunners of Q Battery and the capture of their pieces, that
for protection sake the 12th Lancers were ordered to charge.
Unfortunately, at this critical juncture their commander, the Earl
of Airlie, who already had had his horse shot under him, was seeking
a new charger. He joined his regiment in time to lead to the
attack, but taking a more northerly direction than was intended, he
found himself exposed to a murderous tornado from the southern[Pg 15]
slopes of Diamond Hill. Nevertheless, the charge of the valiant
band, small though it now was, had a glorious result. Away scudded
the Boers to both sides, scattering over the distance towards Diamond
Hill, while their oppressive propinquity to the British guns and
Broadwood’s right flank was brought to an abrupt close. This done,
Lord Airlie decided, as the horses were too jaded and overworked
to engage in effective pursuit, to become no further involved. He
was about to withdraw his regiment when suddenly a bullet caught
him, and, almost instantly, he fell dead. Thus the Empire lost one
of its finest soldiers, one of its most honourable, well-beloved of men.[2]
The charge cost the regiment two officers and seventeen troopers,
a deplorable loss considering its diminished size since the commencement
of operations. At the same hour, while Gordon’s Brigade
was heavily engaged on the right, the Boers became so obstreperous
that the Household Cavalry had been ordered to charge. This order
was obeyed with zest. The Dutchmen, numerous as they were,
took in at a glance all that was meant by the approaching whirlwind—a
flashing avalanche of naked blades—and turned tail.
Away they fled over their grassy ridges, seized their horses and
made off so quickly that none of the Lifeguardsmen and few of
their chargers were sacrificed to the dashing exploit. It was thought
that the whole body of the foe were on the move, but this was not
the case. The congregating crowds of the enemy amid the scrub-covered
ridges around the main position had yet to be cleared off.
Accordingly, soon after noon, the 21st Brigade (Bruce Hamilton)
advanced, cleverly clambering up the crests, which had previously
been scoured by artillery, and finally succeeded in folding back the
formidable wave of Dutchmen which guarded the line, and forcing
them, such as could escape, amid a hurricane of bullets, to gallop to
fresh cover. Dusk set in early, but the troops, sticking to the
ground they had won, covering a front of some 25 miles, there
bivouacked for the night.

Scale, Diagram is about 16 miles square.

Battle of Diamond Hill—Position on 11th June[3]

Early the next day (the 12th) the Dutch overture began, the
foe operating vigorously with their long-range guns. They were
evidently unappeased, and meant a dogged resistance. General[Pg 16]
Ian Hamilton was among the first to be hit, but not dangerously.
The incident caused not a little concern, for this remarkably energetic
officer had become, as it were, almost hoary with fighting the
Boers. From early days when he commanded the infantry at
Elandslaagte to the splendid defence at Wagon Hill he had been
eternally to the fore, brilliant in intellect and unfailing in dash and
daring. After his entry to the Free State he had fought his way
from Israel’s Poort, Thabanchu, Houtnek, and on through all the
varied phases of the advance of the right wing of the army towards
Pretoria. It was no marvel that the thought of his even temporary
disablement caused consternation. Fortunately it was discovered
that no bones were broken, and the gallant officer, though in some
pain, refused to leave the field.

Battle of Diamond Hill—Position on 12th June

At midday General Bruce Hamilton’s Brigade made a brilliant
attack on the Diamond Hill plateau. The Derbyshires to the
right, the City Imperial Volunteers in the middle, the Sussex on
their left, grandly advanced amid an enfilading fire of considerable
warmth, which only ceased its horrible activity when the 82nd Field
Battery, under Major Conolly, by a feat of herculean energy, was
dragged to the rocky heights, and vomited vengeance at a distance
of 1700 yards from the stubborn enemy. But though it ultimately
had the effect of silencing the Boers, it did not accomplish its
arduous task without grievous loss. Gunners were hit on all sides,
and horses dropped in the moment of unlimbering, but the gallant
work never ceased, and, though a scene of carnage reigned around,
the guns with unflinching and heroic persistence continued to pour
on the hills their cleansing fires for two mortal hours. In the late[Pg 17]
afternoon the Guards came into action, and more guns, the Boers
having rapidly taken up a position near the railway, and to the
drumming of mighty pieces and the whistling tune of musketry the
twilight set in. Face to face the belligerents grew lost in mist.
Preparations were then made for the complete rout of the Boers on
the morrow, but when morning arrived it was found that the Dutch
hordes had made themselves scarce. Pursuit was attempted, but
the horses were too exhausted for more heavy work. The Westtralians,
however—150 of them belonging to Colonel de Lisle’s
Corps—were unappeased. They pushed on to a point whence the
Boer army, a crowd of some 4000, with waggons, cattle, and guns,
could be seen crossing Bronkher’s Spruit. That place of grievous
memories, where Colonel Anstruther[4] fell victim to Boer perfidy,
awoke its own ghosts, for scarcely had the Dutchmen reached the
fatal area than an avenging sleet from the magazines of the Westtralians
brought them to a state of panic. In an instant Dutchmen,
waggons, guns, were scattering in all directions, while the
Colonials, expending 20,000 rounds of ammunition, coolly plied
their rifles in their coign of vantage till the numbers of the enemy
were sensibly thinned by death, wounds, or flight. Thus was given
the finishing touch to a battle which had a double purpose. It
served to clear the way for forty miles to the east and relieve
Pretoria of the too close attentions of the massed enemy, and it
engaged many of the Boers who had fallen back from Laing’s
Nek on the taking of Pretoria, thus assisting General Buller’s
operations at Volksrust, which have yet to be described. Sir
Redvers, in his turn, aided the main scheme by causing the Boers
to feel that their rear would shortly be threatened, and that even
retreat to the east must now have its geographical limits.

LIEUT.-COLONEL THE EARL OF AIRLIE (12th Lancers)

Killed at Battle of Diamond Hill, June 11th

Photo by Bassano, London

General French was unable to fulfil his part of the programme,
firstly, because the Boers saw through his plan, and secondly,
because his Division was merely the shadow of the goodly Division
that had flown to Kimberley in February, and his operations were
entirely handicapped, not only by the nature of the country, but by
the nature of his tools. General Ian Hamilton was little better off.
Broadwood’s Brigade, which once had numbered 1800, was now reduced
to 400, while the Household Cavalry mustered only 63, the 12th
Lancers 120, and the 10th Hussars 200. Not only were the regiments
reduced in numbers, but their mounts were now of the most
heterogeneous description, Basuto, Argentine, and Cape ponies
doing duty for chargers, and in many cases utterly unequal to the
exertion expected of them. Without this explanation it would be
difficult to comprehend why so apparently large a force should have
been unable to do more than rout the enemy. But when it is once[Pg 18]
understood that a considerable part of Lord Roberts’s army was now
represented merely on paper, the difficulties of the latter part of the
campaign may be better conceived.

The C.I.V.’s had two days of stiff battle. A private, giving
an account of his experiences, declared that they were the
heaviest days’ fighting he had seen. “The C.I.V.’s were in
the firing line both days, and our casualties were about sixty.
One of our lieutenants had a very sad death just in front of my
company. I have heard two names given to the action, but I don’t
know which is correct; they are Diamond Hill and Donkerskoek.
Our General said it was a second Spion Kop, the Boer position
being so fine, and the firing from the trenches so heavy. Our regiment
had got to within about 400 yards of the position, and had
fixed bayonets, but had to give up the idea of charging, for if we
had half the regiment would have been swept away. One of the
Boer doctors was down at our hospital after the first day’s fight, and
he told us that the Boers had lost about 600 that day. They must
have lost another 600 the next day, as our artillery was much nearer,
and simply poured shells into them all day.”

The total losses were about 200, but most deeply deplored by
all ranks was the gallant commander, the Earl of Airlie. He was
as brave as he was popular, and, like all his famous fighting race,
was a soldier born, not made. Besides his record of previous service,
he had distinguished himself in the Modder River battle, and was
twice mentioned in despatches by Lord Methuen. On one of
these occasions he made himself notable for the splendid dash
with which he dismounted a section of his men and drove back a
party of Boers who were enfilading the British force. In May he
was wounded in the fighting round Welkom, was nursed to health
at Bloemfontein by Lady Airlie, and went again to the front just
before the surrender of Pretoria. Two other distinguished officers
fell: Major the Hon. L. Fortescue, and Lieutenant the Hon. C.
Cavendish, 17th Lancers.

Besides those already noted the list of casualties during the
various engagements contained the names of:—

Killed:—12th Lancers—Lieutenant G. C. de C. Wright. 82nd Battery
Royal Field Artillery—Second Lieutenant W. S. Luce. New South Wales
Mounted Infantry—Lieutenant Drage. 1st Royal Sussex Regiment—Captain
C. J. K. Maguire. City Imperial Volunteers—Lieutenant W. B. L. Alt.
Wounded:—12th Lancers—Second Lieutenant H. R. Milvain. F Battery
Royal Horse Artillery—Captain R. England. Royal Lancaster Regiment
Mounted Infantry—Captain J. M. Graham. Indian Staff Corps—Captain E.
Barnes. New South Wales Mounted Infantry—Captain W. Holmes, Lieutenant
W. R. Harrison. Kitchener’s Horse—Lieutenant J. S. Cape. 1st
Royal Sussex Regiment—Second Lieutenant G. C. Morphett. 1st Derbyshire—Captain
T. H. M. Green, Lieutenant A. S. Murray. 2nd Canadian Mounted[Pg 19]
Rifles—Captain A. C. Macdonald. 8th Hussars—Captain E. A. S. O’Brien.
1st Coldstream Guards—Lieutenant Brett. Royal Army Medical Corps—Major
H. G. Hathaway. Missing:—12th Lancers—Captain F. Egerton
Green.

GUARDING THE COMMUNICATIONS—LORDS METHUEN AND
KITCHENER

While the battle for the Delagoa railway line was being
planned, Lord Kitchener, with a small force, pushed south and
joined Lord Methuen (whose force was at Heilbron) at Vredefort
station on the evening of the 10th of June. Together they decided
to hunt the marauders.

In passing, it is interesting to note that at this time the following
militia corps were doing unostentatious but valuable and perilous
service on the lines of communication:—

3rd Royal Scots; 3rd Royal West Surrey; 3rd East Kent; 3rd Royal
Lancaster; 4th Royal Lancaster; 6th Royal Warwickshire; 3rd Norfolk;
4th Somerset Light Infantry; 4th West Yorkshire; 4th Bedfordshire; 3rd
Yorkshire; 6th Lancashire Fusiliers; 4th Cheshire; 3rd South Wales Borderers;
3rd King’s Own Scottish Borderers; 4th Scottish Rifles; 3rd East
Lancashire; 4th East Surrey; 4th South Staffordshire; 3rd South Lancashire;
3rd Welsh; 4th Derbyshire; 6th Middlesex; 9th King’s Royal Rifles
(North Cork Militia); 4th North Staffordshire; 3rd Durham Light Infantry;
4th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders; 3rd Leinster; 5th Royal Munster
Fusiliers; 5th Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

On the 11th Lord Methuen proceeded to scour the railway
line, and found the enemy prowling within rifle range on either side
of his route. Whereupon, at Rhenoster River, he overtook and
engaged De Wet, over whom a temporary victory was gained. The
British commander succeeded in capturing camp and etceteras, and
scattering the Dutchmen in all directions, though De Wet himself,
with his usual nimbleness, disappeared. During the day’s engagement
Lieutenant Erle, 12th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry, was
slightly wounded.

On Tuesday the 12th the force hurriedly advanced towards
Kroonstad, owing to a report that that town, garrisoned by a single
battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Militia, had fallen a prey to
the enemy. Fortunately it was discovered that the rumour was
groundless, and Lord Methuen continued his southern march. On
the 13th and 14th the Boers pursued their system of annoyance
around the railway, and directed a storm of bullets on a construction
train which had arrived under the personal direction
of Colonel Girouard, R.E., for the purpose of repairing the depredations
of the past few days. Luckily, thanks to the pluck of the
construction party (they were short of rifles, owing to many having
been left in the rear train), a very able defence was kept up all[Pg 20]
night, until a party of mounted infantry—who at the first sound of
firing started to the rescue—arrived with their guns and routed
the foe. They came none too soon, for the Boers had made a fairly
big haul, and carried off some forty of the construction workers
as prisoners. The mounted infantry scurried after the retiring
Dutchmen, but, as usual, these had knowingly melted into twos
and threes and were uncatchable. In the attack on the train one
man was killed and eleven wounded, including Lieutenant Micklem,
Royal Engineers, Second Lieutenant Bigge, Volunteer Royal
Engineers.

Meanwhile, at Virginia the garrison had an exceedingly trying
time; but owing to the energy of Colonels Capper and North and
the troops under them, and the conspicuous coolness and valour of
Lieutenant Mitchell, the Boers were repulsed. At daybreak on the
14th some 800 Boers, with one or two pom-poms, a Maxim, and a
field gun, ensconced themselves in the dense scrub surrounding the
Zand River post. The garrison consisted of four companies 3rd
Battalion Royal Lancasters under Colonel North (about 250 fit for
duty), four companies Railway Pioneer Regiment under Major
Seymour (300 fit for duty), and some 25 men of the Royal Irish
Regiment (16 fit for duty) under Lieutenant Davenport. The
position was a somewhat extended one, the left being in advance
trenches on broken and jungly ground. This point the Boers
attacked with determination, and were as determinedly resisted
by Lieutenant W. Mitchell and No. 3 Company Railway Pioneer
Regiment. The enemy in the dense bush were practically surrounding
the British party, but these fought doggedly, engaging
their assailants at very close quarters and keeping them at bay till
nearly noon, when the Dutchmen were ultimately driven out of
their hiding-places by an advance through the scrub of a line of
reserve Railway Pioneer Regiment, aided by half a company of
Militia. Thus driven forth, they made haste to retire before the
arrival of a body of 170 Yeomanry (under Lieutenant Crane), which
had hastened to the rescue from the south. The losses were comparatively
small, owing to the marvellous grit of young Mitchell,
who, though wounded at the onset in both thighs, continued for six
hours to encourage and direct his men (there were only 22 of them
scattered in several small trenches), ordering them not to waste
ammunition, cheering them, and concealing from them, till the worst
was over, the fact that he himself was seriously wounded. Another
gallant officer, Major Seymour, distinguished himself, but he paid
for his valour with his life. He was killed while advancing with
the extended line through the bush to clear out the snipers. Lieutenant
Clement of No. 2 Company of the Railway Pioneer Regiment
was mortally wounded.[Pg 21]

On the 18th Lord Kitchener, having restored communications,
returned to Pretoria, and Lord Methuen moved to Heilbron.
Precautions to avert further interruptions on the railway had been
taken by establishing posts within communicable distance of each
other all along the line, connected by a continually perambulating
military train carrying field and automatic guns.

A combined movement had again to be planned for the surrounding
of De Wet, who, though defeated on the 13th by Lord
Methuen, and subsequently by Lord Kitchener, was still displaying
an elasticity of disposition greatly to his credit, if discomforting to
his pursuers. He and his followers now rebounded in the direction
of Heilbron, where on the 18th he endeavoured to arrest the entry
of Lord Methuen and a large convoy which he was escorting. A
smart engagement ensued, which, it was thought, would have the
effect of clearing the air. But peace was short-lived, as we shall see.

The war at this time, though full of inspiriting events, was as
hard, perhaps harder, for the soldier than ever. There were the same
chances of being wiped out by shot, shell, or disease, but the honour
and glory of laying down one’s life for one’s country was bereft of
its glamour. Tommy Atkins now needed all his patience, all his
pluck. There are men who can face hostile artillery, but will
squirm before a dentist. In these days there were many seasoned
fighters, who might be excused if they shrunk from the railway
accident or promiscuous sniping from invisible farms, which was
part and parcel of the guerilla form of warfare adopted by the remnant
of the Boer army—the malcontents, who, subversive of discipline
and hating the British race, had decided to fight to the bitter end.
Comments regarding the attitude of some of our troops have been
made by many who lack the large mind to look at the enormous
army as a whole, and who find pleasure in examining only its
flaws with the microscope and holding them up to public contempt.
Such comments it is unnecessary to reproduce. The brilliant
British army, like all great and brilliant things, must necessarily
have the defects of its qualities, and it is with the immense qualities
and not the infinitesimal defects of victors that the faithful recorder
has to do. To return, then, to the nerve-trying ordeals that formed
part of the almost daily programme of the soldier’s duty.

At Honing Spruit, situated on the rail twenty-one miles north of
Kroonstad, an exciting affair took place on the 22nd of June, all the
more exciting as those engaged had but a few days previously been
rescued from durance vile in Pretoria prison. On the 14th a party
of 16 released officers from various regiments, with some 400 men,
was ordered to Elandsfontein, the station outside Johannesburg,
which had been so admirably secured by Colonel Henry’s force.

On the 21st this party was moved on to Katbosh Camp, a mile[Pg 22]
or so beyond Honing Spruit, where were stationed two companies of
the Shropshires and some mounted Canadians under the command of
Colonel Evans. The officers of the composite force were: Colonel
Bullock, of the Devonshires, commanding; Major Stock, of the
Wiltshire Regiment; Major Carleton, Royal Lancasters; Captains
Elmslie and Freeth, of the Lancashire Fusiliers; Lieutenants Bryant,
Temple, Radice, Smith, Mackenzie, and Gray, of the Gloucestershire
Regiment; Jones, of the Connaught Rangers; Best, of the
Inniskilling Fusiliers; Prior, Engineer Militia; Colson, of the 5th
Fusiliers; and Wood-Martin, of the Suffolk Regiment. These, all
of them, had had sufficiently horrible experiences, both during the
hardly fought engagements in which they had been taken prisoners,
and in the period of incarceration at the Model School, and vowed
never again to be caught alive in the trap of the Dutchmen. They
then hardly realised how near that trap they were.

Lines Torn up by De Wet near Kroonstad.

(Photo by D. Barnett.)

The night was unusually cold, and travelling in coal trucks
was scarcely an inspiriting beginning. In the gloom of early
dawn the train reached Honing Spruit Station. Some of the
officers alighted and exercised themselves to restore circulation—they
were numb and weary—and in doing so espied, in the
east, the dark outlines of mounted figures approaching. They
promptly gave the alarm. Colonel Bullock proceeded in all
haste to get the men out of the trucks, and speedily they were
formed up round the station. An effort was then made with[Pg 23]
such picks and shovels as were at hand to dig trenches. But
these were a mere apology for shelter. They made, however,
according to an officer who scraped his little burrow for himself,
a “moral” support. Of other support, it must be owned, they had
little. A few officers were provided with Mausers, carbines, and bandoliers
of ammunition, but the force for the most part were saddled
with Martini-Henry rifles and black powder ammunition—rifles
discarded by the Boers, and left by them in the arsenal at Pretoria.
These venerable weapons were sighted at 1200 yards—the ordinary
range of Lee-Mitford or Mauser may be taken at 1500 to 2000 yards—and
were served out of necessity, owing to the insufficiency of
ammunition for Mauser rifles. Thus handicapped at the outset in
the way of weapons of defence, ragged and tattered, some in boots
that were dropping to pieces, some partly in uniform, partly in mufti,
garbed exactly as they had been in the prison, they found themselves
once again in presence of the enemy. Colonel Bullock, stouthearted
and truculent as ever, at once wired for help to Kroonstad,
and with the line cut on both sides of him, and the Boers
blowing up culverts as they came along, prepared to make a stand
against the advancing foe. Meanwhile bang! bang! went a series
of explosions on every side, voicing a vindictive tale and promising
unthinkable horrors to come.

According to their slim tactics, and to find out the strength of
the party most probably, the Boers now sent forward a man with a
white flag, declaring by the messenger, that they had many men and
guns, and that if the force refused to surrender they would be annihilated.
But the Boers had got hold of the wrong man. The officer who
had doggedly held firm in the blood-dyed donga at Colenso till the
Dutchmen had threatened to murder the wounded unless he gave in,
was not the man to surrender without a tussle. Colonel Bullock
quickly sent the messenger and his white flag to the right about, and
made preparations for stout resistance till help should arrive. But
it was a sorry piece of “bluff.” They were gunless, the old
muskets were of little use, and the black powder was objectionable,
as it would have betrayed their positions and the smallness of
the force. It was therefore necessary to tackle the Boers with extreme
caution. “At first,” said an officer who was engaged, “they were
only near the line to the north of us, covering the men who were
destroying the culverts and telegraph lines, but they gradually worked
round to the east, and about 8 or 8.30 down came the first shell—shrapnel—from
about 2000 yards away. The train all this time was
in the station, and I think they wanted to damage the engine, but
their shooting wasn’t good enough. The engine went a little way
up the line, but found it cut, and had to return. Shells were pretty
frequent now, and bullets too numerous to be exactly pleasant, but[Pg 24]
Colonel Bullock and Major Hobbs, who was second in command,
were walking about seeing to everything in the coolest possible way.
No. 1 Company, under Captain Elmslie, of the Lancashire Fusiliers,
had made some small trenches facing north, but when the Boers
worked round to the east we were, of course, enfiladed, so we got
into a ditch running along the side of the line north and south.
They peppered us pretty well while we were getting there, but only
one man was hit in the arm. Previous to this poor Major Hobbs,
who, with the Colonel, had been sitting behind one of our small
shelters which did not anything like cover them, was shot through
the heart and killed.” (Major Hobbs, it may be remembered, was
the gallant officer who was taken prisoner while tending a wounded
man in the brilliant engagement at Willow Grange.) “Young Smith,
of the Gloucesters, had been sent down the ditch near the line with
seven men to try and get a bit nearer to the Boers who were
damaging the culverts. They had rather a warm time, and Colonel
Bullock sent Freeth, the adjutant, to bring them back. Poor Smith
was shot through the groin, and the bullet went right through him.
Two of his men were wounded and one killed out of the seven.
Smith got back with Freeth’s help all right, and I found him afterwards
sitting up in bed smoking cigarettes and as unconcerned as possible.”

A small tin house at the station was used as a hospital, and a Red
Cross flag was improvised with difficulty. It was composed of a
pillow-case with red bands made from strips of a Kaffir blanket
discovered in the house. This was mounted on the shaft of an
uptilted cart, but the Boers affected not to comprehend its meaning,
and sent in a man under a white flag to ask an explanation. Here
the wounded were tended by Mr. Cheatle who, by a stroke of luck,
happened to occupy a saloon carriage in the “held up” train.
There was no other doctor. This well-known surgeon who had
gone out, con amore, as it were, with Sir William MacCormac, was
on his way home, thinking his errand of mercy was over. He
came quickly in action again, bringing his brilliant wits to meet a
somewhat desperate situation. His bandages were made from
ladies’ under garments found in a wardrobe, from the bed sheets in
the train, and for antiseptic powder he had recourse to the carbolic
tooth-powder in the possession of some of the officers. When this
came to an end he utilised boiled rags, and persistently attended to
the nerve-shaken wounded, who all the time were torn with bodily
agony and horror-stricken by the continual howling of shells against
walls and ground.

AUSTRALIAN BUSHMEN ON THE MARCH

Drawing by Allan Stewart, from details supplied by Surgeon Captain Watt, New Zealand Roughriders

Meanwhile the Boers plied their guns, shelling at the same time
from north and east—an antiphonal duet of most appalling description.
One shell broke through the saloon carriage, another buried itself in
some bales of wool which luckily protected the verandah of the[Pg 25]
hospital. To this the only return that could be made was a persistent
peppering with the ancient Martinis, a peppering which was
carried on for several hours. The officers worked hard with their
Mauser carbines. The one before quoted said he fired off fifty-five
rounds, but did not know with what result, except that
some Boers, exposing themselves on the sky line, very quickly
got down flat on the grass after he had taken a “steady pot” at
them at about 1400 yards’ distance. He went on to say: “The
Boers must have known how we were armed, as it is quite against
their custom to expose themselves at all. At last we saw some men
coming over the hill to our right, and thought it was the relief force,
but they turned out to be Boers in khaki, some of whom, I believe,
had helmets, probably taken from the convoy they collared a week
or two ago, somewhere in this neighbourhood.”

The telegram for help was despatched to Kroonstad about 7 A.M.,
but the reinforcements did not arrive till nearly 3.30 P.M. The
Boers early became aware of their near approach, however, and
began cautiously to remove their four guns, two of which—15-pounders—were
part of their capture at Sanna’s Post. Meanwhile
the small force, who had been straining every nerve and muscle for
many hours, and meant to die in the last ditch rather than surrender,
were anxiously looking towards the south for succour.
Then, at last, the friendly scouts were seen coming over the hill.
Oh! the relief of it! The welcome rumour of help gave energy
to the men, who, after their long inactivity, had been suddenly
thrown, vilely armed, into vigorous action, and were by now
well-nigh exhausted. Away flew the hostile hordes, but not without
having done a fair day’s work of destruction—line, telegraph,
and culverts being wrecked, one officer and three men killed, and
one officer and seventeen men wounded!

While this gang of Boers were worrying the Honing Spruit
party, another had attacked the Shropshires and Canadians at
Katbosh Camp, and thus deterred them from going to the
assistance of their brothers in distress. But it was owing to the
splendid fighting of the Canadians that the Dutchmen had found
it impossible to close in round Honing Spruit, and the party at
the railway station were enabled to hold out till the relieving
force arrived. After the Boers left, the troops still remained
in the trenches, and strengthened them as much as possible; but
the Argyll and Sutherland Militia and some Mounted Infantry
and a battery arrived from Kroonstad, and the battery shelled some
kopjes three miles away, where the Boers—some 700 to 1000 of
them, with three or four guns—were collecting. It was said that
the Boer loss was six killed, and that they took away three waggons
full of wounded, but this, of course, could not be verified.[Pg 26]

Some circumstances attending the brilliant resistance of the
Colonials are almost heroic. Lieutenant Inglis, with eight men of
the Frontier Police on worn-out ponies, were sent from the Katbosh
Camp to reconnoitre. They were suddenly surrounded by
Boers, but fought furiously, with the result that they made their
way through, with the loss of four, to an embankment which offered
shelter. Fifty Boers then came within short range and fired on them.
A response from the British remnant followed. There were presently
only four of them, commanded by Corporal Morden, who, Lieutenant
Inglis being disabled, took his place. Here, in the face
of these terrible odds, the Corporal sent off Private Miles to inform
Colonel Evans of his plight. The messenger executed his errand,
and returned to assist his comrades. He was hit, but still persisted
in “having a go at the enemy.” Then Corporal Morden dropped
with a bullet through the brain. Miles, wet with his own gore—fainting—supported
himself against a tussock and continued to
direct the firing of his brother and Private Kerr. Eventually the
Boers made off, but not before Kerr had been killed by a parting
shot. Finally the relief party arrived, and carried the few remaining
heroes back to camp. Among the day’s casualties were: Major
H. T. de C. Hobbs, West Yorkshire Regiment, killed; Second
Lieutenant H. H. Smith, 1st Gloucester Regiment, severely
wounded; Lieutenant W. M. Inglis, 2nd Canadian Mounted Infantry,
severely wounded. The total casualties amounted to thirty-one.

The programme of surprise parties, trapping of small forces, and
abuse of the white flag, continued with little variety. Owing to the
disposition of the British troops to east of the railway, and the scarcity
of supplies and transport that militated against their mobility,
the Boers were temporarily in the ascendant. It was no easy matter
to have and to hold the arteries of the great army whose head was
Pretoria, and yet to guard the railway lines and send reinforcements
at a moment’s notice to points menaced by the agile commandos
of the enemy, and consequently those who were responsible for
the safety of the communications lived the life of Damocles—without
that personage’s certainty of whence the fatal blow might
be expected!

The maintenance of the safety of the line from Kroonstad to
Pretoria was in the hands of General Smith-Dorrien, who placed at
every post two companies with two or more guns. He himself
eternally perambulated the line, now repairing, now mounting guns,
now despatching patrols, in fact, playing with almost superhuman
energy and vigilance the game of fox and geese—the fox De Wet,
the geese the long tail of communications. In spite, however, of
the surprising energy of the General, the dog fox—the wiliest reynard
that ever challenged chase—redoubled his activities.

[Pg 27]

CHAPTER II

GENERAL BULLER’S OPERATIONS—ROUTING THE BOERS FROM
LAING’S NEK[5]

The Natal Field Force, after the departure of Sir Charles
Warren, was composed as follows:—

Second Division (Lieutenant-General Sir C. F. Clery).—2nd
Brigade (Major-General Hamilton)—2nd East Surrey; 2nd West
Yorks; 2nd Devons; 2nd West Surrey. 4th Brigade (Colonel C. D.
Cooper)—1st Rifle Brigade; 1st Durham Light Infantry; 3rd King’s Royal
Rifles; 2nd Scottish Rifles (Cameronians), 7th, 14th, and 66th Field Batteries.

Fourth Division (Lieutenant-General Lyttelton).—7th Brigade (Brigadier-General
F. W. Kitchener)—1st Devon; 1st Gloucester; 1st Manchester;
2nd Gordon Highlanders. 8th Brigade (Major-General F. Howard)—1st
Royal Irish Fusiliers; 1st Leicester; 1st King’s Royal Rifles; 2nd King’s
Royal Rifles. Two Brigade Divisions Royal Artillery—13th, 67th, 69th Field
Batteries; 21st, 42nd, 53rd Field Batteries.

Fifth Division (Lieutenant-General H. J. T. Hildyard).—10th Brigade
(Major-General J. T. Coke)—2nd Dorset; 2nd Middlesex; 1st Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers. 11th Brigade (Major-General A. S. Wynne)—2nd Royal
Lancaster; 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers; 1st South Lancashire; 1st York and
Lancaster; 19th, 28th, and 78th Field Batteries. Corps Troops—1st Royal
Dublin Fusiliers; 2nd Rifle Brigade; 1st King’s Liverpool; Imperial Light
Infantry; 61st Field Battery (Howitzers); Two Nordenfeldts (taken from the
Boers); Natal Battery 9-pounders; Fourteen naval 12-pounder quick-firers;
4th Mountain Battery; 10th Mountain Battery, two guns; Four 4.7 naval
guns; Naval 6-in. gun; Part of Siege Train.

Cavalry Division.—1st Brigade (Major-General J. J. F. Burn Murdoch).
2nd Brigade (Major-General J. F. Brocklehurst). 3rd Brigade (Major-General
the Earl of Dundonald)—5th Dragoon Guards; 1st Royal Dragoons;
5th Lancers; 13th Hussars; 18th Hussars; 19th Hussars; A Battery Royal
Horse Artillery; South African Light Horse; Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry;
Bethune’s Mounted Infantry; Natal Carabineers; Natal Mounted
Rifles; Border Mounted Rifles; Umvoti Mounted Rifles; Natal Police; Colt
Battery.

At the request of Sir Redvers Buller, on the 2nd of June,
Christian Botha, brother of Commandant Louis Botha, accompanied
by Fourie and Pretorius, met him near Majuba for the purpose of
holding a conference regarding terms of surrender of Laing’s Nek.
A proposition was made, of course involving unconditional surrender,
and hostilities were suspended for three days in order
that it might be digested by the Dutchmen. It was found unpalatable
and rejected. Whereupon the belligerents resumed their[Pg 28]
warlike attitude. The interval had
been utilised by the Boers, who had
entrenched themselves for about
ten miles from Pogwani east of the
Buffalo, to the fringes of Majuba,
and further westward still. The
natural barriers of Natal—the historic
barriers that had made the
“grave of reputations”—were now
terraced with trenches, and nodulous
with gun-pits. Another Gibraltar,
frowning with menace, was prepared
to accommodate 5000 desperate
Boers. But they had not calculated
that a way round might be
found, and that they in their fastnesses
might be “turned” before
they could utilise that cleverly
arranged system of self-defence.
Yet the unforeseen occurred, and
we shall see.

The Last Battle of Majuba Hill—the Battle of Almond’s Nek.

(From a Sketch by Lieut. E. B. Knox, R.A.M.C.)

On the 6th of June Sir Redvers
Buller began his new move. General
Talbot Coke and the 10th Brigade
and South African Light Horse,
after some brisk skirmishing with
the enemy, seized Van Wyk’s Hill,
whereupon, during that day, and the
following day, the 7th, two 4.7-in.
guns and two 12-pounder naval
guns were mounted on the eminence,
while two 5-in. guns were perched
on the south-western spur of Inkwelo.
General Hildyard, who during
the armistice had moved across
from Utrecht to Ingogo, concentrated
his Division for advance over
Botha’s Pass, while General Clery
kept an eye on Laing’s Nek, and
beyond him General Lyttelton, co-operating,
brushed the enemy away
from the right flank, and kept clear
the country between Utrecht and
Wakkerstroom. Thus was prepared
[Pg 29]the way for General Hildyard’s
brilliantly planned and admirably executed assault of the spur
of the Berg between Botha’s Pass and Inkwelo, which took place on
the 8th, with the result that the enemy, some 2000 strong, were
outflanked and routed from their mountain strongholds, and the
pass was captured without serious loss.

The 9th was spent in a general halt on the summit of the pass,
getting the transport through the Drakensberg, hauling baggage up
the steeps, and skirmishing with Boers who hovered on the outskirts
of the hills. The labour entailed was prodigious, as the roads to
the pass were intensely precipitous, the hill being over a mile long,
and many of the transport waggons had to be double-spanned
before they could make appreciable advance. The troops, too, were
sorely tried, for at night they shivered in the crisp, frosty atmosphere,
which appeared additionally numbing after the warm sunlight
of midday. Still, with unquenchable zeal, they pursued their labours,
climbing and clambering over boulder and slab, and looking down on
the chasms below with genuine satisfaction at the thought of obstacles
surmounted and decisive work to be accomplished. They had now
secured a commanding position, which in a very short space of time
they hoped to make unchallengeable.

On the 10th General Buller’s force, marching over the wide
veldt, reached the junction of Gans Vlei, some ten miles north, while
General Hildyard’s crossed the pass and concentrated on Klip River,
situated some fifteen miles due west of Laing’s Nek, and in face of
some rugged country on the way to Volksrust. The Dutchmen
were there congregating, and preparing in the Almond’s Nek region
to intercept the passage. The South African Light Horse, before
the arrival of the main column, had captured a useful kopje, and
they, and some squadrons of the Irregulars, made a dashing attack on
the mass of Dutchmen who were barring the main road. A most
animated engagement was fought, which cost the South African
Light Horse six killed and eight wounded. The enemy after the encounter
slowly retired, harassed by the 2nd Cavalry Brigade. The
main column, frost-bitten and weary, bivouacked in the shadow of
the captured kopje, the 11th Brigade immediately below, and further
down, the 10th Brigade, while still lower down came the 2nd
Brigade, commanded now by General Hamilton in place of General
Hildyard, who, as we know, was raised to divisional rank.

On the 11th the advance was continued in the direction of
Volksrust, and General Hildyard (Fifth Division) made a brilliant
frontal attack against the Boers, who were now holding a formidable
position with several guns at the east of Almond’s Nek, which place
stands about seven miles north of Gans Vlei. After the artillery
had been pounding a dangerous hoop of ridges for a considerable
time, filling the whole atmosphere with reverberating roars, the[Pg 30]
10th Brigade, the Dorsets in the firing line, the Middlesex in support,
advanced on the right of the ridge beyond which were the
Mounted Infantry, while the 2nd Brigade, the East Surreys and
Queen’s leading, treading the open, made a bold dash for the foe.
These, concealed among the steep boulders, proceeded to pour a
thunderous and fiery welcome on all who approached. The stertorous
rampage continued for hours. But, fortunately, in their
fastnesses our big guns—two 4.7-in. monsters and six little “handy”
12-pounders—eventually searched them out, and subsequently a
gallant charge—one of the most brilliant in the campaign—the
charge of the Dorsets who, in a blizzard of lead, swarmed upon
the position with fixed bayonets, decided the fortunes of the day.
The superb manner in which those seasoned warriors launched
themselves at miles and miles of entrenched positions—a veritable
phalanx of church steeples—was beyond praise. Their great assault
cost the valiant regiment ten killed and forty wounded. Some Boer
prisoners were taken, and five or six Dutchmen bit the dust. But
most of them had bolted before the gleam of the bayonets, and in
their flight had set fire to the grass so as to render pursuit impossible.
Simultaneously with the charge of the Dorsets, the 2nd Brigade was
doing identical work, and doing it splendidly. They succeeded in
capturing the whole of the position, in clearing the enemy entirely
off the scene, and in rendering the formidable galleries of doom, the
rows of trenches on Laing’s Nek, “full of emptiness.” The Irregulars
under Colonel Gough, brave as ever and cool as cucumbers, had
been also vigorously engaged on the right, so vigorously, so dauntlessly
that two officers, Captain Mann (Thorneycroft’s Mounted
Infantry), and Captain O’Brien (Composite Regiment) were mortally
wounded. But, losses apart, the day’s work was in every way
effective, as the Boers by evacuating Laing’s Nek left open the
Volksrust Road, and virtually ceased from defacing British soil.

Thus in two marches Sir Redvers Buller had succeeded in
effectively sweeping Northern Natal, a feat of which his army was
very justly proud. There was no doubt that the Chief had now
made himself master both of the tactics of the enemy and the peculiarities
of the country over which he had to travel. He had bought
his experience in a hard school, but in this march he applied it
brilliantly, and exacted from all the applause that was his due.
Through broken country and steep he had made a flank march of
fifty miles with an immense force and tremendous transport, clearing
the way before him with the loss of about 30 killed and 150
wounded. His strategy had been ingenious as masterly, for
while he made a demonstration on their left and kept the Boers
in expectation of attack in that quarter, he had wheeled his force
to their right, and surprised them before they had time to gather[Pg 31]
themselves together sufficiently to frustrate the tactics of the
advancing force.

Repairing Laing’s Nek Tunnel Blown up by the Boers.

(Drawing by J. J. Waugh, from a photo by Captain P. U. Vigors.)

The triumphant issue of the movement was a source of intense
satisfaction to all concerned in it. The Natal Field Force had
hitherto scarcely been fortunate, and there were many among its
members who were inclined to envy those who, to use a popular
word, had “processed” up the Free State figuratively to the tune
of “See the Conquering Hero comes.” The Natal Force had had
a prodigious number of kicks, and knew what hard fighting meant,
and had felt sore to find themselves, so to speak, “on the unfashionable
side.” It became a question with these much battered warriors
whether the kicks would be productive of halfpence, and whether,
when honours were ladled out, those who so richly deserved it
would come in for a bare spoonful. The splendid “little battle that
did a big thing”—that, on the 11th of June, left Almond’s Nek
purged of Boers and enabled General Clery and his Division to
occupy Laing’s Nek—settled all misgivings. Sir Redvers Buller’s
flanking movement was full not only of political but sentimental
importance, for the reconquest of Majuba and Laing’s Nek meant
the sponging out of humiliating memories which had grown more
painful with the passage of years.[Pg 32]

In these operations the total casualties amounted to 153.

On the 7th Second Lieutenant Andrews, 6th Company Western
Division Royal Garrison Artillery, was severely injured on the head,
and on the following day Second Lieutenant E. F. Grant-Dalton,
2nd West Yorkshire Regiment, was wounded.

On the 11th, the casualties among officers were: Lieutenant
Stafford, East Surrey Regiment, severely wounded; Captain Mansel,
Second Lieutenant Herbert, 2nd Dorsets, slightly wounded; Lieut.-Colonel
Mills, Lieutenant Seppings, 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers,
slightly wounded; Lieutenant Johnstone, 11th Hussars, killed;
Captain Northey, 2nd Cameronians, slightly wounded; Captain
O’Brien mortally wounded (since dead).

GENERAL BULLER’S ADVANCE FROM LAING’S NEK TO
STANDERTON

The next stage in the proceedings was begun on the 20th, when
Sir Redvers Buller moved to Paarde Kop, and from thence proceeded
to Standerton, when he opened up communications with
Lord Roberts. On the 15th of the month Lord Roberts, telegraphing
to the War Office, said, “Buller, I hope, is at Standerton.”
But this was not the case, the Natal Force being delayed at Laing’s
Nek for various reasons connected with transport and the rearrangement
and recuperation of the troops and the repair of the
Laing’s Nek tunnel. Doubtless the inability of the General to
proceed, had considerable effect upon the main war programme,
and many imagine that if the force had been able to occupy Standerton,
which lies directly between Machadodorp, where President
Kruger had fled, and Reitz, where President Steyn had located himself,
concerted action between the two Presidents might have been
nipped in the bud. As it was, the Dutchmen continued to use the
telegraph till the 22nd of June, when Sir Redvers Buller’s troops
threw a formidable barrier between them, and spoilt the hatching
of further elaborate plots for the continuance of organised warfare.
Meanwhile, General Hildyard occupied Wakkerstroom, but marched
thence to join General Buller on the 19th.

Ingogo

Inkwalo

Majuba

Laing’s Nek

A HISTORIC BATTLEFIELD: JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1881, AND MAY 1900

From a Sketch by Major-General Coke, Commanding the 10th Brigade

On the 20th General Buller’s headquarters arrived at Sandspruit
Station beyond Volksrust, and pitched camp two miles further
on, to west of the rail. Many surrenders took place, and some
blowing up of culverts by those who were retreating in disgust at the
defeat at Almond’s Nek, a defeat which they considered the worst
disaster to their arms that had yet occurred. The Natal Volunteers
were now about to be disbanded, and left for Dundee. They were
highly praised by all, and the Chief issued an order expressing his
keen appreciation of the services rendered by Brigadier-General[Pg 33]
Dartnell and his stalwart followers in the arduous task which
has resulted in the expulsion of the enemy from Natal territory.
General Lyttelton now moved from Coetzes Drift to Laing’s
Nek to protect the line from Newcastle to Volksrust, while General
Coke’s Brigade mounted guard over the latter place.

The next day, the 21st, the advance column reached Paardekop,
situated some thirty miles from their destination. Standerton was
neared by Lord Dundonald’s mounted force on the 22nd, while the
infantry followed some eight miles behind, the 10th Brigade only
being left at Paardekop. As Major Gough and a squadron of the
Composite Regiment entered Standerton a party of Boers made off,
leaving the place to be occupied without resistance. The railway
bridge was found to be injured, as also were some engine trucks
and engines. The Hollander railway officials, for whose idle hands
the devil had invented this mischief, were imprisoned.

Railway Map showing Lines from Pretoria to E. and S.E.

(Scale, 1 inch = 64 miles. By permission of the Publishers of “South Africa.”)

While these activities were taking place, and General Buller was
slowly making his way into the Transvaal from the east (guarding
every inch of the rail in his rear, so that when he should reach
Heidelberg the Natal Field Force would be extended all along the
line), General Ian Hamilton, in order to join hands with him, was
moving with a mobile force viâ Springs to Heidelberg, which was[Pg 34]
occupied on the 23rd. Both armies thus approaching were now
capable of frustrating concerted and combined action between the
hostile bands of the Transvaal and those still lingering in Orange
River Colony. Lord Dundonald’s Brigade, meanwhile, had been
joined by Strathcona’s Horse, a picked body of sporting men who
were tingling for fight.[6] This experience they soon enjoyed, as in
the course of the march towards Heidelberg they came on a gang of
Boers and had an animated encounter which cost them a man killed
and two missing, including the officer who was in command of the
party. Four Boer victims were left on the scene of the fray.

The Boers, though many were surrendering, were sustained in
their dogged determination to fight by the exquisite inventiveness of
Mr. Kruger, who, undoubtedly, is a Defoe or a De Rougemont lost to
the world. He caused a proclamation to be issued, stating that the
Russians had declared war on Japan, and that Great Britain was
bound by treaty to support the Japanese, and must therefore withdraw
her troops from South Africa. The proclamation also stated
that Lord Roberts had no supplies, and implored the burghers to
keep up their courage. About a thousand burghers accordingly
collected in the neighbourhood of Sandspruit with the wily ambition
of severing the lines of communication. The Komati Poort Bridge
had been threatened, and the cauldron of Boer machination was
simmering portentously in the neighbourhood of Machadodorp.

With Buller’s force on the east, Rundle’s on the south, Hunter’s
to the west, it was hoped that the animated De Wet might be
trapped as Cronje had been trapped. Still the wily one—slim by
instinct, slimmer now by experience—contrived to become slippery as
an eel whenever the fingers of the enveloping British hand began to
curve in his direction. There was no doubt about it that this sometime
butcher of Barberton, this late speculator in potatoes, who, it is
stated, “went bankrupt in an unsuccessful attempt to establish a potato
corner on the Johannesburg market,” was a born genius in the art
of war. He was aware of his own potentialities, and is reported to
have said that he gave Lord Kitchener—if he put his mind to it—ten
days to catch him in, while to Lord Roberts he allowed three
weeks, and to Lord Methuen the rest of a lifetime! And the statement
was not all Boer bounce, as time proved.

General Hamilton from the west approached Heidelberg on the
22nd, and exchanged shots with the Boer patrols; but during the
night the enemy disappeared and the troops occupied the town.
The force consisted of General Gordon’s and General Broadwood’s
Cavalry Brigades (the 9th, 16th, 17th Lancers, and Household Cavalry,
10th Hussars, and 12th Lancers respectively), two batteries Royal
Horse Artillery, two batteries Field Artillery, two 5-inch guns, a[Pg 35]
brigade of Mounted Infantry under General Ridley, and the 21st
Brigade (City Imperial Volunteers, Camerons, Sussex, and Derbys)
under General Bruce Hamilton. It was found that the Boers had
retreated to a crescent of hills turning south-east of the town, and
from here they fired on patrols of the New South Wales Contingent.
General Hamilton advanced on the Dutchman’s haunts, while General
Broadwood, with a pom-pom and Field Battery, Roberts’s Horse, the
Ceylon Mounted Infantry, and Marshall’s Horse, made a vigorous
flank attack which sent the enemy scudding into space. The
casualties were few. Among the wounded were Captain F. Whittaker,
Roberts’s Horse, since dead; Captain H. Carrington Smith,
Royal Dublin Fusiliers; Captain M. Browne, Roberts’s Horse;
Lieutenant C. Livingstone Learmonth, Roberts’s Horse; Lieutenant
E. Rex King, Roberts’s Horse. General Ian Hamilton unluckily
fell from his horse and sustained a fracture of the collar-bone.

Generals Hunter and Hart, therefore, hurriedly joined General
Ian Hamilton on the 25th at Heidelberg, the former replacing the
latter in command there, as General Hamilton’s injury temporarily
incapacitated him from resuming his duties. How General Hunter
managed so opportunely to arrive on the scene must be described.

General Hunter, after taking Christiana, moved viâ Vryburg,
Lichtenburg, Potchefstroom, and Krugersdorp to Johannesburg.
With Colonel Mahon—who had joined him and was in command of
the Cavalry Brigade—he had been engaged in the task of pacifying
the Wolmaranstad and Potchefstroom districts. Klerksdorp surrendered
on the 9th of June (uselessly, as it afterwards appeared).
A few days later Colonel Mahon’s Cavalry Brigade entered Potchefstroom
after a bitterly cold night march. On the 15th General
Hunter moved viâ Krugersdorp (which surrendered on the 18th),
towards Johannesburg (Colonel Mahon preceding him and moving
to Pretoria) and went to Springs in support of General Hamilton’s
advance to Heidelberg.

General Hunter’s reduced force now consisted of the Dublin
Fusiliers, part of the Somersetshire Light Infantry, and a small
number of the Yeomanry. By the 25th he had taken over the command
of General Hamilton’s column and at once proceeded to
engage himself with the work that that officer was intending to
accomplish. General Hart before this time had been at Frederickstad,
some fifteen miles north of Potchefstroom on the rail and best
road to Johannesburg, but speedily moved on to assist. The plan
was to arrange for the permanent garrisoning of Frankfort in the
Orange River Colony, Heilbron, Lindley, and Senekal, the taking
of Bethlehem, and, if possible, the cornering of De Wet.

General Hunter marched from Heidelberg towards Frankfort
with a view to finding out the haunts of the malcontents, but encountered[Pg 36]
no opposition, and reached his destination on the 1st of
July. Two days later he was joined by the troops from Heilbron
under General Macdonald. General Hart, with a battalion and a
half of infantry, remained in Heidelberg and engaged in the repair
of the railway bridge, which had been wrecked by the Boers.

Here for the nonce we must leave them while the operations
in other parts of the disturbed Colonies are investigated.
General Buller had accomplished his work of clearing Natal, and
had joined hands with Lord Roberts’s force, and thus interposed a
strong British barrier between Botha at Middelburg and De Wet in
Orange River Colony. These two adventurous spirits had now
to be tackled separately, and the cornering of De Wet came first
in Lord Roberts’s programme. The commando of the astute Free
Stater was to be pushed eastward towards Bethlehem and surrounded,
and for this purpose General Hunter was to co-operate
with Generals Rundle, Clements, and Paget, while Lord Methuen
in the neighbourhood of Paardekraal (ten miles south-west of
Heilbron on the Kroonstad Road), was to mount guard over the
rail between Kroonstad and the Vaal River and prevent De Wet
from breaking out westward.

[Pg 37]

CHAPTER III

IN ORANGE RIVER COLONY, EAST. JUNE

General Rundle’s activities had never relaxed. In
June he was vigilantly guarding the Senekal-Ficksburg
region, posting strong forces at intervals along the road,
and fixing his headquarters at Scheepers Nek. Here
he was strengthened by the arrival of General Campbell’s
Brigade (16th), while General Brabant’s Force moved along
the line in order to keep a wary eye on the guerilla bands that were
intent on ravage and destruction. In a day or two he returned
to Hammonia, however, as swarms of the enemy were circling about
sniping, forcing Boers who had retired to their farms to rejoin the
rebels, destroying telegraph wires, attempting to cut off parties of
troops and to press their way towards the south, and, in fact, making
themselves generally offensive.

In consequence of Lord Roberts’s proclamation, Free Staters
remaining in the field now became rebels. But Mr. Steyn issued
a counterblast—warned burghers to take no notice of the proclamation
at their peril, and declared the country was still an International
Sovereign State, with a President and properly constituted Government.
The unfortunate burghers, therefore, found themselves between
two fires, and their sentiments must have resembled those
of the man who, torn between rival fair ones, cried, “How happy
could I be with either, were t’other dear charmer away!” Botha, it
was said, desired to surrender, but from sense of loyalty to De Wet
was prevented from so doing, both Dutchmen having agreed to hold
out so long as one remained uncaptured. De Wet was reported to
be still keeping together some 6000 men in the Orange River
Colony, Botha with some 5000 more, broken into marauding bands,
was guarding the east of the Transvaal, while Mr. Kruger and his
allies between Machadodorp and Nelspruit resided in a railway
carriage, awaiting the whistle that should warn them to steam off.

On the 19th General Rundle, accompanied by his staff, Colonel
Maxwell and Captain George Farrar of General Brabant’s Division,
made a careful examination of Ficksburg and its fortifications, and
afterwards, during a reconnaissance, it was discovered that a hornet’s
nest was concealed in a series of sinister kopjes near by. The desperadoes
had guns, and without doubt intended to use them should
the British be caught in the open, but they were playing a waiting[Pg 38]
game, at which pastime General Rundle decided to show himself
equally proficient. Further investigations proved that the Boer lines
between Ficksburg and Bethlehem were of great strength, and that
the Dutchmen numbered some 5000. Besides these bands, other
roving commandos flitted about mosquito-wise, seeking to draw
British blood.

On the 20th Colonel Dalgety at Hibernia reported that he had been
surrounded. He stated that some 200 Dutchmen were ensconced on
Doorn Kop near his camp, and asked for help in order to effect their
capture. Off went General Rundle, with Scots Guards, Cavalry and
Artillery, marching nimbly, in the fond hope of making a “bag,”
through the pitchy blackness of the night, and reaching the
destination at dawn. When the troops arrived, however, it was
found that Colonel Dalgety had retired, and the Boers in dispersed
gangs were again a prowling danger to the vicinity. Meanwhile
General Paget, who was holding Lindley, was attacked by De Wet,
who brought five pieces to bear on him, but the guerilla chief was
successfully repulsed by the 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry, assisted
later on by a battery of the City Imperial Volunteers which gave a
splendid account of itself.

General Rundle’s march was continued on the 23rd towards
Senekal, whereupon the Dutch hordes, seizing their opportunity,
pounced on the rear of the transport. Under cover of a fiercely-flaring
veldt fire they poured a volley on the rear guard—the Scots
Guards and Hampshire Yeomanry under Captain Seely—who
instantly jumped to action, giving the oncoming Boers so keen a
dose from rifles and a Maxim, that they bolted to their main position
at Tafelberg. Sundry of their party, seeking safety at the farm of
some supposed neutral, were luckily captured and their harbour of
refuge razed to the ground. (It was impossible longer to shut our
eyes to the fact that the farms had become half-way houses for
rebels, and there was no other means of disposing of these death
traps.) In this engagement many of the Boers bit the dust, for the
British troops actively pursued the enemy in their flight, and
succeeded in thinning their numbers without casualties on their
own side.

The dogged determination of the Boers was to break through to
the south, and it took all the ingenuity of Generals Rundle and
Brabant to create a linked chain from Winburg to the Basutoland
border, through which the slim ones could not squeeze. Owing
to the nature of the country—in some places a replica of Switzerland,
with snow-capped peaks, enormous gorges, and treacherous
passes—it was difficult to assume the offensive, and Sir Leslie
Rundle had to content himself with the task of keeping the Boers in
check while help came from the north. General Clements, on the[Pg 39]
24th, engaged a body of fierce ruffians near Winburg, where he had
gone to gather guns and supplies prior to combining his force with
those at Lindley, Heilbron, and Heidelberg. He succeeded in
driving the rebels north of the Zand River without great loss,
though Captain G. E. F. Fitzgerald, 2nd Bedfordshire Regiment,
was severely wounded, and Second Lieutenant R. H. Lascelles,
8th Battery Royal Field Artillery, was slightly injured.

At Bloemfontein, at this time, there was deep regret at the loss
of Captain Lord Kensington,[7] 2nd Life Guards, who had died of his
wounds.

Meanwhile, near Ficksburg, on the 25th, General Boyes’ Brigade
also encountered the Dutchmen. Two valuable officers were
killed—Captain E. B. Grogan and Lieutenant G. L. D. Brancker,
1st South Staffordshire Regiment—and five men were wounded and
missing.

A convoy returning with General Clements to Senekal from
Winburg was also attacked some seven miles from Senekal. Hearing
of the fray, Colonel Grenfell and his Colonials set out from Senekal,
attacked the enemy’s left flank, and became so hotly engaged
that General Brabant, with all the available troops, rushed to the
succour of the party. Of the combined forces three men were killed
and twenty-three wounded.

General Paget was also desperately engaged at Lindley on the
26th, when a convoy of stores moving towards that place was attacked
by the marauding bands, but after a heavy rearguard action succeeded
in getting to their destination in safety. Ten men were killed and
four officers and fifty men wounded.

On the following day the Roodival Spruit post was attacked, but
the detachment of the Shropshire Light Infantry and West Australian
Mounted Infantry, who were there, briskly sent the enemy
flying.

General Methuen, too, was not inactive. On the 28th the Boer
laagers near Vach Kop and Spitz Kop were found to be hastily
removing in the direction of Lindley, whereupon the General gave
chase, pursued the enemy for twelve miles, and eventually wrested
from them some 8000 sheep and 500 head of cattle they had appropriated
during their freebooting excursions in the neighbourhood.
Lieutenant G. C. W. G. Hall and Lieutenant L. Simpson, 2nd
Yorkshire Light Infantry, and four men were wounded, but otherwise
the operations were highly satisfactory, as the Boer larder, if
not the Boer person, had been made to pay heavily at a time when[Pg 40]
both belligerents were none too fully fed! The enemy once hemmed
in, and once devoid of supplies, it was hoped the end of the war
would be reached.

On the 2nd of July General Clements joined hands with General
Paget, and the combined force began their advance on Bethlehem,
of which anon.

IN THE WESTERN TRANSVAAL. JUNE

Early in the month came a report from General Baden-Powell,
from camp forty miles west-south-west of Rustenburg, that the railway
to Mafeking had been repaired, and that over a hundred arrested
rebels were awaiting their trial. The General was working his
systematic way through the districts of Manrico, West Lichtenburg,
and Rustenburg, carrying out a mission of pacification, re-establishing
order, and collecting arms and supplies. It must be explained
that in recognition of his splendid services he had been promoted to
the rank of major-general, after which he was appointed a lieutenant-general
on the staff while employed with her Majesty’s forces in
South Africa. Lord Edward Cecil now filled the post of Administrator
of the Rustenburg district, and had already accepted
surrenders and collected rifles innumerable.

Rustenburg was occupied on the 14th of June by General Baden-Powell,
and a column from Pretoria was sent out to meet this officer,
to repair the telegraph between the two places, and thus provide a
second line of telegraph between the Chief and Cape Town. This,
with the opening of the railway line from Durban to Pretoria (shortly
to be accomplished by Sir Redvers Buller’s operations), made important
advance in the work of occupation.

On the 18th General Baden-Powell arrived at Pretoria, where
he had an enthusiastic reception. He stayed but two days, and was
off again on his return journey towards Rustenburg. This town
at the time was garrisoned by a very small force and one gun,
whose occupation it was to continue the work of pacification, and
accept the surrender of arms—most of which appeared to be of
obsolete type.

MAJOR-GENERAL R. A. P. CLEMENTS, D.S.O., A.D.C.

Photo by Elliott & Fry, London

At this date, between Rustenburg and Pretoria, a body of the
enemy under Commandant Du Plessis were roaming about, and
these were met on the 19th by Hutton’s Mounted Infantry, who
came out of the fray with two guns to their credit. It was not often
in the history of the war that Boer guns were seized, and the little
British force was justifiably pleased with their prowess. There was
no end to the activity of Hutton’s Mounted Infantry, and skirmishes
with wandering tribes of the enemy were of almost daily occurrence.
On the 24th Captain Anley had a smart “set-to” with Boer patrols[Pg 41]
south of Pretoria, in which Lieutenant Crispin and one man of the
Northumberland Fusiliers were wounded.

Railway Map showing Lines to W. and S.W. of Pretoria.

(Scale, 1 inch=64 miles. By permission of the Publishers of “South Africa.”)

About this period an informal armistice was in operation; Botha
having been given time to consider the philosophy of fighting
against the inevitable. Lord Roberts made the suggestion that the
Boer commandant should disarm his forces, and thus avert unnecessary
bloodshed, but the Dutchman doggedly refused to surrender
without the consent of his Government, and demanded further respite
to obtain the same. This being probably another ruse to enable
the Dutch rebels, mercenaries, and others—who were gathering round
the standard of the commandant—to gain breathing time, the request
was refused, and hostilities were resumed. An official warning
was given to the effect that any further activities in the form of the
destruction of railway lines, &c., would be met with prompt punishment,
and involve the demolition of all farms within five miles of
the point molested. Colonel Girouard was also authorised to compel
leading residents to accompany trains—a wise precaution, reminiscent
of the policy of the East, which forces the Grand Vizier to
taste of every dish prepared for his sovereign!

When the cat is away the mice may play, and the opportunity for
a game was not lost on the Boers. During General Baden-Powell’s[Pg 42]
absence from Rustenburg a party of Dutchmen under Commandant
Limmer made an effort to lodge themselves on the heights commanding
the town, and demanded its surrender. Major Hanbury
Tracy, who with 120 men was in charge of the place, replied that
he held Rustenburg for her Majesty’s Government, and intended so
to do. Thereupon hostile artillery began its thunderous detonations,
and things grew frowning. But Colonel Holdsworth (7th Hussars)
from the region of Zeerust, forty-eight miles off, scenting fight from
afar, made a brilliant march, and assisted by Colonel Airey and his
mettlesome Bushmen drove back the enemy. Two Bushmen were
slain, and Captain Machattie and three men were wounded. This
was the state of affairs when General Baden-Powell returned on the
9th of July. By the 10th the Boers had betaken themselves to
Olifant’s Nek in the Magaliesberg range, and so as to secure the
other pass—Magato Nek—the Rustenburg party seized it. Unfortunately,
nearer Pretoria was another nek, the Commando Nek,
and here, as we shall see anon, the Boers, on the 11th of July,
managed cunningly to locate themselves, thus cutting off General
Baden-Powell from Pretoria.

[Pg 43]

CHAPTER IV

JULY

THE BATTLE OF BETHLEHEM
AND THE SURRENDER OF PRINSLOO

The drama in Natal having been concluded, the curtain
rose on the last act of the drama in Orange River Colony,
the final scenes of which went “on greased wheels,” as it
were, owing to the tremendous energy and talent in the field
of, first, General Sir Leslie Rundle, who had had all the hard
preliminary work to do; second, Generals Clements and Paget, and
finally of the greatest martial performer of all—General Sir Archibald
Hunter. It will be remembered that this officer, after the accident
to General Ian Hamilton, had taken over his command, but July
found him released from the eastern Transvaal and in act of assisting
in the concluding operations in the Orange River Colony. His force
now consisted of the 2nd and 3rd Brigades of Mounted Infantry,
Kitchener’s Horse, Lovat’s Scouts, the Composite Regiment of
Cavalry from the Transvaal, the Highland Brigade (minus the
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders guarding Heilbron), the
Munsters, the Yorkshire Light Infantry, the Scottish Rifles
(Militia), and South Staffordshire (Militia), under the command
of General Arthur Paget, the 38th Battery Royal Field Artillery and
Battery of the City Imperial Volunteers, the Scottish Yeomanry,
under Colonel Burn, the 14th and 15th Imperial Yeomanry, and
the Imperial Australian Regiment. In conjunction with General
Brabant and General Rundle, who were in or around Senekal and
Hammonia respectively, he moved steadily to the south-east, the
main object of the operations being to dislodge the Boers from
Bethlehem and sweep them off from the rich grain country on the
eastern side of the Orange River Colony, and prevent them from
penetrating lower and disturbing already pacified districts.

Near Lindley, as we are aware, as a commencement of the combined
closing in movement, Generals Clements and Paget had effected
a junction. The Boers clustering in the neighbourhood of Winburg
and Senekal were known to be yet active, though many of their
number came in at times and surrendered, while others, longing to
do likewise, were caught sneaking forth and were sjamboked by
their compatriots. In fact, strong guards had to be posted round[Pg 44]
the laagers to prevent the desertion of Boers of pacific tendencies.
Still, when they fought, they fought well and tenaciously, and
managed to give a vast amount of trouble at every turn of
the road.

General Paget, on the 3rd, attacked the Dutchmen in their strong
position at Pleisirfontein, driving them off across Leeuw Kop to
Broncrifontein. He bivouacked for the night in the position he
had secured, not without some fierce fighting, an account of which
was given by one of the Imperial Yeomanry:—

“We moved from Lindley on the morning of July 2, and by midday were
in touch with the enemy, who had taken up a position on some kopjes overlooking
the road on which we had to pass. We opened fire with the 38th
Battery Field Artillery 15-pounder, and also with the C.I.V. 12-pounder quick-firing
guns. The Boers replied with two 15-pounders, but we were too much
for them, and by 2 P.M. we had driven them off and our Mounted Infantry and
Yeomanry had taken the position. It was a miserably cold day with drizzling
rain, so you may imagine it was anything but pleasant.

“We camped that night at a farm which the enemy had occupied all day.
They retired some distance, and continued shelling our camp till dark, and
though some of their shells fell into our camp and among the waggons no harm
was done. Our casualties were two of our men wounded. After we had
pitched our camp it came on to rain, so we had to lie down in our wet blankets
on the damp veldt. We were, however, able to get plenty of wood from the
farmhouse, so we made a large fire which, with some warm tea, was a comfort.
Next day we moved camp at 8 A.M. and proceeded, after the Boers had dropped
a few shells into us. Our artillery went on ahead, and took up a position on a
kopje, and shortly after we located the Boer guns on another kopje. To-day
we found they had a large gun, a Creusot, which outranged ours. The
artillery duel lasted all day till 4 P.M. when a general attack was made by the
Infantry and Yeomanry on the kopje. While this was going on a force of
Boers dressed in khaki and helmets, the same as those used at Lindley,
managed to creep up on the 38th Battery, who had run short of ammunition,
and shot the men down at the guns. The captain and lieutenant were killed,
and Major Oldfield was mortally wounded.”

PRINSLOO’S COMMANDO RETREATING TO THE BRANDWATER BASIN
AFTER THE FIGHT AT RETIEF’S NEK

From a Sketch by M. F. R.

As may be imagined the situation was now verging on disaster.
Major Oldfield had received his death-blow, Captain Fitzgerald was
helpless with a bullet in the thigh, Lieutenant Belcher was shot at
his guns. The gunners and drivers of the guns had nearly all
dropped dead or were disabled—their horses in death agonies strewing
the ground. It was impossible, therefore, to remove the guns.
The Bushmen had been forced to retire at a critical moment, and
it seemed as though the day were lost. Then up came the C.I.V.
Battery, and with the assistance of Captain Budworth—whose wits
and gallantry were never better displayed—fired their two guns trail
to trail over the heads of the 38th, battered the triumphantly
advancing foe on the left front and, in a word, saved the situation.
Off scudded the Boers, after them went the Bushmen, Budworth[Pg 45]
riding at the head, and finally with the assistance of the Infantry—the
Yorkshire Light Infantry, the Munster Fusiliers, and the Imperial
Yeomanry who had rushed up the hills and scattered the remaining
Dutchmen at the point of the bayonet—they succeeded in getting the
guns limbered up and away! The dashing work cost forty killed
and wounded, besides Captain Dill, 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry,
wounded, and Lieutenant and Adjutant A. F. C. Williams, Indian
Staff Corps (Attached Brabant’s Horse), dangerously wounded.

Railway Map of Eastern Portion of Orange River Colony and Natal.

(Scale, 1 inch=64 miles. By permission of the Publishers of “South Africa.”)

On the following day, 4th, the enemy was pursued as far as
Blaauw Kop, fifteen miles north-west of Bethlehem, where Mr.
Steyn’s seat of government was now supposed to be. Mr. Steyn
had cautiously betaken himself to Fouriesburg (between Bethlehem
and Ficksburg), leaving De Wet and some 3000 men to await
the attack of the British forces. Meanwhile round Ficksburg
fierce fighting was taking place, the Boers making a midnight
attack with the despairing idea of reoccupying that town. Their
furious effort lasted but an hour, when they found themselves
beaten.

On the 5th the position at Doornberg, on the Winburg-Senekal[Pg 46]
road, which the Dutchman had evacuated, was promptly taken
possession of by General Brabant, who thereby ousted them from
a vantage-point whence they could pounce on convoys proceeding
to and from the base at Winburg, and secured the line of rail in the
vicinity of Zand River, round which hovering gangs of wreckers
had persistently congregated.

To return to the Dutchmen inside Bethlehem. The town, like
many other South African towns, is dominated by cliffs or kopjes,
two of these being on the north-west, while another (Wolhunter
Kop) rises in the south in a high and solitary peak above the plain,
and descends steeply towards the side of the town. Naturally these
obstructive eminences were chosen as the stronghold of the foe,
and as naturally the object of the British was now to clear the
Boers from them, and to this end General Arthur Paget marched
his force to within two miles of his objective, and encamped near the
northerly spurs of the north-western kopjes.

General Clements’s column, consisting of the Royal Irish,
Worcesters, Wiltshires, a battery of Field Artillery, and two 5-inch
guns moved about six miles on the left rear of General Paget’s
force towards the east of the town; where, on all the available ridges
and cliffs were Boer trenches and gun emplacements, some of these
knowingly and skilfully arranged at a right angle with the cliffs and
with their backs to the town, in order that any approaching force
could be swept from all directions as they neared the position.
General Clements sent to De Wet a flag of truce demanding the
surrender of the place, and on receipt of a refusal the hammer-and-tong
process of warfare began.

Both Generals simultaneously attacked from different points,
but owing to the crusted and gibbose nature of the ground in
this part of the Orange Colony it was impossible for the Cavalry
to attempt any very wide turning movement. The result was that
on the dash and daring of the Infantry much was found to depend
and that eventually carried all before it. The Cavalry, the 14th and
15th Imperial Yeomanry, and Imperial Australian Regiment operated
on the right, and made themselves masters of a position on a kopje
at the northerly ridge of the eminences held by the Boers. General
Clements engaged the foe in his eastern fastnesses, capturing them
on the following day through the gallantry of the Royal Irish Regiment,
while the Infantry with General Paget fought with splendid
persistence, till their ammunition being exhausted they finally charged
with the bayonet so gallantly, so effectively, that the Boers were
routed, and General Paget at nightfall found himself in possession of
a kopje which faced and was the key to the terrific steeps leading to
the precipitous peak of Wolhunter’s Kop. This charge of the Munsters,
supported by the Yorkshire Light Infantry, was described[Pg 47]
by one of the officers of the former splendid regiment in glowing
terms: “The Royal Munster Fusiliers had to storm a kopje at the
point of the bayonet. For the last 800 yards my men had not a
round of ammunition left. We kept advancing, cheering as we went
on, with bayonets fixed. We got within fifty yards, when the Boers
fired their last volley and bolted. The position was won. The
G.O.C., in his despatch to Lord Roberts, said the gallantry displayed
by the Munsters was beyond all praise…. My men
behaved excellently. I never want finer fellows to be with in an
attack.”

Mr. Blundell, of the Morning Post, related a characteristic anecdote
which served to show the debonnair spirit, the coolness and
aplomb of some of the doughty band: “In the midst of the rush
past some Kaffir kraals a goose waddled out through the line, and a
man, not too preoccupied to forget the future, lowered his bayonet,
swung the bird over his shoulder in his stride, and took possession
of the captured position with his dinner on his back.” The goose
was eaten in face of the frowning Wolhunter’s Kop, which next day,
the 7th, fell into the hands of the British through a series of ingenious
martial manœuvres, assisted by the brilliant execution
of the 38th Battery R.F.A. and the C.I.V. Battery under Major
M’Micking. The decisive move in the operations was brought
about by the splendid persistence of the Royal Irish, who, extended
in three lines, stormed a formidable kopje amidst cascades of fire,
dropping, and sweating, and shouting, yet never halting till they had
reached the crest, captured it, and in addition to it a prize—a gun,
one of our own lost in the fatal affair at Stormberg. By midday the
enemy was in full retreat, and the town was occupied by the combined
forces.

The casualty list on the first day, considering the magnitude of
the operations and the strength of the positions assailed, was not
large: Thirty-two men of the Munster Fusiliers were wounded
and one man missing; seven men of the Yorkshire Light Infantry
wounded; one man of the 58th Company Imperial Yeomanry was
killed, and two men wounded. The wounded officers were: Lieutenant
A. H. D. West, 8th Battery Royal Field Artillery; Captain
T. W. Williams, 5th Volunteer Battalion Liverpool Regiment
(attached Royal Irish Regiment); Captain G. D. M’Pherson,
1st Munster Fusiliers; Captain W. C. Oates, 1st Munster Fusiliers;
Lieutenant Conway, 1st Munster Fusiliers; Second Lieutenant
Boyd Rochford, 4th Scottish Rifles. The following casualty
occurred on the 7th: Captain J. B. H. Alderson, 1st Royal Irish
Rifles, wounded (since dead).

On the morrow, Broadwood’s Brigade, preceding General Hunter,
arrived.[Pg 48]

After this, by systematic and strategic pressure, the Free Staters
were being pushed off their impregnable heights to a mountainous
place called the Brandwater Basin, some fifteen miles square, in
the region of the Caledon River, leaving us in possession of practically
the last of their towns—Lindley, Bethlehem, Biddulph’s Berg,
and Senekal. Bethlehem was occupied by General Paget, Biddulph’s
Berg by General Clements, Senekal by General Rundle, and thus a
cordon was supposed to be drawn round the wily enemy. Unluckily,
on the 15th, between Bethlehem and Ficksburg, a small gap existed—a
gap which but for delay in regard to his supplies would have been
held by General Paget—and through this loophole, Stabbert’s Nek,
that very slippery fish De Wet contrived to slide, taking with him 1500
men and five guns. This was unfortunate, as the escaped enemy
threatened to become a serious diversion from the business in hand,
particularly as no general advance could be made till the necessary
convoys had arrived for the enormous amount of troops forming the
cordon.

Nevertheless while General Hunter, on one side, actively engaged
in reconnoitring the positions held by the remainder of De Wet’s
forces between Bethlehem, Ficksburg, Fouriesburg, Retief’s and
Stabbert’s Neks, General Little (temporarily commanding the 3rd
Brigade) pursued De Wet himself, and the force that had recently
broken through the cordon was found to be hovering between
Bethlehem and Lindley. A smart contest ensued, which lasted till
dusk, when the Boers broke up into two parties and again vanished,
leaving several dead and two wounded upon the field.

On the same day, 19th, General Broadwood, commanding 2nd
Cavalry Brigade, who had been following up the fleeing Boers
since the 16th, spent some hours in an animated engagement near
Palmietfontein, between Ventersburg and Lindley. The enemy,
with swelled numbers, and said to be accompanied by Steyn and
one of the De Wets, had been wheeling round the railway communications
as moths circle around a chandelier. Having caught them
here General Broadwood made a brisk fight of it, but the Boers
under cover of darkness evaded pursuit. On the following morning
it was found that they had doubled back to Paardekraal during the
night. The line on the north of Honing Spruit showed signs of
their depredations, and on the western side the telegraph wires to
Pretoria viâ Potchefstroom were cut. During the fight Major
Moore, West Australian Mounted Infantry, was killed, and Lieutenant
the Hon. F. Stanley, 10th Hussars, Lieutenant Tooth,
Australian Contingent, and fourteen men were wounded. General
Broadwood proceeded to Vaal Krantz, which place was reached on
the 22nd.

PRINSLOO’S LAST STAND IN THE VALLEY OF THE LITTLE CALEDON:
THE BOERS’ POSITION ON THE HEIGHTS

From a Sketch by M. F. R.

Meanwhile the desperadoes, routed on all sides, made a rush[Pg 49]
upon the line near Roodeval, tore up the rails, and succeeded in
capturing on the night of the 21st, between Kroonstad and the Vaal,
a supply train with two officers and a hundred men of the Royal
Welsh Fusiliers. De Wet’s force, doubtless well pleased with itself,
then moved viâ Vredefort in a north-easterly direction, quickly pursued
by General Broadwood, who, in his turn, was followed by General
Little. The former officer succeeded on the 23rd in capturing
some of De Wet’s waggons at Vredefort, at which place he halted
till joined by General Little. On the 25th De Wet, ubiquitous, was
found posted on some comfortable heights at Reitzburg, some seven
miles south of the Vaal, while General Broadwood, like a cat watching
a bird, was preparing to spring. But the bird was too wary,
and kept his wings flapping for flight at the first provocation. Indeed,
he had dodges at his fingers’ end, and tried a new variety
every time he was warned of the British approach. One of these
was at a certain place to keep a dozen or so Boer hats, which had
previously been strung on a line, continually bobbing over a certain
entrenched spot in order to impress the British and lead them
astray, while he and his horde took an opposite direction.

While the chase was going forward some fighting took place, in
which the Berkshire Yeomanry, the Imperial Bushmen, and the
38th Field Battery took part. They disputed the possession of a
high hill to west of Bethlehem, but as possession makes nine points
of the law, the Boers, posted in strength upon the hill, caused the
small force to retire. During the retirement one officer and nine
men were lost. General Bruce Hamilton also engaged in some active
work, which cost him three of the Cameron Highlanders, whose
regiment, assisted by 500 Mounted Infantry and the 82nd Battery,
succeeded in securing a strong position on Spitzray. Captain Keith
Hamilton, Oxford Light Infantry, was wounded severely, and
Captain Brown, Captain A. C. M’Lean, and Lieutenant Stewart,
Cameron Highlanders, Captain E. S. C. Hobson, Mounted Infantry
Worcester Regiment, and thirteen Cameron Highlanders were all
more or less severely injured.

Of the terribly hard work done by the 21st Brigade it has been
impossible to take due note. Since the 28th of April they had
covered on foot some 1200 miles, and had done more fighting and
marching than any brigade at the front. They could count as many
as forty-three engagements to their credit, and as one of the Sussex
men said, “We have been in several tight corners, but have always
come out on top.” The Irish, Scottish, and Colonial Corps had
all received their meed of praise, but certain English regiments,
notably the Sussex, the Wiltshire, and the Liverpool Regiments,
owing to the fact of their not being prominently engaged in the
“historic” battles, got less than their share of appreciation, though[Pg 50]
no better and braver and more enduring regiments could be found
in the British army.

Position of Troops round the Brandwater Basin before the
Surrender of Prinsloo.

Operations were now carried forward with additional vigour, for
it was known that Boers, some 6000 of them, led by Roux and
Prinsloo, who had not bolted with De Wet, must still be in the
neighbourhood of the Caledon Valley, the river behind them, the
only passes available among the snow-capped mountains, Commando
Nek below Fouriesburg, Stabbert’s and Retief’s Neks near
Bethlehem, and Golden Gate, leading out of the valley. But these,
it must be remembered, were fairly far apart, and loopholes of
necessity were many. At all these points the British, lynx-eyed,
furious at being given the slip by De Wet, crouched. General
Hunter himself observed Retief’s Nek, while General Bruce Hamilton
barred Golden Gate, and Generals Paget and Rundle took up
positions watching Stabbert’s and Commando Neks respectively.

To appreciate the nicety of the movement a glance at the map[Pg 51]
is necessary. The geographical nature of the situation in which
the Boers found themselves after the battle of Bethlehem was thus
concisely sketched by Mr. Spenser Wilkinson:—

“The Boers were holding a great mountain horse-shoe, of which the curved
end is at the north, and the open end or back is on the Caledon River, the
inside of the shoe being the basin of the Brandwater. On the right-hand limb
of the shoe at the second nail from the end is Fouriesburg, and Retief’s Nek
is at the top right-hand nail, the road from Ficksburg to Bethlehem going up
the Brandwater valley and over Retief’s Nek.

“Outside the horse-shoe to the right, the east, the road from Fouriesburg
to Harrismith goes by the Little Caledon River, which is separated by a long
east and west range of hills from the hilly plain of Bethlehem. North of this
range is Naauwpoort, and from the Caledon Valley to Naauwpoort the road
crosses over Naauwpoort’s Nek and goes on to Harrismith on the north side
of the range.”

Having blocked the passes to the best of his ability, General
Hunter hoped for the best. He knew the Boers might evaporate—as
they seemed so magically to do—over the mountains, but he
guessed, and guessed rightly, that it would be too much of a
wrench to tear themselves from their effects—horses, oxen, carts,
and waggons—and these could never be dragged over the barring
acclivities.

The first attack on Retief’s Nek was made on the 23rd by General
MacDonald, the Highland Brigade, Lovat’s Scouts, Remington’s
Guides, and a battery and two 5-inch “cow”-guns. The Boers had
previously been thrown off the scent owing to the British troops
having taken a wide detour, and they were somewhat surprised in
their rocky caves to find themselves in the thick of lyddite, which
growled and crashed and fumed at them. Then the Highland
Light Infantry, with the Sussex to help them, deployed, the former
bearing to left, the latter, with the 81st Battery of Field Artillery,
to right, the Infantry making brilliant rushes towards the impregnable
lair of the enemy, despite the murderous jets from the rifles of the
Dutchmen, which spouted disaster the nearer they approached. Each
battalion lost thirty men or so, but brilliant and inexhaustible as
they were, found themselves unable, on the initial day, to push the
attack. The Black Watch were more fortunate, however, and
gallantly carving their passage with the bayonet, managed before
nightfall to secure a foothold on the summit of the hills whence
they could now await the morrow. At that time General Clements’s
Yeomanry were attempting to force the passage of Stabbert’s Nek,
gaining ground with difficulty, but clinging to it all night in a
perilous position; while on the south-western fringe General Rundle
demonstrated in the region of Commando Nek. The morning
brought success all round. Stabbert’s Nek was forced by the
renewed and sturdy efforts of the Yeomanry and the Royal Irish,[Pg 52]
and the afternoon of the 24th found the combined columns camped
inside the Nek. The Boers, quickly recognising the inconvenience
of their position, by noon had stampeded towards the east, hoping
to cut through Naauwpoort’s Nek and gain the Harrismith Road,
galloping off, however, with the sagacity of purpose for which at all
times they had made themselves notable.

The losses so far were sufficiently large, but considering the
importance of the position gained they were looked upon as insignificant,
and General Hunter formally expressed the opinion that
it was owing to the excellent work done by Lovat’s Scouts, who
for days in advance had scouted, stalked, and “spied” over the
country, that so few losses were recorded.

The casualties at Stabbert’s Nek were:—

Killed:—1st Royal Irish Regiment—Captain W. Gloster. Wounded:—Royal
Field Artillery—Captain H. E. T. Kelly. 2nd Wiltshire Regiment—Captain
E. Evans. 6th Company Imperial Yeomanry—Lieutenant G. A.
Clay. 1st Royal Irish Regiment—Captain E. F. Milner.

Those at Retief’s Nek were:—

Wounded:—Royal Sussex—Captain E. L. M’Kenzie, Second Lieutenant
J. C. W. Anderson, Second Lieutenant H. G. Montgomerie, Second Lieutenant
G. E. Leachman. 2nd Royal Highlanders—Major E. M. Wiltshire (since
dead), Lieutenant H. K. Smith. Captain Sir W. G. Barttelot, 2nd Volunteer
Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, was killed.

The 25th found Generals Hunter, Clements, and Paget in possession
of Brandwater Basin, while Generals MacDonald and Bruce
Hamilton were blocking Inguwooni and Golden Gate. Fouriesburg
was occupied by the Eighth Division, and there they found a
number of British prisoners and Mrs. Steyn, who was left in charge
of the chief of the Commissariat Department. Generals Hunter
and Rundle paid the lady a complimentary visit. On the following
day General MacDonald, who had kept an eye on Naauwpoort’s Nek
and Golden Gate, had a hard day’s fighting outside Naauwpoort
in the Bethlehem Hills, but the effect of this doughty rearguard
action was the blocking of Naauwpoort’s Nek for the Boer waggon
traffic, and without their precious carts the Boers were “winged.”

Among the wounded were Lieutenant A. M. Brodie, Lovat’s
Scouts, and Lieutenant W. E. Campion, Mounted Infantry Company,
East Yorkshire Regiment.

On the 28th, Hunter, with Clements’s and Paget’s Brigades,
attacked the Boers, who were posted on two neks. The first nek,
after a vigorous fight, was secured by the Royal Irish, Wiltshire,
and Leicester Regiments; the final position, Slaapkrantz, later on
and under cover of the dusk, by the brilliant dash of the Scots
Guards. During the operations Lieutenant Hon. R. B. F. Robertson,[Pg 53]
1st Battalion Imperial Yeomanry (Machine Gun Section), and
Second Lieutenant F. G. Alston, 2nd Scots Guards, were wounded.

THE SURRENDER OF PRINSLOO’S FORCE AT THE CALEDON RIVER

Drawing by Ernest Prater, from a Sketch by Major Romilly, D.S.O., Commanding 2nd Scots Guards

The net result of all the combined blockage of the passes was
a demand on Sunday morning, 29th, from Prinsloo, under a flag of
truce, for a four days’ armistice in order to enter into peace negotiations.
As this demand was tantamount to saying, “Hold on while
I get wind for another bout,” General Hunter sent a message
refusing to enter into any negotiations, and saying that the only
terms he could accept was unconditional surrender. Until these
were complied with, hostilities could not cease. This settled the
matter. Prinsloo, knowing it was impossible to get his guns and
waggons over the mountains, forthwith handed himself over—arms,
ammunition, and the rest of his warlike impedimenta—to the conqueror.
With him were Villiers and Crowther and about 1000
men, but other Boer leaders, Olivier among them, who had succeeded
in slipping to the farther side of the hills, refused to abide
their chief’s ruling, and declined to submit. Hostilities in respect
to these malcontents had consequently to be resumed, but the
surrender of Prinsloo, and with him the Ficksburg commando of
some 550 men and the Ladybrand commando, about 450 strong,
together with 1500 horses, three guns, two of which were our own,
lost at Koorn Spruit, 50 waggons and 50 carts, may be considered
as the closing scene of the Free Stater’s resistance.

The finale at Fouriesburg was an impressive affair. The Generals,
their staffs, Sir Godfrey and Lady Lagden from Basutoland,
grouped on horseback, were surrounded by the troops drawn up in
two lines on the hills overlooking the valley. Between the lines
thus made rode Prinsloo, tall, fair—even prepossessing. He handed
up his rifle to the General, setting the example to his followers, an
agriculturalist rabble, motley of mien as of habit, who, on their small,
nimble ponies, galloped up, throwing down rifle and bandolier with a
certain effort at swagger, though seemingly nothing loth to finish
their fighting career. In cart and waggon they came, too, with all
their curious nomadic luggage and blankets, cook-pots and the like,
some laughing, and some chaffing as they gave up arms and ammunition,
and then moved on to the camp of Brabant’s Colonials, with
whom they soon got on the best of terms. The formalities occupied
three days, the haul of cattle that were hidden in the neighbouring
gorges being enormous. The condition of the captured Boer
horses contrasted strangely with that of the dilapidated hacks which
now remained to the British force, and, as may be imagined, remounts
were more than acceptable.

July ended with a triumphant flourish of trumpets in honour of
the united labours of, first, General Sir Leslie Rundle, who may
claim the east of the Orange Colony as his military perquisite,[Pg 54]
and finally General Sir Archibald Hunter. Prinsloo’s surrender was
followed by that of 1200 more Free Staters, and the Commandants
Roux and Fonternel. To General Bruce Hamilton came Commandants
Deploy, Potgieter, and Joubert, and Lieutenant Alderson, a
Danish officer of Staats Artillery, and with them 1200 rifles, 650
ponies, and an Armstrong gun.

The Free State army was therefore only represented by
De Wet and his followers—some 1500—who were hovering in the
neighbourhood of the Vaal, and Olivier, who, having refused to
consider himself bound by Prinsloo’s actions, had taken up a position
in the direction of Harrismith, where he was being tracked by
General Rundle.

AFFAIRS IN AND AROUND PRETORIA—THE CAPTURE
OF MIDDELBURG

Late in June, at the time of the armistice before-mentioned,
there seemed to have been some hesitation on the part of Botha
and Kruger whether they should unconditionally surrender, but
they were incapable of decisive action while Steyn, who now had
nothing to lose and everything to gain, kept the field. The position
was best described by Mr. Spenser Wilkinson when he likened
Kruger and Steyn to Hannibal and Hasdrubal: “the strongest
proof that his cause was lost that could be given to Hannibal was
Hasdrubal’s head sent into his camp.” Another important consideration
influenced the President in his hesitation; he bargained,
or wished to bargain, that he might remain in the country, a condition
which of course could not be entertained.

Both Mrs. Kruger and Mrs. Botha exerted themselves to bring
about the termination of the useless struggle. One went to her
husband’s camp in hope to influence him, while the other wrote
imploring her better half to come to terms. But their efforts were of
no avail. According to some accounts, the President was in the
hands of his generals, who, declaring he had played his cards and
played them badly, arrogated to themselves the right to judge
when hostilities should cease. He was, moreover, in bad odour
even with his own burghers, and many of them were openly denouncing
him for his conduct in feathering his own nest, and leaving
his compatriots alone to face ruin and extricate themselves from the
hurly-burly into which he had inveigled them. His foreign mercenaries,
too, were furious. They had been calculating on magnificent
rewards for their championship of the Boer cause, and now found it
hard to digest the philosophic maxim, “Blessed are they who expect
nothing, for they shall not be disappointed!”

On the 24th, 25th, and 26th of June, efforts were made to surround[Pg 55]
the enemy in the hills some fifteen miles to the east beyond
Silverton. General French on the left, General Ian Hamilton on
the right, and the Eleventh Division in the centre engaged in the
enveloping movement; but, by the night of Tuesday the 26th, there
was nothing to envelop—the Boers had vanished along the Delagoa
Bay Railway. The operation caused a loss of about 150.

Stringent measures had now to be adopted to frustrate the wily
efforts of the Boer generals to obtain news of the military movements
of the British. The town was teeming with spies, who
actively communicated to the foe the secret doings of the authorities,
and diffused intelligence in relation to the intentions of the
Boer forces, which was both alarming and paralysing to the inhabitants.
It was reported that a combination existed between the
Boer leader without the town and the burghers who had surrendered
within it, to join forces and attack the place, and in consequence
of these rumours extensive precautions were adopted, the number
of guards around the capital were increased, and armoured trains
patrolled the line daily. Nevertheless, in other ways the town was
assuming a more business-like and settled aspect. Some of the
Dutch women, knowing themselves safe in the hands of the British,
continued to flaunt their national colours, while others flung insulting
epithets at the officers, thus unintentionally and subtly complimenting
them, as such demeanour demonstrated a firm conviction
on the part of the ladies that those whom they insulted were too
chivalrous to retaliate.

Revelations respecting the intrigues of the late Transvaal Government
came gradually to hand, and documents found in Pretoria
divulged some unpleasant secrets. First, that large bribes had been
paid to sundry prominent foreigners who had visited the Transvaal
during the war and promised intervention; second, that letters of
dubious complexion had been sent by certain members of the British
House of Commons to the Boers—letters which those who were apt
to dub a spade a spade called traitorous, and others who talked of
“implement of agriculture” styled unpatriotic!

The enemy, who had succeeded in capturing Lieutenant Rundle
(6th Dragoon Guards) and some men of his patrol, continued to
engage himself in mischief around the right flank, so much so that
Lord Roberts decided that he must make a clean sweep towards the
east of Bronker’s Spruit. It must be remembered that after the
battle of Diamond Hill the Boers had moved off, only to widen, if to
thin, their half-circle round the neighbourhood of Pretoria. Botha
remained astride the Delagoa Railway line toward the east, threatening
with his left, so far as he dared, the south-east of the town.
Grobler gathered his force on the north, while beyond him, to north-west,
went Delarey and his hovering hordes, bent on menacing the[Pg 56]
road to Rustenburg. It was impossible as yet to engage in very
decisive operations owing to lack of remounts, but some action was
necessary.

Accordingly, General Hutton’s Mounted Infantry was despatched
to reinforce Colonel Mahon, who on the 6th of July was attacked
at Rietfontein by some 3000 Boers with six guns and two Vickers-Maxims.
Fighting fierce and sustained was continued for two
days, when the desired object was achieved, and the Boers cleared
from the immediate neighbourhood. The Imperial Light Horse,
brilliant as ever, unhappily lost two officers—Captain Currie and
Lieutenant Kirk—and thirteen men, their unusual loss being occasioned
by the gallantry of B Squadron in pressing to the assistance
of a wounded comrade in the teeth of a host of the enemy.

Poor young Kirk was a volunteer in the highest sense of the
term. His career was typical of the careers of many of the gallant
Colonials who rushed to the aid of their country. He had served
in the Matabele War, and jumped to arms at the outbreak of the
present campaign. He was conspicuous among the heroes of the
heroic regiment during the siege of Ladysmith, and was wounded
while binding up the injuries of a comrade. He received his commission,
and afterwards took part in the famous relief of Mafeking,
and later, was again wounded, and severely, while out on patrol
with Colonel Baden-Powell. Nevertheless he managed to rejoin
the Imperial Light Horse in the great advance viâ Lichtenburg
and Potchefstroom to Johannesburg and Pretoria. Among others
wounded was Captain and Adjutant Nelles, 1st Battalion Canadian
Mounted Rifles.

General Hutton on the following day was attacked by 5000 of
the enemy near Rietfontein, but he succeeded in routing his assailants,
capturing a French officer and inflicting considerable loss, the
enemy leaving their injured upon the field. Lieutenant Young, 1st
Canadian Mounted Rifles, was slightly wounded.

OFFICERS OF THE HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY.

Photo by Gregory & Co., London.

Meanwhile Sir Redvers Buller had arrived in Pretoria, looking
remarkably well in spite of the tremendous strain of the work of the
relief of Ladysmith and the more brilliant achievements that had
secured the whole of Natal. Report came in from Ladysmith that
some 800 prisoners—Yeomanry and Derbyshire Militia—without
officers, had been put over the Natal border from Reitz, and were
making their way towards Acton Homes. The plight of these unhappy
fellows, without food, tattered, torn, and limping, with only a
poor acquaintanceship with the country through which they plodded,
was deplorable. Waggons and food were sent out by the O.C. of
the Drakensberg Defence Force, and the wretched men were encountered
and brought in. Having been marched about for over a
month with De Wet, they were so footsore and exhausted that[Pg 57]
some could barely crawl. The Boers had treated them well, but
they had too many mouths of their own to feed, and had been
forced by the pressure of circumstance to turn them adrift.

Nitral’s Nek.

On the 11th Botha decided there should be fighting all along the
line, and so cleverly were things managed that the British suffered considerably.
At dawn the Boers under Delarey, having failed in getting
round the right rear of the British, collected on the hills surrounding
Nitral’s Nek with a view to attacking the left flank. Nitral’s Nek,
a position some eighteen miles west of Pretoria, near where the
road crosses the Crocodile River, was held in order to maintain
telegraphic and road communication with Rustenburg. Garrisoning
this place were one squadron of Scots Greys, two guns of O Battery
Royal Horse Artillery, and five companies of the Lincolnshire Regiment.
The Dutchmen were in great force, and admirably disposed,
evidently by a preconcerted arrangement, and succeeded in directing
a converging fire on the small garrison and on the various portions
of it occupying the plain some distance off. As early as possible
the news of the attack was sent to Pretoria, whereupon the King’s
Own Scottish Borderers, under Colonel Godfrey, were despatched
to the rescue. It took some hours to reach the scene of the fray,
and by the time the reinforcements arrived the small garrison, who[Pg 58]
had been fighting all day, and had expended their ammunition,
were overpowered. It appeared that about this time the Scots
Greys had been ordered to proceed to Crocodile Bridge to relieve
General Baden-Powell. They followed the same route they had
taken when marching to relieve the prisoners at Watervall, a route
with only one attraction—it passed through one of the most golden
orange groves of the Transvaal, and jaded and depressed as they
were, they felt thankful that their ways were cast among the refreshing
fruit. A squadron was left at Tulikat’s or Nitral’s Nek, while
the rest of the party, cold, worn, and famishing, reached camp at
10 P.M. on the 7th. On Sunday, the 8th, the force still further
divided, one squadron, under Captain Maude, going to Commando
Nek, while the remainder recrossed the river and took up a position
on a kopje between the two neks guarded by the squadrons
mentioned.

“To understand the position,” said one who was present, and
whose description is so interesting and so pathetic that it must be
quoted at length, “imagine a kopje in the hollow of your hand,
the spaces between your thumb and forefinger, and between your
little finger and third finger, Tulikat’s Nek and Commando Nek
respectively. At your wrist, twenty miles eastward, lay Pretoria.
On our front the hills were very steep and high, but on the far
side they sloped and were covered with brushwood. It was through
this brushwood that the Boers cunningly crept on Tuesday night
to make their attack at dawn.

“This attack was a bit of first-class generalship. It was made at
five different points against five separate forces, and at exactly the
same hour, and, when the day was over, the Boers had by far the
best of it. On Tuesday afternoon five companies of the Lincolns,
under Colonel Roberts, arrived to relieve our squadron at the Nek,
who were on the fatal morning to join the other squadrons and
march to reinforce General Smith-Dorrien. About 5.30 on Wednesday
morning I was awakened by the crackle of rifles. I thought
they were just behind the kopje. I jumped up, and picking up my
glass, I made for the top. I was soon joined by other officers, and,
while we could see nothing, we listened with serious and solemn
awe, owing to the continuous rattle of many Mausers. We knew
what it meant to our comrades in the gully, and worst of all, we
could not help them very much. About eight o’clock a galloper
came from Major Scobell to bring over all the guns. This was
done, and soon our shells were dropping on the ridges where we
could see some Boers. We could not fire into the hollow for fear
of killing our own men. The fire became fiercer and fiercer. We
now knew the Boers had secured both sides of the valley, and that
our poor comrades were at their mercy. Were it not for the many[Pg 59]
boulders, nooks, and crevices which were taken for cover, few should
have come out alive. The situation was critical in the extreme.
What was to be done? Colonel Alexander asked me if I would
ride into Pretoria, see Lord Roberts, explain the situation, and urge
out reinforcements. I went off at full gallop. After riding ten
miles I noticed a gentleman on a bicycle. Something said to me,
secure this bike. I gave my horse to the cyclist, told him to wait
for me and I would return his bike, and then mounted and scorched
to headquarters. I sketched and explained the whole situation to
Lords Roberts and Kitchener, and by this time strong reinforcements
were despatched. After a much needed and kindly provided
lunch in Lord Roberts’s dining-room, I, with his despatch to our
Colonel, cycled back, anxious to see what was what, and hoping
that something had been done to help our comrades in their dire
straits.

“There was scarcely a soldier left to guard Pretoria, so the order
I carried was to run no risks and return to Pretoria as soon as
possible. Oh, it was hard when I overtook them and found they
could do nothing for these poor fellows who had held out against the
tremendous odds throughout that fatal day, and who were now
either dead, wounded, or in the hands of the enemy. We all retired,
reaching our camp outside Pretoria about 1 A.M. Oh, the
sadness and gloom at our mess that night! Few words were
spoken. Some of us hoped against hope. We earnestly cherished
the hope that Major Scobell would find some way out of this gorge
of death. At 5.30 we were up and ready to march. About eight a
war correspondent informed us that Major Scobell had escaped,
two officers had been killed, and one wounded, and the squadron
prisoners. This was a terrible blow to us all. We rejoiced at the
escape of our popular and gallant Major, but we mourned deeply
the loss of the others. There was brave Lieutenant Conolly, a
dashing, ready-for-anything young soldier, a great favourite in our
midst. He, poor fellow, had fallen, shot through the brain. His
death was instantaneous. There was young Lieutenant Pilkington,
one of the most gentle and sweet-tempered fellows I ever met.
He had been five months a prisoner in Pretoria, and on being
liberated got his desire gratified by being attached to us. We all
loved him, and he, too, was among the dead, shot in several places
while leading his men against the foe. He had five months before
been taken prisoner because he refused to abandon a wounded
comrade. Poor fellow! Black indeed was the brief page of this
fine young soldier’s campaign. May his friends be comforted by
the assurance that we all loved him, and that he died as a true and
brave soldier at his terrible post. Captain Maxwell was seriously
wounded. I rode by his side for a long bit on our march to that[Pg 60]
fatal death-trap, and had a very pleasant conversation together. He
didn’t like the idea of being left in the Nek. He was, as we all
were—for we were all so happy together—dejected at the regiment
being divided. I’ll never forget how, with a clap on the back, he
said, ‘Good night, Padre.’ Little I thought the next time I would
see him would be prostrated by the Boer bullet. When we heard
the news, I was anxious to get to the battle-field to lend what hand
I could to the wounded and bury our dead.”

On the way the Samaritan, to his intense joy and relief, encountered
Major Scobell, who had been captured by the Boers and
had escaped by a marvel. From him he learnt the sad story of
the battle, and the splendid resistance of the troops till ammunition
had been exhausted. He then proceeded to visit Captain Maxwell,
who was lying wounded in the hands of the Boers, and afterwards
engaged in carrying in the wounded on stretchers, consoling the
dying and tending the injured. Finally, after Herculean labours,
such sick as remained alive were carried off to Pretoria. All, on
this memorable day, behaved like heroes, but prominent among
them was Sergeant Rawdon, who worked a Maxim which was
supporting the D and F Companies of the Lincolns. While the
others retired he stuck to his gun under a concentrated fire from
the enemy. As ill-luck would have it his gun jammed, but the
gallant fellow, undefeatable, dissected the weapon, recoupled the
parts, and resumed firing till the Maxim, pocked with bullet marks,
could be removed by volunteers of the D Company!

An officer serving with General French described the sad events
of the day: “The Scots Greys were detached from their brigade,
and one squadron was sent to accompany a column under Colonel
Roberts of the Lincoln Regiment, which proceeded towards Commando
Poort on the Crocodile River, north-west of Pretoria.

“The fate of this column was briefly as follows. It encamped in
a pass with a poort on its front, consisting of high hills. The tops
of these hills were not occupied by our outposts, and at daybreak
it was found that the enemy had established himself there. The
detachment of Greys and Lincolns, with two guns, found themselves
under a heavy fire, which continued throughout the day. Our guns
were unable to reply, as the Boers were on high ground close on
their front. The guns were abandoned, and the fight was continued
till evening, when our force surrendered. Major Scobell, the
squadron leader, escaped after having been taken prisoner, and
about fifty horses of the Greys were cut loose by the sergeant-major
and found their way back to our lines.”

Simultaneously an attack was made by a commando under
Grobler on the outposts at Deerdepoort, about 8000 yards north of
Wonderboom Fort. The 7th Dragoon Guards were briskly engaged,[Pg 61]
and Colonel Lowe with great skill tackled the enemy, keeping the
Dutchmen in check, and preventing them from making a turning
movement towards the extreme left of General Pole-Carew’s position.
Some seventeen losses were sustained, however, owing to the fact
that the scouts mistook a party of Boers dressed in khaki for the
14th Hussars, and were fired on at a range of 100 yards. Few
escaped, but these had managed to warn the regiment of the approach
of the enemy.

General Hutton in the meantime was opposing the southern
detachment of Boers near Lewpoort. He had four days’ fighting,
and finding that he was being outflanked, asked for reinforcements.
The 1st Cavalry Brigade left Kameeldrift on the 9th of
July, the 8th Hussars taking the place of the Greys. On the 11th
the Brigade carried Lewpoort Hill at the gallop—the position for
which General Hutton had been fighting before. Only one man was
lost in this operation. The Cavalry Brigade then went into camp
at Olifantsfontein, on the right of General Hutton’s position at
Reitvlei. (The whole force continued to draw its supplies from
Springs Station, the terminus of a short mineral line from Johannesburg,
where, at the end of June, the Boers had been routed by the
Canadians who garrisoned the place.) The Dutchmen moved to
some kopjes, and infested the high ground on the east of Bronkhers
Spruit. The outposts of the two forces were continually in contact,
and sniping was part of the daily programme.

The Cavalry remained at Olifantsfontein till after the 21st of
July, while preparing for a general advance towards Middelburg.

The list of casualties on that fatal 11th was a long one:—

Near Deerdepoort: Killed:—7th Dragoon Guards—Second Lieutenant
K. K. Mackellar. Wounded—Captain B. E. Church; Lieutenant H. A.
Chomeley.

At Nitral’s Nek: Killed:—Royal Scots Greys—Lieutenant Conolly.
Royal Dragoons—Second Lieutenant Pilkington. 2nd Lincoln—Lieutenant
G. F. Prichard. Wounded:—Lincolnshire Regiment—Captain J. J. Howley,
Lieutenant C. J. Rennie, Major E. Herapath.

Made Prisoners:—Lincolnshire Regiment—Colonel H. R. Roberts, wounded;
Lieutenant C. G. Lyall, unwounded.

At Kaalboschfontein: Royal Scots Greys—Captain C. J. Mitchell, severely
wounded.

Owing to the disaster at Nitral’s Nek, it now became evident that
all the British movements within the capital were reported to the
Boers—that, in fact, they had organised an elaborate intelligence
department, some of their spies attending the markets as innocent
farmers, while others figured in khaki in the guise of British officers.
Steps were taken to identify soi-disant soldiers attempting to pass
through the lines, and to clear out the natives who, either from fear[Pg 62]
or for pecuniary advantage, were assisting in the transmission of
information. Things in Johannesburg were no better. It needed
all the acumen of Colonel Mackenzie, Director of Military Intelligence,
to cope with the duplicities of the rogues and vagabonds
of all nationalities that spent their time in hatching conspiracies.
Three hundred and eighty of these were put in prison, while their
respective Consuls were communicated with and held responsible
for their good behaviour. In the course of these proceedings the
whole of a dramatic plot came to light, and the following despatch,
concisely describing the nature of the conspiracy, was forwarded by
Lord Roberts to the Secretary of State for War:—

“The police and the Military Governor received information that, on the
14th July, the anniversary of the taking of Bastille, an attempt would be made
to overpower garrison and murder British officers.

“A race meeting was to take place on that day, and it was assumed that a
large proportion of officers would attend it unarmed.

“Bolder spirits among plotters were to go to the races armed, and murder
officers, while an ostensibly French national gathering was to be the rallying
point for the low class who were to murder all the police, and then take possession
of the Government Offices, &c.

“A Boer commander at Zwart Kop, to the north of the town, was in direct
communication with the plotters.

“By the 13th July the police were in possession of sufficient evidence to
justify numerous arrests, which were accordingly carried out during the night
of 13th to 14th.

“At noon, 14th July, the Consuls of Germany, France, Sweden, and America,
of which nations some subjects had been arrested, met the Commissioner of
Police and discussed the question.

“Each Consul concerned was furnished with a statement of the facts of
the case.

“The interview passed off most satisfactorily, and the Consuls expressed
entire concurrence with action taken, and promised to render every assistance.

“Between four hundred and five hundred arrests were made, but of these
seventy-five were subsequently released on being vouched for by their respective
Consuls.”

The rest were deported, and none too soon, as will be seen.

On the 16th a new brigade, consisting of the Border Regiment,
the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, the Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders, and the Berkshires, under Colonel Cunningham,
together with Colonel Hickman’s force of 1800 Mounted Infantry,
various details, an Elswick battery, and a Canadian battery attached
to Colonel Cunningham’s force, the whole under General Ian
Hamilton, was despatched to clear out the Boers from a chain of
hills on the north and north-west, in which they were congregating.
But their discretion prompted them, on receiving information of the
movement, to evacuate their position, and General Hamilton moved
unchallenged to Watervall, and from thence, on the 17th, to Hamanskraal.[Pg 63]
Thus far the sweeping back of the northern portion of the
Boer crescent was satisfactorily accomplished, and the Boers were
forced towards their original position in the east, where Lord
Roberts eventually intended to drive them before him.

The fact was the Dutchmen, having found the right flank well
guarded on the 16th, had made a ferocious lunge at the left of
General Pole-Carew’s position, and simultaneously all along the left.
A tremendous day’s fighting followed, during which the posts held
by the Royal Irish Fusiliers, under Major Munn, the New Zealanders
under Captain Vaughan, the Canadians under Colonel Alderson, were
defended with amazing valour and persistence. So many officers distinguished
themselves that it was almost impossible to record their
names. Colonel Clowes, who temporarily commanded the 1st
Cavalry Brigade on the extreme right of the line, was commended
by the Chief for his handling of his men. The gallantry of Captain
Barnes (R. A.), Major Hill, Lieutenants Knight and Hughes,
Royal Irish Fusiliers, was especially remarkable, the Irish officers
having defended their post against an onslaught at so close quarters
that it was possible to hear the raucous shouts of the enemy inviting
the Fusiliers to surrender! Heroic qualities were also displayed
by two young Canadian officers, Lieutenants Borden and Birch,
1st Canadian Mounted Rifles, who were killed while leading their
men in a counter-attack on the enemy’s flank at a critical juncture
of the attack on the position. The loss of young Borden was
especially deplored. A soldier to the marrow, he had been twice
mentioned in despatches “for gallant and intrepid conduct.” He
was the only son of the Canadian Minister of Militia, and was popular
as he was plucky. Among the wounded were Lieutenant C. Battye,
Shropshire Light Infantry; Civil Surgeon J. C. Willes, who was
detained by the Boers; Lieutenant J. Findlay, New Zealand Mounted
Rifles; Captain Bourn and Lieutenant J. Cameron, New Zealand
Contingent (third), were missing. Of the rank and file five men
were killed (one Shropshire Light Infantry, and four Royal Irish
Fusiliers), twenty-six wounded and twenty-one missing.

General Ian Hamilton and Colonel Mahon from Hamanskraal
continued to march eastward over country that was full of ruggedness,
presenting obstacles at every turn. The enemy, however,
offered no opposition. Their destination was Eerstefabrieken Station,
where they joined hands with General Pole-Carew’s Division.[Pg 64]

Map Illustrating the Eastward Move from Eerstefabrieken
to Middelburg.

Lord Roberts now decided to advance, with a view to pushing
back the enemy, taking possession of the line to the Portuguese
frontier, and occupying the towns fringing thereon, thus diminishing
the Boer resources, breaking up their commandos, and reducing
them rather to guerilla bands than organised armies. The move
was fraught with difficulties, for every step gained implied so much
loss to the bulk of the main army, every point of the railway demanded
its special guard—the result being that, large as was Lord
Roberts’s force in theory, in action it was daily thinning to an almost
attenuated degree. It was impossible to remain stationary, however.[Pg 65]
In the advance the same principles were adopted as in the march from
Bloemfontein to Pretoria, only now, while General Pole-Carew continued
to proceed along the railway, Generals French and Hutton
were to co-operate on his right, and General Ian Hamilton to form
the left wing, and menace such Boers as hoped to retreat to the
north.

ALGOA BAY AND PORT ELIZABETH, FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE

Photo by Wilson, Aberdeen

On the 23rd General Ian Hamilton took possession of Doornkraal
(while General Stephenson’s Brigade occupied Elands River),
and proceeded due north of Bronkhers Spruit, thus so completely
threatening the enemy’s line of retreat that they were forced to
abandon the strong position which they had hitherto been holding
in face of General Pole-Carew’s Division. It was possible now
to make an appreciable advance to the east. The right was
protected by the 1st and 4th Brigades of Cavalry (French) and
Hutton’s Mounted Infantry, the former crossing to east of Wilge
River. There they came upon a huge body of the enemy, and succeeded
in driving them still farther back, and in taking many prisoners.
One officer, Lieutenant Ebsworth, 1st Australian Horse, was mortally
wounded during the encounter. The Boers, seeing the trend
of affairs, quickly scudded towards Lydenburg, whither Mr. Kruger
was said to be travelling. A certain number of the burly gang
remained ensconced in the bush veldt, where they hoped a few
bridges might yet be destroyable, and unguarded gaps of the line
would offer invitation for the exercise of mischievous ingenuity.
Neither their position nor that of their hunters was to be envied, for
the rainy season had set in with roar and rampage, the wind, blowing
through the poorts that clave the ridges with which the landscape
was studded, roared like a giant through a fog-horn. At night the
freezing atmosphere nipped nose, toes, and eyelids, rain deluged, and
converted the whole surroundings into a vast universe of slime, till
the duties of the camp had to be executed in a series of ploughings
and plungings which were exhausting to man and beast.

On the 24th the Boers engaged French’s Cavalry and Hutton’s
Mounted Infantry about six miles south of Balmoral. Alderson’s
Mounted Infantry attacked their right, while French made a wide
turning movement to their left, which proved entirely discomfiting,
for the enemy rapidly “broke and fled,” followed by both forces.
One officer, Lieutenant Wilson of the Imperial Yeomanry, was
wounded.

On the 25th Generals French and Hutton continued their pursuit
of the Dutchmen, and the former, having crossed Olifant’s
River, could view, from the east bank, the enemy about seven miles
off retiring in disorder towards Middelburg. Violent efforts were
made to be even with them, but morass and sludge and temperature
were in favour of the Boers. Finally the pursuit had to be abandoned.[Pg 66]
Rain descended in torrents; the east wind blustered, and
the Mounted Infantry spent an ever-memorable night of anguish on
the west of the river where they bivouacked. One man died of
exposure, while the mules and oxen, uttering sounds that added
horror to the already horrific night, suffered so exceedingly that
many were dead by the dawn.

Owing to the exertions of the right and left wings of the advance,
the main army, without seeing a vestige of the Dutchmen,
marched to Balmoral where Generals Pole-Carew and Ian Hamilton
concentrated, while General French untiringly scoured more distant
tracks towards the east.

By the 28th the Cavalry commander, having by his wide turning
movement driven the Dutchmen from the Wilge River beyond
Middelburg, occupied the latter place. He was now eighty miles east
of Pretoria and within sixty of Machadodorp, whither the Boers were
trekking. Reinforced by Hutton’s Mounted Infantry and two regiments
of Infantry, General French held the line of the Klein Olifant’s
River. General Pole-Carew with the Guards Brigade followed to
Brug Spruit, twenty miles to west of Middelburg, but Lord Roberts
himself returned to Pretoria. The closing month found the British
firmly posted some ten miles west of Machadodorp, where they
were temporarily checked by the enemy, while General Ian Hamilton’s
column, “looking very fit and workmanlike,” were once more
moved back to Pretoria.

PROTECTING THE KRUGERSDORP-POTCHEFSTROOM RAILROAD[8]

Lord Methuen continued his task of diligently patrolling the
district from Heilbron to Kroonstad, and succeeded in capturing at
Paardekraal, half-way between the two places, the commandant of
De Wet’s Scouts, and also Andries Wessels, a person of some magnitude
in relation to the Africander Bond.

Just before the tragic 11th of July, General Smith-Dorrien
sent out orders that the 19th Brigade, consisting of the Shropshire
Light Infantry, Gordon Highlanders, Duke of Cornwall’s
Light Infantry, and the Royal Canadians, were to proceed by
train to Krugersdorp, and marching northwards were to co-operate
with the Scots Greys, who were supposed to be marching, on
the said 11th of July, to meet them. On this day, the Gordon
Highlanders moved out in skirmishing order, protected on their
flanks by the Scottish Yeomanry under Sir James Miller, and
two guns under Lieutenant Turner, 78th Battery Royal Field
Artillery. At Dolverkranz they came in for a heavy fire from
the two long low hills where the enemy had posted themselves,[Pg 67]
to which a response was made by the British guns, which had
galloped up between the kopjes. Promptly the Highlanders made
for a kopje on the left which the Dutchmen naturally coveted,
and these scurried from their main position and poured vengeance
on the advance. Then, nearer approaching, they attacked the
British guns and their gunners, and the tornado on both sides
was waxing both warm and exhilarating when from the rear, to
the dismay and horror of all, there opened a volcano—spouts of
death within 200 yards, bowling over the horse of the brigade
major, and trying to make matchwood of ambulance waggons
and baggage guard. Very soon fifteen out of seventeen British
gunners were hit, and at last Lieutenant Turner was seen serving
his own gun till wounded in three places. In the midst of the
rampage, horror followed horror. Just as the troops, thinking
themselves surrounded, were preparing to rush and capture the
ridges of the main position, which might shortly be remanned
by the enemy, Lord Roberts sent a message reporting the discomfiture
of the Scots Greys at Nitral’s Nek, and commanding
the cancelling of operations! Here was a situation! Colonel
MacBean hesitated. Was he to retire his Gordons and leave the
guns in the enemy’s hands? Never! He called for volunteers
to bring in the pieces, and his Scotsmen leapt to the word. All
could not be accepted—too large a number must not be risked.
Captains Gordon, Younger, and Allen, leading a band of ten
men, pushed forward in a blizzard from the Mausers of the foe.
Captain Younger, hit in three places, dropped, the others gloriously
struggled on, but in vain, to rescue the prized weapons of
war. Still undaunted, the Colonel asked permission to effect his
object after dark, and biding his time, held his fire-beaten
ground till, in the gloom of the evening, he could bring his team
alongside of the guns and drag them off into a place of safety.
This was eventually accomplished. Meanwhile Captain Younger—helpless,
dying—had been borne out of the fray on the back of a
glorious fellow, M’Kay by name, who was no new hand at deeds of
valour, and had repeatedly faced death in order to tend the suffering.
Among others who were wounded was Captain Higginson, 2nd
Shropshire Light Infantry.

This hard day’s work, the day of many heroes, set a brilliant
seal on the wonderful record of the 19th Brigade, which had
been engaged in nearly all the momentous actions in the Free
State and Transvaal. Since its formation on 12th of February
it had marched 620 miles, often on half rations and seldom on
full. It had taken part in the capture of ten towns, fought in
ten general actions, and on twenty-seven other occasions. Within
a period of thirty days it had fought twenty-one times and[Pg 68]
marched 327 miles. The casualties had been between four and
five hundred, the defeats nil!

The enemy continued active. Some of them, flitting about in
the neighbourhood of the line between Potchefstroom and
Krugersdorp, succeeded, on the 19th, in wrecking a train near
Bank Station which was carrying two officers and twenty-one
sick men to the latter place. The officers were Lieutenant
Harris, Welsh Fusiliers, and Lieutenant French-Brewster, Royal
Fusiliers. Luckily no one was injured, for most of the men were
fairly convalescent.

Lord Methuen, who was clearing the country between Krugersdorp
and Rustenburg, occupied with little opposition the town of
Heckpoort, which lies on the road to Rustenburg, some fifteen miles
north-west of Krugersdorp. He then continued his march, and
engaged the enemy’s rearguard near Zandfontein on the 20th,
during which engagement one man was killed and another wounded.
Early on the 21st he was up and doing, caught the enemy again at
Olifant’s Nek, and left him dilapidated and retreating, thus, as he
thought, saving Rustenburg from the overpowering attentions which
were at this time being lavished on General Baden-Powell.

On the 22nd Colonels Airey and Lushington drove off 1000
Boers from a strong position west of Pretoria, inflicting considerable
loss and sustaining some. Captain Robinson, Royal Marines,
was killed, and five men; nineteen men were wounded. Unluckily,
as before said, the operations in this region merely
resembled the process of fanning off flies, which were whisked
from one corner to congregate in another.

About the same time the civilians who represented British
authority had some nasty experiences in Klerksdorp, where another
commando threatened them. The place was protected by some
120 armed men, and these, finding themselves surrounded, had
to take their choice between surrender or stout defence. Many
of the party belonged to the Kimberley Mounted Corps, who at
once made preparations to protect the town and hold it till their last
breath. But the gallant fellows received orders to surrender, and
had the humiliation of seeing the British flag torn to tatters and
trampled on by the burghers, who were only too glad to revenge
themselves for being thrust out of Klerksdorp some weeks before.
The following were taken prisoners: Lieutenant Blagden, Lieutenant
Shepherd, Lieutenant Purvis, Lieutenant W. A. White, all
of the Kimberley Mounted Corps.

At Krugersdorp General Barton reconnoitered along the line
to the station where the train was wrecked on the 19th, and
replenished the supplies of Lord Methuen, who was moving on
Potchefstroom, which place was reached at the end of the month.[Pg 69]
On the eighteen miles’ march from Frederickstad, though the troops
were engaged with the enemy the greater part of the day, the casualties
were few; but the Dutchmen, revenging themselves, took up
some of the rails on the Krugersdorp-Potchefstroom Railway, and
threw a supply train escorted by a detachment of the Shropshire
Light Infantry off the line, killing thirteen persons, including the
engine-driver, and causing injuries to thirty-nine more. This made
a bad termination for July, particularly disappointing, as General
Smith-Dorrien had told off special patrols to prevent trains from
passing over damaged parts of the rail, and a reason for the
accidents was not forthcoming.

The troops encamped near Frederickstad were set upon by
Commandant Lieseberg and his hordes, who, having requested the
commanding officer to surrender, had received the usual reply.
The Dutchman was gallantly routed by Colonel M’Kinnon and
his dashing C.I.V., assisted by the Suffolk and Bucks Yeomanry,
before the arrival of Methuen’s force, which had been signalled for.
In the course of the fray Captain A. V. Poynter, 10th Battalion
Imperial Yeomanry, was dangerously wounded.

This somewhat inexplicable forward and backward march on
the part of Lord Methuen was due to the necessity of acting in co-operation
with the movement of troops on the north-west of Pretoria,
and thus saving any particular portion of the position from affording
loopholes for the junction of Boer commandos.

[Pg 70]

CHAPTER V

IN THE WESTERN TRANSVAAL—CHASING DE WET—THE SIEGES
OF RUSTENBURG AND ELANDS RIVER

Before entering on the complications which occurred in
the Western Transvaal immediately after the return of
Lord Roberts and General Ian Hamilton from the
Middelburg Campaign, it is necessary to remember that,
while the Chief’s back was turned and most of the army
was moving to the east, and a certain portion was forced to guard
Pretoria, Delarey’s gang had been mustering round the Magaliesberg
range. Here, as we know, the passes were but poorly, if at all,
protected, owing to the disasters at Deerdepoort and Nitral’s Nek,
which thinned the already thin British forces. Therefore the direct
road from Pretoria to Mafeking, the road past Rustenburg,
Elands River, and Ottoshoop, which it was imperative to guard—and
which was guarded by Colonel Hore at Elands River, General
Baden-Powell at Rustenburg, and Sir Frederick Carrington further
on—was seriously menaced by the hovering hordes of the enemy.

Indeed the Boers, after their petty triumphs at Nitral’s and Commando
Neks, had continued so to cluster around Rustenburg, that
towards the end of July General Baden-Powell was in danger of
enduring the miseries of a second siege. The General prepared
himself for all emergencies, and investigated all the Boer arrangements
for bombardment which were in course of completion.
Meanwhile he was aware that to his support Methuen, with a force
of 6000 men, was approaching Olifant’s Nek, and Colonel Plumer
prepared himself to co-operate. Unluckily the synchronal arrangements
were imperfect, and the result was that the passes which
should have been blocked to the Boers were open, and their several
forces succeeded in effecting a junction, and menacing not only
Rustenburg and the Elands River Station, but the Krugersdorp-Potchefstroom
railway line. Therefore Lord Methuen promptly
retraced his steps, and by the 23rd of July, as we have seen, had
moved back to Krugersdorp, leaving General Baden-Powell to rely
on the wits that had hitherto stood him in such good stead.

At this time Colonel Airey sent information to Rustenburg which
promised to bring about the capture of Boers who were threatening
a convoy that was expected from Mafeking, and accordingly reinforcements
were sent out, but only to find that Colonel Airey’s[Pg 71]
Australians had got into difficulties, and that the enemy, having
killed six, wounded nineteen, and shot down their horses, were
very much in the ascendant. The Colonials were fairly trapped,
and surrender stared them in the face. Fortunately, at this juncture,
Captain FitzClarence and the Protectorate Regiment galloped up,
threatening the rear of the assailants, and forced them to make off
with all possible speed. But from this date until at the beginning
of August, when relief was sent from Pretoria, Rustenburg remained
cut off from the outer world.

General Ian Hamilton with the opening of August started towards
the west on his way to Rustenburg to the rescue of General Baden-Powell’s
garrison. Near Vitbaal Nek he encountered some opposition,
but skilfully brushed away the Dutchmen, losing in the fray
two officers and five men wounded. He succeeded in turning the
enemy entirely off the Magaliesberg Range, a feat which was mainly
accomplished by the gallantry of the Berkshires and the Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders. The officers wounded were Lieutenant-Colonel
Rhodes, Berkshire Regiment, and Major G. D. Williams.
Thirty-nine men, twenty-six of whom belonged to the Berkshires,
were also injured. Their wounds were mostly of a serious nature, as
the seventeen prisoners who were taken, owned to the fact that they
had had soft-nosed bullets served out to them and used them.

The General reached Rustenburg on the 5th, and scattered the
investing Boers. He then heard the sound of firing in the direction
of Elands River, and soon it became known that the small force
mounting guard there was also in trouble. The fact was that at
dawn on the morning of the 4th, the garrison at Elands River—they
arrived there on the day before to guard the line between Zeerust
and Rustenburg—was attacked by the Boers. The force, which was
commanded by Colonel Hore of Mafeking fame, consisted of 140
Bushmen, 80 Rhodesians, and 80 Rhodesian Volunteers. Sir
Frederick Carrington, with a smart force of Yeomanry (Paget’s
Horse) and Bushmen, about 700 rifles, and a 15-pounder battery
manned by New Zealanders, who was on his way to that region,
being warned of the trouble, had instantly hurried to the succour of
the garrison. His troops had reached Zeerust on the 1st, the Boers
who were there decamping before them in the direction of Elands
River. The force followed them up and fought them, but more
Dutchmen—those pushed off from the neighbourhood of Rustenburg—had
added to the already large mass of the enemy, and made further
advance impracticable. General Carrington had barely realised the
impossibility of proceeding, when the report came in that Elands
River garrison had surrendered. He therefore decided to go no
farther, but fall back on Mafeking. This he did on the 9th,
moving afterwards to Ottoshoop with supplies for Lord Methuen,[Pg 72]
and engaging the enemy en route. His casualties were somewhat
large, but the fighting was of a desperate kind, and the mettlesome
New Zealanders were as usual to the fore. Captain J. A. Harvey,
New Zealand Mounted Infantry, and Lieutenant Gilpin, Victoria
Bushmen, were killed. Captain H. F. Fulton and Lieutenant
R. W. Rollins, New Zealand Rough Riders, were wounded.
Captain R. Arbuthnot, Royal Irish Regiment, was dangerously
wounded. In the engagements prior to the return to Mafeking,
Major Paget, 20th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry, and Lieutenant
Webb were among the twelve wounded.

To return to General Hamilton. Having accomplished his
mission, and freed General Baden-Powell, and being advised that
Colonel Hore had surrendered, he was returning with General
Baden-Powell and Colonel Plumer to Commando Nek, when in
came contradictory yet joyful news that Elands River garrison was
still holding out. Off went his mounted troops to the rescue, while
the unfortunates who had had to leave their homes in Rustenburg,
and the prisoners, among whom was a son of Kruger, were sent on
to Pretoria in charge of General Baden-Powell.

Meanwhile the small garrison at Brakfontein (Elands River), to
whose aid two forces had been moving, were fighting like demons,
and making one of the most magnificent stands of the war. Very
little is known of their pluck, their dexterity, and their heroism, but
what little we do know goes to prove that these Australians and
Rhodesians were made of the stuff that supplies the conquerors of
the world. No sooner had they comfortably settled down than they
became aware of the close proximity of Boers. Their camp was
on a flat plain near a boulder-strewn kopje, enclosed by a girdle of
menacing hills which commanded not only them but the nearest
point of the river half a mile off. The Colonials looked and saw,
and came to their conclusion with rapidity: they were in a trap as
close as Cronje’s, a trap which must be kept open as long as possible.
There were Boers already in the hills, but it was only on the morning
of the 4th that they knew the Boers had big guns—six of them—in
position, and meant to use them![Pg 73]

OFFICER OF THE VICTORIA MOUNTED RIFLES.

Photo by Gregory & Co., London.

With dawn the overture had begun, an overture to a murderous
opera, for shells, 1500 in number, during that dismal day, were hurled
over the little British band. But these were not the fellows to be
bombarded with impunity. They examined their resources, looked
ruefully at their one gun, a muzzle-loader, which before long jammed,
and became more of a danger than a defence. The Boers’ fire was
too hot and snipers too numerous to allow of remedy to the damage,
so nothing could be done but wait—wait for the kindly cloak of night.
Then, the besieged set to work with a will, brawny arms and
knowing heads helping to construct trenches and shelters, splinter[Pg 74]
proofs and tunnels, which should defy the snorting weapons of the
Dutchmen. But these, despite the darkness, continued to snort and
to shriek, and went on persistently till daybreak. Then the besiegers
varied the entertainment by directing at the defenceless ones a
pom-pom. This was as the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Off rushed gallant young Aanat with twenty-five dashing dare-devils,
creeping, rifles in hand, into the bush, and then—the pom-pom
was silent! The Boers, chastened, were too cautious again to
approach it. But alas! at night this remarkable young Queenslander,
so full of grit and gallantry, dropped dead, a victim to the shells
that still poured intermittently into the camp. But his good work
was done, and the valiant Lieutenant, though he knew it not, had
struck the keynote of victory. His comrades swore with a tremendous
oath that they would die rather than give in, that the white
flag should never float over those five acres that were then the
melancholy and diminutive symbol of British Empire.

The Battlefields of Pretoria. (From a personal survey).
Scale 17 miles to an inch.

The next day Delarey sent in to say that Rustenburg and
Zeerust were occupied by Boers, that they presently would be in possession
of the whole country, and he further mildly suggested that if
they refused to surrender, his 94-pounder “would blow them off the
face of the earth.” Colonel Hore’s reply stated that he was in command
of Imperial troops who would not surrender, and the ultimatum
was met with renewed bombardment. All day long the tempest of
artillery raged. Then, to their joy, and also to their anxiety, they
heard the guns of Carrington coming to their relief—the echo of
them in the distant hills—and hope grew and grew, and—waned.
Carrington, as we know, had heard the report of their surrender,
and having given battle to an overwhelming force of Boers for what
he thought no purpose, had retired!

So, the 3000 Republicans in their hills laughed together, and
trained their guns on to the spot where, at night, they knew the
gallant men who defied them must water their horses and refresh
themselves after their long day’s burrowing in the bowels of the
earth. But these, emerging parched and sinking from their subterranean
holes, were still equal to the ruses of their tormentors.
Some took one way—the way towards the longed-for river—while
others took another, and went forth on sniping operations which
subdued, if they did not vanquish, their enemies, and protected those
who had to run through fire to reach the longed-for draught. And
so for eleven days the contest between Boer obstinacy and British
determination continued, till at last on the horizon the dust rose and
a rumour of the approach of Broadwood’s Cavalry brought gladness
into a scene of desperation. But the little garrison by now was
sadly thinned, and the nature of the warlike activities may be guessed
by the casualty list. Five were killed, seven were mortally struck[Pg 75]
down, eleven were wounded, and twenty-seven, though slightly injured,
remained combatants to the end! What the losses might
have been had not the ingenious Colonials applied their pluck and
their wits to the scientific construction of trenches, which defied the
six big guns of the enemy, cannot be discussed, for surrender would
have been inevitable.

However, on the 16th, Colonel Hore and his doughty warriors
were still holding out when, to his intense relief, and that of his
emaciated band of heroes, the Boers were routed. Lord Kitchener
had pressed to their succour from the south-east. How Lord
Kitchener contrived to push up and arrive on the scene, may be
told in a few words; but, to make the movement intelligible, it is
necessary to go back several days.

On the 5th of August Lord Kitchener, who was operating south
of the Vaal, was joined by a strong detachment of what was familiarly
known as “Brabanditti,” and also by the Canadian Regiment.
The late Sirdar was personally superintending the hunt after the
wiliest of foxes, De Wet, whose nimbleness since his rush from
Stabbert’s Nek was a matter for marvel and admiration even to his
opponents. On the one side of the quarry was Lord Kitchener,
with cavalry and mounted infantry; while on the right bank of the
Vaal was Lord Methuen, preparing to pounce on the Dutchman’s
advance guard, which was known to have crossed the river.

Early on the 7th, Lord Methuen engaged a portion of De Wet’s
force, which was occupying a strong position on a succession of kopjes
near Venterskroon. In brilliant style the Scots and the Welsh
Fusiliers charged hill after hill, driving the Boers therefrom, but
without frustrating the designs of De Wet, who had succeeded in
getting across. The fighting was costly, for seven men were killed,
and among the wounded officers were Major F. C. Meyrick and
Lieutenant H. Gurney, both 5th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry;
Major A. P. G. Gough, Captain G. F. Barttelot, Second Lieutenant
E. A. T. Bayly, all Royal Welsh Fusiliers; and also Lieutenant
E. S. St. Quintin, 10th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry.

On the 9th, Lord Methuen fought a rearguard action near
Buffel’s Hoek, captured six waggons, two ambulances, but—no De
Wet. Lieutenant Knowles was killed, and Colonel Younghusband
was wounded. The fugitive, fleeing before the forces of Kitchener
at Gatsrand (south of the Krugersdorp-Potchefstroom Railway) and
those of Methuen still further to the south-west, now strove to cross
the rail at Welverdiend Station, and in so doing dropped almost into
the jaws of Smith-Dorrien, who promptly engaged him. Into the
plan for frustrating the Dutchman’s design the City Imperial Volunteers
and the 2nd Shropshires flung themselves with zeal, the former[Pg 76]
regiment marching thirty miles in seventeen hours, the latter forty-three
in thirty-two hours, in order, as they hoped, to be “in at the
finish.” But De Wet accomplished his purpose and eluded all.
Later Lord Methuen, after a forced march of thirty-two miles, came
in contact with the Boer convoy, fought vigorously a whole day,
recaptured one of our guns lost at Stormberg, sixteen waggons of
stores and ammunition, but again—no De Wet. Still the troops
were full of hopes, and telegrams home said, “His capture is only a
matter of hours.”

But the Dutchman was more than their match. He blew up
three waggons rather than be impeded by them—(he always attributed
Cronje’s downfall to the tenacity with which he clung to his
waggons)—and let loose from his camp sixty British prisoners and
an officer, left behind thirty wrecks of horses at Schoolplats, and
even flung away ammunition. Having thus thrown out ballast,
as it were, he soared into the unknown. The disappointment
on all sides was extreme, for sometimes the troops had been so
close on the track that they had even boiled their kettles on the
camp fires left by their quarry. “Collisions, but no cornering,”
was the terse telegram home of a youthful officer who had been
keen in the hunt. Colonel Ricardo (10th Battalion Imperial
Yeomanry) whose gallant men had displayed first-rate cavalry
qualifications, had gone so far as to offer £50 for the prize, dead
or alive! Yet the ignis fatuus danced gaily ahead, but never
within clutch! Still, clever as he showed himself to be, it must be
remembered he had everything in his favour. His spies were in
every farmhouse, and no inch of the country was strange to him;
he could burrow, circle, or climb by day or by night, while his pursuers,
though their waggons had double teams of picked animals,
were forced to relinquish their vigilance at sundown. So both
Lords Methuen and Kitchener found themselves outmarched, and
De Wet (who had gone off through Olifant’s Nek in the Magaliesberg
range, while Methuen was blocking Magato Pass, some
twelve miles further westward) doubtless plumed himself on his ingenuity.
The reason for his success lay in the fact that, owing to
some synchronal accident, General Baden-Powell on vacating Olifant’s
Nek had not been immediately relieved by General Ian
Hamilton, who was due on the 13th. Lord Methuen, unaware of
this hitch, thought that by veering towards Magato Pass De Wet
must effectually be cornered, and discovered too late that his
mighty marches and spirited efforts had been thrown away. Thus
in following De Wet’s evolutions we learnt not so much a lesson
in strategy as a lesson in quick-wittedness. Moral maxims teach us
to catch time on the wing; De Wet taught us more—to leap to the
back of opportunity, and fly with it where it may lead. As at Koorn[Pg 77]
Spruit so elsewhere. He jumped to his decisions and acted on them
at one and the same moment. At Koorn Spruit it was a matter of
minutes that made him master of the situation. At Stabbert’s Nek
it was little more. He was informed that there must be some hours’
delay in the clicking of the padlock round the Brandwater basin,
and he used those hours, exactly as he had now used the synchronal
hitch that left a gap at Olifant’s Nek between the evacuation of
General Baden-Powell and the arrival of General Ian Hamilton.
Deliberation in all three cases would have been fatal. He did not
deliberate but acted, and in getting across from the south of Orange
River Colony to the north of Pretoria he showed himself a born
genius in the art of war. Lord Methuen, knowing further pursuit to
be useless, moved afterwards to Mafeking, where he could recoup
his force, and allow it to recuperate after having fought fourteen
engagements besides skirmishes innumerable since his march from
Boshof in May.

Lord Kitchener, saving his strength, diverted his course and
rushed to the rescue of Colonel Hore. He arrived, as we know, on
the 16th, and scattered the enemy with small loss to himself. Unluckily
in the collision one of the most active and brilliant of the
heroes of the campaign, Colonel De Lisle (Durham Light
Infantry), was seriously wounded.[9]

[Pg 78]

To resume. General Carrington, as we know, was at Ottoshoop,
and General Ian Hamilton, freed from the necessity to relieve
Colonel Hore, was now able to occupy Olifant’s Nek in the
Magaliesberg, which he did on the 17th, meeting with considerable
opposition from the enemy. His advance troops (under Colonel
Mahon) having reached Roode Kopjes on the west bank of the
Crocodile River, came in for a full share of fighting, but the
operations were crowned with success, and finally General Hamilton[Pg 79]
crossed the Crocodile River in a north-easterly direction, plus two
Krupp guns, some transport and ammunition waggons, and seven
Boer prisoners. The losses on our side were small, but unhappily
Lieutenant Henry Bradburn succumbed to his injuries.

Commando’s Nek, Magaliesberg

An interesting case of diamond cut diamond took place elsewhere,
which resulted in the temporary tracing of De Wet.
General Baden-Powell, who was now holding Commando Nek,
received a messenger with a flag of truce from the Boer commandant
requiring him to surrender, his real purpose being to
discover the strength of the garrison. The General, with his usual
“slimness,” replied demanding what terms he was prepared to
offer, his demand being formulated with the object of ascertaining
whether De Wet himself was conducting the operations! Each
of the “slim” ones having obtained the information he required—having
crossed the swords of intellect, as it were—De Wet proceeded
on his way to the north, probably to effect a junction with
Delarey, and General Baden-Powell, chuckling, “shadowed” him.

The 20th found an animated chase taking place on the north-west
of Pretoria. De Wet was scurrying north-eastwards from Hebron—which
is nineteen miles north-west of the capital, with Colonel
Mahon at his heels, General Paget menacing his right rear, and
General Baden-Powell—who was now encamped at Waterval, and
whose soldierly defenders of Mafeking had there been inspected and
complimented by the Chief—in readiness to assist. Both the latter[Pg 80]
officer and General Paget, while moving up the Pietersburg railway
between Haman’s Kraal and Pienaars River Station, became
engaged with some of the roving commandos, and unfortunately a
gallant young fellow, Lieutenant Fordham Flowers, Warwickshire
Yeomanry, was killed. Lieutenant Kirkby (49th Company Imperial
Yeomanry) was severely wounded, and six men of various corps
were also injured.

The whole of the 21st was spent in warm contest with Grobler’s
forces, with the result that the enemy was driven off, prevented
from going west, and the railway station was occupied by General
Baden-Powell’s forces. But these hard marching days in the bush
veldt, groping after the enemy, involved lamentable sacrifice. The
splendid Rhodesian Regiment lost many of its fine fighters, but most
notably Colonel Spreckley,[10] whose services throughout Colonel
Plumer’s operations had been invaluable. Lieutenant Irvine and
six men were wounded, as also was Captain Kinsman (Dublin
Fusiliers). Captain Bolton, 1st Wiltshire Regiment, was also
wounded during General Paget’s operations.

De Wet, finding himself cornered towards the east, had now
whisked back in the direction of the Magaliesberg with the intention
of again trying his success in Orange River Colony. His excursion
from Bethlehem had been costly. Starting, he had some 1500 men
and six or eight guns, while behind him in the hills were Prinsloo
and some 5000 Dutchmen. He now was returning to find the Bethlehem
band on its way to Ceylon and his own force thinned to attenuation.
Poor De Wet! At this juncture his display of talent in the field
had bred a feeling of pity which was “akin to love,” and those who
were most interested in his capture were those loudest in appreciation
of his sporting proclivities, and pronounced him “a first-class
fighting man.” He certainly seemed never at a loss, and even now,
in making his way back to Orange Colony, chased and jaded as he
was, he pursued the mosquito tactics which worried, annoyed, and
wore out those who were subjected to them. To cover his crossing
of the rail near Bank Station on the Potchefstroom line, his ally[Pg 81]
Delarey with a large force summoned the garrison (the City Imperial
Volunteers, under Lord Albemarle) to surrender. Of course, the
summons was declined, but the little interlude served De Wet’s
purpose and gave him the time he needed to save his skin and
gather himself together. Still, as he was fairly crippled, and the
recuperative period promised to be a long one, the main operations
against Botha on the east, which had been gradually planned out,
could now be begun.

DE WET

From a Photograph

PLOTS AND PROCLAMATIONS. AUGUST.—THE TRIAL OF
CORDUA

Affairs in Pretoria and Johannesburg that preceded the warlike
movements connected with the Lydenburg campaign must now be
briefly discussed. On the 1st of August the Railway Pioneer Regiment
arrived at Johannesburg, and entered on its new duties, that of policing
the mines. The Transvaal constabulary, under Colonel Maxse, continued
to increase in size—by this time 700 Colonials had joined—and
in the Court of Justice many actions which, owing to lack of
faith in Transvaal administration, had been set aside during the war,
were now brought up for adjudication. Things seemed to be shaping
themselves fairly well, notwithstanding the rumour that the Boers
intended to maintain guerilla warfare till the presidential election in
America in November was over, when intervention was promised
them. America was scarcely propitiated by the conduct of Theron’s
Scouts, however, for a day later a train flying the stars and
stripes, and containing the American Consul-General, Colonel
Stowe, was thrown off the rails and burned at Honing Spruit.
To be awakened at 1 A.M. by the hail of bullets and the hurly-burly
of derailed waggons is scarcely pleasing, and Theron’s mode
of ingratiating himself with the Americans, if not happy, was original.
Seventeen bullets penetrated the carriage in which the Consul was
travelling, one of which struck a friend who was occupying the
compartment. Colonel Lord Algernon Gordon Lennox, who was
journeying south, was taken prisoner, together with forty men, but
all were liberated at the request of Colonel Stowe. Two, however,
were killed by the overturning of the waggons.

The next day a force of Mounted Infantry chased the Boers,
but these, later on, continued to hover in the neighbourhood of the
line. Though General Knox was operating north of Kroonstad, and
had attacked them at Rhenoster Kop, and driven them off with the
loss of their cattle and waggons, these operations, and others which
were going forward in all parts of the line, remained similar to the
action of fanning away gnats—the pests receded merely to buzz elsewhere![Pg 82]
As an instance of this, it was found that owing to the withdrawal
of the garrison at Springs (an important coal centre on the
East Rand) the Boers had buzzed back there, seized railway rolling
stock, threatened the destruction of the mines, and generally made
themselves offensive. A regiment was sent to retake the place.
Meanwhile, at Waterval, they were giving trouble by treachery.
A party having notified to the officer commanding there their intention
to surrender, seized the occasion to attempt ambush and
assassination. Fifteen of Strathcona’s Horse approached the place
of rendezvous—fortunately in extended order—and when within
fifty yards of the house three native scouts were shot—two wounded,
and one killed. That done, the sergeant was called on to surrender.
“Never!” he shouted, and before he could gallop off a bullet had
pierced his heart. A trooper was also wounded, and only discovered
a day later by a patrol.

Examples of Boer treachery were continually being reported, and
one incident described by Reuter’s correspondent served to show
how regardless were the enemy of the sacred oath of neutrality, and
what a farce was the administration of it.

“A Boer ambulance sometime ago marched into our lines by error, thinking
they were their own. The waggon was searched, and was found to contain
a number of boxes of ammunition and seven burghers carrying arms. When
the latter were searched, each was found to be carrying on him the oath of
neutrality which he had subscribed in Bloemfontein.”

But little else could be expected of a nation fed on deceit. Lies
hot from the Boer factory had continually been served out to the
simple farmers, and were still being foisted on them with a view to
stimulating their interest in further hostilities. At one time it was
announced that Lord Roberts had committed suicide, at another
that the plague was ravaging the British. Fabrications regarding
American sympathy and intervention were many, and they
asserted that both the commandants, De Wet and Botha, had indignantly
refused the offer of bribes to surrender. Among the lesser
and wilder tarradiddles was the statement that the first batch of
Dublin Fusiliers who had been taken prisoners, had offered to join
the Boers, but their sympathetic overtures had been declined! These
fictions were swallowed greedily, and thus the “neutrals” were
inveigled into having a new lunge at the British, which lunge they
firmly believed might yet be effective.

Still the western districts of Cape Colony were becoming pacified,
so much so that Sir Charles Warren was able to leave for England,
and the command of the troops in the Colony was given over
to Sir F. Forestier Walker. On the 13th a sad discovery was made[Pg 83]
by Colonel Hickman. He came on the body of Colonel Helyar,[11] who
had been reported missing since the end of July. The gallant
officer, who had so nobly rendered his services in the hour of the
nation’s distress, was deeply regretted. He was buried with military
honours, and Lord Roberts attended the impressive ceremony.

General Paget’s Brigade, which returned to Pretoria on the 14th,
was followed on the 23rd by Colonel Mackinnon and a wing of his
sturdy battalion of C.I.V. after a 224 mile march, accomplished in
fourteen days, of which one was a halt. In telegrams home the
Chief expatiated on the excellent and workmanlike appearance
of the force and of the gallant 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry
and Munster Fusiliers, who had so distinguished themselves in
operations around Bethlehem.

While the military routine continued as usual, Pretoria was
seething with inordinate emotion and excitement. Early in August
an alarming conspiracy had been suddenly brought to light.
The main feature of the plot was simultaneously to assassinate
the British officers in Pretoria, and to carry off the Chief. The
idea was to set fire to some big buildings on the west of the town,
in the hope of drawing thither the troops for the purpose of
extinguishing the flames. While this excitement distracted the
attention of the British force, the Boers and their allies in the town,
headed by the ringleader Cordua, were to combine and kidnap Lord
Roberts, posting off with him, on fleet horses kept ready for the
purpose, to join the nearest commando. The conspirators, about
fifteen in number, ten of whom were immediately arrested, had taken
the oath of neutrality, which especially stated that any contravention
was liable to punishment under martial law. This diabolical development
in the tactics of a supposed civilised belligerent naturally
caused consternation not unmixed with rage, and there was a general
outcry against the leniency which had made an abuse of trust
possible, and a universal demand for more drastic measures in dealing
with an enemy who had descended from the level of fine fighters
to that of marauders and assassins. The trial of the ringleader, Hans
Cordua, a youth of twenty-three, formerly lieutenant of the Staats
Artillery, was opened on the 16th. The prisoner was charged with
having broken his parole, and attempted to abduct British officers,
to which charges he pleaded guilty. Evidence was then brought
forward to prove the extent and ramifications of the plot, the
complicity of Botha and others therein. The prisoner was ably[Pg 84]
defended by Mr. Berrange, who endeavoured to show the complicity
of the witness, Detective Gano, a clever Mexican, who was accused
by Cordua of having been instigator of the plot. This imputation
was denied by Gano, who declared that the plot was already hatched
when he was sounded on the subject. The accused, on the other
hand, declared his own unwillingness to join in the plot, and pretended
that he had been overpersuaded by the detective, who represented
that he was a pro-Boer in British employ, who, tired of his
position, desired to help the Boers. The detective gave evidence
rebutting these assertions, stating on oath that he had been employed
to carry out inquiries in regard to a suspected plot to injure persons
and property connected with the British troops. He obtained close
acquaintance with the prisoner for the purpose of discovering, in his
capacity as secret-service agent, the nature of the plot, and his
actions in relation to Cordua were conducted with a view to that
end. With this object he affected a desire to join the enemy, and
had purposely behaved so as to arouse suspicion and cause his own
arrest, and with it that of the prisoner. The trial was conducted
with the utmost impartiality, and at the close of the address for the
defence the prisoner’s counsel thanked the court for all the facilities
which he had been afforded for the conduct of that defence. The
prisoner was found guilty on all charges, and was condemned to
death. On the 24th he met his fate like a brave man within the
precincts of the gaol, General Maxwell, Colonel Maxse, the chaplain,
the doctor, and the firing squad being the only persons present at
the execution.

So ended one of the most remarkable episodes of the campaign,
and the career of a young enthusiast, whose curious ambition
renders more convincing the old aphorism that every blackguard is
a hero spoilt.

Regarding the clever capture which averted a crime calculated
to “stagger humanity,” the Bloemfontein Post reproduced
some details. These were given to an interviewer by Gano
himself:—

“When the plot seemed to be nearly ripe,” said Mr. Gano, “Cordua
and I rode out of Pretoria one night to communicate with Botha, a fire
burning on a kopje being the signal that his commando had arrived. Of
course the authorities knew of Cordua’s move, so I was ordered to accompany
him to see what was really going to take place. Cordua was
going to obtain for me a billet on Botha’s staff, and that was the ostensible
reason of my travelling with him. When we were some distance out in
the direction of Silverton, I hinted to Cordua that it would be advisable for
me to return to Pretoria with him, but he did not think it necessary.

“This put me into rather a difficult position, but fortunately the commando
was not at the kopje, and after riding round for hours we had to
return. I knew he had some papers on him, but how to get at them was[Pg 85]
the difficulty. We both entered a farmhouse, and then I purposely so
aroused the farmer’s suspicions without giving myself away to Cordua that
he sent for the English picket, and the farmhouse was surrounded. We
were arrested and taken to a tent.

“I wanted the officer to search us, but this he neglected to do, and
Cordua still held the indispensable papers to prove the plot. Then I
turned to Cordua suddenly and said: ‘Quick, hand me your papers, they
are going to search us.’ He handed me some letters, and as I hastily put
them in my pocket, I noticed him chewing, and later swallowing, a piece of
paper. The letters were in cypher, and he had swallowed the key. But I
had the letters, and that was something. My next move was to find out
who were actively implicated in the plot. As we jolted along to Pretoria
in an ox-waggon, I told Cordua it was a serious business for me; who
would protect me should I escape? He gave me the names of several
persons in Pretoria who would shelter me. When we reached the city I
prevailed on the picket to take two cabs, and we were driven as prisoners
to the Provost-Marshal’s office. That is the story of how Cordua was
captured, but my experiences were by no means ended there.

“Cordua was still under the impression that I was a prisoner, an impression
I wanted maintained, in order that I might lay hold of the other
conspirators. When we were taken into the office, I therefore darted
through a back door, and escaped into the street, the officer recognising
me. I was instructed to continue my investigations, and went as an
escaped prisoner to the house to which I was directed by Cordua, where
I was concealed. The police, of course, kept searching for me, and soon
after I was settled they came along. I was changed from one house to
another with great rapidity. Sometimes there were shots fired during the
operations, sometimes not; sometimes I even fired myself. I became
quite expert at jumping out of back windows and over fences, but it was
necessary in the interests of the service. After a short experience of this
kind I was allowed to relinquish my rôle of escaped prisoner, and return
to my ordinary duties.”

It was now admitted that the Boers had misunderstood the principle
of leniency. They had used it as a cloak for further resistance,
with the result that precious lives were sacrificed, owing to the
impossibility of distinguishing between combatants and non-combatants,
between supposed neutrals and intending guerillas. Lord
Roberts, therefore, found it necessary to revoke his former proclamation—except
in regard to those who had already taken the oath—and
promulgate a new set of rules of a more stringent nature. In
future all persons who had taken the oath and broken it would be
punished with death, imprisonment, or fine. All burghers in districts
occupied by British forces, except those who had sworn the
oath, would be regarded as prisoners of war and transported; and
all buildings, structures, and farms where the enemy’s scouts were
harboured would be liable to be razed to the ground. All fines
under the former proclamation would be rigorously exacted, and
prisoners were warned to acquaint her Majesty’s forces of the[Pg 86]
presence of the enemy on their farms, otherwise they would be
regarded as aiding and abetting the enemy.

This new move afforded general satisfaction to those who had
suffered from the duplicity of the foe, and it was felt that the time
was ripe for the formal annexation of the country, whose capital was
in our hands, and for the intimation to Mr. Kruger that no longer
could his scattered knots of burghers be viewed in the light of
belligerents, but merely as irresponsible marauders.

In reference to Lord Roberts’s proclamations, it is of interest to
read the following letter, which was addressed by “the envoys of
the South African Republic and of the Orange Free State to the
Right Honourable the Marquis of Salisbury, K.G.,” by the “Consul-General
temporarily in charge of the interests of the South African
Republic”:—

“St. Petersburg, August 18, 1900.

“Excellency,—According to a publication issued at Pretoria on June 25,
1900, under the designation, ‘Government Gazette Extraordinary, vol. i.
No. 7,’ some proclamations have been addressed to inhabitants of the South
African Republic by Lord Roberts, Field-Marshal, Commander-in-Chief of her
Britannic Majesty’s troops in South Africa.

“By the first of those proclamations, dated Johannesburg, May 31, 1900,
it is, inter alia, announced to all burghers ‘who have not taken a prominent
part in the policy which has led to the war between her Majesty and the South
African Republic,’ &c., ‘and who are willing to lay down their arms at once, to
bind themselves by an oath to abstain from further participation in the war,’
that they would be allowed, after taking the oath, to return to their homes
(section 2 of the proclamation).

“By the second proclamation, dated at Pretoria, June 6, 1900, it is, inter
alia, notified that, in the event of any burgher being granted a pass under
paragraph 2 of the above proclamation, he would be allowed to retain possession
of his stock; or should any or all of this stock be required for the use
of her Majesty’s troops, he would receive current market value for the same
in cash.

“The undersigned, in the name of the Government of the South African
Republic and the Government of the Orange Free State, feel themselves
obliged most strenuously to protest against the intent of both these proclamations.

“Because from these proclamations, taken in their mutual relation to each
other, there appears to be no other deduction than that the burghers are only
guaranteed retention of their property if they shall first have taken the oath
referred to in paragraph 2 of the first-named proclamation clearly. The declaration
set forth in the proclamation of June 6, 1900, only has sense if it is
assumed that in the judgment of Field-Marshal Roberts the property of
burghers (even of those who have taken no ‘prominent part’ in the policy
which led to the war) may be taken away from them by him solely on the
ground of there being war between England and the South African Republic.

“This now is in direct conflict with principles of international law in force
for ages already, according to which private property, not being contraband of
war, must be respected in war with the country, and which have been once[Pg 87]
more expressly acknowledged by Article 46 (being a part of the 3rd Section,
entitled ‘De l’autorité militaire en le territoire de l’état ennemi’) of the declaration
annexed to the ‘Convention concernant les lois et coutumes de la guerre
sur terre,’ which was also signed on behalf of her Britannic Majesty. Said
article reads as follows:—

“‘L’honneur et les droits de la famille, la vie des individus, et la propriété
privée, ainsi que les convictions religieuses et l’exercice des cultes, doivent être
respectés. La propriété privée ne peut pas être confisquée.’

“Although the South African Republics are not included amongst the contracting
Powers, the principles enunciated in the article quoted may none the
less be invoked by them, because that article does nothing more than formulate
what during ages has been common right in war between civilised nations.

“By further proclamations of June 16, marked A 1 and A 2, the threat is
made in case of damage occasioned to railways and telegraph lines that the
principal inhabitants of the villages and districts affected would be held jointly
and severally responsible for such damage; moreover, a heavy fine would be
imposed, and nothing be paid for goods delivered; also that houses and farms
in the neighbourhood would be devastated, and that one or more of the inhabitants
would be taken along in trains used for purposes of war.

“By these proclamations punishments are threatened for actions whereto a
belligerent party has every right, and the infliction of those punishments are
by anticipation provided for even for cases wherein no proof whatever of guilt
is furnished, private property is confiscated and destroyed, and an attempt is
made to make burghers appear against one another.

“Against the intent also of both these proclamations, which violate every
sense of right, the undersigned desire to record their most strenuous protest.

“The Envoys,

“W. J. Leyds.
“A. Fischer.
“C. H. Wessels.
“A. D. W. Wolmarans.

“His Excellency the Right Hon. the Marquis of Salisbury, Prime Minister,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, &c., London.”

Elsewhere the Dutchmen continued to make themselves obnoxious.
On the morning of the 27th Major Brooke, R.E., commanding
at Kraai Railway Station, had come in for his share of
annoyance, some Boers having lodged themselves in a kopje
preparatory to pouncing on the rail. The Major with a hundred
men promptly went forth to tackle the conspirators, and with the
assistance of this small but plucky crew, notable among them the
brave fellows, Lieutenant Maurice Griffith and Sergeant Hannam
(Volunteer Company Royal Welsh Fusiliers) and Sergeant Southrood
(Cape Garrison Artillery), he succeeded in completely routing
the Dutchmen, who left five dead on the field.

[Pg 88]

CHAPTER VI

GENERAL BULLER IN JULY AND AUGUST—CLEARING
THE COUNTRY FROM VOLKSRUST TO BELFAST[12]

Before narrating the events which concluded the month
of August, it is necessary to return to General Buller and
follow his sweeping operations on the Natal frontier, which
operations allowed him to penetrate further into the Transvaal
and eventually to scour the country from the Natal
railway line to that of the Delagoa Bay railway. By glancing at
the map it is possible to draw a straight line from Volksrust and
Amersfoort viâ Ermelo to Wonderfontein near Belfast, and having
drawn it to understand the object of the movements which occupied
the end of July and the beginning of August. Before that straight
line (which represents Sir Redvers Buller’s march to join hands
with Lord Roberts’s force) could be followed, it was imperative to
secure the whole railway line from Volksrust to Johannesburg, and
that being guarded behind him it was possible for the General to
march straight across country, brushing back, as he went, the Boers
who gradually were being heaped like a wave to north-east of him,
and further on, astride the Delagoa Bay line.

First, then, to watch the securing of the Natal and Johannesburg
line. General Clery occupied Greylingstad (midway between
Standerton and Heidelberg) on the 2nd of July, and though there was
some sniping and several men were wounded, very little serious opposition
was offered. Meanwhile General Talbot Coke with the 10th
Brigade was reconnoitring the ground towards Amersfoort, situated
between Volksrust and Ermelo, where the enemy in some force made
himself known, killing two and wounding six men. After having retaliated
with his guns the General retired. On the 3rd General
Hart, who, as we know, had joined General Hunter after General
Ian Hamilton’s accident, received the surrender of many respectable
Boers in Heidelberg, and the Soldiers’ Home was opened, the inhabitants
assisting in the initial outlay to the tune of £40. On
the 4th Generals Clery and Hart joined hands at Vlakfontein,
thus securing the line. Progress was slow and sure. Trains
were now able to run from Natal to Greylingstad, though beyond
that place there were still damaged culverts and ruined rails. But
these were immediately taken in hand and the line to Heidelberg[Pg 89]
restored, thereby rendering the railway communication between
Natal, Johannesburg, and Pretoria complete.

BOERS TAKING THE OATH OF NEUTRALITY AT GREYLINGSTAD

Drawing by H. M. Paget, from a Sketch by Lieut. E. B. Knox, R.A.M.C.

Thus ended the first stage of the new campaign. But the Boers
were by no means inactive, and Botha kept a hungry eye on the improving
communications. A convoy on its way to Vlakfontein was
vigorously shelled by the Dutchmen from a formidable position among
the hills. Their nearest shell fell within twenty yards of the waggons.
The bombardment continued for an uncomfortable period, until the
Boer duet became a quartette by the prompt action of a section of
the Chestnut Battery under Lieutenant Eden, whose two guns in the
open finally outvoiced those of the Boers on the hills. One brave
gunner was killed and one wounded, six horses were disabled, and
an ammunition waggon overturned, but the valuable convoy was
saved. To check the activity of the Boers, General Clery on the
12th moved east from Greylingstad to a point on the road between
Standerton and Heidelberg, while Lord Dundonald and his invaluable
South African Light Horse routed the Boers and captured
a camp belonging to them in the region of Vlaklaagte Station.
Thorneycroft’s Horse and Strathcona’s gallant corps were also
playing a rival game of indefatigability with the Boers.

On the 21st Major English (Royal Dublin Fusiliers), who was
commanding a post at Railhead, thirteen miles east of Heidelberg,
was attacked at daybreak by Botha, who was evidently anxious to
imitate the tactics of Delarey at Nitral’s Nek. The position was
garrisoned by two companies of the Dublin Fusiliers, 110 Royal
Engineers, and ten Yeomanry. Fortunately Major English had
skilfully fortified his post and prepared himself for such surprises.
He instantly telegraphed for assistance to Heidelberg, whereupon
General Hart started to his succour with two guns, a “pom-pom,”
and 140 Marshall’s Horse and Yeomanry. The Boers meanwhile
had begun to pound the garrison with three guns and a pom-pom,
and they having entirely surrounded it, the position at noon was
scarcely enviable. But owing to the first-class fighting quality of
the Irishmen, and the military prescience of their commander, the
Boers were worsted. Major English himself was slightly wounded
by a shell.

General Clery’s troops arrived at Grootspruit on the 23rd, and
finding no trace of the enemy afterwards returned to Greylingstad.
General Hildyard meanwhile operated in the neighbourhood of
Volksrust hunting the foe from the rail and clearing the surrounding
region.

On the night of the 26th the post guarding the railway station
at Vlaklaagte was twice attacked, but without success. General
Clery on the following day reached Sugarbush Spruit, ten miles east
of Heidelberg, near where the Boers were so valorously repulsed on[Pg 90]
the 21st. At the end of the month he had completed the disposition
of his forces along the railway as far as Heidelberg, where
General Cooper now replaced General Hart.

FROM AMERSFOORT TO VAN WYKS VLEI

August brought a renewal of activities. Major Gough, with
four companies of Mounted Infantry, two pom-poms, and four field-pieces,
accomplished a clever piece of work after the smartest Boer
pattern. Moving from Standerton by night, he came before dawn
on a Boer laager, opened a heavy shell fire by way of reveillé,
broke up the camp, sent some 300 Dutchmen scampering into space,
captured 150 of Delange’s cattle, burnt his house, and returned to
camp, having effectually cleared the air on the right flank! And all
this without a single casualty.

Through the defeat of Prinsloo in the Orange Colony, Sir Redvers
Buller was now freed from the task of dividing the southern from the
northern Boer forces, and was able to plan a move from Paardekop
which should cut due north over the open veldt towards the Delagoa
Bay railway, and enable him to assist the movement already begun
by Lord Roberts, but at that time somewhat checked in consequence
of lack of horses and supplies.

On the 7th the General began the cross-country march in the
direction of Ermelo, squeezing back his adversaries towards Machadodorp
as he went. Before him he drove from one frowning and well-entrenched
kopje to another, some 2000 Dutchmen under Christian
Botha, with six pieces of cannon and four pom-poms, reaching and
occupying Amersfoort on the same night. As usual, General Dundonald’s
brilliant warrior, Gough, had been to the fore, both he and
Steward having scoured and scouted in advance with such dash and
enterprise that the Infantry—1st King’s Royal Rifles, Liverpools,
Gordons, and their gallant Volunteer Company—were enabled to
push their way, climbing hill after hill to find it deserted, and covering
eighteen miles in the course of the day. The advance was made on
a front as wide as twenty miles, on account of the extent of hidden
country to be scoured. During the day’s actions, Captain L. B.
Cumberland and Second Lieutenant F. L. Pardoe, 1st King’s Royal
Rifle Corps, were wounded.

Sir Redvers Buller continued his march northward, and reached
Rietspruit, eight miles north of Amersfoort, crossing the Vaal at
Beginderlyn. The force marched into Ermelo on the 11th, having
met with little opposition, and on the following day Dr. Everett,
who was in charge of the ambulance, handed over the keys of the
public offices. One bag of mails was secured. On the safes,
according to Reuter’s correspondent, a Boer official had chalked,[Pg 91]
“No blooming oof”—a truthful and terse statement which was, however,
characteristic of the blossoming Briton.

On went the troops—the cavalry to Carolina—meeting with no
opposition, owing to the fact that in the interval some 182 burghers
of the Standerton commando had surrendered to General Clery, while
others were evidently oscillating between discretion and valour.
General Buller himself halted at Twyfelaar till the 21st, in order to
replenish his supplies and establish communication with Pretoria.
His scouts came in touch with those of General French, who was
operating round Wonderfontein.

Meanwhile, on the 14th of August, General Clery had continued
his activities. Captain Reynolds and twenty-two non-commissioned
officers and men of the 5th Dragoon Guards completely surprised
the Boers near Dornkop and caused them considerable loss, though
Captain Reynolds was himself wounded in the spirited encounter.
The Boers were still gathered some ten miles beyond Carolina,
peeping in there occasionally with caution, but soon making off in
fear of a surprise. Between Carolina and Machadodorp where the
Boer leaders, Botha, Meyer, Schalk-Burger, Fourie, and Smuts—the
last wounded seriously—were said to be, there were many
laagers, all of which were carefully located by Strathcona’s Scouts.

On the 21st General Buller moved to Van Wyks Vlei, fifteen
miles due south of Belfast. Near here a British detached party encountering
the enemy, who seemed to be in force, had a very rough
time. The Gordons were forced to return to camp under cover of
dusk, while the Lancers, who were acting as scouts, remained for
some hours dodging the heavy fusilades of the enemy, who had
contrived to spring up on three sides of them. Lieutenant Field
(18th Hussars) and Captain Ellershaw (Royal Artillery) were
wounded, seven of the Gordon Highlanders were slain and twenty
men were wounded, while five were missing.

An exciting episode also took place on the 22nd at Newcastle,
where were stationed the 13th Hussars. A portion of this regiment
came into collision with some of the enemy, and during the encounter
Major W. C. Smithson and Second Lieutenant C. E. Jenkins were
wounded. One man was killed and another wounded. Young
Jenkins was taken prisoner under somewhat heroic circumstances.
While he was lying helpless, a trooper came to his aid and insisted
on giving up his own horse in order that the young officer
might escape. “It won’t matter if they collar me,” argued the
brave fellow. But Mr. Jenkins sturdily refused to accept the sacrifice,
and thus fell into the hands of the Boers.

The enemy made a desperate effort on the 23rd to prevent
General Buller from reaching Belfast. They endeavoured to lay
a trap for the cavalry, opening on them at fairly short range with a[Pg 92]
long-range 15-pounder and pom-poms. A section of the 21st Battery,
under Lieutenant Rainsford, promptly set to work to silence
them, and the ruse failed. But at night, when the turmoil of the
day was thought to be over, through an accident, two companies of
the Liverpools, who had advanced into a hollow out of sight
of the main body, were surrounded and suffered severely. The
casualties, morning and evening, made a long total. South
African Light Horse: wounded, Captain A. Savory (since
dead) and two men. Royal Artillery: killed, one man; wounded,
Lieutenant F. Rainsford-Hannay and two men. Army Veterinary
Department: wounded, Lieutenant J. Steele. 1st Liverpool Regiment:
killed, ten men; wounded, Captain Plomer, who was taken
prisoner, and forty-five men; missing, thirty-two. Leicester Regiment:
killed, one man; wounded, six; missing, one. 1st Royal
Inniskilling Fusiliers: wounded, one man.

On the following day some more fighting took place, prior to the
General’s arrival at Belfast, Lieutenant Tarbet, 1st Yorkshire
Mounted Infantry, and thirteen men being wounded.

On the 25th, General Buller reached his destination, and met
Lord Roberts in order to discuss at a council of war the operations
which made the closing act of the drama.

[Pg 93]

CHAPTER VII

THE LYDENBURG CAMPAIGN

Lord Roberts moved, viâ Wonderfontein, to Belfast, which
had been previously occupied by General Pole-Carew. The
Chief arrived on the 25th of August, and immediately
proceeded to order a reconnaissance of the Boer position
between Belfast and Dalmanutha, south-west of which
place, about six miles off, were the forces of Generals Buller and
French. The Boers were ensconced in a perfect chain of ridges—a
frowning rampart of menace, thirty miles in extent—some 8000
yards east of the station, where they evidently intended to dispute
possession of every inch of the ground to Machadodorp, and whence
it was the intention of the Commander-in-Chief to sweep them.

The Field-Marshal called together his generals—Sir Redvers
Buller, and Generals French and Pole-Carew—and their several
rôles in the forthcoming operations were discussed. General Buller
was to advance on the right flank, General Pole-Carew as usual to
maintain a central position, while General French’s Cavalry Brigades
would fly well to left, scouring again the terrible country towards
Machadodorp and beyond it.

Almost immediately General Buller’s force was shelled by the
Boers, and so also was General Stephenson’s Brigade on the
extreme left, the General himself having a narrow escape from a
hostile pom-pom. The town was also liberally attacked, and the
enemy, with long-range guns from Dalmanutha, made a stubborn
defence of their ground, even trying to squeeze a small force to the
rear of General French, a manœuvre which was quickly frustrated.
General Buller continued to push steadily forward, with General
French on his flank, driving back Boers as he went, and bivouacking
on the ground he had gained.

The whole of the 26th was spent in furious fighting over the
whole thirty-mile radius, the bellowing of guns multifarious continuing
from dawn till sunset. Lyttelton’s Division (General Buller
directing), with two brigades of cavalry, operated south-west of
Dalmanutha; while French’s cavalry, moving north by the west of
Belfast, crumpled back the foe towards a place on the Belfast-Lydenburg
road, called Lekenvlei. General Buller was supported
by the Guards Brigade, who advanced steadily from Belfast in
spite of an enfilading fire, contesting their way against a clamorous[Pg 94]
tornado of Dutch artillery—Long Toms, pom-poms, and many
other formidable weapons, accompanied by Mausers, which persistently
continued their flute-like concert—till both belligerents
were enveloped in the eerie shadows of night. The cavalry
operated over uncongenial ground, well suited to the tactics of the
Boers and consequently hazardous to themselves; but only one
officer, Captain Harrison (Scots Greys), was seriously wounded.

A Capital on Wheels: Mr. Kruger’s Seat of Government at Machadodorp

On the 27th came the grand attack which may be said to have
broken the back of the Boer army. General Buller, having found
it impossible on the previous day to find an artillery position whence
the infantry could be assisted in an attack, sent forward on the
morning of the 27th the 2nd Cavalry Brigade (General Brocklehurst),
“A” Battery R.H.A. (Major Burrows), 53rd Battery R.F.A.
(Major Gordon), two pom-poms, and the 4th Division Mounted Infantry
(Major Stewart), towards a commanding ridge which ran from
Belfast on the south side of the railway towards Dalmanutha.
Here the Boers occupied about a mile or two of frontage, the centre
being a picturesque homestead called Bergandal Farm, the kopjes
on the left being thickly peopled with the enemy. Having obtained
excellent artillery positions, the General directed the fire of all the
British guns on this farm. Quickly the gunners got to work, and
a fierce bombardment commenced and continued to grow heavier
and heavier as the moments wore on, till at last the roar and
rampage sounded as though Vulcan were holding festival in the
bosom of the hills.

The place was described by General Buller as a “natural fortress
surrounded by a glacis of about 1500 yards absolutely without[Pg 95]
cover.” Others who saw it looked upon it in the light of another
Spion Kop, yet this the infantry were ordered to assault. General
Kitchener directed Colonel Metcalfe to move the 1st Battalion
Rifle Brigade under cover of the ridge from which the guns were
firing, and place his battalion across the main east and west ridge,
on which the farm stood, and assault it frontally from the west.
Colonel Payne was at the same time to move the Inniskilling
Fusiliers down the face of the gun ridge, and assault the flank of
the position from the south, the 1st Devons supporting the left
centre, the 2nd Gordons the right attack. At the moment of starting
the leading companies of Inniskillings were assailed by an
accurate and deadly fire from the Boer pom-pom, which was somewhat
staggering, but nevertheless without loss of time they
reformed themselves, and, “admirably led by their commanding
officers,” pressed on and on against the stubborn foe. These
only gave way when the troops were absolutely in among them,
many continuing to fire till actually made prisoners.

General Buller described the attack made without the assistance
of any cover as a most gallant one. “The moment the kopje was
carried the Rifle Brigade, although they lost their Colonel (who, to
our great regret, was wounded while gallantly leading the advance),
at once reformed, and swept on their own initiative up the plateau,
carrying all before them, supported by the Devons, who had got up
on the left, and the Gordons and Inniskillings who joined in on the
right.” He went on to say, “The honours of the assault belong to
the Rifle Brigade, as they had to attack that part of the kopje which
had been most protected from our artillery fire, but all the troops
did splendidly, and the carrying of such a position, held as it was
by resolute men, will always remain present to the minds of those
who witnessed it as a most gallant feat of arms.”

The gunners had a terrific day’s work, but on this occasion they
seemed to have surpassed themselves, for though the Dutchmen
had stubbornly decided to contest the principal heights, by noon
the whole of the Johannesburg police, by whom this vantage-point
was defended, had fallen victims to the excellence of their execution.
A noticeable incident in the attack was the great tactical skill with
which the Maxims of the Gordons, Inniskillings, Rifle Brigade, and
Devons were handled by their respective detachments. The fire of
these guns contributed materially to the successful result of the
assault. An eye-witness describing the operations said: “It was
a sight never to be forgotten. It was truly grand—the shells from
some sixty guns or more all bursting within a circle of 200 yards
diameter, shrapnel with its white puff of smoke in the air, lyddite
raising a dirty brown cloud as it struck. It was awful. I must say
one could not but admire the courage of the defenders. They were[Pg 96]
the Zarps, Johannesburg Police, 130 of them, and 113 were killed
or wounded in that one spot. Then Buller advanced his infantry
across the open, the Rifle Brigade bearing the brunt of it. It was
splendid, and the Boers gave way all along the line. Lord Roberts
rode out to meet Buller on the kopje, and on his way back told our
men the news, and they cheered him.”

The casualties were chiefly among the Rifle Brigade, whose stiff
work has been described. Captain G. L. Lysley and thirteen men
were killed, and the following were wounded: Lieutenant-Colonel
C. Metcalfe, Captain R. Alexander, Captain J. D. Heriot-Maitland,
Captain Ernest G. Campbell (since dead), Captain W. H. W. Steward
(since dead), Lieutenant B. A. Turner, Second Lieutenant W. F.
Bassett, and fifty-seven non-commissioned officers and men. Nineteen
prisoners and a pom-pom were captured from the foe.

Captain O’Neill, R.A.M.C., met a tragic fate. When the heat
of the battle was over and night had fallen he went forth with an
ambulance to grope for wounded and dead. While performing this
merciful act, lantern in hand, he approached a Boer picket and was
at once shot dead!

In the moment of warfare it is impossible to stop to eulogise
the splendid heroism of the doctors and chaplains who, deprived
of the intoxication of contest, have yet risked their lives in the
service of their fellow-creatures. The coolness and daring of
these noncombatant, death-defying men has often passed unnoted,
and will need to find a memorial in the hearts of those
at home, whose dear ones have enjoyed safety and skill and consolation
at their hands.

On the following day (28th) the enemy, chased over difficult
country by Lord Dundonald’s force, was retiring northward, while
Buller’s advance troops occupied Machadodorp, whither Mr. Kruger
had fled to Nelspruit. Beyond them, General French, arriving at
Elandsfontein, removed the enemy with such scant ceremony that they
left their dinners behind them. He now got into signalling communication
with General Buller, while General Pole-Carew marched
towards Waterval Onder. Lord Dundonald’s Cavalry pushed
forward as far as Helvetia, beyond which his mounted force could
not proceed owing to the strong position taken by the Dutchmen in
the crusted and gibbose country, which was growing more and
more alpine as the troops advanced. A few officers were wounded
in General Buller’s force: Major W. R. Birdwood, 11th Bengal
Lancers; Captain F. R. Ewart, 1st Liverpool Regiment; Second
Lieutenant H. Wadlow, 16th Company Southern Division Royal
Garrison Artillery.

BRITISH PRISONERS WAITING FOR RELEASE: THE CAMP AT NOOITGEDACHT

Drawing by Frank Dadd, R.I., from a Sketch by Lieut. Essex Capell, one of the Prisoners

The Boers, owing to their crushing defeats at Bergendal and
Dalmanutha, were now forced to let loose most of their captives,[Pg 97]
and, to the great delight of their comrades, over 1700 of our
countrymen trickled into camp and were sent to Pretoria.

The following officers were kept as prisoners and moved to
Barberton: Lieutenant-Colonels Spragge and Holland, Captain
Robinson, Lieutenants Lord Ennismore, Rutledge, Craig, Dupre,
Lane, Wright, Woodhouse, and Mitchell, all of the Yeomanry;
Lieutenants Mowbray, Black Watch; Capel, Bethune’s Horse;
Bentnat, Eastern Province Horse; Birble, Brabant’s Horse; Boyes,
Border Horse; and Captain Howard, Strathcona’s Horse.

Others belonging to the Yeomanry were also sent to Barberton
as prisoners, the Boers saying that though they were not officers
they must be in the position of officers, as they were able to pay for
any extra food they required: Sergeant-Major Pringle, Sergeant
Robb, Corporal Woodeness, Sergeant Milner Brown, Lance-Corporal
Hodgson, Troopers Walker, Footner, K. Elphinstone,
Bonham, Garrett, Boultbee, Lubbock, Curtis, P. Gold, Young,
Soames, Kinyon, Rickitt, Billhille, Darby, Campbell, L. Elphinstone,
Eyre, Thomas, Clarke, Pomeroy, Hill, Dale, Wells, G. Gold,
Sweats, Evelyn, O’Gorman, Hughes, Holden.

The 1st of September was a red-letter day in the annals of
the campaign, for Lord Roberts took the occasion to issue from
the army headquarters, Belfast, proclamations formally announcing
the fact that “The Transvaal will henceforth form part of her
Majesty’s dominions.” The campaign was now developing into
little more than guerilla warfare, for Mr. Kruger’s days in the
Transvaal were numbered, while he had practically abdicated the
functions of government. Certainly he had gone through the form
of appointing Mr. Schalk Burger to take his place, but the action
was a mere figure of speech, this Dutchman being nicknamed
“flighting general” by his own burghers, and his nomination was of
no account in regard to the proceedings which were expressly made
public to bring home to the minds of the burghers the real facts of the
situation and the futility of flying longer in the face of the inevitable.
This definite move afforded considerable satisfaction even among
the supposed “irreconcilables,” as the inconvenience of serving two
masters had rendered their situation almost unbearable.

The 2nd of September found Lord Dundonald’s mounted troops
at Nooitgedacht, and General French’s Cavalry at Waterval Onder,
while General Buller was engaged in making a reconnaissance of
the Boer position towards Lydenburg, the dispersed parties having
so disposed themselves that the complete scouring of the surrounding
country became necessary. (It must be noted that the Natal Field
Force at this time was divided, part of it being occupied in guarding
the line of communications. General Wolfe Murray protected the
district between Ladysmith and Newcastle; General Hildyard that[Pg 98]
between Newcastle and Platrand; and General Clery that between
Platrand and Heidelburg.) In the passes of the impenetrable
mountains overlooking the town of Lydenburg, Botha, with 2000
burghers, was found to have fortified himself. He took care on the
advent of the South African Light Horse to give the dashing
Colonists a reception with three Long Toms and a high-velocity
gun, which put to the test their admirable courage and that of the
Composite Regiment which occupied the right of the basin into
which murderous missiles poured the whole day without stint. The
Boers in their precipitous cliffs and their forbidding ravines were
too strong to be turned, and fortunately there was no necessity now
for the frontal attacks which had been forced upon General Buller
in the early days of the war when he had been left to fling himself
against living mountains with the thinnest of “thin red (or khaki)
lines.” He forthwith called for reinforcements, and quickly got
them. General Ian Hamilton (who had arrived with a strong force
at Belfast) pushed along the direct Belfast-Dulstroom road to his
succour. Assisted by Brocklehurst’s brigade of cavalry, amidst
passes, and gorges, and acclivities, he endeavoured to work round
by Helvetia to turn the Boer right flank, while Buller thundered on
their left; the Leicester Regiment and King’s Royal Rifles dragging
a battery of artillery up the steeps with herculean vigour. The foe
were ensconced in bush, and scrub, and tangle, and were protected
by the creeks into which they had burrowed, but nevertheless, by
Ian Hamilton’s turning movement, the way was cleared for Buller’s
force, and on the 6th, Lydenburg was occupied.

An officer of the Royal Scots gave some interesting details of the
stupendous undertaking. “On the 2nd September, General Smith-Dorrien,
to whose brigade we had been posted, inspected us with a
similar result. That night we got orders to move next day. At 6.30
A.M. on the 3rd we moved off. We were with the advanced guard,
besides C.I.V., Mounted Infantry, two pom-poms, and a battery
Royal Artillery. At about noon, as we neared Zwarteskopjes, our
advanced mounted men came in contact with the enemy. We
pushed on, and presently—and I must confess to every one’s surprise—‘bang,’
and a Long Tom 6-inch shell burst 200 yards from us—a
bad shot. The Boers were in position on our right front. We
at once opened out the companies, and moved to the left behind the
brow of a spur, changing front so as to face the Boers. The men
did this splendidly, and though we were shelled throughout the
movement, at a range of about 5000 yards, never a man was hit.
Two were knocked down by a shell that burst between them, and
another had his helmet plugged, and a shell fell in the middle of the
band, but no skin was broken. Our guns came into action; four of
our companies attacked in front, two to the left to seize some kopjes.[Pg 99]
The Boers decamped, and we bivouacked on the position won.
Next morning we were off again, found our friends, the Long Toms,
which greeted us, but our “cow” guns (5-inch naval guns) were up,
and the Long Toms made off, we after them. We were in the
mountains now. The scenery was magnificent, quite Himalayan;
but it was awful work for men and animals. We passed through
Dullstroom that day, where we found the remains of a large Boer
laager. On the 5th we reached Palmietfontein, rifle firing daily.

“That evening at five o’clock, our commanding officer got a
message that the General wanted to see him. Going off, he found
Generals Ian Hamilton and Smith-Dorrien in close consultation,
and looking at a mountain at the exit of a gorge, through which the
column had to pass next day. (After passing through it, General
Hamilton told me that it was just like the Khyber, but shorter.)
Our commandant was told that the General wanted this mountain
seized that night. It is called Zwaggershoch, and was about five
miles from our bivouac. Its possession would give us complete
control of that side of the pass, and we should be behind the right
of the Boer position, where they were holding Buller at Klipspruit.
He had selected us to undertake this task. With 500 men and
half-a-dozen mounted men we started off at 8 P.M. by moonlight.
The men were splendid—not a sound. We sounded up three farms
on the way, lest they concealed Boers, and we had no idea of being
cut off. We reached the foot of the hill all right. The companies
then advanced at attack formation, so as to envelop the top of the
hill. Then commenced a most awful climb. What Boers there
were there I cannot tell you. It was very misty. We ‘put up’
seven, and they bolted. It is impossible to say what they had
behind them. We reached the summit at 12.30 A.M., drenched
through and through with perspiration. We set to and made
sangars, and then lay down in biting cold at about 2 A.M., one
blanket apiece. In spite of the cold I should have slept had it not
been for a man alongside me who snored vigorously all night. We
were lying on flat rocks—none too soft. Our commanding officer
was up before dawn looking out for our friends, the Boers, opposing
Buller, for we were now in rear of their right, and if they had waited
till daylight we should have gone for them; but our friends the
seven must have warned them, for they had retired during the
night.

“Thus he relieved Sir Redvers from what he told Ian Hamilton
was the most difficult position he had found himself in since the
beginning of the campaign. Besides that, we effectually stopped
all sniping from our side of the pass, whilst the column marched
through, though there was plenty on the other side, out of range
from us. We climbed precipitous hilltops all that day as we pushed[Pg 100]
men on and on, so as to get command up to the very exit. I was
a bit done when I got into bivouac. I hadn’t really had a meal
since 6 P.M. the day before, and had been hard at work night and
day. We were off again on the 6th—Buller level with us now on
the other road—and we marched into Lydenburg.”

The Boers, turned back from their grand emplacements and
cleverly constructed trenches, were forced to follow their plan of
splitting into two forces, one taking the direction of Kruger’s Post,
the other going to Pilgrim’s Rest, where the President was said to
have gone. But still, though retiring, other marauding bands had
found leisure to prowl in the region of the railway, for on the 5th,
both morn and eve were made hideous by their murderous ingenuity.

At dawn they attempted to cut the line between Pan and
Wonderfontein, but the Canadian Mounted Rifles briskly blazed
on the raiders, and though there were but 125 of the British against
a horde of Dutchmen with two guns and a pom-pom, they contrived
to rout the enemy without needing the assistance of Colonel
Mahon, who was promptly sent to their succour. “A very creditable
performance,” telegraphed the Chief, who was well pleased with the
smartness of Major Sanders and his men. The Major and Lieutenant
Moodie were slightly wounded, and several men were injured and
taken prisoners. At night a train between Belfast and Pretoria was
derailed owing to the engine being blown up with dynamite, but
nevertheless the “Tommies” who were in the train gathered themselves
together with amazing rapidity, and drove off the Boers
who were hovering like expectant vultures round what they hoped
would be a scene of blood.

To return to Lydenburg. The town lies within the hollow of a
gigantic mountainous range, which frowns some 1500 feet above it.
Its aspect, foliaged and green, with running brooks rippling in every
direction, delighted the hearts of the wayworn troops. Grateful
to every eye, after the monotonous drab of sun-dried veldt, was
the sight of its blue gum-trees and verdurous gardens; refreshing
to the long parched and heated senses, the babble of many pellucid
streams! Here at last, they thought, was a haven of rest, and here
on the 7th, when Generals Buller and Ian Hamilton had joined
hands, the Union Jack was hoisted with resonant cheers. But the
joy was of short duration. Scarcely had the strains of “God Save
the Queen” died away than the Boers from the region of Spitz Kop,
a formidable hill some twenty-five miles east, to which Botha with
all his big guns had retreated, celebrated the occasion by firing into
the town, and that despite the fact that it contained some thirty
burghers’ families!

Now it became evident that the troops must face the prodigious
task of clearing the Boer positions—natural fortresses they may be[Pg 101]
called—above Lydenburg and beyond it—a task for which the
heroes of Pieter’s and Laing’s Nek were well fitted. It was a
curious fact that to the share of these warriors fell the opening and
the closing scenes of an arduous campaign, a dramatic fact like the
working of a stage play, which takes care that all the prominent
characters of the piece shall say their last say before the falling of
the curtain.

The plan of attack was simple to read of but complex to execute.
North of the road, towards the lair of the enemy, Lyttelton with
Kitchener’s Brigade was to march; south of it, Hamilton with
Smith-Dorrien’s Brigade and three batteries of artillery were to
clear the course.

Early the next morning, the 8th, the troops, as described, proceeded
to attack the foe—who at once began to thunder at them from
the serpentine sweeps round Spitz Kop—while part of the forces
crossed the Mauchberg ridge, so as to give battle to another hostile
section which was perched on a commanding ridge some 1500
feet high. The whole series of eminences, cleft asunder in different
parts, forming deep and treacherous ravines, was forbidding in the extreme
to infantry; yet undaunted, the Devons, Royal Irish, and Royal
Scots, marching steadily on and on like a vast machine, swept towards
both sides of the position, and gradually converged as they neared
the hill. The 20th and 53rd Batteries raked the summit, and finally,
with a mighty roar, the combined infantry carried the crest and sent
the enemy scuttling to a narrow causeway, which, sheltering them in
a dense fog, allowed them unpunished to disappear with their guns.

The experiences of the officer before quoted were exhilarating.
He said:—

“At 3 A.M. on the 8th September an order reached us, which
proved to be Sir Redvers’ order for attack that morning. We
breakfasted at 5.30 A.M., marched off at 6.30 A.M., forded a stream,
and got under cover at the rendezvous, about four to five miles from
the Boer position on Paarde Kraal. It looked quite impregnable—indeed,
some of the ground between it and us seemed impassable.
At 7.30 A.M. the plan of attack was explained to us. We were to
be on the right (not left as the newspapers had it) in the first line,
the Gordons behind us in the second line, the Royal Irish (half
battalion) on our left, and on the left of them again the Devons,
supported by more of Buller’s force. The battalion, nearly 1200
strong, covered an enormous front. The men extended to ten paces.
We had twelve lines at first, but absorbed four very quickly, to prolong
the right. After a severe trudge we reached the ravine. The
near side was some 1500 yards from the Boer trenches, the far side
about 1200 yards. It had precipitous sides of rock, with two small
rocky gullies, down which the men climbed. Its depth was from[Pg 102]
300 to 400 feet. At the bottom was a fast running stream, nowhere
less than 2 feet in depth, with very slippery, round black rocks at
the bottom.

“The men went splendidly, and when Buller saw us appear at
the top of the other side and open fire he turned to General Smith-Dorrien
and said, ‘By Jove! those Royal Scots are devils to go. I
never saw a regiment cross such ground so quickly.’ He also
mentioned the regiment specially in orders that night. The scene
inside the ravine was grand. The precipitous rocky sides, the
tropical vegetation, the running stream, with thickly wooded banks,
together with the incessant roar of guns, bursting shells, the ‘knock-knock’
of the pom-poms, and rattle of rifles, combined to make it a
weird and splendid experience. We fired by volleys and independently
from the edge of the ravine for some time, whilst our artillery
supported us nobly. It is impossible to overrate the value of their
support. They placed their shells exactly in the right places. Between
us and the trenches was a plateau of 1200 yards, without any
cover at all, flat, with thin and short grass. At first we advanced
by rushes, then in general lines. A grand feeling of elation carried
us on regardless of anything. We got to within 200 yards and
fixed bayonets. The men, full of excitement, yelled and charged,
the guns ceasing exactly at the right moment—one more shell would
have hit us—but it was of no use, the Boers had bolted before we
reached the trenches, delayed as we were by boulders and steepness.
What, however, was worst of all was the fog that now fell on the
mountains. It spoilt our bag. We were right round the Boer left,
but could see nothing, and except for a few caught at 200 yards by
case from our guns, they slipped away.”

Of the British forces thirteen were killed, twenty-five wounded,
sixteen of whom belonged to the Volunteer Company of the Gordons.
This company, while marching in column about seven miles from the
enemy, were caught by a shrapnel shell, which burst among them,
but it was noted that they “continued to march steadily forward as
if nothing had happened.” It was not the first time these fine
fellows had shown surprising grit in awkward situations.

General French, who for the time had been halting at Carolina, now
continued his march towards Barberton, fighting as he went. With
him were Dickson’s and Gordon’s brigades of cavalry, the Suffolks and
Shropshires, and the 4.7 naval guns under Captain Bearcroft. From
one fortified position to another they pushed back the enemy, the
Suffolks distinguishing themselves by their gallantry in clearing a
formidable peak and escaping with few casualties owing to the
skilfulness of their leading.

General Hutton’s Mounted Infantry marched east from Belfast[Pg 103]
viâ Rietvlei to Tafel Kop, and beyond it to Kaapsche Hoop, one of
the most beautiful and formidable heights of the Drakensberg, which
places command the railway valley to north and west. The view
thence towards Barberton is unique. From a precipitous height you
gaze over rank on rank of irregular spurs seamed with gullies of
sand, russet, and orange, the cradles of alluvial gold. The object of
the operation was to clear these districts of Boers and secure General
French’s left flank, and also enable the Eleventh Division to advance
and take possession of the railway route to Godwan Station. General
Hutton’s force consisted of Colonel Alderson’s command, Brabant’s
Horse, with one 15-pounder and one Hotchkiss gun, 300 men of 1st
Mounted Infantry Corps, and two pom-poms. Colonel Henry’s
command consisted of 400 men of the 4th Mounted Infantry Corps,
with two pom-poms; Brigade troops consisting of J Battery Royal
Horse Artillery, New South Wales Field Hospital, under Major
Fiaschi, and New South Wales Bearer Company, under Major Eames;
the Mounted Pioneers, under Lieutenant Earle, Royal Engineers,
Corps of Scouts, and Telegraph Section. In a thick fog impenetrable
as an iced blanket—the same that gathered around the gorges of
the Spitz Kop and helped the flying Boers—the troops moved to
the place of rendezvous on the Dalmanutha Road, passing the field
of the battle of the previous week and the graves of many gallant
fellows of the Rifle Brigade who had fallen on that occasion. The
troops proceeded according to orders, marching over rough, mountainous,
and capricious country, that caused so much inconvenience
with the transport that as many as seven waggons upset within the
space of a mile. Some waggons, though double-spanned, could not
surmount several of the steep ascents; one was at an angle of 45
degrees, and had finally to be sent back some fifteen miles to
Machadodorp. In fact, the road was gradually becoming so steep
and unnegotiable that nearly all vehicles had to be sent back,
nevertheless the top of Kaapsche Kop was reached and found to be
vacated by Boers, who had taken to their heels two hours before.
This gigantic march enabled the Eleventh Division to march on,
and finally, to the Guards Brigade was handed over the possession
of the mountain.

General Buller proceeded to occupy the region of the Mauchberg
range on the 9th, in spite of some resistance from the enemy,
who were at last dislodged by the King’s Royal Rifles. Among
the wounded were Second Lieutenant G. Lumley Johnstone, 53rd
Battery Royal Field Artillery. Regardless of infamous roads
and execrable weather, the troops moved on and on towards the
frowning heights of Spitz Kop. But it was a tremendous ten miles
along narrow passes among mountains, some of them 6000 feet high,
skirting deep gorges, and in the very teeth of the enemy, who ever[Pg 104]
and anon launched at them fire from pom-poms and musketry, yet
failed to arrest the steady onward progress of men and guns. On the
10th they were at Kipgat, midway between Mauchberg and Spitz Kop,
the Boers, a demoralised rabble, hurrying before them in such panic
that they were unable to prevent the capture of tons of food stores,
the gun tackle of a heavy gun, and some ammunition. The rest,
rather than it should fall into British hands, they flung over the crags—thirteen
waggons being sacrificed to the necessity for speedy
flight.

Map to Illustrate the Movements for the Capture of Lydenburg.

Meanwhile the rest of the army was creeping east—creeping
indeed, owing to the difficult nature of the country, that grew more
and more obstructive and confounding with every mile. The
Guards Brigade, with General Pole-Carew, moved from Nooitgedacht
to Godwan Station on the 12th, protected on the right flank
by General Hutton, who was in signalling communication with
General French. This officer having crossed the Komati River on
the 10th, was making his way against considerable opposition
towards the hills west of Barberton, while General Ian Hamilton,[Pg 105]
having completed his task for the relief of General Buller, was
leaving Helvetia for Waterval Onder.

THE NIGHT CHARGE OF THE 19th HUSSARS NEAR LYDENBURG ON NOV. 7th, 1900

Drawing by R. Caton Woodville

“On the 11th,” said one who was with him, “we marched to
Helvetia, and here we halted for one day—our first and only halt
from the time we left Belfast until we reached Komati Poort viâ
Lydenburg. On the 13th we descended 3000 feet sheer to
Watervalonder—scenery quite lovely. We were then in the fever
valley of the Elandspruit. Our daily marches now involved
throwing forward piquets to hold the tops of the mountains on
either side till the tail of the column had passed through. Advanced
and flank guards were useless. On the 14th we reached
Nooitgedacht, and on the 15th we passed Godwan, and bivouacked
on the lowest slope of Kaapsche Hoop—a charming site for a
camp, amongst a natural rockery. On the 16th we had a heavy
day. We had to get to the summit of the Kaapsche Hoop, the
loftiest mountain in the neighbourhood. It is also called the
Devil’s Kantoor, and is covered with alluvial gold diggings. The
whole of the infantry moved off at 3.30 A.M. in darkness. That
meant rising at 1.45, and breakfast at 2.30, but early breakfast in
the dark was a common occurrence, and not a pleasant one when
the fare consisted of trek ox and dry biscuit, as it generally did.
It was difficult to get down; yet we had to force ourselves to it,
for there was no chance of food until we reached our next bivouac.
All the infantry left in the dark, and was split up along the road
at the worst bits, where drag-ropes were distributed, and the men
took off their equipment, and each waggon was helped up the
steeps. It would have been impossible to have got them up without.
The men worked splendidly, the Royal Scots putting their backs
into it in a way which elicited the admiration of the General.”

At this juncture Mr. Kruger, preceded by a great portion of his
worldly goods, made off to Lorenço Marques. To the great relief
of every one this misguided old man now disappeared from the
political platform, and left his country to be lifted, by those he had
been pleased to call his enemies, from the ruin he had brought
about. As that notable socialist, Mr. Bernard Shaw, expressed it,
he had had a chance “to play the statesman,” but had “played the
Mahdi,”—now, like Mahdism, Krugerism was extinct.

It was therefore Lord Roberts’s turn to take up the tangled skein
of law and order in the Transvaal. To this end he ordered the
following proclamation to be printed and widely circulated in English
and Dutch:—

“Machadodorp, September 13.

“The late President Kruger, with Reitz and the archives of the South
African Republic, crossed the Portuguese frontier, and arrived at Lorenço
Marques, with a view of sailing for Europe at an early date.[Pg 106]

“Mr. Kruger has formally resigned the position he held as President of the
South African Republic, thus severing his official connection with the Transvaal.

“Mr. Kruger’s action shows how hopeless, in his opinion, is the war which
has now been carried on for nearly a year, and his desertion of the Boer cause
should make it clear to his fellow-burghers that it is useless for them to continue
the struggle any longer.

“It is probably unknown to the inhabitants of the Transvaal and Orange
River Colony that nearly fifteen thousand of their fellow-subjects are now
prisoners of war, not one of whom will be released until those now in arms
against us surrender unconditionally.

“The burghers must by this time be cognisant of the fact that no intervention
on their behalf can come from any of the Great Powers, and, further, that
the British Empire is determined to complete the work which has already cost
so many valuable lives, and to carry to its conclusion the war declared against
her by the late Governments of the Transvaal and Orange Free State—a war to
which there can be but one ending.

“If any further doubts remain in the minds of the burghers as to her
Britannic Majesty’s intentions, they should be dispelled by the permanent
manner in which the country is gradually being occupied by her Majesty’s
forces, and by the issue of the proclamations signed by me on the 24th
May and 1st September 1900, annexing the Orange Free State and the
South African Republic respectively in the name of her Majesty.

“I take this opportunity of pointing out that, except in the small area occupied
by the Boer army under the personal command of Commandant-General
Botha, the war is degenerating, and has degenerated into operations carried on in
an irregular and irresponsible manner, and in very many cases by insignificant
bodies of men.

“I should be failing in my duty to her Majesty’s Government and to her
Majesty’s army in South Africa if I neglected to use every means in my power
to bring such irregular warfare to an early conclusion.

“The means which I am compelled to adopt are those which the customs of
war prescribe as being applicable to such cases: they are ruinous to the
country, entail endless suffering on the burghers and their families; and the
longer this guerilla warfare continues the more vigorously must they be
enforced.”

From the Hague Messrs. Fischer, Wessels, and Wolmarans, the
Boer delegates, now issued an appeal addressed to all nations in
favour of intervention. After expressing the conviction that the
only object of the annexation of the Transvaal which had been
proclaimed by Great Britain was to enable the British to continue
the war in an inhuman manner, and contrary to the principles of
International Law, the appeal said—

“The British generals wish to treat as rebels the people of the South
African Republics, previously recognised as belligerents, and mercilessly to
pursue to the bitter end the exhausted combatants. With the help of God this
object will not be attained. The citizens of the Republics will continue the
struggle to their last breath. Have they not shown themselves worthy of their
liberty and their fatherland? Will the world allow them to be crushed? The
Powers have not intervened up to the present, perhaps abstaining from so[Pg 107]
doing as long as the war was regular; but will the restoration of peace never
be pronounced, not even now when Great Britain tramples under foot by her
theoretical annexations all the principles of International Law, and thus endeavours
to acquire freedom of action in order to exercise her powers, and if
possible annihilate completely the existence of a free people? In the name of
justice and humanity we appeal to all peoples who sympathise with us to come
to our aid even in this critical and supreme moment, and to save our country.
We commit ourselves to God, trusting that our prayers will be heard.”

Barberton.

It may here be mentioned that Messrs. Fischer, Wessels, and
Wolmarans had been sent in May as delegates to Holland and to
America in the effort to enlist the sympathy of outsiders in the
great quarrel. They went first to The Hague, where they hoped to
secure the application of the resolution adopted by the Acts of the
Peace Conference to the Transvaal question. Messrs. Fischer,
Wessels, and Wolmarans were cordially welcomed, and expressed
their satisfaction with the kindly reception accorded them by a people
united to them by bonds of race and religion. (As an aside, it may be
stated that not very long since, the Hollanders were wont to dub the
Boers “White Hottentots,” and disdain any connection with them.
This on the word of a Dutchman.) The delegates then proceeded
to America with the avowed object of securing the aid of the
Americans. “We are going,” said Mr. Fischer, “to a sister Republic,
the people of which a century ago fought the same fight as our people
are now fighting. We are going to a great free people, pre-eminent
for their sentiments of liberty and justice. We go to rectify erroneous
opinions and to make known the truth. Our enemies have said[Pg 108]
much that they cannot prove, and have thus misled many. We are
certain that, once the truth is known, no civilised nation will refuse
us support. The chief charge against us is that we desired or
sought war. We shall try to dispel this error. We only desire
peace and tranquil possession of what is as dear to us as it is to the
American people—namely, our independence, without impairing the
rights of other peoples. We do not appeal to one or the other
political party, but to the American people, hoping that all parties
will unite on a common platform, since the greatness of a great
nation like the United States will be still more enhanced if it aid a
small nation in a struggle for its rights and freedom. Our aim is to
put an end to this cruel bloodshed on both sides, but especially the
destruction of our own fellow-citizens, who are indispensable to our
continued existence as a people. We hope this appeal to the
Government and people of America will not be in vain, and that our
manner of conducting the war will have shown that we have the
right to demand the independent existence of our people as an
independent State in South Africa.” Their errand was fruitless, as
the conclusion of the Secretary of State’s reply serves to show.

“The President sympathises heartily with the sincere desire of
all the people of the United States that the war which is now
afflicting South Africa may, for the sake of both parties engaged,
come to a speedy close, but having done his full duty in preserving a
strictly neutral position between them, and in seizing the first opportunity
that presented itself for tendering his good offices in the
interest of peace, he feels that in the present circumstances no course
is open to him except to persist in his policy of impartial neutrality.
To deviate from this would be contrary to all our traditions, and all
our national interests, and would lead to consequences which neither
the people nor the President of the United States could regard with
favour.” The same attitude was taken up by other Powers who
were appealed to by the still optimistic Dutchmen.

General Buller by this time had located himself on Spitz Kop,
which stands some 7100 feet high and commands an enormous
expanse of country. Here fifty-eight burghers surrendered, and
he captured trophies—300,000 bales of supplies, and 300 boxes of
ammunition. But the Boers were luckier elsewhere. An engineer
convoy under Lieutenant Meyrick, Royal Engineers, with an escort
of nineteen Hussars, in act of repairing telegraph line, was attacked
near where the road crosses the Crocodile River. The young officer
was wounded and the escort was missing.

Generals Pole-Carew and Hamilton meanwhile pushed on, the
Boers retreating as they saw themselves in danger. General French
surprised the enemy and occupied Barberton on the 13th. He
came on sufficient supplies to last three weeks, and made a splendid[Pg 109]
haul of prisoners, ammunition, and waggons, together with forty-five
locomotives, which latter came in handy at a moment when
engines were much needed. On the 17th fifty more locomotives
were captured by French’s Cavalry at Avoca Station, while six more
on the arrival of the 18th Brigade (Stephenson’s) were found at Nel
Spruit. At the same time Generals Pole-Carew and Hamilton were
moving towards Kaap Muiden Station.

A word about General Hildyard. While the fighting had been
going on round Lydenburg the General had been keeping his eye
on Natal, chasing bands of Boers, fighting, dispersing them, and
establishing fortified posts and restoring telegraphic communication
at different points. On the 9th at Groen Vlei Lieutenant Watson,
1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and Captain Cracroft, 1st Royal Irish
Fusiliers, were wounded. On the 10th the Boers were driven from
Langwacht Pass, and the hills scoured in the direction of Utrecht.
This quaint little Dutch town, containing a very big church, and
some very small houses rendered picturesque by gardens full of
blossoming fruit-trees, was soon reoccupied. The Royal Dragoons
and 13th Hussars arrived there in advance of General Hildyard,
and spread consternation among the Boers. Colonel Blagrove deposed
the Llandrost, seized his effects, and let loose some British
prisoners who had been in Boer clutches.

The Dutchmen a few days later revenged themselves by committing
an act of treachery. Some women in a farm floating a
white flag invited a party of the 13th Hussars, who were patrolling
some ten miles to the west, to enter and partake of refreshment.
This they did. As they were riding from the house, they were fired
on from within. These barbarities were far from infrequent, and the
only method of dealing with the assassins was to destroy the homesteads
which had harboured them. Vryheid was occupied on the
19th, the Boer position being turned by the Mounted Infantry, the
Dutchmen in the neighbourhood causing a comparatively small
amount of trouble. Most of the Boers had foreseen the trend of the
British operations, and commenced to trek on the taking of Utrecht.
Here we must leave the Natal defence force and return to the
Chief.

The 19th found Lord Roberts at Nel Spruit, all events having
progressed, notwithstanding the mountainous nature of the country,
with the rapidity and success which usually characterised the Field-Marshal’s
movements. Upwards of 3000 Boers had retreated towards
Komati Poort, and of these many had dispersed into broken
gangs, while more than 700 had crossed the Portuguese border.
Thus the field operations were coming to an end, for, as the Commander-in-Chief
put it, there were now left of the Boer army “only
marauding bands.[Pg 110]”

General Pole-Carew, with Henry’s Mounted Infantry and the
Guards Brigade, hewing the roads as they went through a jungle
forked with ravines, arrived dust-choked at Kaap Muiden, capturing
at the station 114 truck-loads of goods more or less valuable. One
march behind the Guards, came General Ian Hamilton’s column.

On the 22nd the “marauding bands” made themselves obnoxious
in three places on the line. At dawn, a commando under
Erasmus, with a 15-pounder and two pom-poms, attacked Elands
River Station. (It must be noted that Elands River runs both east
and west of Pretoria.) B Company, under Captain Cass, with about
120 Infantry and Cavalry details, succeeded admirably in defending
their position, and after three hours’ smart fighting drove off the
enemy with eleven men disabled. The British party had only one
casualty.

This was a curious military rendering of the popular rhyme,
“Taffy was a Welshman,” which runs:—

Taffy, the filcher, in this case was the Briton; the filchee was
the Boer. When Erasmus and his commando knocked with big
guns at the door of Elands River Station, “Not at home,” was so
definitely expressed that the visitor was forced to turn on his
haunches. Unfortunately, during his absence Taffy had called at
his house and helped himself, not merely to a marrow bone, but to a
good deal more. In other words, General Paget, the “slim” hero
of the exploit, with the West Riding Regiment, two companies of
the Wiltshires, two companies of the Munster Fusiliers, the City
Imperial Volunteer Battery and two 5-in. guns, had made a forced
night march of twenty-six miles, seized Erasmus’s vacant camp, and
with it 2500 cattle, 6000 sheep, 50 horses, 12 prisoners, 20 rifles,
and some ammunition! Erasmus will be cautious when he goes
a-visiting in future.

At the same hour, a smaller commando attempted mischief at
Bronker’s Spruit, and was dispersed by Colonel Donald, with five
companies of Royal Fusiliers, while at noon some other “snipers”
pelted a train, which was conveying Generals Wood and Marshall
from the front, between Brug Spruit and Balmoral. The enemy’s
sole success, after surprising activity, was the cutting of the line
between Elands River and Skie Poort.

On the 24th, General Pole-Carew, after one of the hardest and
most fatiguing marches on record over nineteen miles of waterless
jungle, occupied Komati Poort. Here he found the bridge, though
prepared for destruction, still intact. Fourteen Long Toms and
an enormous number of other guns, including two of the lost 12-pounders[Pg 111]
belonging to Q Battery Royal Horse Artillery, were
found by the Guards, while General Ian Hamilton discovered
more trophies in the Crocodile River near Hector Spruit. Rifles,
small arm ammunition, boxes of Long Tom and other shells innumerable,
formed the prizes of a memorable march, which was
another feather in the cap of the Guards, whose endurance and
cheerfulness under toil and privation was little less than heroic.

General Buller, who was clearing the country north of Lydenburg,
continuing his operations, moved from Spitz Kop. The
gallant Devons, under Captain Jacson, drove the enemy from
the Burghers Pass, and on the 26th the General took up a
position on the Machlac River. On the following day he reached
Pilgrim’s Rest without casualties. The enemy were ensconced
on the top of Pilgrim’s Hill, and from here, marching by night
on the 28th, Colonel Byng decided to turn them. This was
brilliantly accomplished by the, now veteran, South African Light
Horse, who caused the enemy to vacate his lair with much precipitation.
Two prisoners, forty oxen, and 4000 sheep were
the prize of this dashing exploit. More work of the hardest fell to
the lot of the troops on the 29th, the long steep road to the top of
Pilgrim’s Hill making terrible demands on man and beast. But
nevertheless the men worked “like niggers,” dragging the waggons
up the obstinate country, eventually reaching Kruger’s Post on the
1st of October. To this date the enemy had lain “doggo,” as the
phrase is, but no sooner was General Buller in possession of Kruger’s
Post, than they brought long-range guns to bear on him. The
position from which the Dutchmen fired was situated at about 9000
yards from the British bivouac, and towards this point Major
Henderson (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) with some men of
the 6th Lancers, 18th and 19th Hussars, at once proceeded. Owing
to the nature of the country to be traversed, they reached their
destination about four in the morning, and then to their disappointment
found that they were not in time to prevent the Boers from
disappearing with their guns. These, meanwhile, had done a good
deal of damage. Second Lieutenant H. W. Cuming, 1st Devon
Regiment, was killed, and one man of the South African Light
Horse. Among the wounded were Captain N. Luxmore, 1st
Devonshire Regiment, dangerously; seven men of South African
Light Horse; and one man of Strathcona’s Horse.

On the 2nd General Buller’s force returned to Lydenburg,
bringing with it 600 head of cattle, 4000 sheep, and 150 waggon-loads
of supplies. Sir Redvers had also the satisfaction of reporting
the surrender of 109 burghers as the result of his very successful
expedition.

In honour of the birthday of the King of Portugal, the British[Pg 112]
troops, under General Pole-Carew, paraded at Komati Poort, and
presented arms to the Portuguese flag. With this martial tableau
vivant closed the main operations. The Eleventh Division subsequently
returned to Pretoria, Lord Kitchener remaining at Komati
Poort with Lieutenant Legget, Assistant Director of Railways.
Repairing of lines and bridges was continued with unabated zeal,
and the line to Johannesburg was speedily cleared. Unfortunately,
in the work of destroying Boer ammunition, a Gordon Highlander
was killed, Lieutenant Doris and eighteen men were wounded, also
a Royal Engineer.

ORANGE RIVER COLONY

On 4th August Harrismith surrendered to General MacDonald,
and simultaneously a squadron of the 5th Lancers from Besters and
one of the 13th Hussars from Ladysmith arrived there, after having
captured Van Reenen’s Pass and secured it for General MacDonald’s
advance. The people of the town, mostly Scottish, were jubilant at
the return of the “good old times.” They had expected to be relieved
soon after the relief of Ladysmith, and had possessed their
souls in patience through many weary weeks, made doubly weary
by the fact that, the railway being broken and the wires cut,
no news from friends was forthcoming, and supplies were not to
be had.

THE DÉBÂCLE: ON THE TRACK OF A FLEEING COMMANDO

Drawing by H. C. Seppings Wright

A most interesting account of the arrival of the British troops
was given by a smart Yeoman—a hoary veteran of twenty-two!—who
had been present at engagements innumerable, and still cheerily
endured all the varieties of hardship—cold, famine, and fatigue
included—which had fallen to the share of the Yeomanry since the
early days of June. This Yeoman, Sergeant H. T. Mackenzie
(Yorks Imperial Yeomanry), was actually the first of the troops to
enter the town, and thus he described his experiences: “We arrived
in sight of the town at 9 A.M., and I was sent on with the advanced
guard of twenty-five men under Major Coptam, and we had to
make arrangements for the formal entry of the General. We posted
sentries on the principal buildings, such as the Bank, Post-Office, &c.
We had an awfully good time; the inhabitants crowded round us
and insisted on shaking hands, and also brought us tea, cake, and
bread and butter, which was much more to the point. I was treated
to three lunches and half-a-dozen teas. There are three fine hotels,
and I had excellent lunches!” The young trooper’s relish of these
treats may be imagined when we remember that all the gallant
fellows had been roughing it since the 1st of June, spending every
day under fire, and living on three-quarter rations most of the time.
Mr. Mackenzie went on to say: “By about ten o’clock the people[Pg 113]
had all put on their best clothes, and had raised several flags. Soon
after, the procession entered, headed, of course, by the Highland
Brigade. The General stopped at the Court-house and hoisted the
Union Jack, while the band played ‘God Save the Queen,’ and we
presented arms and tried to look imposing. This is rather difficult
when you have not washed for a week and your uniform is in rags.
However, the inhabitants seemed satisfied. The General then took
up his stand under the flag, and we all marched by. We went
through the principal street of the town, and then marched into
camp, about three miles the other side of the town. I was left
behind with the guard, and had a very good time…. The ladies
brought us out afternoon tea on the verandah of the Bank, where we
had a guard stationed.” The hoisting of the flag did not take place
without a somewhat exciting scene, which was described in the letter
before quoted. “The Llandrost, or Chief Magistrate, refused to take
off his hat while ‘God Save the Queen’ was being played, so one of
the doctors in Harrismith gently knocked it off. The Llandrost’s
son then hit the doctor in the mouth, whereupon the doctor, being a
Scotsman, promptly stretched him out. We then interfered, and
MacDonald made them shake hands all round.”

Harrismith.

(Photo by Mr. Kemp.)

To insure the safety of General MacDonald’s advance, a
simultaneous move, as we know, had been taken from the Ladysmith
direction. The 13th Hussars received sudden orders to
start minus baggage or tents and meet the 5th Lancers at the foot
of the Drakensberg and secure Van Reenen’s Pass. They reached[Pg 114]
their destination in the drear dead of midnight. Shivering in
every limb, and rolled only in the fur rugs from their saddles, the
small band awaited the daylight; then a few men being left to
guard the Pass they pressed on hot-foot to Harrismith, which
was reached at 5 P.M., just twenty-four hours after leaving
Ladysmith—a distance of fifty-four miles. Thanksgiving services
were held on the 5th at both church and town-hall in honour of
the arrival of the British troops, and the general joy in spite of
the cold (Harrismith, about 5000 feet above the sea level, was
in a state of mid-winter) was inspiriting to the least patriotic
heart.

In other places the surrendering of Boers continued, as many
as 130 having come into Bethlehem during the 8th and 9th of
August. On the 15th, General Hunter in his northward march
encountered the enemy south of Heilbron, where the Boers with
six guns were strongly posted at Spitz Kop. (This must not be
confounded with the kop of the same name captured by General
Buller.) After some ferocious fighting the position was turned, but
not before three men of the Highland Light Infantry were killed,
and thirty-three were wounded. The wounded officers were:
Lieutenant-Colonel Kelham, Highland Light Infantry; Second
Lieutenant L. H. Gibson, Highland Light Infantry (since dead).

On the 24th, Colonel Ridley with 250 mounted men and
twenty-five infantry of the Imperial Yeomanry, while reconnoitring
found himself confronted by a huge force of the enemy. He took
up a position in a farm, and there defied 1000 Boers with two guns.
The situation was critical, but General Bruce Hamilton’s Brigade
was despatched to the rescue, and arrived and dispersed the raiders.
Colonel White, R.A., had also been despatched by General Kelly-Kenny,
and had flung his small column into the fray, losing five
men missing, one killed, while Lieutenant Jones (Yeomanry) was
slightly wounded. The Boers proceeded to attack Winburg on
the 26th, and General Bruce Hamilton had the satisfaction of
beating them off minus their presiding genius, Olivier (who, it will
be remembered, had refused to surrender with Prinsloo), and his
three sons, all of whom were captured. Commandants Haasbrook,
Roux, and Fourie, were the only prominent Boers now flitting about
the Orange Colony, and one of these caused the wire between
Winburg and Ladybrand to be cut, and made signs of attacking
the latter place. This was on the 29th.

For some time, as we know, Ladybrand had been a centre of
attraction for the enemy. It is situated in the heart of their grain
country, and now, they, being what is vulgarly known as out at
elbows, naturally made plans to capture the place. It is some
seventy-two miles due east of Bloemfontein, near to Thabanchu,[Pg 115]
and within a cart drive of Maseru, and in the shadow of the
purple mountains of Basutoland.

On Sunday the 2nd of September, Commandant Fourie, with
some 3000 Boers, nine guns, and a pom-pom, invited Major White,
Royal Marine Light Infantry, and his gallant band of 150 men to
surrender. A refusal caused the hostile artillery to open fire,
while the enemy approached on both flanks, surrounding the garrison.
The Boers on one side had made for Lilleyhoek, those on the other
for Vandermuelen’s Farm, adjoining the town, which they viciously
bombarded. The British force, consisting of one company of the
Worcester Regiment, with Lieutenant Moss and Second Lieutenant
Dorman, and forty-three rank and file of the Wiltshire Yeomanry
with Lieutenants Awdry and Henderson, was entrenched on the
mountain, and in the caves below it opposite the town, but within
rifle range of it. They had a good supply of food, plenty of water,
and had fortified several houses in the town, and therefore had a
firm conviction that they could and would hold out till reinforcements
should arrive from Thabanchu.

On the following day the Boers, their numbers swelled by
others on parole, drew closer, and during the whole day a duelling
with small arms was maintained. Meanwhile the foe placed a
big gun at a point in the church square, and from thence attacked
the garrison. They also fired from windows, walls, and every
available shelter; but fortunately both Dutch and English inhabitants
had sought refuge in Maseru. The garrison meanwhile held
on doggedly, and repulsed the Boers in two attempts to charge.

These, it was imagined, “put their backs into it,” because,
disgusted at the loss of their Commandant, Olivier, they proposed
to secure supplies—clothing, groceries, and stock—before
returning to their farms to recuperate. Any way, they worked
with a will, determining to make hay while the sun shone, for
report said that Bruce Hamilton with a relief column was marching
in ten-league boots to the rescue. (The infantry covered
eighty miles in four days and a half!)

Early the next morning the foe plied guns and small arms, and
the noble little garrison, puny in size but large in spirit, replied
with intense vigour and activity. Finally the big gun of the
opposition stopped, whether from lack of ammunition or other causes,
none knew. The fighting continued, however, and was viewed with
interest, yet not without anxiety, by Sir Godfrey Lagden and the
Basuto Chief, Lerothodi, from a point of vantage on an opposite
mountain. Efforts were made to obtain news by heliograph, but
these were unsuccessful, and the tug-of-war dragged on. But
soon there were evidences that the Boers lay in fear of the
arrival of the relief column, and were becoming concerned whence[Pg 116]
would come the attack. This concern increased, and by nightfall
of the 4th, after looting stores and appropriating horses in the
town, the Boers retreated in the direction of Clocolan with the
loss of twenty-four killed and thirty-five wounded. The British
casualties were few. Lieutenant Dorman, Worcester Regiment,
was slightly wounded, but the injuries of Sergeant-Major Clifford,
Wiltshire Yeomanry, were severe. All the officers behaved
heroically, and the gallantry of Lieutenant Moss was especially
remarkable.

The routed Boers soon betook themselves to the railway
line in the region of Brandfort. As it was evident some mischief
was brewing, General Kelly-Kenny communicated with General
MacDonald, who brought the Highland Brigade from Winburg,
whither he had gone to co-operate with General Hunter’s scheme
for enclosing the raiders. On the 13th the gallant Scot, assisted
by Lovat’s dashing Scouts, caught the enemy, drove them across
the Vet River, and pursued them north of the Winburg-Smaaldeel
Railway, the scattered rabble fleeing before the braw men
of the north in such haste and panic that their track was marked
with the trail of their effects. A magnificent “bag” was the
Highland Brigade’s reward: 7 prisoners, 31 waggons, 270 trek-oxen,
6 cases of dynamite, gun and rifle ammunition, groceries,
blankets, clothing, besides useful odds and ends of all kinds.
The British casualties were nil.

On the 14th and 15th two notable lieutenants, in different
parts of the Orange Colony, decided to maintain the high
traditions of the British Army. The first, Lieutenant Power,
8th Company Derbyshire Yeomanry, and his patrol, was attacked
some six miles out of Bethlehem. Field-Cornet Froeman, in
command of the Boers, sent a letter calling on the young officer
to surrender, and threatening, if he refused, to attack him in a
quarter of an hour, adding that he would guarantee no quarter,
no lives would be spared. The note was promptly returned by
the bearer with two words scrawled on the back, “No surrender.”
Fortunately in the nick of time reinforcements appeared, and
Froeman vanished. In the second case, at Bulfontein in the
west, the garrison, consisting of sixteen Police and Yeomanry
under Lieutenant Slater, Imperial Yeomanry, was attacked by a
hundred Boers. Undaunted by the superior number of the foe,
the doughty sixteen held out until the following day, when relief
arrived. The warlike proceedings at this date were degenerating
into acts of brigandage, raids, and marauding excursions, and
these continued through October and on.[Pg 117]

THE WESTERN TRANSVAAL

The district round Krugersdorp was greatly disaffected, and
contests between British and Boers occurred almost daily. On the
29th of August a smart tussle took place near Modderfontein between
a column under Colonel Bradley (North Staffordshire Regiment)
and a band of desperadoes, who were driven off with some
loss. Three men of the North Staffordshire Regiment were killed,
and among the wounded were Lieutenant Wyatt and five men.
Meanwhile the Colonial Division—a portion of it—with the 3rd
Cavalry Brigade, was marching and fighting from Zeerust viâ
Krugersdorp to Kroonstad, losing in all sixty of their number.
General Little, commanding the Brigade, was wounded, and was
succeeded by Colonel Dalgety. Nearer Pretoria, at a place called
Rooikop, Colonel Plumer had a brush with the enemy, resulting in
the discomfiture of the latter, who dispersed, minus 100 rifles,
40,000 rounds of ammunition, 350 head of cattle, some waggon-loads
of supplies, and seven of their number, who were taken
prisoners. Captain Brooke, R.A.M.C., was wounded, as was Lieutenant
Wylly and three Tasmanians.

The history of captures and surrenders, of marauding excursions
and surprises, of sniping and derailing of trains, of Boer treachery
and Boer shiftiness continued. The exciting episodes it would be
impossible to chronicle in detail, but a fair idea of the strain on the
already hard-worn troops may be gauged by looking at a table of
guerilla incidents which followed at each other’s heels in the course
of the first week in September. On the 1st the rails were torn up
near the Klip River; a supply train was overturned and captured,
and the engine wrecked by dynamite. On the following day the
line below Kroonstad was wrecked and a train containing stores
captured, while another portion of the line—at America Siding—was
cut. South of Heidelberg the line was cut on the 3rd, and injuries
to the Heidelberg rails occasioned the upset of a train. On the 4th
the line was cut near Honing Spruit, on the 5th near Krugersdorp,
on the 6th near Balmoral, when an engine was blown up and five
trucks were derailed. To finish the seven days’ work the enemy on
the 7th blew up the rail near Roodeval.

At this time strong columns under Generals Clements and Hart
had set to work to scour the country between Krugersdorp and
Johannesburg, and clear it of bands of marauders. The former
skirmished near Kekepoort and elsewhere with Delarey, the latter
operated south-west of Krugersdorp. Small parties of Boers were
being driven hither and thither, and were usually hurried off with
such rapidity that they left supplies and waggons behind them.
General Knox, sweeping north-west of Kroonstad, had the satisfaction[Pg 118]
of capturing two of De Wet’s despatch riders, bearing interesting
letters for that officer, and thus returning a suitable quid pro quo
for the attack on the British mails made by the Dutchman in June.
Lord Methuen’s force, which had been halting at Mafeking, completed
its re-equipment and started for Lichtenburg. Some little
opposition was met with en route. On the 11th the Boers, who had
assembled near the Malopo, were dispersed. Thirty prisoners were
captured, twenty-two waggons, and forty thousand rounds of
ammunition. In the fray Captain Bryce (Australian Bushmen) was
severely wounded. On the 12th there was more fighting, near
Ottoshoof. Captain S. G. Hubbe (South Australian Bushmen) was
killed; Lieutenant White (6th Imperial Bushmen) was severely
wounded and taken prisoner.

While these engagements were taking place, General Clements
gave battle to Delarey’s band and drove them from two positions,
with the loss of two men killed and fourteen wounded. Later, on
the 16th, he caught the raiders again near Hexpoort and again
fought them, losing a gallant young fellow, Lieutenant Stanley of
the Imperial Yeomanry, and one or two men wounded. Elsewhere
the clearing process continued, and tussles were part of the daily
programme. General Paget was operating around the north-west of
Pretoria, at Warmbaths and Pienaar’s River; and General Barton,
outside the Krugersdorp line, protected the west flank of Johannesburg.
General Hart was actively employed in the neighbourhood of
Potchefstroom, which place he occupied on the 11th, in the smartest
manner possible. He was getting tired of cannonadings and fusilladings,
futile and fatiguing, which resulted only in the dispersion of
the enemy, who had a knack of reappearing on the warpath directly
his back was turned. There had been many days of hopeful advance;
“Little Bobs,” the naval gun, had searched kopjes innumerable;
Marshall’s Horse and the Imperials and others had boldly
assaulted them, but at the end of it all, they had arrived only
to find—a vacuum! This was depressing and wearisome, so the
General gave rein to his penchant for night attacks, and reaped the
reward of what looked like temerity.

The force, leaving Welverdiend Station on the 8th, made forced
marches of thirty-six and thirty-eight miles in fifteen hours for the
infantry, and forty-four for cavalry, and surprised the Boers so completely
that the town was captured, and also some eighty prisoners,
with comparatively little fighting. Unfortunately young Maddocks,
a most promising and popular officer of the 2nd Somersetshire Light
Infantry, lost his life.

Incessant attacks on the railway lines, too numerous to be recorded,
continued, of course throwing an enormous strain on the
staff of the military railways, who had verily to sleep with one eye[Pg 119]
open, unknowing when and where the Boer would perpetrate fresh
outrages. On the 12th, the guerillas destroyed a bridge on the
Krugersdorp line, and elsewhere they made futile but annoying
efforts to dislocate traffic. Lord Methuen at this time was moving
steadily on across the Western Transvaal, occasionally varying his
route by animated chases after Boer convoys. In one of these he
was splendidly successful, and his booty included a 15-pounder
lost at Colenso, 26 waggons, 8000 cattle, 4000 sheep, and about
20,000 rounds of small arm ammunition. Thus enriched he moved
on the following day, the 20th, to Rietpan, forty-five miles east of
Vryburg station. Here he chased more Boers, and increased his
“bag” by 634 cattle, 3000 sheep, 29 horses, and 24 donkeys.

On the 26th Rustenburg was reoccupied by General Broadwood
without loss. With Generals Clements and Ridley he spent his
time in clearing the surrounding country, capturing waggons, rifles,
and small arm ammunition, and occasionally—Boers. These, as a
rule, dispersed like a flock of rooks at the sound of British pursuit,
but twenty-four Dutchmen were captured and sent into Rustenburg.
There, on the 4th of October, arrived Lord Methuen, who had
fought two engagements on the 28th of September—one commanded
by himself, the other by General Douglas—routing Lemmers’s force
and taking fourteen of them prisoners. Seven were killed. Two
of the British were also lost, and among the wounded were Captain
Lord Loch (Grenadier Guards), Lieutenant Parker (R.A.M.C.), and
Lieutenant Noel Money (Imperial Yeomanry).

General Hart meanwhile continued to spend his energies in
identical activities in the districts of Potchefstroom and Krugersdorp,
to which latter place he returned on the last day of September.
He came not empty-handed. His “bag,” like those of Generals
Paget and Methuen, was big almost to inconvenience. His prizes
ran as follows: 2720 head of cattle, 3281 sheep and goats, and
large quantities of mealies, potatoes, oats, bran, and hay, 90 horses,
28 ponies, 11 mules, and 67 carts and waggons. Of prisoners there
were ninety-six. This was the result of a thirty-three days’ march,
during which the column had covered 310 miles and skirmished or
fought on twenty-nine occasions. Of the British “braves” only three
were killed. Twenty-four were wounded and three missing.

General Barton had his share of fighting, and on the 11th of
October, in a somewhat serious contest with the enemy, the Welsh
Fusiliers, led by Sir Robert Colleton, greatly distinguished themselves.
Unhappily they lost Second Lieutenant Williams-Ellis, a gallant boy
of only twenty years of age. Captain Gabbett was dangerously
wounded, and Second Lieutenant Kyrke sustained a severe injury
to the head. Captain Trenchard (Royal Scots Fusiliers) was also
seriously wounded, as were eleven men of the Welsh Fusiliers.[Pg 120]

EXIT MR. KRUGER

With Lord Roberts’s return to Pretoria on the 21st of September
commenced the general winding-up of affairs. At Schweizer
Reneke the Boers had been giving trouble, and General Settle,
with a force of 7000 men, went to the relief of the garrison and
drove off the Boers, who lost heavily.

On the 25th General Baden-Powell returned from the Cape to
Pretoria to take up his post as head of the Transvaal Police, and was
promptly beset by upwards of 17,000 applications for appointments
in his new force. Seventeen officers and 319 men of the Royal
Canadian Regiment left on their return to Canada, while the City
Imperial Volunteers prepared to follow in order to reach home before
the 5th of November. These were in high feather: declared that
they had acquired marvellous digestions from the practice of eating
oxen that must have taken part in the Great Trek, and vaunted their
ability to kill, clean, and cook anything from a chicken to a pig,
and make chupatties fit for the Lord Mayor! They were still more
exuberant when, early in October, they were reviewed, prior to
departure, by the Chief, who commented on the fine performances
of the gallant body of men, the conduct of the infantry under the
Earl of Albemarle (who was at Cape Town invalided), and the
excellent work done by Colonel Mackinnon. He spoke of their
cheerful and ungrudging services, of their long marches, the privations
and hardships, the fever and fighting they had endured, and
he also alluded to the coolness and utility of the mounted branch
under Colonel Cholmondeley. He wished them success on the
resumption of their ordinary professions, and God-speed upon their
journey.

The Volunteers had great cause to be proud of themselves, for
on all occasions they had acquitted themselves admirably. On their
entry into Pretoria their “soldierly bearing” had been remarked on
by the Chief, in the subsequent battle of Diamond Hill, where
young Alt lost his life, they had “greatly distinguished” themselves,
and besides fighting twenty-six engagements had done some record
marching, which has been noted elsewhere.

On the 31st of July some of the C.I.V. came into action at
Frederickstad, losing one man killed and four wounded. Later
they engaged in the chase after De Wet, throwing themselves with
zeal into the pursuit, particularly on one occasion when they marched
thirty miles in seventeen hours. Altogether, from first to last, the
Volunteers had nobly thrown off the civic character for the honour
of fighting for their country, had “put their backs into it,” and
showed that clerk or shopkeeper, gardener or groom, “A man’s a
man for a’ that!”

(Pioneer).

(Private).

THE ROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS.

Photo by Gregory & Co., London.

[Pg 121]

The C.I.V. Battery under the command of Major M’Micking,
H.A.C. (late R.H.A.) and Captain Budworth, R.A., Adjutant of
the H.A.C., acting as Captain of the Battery, had been invaluable.
They moved to Bloemfontein in June, proceeded along the Kroonstad
line to suppress the activities of De Wet, and from thence came
into action at Lindley. The Battery did excellent work, and finally
silenced the Boer guns with their rapid and accurate fire. At
Bethlehem they comported themselves gloriously, averted disaster,
saving the guns and the situation. Afterwards, on the 22nd of
September, again under Paget, they assisted in the surprise of
Erasmus and capture of his camp.

Their official record of casualties to the end of August was:
killed in action, 6; wounded, 65; died of wounds received in action,
3; died of disease, 44; taken prisoners and missing, 12; invalided
home, 121.[13]

On the 27th, at Pienaar’s River Station, forty miles north of
Pretoria, the force under the command of Colonel Lionel Chapman
was attacked by the enemy, who had crept up within 200 yards
either side, through the thick scrub surrounding the district. Three
hours’ fierce fighting ensued, in which a Bushman was killed and
three Munster Fusiliers were taken prisoners. These succeeded in
escaping, owing to the number of the Boer wounded. Many of the
foe, in addition to those slain in the fray, were killed owing to the
explosion of a mine of whose existence they were unaware, and so
great was the number of the wounded that ambulances had to be
twice sent out to collect the Boer sufferers.

In the region of Groot Vlei Railway the marauders were surprised
by a Mounted Infantry Patrol of the South Wales Borderers,
under Lieutenants Dickinson and Gross, who themselves were surprised,
on taking six prisoners, to find that their prizes were not
Boers but Frenchmen!

September closed with the anniversary of the birthday of the
beloved Chief, who was born at Cawnpore in 1832. Moltke did his
great work at the age of seventy; Wellington accomplished his at
the age of forty-six; and Roberts put the finishing touch to his
crown of laurels at sixty-eight. Most appropriately, the day was
chosen to announce the appointment of the gallant Field-Marshal
to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the British army—an appointment
which was looked upon both in England and abroad as an
auspicious omen for the thorough reform of the British military
system, and as a guarantee for the future defence of the Empire.
The whole British world united in wishes—one may almost say
prayers—for the long life and welfare of its grandest soldier.

[Pg 122]

On the 2nd of October, Colonel Rochfort, with the Dublin
Fusiliers Mounted Infantry, attacked a Boer laager between
Johannesburg and Pretoria, the Fusiliers charging into the midst
of the enemy with the bayonet, and capturing some nine marauders
who had been actively engaged in the district for some time. The
Boers, too, had their innings, for on the evening of the same day
they succeeded in derailing, near Pan Station, a train containing
three companies of the 2nd Coldstream Guards. On the unfortunate
men they poured a vigorous fire with their Mausers,
with the result that five were killed. Thirteen were injured, among
them Second Lieutenant C. Heywood. Five men of other regiments
were wounded.

An effort was made to surprise some of the Boer bandits at
Bulfontein on the 4th, but Captain Henty (16th Middlesex Volunteers)
found the party far stronger than his own small force, and was
compelled to retire, which he did after three hours’ fighting. Six of
his men were wounded, including Lieutenant Slater (57th Company
Imperial Yeomanry). Lieutenant Thomas (Ceylon Mounted
Infantry) was reported missing but believed to be dead.

During the early days of October the Boers made more despairing
efforts to be aggressive. The engine of a train conveying
some men of the Naval Brigade and Coldstream Guardsmen was
derailed on night of 5th near Balmoral by the explosion of a
dynamite cartridge, but fortunately no casualties occurred.

Signs were not wanting that the Boers were sickening of the
war, for General Kelly-Kenny reported that an armed Boer was
brought in a prisoner by two of his former countrymen who were
wise enough to see the futility of kicking against the pricks. Commandant
Dirksen, who had been commanding a Boer band opposed
to General Paget, also surrendered. He had been kept in ignorance
of the real state of the political outlook, and was allowed to proceed
to Komati Poort to learn the truth regarding Kruger’s flight for himself.
He returned satisfied, and gave up his arms. Thus very
slowly affairs were moving on, the Boer belligerents thinning, the
work of pacification growing gradually less troublesome.

General Buller took his departure for home on the 6th, leaving
General Lyttelton in command at Lydenburg. The farewell meeting
between the Chief and the troops who for nearly a year had
followed him confidently through blood and fire, disaster and success,
was remarkably touching, a demonstration which—leaving the
formula of red-tape and blue-books—may almost be termed affectionate.
Certainly, whatever may have been the opinion of the
arm-chair critics at home, that of the “do or die” soldiers of Natal
was expressed in a lusty and spontaneous burst of enthusiasm, which
left no room for doubt.[Pg 123]

On the 7th Captain Bearcroft and the Naval Brigade left, having
first received the thanks of the Chief for the able assistance they had
afforded during the war. The Natal Volunteers had also left for their
homes, with many compliments on the excellent services they had
rendered. On the 8th Lord Roberts visited the camp of the Australians
and Rhodesians at Daspoort, and thanked the men for their devotion
and bravery, especially for their fine defence of Elands River.

A chapter of accidents took place on the 9th. During the night
a train conveying men and animals was upset near Kaap Muiden;
three men were killed and fifteen injured—Lieutenant Hawkes sustaining
a fracture of the leg—while over forty animals were killed or
maimed. In the morning, to inquire into the mischief, Captain
Paget, with Lieutenants Stubbs and Sewell and eighteen men of
the Vlakfontein Garrison, went on an engine and truck to the scene of
the disaster. The Boers, of course, were waiting their happy chance,
and promptly assailed the party. The fighting at this time was fast
and furious. On hearing of the attack Captain Stewart (Rifle Brigade)
with forty men hastened to the rescue, and there, fighting, fell. A
private in the Rifle Brigade was also killed, and among the injured
were Captain Paget and Lieutenant J. H. Stubbs. Five men attached
to the Royal Engineers were also wounded. Lieutenant Sewell,
Royal Engineers, and ten men of the Rifle Brigade were captured.

At this period there was a good deal of enteric fever in Pretoria,
and among the invalids, whose condition caused considerable anxiety,
was Major Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein.[14] Not that
his state at the time was in the least critical, but interest hung
around him because he was, first, the grandson of the Sovereign;
second, because he was a gallant officer and a prince; and lastly,
because he was before all things a delightful comrade, as popular as[Pg 124]
he was genial. His death, which did not occur till fighting had
developed into guerilla warfare, was deplored by all who were
acquainted with him; and also by the nation at large, who knew how
to appreciate the devotion to duty of one who, though born in the
purple, preferred to take his share of the country’s work, and fight
shoulder to shoulder with her defenders. His last wish was characteristic
of his noble nature—he desired no royal resting-place, but
elected to be buried “by the side of his comrades.”

On the 19th, in the grey of the dawn, Mr. Kruger slunk from
South Africa on board the Dutch man-of-war Gelderland. With the
utmost secrecy he was smuggled to sea to evade, not his foes the
British, but his dupes the Boers, the luckless refugees who lusted
for revenge on the man who had ruined their country, deceived,
robbed, and deserted themselves. When he departed his moneybags
were full! Theirs—his beloved people’s—were empty! Rich,
he fled to escape the consequence of his own inflated obstinancy;
beggared, they remained to endure the brunt of it! Round the
debased fugitive it was impossible to cast the smallest glamour of
sentiment. The absence of all sense of honour and truth, the sordid
ambition and personal greed of the man, exposed now to the full,
deprived him of the sympathy of those who had formerly watched
his remarkable career with interest and admiration. Hitherto, most
people had been prone to believe that the President of the Transvaal
was, as the patriarchs of old, narrow-minded and obstinate no
doubt, but saved by a simplicity that was picturesque as it was primitive.
The romantic were even wont to look on him as another
Cromwell of the English—a new Hofer of the Tyrolese—a brawny
moral giant, to wonder at and revere. But, gradually, the massive
peasant became transformed into the pinchbeck potentate, a
despot with never an inkling of statesmanship to redeem the
unctious sophistries and hypocritical cant with which he attempted
to blind the world and himself. Now, it was impossible for his
admirers to ignore the clay feet of their idol, and his compatriots,
many of them, were forced to realise that his character, like the bar
gold he paid to his creditors, was little more than a delusive show of
amalgam. His last evasion declared that he had received “six
months’ leave of absence for the benefit of his health.” So let it
remain—a crumbling rung on the long ladder of his duplicity. There
was more truth in the fabrication than he recked of. He had gone
from his native land for six months—and as many more as he cared
to take—and, if his flight were not for the benefit of his personal
health, it was assuredly for the health of the great mass of human
beings whose lives in the Transvaal had hitherto been asphyxiated
by the narrowness of his prejudices and the autocracy of his rule!
So, good-bye to him!

SIMON’S TOWN, CAPE COLONY

Photo by Wilson, Aberdeen

[Pg 125]

CHAPTER VIII

GUERILLA WARFARE

With the ceremony of the formal annexation of the Transvaal,
under title of the Transvaal Colony, which took place at Pretoria
on the 25th of October, a recrudescence of hostility on
the part of the enemy became apparent. A violent attack was
made on Jacobsdaal (near Kimberley), the Boers having succeeded
in secreting themselves in the houses surrounding the British camp, and
this through the treachery of the women whom we were protecting! The attack
was repulsed after some hours of hard fighting by the energy of the garrison
(composed mainly of Cape Town Highlanders), and by the dash of Finlayson
in charge of the Cape Mounted Police who came to the rescue, routed the
Boers, and killed Bosman their Commandant. Fourteen of the garrison were
slain and thirteen wounded, and the sole punishment which could be meted
out to the dastardly inhabitants who had been “accessories” of the assault
was the burning of their houses. In three of these were found large stores of
soft-nosed bullets.

General Paget, who was becoming quite a master in the cunning of the
guerillas, made himself notable for defeating a huge gang of Dutchmen with
a convoy, taking—together with twenty-six prisoners—some 25,000 head
of cattle—“the biggest haul of the campaign.” The Boers had been driven
out of the region of Bethlehem, which was occupied by Colonel Oakes with the
Worcesters, 62nd Middlesex Yeomanry, and two guns of the 79th Battery.
The marauders were further routed from a valuable well some miles off by
Colonel Golightly, Imperial Yeomanry, with Hants and Gloucester companies,
and two companies of Grenadier Guards, and half a battalion of Scots Guards.
During the operations young Lord G. R. Grosvenor (Scots Guards) while
gallantly leading his company, was wounded in the thigh. Meanwhile Lord
Methuen, with General Douglas and Lord Erroll, by a skilfully combined movement,
dislodged and dispersed the enemy from his settling-place near Zeerust,
and possessed himself of more cattle and more prisoners. General Barton,
too, with Scots and Welsh Fusiliers, did smart work near Frederickstad, at
close quarters and at bayonets’ point; but in the brush with De Wet lost
thirteen killed and forty-five wounded. The Boers suffered correspondingly,
and twenty-six of them were captured. Of the Scots Fusiliers Captain Baillie
fell, while Lieutenant Elliott was dangerously wounded. Captain Dick’s injuries
were also severe, and Lieutenant Bruce was slightly wounded. Among the
Welsh Fusiliers’ officers wounded were Captain Delmé Radcliffe and Lieutenants
Best and Nangle.

The plucky little garrison of Phillipolis, which for some days had been
withstanding the assault of the Boers, were relieved on the 24th, by the Imperial
Yeomanry acting in conjunction with two other columns, and two days
later, General Kitchener attacked by night the Boers around Krugerspoort, and
captured their laager. General French, ever active, swept his way from Bethel
to Heidelberg, fighting continuously, and gathering up prisoners and stores;[Pg 126]
while General C. Knox on the 27th harassed De Wet’s force in its retreat
from Barton’s stalwart Fusiliers, and succeeded in depriving the Dutchmen of
two guns and three waggons, while U Battery R.H.A. blew up another
ammunition waggon by a shell. The engagement was another feather in the
cap of De Lisle, whose handling of the troops was excellent. Of the two guns
taken from De Wet one was a Krupp. It was captured by the New South
Wales Mounted Infantry. The other belonged to U Battery, and was
captured by Le Gallais’s mounted troops, assisted, much to the satisfaction
of the officers and men, by U Battery. General Hunter engaged in operations
for the purpose of driving the Boers from the line near Ventersburg,
where they had been intent on mischief for some time, and in the fighting on
the 30th a gallant officer of Artillery, Major Hanwell, commanding the 39th
Battery, received such serious injuries that he succumbed. A company of the
3rd Battalion of the Buffs became hotly engaged, and behaved “with conspicuous
steadiness,” while the Surrey Regiment, charging grandly, sent the Boers
scudding into space.

To those at home who ignore the truth of the German’s dictum that “invading
armies melt away like snow,” it was a matter of wonder what became
of the enormous force of some 200,000 men which was reported to be in South
Africa, and how it happened that, with so many troops engaged, the proportionately
small number of Boers attacking them achieved any success whatever.
A glance at the map of the main railway routes will serve to show the melting-away
process. At every bridge and at every culvert were camps; at every village
and at every town were posted portions of the army. From Cape Town to Komati,
from Durban to Potchefstroom, from De Aar to Mafeking, from Mafeking to Pretoria,
and from Mafeking to Rhodesia the British forces were distributed, and far
from wondering why the regiments thus trickling along the country failed to
annihilate the Boers, those who knew were inclined to marvel that there were
any regiments to spare for giving chase to the marauders in their desultory
schemes of annoyance. The British duty of sticking fast was infinitely more
arduous than the Boer one of slipping away.

On the 28th a Boer commando captured near Kroonstad an outpost of ninety
volunteers, and proceeded to loot a mail train, but later General Paget at Magato
Pass drove the enemy from two positions. Night expeditions to surprise the
Dutchmen were engaged in by Lord Kitchener and General Smith-Dorrien, the
former near Lydenburg attacking two Boer laagers, one under Schalk Burger, and
driving the Dutchmen north, the latter moving towards Witkop and surrounding
the enemy, but failing to do the damage intended owing to inclement weather. A
more awful night than that of the 1st of November the unhappy troops could
scarcely recollect, but as the two small columns, one under General Smith-Dorrien
and the other under Colonel Spens (Shropshire Light Infantry), were
operating in support of each other and some miles apart, neither could turn
back. Only after surrounding and surprising the Boers at daybreak were
they able to retire, and no sooner was the retirement commenced than the
Boers boldly dashed after them, one of their number being slain within fifty
yards of the Gordons. Our losses were Captain Chalmers, Canadian Mounted
Rifles, killed, and Major Saunders, of the same corps, wounded. Captain
Gardyne of the Gordons sustained slight injuries.

The circumstances attending the death of Captain Chalmers were most
pathetic. Major Saunders, in the thick of a blizzard of fire, was riding back
with a sergeant who had lost his horse, and to whose rescue he had bravely
galloped. At this moment the Major’s horse, which was cumbered with the[Pg 127]
two riders, was killed, and the Major himself wounded. To his assistance
rushed Chalmers, who, though begged to save himself, refused, and promptly
fell a sacrifice to his own gallantry.

Such deeds of heroism were occurring daily. Though at home public
interest in the war began to wane, and certain notoriety hunters endeavoured
to hint that the British troops were not as smart as they might be,
the gallant men at the front fought and toiled and suffered nobly. Besides
actual warfare, pillage and the wrecking and burning of trains formed part
of the normal programme, and daily deeds of devotion and courage were
enacted. But these deeds, as a rule, found none to record them, and only
now and then some special instance of heroism was wafted home on the
wires. In one case the Pall Mall Gazette gave publicity to a story that
makes one glory in the name of Briton. About this time a train to the south
of Standerton, on the Natal line, was “stuck up” and fired upon. The
driver and stoker were both wounded, the former being hit eight times and
having both his arms smashed. Nothing daunted, however, he butted the
lever of his engine with his head, and drove it full speed into Standerton,
working the lever the whole way with his head alone!

The Boers, some said, were growing disheartened for want of food and
ammunition, but others found that as the want grew stronger they became
emboldened. Success of any serious kind was impossible, but their capacity
for annoyance was considerable, and Boer marauding bands continued to raid
the neighbourhoods of Cradock, Aliwal North, Ladybrand, causing alarm to the
British farmers and also to those Boer ones who were pacifically inclined. The
hopes of the guerillas were mainly stayed by the inventive fertility of Mr. Steyn,
who stimulated them to the struggle by false accounts of their successes. He
assured them also that 5000 Dutchmen had risen in Cape Colony, and that Mr.
Kruger had gone to Europe to obtain intervention, and, failing it, meant to sell
the Transvaal to the highest bidder. This the sturdy fellows believed, and
continued to fight on, not with the valour of despair, but the persistence of
anticipation.

Meanwhile at home, on the 25th of September, Parliament had been dissolved,
and a general election had taken place, with the result that Lord
Salisbury’s Government triumphantly returned to power. Thus the hopes of
the Boers—that with a Radical Government might come a repetition of the
climb-down policy of ’81—were defeated. To vent his disgust, and as a sequel
to his letter of a year ago,[15] the correspondent signing himself P. S. sent another
highly educational letter to the London journals, a letter which is quoted to
serve, as did the former one, to allay the doubt of any who may have questioned
the original aggressiveness of the Boers, or doubted the justice of the
war sentiment among the British:—

“Sir,—I beg you to give expression to the immense surprise and satisfaction with
which my colleagues on the Continent and myself have learnt the results of the election.
We fully expected that in consequence of British intoxication with the partial
success your Government has achieved in North and South Africa, that the Anti-Boer
Party would have obtained a majority of at least two hundred and twenty votes in the
new Parliament. Now we know that there will be a strong Opposition of about two
hundred and seventy members in the new House, our hopes of the future independence
of South Africa have risen high. We are sorry for the loss of some old friends,[Pg 128]
but we rejoice in having some new and more discreet allies in the House of Commons.
Not only that, but we see also good grounds for hope for vengeance. In China,
India, and Morocco trouble is brewing, and will overtake you before you can reorganise
your little military forces or form a decent army to protect your own land
from the invasion of the trained millions of the Continental Powers. Soon there will
be such a conflagration in Europe that all your energies will be needed to try to
defend your own island, but you will be too late in your preparations, and then our
chance will come.

“You seek to settle matters quickly in Africa by your leniency and conceding the
use of the Dutch language to us. See ‘British Leniency,’ in Morning Post, Saturday
13th inst. But I tell you that your leniency in general and your kindness to our
men, now prisoners in your hands, are regarded by us only as bribes, offered to us to
be faithless to our land and our independence. We will accept your bribes, but we
will not be seduced by them to accept your friendship and to cease from working for
our independence and the downfall of your Empire. But as my Continental colleagues
truly say, your destruction at an early date is assured. The present election
shows that at the first sign of invasion fully one-third of the population of the island
of Great Britain will rise against the Government and welcome the invaders, as their
forefathers would have done in the days of the first Napoleon.

“We have not studied the domestic history of the English people and the present
feelings of the great working class for nothing. We are not so blind as your statesmen.
Moreover, we can pay for the services that we shall receive from our friends.
Thanks to our previous arrangements we shall still be able to obtain in Europe the
sinews of war from our inexhaustible gold mines in the Transvaal, and we know that
European politicians as well as the European press can always be bought at a
moderate price, and that they will faithfully render good service therefor.—Yours, &c.

“P. S.”

In this frank epistle we were given the programme of future guerilla
warfare, of Boer hopes, and Boer ambition. Whether the European politicians
and press would continue to be purchasable at “a moderate price” remained
to be seen, but this honest avowal revealed the secret of Pro-Boerism in its
nakedness, and served to account most appositely for many curious and
unjustifiable assertions which have been made regarding British actions in the
course of the war. While Boer gold existed, Europe and even Great Britain
would find Judases ready to do business.

The Dutchmen, their political prospects in Great Britain blighted, now
hung all their expectations on the chance that in America the Presidential
election of 6th of November would bring about a change in their favour. Mr.
M’Kinley, the President, in a private interview with the Boer delegates on the
2nd of May, had informed them of his intention to persist in a policy of
impartial neutrality between Great Britain and the Boer Republics, and from
that moment they looked to the Opposition—to Mr. Bryan and Democrat
sympathisers—for the intervention that they still eagerly sought. But in
America they met with even less luck than in England. The election resulted
in an overwhelming victory for the Republicans. Mr. M’Kinley secured 292
electoral votes, while Mr. Bryan had to content himself with 155.

BURNING THE FARM OF A TREACHEROUS BURGHER

Drawing by R. Caton Woodville, from a Sketch by Melton Prior, War Artist

In France the Boer cause met with sympathy, and the late President of the
Transvaal on arrival there was fêted. He was the lion of the moment—but
political activity went no further than lionising. In Holland the gentle young
Queen extended hospitality to a distinguished fellow-countryman; in Germany
a straightforward line was taken, the Emperor refused an interview which
might mar the hue of his neutrality; while in Russia the Tzar, though seriously
ill, maintained his determination not to be lured into the imbroglio. But of[Pg 129]
these matters the burghers in the Transvaal were kept in ignorance, and they
doggedly fought on—wearing themselves out and losing and taking life for a
now hopeless cause.

On the 3rd of November Koffyfontein, which had been besieged since the
24th of October, was relieved by Sir Charles Parsons and some of General
Settle’s Mounted troops. The dogged way in which a garrison of but
fifty miners under a volunteer officer, Captain Robertson of the Kimberley
Light Horse, withstood the persistence of the foe, excited the admiration of
friends and enemies. The miners in the débris heaps contrived so cleverly
to render their position impregnable that all the efforts of the enemy were
frustrated. Captain Robertson escaped with his life by a miracle. He, with
four natives, made a midnight raid on a Boer hot-bed—a farmhouse a mile
and a half from the village. He was met by a man with a Mauser, who fortunately
missed him, but in so doing extinguished the light. A hand-to-hand
encounter followed, and in complete darkness some thrilling moments were
passed—the officer firing ineffectual shots, the Boer being assisted by another
of his tribe, who succeeded in disarming Captain Robertson and wounding
him, almost stunning him with the butt of a rifle. This gallant officer, with
some of his wits still about him, regained his pistol, and transferring it from
one hand to the other, shot his assailant dead!

While all this was going forward, Steyn and De Wet became more
actively aggressive, and consequently Colonel Le Gallais’s force was sent
from Honing Spruit, while De Lisle, with the Colonial Division, marched
from Koppies, the first station north of Rhenoster, for the purpose of executing
a wide turning movement, and if possible cutting off the retreat of De
Wet across the Vaal. Le Gallais, after some disappointments and heavy
marching, got at last on the track of the fugitive in the region of Bothaville.
Early on the 6th the chase was continued with considerable animation,
the 5th Mounted Infantry leading, followed by the 8th Corps under
Colonel Ross. Three guns of U Battery, under escort of the 5th, 17th,
and 18th Companies of Imperial Yeomanry, moved with the force, while
one gun of U Battery, with the 7th Mounted Infantry under Major Welsh,
remained to protect the baggage in crossing the drifts. Major Lean, with
some sixty of the 5th Mounted Infantry in advance, came to a rise,
whence suddenly they viewed the enemy’s laager. Quickly they surprised
the Boers with some volleys, and caused a stampede. Hot-foot
flew De Wet and Steyn to their Cape cart, mounted it, and were off. The
rest flung themselves into their stirrups. It was a case of sauve qui peut, for
everything, guns, waggons, and ammunition, were left behind. But soon the
Dutchmen found a harbour—a strong position in the neighbourhood of a farmhouse,
and from the adjacent dams, a stone-walled enclosure, and even a pigsty,
they began to return the fire of the British party. By this time Colonels
Le Gallais and Ross had galloped to the fray, and dismounting, took up
a position in a farmhouse, whence they could survey the proceedings. This
central position was held by some men of the Oxford Light Infantry, while on
their right were some Buffs and Royal Irish Mounted Infantry under gallant
Engelbach, who was slain, and beyond them came Captain Holland and some
Worcester Mounted Infantry, skirted by the Royal Irish under Captain Brush.
To left of the farmhouse, near a Kaffir kraal, were the 8th Mounted Infantry
and some men of the Oxford Light Infantry under Captain Maurice.
Later on, as the Boers were seen to be making an effort to wheel round both
flanks, Major Welsh was ordered to place his baggage in safety and to push[Pg 130]
forwards to the rescue with every available man. Meanwhile the situation was
growing more and more serious, as the Boers had got the range of the farmhouse
to a nicety, and fired through doors and windows, so that within it now
dropped Le Gallais, and Ross, and young Lieutenant Percy-Smith, and several
men. Lieutenant Williams fell dead at once, and Captain Colvile had been hit
while leading the Oxford Light Infantry earlier in the day. Nevertheless the
splendid party holding the front clung tenaciously to their position, though one
after another dropped, and groaning and dying littered the ground, already too
thinly defended against the 200 active Mausers of the foe. For four long
hours of the morning the battle pursued its course, Major Taylor, with U Battery,
paying with interest the debts incurred at Koorn Spruit. Gradually—both
flanks becoming stronger with the arrival of Major Welsh and his party—an
adequate defence against the encroachments of the Boers was attempted, and
their attempts at flanking operations repulsed. Then with considerable skill
the troops to right and left were manœuvred by De Lisle, so that, while relieving
the pressure on the front, the Boer laager was practically enclosed on three sides
and finally rendered untenable. The white flag then fluttered within the Dutchman’s
stronghold; but it was not to be trusted now, and the Boers were shouted
to to leave cover and surrender, which, sulkily, they did. During the persistent
fighting Le Gallais, mortally wounded though he was, continued his inquiries
as to the progress of the battle. The noble fellow’s last words serve better
than all else to show the heroic mould of his dauntless mind: “If I die, tell my
mother that I died happy, as we got the guns!”[16] Happily he lived to know
that, dearly bought as they were, we were in possession of seven guns lost by
the 14th Battery at Colenso, a 12-pounder taken from Q Battery at Sanna’s
Post, three Krupp 75 mm., one “pom-pom,” and one 37 mm. quick-firer—not
to speak of stores of gun and small-arm ammunition, black powder, dynamite,
and other camp supplies, and a “bag” of 100 prisoners. In addition to those
already mentioned, Major Welsh, Captains Harris and Mair, and Lieutenant
Peebles were wounded.

[Pg 131]

At the same time tussles innumerable were going forward in various regions.
Lord Methuen, near Ottoshoop, was harassing Snyman with success, and the 3rd
Royal Rifle corps near Heidelberg repulsed a party of raiders without loss.
Phillipolis was occupied by Major MacIntosh (Seaforth Highlanders) with loss
in wounded of several gallant Scotsmen and Surgeon Hartley of Lovat’s Scouts,
and in the neighbourhood of Lydenburg a party of the 19th Hussars and Manchester
Mounted Infantry distinguished themselves mightily, the troopers under
Captain Chetwode charging by moonlight into the midst of the enemy, who
were finally routed by the artillery and mounted infantry. The redoubtable
Plumer also repulsed an attack of 400 men under Delarey, and elsewhere—at
Vrede, Reitz, Harrismith, Pienaar’s River—parties of guerillas, driven desperate
by famine, were beaten off with more or less ease. While the affair at
Bothaville was demonstrating the cool courage and tenacity of our troops,
General Smith-Dorrien’s much-embattled braves were again displaying devoted
gallantry in the country between Belfast and Komati River. The force
consisted of 250 mounted men from the 5th Lancers, Canadian Dragoons, and
Mounted Rifles, two guns of the Canadian Royal Horse Artillery, and four of the
84th Battery. With them were 900 of the Suffolks and Shropshires. The Boers
hung upon the front, flanks, and rear of the troops from Belfast to Komati
River, but here they established themselves in a species of stronghold whence
they thought they could not be dislodged. Nevertheless the Suffolks and
Canadian Rifles, creeping round their flank, showed them their mistake,
and caused them to retire. The next day, reinforced, the Dutchmen returned
and endeavoured again to seize their lost ground, but Colonel Evans, with the
Canadians and two guns of the 84th Battery, had the legs of them, and after
a two-mile race disappointed the nimble ones and established themselves at
the goal.

But all this activity was no child’s play. On the 6th the smart force lost
six killed and twenty wounded, mostly gallant Shropshires, and on the following
day two were killed and twelve wounded of the Royal Canadian Dragoons,
whose splendid energy in keeping the enemy off the infantry and convoys was
highly extolled by the general. The fighting at one time took place at
extremely close quarters, for the Boers, contrary to custom, charged the rearguard
to within seventy yards, and were only repulsed by the magnificent dash
of the Canadian Dragoons, sixteen of whom fell into the hands of the Boers.
These were afterwards released. Three plucky Canadian subalterns were
among the wounded—Lieutenants Elmsley, Turner, and Cockburn. Desultory
fighting went on in various directions, the Boers near Wepener, Standerton,
and elsewhere maintaining persistent activity, which did credit to their tenacity
if not to their common sense.

Notwithstanding the failure of the Cordua plot, the towns of Johannesburg
and Pretoria continued to seethe with disaffection and intrigue. Anarchists
and ruffians of all nations were known to be in league against the authorities,
and a strict watch was kept over their movements, with the result that five
Italians, four Greeks, and a Frenchman were arrested on the 16th of November.
They had prepared a diabolical plot against the life of the Commander-in-Chief—their
intention having been to explode a mine in the church to be attended by him
on the 18th—a plot which was fortunately discovered before any ill consequences
could arise. Minor engagements took place near Frankfort, and Dainsfontein,
fine hauls of stock were made at Klersdorp and Heidelberg, near which regions
were nests of marauders.

A serious disaster occurred at Dewetsdorp on the 23rd of November, when[Pg 132]
the garrison, some 400, consisting of 68th Field Battery, detachments of
Gloucesters, Highland Light Infantry, and Irish Rifles, the whole under Major
Massy, after losing fifteen killed and forty-two wounded, surrendered to the
enemy, who numbered about 2500. The Dutchmen, under De Wet, had invested
the place on the 18th, and poured a heavy fire on the position occupied
by the Highlanders, creeping nightly nearer and nearer, and ceasing neither
day nor night in their attack. The water supply was cut off, and the wretched
men were scorched by sun and torn by raging thirst. By the 22nd their
position was rendered untenable, but through the gallantry of their comrades,
the men were able to retire on their main position. But the occupation of
their trenches rendered the situation hopeless, and ammunitionless and waterless,
surrender was inevitable.[17] A column, 1400, had been sent to the relief but
failed to arrive in time. General C. Knox joined this force and entered the town,
which he found evacuated, seventy-five sick and wounded being left behind. He
promptly pursued the Dutchmen, and caught Steyn and De Wet and their
followers near Vaalbank on the 27th, and handled them somewhat roughly,
scattering them west and north-west, and capturing two waggons and stampeding
300 horses.

Engagements also took place between Plumer and some 500 malcontents
near De Wagen Drift, with the result that the enemy retired in confusion.
At Tiger Kloof on the 23rd, when the Scots Guards routed the foe from a
strong position, the Imperial Yeomanry did excellent work. Unfortunately
Lieutenant Southey, while gallantly leading his men, was shot dead, and Major
Hanbury was hit in three places. Near Springs in the Transvaal, on the
25th, General Bruce Hamilton surprised a Boer laager, and on the 27th, at
Bullfontein, Colonel White achieved a success, and drove the enemy across
the river, mainly through the dash and gallantry of the troops under Colonel
Forbes, and the skilful handling of them by the commanding officer. General
Settle, a day later, occupied Luckhoff, after fighting for five hours and defeating
Herzog’s commando at Kloof.

General Paget, with Colonels Plumer and Hickman, with Queenslanders,
New Zealanders, and Tasmanian Bushmen, York, Warwick, and Montgomery
Yeomanry, some companies of West Riding and Munster Regiments, the 7th
and 38th Batteries, two “pom-poms,” one Colt, one Maxim, and two naval
quick-firing 12-pounders, moved from the region north-east of Bronker’s
Spruit on the 29th with a view to giving battle to the enemy, the plan being
for General Lyttelton to co-operate by sweeping up from Middelburg on the
enemy’s rear. The synchronal arrangements were imperfect, and the projected
attacks did not proceed as intended. The enemy’s lines were longer
than those of the British, and General Paget’s attempt to turn them was a
failure, the enemy, some 2000 of them, being screened by boulders as big as
houses, behind which they were completely safe. To left and right went
Plumer and Hickman respectively, pushing on in a leaden blast from the
hidden foe, while on Hickman’s right the gallant West Ridings, led by their
splendid Colonel—Colonel Lloyd—pressed to the attack.

So close they came that the voices of the Dutchmen were to be heard in[Pg 133]
conversation, but these with Mausers and four guns and friendly boulders
made themselves unassailable. Over seventeen hours of fighting cost the
West Riding their colonel, and the brilliant New Zealanders some thirty
killed and wounded, all the officers save one being hit. The wounded officers
were: Lieutenants Townsend and Oakes, Captain Acworth and Lieutenant
Harman, all of West Riding Regiment; Lieutenant Challis, Royal Army
Medical Corps, severely, being hit in three places while gallantly attending
wounded men under a heavy fire; Captain Crawshaw and Lieutenants
Montgomerie, Somerville, and Tucker, and Surgeon-Captain Godfray, all of
the New Zealand Mounted Rifles. The total loss was eighteen killed and
fifty-eight wounded. At night the guns of General Lyttelton came to work,
and by morning the Boers had disappeared.

THE HARBOUR, BUFFALO RIVER, EAST LONDON

Photo by Wilson, Aberdeen

By this time Lord Kitchener, with the local rank of General, had assumed
command of the troops in South Africa, Lord Roberts having started for
England in complete confidence that his successor would accomplish the
pacification of the country in due time. His work was most complicated, for
besides being impoverished by the scarcity of troops (the Volunteers and
Colonials having many of them left on the expiration of their year of service),
the lack of horses put a perpetual stopper on the flow of military operations.
Clausewitz has said that when cavalry is deficient, “La riche moisson de la
victoire ne se coupe pas plus alors à la faux, mais à la faucille” (The rich
harvest of victory is not cut with scythe but with the sickle.) And never was
the truth of his aphorism more keenly felt than at this moment. The harvest
of splendid victories that had been achieved was being reaped with the sickle,
and the reaping operations were taking months, which, had mounts been available,
would have taken moments!

December opened with animation. General C. Knox, near the Bethulie-Smithfield
Road, on the 2nd harassed the Boers with a convoy and succeeded
in capturing seven prisoners. General Paget’s mounted men skirmished successfully
around Lieufontein, and near Utrecht some of the garrison engaged
200 of the foe for two and a half hours and put them to flight, leaving six
Dutchmen hors de combat.

In the Cape Colony the members of the Bond were preparing for a
Congress, and sundry chameleon complexioned gentlemen indulged in speeches
regarding the question of loyalty and future settlement, which were sufficiently
ambiguous to have served as examples in the art of blowing hot and cold with
the same mouth, but fortunately the eagle eye of Kitchener was upon them and
the result of their verbosity was a careful readjustment of such forces as were
at the Commander-in-Chief’s disposal, to advert any general rising among those
who had previously been pacified.

The Congress eventually took place at Worcester, and the freedom of speech
indulged in at the meeting was said to be responsible for the aggressions of
the Boers which subsequently took place. Mr. Cronwright Schreiner declared
that the British people had grossly failed in their duty toward the people of
Cape Colony, their attitude since the Raid being one of dishonesty and
cowardice. “British statesmen,” he said, “had been the tools of Capitalists.
Their attitude had been to force war on South Africa. Great Britain is now
forcing British soldiers to wage war with an inhumanity and barbarism that
is astonishing the civilised world.” He dilated on the alleged wrong done to
women and children (already disproved to the satisfaction of every one), and
proceeded to harrow his audience by describing details. In conclusion he
stormed, “We Africanders will never acquiesce in Britain taking away the[Pg 134]
independence of the Republics.” In the end it was decided that an African
mission to Great Britain should demand: First, the termination of the war
raging with untold misery and sorrow—such as the burning of houses and
the devastation of the country, the extermination of the white nationality,
and the treatment to which women and children were subjected which would
leave a lasting heritage of bitterness and hatred, while endangering further
relations between civilisation and barbarism in South Africa. Second, the
retention by the Republics of their independence, whereby the peace of South
Africa can be maintained.

Meanwhile, Great Britain was taking her own steps for the maintenance of
lasting peace in South Africa. Parliament reassembled to vote a continuance
of the current of men, horses, weapons, and supplies, without which the
generals who were striving to bring guerilla-raiding to a summary conclusion,
would remain paralysed and resourceless.

The Boers achieved something of a success on the 3rd as they came across
a convoy of 140 waggons three miles long, proceeding in two sections from
Pretoria to Rustenburg, and succeeded in destroying the first section (escorted
by two companies of West Yorks, and two squadrons of the Victoria Mounted
Rifles, with two guns of the 75th Battery). Delarey, hiding in a donga with 700
of his gang, waited till the convoy and men got within effective range, and sent
a shower of bullets into their midst. The troops made a grand defence, set the
guns trail to trail, and blazed back at the approaching hordes who were now
endeavouring to surround them, with the result that the marauders failing to
capture the convoy satisfied themselves by setting fire to the waggons and retiring,
thus leaving the second section (escorted by two companies of the
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) unharmed. Our loss was fifteen killed
and twenty-three wounded, among the latter Lieutenant Baker, R.F.A.

On the 5th De Wet made an audacious attempt upon Cape Colony, which,
in spite of his marvellous acuteness and activity, proved a failure. He crossed
the Caledon and moved towards Odendaal, which was held by the 1st Coldstreams.
(It must here be noted that the Guards after their march to Komati
Poort, and a brief rest in the Transvaal, were moved to their old hunting
grounds on the Orange River, all the drifts of which they assiduously guarded.)
At Commassie Bridge he was completely worsted by our troops and forced to
trek to the north-east, and back over the Caledon, leaving behind him 500
horses, many Cape carts, and a long stream of dying and dead cattle. He was
continually pursued and harassed by General C. Knox, who captured a Krupp
gun and a waggon-load of ammunition, and kept up a running fight in the
direction of Reddersburg; which was said to be one of the most exciting
episodes in the whole war.

On the 8th a Boer gang near Barberton made a violent and indeed valiant
lunge at the troops guarding the place. Though once repulsed by the Mounted
Infantry they again returned to the attack, and succeeded in getting to very
close quarters. The British lost three and had five wounded and thirteen taken
prisoners. These, as too troublesome to feed, were afterwards released.

On 13th of December a grievous affair took place at Nooitgedacht on the
Magaliesberg, where General Clements with his force of 500 mounted men
and 400 Northumberland Fusiliers, while holding the tops of some kopjes was
attacked by 2500 kharki-clad Boers under Delarey. The foe crept up without
being recognised and seized vantage-points on the ridges, first overpowering
the Northumberland Fusiliers (who fought for hours till ammunition was exhausted),
and thereby rendering the position of the camp untenable. Under a[Pg 135]
heavy fire guns and transport were moved, and a second position one mile and
a half to south-east taken, where till afternoon the troops remained. Then they
retired on Rietfontein, sixty of the 12th Brigade of Mounted Infantry keeping
the Boers at bay while the movement was accomplished. The fighting was
very severe, and five officers and nine men were killed; eighteen officers and 555
men, most of them Northumberland Fusiliers, were missing. As the natives
bolted, a considerable amount of transport was lost, though the Army Service
Corps vigorously defended the waggons. A most popular officer, Colonel
Legge, 20th Hussars, was hit by three bullets, but was seen to shoot five
Boers with his revolver before he dropped. The other officers killed were
Captain Macbean, Dublin Fusiliers; Captain Murdoch, Cameron Highlanders;
and Captain Atkins, Wiltshire Regiment.

On the same day Colonel Blomfield (at this time in command of the Lancashire
Brigade) achieved a great success in the neighbourhood of Vryheid.
There, three days previously, the Boers had attacked and had been driven off
with a loss of about 100 killed and wounded, to our six killed, nineteen wounded,
and thirty missing. Unfortunately two gallant officers of the Royal Lancaster
Regiment were killed, Colonel Gawne and Lieutenant Woodgate. Now the
avenging Colonel swooped down on the Dutchmen at Scheepers Nek, and
drove them off in confusion, securing a quantity of arms and stock, and inflicting
heavy punishment. Two Naval Volunteers, whose corps behaved splendidly,
were killed. Lord Methuen at the same time was helping to balance the
Nooitgedacht account by attacking two Boer positions in the region of Ottoshoop,
and taking unto himself fifteen ox waggons and Cape carts, 15,000
rounds of ammunition, 1460 head of cattle, and 2000 sheep. Unfortunately the
roll of prisoners was small; for the art of running away is simpler than the art
of holding on, and the chase ended, as chases usually ended, by the capture of
a handful of prisoners and a prodigious haul of waggons and cattle.

In the Zastron district a party of the 2nd Division of Brabant’s Horse—mostly
raw recruits—got into difficulties on the 13th. They became detached
from the main body, were caught in a defile, and 120 of them were taken prisoners.
The captain in command was wounded in several places, and the
Colonials lost eight killed and eighteen wounded, three of whom since died.
At this time De Wet was retreating north, flying towards the Thabanchu
region from the pursuit of Knox, and struggling to break through the British
cordon. After delivering several ineffectual assaults on the various British
positions, on the 14th, he in person led a gallant attack—charged through the
British lines, and, with the loss of thirty men killed and wounded, twelve prisoners,
some waggons of ammunition, a 15-pounder gun (taken at Dewetsdorp),
a “pom-pom,” and many horses and mules, succeeded once more in making his
escape!

Parties of his dispersed force at different points had crossed the Orange
River and commenced cutting railway lines, threatening communications between
Cape Town and Buluwayo, their object being to possess themselves of
De Aar Junction. But their movements were circumscribed. Burghersdorp,
Stormberg, Rosmead, and Naauwpoort were all strongly held by the British,
while the Orange River, as though vengefully, had risen at the back of the
marauders and pressed them close to the British forces, hemming them round.
Still, some 2000 of them on mischief bent caused considerable alarm and
annoyance, holding up trains, capturing convoys, and calling on small garrisons
to surrender, and fighting, till, on the approach of reinforcements, they deemed
it advisable to decamp to fresh fields of diversion. Lord Kitchener promptly[Pg 136]
arrived at De Aar and adopted measures to quell the invasion and allay the
apprehensions of those who found themselves at the mercy of the bandits.
But the work was not to be accomplished without infinite patience, for, as one
of the gay Colonials remarked, “Sport in these districts is no longer fox-hunting,
but rat-catching!”

A new proclamation, dated 20th December, was issued by the Commander-in-Chief.
It ran thus: “It is hereby notified to all burghers that if, after this
date, they voluntarily surrender, they will be allowed to live with their families
in Government laagers until such time as the guerilla warfare now being
carried on will admit of their returning safely to their homes.

“All stock and property brought in at the time of surrender of such burghers
will be respected and paid for if requisitioned by the military authorities.”

To ensure a more speedy termination of hostilities, active steps were
taken to make up for the loss of the Colonial and other troops which had returned
to their homes. The recruiting of Colonial Police to the number of
10,000 was being carried forward, 800 mounted infantry and two cavalry regiments
from England were under orders to leave as soon as possible, and a
sixth New Zealand Contingent consisting of 200 men (one-half Maoris) was
preparing to sail.

A second band of marauders had now got across by Zandsdrift, the object
of the Boer leaders being to run all over Cape Colony and there gather around
them as many Dutch sympathisers as they could manage to stimulate with a
belief in their ultimate success, and, if possible, to get access to the sea
coast. A Gazette Extraordinary was therefore issued on the 20th proclaiming
martial law in twelve additional districts of Cape Colony, and warning
all persons of the risks incurred by those who had previously assisted
the enemy and had been released. It was subsequently arranged that owing
to the state of affairs the loyal inhabitants should be called upon to form a
Colonial Defence Force in order to resist the invasion, protect communications,
and preserve order in the disturbed districts. The term of service named was
three months. The operations in the Colony were to be conducted by Generals
Little, Jones, and MacDonald.

On the 19th and 20th General Clements, in conjunction with General
French, fought a continuous series of engagements with Delarey’s men, and
eventually drove them from the Magaliesberg region. But these took their
revenge on the 29th by capturing Helvetia, on the Machadodorp-Lydenburg
Railway. This position, a very strong one, was held by a detachment of the
Liverpool Regiment, who were surprised by the enemy at 2.30 A.M., the
Dutchmen having first “rushed” the 4.7 gun. The officer commanding the
post at Swarzkopjes sent out a post, shelled away the enemy, and forced them
to temporarily abandon their prize; but the Boers eventually secured the
trophy by knowingly forming an ægis of British prisoners around it. Major
Cotton was severely wounded, and four other officers; eleven men were killed
and twenty-two wounded, and two hundred taken prisoners. It was a sorry
finale for the year, yet those who could appreciate the complexities of the work
of subjugation now engaging Lord Kitchener, possessed their souls in patience,
and looked to 1901 for the dawn of better things.

London, December 1900.

THE INSPECTION OF COLONIAL SOLDIERS AT WINDSOR CASTLE BY QUEEN VICTORIA, NOV. 16, 1900

Drawing by R. Caton Woodville

[Pg 137]

AFTERWORD

JANUARY 1

Lord Kitchener, on the departure of Lord Roberts from the
scene of his triumphs, had found himself confronted with a tangled
skein of military affairs. The army, through loss by disease and
death in the field, was a phantom of the army that was, and in
consequence of the prodigious work that had been going forward,
a proportionate amount of wastage and disorganisation had set in.
The troops were here, there, and everywhere, just where fate had landed
them after their chases of De Wet and their scurries to protect threatened
posts on the lines of communication. At one point were knots of mounted
men and guns in plenty, while at another there was found a mere handful
of troops to maintain some important strategic position; here, remote and
useless, were gathered batteries of artillery; there, where Boers threatened
to pounce at any moment, a scarcely protected gun or two offered invitation
to the clustering foe. In fact there had been a species of general post,
and, as a natural consequence, brigades loosened from their original positions
were often hovering perilously in mid-country with an uncertainty of purpose
which was far from reassuring. For this reason it was but possible
to act on the defensive till affairs should be righted; though Lord Kitchener’s
giant brain bent itself to the load, and in a comparatively short time—a
little over two months—things began to get once again into working order.
Reinforcements had been demanded from England, and these, together
with the force of newly raised Colonials, brought the number of troops
about to operate in South Africa to over 500,000 men, half of whom consisted
of field artillery, cavalry, and mounted infantry. Arrangements were made
on a revised principle to meet the newer form that warfare had assumed.
Owing to the necessity to dot bunches of troops in every direction, the old
divisional commands were broken up, and brigades, grouped under the central
command of a general of division, were fixed in definite positions, each
working over a special area to a point where they would overlap or get in touch
with other brigades who, working again under their special divisional commander,
operated in like manner within their special radius. Thus the country
was divided, as in a chess-board, into squares, but still more geometrically
subdivided in order that, should necessity require it, the angles forming
squares could point together on emergency and form a solid concentration at
any place, their action being much as that of a kaleidoscope, which at one time
breaks into particles of colour, or at another groups into masses of it, at will.
As may be imagined, with this possibility of diverse movement, the position
of the enemy, astute and slippery as they were, was hardly enviable. For one
turn of the military kaleidoscope might bring them against the hard teeth of
the converging brigades, while another might find them inextricably harassed
by an army in their rear.