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diff --git a/38768-h/38768-h.htm b/38768-h/38768-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..955a24f --- /dev/null +++ b/38768-h/38768-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,11788 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of South Africa and the Transvaal War, vol. 4, by Louis Creswicke. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: small; + text-align: right; + text-indent: 0; + padding: 0; + margin: 0; + font-style:normal; + font-weight:normal; +} /* page numbers */ + +.blockquot { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + +.bbox {border: solid 2px; padding: 0.5em;} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; + text-transform:lowercase; +} + +.caption {font-weight: bold;} + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +/* Footnotes */ +.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: + none; +} + +/* Poetry */ +.poem { + margin-left:50%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align: left; +} + +.poem br {display: none;} + +.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em -8em;} + +.poem span.i0 { + display: block; + margin-left: 0em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.poem span.i2 { + display: block; + margin-left: 2em; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.xsmall {font-size:x-small;} +.small {font-size:small;} +.smaller {font-size:smaller;} +.large {font-size:large;} +.xlarge {font-size:x-large;} +.xxlarge {font-size:xx-large;} + +.gap4 {margin-top:4em;} +.gap2 {margin-top:2em;} + +.pad1 {padding-top:1em;} +.padl3 {padding-left:3em;} +.padr5 {padding-right:0.5em;} + +.ralign {text-align:right;} +.hangind {padding-left:3em;text-indent:-3em;} +.hangindent {padding-left:2em;text-indent:-2em;} +.marg50 {margin-left:50%;} + +.address {padding-right:1em;text-align:right;margin-top:0em;margin-bottom:0em;} + +.w10 {width:10%;} +.w20 {width:20%;} +.w25 {width:25%;} +.w50 {width:50%;} +.w65 {width:65%;} +.w70 {width:70%;} +.w90 {width:90%;} +.w100 {width:100%;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. IV +(of 6), by Louis Creswicke + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. IV (of 6) + From Lord Roberts' Entry into the Free State to the Battle of Karree + +Author: Louis Creswicke + +Release Date: February 4, 2012 [EBook #38768] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA, TRANSVAAL WAR, VOL IV *** + + + + +Produced by Brownfox and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from +images generously made available by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> + +<h1>SOUTH AFRICA AND THE +TRANSVAAL WAR</h1> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 372px;"> +<a name="ill_004" id="ill_004"></a><img src="images/ill_004.png" width="372" height="545" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">THE QUEEN LISTENING TO A DISPATCH FROM THE FRONT.</span><br /> +<span class="small">From the Picture by S. Begg</span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> + +<p class="center gap4"><b><span class="smcap"><span class="xxlarge">South Africa</span><br /> +<span class="xlarge">and the</span><br /> +<span class="xxlarge">Transvaal War</span></span></b></p> + +<p class="center small gap4">BY</p> + +<p class="center xlarge gap2"><b>LOUIS CRESWICKE</b></p> + +<p class="center small">AUTHOR OF “ROXANE,” ETC.</p> + +<p class="center gap4">WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS</p> + +<p class="center gap4 large">IN SIX VOLUMES</p> + +<p class="center">VOL. IV.—FROM LORD ROBERTS’ ENTRY INTO THE FREE +STATE TO THE BATTLE OF KARREE</p> + +<p class="center gap4 large">EDINBURGH: T. C. & E. C. JACK</p> +<p class="center">MANCHESTER: KENNETH MACLENNAN, 75 PICCADILLY</p> +<p class="center">1900</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p> + +<p class="center gap4 small">Printed by <span class="smcap">Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.</span></p> + +<p class="center small">At the Ballantyne Press</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="gap4">CONTENTS——<span class="smcap">Vol. IV.</span></h2> + +<table class="w70" summary=""> +<tr> +<td class="w90"> </td> +<td class="w10 small ralign pad1">PAGE</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_vii">vii</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">CHAPTER I</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Vote of Censure</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Kimberley</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">General French’s Ride, February 12 to 15</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><span class="smcap">Strategy</span> <i>versus</i> <span class="smcap">Tactics</span></td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Herding of Cronje, February 16 to 18</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Battle of Paardeberg, February 18</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Trapped</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Surrender of Cronje</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">CHAPTER II</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Mafeking, December and January</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">CHAPTER III</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">At Poplar Grove</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Fight at Driefontein, March 10</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">At Bloemfontein, March 13</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Mafeking, February</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">CHAPTER V</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">At Chieveley Again</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Ladysmith, February 1 to 26</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Battle of Pieters, February 20 to 27</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Expectation</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Relief of Ladysmith, February 28</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Formal Entry, March 3</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">CHAPTER VI</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Changes in Cape Colony, February and March</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">At Bethulie, March 12</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">CHAPTER VII</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Bloemfontein Under British Rule</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Battle of Karree</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">CHAPTER VIII</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Mafeking in March</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Colonel Plumer’s Operations</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="pad1">LIST OF STAFF</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_213">213</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="pad1">APPENDIX</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS_Vol_IV" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS_Vol_IV"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS——<span class="smcap">Vol. IV.</span></h2> + +<table class="w70" summary=""> +<tr> +<td class="w90 smcap">Map illustrating the Movements for the Relief of +Kimberley and the Capture of Bloemfontein</td> +<td class="w10 ralign"><a href="#ill_012"><i>At Front</i></a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">1. <i>COLOURED PLATES</i></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td> </td> +<td class="small ralign">PAGE</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Queen Listening to a Dispatch from the Front</td> +<td class="ralign"><a href="#ill_004"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Imperial Yeomanry</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_027">12</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Royal Lancasters</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_033">16</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">West Yorkshire and Yorkshire Regiments</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_125">88</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Inniskilling Dragoons</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_145">104</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">South African Light Horse, Brabant’s Horse, and +Duke of Edinburgh’s Volunteer Rifles</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_167">120</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Strathcona’s Horse</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_251">184</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Cape Town Highlanders</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_271">200</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">2. <i>FULL-PAGE PLATES</i></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Dash for Kimberley—The 10th Hussars Crossing +Klip Drift</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_053">32</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Last Stand made by the Boers before Kimberley</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_059">36</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Capture of a Boer Convoy by General French’s Troops</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_065">40</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Battle of Paardeberg</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_085">56</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Cronje’s Stronghold</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_095">64</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Cronje Surrenders to Lord Roberts</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_105">72</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Cronje’s Force on their March South</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_115">80</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Shell from the Naval Brigade Dispersing Boers</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_135">96</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Formal Surrender of Bloemfontein</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_151">108</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Sleepless Mafeking</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_157">112</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Relief of Ladysmith—The Last Rush at Hlangwane Hill</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_177">128</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">In Beleaguered Ladysmith—Watching for Buller from +Observation Hill</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_207">152</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Hindoo Refugees from the Transvaal in Camp at Cape Town</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_229">168</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Conveying Wounded to Wynberg Hospital Camp</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_235">172</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The British Occupation of Bloemfontein—An Evening Concert +in Market Square by the Pipers of the Highland Brigade</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_241">176</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Colonel Plumer’s Gallant Attempt to Relieve Mafeking +from the North</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_281">208</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">3. <i>FULL-PAGE PORTRAITS</i></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">The Marquis of Salisbury, K.G.</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_021">8</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Lieut.-General Thomas Kelly-Kenny, C.B.</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_043">24</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">General Cronje</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_075">48</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Major-General A. Fitzroy Hart, C.B.</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_187">136</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Major-General H. J. T. Hildyard, C.B.</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_197">144</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Brigadier-General the Earl of Dundonald, C.B.</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_213">156</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Lieut.-General Hon. N. G. Lyttelton, C.B.</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_219">160</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Mr. M. T. Steyn, Late President Orange Free State</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_261">192</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="center large pad1" colspan="2">4. <i>MAPS AND ENGRAVINGS IN THE TEXT</i></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Shell Picked up in Kimberley Streets</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_031">15</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">“Long Cecil” made at De Beers Mines</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_039">21</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Placard Erected by Mr. Rhodes</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_047">27</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Typical Underground Dwelling at Kimberley</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_058">36</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">10th Hussars with Nordenfeldt Gun</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_072">46</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Plan of Paardeberg</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_087">57</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Guns Captured at Paardeberg</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_100">68</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Boer Trenches at Paardeberg</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_112">78</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Market Square, Mafeking</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_121">85</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Gun Made in Mafeking</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_123">87</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Directing an Army from a Military Balloon</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_142">102</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Facsimile of “The Mafeking Mail”</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_160">114</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Scene of Fighting at Monte Cristo</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_173">125</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Balloon Map—Battle of Pieters and Relief of Ladysmith</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_185">135</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Signal Apparatus of H.M.S. “Forte”</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_200">146</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">King’s Post, Ladysmith</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_205">151</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Map of Operations on Orange River</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_225">165</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Signal Station at Bloemfontein</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_248">182</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Native Church, Mafeking</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_269">199</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Map showing Advance to Mafeking</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_277">205</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="smcap">Lobatsi Railway Station</td> +<td class="padr5 ralign"><a href="#ill_286">212</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHRONOLOGICAL_TABLE_mdashVol_IV" id="CHRONOLOGICAL_TABLE_mdashVol_IV"></a>CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE——<span class="smcap">Vol. IV.</span></h2> + +<p class="center gap2">FEBRUARY 1900.</p> + +<p class="hangind">12-13.—General French, following up +Hannay’s movement, crossed Riet +River, and next day with a strong +force marched twenty-five miles +into the Free State, seized Klip +Drift on the Modder River, occupied +the hills to the north, and +captured three of the enemy’s +laagers, with supplies.</p> + +<p class="hangind">13-14.—6th (Kelly-Kenny’s) Division on +north bank of the Riet River at +Waterfall Drift.</p> + +<p class="hangind">14.—Lord Roberts advanced to Dekiel’s +Drift.</p> + +<p class="hangind">15.—General French reached and relieved +Kimberley, captured Boer +laager and supplies, and forced the +enemy to withdraw.</p> + +<p class="padl3">The Boers evacuated Majersfontein +and Spyfontein, retreating to +Koodoosrand Drift.</p> + +<p class="hangind">16.—General Kelly-Kenny, in pursuit of +Cronje retiring east with 10,000 +men on Bloemfontein, captured +78 waggons with stores, 2 waggons +with Mauser rifles, and 8 waggons +with shell belonging to Cronje’s +column.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Capture of Cingolo Hill by Sir +Redvers Buller’s force.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Lord Roberts occupied Jacobsdal.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Flight of Cronje’s force and occupation +of Majersfontein by the Guards.</p> + +<p class="hangind">17.—Cronje’s force overtaken and surrounded +at Paardeberg. General +Brabant engaged the enemy near +Dordrecht.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Successful reconnaissance by Colonel +Henderson from Arundel.</p> + +<p class="hangind">18.—Severe fighting at Paardeberg, where +Cronje was being gradually surrounded.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Capture of Monte Cristo. General +Lyttelton’s Division, by a brilliant +converging movement, drove the +Boers across the river.</p> + +<p class="hangind">19.—Capture of Hlangwane by the Fusilier +Brigade. The Boers evacuated +the hill, and left a large camp +behind them.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Bombardment of Cronje’s position +began. Boer reinforcements driven +back.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Cronje asked for armistice, but +Lord Kitchener demanded his surrender; +Cronje refused, and was +then bombarded heavily.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Reoccupation of Dordrecht. General +Brabant entered the town in the +morning, the Boers taking to flight.</p> + +<p class="hangind">20.—General Hart occupied Colenso.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Lord Roberts defeated Boer reinforcements +at Paardeberg.</p> + +<p class="hangind">21.—5th Division crossed the Tugela at +Colenso.</p> + +<p class="hangind">23.—Advance on Ladysmith continued. +The Boers’ position at Grobler’s +Kloof attacked.</p> + +<p class="padl3">The cordon round Cronje began to +close in.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Captain Hon. R. H. L. J. de +Montmorency, V.C. (21st Hussars), +killed while doing magnificent work +with his Scouts near Stormberg.</p> + +<p class="hangind">26.—Finding the passage of the river near +Colenso commanded by strong entrenchments, +Sir Redvers Buller +sent his guns and baggage back to +the south side of the Tugela, and +found a new crossing.</p> + +<p class="hangind">26-27.—Colesberg and Rensberg, having +been evacuated by the Boers, were +occupied by General Clements, +while Jamestown was occupied by +General Brabant.</p> + +<p class="hangind">27 (on anniversary of Majuba, 1881).—Cronje, +with 44 commandants and +other officers of all grades, and +over 3500 men, surrendered unconditionally +to Lord Roberts.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span></p> + +<p class="padl3">Sir Redvers Buller’s force captured +the Boer position at Pieters. This +action opened the road to Ladysmith. +Boers retired north to +Ladysmith.</p> + +<p class="hangind">28.—Relief of Ladysmith after 120 day’s +investment.</p> + +<p class="center gap2">MARCH 1900.</p> + +<p class="hangind">1.—Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener +visited Kimberley and attended a +meeting in the Town Hall.</p> + +<p class="hangind">2.—Cronje and his staff, having been +moved to Simonstown under a +guard of City Imperial Volunteers, +were put on board H.M.S. +<i>Doris</i>, and sent to St. Helena.</p> + +<p class="hangind">3.—General Buller formally entered +Ladysmith.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Skirmish near Osfontein. General +French came in contact with a +Boer force, who tried to get away, +but were held to their position by +the British force.</p> + +<p class="hangind">4-5.—General Brabant advanced from +Dordrecht against Labuschagne, +and was completely successful.</p> + +<p class="hangind">5.—General Gatacre occupied Stormberg +without opposition.</p> + +<p class="hangind">7.—Lord Roberts dispersed Boers near +Poplar Grove.</p> + +<p class="padl3">General Gatacre reached Burghersdorp.</p> + +<p class="hangind">8.—General Clements occupied Norval’s +Pont.</p> + +<p class="hangind">10.—The Boers dispersed near Driefontein, +fifteen miles east of Poplar +Grove.</p> + +<p class="hangind">11.—Presidents Kruger and Steyn received +reply from the Prime +Minister refusing to entertain their +absurd overtures for peace.</p> + +<p class="hangind">12.—General French (with cavalry, +R.H.A., and Mounted Infantry) +arrived before Bloemfontein, and +captured two hills which command +the railway and town.</p> + +<p class="padl3">General French captured the railway +near Bloemfontein.</p> + +<p class="padl3">General Gatacre approached Bethulie.</p> + +<p class="hangind">13.—Lord Roberts occupied Bloemfontein. +His despatch ran:—“The +British flag now flies over the +Presidency vacated last evening +by Mr. Steyn, late President of +the Orange Free State. The inhabitants +gave the troops a cordial +welcome.”</p> + +<p class="hangind">14.—General Pretyman, C.B., appointed +Military Governor of Bloemfontein.</p> + +<p class="hangind">15.—General Gatacre occupied Bethulie.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Boers attacked Colonel Plumer’s +camp and were repulsed.</p> + +<p class="hangind">16.—Fighting at Fourteen Streams.</p> + +<p class="hangind">19.—Lord Kitchener occupied Prieska, +and received the submission of +rebels.</p> + +<p class="hangind">20.—Rouxville occupied by Major Cumming.</p> + +<p class="hangind">21.—Smithfield occupied by British +troops.</p> + +<p class="hangind">23.—Party of English officers shot near +Bloemfontein.</p> + +<p class="hangind">27.—General Clements occupied Fauresmith, +and arrested the landrost.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Death of General Joubert.</p> + +<p class="hangind">29.—Action at Karree Siding. Boer +position taken.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Wepener occupied by Brabant’s +Horse under Colonel Dalgety.</p> + +<p class="hangind">30.—Colonel Broadwood with Cavalry +Brigade and two batteries Royal +Horse Artillery at Thabanchu retired +on waterworks pressed by +the enemy.</p> + +<p class="hangind">31.—Loss of convoy and six guns at +Koorn Spruit.</p> + +<p class="padl3">Action at Ramathlabama for the +relief of Mafeking, and Colonel +Plumer’s small force repulsed by +the Boers.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 521px;"><a name="ill_012" id="ill_012"></a><a href="images/ill_012.png"> +<img src="images/ill_012th.png" width="521" height="352" alt="" title="" /></a> +<div><span class="caption">MAP ILLUSTRATING THE MOVEMENTS FOR THE RELIEF OF +KIMBERLEY AND THE CAPTURE OF BLOEMFONTEIN</span><br /><br /> +<span class="small">EDINBURGH <span class="smaller">AND</span> LONDON T. C. & E. C. JACK.</span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + +<p class="gap4 xxlarge center"><b>SOUTH AFRICA AND THE TRANSVAAL WAR</b></p> + +<h2 class="gap2"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smaller">THE TURNING OF THE TIDE</span></h2> + +<p class="center"><i>February 27, 1900.</i></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“Storm, strong with all the bitter heart of hate,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Smote England, now nineteen dark years ago,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">As when the tide’s full wrath in seaward flow<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Smites and bears back the swimmer. Fraud and fate<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Were leagued against her: fear was fain to prate<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Of honour in dishonour, pride brought low,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And humbleness whence holiness must grow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And greatness born of shame to be so great.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The winter day that withered hope and pride<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shines now triumphal on the turning tide<br /></span> +<span class="i2">That sets once more our trust in freedom free,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That leaves a ruthless and a truthless foe<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all base hopes that hailed his cause laid low,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And England’s name a light on land and sea.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="marg50">—<span class="smcap">Algernon Charles Swinburne.</span></p> + +<h3 class="gap2">THE VOTE OF CENSURE</h3> + +<p>The terrible events of the month of December had produced +a disquieting effect upon the public mind. Agitated questions +were asked on all subjects connected with the series +of catastrophes, and the replies were so unsatisfactory that +one and all became sensible that the actions of those in +power were not sufficiently in unison with public sentiment, and +even the keenest supporters of the Government numbly experienced +a loss of confidence in those at the helm. It was felt that some one +must be to blame for the miserable condition of affairs, the hideous +series of defeats that had made Great Britain an object of ridicule +on the Continent. For the forwarding of our troops “in driblets,” +for the ineffectiveness of our guns in comparison with Boer weapons, +for the uselessness of the carbine in competition with the Mauser, +for the scarcity of horses, for the preparedness of the Boers, for the +unpreparedness of the British, for the under-estimation of the strength<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> +of the enemy, and for many other things which tended to bring about +the national disaster, various members of the Government were +blamed. Charges of incapacity were levelled at the Secretary of +State for War, the War Office, and the Committee of National +Defence. Even the stoutest Tories were found declaiming against +the attitude of lethargy—flippancy, some said—adopted by those in +whose hands the fate of the nation rested. Mr. Balfour, in certain +speeches somewhat ill-advisedly delivered at a critical moment, had +contrived almost to wound people who were already deeply wounded +by humiliation and anxiety. His mood had not been in sympathy +with the public mood. He had endeavoured to brush away the +stern problems facing him by minimising their seriousness, by affecting +to believe that the Government was, like Cæsar’s wife, beyond +reproach. His attitude implied that the Cabinet could do no wrong, +and that the misfortunes and errors (if errors there were) were due to +a concatenation of circumstances for which neither the Government +at home nor the generals abroad could be held responsible. In +consequence of this attitude, on one side Mr. Balfour was blamed, +on another, Mr. Chamberlain. The Colonial Secretary was accused +of the policy of “bluffing with a weak hand,” while the Chancellor +of the Exchequer, as was inevitable, came in for his share of obloquy. +It was the cheeseparing principle that was at the bottom of it all; +cheeseparing and red-tape were responsible for debility and delay +of all kinds, and political inertia had undoubtedly spelt defeat. +The clamour was reasonable and just. It was felt that prudence +and energy should have served as fuel to stoke the engine of public +affairs, not as a brake to be put on in the face of disaster. On all +hands the public of one consent cried for a new broom and “a great +co-ordinating guiding mind,” and the universal clamour awoke the +Government to a consciousness that there are times and seasons +in the history of nations when party recriminations and crystallised +party etiquette must give way before the stress of a great national +need—the need to preserve at all costs the honour and the reputation +of the Empire in face of the whole world.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, the opening debate of the Session was one which +cannot be passed over. The Queen’s Speech struck a note of decision +that was at once comforting and in sympathy with her people. +Thus it ran: “I have witnessed with pride and the heartiest gratification +the patriotism, eagerness, and spontaneous loyalty with which +my subjects in all parts of my dominions have come forward to +share in the common defence of their Imperial interests. I am +confident that I shall not look to them in vain when I exhort them +to sustain and renew their exertions until they have brought this +struggle for the maintenance of the Empire and the assertion of its +supremacy in South Africa to a victorious conclusion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>”</p> + +<p>The Earl of Kimberley commented on the ignorance of the +Government regarding the military preparations that for years had +been going on in the Transvaal, and indulged in criticisms which +might have been weighty had his hearers not been tickled by the +strange irony of fate which converted into critic one of the authors +of the humiliating drama which had been left to shape itself from +the disastrous <i>scena</i> of 1881.</p> + +<p>To these criticisms the Prime Minister—somewhat broken by +domestic bereavement—offered but a weak and depressing reply. +“How,” he asked, in regard to the Boer preparations, “could the +Government know what was going on?”</p> + +<blockquote><p>“I believe, as a matter of fact, though this must not be taken as official, that +the guns were generally introduced in the boilers of locomotives, and that the +munitions of war were introduced in piano-cases and tubs. But we had no +power of search, we had no power of knowing what munitions of war were sent +out. We certainly had no power of supervising their importation into the +Transvaal. It is a very remarkable peculiarity of the public opinion of this +country that people always desire to eat their cake and have it. They rejoice +very much with a spirit of complacency that we have a very small Secret Service +Fund. Information is a matter of money and nothing else. If you want much +information you must give much money; if you give little money you will get +little information; and considering the enormous sums which are spent by +other Powers, not least by the Transvaal Republic, in secret service—which I +was told on high diplomatic authority has been £800,000 in one year—and +comparing this with the ludicrously small sums which have for a great number +of years been habitually spent by English Governments, it is impossible for us +to have the omniscience which the noble Earl seems to regard as a necessary +attribute of Her Majesty’s Government.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Further on he said:</p> + +<blockquote><p>“We must all join together to exercise all the power that we can give in +order to extricate ourselves from a situation that is full of humiliation and not +free from danger, though I do not say the danger may not be easily exaggerated. +Many a country has commenced a great war with difficulties of this +kind. We have only to look back at what the Northern States of America +went through at the opening of the Civil War to see how easy it would be to +draw a mistaken inference from the reverses which we have met at the opening +of this war. We have every ground to think that if we set ourselves heartily +to work and exert all the instruments of power we possess we shall bring this +war to a satisfactory conclusion. I think we must defer the pleasing task of +quarrelling among ourselves until that result has been obtained. We have a +work that now appeals to us as subjects of the Queen, as Englishmen, and it +must throw into shadow the ancient claims which party expediency has on the +action of all our statesmen.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>This speech concluded, Lord Rosebery suddenly sprang up, and +delivered himself with thrilling emphasis of sentiments which went +at once to the heart of the nation. Deeply he deplored the Prime<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +Minister’s speech, which made it hard for “the man in the street” +to support the policy of the Government.</p> + +<p>The country, he insisted, had a right to know if there was adequate +information given to the Government before the crisis of the +Transvaal affair, or even sufficient to guide them in their diplomacy +or their negotiation. “That is a point which the nation will insist on +knowing, whether in this House or the other. If you had not sufficient +information, dismiss your Intelligence Department, dismiss Mr. +Conyngham Greene and your consular agents wherever they had +touch with this matter—at Lourenço Marques or elsewhere. If you +did know of it, you have a heavy responsibility to bear. The noble +Marquis asks, ‘How could we see through a deal board?’ I +suppose he meant by that to allude to the pianoforte cases in which, +with more knowledge than he gave himself credit for, he unofficially +states that the ammunition was brought into Pretoria.”</p> + +<p>Passing on to the question of Secret Service money, he declared +that the Government was in possession of a very commanding majority +in the House, and that if they had the responsibility of Government +they were bound to ask for what funds, whether Secret Service +or other, which they might think necessary for the safety of the +Empire.</p> + +<blockquote><p>“They cannot,” he pursued, “devolve that responsibility on others by speaking +of the working of the British Constitution. I ask noble Lords to analyse the +speech of the noble Marquis, which is still ringing in their ears. It is the +speech of a Minister explaining a disastrous position. He practically has only +given two explanations of that situation. They are, first, that the Government +had not enough Secret Service money to obtain information, and, secondly, the +mysterious working of the British Constitution. I suppose that there are +foreign representatives in the gallery listening to this debate, and I suppose +that the speech of the Prime Minister will be flashed to-night all over Europe, +and Europe, which is watching with a keen and not a benevolent interest the +proceedings of our armies in South Africa, will learn that the causes of our +disasters are one avoidable and the other inevitable. The avoidable one is the +inadequate amount of the Secret Service Fund, and the inevitable one the +secular working of the British Constitution.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Leaving the question of unpreparedness, he came to the great +point, and asked what the Government intended to do.</p> + +<blockquote><p>“There is a paragraph in the Queen’s Speech which I rejoice to see, of a +somewhat didactic character in its first sentence, but not without interest in its +second. ‘The experience of a great war must necessarily afford lessons of the +greatest importance to the military administration of the country. You will +not, I am convinced, shrink from any outlay that may be required to place our +defensive preparations on a level with the responsibilities which the possession +of so great an Empire has laid on us.’ The noble Marquis made no reference +to that paragraph, except to say that he does not think we shall see compulsory +service in the life of the youngest peer present. I do not affirm or question<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> +that proposition, but I can say I do not think it is so immeasurably remote as +the noble Marquis considers that some form of compulsory service may have to +be introduced to meet the growing exigencies of the Empire. I am sure that +neither from this nor from any other sacrifice will the nation recoil to preserve +the predominance of our Empire. We have sent away from our island a +vast mass of troops which usually garrison it. Situated as we are in the +centre of a universe by no means friendly to us, that we should not have a +hint from the First Minister of the Crown what military measures the Government +propose to take in face of the disasters we have met with, and what +sacrifices we must inevitably be called on to make to redress them, is one of +the most extraordinary features of the working of the British Constitution on +which the noble Marquis has laid such great stress. I agree with him +in saying that the country will carry this thing through. It will carry +it through in spite of all the impediments, both of men and of methods, that +have shackled it in the past; but I venture to say that it will have to be +inspired by a loftier tone and by a truer patriotism than we have heard from +the Prime Minister to-night.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mr. Balfour, in the House of Commons, was as damping to +popular hopes as the Prime Minister in the House of Lords. +Regarding the all-important subject of the under-estimation of +the Boer strength, he somewhat airily said:</p> + +<blockquote><p>“It will be asked, How comes it, then, that this great under-estimate of the +Boer strength was made if we knew approximately what the Boer armaments +were, and what Boers were likely to take the field? I do not know that I have +got any very satisfactory answer to give to that question. It is a purely and +strictly military problem, and, as history shows, it is a kind of problem very +difficult to answer satisfactorily. You can gauge the military strength of a +European nation with a fixed army, with all their modern military apparatus, and +with all their military statistics at your disposal; but when you come to problems +of States whose military organisation is not of that elaborate kind, +great mistakes have been made in the past, and I doubt not great mistakes +will be made in the future. They certainly have been made by almost +every military nation of whom we have any record. But if this is regarded as +an attack upon the military experts of the War Office, it is surely an unfair +attack, because soldiers, who are not especially given to agreeing with one +another, were absolutely unanimous upon this point. I do not believe you will +be able to quote the opinion of a single soldier of any position whatever, or of +no position, delivered before, say, July 31 or August 31 last, indicating any +opinion which will show that the force which we in the first instance sent out +would not be amply sufficient, or more than amply sufficient, for all purposes. +(Cries of “What about Butler?”) The right hon. gentlemen put a question to +me about Sir W. Butler. We had not the slightest trace at the War Office in +any communication, public, semi-public, or private—no communication of any +sort, kind, or description, which indicated that in Sir W. Butler’s opinion the +force we sent out was not sufficient—I was going to say doubly sufficient—for +any work that it might be called upon to perform.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Indeed, the whole tenor of the speech was generally regarded +as unsatisfactory and dispiriting. It was felt that, as Lord Rosebery +expressed it, the Government must be left to “muddle through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>” +somehow. People who hung anxiously on the lips of the Government +for definite statements regarding future resolute action were +disappointed, and waited wearily the conclusion of the debate.</p> + +<p>On February 1, Sir Charles Dilke drew vigorous comparisons +between the present and former campaigns. In regard to our lack +of artillery he said:</p> + +<blockquote><p>“All our generals had told us that direct artillery fire had failed against the +Boer entrenchments. It had been known for years past that direct artillery +fire would be likely to fail against strong entrenchments; yet we sent twenty-one +batteries of field-artillery to South Africa before the first one of the three +howitzer batteries was despatched. It was one of the strongest charges which +he and others had brought against the War Office for some years, that our +army was more badly supplied with field-artillery than any other army in the +world. It was not even comparable with the field-artillery of Switzerland and +Roumania. In regard to our guns, the Leader of the House had stated in a +speech at Manchester that we had guns in South Africa sufficient for three +army corps of regular troops. He should like to know on whose authority the +right hon. gentleman made that statement. The first force sent to South +Africa from India was supplied with guns, not on that scale, but still in fairly +decent and respectable measure. The forces of Lord Methuen and Sir Redvers +Buller fell altogether short of even the scale adopted for the Indian Contingent. +Both these generals had themselves called attention to their deficiency in +this respect. We had not even now got artillery on anything like the scale +laid down by the right hon. gentleman, and we could not have it in South +Africa, because we had not got it in the world. In these circumstances +he could only characterise the statement of the Leader of the House as entirely +erroneous and misleading, and altogether a blunder. With regard to the +batteries which were even now being sent out, many of them were manned +by reservists and by garrison artillerymen, who had had no experience in the +handling of modern field-guns.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Proceeding to the question of lack of cavalry, he argued:</p> + +<blockquote><p>“With regard to cavalry as with regard to artillery, the first force was well +supplied, but the forces of Lord Methuen and General Buller were very +deficient in that respect. In that connection the First Lord had made an +attack on the critics of the War Office. He said they had not seen, or if they +had seen had not insisted on, a novel fact in the present war, namely, that for +the first time in the history of the world they had seen an army composed +entirely of mounted infantry. The right hon. gentleman had only +to read Sir William Butler’s ‘Life of General Colley,’ where he would +find very marked attention drawn to that matter. As to the Defence Committee +of the Cabinet, of which the right hon. gentleman was a member, though he +himself had been spoken of as the author of that body, he must admit that it +had failed. It was instituted after a correspondence in which he himself, his +hon. friend (Mr. Arnold Foster), and Mr. Spenser Wilkinson took part, and it +was not new to the present Government. It was instituted in the time of Lord +Rosebery’s Government as a Committee of the Cabinet, but it had been proclaimed +to the world in the time of the present Government. It had +failed on account of the slackness of those who attended the deliberations +of the Committee. It had not been worked as the authors of the proposal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> +thought it might have been worked in the interests of the Empire. The +Committee ought to have foreseen these difficulties with respect to mounted +men; they were foreseen by military men. Though political differences +occurred between Sir A. Milner and Sir W. Butler, Sir A. Milner consulted +General Butler on the military aspect of the situation, and General Butler’s +opinions were known to the Government, or should have been. They were +known to Sir A. Milner at any rate and were not concealed by him when +he was in this country a year ago. According to his (Sir C. Dilke’s) information, +which reached him immediately after the statement had been made to +Sir A. Milner, General Sir W. Butler declared that 60,000 men would be +required in Cape Colony and 25,000 men in Natal. Leaving that, however, +what was the attitude of the Cabinet with regard to the need for cavalry? +They telegraphed to the Colonies to refuse mounted men. They gave +their reasons in the telegram of October 3: ‘In view of the numbers +already available, infantry most and cavalry least serviceable.’ On December +16 they telegraphed to the Colonies, ‘Mounted men preferred.’ After all +the loss of life that had taken place, and the months of checks and reverses, +they had discovered what competent soldiers had discovered before the war, +and must have told them, that mounted men were essential for a campaign +of this kind.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>In reply, the Under-Secretary of State for War made the first +telling and apposite statement which had been furnished for the +Government during the course of the proceedings. His exposition +was straightforwardness itself. Though merely the mouthpiece +of the Government, Mr. Wyndham gave utterance to definite statements +which created a very favourable impression throughout the +country, and served at once to wipe away the taste of foregone +pronouncements. He said:</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Every one to his dying day would look back with regret on the great +many disasters which had followed, but no one could ever know what would +have happened if the other course had been adopted. It was very easy to +conceive that if Sir G. White had not stayed at Ladysmith and Sir R. Buller +had not gone to his relief disaster might have been developed in another line, +and that there might have been that universal rising of the Cape Dutch which, +thank Heaven, had not occurred. When it was stated that Lord Methuen had +not sufficient cavalry and artillery with him, it must be remembered that Lord +Methuen was hurried off to the Orange River, and, as a matter of fact, he +arrived on the frontier in fewer days than the German army reached the +French frontier, and he had not with him the cavalry, which had been +diverted for the relief of Ladysmith and other purposes. On the morrow after +Nicholson’s Nek three more battalions were sent from home, though none had +been asked for, and Lord Landsowne offered a sixth division. In reply, he +was told that preparation was desirable, but that there was no immediate +need for its despatch. The situation was again changed by the reverses at +Stormberg and Magersfontein and the check at Colenso. Thereupon the +sixth division was ordered to embark without any communication from South +Africa, and at the same time the seventh division was ordered to be mobilised. +On December 15, the day after his check at Colenso, Sir R. Buller asked for +the seventh division, the mobilisation of which had already been ordered, and for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> +8000 mounted irregulars from this country. Lord Landsowne replied that the +seventh division would embark on January 4, which it did. Next day the +first step was taken in connection with the raising of the Imperial Yeomanry, +and volunteers were invited to come forward in order to fill the places left +vacant by the raising from each battalion of one company of mounted infantry. +The patriotism of the Militia was also appealed to, and fourteen battalions +were now serving in South Africa, while others were on the way. A great +military authority once said, ‘When a battalion is asked for, send a brigade.’ +That had been the course pursued by Lord Landsowne.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>In regard to the number of our guns, Mr. Wyndham continued +his argument in the following terms:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“As the right hon. baronet had pressed for information with regard to +the number of guns which had been despatched to South Africa, it would not +be out of place to tell the House that we had sent and were sending 36 siege +train heavy guns; there were already there 38 mobile naval guns, and in +addition to these there were 36 5-inch howitzers carrying a heavy shell charged +with 50 lbs. of lyddite, in all 110 guns, some of them with a range of 10,000 +yards, and all capable of throwing heavy shells. Besides these there were 54 +horse-artillery guns and 234 field-artillery guns, in all, counting the howitzers, +324 guns capable of accompanying troops in the field. Including the two +mountain batteries, there were altogether 410 guns in South Africa, without +reckoning the guns that were going out with the Volunteers and the Colonials, +which would bring the number up to 452.”</p></blockquote> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 344px;"> +<a name="ill_021" id="ill_021"></a><img src="images/ill_021.png" width="344" height="478" +alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY, K.G.<br /> +<br /> +PRIME MINISTER AND FOREIGN SECRETARY.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Russell & Sons, London.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Then taking the subject of mounted troops, he went on:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“On the question of mounted troops, it had been said that the Government +announced to the world their conviction that unmounted troops were the kind +of troops most suitable to South African warfare. The word ‘mounted’ was +never used. However, he would not insist on that, but he did think that those +who had quoted this opinion so often should consider when they were used, +because then they would see that they gave no indication that the Government +held the opinion attributed to them. As a matter of fact, since the outbreak +of the war the Government had sent out a larger proportion of mounted troops +than was usually contemplated, because they believed that mounted troops were +especially suited to go to Africa. The time at which the phrase was used that +infantry was most wanted and cavalry least wanted was on October 3, before +the ultimatum was sent, before the war began, and at a time when Sir R. +Buller was satisfied that an army corps, a cavalry division, and the necessary +troops for the line of communication, giving 50,000 men in addition to the +25,000 already in South Africa, was an adequate force. When the question +of the Colonial Contingents was first raised, Queensland offered 250 and New +Zealand 200 mounted infantry, and the 108 New South Wales Lancers then in +this country volunteered, making in all 558 mounted men. No specific offer +was received from the other Colonies, but they expressed a wish that they +might be allowed to take some part in the campaign. He thereon consulted +Sir R. Buller as to the number that should be asked for in order that each +Colony might be represented more or less in proportion to their respective +populations. Sir Redvers stated that it would be easier to give the Colonial +troops an immediate place at the front if they were invited to contribute +manageable units of 125 men each. If the original offers of the Colonies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> +had been accepted, there would have been 1375 more mounted men at the +front at an earlier date, when no one contemplated that the force sent out +would be insufficient for its task. The Colonial Legislatures have not changed +their note in consequence of the disappointments and reverses which have +been experienced, but have made further offers—an example which might well +have been followed nearer home. Altogether there had been accepted from the +Colonies 2075 unmounted and 4678 mounted men. The proportion of mounted +to unmounted troops in South Africa at four different periods were: In the +original garrison, 7600 unmounted and 2000 mounted; on October 9, the day +of the ultimatum, 12,600 unmounted and 3400 mounted; on January 1, 83,600 +unmounted and 19,800 mounted; while the total number of troops in South +Africa, not including the Fourth Cavalry Brigade, were 142,800 unmounted +and 37,800 mounted, and in the next fortnight or three weeks there would be +out there 180,600 of all arms.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Sir Edward Grey said:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“He was giving the right hon. gentleman some instances of the value of +the support from his side. The primary object of the policy which had ended +in the war was not to drive the Boers from British territory, as they were not +then on it. The primary object was not to plant the British flag at Pretoria +and Johannesburg. These two things might be the result of the war, but they +were not the primary objects of the Government policy. The objects which he +wished to see attained, and which he would pledge himself to give the utmost +support to the Government in attaining, were, first, equal rights between all +white men in South Africa, and by that he meant that never again should a +situation arise in any part of the British sphere in which a modern industrial +community should be placed under the heel of an antiquated minority which +was dominated by prejudice and governed by corruption. The second object +was that never again in South Africa should it be possible for arsenals to be +formed or an accumulation of military material under any control except British +control. That was the end to be attained, and to that end the Government +would have support.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>On the 3rd of February Mr. Bryce expressed his opinions. He +affected to disbelieve that there had been any Dutch conspiracy to +drive the British from South Africa, and considered that, owing to +the menace of the Government in the arrangement of negotiations, +the meek Boer had no resource but to prepare for war.</p> + +<p>Mr. Goschen admitted the gravity of the situation and the responsibility +of the Government <i>en masse</i>. The Cabinet, he decided, +must stand or fall together. The Admiralty, in acceptation of its +responsibility, had assisted the army with heavy guns without weakening +its resources. Lastly, he touched enthusiastically on the +exhibition of Colonial loyalty:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Before concluding I must say a word with reference to the Colonists. +They have been supporting us with unstinted loyalty and unstinted generosity. +There has been a spirit shown by the Colonies of affection to the mother +country which has been the admiration of the world. May we not suggest +that that unstinted loyalty and that unstinted generosity is to some extent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +a reward for the consideration which has been shown the Colonies for some +time past; and is it not right to remember that for years there has not been a +Secretary for the Colonies who has so endeavoured to win the affection of the +Colonies as the right hon. gentleman who now holds that office? You tax us +with not having shown foresight and judgment. At all events our treatment +of the Colonies has ensured, not their loyalty—that will always be there—but +the enthusiastic impulse of the Colonies to come to the assistance of the mother +country. We have a great work to do; we want to do that work, and now +hon. gentlemen opposite move an amendment the only object of which could be +to damage and weaken the Government, who are the instruments of the national +will. If hon. gentlemen opposite do not wish to take our places and to bear +the burden which rests on our shoulders, is it wise to endeavour to shake the +confidence of the country in the men who must continue this war, and gather +together all the forces of the Empire to bring it to a successful conclusion? +Supposing there should be a division which could be called a bad division for +the Government, what would the cheers which would greet that division mean? +They would mean, ‘We have succeeded in damaging and weakening the +Government.’ The time may come when we will be damaged. If the war is +not successful, sweep us away as men who have no judgment, but do not lame +the arm of the Executive Government when they have such a work on hand as +we have got to do. There has been patriotic co-operation between us and some +of the Liberal Party. We thank them for it. I believe this is a Parliamentary +bad dream—an interlude between the patriotic attitude of these gentlemen a +few weeks ago and the patriotic attitude which I hope we may look forward to +when this debate closes. They have assured the country they will support us +in going forward. I thank them for that, for it is more important than the +petty criticisms to which we have been treated. We are the trustees of the +nation for the work that has to be done. The nation will support us, I believe; +and so long as we receive that support, God willing, we will fulfil our task.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Sir E. Clarke, among other things, said:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“He did not believe the annexation of the Transvaal and the Orange Free +State would be of the slightest benefit to the country. The annexation of the +two Republics would compel us to very greatly increase our already enormous +military expenditure, and it would not give us any advantage commensurate +with the difficulties of administration. He had no desire to press his own +views, which were singular, and certainly not popular, on that side of the +House. He only pleaded that this question might be left open, and that +Ministers might not pledge themselves to a course which would involve so +great a sacrifice. While he agreed generally with the doctrine of Cabinet +responsibility, he considered that the real responsibility for the war lay with +the Colonial Secretary. The Prime Minister, in whom all England put the +greatest confidence, having many other things to deal with, and being distressed +by domestic anxieties, might not have been able to attend so closely as he +otherwise would have done to South African affairs; but it could not be gainsaid +that there were two men, one in this country and the other in South Africa, +who must be associated with the beginning of the war. He wished that the +highest sentiments of patriotism would induce those two men to leave to others +the positions they now occupied. He believed that the difficulties involved in +a solution of the questions arising out of the war would be increased by the fact +that the lines of communication and action in South Africa were in the hands<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +of the Colonial Secretary and Sir A. Milner. He had not a word to say about +the honesty of these two gentlemen; but if, for a few weeks or a few months, +in this grave national crisis and time of deep anxiety, others could take their +places—if the Prime Minister himself would take under his own control the +communications of the Colonial Office with South Africa, and if Lord Rosebery +would give his services to the country, and go out to South Africa to assist in +a solution of the difficulties, it would be a sacrifice not too great to ask even +from the greatest men among us, and one for which the country would be very +grateful. He had said that he was not going to make a controversial speech. +He did not think he had. If he had, it had been with no intention of personal +attack or party bitterness, but with the deep conviction that in deciding on the +great issues with which Parliament had to deal we had to consider not only the +things of to-day but the things of the future.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Mr. Chamberlain’s speech on the 5th of February was an +advance on former proceedings. Sir William Harcourt dilated on +the indomitable energy of a free people fighting for their independence, +praised the gallantry of the troops, and blamed the Government +for being led by the opinions of the authors of the Jameson +Raid, to which the Colonial Secretary made dignified reply. Finally +he questioned—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“How do we meet the charge of mistakes? Not by denying the mistakes, +but by saying what we have done and what we are doing to repair them. You +say we sent too few troops. We are pouring troops into South Africa, and, as +you have been told, in a few weeks you will have an army of 200,000. You +said we were forgetful of the need for mounted men. We have been increasing +the number of horse infantry until in a very short time the number of +mounted men in the British forces will be almost as great, if not as great, as +the total number of mounted men in the Boer army. You say our artillery is +deficient and not heavy enough. We have sent battery after battery, until now +you have an unexampled force of that arm. We have at the same time added +a number of heavier guns. When the war began, no doubt the needs of the +war were under-estimated at that time; it is part of the same mistake. We +failed to respond as we ought to have done to the splendid offers that came from +our Colonies. We accepted enough to show how much we valued their assistance, +but we hesitated to put on them any greater strain than necessary. But +what is happening now? They are multiplying their forces, and every offer +is gratefully and promptly appreciated and accepted. And we shall have +in this war before it is over an army of Colonials called to the aid of Her +Majesty who will outnumber the British army at Waterloo and nearly equal to +the total British force in the Crimea.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>In conclusion he said:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“In Africa these two races, so interesting, so admirable, each in its own +way, though different in some things, will now, at any rate, have learned to +respect one another. I hear a great deal about the animosity which will remain +after the war, but I hope I am not too sanguine when I say that I do not believe +in it. When matters have settled down, when equal rights are assured to both +the white races, I believe that both will enjoy the land together in settled peace +and prosperity. Meanwhile, we are finding out the weak spots in our armour,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> +and trying to remedy them. We are finding out the infinite potential resources +of the Empire; we are advancing steadily, if slowly, to the realisation of that +great federation of our race which will inevitably make for peace, liberty, and +justice.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>On the following night Mr. Asquith, on Talleyrand’s principle—that +speech is given us to hide our thoughts—dilated interestingly +on the position, his sympathies oscillating between the Opposition, +the Government, and Mr. Kruger. Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman +declared it to be the duty of the Opposition to press Lord +Edmond Fitzmaurice’s amendment to a division. He inferred that +the conspiracy of the Cape Dutch was a chimera, and went so far +as to suggest that when our military supremacy was asserted in +South Africa the question of settlement might be left to decide itself +<i>sine die</i>! Said he: “Provided that our territories are free and our +military supremacy asserted, what matters it at what time or what +place a settlement is arrived at?”</p> + +<p>In his reply Mr. Balfour distinguished himself. He said that it +was discovered that the War Office has more than fulfilled its promises, +and appealed to the members of the Opposition who sympathised +with the justice of the war to reflect before voting for the +amendment. It was necessary to help the soldiers at the front by +proving to them that they were supported by a united country, and +that every hostile vote might induce or encourage our opponents to +prolong the contest. He concluded by saying:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Can they contemplate with equanimity that their first action in a session +of Parliament meeting under such circumstances should be a weakening of the +Government, whose hands they profess to desire to strengthen—whose hands I +believe they genuinely desire to strengthen—in every succeeding operation connected +with this war? Can they contemplate with equanimity the reflection +that possibly their votes may lengthen the war, and, by lengthening it, may +increase that tragic list of losses with which we are already too familiar? If +in giving their vote they add one fraction to the chances of a European complication, +one fraction of a chance that an unnecessary life may be lost or a +family thrown into mourning, can they easily reconcile that with their duty +towards their own principles and to that country of which they are, I believe, +as devoted servants as we on this side of the House? I think it is a violation +of every Parliamentary tradition that men who desire to keep in office a +Government should vote for an amendment which, if carried, will turn out that +Government, and that it is contrary to every patriotic instinct to vote in a +minority against the Government. The size of that minority will affect the +whole course of European policy, the whole course of the war. I have stated +the problem as it presents itself to my mind. I know that you are men of +conscience and honour, and I must leave it to you to decide the problem, each +man in his own case as his conscience and honour dictate. To the House at +large I can only make one appeal. It is that we, who are the representatives of +the country, may rise to the height reached by those whom we represent. I ask +no more, and I can ask no more, of the House than that they should imitate, for +they cannot exceed, the courage, steadfastness, resolution, and firmness under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +adversity, and the calmness of temper with which our countrymen all over the +world have dealt with the situation in its entirety. If the House of Commons +do, as no doubt they will, imitate, for they cannot better, the conduct of those +who have sent them here, then who can doubt that the clouds by which we +are at present surrounded will in a short time be dissipated and the Empire will +issue from the struggle in which it is now engaged stronger, not only in its own +consciousness of strength, but in the eyes of the civilised world.”</p></blockquote> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 503px;"> +<a name="ill_027" id="ill_027"></a><img src="images/ill_027.png" width="503" height="389" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">SERGEANT OF THE IMPERIAL YEOMANRY.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Gregory & Co., London.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>In the end, by 352 to 139—a majority of 213—the vote of +censure on the Government moved by Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice +was defeated. The decision adequately expressed the feelings of +the country. It must be remembered that many of the Government +supporters were in South Africa, consequently a total poll of 491 +represented a heavy vote. The following list serves to show the +number of members of both Houses who had sacrificed party spirit +to patriotic convictions, and had proceeded to the front:—</p> + +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">House of Lords.</span>—Earl of Airlie, commanding 12th Lancers; Earl of +Albemarle, lieutenant-colonel, City of London Imperial Volunteers; Lord +Basing, major, 1st Dragoons; Lord Castletown, special service, South Africa; +Lord Chesham, commanding a battalion of Imperial Yeomanry; Earl Cowley, +lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Lord Denman, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; +Earl of Dudley, D.A.A.G. for Imperial Yeomanry; Earl of Dundonald, C.B., +major-general, commanding 3rd Brigade (Natal) Cavalry Division; Earl of +Dunraven, captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Earl of Erroll, special service, South +Africa; Earl of Essex, second in command of battalion of Imperial Yeomanry; +Earl of Fingal, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, +G.C.B., K.C.M.G., Chief of the Staff; Earl of Leitrim, lieutenant, Imperial +Yeomanry; Earl of Longford, captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Lord Lovat, +captain, Lord Lovat’s Corps; Duke of Marlborough, staff captain for Imperial +Yeomanry; Lord Methuen, K.C.V.O., C.B., commanding 1st Division in South +Africa; Duke of Norfolk, K.G., captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Lord Roberts of +Kandahar, K.P., G.C.B., G.C.I.E., G.C.S.I., V.C., Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief; +Lord Romilly, special service, South Africa; Lord Rosmead, major, +6th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers; Duke of Roxburghe, lieutenant, Royal +Horse Guards; Earl of Scarborough, second in command of battalion of +Imperial Yeomanry; Earl Sondes, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Duke of +Westminster, A.D.C. to Governor; Lord Wolverton, second lieutenant, +Somersetshire Yeomanry Cavalry; Lord Zouche, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">House of Commons.</span>—Mr. W. Allen, trooper, Imperial Yeomanry; +Hon. A. B. Bathurst, captain, 4th Battalion Gloucester Regiment; Colonel +A. M. Brookfield, commanding battalion of Imperial Yeomanry; Lieutenant-Colonel +R. G. W. Chaloner, commanding battalion of Imperial Yeomanry; +Hon. T. H. Cochrane, captain, 4th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders; +Lord A. F. Compton, captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Viscount Cranborne, +commanding 4th Battalion Bedford Regiment; Mr. W. Bromley-Davenport, +captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Sir J. Dickson-Poynder, lieutenant, +Imperial Yeomanry; Viscount Folkestone, major, 1st Wilts Volunteer Rifle +Corps; Mr. W. R. Greene, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Hon. J. Guest, +lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Mr. G. Kemp, captain, Imperial Yeomanry;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +Mr. E. H. Llewellyn, major, 4th battalion Somerset Light Infantry; Mr. +H. L. B. McCalmont, commanding 6th battalion Royal Warwick Regiment; +Mr. F. B. Mildmay, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Viscount Milton, lieutenant, +Imperial Yeomanry; Mr. D. V. Pirie, with Remounts Department, South +Africa; Lord Stanley, special service, South Africa; Lord Edmund Talbot, +special service, South Africa; Viscount Valentia, A.A.G. for Imperial Yeomanry; +Major W. H. Wyndham-Quin, captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Major +the Hon. H. V. Duncombe, adjutant, Imperial Yeomanry; Sir Elliott Lees, +captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Sir S. Scott, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry.</p></blockquote> + +<h3 class="gap2">KIMBERLEY</h3> + +<p>There was little bombardment after the 25th of November, and +though not living on the fat of the land, the garrison was not +short of provisions. Mr. Rhodes, with characteristic forethought, +now caused the formation of a committee to inquire into the resources +of those dependent on the men killed, with a view to compensating +them for their loss, and in other ways exerted himself for the +welfare of sufferers in the town.</p> + +<p>Considerable friction occurred between the civil and military +authorities. The clashing of wills was inevitable in so small an +area, for Colonel Kekewich represented military power, while Mr. +Rhodes could be no other than he is, and ever has been—a power in +himself. It was unfortunate that two such forces should have been +placed in collision, but it remains to the credit of both that, in spite +of the tension of the situation, they should have co-operated to the +end to save the town from the common enemy, and protect the +interests and lives of all who, but for this co-operation, might have +suffered much more intensely than they did.</p> + +<p>Early on the morning of the 9th of December a force with a +battery under Colonel Chamier—to whom the efficient and mobile +condition of the artillery was due—made a reconnaissance to the +north. The Lancashire’s Mounted Infantry and two guns were +posted on Otto’s Kopje while the Cape Police protected the Dam +Wall. The Kimberley Light Horse in the centre extemporised some +rifle-pits out of some prospectors’ huts in order to cover retreat when +necessary.</p> + +<p>The enemy were screened by the debris of a wall at Kamfeens, +but when the boom of the British gun burst out and a shell roared +in their midst, they hurriedly sought cover in their foremost rifle-pits, +whence with great energy they “sniped” in the direction of the +officers who were superintending the operations. Meanwhile tremendous +barking of cannon and pinging of rifles continued, the +Boers having got the range of Otto Kopje to perfection. The +troops had an exceedingly hard time, but continued their operations +till dusk. They lost only one killed and four wounded.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> + +<p>On the wise principle that it is safer to act early on the aggressive +if you do not want to have to act late on the defensive, the +smart little force indulged in more military movements.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 462px;"> +<a name="ill_031" id="ill_031"></a><img src="images/ill_031.png" width="462" height="310" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Shell Picked up in Kimberley Streets.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Alf. S. Hosking, Cape Town.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Colonel Kekewich’s general plan for the defence of Kimberley was +based on the principle of always keeping the enemy on the move and +constantly in fear of attack from an unexpected quarter, but the immediate +object of the numerous sorties and demonstrations in force now +made by the garrison was to assist the operations of Lord Methuen. +The Colonel explained that, “when the advance of the Relief Column +from the Orange River commenced, and I was put in possession of information +concerning the probable date of its arrival at Kimberley, +I adopted such measures as I hoped would cause the retention of a +large force of the enemy in my immediate neighbourhood, and thus +enable the Relief Column to deal with the Boer force in detail.” +As the portions of mounted corps were continually employed, the +work which fell on the detachment, 1st Batt. Loyal North Lancashire +Regiment, Cape Police, Diamond Fields Horse, Kimberley Light +Horse, and the Diamond Fields Artillery, was very arduous; but +the bravery and dash of these troops was unending. Colonel +Murray, of the Loyal North Lancashire, was invaluable in many +capacities, and Captain O’Brien of the same regiment, in command +of a section of the defences, was unfailing in energy and zeal. Cool +as the proverbial cucumber were Major Rodger of the Diamond +Fields Horse and Major May of the Diamond Fields Artillery. +The motto of these officers was the reverse of that of the notable +<i>gens d’armes</i>, for they were “always there when wanted,” and gene<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>rally +in the fore-front. The officers of the Kimberley Regiment, too, +were conspicuous for courage, coolness, and sagacity. They knew +as by intuition what was wanted and did it. From Colonel Finlayson, +who commanded the regiment, to Surgeon-Major Smith, who tended +the wounded in the field, there was none who did not contribute to the +stock of efficiency which was placed at the disposal of the Colonel.</p> + +<p>On the 20th of December, the mounted detachments under +Colonel Peakman, with maxims and 7-pounders under Colonel May, +started off in the pitch darkness of 2 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, and marched through +Kenilworth in the direction of the wreck of Webster’s Farm, and on +towards Tollpan in the Free State. British cannonading then took +place, the Kimberley guns shelling Tollpan Homestead at 2500 +yards’ range, and the Boer gun on Klippiespan ridge returning the +compliment with interest. Fortunately the hostile shells burrowed +deep in the sandy soil, and consequently little damage was done. +The Boers were found to be very comfortably situated at the three +corners of a six-mile triangle—at Coetgie, Scholtz, and Alexandersfontein—commanding +three separate sources of water supply. +This reconnaissance was of importance, as the positions of the +enemy’s guns and outposts were determined, and the garrison was +enabled to be on guard against raiders and snipers, and to protect +itself, its patrols, and cattle from the fire of the enemy. In the +matter of protecting the cattle from the tricks of the Dutchmen, as +in many other ways, Mr. Fynn, manager of the De Beers farms, +did splendid service. This gentleman was Mr. Rhodes’s right-hand +man, and as a natural consequence of the honour he enjoyed rose +to every occasion that offered, now managing a corps of scouts, now +superintending the conveyance of food, now dealing with truculent +natives, and always conducting his varied avocations with immense +energy and tact.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 404px;"> +<a name="ill_033" id="ill_033"></a><img src="images/ill_033.png" width="404" height="556" alt="" title="" /> +<table summary="" class="w100"> +<tr> +<td class="center small">Lieutenant.</td> +<td class="center small">Captain.</td> +<td class="center small">Adjutant.</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<span class="caption">THE ROYAL LANCASTERS.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Gregory & Co., London.</span> +</div> + +<p>On the 22nd of December a good deal of martial activity took +place. At cockcrow a detachment of mounted forces, with artillery +and infantry, went west for the purpose of reconnoitring Voornitzright +and part of Weldermstkuil. On the right were the Diamond +Fields Horse under Major Rodger, supported by a company of the +North Lancashire Regiment under Lieutenant de Putron. Presently +an animated cannonade began between the enemy’s artillery from +Kamferdam and the Diamond Fields Artillery guns on Otto’s Kopje. +In the centre Colonel Peakman, with the Kimberley Light Horse +and Cape Police, proceeded along Lazaretto Ridge. There, before +retreating, he made the necessary discoveries—firstly, that the Boer +patrols were then the only occupants of the place, and secondly, +that the enemy’s reinforcements were advancing behind Wimbledon +Ridge. Meanwhile Colonel Chamier on the left, with R.A. guns +and an escort under Major Snow, was exchanging salutations with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +the Boer guns posted in the earthwork in the centre of Wimbledon +Ridge. This occupation was pursued for some time, during which +the enemy were found to be rapidly approaching. Directly the guns +were limbered up some 500 Boers came on the scene, and began to +pour a fierce fire from the earthworks at the foot of the Ridge upon +the Kimberley troops, who retired to cover. The object of the +reconnaissance was gained, however, for it proved in what an +inconceivably short space of time the enemy could summon his +reinforcements, and, moreover, that three of his guns were yet in +the neighbourhood of the town.</p> + +<p>On Christmas Eve congratulations were received by flashlight +signals from the Military Secretary at Cape Town:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Convey to Colonel Kekewich and all the garrison and inhabitants of +Kimberley his Excellency’s best wishes for their good luck on Christmas Day +and in the coming New Year.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Colonel Kekewich replied:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Kindly inform the Military Secretary that I and the garrison and inhabitants +of Kimberley thank his Excellency for his kind message. We also wish respectfully +to offer our very best wishes for Christmas and New Year.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>This little interchange of compliments caused infinite pleasure to +those whose days were one unvarying round of trial and suspense. The +weather was exceedingly hot; at times the thermometer registered +105° in the shade, and life without absolute necessities in torrid +weather is trying even to the patience of the active. To those whose +intercourse with the world was confined to flashlight signals, it was +barren in the extreme. But with much pluck they thus announced +their sentiments in a journal called the <i>Diamond Fields Advertiser</i>, +which still maintained a languishing existence: “Excepting two or +three of our inhabitants who shared the terrible privations of the siege +of Paris, few of us have ever spent such a Christmas before, and few +will ever care to spend such a Christmas again. The scarcity of +turkeys and plum-pudding at this time of traditional plenty need +only distress the gourmand. The majority of the people of Kimberley +are happily made of sterner stuff, and do not look for luxuries +in a time of siege.” They were nevertheless not utterly plum-puddingless. +Mr. Rhodes, with characteristic forethought, had caused +to be cooked in the Sanatorium some two score of these bombshells +to digestion, and had distributed them in each of the camps. Here +they were devoured with much merrymaking and a general interchange +of felicitations, which went on by telephone from one camp +to another. From the Mounted Camp to the Royal Artillery: +“Best wishes and longer range to your guns.” From the gunners, +in return, while they kept one ear open for movement in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +direction of the Boers’ “Susannah:” “May our range be always +long enough for us to be guardian-angels to the Mounted Corps.”</p> + +<p>On the following day the artillery was at work responding to the +salutes of the Boers, who commenced to fire with great activity +after their Christmas rest. They dropped some thirty-five shells +in the direction of the fort, and received nineteen well-directed +replies. Two of the mines were fired by the thunderstorm of the +previous night, but no one was injured. Food now was becoming +more and more scarce, and those connected with the distribution of +provisions had to exercise much forethought and economy.</p> + +<p>The task of arranging for the victualling and supply of the +garrison and 40,000 people in the town was undertaken by Major +Gorle, Army Service Corps, and the zeal and resource which he +brought to bear on his onerous duties were applauded on all sides. +Of course there were found persons who, on the take-everything-from-everybody-else-and-give-it-all-to-me +principle, thought they were +badly treated, but these were the exception rather than the rule. +The arrangements for milk were made by a special civil committee, +consisting of Mr. Oliver, the Mayor, whose courage and energy in +keeping up the spirits of the people were wonderful, Mr. Judge, +and four visiting surgeons of Kimberley Hospital, Doctors Ashe, +Watkins, Mackenzie, and Stoney. These made themselves notable +for the untiring energy with which they devoted themselves to their +incessant duties. They kept a sharp eye on the milk, serving it out +cautiously at the depôt, and only to those who had a medical certificate +that they required it. The Colonel was very appreciative of the help +given by most of his civilian coadjutors, for, in reference to the difficulties +of his position, he stated in his despatch: “It will be realised +that, under the peculiar circumstances in which the defence of the +scattered town, containing over 40,000 inhabitants and much valuable +machinery, was entrusted in the first instance to a force consisting +of about 570 Imperial troops and 630 Colonial troops, my efforts +would have been of no avail had it not been for the valuable assistance +and advice which many citizens afforded me in a military as +well as a civil capacity.”</p> + +<p>Mr. Henderson, Captain Tyson of the Kimberley Club, and +Dr. Smart collaborated with the ruling spirit of the place, organising +relief committees, distributing thousands of pints of soup per diem, +and apportioning such fruit and vegetables as were to be had for the +good of those who were most sorely in need. That green stuffs were +scarce may be gathered from the fact that the allowance for nine +people for half a week was a bunch of five carrots, four liliputian +parsnips, and several beets (duodecimo editions). The garrison, +later on, were glad of mangel-wurzels, when quantity rather than +quality came to be appreciated.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> + +<p>The Boers were now beginning to build redoubts on Dronfield +Kopjes, about a mile east of the railway and in a northerly direction, +showing that whatever withdrawals might be going on from besieged +places elsewhere, the City of Mines would receive its due of attention +up to the last. The Boer prisoners inside the town presented +quite a rejuvenated appearance, owing to the delicate attentions of +Mr. Rhodes. Christmas saw them provided with new outfits, and a +general air of cleanliness and health pervaded them. The invalids +in hospital, both British and Boers, were visited frequently by the +Colossus, whose generosity in the matter of delicacies, which were +now very scarce, was highly appreciated.</p> + +<p>Much of the Kimberley news was obtained through the energy +and acuteness, almost amounting to genius, of the despatch-runners. +Of these, Mr. Lumming of Douglas succeeded in getting in and out +of the town with missives for and from Mr. Rhodes, always at +tremendous risk. The Boers had offered a large reward for his +capture. On one occasion, so as to evade observation in a district +swarming with the enemy, he had to travel quadruped fashion on +hands and knees for some thirty miles. Tales of the despatch-runners’ +ingenuity in all parts of the Colony were many. One Kaffir +boy, though caught by the Boers and stripped by them, carried his +despatch safely, it having been packed in a quill and hid in his +nostril, while another—a canny Scot—concealed his treasure in the +inmost recesses of a hard-boiled egg.</p> + +<p>On the morning of the 27th of January the mounted troops under +the indefatigable Colonel Peakman at an early hour reconnoitred the +Boer position near the Premier mine. The Boers were indulging +in a last little doze, when some shells were neatly dropped into their +laager. The alarum was effective. They were up and doing in no +time, and set to work firing with the utmost vigour, but their shots +were not accurate and much waste of ammunition took place. It +may be remembered that Colonel Peakman, Kimberley Light +Horse, after the death of Colonel Turner was selected for the +command of the mounted troops in Kimberley. A tower of strength +of himself, he was surrounded by a gallant crew, among whom +were Major Scott, V.C., Captains Ap-Bowen and Mahoney (both +severely wounded on the 25th of November), Captains Robertson +and Rickman. There were also in the corps several lieutenants +conspicuous for dash and daring, notably Lieutenants Hawker +(wounded 22nd November), Harris, and Chatfield. Of the Colonel +an amusing tale was told, which, if not <i>vero</i>, was certainly <i>bentrovato</i>, +and served to cheer up those who needed to salt the monotonous +flavour of daily life. It fell to the duty of Colonel Peakman to introduce +horse-flesh at the officers’ mess, a ticklish task, and one that +required considerable tact. When the dish was served, the Colonel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +said, “Gentlemen, as I was unable to get the whole of our ration in +beef, a part of it had to be taken in horse-flesh. Here is the beef,” +said he, carving at the joint opposite him, “that at the other end of +the table is the horse. Any one who prefers it may help himself.” +No one accepted the invitation, and after there had been a great run +on the beef, the Colonel suddenly said, “By Jove, I’m mistaken; of +course <i>this</i> joint is the horse, the other is the beef!” Thus the +palates of the heroes of the Kimberley Light Horse were educated +to the fare that was shortly to become unvaried.</p> + +<p>Later on, a chunk of donkey occasionally replaced the equine +morsel, and cats, it was noticed, began to be less in evidence. There +were whispers—hints—— But to proceed to facts.</p> + +<p>On the 29th a tussle took place between the foe and a man named +Sheppy, who, with twelve mounted natives, was herding a thousand +De Beers horses and mules. The cattle-drivers were at work when +out from the bushes rushed a hundred Boers. These at once opened +fire, but the herdsmen managed to return it and effect their escape.</p> + +<p>The transformation of diamond-diggers into warriors was an +entire novelty, of which Kimberley boasted not a little. The entire +community of the De Beers Company were now soldiers of the Queen, +receiving the same rate of pay as before, with food in addition. The +total white population in the town was 14,000, and of these 6000 +were employés of the mine, men from Natal. The Company worked +wonders—of course under the auspices of the ruling genius of +Kimberley. They stuck at nothing, from assisting with food supplies—distributing +soup in gallons—to providing for the employment of +upwards of 4000 natives in making improvements in the town. +Sanitation too they undertook when contractors failed, and, when the +supply of water was cut off at the main reservoir by the enemy, they +came to the rescue by providing another source of water supply.</p> + +<p>Owing to the excellent management and regulation of stores, the +community had hitherto been enabled to live at normal prices, and +food had been within the reach of all. But now the pinch of the +siege began to be felt. Luxuries such as eggs, vegetables, &c., +were naturally scarce, but horse-flesh even grew to be limited, for +there was little forage left. The tramcars ceased to work, and Dr. +Ashe predicted that presently there would be “no carts save military +ones and the doctors’ and the hearse!”</p> + +<p>People had to take their meat allowance half in beef and half in +horse-flesh, and the over-fastidious were but meagrely nourished. +These, however, soon came to “take their whack” of horse-flesh +gladly, and some even declared that horse, by any other name, +would be quite appetising! Conversation largely consisted of speculations +regarding food or its absence, and once or twice there was a +rub with the military. Dr. Ashe expressed himself frankly when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +confronted with red-tape difficulties, addressed the Colonel—of course, +minding p’s and q’s, for people had to look to the dotting of i’s and +crossing of t’s in those days—and suggested that, “in matters which +affected the health and feeding of the people,” the doctors thought +that, in virtue of their knowledge of town, climate, and people, they +might be consulted. The objection to the red-tape difficulty being +proved sound, the Colonel at once altered the routine, but, said Dr. +Ashe, “he flatly declined to ask any opinion from the general body +of doctors, as they might have ideas which would affect the military +situation.”</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 470px;"> +<a name="ill_039" id="ill_039"></a><img src="images/ill_039.png" width="470" height="340" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">“Long Cecil,” made at the De Beers Mines.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by D. Barnett, War Correspondent.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The new gun, “Long Cecil,” manufactured in De Beers, was +greatly prized. It distinguished itself on its début by plumping a +shell in the centre of the Kamfersdam head-laager exactly over the +position of the Dutchmen’s gun. Bombardment continued spasmodically, +sometimes at night, the shells entering several houses and +“making hay” of the furniture; but wantonly barbarous was the +attack on the laager containing the women and children, which took +place on the 23rd of January. One of the little innocents was killed +and another probably maimed for life. On the 24th more bombardment +began as early as four in the morning, and firing continued<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> +all day. The worst feature in the affair was the attack—deliberate +and premeditated it appeared—on the hospital, which caused general +grief and indignation. There was no excuse for such inhumanity, +as the place was distinguished by two Red Cross flags.</p> + +<p>Very lamentable was this habit of the Boers to violate the +sacred rules of the Geneva Convention, for it alienated even those +who were in sympathy with their cause. They could not plead +ignorance of the rules of warfare, for at one time they ignored these +rules to play the barbarian, while at another they utilised them to act +the poltroon. The history of the Convention may not be generally +known. It was promoted in 1864 and subsequently signed by all the +Continental Powers. It was decided that—</p> + +<p>1. Ambulances and military hospitals were to be recognised as +neutral, and as such to be protected and respected by all belligerents.</p> + +<p>2. The <i>personnel</i> of these hospitals and ambulances, including the +<i>intendance</i>, the sanitary officers, officers of the administration, as well +as military and civil chaplains, were to be benefited by the neutrality.</p> + +<p>3. The inhabitants of the country rendering help to the sick and +wounded were to be respected and free from capture.</p> + +<p>4. The sick and wounded were to be attended to without distinction +of nation.</p> + +<p>5. A flag and a uniform were to be adopted for the hospitals, ambulances, +and convoys of invalids; an armlet or badge for the <i>personnel</i> +of the ambulances and hospitals.</p> + +<p>6. The badge was to consist of a red cross on a white ground.</p> + +<p>Committees were formed throughout Europe and America to +carry out this convention, and the Society worked under the title of +the “International Society of Aid for the Sick and Wounded.” It +played its first important part in 1870 in the Franco-German War, +before which time battlefields had been scenes of almost inhuman +torture.</p> + +<p>Now, in consequence of the brutal disregard of a world-appreciated +agreement, the Boers—in many ways men of fine character—were +placing themselves beneath contempt. Their conduct also to +the loyalists and non-belligerents was also causing exasperation.</p> + +<p>The ministers of all denominations—Wesleyan, Presbyterian, +Baptist, Congregational, and Jewish—all united in condemning the +Boer Government and its methods. They were especially scandalised +at the inhumanity of the Dutch commandoes, who intermittently +poured shells not only into the heart of the town, but into the suburbs, +where women and children were known to congregate, while leaving +for the most part unmolested the forts occupied by the citizen-soldiers. +Homes were destroyed mothers and children stricken +down, and some killed. These might have been looked upon as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> +the accidents of war had it not been confessed in Boer papers that +such acts were deliberately committed and vaunted.</p> + +<p>Spasmodic bombardment took place during the evening of the +24th, and continued through the night, striking some buildings—the +hospital and other defenceless positions—and maiming a woman +and her child. Another child was killed. Profound admiration +was expressed by all in the achievements of “Long Cecil,” and the +utility of the new long-range weapon was highly appreciated. Indeed, +Mr. Rhodes viewed this Kimberley masterpiece with quite a paternal +eye, and his pleasure in firing it was considerable.</p> + +<p>Enough could not be said of the splendid valour and pertinacity +of the townspeople, who co-operated in the warlike proceedings +as though they had been to the manner born. Though +the fortification belt was some twelve miles in circumference, at all +points it was protected by these amateurs of the sword, who, under +no military obligations whatever till sworn in on the immediate +emergency, rose to the occasion with a chivalric warmth that was as +perfectly amazing as it was admirable. Devotion to the Sovereign +Lady who rules the Empire was never more steadfastly shown and +more ardently maintained.</p> + +<p>The zeal and the “go” of the Cape Police was notable. Among +the most prominent of the corps were Colonel Robinson, gallant +Major Elliot and Major Ayliff (wounded on December 3), who was +brave as he was tactful. Perpetually useful and conspicuously +gallant were Captains Colvin, Crozier, White, and Cummings. +Their duties, most difficult, were almost interminable.</p> + +<p>Life was monotonous in the extreme. From the town it was +possible on clear days to view the Modder River balloon, and the +occasional sight of it afforded a stimulus to the drooping spirits +of the inhabitants. Its rotund form floating so peacefully high in +air seemed like a harbinger of hope promising and consoling, and +teaching the lesson of patience and perseverance that overcome +all things! Of course, it was only the sentimentalists of the community +who thus interpreted the language of the aërial monster, +but these, like the people who find sermons in stones, promptly +took heart, and bore their trials with renewed dignity and pluck. +Both these qualities were in great demand, for the Boers and +their tactics were exhausting to the patience of the most forbearing. +Their pertinacity was great. At one moment they would pour +shells into the town, making hearts palpitate or stand still in horror +at the gruesome fracas; at others they would persistently “snipe” +from hidden corners and bushes, and render movements in the +open, to say the least of it—inconvenient.</p> + +<p>Sniping always continued, though, for a day or two, no serious +bombardment took place. Indeed, there was reason to believe that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +a Boer gun was <i>hors de combat</i>. The report came in that “Susannah” +had burst. There was general jubilation. Later on it filtered out +that “Susannah” was “all serene,” but this was doubted. The sanguine +hoped against hope. We are ready enough to believe what +we wish to be true, and finally, for want of something to discuss, +the question of “Has she burst, or has she not burst?” was +bandied about in the tone of a popular riddle. Unfortunately +“Susannah” was intact, as subsequent experience proved. Not only +was “Susannah” herself again, but it was reported that a considerable +Boer reinforcement had arrived in the neighbourhood, and that three +guns from Spyfontein were being ranged in attitude to defy “Long +Cecil,” whose prowess was more decided than pleasant. Still the +inhabitants bore up very creditably, and enlivened themselves continually +with concerts or entertainments of some kind. The programmes, +it must be noted, were always marked “weather and Boers +permitting”—a modern adaptation of the customary <i>D.V.</i></p> + +<p>The Boer spies took a lively interest in all that concerned Mr. +Rhodes, and hopes were entertained that before long some one +would receive the price of his capture. But this gentleman pursued +his avocations in the town and its suburbs with unabated interest, +arranging for the comfort of the refugees, and evincing paternal +solicitude in the laying out of new suburbs, and the construction of a +regular row of bomb-proof shelters, which were being excavated at +Kenilworth. People now became great connoisseurs on the virtue +of brick, old and new, and began to mistrust corrugated iron as +affording less protection from the artillery fire of the enemy. They +became judges also of shell—of the peculiarities of shrapnel and +ring shells—and sapiently discussed the merits of time fuses and +percussion fuses. Food, however, was the prime subject of conversation—a +subject of “devouring” interest, some one said. The +refugee fund now amounted to £3000, owing to the united subscriptions +of Mr. Rhodes and the De Beers Company. It was none +too much, as the demand on its resources was some £600 weekly.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 364px;"> +<a name="ill_043" id="ill_043"></a><img src="images/ill_043.png" width="364" height="522" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">LIEUT.-GENERAL THOMAS KELLY-KENNY, C.B.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by C. Knight, Aldershot.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The Colossus, regardless of the fate that hung over the town, +continued to make plans and projects for the development of the +place. On a high plateau he purposed to create a new suburb, and +the name will doubtless bear a relationship to the great events of +1900. A column was in course of erection to commemorate the +siege, but the tale of bombardment, writ large on many of the buildings, +is one that will scarcely be forgotten, and forms memorial +enough. Some curious damage was done, a shrapnel shell electing +to penetrate the wall of a draper’s shop and wound a feminine +dummy and smash a wax effigy of a boy used as a clothes model. +Fortunately few human beings suffered. Great precautions were +taken for the safety of the inhabitants, and a look-out was kept, so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +as to give warning by whistle whenever the smoke of the enemy’s +guns breathed a hint of coming destruction. A calculation was made +as to the sum total expended by guns, British and Dutch, and it was +discovered that Kimberley had fired 1005 shells, while the besiegers +had spent three times that number. The total loss of life attributable +to shell fire amounted at this date to about twelve killed.</p> + +<p>Affairs within the town were now growing almost as bellicose as +affairs without it. Continued friction generates heat, and of this +throughout the siege there had been more and more as time went +on. It was quite evident that Kimberley was not sufficiently large +to afford an arena for the combat of brains <i>versus</i> military discipline, +and that the patience of the besieged was nearing the snapping-point. +Indeed there was doubt as to whether operations for the relief of +Kimberley would be pursued, and it is averred that the Commander-in-Chief +sent a message to Mr. Rhodes, saying, “Hope I shall not +be compelled to leave you in the lurch.” Naturally the Kimberley +barometer fell to zero. Then came rumours of the coming of Lord +Roberts, but these scarcely served to allay the general impatience.</p> + +<p>A curious incident occurred on the 29th. Some thirty-five Zulus +took their departure. They had been ordered by their chief to leave +the town, but when they obeyed they had promptly to return, as +they encountered the Boers, who threatened to shoot them.</p> + +<p>At this time food was becoming more and more scarce; even +horse-flesh was distributed with caution. Milk was obtainable only +by the invalids, and some four hundred babes died for want of proper +nourishment. It was pathetic to see people standing at the Town +Hall waiting eagerly to take their turn for the scanty portion of +meat that could be provided for them. The ceremony of the +drawing of meat rations had an aspect almost comic in its desperate +seriousness. Matutinally at 5.30 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> might be seen a +vast concourse of persons scampering in hot haste to gain a front +place. So animated was the early bird to catch its morning worm, +that it was up and doing before the regulated hour, 5.30 (fixed by +proclamation), before which time people were forbidden to leave +their houses. The police put a stop to this superactivity, and hungry +persons were seen from five to the half-hour waiting patiently at +their gates till the exact moment should arrive when they could +make a dash for a place in the tremendous crush which, two by two, +gathered outside the market.</p> + +<p>Marvellous was the rapidity with which this vast crowd, at hint +of a shell, would drop to earth. As by some mechanical process +there would come a bang, and then, like a card castle, the whole +procession would drop flat. The Boers, knowing, most probably, +that this was an eventful period of the morning, would invariably +start off about six with a boisterous “good-morrow.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>”</p> + +<p>Gradually the rations grew shorter and shorter and shorter. They +now consisted mainly of horse-meat, served out every second day, +mealie meal, stamped mealies, with a sparse allowance of tea, coffee, +and bread. For those who had children under three years of age one +tin of milk was allowed. With this strong children could get along +well, but there were many weakly ones, and these waned and waned +till the baby funerals became pathetically frequent.</p> + +<p>The Dutchmen were exceedingly ingenious in the invention of +tricks and traps. One of these was to move a waggon with sixteen +fat oxen in charge of but two men into the open Vlei below Tarantaal +Ridge, and there to leave it, apparently unguarded, for two hours. +They thought that this bait would lure forth the cattle-guard, but +they were disappointed, for the authorities were too acute to allow +them to get “a bite.” They knew that in rear of the Vlei was a +deep sand-drift, behind which a large body of men might be comfortably +concealed, and consequently left waggon and cattle severely +alone.</p> + +<p>After this began the bombardment by a new Boer gun—a diabolical +instrument, whose perfections were hymned by an artillery +expert, who declared it to be one of the most perfect pieces of ordnance +ever made! A correspondent in the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> described the +terrifying effect produced on the nerves of the sick and the weakly. He +went on: “The shock caused by the firing of this gun was distinctly +perceptible five feet under ground at a distance of five miles, and +the miniature earthquake thus created was clearly registered by the +new seismograph at Kenilworth, the pendulum of which remained +perfectly stationary during the firing of the smaller guns, or the +passage of the most heavily laden trains or vehicles at very close +quarters.”</p> + +<p>The 9th of February was a terrible day. There was crashing and +booming from morning till night, and no one dared venture abroad. +One inhabitant had his child killed under his very eyes and his wife +mortally stricken down. Towards sundown a shell struck the Grand +Hotel, killing Mr. Labram, the De Beers chief engineer, whose +valuable brains had been the salvation of the place. He had constructed +armoured engines, armoured trains, and had completed his +ingenious labours by constructing the huge 4.1-inch gun, with carriage +and shells complete—a triumph of science considering the conditions +under which the achievement was attempted. Now he was gone, +and Kimberley was vastly the poorer.</p> + +<p>The bombardment was growing daily more severe. Each time +the Boers fired their 100-pounder gun a bugle was blown from the +conning tower and all ran to cover. There would be an interval +of seven minutes between every shell, and the bombardment would +last for about two hours. Then the Boers would take a rest, and,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> +after a breathing spell, begin again. By the kindness of Mr. Rhodes +the mines now became harbours of refuge for thousands of women +and children, who, huddled together in the 1200-feet level, were thus +protected from the shells which were launched in the midst of +the town. Those days in dark diamondiferous caverns were full +of strange experiences. There, over a thousand shrinking beings +found asylum, bedding, food, and such comfort as could be secured +for them. There, babes were born into the world—human diamonds +brought into the daylight from the grottoes of the millionaires—babes +which surely should take some strange part in the +drama of the century. It was an underground village swarming +with the weak and the distressed, a feminine populace, kept from +panic and despair by the man who, large enough to make empires, +yet proved himself capable of sympathy with the small sorrows and +quakings of the sick and the fearful.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;"> +<a name="ill_047" id="ill_047"></a><img src="images/ill_047.png" width="432" height="314" alt="Placard Erected by Mr. Rhodes. Photo by F. H. Hancox, Kimberley." title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Placard Erected by Mr. Rhodes.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by F. H. Hancox, Kimberley.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The experiences of a lady who enjoyed the hospitality of the +mine were scarcely exhilarating. She said: “We went down the +mine, but only stayed one day. Of course, one felt safe, but it was +so miserable; still, it was another siege experience, the crowds of +people down there. On the 1000-feet level were 500 persons alone,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +and the buzz of tongues, and the children crying, and the noises +altogether, besides the damp, were horrible; although Mr. Rhodes +and those working under him did all in their power to make things +as comfortable as possible. Hot coffee, soup, bread, milk for the +children, everything obtainable was sent down; and some thousands +of people were fed free of charge from the Saturday night till the +following Friday morning.... Those people who run down Mr. +Rhodes should have been here during the four months of the +siege. The soup-kitchen was another of his institutions, threepence +a pint for good soup, and those who had no money got it free.”</p> + +<p>Now that the nerve-destroying capabilities of the Boers’ 100-pounder +gun were proved, and Mr. Rhodes and other citizens were +conscious of the immense amount of danger to town and life that +must result from the bombardment, the Colossus, in conjunction with +the Mayor and others, forwarded to Colonel Kekewich a letter which +he begged might be heliographed to headquarters. The letter ran:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="address">“<span class="smcap">Kimberley</span>, <i>February 10</i>.</p> + +<p>“On behalf of the inhabitants of this town, we respectfully desire to be +informed whether there is an intention on your part to make an immediate +effort for our relief. Your troops have been for more than two months within +a distance of little over twenty miles from Kimberley, and if the Spytfontein +hills are too strong for them, there is an easy approach over a level flat. This +town, with a population of over 45,000 people, has been besieged for 120 days, +and a large portion of the inhabitants has been enduring great hardships. +Scurvy is rampant among the natives; children, owing to lack of proper food, +are dying in great numbers, and dysentery and typhoid are very prevalent. +The chief food of the whites have been bread and horse-flesh for a long time +past, and of the blacks meal and malt only. These hardships, we think you +will agree, have been borne patiently and without complaint by the people. +During the last few days the enemy have brought into action from a position +within three miles of us a 6-inch gun throwing a 100-lb. shell, which is setting +fire to our buildings and is daily causing death among the population. As you +are aware, the military guns here are totally inadequate to cope with this new +gun. The only weapon which gives any help is one of local manufacture. +Under these circumstances, as representing this community, we feel that we +are justified in asking whether you have any immediate intention of instructing +your troops to advance to our relief. We understand large reinforcements +have recently arrived in Cape Town, and we feel sure that your men at Modder +River have at the outside 10,000 Boers opposed to them. You must be the +judge as to what number of British troops would be required to deal with this +body of men, but it is absolutely necessary that relief should be afforded to +this place.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>To this Lord Roberts replied:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“I beg you represent to the Mayor and Mr. Rhodes as strongly as you +possibly can the disastrous and humiliating effect of surrender after so prolonged +and glorious a defence. Many days cannot possibly pass before Kimberley +will be relieved, as we commence active operations to-morrow. Future<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> +military operations depend in a large measure on your maintaining your position +a very short time longer.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>A great deal of gossip hung round the suppression of the +<i>Diamond Fields Advertiser</i>, but the whole affair was merely a storm +in the ink-pot resulting from the clashing of opinions civil and military. +After the publication of a leading article on the 10th of +February, an article with which Mr. Rhodes was entirely in accord, +the military censor addressed the following letter to the editor:—</p> + +<blockquote><p class="address" style="padding-right:3em;">“<span class="smcap">Army Headquarters,</span></p> +<p class="address"><span class="smcap">Kimberley</span>, <i>February 10, 1900</i>.</p> + +<p>“Sir,—Since the <i>Diamond Fields Advertiser</i> has now on two occasions +printed leading articles on the military situation which are extremely injurious +to the interests of the army and the defence of this town, without previously +submitting the same to the military censor, I am directed to inform you that +from this date the proof of the <i>Diamond Fields Advertiser</i> must be submitted +to me before the copies of any daily number, leaflet, or other form of publication +is issued to the public.</p> + +<p>“I am further requested to inform you, in your own interests, that on the +two occasions referred to you have committed the most serious offences dealt +with by the Army Act, under which Act you are liable to be tried.—Yours +faithfully, <span class="smcap">W. A. O’Meara</span>, Major, Military Censor.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>The military censor was within his rights. The editor, after the +manner of editors, did not care to be muzzled, so the <i>Diamond +Fields Advertiser</i> was temporarily suspended.</p> + +<p>The editorial chair at the time was not an enviable berth, owing +to the invasion of shells from the 100-pounder gun, therefore the +holiday may have been beneficial in more ways than one.</p> + +<p>The new gun, mounted on the kopje at Kamferdam, was determined +to make life hideous, and so incessantly swept the +neighbourhood that a state of panic began to prevail even among +those who had hitherto borne themselves with unconcerned front. +In addition to this perpetual tornado of horror the pinch of famine +was becoming sharper, and the question of relief seemed to be +growing into one of “now or never.” Despair seized on many. +They began to count the days, and wonder when it would all end, +and whether indeed it would ever end at all! Two days—three +days—five days—the 15th of February! Then, dramatically, as in +a fairy tale or a stage play, came the rumour of help, the whisper +that French, the gallant, the energetic, the invincible, was coming, +as on the wings of the wind—coming to restore freedom to those +who, in their tedious imprisonment, were fainting with hope deferred. +In an instant all was changed. The rumour became reality. Colonel +Kekewich and his staff rode forth, and it was as though the good +fairy had waved a wand. In an instant the dismal streets seemed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +to grow gaudy with flags, to flutter and flare as with the hues of the +butterfly. Panic ceased, and gave way to almost hysterical joy. +People laughed, chaffed, threw up their hats. The mines disgorged +their human wealth—some thousand of women and children, who +came forth alacrious, with swinging step and loudly babbling—babbling +like mountain torrents let loose from the ice of winter! It +was a scene for painter, not for penman; for who shall describe +wrinkles of anxiety swept suddenly away, pangs of hunger allayed +by thrills of glad excitation, nervous exhaustion magically forgotten, +and all this simply because there was dust in the distance—the dust +of coming feet—the dust of the British cavalry sweeping nearer and +nearer on a glorious errand of deliverance!</p> + +<p>Five minutes later the looked-for moment had arrived. Anticipation +had given way to fact—the 124 days’ siege was at an end. +Yet there were some who could scarce believe their ears. A man, +hearing that General French had arrived, approached a trooper who +was holding a horse outside the Club, and asked if the good news +was true. “Yes,” was the reply; “I’m ’is horderly; this is ’is ’at, +and over there is ’is ’orse!” And the Kimberley man stared at the +three objects before him as though he could never take his fill of +satisfaction.</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">GENERAL FRENCH’S RIDE</h3> + +<p>And now, as the conjuror says, to explain how it was all done. +The object of the combined movements was to turn Cronje’s position, +which extended west and east from Majersfontein to Koodoesberg +Drift on the one side towards Klip Drift on the Modder on +the other, to relieve Kimberley, and, if possible, cut off the retreat +of the Boers to Bloemfontein and invest the whole force. This +stupendous programme was unfolded to General French and his +A.A.G. Colonel Douglas Haig at the time already mentioned, +when the great cavalry leader mysteriously ran down from Colesberg +to the Cape. Here the plans for the future campaign were +discussed, and here General French agreed to embark on an enterprise +which had it failed in a single particular might have brought +about “such a disaster as would have shaken England’s dominion +in South Africa to its very foundation.” This is the opinion of +Captain Cecil Boyle, a splendid young officer, who, when asked to +join General French’s staff as galloper, was almost overcome with +joy. But the plan did not fail: indeed it succeeded beyond expectation, +and the relief of Kimberley, accomplished solely by the mounted +troops—said to be the largest force ever commanded by a British +General—was a feat scarcely to be excelled in the annals of warfare. +This feat was performed between the 11th and the 15th of +February, during which the Division experienced hardships of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +every kind. Horses and men were worked incessantly, without +a day’s rest and in a broiling sun, which literally baked every +portion of the human frame exposed to it, and grilled the eyeballs, +causing the most acute suffering to man and beast. Supplies +and forage ran short, and the horses were reduced to 1½ lb. of corn +a day, while the men lived finally from hand to mouth, killing and +eating as they went along, now a sheep, now a goat, and presently +nothing but boiled mealie cobs. Water was so scarce, and the +sufferings of the animals so terrible, that when a stream was once +encountered, the brutes, wild with an anguish of delight, tore towards +it in their frantic career, becoming absolutely beyond control, +and carrying their riders straight into the river. Some in this way +were drowned. Many horses died of exhaustion. At the end, out +of 8000, only 5400 remained. But all discomforts were forgotten in +the success of the achievement, which from first to last was conducted +with admirable <i>finesse</i> and consummate dash. Indeed this +marvellous ride is looked upon by those who could technically +criticise the difficulty and daring of the enterprise as one of the +finest achievements of British arms.</p> + +<p>On the 11th of February the great cavalry division under +General French started. With marvellous rapidity, and with a vast +amount of mystery, the troops had gathered together in the neighbourhood +of Enslin or Graspan, and commenced to move south-east +on the now celebrated march for the relief of Kimberley. So +swiftly was everything planned, and so dexterously was it accomplished, +that even the wary Cronje, whose spies were everywhere, +was incapable of believing that the detested rooineks were advancing +with the rapidity of a cyclone for the purpose of sweeping him and +his burghers from their comfortable positions. But a clean sweep +they made nevertheless. Before the British advance Dutchmen +fled precipitately from their farms, leaving their sweet mealie pap <i>in +statu quo</i>, and all their effects exactly as they had been using them.</p> + +<p>They carried to Cronje wild rumours of British multitudes +approaching, and preparing to make a last frontal attack upon +Majersfontein, rumours which exactly suited Lord Roberts’ strategic +plan. Cronje instantly primed himself for the reception of the +British, strengthening his fortifications and keeping his eye on the +west, where he knew the Highland Brigade was operating. This +again was precisely what Lord Roberts had intended him to do.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, in the light of the stars, the great cavalry division +with its batteries of artillery was on the move, rumbling cautiously +through the mysterious, Boer-haunted regions under the guidance +of the Hon. Major Lawrence, Chief of the Intelligence Department, +and travelling many miles before sunrise on its important journey to +Ramdam. Here horses were watered, men rested, details and remounts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +from Orange River picked up. On the morning of Monday the +12th, the troops were again on the move, starting at 3 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, and +endeavouring to cover as many miles as possible before the sun should +rise and make the whole earth into a scorching, blistering wilderness. +But now, in return for the cool night air, they had to contend with +jetty obscurity. Very slow, therefore, was their progress. When +helped by the dawn they got along faster, and soon the whole division +reached Waterval. Here extra precautions were taken, for none +knew how many Dutchmen might be ensconced in the surrounding +kopjes or whether the drift might be swarming with Boers. But +they were not long left in doubt. A Boer shell greeted the troops +with such nicety of range that the General and his staff barely +escaped. Colonel Eustace, R.H.A., immediately turned his attention +to the hostile gun, and shortly silenced it, but the enemy still +held on.</p> + +<p>Dekiel’s Drift is commanded by kopjes, having on the bank an +octopus-armed donga which cuts deeply into the soil. At this drift +the Boers endeavoured to make a stand, but the Mounted Infantry +and Roberts’ Horse were too much for them. Unfortunately, Captain +Majendie, second in command of the latter regiment, was shot +from Drift Kopje, in the shadow of which his remains were interred. +There was no time for expression of mourning and regret; the Boers +had to be routed, and presently, finding their rear threatened, they +went streaming away from their strong position, taking with them +their guns. After this the drift was taken possession of, and in the +rays of the setting sun the disciplined hosts—brigade after brigade—crossed +the Riet River, keeping possession of both banks.</p> + +<p>Horses and men were wearied out, scorched, and famishing, and +there was a general sense of relief when at last they were joined by +Lord Kitchener and staff and the Sixth Division, with convoys of +provisions and fodder. At dawn on Tuesday a great deal had to +be done—breakfast finished, nose-bags filled, &c., before it was +possible to order the advance. Day was well developed by the time +the brigades had started, and now came the exceeding trials of their +march. The level veldt was like a mirror to a brazen sky, and all +through the sweltering hours when the sun blazed its strongest, men +and horses, shadeless, parched, and sparsely fed, moved on mile after +mile on their imperative errand without pause and without relief. +Even a beautiful well of water, which tempted them to distraction, +had to be passed by untouched. It was necessary to reserve it for the +infantry, who were following on the morrow. So dry, dejected, yet +determined, they went on and on, crossed the districts of Poortje, +Zwart Kopjes, Kromkuil, and made a brief halt at Wegdraai. +From thence they swung along past pans and kopjes and plains, +due north to Klip Drift.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 438px;"> +<a name="ill_053" id="ill_053"></a><img src="images/ill_053.png" width="438" height="279" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">THE DASH FOR KIMBERLEY—THE 10th HUSSARS CROSSING KLIP DRIFT.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by John Charlton, from a Sketch by G. D. Giles, War Artist.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Captain Boyle, in the <i>Nineteenth Century</i>, gave a fresh and +spirited account of their movements on this important and critical +march.</p> + +<p>“The distance covered in extended order was great, and to save +the artillery horses Major Lawrence directed the columns by a slight +<i>détour</i> north-easterly, leaving Jacobsdal some seven or eight miles +to our left. The heat was now intense, and was further increased +by the accidental burning of the veldt over a large area, thereby +destroying our field-cable, as we learnt afterwards. From flank to +flank the distance was so great that at times the General’s gallopers +could not move their horses out of a walk, though the message was +important, and everywhere men and horses alike suffered from sun +and thirst.</p> + +<p>“General Gordon’s brigade, far away on the left, was ordered to +bring up its left shoulders to meet what looked like an attack on the +right, but the guns of the 1st Brigade put the enemy to flight, and +the march was resumed in slightly different order. The left brigade, +under General Gordon, was ordered to advance; the centre brigade, +under General Broadwood, was deployed to the right; and the right +brigade, under Colonel Alexander, was ordered to follow in the rear. +From a little stone-covered knoll the General and his staff scanned +the distant river and its banks eight miles off, and instantly determined +to push on for the drift. ‘Move up the whole division,’ and +the three gallopers started back with the order to the brigades, +which had been halted meanwhile. General Gordon on the left, +with the 9th and 16th Lancers and his guns, and General Broadwood +on the right, with the 12th Lancers, Household Composite, and 10th +Hussars, moved off at once; but Colonel Alexander’s brigade was +far in the rear—he had already lost sixty horses, and the rest could +move but slowly. The artillery horses could scarcely drag their +guns and waggons, but still the General determined to force the +drift; and I believe this decision was one of the most critical in the +relief of Kimberley, for, had we not gained the drift directly our +presence was known, the enemy would most certainly have fortified +a very strong natural position. But the General’s mind was made +up, and he was quick to act. Throwing Gordon on to the left to +effect a crossing, and Broadwood some five miles away on his right, +the advance to the river was made so swiftly that the enemy were +absolutely surprised. After shelling for some time, Gordon crossed +and went in pursuit. Only four guns out of twelve could come into +action in the centre, but with such effect that the enemy shortly +retreated over the hills. By this time General Broadwood had +crossed on the right, and his brigade trumpeter sounded the +‘pursue.’ The general rout was now complete—camp, waggons, +everything was in our hands. New bread was lying about on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +veldt and dough-tins ready to be placed on the fire, with such haste +had the Boers left their position.</p> + +<p>“My horse had died with my last message to the 1st Brigade, +and I trudged on over the level veldt partly on foot, partly on +ammunition waggons, over the last five miles, crossed the Modder +River with the four guns of P and G Batteries, and went to congratulate +the General, who was sitting on the north bank, on his +splendid achievement; for by this last forced march of nearly ten +miles he had won half his way to Kimberley. Little incidents after +the rout were full of the humour that hangs around everything +grave. One of the staff plunged into the river and caught some +geese, but some one else ate them; a pig ran the gauntlet through +the camp—amidst roars of laughter, even from the serious General—of +lances, bayonets, knives, sticks, boots, water-bottles, anything +to hand, and at length was caught by a lucky trooper, who shared +his feast that night with his friends. A waggon of fresh fruit was +taken, sufficient to make thirsty men’s mouths water, but some +thought the grapes were sour. Why the Boers retreated in such a +hurry is difficult to understand, for the position and drift were very +strong and easy to defend, especially against a spent foe; and, but +for the quickness of the advance over the open veldt, which took +the Boers completely by surprise, the division would have encountered +a very nasty opposition.”</p> + +<p>The Dutchmen were pursued with splendid animation by +General Gordon’s jaded brigade, who succeeded, worn out as +they were, in capturing some ambulance waggons and some Boer +doctors; while General Broadwood’s brigade, also worn out, chased +the Boers into the far distance till absolute exhaustion forced the +abandonment of the pursuit. So at the drift the cavalry division +enjoyed its terribly needed repose. They had gone through an +appalling ordeal, but it had been wonderfully surmounted, and the +command of river both at Klip Drift and Klip Kraal, some miles to +the east, had been secured.</p> + +<p>On the 14th the Boers still continued to buzz about after the +fashion of mosquitoes—now advancing, now retiring, worrying and +annoying, but never coming boldly to the attack.</p> + +<p>They made strong efforts to fathom the movements and designs +of the British, but without success. Colonel Gorringe, Chief of +Lord Kitchener’s Staff, now arrived, and announced that Lord +Kitchener and General Kelly-Kenny were advancing by night from +Dekiel Drift, whereupon Captain Laycock, A.D.C., rode out and +succeeded by midnight in conducting these officers safely to camp. +In the small hours the Sixth Division, after a hard and really +glorious march, which must be described anon, arrived. Thus his +left flank being secured, General French was free to pursue his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +impetuous ride. This he did after handing over to the infantry the +positions he had gained. While the cavalry division moved out, +Kelly-Kenny’s division—as in the game of “general post”—quickly +shifted to the vacant place, thus making any return of the fleeing +Boers impossible.</p> + +<p>The three cavalry brigades then drew up in columns of brigade +masses, with the seven batteries of horse-artillery on their left, +where the strongest attack from the laager near Kimberley was +expected. How far the Boers were aware and prepared for the +British move was uncertain, but it was decided that at all costs the +cavalry would cut through them.</p> + +<p>Operations began with the shelling and capture of two laagers on +the north side of the river, and the way being thus cleared of the +enemy, the division made its way to a point where it was met by the +contingent from the Modder River. The force, now increased by +Scots Greys, Household Cavalry, and two Lancer Regiments, numbered +some 10,000 men, seven batteries of horse-artillery and three +field-batteries.</p> + +<p>Scarcely had the brigades proceeded before the Boers opened +fire, and soon men and gunners fell, and horses riderless and pairs +devoid of drivers were seen rushing madly over the plain. From a +kopje on the right came the rattle and roar of musketry, which was +replied to by the guns of the horse-artillery. There was no +doubt now that a horde of Boers were hiding in front, and that the +way forward was only to be gained by a desperate plunge. There +was no hesitation. General Gordon and his gallant men were ordered +to charge and clear the right front, and the thing was done. Away +went the 9th and 12th Lancers, galloping for all they were worth, +on and on like a flash of avenging lightning. At sight of the human +avalanche the Boers, who had been “raining hell” from their +trenches, suddenly threw up Mausers and hands; but it was too +late, the whirlwind was upon them, and over a hundred Dutchmen +bit the dust. Others ran helter-skelter, a whimpering and shouting +rabble!</p> + +<p>Now came the greatest sight that military men have witnessed +for years—the rush of the legions across the great plain of Alexandersfontein. +This vast area, about three to five miles square, is +surrounded by menacing kopjes, which harboured Boers rendered +desperate by surprise and consternation. Across the open the +Lancer regiments and Scots Greys as advance guard, with the +rest of the force deployed at ten yards’ intervals, rushed like a +hurricane, a sirocco in the desert. Boers still showered down their +lead, but the cavalry, heedless, thundered along, throwing up a +volume of dust, while kopje after kopje was swept by the mounted +infantry. The enemy was dispersed on every side.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> + +<p>Five long miles the race of the centaurs continued—centaurs +galloping as if for dear life—Carabineers and Greys leading the +main body, the 12th Lancers on the left, the Household Composite +Regiment with the 9th Lancers on the right—a regal show, +and one worth a lifetime to have witnessed.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 434px;"> +<a name="ill_058" id="ill_058"></a><img src="images/ill_058.png" width="434" height="332" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Typical Underground Dwelling at Kimberley.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>At De Villiers the exhausted warriors watered their horses and +strove to gather together the poor brutes for a final effort. Many +were sun-stricken, others had simply used themselves up. The +speed that was to outwit Cronje had to be paid for in horse-flesh. +But, owing to that speed, much loss of human life was spared. +Lieutenant Sweet Escott (16th Lancers) had fallen early in the +day, but considering the fire of the enemy it was a marvel that only +one officer had been killed. One man was also slain, and there were +about thirty wounded.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 517px;"> +<div style="margin-left:20%;text-align:left;" class="xsmall">Kopje held by the Boers.</div> +<a name="ill_059" id="ill_059"></a><img src="images/ill_059.png" width="517" height="297" alt="" title="" /> +<div> +<table class="w100" summary=""> +<tr> +<td class="xsmall center">16th Lancers.</td> +<td class="xsmall center">9th Lancers.</td> +<td class="xsmall center">Household Cavalry.</td> +</tr> +</table> +<span class="caption">THE LAST STAND MADE BY THE BOERS BEFORE KIMBERLEY—CHARGE OF BRITISH CAVALRY IN +THE ENGAGEMENT AT KLIP DRIFT.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by W. S. Small, from a Sketch by G. D. Giles, War Artist.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>At two o’clock the troops were halted at the base of a small +kopje, from the crown of which it was possible to descry the chimneys +of Kimberley in the distance. It was as though they had sighted +the Promised Land. Up went a mighty cheer from a thousand +throats, ringing almost against the vault of the burnished heaven, +and echoing far and wide among the threatening Boer-haunted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> +kopjes! Kimberley was on the eve of relief. The trial, the trouble, +the turmoil were over! The triumph was won! On went the +Division, riding now with all their might, and at sight of them the +enemy, hot-foot, commenced to gallop into space. Soon the Division +was within sight of the suburbs, and their guns were addressing +themselves to a Boer laager on the east of the town. The extra +uproar struck fresh alarm in the people of Kimberley, who had +been driven distraught by the Boer’s 100-pounders, and a message +was flashed out, “The Boers are shelling the town.” Then came +the answer—the glorious answer—“<i>It is General French coming to +the relief of Kimberley</i>.” The news to the imprisoned multitude +seemed incredible. They dreaded lest it might be a new wile of +the Dutchman, and, to make assurance doubly sure, flashed out a +fresh query. But by sunset the British troops had appeared: the +whole force, battered, bronzed, but jubilant, was galloping into +Beaconsfield.</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">STRATEGY <i>VERSUS</i> TACTICS</h3> + +<p>Some one has said that strategy is a permanent science whose +principles are immutable, while tactics vary with the variations of +weapons and modes of warfare. The first example of this permanent +science was presented only when Lord Roberts came to +South Africa, but so complete and skilful, and withal so subtle, was +the initial demonstration, that its fruits within ten days of his arrival +at the front were ready to drop to his hand. Looking back, the +plan of Lord Roberts’ operations appears simple in the extreme, but +at the time only masterly conception and accuracy of execution could +have ensured success for so complicated a programme. To appreciate +its subtlety and its neat execution, it becomes necessary to +follow the other portions of the programme, beginning from the +entry into the Free State of the enormous army that was massed on +its borders by Monday the 12th. On that day three divisions of +infantry, the 6th, 7th, and 9th, General French’s division, two +brigades of mounted infantry under Colonels Hannay and Ridley +respectively, the artillery under General Marshall, consisting of +three brigade divisions of horse-artillery, two brigade divisions of +field-artillery, one howitzer battery, and a Naval Contingent of +four 4.7-inch and four 12-pounders, marched from Graspan and +Honeynest Kloof through Ramdam. The total field force +amounted to 23,000 infantry and 11,000 mounted men, with 98 +guns, and a transport of over 700 waggons drawn by nearly 9000 +mules and oxen. Later on the artillery was reinforced by the +arrival of a battery of 6-inch howitzers, throwing 100-lb. shells, and +three Vickers-Maxim quick-firers and the Brigade of Guards, which +had remained opposite the Boer trenches at Majersfontein.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> + +<p>The following table serves to show roughly the disposition of +the troops:—</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">FIELD-MARSHAL LORD ROBERTS’ FORCE</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">First Division.</span>—(Lieutenant-General Lord Methuen).—1st (Pole-Carew’s) +Brigade—3rd Grenadier Guards; 1st Coldstream Guards; 2nd Coldstream +Guards; 1st Scots Guards. 9th (Douglas’s) Brigade—1st Northumberland +Fusiliers; 1st Loyal North Lancashire (half); 2nd Northamptonshire; 2nd +Yorkshire Light Infantry; 18th, 62nd, 75th Field Batteries.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sixth Division.</span>—(Lieutenant-General Kelly-Kenny).—12th Brigade—2nd +Worcestershire, 1st Royal Irish, 2nd Bedfordshire, 2nd Wiltshire (half battalions). +13th Brigade (Knox’s)—2nd East Kent; 1st Oxfordshire Light +Infantry; 1st West Riding; 2nd Gloucester; 76th, 81st, and 82nd Field +Batteries; 38th Company Royal Engineers.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Seventh Division.</span>—(Lieutenant-General Tucker).—14th Brigade—2nd +Norfolk; 2nd Lincoln; 1st King’s Own Scottish Borderers; 2nd Hants. 15th +Brigade—2nd Cheshire; 1st East Lancashire; 2nd South Wales Borderers; +2nd North Stafford; 83rd, 84th, and 85th Field Batteries; 9th Company Royal +Engineers.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Ninth Division.</span>—(Major-General Sir H. Colvile).—3rd (Highland) Brigade +(MacDonald’s)—1st Argyll and Sutherland; 1st Highland Light Infantry; 2nd +Seaforth Highlanders; 2nd Royal Highlanders (Black Watch). 18th Brigade—1st +Essex; 1st Yorkshire; 1st Welsh; 2nd Royal Warwick.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Cavalry Division.</span>—(Major-General (Local Lieutenant-General) French).—1st +Brigade (Broadwood)—10th Hussars; 12th Lancers; Household Cavalry. +2nd Brigade (Porter)—6th Dragoon Guards; 6th Dragoons (two squadrons); +2nd Dragoons; New Zealanders; Australians. 3rd Brigade (Gordon)—9th +Lancers; 16th Lancers; Horse Artillery; G, P, O, R, Q, T, U Batteries.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Troops with Lord Roberts.</span>—Gordon Highlanders; 2nd Duke of Cornwall’s +Light Infantry; 2nd Shropshire Light Infantry; Canadian Regiment; +Roberts’ Horse; Kitchener’s Horse; City of London Imperial Volunteers +(Mounted Infantry Company); 2nd, 38th, 39th, 44th, and 88th Field Batteries; +A Battery R.H.A.; 37th and 65th Howitzer Batteries; three Naval 4.7-in. guns; +part of Siege Train.</p></blockquote> + +<p>It will be seen by the above that General Colvile had been +appointed to the command of the Ninth Division, while Colonel +Pole-Carew was transferred from the command of the Ninth Brigade +to that of the Guards Brigade, and was succeeded in the former post +by Colonel Douglas, late Chief of the Staff to Lord Methuen.</p> + +<p>Having viewed this force, it becomes somewhat interesting to +note how smoothly wheel turned within wheel. The movement +began by the concentration of General French’s division at Ramdam. +On the morning of the 12th the infantry appeared, and General +French moved on, crossed Dekiel’s Drift on Tuesday the 13th, and +captured Klip Drift and Drieput Drift, on the Modder River. Following +him closely on the 12th came the divisions of General Tucker and +General Kelly-Kenny. The latter division was accompanied by Lord +Kitchener and his staff. The negotiation of the first drift, which was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +almost impassable for transport, next occupied the ingenuity and tested +the perseverance of the troops. The drifts, like the kopjes, are the +almost unconquerable bogies of South Africa. They are the natural +defences of the country, offering obstruction on every hand, and, +however boldly you may storm the kopje, you must with infinite +patience negotiate the drift. This is no small undertaking, for drifts, +in a way, partake of the paradoxical character of individuals—the +weaker the person, the more difficult is he to manage; the more insignificant +the river, the greater the perverseness of the drift. It +resolves itself in both cases into a question of narrowness. Small +streams and small minds are banked up too high to allow moving +room in their midst. The result of an attempt to advance is congestion +of a painful kind. At this particular drift it was found impossible +for the team of mules to lug the formidable waggon-loads up the +north bank, and at last the feat had to be accomplished by adding +relays of oxen to assist in the tremendous labour. Finally, by 4 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> +the next morning the troops got across, General Tucker’s division +marching to within some three miles of Jacobsdal, and hugging +the river all the way, so as to run no risk of being without water. +General Kelly-Kenny followed, marching from Waterval Drift to +Wegdraai on the morning of the 14th, and proceeding thence at +5 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> on the same day to Klip Drift, which was reached in the +middle of the night. The rapidity with which this rush on his heels +was accomplished enabled General French, who had been awaiting +the arrival of the infantry, to proceed on his flying swoop for the +relief of Kimberley. This, as we know, was accomplished on +Thursday the 15th of February. Meanwhile the wheels of the +strategic machinery were going round. A small cavalry patrol had +entered Jacobsdal, which town was found to be full of wounded, including +many of our own invalids from Rensburg. On the way back +the mounted infantry were attacked, and Colonel Henry was fired +on by a party of Dutchmen who were concealed in the vicinity of +the river, and so sudden was the attack that nine men were wounded. +Colonel Henry, Major Hatchell, and ten men were missing. A +battery of artillery shelled the environs of the place, and put to flight +such Boers as were hanging about, whereupon the British remained +masters of the situation. Thus it will be seen that while the Dutchmen +were fleeing from Jacobsdal, from Alexandersfontein, and from +the neighbourhood of Kimberley, for fear of being cut off, they had +surrounding them Lord Methuen at Majersfontein, General Tucker +at Jacobsdal, General Kelly-Kenny at the Klip and Rondeval Drifts, +General French on the north, and General Colvile wheeling around, +ready to suit his movements to any emergency. In this manner +Cronje found the teeth of a trap preparing to close on him, and +recognised that there was no alternative but to “make a bolt for it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>”</p> + +<p>Thus the first part of the programme was accomplished. Kimberley +was automatically relieved; Cronje was on the run. But his +running was no easy matter. Since Lord Roberts’ strategy had +come into play, there was a prospect of a neck-and-neck race between +the mobile Boer and the mobile Briton, and success depended on +General French’s ability not only to rout but to head off the retreat +of the Dutchman. That the British cavalry commander should outmatch +him in celerity was a contingency which had not occurred to +Cronje; that he should advance independently of the rail, and start +off across the Riet to trek to the Modder, was described by one of +his countrymen as distinctly “un-British.” Whether this epithet +was used to denote admiration or contempt we cannot say. Certain +it was that the wily persecutor of Mafeking and Kimberley thought +that the secret of the art of trekking was confined to himself and +his rabble, until he discovered, too late, that the equally wily French +with his disciplined legions was ready to ride over him. On the +16th of February the astonished commandant, with a horde of 10,000 +Boers, was scudding in full retreat towards Bloemfontein. On all +sides were Boer laagers in a state of abandonment—stores, tents, +food, Bibles, raiment—everything had been left by the amazed +and panic-stricken Dutchmen. Dronfield, Saltpan, Scholtz Nek, +and Spyfontein were now evacuated. Under cover of darkness +the investing hordes had taken to their heels, leaving behind them +even herds of cattle and ammunition, in their desire to gain a loophole +of escape. But they soon found that, wherever they might go, +there was the rumour of British opposition, an armed and avenging +race advancing!</p> + +<p>The fact was that the trekking of the Boer hordes had been +adroitly discovered by Lord Kitchener, who, having detected an +unusual haze of dust in the distance, at once gave orders for the +mounted infantry not to follow French, but to pursue the enemy. +Accordingly, to quote the <i>Times</i> correspondent, who was present:—</p> + +<p>“The mounted infantry rode in pursuit across the plain, endeavouring +to get to the north of the convoy, while General Knox’s +Brigade was pushed along the north bank of the river, which makes +a large bend to the north between Klip Drift and Klipkraal Drift, +to strike the convoy on its southern flank. Cronje sent on his +waggons to Drieputs Farm, at the north-eastern end of the bend, +where they laagered at about eleven, and maintained a running +fight with our troops all day. The skill with which the Boers +conducted this rear-guard action extorted unqualified praise from all +our officers. As the detachments on the extreme right of the Boer +line were driven back by our mounted infantry, they rode round +behind their centre and took up fresh positions on their left against +the 81st Battery and Knox’s Brigade, which were advancing along<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> +the north bank of the river. At midday the Boers attempted to +hold three low kopjes two miles north-east of Klip Drift, but were +driven back to a stronger position at Drieputs.”</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 470px;"> +<a name="ill_065" id="ill_065"></a><img src="images/ill_065.png" width="470" height="292" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">CAPTURE OF A BOER CONVOY BY GENERAL FRENCH’S TROOPS NEAR KIMBERLEY.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by Stanley L. Wood, from a Sketch by an Officer.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Fighting went on throughout the day. At seven o’clock on the +evening of the 16th it became almost possible to see the end; the +artillery had commenced the vigorous shelling of the laager, and all +the divisions moving on the great axis were now aware that Lord +Roberts’ strategic plan was likely—how soon they knew not—to be +crowned with success.</p> + +<p>But we must here break off to eulogise the wonderful activity of +Kelly-Kenny’s division, which acquitted itself so honourably. The +march from Graspan to Brandvallei beyond Klip Drift, a distance +55¾ miles, was accomplished in five marching days. The Light +Brigade on the eve of the battle of Talavera did sixty-two English +miles in twenty-six hours, losing only seventeen stragglers by the way. +They accomplished this feat by adopting the peculiar step invented +by Sir John Moore, three paces walking alternating with three paces +running, which enabled them, when tracks were suitable, to cover +six miles an hour! No such evolutions as these were possible, owing +to the torrid weather and the necessity to take precautions against +exposure in the open veldt during midday. The temperature may +be imagined when it is stated that in one day about sixty-six soldiers +sun-stricken fell out of the ranks. On the morning of the 12th +of February the infantry marched some nine and a half miles from +Graspan to Ramdam, and from thence on the 13th moved to +Waterval Drift. On the 14th they proceeded to Wegdraai, and on +to Klip Drift, which was reached in the small hours of the 15th. +Here, notwithstanding their fatigues, the 13th Brigade at once +engaged with the enemy’s rearguard, and exhibited splendid fighting +qualities, which in the circumstances were remarkable even for +Englishmen. The West Riding, Gloucesters, Buffs, and Oxfords +had a warm time during the whole of the 16th, as the enemy from +kopjes beyond the river in the region of Klipkraal assailed them +for nearly eight hours, assisted by a pom-pom which caused considerable +loss. Though a furious sandstorm later on permitted the +Boers under cover of night to get away, abandoning seventy-eight +waggons, the next morning the invincible Sixth Division started in +pursuit. Captain Trevor (1st East Kent Regiment), Lieutenant Shipway +(2nd Gloucester Regiment), and Colonel M’Donnell, R.A., were +wounded in the course of the engagement. Major Evelegh, Oxford +Light Infantry, while proceeding to join his battalion in the Sixth +Division with a small convoy and escort, was surrounded by a large +party of Boers, and after a gallant defence was forced to surrender.</p> + +<p>Fighting and marching without ceasing, the infantry went to +Brandvallei and thence to Paardeberg, where they arrived at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> +9.30 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> on the 17th, in time to take a brief rest prior to the +operations which have yet to be described, and in which they took +such a prominent part. The marching, considering the tremendous +heat and the difficulty of obtaining water, was a feat of which +General Kelly-Kenny might justly have felt proud. Though plodding +along incessantly through the heavy burning sand under a +sun which baked and frizzled even through their uniforms, these +men maintained patience and cheerfulness in a rare degree. The +whole force was animated by complete faith in their commander, +and moved unanimously like some magnificent piece of machinery, +scarce taking time to eat or sleep in the zest of their persistent +pursuit of the enemy. And they were not alone in their zealous +performance of their share in the great scheme. The nicety and +precision of the transport arrangements may be imagined when +we remember that at one time four divisions were moving independently +of their base, making marches across the arid waterless +tracks, and carrying with them the necessaries of life for a healthy +working multitude. A new regime had begun, and the mobility of +our columns had grown equal to that of the Boers, while the railway +had been relegated to a subordinate place in the strategical plan.</p> + +<p>Colonel Graham, in his “Art of War,” declares that “to organise +the means of transport for an army acting at a long distance from +its principal magazines, in a country where it is entirely dependent +on its own supplies, is a problem difficult of solution.” Now, +the solution of this problem was due to the wonderful talent of +Lord Kitchener, who was earning his right to be looked upon as +the greatest military organiser of his generation. But his gigantic +effort did not increase the popularity of the late Sirdar. He ran +counter to too many private interests. The army is too intersected +with grooves to be crossed without a few nasty jars, and it was +scarcely possible for so young and successful a general and a peer—one +possessed of almost criminal good luck and amazing moral as +well as physical courage—to be looked upon by his contemporaries-in-arms +with excessive approval. The secret of discord was given +in a nutshell by Mr. Ralph of the <i>Daily Mail</i>. He wrote:—“His +first conspicuous act when in South Africa was the withdrawal of +the transport service from separated commands in order that it +should be managed by the Army Service Corps. Thus it came +about that every brigadier and colonel saw a certain amount of his +power shifted to what he considered a subordinate branch of the +service. A goodish degree of latitude in the enjoyment of comforts +and extras, which had been made possible when these officers controlled +the waggons, was also curtailed. The army wailed and +gnashed its teeth, but I confess I always thought that reason and +right were on Lord Kitchener’s side in this matter. Lord Kitchener’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> +plan was the only one by which an insufficient number of waggons +and teams could be utilised for all that they were worth.”</p> + +<p>The mobility of an army depends on the reduction of transport, +and to the task of organising transport sufficient to ensure the +mobility of 100,000 men the hero of Omdurman applied himself +with his customary thoroughness. He conceived the gigantic ambition +of doing away with all distinctions of transport, regimental, +departmental, ammunition, or ambulance, and merging them in an immense +whole, thus creating a single general corps, and it was doubtless +to this conception and the able way that the scheme—with the assistance +of Colonel Richardson—was carried out, that Lord Roberts +owed the expedition of his march to Bloemfontein and the further success +which resulted from his sure and swift rushes onward. Ordinarily +speaking, in the army each unit is allowed its own transport. For instance, +colonel, adjutant, and orderly-room are allotted by regulation +a tent apiece. Every three officers share a tent, every fourteen men +another. Staff-sergeants, batmen, and other details are proportionately +provided for. Mounted officers are allowed 80 lbs. baggage, +double the amount allowed for “smaller fry.” Without going +into minute particulars, we may reckon that a brigade would move +with 70 waggons and a division with about 180. To reduce the +huge encumbrance of say some 2000 waggons, with their complement +of oxen and drivers, was a stupendous labour, from which, with its +consequences, this military Hercules did not shrink. Each unit +was taken in hand, and its excrescences—regulation excrescences, we +may call them—were cut down, peeled of all superfluities, much to +the disgust of the staff officers and various other personages who +stickle for their rights, and resent any innovation that threatens to +dock off an iota of the creature comforts that belong to them by the +divine right of red-tape and red-book regulations.</p> + +<p>Not only were the rules of transport revised, but special hints +tending to the development of the initiative of the private soldier +were issued to the troops. Herewith is appended the notable document +which may be said to have marked the beginning of the new +era:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="address"><span class="smcap">Cape Town</span>, <i>February 5, 1900</i>.</p> + +<p>The following notes by the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief are communicated +for the guidance of all concerned.—By order,</p> + +<p class="address"><span class="smcap">Kitchener of Khartoum</span>, <i>Chief of Staff</i>.</p> + +<p class="center smcap">Notes for Guidance in South African Warfare</p> + +<p class="center"><i>Cavalry</i></p> + +<p>1. On reconnaissances or patrols not likely to be prolonged beyond one +day, the cavalry soldier’s equipment should be lightened as much as possible, +nothing being taken that can possibly be dispensed with.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> + +<p>2. It has been brought to my notice that our cavalry move too slowly when +on reconnaissance duty, and that unnecessary long halts are made, the result +being that the enemy, although starting after the cavalry, are able to get ahead +of it. I could understand this if the country were close and difficult, but between +the Modder and the Orange Rivers its general features are such as to +admit of small parties of cavalry, accompanied by field-guns, being employed +with impunity.</p> + +<p class="center"><i>Artillery</i></p> + +<p>3. If the enemy’s guns have, in some instances, the advantage of ours +in range, we have the advantage of theirs in mobility, and we should make +use of them by not remaining in position the precise distance of which from +the enemy’s batteries has evidently been fixed beforehand. Moreover, it has +been proved that the Boers’ fire is far less accurate at unknown distances. In +taking up positions, compact battery formations should be avoided, the guns +should be opened out, or it may be desirable to advance by sections or batteries. +Similarly retirements should be carried out, at considerably increased intervals, +by alternate batteries or sections, if necessary, and care should be taken to +travel quickly through the dangerous zone of hostile artillery fire.</p> + +<p>The following plan, frequently adopted by the Boers, has succeeded in +deceiving our artillery on several occasions.</p> + +<p>Suppose A to be a gun emplacement, the gun firing smokeless powder. +Simultaneously with the discharge of the gun at A a powder flash of black +powder will be exploded at B, a hill in rear, leading us to direct our projectile +on B. Careful calculation with a watch, however, will defeat this plan.</p> + +<p class="center"><i>Infantry</i></p> + +<p>4. The present open formation renders it difficult for officers to exercise +command over their men, except such as may be in their immediate vicinity. +A remedy for this would appear to be a system of whistle calls, by which a +company lying in extended order could obey orders as readily as if in quarter +column. I invite suggestions for such a system of whistle calls as would be +useful.</p> + +<p>5. It is difficult to recognise officers as equipped at present, and it seems +desirable they should wear a distinguishing mark of some kind, either on the +collar at the back of the neck or on the back of the coat.</p> + +<p>6. Soldiers, when under fire, do not take sufficient advantage of the sandy +nature of the soil to construct cover for themselves. If such soil is scraped, +even with a canteen tin, a certain amount of cover from rifle fire can be obtained +in a short time.</p> + +<p>7. The distribution of ammunition to the firing line is one of the most +difficult problems of modern warfare. One solution, which has been suggested +to me, is for a portion of the supports gradually to creep forward until a regular +chain of men is established from the supports (where the ammunition carts +should be) right up to the firing line. The ammunition could then be gradually +worked up by hand till it reached the firing line, where it could be passed along +as required. This would, no doubt, be a slow method of distributing ammunition, +but it appears to be an improvement on the present method, which is +almost impossible to carry out under fire.</p> + +<p>8. Reports received suggest that the Boers are less likely to hold entrenchments +on the plain with the same tenacity and courage as they display when +defending kopjes, and it is stated that this applies especially to night-time, if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +they know that British infantry are within easy striking distance from them. +How far this is true time only can show.</p> + +<p class="address"><span class="smcap">Roberts</span>, <i>Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa</i>.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>To return, however, to the great advance. Much of the travelling +was done by night, in order to save the oxen from the trying +temperature of the day, though even during the night the heat was +equal to that of an ordinary British midsummer. In addition to the +painful toil of motion over the heavy, sandy, rugged leagues, there +was the hourly danger of attack. Cronje had made known his need +for reinforcements, and at the time, from the south, Andries Cronje +was moving, and from the north, Commandants Snyman and Fournie, +while from other quarters and in the direction of Ladysmith there was +the belief that Boer hordes might be advancing. There was only +one encounter with the Dutchmen, but it ended in a mishap that was +a serious one, for the results were felt for days afterwards, and +helped to try the heroism of the troops who engaged in the movement +to the uttermost. A convoy of 180 waggons, one-quarter of +the total transport, containing forage and provisions, was lost at +Waterval Drift. An interesting picture of the terrible passage of +the drift was given by a sapper who accompanied the convoy:—</p> + +<p>“It was a pitiful sight to see the poor infantry fellows played +out, some dropping with a slight sunstroke, and the cattle dropping +dead in all directions. We moved sometimes by day and sometimes +by night. Night-time was the best on account of the oxen working +much better in the cool of night. Nothing occurred of note with us—but +our fellows were fighting every day in front on their way to +Kimberley—till we got to Riet River or Drift, which was a terrible +pass in the river. Miles and miles of transport had to pass through +a narrow passage across the drift, and it took a terrible time for one +waggon to pass over, let alone the hundreds that had to pass. We +were lucky to get across and encamp below a hill for the night. +Next day they still continued to pass the drift, in fact they had been +at it all night, and still hundreds of waggons to come on. The Boers +evidently knew of this obstacle, and a party came up from the south +and had vengeance on the column, as they couldn’t on the fighting +line. It was a lucky thing for us we were clear, or else we might +have found our baggage gone and ourselves put over the border (i.e. +sent to Pretoria or shot). The Boers took up position in the hills +and shelled the waggon convoy. The nigger drivers are terrible +cowards, and all fled to the hills or kopjes near at hand, leaving the +waggons and oxen to the mercy of the Boers. Some of the oxen +we succeeded in driving back into our camp on the other side of the +river. The good old New Zealanders (who have proved of great +use and very daring in this campaign) rode over to where the nigger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +drivers were, and threatened to blow their brains out if they didn’t +return to the waggons, which they did after the Boers had left off +shelling for a bit, after doing a terrible lot of damage. Lord Bobs +came up just as they were going to try and get some of the +waggons away, and said ‘Let them go.’ Our loss proved to be +over £100,000, which I am glad to say we recovered later. The +Boers thought this convoy was lost purposely, and when we arrived +here we found the whole of it except what had been sent to our +prisoners at Pretoria.”</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 415px;"> +<a name="ill_072" id="ill_072"></a><img src="images/ill_072.png" width="415" height="312" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Troop of the 10th Hussars with Nordenfeldt Gun.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="smaller">Photo by H. Johnston, London.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The unpleasant adventures of E Squadron of Kitchener’s Light +Horse, who were taken as prisoners to Pretoria, make a separate +narrative of themselves, as they took place while the main body +was moving on to the relief of Kimberley.</p> + +<p>The squadron was attached to General French’s column, and +took part in the engagement at Riet River. On its way to the +relief of Kimberley, a halt was made at a farm a short distance from +Modder River, and part of E squadron was detached to hold a well +of water until the arrival of another column, expected in four +hours, and then to advance along with them. The relieving column +never arrived. Squadron E held the position for four days without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> +food against a large force of Boers. They (E Squadron) occupied +an old farmhouse. They loopholed the walls, and although continuously +harassed by the Boer fire, they managed to maintain their +position and the post they were placed in charge of. During that +time they had to subsist on water only, and that brackish. Their +horses were dying daily, as there was not a blade of grass on the +veldt, and the stench was abominable. On the third day of the +siege a poor goat that had wandered near the besieged was immediately +captured and devoured. On the fourth day they commandeered +one of the enemy’s horses, which they intended to +slaughter, their own being too emaciated for that purpose. But +the Boers, having been reinforced, gave them no time to do the +butchering. On the evening of the fourth day a messenger bearing +a letter from General de Wet arrived, demanding surrender within +ten minutes. The Boer force consisted of 500 men and two +12-pounders. The officers consulted together, and decided, in +view of the hopeless condition of their little garrison of fifty all +told, worn out and starving and their horses dead, to accept the +inevitable.</p> + +<p>While all this was going on, and Cronje was making the discovery +that he might be completely outflanked, and that the +position of the Boer army at Spyfontein must become untenable, +Lord Roberts was entering into Jacobsdal. The place was orderly +and quiet. The three churches were full of patients, the town having +been used mainly as an hospital. The invalids, for the most part, +were sufferers from enteric, the result of too much Modder River. +After a long and painful intimacy with the grilling veldt, the sight +of houses and civilised dwellings struck gratefully on the eyes of +the incoming troops. A store was hailed as a veritable godsend. +Some one bought a tin of oatmeal, and walked off with it as one +who had secured a prize; some one else gave a goodly price for +a pot of pickles, and came away licking his lips like a modern +Eliogabalus. The rejoicing was no mean emotion, for the unfortunate +men, with the appetites of athletes, had been existing on +lovers’ fare. One of the famished but cheery fellows wrote: “We +marched into Jacobsdal, and as soon as we arrived we thronged +the stores for provisions. I made the following purchases for three +of us:—</p> + +<table summary="" class="w70" style="border-collapse:collapse;"> +<tr> +<td> </td> +<td class="ralign"><i>s.</i></td> +<td class="ralign"><i>d.</i></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Three two-pound loaves at 1s. each</td> +<td class="ralign">3</td> +<td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Three tins of condensed milk at 1s. each</td> +<td class="ralign">3</td> +<td class="ralign">0</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Two tins of syrup at 1s. 3d. each</td> +<td class="ralign">2</td> +<td class="ralign">6</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>One small packet of cocoa</td> +<td class="ralign">0</td> +<td class="ralign">9</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>One tin of Quaker oats</td> +<td class="ralign">1</td> +<td class="ralign">3</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>One pound of sugar</td> +<td class="ralign">0</td> +<td class="ralign">6</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td> </td> +<td class="bt ralign">11</td> +<td class="bt ralign">0</td> +</tr> +</table> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then we gorged ourselves to make up for three weeks’ semi-starvation. +The most prominent building of Jacobsdal is the church, +which stands in the centre of the town. The town itself lies in a +hollow—Sleepy Hollow would be an apt title for the place just now. +Most of the houses, including the church, are at present converted +into hospitals, and the female population are acting as nurses. Most +of them are in mourning for relatives lost during the campaign.” +Later, the troops moved on and encamped at a farm which had +also been used as an hospital. Sights pathetic were only too common—our +own sick and wounded in various stages of suffering, +and outside, to use a “Tommy’s” description, “some poor devils +wrapped in sheets ready to be put to bed for the last time!”</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 355px;"> +<a name="ill_075" id="ill_075"></a><img src="images/ill_075.png" width="355" height="487" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">GENERAL CRONJE.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">From a Photo by M. Plumbe.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Lord Roberts visited the large German hospital, and expressed +himself well pleased with the splendid cleanliness of the place and +the general evidences of good management. Among the sufferers +was found Colonel Henry, who had been taken prisoner on the 14th. +Strangely enough, all the inhabitants of the place evinced satisfaction +at the arrival of the British, particularly on making the discovery +that it was not the habit of the British troops to loot and +destroy, as they had been led by the Burghers to believe was the +case. They were now made acquainted with the proclamation which +Lord Roberts issued to the Burghers of the Orange Free State +when his force invaded their territory. It was printed both in +English and Dutch:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“The British troops under my command having entered the Orange Free +State, I feel it my duty to make known to all Burghers the cause of our coming, +as well as to do all in my power to put an end to the devastation caused by +this war, so that, should they continue the war, the inhabitants of the Orange +Free State may not do so ignorantly, but with full knowledge of their responsibility +before God for the lives lost in the campaign.</p> + +<p>“Before the war began the British Government, which had always desired +and cultivated peace and friendship with the people of the Orange Free State, +gave a solemn assurance to President Steyn that, if the Orange Free State +remained neutral, its territory would not be invaded, and its independence +would be at all times fully respected by Her Majesty’s Government.</p> + +<p>“In spite of that declaration, the Government of the Orange Free State +was guilty of a wanton and unjustifiable invasion of British territory.</p> + +<p>“The British Government believes that this act of aggression was not committed +with the general approval and free will of a people with whom it has +lived in complete amity for so many years. It believes that the responsibility +rests wholly with the Government of the Orange Free State, acting, not in the +interests of the country, but under mischievous influences from without. The +British Government, therefore, wishes the people of the Orange Free State to +understand that it bears them no ill-will, and, so far as is compatible with the +successful conduct of the war and the re-establishment of peace in South +Africa, it is anxious to preserve them from the evils brought upon them by the +wrongful action of their Government.</p> + +<p>“I therefore warn all Burghers to desist from any further hostility towards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +Her Majesty’s Government and the troops under my command, and I undertake +that any of them who may so desist, and who are found staying in their homes +and quietly pursuing their ordinary occupations, will not be made to suffer in +their persons or property on account of their having taken up arms in obedience +to the order of their Government. Those, however, who oppose the forces +under my command, or furnish the enemy with supplies or information, will be +dealt with according to the customs of war.</p> + +<p>“Requisitions for food, forage, fuel, or shelter made on the authority of the +officers in command of Her Majesty’s troops, must be at once complied with; +but everything will be paid for on the spot, prices being regulated by the local +market rates. If the inhabitants of any district refuse to comply with the +demands made on them, the supplies will be taken by force, a full receipt being +given.</p> + +<p>“Should any inhabitant of the country consider that he or any member of +his household has been unjustly treated by any officer, soldier, or civilian +attached to the British army, he should submit his complaint, either personally +or in writing, to my headquarters or to the headquarters of the nearest general +officer. Should the complaint on inquiry be substantiated, redress will +be given.</p> + +<p>“Orders have been issued by me prohibiting soldiers from entering private +houses or molesting the civil population on any pretext whatever, and every +precaution has been taken against injury to property on the part of any person +belonging to or connected with the army.</p> + +<p class="address">“<span class="smcap">Roberts</span>, <i>Field-Marshal, Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa</i>.”</p> +</blockquote> + +<h3 class="gap2">THE HERDING OF CRONJE</h3> + +<p>To return to General French. The cavalry division bivouacked +outside the town of Kimberley, but their repose was limited. At +3 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> on the morning of the 16th they were up and doing. The +enemy in the north was giving trouble. Some sharp fighting took +place, during which Lieutenants Brassey (9th Lancers) and P. Bunbury +were killed. This early activity was tough work for the already +weary troops, who had been fifteen hours without a meal. Indeed, +it was generally remarked that the relievers looked sorrier specimens +of humanity than the relieved. The Colonial troops, the Queensland +and New Zealand Contingents, and the New South Wales +Lancers, considering all things, were wonderfully fit after having +played a conspicuous part in the operations. These troops had +joined General French’s column from the regions of the Orange and +Modder Rivers. The New South Wales Lancers rode on the +extreme right flank of the first brigade, and their ambulance corps, +under Lieutenant Edwards, kept up with the column, and was +complimented on being the first ambulance to cross the Modder +River. Like the rest of the troops, they had taken their share of +small rations, merely nominal rest, sun-scorching, and maddening +thirst, and yet were full of zeal—“keen as mustard,” as some one +said—to engage in the herding of Cronje and effect his capture.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> +Worn out as they were, they had sprung to attention on a rumour +brought in by a despatch-rider to the effect that Cronje had evacuated +Majersfontein and was in full retreat.</p> + +<p>At midnight on the 16th, no confirmation of this news had been +received. The jaded troops, and still more jaded horses—mere +skeletons in horse’s skins—were preparing for real repose, when all +was changed! A telegram arrived from Lord Kitchener saying +that Cronje, with 10,000 men, was in full retreat from Majersfontein, +with all his waggons and equipment and four guns, along the +north bank of the Modder River towards Bloemfontein; that he had +already fought a rearguard action with him; and that if French, with +all available horses and guns, could head him and prevent his +crossing the river, the infantry from Klip Drift would press on +and annihilate or take the whole force prisoners.</p> + +<p>Here was a surprise! Pleasant yet unpleasant, for shattered +men in the last stage of fatigue. But General French—whom +some one has described as possessing the shape of a brick, with all +the solid and excellent qualities of one—rose to the occasion. He +was on the point of going to sleep, but there was no thought of +rest now. Arrangements had to be made, horses weeded—out of a +division of 5000 only one brigade was fit to move!—more borrowed +from the Kimberley Light Horse, whose holiday-time had come, and +other preparations hurriedly set on foot to ensure an immediate rush—a +swoop that should be as swift and successful as it was startling!</p> + +<p>One may imagine the midnight picture. The dark immensity of +veldt—the dust-driven, sweltering veldt—and Cronje, miles ahead +with his horde, the remnant of his convoy, his women and children, +fleeing along the north bank of the Modder, harassed by the +Sixth Division, threatened by the Seventh and Ninth, and yet +longing to cross the river, to get safely to Koodoosrand Drift, +where he hourly expected reinforcements would come to his succour. +French, dead beat after glorious work accomplished, rising from +the first hospitable pillow he had seen for days—springing suddenly +to action, ordering, organising, deciding how to effect the great +swoop on Koodoosrand Drift and head off the fugitive. There was +no time for the buckling on of mental and moral armour; only the +warrior at soul could have been ready for such a situation. But +such an one was here. He gave swift orders. In three hours’ time +General Broadwood and his brigade and three batteries of artillery—the +only ones available out of seven—sallied forth towards the +east, in the dusk of the morning. Their destination—Koodoosrand +Drift—was some forty miles off, and once here Cronje’s last loophole +of escape would be gone! The General and his staff followed +at 4.15 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, riding at full speed, and catching up the brigade about +fifteen miles off.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p> + +<p>The whole nature of their errand and the proposed movement +was a surprise, for this manœuvre had not entered into General +French’s original calculations.</p> + +<p>When the General had seen the Sixth Division safely at Klip +Drift and secured his left flank, he proceeded on his rush to +Kimberley. Of other movements save his own he was ignorant. +Even as he and the troops were riding into the town, Cronje, +who had discovered the futility of his position at Majersfontein +and the danger of it, was trekking madly across the front of +the Sixth Division. On the morning of the 16th Lord Kitchener, +hearing that the Majersfontein laager and the Modder River camp +were deserted, and seeing a cloud of dust in the distance, had +guessed what was happening, and immediately altered his plans +to meet the emergency. As we are aware, he instantly gave +orders for the mounted infantry not to follow French, but to +pursue and attack the Boer convoy, while he telegraphed later +to French, with the results just described. General French grasped +the position at a glance. He knew no time was to be lost, +and soon Broadwood’s brigade, with horses that could barely +move, was pushing on as fast as spurs could insist. The early +morning dusk broke into the green and grey and gold of dawn; +birds flew frightened hither and thither; foxes rushed to their holes; +springbok and hares tempted the sportsmen, but never a glance to +right or left was wasted. All eyes were strained to the east, to the +momentous east, and the wooded banks of the distant river. Nearer +and ever nearer they came—specks were seen on the horizon—men?—horses?—the +enemy moving?—scudding away before he could be +cornered? No—Yes? A moment of excitement, anguish—joy! The +General had mounted a kopje, reconnoitred, and discovered the +truth. It was Cronje’s force—the remnants of his convoy some +4000 yards off—the convoy streaming down into the drifts that lead +to Petrusberg and thence to Bloemfontein! They must never +reach that destination! Kitchener’s words—“Head him and prevent +his crossing the river”—so simple in sound, so complex in +execution, thrilled every heart. Quickly the guns were got into +action—grandly—almost magically—the first shot plumped—bang! +in front of the leading waggon just as the convoy was preparing +to descend the drift! What a reveillé! Cronje, as we know, was +rushing from the clutches of the Sixth Division at Drieputs. Breathless, +he gathered himself together. Suddenly he found himself +assailed by a new force—a new terror! He divined in a moment +what had happened. It was French, the ubiquitous French—French +redivivus, as it were—who was putting the finishing touch to the +chapter of disaster. Poor Captain Boyle, in his letter to the <i>Nineteenth +Century</i>, thus described the great Dutchman’s plight:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>—</p> + +<p>“His only chance now was to sacrifice his guns and convoy, and +cut his way across the river under the heavy fire of our guns. +Immediately on the first shell bursting in the laager, about thirty +Boers galloped out to seize a kopje on our right, afterwards called +Roberts’ Hill; but the 10th Hussars in a neck-and-neck race had +the legs of them, and seizing the hill in advance, beat them off with +their carbine and Maxim fire. The Boers from their laager answered +our shell fire for a short time with great accuracy from two or three +guns. But these were quickly silenced, and shell after shell from +Artillery Hill fell plump into the laager. Finally, our second battery +was moved to a little distance from Roberts’ Hill and opened fire +from the southern slope on to a kopje to which the Boers had retired. +All that afternoon at intervals our guns poured shells into the laager, +but no response came, and we spent our time watching the Boers, +now 3000 yards away, entrenching themselves in the open and +along the river-bank. Their waggons caught fire and the ammunition +exploded, and as they realised their position more and more, so +must their hearts have sunk. Anxiously must they have waited for +the first sign of the infantry gathering round, as anxiously as we did +in our turn watching from the high kopjes.</p> + +<p>“The cavalry, worn out as they were and without food, had to +hold the kopjes and water their horses in turn some five miles off. +They got what grazing they could in the kopjes as they lay there, +for no corn had come on from Kimberley, and neither men nor +horses had had any food except the three days’ rations with which +they originally started from Klip Drift the Thursday before, a good +deal of which had been shaken off the saddles or lost in the long +gallop up the plain to Kimberley. The General, the men, the +horses, all alike had to live on what was found at Kamilfontein—a +few mealies, a few onions, and the crumbs of biscuits in our pockets +were all we had until some Free Staters’ sheep and cattle were +rounded and killed. Had it not been for this plentiful supply of +meat, the men must have fared very badly for the next three days. +No transport came in until Monday night, and the horses had but +1½ lb. of corn in three days. The men were put on half rations of +biscuits even after the transport arrived.</p> + +<p>“Meanwhile, on Saturday afternoon about 5 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> Broadwood sent +word to French that in the far distance he observed the dust rising, +which he took for Kelly-Kenny’s division. French returned to +Roberts’ Hill, and, until the sun set, anxiously awaited the arrival +of the infantry—but they marched but slowly. From 6 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> till +7 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> we opened fire again from our batteries to show Lord Kitchener +our exact positions.” The splendid work done by the Royal Horse +Artillery was described by another eye-witness. He said: “I will +give you an idea of what good gunners we have in the Artillery.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> +General French said to one of the gunners, ‘See those three waggons +over there? (a distance of about 3½ miles); see what you can do with +them.’ The gunner fired three shell, and the waggons were no +more.”</p> + +<p>We must now watch the progress of the other portions of the +force who were actively engaged in taking their share in the huge +undertaking. Colonel Stephenson’s brigade, on the night of the +16th (while General French was learning the great news), had +re-crossed the river at Klip Drift, and on the morning of the 17th +(at the same hour as Broadwood’s brigade was moving from Kimberley) +had marched to the south of the river with the same intention—that +of heading off Cronje at Paardeberg and Koodoosrand +Drift. Thus, with Broadwood’s brigade on one side, and Stephenson’s +on the other, Cronje’s prospects of escape were scarcely worth +a dime. The <i>Times’</i> correspondent, talking of Colonel Stephenson’s +troops on the morning of the fateful 17th, said:—</p> + +<p>“They were joined about ten at Klipkraal Drift by Knox’s +brigade, which marched along the northern bank. The mounted +infantry, pushing on, reached Paardeberg Drift that evening, and +encamped on rising ground close to the south bank. The infantry, +leaving Klipkraal at six in the evening, made a night march for +Paardeberg Drift, but, missing their way, slightly passed the Drift +and bivouacked on some rising ground nearly two miles beyond, +separated from the river by a smooth plain shelving gently down +to it. The mistake was a fortunate one, as it brought the infantry +almost opposite to the place where Cronje had determined to cross. +Cronje had left Drieputs during the night after the battle, abandoning +seventy-eight waggons, and pushed on along the north bank of +the river during Saturday for Koodoosrand Drift. Soon after passing +north of Paardeberg Drift he heard that French had already +returned from Kimberley, and was holding a line of high kopjes +running north-west from Koodoosrand Drift, and completely +commanding the drift. Wheeling his waggons to the right +across the plain, he laagered on the north bank of the river at +Wolveskraal Farm. This was opposite to a drift of the same name, +about half-way between Paardeberg and Koodoosrand Drifts, being +about four miles in a straight line from each. Here he intended to +cross on Sunday morning. But already, during the night, he became +aware of the presence of the mounted infantry south of Paardeberg +Drift, and decided that he could not get his convoy away without +fighting. Probably Cronje did not realise that Kelly-Kenny’s +infantry could have already marched up and occupied the rising +ground not three thousand yards south of Wolveskraal Drift; still +less could he know that General Colvile’s division (whose endurance +had been extraordinary) was but a few miles behind, and was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +to reach Paardeberg Drift before daybreak. If Cronje had known +this, there is little doubt that he would have promptly sacrificed all +his transport and all his guns in order to get his men away and +escape from the trap into which he was now caught. As it was, +he sent a great part of his force to line the river-bed all the way +down to Paardeberg Drift, in order to act as a rear-guard and check +any attempt to interfere with his crossing Wolveskraal Drift at his +leisure.”</p> + +<p>Later on, the Ninth Division, with the Highland Brigade, who had +made a forced march from Jacobsdal, arrived on the scene just in time +to see the Boers sending up rockets to show their position to expected +reinforcements. And there is little doubt that Cronje, unable to +realise the expeditious advance of “lumbering Britons,” mistook +General Colvile’s troops for the longed-for relief.</p> + +<p>Among the missing from near Paardeberg were Lieutenants +Romilly (Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry) and Metge (Welsh +Regiment), and Captains Arnold and Vaughan of Kitchener’s Horse.</p> + +<p>Here we have the position of affairs as they stood on the night +of the 17th and on the morning of the 18th, when the trap so +ingeniously set for Cronje commenced to close little by little—north, +south, east, and west. Everywhere he turned the detestable rooineks +menaced him, and he who so lately had eaten his breakfast to the +tune of his 100-pounder gun, that belched ruin and mutilation over +the whole region of Kimberley, was now constrained to breakfast +to a new and disagreeable inversion of an identical melody!</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">THE BATTLE OF PAARDEBERG</h3> + +<p>On Sunday, the 18th of February, the most exciting action of the +war took place. It was costly as it was momentous, for it served to +decide the fate of the fleeing Dutchman. The scene of the drama was +not unpicturesque. From the Paardeberg to the Koodoosrand Drift +the Modder flowed along a deep hollow from thirty to a hundred +yards in depth. To either side the forks of small dongas radiated, +while the high banks were fringed with the feathery foliage of the +mimosa and willow. Donga and tree stump afforded excellent cover +for the slim adversary, sniper or scout. The river travelled from +Koodoosrand Drift west-south-west, deviating southwards on either +side of the Wolveskraal Drift. A vast expanse of veldt, some two +thousand yards wide, shelved down towards the south bank of the +river, fringed by higher ground; and this grassy plain extending +eastwards joined a circle of kopjes now known as Kitchener’s Hill. +On the opposite, the north bank of the river, was another similar +plain, dotted with minor kopjes to within a thousand yards of the +river, and beyond them was the higher hump of Paardeberg Hill.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> + +<p>The action began at dawn. Firing grew hotter and hotter with +the growth of the morning, and soon pandemonium was let loose. +While part of the mounted infantry was forcing the rearguard up the +river another part was manœuvring on the right front and flank of +the enemy. The Dutchmen meanwhile from King’s Kop turned on +a quick-firing Hotchkiss gun, which swept the flat country from the +kop to the southern bank of the river. The antagonists had both +posted themselves on the north bank of the river—both banks of +which were level, and this expanse afforded no cover for movements. +Over this expanse the Ninth Brigade had to move, struggling +through a zone of fire towards the concealed enemy.</p> + +<p>Cronje by this time had realised that his position was critical—almost +hopeless. Bringing his fine military qualities to bear on the +situation, he decided to make the best of a bad job, and entrench +himself with all the skill possible. He held about one square mile +of the river-bed on either side of Wolveskraal Drift, and beyond +that he knew were encircling kopjes, each one concealing its multitude +of rooineks. On the east, slowly creeping up, were the +menacing numbers of Tucker’s Division; on the west the vast crowds +of the mounted infantry and the Sixth Division; on the south were +field-guns little more than a mile off, threatening to shower destruction +from Gun Hill, while on the north were Naval guns and howitzers. +Indeed, everywhere was fate frowning, obdurate, vengeful. But the +Dutchman retained his pluck and his wits. He even believed that +with everything against him he might yet employ the same tactics +which had nonplussed Lord Methuen at Modder River. He still +retained a poor opinion of his adversary, and his delusion lent him +confidence. He hurriedly built trenches, that in themselves were +masterpieces of defensive art, and took up his headquarters in the +centre, in a red brick house—a species of travellers’ hostelry, which +may be found near all drifts in South Africa. Here at night Mrs. +Cronje joined him. During the day she was placed in the women’s +shelter at the east side of the area, which shelter was protected by +waggons and trenches all along the bed of the river. Talking of +these trenches, the correspondent of the <i>Times</i> declared that “the +skill with which they were constructed as defences against both rifle +and shell fire was worthy of the highest praise. All except those of +the outer lines of pickets were made so narrow and deep that it +seems as though they were in many cases entered from one end +rather than the top, as any such ingress must even in a week’s time +have considerably widened the neck of the excavation. At the top +they were perhaps eighteen inches wide, at the bottom about three +feet, and by crouching down the most complete protection was +afforded from bursting shell.</p> + +<p>“Every natural protection, such as the ramifications of the dongas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> +which eat into the banks on both sides of the river, had been utilised, +though the bombardment from both sides compelled them to abandon +their first hasty breastworks cut into the actual top of the bank, +which was here from about fifty to a hundred yards from the river +itself, and thirty feet in height.</p> + +<p>“For the first time here the ‘T’ trenches, of which much has +been said during the present campaign, were used. They did not +seem to present the least advantage over the ordinary shapes, except +that in an exposed angle they may have provided additional protection +against an enfilading fire.”</p> + +<p>Cronje’s first object in entrenching himself in the bed of the +river was to arrest the further advance of the mounted infantry, who +had taken possession of the bed of the river west of his position. +In this he was successful. Worn, harassed, and almost helpless, he +determined to make a desperate stand, hoping against hope to gain +time till some help from without should arrive. But this help never +reached him. A grand enveloping movement commenced, and +Cronje, brought to bay, found himself face to face with what proved +to be his Sedan.</p> + +<p>By this time he and his followers were snugly ensconced in bush +and donga and scrub round the laager, and from the trees around +they vigorously sniped and poured volleys at the advancing troops. +In the advance to the attack the Highland Brigade was on the left, +General Knox’s brigade in the centre and on the right, while General +Smith Dorrien’s brigade, after crossing the river by Paardeberg Drift, +moved along the north bank. The Highland Brigade had a terrific +duty. The Boers, from their position in the bed of the river and +on both sides of it, commanded the left of the Brigade, and as +the kilted mass moved forward in the open poured upon them a +deadly fire, which forced them to lie prone for the rest of the day. +Here at noon, when bullets were humming their loudest, General +Hector Macdonald was wounded. He had dismounted, and was +directing the movements of the brigade, when overtaken by a shot +which penetrated thigh and foot. Despite this unlucky accident and +a tremendous spell of hard fighting, the brigade exhibited splendid +pluck and tenacity. They were destitute of cover, but maintained +their position with astonishing fortitude, and this after the long +forced march they had made from Jacobsdal, and while enduring +the tortures of maddening thirst, which could not be assuaged. A +heavy thunderstorm mercifully overtook them in the course of the +afternoon and raindrops large as gooseberries clattered down their +relieving moisture on the parched and exhausted troops.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 529px;"> +<table summary="" class="w100"> +<tr> +<td class="center small">British Guns.</td> +<td class="center small">Laager in Flames</td> +<td class="center small">French's Cavalry</td> +<td class="center small">6th Division</td> +</tr> +</table> +<a name="ill_085" id="ill_085"></a><img src="images/ill_085.png" width="529" height="357" alt="" title="" /> +<table summary="" class="w100"> +<tr> +<td class="center small w50">9th Division.</td> +<td class="center small w50"> </td> +</tr> +</table> +<div><span class="caption">THE BATTLE OF PAARDEBERG.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by Sidney Paget from a Sketch by W. B. Wollen, R.I.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>On the north bank of the river was Cronje’s laager, an environment +of waggons, carts, ammunition, and stores. While General +Smith Dorrien’s force, among which were the Canadians, Gordons,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> +and Shropshires, attempted to charge into the laager, they too +were vigorously shelled by the enemy, who, undefeatable, held on +valiantly to a kopje on the south bank of the river. Here they +posted a Vickers-Maxim and other deadly weapons, and in a +measure divided our force in two. The Seaforths and the Cornwall +Regiment made a splendid charge with the bayonet, and drove +the Boers from their cover round the drift, but in the glorious +rush both the Colonel and Adjutant of the Cornwalls were stricken +down. Ninety-six of the men were wounded, but they now held the +north-west side of the enemy’s position.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 594px;"> +<a name="ill_087" id="ill_087"></a><img src="images/ill_087.png" width="594" height="389" alt="" title="" /> +<span class="caption smcap">Plan of the Boer Laagers and Trenches and the British Positions at Paardeberg.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">(By an Officer of the Royal Field Artillery.)</span> +</div> + +<p>On the east the Sixth Division was hard at work tackling a +horde of Boers, who made a last despairing lunge in order to burst +through the entangling forces and push for the south bank of the +river. The effort was stubborn as it was desperate, but they were +defeated by the dash of the West Riding Regiment, who pressed +forward with the bayonet and succeeded in seizing the drift. Many +splendid fellows were wounded and slain in the collision. Meanwhile +the artillery continued to direct their incessant thunder against +the laager, pouring in a deluge of destruction from all quarters, and +forcing the Dutchmen to shrink within the space, little more than +a mile square, into which they had so hurriedly scrambled.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p> + +<p>General Kelly-Kenny having possessed himself of both Klip +Drift and Koodoosrand Drift, the Boers were now enclosed east +and west. But here, crunched in a veritable death-trap, they +fought tenaciously. Worn, harassed, and weakened by their hurried +march, they yet held a stubborn front to our assaulting troops, and +from the cramped region of their laager did as much damage as it +was possible to do. The Canadians, who had behaved with conspicuous +gallantry in the attack on the laager, lost nineteen killed +and sixty-three wounded. A description of the fight as seen from +their point of view was given by a private in the 1st Contingent:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“We left Klip Drift on the Modder River at 6 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> Saturday, and marched +all night until seven on Sunday morning, covering 23 miles. During the march +we could hear the guns ahead. I was orderly man for Sunday, so, removing +my pack, I went to the river for water. Just a little way up the river a brisk +fire opened up. When I got back to our lines I found them issuing a ration +of rum. I had mine, and it just braced me up.</p> + +<p>“By this time the engagement was pretty brisk. Our brigade was ordered +on the left of the river, which we crossed at a ford just in rear of the camp. +The Shropshires crossed first, then followed the Canadians and Gordons. +The water was up to our necks. Some went deeper and had to swim. We +crossed in fours, holding on to each other, formed up in column and advanced +a short distance, when we extended to seven paces in skirmishing order. +C Company formed to support A Company.</p> + +<p>“By this time the bullets were coming pretty thickly, and we had some +very narrow squeaks. We reinforced A Company at 500 yards and opened +fire. The Boer fire was heavy, and some of our boys had been hit, but we +soon subdued the fire. Their position was in the river, and we were lying out +in the open, no cover of any kind except a few anthills. We could see very +little to fire at except the fire from their guns. Our line was in a crescent +shape, the right on the river, and the left extended along about 500 yards. In +the afternoon our troops were ordered to cease fire. As soon as we stopped +they started sniping, which made us hug the ground.</p> + +<p>“Shortly after joining the firing line Captain Arnold of A Company was +struck. The Boers started a murderous fire on the stretcher-bearers who +carried him away, a trick they did all day long. Towards evening the left +was ordered to reinforce the right. It was a daring move, but we did it by +running down in threes and fours. At dark all the forces retired, and quite +a few men volunteered to search for the wounded. I was out all night until +four the next morning, when I laid down played out. I never want to witness +such terrible sights as I saw that night again. Whenever we showed ourselves +in the moonlight the sharpshooters would fire at us. We were all +up early next morning, but the Boers had retired farther up the river. So we +collected our wounded and buried the dead. I was helping a hospital sergeant, +and he sent two of us up the river to search for wounded. We found a +few, and also came across a wounded Boer, whom we bandaged and took +back to camp. We also came across a few dead. We questioned the Boer, +and he said that they had retired during the night, carrying their wounded and +throwing the dead into the river. After dinner, which we had about four, we +went out on outpost duty. During the night there was quite a little firing +going on. This morning we advanced towards the position again, and about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> +ten o’clock retired for some breakfast and advanced again. Although under +fire all day we did not fire, but the artillery certainly played Cain with them.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Captain Arnold’s wound was mortal, but Lieutenant Mason, who +was also shot, was not dangerously hurt.</p> + +<p>A Colonial, writing from the front at Paardeberg, said that +fighting “went on during the day until about five o’clock, when the +Cornwalls arrived in support. The officer commanding this battalion +seemed to think that too much time had already been spent in +fighting the Boers, so ordered the charge. The result was fatal to the +Cornwalls, as they had to retire. The Canadians, acting under the +orders of the commanding officer of the Cornwalls as senior officer, +also charged, and with a like result; but the Canadians, in place of +retiring, simply lay down and remained. It was during this charge +that most of the fatalities occurred. The unfortunate commanding +officer of the Cornwalls was killed, and Captain Arnold and Lieutenant +Mason of the Canadians wounded. The Brigadier subsequently expressed +his regret that the charge took place, but at the same time +warmly congratulated the Canadians on their behaviour, as did Lord +Roberts also.”</p> + +<p>Of gallantry and daring there was no end. From dawn till +sunset raged a battle of appalling fierceness, of magnificent persistency. +From drift to drift the hollows reverberated with the +perpetual roll of musketry, the brawling of multifarious guns, the +hoarse cheers of charging troops, the shouts of the unflinching enemy. +Curling smoke burst in wreaths and garlands from the sides of the +hills and rose against the purple of thunder-clouds; flaring tongues +of vengeful flame danced and forked their reflections of heaven’s +lightnings; spouts and torrents of water poured from the sky, +mingling with the heroical blood of Britain’s best, that trickled in +rivulets, north, south, east, and west of the scene, and traced far +and wide the history of sacrifice on the now sacred ground. For +all this, the position of the contending parties remained unchanged—Cronje +defiant and enclosed, the British lion crouching, watching.</p> + +<p>At dusk the scene was weirdly, terrifically picturesque. From +the south and north sides of the river shells hurtled through the air, +falling and exploding along the river-bed, now setting fire to a +waggon, now a cart, and filling the gloom with lurid panoramas of +flame and an awe-striking, ceaseless din. Once an ammunition +waggon was struck. Then the blaze and crackling which followed, +intermingling as they did with the roar of artillery and the rattle +of rifles, made a fitting concert for Hades. And to the tune +of this demoniacal intermezzo the cordon round the enemy was +gradually closing, his last chances of escape were one by one +being sealed, the last links in Lord Roberts’ strategical chain +were being forged.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p> + +<p>At night there was peace. The Modder might have been the +placid purling Thames winding along between fringed and sloping +banks to the bosom of the sea. But there was none to admire the +pretty scene. All were worn out, and glad to drop to sleep where +they had fought, while the bearer-parties—“body-snatchers,” as they +were jocosely styled—picked their way in the darkness, doing their +deeds of mercy with zealous, unflagging perseverance. During +this time many deserters from the enemy came in. They had seen +the hopelessness of their case, and had been urging, uselessly, the +implacable Cronje to surrender.</p> + +<p>The following is the list of those who were killed and wounded +during the fight:—</p> + +<blockquote><p><i>Killed</i>:—Mounted Infantry—Colonel Hannay.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> 2nd Warwick—Lieutenant +Hankay. Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry—Lieutenant-Colonel Aldworth,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> +Captain E. P. Wardlaw, Captain Newbury. Seaforth Highlanders—Second +Lieutenant M’Clure. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders—Lieutenant Courtenay. +West Riding Regiment—Lieutenant Siordet. 1st Yorkshire—Second +Lieutenant Neave. Oxford Light Infantry—Lieutenant Bright, Second Lieutenant +Ball-Acton. <i>Wounded</i>:—Staff—Major-General Knox (13th Brigade), +Major-General Hector MacDonald (3rd Brigade). Duke of Cornwall’s Light +Infantry—Captain J. H. Maunder, Lieutenant H. W. Fife, Second Lieutenant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> +J. W. C. Fife, Second Lieutenant R. M. Grigg. Seaforth Highlanders—Captain +G. C. Fielden, Captain E. A. Cowans, Captain G. M. Lumsden, Lieutenant J. +P. Grant, Second Lieutenant D. P. Monypenny (died of wounds), Second Lieutenant +A. R. Moncrieff. 1st Gordon Highlanders—Second Lieutenant W. B. J. +Nutford. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders—Lieutenant C. N. Macdonald, +Lieutenant G. Thorpe, Second Lieutenant G. A. Akers-Douglas, Second +Lieutenant F. G. S. Cunningham. Black Watch—Lieutenant-Colonel A. M. +Carthew-Yorkstoun, Major Hon. H. E. Maxwell, Major T. M. N. Berkeley, +Captain J. G. H. Hamilton, Lieutenant J. G. Grieve (N.S.W. forces attached). +West Riding Regiment—Captain F. J. de Gex, Captain H. D. E. Greenwood. +1st Yorkshire—Lieutenant-Colonel H. Bowles, Major Kirkpatrick, Lieutenant +C. V. Edwards, Captain A. C. Buckle (South Stafford attached). Oxford Light +Infantry—Major Day, Captain Watt, Lieutenant Hammich. East Kent Regiment—Captain +Geddes. Shropshire Light Infantry—Captain Gubbins, Captain +Smith, Lieutenant English, Second Lieutenant Kettlewell. Canadians—Captain +H. M. Arnold (since died of wounds), Lieutenant J. C. Mason, Lieutenant +Armstrong. R.A.M.C.—Captain J. E. C. Canter. Lieutenant G. H. Goddard. +East Surrey—Captain A. H. S. Hart. 2nd Lincoln—Second Lieutenant Dockray +Waterhouse. 1st Yorkshire—Second Lieutenant W. G. Turbet. 2nd Oxford +Light Infantry—Captain Fanshawe, Lieutenant Stapleton. 2nd Bedford—Captain +R. W. Waldy, Lieutenant Selous. 2nd Norfolk—Lieutenant Cramer-Roberts. +1st Welsh—Lieutenant-Colonel Banfield, Major Ball. 2nd East Kent—Captain +Godfrey-Faussett, accidentally shot (died February 21). 1st West +Riding—Captain Taylor, Captain Harris. Roberts’ Horse—Lieutenant A. +Grant. Argyll and Sutherland—Captain N. Malcolm, D.S.O. 1st Gordon +Highlanders—Lieutenant Ingilby. 1st Welsh Regiment—Major Harkness, +Lieutenant F. A. Jones, Lieutenant Veal. Mounted Infantry—Lieutenant-Colonel +Tudway (1st Essex). 1st Essex—Captain Milward, Second Lieutenant +Thomson. <i>Missing</i>:—Captain Lennox, 81st Field Battery R.A.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The following table gives the distribution of the losses among +officers:—</p> + +<table summary=""> +<tr> +<td> </td> +<td><i>Killed.</i></td> +<td><i>Wounded.</i></td> +<td><i>Missing.</i></td> +<td><i>Total.</i></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Staff</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">2</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">2</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>2nd Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">3</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">4</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">7</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>2nd Seaforth Highlanders</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">1</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">6</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">7</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>1st Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">1</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">4</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">5</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>1st West Riding Regiment</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">1</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">2</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">3</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>1st Yorkshire Regiment</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">1</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">4</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">5</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>1st Oxfordshire Light Infantry</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">2</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">3</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">5</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>2nd East Kent Regiment</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">1</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">1</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>1st Gordon Highlanders</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">1</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">1</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>2nd Royal Highlanders</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">4</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">4</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>2nd Shropshire Light Infantry</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">4</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">4</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Royal Canadian Regiment</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">2</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">2</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Royal Army Medical Corps</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">2</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">2</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>81st Battery R.A.</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">—</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">1</td> +<td class="ralign padr5">1</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="padl3">Total</td> +<td class="ralign padr5 bt">9</td> +<td class="ralign padr5 bt">39</td> +<td class="ralign padr5 bt">1</td> +<td class="ralign padr5 bt">49</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p>The heaviness of this list and the evenness with which the casualties +were shared bear witness to the dash and daring displayed by all the +battalions engaged.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> + +<p>A good deal of comment subsequently took place regarding the +methods adopted during this day’s warfare, and many were of opinion +that the attempt to take the position by assault was unnecessarily wasteful +of life. Considering the positions of the various regiments on the +morning of the battle, it seemed as though the encircling of the +enemy and forcing him to submission by a slow process of pressure +would have served equally well to bring about the inevitable end. +But again it has been urged that there was at the time no knowing +how soon reinforcements might come to the assistance of Cronje, +or what results might accrue from permitting the Boers—at the +time breathless and weary—to gather themselves together for fresh +resistance. Delay was evidently the one thing that Cronje was +playing for, and Lord Kitchener, on his side, was averse from risks +which might bring about the failure of the vital undertaking.</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">TRAPPED</h3> + +<p>The enemy had little rest. The small hours were spent in constructing +entrenchments round the laager. All owned that their +stubborn energy was admirable, but further active resistance on the +part of Cronje was now beginning to be regarded by all—even his +own people—as an act of suicide and murder. “It was magnificent, +but it was not war,” as the Frenchman said. The Mounted Infantry +and a battery of artillery next morning turned their attention to an +offending kopje, whence the Boers could yet pour their equivalent for +“cold water” on the British plans, and while circling round the +position were accosted with a morning salutation from the rifles of +the Federals on the summit of the hill. Fortunately the fusillade was +launched with more vigour than accuracy, and there were no casualties. +Pursuing their investigations, the troops discovered a good +defensive position and seized it.</p> + +<p>Early in the morning Cronje sent a white flag, demanding twenty-four +hours’ armistice for the purpose of burying his dead. This most +probably being part of a wary plot to gain time for reinforcements +to come to the rescue, a reply was sent back from Lord Kitchener +to the effect that it was impossible to grant the request, which must +await the arrival of the Commander-in-Chief. Lord Roberts was +then on his way from Jacobsdal, and when the matter was referred to +him, he at once sent a message refusing to accede to the proposition. +General Cronje’s reply, being roughly translated, implied that he +wished to surrender, but when Lord Kitchener requested him to +surrender in person, it was discovered that he had no notion of +capitulation—unconditional surrender being the terms offered. Lord +Roberts then ordered the resumption of the bombardment.</p> + +<p>About midday came the rumour that French was at hand, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> +that he was taking his share of the great hemming-in movement, +but the cavalry division was then nowhere in view. Lord Roberts +arrived later, and addressed the troops, who welcomed him with +cheers. Meanwhile the 18th, 62nd, and 75th field-batteries and the +65th (howitzer) battery surrounded the laager, and commenced an +avalanche of destruction, the howitzers battering the river-bed with +an enfilading fire, the fumes of lyddite rendering the surrounding air +green with noxious vapour. Waggon after waggon of ammunition +exploded with infernal uproar, shrapnel and lyddite danced diabolically +over the river-bed and laager, yet there were no signs of surrender—not +the flutter of a white flag in the direction where remained +the obdurate man who, his last chance gone, refused to bow to the +inevitable. Prisoners now and then, worn out and disgusted, came +in, their rifles slung, and gave themselves up. In the laager were +sixty women and girls, they said, and Cronje, “disconsolate and +defiant, sat holding Mrs. Cronje’s hand and comforting her in the +river-bed.” Meanwhile Broadwood’s brigade had appeared, exhausted +and starving. The cavalry had come along the river-bank +to Paardeberg in order to reach the forage and the convoy which +was accompanying the infantry divisions from Klip Drift. Their +state was lamentable, for it must be remembered that General +Broadwood had galloped off during the night of the 16th almost +provisionless. His brigade had borne the brunt of the fray, for +General Gordon had only been able to follow later with some 120 +horses out of his whole brigade. Colonel Porter’s brigade marched +later still, owing to some accident with the telegraph. The work of +relieving Kimberley and heading Cronje had cost the cavalry some +990 horses out of a total of 4800.</p> + +<p>The loss of life, however, had not been excessive considering the +strain and the engagements that had taken place between the 14th +and 16th, but some goodly young officers were missing. Lieutenant +Carbutt (R.H.A.), Lieutenant Brassey (9th Lancers), Lieutenant +Hesketh (16th Lancers), and Lieutenant the Hon. M’Clintock Banbury +(Scots Greys), were among the killed. Among the wounded +were Captain Humfreys (Q Battery), Lieutenant Houston (P Battery), +Lieut. Barnes (Q Battery), Captain Gordon and Lieut. Durand +(9th Lancers), Captain Tuson (16th Lancers), Lieut. Fordyce and +Second Lieut. Long (Scots Greys), Lieut. Johnson (Inniskilling +Dragoons), Lieut. Gray (Roberts’ Horse). The fatigued remnant +of the cavalry division now engaged in tackling the reinforcements +that Cronje had so ardently expected.</p> + +<p>In consequence of the huge circumference of the British circle, it +was almost impossible to chronicle the innumerable small but brilliant +actions which were continually taking place, and which in the +excitement of the investment were almost overlooked. On the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +night of the 19th the Gloucesters performed a dashing though futile +feat. In the afternoon they neared a kopje in which the Dutchmen +were ensconced. They bided their time, and just as the shades +of night began to fall rushed on the enemy with bayonets and drove +them off with considerable loss. The positions taken were evacuated, +however, during the night.</p> + +<p>On the 20th the Boers before dawn were again hard at work +increasing their entrenchments all round their laager, but their +plucky labours were impeded by continual shells which were +launched now and again to prevent the work from being carried to +completion. Meanwhile from the east came the echo of artillery, +a rumour of battle which proved that the untiring French was +actively engaged in standing between the Boer reinforcements +and Cronje, who still held out gallantly in the fond yet forlorn +hope of their ultimate arrival. He was humanely offered many +chances to give in, but since he stoutly refused them all, measures +were taken by Lord Roberts to bring the fighting to a speedy +conclusion.</p> + +<p>But the doggedly valiant attitude of the enemy was not lost on +his assailants. It had been impossible to withhold from Cronje a +certain admiration for the masterful manœuvres which extricated him +from his impossible position at Majersfontein, or for the stubborn +resistance with which his force, outwitted, harassed by the mounted +infantry, and fighting a skilful rearguard action, had succeeded in +getting at least thirty-five miles to Koodoosrand Drift. It was now +equally impossible to overlook the magnificent energy of the man, +who, with his means of flight at an end, his 50,000 lbs. of ammunition +sacrificed, his stores captured, his oxen exhausted to the death, +with almost certain defeat staring him in the face, could turn and +fight an action both ferocious and sanguinary. Moreover, by the +sheer magnetism of his personality he forced his followers to show +a bold front and maintain a desperate, almost fatuous, courage in +the face of the most terrific shelling that the century has known.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;"> +<a name="ill_095" id="ill_095"></a><img src="images/ill_095.png" width="448" height="329" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">CRONJE’S STRONGHOLD ON THE MODDER RIVER.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by H. C. Seppings Wright, from a Sketch by Frederic Villiers, War Artist.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Little by little the enclosing circle began to grow narrower. +The infantry—the Cornwalls assisted by the Engineers—again +set to work to push the enemy still farther back into the river, +but otherwise little advance was made. The position was now +sufficiently terrible for the enemy. Cronje’s trap was about a mile +square, while commanding it in every direction were guns multifarious; +bushes and banks and ravines were swept by cataracts +of shrapnel, while volumes of greenish-yellow smoke from bursting +lyddite curved and twisted around the river-bed, then carried +their noxious vapour to the serene sapphire of the heavens. In +the clear atmosphere the reiterations of Maxims filled up the pauses +between the steady booming of artillery, while now and again the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +impotent despairing splutter of rifles from the enemy’s laager mingled +with the stertorous rampage.</p> + +<p>On the fourth day of Cronje’s resistance what might have been +an unfortunate incident occurred. The Gloucester and Essex regiments +by an accident had bivouacked on the north side of the river +too close to the enemy’s laager. The result was that on the first +gleam of daylight they were discovered by the Dutchmen, who +treated them to a volley by way of reveillé. Luckily the firing +was not at all up to the Boer mark and the regiments came off +scot-free.</p> + +<p>During the day General Smith Dorrien’s force on the north +worked towards the doomed laager while General Knox’s brigade +held the containing lines on the south side of the river. In the +east General French was keeping an eye on a swarm of Boers +who were hoping to come to the rescue of Cronje. These held +a strong position on a kopje which seemed to be specially constructed +by nature for defensive purposes. Still, when General +Broadwood’s brigade and a battery of horse-artillery turned their +attention to the summit and scoured it thoroughly, the Dutchmen +helter-skelter fled. Unluckily for them, their precipitate action took +them straight into the arms of General French, who having headed +them towards the drift, now gave them so warm a reception that +numbers bit the dust. Some escaped, but fifty were taken prisoners. +Forage, provisions, and equipment were also seized, though the +corpses of the slain were carried off, so that the tale of loss could +not be told.</p> + +<p>The capture of the kopje was an excellent move, as it was a +useful position whence to watch for and intercept reinforcements +that might be coming from Ladysmith or elsewhere to the succour +of the doomed. A message was sent to the obdurate Commandant +offering a safe conduct and a free pass anywhere for the women and +children. Lord Roberts also proffered medical attendance and +drugs. The offers were curtly rejected. Finding courteous overtures +of no avail, the bombardment of the position was resumed, and +the artillery continued to fire till dusk put an end to the operations. +While the firing was taking place the mules of the 82nd +Battery, while still hitched to the waggons, took it into their heads +to stampede, causing a scene of the wildest confusion. The next +day, however, all save one waggon were recovered.</p> + +<p>During the night the Shropshire Regiment accomplished a fine +feat. They pressed forward some two hundred yards, captured +new ground, and there entrenched themselves. It was an excellent +finale to four days’ incessant work under a withering fire, and by +the 22nd they were fairly exhausted. They were then relieved by +the Gordons. Here be it noticed that the Gordons were now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +incorporated with the Highland Brigade, which was thus composed +of four kilted regiments. The Highland Light Infantry, who wear +“trews,” had joined General Smith Dorrien’s force.</p> + +<p>The exchange of positions between the Shropshires and Gordons +was effected in a manner worthy of the slim Boer himself, and +showed that the Britons had speedily taken practical lessons from +their adversaries. The Shropshires having, as said, seized 200 +yards of new ground, they were relieved the following morning by +the Gordons. The Highlanders, snake-like, wormed themselves +forward to the trenches on their stomachs, while the Shropshire +men in like manner crawled over the bodies of the relieving force. +An officer who witnessed the evolution said, “I have often heard +of walking on an empty stomach, but I’m hanged if I’ve ever seen +the feat accomplished so well and so literally.”</p> + +<p>Another tremendous thunderstorm broke over the position, +causing considerable discomfort to the troops, but still more to the +unhappy creatures who, through the stout resistance of Cronje, +were held to all the horrors of the trap into which he had fallen. +We were now closing in on every side.</p> + +<p>A grand attempt was made on the morning of the 23rd to bring +help to the Dutchman. Commandant de Wet with a horde of some +1000 Boers, collected from the region of Ladysmith, appeared, and +made a desperate effort to thrust himself through the British lines. +Part of the force on its way towards its hoped-for destination was +luckily accosted from a kopje occupied by the Scottish Borderers. +The greeting, smart and accurate, was scarcely to the Dutchmen’s +liking, and they made off in another direction, but still with the +same result. From position to position they were hunted, and +in sheer despair they made for an unoccupied kopje, where they +hoped at last to make a stand. But they were disappointed. +The lively Scottish Borderers were “one too many for them.” +Seeing the Boers in act of seizing this point of vantage, the +Borderers promptly hurled themselves in the coveted direction. +There was an animated neck-and-neck race, and the Borderers, +who won by a nose, promptly took possession of the hill and +completely routed the Federals.</p> + +<p>Finally the Boers found shelter in a kopje which was <i>vis-à-vis</i> +to a like eminence held by the Yorkshires. A passage at arms +followed, with the result that the fusillade of the enemy died a +natural death. Then the Yorkshires, who had so strenuously +brought about this result, were reinforced by the Buffs, lest some +more of the Boer hosts from Ladysmith should put in an appearance. +At this time the 75th and 62nd Batteries gave tongue from +an adjacent farm, but their vociferous notes produced little effect +upon the crown of the Boers’ stronghold.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p> + +<p>So great was the silence that the Yorkshires moved on with +a view to prodding the enemy in his lair, but, in the attempt, they +were so furiously assailed by the shot of the enemy that they, +in default of cover, were unable to proceed. Meanwhile the Buffs +persevered, moving warily round the position till within 150 yards +of the Dutchmen, who were eventually driven off. More than +eighty—their horses having been shot—surrendered. On many of +these were discovered explosive bullets, and it became evident that +desperation was driving the Boers to disregard the rules of civilised +warfare. Many of our wounded were found injured by these unholy +missiles; and other tricks—barbarous tricks—were reported. On +one occasion a Vickers-Maxim gun was directed at an ambulance, +which at the time was fortunately unoccupied.</p> + +<p>During the week our losses were fewer than on the opening +day. Captain Dewar and Lieutenant Percival, 4th King’s Royal +Rifles, and Lieutenant Angell, Welsh Regiment, were killed. +Among the wounded were:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>2nd Gloucester—Lieutenant-Colonel R. F. Lindsell; 2nd Derbyshire—Lieutenant +C. D. M. Harrington; 9th Lancers—Captain Campbell; P.R.H.A.—Lieutenant +Houston; Royal Engineers—Captain Crookshank; 1st Lincoln—Second +Lieutenant Wellesley; Argyll and Sutherland—Lieutenant and Adjutant +Glasford; 1st East Kent Regiment (attached 2nd Battalion)—Lieutenant +Hickman; 2nd Lincoln—Captain Gardner; King’s Own Scottish +Borderers—Captain Pratt; East Kent—Captain Marriott; Yorkshire—Captain +Pearson, Lieutenant Gunthorpe, 2nd Lieutenant Wardle.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Lieutenant Metge (1st Welsh Regiment) was missing.</p> + +<p>Daily the enemy was squeezed into a smaller space. General +Smith Dorrien had now pushed up the river-bed to within two +hundred yards of Cronje’s entrenchments. The object lesson in +perseverance, both on the part of Boers and British, was becoming +almost awe-inspiring—the tension was veritably appalling. Soaked +with rain to the very skin—the fevered skin that had been scorched, +and toasted, and begrimed with dust—our men, grim and fierce, with +the storm-winds piping the pipe of death about their ears, held their +ground. Rations had been intermittent till the convoys began to +come in, and, almost fasting, they had been acutely conscious of the +foul, the nauseating atmosphere that now enveloped them like a +loathely vaporous entanglement. The river had swollen and bore +upon its turbid breast horrific revelations—thousands of rotting carcases +and festering loads of poisonous wreckage, that rendered the +act even of drawing breath almost a heroism. All along the great +march endurance had been put to supreme test, for the track had +been margined with the dead bodies of exhausted oxen and horses. +These lay littered about, unburied, disembowelled, and in various +stages of putrefaction. Everywhere vultures and flies and other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +loathsome parasites of the veldt hovered and sidled and crawled, +glutting themselves at veritable orgies of destruction, and contesting +their prizes with the winds. These, taking their fill, hastened +to diffuse the remains of the grisly banquet far and wide. Thus +the foul dust, wantonly distributed, blew in the throats and eyes +and ears of gallant men, and contributed death more liberally, more +pitifully, than even the bullets of the Boers!</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 434px;"> +<a name="ill_100" id="ill_100"></a><img src="images/ill_100.png" width="434" height="331" alt="Guns Captured at Paardeberg. Photo by Alf. S. Hosking, Cape Town." title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Guns Captured at Paardeberg.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Alf. S. Hosking, Cape Town.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Plentiful rain had fallen, saturating humanity, and causing the +heated ground to retract the fumes of a charnel-house. But in one +way better times had come. There was fuller fare. Large convoys +made a daily appearance, and the men were refreshed after their +labours with the promise of plenty. Food of a substantial kind was +indeed necessary, for it served to attune the stomach to the noxious +vapours that hourly grew almost tangible. Cronje, though he +knew it not, was sowing the seeds of a harvest of revenge! He +was killing his thousands! For many days our troops had been +enduring lenten fare; they had rung the changes on hardships, +fatigues, and self-abnegations of all kinds. They had been battered +on by storms. They had outstripped transport and supplies. They +had kept the inner man appeased and working on quarter rations. +They had marched like giants in ten-league boots, and meanwhile +fed like fairies; yet withal had borne countenances cheery and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> +noble, full of confidence and unquenchable pluck. But these splendid +creatures were but mortal. The foul fiends of enteric and malaria +were already sapping their buoyant constitutions, and marking them, +one after another, with the deadly seal of possession.</p> + +<p>Every day of the Dutchman’s resistance was therefore full of +horror, full of anxiety. There were continual rumours that the +Boer reinforcements were in view, that the Federals were massing +for a desperate effort. Wearied and battered, the cavalry at +Koodoosrand were perpetually speeding on wild-goose chases, in +one of which both General French and Colonel Haig nearly lost +their lives. A reconnaissance in force had been ordered. The drift, +swollen by rains, was now a torrent, and in crossing the General +and his A.D.C. were thrown by their restive horses into the river, +whence they only emerged safe and sound in consequence of their +being fine swimmers and pneumonia-proof Britons.</p> + +<p>Cronje, finding that the reinforcements failed to reach him, +decided on the night of the 26th to cut his way out and seize a kopje +before dawn. But his intention was frustrated by the Mounted +Infantry, who, in spite of the darkness, kept a watchful eye on the +slippery enemy.</p> + +<p>Quite early on the morning of the 27th of February, the anniversary +of Majuba day, the splutter of musketry greeted the ears of +the dozing camp. Some one was up and doing early. It was the +Canadians. They were acting on the principle of the early bird that +catches the morning worm. Supported by the Gordons, Cornwalls, +and Shropshires, they were advancing, building a trench in +the very teeth of the enemy, and at fifty yards’ range were +saluting him with such deadly warmth as to render his position +untenable. How this energetic and gallant movement, the wonder +and admiration of all, was brought about was described by the +correspondent of the <i>Times</i>. “It appeared that Brigadier-General +MacDonald sent from his bed a note to Lord Roberts, reminding +him that Tuesday was the anniversary of that disaster which, we all +remembered, he had by example, order, and threat himself done his +best to avert, even while the panic had been at its height; Sir Henry +Colvile submitted a suggested attack backed by the same unanswerable +plea. For a moment Lord Roberts demurred to the plan; it +seemed likely to cost too heavily, but the insistance of Canada broke +down his reluctance, and the men of the oldest colony were sent out +in the small hours of Tuesday morning to redeem the blot on the +name of the mother-country.</p> + +<p>“From the existing trench, some 700 yards long, on the northern +bank, held jointly by the Gordons and the Canadians, the latter were +ordered to advance in two lines—each, of course, in extended order—thirty +yards apart, the first with bayonets fixed, the second rein<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>forced +by fifty Royal Engineers under Colonel Kincaid and Captain +Boileau.</p> + +<p>“In dead silence, and covered by a darkness only faintly illuminated +by the merest rim of the dying moon, ‘with the old moon +in her lap,’ the three companies of Canadians moved on over the +bush-strewn ground. For over 400 yards the noiseless advance +continued, and when within eighty yards of the Boer trench the +trampling of the scrub betrayed the movement. Instantly the outer +trench of the Boers burst into fire, which was kept up almost without +intermission from five minutes to three o’clock to ten minutes past +the hour. Under this fire the courage and discipline of the Canadians +proved themselves. Flinging themselves on the ground, they +kept up an incessant fire on the trenches, guided only by the flashes +of their enemy’s rifles; and the Boers admit that they quickly reduced +them to the necessity of lifting their rifles over their heads to the +edge of the earthwork and pulling their triggers at random. Behind +this line the Engineers did magnificent work; careless of danger, +the trench was dug from the inner edge of the bank to the crest, +and then for fifty or sixty yards out through the scrub. The Canadians +retired three yards to this protection and waited for dawn, +confident in their new position, which had entered the protected +angle of the Boer position, and commanded alike the rifle-pits of the +banks and the trefoil-shaped embrasures on the north.”</p> + +<p>For some time it seemed as though hostilities were suspended, +and then—a sign, a flutter of white, a signal of surrender caught +the straining eyes of the regiment nearest the crest of the hill. In +an instant the plains and the hollows, the kopjes, and even the dome +of heaven, seemed animated—lending themselves to repeat the ringing +cheer, to reiterate the cry of an immense joyous heart splitting a little +universe in twain. Ears languid, ears hard-working, ears occupied, +ears expectant, all caught the sound, echoed it and knew that at last +the looked-for hour had come, Cronje had surrendered! Many +Boers threw up their hands and dashed unarmed across the intervening +space; others waved white flags and exposed themselves +carelessly on their entrenchments, but not a shot was fired. Colonel +Otter and Colonel Kincaid held a hasty consultation, which was +disturbed by the sight of Sir Henry Colvile (commanding the Ninth +Division) quietly riding down within 500 yards of the northern Boer +trenches to bring the news that at that very moment a horseman +was hurrying in with a white flag and Cronje’s unconditional surrender, +to take effect at sunrise.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> + +<h3 class="gap2">THE SURRENDER OF CRONJE</h3> + +<p>Then all was activity. A note was borne to Lord Roberts +stating that Cronje had given in, and General Pretyman thereupon +rode out to take his surrender. The scene was highly impressive. +Lord Roberts, in front of the cart in which he slept, walked up and +down awaiting his prisoner, while a guard of the Seaforth Highlanders +with drawn bayonets formed a line to either side. In the +distance a small group of horsemen was seen approaching, a silhouette +which gradually grew clearer in the golden light of the morning. It +was General Pretyman with the redoubtable Cronje riding a white +pony on his right and the escort of the 12th Lancers following. The +subsequent scene was a study in reserve. After all the tumultuous +passions, the ferocity of bloodshed, the diamond-cut-diamond activities +of death-dealing lyddite and Vickers-Maxims, the two leaders met +without the smallest sign of emotion. To Lord Roberts, who stood +with his staff awaiting him, Colonel Pretyman said, “Commandant +Cronje, sir!” The two great men looked at each other, the Dutchman +touched his hat, the Englishman returned the salute. The +group dismounted, and then, regretfully be it noted, Lord Roberts, +the blameless upright British soldier gave his hand to the tyrant of +Potchefstroom. “You have made a gallant defence, sir,” said the +British Commander-in-Chief; “I am glad to see you. I am glad to +get so brave a man!”</p> + +<p>The picture of the redoubtable Cronje as he approached our +great little Field-Marshal was remarkable in its contrast. On +the one side you saw a burly square-jawed agriculturist, grizzly +of beard, tanned and battered of complexion, portly and cumbrous +of form. On the other, you had the lithe figured aristocratical +British soldier, trim in his kharki uniform, and wearing his sword +with the air of nameless distinction which belongs to the born ruler +of men. Cronje’s aspect was that of a substantial farmer, his heavy +cane, his slouch hat encircled by its orange leather band, his bottle-green +overcoat and tan boots were distinctly bucolic, but his rigid +implacable countenance, an utterly impenetrable façade, betrayed the +masterly and indomitable character of the man.</p> + +<p>There is no doubt that by his fierce, his masterly resistance to +the British he won for himself the respect of all who trapped him. +His undoubted pluck, a quality which has such unending fascination +for the English, served in a great measure to wipe off the terrible +remembrance of his atrocious deeds in other years. Cronje spoke +scarcely a word. He said there were 3000 Boers in the laager—as +a matter of fact, there were over 3700—and also requested that his +wife, son, grandson, and secretary might be allowed to remain with +him. This request was acceded to; arrangements were made that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +his relatives should accompany him into captivity. He then partook +of refreshment in Lord Roberts’ quarters with the staff. Though +he smoked, he said little and remained gloomy and preoccupied.</p> + +<p>The prisoners trooped across the river like some patriarchal or +gipsy horde, with trousers turned up so as not to damp them in +the swollen drift. They splashed along, each armed with his household +effects, pots and pans, blankets and rifles, some jesting and +skipping in sheer exuberance of animal spirits that long had been +subdued, some stolid and serious in the full comprehension of the +grievous end of all their pluck and endurance. And they had +endured! From the hundreds of wounded that were brought in +the same tale of suspense, and misery, and horror was told in varying +keys. Always they had awaited reinforcement; they had even +invented a scheme for cutting a way out to meet the relieving force +which never came. But volunteers for this deed of daring were +few. About a hundred in all. This meagre array was not sufficient. +Others had pressed on the relentless Cronje the philosophy of +surrender. They urged that directly, if not annihilated by shell fire, +they would be laid low by fever; already eighty-seven men were +slain and a hundred and sixty wounded. These had no doctors +even to attend them. The surgeons had been left behind on the +Modder, and the offer of Lord Roberts of medicine and succour +had been refused. The suffering had indeed been terrible and now +was of no avail.</p> + +<p>It was not pleasing to the vanity of the British army to find +themselves confronted with such a rabble of tatterdemalions, and to +remember how this nondescript mob had so long held them in check. +But there was no denying that the ruffians had qualities, and that +they, unkempt and undisciplined as they were, had proved themselves +foemen worthy of our steel and tacticians meriting study.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 470px;"> +<a name="ill_105" id="ill_105"></a><img src="images/ill_105.png" width="470" height="314" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">“MAJUBA DAY”—CRONJE SURRENDERS TO LORD ROBERTS AT PAARDEBERG.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by R. Caton Woodville, from a Sketch by Frederic Villiers, War Artist.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>It was curious how much our troops had learnt both from the +undisciplined Boers and the inexperienced Colonials. From the +latter they picked up the art of taking cover, and from the +former the art of obtaining it. The Boer was not content merely +to crouch behind a stone and show a head only when about to +shoot. He cunningly arranged his sangar so that he should expose +no head at all. He built up his small stones to the necessary +height, taking care to leave a central loophole through which +he could take aim and yet remain invisible. An officer, in giving +his opinion of the Boer as a fighter, showed the lessons that had +been taught by him. “As a defender of defensive positions in +a mountainous country he is unequalled. He digs good trenches +and chooses good defensive positions, and he lies there quietly +and waits for his enemy to advance across the open. But he +never, hardly ever, dares to attack in the open, and if his flank<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +is turned or his rear threatened, he gets nervous, and retires to a +better position if he can. If our positions could be reversed—that +is, if Tommy Atkins had to defend the kopjes, and if the Boers had +to attack them in the open, there can be no doubt as to the result. +Tommy, perhaps, would not be quite so good as the Boer in defence, +but, on the other hand, the Boer would fail in the attack; +indeed, he could not be brought to attempt it. As a shooter the +Boer is no better than our own men. The only difference is that he +attempts to shoot at far longer ranges. The Boer has taught us to +dig big trenches and to use big guns as mobile artillery.”</p> + +<p>The mobility of the big guns was at the moment more of a +puzzle than ever. The Boers were in possession of some Vickers-Maxims +in laager, two 15-pounders, and some big guns. We captured +the minor weapons, but the big ones were sedulously hidden, +and how they had vanished became a problem that was never solved. +It was supposed they were buried in the bed of the river, but search +failed to unearth them.</p> + +<p>Trophies innumerable were picked up. Sir Howard Vincent +succeeded in securing a quaint seventeenth-century Bible, and +Roberts’ Horse possessed themselves of Cronje’s green bell-tent +and ox-waggon. One cavalry officer thought himself lucky to secure +a new pair of stays marked “11¾, waist 28 inches,” evidently the +property of a capacious vrow. Letters multifarious were found, +among them Cronje’s commission, signed by President Steyn.</p> + +<p>Most of the prisoners, when interrogated, declared they were +sick of the war, and confessed that but for their fear of Cronje they +would long ago have surrendered. His was the powerful, the guiding +hand. Some of them expressed queer notions of the causes +of the trouble, giving forth at second and even third hand—and +in a very garbled condition—the sentiments poured into them by +“sympathisers.”</p> + +<p>Said one, “The war is got up by the capitalists. The generals +arrange a victory or a reverse to suit their own interests on the +Stock Exchange!”</p> + +<p>A private remonstrated, “You don’t include Lord Roberts? +You’ll admit that he is disinterested!”</p> + +<p>“Not a bit of it! He is a shareholder along with Chamberlain +and Rhodes and the other millionaires. They all look after number +one.”</p> + +<p>Against such prejudice and ignorance it was useless to argue.</p> + +<p>Some of the Free Staters expressed their joy at being relieved +of the company of the Boers. They had been on bad terms with +them, and had scarcely dared to speak a word in English for fear of +their lives. One declared that he was not permitted even to address +his horse in the odious language!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p> + +<p>There were great and astonishing contrasts in the groups of +prisoners that were gathered together. Many of them were youths +of sixteen to eighteen years of age. Some seemed in a hopeless +stage of sickness and despair, others attenuated by the amount of +vinegar consumed to cure the stupefying effects of our lyddite. Endurance, +it was plainly to be seen, had been carried to the last pitch. +Some, on the other hand, appeared as though already reviving with +the relaxation of the strain to which they had been subjected; some +even delighted to find themselves in British hands, no longer tormented +by “hell-scrapers,” as they called the shrapnel, and already clamouring +to partake of spirits and refreshment, for which they had longed in +vain. The rapture at their deliverance overcame all other sentiments; +they had no thought for the ups and downs of the war, and +many, indeed, were still unaware of the causes that had led them to +share in it. Cronje had evidently kept a tight hand on them, and but +for his unique influence many would long before have surrendered. +This peculiar despotism was marvellous when it is considered that +none of the younger commanders could induce more than a portion +of his commando to follow him from the Natal side to the scene of +operations. Cronje had the privilege of being the most admired and +well-detested person on the stage of the moment, and one Boer was +seen clenching his fist in the direction of the vanquished tyrant and +exclaiming, “You hard man! you deserve to be shot.” There were +many who heard him who endorsed the opinion.</p> + +<p>A great deal of undue attention seemed to be bestowed on the +Dutch Commandant, and evidently it was his undisputed military +genius that earned for him the admiration of his conquerors. Only +to this final display of skill and pluck can be attributed the deference +paid to a man whose Anglophobia had made itself prominent for +many years, one who cut such a despicable figure in his relations +with us at Potchefstroom, and who was responsible in particular for +much of the brutality which has been accredited to the Boers in +general. It was certainly a case of turning the other cheek to the +smiter, for the captive was allowed to take with him his wife, and +retain in his possession his favourite horse, Wolmarens!</p> + +<p>Accompanied by Mrs. Cronje, he was sent to Cape Town in a +covered waggon, guarded by a special convoy under the command +of Colonel Pretyman. There was considerable pathos in the scene +of departure, for many of the other prisoners had gone through the +ordeal of the bombardment with their wives by their sides, and these, +less fortunate than Mrs. Cronje, had to be left behind!</p> + +<p>The majority of people, it must be owned, were horrorstruck at +the consideration shown to one to whom the word consideration was +an empty name. A Scottish Colonial, writing home, expressed his +irritation at the mode in which warfare was conducted. He said:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +“Cronje is now a hero, housed in the Admiral’s cabin on board +the <i>Doris</i>. He is probably saying, ‘What fools the British are.’ +For, give him a chance, and he would commit again the treacherous +murders for which he has been responsible in the past with as little +compunction as he would feel at putting his heel on a scorpion. I +wonder if we may take this bit of foolishness as an indication of the +way in which England is going to settle up finally with the Republics. +Her policy has so often before ended in weakness that one cannot +help feeling nervous.”</p> + +<p>He was merely one of a thousand who argued that it was impossible +to go to war with kid-gloves on, and who regretted the +terms of the proclamation which had been made on the entry of +Lord Roberts to the Free State. This proclamation, which will be +discussed anon, was another of the nineteenth-century humanitarian +movements which were mistakenly applied to seventeenth-century +comprehension. To return to the events of Majuba day.</p> + +<p>Lord Roberts subsequently visited the Boer laager, and testified +his admiration of the ingenuity and energy with which the position +was made almost impregnable to assault. In spite of ten days’ +bombardment by over fifty guns and howitzers, the number of Boer +wounded was said to amount to only 160—a fact which went to +prove that the power of artillery can be broken by the ingenious use +of the spade. The entrenchments, when examined, proved to be +most skilfully contrived, with narrow mouths some eighteen inches +wide, and wide bases, some quite three feet broad, which rendered +them almost impregnable to shell fire.</p> + +<p>The effect of the bombardment was terrific. The laager presented +an appearance of black chaos, varied only by streaks of +yellow, which told of the gambols of lyddite. Waggons were +wrecked with shrapnel; some had ceased to exist; rings and twists +and girandoles of distorted metal were all that was left of them. +Within the laager was a decaying, disordered mass of Boer belongings, +saddles innumerable, karosses and panniers, coats and feminine +apparel, fragments of old tin trunks, and 2,000,000 rounds of ammunition; +wreckage of all sorts, united by the super-evident, unavoidable, +and persistent bonds of stench, which permeated everything, +weaving visible and invisible in one noxious nightmare of the +senses.</p> + +<p>Round this arena of pestilence sentries were posted. It was +necessary to prevent loot, though little of value remained save +munitions of war. Most of the Boer property had been left behind +in the hurried rush from Majersfontein and Spyfontein. Still the +locality had to be guarded, and the guards, as well as all who +approached, had to pocket their sensibilities. Indeed, it was a +marvel how the Boers had managed to exist in the pestilential<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> +atmosphere that pervaded the river-bed. Dotted everywhere, or +collected in heaps, already rotting in the tropical heat, were the +remains of horses, mules, and cattle, some of which had been driven +to death, while others had been hurried there by the voice of our +howitzers or the rain of our rifle fire. In the fringe of this atmosphere +our troops had lived for some three days past, for nightly +they had advanced some fifty to an hundred yards nearer the laager, +and there dug trenches and located themselves, till, at the end, the +last three nights were passed almost within pistol-shot of the +enemy and in the thick of a stench whose opacity was well-nigh +suffocating.</p> + +<p>An interesting account of his enforced stay in the laager was +given by a trooper in Kitchener’s Horse, who was taken prisoner +on the day previous to the great battle which settled Cronje’s fate. +He had become separated from the rest of his troop while scouting +along the Modder River. When he looked round for his friends, +he found himself surrounded by a party of Boers, who, jumping +from the bushes, fired upon him. His horse was shot and rolled +over upon the young trooper, carrying him with him into the river. +The Boers rescued him, relieved him of his bandolier, and made him +prisoner. Together they went to the laager. “There,” the trooper +said, “I was taken before Commandant Cronje, who asked me +our strength and movements. On my replying that I was only a +trooper, and did not know, he said, ‘Oh, never mind; if you don’t +want to tell me, I shall not try to make you.’ A guard was placed +over me, and we stayed the night in the laager. I should say +there were about 6000 Dutchmen all told, and forty women and +children. A great many among them were Irishmen, a few Scotchmen; +in short, almost every nation was more or less numerously +represented. All that night they were busy entrenching themselves, +employing a great deal of native labour to help them.” +Through the whole of the 18th of February the young man +endured the bombardment, which he described as so heavy that +it was impossible to remain in the laager, and consequently all, +even the women and children, took refuge in the trenches. The +Boers’ mode of firing he specially made a note of: “The Boers did +not in the least mind our attack, and laughed amongst themselves +as they saw the men advancing. They allowed them to come up +to about 600 yards from the trenches, and then opened a tremendous +fire from their rifles. It did not seem to be aimed at any +particular man, but more at a certain fixed distance. At that they +fired as fast as they could. The range was obtained by a few +fixed shots, who fired, watched the dust caused by the strike of the +bullets, and then gave out the range. Our men came up to within +150 yards and then retired. They fired volleys at the longer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> +distances, but all their fire seemed to me to be short.” Each day +there were losses, but comparatively few, as the bottle-shaped +trenches afforded excellent cover; those that fell, however, were +buried where they lay. He went on to say that “The shelling +of Monday night destroyed several waggons, two of which were on +either side of Cronje’s own. No one could have been braver than +he was. He stood upon the waggon-step, field-glasses in hand, +and did not seem to care in the least how thickly the shells and +bullets fell. Many of the Free Staters, however, were quite the +reverse, and were in a great state of terror when the bombardment +began. The ammunition waggons blew up, and several of the +provision waggons were burned. The shrapnel killed the majority +of the horses and cattle, which had no shelter but the banks of +the river. Beyond that the fire did little real damage.” The +prisoner declared his belief that “could they have kept their laager +out of fire they would never have surrendered. The loss of the +provision waggons was what caused them to give in. They had +only four days’ food left. Their ammunition was still plentiful. +After the explosion of the ammunition waggons by shell-fire on +February 19, all the remaining cartridges were distributed throughout +the trenches, and on the south side every trench was still full +of unused ammunition. Everything was done in the trenches, +even the cooking, each individual having with him a box of provisions +sunk into the ground. These boxes were replenished at +night as there was no possibility of reaching the laager during the +day.”</p> + +<p>Lord Roberts addressed the Canadians, and expressed his satisfaction +and appreciation of the splendid work they had done and the +courage they had shown. To them he attributed the greater share +in the Boer surrender. All were delighted at the attention shown +the heroic Colonials, who had done splendid work, and at the +exhibition of Lord Roberts’ tact and kindliness in thus singling +out the Canadians for the position of honour. In the Jubilee of 1897 +the Field-Marshal had told the Colonial Bodyguard that he would +like to have them with him if he were ever in another campaign, +and now the Canadians felt that the Chief’s cherished words had +been no mere formula, and that they had been given the chance to +distinguish themselves that they had so eagerly desired.</p> + +<p>To General Colvile was given the credit of inventing the order of +attack which at last brought the Boers to their senses. He arranged +that the first rank should advance, bayonets fixed, till the enemy +opened fire. Then they were to lie down and continue to fire on +the Boers, while Engineers and the second line dug a trench. The +trench thus made was within eighty yards of those of the Boers, and +owing to its trefoil shape, the troops were able to enfilade both the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +river and northern trenches of the enemy and make them untenable. +From their point in the original trench the Gordon Highlanders +kept up a brisk fire, while the Shropshire Light Infantry, who were +posted over a thousand yards to the north-west of the position, co-operated.</p> + +<p>In the very successful attack on the enemy’s trenches the Royal +Canadian Contingent lost seven killed and twenty-nine wounded. +Major Pelletier, who commanded the French company, foremost +of the three companies, was wounded, and also Lieutenant Armstrong. +It is interesting to note that few of this gallant company of +Great Britain’s defenders could speak English!</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 387px;"> +<a name="ill_112" id="ill_112"></a><img src="images/ill_112.png" width="387" height="431" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Boer Trenches at Paardeberg.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Alf. S. Hosking, Cape Town.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Colonel Otter, in command of the Canadians, had distinguished +himself on many occasions by rare coolness and display of great +talent in the field, and he now took pleasure in reporting excellently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> +of the various members of the battalion under his command who had +especially distinguished themselves. Among these were:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>Captain H. B. Stairs, 66th P. L. Fusiliers, and Lieutenant and Captain A. +H. Macdonell, Royal Canadian Regiment. E Company, No. 5130, Corporal +T. E. Baugh, R.C.R. F Company, No. 7782, Private O. Matheson, 12th Newcastle +Field Battery; No. 7803, Private A. Sutherland, D. of Y. R. C. Hrs.; +No. 7868, Sergeant W. Peppeatt, Royal Canadian Artillery; No. 7871, Corporal +R. D. M’Donald, Royal Canadian Artillery; No. 7822, Private C. Harrison, +2nd Montreal Regiment C.A.; No. 7841, Private A. Bagot, 65th Montreal +Rifles; No. 7778, Private Sievert, 93rd Cumberland Infantry; No. 7615, Private +A. T. Seriault, 9th Voltigeurs de Quebec.</p></blockquote> + +<p>But these were only a select few among the number who were +engaged in incomparable things done incomparably well.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Colonel Ormelie Campbell Hannay was in his fifty-second year, having been born +on December 23, 1848. He entered the army as an ensign in the 93rd Foot (now the +Princess Louise’s Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) on October 5, 1867, received his +lieutenancy on the 28th of October 1871, and from February to November 1878 was +instructor of musketry. Obtaining his captaincy on November 17, 1878, he was employed +on special service in South Africa during the latter part of the Zulu War, from +June to October 1879, for which he had the medal with clasp. From April to September +1883 he was aide-de-camp to the brigadier-general at Aldershot, was gazetted a +major in January 1884, and from September 1886 to November 1887 was again employed +on staff service, for the first portion of the period as an aide-de-camp in Bengal, and for +the latter portion in Bombay. He became lieutenant-colonel in June 1893, and colonel in +June 1897, and in June 1899 was placed on the half-pay list, from which he was removed last +October in order to take up the temporary appointment of assistant-adjutant-general at Portsmouth. +Not till December 30, 1899, was he chosen for special service in South Africa.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Lieutenant-Colonel William Aldworth, D.S.O., was forty-four years of age, having +been born on October 3, 1855. He entered the army as a sub-lieutenant on June 13, 1874, +and was gazetted to the 16th Foot, of which he was adjutant from October 17, 1877, +to March 29, 1881. Gazetted a captain in the Bedfordshire Regiment on March 30, +1881, he served with the Burmese Expedition from January 14, 1885, to March 3, 1886, +as aide-de-camp and acting military secretary to Sir Harry Prendergast, first as a +major-general in Madras, and then as general officer commanding in Upper Burma, +being mentioned in despatches and receiving the D.S.O. and the medal with clasp. +He also took part in the Isazai Expedition in 1892, and in February 1893 was gazetted a +major. In 1895 he served with the Chitral Relief Force under Sir Robert Low with the +1st battalion of his then regiment (the Bedfordshire), and took part in the storming of the +Malakand Pass and the engagement near Khar, for which he had the medal with clasp. +Again he was in active service in 1897-98, under Sir William Lockhart, in the campaign on +the North-West Frontier of India, with the Tirah Expeditionary Force as deputy-assistant-adjutant-general +of the 2nd Brigade, and with the Khyber Force as deputy-assistant-adjutant-general, +being present at the forcing of the Sampagha and Arhanga Passes, and the +operations against the Chamkanis and in the Bazar Valley. He was mentioned in despatches, +received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel (May 20, 1898), and two clasps. He +obtained the substantive rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry +on October 12, 1898.</p></div> +</div> + +<p class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smaller">MAFEKING IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY</span></h2> + +<p>Christmas Day, in deference to warlike etiquette, was +observed as a holiday; but, in spite of the pacific nature +of the occasion, the man who was the brain of Mafeking +was organising a plan by which the cordon around the +town might be broken. He was deciding that there must +be a big fight on the morrow, and that a desperate effort must be +made to change the cramped vista of affairs. Waiting was a weary +game, and it was felt that some one must make a move. The Boers +certainly, had they chosen, might have carried the town by assault, +but for such activity they had no appetite. This was no boy’s job, +and, as they themselves confessed, they went out to shoot, not to be +shot. Not so the gentle civilians, who, while incarcerated in this +little hamlet of the veldt, had developed into valiant campaigners. +They were always ready to be up and doing, and gladly fell in with +the Colonel’s plans. Frequent reconnaissances had disclosed the +fact that the enemy’s position, though strong on the western face, +was fairly vulnerable at a point on the east, and at this point it was +decided an attack on the morning of the 26th should be directed.</p> + +<p>The plan of attack was as follows:—Captain R. Vernon, King’s +Royal Rifles, with C Squadron, and Captain FitzClarence and D +Squadron, to lead; Captain Lord Charles Bentinck, with A Squadron, +to hold the reserve upon the left, which was under the command of +Colonel Hore. Major Panzera and the artillery were to take up a +position upon the extreme left of the line. The railway running to +within a few hundred yards of Game Tree had been repaired, in +order that the armoured train, under Captain Williams and twenty +men of the British South Africa Police, with one-pounder Hotchkiss +and Maxim, from a point parallel with Game Tree, might protect +the right flank. This flank was to be further supported by Captain +Cowan and seventy men of the Bechuanaland Rifles. The entire +operations from this side were to be under the command of Major +Godley, while Colonel Baden-Powell and his staff, Major Lord +Edward Cecil (Chief Staff Officer), Captain Wilson, A.D.C., and +Lieutenant Hanbury Tracy watched the direction of events from +Dummie Fort.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="ill_115" id="ill_115"></a><img src="images/ill_115.png" width="500" height="296" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">CRONJE’S FORCE ON THEIR MARCH SOUTH.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by Sidney Paget, from a Sketch made 8 Miles South of Paardeberg by W. B. Wollen, R.I.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>It must be remembered that at that time the character of the +fort they intended to assail was barely known. In reality, it rose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +some seven feet above a ditch deep and wide, which almost defied +assault. However, it was decided that Game Tree, from which +had poured voluble rifle and artillery fire for many weeks, must at +all hazards be silenced. It was most important that communication +with the north should be, if possible, re-established, and there was +every hope that a successful fight might make it easier for Colonel +Plumer to eventually join hands with the besieged.</p> + +<p>The night passed. As the grey dawn broke over the veldt, a +flash weirdly orange and a golden puff of smoke showed that the +preconcerted plan had begun to be put in operation. Major Panzera +with his seven-pounders had started the programme. Presently the +Maxim rapped out in chorus, while on the right the great dusty +crocodile, the armoured train, slunk along to its destination. Its +whistle shrieked. It was Captain Vernon’s signal for action. On +the instant a thin line of moving kharki broke from cover, bayonets +glittered among the scrub, cheers and the rattle of musketry filled +the air. Officers and men were dashing, as only Britons can dash, +each striving to outrush the other towards the lair of the enemy. +Quick as thought they had plunged into the scrub that girdled the +sandbags, and excitedly, jubilantly, some one on Dummie Fort sang +out, “They are swarming over the bags—the position is ours!”</p> + +<p>All waited anxiously, almost breathlessly. The moments grew +and grew, seconds became years. The sputtering of rifles continued, +and swelled into a vast hum, and then some one—the same some +one, only in a very different voice from that which spoke last, said +hoarsely, “Our men are coming back!”... Yes. They were indeed +coming back—the remnant—firing sullenly their parting shots +ere they receded. The enemy’s position had been proved impregnable! +Their parapet was loopholed in triple tiers and roofed with +a bomb-proof protection. It had but a single opening, large enough +to admit one man at a time. It was in firing his revolver into one of +the loopholes and endeavouring to pull out a sandbag with his left +hand that Lieutenant Paton was killed. Captain FitzClarence, far +ahead of his men, was shot in the thigh within 150 yards of the +fort, and both Captains Sandford and Vernon were laid low almost +within a stone’s throw of the rifles of the enemy. Lieutenant Swinburne, +who, directly Captain FitzClarence was wounded, led his men +forward with dauntless energy, escaped unhurt. But few were equally +lucky. Out of a storming party of eighty, twenty-one were killed +and thirty-three wounded. It was when he saw this useless sacrifice +of life that Major Godley sent a message to headquarters +by the aide-de-camp. “Captain Vernon, sir, has been repulsed,” he +said, “and Major Godley does not think it worth while trying again.” +Nor was it. All that could be done was to send the ambulance to +perform its grim duty.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p> + +<p>In describing the tragic affair, Mr. Angus Hamilton, in <i>Black +and White</i>, said: “Indeed, from the armoured train it could be +seen that the progress of the men towards the fort was like the +Charge of the Six Hundred into the Valley of Death—a conviction +which became more and more apparent as our men gallantly held to +their course. Within 300 yards of the fort it was almost impossible +for any living thing to exist, and the rush of the bullets across the +zone of fire was like the hum of myriads of locusts before the wind. +The gallantry of the effort, the admirable steadiness and precision +with which the attack was delivered, has been compared by our +commanding officers to deeds which rank among the foremost of our +martial chronicles.”</p> + +<p>It was veritably a charge of heroes. Scarcely one man could +be singled out as the bravest of the brave where all showed such +magnificent courage. Captain Sandford, Indian Staff Corps, though +wounded mortally by a bullet in the spine, with his last breath +ordered his men to continue their advance and leave him to his +fate. Captain FitzClarence, wounded in the leg, bleeding, exhausted, +was seen sitting up and directing the charge. Elsewhere +was Captain Vernon, with a bullet through him, rushing on and on +in company with the heroic youth, Paton, whose effort to scale the +inaccessible rampart brought about his death. This splendid fellow +was shot through the heart; while Captain Vernon, who had again +been hit, and still pursued his onward course into the teeth of the +foe, was struck on the head and killed. The only other officer that +escaped uninjured was Lieutenant Bridges, and he hurt his ankle +while assisting a wounded comrade. The details of the killed and +wounded were as follows:—Officers killed, three; wounded, one. +Men killed, eighteen; wounded, thirty-two; missing, thirteen. Thus +ended a superb effort, which, failure though it was, was vastly superior +to many a meaner martial success.</p> + +<p>So the garrison had to go on in the old, old way, though +many popular and beloved members were now missing, and the +hospital was full of cases that threatened to end seriously. Owing +to the commendable forethought of Lord Edward Cecil and +the enterprise of Messrs. Julius Weil, the garrison was provided +with the wherewithal to make what resistance they did. Lord +Edward Cecil’s work was ceaseless; as Chief Staff Officer he came +in for both the external fights and the internal discords. He +smoothed down quarrels, dispensed justice, allayed “siege fever” in +all its intermittent phases, and in fact performed the tasks of ten +men, with unfailing courtesy and inexhaustible patience. The pinch +of the siege had gradually become more painful, and luxuries for +some time had been commandeered for the use of the sick. Luckily, +some Chinamen among the besieged contrived to grow vegetables<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> +in small quantities for the use of the inhabitants, and by force of +good management in the disposal of the food supplies, which had +been stocked by Messrs. Weil before the outbreak of the war, a +fixed scale of rations for every man, woman, and child was secured. +Conversation grew monotonous. It circled round the positions of +the guns, the chance of relief, and question of stores, till it produced a +mental giddiness that verged on the idiotic. Few grumbled, few +swore. In this matter the Boers acted as a safety-valve. When +people felt in the “something’s too bad of somebody” mood, they +could go out and snipe, and vent their spleen usefully and to the +honour of their country! Sundays were more than ever flat. There +was not the excitement attendant on dodging shells in the open. +Speculation on the subject of food languished round the limitations +of Hobson’s choice. Mr. Neilly in the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i> gave a +sorry outline of the scanty fare. “I will attempt to give you an idea +of what this scarcity of diet means. You are in a trench. In the +early morning you have handed to you a piece of bread as big as a +breakfast roll and a little tin of ‘bully’ sufficient for one average +meal. You have some of it for breakfast, and if you have not an +iron will you will eat the lot there and then, and go hungry for the +rest of the twenty-four hours. What you leave is kept in the broiling +sun until luncheon-time, when you find the beef reduced to an +oily mess that does not look very appetising. You eat more and +tighten your belt a hole or two to delude yourself into the belief +that you have had a satisfying meal. You roast away again until +dinner-time, when you gather up the last crumb and sigh for a few +hours in the Adelaide Gallery or even in an East-End cookshop. +But this is not all; you are for guard duty from midnight until +3 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> You have no sleep before you go on, and the slumber you +fall into when relieved is destroyed an hour after you have entered +upon it by the morning order to stand to arms. You thus get a +schoolboy’s luncheon to keep you alive for twenty-four hours. It +is made unpalatable by the sun, and if a Mafeking shower falls, the +odds are that it will be flooded over and buried in the mud at the +bottom of the trench.”</p> + +<p>At this time Cronje, by way of recreation, returned to Mafeking, +a fleeting visit, possibly to test some novel plans for the purpose of +subduing the town. He came armed with incendiary shells, which +were supposed to hit and blaze up and cause an inspiriting conflagration. +But they did not succeed. They caused a conflagration +certainly, but its duration was limited. At the end of it, Mafeking +smiled still, but smiled with the curled lip of scorn. The convent, +notwithstanding its symbol of the Red Cross, had been hit, and +crushed, and wrecked; the hospital had been assailed; the sacred +claim of humanity had been outraged; women and children had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +been subjected to terrors of fact and terrors of dread. These +atrocities continued, and Her Majesty’s long-suffering subjects looked +on and waited; they believed that deliverance must soon come. +If they had not had that belief to help them, they would have +died or surrendered. They believed that a day of reckoning would +arrive, and that then Cronje and his diabolical hirelings would +come by their deserts. If only they could have skipped six weeks +and looked into the mirror of Fate, the drama at Paardeberg Drift +would have reassured them. As it was, they had to live in faith. +The series of atrocities that marked the Boer assaults had scarcely +a counterpart in modern history, and it grew doubtful, if ever their +turn should come, whether the besieged would be prevailed upon +to emit one spark of that “magnanimity” with which their countrymen +had been so lavish, and which the Boer had grown to account +as a natural weakness of these “verdomde rooineks.”</p> + +<p>Siege life was now becoming painfully irksome. A blazing sun, +a drenching rain, a gust of wind through the pepper trees, this +was all the variety at hand. The inhabitants of the town began +to feel like ghosts of themselves, ghouls walking the earth, yet out +of touch with those who spoke of them as a memory, and nothing +more. To them it was the quiet of the grave. They waited like some +enchanted princess of a fairy tale for the time when the magic wand +should wave and their pulses throb with joy and excitation, with +laughter and zest for the good things of the hour. Now they +walked as in a dream to the accompaniment of shot and shell, surrounded +by devilish ogres and looters of the dead, while somewhere +within a few miles of them, kith and kin, living and breathing kith +and kin, seemed as phantoms in a nightmare to pass by and to +ignore! A speechless, soundless asphyxia of the soul seemed to +be creeping over these tired patient heroes! They still waited and +hoped, but hoping and waiting had now grown monotonous, almost +mechanical, as the tickings of an eight-day clock.</p> + +<p>Rumours many and fantastic were brought in by the natives. +It was believed that a new year’s gift of three waggon loads of +ammunition had been received by the Boers from Pretoria, and also +a new gun. This weapon it was afterwards discovered was provided +with more combustible bombs, horrible missiles that disgorge a +chemical liquid which ignites in contact with the air. Here was +a continual horror, and one that was only combated by extreme +precautions. Though Colonel Baden-Powell in his nook on the +stoep of his house continued to whistle his insouciant notes, his +busy brains needed to be Machiavellian in their ingenuity. Some +declared he slept with one eye open; others, that he never slept +at all. Certain it was that when all were hushed in slumber he +was “on the prowl,” either on the roof or in the open, reading from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +the heavens above or the earth beneath the enemy’s approaching +machinations. Some find sermons in stones; B.-P. found inspiration +in sand and sky.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 528px;"> +<a name="ill_121" id="ill_121"></a><img src="images/ill_121.png" width="528" height="271" alt="The Market Square, Mafeking." title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">The Market Square, Mafeking.</span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>The Boers continued their bombardment, the sun continued to +blaze, to smite the tin roofs and glaring sandy roads. After persistently +directing shells on the women’s laager the ruffians succeeded in +murdering three little children. These were of Dutch nationality, +and it was hoped that their loss might possibly awaken a feeling +of humanity and remorse in the breast of those who had prompted +the assault on the defenceless position. But their conduct was +rendering those within the town exasperated almost to madness. +They panted for a chance to mete out annihilation to the blood-lusting +rascals and untamed savages who were harassing them. +They did their best, and sat down to the business of clearing off +as many as possible of the polyglot horde who worked the guns.</p> + +<p>The work done by the Bechuanaland Rifles and the British +South Africa Police was prodigious. They shrunk from no toil +and no exposure so that they might reduce the number of the +besiegers. Early in the New Year the Rifles entrenched themselves +within 900 yards of the enemy’s big guns, and spent days +and nights in the trenches, relieved at intervals by the Police. +From nine on one night till nine the next they would occupy their +unenviable position, carrying with them their day’s food and water, +and employing themselves during the hours of light by keeping +up a persistent fire on the Boer siege gun. On occasions their fire +was so accurate that the Dutchmen had entirely to abandon the +work of loading and training the gun. So smart, at last, grew the +British sharpshooters, that during each Sabbath the gun was shifted +farther and farther away.</p> + +<p>Colonel Baden-Powell’s resourcefulness was again put to the +test, and was again triumphant. The Boers were somewhat nonplussed +by the discovery that he had a new weapon of defence. +They put their heads together and concluded that the weapon must +have sprung from the bowels of the earth. It so happened that in +some long-forgotten stores in the town an old ship’s gun was suddenly +discovered. Quickly it was brought into action. But the +ways of this old muzzle-loading 16-pounder were not as the ways +of the modern “Long Toms,” whose tricks were “understanded” +of the Boer people. It had curious and distinctive virtues of its +own. This gun threw solid shot, which, unlike a shell that bursts +and is done with for better or for worse, gallivanted along the +ground according to its own sweet will, and produced little surprises +that caused the Colonel much amusement and not a little satisfaction.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 455px;"> +<a name="ill_123" id="ill_123"></a><img src="images/ill_123.png" width="455" height="296" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Gun made in Mafeking.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by D. Taylor, Mafeking.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The biography of the treasure-trove was written by Mr. Angus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +Hamilton of <i>Black and White</i>, who declared that there was quite a +flutter of excitement at the appearance of the antiquated weapon. +“It would seem,” he said, “to have been made about 1770, and +is identical with those which up till very recently adorned the +quay at Portsmouth. Its weight is 8 cwt. 2 qr. 10 lbs., and it was +made by B. P. & Co. It is a naval gun, and is stamped ‘No. 6 +port.’ How it came here is uncertain, and its origin unknown; +but one gathers that it must have been intended more for privateering +than for use in any Government ship of war, since it is wanting +in all official superscription. This weapon, which we have now +christened ‘B. P.’ out of a compliment to the Colonel, has been +lying upon the farm of an Englishman whose interests are very +closely united with the native tribe whose headquarters are in +Mafeking Stadt. Mr. Rowlands can recall the gun passing this +way in charge of two Germans nearly forty years ago. He remembers +to have seen it in the possession of Linchwe’s tribe, and +upon his return to the Baralongs, after one of his trading journeys, +he urged the old chief to secure it for use in defence of the Stadt +against the attacks of Dutch freebooters. The chief then visited +Linchwe and bought the gun for twenty-two oxen, bringing it down +to Mafeking upon his waggon. In those days it had three hundred +rounds of ammunition, which were utilised in tribal fights. With +the exception of visits which the gun made to local tribes, it has +remained here, and is now in the possession of Mr. Rowlands. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +has recently been mounted, and is in active operation against our +enemies. We have made balls for it, and are intending to manufacture +shells, in the hope we shall at least be able to reach the +emplacement of Big Ben. The first trial of ‘B. P.’ in its new +career gave very satisfactory results. With two pounds of powder +it threw a ball of ten pounds more than two thousand yards. The +power of the charge was increased by half pounds until a charge of +three pounds threw a ball of the same weight as the first rather +more than two miles. We, therefore, have pinned our hopes upon +it, and commend to the responsible authorities the reflections which +may be derived from the fact that our chief and most efficient means +of defence lie in such a weapon.”</p> + +<p>The mosquito tactics of the wily Colonel proceeded as usual, +but the Boer was hard to checkmate. On the 15th of January an +attack was made by the sharpshooters against the enemy’s big gun +battery, with the pleasing result that on the following day the +94-pounder and high-velocity Krupp evacuated their positions, and +retired to a more distant one on the east side of the town, whence +their command of the place was comparatively limited. In this +quarter, now that the foe was pushed out of rifle range, it was +possible to open grazing for cattle, a very desirable movement, for +the poor lean beasts were waning rapidly. At this time Captain +FitzClarence was reported among the convalescents, the wound +received on the 26th of December having almost healed.</p> + +<p>Preparations were set on foot for the purpose of routing the +enemy with dynamite, failing all other means of ridding the town +of his too intimate proximity. Colonel Baden-Powell’s motto, unlike +that of British Governments, was to take time by the forelock. +He left nothing to chance. In order to avert any risk of +running short of supplies, rations were reduced, and oats which had +previously belonged to the beasts were promoted to the use of their +owners. Very stringent laws existed for the economising of everything. +Matches and tinned milk were commandeered, and the theft +of a matchbox was now viewed as a heinous crime. Tobacco in +small quantities remained, but wines and spirits were fast running +out. There were pathetic leave-takings as each quart of whisky +disappeared from the stores; there was no knowing when would +arrive the hour for a fond and a last farewell. Conversation grew +still more monotonous. It mostly consisted of how the inner man +should be sustained, and of anecdotes of agility in avoiding shot +and shell.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 396px;"> +<a name="ill_125" id="ill_125"></a><img src="images/ill_125.png" width="396" height="506" alt="" title="" /> +<div> +<table summary="" class="w100"> +<tr> +<td class="caption w50">WEST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT (Colour-Sergeant).</td> +<td class="caption w50">YORKSHIRE REGIMENT (Sergeant).</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Gregory & Co., London.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Still, considerable interest was taken in the performances of the +old 16-pounder, which had been rigged up and christened by some +“Skipping Polly,” on account of its skittish habits and its propensity +to ricochet. This, though erratic in its proceedings, did good work,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> +and struck the parapet of the enemy’s fort. On the 10th of January +violent rains came down, and rendered most of the trenches in front +of the town uninhabitable, and life in general almost unendurable. +Never was there greater need for the inestimable virtues of pluck and +patience, and if medals had been awarded for these united qualities, +the inhabitants of Mafeking would all have possessed them.</p> + +<p>The pinch of siege life now became terribly evident, for the +Kaffirs were reduced to eating mules. The British feared their turn +at this diet would come directly. But the garrison was still cheery, +and their entrenchments were considerably improved. In these +Colonel Baden-Powell took a just pride, and his activity in promoting +the safety and comfort of the inhabitants was boundless. +They declared that they could feed themselves for another three +months, but the nature of the form of provision was not divulged. +Hardships and privations were endured by the little force with +really amazing pluck. Beds they had scarcely enjoyed since the +commencement of the siege; baths were almost as foreign, few had +had a chance to remove their clothes; and news—the stimulus of +the outside world—was entirely lacking. Letters now and then +were passed out, but the real truth could never be trusted to black +and white.</p> + +<p>The office of censor was undertaken by the Hon. A. H. Hanbury +Tracy (Royal Horse Guards). His occupation was a hard +and a thankless one, for constant vigilance had to be exercised +lest reports concerning the inner state of Mafeking—reports most +ardently craved by those interested at home—might fall into the +hands of the enemy, and thus cramp the operations of Colonel +Baden-Powell and those who helped him to present a bold and +fearless front to the hovering hordes who were waiting smugly for +what they believed to be the inevitable.</p> + +<p>On the 17th General Snyman bethought himself of a new way +of starving the garrison into surrender. He sent a party of natives +to enjoy the hospitality of the already sparsely fed town. It had +not a mule to spare for extra Kaffirs, and Colonel Baden-Powell +sternly though regretfully refused admittance to the new-comers. +According to Boer usage, the officer and orderly who conveyed the +message, notwithstanding the fact that they carried a white flag, +were fired upon by the enemy while they were returning. A dastardly +trick this, and the garrison resented it.</p> + +<p>At this time the news of the grand Ladysmith sortie was received +with rejoicings, and the bellicose youngsters of the community began +to rack fertile brains in hope to emulate the courage and dash of the +sister garrison. On this day a shell hit the shelter occupied by Major +Baillie and Mr. Stent, Reuter’s correspondent, and portions crashed +through Dixon’s Hotel, but fortunately without injuring any one.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p> + +<p>News now reached the benighted villagers that Colonel Plumer, +with three armoured trains, had actually reached Gaberones, some +three hundred miles north of Mafeking. The troops had some +sharp tussles with the Boers, and drove them out of rifle range while +the railway operatives mended the line. Where Colonel Plumer’s +three trains came from was a mystery. He was known to have <i>one</i>, +but there was no saying of what Rhodesia might not be capable in +time of stress. Colonel Plumer had his work cut out for him, but +he was not a man to sheer off difficult tasks, and there was intense +hope that he might succeed. But there was always the Boer artillery—a +terrible barrier between the relieving force and Mafeking—and +in the face of this even the finest warriors, almost gunless, could +scarcely be expected to advance alive.</p> + +<p>On the 19th of January the small community celebrated the +100th day of the siege. All the corners of the square had been +knocked off by the ever-active Boers, but the village maintained a +suitable air of liveliness. Exhibitions were arranged, and some +smart fighting showed that the right arm of the British had lost none +of its cunning.</p> + +<p>There were fat days and lean days in Mafeking. Though for +the most part leanness prevailed, there was now and then to be +found an oasis in the desert of the commissariat. Occasionally +some successful raid made by the natives was productive of real +meals—succulent beef <i>versus</i> old mule and husks. In the course of +one daring foray the natives secured two dozen head of cattle; in +another they carried off prizes of fat kine to the tune of a score. +The excursions took place under cover of darkness, and, like all +raids, were pursued without the consent of the Government. The +natives had a process peculiarly their own in seducing the fat kine +to follow them home. Devoid of clothing, and crawling snake-like +over the veldt, they would approach the grazing cattle and gradually +draw off such beasts as appeared goodly in their eyes, and which had +been previously marked down with the acuteness of hungry instinct. +Noiselessly the animals were enticed on and on till they reached the +precincts of the staadt, where the raiders were anxiously looked for +by their Baralong friends. These famishing individuals greeted the +successful capture of the wherewithal to maintain life with shouts +and dances of joy.</p> + +<p>The garrison was soon put on a scale of still more reduced +rations. These consisted of half a pound of meat and the same +of bread daily. The luxuries of life—the people in England looked +on them as necessaries!—tea, sugar, biscuits, jams, &c., were commandeered. +In January the following housekeeper’s notes were +made by the correspondent of the <i>Times</i>:—“Meal and flour have +jumped from 27s. per bag to 50s.; potatoes, where they exist at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +all, are £2 per cwt.; fowls are 7s. 6d. each; and eggs 12s. per +dozen. Milk and vegetables can no longer be obtained, and rice +has taken the place of the latter upon the menus. These figures +mark the rise in the more important food-stuffs as sold across the +counter, but the hotels have, in sympathy, followed the example, +they upon their part attributing it to the increase which the wholesale +merchants have decreed. A peg of whisky is 1s. 6d., dop +brandy 1s., gin 1s., large stout is 4s., small beer 2s. In ordinary +times whisky retails at 5s. per bottle. This rate has now advanced +to 18s. per bottle and 80s. per case. Dop, which is usually 1s. 4d., +is now 12s. per bottle; the difference upon beer is almost 200 per +cent., and inferior cigarettes are now 18s. per 100.”</p> + +<p>On the good management of the contractors, Messrs. Weil & +Co., every one depended for flesh and blood. On them rested +the responsibility of issuing daily rations—bread and meat for the +garrison, forage for horses, and food for natives—and very excellently +they fulfilled their difficult task.</p> + +<p>On the 21st an unusual sort of show was held. The exhibits +ranged from foals to babies, Mr. Minchin (Bechuanaland Rifles) +securing first prize for the former, while Sergeant Brady, B.S.A.P., +was the proud winner of the prize for the latter.</p> + +<p>Colonel Baden-Powell sent a despatch reporting his own doings +at the end of January to Colonel Nicholson. It ran as follows:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Inform the Commanding Staff Officer that we are well here. On January +23 the enemy moved their north-east supporting laager to within 4500 yards +of the town. We pushed our advance works in that direction, and mounted +Lord Nelson, an old naval smooth-bore gun, in an emplacement 3100 yards +from the enemy. On the evening of January 29 we unmasked our guns and +shelled the enemy’s camp with complete success. Next morning the Boer +laager was moved back two miles.</p> + +<p>“On the 31st we were busy on all sides of the town. On the south the men +in our advance works had a skirmish with three of the enemy’s Krupp and +Maxim guns, the firing being very heavy. A bombardment of our front on +Cannon Kopje by the Boer 94-pounder followed. On the east front our four +guns replied to this by a concentrated fire on the brickfield entrenchments, +where the enemy poured in a musketry and artillery fire.</p> + +<p>“On the north the enemy’s 5-pounders kept up a steady fire. They +dropped one shell through the roof of the hospital, but luckily it did not +explode. On the west the enemy, from their advanced works, opened a heavy +rifle and Maxim fire on Fort Ayr, which our fort eventually silenced by the +well-aimed fire of its guns. The enemy sent three big shells into the town +after dark, but they gained nothing during the day.</p> + +<p>“Our casualties during the past two days from the enemy’s shell fire have +been three killed and three wounded. Mr. Kiddy, of the Railway Department, +has died of fever.</p> + +<p>“On February 2 General Snyman, in reply to my letter with regard to his +deliberately shelling the women and children’s laagers on the 27th ult., offered +no excuse or apology, and by a transparent falsehood practically admits that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> +he ordered it. I have told him that I have now established temporary premises +for the Boer prisoners in the women’s laager and in the hospital, in order to +protect these places from deliberate shelling.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>General Snyman and Colonel Baden-Powell had also a correspondence +regarding Snyman’s arming and raising of natives. In +reply the old commandant said that he had merely armed the +natives as cattle-guards. In his turn he complained that the British +had been seen making fortifications on Sunday. The Colonel, who +only relaid some mine wires, informed him that he had himself +been entertained by watching the building of new fortifications by +the Boers on that day.</p> + +<p>On the 25th of January a shell burst through the convent, +which was used as a convalescent hospital, and slightly wounded +Lady Sarah Wilson, who had taken upon herself the care of the +invalids. On the following day the women’s laager was continuously +shelled, but fortunately with small result. There was general +jubilation at reports received regarding the success of Lord Roberts’ +operations. The news was an immense stimulus, and speculation +as to the date of relief was freely indulged in. The besieged had +learnt to gather hope from the smallest incidents. The disappearance +from time to time of the 5-pounder Krupp, the 1-pounder +Maxim, the 9-pounder quick-firing Creusot, which had a trick of +making weekly excursions somewhere—caused them to conjecture +whether Colonel Plumer had reached a point where these pieces +could be made to come in handy. The 100-pounder Creusot, however, +was untiring. It engaged only in shorter peregrinations, +moving from one emplacement to another by way of variety, and +keeping up a system of torture which acted badly on the nerves of +the unhappy persons who were honoured with its attentions.</p> + +<p>The following telegram, forwarded by runner from the Mayor +of Mafeking (Mr. Whiteley), was addressed to Queen Victoria: +“Mafeking upon the hundredth day of siege sends loyal devotion +to your Majesty, and assurance of continued resolve to +maintain your Majesty’s supremacy in this town.” The splendid +little garrison had indeed a right to be proud of itself for +having for so long a period held at bay a puissant and spiteful +foe. It had fought, it had schemed, it had set its wits against the +wits of Cronje and his successors, and defied them magnificently. +“No surrender” was its motto, and the reply from the enemy was +stamped on every house of this minute town—so minute that it could +have been “stowed within the railings of St. James’ Park”—and +scribbled in large black defacing lines wherever shot and shell +could penetrate. Some idea of life’s daily accompaniment of +artillery may be arrived at by reading a description of his experiences +recounted by Mr. Neilly of the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i>. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> +said:—“When the enemy’s artillery began to send us the heavy +ration, those who knew most about the power of modern long-range +high-velocity arms dreaded most the consequences. At the +advice of our commander-in-chief, we went to earth, some into dug-outs, +I, with others, into the wine-cellar of the hotel, which I +consider was the most comfortable and luxurious place in the town. +After breakfast a twelve-pounder on the heights went ‘Boom!’ +Where had the shell gone? Had it struck a house? Had the +building collapsed? Would the town be flattened and set on fire +when the whole battery came into action? We speculated so until +the second boom sounded, and the third quickly followed. Himmel! +We had got it, and what a crash it was! Something had given +way, and <i>débris</i> and shrapnel scattered like a hailstorm across the +dining-room floor overhead. While some calmed the ladies, others +of us doubled up through the trapdoor, slid the panel that divides +the bar from the dining-room, and looked in. The dense smoke of +the bursting charge filled the place, but there was nothing to indicate +that anything was aflame. When the air cleared slightly we +entered, to find the floor and tables littered with brick-dust and +scrap iron; but the area of destruction was confined to the brickwork +at the side of the window. Nothing was stirred upon the +tables, which were laid for luncheon. That was enough. Had the +house been built of good tough English brick, its flank would have +probably collapsed; the rottenness of the walls had saved them; the +rottenness of all the houses would bring about comparative safety to +the town. Solids struck by shell add to the destruction wrought by +the projectile through flying splinters; but there is no use in trying +to batter sand stuck together with water. The concussion sends off +the detonator, the burst makes a hole in the wall, and the further +results are an untidied room and a bad fright to anybody who may +be in it.”</p> + +<p>The writer, like the rest of the plucky crew, talked airily of the +ordeal that all passed through, without a single boast of the splendid +effect of the garrison’s doughty resistance to the enemy in the early +phases of the war.</p> + +<p>It is scarcely possible to exaggerate the full importance of this +magnificent defence at that time. As an object-lesson in British +pluck, and the marvellous celerity with which peace-loving citizens +may become glorious fighters, the defence as a whole stands without +parallel. But from a political point of view the initial stoutness of +the resistance was a <i>coup</i> which had far-reaching results.</p> + +<p>There is no doubt that at the outset of the war a conspiracy +was on foot between the Cape Dutch and the Federals, +and that the capture of certain towns was to be taken as a +signal for the joining of the allies to drive the British from South<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> +Africa. It was thought that the apparently insignificant village +of Mafeking would be among the first to fall, and the conspirators +congratulated themselves that once the place went under, the +door to Rhodesia would fly open. The gallant Cronje, with nothing +better to occupy him, could have worked his way north, attacked +Colonel Plumer and his small force, and without doubt defeated +them. He would then have proceeded on a triumphal march. +Having intimidated the natives, who invariably back the man with +the visible biceps, and having armed the Matabele and Mashonas, +he would have completely swept and devastated the fair country of +the Colossus before our troops could have had time to save it from +ruin. How far the ruin would have spread it is difficult to say. +Like dynamite, it would have struck upwards and downwards, +north and south. The capture of Mafeking would have unhinged +the native population there, and forced them to side with the +Boers; and once the natives got under arms the situation would +have become so complicated that it might have taken years to +unravel, if indeed the Government had the patience to unravel +it at all.</p> + +<p>Then disaffection would have spread rapidly, even to Table Bay. +Had Cronje at the outset not been kept tied to the place, occupied +in trying to crack the nut which he eventually found too hard for +his own teeth and for the sledge-hammer weapons of his mercenaries, +he would have gone on from town to town gathering up adherents +as he went, and causing intimidation of such a kind that even the +loyally disposed would in sheer self-defence have thrown in their lot +with him.</p> + +<p class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smaller">AT POPLAR GROVE</span></h2> + +<p>Before going on, it must be noted that on the 19th Lord +Roberts had issued a proclamation to the Burghers of the +Free State in English and Dutch. He said that the +British having entered the Free State, he felt it his duty +to make known the cause, and to do his utmost to end the +war. Should the Free Staters continue fighting, they would do so +in full knowledge of their responsibility for the lives lost in the +campaign. Before the war, the Imperial Government desired the +friendship of the Free State, and solemnly assured President Steyn +that if he remained neutral the Free State territory would not be +invaded and its independence would be respected. Nevertheless, +the Free Staters had wantonly and unjustifiably invaded British +territory, though the Imperial Government believed that the Free +State Government was wholly responsible, under mischievous outside +influence, for this invasion.</p> + +<p>The Imperial Government bore the people no ill-will, and was +anxious to preserve them from the evils which the action of their +Government had caused. Lord Roberts warned the Burghers to +desist from further hostilities, and he undertook that Burghers so +desisting should not suffer in their persons or property. Requisitions +of food, forage, fuel, and shelter must be complied with. Everything +would be paid for on the spot, and if supplies were refused they +would be taken, a receipt being given. Should the inhabitants consider +that they had been unjustly treated, and should their complaint +on inquiry be substantiated, redress would be given. In conclusion, +Lord Roberts stated that British soldiers were prohibited from +entering houses or molesting the civil population.</p> + +<p>By the terms of this proclamation it was necessary to abide, +though, by degrees, as will be seen, it began to be discovered that +generous concessions made to our enemies were misinterpreted and +taken advantage of in ways which tended to prolong the war.</p> + +<p>Lords Roberts and Kitchener paid a flying visit to Kimberley +on the 1st of March, and attended a crowded meeting in the Town +Hall. Lord Roberts, with his usual grace, dwelt on the courage, +endurance, and heroism exhibited by the troops and residents, not +only in Kimberley, but in the other besieged towns.</p> + +<p>Cronje’s fate being sealed, the Field-Marshal shifted his head<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>quarters +to Osfontein, seven miles up the Modder from Paardeberg. +Near here it was rumoured that such Boers as had failed to come to +the succour of Cronje had flocked. These, numbering some 10,000, +had gathered at the summons of their chief from the regions round +Stormberg, Colesberg, and Ladysmith, and were now busily entrenching +a position some fifteen miles long. Of this the flanks +rested on kopjes to the south of the river on a group called Seven +Sisters, and to the north across the river on a flat-topped kopje, +behind which were further fortified kopjes, forming a formidable +position at Poplar Grove, a place so called because of a sparse display +of poplar and Australian gum-trees in the vicinity.</p> + +<p>At this time the two Presidents of the Republics, finding things +getting too hot to be comfortable, made magnanimous proposals +for peace. The following is the text of their despatch.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="address">“<span class="smcap">Bloemfontein</span>, <i>March 5, 1900</i>.</p> + +<p>“The blood and the tears of the thousands who have suffered by this war, +and the prospect of all the moral and economic ruin with which South Africa +is now threatened, make it necessary for both belligerents to ask themselves +dispassionately, and as in the sight of the Triune God, for what they are +fighting, and whether the aim of each justifies all this appalling misery and +devastation.</p> + +<p>“With this object, and in view of the assertions of various British statesmen, +to the effect that this war was begun and is being carried on with the +set purpose of undermining Her Majesty’s authority in South Africa, and of +setting up an Administration over all South Africa independent of Her Majesty’s +Government, we consider it our duty solemnly to declare that this war was +undertaken solely as a defensive measure to safeguard the threatened independence +of the South African Republic, and is only continued in order to secure +and safeguard the incontestable independence of both Republics as sovereign +international States, and to obtain the assurance that those of Her Majesty’s +subjects who have taken part with us in this war shall suffer no harm whatsoever +in person or property.</p> + +<p>“On these conditions, but on these conditions alone, are we now, as in the +past, desirous of seeing peace re-established in South Africa, and of putting an +end to the evils now reigning over South Africa; while, if Her Majesty’s Government +is determined to destroy the independence of the Republics, there is +nothing left to us and to our people but to persevere to the end in the course +already begun, in spite of the overwhelming pre-eminence of the British Empire, +confident that that God who lighted the unextinguishable fire of the love of +freedom in the hearts of ourselves and of our fathers will not forsake us, but +will accomplish His work in us and in our descendants.</p> + +<p>“We hesitated to make this declaration earlier to your Excellency, as we +feared that as long as the advantage was always on our side, and as long as our +forces held defensive positions far in Her Majesty’s Colonies, such a declaration +might hurt the feelings of honour of the British people; but now that the +prestige of the British Empire may be considered to be assured by the capture +of one of our forces by Her Majesty’s troops, and that we are thereby forced to +evacuate other positions which our forces had occupied, that difficulty is over, +and we can no longer hesitate clearly to inform your Government and people, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +the sight of the whole civilised world, why we are fighting, and on what conditions +we are ready to restore peace.”</p></blockquote> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 488px;"> +<a name="ill_135" id="ill_135"></a><img src="images/ill_135.png" width="488" height="325" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">SHELL FROM THE NAVAL BRIGADE DISPERSING BOERS FROM BEHIND THE SEVEN SISTERS KOPJES, DURING THE +ACTION OF 7th MARCH AT LE GALLAIS KOPJE, NEAR OSFONTEIN.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by Sidney Paget, from a Sketch by W. B. Wollen, R.I.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The answer to this effusion, addressed by Lord Salisbury on +behalf of Her Majesty’s Government to the Presidents, ran:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="address">“<span class="smcap">Foreign Office</span>, <i>March 11, 1900</i>.</p> + +<p>“I have the honour to acknowledge your Honours’ telegram, dated March 5, +from Bloemfontein, of which the purport is principally to demand that Her +Majesty’s Government shall recognise the ‘incontestable independence’ of the +South African Republic and Orange Free State as ‘sovereign international +States,’ and to offer, on those terms, to bring the war to a conclusion.</p> + +<p>“In the beginning of October last, peace existed between Her Majesty and +the two Republics under the Conventions which then were in existence. A +discussion had been proceeding for some months between Her Majesty’s Government +and the South African Republic, of which the object was to obtain redress +for certain very serious grievances under which British residents in the South +African Republic were suffering. In the course of these negotiations, the South +African Republic had, to the knowledge of Her Majesty’s Government, made +considerable armaments, and the latter had, consequently, taken steps to provide +corresponding reinforcements to the British garrisons of Cape Town and Natal. +No infringement of the rights guaranteed by the Conventions had, up to that +point, taken place on the British side. Suddenly, at two days’ notice, the South +African Republic, after issuing an insulting ultimatum, declared war upon Her +Majesty; and the Orange Free State, with whom there had not even been any +discussion, took a similar step. Her Majesty’s dominions were immediately +invaded by the two Republics, siege was laid to three towns within the British +frontier, a large portion of the two Colonies was overrun, with great destruction +to property and life, and the Republics claimed to treat the inhabitants of extensive +portions of Her Majesty’s dominions as if those dominions had been +annexed to one or other of them. In anticipation of these operations the South +African Republic had been accumulating for many years past military stores on +an enormous scale, which, by their character, could only have been intended for +use against Great Britain.</p> + +<p>“Your Honours make some observations of a negative character upon the +object with which these preparations were made. I do not think it necessary +to discuss the questions you have raised. But the result of these preparations, +carried on with great secrecy, has been that the British Empire has been compelled +to confront an invasion which has entailed upon the Empire a costly war +and the loss of thousands of precious lives. This great calamity has been the +penalty which Great Britain has suffered for having in recent years acquiesced +in the existence of the two Republics.</p> + +<p>“In view of the use to which the two Republics have put the position which +was given to them, and the calamities which their unprovoked attack has inflicted +upon Her Majesty’s dominions, Her Majesty’s Government can only answer +your Honours’ telegram by saying that they are not prepared to assent to the +independence either of the South African Republic or of the Orange Free State.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>To return to Osfontein. There was now a short and much-needed +interval of repose, in which men and horses tried to recuperate. +It was, however, necessary for the cavalry to be continually +scouring the country to ascertain the whereabouts of the enemy.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> + +<p>On the 6th of March Lord Roberts welcomed the Ceylon +Mounted Infantry, and sent the following telegram to Sir West +Ridgeway, Governor of Ceylon:—“I have just ridden out to meet +Ceylon Mounted Infantry, and welcome them to this force. They +look most workmanlike, and are a valuable addition to Her Majesty +the Queen’s army in South Africa.” These troops were in excellent +condition, so also were their handy Burma ponies, smart, knowing, +and game little beasts, warranted to turn on a sixpence and stand +any amount of wear and tear.</p> + +<p>On the same day the Colonials had a smart set-to with the +Dutchmen, who were endeavouring to locate themselves in the +vicinity, and the New Zealanders and Australians made themselves +more than a match for the Boers, losing themselves only six wounded, +while they put ten of the enemy out of action. The rest of the gang +disappeared, on the principle of those who fight and run away live +to fight another day. In fact, they moved to some strong eminences +that commanded either side of the river, the centre of the position +being at Poplar Grove Farm. Here the Federals thought to +embarrass the British advance, but Lord Roberts decided to undeceive +them. The Field-Marshal’s plan was now to turn their +left flank with the cavalry division, and then to meet their line of +defence with the infantry divisions, and thus enclose them as Cronje +had been enclosed.</p> + +<p>Accordingly the troops got themselves into battle array. The +Naval Brigade brought their 4.7 guns four miles north-east of +Osfontein, while the cavalry prepared to turn the Boer left, and +started before daybreak of the 7th to accomplish this feat. On the +north bank was left the Ninth Division with some handy Colonials +and guns. Moving to the east were the Sixth and Seventh Divisions, +with the Guards Brigade in the centre.</p> + +<p>The dawn grew. The Boers in the golden rays of morning +were disclosed massed in the far front, and later was seen the +glorious mass of French’s cavalry sweeping south—a martial broom +which the Boers began to know meant business.</p> + +<p>At eight o’clock the music of battle started, the Naval guns on +one side and the batteries of General French on the other. Lyddite +and shrapnel bounced and spluttered over all the small kopjes wherein +the Dutchmen had made a lodgment. It was sufficient. The Boer +guns spat impotently—the puling cry of dismay—then, knowingly, +the Federals made preparations for a stampede. They saw in the +distance the Sixth Division advancing, the Colonials cleaving the +columns of dust, the Highland Brigade coming on and on, their dark +kilts cutting a thin line across the atmosphere—they saw enough! +To east they flew, speeding towards Bloemfontein—guns, waggons, +horsemen—as arrows from the bow, and leaving behind them their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +well-constructed trenches, their ammunition, tents, and supplies. +After them went the Colonials and City Imperial Volunteers, all keen +sportsmen, exhilarated with the heat of the chase, but the Boers were +uncatchable. No one has yet beaten them in the art of running away. +Nevertheless, Lord Roberts was left in undisturbed possession of +Poplar Grove. In the early afternoon the Boers certainly endeavoured +to make one futile, feeble stand, but their effort was unavailing, +and by sunset they were careering into space, while the cavalry +vainly endeavoured to hem them in. Horse-flesh had come to the +end of its tether; poor food and much galloping had reduced the +noble steeds to helpless wrecks, and unfortunately the manœuvres +of Paardeberg could not be repeated. Curiously enough, though no +Boers were caught, the military net was full of strange fish, a +Russian, a Hollander, a German all being left in the lurch. It was +a humorous episode. While the Boers were making off as fast as legs—the +mounts of some had been shot—and horses could carry them, +a dilapidated country cart, surmounted by a red flag, was seen to be +approaching. From this cart presently emerged several forlorn personages, +looking very sorry for themselves indeed. They accounted +for their plight by saying that while the final fight was taking place +their mule-waggon had broken down. The mules having been +unloosed, promptly stampeded, and left them between two fires, that +of the Boers (to whom they were attached) and the British. The +name of one foreigner, in dark blue uniform, was Colonel Prince +Gourko, of the Russian army; the other, attired in plain clothes, +was Lieutenant Thomson, of the Netherlands (Military Attaché of +the Boers). With them was a German servant in attendance on the +Russian prince. Finding themselves in an uncomfortable quandary, +one from which there was no escape, they decided to join the British. +They were introduced to Lord Kitchener, and thereupon presented +to the Commander-in-Chief, who received them with his usual +courtesy.</p> + +<p>Lord Roberts, telegraphing home in the afternoon, thus described +the day’s work:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="address">“<span class="smcap">Osfontein</span>, <i>March 7</i> (4.30 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>).</p> + +<p>“March 7.—Our operations to-day promise to be a great success.</p> + +<p>“The enemy occupied a position four miles north and eleven miles south +of Modder River.</p> + +<p>“I placed Colvile’s division on north bank; Kelly-Kenny’s and Tucker’s, +with cavalry division, on south bank.</p> + +<p>“The cavalry division succeeded in turning the left flank, opening the road +for 6th Division, which is advancing without having been obliged to fire a shot +up to present time (twelve noon).</p> + +<p>“Enemy are in full retreat toward north and east, being closely followed +by cavalry, horse-artillery, and mounted infantry, while the 7th (Tucker’s) and +9th (Colvile’s) divisions, and Guards Brigade, under Pole-Carew, are making<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> +their way across the river at Poplar’s Drift, where I propose to place my headquarters +this evening.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Later on the Commander-in-Chief wired from the said headquarters:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="address">“<span class="smcap">Poplar Grove</span>, <i>March 7</i> (7.35 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>).</p> + +<p>“We have had a very successful day and completely routed the enemy, +who are in full retreat.</p> + +<p>“The position they occupied was extremely strong, and cunningly arranged +with a second line of entrenchments, which would have caused us heavy loss +had a direct attack been made.</p> + +<p>“The turning movement was necessarily wide owing to the nature of the +ground, and the cavalry and horse-artillery horses are much done up.</p> + +<p>“The fighting was practically confined to the cavalry division, which, as +usual, did exceedingly well, and French reports that the horse-artillery batteries +did a great deal of execution amongst the enemy.</p> + +<p>“Our casualties number about fifty.</p> + +<p>“I regret to say that Lieutenant Keswick, 12th Lancers, was killed, and +Lieutenant Bailey, of the same regiment, severely wounded. Lieutenant De +Crespigny, 2nd Life Guards, also severely wounded.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Though the state of the cavalry was deplorable, it was thanks to +the splendid execution of General French that the Boers showed so +little fight, and there were so few casualties. The enemy saw the +cavalry menacing their line of retreat, and pelted off from kopje to +kopje, now and then sniping at the leading squadrons, and occasionally +plumping a shell or two into the British midst. With +the Dutchmen, Presidents Steyn and Kruger were said to be, and +these worthies made a desperate attempt to rally the forces, but without +success. Some say they even shed tears to encourage their +countrymen, which tears had evidently a damping effect, for the +Boers—some 14,000 of them—retreated all the faster. They were +absolutely demoralised by Lord Roberts’ tactics, and felt seriously +injured that the trenches which had been prepared against a frontal +attack should have been ignored. They had been so accustomed to +be attacked in front that they began to look upon the Commander-in-Chief’s +“roundabout way of doing things” as distinctly unfair. +They took themselves off, and when General French, who advanced +ten miles ahead of the main body, scoured the front, he reported +that not a Boer was to be seen. A vast amount of ammunition +was left behind, and this, including several boxes of explosive bullets, +labelled “Manufactured for the British Government,” was promptly +destroyed.</p> + +<p>Good news now arrived. The A and B squadrons of Kitchener’s +Horse, reported missing, suddenly returned to camp at Paardeberg. +They, with E squadron, were cut off on the 13th of February, and +given up for lost. Though E squadron was captured by the enemy, +A and B squadrons succeeded in escaping, and, after losing their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +bearings on the veldt, and enduring three weeks’ somewhat unpleasant +experiences, found their way into safety.</p> + +<p>Quantities of the Transvaalers disbanded and returned to their +farms. In other quarters, too, progress was announced. General +Gatacre occupied Burghersdorp and General Clements had reached +Norval’s Pont, and thus the sporadic rebellion in Cape Colony was +slowly beginning to die out.</p> + +<p>The army advanced and formed a fresh camp beyond Poplar +Grove, where on the 8th and 9th more of the troops concentrated. +The force was now moving through a fine grassy country, made +additionally green and refreshing by plentiful rains, and the horses +were improving in condition and spirits, while the men were in +first-rate fettle.</p> + +<p>On the 10th of March the army proceeded onwards. By this +time the Boers had posted themselves on the kopjes eight miles +south of Abraham’s Drift. It was imagined that they would be able +to offer little resistance to the advancing force, but they, however, +made a very determined stand.</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">THE FIGHT AT DRIEFONTEIN</h3> + +<p>On leaving Poplar Grove, Lord Roberts’ force, rearranged and +divided into three, advanced on Bloemfontein <i>via</i> Driefontein, a place +about six miles south-west of Abraham’s Kraal and some forty miles +from the capital of the Free State. Along the Petrusberg Road, +to the right, moved General Tucker’s division, with the Gordons +and a cavalry brigade. The central column, composed of General +Colvile’s division, the Guards Brigade (General Pole-Carew), and +Colonel Broadwood’s brigade of cavalry, accompanied Lord Roberts, +while on the left, advancing along the Modder River, was General +French with Colonel Porter’s cavalry brigade and General Kelly-Kenny’s +division. The ranks had been filled up by detachments +from the Modder and Kimberley, which latter place had been converted +into the advanced depôt. Among the additional troops were +the Ceylon Mounted Rifles, a soldierly lot and much admired by +those who saw them. At 10 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> the brigade of cavalry under +Colonel Broadwood, which was marching in advance of the central +column, came in touch with the enemy. Their position was a strong +one, an open, crescent-shaped group of kopjes, with the centre a +plateau, dropping on all sides to flat ground. At the extreme end +of the semicircle (on the crescent at the north-east) was posted a +formidable gun, and this weapon, perched on a commanding kopje +at Abraham’s Kraal, protected the position from advance from the +north-west. It also provided the Republicans with a loophole for +escape. Colonel Broadwood had no sooner discovered the enemy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> +in his snake-shaped array of kopjes than he commenced to shell +him and drive him forth from the lower projections of the position. +That done, he there planted his mounted infantry till reinforcements +should come to his aid.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 335px;"> +<a name="ill_142" id="ill_142"></a><img src="images/ill_142.png" width="335" height="460" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Directing an Army from a Military Balloon.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>On the right Colonel Porter had now come in contact with +the foe. General French’s orders were to avoid imbroglio with the +enemy and to keep in touch with the centre. On a message being +sent by Colonel Porter to inform General French of the presence of +the Dutchmen, the infantry division changed its course. They now +marched twenty miles to the south, reaching the position about one +o’clock. The march was an achievement. Twenty miles across +the blistering, blinding veldt, as a commencement to a fighting day +six hours in length, was a feat of endurance of which the infantry +division might well have been proud. The change of course had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> +the effect of avoiding the necessity to attack Abraham’s Kraal, +though at the same time it unfortunately left open the enemy’s line +of retreat to the north, which, later on, he was not slow to make use +of. With the arrival of General French’s force, Colonel Broadwood +was free to continue his movement to the left of the enemy’s position, +and working round it, found himself assailed by the 9-pounder +of the enemy. He nevertheless pursued his course, gaining +ground very slowly but surely, and by nightfall the brigade of cavalry +had worked eight miles to the rear of the Dutchmen’s position. +This flanking movement, though not concluded at dusk, resulted in +the eventual retirement of the enemy.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile in the centre of the plateau hot fighting was taking +place, General Kelly-Kenny’s division having made a bold attack +on the north of the stronghold, whence the troops were greeted +from behind a screen of boulders with a storm of shot and shell. +The Dutchmen, safe and invisible, could not, however, succeed in +arresting the dogged advance of the Welsh Regiment, who formed +the first line of the attacking force. They went on and on +despite the fierce fusillade of the Federals, their numbers growing +momentarily thinner, but their nerve and perseverance showing no +diminution. The Boers, ingenious as ever, offered a skilful and +stubborn resistance, pouring a heavy enfilading fire from kopjes +both east and south-west, while they plied two 12-pounders with +intense vigour.</p> + +<p>From the south now came the artillery, T Battery R.H.A. +sweeping the way for the infantry advance. But they had no easy +task. Before they could get into action the Vickers-Maxim of the +Federals commenced its deadly activities, and while the gunners +were unlimbering killed first one man then another, and laid +low several horses. But the brave artillerymen undauntedly pursued +their work, and presently, with the loss of very few minutes, +exchanged hearty greetings with the weapon which had wrought +such havoc among their numbers. At this time U Battery, at the +north of the Boer centre, was active, but later on, when the 76th +Field Battery moved towards the enemy with a view to clearing +a way for the rush of the infantry, U Battery joined T, and +together they blazed away at the ridges held by the Dutchmen. +But throughout the whole period they pursued their work under +showers which unceasingly rained down from the rifles of the foe. +Meanwhile the Welsh Regiment, supported by the Essex and +Gloucesters, moved on and on till they reached the shelter of the +crest of the ridge. Here, at 500 yards range, a crackling concert +of musketry was heard, the Boers firing with great ferocity and +stubbornness, the British with coolness and accuracy. From the +centre of the position the Yorks, supported by the Buffs, did mag<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>nificent +work, and they, together with the Essex Regiment, later +on in the afternoon began doggedly to ascend towards the stone +sangars of the enemy, which yet vomited forks of flame.</p> + +<p>Now they crawled and now they wormed themselves along +through the grass, dripping with gore and covered with sweat, many +of their officers gone, comrades dropping to right and to left of +them, while the fire of the enemy continued to rattle down in their +midst. Then, as the fusillade slackened, they leapt up and made +for the ridge, taking it, going over the crest with glittering steel +and ringing cheer, and finding not one single Boer had awaited +their coming. The Dutchmen had vanished into thin air! It was +a magnificent deed—the finest that had been witnessed for a long +time—but it was dearly paid for. The way was paved to Bloemfontein, +but with the corpses of the honoured dead. The brunt of the +fighting fell on the Sixth Division, more particularly on the Welsh +and Essex Regiments, the Ninth Division, with the Guards, arriving +too late in the day to take part in the fight. A great number +of officers were put out of action—so many, indeed, that some of the +leading companies were led, and admirably led, by their colour-sergeants. +A characteristic feature of the engagement was the +Dutchmen’s slim and ingenious mode of firing a big gun from amid +a group of red houses, each floating a white flag, an arrangement +which served to cover the retirement of the enemy, and on the success +of which he doubtless complimented himself not a little.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 360px;"> +<a name="ill_145" id="ill_145"></a><img src="images/ill_145.png" width="360" height="540" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">SERGEANT OF THE INNISKILLING DRAGOONS.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Gregory & Co., London.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>At dusk a splendid sight was visible. In the last glimmer of +day Lord Roberts and his staff entered the central plateau, followed +by degrees by all the troops—an imposing force, which evidently +determined the Boers in their resolution to make themselves scarce. +This they did, guns included, with really creditable and surprising +rapidity. They were much disheartened by defeat, however, and +though they had offered most stubborn resistance, the character of +their defence was lacking in evidence of the determination which +had hitherto been noticeable. Among the mortally wounded was +the gallant officer commanding the Royal Australian Artillery, +Colonel Umphelby.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> The Boers lost over 100, but the list of our own +killed and wounded was a long one. Amongst the killed were:—Captain +Eustace, the Buffs; Lieutenant Parsons and Second Lieutenant +Coddington, Essex Regiment; Captain Lomax, Welsh Regi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>ment; +Mr. McKartie, a retired Indian civilian attached to Kitchener’s +Horse. Wounded—Colonel Hickson, the Buffs, Lieutenant Ronald, +the Buffs; Captain Jordan, Gloucesters; Second Lieutenant Torkington, +Welsh Regiment; Second Lieutenant Pope, Welsh Regiment; +Second Lieutenant Wimberley, Welsh Regiment; Captain +Broadmead, Essex Regiment; Lieutenant Devenish, Royal Field +Artillery; Major Waite, Royal Army Medical Corps; Lieutenant +Berne, Royal Army Medical Corps; Colonel Umphelby, Royal +Australian Artillery (since dead); Lieutenant C. Berkeley and Second +Lieutenant Lloyd, Welsh Regiment; Second Lieutenant G. H. +Raleigh, Essex Regiment.</p> + +<p>The Australians came in for a heavy share of the fighting. The +1st Australian Horse, brigaded with the Scots Greys, were fiercely +fired on by the enemy as they advanced to within 800 yards of the +wide bend of kopjes. The New South Wales Mounted Infantry, +under Colonel Knight, and the Mounted Rifles, under Captain Antill, +engaged in animated pursuit of the enemy as they fled towards the +north, their fleet horses showing a marked contrast in condition to +the jaded steeds of the English cavalry.</p> + +<p>Lord Roberts expressed his satisfaction at the brilliant work +performed by the Welsh Regiment in the storming of Alexander +Kopje, a feat in which they displayed consummate skill as well as +amazing pluck. Some heroic actions took place during the day, +particularly in connection with the supply of ammunition, which ran +short owing to the necessity of relieving the infantry for their heavy +march, of fifty rounds apiece. Some dastardly ones were also practised +by the Boers, who, finding themselves in a perilous situation, +the artillery in front and a squadron of mounted infantry hovering +on their flank, hoisted a white flag and threw up their hands in token +of surrender. Naturally the British accepted the sign, and, while they +were approaching the Dutchmen, some others of their number +hastened to pour a volley into the British ranks. Lord Roberts +himself having been a witness of this treacherous act, remonstrated +with the Boer leaders, and ordered that in future if such action +were repeated the white flag should be utterly disregarded. The +following protest was made by the Commander-in-Chief:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“To their Honours the State Presidents of the Orange Free State and +South African Republic.</p> + +<p>“Another instance having occurred of a gross abuse of the white flag, and +of the signal of holding up the hands in token of surrender, it is my duty to +inform your Honours that if such abuse occurs again, I shall most reluctantly be +compelled to order my troops to disregard the white flag entirely.</p> + +<p>“The instance occurred on the kopje east of Driefontein Farm yesterday +evening, and was witnessed by several of my own staff-officers as well as by +myself, and resulted in the wounding of several of my officers and men.</p> + +<p>“A large quantity of explosive bullets of three different kinds was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> +found in Cronje’s laager, and after every engagement with your Honours’ +troops.</p> + +<p>“Such breaches of the recognised usages of war and of the Geneva Convention +are a disgrace to any civilised Power.</p> + +<p>“A copy of this telegram has been sent to my Government, with a request +that it may be communicated to all neutral Powers.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>The Boers had now entirely disappeared. It was nevertheless +hinted that they might be collecting in some new and unexpected +region. The column, however, resumed its victorious march, proceeding +twelve miles without coming upon the enemy. The beating +of yesterday had produced a good effect, for the Dutchmen kept +their distance, though in the kopjes all along the direct road to +Bloemfontein, which lay due east, they were said to be swarming. +It was also reported that Transvaalers and Free Staters had fallen +out, and that the former, under Joubert, were determined to make a +stand behind a magnificent entrenchment that they had built. The +advance was supposed to come from the west, and consequently the +Boer line of entrenchments extended some six or eight miles from +the town facing towards Bam’s Vlei. There were shelter trenches, +made not on the kopjes, but about a hundred yards out on the +plain beneath. They used sandbags, and had gun epaulements +besides. In addition to all this, they had made sangars and piles +of stones on the kopjes. Unfortunately for them, our troops made +a cunning detour, which again dislocated the Dutchmen’s programme, +and forced them in their mountain fastnesses to sit inactive, while +the cavalry was wheeling south to the outskirts of Bloemfontein! +Here there were no fortifications and very few Boers.</p> + +<p>Mr. Steyn now secretly left Bloemfontein for Kroonstad, as, in +spite of Mr. Kruger’s representations, it had been decided to surrender +the capital of the Free State. Lord Roberts, who had sent +in a formal demand for surrender, received no reply. General +Joubert made preparations, with some 3000 men, to avert the +surrender, but his approach, veritably at the eleventh hour, was +barred by the clever manœuvres of the British. This splendid piece +of work was executed by Major Hunter-Weston, R.E. He was +sent by General French to cut the railway north of Bloemfontein, +and thus preclude any chance of Boer interruption to the triumphal +progress into the town. In the dead of night the Major, with seven +men of the field-troop, all mounted on picked horses (a precaution +that was very necessary considering the hard work done by the +troops both before and after the relief of Kimberley), started on +their hazardous expedition. Darkness cramped, though it cloaked +their movements, and the ground over which they sped was seamed +with dongas and many impediments; and, moreover, a wide sweep +had to be made to avoid Boer pickets. Before the peep o’ day they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +reached their destination. Then they began to search for a place +suitable for demolition. They came on a culvert supported with iron +girders, one of which was hastily but cautiously prepared by placing +two 10-lb. charges of gun-cotton against the web, which was fired +within twenty minutes. Then, with a detonation that seemed to +shake the day into dawning, the line was completely wrecked and +rendered impassable, and Joubert, whose “special” was timed to +arrive at Bloemfontein at 8.10 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, lost his last chance of interfering +with the proceedings! This in itself was an excellent <i>coup</i>, and +particularly serviceable, since it secured to the British the use of +twenty-six locomotives at a time when they were much needed.</p> + +<p>General French had also seized and destroyed some portions of +the railway south of Bloemfontein. His headquarters were made at +the house of Mr. Steyn’s brother—who had tried unsuccessfully to +get away, and was forced to remain at his farm—while the troops +were now posted at different points outside the town, and were, in +comparison with their former state, in clover.</p> + +<p>Early on the 13th the 1st Cavalry Brigade moved slowly towards +some kopjes to the east of Bloemfontein and occupied them. All +knew the great day was come when Lord Roberts with Kelly-Kenny’s +and Colvile’s divisions, the Guards Brigade, and the Mounted +Infantry would be presently marching into the Free State capital. +Whereupon the adventurous journalist, determined there should be no +pie without the impress of his finger, put his best leg foremost and +decided to lead the way. The correspondents of the <i>Sydney Herald</i>, +the <i>Daily News</i>, and the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> were seen like madmen +spurring over the plain. There was ten to one on the favourite, the +Burleigh veteran, and the Colonial was only backed for a place, yet +he it was who won! They were received in the Market Square with +beams. There was a shade of relief even on the most surly countenances. +Mr. Fraser, a member of the Executive, the Mayor of +Bloemfontein, and others, “bigwigs of B.,” as somebody called +them, came out and did the honours. These gentlemen were invited +to take carriages out to welcome the British force, which—diplomacy +being the better part of hostility—they accordingly did. In +starting they encountered the first of the British victors, Lieutenant +Chester-Master, with three of Remington’s scouts. At last they +came to the Chief’s halting-place, and the surrender of the town was +made known. The mediæval ceremony of delivering up the keys of +Parliament and Presidency was gone through. Formalities over, +Lord Roberts made the gracious assurance that, provided no +opposition was offered, the lives and properties of the Bloemfontein +public were safe in his hands. Having notified his intention to enter +the capital in state, the Mayor, Landrost, and others departed to +acquaint the townspeople.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p> + +<h3 class="gap2">AT BLOEMFONTEIN</h3> + +<p>Bloemfontein! A name of milk and honey, of flowers and +dew! Every vowel breathed of pastoral simplicity, of luscious +grasses and lowing kine, of gambolling game and purling stream. +A name for a poet to conjure with! a talisman to awaken the mellow +music of a Herrick and recall the soul of Walton to benevolent +rejoicings in the “sights and sounds of the open landscape.” Unfortunately, +the mellifluous name was not derived from the German +for flowers or from the melody of fountains. It owed its origin to +a Boer peasant who stood godfather to the hamlet and also to an +adjacent stream. Here in other days the innocent Voertrekker +unpacked his waggons and set out his little farmstead, choosing +green rising ground, an oasis in the sandy veldt, and the neighbourhood +of a refreshing rivulet for comfort’s sake, and not because he +foresaw that in fifty years this spot would be the central scene in +one of the largest dramas of the world! In the year 1845 the +Union Jack first waved its protective folds over the homestead. At +that period it was converted into the official abode of a British +Resident, and from that time, with an expansion which was truly +British, the tiny village developed till it became a town, and finally +passed over, through British apathy and dislike for responsibility, +to the hands of the Free Staters. And there it might and would +have remained had not President Steyn, who owed us no grudge, +and with whom we were on the best of terms, decided to put his +finger in the diplomatic pie, in the hope that some of the plums +would fall to his share. Thus, in his greed for power and his contempt +for the British, he embroiled his country, and being unable to +defend his capital, was forced to scurry off to his birthplace, Winburg, +some miles to the east, where, with the assistance of his foreign +mercenaries, he yet hoped to save himself from the consequences of +his ill-advised interference. So it came to pass that on the 13th +of March 1900, thirty-nine days after the commencement of his +great march, Lord Roberts, with the magnificent British army +in his wake, moved unopposed towards the capital of the Free +State.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 497px;"> +<table class="w100" summary=""> +<tr> +<td class="w25"> </td> +<td class="w10 xsmall">Mr Kellner.</td> +<td class="w65"> </td> +</tr> +</table> +<table class="w100" summary=""> +<tr> +<td class="w20"> </td> +<td class="w10 xsmall">Mr Pappenfus.</td> +<td class="w10 xsmall">Mr Collins.</td> +<td class="w10 xsmall">Lord Roberts.</td> +<td class="w50"> </td> +</tr> +</table> +<a name="ill_151" id="ill_151"></a><img src="images/ill_151.png" width="497" height="298" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">THE FORMAL SURRENDER OF BLOEMFONTEIN.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by J. Finnemore, from a Sketch by W. B. Wollen, R.I.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The entry into the town was an imposing spectacle. The Mayor, +Dr. Kellner, the Landrost, Mr. Papenfus, and Mr. Fraser, as we +know, had driven out in a cart to meet Lord Roberts, and four +miles outside the town the keys of the town were given up. Then +the Field-Marshal, the most simply dressed man in his whole army, +appeared at the head of a cavalcade a mile long. He was followed +by his military secretary, his aides-de-camp, the general officers +on his staff with their respective staffs. Then came the foreign +attachés, some war-correspondents, and Lord Roberts’ Indian ser<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>vants, +who contributed a warm note of colour to the sombre files of +kharki. After this came a serpentine train of cavalry and guns, which +entered the city at one o’clock. It was the most wonderful military +display that has been seen for years. A gigantic army—not a +peace but a war army, not the crude army of Salisbury Plain but +the perfected article, the army minus its raw recruits and plus its +trained reserves, which owed its magnificent development to the +man whom Lord Wolseley has called “the greatest War Minister +we ever had.” Looking at the splendid physique of the warrior +multitude, it was impossible for military men, even those who had +criticised most severely the short service system, to deny that to-day +the triumph of Lord Cardwell’s principle was complete!</p> + +<p>The crowds collected from far and wide, all business was suspended, +and knots and cliques gathered together to witness the procession +moving up the slopes towards the town itself. Cheer after cheer +rang through the air, kerchiefs waved and blessings were prayed +for, as the procession marched through the collected crowd and on +into the market square. Lord Roberts then went to the Government +Buildings, and took formal possession in the name of the +sovereign. There was renewed cheering and singing of “God save +the Queen,” when, half-an-hour later, at twenty minutes to two, a +small silken Union Jack, specially worked by Lady Roberts, was seen +floating over the town.</p> + +<p>The day passed without notable incident. A public holiday was +observed, and the kharki-clad crowds rejoiced themselves by singing +“Tommy Atkins” and feasting right royally. They were quite +undisturbed by the scarcely complimentary remarks of the Burghers, +who compared them in number and colour and appetite to a swarm +of locusts!</p> + +<p>Mr. Steyn’s brother, who, it may be remembered, had failed to +get away with his belongings in time, remained discreetly at his +farm, where he entertained General French, and subsequently Lord +Roberts. One of the curious features of the entry into the capital +of the Free State was the extraordinary welcome given by the +inhabitants to the conquerors. Regiment after regiment filed past +to the tune of hearty cheers, and surprised pleasure at the orderly +and humane entry of the enemy was visible on every face. While the +public offices were taken over by Lord Roberts’ staff, the banks were +visited by Colonel Richardson. This officer was accounted one of +the heroes of the hour, for sufficient praise could not be given to +the achievements of the Army Corps or to Colonel Richardson, +whose task of provisioning, foraging, and transporting 40,000 men +and 18,000 horses savoured of the labours of Hercules. There +were quibblers, of course; but, practically considered, all had gone +off without a hitch, and the whole arrangements moved, as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> +phrase is, “on greased wheels,” the influence over all of the beloved +“Bobs” having been simply magical.</p> + +<p>The next day Lord Roberts inspected the Guards Brigade, +complimented them on their splendid march, and expressed his +regret that through a mistake he had been unable to enter Bloemfontein +at the head of the Brigade. He consoled them by saying, +“I will lead you into Pretoria!” In these gracious words the +troops were rewarded for their disappointment, for the Chief, though +he had promised them to lead them into the town, had finally +decided that it was expedient to enter the capital without waiting +for the infantry.</p> + +<p>The Guards Brigade had made a magnificent march of thirty-eight +miles in twenty-eight hours, taking from 3 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> on the 12th to +1 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> on the 13th, with an interval of only two and a half hours for +sleep. Yet, in spite of this, and of having been in some of the +toughest fights of the campaign, they were cheery and elated. One +of their number (the Scots Guards) described their arrival:—“We +waited three hours outside Bloemfontein for Lord Roberts, as we +were told that the Commander-in-Chief wished to ride at the head +of the Guards Brigade into the town. But he did not come, and +our Colonel got orders to go in on his own. Our reception in +Bloemfontein would have surprised you. It was quite funny in its +way—not in the least like entering an enemy’s town. The people +simply came forth and cheered us as friends. A small group of nuns +who came out to meet us wished us ‘Good evening,’ and said we +were very welcome. To myself, as an Aberdonian, it was very +home-like to pass by a shop with the inscription, ‘Bon-Accord +Restaurant.’ The proprietor was standing at the door shouting +himself hoarse. I was not surprised afterwards to learn that he was +a pure Aberdonian. We camped outside the town, and next day +Lord Roberts reviewed the Guards Brigade. His Lordship made +a short speech, in which he complimented us on our rapid march, +and said he was sorry he had not been able to lead us into Bloemfontein. +‘But,’ said his Lordship, ‘I hope to be at your head when +we go into Pretoria.’ We all gave three very hearty cheers for the +Commander-in-Chief, who has always been the soldier’s friend. We +would follow him anywhere.”</p> + +<p>To return to the closing events of the momentous 13th. At +8 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> a telegram was sent home describing with simple brevity the +entry into the capital:—“From Lord Roberts to the Secretary for +War.—Bloemfontein, March 13, 8 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>—By the help of God and by +the bravery of Her Majesty’s soldiers, the troops under my command +have taken possession of Bloemfontein. The British flag +now flies over the Presidency, vacated last evening by Mr. Steyn, +late President of the Orange Free State.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>”</p> + +<p>An army order was issued on the 14th, in which the Chief +said:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“On February 12 this force crossed the boundary of the Free State; three +days later Kimberley was relieved; on the fifteenth day the bulk of the Boer +army under one of its most trusted generals was made prisoner; on the seventeenth +day news came of the relief of Ladysmith; and on March 13, twenty-nine +days from the commencement of operations, the capital of the Free State +was occupied.</p> + +<p>“This is a record of which any army would be proud—a record which could +not have been achieved except by earnest, well-disciplined men, determined to +do their duty, whatever the difficulties and dangers.</p> + +<p>“Exposed to the extreme heat of the day, bivouacking under heavy rain, +marching long distances often on reduced rations, all ranks have displayed an +endurance, cheerfulness, and gallantry which is beyond all praise.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Lord Roberts added that he desired especially to refer to the +heroic spirit with which the wounded had borne their suffering. +No word nor murmur of complaint had been uttered. The anxiety of +all when succour came was that their comrades should be attended +to first.</p> + +<p>So the great march was over—the hurry, the fatigue, the loss of +life, the perpetual anxieties had brought about the desirable end—and +the tremendous first act in the historic drama of the century was +nearing its conclusion. Looking back on the difficulties that had +been surmounted—the movement of some 40,000 men and 20,000 +quadrupeds across over 100 miles of mostly dry veldt, where water +was scarce and heat tropical, and where the enemy lurked in masses +in kopje or donga, and had to be fought at intervals—the march +appeared little short of miraculous. Now the curtain was shortly +to go up on the first scene of the second act, an act which would +have for its background the Orange River Colony, formerly known +as the Orange Free State!</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Lieutenant-Colonel C. E. E. Umphelby, who died of the wounds which he received +during the fight, was forty-six years of age. He commanded the Victorian portion of the +Royal Australian Regiment of Artillery. He joined the Victorian Militia Garrison Artillery +in 1884, and in the following year was appointed lieutenant in the Permanent Artillery. He +was promoted to be captain in 1888, major in 1891, and lieutenant-colonel in 1897. Sent +to England by the Victorian Government in 1889, he passed through various artillery +courses, including the long course at Shoeburyness. Lieutenant-Colonel Umphelby was +attached to the staff of Major-General M. Clarke at Aldershot from June to August 1890. +See vol. iii., “Victoria.”</p></div> +</div> + +<p class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smaller">MAFEKING IN FEBRUARY</span></h2> + +<p>The investment was much less close than formerly. Owing +to the increasing activity in other parts of the theatre of war, +Colonel Baden-Powell was relieved of the pressing attentions +that were previously bestowed on him. Now for the +first time he found himself in touch with the outer world, for +telegraphic communication was restored in the direction of Gaberones, +about ninety miles north of Mafeking, and from thence a +bi-weekly service of runners was instituted for the conveyance of +letters and telegrams, of course at the owners’ risk. There was +delight all round, and “Old Bathing Towel,” as contemporary Carthusians +used irreverently to call him, made haste to rejoice the +hearts of those at home with a report of his doings.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 482px;"> +<a name="ill_157" id="ill_157"></a><img src="images/ill_157.png" width="482" height="321" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">SLEEPLESS MAFEKING—HOT WORK IN THE TRENCHES.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by R. Caton Woodville.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>On the 4th of February the etiquette of the Sabbath was broken +by an accident. The machine-gun at Fort Ayr was fired, and the +enemy was not slow to reply. Lieutenant Grenfell, unarmed and +without a flag of truce, pluckily went out to tender apologies for the +accident. He was met by the Boers, who exchanged for a flask of +whisky two copies of the <i>Standard and Diggers’ News</i>, containing +glowing accounts of Boer victories on the Tugela! It needed more +than the contents of the flask to correct the dismay occasioned by +the lamentable, if exaggerated, news of the abandonment of Spion +Kop, and the inhabitants could only console themselves by remembering +what a stupendous and gratuitous liar the Boer could be. +Luckily for them, they only accepted half of the Dutchmen’s tales, +and had learnt by experience that the art of editing Boer journals +was dependent on imaginative rather than realistic talent. For +instance, “one who knew” described the methods of <i>Volkstem</i> +thus:—“When you knew it, something could be extracted. The +key to the mystery was this: The paper always published the +exact opposite of what had taken place. For instance, a few days +before Cronje’s capture it had a grand headline—‘Cronje the Captor.’ +And underneath came the astounding statement that Cronje had +cornered 900 British Lancers on the Koodoosrand. Alas! for +Cronje and his Lancers! They existed only in the editor’s fertile +imagination.” So, notwithstanding the report of reverses elsewhere, +the large heart of Mafeking was still bent on bursting its cramped +shell. If antiquated methods of warfare were carried on in other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> +parts of South Africa, they were certainly not pursued here, for +Colonel Baden-Powell was a modern of the moderns. The secrets +of the enemy’s tactics were at his fingers’ ends, and where science +failed to match them resource came in. He knew how to make +dynamite spit and scream and threaten; he studied the problem of +tension and the art of playing on the nerves of his adversary, and +Cronje’s remark, “Not men, but devils,” made as that redoubtable +one shook the dust of Mafeking off his shoes, must have been +the dearest compliment the Colonel’s heart could crave. The +Colonel, in a despatch forwarded to Colonel Nicholson—an officer +who, with a small column and armoured train, held Mangwe, +Palapye, and other places on the rail—dated February 12, described +his activities:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="address">“<span class="smcap">Mafeking</span>, <i>February 12</i>.</p> + +<p>“On the 3rd inst. our Nordenfeldt was chiefly occupied in preventing the +enemy from completing their new work on the northern slope of the south-eastern +heights. Assistance was rendered by our seven-pounder, emplaced +in the bush to the east of Cannon Kopje. The enemy’s siege-gun replied +vigorously. During that night the enemy were nervous and restless, and kept +firing volleys at our working parties, being apparently apprehensive of attack. +Their firing continued until dawn, when the work in our trenches ceased.</p> + +<p>“There was a curious incident at Fort Ayr that Sunday. Our machine-gun +there was fired accidentally, and the enemy replied. Lieutenant Grenfell went +out and apologised for the accident. Though the gun had been fired and the +enemy had replied, he did not take a flag of truce with him. The Boers met +him, and exchanged two copies of the <i>Standard and Diggers’ News</i> for a flask +of whisky.</p> + +<p>“On Monday, the 5th, irregular shelling continued all day. In the evening +heavy rains fell, but the enemy kept up the bombardment till midnight, firing a +new incendiary shell, which, however, failed to take effect.</p> + +<p>“On the 7th there was a desultory bombardment, and the sharpshooters were +busy. On the 8th the enemy’s siege-gun fired one shell only.</p> + +<p>“On the 11th the enemy were quiet, being engaged in fortifying their big +gun emplacement, and generally preparing to resist attack from outside. A +good deal of night-firing was exchanged between our outlying positions and +those of the enemy, volleys being fired at short ranges.</p> + +<p>“Next day the enemy were fairly quiet. Mr. Dall, a well-known citizen, +was killed, and two Cape boys were wounded, while two natives in the town +were killed and some four wounded.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>The circumstances of Mr. Dall’s death were deeply tragic, for +his wife, who was in the women’s laager at the time, on hearing of +the news was half-distracted by the shock. Owing to the grievous +affair the dance that was to have taken place was postponed to the +following day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 208px;"> +<a name="ill_160" id="ill_160"></a><a href="images/ill_160.png"><img src="images/ill_160th.png" width="208" height="356" alt="" title="" /></a> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Facsimile of Issue of 25th January 1900 of the Mafeking Mail.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Colonel Baden-Powell issued an order which broke to the besieged +the information that the Commander-in-Chief had requested +them to hold on till May. Hearts dropped to zero! If properly +conserved, it was believed that provisions might be eked out till the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> +Queen’s birthday, but the quality of the fare was bad enough +without consideration of the quantity. The men were tough, they +were game for anything; but the women—helpless, worn, unnerved, +surrounded by children, and limited to the confines of an insanitary +laager—they made an additional tangle to the already knotty situation. +The townsfolk going to the posts in the trenches, with their +own lives in their hands, had upon them the burden of thought for +those, their weaklier belongings, who were waning with anxiety and +disease—waning many of them into their graves. Still the garrison +grumbled little. It set out as Sabbath decoration for the forts and +trenches some smart Union Jacks which had been worked by the +ladies in the town, and the dauntless ones engaged in a concert, the +programme of which was vastly appreciated. Here “B.-P.’s” well-known +talents came in handy, for he played the Chevalier of the entertainment +and displayed all the versatility of that renowned performer. +From the æsthetic Paderewski (with his hair on) to a Whitechapel +Coster is a good jump, but the gallant Colonel, who had so long +impersonated Job to order of the British Government, was not to +be defeated by minor representations, however various. After this +joviality a ball was attempted, but alas! with sorry success. Before +the gaily attired guests were well under way the uproar of Maxims +and Mausers had begun. They tried to dance. It would have +been a case of Nero fiddling while Rome was burning. A staff +officer arrived ordering all to fall in. Soon there was a general +stampede, officers fled to their posts, orderlies rushed off to sound +the alarm, the galloping Maxim tore through the blue obscurity +from the western outposts to the town; the Bechuanaland Rifles +and the Protectorate Regiment hurried to the brickfields, the Cape +Police made for the eastern advance posts, while the ladies, charming, +disconsolate, hied them precipitately to places of refuge. There, +in the lambent beams of the moon, were seen excited shadows, all +either rushing to their bomb-proof shelters or scudding to the sniping +posts of the river. Showers of bullets flecked the sapphire air, +and the exquisite serene night was changed into a long, wakeful, +quaking anguish. The Boers kept up their firing operations +throughout the small hours, but at dawn, when they received a +<i>quid pro quo</i> from the British quarter, they deemed it best to +subdue their ardour for a brief space. Rest was short-lived. On +the 13th the gunners again made themselves offensive by endeavouring +to hit the flour-mill, and they succeeded in their efforts, +though fortunately without destroying it. They pursued their +murderous industries throughout the day, pouring bullets on any +one who dared to show a nose in the open, and about noon succeeded +in seriously wounding Captain Girdwood, who was returning +to luncheon on his bicycle.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> + +<p>The unfortunate officer—one of the most popular fellows and +as gallant as he was jolly—never rallied after receiving the fatal +wound and died on the following day. In the evening he was +buried. The solemn rite was conducted with simplicity under the +mild moonbeams which silvered the gloomy scene and softened +the rigid faces of the bronzed warriors who hung in melancholy +regret round the open grave.</p> + +<p>The Boers sometimes endeavoured to affect jocosity. From the +advanced trench, which was some hundred and ten yards from the +besiegers’ main trench, their voices could be heard travelling on the +breeze. The prelude to their attacks began not seldom with “Here’s +a good morning to you, Mafeking,” or other remarks of cheery or +personal nature. Then rattle, rattle, and one of the British band would +drop. On one of these occasions an amusing if tragic ruse was perpetrated. +The Boers were known to be fond of music, and some one +of the tormented hit on the happy idea of performing for the benefit +of the hostile audience. The savage breast was soothed. The Boers +were “drawn.” They stopped to listen. Enraptured, they advanced +nearer, nearer. Finally, two enthusiastic, inquisitive heads protruded +from cover—protruded never to protrude again!</p> + +<p>The Boers soon began to try the expedient of attacking Mafeking +by proxy. Assaults were made, or rather attempted, by a mongrel +force, composed largely of mercenaries—Germans, Scandinavians, +Frenchmen, and renegade Irish (probably “returned empties” from +the gallant Emerald Isle), ne’er-do-weel’s, who felt it necessary at times +to do something for their living. These were assisted by natives, +who were pressed into their service to make a convenient padding +for their front in advance, for their rear in retreat, as they took good +care to save their own hides when retirement was obligatory.</p> + +<p>Fortunately their artillery practice, which was patiently kept up, +was very inferior, otherwise Mafeking would soon have been in +ruins. On one afternoon the enemy plied his siege-gun and another +gun with great vigour. Out of eight rounds one shot besprinkled +two of the besieged with dust; a 5-pounder gun from one quarter +and a 1-pounder Maxim from another filled the air with deplorable +detonations for two whole hours, yet happily no life was lost. To +this hot fire the inhabitants replied only with their rifles. It was +wonderful in what good stead their rifles had stood them, and it +was thanks to them, and not to the Government, that the town had +been saved at all.</p> + +<p>The difficulties both at Kimberley and Mafeking were the result +of the obstructive policy adopted by the Colonial Government before +the outbreak of hostilities. While the storm-cloud hung on the +horizon, Kimberley had appealed to Mr. Schreiner for permission to +send up from Port Elizabeth Maxims which had been ordered by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> +the De Beers Company, and the licence was refused on the ground +that there was no necessity to strengthen the defences of the town. +The appeals from Mafeking were treated in much the same way, +the authorities at the Cape suggesting that there was no reason to +believe that the situation demanded extra precautions!</p> + +<p>Ingenuity and pluck had been the backbone of British defence, +not British guns. An ordnance factory was established, and excellent +shells were cast, and even powder manufactured. Thus the alarm +lest ammunition should run out before the arrival of relief was allayed. +The great ambition of the garrison was to complete a 5½-inch +howitzer, and throw “home-made shells from a home-made gun +with home-made powder.”</p> + +<p>Major Baillie described with some pride the self-contained nature +of the community: “We have our bank, our ordnance factory, and +our police; and we flourish under a beneficent and remote autocracy. +And now, as regards the ordnance factory, it was started for the +manufacture of shells for our 7-pounder, for shot, brass and iron, for +our antique cannon, and for the adaptation of 5-pounder shells (left +here by Dr. Jameson) to our 7-pounders by the addition of enlarged +driving-bands. These have all proved a complete success, and too +much praise cannot be given to Connely and Cloughlan of the Locomotive +Department, who have organised and run the factory. As +great a triumph has been the manufacture of powder and the invention +of fuses by Lieutenant Daniels, British South Africa Police and +the Glamorgan Artillery Militia, which render us secure against +running short of ammunition. A gun also is being manufactured, +and will shortly be used. This factory is of long standing, but the +authorities had not allowed us to allude to its existence.”</p> + +<p>Other manufactures, too, were commenced, for manufacture it +must be called—the art of making the poor skeletons, at one time +known as horses, into succulent meat. Some declared that the +number of cats and dogs was visibly thinning, but none dared pry +too closely into the workings of the wonderful machinery that +fed them. A number of the Protectorate Regiment’s horses were +slaughtered, and any others that were shot by the enemy were +passed on to the commissariat.</p> + +<p>A soup-kitchen, under the supervision of Captain Wilson, was +opened for the purpose of supplying some 600 natives with nourishing +food, and rendering them contented with the vicissitudes of fate. +The compound was scarcely inviting, and resembled a third-rate +haggis. In two great boilers scraps of such meat as could be +gathered together were simmered down, and to this immense stockpot +was added various meals, which gave the mess the necessary +consistency. The natives bought it eagerly at 6d. a quart, and +really rejoiced in it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> + +<p>The blacks, indeed, suffered less than the whites. The latter +were paying a guinea a day for very scant fare, while the Baralongs, +who were earning from 1s. to 2s. 6d. a day, were able to sustain life +on half their wages, and save the rest to buy luxuries, a wife possibly, +when the stress of the siege was over. The young children suffered +most of all, for malaria and unsuitable food played havoc in the +women’s laager, and the graveyard was filled with small victims to +the Imperial cause.</p> + +<p>About the middle of the month the Boers became abnormally +active, and for several days sounds of digging and picking +suggested that they were throwing out new trenches beyond those +they already manned in the region of the brickfields. The full +significance of the activity was discovered by Sergeant-Major +Taylor, who—in charge of three pits which formed the most advanced +post—suddenly espied, some fifty yards in advance of the +limit of the Boer trenches, a hostile figure! The apparition wore a +German uniform, and Sergeant-Major Taylor was soon aware that +the enemy were intending to sap the British position. Colonel +Baden-Powell was informed of the impending danger, and at night +a counter-sap extending 100 yards was thrown out, from which point +it would be possible for the besieged to fire on the new work. The +tension of the situation was extreme. Eighty yards only separated +the combatants, and the enemy continued to burrow, approaching +little by little, while the British continued to harass them in their +labours by an active fusillade whenever a chance presented itself. +But the operations continued, and every hour brought the Boers +nearer. At last a night came when the enemy had almost reached +his goal, and, moreover, had moved the Creusot gun to a position +on the south-eastern heights so as to command the entire area. +With due precaution the defenders tried to occupy the advanced +posts, but the Boer firing was so correct and persistent that the +position was rendered untenable. Sergeant-Major Taylor, a splendid +fellow—who more than once had ventured eavesdropping to the edge +of the Boer trenches—and four others were mown down in their +gallant efforts to save the situation. The enemy, satisfied with his +exertions in this direction, now began to turn his attention to the +forts in the rear—a bad move, for while the Dutchmen hammered +in that region the British rapidly seized the occasion to construct a +traverse across the mouth of the sap. This, of course, was not carried +forward without attracting the attention of the enemy, who fired fast +and furiously. But the task was accomplished, after which the Boers +and the British, worn out, rested from their hostilities. For a day +and a night the Boers were in occupation of the advanced hole and +the sap that had been carried from it, but it was soon recaptured, and +the connection made with the Boer trenches blown up with dynamite.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p> + +<p>On the 20th the Protectorate Regiment gave a dinner, which +turned out to be quite a luxurious repast. Invitations were supplemented +by the request to bring their own bread! Some of the +officers shot a few locust-birds, small as quail, which, when carved +judiciously, went round among the guests. Added to this there was +a sucking pig, obtained none knew whence, but nevertheless most +welcome.</p> + +<p>On the 22nd, Sergeant-Major Looney of the Commissariat was +sentenced to five years penal servitude for the misappropriation of +comestibles and stores, which had been going on for some time. +The Commissariat was reorganised by Captain Ryan (Army Service +Corps) with untiring energy and economy. To the soup-kitchen +went everything, scraps of meat, or hoof, meal, unsifted oats, bran, +all were turned to account, and food of a sustaining, if not luxurious +kind, was provided for every one. At this time the Boers were +growing despondent, and began to doubt their chance of forcing the +town to surrender. From a conversation overheard by some wary +ones who had crept close to the enemy’s trenches, it appeared that +President Steyn had urged Commandant Snyman to carry the town +by storm, and afterwards to come to the rescue of the Free Staters +with his force, but the Burghers had expressed their opinion that it +was now too late to take Mafeking—they should have done so the +first week.</p> + +<p>The inhabitants were very pleased with their own ingenuity, and +in their ordnance workshops the manufacture of shot and shell went +on apace. The mechanics of the railway works, by a system which +seemed to act on the lines of a conjuring trick, turned out from +the shell-factory about fifty rounds a day. No waste was allowed. +Even the fragments of the enemy’s shells were utilised. These and +scraps of cast iron were purchased at twopence a pound for smelting, +and twopence, it must be remembered, was now a magnificent disbursement, +as money was growing more and more scarce. Curiously +enough, the present foreman, Conolly, was at one time manager of the +shell department of the ordnance factory at Pretoria, where he personally +supervised the manufacture of the larger shells. He now +necessarily took a parental interest in the shells flung into Mafeking +by the Boers’ Creusot gun, and also in those new ones that were +flung out of Mafeking as a result of his own and others’ inventive +genius! A good deal of shelling took place, and that on the 23rd +was said to be a salute in honour of Independence Day in the +Orange Free State. The inhabitants of Mafeking would not have +grudged their enemies the, to them, distressing attempt at festivity +had they then known that four days later the death-blow of that +independence would be struck, and the salute was destined to be the +last in the history of the Republics!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p> + +<p>Fare was growing more and more meagre. Horse-flesh was +diversified by bread made from horse forage; water, to say the +least of it, was becoming interesting only to bacteriologists. The +native population for the most part starved; they now and then +indulged in a raid and brought back fat fare, which for a day or +two had a visible effect upon their ebon skeletons, but they brought +it at the risk of their lives.</p> + +<p>Uninterrupted deluges of rain made existence a perpetual misery, +the trenches and also the bomb-proof shelters were flooded, and +the hapless inhabitants, saturated, fled into the open, uncertain +whether death by fire was not preferable to death by water. The +first, at all events, promised to be expeditious, while the second +offered prospects of prolonged sousing and exquisite tortures of +enduring rheumatism. Daily the state of affairs became less tolerable. +Typhoid and malaria stalked abroad, and in the children’s +and women’s laager diphtheria had set in.</p> + +<p>On the 25th a message was received from the Queen. Its effect +was electrical. It was vastly heartening to feel and to know that +the great Sovereign herself knew and sympathised with the history +of the struggles and privations, the loyalty and pluck of this little +hamlet in a remote corner of Her Majesty’s possessions. It seemed +more possible now to starve patriotically, and, with every mouthful +of nauseating mule or horse, to put aside personal discomfort and to +remember the gracious fact that each individual was a symbol, a +sorry and dilapidated one perhaps, but nevertheless a symbol of +the majesty and might of Greater Britain. In addition to the +royal message there came two days later the stimulating intelligence +that Kimberley had been relieved, and that Lord Roberts +was advancing on Bloemfontein!</p> + +<p>On Majuba Day, all made sure that some sort of attack might +be expected, and they prepared to welcome it with a salute from +the new howitzer gun which had engaged the genius of the siege +arsenal. The Boers, however, were quiet. A good deal of psalm-singing +took place in the Boer camp, while the besieged put the big +gun through his paces.</p> + +<p>Ash Wednesday was observed without sackcloth and ashes. +Mafeking had been enjoying Lenten abstinence for months past, +and therefore when, at the service on the following Sabbath, the +parson reminded them that it was the fast season, every one in +the church enjoyed the joke so hugely that smiles were with difficulty +suppressed. As one of the congregation afterwards suggested, +they had had so much “Extra Special” fasting that they ought to +be let off Lenten obligations for five years.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 479px;"> +<a name="ill_167" id="ill_167"></a><img src="images/ill_167.png" width="479" height="354" alt="" title="" /> +<div> +<table class="w100" summary=""> +<tr> +<td class="caption">SOUTH AFRICAN LIGHT HORSE (Trooper).</td> +<td class="caption">BRABANT’S HORSE (Trooper).</td> +<td class="caption">DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S VOLUNTEER RIFLES (Dispatch Rider).</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photos by J. E. Bruton, Cape Town.</span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smaller">AT CHIEVELEY AGAIN</span></h2> + +<p>On the 8th of February General Buller again retired +across the Tugela. He realised that his whole flanking +movement had been a failure, and though the ill-success +has been attributed to many causes, we may +safely say that the main cause of the fiasco was the +insufficient rapidity with which the scheme was conducted. Napoleon +declared that flank marches should be as short, and executed in as +brief a time, as possible. Celerity and concealment in these cases +must go hand in hand, and when celerity is overlooked concealment +becomes impossible. Delay had given the Boers the opportunity to +shift their positions and produce a new front even more powerful +than that at Colenso. The General’s idea had been, after taking +Vaal Krantz, to entrench it as the pivot of further operations, but +the experience of two days’ hard fighting taught him that, owing to +the nature of the ground, and the despatch of the Dutchmen, the +plan was far from practicable. The position was found to be +dominated in every direction by the enemy, and unless Vaal +Krantz could be held securely during the advance to Ladysmith, +it was thought advisable not to hold it at all. For this reason +the Natal Field Force returned to Chieveley, the original scene +of operations, where the “Red Bull,” as the Boers called him, +with indomitable energy, planned out a fourth scheme of attack. +It was now to be directed against the Boer left. The battle +of the 15th of December was mainly directed against the Boer +right, as there were reasons to believe the right to be the weaker +of the two flanks. That attack had failed for reasons we know. +Circumstances having changed, and more guns and men being +now at his disposal, the General determined to direct his energies +to the Boer left. The task was a complicated one. Both river +and hills twist themselves mysteriously, and seemingly in conspiracy +with Boer notions of defence. For instance, the river after +leaving Colenso (which may be looked upon as the Boer centre) +twists invisibly into the shelter of the impregnable kopjes, and +takes a direct turn towards the north, thereby passing in front of +the Boer right and in rear of the Boer left. By taking to themselves +possession of Hlangwane the enemy had made their position +almost unassailable. This formidable left ran in a series of trenches,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +sangars, and rifle-pits from Colenso past the thorn-bushes by the +river, and on to the powerfully fortified hill of Hlangwane. From +thence it was extended over the ridge called Green Hill, and farther +to the companion eminences of Cingolo and Monte Cristo, and the +nek that united them. The first thing, therefore, to be done in a +plan for turning this formidable position was to take possession of +Hussar Hill, which was accomplished on the 14th of February, from +which day and on till the 27th fighting without cessation took place. +Some one called it the fighting march, for it was a series of ferociously +contested moves from Chieveley to Hussar Hill, and thence +<i>via</i> Cingolo Nek and Monte Cristo Ridge till the Boer line had +been turned and the British forces had placed themselves diagonally +across the left of the Boer position. Having worked round in a +species of hoop, which crumpled the Boer left before it, and having +deposited men and guns to mark as milestones the victorious +advance, a frontal advance was soon made on Green Hill, the +adjacent slope some three miles from Hlangwane, which mountain +became, as a natural consequence of the foregoing proceedings, a +somewhat easy prize. The victory at Monte Cristo, which enabled +us to acquire Green Hill, may be looked upon as the turning of the +tide. From the hour that commanding point was occupied the +future of the relieving army was practically secure, for the river was +gained, and the Boers once on the run, there needed only the fine +fighting quality of our troops—the A1 quality of the world—to +bring things to a satisfactory conclusion. But now to try to follow +this complicated and well-considered march.</p> + +<p>On the 12th of February a force of mounted infantry, with a +battalion of infantry, a field-battery, and a Colt battery, reconnoitred +Hussar Hill (so called because it was the scene of the +surprise to a picket of the 13th Hussars), a long ridge situated +at the south of Hlangwane, where General Buller subsequently +established his headquarters. The South African Light Horse +and another Colt battery were treated to some fierce volleys by +the enemy, with the result that Lieutenant J. Churchill and another +officer were wounded. Four men were injured and one was missing. +The fight was a brisk one, though of but half-an-hour’s duration, for +the hill was not strongly held. The troops then moved forwards, +winding through a series of wooded ridges to the right, till they +reached an entrenched ridge connecting Hlangwane with higher +hills on the east. As there were continual increases and changes +in regard to the troops, it will be found advisable, before going +further, to refer to a table of the distribution of the forces as far +as they were then known:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>—</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">SIR REDVERS BULLER’S FORCE</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Second Division.</span>—(Major-General Lyttelton).—2nd (Hildyard’s) Brigade—2nd +East Surrey; 2nd West Yorks; 2nd Devons; 2nd West Surrey. 4th +(Norcott’s Brigade)—1st Rifle Brigade; 1st Durham Light Infantry; 3rd +King’s Royal Rifles; 2nd Scottish Rifles (Cameronians); Squadron 13th +Hussars; 7th, 14th, and 66th Field Batteries.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Third Division.</span>—5th (Hart’s) Brigade—1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers; +1st Connaught Rangers; 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers; 1st Border. 6th (Barton’s) +Brigade—2nd Royal Fusiliers; 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers; 1st Royal +Welsh Fusiliers; 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers; Squadron 13th Hussars; 63rd, +64th, and 73rd Field Batteries.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Fifth Division.</span>—(Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Warren).—10th +(Coke’s) Brigade—2nd Dorset; 2nd Middlesex; 2nd Somerset Light Infantry. +11th (Wynne’s) Brigade—2nd Royal Lancaster; 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers; +1st South Lancashire; 1st York and Lancaster; Squadron 13th Hussars; +19th, 20th, and 28th Field Batteries. Corps Troops—1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers; +Imperial Light Infantry; Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry; 61st Field +Battery (Howitzers); 78th Field Battery; Natal Battery, 9-pounders; twelve +Naval 12-pounder quick-firers; 4th Mountain Battery; two 4.7 Naval guns, +1st Cavalry Brigade (Burn-Murdoch)—1st Royal Dragoons; 14th Hussars; +Gough’s Composite Regiment. 2nd Cavalry Brigade (Dundonald)—Natal Carabineers +(squadron); South African Light Horse (four squadrons); Imperial +Light Horse (squadron); Natal Police (squadron).</p></blockquote> + +<p>General Lyttelton succeeded General Clery (disabled by blood-poisoning) +in command of the Second Division, while Colonel +Norcott (Rifle Brigade) temporarily took command of the Fourth +Brigade.</p> + +<p>On the 14th the army moved to occupy the new position on +Hussar Hill. As we know, the irregular cavalry, the South African +Horse, had secured the position, and some disappointed Boers who +had thought to be beforehand with them had disappeared with much +haste and not a little chagrin. After a short time Generals Wynne +Coke, and Barton with their respective brigades joined Sir Charles +Warren’s division, and bivouacked on the new ground. There was +some trouble about water, as Hussar Hill was arid and the nearest +river was some miles away. However, necessity is the mother of +invention, and necessity brought to light a system of water-waggons +by which a small but appreciable amount of water was carried to the +troops. While this was going on above, General Lyttelton was +moving to the east of Chieveley round the eastern spur of Hussar +Hill.</p> + +<p>Here during the afternoon a number of Boers hiding among the +boulders and dense scrub made themselves obstreperous; but their +fire was overcome by our artillery, and before long they were +dislodged.</p> + +<p>Little happened for two days save some artillery duelling, then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> +an appreciable advance was made. A wooded hill called Cingolo, +part of the range east of Hlangwane, was the next to be seized +by an adroit flanking movement of the infantry. They gained and +kept the top of the hill with but few casualties owing to the dense +cover.</p> + +<p>At dawn on the 17th a general advance was ordered. Consequently +soon after midnight the business of movement began. At +daybreak the cavalry under Lord Dundonald marched to discover +the enemy’s left flank through the tangled and rugged country to +the east—country so broken and wooded that on occasions it was +impossible to ride, and all that could be done was to lead the horses +through thicket, and thorns, and over boulders by the light of intelligence +rather than military regime. And while this was going on +the artillery was performing a boisterous symphony on seventy instruments, +an <i>aubade</i> to awaken such Boers as might still be dozing +in rock, ravine, or ridge in the regions of Hlangwane.</p> + +<p>At last the troopers had wormed and torn and scrambled their +way up the ridge, where, on arriving, the Boers accosted them +with the music of musketry in tolerably fast time. Bullets whizzed +and commenced to send the now well-known cataracts over the +advancing troops, and for the moment it seemed to be a toss up as +to whether the toil of gaining the position would be in vain. However, +the Boers were in small number, and very soon they fell back, +leaving the top of the hill before the advance of the Imperial Light +Horse and the Natal Carabineers, who slew or captured some +Burghers and horses. In their attack they were supported by the +Queen’s, the right battalion of Hildyard’s attack, who had taken +a short cut and came up in the nick of time, so that the Boers +promptly scurried off and left the troops in undisturbed possession +of Cingolo Hill.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 706px;"> +<a name="ill_173" id="ill_173"></a><img src="images/ill_173.png" width="706" height="260" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">The Scene of the Fighting at Monte Cristo Hill on February 19.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">(From sketches taken during the action by Captain P. U. Vigors, 2nd Devon Regiment.)</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Further important movements took place on the 18th. Through +the operations of the day before, the Boers had been hunted along +towards Monte Cristo, and from thence at daylight they commenced +to pour Creusot shells on the British troops. The Queen’s, who had +bivouacked on the northern slope of Cingolo, and came in for a good +deal of fire, valiantly crossed the nek, and, supported by the rest of +the 2nd Brigade under General Hildyard, assaulted and finally took +the southern end of Monte Cristo. The 4th Brigade occupied the +left or western slope. Operations were begun very early, and the +long precipitous climb in a baking sun occupied till midday. The +advance over country that is trellised with spruits, dongas, thorn-bush, +and scrub at times was painfully slow, and the scrambling +and stumbling, sometimes on all fours, to the roll and rattle of +musketry and the banging of unseen and unlocatable guns occupied +some hours. The words of the Scripture, “Eyes have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> +they and see not,” might have been applied to this nerve-trying +assault against hidden men with smokeless weapons. No sooner +had the troops reached the top of Monte Cristo than they were +assailed by a well-directed artillery fire from the direction of the +invisible foe, shrapnel, Maxim, and Nordenfeldt guns pouring over +the men as they advanced. But they steadily pushed on and up +till at last they entirely routed the Boers. These, finding themselves +in a desperate situation, took to their heels, leaving tents, +food, biltong, lard, potatoes, onions, clothing, bridles, blankets, and +Bibles behind them in disarray. In their retreat they were fired on +by the cavalry, but they made small reply. Quantities of ammunition +were captured, and, unfortunately for those who still maintained +their respect for the enemy, several forms of expanding +bullets. The Royal Welsh Fusiliers, supported by the rest of the +6th Brigade, assailed the eastern flank of the enemy’s position. The +2nd Brigade of Cavalry on the extreme right watched the eastern +slopes of Monte Cristo, and drove back those of the enemy who +scurried there to escape the artillery fire. They had been completely +taken by surprise; they had expected the British to begin +a frontal attack on Green Hill, a smooth grassy eminence sliced +with the gashes of Boer entrenchments, some of these six feet in +depth, others blasted in the solid rock. Assaulted now by big +guns in front and flank, attacked in flank and rear, the enemy, +without offering much resistance, evacuated their strong positions +and fled across the Tugela. That their flight was precipitate was +testified by the fact that they even left letters behind. One of these +was from General Joubert in answer to a request for supports, in +which he said these could not be sent; the position was sufficiently +garrisoned with the men they had.</p> + +<p>The crest of Monte Cristo gained, all at once took heart. This +hill was the hinge on which all the subsequent movements turned. +By means of it Green Hill and the frowning eminence of Hlangwane +could become ours. From Hlangwane the whole western section +of the great Colenso position could be rendered untenable by the +enemy. This the Boers well knew, and this was the reason for their +tough resistance on the dreadful 15th of December. Now, seeing us +masters of Monte Cristo, they wisely decided to make themselves +scarce. The British guns once mounted on Monte Cristo made a +complete difference in the situation. It was now possible to enfilade +many of the choice positions which for two months had been the +snug hiding-places of the enemy. Now, in the distance, was visible—the +subject of many dreams, many nightmares—Ladysmith. +Around it, here and there, were dotted the enemy’s camps and +hospitals—only eight miles away—a comfortable walking distance—eight +miles ahead of our advanced lines! Ladysmith—an austere<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> +queen to be wooed, a fainting beauty to be won—so she had +seemed, with lives risked and sacrificed like mere handfuls of +sand for the sake of her, for a few yards of approach near to that +cestus which engirdled all the grand British blood that had +palpitated for our coming, so long, so very long. It was glorious +merely to know that Ladysmith was now in sight of the British +picquets: there was a sense of exhilaration in the thought of +real progress after the ghastly six days at Spion Kop, the fluctuating +four at Vaal Krantz, the fourteen in and out and round about +the precincts of fatal Colenso. Success was now almost within a +stone’s throw, and all hearts throbbed with expectation and confidence. +All were in some way longing for the handclasp of +those beleaguered men. There, in that cup of the hills were +kindred; if not kindred, friends; if not friends, comrades in arms—comrades +who had belonged to the same old regiments or “ground” +with the same “crammers” at the same schools. And even for +complete strangers there was a thrill of excitement, almost of exultation, +at the prospect of coming in touch with these men, of grasping +hands with renowned warriors, every one of whom had helped +to illuminate one of the most sumptuous pages of the history of the +nineteenth century.</p> + +<p>The intense heat, the terrific toil, the unparalleled hardships were +forgotten. The energy and dash of the troops, hitherto unfailing, +were now redoubled. They had now taken possession of the most +important ridge which pointed towards the frowning guardian +eminence of the beleaguered concave—Bulwana Hill—and hopes +were high and spirits exuberant. There remained but Pieter’s Hill +between them and the imprisoned multitude. They now saw that +the turn of the tide had arrived, and already they looked towards +the distressed town, veiled in the haze of distance, and pictured +the hour when their long spell of strain and turmoil should meet +its reward. In this day’s fight, the Queens, the Scots Fusiliers, the +Rifle Brigade, and the irregular cavalry had especially distinguished +themselves. It was the distinction of endurance rather than of display. +The dogged perseverance with which they launched themselves +at the positions to be taken, toiling through scrub and thorn, +“potting away” at an invisible foe, was more to be applauded +than more demonstrative feats of heroism. Colenso and Spion +Kop had been showy in their tragedy, but the “fighting march,” +as it was called, was a feat of superb endurance, of obdurate pluck. +A perpetual stumbling and tearing, an eternal pushing up and on +against opposition the more terrifying because unseen; the sound +of booming, smokeless murderous guns; the sight of maimed or +mutilated human beings dropping suddenly under the serene and +smiling sky were experiences to test the grit of the toughest and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> +most stoical. A bolt from the blue! That was all. Yet presently +there were dead men littered about, and far away, unconscious of +their woe, were widows and orphans.</p> + +<p>On the 19th, Hlangwane Hill—the impregnable Gibraltar, as it +has been called—was taken by the Fusilier Brigade. As this hill, +which commanded Colenso, had been evacuated by the enemy—who +had left three camps and all their paraphernalia, thousands of rounds +of ammunition, and 2000 Maxim automatic shells behind them—we +were now free to cross the Tugela. Whether the enemy would +continue to fight inch by inch was uncertain, but still there was one +subject of rejoicing—the river was ours. The following officers +were killed and wounded during this day’s operations:—2nd Royal +Fusiliers—Killed, Captain W. L. Thurburn; wounded, 2nd Lieutenant +E. C. Packe. 2nd Scottish Rifles—Wounded, 2nd Lieutenant +J. M. Colchester-Wemyss.</p> + +<p>On the 20th General Hart, after a slight resistance by a weak +rearguard, occupied the village, and now the line of the Tugela on +the south side from Colenso to Eagle’s Nest was in British hands.</p> + +<p>Colenso was found to be a desolate ruin. The enemy had evidently +tried to make matchwood of the place. Windows and doors +told the tale of wanton destruction. They were wrecked past remedy. +Houses everywhere were redolent of the Boer, the walls bore +traces of his illiterate caligraphy, and his offensive remarks in many +tongues amused without disturbing those who read them. They +could afford to smile now. And while they went on their tour of +investigation the hidden Boers could not resist some sniping shots +from their trenches in Port Wylie, which were only silenced by the +forcible arguments of the Naval gunners on Hussar Hill. On this +day another trooper of the South African Light Horse (Walters) +distinguished himself by swimming across the Tugela and bringing +over the pontoon, thus repeating the gallant deed of his comrades at +Potgieter’s Drift. Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry, though peppered +by Boers who were ensconced on the kopjes on the opposite side, +succeeded in fording the river, and proceeded to reconnoitre the +kopjes on the other side. All the guns were gone, and the kopjes +themselves seemed to be weakly held. In the distance small clusters +of Boers were seen in the act of digging trenches, but it was +generally believed that the enemy’s tactics were now those of a +rearguard action.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 499px;"> +<a name="ill_177" id="ill_177"></a><img src="images/ill_177.png" width="499" height="305" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH—THE LAST RUSH AT HLANGWANE HILL.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">From a Sketch by René Bull, War Artist.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Terrible reminiscences of the battle of Colenso greeted them +wherever they turned. Fort Wylie was seamed with bombardment. +The railway bridge remained a lamentable picture of upheaval. Outside +the village, lying as they had dropped, were the rotted carcases +of horses which had fallen victims to the enemy’s volleys—fallen in +tangled masses, all harnessed together, while making a futile effort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> +to save the guns of the 14th and 66th Batteries. The trenches, +beginning on the very brink of the river, with their protective layers +of sandbags and their ingeniously arranged earthworks, told how +comfortably and with what immunity from danger the Boers had set +about their fell work on the fatal 15th of December. The labour in +making Colenso and its surroundings impregnable must have been +as immense as it was skilful.</p> + +<p>General Hart’s advanced guard now proceeded to cross the +Tugela, the Boers having vacated all their positions south of the +river, and on the 21st he was followed by the 5th Division, who +drove back the enemy’s rearguard. The enemy had moved north +and turned into a strongly fortified line of kopjes midway between +the river and Grobler’s Kloof, and from thence there was some +doubt whether he could ever be displaced. At the approach of the +British, he, however, retired precipitately towards Grobler’s Kloof.</p> + +<p>The crossing, on both days, of the magnificent infantry was apiece +with all that had gone before. First came one shell, then another, +but the troops steadily pursued their warlike course while the missiles +hurtling over their heads exploded in the plain behind them. The +great question had been as to where the river should be crossed. +Now that the British were in possession of the whole area of +Hlangwane and its connecting hills, it was possible to cross either +where the river ran north and south, or where it ran east and west. +The idea was to cross and get along the line of railroad, and follow +a straight course up to Ladysmith. The enemy were believed to be +in retreat, and therefore it seemed perfectly feasible to advance in +the way attempted.</p> + +<p>On the 21st the gunners continued persistently at work, determining +that the Dutchmen should have no spare time for the +building of further entrenchments. The foe managed, however, to +render themselves aggressive by firing on an ambulance train that +was steaming out of Colenso station. Meanwhile the army was +moving westward from Hlangwane plateau, with a view to marching +up beyond the stream, and getting out of the valley of the river and +beyond the kopjes that frowned over it.</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">LADYSMITH</h3> + +<p>The story of famine is an insidious story, a creeping horror that, +scarcely visible, yet slowly and very gradually saps first the spirits, +then the energies, then the blood, and finally all the little sparks of +being that serve to divide us from the dead. The seal of hunger +was set on every action, though there was no complaint. The +cramped-up Tommy in his sangar was scarcely as conscious of his +risk of danger from shot and shell as of the aching void that assured<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> +him how much nature abhorred a vacuum. When he marched, he +marched now with the step of one who husbands his resources; +when he whistled as of old, he ceased abrupt, the lung power being +scant and short-lived. His eyes, plucky and Britishly dogged, grew +large and wistful, as though looking for something that never came. +Dysentery and fever caught him and left him, but left him still in +charge of famine, which held him in leading-strings, allowing him his +freedom to crawl so far and no farther. Yet daily routine went on +as of yore. The shadow of the man went on picket or fatigue duty +and met his fellow-shadows as often as not with a jest. In ordinary +life you don’t look upon cheek-bones as the features of a face. You +take stock of eyes, nose, mouth, possibly ears. In Ladysmith a +man’s character betrayed itself in his cheek-bones and in the anæmic +tone of the tanned parchment that was stretched across them. You +could read of patience and heroism in the hard, distinct outlines, and +comprehend the magnificent endurance of one who, expecting to +fight like a devil, was condemned to feed like an anchorite.</p> + +<p>The men were very near the barbaric brink of starvation. On +one occasion a shell plumped into the mule lines and killed a mule. +There was a general rush. Shells followed on the first, crashing all +around, but the famished racing throng heeded them not; their one +desire was to get at the slain beast, to capture the wherewithal to +stay their grievous cravings. Quickly with their clasp-knives they +possessed themselves of great chunks of the flesh, and then, with +death hurtling around them and over their heads, they proceeded to +carry their prize to safer quarters. Here they determined to have a +good “tuck-in.” Fires were kindled, and the flesh was toasted and +swallowed with lightning rapidity.</p> + +<p>For some weeks the inhabitants had been reduced to an essence +of horse politely termed Chevril, which was declared to be both +palatable and nourishing. The horses, with their ribs shining in +painful high lights along their skins, dropped day after day from +sheer famine, and were boiled down to meet the pressing demand. +Their bones were gelatinous, however wizened their poor flesh.</p> + +<p>The horses that were used for food, like those that yet crawled, +were mere skeletons. When the General, in view of making another +sortie, inquired how many there were in camp that could still carry +their rider for six miles, he was informed that there were only twelve +equal to the task.</p> + +<p>The lack of fat and milk and vegetables was irremediable, but +dainties, so called, were provided in curious ways. Blancmange was +manufactured from ladies’ violet-powder which had been “commandeered” +for service in the kitchen, and biscuits were fried by +the men in the axle-grease provided for the carts, in hope to make +the task of biting them less like crunching ashes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> + +<p>The place itself appeared to be becoming the Abomination of +Desolation. Many of the dwellings were unoccupied; the low bungalow-shaped +villas were closed and barricaded; here and there +were buildings cracked and seamed by shot and shell, with great +gaps in their faces, reminding one of human beings without eyes and +teeth. Melancholy and depression reigned everywhere—on the +tangled, desolated gardens, as on the silent, listless men, who had +almost ceased to converse, for there was nothing left to converse +about. Buller’s coming had been discussed threadbare; the prospect +of the food holding out had been examined in all its hideous +emptiness. Lassitude and weariness was the universal expression on +the visages of the hollow-eyed spectres that were the remains of the +dashing heroes of Glencoe and Elandslaagte. The land and riverbeds +presented the appearance of a series of grottoes, shelters of +wood, stone, and wire, the dens of wild animals, the caves of primitive +man. Between the burrows and caves were sentry-paths and +paths to the water-tanks, worn with the incessant traffic of weary +feet.</p> + +<p>Though affairs were arriving at a sorry pass, there were still +some wonderful recoveries. For instance, Captain Paley (Rifle +Brigade), who was wounded in both hips, was getting on amazingly. +Though the leg was badly shattered near the joint of the hip, there +was every reason to hope that it might be saved. Captain Mills, +too, was mending. To have a bullet pass through the lung and +pierce the spinal column is not a common experience, and one that +few recover from; yet the doctors gave hopeful reports. They +had scarcely thought that Major Hoare would outlive a fractured +skull—completely riddled they said it was—yet the Major was expected +to be himself again shortly. These were marvellous cases, +and probably the wounded owed their curious recovery to the nature +of the weapon of offence. Missiles have peculiar characteristics, +and differ in their capacity for deadliness. For instance, bullets of +the most harmless kind are those having a high velocity, those that +hit apex-first and do not “keyhole,” and those possessing a hard, +smooth sheath with a smooth, rounded surface. After these come +missiles of more death-dealing or mutilating nature—the Dum-Dum +bullets, with the nickel sheaths around the apex removed in order to +expose the lead nucleus, Remington lead or brass bullets, shrapnel +bullets, and fragments of shell. Each and all of these things had +been endured by one or other of our gallant men during the course +of the campaign, and the surgeons were able to make a profound +study of causes and effects. One of the heroes of Ladysmith who +went near to testing the efficacy of that most deadly thing, the shell, +was Archdeacon Barker. With the utmost presence of mind, he +picked up a shell in the act of exploding and plumped it into a tub<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> +of water, thus saving many lives. Numbers of officers who had +been hit by Mausers or Lee-Metfords were now pronounced out of +danger, among them Colonel C. E. Beckett (Staff), Major F. Hammersley +(Staff), Captain W. B. Silver, Captain M. J. W. Pike, Major +H. Mullaly, Lieutenants Crichton, S. C. Maitland, W. W. MacGregor +(of the Gordons), and A. A. G. Bond. Captain Lowndes, +who was wounded dangerously on Surprise Hill, was picking up +wonderfully. Lieutenant Campbell, of the Imperial Light Horse, +whose case at first seemed serious, was rapidly gaining ground.</p> + +<p>Very capricious sometimes was the action of bullets. Some of +the injured would have as many as four or five wounds, all “outers,” +to use their musketry phrase, while others would suffer strange and +wonderful things in consequence of the vagaries of a single shot. +A strange chapter of accidents befell one officer. He was hit under +the left eye, the bullet passing out of his cheek into his left shoulder, +and then into his upper arm, which it broke. Not content with +doing this damage, the shock of the blow knocked him down, and in +falling the unfortunate man broke the other arm! On the other +hand, there were some, reported doing well, and expecting to be fit +for duty shortly, who were veritably perforated with bullets—“a +perfect sieve” one man called himself, with a touch of excusable +pride.</p> + +<p>The bravery of these men! The bravery of these women! +Outside we knew only of the husk of their suffering; but the kernel +of it, the bitter sickening taste of it, the taste that lived with them, +that was there when they woke, and remained after they had closed +their eyes in sleep—that, none but themselves could ever know. +Boredom and flies, they jestingly said it was! Rather was it a +slow petrifaction of the soul. Death to them had lost its sting, +as life had lost its fire. Ladysmith was the grave of corpses +that were not dead, forms in the cerements of burial now too +weak to knock themselves against the coffin-lid and cry, “Save +us! our last breath is not yet spent; we are living, loving men!” +Yes, they were too weak. They made no sound, no cry. They +who had so long resisted could resist no longer; they, who with +their last effort on that fatal 6th of January had been a terror to +their enemies, were now only a terror to themselves. Could they +bear it longer? Was it possible? Might they not in some fit of +madness, some palpitating moment of lust for dear life, begin to +spell the letters of the unframable word, begin just to think how it +might be spelt?—S—u—r—r— No! They could not get to the +end of it! It choked them. They could stand the fetid water, the +foul air with its loathsome whispers, its hideous suggestions, which +at eventide grew strong as phantoms from the nether world; they +could face the sight of virulent disease and gaunt famine stalking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> +up and down as the hyena slinks round and about his prey; they +could gasp under the fierce heat; they could tune their ears to the +racking, rending tortuous explosions of death dealing shells—they +could do all this, but they could not get beyond. The first syllable +of the crushing word could never pass their lips!</p> + +<hr class="w50" /> + +<p>Food now was only interesting because of its mystery; it was +beginning to have merely an ornamental value in the programme. +Various “confections” made of violet-powder that had been impounded, +strange brawns of mule-heel and suspicious “savouries” +were the subject of speculation and awe. People pretended to +be pleased and to put a good face on matters, and indeed they had +every reason to be thankful; for, owing to the ingenuity of Lieutenant +M’Nalty, A.S.C., under whose auspices potted meats, jellies, +soups, were manufactured, the imagination if not the appetite was +appeased with what, when not too closely investigated, appeared to +be quite delectable fare.</p> + +<p>The following prices were realised at an auction on February 21:—Fourteen +lbs. of oatmeal, £2, 19s. 6d.; a tin of condensed milk, +10s.; 1 lb. of fat beef, 11s.; a 1-lb. tin of coffee, 17s.; a 2-lb. tin of +tongue, £1, 6s.; a sucking-pig, £1, 17s.; eggs, £2, 8s. per dozen; +a fowl, 18s.; four small cucumbers, 15s.; green mealies, 3s. 8d. +each; a small quantity of grapes, £1, 5s.; a plate of tomatoes, 18s.; +one marrow, £1, 8s.; a plate of potatoes, 19s.; two small bunches +of carrots, 9s.; a glass of jelly, 18s.; a 1-lb. bottle of jam, £1, 11s.; +a 1-lb. tin of marmalade, £1, 1s.; a dozen matches, 13s. 6d.; a +packet of cigarettes, £1, 5s.; 50 cigars, £9, 5s.; a ¼-lb. cake of +tobacco, £2, 5s.; ½ lb. of tobacco, £3, 5s.</p> + +<p>A doctor, writing home about this time, said:—</p> + +<p>“Things are getting very trying here now. For two or three +weeks we have had only half a pound of horseflesh and a quarter a +pound of very bad mealie-meal bread, with one ounce of sugar. +Sometimes a little mealie porridge is added or a little more bread. +This is precious low fare, I can tell you, especially as the bread is so +bad we can hardly eat it, and it makes us ill. Of course, drinks +gave out after the first month, and tobacco followed suit some time +ago, but, fortunately, they discovered a little Kaffir tobacco recently, +which, vile as it is, we smoke eagerly. Alas! mine won’t last long +now. It is impossible to get proper food for patients, and not much +of improper. Consequently men are beginning to die fast of scurvy, +enteric, and dysentery. We have reduced the number of sick from +two thousand to seventeen hundred here, of which I have about a +hundred severe cases, and am allowed about two to three wineglasses +of stimulants a day for the lot; so you can imagine what a +farce that is. Drugs, too, are almost finished, and firewood for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> +cooking is an endless difficulty; so you can imagine I am pretty +tired of the daily duty in these terrible fever-tents. About half of +our doctors and half the nurses are sick, and there were always few +enough. One doctor has already died and a nurse.”</p> + +<p>Among the severe cases alluded to was one especially to be +deplored. Colonel Royston, whose name is intimately connected +with Volunteering in Natal, was hopelessly ill. In spite of his iron +constitution, he succumbed to the ravages of enteric fever, and was in +reality marked by the finger of death at the very time when the relief +force was pressing to deliver the town from the awful doom that +hung like a miasma over the whole place. The gallant Colonel had +done splendid service, and for two decades had worked energetically +to promote the welfare of the Colony and stimulate interest in the +Volunteer movement. As trumpeter in the Carabineers in 1872, the +youth was found engaging in operations against Langalibalele, including +the flying column in the Double Mountains and the capture +of the chief; and in 1879, in command of a troop of Carabineers, he +distinguished himself in the Zulu campaign. Later he accompanied +Sir Bartle Frere to the Transvaal in command of the High Commissioner’s +escort. From 1881 to 1889 he commanded the regiment, +and was appointed Commandant of Volunteers in 1898. When +the call to arms came, the brave Volunteers of Natal were ready to +a man, fully equipped to go to the front—a practical proof of the +splendid ability and foresight of their chief. All agreed in deploring +his illness, and declared that an officer more fitted to lead the gallant +regiment, more trusted and more beloved, it would be hard to find.</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">THE BATTLE OF PIETERS</h3> + +<p>On Wednesday the 21st, as we know, our troops were back at +Colenso. The day was mainly devoted to “sniping,” to bringing +up heavy guns, and to getting the troops across the Tugela. +But the 12-pounder Naval guns on Hlangwane, and the 61st +Howitzer Battery in the open, indulged in a stupendous concert +addressed to the enemy’s position, in which they were assisted +from below Monte Cristo on the right by more Naval guns. +The enemy was not inactive. No sooner had a pontoon been +thrown across the river below Hlangwane than they began to +drop shells in the neighbourhood of the troops who were attempting +to cross. These, however, accomplished their intention without +sustaining much loss. Meanwhile, Corporal Adams, of the +Telegraph Brigade, distinguished himself by swimming across the +Tugela, wire in mouth. The troops now advanced—General +Coke’s Brigade, followed by two battalions of General Wynne’s +and a field-battery. The Somersets, Dorsets, Middlesex, covered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> +by shell-fire from two field-batteries and the heavy guns, moved +across the plain to the foot of the hill, with the object of reconnoitring +Grobler’s Kloof. At first no signs of the enemy were +visible, the Dutchmen, though not entrenched, being cunningly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> +hidden in the dongas and thorn-bushes, which crowded the vicinity. +But no sooner had the Somersets, who had been the first across +the pontoon, approached the base of the hill, than a cataract from +the rifles of the enemy suddenly burst over them. The Boers had +withheld their fire till the troops were within point-blank range, +and then rent the weird mystery of the dusk with jets of flame. +Nearly a hundred of the gallant fellows dropped and three officers +were killed. Some said that they were fighting the enemy’s rearguard, +but in reality a large portion of the whole Boer army was +engaged. Though it was the first time the regiment had been under +fire, the admirable behaviour of the men in the face of overwhelming +hostile numbers was remarkable. Nevertheless, the unpleasant discovery +of the enemy’s strength at last involved the retreat of the +troops, and decided the General that an advance in force must be +made on the following day.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 290px;"> +<a name="ill_185" id="ill_185"></a><img src="images/ill_185.png" width="290" height="550" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Balloon Map illustrating the Battle of Pieters +and Relief of Ladysmith.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The following officers were killed and wounded in the operations +of 20th and 21st February:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>1st Rifle Brigade—Wounded, Lieutenant W. R. Wingfield-Digby. 2nd +Somersetshire Light Infantry—Killed, Captain S. L. V. Crealock, Lieutenant +V. F. A. Keith-Falconer, Second Lieutenant J. C. Parr; wounded, Captain +E. G. Elger. 2nd Dorsetshire Regiment—Wounded, Second Lieutenant +F. Middleton. 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers—Wounded, Colonel J. Reeves. +Staff—Wounded, Captain H. G. C. Phillips. Royal Army Medical Corps—Died +of wounds, Captain R. E. Holt.</p></blockquote> + +<p>On Thursday the 22nd, part of General Wynne’s Brigade began +to advance. They were supported by Hildyard’s Brigade from the +region of Fort Wylie. (General Barton’s Brigade and part of +General Hart’s were left on the south side of the river.) Progress +was slow and painful. The country—a strip some two miles broad +and stretching out between high hills and the river—was richly +veined with irritating dongas and covered with bushes and scrub. +The position was commanded by the wooded slopes of Grobler’s +Kloof, and enabled the Boers to worry the men in their advance +with an enfilading fire. All around were steep kopjes such as the +Boer soul delights in, and thorny tangles which afforded comfortable +shelter for the enemy’s guns. The movement, therefore, +was costly, as it was difficult to locate the guns, and the sharpshooters +of the enemy, well hidden in their rocky fastnesses, maintained +a continuous fire on front and flanks of the advancing force. +With their usual wiliness, the Dutchmen had evidently suspended +their contemplated retreat, and had gathered together, crept up, +and taken up a strong position on the left flank, whence they were +enabled to hamper the troops considerably. Nevertheless the Royal +Lancasters leading, the South Lancashire following, valiantly advanced +towards their objective so resolutely that the Boers, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> +almost to the last stood their ground, pelted off to the sheltering +nooks and dongas in the shadow of Grobler’s Kloof. Only one +remained to face the bayonet. But the losses consequent on this +smart day’s work were many. Brigadier-General Wynne while +conducting operations was slightly wounded, and about a hundred +and fifty more were put out of action.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 313px;"> +<a name="ill_187" id="ill_187"></a><img src="images/ill_187.png" width="313" height="445" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">MAJOR-GENERAL A. FITZROY HART, C.B.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Elliott & Fry, London.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The troops were now moving on a route along the line of river +and rail to Ladysmith, half-way between Colenso and Pieters Hill, +and with kopjes to be stormed at intervals during the onward course. +They had performed a species of zigzag movement, pointing from +Chieveley north-east to Cingolo and Monte Cristo, and coming back +in an acute line north-west to the river. Now the forward march +involved the capture of all the strong positions, beginning with +the twin kopjes, Terrace and Railway Hill, and ending with the +whole Pieters position, and possibly Bulwana.</p> + +<p>On the three hills—Terrace Hill, Railway Hill, and Pieters +Hill—rested the Boers’ second line of defence. The first hill, called +Terrace Hill, lay about a mile and a half to north-east of the right +flank. Farther east, divided by a valley, was Railway Hill, so called +because on its east came the railway line, on the other side of which +was Pieters Hill. Sir Redvers Buller’s plan was to advance the +infantry beyond the angle of the river, and then stretch round the +enemy’s left from Railway Hill, and so go straight to Ladysmith. +The idea seemed a good one, as the Dutchmen were believed to be +moving off; but it was afterwards discovered that they, seeing the +assault was not to be made at once upon the weak, the left edge +of their position, had gathered courage and returned, reinforced by +commandos from Ladysmith, to their well-known hunting-ground +on Grobler’s Kloof and elsewhere, preparing to give battle so long as +there was safety for their extreme left. Most of the night of the +22nd was spent in fighting of desperate character, the Howitzer +Battery keeping up an incessant roar, explosion following explosion +in the sombre blackness of midnight. The Boers, meanwhile, were +attacking with rifle fire all along the line, and so persistent were the +Dutchmen in their effort to get rid of the troops, that some even +were only repulsed by the bayonet.</p> + +<p>Details of that dreadful night’s work are scarce, but a faint, yet +tragic, outline was given by an officer of the 60th Rifles, who was one +of the survivors of the fatal fray. This regiment had moved on the +left of Hildyard’s Brigade, and were swinging along a boulder-strewn +hillside, which, surmounted by a series of uneven and indefinite +crest-lines, gave on to a plateau where they intended to take up a +line of outposts for the night. It so happened that the Boers had +ensconced themselves at the rear edge of the position which the +troops, in the belief that it was evacuated, were so incautiously<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> +approaching. Accordingly, in the gathering gloom a collision of +amazing violence occurred—amazing to both Britons and Burghers, +for the former surprisedly plumped upon the Dutchmen, who as +surprisedly gave way before them. In an instant the gallant 60th +were after the fugitives, charging and cheering, but assailed now +by fierce volleys from undreamed-of trenches. This sudden and +furious attack forced them, unsupported as they were, to seek +cover till reinforcements could arrive. But no help appeared. +The plight of the unfortunate band, whose peril had been hidden +in the grim density of the night, was entirely unsuspected by the +companion forces that fringed the crests in the vicinity, and therefore +the unhappy fellows lay all night clinging to the cover of the +boulders, and rained on by showers of bullets that traced a tale of +agony along the ground. At dawn on the 23rd, no supports having +arrived, and under the same fervid fusillade, they began to retire. +In twos and threes they commenced to go back, finally covered in +their retreat by the East Surreys, who had grandly gone forward +to the rescue. But the cost of splendid succour was dearly and +almost instantaneously paid. Men fell thick and fast over the +hilltop—the Colonel, second in command, and four officers of the +East Surrey Regiment dropping one after another, some wounded +in many places. Captain the Hon. R. Cathcart, “the rearmost of +his command, as he had been foremost of the night before,” dropped +dead, and round him within a few moments fifty other noble fellows +had passed to the Unknown!</p> + +<p>General Buller’s orders on the 23rd were brief. Push for +Ladysmith to-day, horse, foot, and artillery; both cavalry brigades +to cross the river at once. The advance, which had hitherto +been slow, was now hurried on. At midday it was in full swing, +the cavalry having crossed the Tugela and massed at Fort Wylie. +Meanwhile the Boers had taken up a formidable position on the +right—on the well-entrenched height called by the gunners Three +Knoll Hill, to describe the three hills, Terrace, Railway, and +Pieters, that formed the entire position—while on the left they +plied their activities from Grobler’s Kloof. The artillery in front +of Railway Hill concentrated a brisk fire upon the Boers therein +entrenched, who returned some animated replies, assisted by other +Dutchmen from a hidden vantage-point on the north-east of that +eminence. General Hart’s Brigade, to whose valiant Irishmen the +difficult task of capturing the position was entrusted, was ordered +to advance. This advance from Onderbrook Spruit to the base of +Terrace Hill, the companion of Railway Hill, was a feat of cool +courage that has seldom been equalled. The hill, triangular and +standing some three hundred feet above the Tugela, was approached +by a wide open space, which was commanded by the Boers, whose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> +complicated position on Railway Hill and its component ridges gave +them every advantage. The correspondent of the <i>Standard</i> furnished +a description of these precipitous steeps. “Railway Hill rises +from the Tugela a mile from Platelayers’ House. It is, perhaps, +best described as triangular in shape, with one angle pointing +towards the river. It rises from the latter in a series of jagged, +boulder-strewn kopjes, until three hundred feet or so above the +Tugela. A kloof, through which the railway passes upwards on +its way to Pieters Station, separates the last jagged ledge from +the hill proper. From the last kopje or ledge, and immediately on +the other side of the line, the main part of the hill rises abruptly, +almost precipitously, with a sharp edge running back in a north-westerly +direction for several hundred yards. The base of this +north-westerly line of hill makes up a kloof thick with thorn trees, +and this kloof recedes round the left end of the hill to the rear, +where the enemy’s force, under Commandant Dupreez, had its +quarters, while a little farther to the rear is still another kloof, in +which the enemy’s Creusots were mounted. Along the beginning of +the sharp edge referred to a long trench was cut out, and right ahead, +as the hill ran still upwards on an incline for three hundred yards or +so, were other trenches, until the hill terminated in a crest crowded +with commanding fortifications.” To assail this formidable stronghold +the troops moved off in the following order—the Inniskilling Fusiliers +leading, followed by the Connaught Rangers, the Dublin Fusiliers, +and the Imperial Light Infantry. Steadily marched the kharki-clad +throng, advancing along the railroad in single file with rifles at the +slope. At that time there was comparative silence save for the +muffled drumming of artillery in the surrounding kopjes. These +apparently frowned free of human influence, the dark, dull frown +that portends many evil things to the eye of the advancing soldier. +But nevertheless the troops moved nearer and nearer to the hill +over the open ground by the railway bridge with a steady step and +that air of consolidated distinction that marks acutely the difference +between Briton and Boer armies. They had no sooner showed +themselves in the open than the air grew alive, the trenches on +the frowning hill vomited furiously. A casual observer remarked +that it reminded him of the pantomimes of his youth, of Ali +Baba’s cave, when, at a given signal, its jars opened and the forty +thieves suddenly—simultaneously—popped up their heads. Only now +there were not forty but thousands of brigandish forms—forms that +hastened to deal death from their Mausers on the advancing men. +These were now coming on at a rush, a rush through the hailstorm +whose every shower meant disaster. But Hart the valiant had +said, “That hill must be taken at all costs”—and that was enough! +The hill was about to be seized and the payments had already begun.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> +One, two, three, four, six—more and yet more down, one after +another. So the men began to fall. The ironwork of the bridge +had now its fringe of fainting forms. Still the splendid fellows +pushed on. Still the air reverberated with the puissant pom-poming +of the Boers’ automatic gun. This they had turned on to +the position they knew must be passed by the advancing warriors. +Meanwhile the British artillery was saluting the hill, throwing +up to heaven dust and splinter spouts that filled the whole atmosphere +with blinding, choking debris, and causing the purple +boulders far and wide to give forth rumbling echoes of the infernal +rampage.</p> + +<p>Gradually, in face of the deluge of shot and shell, the Inniskilling +Fusiliers, the Connaught Rangers, and one company each of the +Dublin Fusiliers, had wound their way towards the eastern spurs of +Railway Hill, and in the late afternoon were ready for the attack. +General Hart gave the word. Then, up the rugged stone-strewn +heights the troops laboriously began to climb. Soon they reached a +point, some hundred yards above, whence the Boers could pepper +them with ease. At the same time from the adjacent hill more bullets +whizzed upon them. Yet, with this horrible fire on their flanks and +the deadly fusillade from the front, they persevered, dropping one +after another like ripe fruit in a gust of wind. Volley after volley +poured down on them, but up they went, cutting through wire, leaping +boulders, and hurling themselves forward, and in such grand +style, that the Boers, seeing the determined glitter of the bayonet, +thought it wiser to retreat. They receded some two hundred yards +up the hill, while the troops occupied the first position. Then, in +the growing dusk, the Dutchmen were seen taking a commanding +place on a somewhat higher or parent peak of the hill. From this +point the Inniskillings, flushed with their first triumph, deemed it +necessary to rout them. Fire streamed and spouted, the dim gloom +of twilight came on; still the Irishmen, through the mist of +evening and flashings furious from every side, advanced along the +hill—a glorious, a tragic advance. One after another bit the dust. +Men in mute or groaning agony lay prone in the gathering dusk. +First went a major, afterwards another, and then two captains of +this gallant band. The Boers had known their business. Some +of their kopjes are of the nature of spider-webs; the outer fringe +involves entanglement; and this especial eminence was of that +particular nature that the second Boer position commanded the +first. The Dutchmen, even as they receded, were able to mow +down the men as they advanced, by a converging fire, against which +it was impossible to stand. It was now an almost hand-to-hand +struggle between doughty Dutchman and dashing Briton. The +Inniskillings were close, but every inch was gained with appalling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> +loss to their numbers—indeed, the charging companies might almost +have been described as individual men!</p> + +<p>Finally, some one gave the order to retire. But how? Most +of the valorous band were stricken down, or had perished. The +wounded could not be removed. Yet those that remained were too +few to hold the ground in the darkness. All that could be done was +to retire below the crest and wait till morning. A retirement was +attempted, under the personal direction of the Colonel (Colonel +Sitwell),<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> but in the course of the movement he was hit, never to +rise again. The troops at last got to the cover of the hill, where +they built schanzes and bivouacked. But from this point throughout +the night firing continued, while the Boers above, between the +intervals of dozing, peppered the bivouacs with bullets.</p> + +<p>At 7 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, while cannonading had elsewhere assumed dangerous +proportions, the Irish regiments were again assailed in their schanzes +by the persistent Dutchmen. These had crept round the base of the +hill and attacked the trenches from the western side. Volleys poured +from all directions on a scene that was already deplorable. Only four +officers of the Inniskillings remained. Of the Connaught Rangers +five officers were wounded. The Dublin Fusiliers had lost their +gallant Colonel (Colonel Sitwell), and also Captain Maitland of the +Gordon Highlanders (attached). The picture at dawn and on +throughout the day was truly appalling. The trenches of the Boers +and those of the attacking force were now only some three or four +hundred yards apart, and between them was spread an arena of +carnage heart-breaking as irremediable. It was impossible for any +one to show a nose and live. Wounded lay here, there, and everywhere, +heaped as they had fallen, drenched in their own gore and +helpless, yet struggling pathetically to edge themselves with hands +or knees or heels nearer some place of safety. Dead, too, were +entangled with the sinking, huddled together in grievous ghastly +comradeship....</p> + +<p>For thirty-six hours some of these heroes lay in wretchedness,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> +hanging between life and death. Mercifully the Boers brought them +water, but all their acts were not equally generous. Unfortunately, +some misinterpretation regarding the Red Cross flag accentuated the +misfortunes of the day.</p> + +<p>The Boers, it appeared, had begun by producing one. This +signal should have been responded to by our troops, who, however, +were not prepared to show another Red Cross flag, which +display would have been the signal for truce. This being the case, +the Boers, after carrying off their wounded and giving certain +of the British wounded some water, removed their rifles. Further, +they rifled their pockets and despoiled dead and wounded of boots +and other property. Naturally, those who saw them were so infuriated +at this wanton behaviour that they began to fire. From +this time hostilities recommenced, and the innate cruelty of the Boers +was evidenced in several cases. It was stated on the authority of +an officer that many of the wounded in act of crawling away were +deliberately shot. Let us hope that the aggravation at the non-appearance +of the British Red Cross flag was the cause of the ugly +display of character on the part of the enemy.</p> + +<p>During the late afternoon the worn-out troops in their trenches +at the base of the hill were fiercely attacked by the enemy’s guns +from all quarters. No such effective shell fire had been experienced +since Spion Kop. Indeed, with the assistance of Krupps, and +Creusots, and Maxims, and other diabolical instruments, the Boers +managed to make a fitting concert for Beelzebub. Many of our +positions on the lower slopes of the kopjes were enfiladed, and thus +many gallant fellows in Hildyard’s and Kitchener’s brigades were +killed. Several officers among those who were fighting on the +left also fell, among them Colonel Thorold, Royal Welsh Fusiliers.</p> + +<hr class="w50" /> + +<p>At this juncture, finding that the original passage of the river +was commanded by entrenchments on every side, and that further +advance would be costly in the extreme, the General decided that +he must reconnoitre for another passage across the Tugela. This +was forthwith discovered. Meanwhile, the day being Sunday, there +was an armistice for the interment of the dead on both sides. +Grievous were the sensations of those whose duty brought them to +the awesome scene of death, who spent the long hours surrounded +by sights hideous and forms uncouth, the remains of heroes, discoloured +from days of exposure to the sun’s scorching rays, to the +damps and dews of night—lying limply rigid and rigidly limp in the +unmistakable and undescribable abandonment of untenanted clay; +or succouring still more pitiable wrecks, wrecks joined perhaps by +an invisible handclasp with comrades in the other world, but still +here, making a last struggle for the dignity of manhood, or fainting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> +slowly, peaceably, beyond all knowledge of pain as of the splendid +heroism that had placed them where they were!</p> + +<p>One who was present contributed to <i>Blackwood’s Magazine</i> a +curious account of that armistice—that was not entirely an armistice—of +Colonel Hamilton’s approach with the flag of fraternity (so +often misused and abused by the Dutchmen), and of the strange +apparitions that came forth suspiciously one by one from the depths +of the hostile trenches. He said: “Seldom have I set eyes on a +more magnificent specimen of male humanity than the Commandant +of the trenchful of Boers, Pristorius by name, a son of Anak by descent, +and a gallant, golden-bearded fighting-man by present occupation; +for in far-away Middleburg those mighty limbs—he told it us without +any of that stupid deprecation which would probably have characterised +a similar confession on the part of an Englishman—were +wont to stretch themselves beneath a lawyer’s desk. Close on his +heels came what a person who had never seen Boers before would +have thought the strangest band of warriors in the world—old men +with flowing, tobacco-stained, white beards; middle-aged men with +beards burnt black with the sun and sweat of their forty years; +young men, mostly clean shaven, exhibiting strongly the heavy +Dutch moulding of the broad nose and chin; big boys in small +suits, suits of all kinds and colours, tweed, velveteen, homespun, +and ‘shoddy,’ all untidy in the extreme, but mostly as serviceable +as their wearers.” These strange beings formed a strong contrast +to the men who joined them, particularly in their attitude when confronted +with the ghastly foreground of death which made the prominent +feature of the amicable picture. The eye-witness before +quoted declared that “it was much more difficult for them to conceal +the natural discomposure which all men feel in the presence of +the silent dead than for their more artificial opponents. From the +airy and easy demeanour of the uniformed British officers, that +dreadful plateau might have been the lobby of a London club. A +Briton is at all times prone to conceal his emotions, and certainly in +this instance the idiosyncrasy gave him a great social advantage +over the superstitious Burghers, with their sidelong glances and +uneasy shiftings.” By-and-by, however, both parties grew even +friendly, and the writer went on to describe an animated dialogue +between himself and “a deep-chested old oak-tree of a man, whose +swarthy countenance was rendered more gipsy-like by the addition +of ear-rings. The opening of the conversation had its humours. +‘Good-morning!’ quoth I. ‘Gumorghen,’ rumbled the oak-tree +sourly. ‘Surely we can be friends for five minutes,’ I ventured, +after a pause. The rugged countenance was suddenly, not to say +startlingly, illumined with a beaming smile. ‘<i>Why</i> not, indeed! +<i>why</i> not, officer! Have you any tobacco?’ Out came my pouch,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> +luckily filled to bursting that very morning, and the oak-tree proceeded +to stuff a huge pipe to the very brim, gloating over the +fragrance of the ‘best gold flake’ as he did so. The rumour of +tobacco had the effect of dispelling the chill that still lingered on +the outskirts of that little crowd, and many a grimy set of fingers +claimed their share as the price of the friendship of the owners, the +Commandant himself not disdaining to accept a fill with a graceful +word of thanks. They were out of tobacco in that trench, it appeared, +and suffering acutely from the deprivation of what to a +Boer is more necessary than food.”</p> + +<p>Near to the place where they were stricken the Irish heroes +were buried. Their last bed was made in a picturesque spot +within the whisper of the spray of the river, and sheltered by the +low-spreading thorn-bushes. The rest of the day was unusually +peaceful, but in the evening the crackle of musketry from left to +right of the position taken up by the Durhams again showed that +the enemy was on the alert, and it was believed he was preparing +for offensive operations during the night. It was discovered, however, +that a gallant deed had put any effort to rush the British lines +out of his power. Captain Phillips with eight Bluejackets had effectually +rendered their searchlight useless, and had, moreover, got +safely away after the venturesome act had been perpetrated and +discovered.</p> + +<p>The new passage was found by Colonel Sandbach (Royal Engineers) +at a point below the waterfall on the east, and again guns, +baggage, &c., were ordered to be removed to the south side of the +Tugela. It may be advisable to note that the armistice mentioned +was an informal one, which did not interfere with military movements. +Owing to the desperate straits of the wounded on Inniskilling Hill +(as the position, baptized in the blood of our heroes, had now been +christened), the General had sent in a flag asking for an armistice. +The Boers had refused. On condition that we should not fire on +their positions during the day, they only consented to allow the +bearer companies to remove the wounded and bury the dead. The +Boers meanwhile improved their entrenchments, and the British +troops, as stated, prepared for the operation of removal across the +river. This they at first did with some misgivings, for they had +tacked about so many times, but, on the whole, they bore the strain +admirably. What with the hammering of Maxims, Nordenfeldts, +and the fluting of Mausers, the men had for twelve days past run +through the gamut of discomfort. They had been fed up with war. +They were in the daytime fried, grilled, and toasted. At night the +cold with its contrast had bitten and numbed them. They had +bivouacked now in keen chilly blasts, now in intermittent downpours +of rain, which had drenched them and made existence a prolonged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> +wretchedness. And nothing had been achieved. Lives only had +been lost. But they still munched their bully beef and biscuit with +an heroic cheerfulness and resignation that served to astonish and +inspirit all who beheld it. There was no doubt about it that the +pluck and perseverance of the British Tommy had become subjects +for wonder and veneration!</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 353px;"> +<a name="ill_197" id="ill_197"></a><img src="images/ill_197.png" width="353" height="512" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">MAJOR-GENERAL H. J. T. HILDYARD, C.B.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by C. Knight, Aldershot.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>During the night the pontoon bridge was removed from its +original position and relaid at the point indicated by Colonel Sandbach. +The Boers, watching the commencement of the move, were +under the impression that a repetition of the retirements from Spion +Kop and Vaal Krantz was to be enacted. They therefore deemed that +the movement might be carried out with more expedition did they +start a magazine fire at long range at such troops as happened to be +between Colenso and the angle of the river. When they discovered, +however, that only a portion of the troops had departed, they subsided +and reserved their ammunition till morning, when a brisk +artillery duel commenced operations—a duel in which the British +in quantity and the Dutch in quality of practice distinguished themselves.</p> + +<p>General Buller’s revised plan was now to avoid the enemy’s front, +and work back again to the Hlangwane plateau, whence he would +start again, having, as it were, made a redistribution of his troops, +so that Hart’s brigade in its expensively acquired position would +now, instead of being his extreme right, become his extreme left. +To this end guns and cavalry were removed, Naval batteries being +posted on the Hlangwane and Monte Cristo positions, while Hart’s +brigade was left holding to the skirts, so to speak, of the enemy at +Inniskilling Hill, and preventing him from congratulating himself +on freedom.</p> + +<p>The anniversary of Majuba began in clouds. Guns very early +broke into an <i>aubade</i>, but awakened few. For there had been little +sleep that night. All had dozed in their boots, ready for the worst. +The cavalry proceeded to range itself at the northern point of the +Hlangwane position, in order that by their guns and long-range rifle +fire they might assist the advance of Barton’s Brigade. This brigade +was the first to start in the attack on the three hills on which +the Boer left still rested. The disposition of the forces was as +follows:—General Barton’s Fusilier Brigade on the extreme right, +with Colonel Kitchener’s Lancashire Brigade—Colonel Kitchener +having taken over General Wynne’s Brigade while that officer +was wounded—on his left, this latter being on the right of +Colonel Northcott’s Brigade. Colonel Stuart, working with a +composite regiment on the south bank of the Tugela, protected the +crossing.</p> + +<p>General Barton, with two battalions of the 6th Brigade and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +Royal Dublin Fusiliers, crept one and a half miles down the banks +of the river, the Scots Fusiliers leading. Here the Tugela flowed +between high shelving banks, while above them frowned the +three spurs of the great Pieters position. As usual, these +eminences were well ribbed with shelter trenches, and embedded +everywhere were Boer sharpshooters, ready to pit cunning +against courage, and sniggle at the victory of one over the other. +A hot fire commenced on the river-banks while Barton’s Brigade +advanced gallantly towards its destination. The top of the hill was +being raked noisily by the gunners. “Hell was dancing hornpipes +aloft,” some one said. However, in the afternoon British bayonets +glittered against the skyline, and the thing was done. This, the +most wonderful infantry in the world, had ascended precipitous cliffs +500 feet high, assaulted Pieter’s Hill, gained the crest, and turned +the enemy’s left.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 503px;"> +<a name="ill_200" id="ill_200"></a><img src="images/ill_200.png" width="503" height="350" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Signal Apparatus of H.M.S. Forte, Mounted on Truck and used Nightly +to communicate with Ladysmith.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>This storming of the main position, which was accomplished by +the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Royal Irish Fusiliers, was a +remarkable achievement, though the enemy, conscious of their +weakness at this point, and knowing how completely they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +dominated by the Monte Cristo ridge, made no very prolonged +opposition. No sooner had the brigade occupied the hill than +the disheartened Boers removed in considerable strength to some +dongas on the east, whence they continued to be aggressive, and +poured a heavy rifle fire on the Fusiliers, whose losses were considerable. +They failed, however, to dislodge them. At this time +a simultaneous attack was taking place in the region of the two +other hills which composed the Pieter’s position. These the 4th +Brigade under Colonel Northcott and the 11th Brigade under +Colonel Kitchener were now assailing with magnificent courage. +For two hours every spot on the kopjes had been searched, painted +with the noxious hues of lyddite, and seamed with shrapnel, and few +Dutchmen there were who cared to remain to welcome the bayonets +of Kitchener’s braves. Their preliminary advance was scarcely +recognisable, kharki and kopje so smoothly blending themselves +in one. Then on a sudden, as in the transformation scene when +jars become forty thieves or shell-fish become fairies, the boulders +took to themselves human shape and human tongue, and up flew a +surging, yelling mass of fierce warriors, rushing the hill in the red +light of the setting sun. The crest was carried magnificently by +the Royal Lancasters, men who had been in the thick of everything +for a month past, and who yet maintained their unconquerable +British qualities without a flaw; and the Boers, recognising that +the game was up, were seen skimming the distance like swallows in +flight. Some magnificent service was done by the gunners of the +Royal Navy and the Natal Naval Volunteers, service that was +especially eulogised by the General, who declared that the losses +consequent on the taking of the position might have been far greater +but for the efficient manner in which the artillery was served. Be +this as it may, an officer said what many echoed, namely, that however +deadly our shell fire was, and however instrumental in winning +the battle, “No infantry in the world but ours would have crowned +such a victory with so much glory.” For the Boers at first fought +doggedly, relinquishing their hold of trench after trench only when +artillery followed by the bayonets of the infantry made their positions +untenable. In turn three hills were stormed; in turn cheer on cheer +rent the air and travelled along the funnel-like banks of the river, +and floated up to the rejoiced ears of those on Hlangwane and Monte +Cristo, who had assisted to bring about the devoutly wished for +consummation. The song of victory seemed to be taken up by the +elements, earth and air and water, and the last flare of the guns of +the enemy repeated it. All now knew that the way to Ladysmith +was won; that the toil and tribulation, the perplexity and suspense, +that had harassed them since the fatal day of Colenso had come to +an end! There, right and left, were little black figures scudding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +away like ants disturbed; here streams of prisoners who had thrown +up hands at glint of bayonet; on all sides kopjes, kopjes, kopjes—ours, +unchallengeably ours!</p> + +<p>Some idea of the situation may be gathered from the description +of a sergeant in the 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers:—</p> + +<p>“On the 27th we put the damper on them.... You have read, +no doubt, of Barton’s Brigade deploying to the right early in the +day. That deployment was made by crossing the pontoon bridge +put up during the night by the Engineers. Instead of climbing up +the banks on the opposite side, we crept down the water’s edge over +huge rocks for about a couple of miles. In the meantime our Naval +guns, artillery, Maxims, were all blazing away overhead, and a +terrible rifle fire was raging on the left. As we struggled up the +steep banks the beggars spotted us, and things began to get lively. +We got under a little cover, and blazed away for all we were +worth.</p> + +<p>“The whole brigade gradually pushed forward from one bit of +cover to another, but still the Boers held their ground. About five +o’clock in the afternoon the staff passed the word round to charge +them out of it. We left our cover, and advanced by half-companies +at the double. The company officers were given a point to make +for, and as soon as we got in the open it was a case of every man +for himself. It was a good 800 yards of open ground where my +company had to cross, and, of course, they fired at us for all they +were worth. A good many dropped, including A—— and the two +subalterns. What with shells bursting and a front and cross fire, it +was like a full-dress rehearsal for the lower regions. We got on the +hill, and made short work of our Brothers. Needless to say, they +didn’t all stand for the steel. They kept up a heavy fire on us until +long after dark. Orders were passed to hold our own until daylight. +As many of the wounded were without water, a terrible night was +put in. The shouts for water, mingled with the groans of the +dying, the sparks from the Mauser bullets as they struck the +rocks, the blackness of the night, &c., fairly made me say my +prayers.... The stretcher-bearers searching for the wounded +carry lamps, and these lamps made a nice target for Brother +Boer to snipe at. Daylight came at last, the night mist began +to clear away, dead Tommies grinning at dead Boers, wounded +men of all sorts, everybody stiff, sore, dirty, and tired. The Boers +scooted.”</p> + +<p>And the next day came the serene happiness of viewing the +Boers in full retreat behind Bulwana and in the direction of Acton +Homes, the winding string of waggons trekking away from the +scene of past triumphs. The misery, the lives, the pains, the +doubts, the disappointments were well repaid by that vision of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> +departing foe, the foe moving off for ever from the strongholds of +Natal. All had been accomplished by a blend of pluck, obduracy, +and perseverance that can scarcely find its match in the records of +British prowess. They had suffered at Colenso, they had tested the +deadly summit of Spion Kop. They had backed out from that cruel +region with their lives in their hands, and repeated the same process +in the equally terrific area of Vaal Krantz. They had come forth +smiling, stalwart, staunch as ever, believing and trusting and determining +to hew their way through the rocky wilderness sown with +destruction and save the 8000 odd of their fellows whose lives verily +hung by a thread. And now for fourteen days, each hour fraught +with blood and broiling, they had moved on from one dangerous +position to a second more dangerous position, till at last, after protracted +torment and suspense, they had driven before them the +whole horde of adventurous Dutchmen—foes allowed to be the +bravest of the brave, if the shiftiest of the shifty. Now they had +their reward. The Boers were scrambling to be off—that much +they could see of them. It was only in those fleeing moments they +saw them at all. At other times, when battle raged warmest, all +that was known of the Brother Boer was the shape and number of +his bullet!</p> + +<p>The following officers were killed and wounded on the 22nd, +23rd, and 24th of February:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>Staff—Wounded, Major-General A. S. Wynne, C.B. 3rd King’s Royal +Rifle Corps—Killed, Lieutenant Hon. R. Cathcart; wounded, Lieutenant D. +H. Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell and Lieutenant A. F. MacLachlan. 2nd +Royal Lancaster Regiment—Killed, Lieutenant R. H. Coë and Second Lieutenant +N. J. Parker; wounded, Major E. W. Yeatherd, Lieutenant A. R. S. +Martin, Lieutenant F. C. Davidson (since dead), and Lieutenant R. G. D. +Parker. 2nd East Surrey Regiment—Wounded, Lieutenant-Colonel R. H. W. +H. Harris, Major H. L. Smith, Major H. P. Treeby, Captain F. L. A. Packman, +Lieutenant C. H. Hinton, Second Lieutenant J. P. Benson. 1st South Lancashire +Regiment—Wounded, Captain B. R. Goren, Lieutenant H. R. Kane, +Captain S. Upperton, Second Lieutenant C. H. Marsh. 2nd Devonshire Regiment—Wounded, +Lieutenant E. J. F. Vaughan. 2nd Royal West Surrey +Regiment—Wounded, Lieutenants B. H. Hastie, H. C. Winfield, and A. E. +M’Namara. 1st Rifle Brigade—Wounded, Captain and Quarter-Master F. +Stone and Second Lieutenant C. D’A. Baker-Carr. 2nd King’s Royal Rifle +Corps—Wounded, Lieutenant W. Wyndham and Second Lieutenant G. C. +Kelly. 2nd Rifle Brigade—Wounded, Second Lieutenant H. C. Dumaresq. +1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers—Killed, Lieutenant-Colonel T. M. G. Thackeray,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> +Major F. A. Sanders, Lieutenant W. O. Stuart; wounded, Major C. J. L.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> +Davidson, Captain R. M. Foot, Lieutenant J. Evans, Lieutenant J. N. Crawford, +Second Lieutenant C. Ridings, Second Lieutenant H. P. Pott, Second +Lieutenant J. G. Devenish; missing, Second Lieutenant T. A. D. Best. 2nd +Royal Dublin Fusiliers—Killed, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel C. G. H. Sitwell, +D.S.O.; wounded, Lieutenant A. V. Hill, Second Lieutenant A. Broadhurst-Hill, +Second Lieutenant F. B. Lane, Second Lieutenant J. T. Dennis. 2nd +Gordon Highlanders—Killed, Captain S. C. Maitland. Imperial Light Infantry—Wounded, +Major Hay. 1st Connaught Rangers—Wounded, Lieutenant J. +L. T. Conroy, Lieutenant R. W. Harling, Lieutenant H. Moore Hutchinson, +Lieutenant A. Wise, Second Lieutenant A. T. Lambert, Second Lieutenant J. +M. B. Wratislaw, Captain E. M. Woulfe Flanagan (5th Battalion, attached). +Royal Welsh Fusiliers—Killed, Lieutenant-Colonel C. C. H. Thorold,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> Lieutenant +F. A. Stebbing; wounded, Second Lieutenant C. C. Norman and Second +Lieutenant H. V. V. Kyrke. 2nd Royal Fusiliers—Wounded, Lieutenant R. H. +Torkington.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The following casualties occurred on the 27th of February:—</p> + +<blockquote><p><i>Killed.</i>—1st South Lancashire Regiment—Lieutenant-Colonel W. M’Carthy +O’Leary.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers—Brevet-Major V. Lewis, Captain H. S. +Sykes, Second Lieutenant F. J. T. U. Simpson. 1st Royal Warwickshire +Regiment—Lieutenant H. L. Mourilyan. Second Royal Irish Fusiliers—Second +Lieutenant C. J. Daly.</p> + +<p><i>Wounded.</i>—Major-General Barton. 2nd Scots Fusiliers—Lieutenant-Colonel +E. E. Carr, Captain C. P. A. Hull, Captain E. E. Blaine, Lieutenant C. H. I. +Jackson, Second Lieutenant H. C. Fraser. 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers—Major +F. F. Hill, Lieutenant A. G. Knocker, Second Lieutenant A. Hamilton, Second +Lieutenant V. H. Kavanagh. 1st South Lancashire Regiment—Major T. Lamb. +2nd West Yorkshire Regiment—Captain C. Mansel Jones, Captain C. C. B. +Tew, Lieutenant L. H. Spry, Lieutenant A. M. Boyall. 2nd Derbyshire Regiment—Lieutenant +H. S. Pennell, V.C. 2nd Royal Lancaster Regiment—Captain +G. L. Palmes, Second Lieutenant C. W. Grover, Lieutenant E. A. P. +Vaughan. 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers—Second Lieutenant G. R. V. +Steward. 1st Rifle Brigade—Captain and Adjutant S. C. Long, Second Lieutenant +J. L. Buxton. 2nd Royal Fusiliers—Lieutenant H. B. G. Macartney. +2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers—Lieutenant J. M’D. Hastard, Second Lieutenant +De B. Bradford.</p></blockquote> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p> +<h3 class="gap2">EXPECTATION</h3> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 482px;"> +<a name="ill_205" id="ill_205"></a><img src="images/ill_205.png" width="482" height="341" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">King’s Post, the Entrenched Position of 2nd Batt. Rifle Brigade at Ladysmith.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">(Reduced facsimile of sketch by Melton Prior.)</span> +</div></div> + +<p>“Gloom, gloom, gloom, unending gloom!” So said one on +the 26th of February, one who was fast sinking in the slough of +despondency into which so many had slipped lower and lower, till +they were sucked down and ended their troubles with fever and the +grave. Some few days before all hearts had leapt with joy at reading +of hopeful signals, listening to booming guns, which all thought +to be bursting the gates of their imprisonment. So certain were +they that the joyful hour of freedom was at hand that the force was +placed on full rations. “We can afford to have a blow-out now,” +some one had said, and began to arrange what menu he should chose +when he at last came face to face with civilisation. Then had come +gloom—gloom blacker than Erebus—for it was gloom without and +within. The guns—the welcome guns—not the obstreperous ones +of Bulwana and the companion hills—had ceased their clamour. +Hope was gone, and even the “helio” refused its communications. +The sky was overcast, and rumours, that had always been prolific as +flies, now began to breed apace. The air of Ladysmith was thick +with them. No word from Buller’s column. Kaffirs hinted that +for the fourth time the relief column had retired at the back of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> +Tugela. Doubt, anxiety, suspense set in with renewed terrors. +Quarter rations—the more trying because temporarily dropped—again +became the order of the course. This in spite of the fact that +Buller had now signalled “Everything progressing favourably.” It +seemed that they had heard that message before, those poor, half-hopeful, +half-sceptical sufferers.</p> + +<p>Some said that on Tuesday, Majuba Day, the spirits of the community +arrived at their nadir. When the barometer of fate registers +its lowest, it is bound to rise. It rose in skips and jumps. There +came the grand news that Cronje had surrendered to Lord Roberts. +It was evident that the Boers too had heard, understood, and decided +that they must scuttle the next morning. Signs of disturbance were +evident. Long serpentine lines of trekking waggons were throwing +up dust columns in the roads leading to Modder Spruit and Pepworth; +droves of oxen were hurried along as fast as hoofs would +carry them. Guns—the terrible guns which for 118 days had bayed +and barked and rumbled and thundered—were in course of being +dismantled. What did it all mean? Time was when the “braves” +in Ladysmith would have sallied forth with their inherent dash and +turned the retreat into a rout. But things were changed. Men +and horses were now almost too weak to enter into sustained conflict +with a mosquito, had a mosquito deigned to look at them. But +most of them were past even the attentions of mosquitos. All they +could do was to send a salvo at the heels of their tormentors, and +hope that one or two shells at least might serve to “speed the +parting guest.” This was all they could attempt. They also flashed +to Monte Cristo a message—a deplorable message—full of their despair +and despondency. It said, “Garrison bitterly disappointed at +delay of relieving force.” This was at twelve o’clock. Then, as +though Fate, with a full appreciation of the picturesque, had placed +her highest light against her deepest dark—then, within the hour, +came back glorious news!</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 484px;"> +<table summary="" class="w100"> +<tr> +<td class="w20 xsmall">King's Post.</td> +<td class="w20 xsmall">Rifleman's Ridge.</td> +<td class="w20 xsmall">Direction of Colenso.</td> +<td class="w20 xsmall">Spion Kop.</td> +<td class="w20 xsmall">Boer Laager.</td> +</tr> +</table> +<a name="ill_207" id="ill_207"></a><img src="images/ill_207.png" width="484" height="299" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">IN BELEAGUERED LADYSMITH—WATCHING FOR BULLER FROM OBSERVATION HILL.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">From a Sketch by Melton Prior.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>“Have thoroughly beaten the enemy. Believe them to be in full +retreat. Have sent my cavalry to ascertain which way they have +gone.” Surprise, rapture, prolonged jubilation! Cheer on cheer +rose on the clear midday air and rang for miles, till the sick in Intombi +camp lifted pallid heads and strained their ears and wondered. +Then came the rolling National Anthem and “Rule Britannia,” +and Sir George White and those around him who had grown old +within the spell of those awful 118 days, began to grow young again. +And soon the Jack Tars set to work and the Naval guns pounded +away with a reckless disregard for ammunition and a zest that did +them credit. “One more go at him!—only one more!—only one +more!” and “Long Tom,” which was in act of being dismantled, +was the subject of boisterous farewells.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p> + +<h3 class="gap2">THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH</h3> + +<p>At six o’clock on the evening of the 28th of February all the +suffering, suspense, and tension came to an end. The obstinate +resistance, the heroic combats, the semi-starvation, the appalling +melancholy of enforced exile, all were over.</p> + +<p>In the late afternoon those viewing the departure of the Boers +from a vantage-point at Cæsar’s Camp espied along the hazy blue +of the valley horsemen recklessly approaching, riding at full gallop +across the open. Conjectures wild were attempted. Hearts began +to flutter, to stand still, to beat again with sharp quick thuds. +Boers? Or Buller’s cavalry? Yes—no—yes! Hurrah! Hurrah! +They were coming—the squadron was distinctly visible—they were +making direct for Ladysmith. A roar went up from a multitude of +throats. The Manchesters on Cæsar’s Camp, the Gordons at Fly +Kraal, and presently the troops in the town, broke into shouts of +exultation. Soon it was known everywhere they were coming—coming—coming—at +last—at last! It was quite true. There was +Lord Dundonald with Major Mackenzie (Light Horse) and Major +Gough (16th Lancers), accompanied by the little column of Colonials, +grand gallant fellows of the Light Horse, Natal Carabineers, and +Border Mounted Police, some three hundred of them, pounding +across the open country as fast as horses would carry them.</p> + +<p>In the twilight the troops sped along over boulder and rock, +down donga and ravine, reckless of every obstacle, and at last the +melancholy perimeter was reached. Then from out the gloom came +a challenge. A British voice called “Halt! Who goes there?” A +British voice gave answer—the almost unbelievable answer—“The +Ladysmith Relieving Army.” Four words, just four words! Paradise +seemed to be opened. From all quarters came crowding and +cheering—cheering faintly with wizened voices of the famished—men +battered and almost bootless—happy, yet for all that deplorably sad +in their happiness. Tears even glistened on some cheeks and in +some eyes—the “unconquerable British blue eyes” of the Ladysmith +“invincibles.” With a due sense of decorum, and in the determination +to give none the precedence, the procession had arranged itself +in special order. The Natal Carabineers and Imperial Light Horse +riding two and two abreast, with Major Gough at the head of the +column, now marched in triumph into the town.</p> + +<p>At the English church they were met by General White, the +defender of Ladysmith, fevered and thin and grey-haired, yet erect +with the carriage of one who, without the strength, has the inextinguishable +pride of his race, and the will to bear his country’s +burden to the last. With him were General Hunter and Colonel +Ian Hamilton, heroes of the defence. Each instant the scene<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> +gained in colour, in vehemence, in pathos. Cheers and tears were +commingled. Women wept unreservedly. Men, to dispose of a +lump in their throats, shouted with all the scanty vigour that +a limited diet of horse-sausage and mule would allow. But new +life coursed through their veins. There was no glow of health +on their cheeks, but the gleam of joy in their eyes rendered them +young, almost hale. The Kaffirs and coolies gave expression to +their rapture by dances and shouts that relieved the almost solemn +ecstasy of the moment. Then General White, surrounded on one +side by his pallid, worn, and wounded heroes, on the other by the +bronzed warriors of the relieving force, made a brief address to the +crowd: “People of Ladysmith,” he said, in a voice that wavered with +the emotion it was needless to conceal—“People of Ladysmith, I +thank you one and all for the patient manner you have assisted +me during the siege. From the bottom of my heart I thank you. +It hurt me terribly when I was compelled to cut down rations, but, +thank God, we have kept our flag flying!” Cheers broke out +afresh, and then the battered multitude with one voice rent the +grey gloom of the evening, and the strains of “God save the +Queen” rang forth, till the banks, hollows, and rocks of the surrounding +country gave back the glorious refrain. That night Sir +George White, with his valorous colleagues around him, gave a +dinner to the newly arrived, and these sat down with a feeling of +exaltation, almost of awe, to find themselves thus in the familiar +company of heroes. And all were conscious of a strange sense +of unreality which pervaded the scene. It was almost impossible +to realise that the drama was played, that they were about to ring +down the curtain on the last act. It was scarce possible to believe +that for three months the Natal Field Force had kept at bay a +force double its number, had fortified and held a perimeter of +fourteen miles against the most fiendish inventions of modern +artillery, had made brilliant sorties and repulsed assaults innumerable—two +of them being ferocious, almost hand-to-hand combats—had +fought and watched and sickened and starved.... And +now, all was changed. Those dire experiences were over for ever!</p> + +<p>Yet the effect of them remained. As a consequence of the +close confinement of some 20,000 persons, disease was stalking +abroad, even attacking those who but an hour ago had neared +the place. Away at Intombi camp, too, where drugs were scarce, +many of the patients—convalescent patients—were sinking for want +of the sustaining food which was necessary to recovery. There +was regret, poignant and newly awakened, in this moment of relief, +regret standing dry-eyed, yet with a grievous ache at the heart—regret +that before had learnt to bear and be still. It was impossible +to see the glad side without also remembering the deeply pathetic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> +one. The pestiferous atmosphere breathed of fever and disease, +and those coming into it realised only too well what havoc such an +atmosphere must have played on the sickly and the starved. Besides +this there were gaps—woeful gaps. Names that dared not be +mentioned, spots that could scarce be looked upon with dry eyes. +The bronzed warriors, who day after day had shown tough fronts +to the enemy, and whose ceaseless struggles should have hardened +them to emotion, now turned aside to conceal the agony of bleeding +hearts.</p> + +<p>Outside the town, in a sheltered hollow below Waggon Hill, was +a pathetic garden of sleep. Here, under the shadow of cypress +trees, lay the honoured remains of brave fellows who had given +themselves to save the town, and with the town the prestige of +their motherland. The earth barely covered them, but for all that +their peace was perfect. They had struggled to save Natal, and +Natal through them and the survivors was saved. If there is a +loophole whence those who have passed on to the Invisible can +peer down and observe the issues of mortal deeds, surely in that +great hour, those splendid, those self-abnegating ones, who had +given their heart’s blood for the glory of the Empire, must then +have gazed their fill, and in the general rejoicing have reaped their +beatific reward.</p> + +<hr class="w50" /> + +<p>The effect in England of the news of the relief was truly surprising. +The spectacle was unique in the annals of Victoria’s reign. +On Thursday the 1st of March the whole City of London by one +consent burst into jubilation. Every human being, however hard-worked, +wore a smile; every heart, however sore, throbbed with a +sense of reflected triumph; for all, if they had not been at the front +in the flesh, had been there in the spirit these many, many days. +Never was such a spontaneous outburst of rejoicing! A nation of +shopkeepers indeed! Why, shopkeeping and work of all kinds +were forgotten, and in front of the Mansion House crowded the +delighted multitudes, oblivious of everything save the glorious fact +that British bull-dog tenacity had withstood the most fiendish warfare, +and wiles, and wickedness that vengeful Dutchmen could invent.</p> + +<p>From north, south, east, and west the people flocked, springing +as it were from the very earth. The news came in at 10 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> By +eleven the City was alive with drama. Hats were being waved or +flung into the air, regardless of the effect upon the nap; flags from +here, there, and everywhere fluttered—in default of these, other +brandishable things were seized. Sometimes handkerchiefs did +duty, newspapers, and even parcels and commercial bags; and +from tongues innumerable came cheers and shouts and snatches of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> +patriotic song, till an ignorant spectator, if one such there could +have been, might have imagined Bedlam to have broken loose. +“Rule Britannia,” “God save the Queen,” “Tommy Atkins,” +“The Absent-Minded Beggar”—all tunes poured forth to an +accompaniment of cheers. The Lord Mayor was called out, and +appeared on his balcony. He was forthwith invited to speak. The +great man opened and shut his mouth—he was much moved with +the general emotion—but no sound penetrated the uproar. Cheers +loud and vehement tore the air, and the walls of the civic domain +literally shook with the inspiriting fracas. Then for a moment or +two there was a lull, and taking advantage of the opportunity, in a +short sincere speech the Lord Mayor expressed himself.</p> + +<p>“Fellow-citizens, this news of the relief of Ladysmith makes our +hearts leap with joy. We are now satisfied that at last our sacrifices +of blood and treasure are not in vain!”</p> + +<p>Upon that the crowd roared itself hoarse, sung “For he’s a +jolly good fellow,” and never with better cause, for Sir A. J. Newton +had put the best of himself into the launching of the glorious C.I.V.’s. +By-and-by came, with banners and much ceremony, a deputation +from the Stock Exchange, and after them waves on waves of +shouting enthusiasts—a spectacle so un-English, so genuine, so +unrestrained, that the gloomy decorous regions of the City seemed +suddenly to have become things apart, card-houses to fill in the +background to a soul-stirring scene. Everywhere, in the alleys of +“’Arriet,” in the haunts of the “wild, wild West,” at the Bank, in +Leadenhall Market, and along the Thames, went up the jubilant +echo—“Ladysmith is relieved!” Whereupon windows and balconies +were dressed, flags, red, white, and blue, and the green of Erin with +its romantic harp in the corner, fluttered wings of ecstasy from every +British nest, and from every British household there rose unanimously +a rapturous cry that was almost a sob, a cry of thanksgiving +that the end had come, and that Ladysmith and the honour of the +old country were saved!</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">THE FORMAL ENTRY</h3> + +<p>It seemed but artistic that Lord Dundonald and his brave +irregulars should have met the keen edge of joyous welcome, that +the burst of enthusiasm which greeted them should have been the +heartiest of which Ladysmith, after a siege of 118 days, was capable. +It was right, almost beautiful, that the staunch Colonials, who +so well had fought for the Empire, should be the ones to throw +open the doors of the dolorous prison, and deliver those who had +been not only victims to the devilish machinations of the Boer, +but had suffered from the active ache of suspense and the passive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> +one of starvation, from their hellish bondage. Their informal coming +was part and parcel of the unrehearsed and the splendid that appeared +at every corner in this absolutely incomprehensible war.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 339px;"> +<a name="ill_213" id="ill_213"></a><img src="images/ill_213.png" width="339" height="468" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">BRIGADIER-GENERAL THE EARL OF DUNDONALD, C.B.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by R. Faulkner & Co.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The next day things were more decorously done—more English +in their reserve. Etiquette and custom resumed their sway, and +General Sir Archibald Hunter straightened out the limp backbone +of the army, and made soldierly preparations to welcome the relief +column. There were cleansings and polishings, washings and +brushings up, of a ramshackle kind, it is true, but they savoured +of the old parade days returned. Poor skeletons of horses were +groomed down, Sunday best was smoothed out, everything was +done that the slender resources of the melancholy perimeter would +allow. Shortly after noon on the 3rd of March Sir Redvers Buller +made his formal entry. His arrival was somewhat unexpected, +and there was little effervescent demonstration. Sir George White +and Sir Redvers Buller meeting with a handclasp, said at first +little more than the familiar “D’ye do?” of saunterers in Piccadilly. +What else could be done? There was much to say, so much +that must remain ever unsaid, and throats to-day were too tightly +compressed in strangling the large and unspeakable emotion to give +vent to the infinitesimal resource of speech. Meanwhile the forlorn +streets had begun to fill. They were margined by the garrison, +and with them were collected such of the sorry civilians as were +able to stand exposed to the tropical glare of the sun in its zenith. +They came out wondering, almost diffident. Was it possible that +the morning message of melenite was no longer to be heard? that +the hoarse cadence of hostile artillery was silent for good? Was +the open distance really innocuous—clear and peaceful as a Swiss +landscape? They scarcely recognised themselves or their surroundings, +and looked dazedly to right and left as on a changed +world. Sir George White, with his staff, now took up a position in +front of the Town Hall, where, backgrounded by the ruined tower—it +had been battered, as it were, by the whole armoury of Satan—the +broken blue tin houses and the parched trees, the group made +an appropriate picture of noble wreck—of aristocratical exhaustion. +The relievers, though physically hale, were externally scarcely +more presentable than the relieved. The outsiders, it is true, were +begrimed and tattered, though robust and swarthy; while the +Invincibles, rigged up in honour of their deliverers in Sunday best, +and washed and scrubbed to a nicety, seemed—soap-like—to have +dissolved in the very process of ablution. No joy of the moment +could alter the tale of shrinkage that was printed on man and beast. +But jubilation expressed itself in the best way it could. From +windows and balconies soon hung strips of colour, national emblems, +gathered from hither and thither to mark a rapture that it was impos<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>sible +for human tongue to describe. From hotels and habitations +the citizens began to pour forth and to congregate. And then, +when all were collected, the curtain drew up on the most wondrous +scene that the nineteenth century has witnessed—the march past +of the Ladysmith Relieving Column! Sir Redvers Buller, imperturbable +of visage as usual, accompanied by his staff, rode at the +head of his magnificent warriors, and leading, in the place of +honour, were the valorous Dublin Fusiliers, the poor but glorious +remnant, consisting now of 400 of the original battalion who had so +grandly acquitted themselves in many battlefields. Next came Sir +Charles Warren and the Fifth Division, and afterwards General +Barton and General Lyttelton’s Brigades—goodly fellows all, who +had proved themselves deliberately brave and doughtily undefeatable. +Meanwhile the pipes and drums of the Gordon Highlanders, +with such vigour as was left them, made exhilarating music, to +which was united the clanking and clamping of the Artillery +Howitzer Battery and Naval Brigade as they filed past with uproarious +martial rampage. Each section was greeted with admiring +cheers. The regiments moved along in review order, a superb +throng, bronzed, and battered, and brawny, a curious contrast to +the pallid and emaciated comrades-in-arms—morally superb too, +but physically degenerate—who welcomed them. The spectacle was +unique in soul-stirring grandeur as in unspoken pathos.</p> + +<p>“A march of lions,” said Mr. Churchill, who had played his part +with Lord Dundonald’s force, and was now looked on as a critic. +“A procession of giants,” said some one else, who watched the lines +and lines of heroes greeting each other with wild huzzas! Friends, +kindred, comrades-in-arms—from either side the yawning gulf of +destruction, from even the voracious maw of death—they came +together again, all jubilant, all generously appreciative, all self-respecting, +and glowing with honest and honourable emotion. The +Gordon Highlanders cheered the Dublins, the Dublins, with little +sprigs of green in their caps, responded right royally to the greeting +of the Scotsmen. One battalion of the Devons met its twin battalion: +the men of doughty deeds, large-hearted and large-lunged, +accosted with zest the men of equally doughty deeds but dwindled +frames, whose deep bass notes cracked with the strain of rollicking +intention and futile realisation.</p> + +<p>While all this was going forward, from the balcony of the gaol +a wondering crowd of Boer prisoners looked on agape. They +could barely believe the evidence of their eyes: the town was free. +Had their compatriots at last turned tail and bolted? They stared +down on the vast interminable avenue of men and guns winding +through what only the day before yesterday was a fiery concave—watched +a continuous moving multitude, tattered and begrimed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> +saddle-brown and burly—and little by little began to fathom the +meaning to themselves of this mighty display. The despised +rooineks had, after all, not even been thrust into the sea: in fact, it +appeared that the sea had cultivated a trick of casting up rooineks +by the thousand, to be killed in scores only to come up in +swarms!</p> + +<p>By-and-by, when the military parade was over, the Mayor of the +town, Mr. Farquhar, presented Sir George White with an address, +in which the corporation and inhabitants expressed their appreciation +of all that he had done for them in those dark days of durance. +Flattering reference was also made to the services of General Hunter +and Colonel Ward (A.A.G.). To these officers the General, in reply, +alluded gratefully, eulogising the work done by the former, and +describing the latter as the “best supply officer since Moses.” He +then called attention to the stubborn patience of the civilians of +Ladysmith, “who had borne themselves like good and true soldiers +throughout a very trying time.” These remarks were followed by +three hearty cheers for the civilians of Ladysmith. The Mayor +expressed his pride in the manner the civilian population had +comported itself, and the excellent feeling that had existed between +both civil and military authorities. He then presented an illuminated +address to Sir Redvers Buller, of which the following is +the text:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“We, the Mayor and members of the Town Council of the borough of +Ladysmith, Natal, and as such representing the inhabitants of the said borough, +beg most respectfully to welcome with great joy the arrival of yourself and +your gallant soldiers at our township, and to express to you our most sincere +and heartfelt appreciation of your noble and courageous efforts in the relief +of this long-beleaguered borough. As members of the great British Empire, +as loyal subjects of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, and as colonists +of Natal, we beg respectfully to tender you our most hearty thanks, realising +as we do the magnitude and difficulty of the work you have accomplished. +At the same time our sympathies are great for the heavy losses among your +gallant troops that have occurred in your successful efforts to relieve us.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>The following telegrams were sent to Sir Redvers Buller and +Sir George White by the Queen.</p> + +<p>To Sir Redvers Buller:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Thank God for news you have telegraphed to me. +Congratulate you and all under you with all my heart.</p> + +<p class="address">“V.R.I.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>To Sir George White:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Thank God that you and all those with you are safe after your long and +trying siege, borne with such heroism. +I congratulate you and all under you from the bottom of my heart. +Trust you are all not very much exhausted.</p> + +<p class="address">“V.R.I.”</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p> + +<p>Reply from Sir George White to the Queen:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Your Majesty’s most gracious message has been received by me with +deepest gratitude and with enthusiasm by the troops.</p> + +<p>“Any hardships and privations are a hundred times compensated for by +the sympathy and appreciation of our Queen, and your Majesty’s message will +do more to restore both officers and men than anything else.</p> + +<p class="address">“<span class="smcap">General Sir George White</span>, Ladysmith.”</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>The following telegram was received by the Queen from Sir +Redvers Buller:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Troops much appreciate your Majesty’s kind telegram.</p> + +<p>“Your Majesty cannot know how much your sympathy has helped to +inspire them.</p> + +<p class="address">“<span class="smcap">General Buller.</span>”</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>An additional telegram was sent by the Queen to Sir Redvers +Buller on the 2nd inst.:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Pray express to the Naval Brigade my deep appreciation of the valuable +services they have rendered with their guns.</p> + +<p class="address">“V.R.I.”</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Later on a special Army Order was issued as follows:—</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center"><span class="smcap">Gallantry of Irish Regiments in South Africa—Distinction +to be Worn on St. Patrick’s Day.</span></p> + +<p>Her Majesty the Queen is pleased to order that in future, upon St. Patrick’s +Day, all ranks in her Majesty’s Irish regiments shall wear, as a distinction, +a sprig of shamrock in their headdress, to commemorate the gallantry of her +Irish soldiers during the recent battles in South Africa.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="w50" /> + +<p>Soon after this came the transformation scene. Seventy-three +waggon-loads of supplies, eleven of which contained hospital comforts, +began to wind into the town. Major Morgan and Colonel Stanley, +like fairy godmothers in the story-book, waved the wand of office, and +promptly the machinery began to revolve, and manna in the form of +nourishing food-stuffs poured into the famished regions. The Boers, +too, in the precipitate retreat had left welcome loads of grass, herds, +and ammunition—the ammunition of the besieged was well-nigh +exhausted—besides individual necessaries which came in handy. But +of course, the machinery of relief, well as it worked, could scarcely +work fast enough to make an appreciable result, and save invalids +who were sinking from the protracted trial. It was amazing how +the sick-list swelled. Many who had come into the town jocund +and jaunty, found themselves in a few hours clutched by the fell +fever. It was enough but to breathe the tainted atmosphere to +fall sick, and those who were seized at once discovered all the +horror of helplessness in an area where provision for the comfort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> +of the suffering was well-nigh exhausted. Looking back on the +past from the new standpoint, the gaps became more than ever +remarkable; for, despite incessant fighting, shot and shell were +responsible for less lives than famine and fever.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 344px;"> +<a name="ill_219" id="ill_219"></a><img src="images/ill_219.png" width="344" height="485" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">LIEUT.-GENERAL HON. N. G. LYTTELTON, C.B.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Elliott & Fry, London.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Ladysmith at the commencement of the siege held some 13,496 +fighting men and over 2000 civilians. Owing to sickness and hard +fighting, the number had diminished to 10,164 men. There were +about 2000 in hospital, but the death-rate practically increased only +when, after January, food, nourishment of all kinds, and medical +appliances grew scarce. At that time sickness of whatever kind +assumed an ominous aspect; there was no chance of relief. It was +impossible for languishing men to apply themselves to the soup made +of old horse and mule, which was gladly devoured by those who had +still the appetite without the means of appeasing it. From the 15th +of January death stalked abroad uncombated; later he held carnival. +Many died from wounds, very slight wounds, received on the 6th +of January, from which they had not stamina to recover; the fevered +and weakly dropped off from sheer starvation and famine; the gaunt +talons needed scarcely to touch them, for they were exhausted, and +some of them were glad to go. The deaths as a result of fighting +were 24 officers and 235 men, while those attributed to sickness +numbered six officers and 520 men, exclusive of white civilians.</p> + +<p>The following special Army Order was issued:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“The relief of Ladysmith unites two forces which have striven with conspicuous +gallantry and splendid determination to maintain the honour of their +Queen and country. The garrison of Ladysmith for four months held the +position against every attack with complete success, and endured its privations +with admirable fortitude. The relieving force had to make its way through +unknown country, across unfordable rivers, and over almost inaccessible heights, +in the face of a fully-prepared, well-armed, tenacious enemy. By the exhibition +of the truest courage, which burns steadily besides flashing brilliantly, +it accomplished its object and added a glorious page to our history. Sailors, +soldiers, Colonials, and the home-bred have done this, united by one desire +and inspired by one patriotism.</p> + +<p>“The General Commanding congratulates both forces on their martial +qualities, and thanks them for their determined efforts. He desires to offer +his sincere sympathy to the relatives and friends of the good soldiers and +gallant comrades who have fallen in the fight. <span class="smcap">Buller.</span>”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Less formally and with more warmth the Chief addressed himself +to his friends in England. He said:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“We began fighting on the 14th February, and literally fought every day +and nearly every night till the 27th. I am filled with admiration for the British +soldiers; really, the manner in which they have worked, fought, and endured +during the last fortnight has been something more than human. Broiled in +a burning sun by day, drenched in rain by night, lying but 300 yards off an +enemy who shoots you if you show as much as a finger; they could hardly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +eat or drink by day, and as they were usually attacked at night they got but +little sleep; and through it all they were as cheery and willing as could be.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>Telegraphic wires and cables wore themselves out in repeating +congratulation on the relief of Ladysmith. Veritably all the winds +of heaven seemed to repeat them. From north, south, east, and +west came the chorus of acclamation, a chorus most reviving to the +magnificent multitude both inside and outside the place, who had +been ready to offer up their heart’s blood on the altar of patriotism. +Though the haunted and worn look could not die out of the faces +of the sufferers in a moment, they had already begun to mend; +though the shrunken and emaciated forms could not at once be +relieved from the starvation and disease which had wasted them, +there was over all a soothing glow of hope that acted magically, +beatifically, as the mists of sunrise over a squalid landscape.</p> + +<p>On the 9th of March Sir George White, looking much worn, he +having suffered from Indian fever brought on by the malarious surroundings, +left with his staff. The General addressed the Gordon +Highlanders who formed the guard of honour, and in few and +affecting words bade them farewell.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Claude George Henry Sitwell, D.S.O., 2nd Battalion Royal +Dublin Fusiliers, was born in 1858, and entered the army through the militia in 1878. His +first ten years of service were with the Shropshire Light Infantry, from which he exchanged, +in 1889, into the Manchester Regiment. He was subsequently promoted to a majority in +the 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers in October 1898. Colonel Sitwell had seen a considerable +amount of active service, his first campaign being the Afghan war of 1879-80, in which he +served with the Koorum Division, and took part in the Zaimust expedition. He accompanied +the 1st Battalion Shropshire Light Infantry in the Egyptian war of 1882, and was +present at the occupation of Kafr Dowar and the surrender of Damietta. From 1892 to +1895 he was employed with the Egyptian army, and from 1895 to 1898 in the Uganda Protectorate. +In 1895, as a captain, he commanded the expeditions against the Kitosh, Kabras, +and Kikelwa tribes in East Africa, and was present with the Nandi expedition in 1895-96. +Finally, he commanded the operations against Mwanga in 1897-98, including the engagement +near Katonga River, and several minor affairs. For his important services in Uganda +Major Sitwell was given a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy, and decorated with the Distinguished +Service Order.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Martin Gerard Thackeray, commanding the 1st Battalion +Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was born in 1849, and was appointed to the 16th Foot in 1868. +In 1876 he exchanged into the 1st West India Regiment, subsequently obtaining his captaincy +in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1881. During 1880 and part of 1881 he served as Fort +Adjutant at Sierra Leone. He was promoted to the command of the 1st Battalion Royal +Inniskilling Fusiliers in February 1897.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Lieutenant-Colonel Thorold, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who was killed on February +24, became lieutenant on June 13, 1874, a captain on October 25, 1882, a major on July 10, +1890, and was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel on March 4, 1896.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Lieutenant-Colonel William M’Carthy O’Leary, commanding the 1st Battalion of the +South Lancashire Regiment, was born on January 6, 1849, and entered the 82nd Foot (now the +2nd Battalion of the South Lancashire Regiment) as an ensign in the old purchase days on +April 17, 1869. He obtained his lieutenancy, also by purchase, on February 15, 1871. He +was instructor of musketry to the regiment from July 19, 1874, to March 19, 1878, when he +became captain, received his major’s commission on August 13, 1883, and from the January +preceding until January 1888, was an adjutant of Auxiliary forces. He had been lieutenant-colonel +of the battalion since November 1896. He was a Justice of the Peace for the +County of Cork and one of the Under Sheriffs of the city.</p></div> +</div> + +<p class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smaller">CHANGES IN CAPE COLONY</span></h2> + +<p>We must now return to Colesberg after the departure +of General French. The Boers, doubtless much +relieved to get quit of him, still occupied a semicircular +set of camps from east to west round the +north of the town, while the British, in the same +manner, occupied the opposite half of the circle, and so continued, +by dint of much fighting and skirmishing, to keep them in check. +On the 9th February the Dutchmen threatened the right flank of +the British, and shot one of Rimington’s Guides. During the morning +Captain Cameron, commanding the Tasmanian Contingent, with +Captain Salmon and fifty Australians and Tasmanians, started +out from Rensburg on a reconnaissance. He was supported by +a detachment of the Inniskilling Dragoons under Captain Stevenson-Hamilton. +The enemy was soon encountered, and promptly +gave the Australians a warm time as they advanced across the +plain. These cleverly took shelter and returned an active fusillade, +but the Boers seemed to be everywhere in overwhelming numbers. +The Australians with great gallantry took possession of a kopje, and +maintained their grip of the position for a good hour and a half; but +the crowds opposing them were too great, and when the Dutchmen +worked round to the rear and fired on their horses, they thought it high +time to come down, mount, and retire, amid a hurricane of lead from +the foe. The same action was repeated, the holding of another kopje, +and the evacuation of it in consequence of the arrival, in the rear, of +the Boers; and finally a retirement had to be effected across the open +plain exposed to fierce volleys from the pursuing enemy. Strange +to say, very few of the Colonials were injured, though they held +their ground throughout the day with wondrous pluck, and tackled +the Boers with dexterity equal to their own. Indeed, the coolness +and courage of Captain Cameron were reflected by his men, and +Captain Salmon, whose baptism of fire it was, made a remarkable +display of talent in the field. Of grit and gallantry there was no +end. Specially noticeable was the pluck of Corporal Whiteley of +the Tasmanians, who hurried to the rescue of a dismounted comrade, +and through a storm of bullets brought him to a place of safety.</p> + +<p>More of the Australians on the same day came in for a good +share of work. A reconnaissance was made from Slingersfontein by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> +the Inniskillings and some Australians under Captain Moor. The +Australians discovered the enemy in the act of preparing to shell the +British camp from the south-east. They therefore took up a position +on a hill some 9000 yards from camp, but here were assailed +by a party of Dutchmen who endeavoured to force them to surrender. +So close had the Boers approached, that their shouts calling them to +give up their arms could be heard by the Colonials. For answer, +however, the Australians only fixed bayonets and yelled defiance! +Their position was most critical; nevertheless they held their ground +with such fierce tenacity that the Burghers were cautious of approach. +Meanwhile, through the maze of fiery elements and in the teeth of +the enemy, a sergeant and two troopers had galloped off to inform +the commanding officer of the safety of the little band, and of their +intention to make a good fight of it until, under cover of the shades +of night, they could effect an escape. This they eventually did. +Three of their number were wounded and one was killed in the +act of succouring a wounded comrade.</p> + +<p>On the 11th of February, at Rensburg, a picket of five Victorian +Rifles had a nasty experience. After pluckily holding a post +for several hours, during which they were fired on by the Boers +from an adjacent kopje, they were forced to retire. Three of the +party were slightly wounded, and one gallant fellow, who had +helped the others to mount and escape, was missing. A patrol from +Jasfontein, consisting of eight Tasmanians and eight of French’s +Guides, also came to grief. Only two Tasmanians and three +Guides returned to camp, the rest being captured by the enemy. +In course of the day’s work Trooper Bosch distinguished himself. +On his way with two comrades to join the main body at Slingersfontein +he came on a large party of Boers on a hill. Though fired +on, the party made off in hot haste, when Trooper Bosch, who +was ahead, came suddenly on a solitary horseman. The two riders, +each believing the other to be a friend, approached, then discovering +their mistake, they raised rifles. But Trooper Bosch being the +quicker, promptly disarmed his antagonist and made him prisoner. +With the Dutchman in charge, Bosch and his companions proceeded. +Presently they came on seven Boer riders. On these the +scouts opened fire, with the result that the enemy hurriedly made +off, leaving behind them one wounded, who was taken prisoner. +So the three scouts returned to camp very proud of their “bag.”</p> + +<p>The correspondent of the <i>Melbourne Herald</i>, accompanied by +Mr. Cameron, the Australian correspondent, bearing a flag of truce, +went to the Boer line west of Rensburg to make inquiries from +Commandant Delarey regarding Mr. Lambie and Mr. Hales, the +missing Australian correspondents. They were blindfolded before +being taken to the Boer camp, where they were informed that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> +Mr. Lambie had been killed, and were handed the portrait of his +wife, which had been found in his pocket. Mr. Hales, owing to a +fall from his horse, had been taken prisoner. The correspondents +were informed that some 120,000 men were fighting with the +Federals, which was probably a piece of Boer bravado.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 677px;"> +<a name="ill_225" id="ill_225"></a><img src="images/ill_225.png" width="677" height="594" alt="Map illustrating the Operations on the Orange River." title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Map illustrating the Operations on the Orange River.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>It was now found necessary to retire from Coles Kop and the +outposts round it, as the Boers had placed a 40-pounder off Bastard +Nek, and thus commanded the vicinity. The Wiltshire Regiment +retired from Pink Hill, and the Australians and Bedfordshire +Regiment moved from Windmill Hill. The Berkshire Regiment +had also to move from their post—indeed, a wholesale withdrawal +became imperative owing to the activity of the Boer pieces. There +was now no camp west of Rensburg, and presently the camp at +Slingersfontein had to withdraw on Rensburg, the eastern flank +being threatened. There were Boers on all sides busily shelling +the hills, and the overwhelming number of the enemy made retreat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> +to Rensburg inevitable. In the course of the fighting Colonel +Coningham was mortally wounded.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> + +<p>On the 13th the British “strategically” evacuated Rensburg, +and General Clements fell back on Arundel. The guns from Coles +Kop were safely removed, and a Maxim was destroyed to save it +from the clutches of the enemy.</p> + +<p>The retirement was quite orderly. On the previous day the +stores and baggage-waggons were removed. After the evacuation +the Boers held a prayer-meeting, and offered up thanks for their +success. They then marched off in small parties to their various +outposts, chanting in nasal tones their favourite hymns.</p> + +<p>The gallantry displayed by the members of General Clements’ +force during the retirement was amazing. It is found impossible to +note all the acts of pluck and heroism which took place, and elicited +the profound admiration of those who witnessed them, but especially +noticeable was the devotion of some score of the Mounted Victorian +Rifles. These were surrounded by the enemy—caught in a veritable +trap—but they refused to surrender, and declared they would +“die game.” They fought like heroes, not one of them being left +to tell the tale.</p> + +<p>Near Dordrecht, too, which had been occupied by General +Brabant, the Colonial forces were performing prodigious feats of +pluck. They forced the rebels to abandon the country between +Dordrecht and Penhoek. During the attack on a Boer laager +on the 16th, Trooper Drysdale bravely rushed to the succour of +Sergeant Weinecke under a close and heavy fire and carried him +off to a place of safety. The young Colonial was promoted to +the rank of lieutenant in recognition of the valorous deed. Unfortunately +two gallant officers—Captain Crallah and Lieutenant +Chandler—were killed.</p> + +<p>Curiously enough, when the Boers and British became acquainted +with each other they grew friendly with great rapidity. When +Captain Longhurst, R.A.M.C., from Arundel, was attending +wounded Australians, he remarked on the exceeding kindness of +the enemy to the wounded. He also fraternised with the Boer +commander, and discovered they had mutual friends in London. +The “Tommies” chatted most amicably with the Boers, notwithstanding +the fact that their bandoliers were filled with soft-nosed +bullets. To account for their having them, the Boers said, “We +must use whatever we can get.” It was suggested that their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> +ammunition—since they were of the northern district—had been +obtained for the purpose of hunting big game at the Limpopo. +This excuse the “Tommies” accepted, and one wounded in the +thigh said good-humouredly, “Well, I wish you’d been kind +enough to hit me lower down.” Another informed a Boer that +the British had specially come to deliver them out of the House of +Bondage. The Boer was sceptical, whereon “Tommy” enlightened +him. “Africander bondage,” he explained, with a wink of the eye.</p> + +<p>The moral effect of the relief of Kimberley soon became obvious. +Barkly West was occupied by troops on the 21st of February, and +there was evidence that the country west of Cape Colony and +Kimberley was gradually settling down.</p> + +<p>On the same day, General Brabant occupied Jamestown, some +twenty miles north of Dordrecht, and seized quantities of horses +belonging to the enemy, who in their retreat modestly had recourse +to “Shank’s pony.”</p> + +<p>During a reconnaissance of the Boer position at Stormberg, a +party of scouts under Captain Montmorency, V.C., got within some +fifty yards of the enemy, and a fierce and fatal combat ensued, which +resulted in the sad loss of one of the most brilliant officers of +the day.</p> + +<p>The object of the reconnaissance was to ascertain the strength +of the Boers at Stormberg. Accordingly, with four companies of +Mounted Infantry drawn from the Royal Scots, the Northumberland +Fusiliers, the Derbyshire Regiment, and the Royal Berkshire Regiment, +with the 77th and four guns of the 74th Batteries Royal Field +Artillery, the Derbyshire Regiment (Sherwood Foresters), a portion +of De Montmorency’s Scouts, and some Cape Police, supported by the +armoured train under the charge of Lieutenant F. J. Gosset, 2nd Royal +Berkshire Regiment, Sir William Gatacre occupied Molteno early +on Friday morning the 23rd. Preceded by thirty Scouts, Captain +de Montmorency, Lieutenant Hockley, and Colonel Hoskier, the +force marched in the same direction that was to have been taken on +the night of the fatal affair in December. Unfortunately the Scouts, +on nearing their destination, came on a party of dismounted Boers, +and these, as the British rushed up a kopje, executed the same feat +on the other side of the hill. Though both instantly took cover, the +scouts got the worst of it, each one as he raised a head being laid +low by the fatal bullets of the completely hidden foe. Among the +first to fall was Captain de Montmorency,<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> who, gallant fellow, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +creeping round to a flank to surprise the enemy. Not long after +Colonel Hoskier<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> received his second wound, a mortal one, and two +comrades, Collett and Vice, adventurous and dashing Colonials, were +shot through the head. Lieutenant Hockley, rendered almost blind +and senseless by a wound between the eyes, was taken prisoner. +A gallant attempt to rescue the Scouts was made in the midst of a +tremendous storm. All were drenched to the skin. The thunder +and lightning rendered artillery fire almost impossible, and very few +of the daring party got away from the scene of the fight. On the +kopje by Shoeman’s Farm were left seven killed and five wounded.</p> + +<p>On the following day the bodies were recovered by the military +chaplains. Deeply to their regret, they discovered that the dead +had been robbed, and it is asserted that a Boer was seen in the +feathered hat of the heroic leader of the Scouts, while even the +clothes of the others had been filched by some despicable Dutchmen. +Mr. Duncombe-Jewell in the <i>Morning Post</i> gave a pathetic +account of the affair:—“The chaplains to the forces, Father +Ryan and Rev. R. Armitage, proceeded under a flag of truce +on the following morning to recover the bodies. This they were +permitted to do, but they found that the Boers had stripped and +robbed the slain, one of them riding about in triumph with poor +De Montmorency’s hat, with its black riband ornamented with the +white skull and cross-bones and the black ostrich feather at the side, +hanging at his saddle-bow. So far did they carry these ravages, that +on the tunic, which they hastily replaced as the chaplains approached, +there remained only one button. The rest of the unfortunate men +were as shamefully treated, the three buried by the Boers before the +arrival of the flag of truce being interred without either clothing or +ceremony of any sort.”</p> + +<p>A sad funeral took place on the Sunday following, when the remains +were buried. The band played a dirge as the procession—in which +was the younger officer’s gallant servant and comrade, Byrne, V.C.,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +of Omdurman fame, and his favourite grey Arab pony—wound +its way through the town to the Molteno Cemetery. Wreaths +were placed on the newly-turned earth by the General and his staff—ephemeral +symbols, but in this case emblems of lasting lament +for heroes sacrificed on the altar of duty.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 430px;"> +<a name="ill_229" id="ill_229"></a><img src="images/ill_229.png" width="430" height="286" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">HINDOO REFUGEES FROM THE TRANSVAAL IN CAMP AT CAPE TOWN</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Alf. S. Hosking, Cape Town.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>In a Divisional Order General Gatacre recorded with deep regret +the news of the death of Captain Montmorency, V.C., commanding +Montmorency’s Scouts, and of Lieutenant-Colonel Hoskier, +3rd Middlesex Volunteer Artillery, who were killed at Schoeman’s +Farm. “By their deaths,” the order concluded, “the division has +lost two very valuable officers.”</p> + +<p>While this affair was taking place at Molteno the West Riding +Regiment was distinguishing itself at Arundel. The troops were +preparing to clear some kopjes held by the enemy when some Boers +suddenly advanced on them. The West Ridings stood their ground +grandly, waited with fixed bayonets the arrival of the Dutch horde, +and then promptly advanced and scattered them. Unfortunately +Captain Wallis was shot dead. Lieutenant Wilson was wounded, +but rescued in the midst of a leaden blizzard by a gallant sergeant +(Frith), who rushed to his assistance and carried him off on his back +to a place of shelter. Scarcely had he done so than he was wounded in +the face—in the left eye and nose. Lieutenant Wilson and Sergeant +Frith were placed in an ambulance, but owing to the tremendous +storm which prevailed at the time, their waggon lost its bearings and +wandered aimlessly throughout the night. The sufferers reached hospital +on the following day. On the 26th Colesberg and Colesberg Junction +were held by our troops, and on the 27th Rensburg was reoccupied.</p> + +<p>On the 5th of March Captain M’Neill, who after the death of Captain +de Montmorency was appointed to the command of Montmorency’s +Scouts, discovered that the Boers had evacuated Stormberg. +The Scouts now pursued the enemy, determining to keep him on the +run. This they did over rugged country and at great personal risk, +eventually chasing the Dutchmen to and beyond Burghersdorp.</p> + +<p>On the 7th of March General Gatacre occupied Burghersdorp, +and the railway arrangements towards Stormberg and Steynsburg +were being hurried on in view of the coming operations. The +enthusiasm of the loyal inhabitants of the district was great and their +relief intense. The greetings from one and all were most effusive, +the National Anthem was sung, and the British flag hoisted with jubilation +so great that many wept at the relaxation of the long strain.</p> + +<p>General Gatacre issued a proclamation requesting rebels to surrender +and give up arms, when they would receive a pass to their +farms, and where they were to remain till called to account later. +Some few rebels appeared to the summons, but many were still shy and +were waiting, as the phrase says, “to see which way the cat jumped.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>”</p> + +<p>The oath administered to rebels was as follows:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“I, a British subject, do hereby and hereon swear and declare that I was +forced by the Queen’s enemies to take up arms against Her Majesty’s troops, +and that the rifle and ammunition were issued to me by Commandant ——, +that I joined the commando on or about ——, and left it on or about ——. I +now hand in my horse, rifle, and ammunition, and, if permitted, will proceed +direct to my own farm, to remain there as a loyal British subject until Her +Majesty’s pleasure be made further known. I further promise to hold no +further communication, either directly or indirectly, with Her Majesty’s enemies, +or to aid or abet them in any way whatever, under penalty of death.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>General Clements now took up his quarters at Norval’s Pont, on +the south bank of Orange River. The north bank was still being +strongly held by the enemy, who had succeeded in blowing up the +bridge two days previously.</p> + +<p>Aliwal North was next occupied, but the occupation was attended +with severe fighting across the river. But the British took up +tenable positions, while the Boers, after a wholesome experience of +British fire, removed their laager from the hills. The inhabitants +of the town, despite the fact that our entry was accompanied by +shells, were full of enthusiasm. Colonel Page Henderson and his +advance party seized the heights beyond Lundean’s Nek. The +enemy shelled the bridge with Krupp guns with great vigour, and +twenty men were wounded. The British from their entrenched +positions silenced these barkings, but were then attacked by the +Boer riflemen, who were finally driven off by the Border Horse and +a Maxim gun. A waggon of ammunition was captured and several +Boers. There were general complaints as to the treatment experienced +by British people in the place, and there was some satisfaction +when Mayor Smuts was subsequently arrested on a charge of +treason.</p> + +<p>Railway and telegraphic communication were now carried to +Burghersdorp. Everywhere the commencement of a new system +was evident. In the north-eastern districts of the Free State the +rebels, on the withdrawal of the commandos, slowly returned to +their senses. Both English and Dutch loyalists were beginning to +breathe freely; they had both equally suffered from Boer oppression. +Europeans and natives were jubilant at the now continual +laying down of arms by rebels and Boer refugees along the whole +of the Colonial borders. The Boer refugees, some of whom were +in a pitiable plight, many of them having subsisted for weeks mainly +on bread and water and a species of coffee made from rye, were +anxious for protection. They stood in fear of their lives, as Commandant +Olivier had threatened to shoot those who should surrender. +Major Hook of the Cape Police, with his smart men, +occupied Barkly East, and at Lady Grey British rule, after three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> +and a half months of oppression, was re-established. It is pleasing +to record that the heroic postmistress returned to her post there +with an increased salary. The total collapse of the rebels was +impending, and there were now only animated arguments among +loyalists and others as to the treatment which should be given to +those who had engaged in and fostered the lamentable revolt. +All voted for the speedy appointment of a Judicial Commission. +Though a policy of revenge was to be deprecated, it was urged +that the ringleaders should be punished with exemplary severity, +as a deterrent for the future, and for the purpose of demonstrating +to those who had suffered annoyances, loss, and anxiety, that there +was some advantage in the maintenance of loyalty in trying circumstances.</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">AT BETHULIE</h3> + +<p>Sir William Gatacre, owing to the species of general post that +had been set on foot by Lord Roberts’ successful advance, suddenly +found himself released from the shackles that had bound him. As +we know, the enemy had retreated from Stormberg, and from +Burghersdorp. Towards the Orange River they had betaken themselves +in hot haste, and it was now time to fly after the retreating +foe, to catch them, if possible, at the river. At Bethulie there +was still the railway bridge. But even as it was neared it ceased +to exist. Fragments filled the air. The Boers had blown it up +behind them, and wrecked iron was all that displayed itself to the +British troops. The road bridge, however, remained; a structure +valued by the Colony at £100,000. Of course that would go +directly, and the great question was whether the British troops, +by putting the spur on their already jaded energies, would be able +to reach the place in time to defend it. Captain M’Neill and +thirty Scouts made a rush for it; and only just reached the scene +of action in time! The Derby was never more hotly contested. +The Scouts, like hunted fiends, had sped over obstacle and acre to +gain the goal before the fell work of the Boers could begin. They +won by a neck. The Boers were already buzzing along the bridge, +manipulating with wire and explosive, putting the finishing touches +on their design! At sight of the British there was a stampede +to north of the river. Here the enemy had supports. (The Scouts +carefully hid the fact they had none.) Here the enemy ensconced +himself and prepared to do his worst. The Scouts took up their +position in the kraal of a farm from which they could sweep the +northern approach to the already laid mines, and sent back word +urgently praying for reinforcements. Others took their well-deserved +rest. Meanwhile with ferocious tenacity some eleven of them held +on to the bridge, hawk-eyed, watching, firing, hiding, dodging,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> +anything that should gain time till the reinforcements could appear. +On the other side, only a question of yards off was the foe—numberless, +it seemed to them, sniping, potting, and banging with every +missile at their command, and determining to hang round the precious +bone of contention, the valuable road bridge. The British +maintained the same determination. Perhaps a touch, an unseen +movement, would set the whole string of dynamite mines in motion; +perhaps in this moment or the next, with a roar and a rumble, the +clear atmosphere would be decked to blindness with little bits—bits +of the bridge that stood before them—bits, too, of the men that +were! Still they hung on. It was a grievous subject for contemplation, +a sorry possibility to roll in the wrappings of meditation. But +fear they scorned. The Boers in vast numbers thronged on the +opposite side, bullets from Mausers and Martini-Henrys spurted and +flicked up their little wisps of dust till sand became thick as a veil +between Boer and Briton. But still the hardy Scouts clung to their +post. Moments, every one long as days, sped on; hours passed, +night waned, day broke. Still the tiny British band of braves +behind bush and boulder stayed with rifles cocked and pointed at +the bridge. They dared not approach, but they defied the enemy +to venture. Then, with morn, the eternity of anxiety was ended—they +were reinforced by the Cape Police! Later the artillery came +up. Oh, the sigh of relief! The bridge was saved! Oh, the +rejoicing to hear the grand bark of British guns, and see the great +earth mushrooms opening up to the sky on the opposite side! Then, +at eventide came the supreme deed, among deeds no less worthy. +Shot and shell were now falling on all sides of the mined bridge. +The Boers were firmly ensconced across the front; hidden and +sniping, and now and then appearing and firing boldly. The +gloaming was otherwise peaceful, the purple shades of evening +blending with the gentle, rippling golden grey of the river. Then +from his fellows advanced one Lieutenant Popham of the Derbyshire +Regiment. Straight to the threatened bridge, already peppered +with the storms of the enemy, he went, crossed to the other side, +and quick as thought deftly cut the connecting wires for firing +the mines! By a miracle no Boers observed the act, an act that +rendered abortive all their ingenious efforts and made the British +masters of the situation. Then followed more plucky feats. Young +Popham, on advancing through the trenches, had come across large, +suspicious-looking boxes. He returned to the British lines. He +gathered together some of the goodly men of his regiment, and +with them again made his way to the threatened bridge. The sight +of the party was the signal for a volley from the Dutchmen, but +still they pursued their way to the boxes. “Dynamite, by Jove!” +said one; “Kingdom come!” said another. But up they took them,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> +and there and then, under a storm of bullets that now meant more +even than death, the splendid fellows marched back again. The +astonishing feat cast dismay over the Federals on the other side of the +water, as it filled with admiration and pride all in the British camp +who were privileged to view a sight seldom seen in a lifetime. +And then, later on, as though the quality of heroism were inexhaustible +as the widow’s cruse of oil, another splendid act followed on +the heels of the foregoing ones. In the dead of night Captain Grant +of the Royal Engineers groped his way to the bridge. The Boers +were on the alert, but he groped cautiously. The soldier’s martial +step gave way to the catlike burglarious tread! It was ticklish +work that had to be done—work that needed time and nicety of +touch. But he meant to do it, and one hint, one rumour of activity +would have roused the whole Dutch horde and ruined his plan. +The bridge, as we know, was mined. Lieutenant Popham had cut +the wires. But the charges of dynamite were somewhere. These +Captain Grant found, removed, and dexterously dropped, buried for +ever in the purling river! Then with infinite care he detached the +other connecting wires, and the bridge was safe! This was the +beginning of the end. A few more passages at arms, and then the +British on the 15th of March crossed the Orange River.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 483px;"> +<a name="ill_235" id="ill_235"></a><img src="images/ill_235.png" width="483" height="319" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">CONVEYING WOUNDED TO WYNBERG HOSPITAL CAMP.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Alf. S. Hosking, Cape Town.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>Yet another brilliant act was performed soon after the arrival +of the troops at Bethulie. Captain Hannessy of the Cape Police, +an officer on General Gatacre’s staff, was detailed to capture the +railway station, which was situated some distance from the town. +This he did. He examined the telegraph room, found the instrument +intact, and learnt by communication with Springfontein that +there were Boers still in that direction. Without hesitation he at +once set off, in company with another adventurous spirit (Captain +Turner of the Scouts), on his way to Springfontein. They commandeered +a trolley and moved up the line. On nearing the +station they saw two trains with steam up, ready for departure. +Within the building were Boers—not slim Boers this time—but +snoring ones, with bandoliers awry and rifles lollopping. It was a +moment to be grasped. The rifles and the bandoliers were gently +removed. Then the sleepers were awakened. They rubbed their +eyes, and found, not rifles or bandoliers, but that they were prisoners +of war! They were without arms, resistance was useless. They +were escorted to the railway trucks; an engine-driver was found, +and presently the two officers with their “bag” (two trains and +eight prisoners) returned in triumph to Bethulie. Here their big-game +hunting was vastly appreciated, as at this time, their engines +having been left on the other side of the river, the capture of rolling +stock was of tremendous importance. Soon after this, troops from +Bloemfontein were sent off to occupy Springfontein.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Coningham, 2nd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment, +was born in 1851, and joined the army in 1872. His first appointment was to the +103rd Foot, afterwards the 2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers, with which he served +until 1891, when he was transferred as major to the Worcestershire Regiment. Colonel +Coningham was an adjutant of Militia from 1889 to 1894. He also served in the Soudan +with the Frontier Field Force in 1885-86.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Captain the Hon. Raymond Harvey Lodge Joseph de Montmorency, 21st Empress of +India’s Lancers, and commanding De Montmorency’s Scouts in South Africa, was the eldest +son of Viscount Frankfort de Montmorency, K.C.B. He was born on February 5, 1867, +joined the army on September 14, 1887, as second lieutenant in the Lincolnshire Regiment, +and was promoted to a lieutenancy in the 21st Lancers, November 6, 1889. In this rank he +served in the campaign in the Soudan in 1898, and was present at the battle of Khartoum, +and was awarded the Victoria Cross for the following service:—“At the battle of Khartoum +on September 2, 1898, Lieutenant de Montmorency, after the charge of the 21st Lancers, +returned to assist Second Lieutenant R. G. Grenfell, who was lying surrounded by a large +body of Dervishes. Lieutenant de Montmorency drove the Dervishes off, and finding +Lieutenant Grenfell dead, put the body on his horse, which then broke away. Captain +Kenna and Corporal Swarbrich then came to his assistance, and enabled him to rejoin the +regiment, which had begun to open a heavy fire on the enemy.” Lieutenant de Montmorency, +in addition to being mentioned in despatches and receiving the V.C., had also the +British medal and Khedive’s medal with clasp. He was promoted to captain August 2, +1899, having in the previous October been despatched on special service to South Africa, +when he raised and commanded the special body of scouts whose gallant services have +under him been so frequently referred to in connection with the operations in the neighbourhood +of Stormberg and Dordrecht.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant F. H. Hoskier was a well-known Volunteer officer, +who had brought the force which he commanded to a high state of military efficiency. He +held a certificate for proficiency in several subjects, and had obtained special mention in +examinations in tactics, besides having qualified as an interpreter.</p></div> +</div> + +<p class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smaller">BLOEMFONTEIN UNDER BRITISH RULE</span></h2> + +<p>The pastoral little town of brick and tin in the vast expanse +of toasted grass had now become a centre of civilisation, +one may almost say a fashionable rendezvous. There +regiments multitudinous were congregated, and these helped +to convert the sleepy, dozing capital into a miniature sphere +of many dialects born of a common tongue. Human beings, the +conquered and the conquerors, brushed shoulders in friendliness, +bought and sold, listened to the bands playing the well-worn +British airs in the market-place, and discoursed, under the ægis +of the Union Jack, which fluttered from pinnacle and spire, of trade +and prospects as though such things as big guns had never acted +in place of handshakes, and such men as Steyn had never staked +their all on the possibilities of a mirage.</p> + +<p>That potentate had betaken himself to Kroonstad, which, in +new conditions, had also assumed a new aspect. It was now the +capital of the Free Staters, and the seat of the polyglot army that +was gathered together to consider the new face of affairs. A +Norwegian attaché, who was with the strange horde, gave a description +of the quaint dust-bound town and its still quainter +inhabitants:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<p class="address">“<span class="smcap">Kroonstad</span>, <i>March 16</i>.</p> + +<p>“Here prevails the most extraordinary life it has ever been my lot to +witness. All hotels and private houses are filled to overflowing, whilst little +laagers are spread everywhere in and outside the town. A wild stream of +loose horses, mules, donkeys, and oxen, and little bodies of troops and solitary +riders pour through the streets, broken by heavy ox-waggons and mule-carts +driven by whips and shouts. All nationalities and all colours are present, and +the most Babylonian babble of tongues resounds on all sides. Here are +foreign military attachés, surgeons, nurses, regular and irregular Boer +troops, volunteers of all arms, officers as well as privates, and besides a +goodly lot which I can only stamp as ‘freebooters,’ for they do not belong to +any fixed commando, but look upon the fighting as sport or chase. Frequently, +however, among them I come across men of high culture and of first-class +families, often fine handsome men with martial bearing, side by side with the +worst scum of the earth. Many pass from one war to another. I have +spoken with some who have gone through the Greek, Cuban, and Philippine +wars. And what uniforms do these mercenaries wear? None at all, or, more +correctly speaking, each one has invented his own! The only common badge +is the bandolier across the shoulder and the slouch hat. Otherwise every one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> +wears whatever clothes he may possess, only so that it is nothing new. Many +of them who are well off have donned a fantastic costume—slouch hat, with +waving ostrich feathers and gold lace, jacket edged with yellow, orange, and +green bands, epaulettes with great gold tassels, white or gilt buttons, stripes +on the trousers, top-boots with spurs, cockades in the hat and on the breast, +and revolvers in the belt. At present the Boer troops are spread all over the +place, mostly without any order or discipline. Most of them, particularly the +Orange Boers, are sick of the war, and long to go home to their families and +farms. Others have simply gone home after the Bloemfontein <i>débâcle</i>. In +these circumstances Steyn considered it best to allow his men to go home for +a few days, and call them together again when the great council of war at +the end of the week had decided whether the war should be continued. Many +thousands have thus gone home, with or without leave. Will they return? +It seems a dangerous experiment.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>The fact was that gradually, very gradually, the eyes of the +Boers were being opened, though they still tried to persuade themselves +that Lord Roberts’ presence in the capital of the Free State +had no decisive effect on the game of war. They began to look +anxiously towards the Continental Powers, who, they had been +led to believe, were in sympathy with them, and to wonder +when some intervention would save them from the doom they had +brought on themselves. In one respect they were beginning to see +clearly and to understand, that the great ideal of sweeping the +British into the sea was a chimera, and that they must limit their +aim to retaining their own freedom, the sole one that could be indulged +in and clung to with any shadow of success.</p> + +<p>The Dutchmen still hoped against hope for victory, but their +scorn for the British was fast dying a natural death. Our repeated +fights, had they served no other purpose, succeeded in educating +those who had dared to flout us, and after the capture of Cronje +the effect of the somewhat brusque lesson was very conspicuous. +Before the battle of Elandslaagte, a resident of Cape Town indulged +in argument with an obstinate Boer in terms somewhat similar to +these:—</p> + +<p>“We are going to send 50,000 or 60,000 troops into the field.”</p> + +<p>“They will be all shot!” he bragged.</p> + +<p>“We shall send another 50,000 or 60,000.”</p> + +<p>“They, too, will all be shot!” he repeated.</p> + +<p>“We shall send more.”</p> + +<p>“Almighty! am I to keep on shooting the Englishman all my +life!” sighed the Dutchman, with his best air of braggadocio.</p> + +<p>Such bumptiousness was not confined to himself. All his compatriots +started on the campaign with identical bombast, for they +took their cue from the attitude of those Continental nations with +which they had lately become associated. Our neighbours across +the Channel had found it convenient to persuade themselves we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> +were a decadent race, that the Old Country was played out and +her children effete. As with the empires of Xerxes, Alexander, +Augustus, so with that of Victoria, they said to themselves; and since +the wish is father to the thought, the idea was rapidly propagated +that Great Britain was fast becoming a second-rate Power.</p> + +<p>Almost the whole of Europe had indulged in objectionable comment +on the subject of the campaign, and treated us to naked truths +that, though unpalatable, were useful as an excellent opportunity to +see ourselves as others see us, and correct a somewhat overweening +passion for resting on British-grown laurels. But however good as +a tonic the cosmopolitan criticism may have been, it was distinctly +ill-timed and decidedly ungrateful. Our sneering foes should have +patted us on the back, have applauded us. They might even have +subscribed to help us to do the hard work of Europe, for, as the +Norwegian showed, we were not fighting the Boer alone, but were +attacking thousands of his mercenaries—the scum of Europe. We +were scouring a veritable Augean stable. Ne’er-do-weels of every +nationality were congregated under the Transvaal flag—vagabonds, +for the most part, who had made their own country too hot to hold +them, and who hoped by promoting a general upheaval to come +down on their feet safely—somehow, somewhere!</p> + +<p>Fortunately Lord Roberts’ masterly combinations had rapidly +brought about a general disillusionment, and served to prove to +our critical neighbours that our martial race—from officers to the +most raw and fledgling “Tommies”—was the same race as of yore, +“game for anything,” even when the thing might range between +and include shot and shell, sickness and starvation! The object-lesson +was a grand one, and could not pass unrecognised. For us +the sad part of it was that the flower of our country, the valiant +sons of brave men and the noble descendants of kings, should have +had to risk their lives against such a mob of adventurers and +filibusters, creatures who were actuated by none of the finer and +natural impulses of the Boers to secure their independence, but flung +themselves into the fight merely because the spirit of ruffianism +which had driven them from their native soils was too rampant to +be appeased by any other exercise. But there is no achievement +without sadness—no success without pain. Lives must ever be +sacrificed to maintain any great nation’s prestige, and now how +much more noble seemed the sacrifice when it secured the prestige +of a Power that had propagated equality and civilisation over the +whole face of the world!</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 439px;"> +<a name="ill_241" id="ill_241"></a><img src="images/ill_241.png" width="439" height="295" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">THE BRITISH OCCUPATION OF BLOEMFONTEIN—AN EVENING CONCERT IN MARKET SQUARE BY THE +PIPERS OF THE HIGHLAND BRIGADE.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by A. Forestier.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The British once having put their hand to the plough, had stuck +manfully to their work, not in hope of reward, but in the belief in +the ministry of their great race. Beyond the minor considerations of +franchise and political advantage, there had been greater and higher<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> +ends to be attained, and as the flag was fluttering over the capital +of the Free State these great ends served to inspire and refresh those +who almost fainted by the way. Where the British flag waved there +was freedom, enlightenment, progress, evolution—there was emancipation +from sin, injustice, and degradation; therefore at the cost +of precious lives, and for no personal gain, the great end for which +they toiled and suffered and died had to be achieved.</p> + +<p>Every ideal, whether merely human or bordering on the divine, +demands enormous sacrifices from those who desire to realise it, +and the spread of civilisation calls for its ministers and martyrs, +and will continue to call for them so long as there are men of heroic +mould who, regardless of personal cost, are ready to prize and protect +a great and national cause. Only this reflection could serve +to hearten and brace our warriors at the front, for, at this time, Lord +Roberts’ glorious position was far from a happy one. It was +impossible to ignore the cost at which the prestige of his country +and his splendid success was being secured. He found himself at +Bloemfontein with the wreck of an army on his hands, with men +dropping thick as flies from disease resulting from the terrible exhaustion +of the march and from the insanitary conditions of the camp at +Paardeberg. There the only water available for drinking purposes +had flowed down from the Boer camp a mile and a half up the river, +and was polluted by rotting carcases in various stages of decomposition, +and, as a natural consequence of these conditions, Bloemfontein +was suddenly filled with an appalling number of sick, some +2000 patients suffering from typhoid and enteric, in addition to a +very considerable number of wounded at the fight at Driefontein. +How to help the abnormal number of sufferers was a problem that +taxed the medical authorities to the utmost, for it was impossible to +meet the huge demand under the existing conditions. To improvise +mere accommodation for so large an influx of sick within the narrow +confines of Bloemfontein was a hard task in itself, and even the field-hospitals +were inadequate, for owing to the rapidity of the march +from the Modder no tents were carried with the force, and none +were available until railway communication with Cape Colony could +be restored. The Commander-in-Chief of this immense army in +this dilemma had but a single narrow-gauge line of railway between +himself and his base some 700 miles distant, and this line of rails was +not yet available. The first duty was to utilise it for the bringing up +of supplies sufficient to sustain the bare life of the healthy force, and +prevent those who were sound from joining those who were already +exhausted. Tents for the sick, nurses, doctors, hospitals were ordered +up, but these could only arrive in their turn, and meanwhile the +patients were distributed in all the public buildings, schools, &c. The +town being small, this accommodation was meagre in the extreme,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> +and quantities of the sick in the field hospitals had to place their +blankets and waterproof sheets on the ground, and lie there huddled +together in a condition that was grievous in the extreme. The +mortality was tremendous, and the sufferings of those who were +recovering were pitiable, but these things it was impossible to +avert; they have belonged in all ages to the horror of war, and in +other times were the natural and ordinary, and not, as in the present +case, an abnormal consequence of an exceptional situation.</p> + +<hr class="w50" /> + +<p>The relief of Ladysmith and Kimberley accomplished, Lord +Roberts was able to adhere to the cherished Napoleonic maxim—an +army should have but one line of operation, which should be +carefully preserved, and abandoned only as the result of weightier +considerations. This army was now being reorganised as one great +whole, a task which involved gigantic labour and called for rare discrimination. +But the marvellous tact, one might say magnetism, of +Lord Roberts smoothed every difficulty, and the enthusiasm with +which those who were brought into contact with the Commander-in-Chief +alluded to him, was remarkable. An army chaplain, writing +home, voiced the popular feelings for the one and only “Bobs”:—“We +are serving under the best and noblest man who ever led an +army. You can have no conception of the passionate and devoted +affection which Lord Roberts inspires in all ranks. It is not artifice, +or adroitness, or dramatic power, but a simple overflowing of the +milk of human kindness. Every one notices it; all remark it. The +roughest and most cynical of the brave men out here cannot escape +the fascination of his delightfully quiet and natural manner, his transparent +unselfishness; and one sees in him the value in a born leader +of men of a clear and musical voice, and eyes bright and piercing, +yet full of kindness and benevolent sympathy. He is entirely without +affectation, and takes care that the troops are fed, and not stinted of +recreation whenever it can be found. Nothing pleases him more +than to mix with the men when at play. And he is an example to +all in his regular attendance at public worship and in resting on the +Lord’s Day. His staff take their ‘tone’ from him, and this is good +for all who come into contact with that staff. I never met so active +a man. At daybreak he is in the saddle, riding round the camp +before he makes an informal inspection, without notice, of some +portion of the lines. He shows no sign of failing strength or of +impaired energy, and fatigue is a word not to be found in his vocabulary. +I am told that the secret is frugal living and early to rest +which keeps him in such excellent health. It is a privilege which all +value very highly that they have had the good fortune to serve under +our Field-Marshal.”</p> + +<p>No such raptures were expended on the silent man of Egyptian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> +fame who had made himself into the machinery of the tremendous +movement, but how much his wonderful work was appreciated the +following extract from the <i>Times</i> serves to show:—“When Lord +Roberts and his Chief of the Staff reached Cape Town, we had +troops of all arms in South Africa, but we had no field-army, and +until we had a field-army the enemy were to a great extent masters +of the position. It is not easy to realise the abilities and the unwearying +energy needed to convert all the scattered raw material we +possessed in South Africa and the reinforcements daily arriving from +all parts of the Empire into the coherent and mobile fighting machine +now directed by the Commander-in-Chief. To Lord Kitchener +under him belongs the credit of that remarkable achievement. He +has not only marshalled the fragmentary units of the paper army +corps into a workmanlike fighting force, but in a country without +roads in a European sense, and with few and light railways, he has +seen that they were fed and clothed and supplied with all the innumerable +articles indispensable to their efficiency. If Lord Roberts +has won the battles, Lord Kitchener has been the ‘organiser of +victory.’”</p> + +<p>The result of the combined methods of these two great soldiers +was little short of marvellous, and when we look back to the days of +Wellington, and compare the army of his day with the army at +Bloemfontein, we can but wonder and admire and congratulate +ourselves.</p> + +<p>For instance, the army at Bloemfontein, the victorious army, +which had suffered exceedingly from the many annoyances of the +Boers, comported themselves in their day of triumph with admirable +reserve. Brave as the British warriors of old, they showed themselves +men of finer stamp and higher discipline than the men who +followed Wellington. We have the words of that great commander, +to assure us that his force was almost incorrigible. He declared +that his own troops at the beginning of the Peninsular war were “a +rabble, who cannot bear success any more than Sir John Moore’s +army could bear failure.” He also confessed, “I am endeavouring +to tame them, but if I should not succeed, I must make an official +complaint of them, and send one or two corps home in disgrace. +They plunder in all directions.”</p> + +<p>Things in Bloemfontein were very different. The victorious army +under Lord Roberts walked in like the heroes they were, stopped +their predatory instincts at a word, and paid their way and conducted +themselves like gentlemen. Indeed the Free Staters lined their +pockets almost too satisfactorily at the expense of their conquerors!</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the enemy conspired and plotted. On the 17th +of March, at Kroonstad, a great council of war was held by the +two Presidents, which was attended by a strange and mongrel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> +community. Among the motley crew were some forty Boer leaders, +De Wet, De Larey, Botha, and De Villebois-Mareuil (who was +killed at Boshop later on). They were not goodly to look on, as +uniform was non-existent, and clean shirts were luxuries that long +since had been dispensed with. The action of the Boers, their +strength and weakness, came under discussion, and all decided that +they must fight to the bitter end. President Kruger offered up +prayer, and petitioned the Almighty to give ear to the just claims of +his people, while President Steyn, when his turn came, stuck to +practical matters, discussed the situation, and declared that if the +English thought that because they had captured the Free State +capital they had won the battle they were self-deluded. He went +on to say: “How should we now continue the war? Should we, +as before, defend ourselves in fortified positions, or should we try a +new method? I am no soldier,” he continued, “but, according to +my conviction, we ought no longer to occupy fortified positions, as +the English have learned to manœuvre us out of them without +fighting, for which they invariably have plenty of men. Therefore, +we ought only, as much as possible, to hamper the enemy’s forward +march, and, whilst threatening his rear and flank, attack him everywhere +where there is a chance with small commandos without train. +We must by this method proceed more offensively than hitherto, +and before all turn upon his lines of communication.”</p> + +<p>The President’s scheme was much applauded and approved, after +which De Larey began to complain of the state of the Boer army, +the size and irregularity of the commandos, and the huge waggon +laagers behind their positions, stating that owing to these being +threatened by a manœuvre of the British, the men were forced +hurriedly to leave the ranks to look after the safety of the waggons. +He attributed the Boers’ flight at Poplar Grove entirely to anxiety +regarding these waggons. He suggested in future fighting with +small commandos without train, as he declared it impossible for the +Boers to succeed in wielding big armies, because when the enemy +attempted to surround or outflank them the Boers lost their heads.</p> + +<p>General Joubert proposed “that the so-called ‘veldcornetschappen,’ +which are too large bodies to be led by one man, should be reduced +to sections of twenty-five, with a corporal at the head. In the Transvaal +this had already been initiated with very satisfactory results.” +This proposal was also adopted, with the proviso that “‘veldcornets’ +who did not at once adopt it should be fined £10.” The position of +such a corporal is similar to that of a sergeant in Europe.</p> + +<p>Discussion later turned to the coalfields in Dundee, and to prevent +them becoming of use to the British it was decided that they must +be destroyed. General Botha, however, objected to this destruction, +on the principle that the fields were not contraband of war, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> +private property. Thereupon President Steyn argued: “I am not +of a destructive disposition, but this is necessary, and in accord with +the law of nations. Does any one think that the English would +let a vessel with coal for the Transvaal go by? If I had to blow +up half the Orange Free State in order to secure the independence +of my people I would do so.” The great council then closed with +the following appeal by President Steyn:——“I close the council in +the hope that every officer realises the seriousness of the situation. +It is a question of life or death to us, whether we shall remain an +independent nation or become slaves. I do all that is in my power, +and so does also my elder brother (Kruger). I am no soldier, but +you officers are, and to you much is entrusted—the future of our +country. Your reward will depend on your actions. Your task is +a very difficult one. May God aid you! We are all mortal, but +is there a more glorious death than to fall for your country and +people at the head of your fellow-Burghers. May God help us! +The position is indeed full of trouble, but when night is darkest +dawn is nearest.”</p> + +<p>These impassioned periods were highly effective, and the Burghers +who were present forgot to ask themselves why the speaker had +carefully insured himself against so glorious an exit from life by carefully +taking to his heels whenever he was confronted by the British!</p> + +<p>Some Burghers evidently thinking that an ounce of example was +worth a ton of precept, decided not to die gloriously, but to live at +peace with all men inside their homes, and consequently turned their +backs on their party and returned to their farms.</p> + +<p>A proclamation had been issued requiring Burghers residing +within ten miles of the military headquarters and the town to deliver +up all arms and ammunition by noon on the 18th, under penalty of +being punished and having their goods confiscated, and by degrees, +as a consequence of the proclamation, rifles in considerable quantities +were handed in. On the other hand, a great many more modern +weapons were surreptitiously disposed of, many of them being buried +in order to be dug up as occasion might require, and obsolete firearms +surrendered in their place.</p> + +<p>The work of pacification was going on apace at Springfontein, +where the 1st Scots Guards, the 3rd Grenadier Guards, four +Royal Artillery guns, and forty Mounted Infantry were now stationed, +and at Bethulie, which place also had decided not to show fight.</p> + +<p>Sir Godfrey Lagden from Maseru now telegraphed to Lord +Roberts stating that the residents of Wepener (a town at the extreme +east of the Free State on the Basutoland border) wished to +receive copies of the proclamation and had decided to lay down +their arms, and it was stated that many more towns on the eastern +fringe desired to follow suit.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p> + +<p>With marvellous celerity things began to shape themselves. +The law courts resumed work. Mr. Papenfus, whose services +as Landrost had been dispensed with, was replaced by Mr. Collins. +A train service was speedily established between Bloemfontein and +Cape Town, and the Bank of Africa and the National Bank of the +Free State were permitted (subject to restriction) to continue business. +Transactions with towns in the Transvaal and Free State +still occupied by the enemy were not allowed.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 365px;"> +<a name="ill_248" id="ill_248"></a><img src="images/ill_248.png" width="365" height="349" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Signal Station at Bloemfontein.</span><br /> +<br /> +On the left of the picture is the heliograph, and on the right a Begbie signal lamp, for use +when there is no sun. (Photo by Reinhold Thiele.) +</div></div> + +<p>Naturally some of the best type of farmers in the vicinity who +had surrendered were anxious for protection against attacks by +Boers still in the field, and Lord Roberts, bearing this in mind, sent +out columns to register names and take over arms, and give assurance +that the necessary protection was forthcoming. During the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> +end of March, General French, on this mission intent, was sent to +Thabanchu (forty miles east of Bloemfontein), while a detachment +from General Gatacre’s headquarters had gone to Smithfield (some +forty miles north of Aliwal North). General Clements operated in +the same pacific way round the south-west skirts of Bloemfontein, +while General Brabant “tackled” the only still aggressive force of the +Boers in the southern part of the Free State. Commandant Olivier +with a force of some 5000 men and sixteen guns was there, being +pushed back inch by inch, it was hoped into the arms of General +French, who was waiting with such horses as he could still muster +at Thabanchu to pounce on him. Still, though slowly, the country +was settling down, and the inhabitants were beginning to realise +the advantage of bringing in supplies for sale. They, however, +were “slim” at the core, and their slimness was responsible for +some lamentable occurrences with which we shall have to deal +anon.</p> + +<p>The telegraph was now restored as far as Reddersberg Railway, +communication had been restored with Bethulie, and the railway at +Norval’s Pont had been completed. In south and west peace +reigned. There were even signs that the Transvaalers were +thinking of abandoning the defence of the Free State. Friction +between the Federals was reported on all sides. Even Mr. Steyn +and Mr. Kruger were scarcely at one. Mr. Steyn’s last remark to +the grand old man of Pretoria when they parted at Bloemfontein +was, “Mind the British don’t catch you, or you will get better +quarters in St. Helena than I.” Both Presidents were aware that +the Commander-in-Chief was a person to be reckoned with, and that, +if they wished to make a last wild effort, they must put their shoulder +to the wheel. So on the 21st of March President Steyn and General +Joubert went on a tour of inspection for the purpose of encouraging +the troops. With them was a foreigner who described their movements. +“The troops who are in laager at Venterburg, Roodstation, +Zand River Bridge, and Smaldeel (Winburgroodstation), number +only some 700 men, with a battery and six machine guns, all +Transvaal Boers. The feeling was everywhere buoyant, and all +were determined to hold out. To-day the Orange Boers begin to +return after their leave. It looks as if they are recovering their +breath after the Bloemfontein <i>débâcle</i>, and if the English wait +much before they advance, the men will have time to reorganise +themselves. Colonel De Villebois-Mareuil is now occupied with the +scheme of organising a flying column of foreigners, to be called +the ‘European Corps,’ of 600 men, two guns, and a waggon with +dynamite and tools, with which he intends to operate on the +English lines of communication, if possible in conjunction with +Major Stenekamp, who has collected some 2000 men to the west,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +who are furnished with ammunition, stores, and money by General +du Toit at Fourteen Streams. The English have indeed lost much +valuable time; the next few weeks should show if the Boers have +understood to take advantage of it. But there seems to be too little +plan and too little organisation among them.”</p> + +<p>The loss of time was deplored on all hands, but Lord Roberts, +rather than do things imperfectly, was content to wait. There was +no use in attempting to hammer at the demoralised Boers till, rail, +horses, and constitutions being in working order, his tools should be +equal to the task required of them.</p> + +<p>But the Chief, though stationary, was not allowing the grass to +grow under his feet. It must be remembered that prior to his +entry into Bloemfontein he had been marching and fighting for a +month away from the railway, and that his primary duties had been, +first, to capture and secure the railroad; second, to repair it and +get it, together with bridges, &c., in working order; and thirdly, +to shift his base from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, a distance +of 750 miles, by a single line of rails with a rise of 4500 feet. +Much time had also been spent in defeating detached forces of the +enemy which threatened his communications with Cape Town and +Port Elizabeth, and blocked them from East London.</p> + +<p>The question of horses, too, was a most important one, one +which could not be settled without much delay, because, do what it +might, the Government could scarcely send them off with sufficient +haste to meet the demand. During the first four months of the +new year there had been shipped, as remounts, in addition to those +sent with the troops, 27,041 horses and 17,143 mules. A further +supply was expected in May, consisting of 7500 horses and 4500 +mules, and after that date another batch of 7500 horses and 20,000 +mules was to be forwarded. The total of remounts bought since +the opening of 1900 was about 42,000 horses and 23,000 mules! +But, until the steady flow of these into the country commenced, the +great final move could not be more than planned out.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 456px;"> +<a name="ill_251" id="ill_251"></a><img src="images/ill_251.png" width="456" height="597" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">STRATHCONA’S HORSE.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by Pittaway, Ottawa.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The art of battle had resolved itself into a question of pace. +The Boers had taught us that to be successful we must be slim, +swift, and sudden. Lord Roberts decided that there must be no +breathing-time, that their cunning commandos must not be +permitted to collect, and that mounted troops must be met by +mounted troops. It began to be evident that the army of +the future would need to gallop—machine guns with the Horse +Artillery, Royal Engineers with the cavalry, while guns of position +and traction engines would have to follow a corresponding process of +activity! With flying cavalry and mounted infantry must also go +flying engineers, ready to take their share in schemes of scientific +demolition, effective destruction of lines and culverts and bridges,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +which cannot be remedied under the loss of days—days which will +mean the success or the failure of the enterprise in hand. In fact, +hereafter a vast and wonderful military dictionary will be comprised +in the word “mobility.”</p> + +<p>To the ordinary mind the question of mobility resolves itself into +a mere matter of mounted men. It is almost impossible to follow +the extraordinary ramifications strategically and tactically connected +with the term. To increase the mobility of the army—the problem +which had to be faced by Lord Roberts on his arrival at the Cape +and again at Bloemfontein—it was, above all things, imperative to +have quicker moving transport; strategically, a leader would be +hand-tied without it. After this it was necessary to provide for +perpetual relays of mounts for the cavalry with far less weight on +the saddle, and to feed up the infantry, and thus restore to the +men their mental and muscular elasticity. Tactical mobility was +dependent on these considerations, and they had to be faced equally +with the great difficulty of how to deal with the daily increasing +number of sick. The Boers had been given too much breathing-time +at first, and the delay had to be made up for by the hurried +and costly swoop on Cronje, which turned the tide of British fortune. +It was now important that another rush should be made—a rush +without the “intervals for refreshments” which had served the +Boers so conveniently, and enabled their recuperative courage to +assert itself—and to organise this a somewhat long halt was +obligatory.</p> + +<p>The Chief now intended to make the capital the advanced base +for the invasion of the Transvaal, and decided to attempt no further +move till sixty days’ supplies should have arrived from the Cape. +The heterogeneous units of Imperial and Colonial troops now called +for redistribution. Gaps had to be filled in and “inefficients” weeded +out. General Warren was put into civil charge of Griqualand West; +General Nicholson was given charge of the transport—a thankless +and onerous post; General Chermside took over the Third Division +from General Gatacre; General Hunter was drawn with Barton’s +Brigade from Natal to the Free State side; Generals Pole-Carew +and Rundle got Divisions; and General Ian Hamilton was appointed +to the command of a Division of Mounted Infantry, 11,000 men in +all, composed of two Brigades, each of four corps, with batteries of +artillery attached. The remounting of the cavalry and Mounted +Infantry was an undertaking needing time and help from all parts +of the British world. Activities were not all serious, however.</p> + +<p>Bloemfontein boasted a newspaper. It was styled the <i>Friend of +the Free State</i>. Before many days were over it had changed hands, +and had become the perquisite of the war correspondents. It was +now run on Imperial lines, and formed the organ of official com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>munications +during the military occupation of the capital. But for +that reason it did not lose the sense of humour with which the freelances +of the press—Rudyard Kipling among them—were bubbling. +A specimen of the jocosity of our exuberant scribes serves as a +memento of a wonderful period.</p> + +<blockquote><p class="center">“STINKOSSMULEFONTEIN”</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Descriptive Art</span></p> + +<p>We have often felt that the gallant members of Lord Roberts’ force, although +themselves daily engaged in doing deeds which will live in history, yet have to +exercise a vast amount of patience before they can read for themselves the +brilliant, graphic, and wonderful accounts of their doings sent home by the war +correspondents attached to the force. England is three weeks away, and it is +a long time for the gallant soldier to wait to see his name in all the glory of +leaded type. With the usual enterprise of the <i>Friend</i>, we have—we will not +say how—managed to see and copy the telegrams sent home by the leading +correspondents describing the action at Stinkossmulefontein Kopje. It was +not, it is true, a very big engagement, for two companies of Mounted Infantry +were sent to see if there were any Boers in the said kopje. They found them +there—in the usual manner—one man wounded and six horses—and then +retired to report the fact. That is the bare solid truth of the whole thing; now +for the correspondents’ accounts:—</p> + +<p><i>Times</i> (London):—Human element in what commonly supposed be machine, +namely, two companies Mounted Infantry to-day severely tried. To put to-day’s +action form algebraic equation situation briefly this Boers keen-eyed, rugged +held kopje (forget name kopje but know stink and fontein in it but see Reuter) +sitting behind boulders, while other portion equation represented two companies +Mounted Infantry (don’t know commander or regiment see Reuter) is possible +work whole thing algebraically Boer on kopje equal ten Mounted Infantry +advancing along level plain therefore fifty boers on kopje more than match for +two hundred Mounted Infantry advancing across plain whole thing followed +mathematical sequence Mounted Infantry returned from kopje having tried +solve impossible equation.</p> + +<p><i>Daily Telegraph</i> (London):—Early morning while camp asleep rose prepared +my coffee saddled horse left camp each side lay poor wearied soldiers +fast asleep dreaming doubtless home mothers wives sweethearts some tossed +uneasily hard veldt moon shone pouring paling with silver light features [please +insert here one my night-before-battle scenes No. 4] but I could not help feeling +Army doing wrong sleep knew enemy front determined myself go forward find +out position enemy passed outlying picket told officer keep good look out as +knew enemy front officer answer and actually wished prevent me passing +picket but when told him my name allowed pass sun now rising glorious [insert +sunrise scene No. 2] moved cautiously forward saw near distance kopje approached +near suddenly whole kopje burst forth into flame of flashes bullets +whizzed past but I remained still counting carefully each flash till I found out +exactly number Boers then putting spurs galloped back full speed flying past +picket sentries horse lines arrived myself and horse breathless Field Marshal’s +cart dismounted saluted told him I had discovered fifty enemy in position four +miles on. Field marshal drinking coffee said thank you continued eating<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> +breakfast I then developed to him my plan campaign drew statement correct +map. Field marshal continued breakfast again said thank you I left him field +marshal following my plan ordered two companies Mounted Infantry reconnoitre +position which did with loss one man six horses wounded [insert famous +“Vulture Scene”].</p> + +<p><i>Daily News</i> (London):—Again British arms successfully came contact +enemy locating position number with great exactness early morning two companies +mounted infantry under Major Jones pushed just as sun tinging kopjes +with ruby light saw kopje front which from indications appeared be held +enemy opening into skirmishing order small force advanced till within rifle +range when enemy opened heavy fire Major Jones having found what he wanted +immediately ordered retirement of force without replying to enemys fire our loss +man wounded six horses enemys loss unknown but must be enormous value +of horses wounded about £150.</p> + +<p><i>Cape Times</i> (Capetown):—Morning opened with soft breezes from north +just sufficient to shake mimosa bushes into sweet rustling music when I rose +rode forward fully sure that I should see something and I did for before we rode +forward two gallant companies of Mounted Infantry having, it is true, none of +the shining pomp war for every button, every shining bit of steel or metal +covered with kharki still little force looked gallant enough reminded me one +James Grant’s novels. Veldt was green with recent rains there was a freshness +in the air everything was peaceful around me but in front was war and wounds +and death. I stood on rising ground and saw before me a panorama unfolded +the little band of British soldiers approaching the grim kopje where lay the +watchful Boer. Closer and closer rode our men and now I could see them open +out and work like a perfect machine round the bases of the kopje and then +across the still morning air came the ominous crack! which told me that the +grim game had commenced crack! crack! crack! followed in quick succession +the Boers were firing on our men whose orders were simply to feel for the +enemy, but they not only felt for him, but also felt him for as we retired one +man was wounded in the fleshy part of the arm, and through six horses Boer +bullets passed though without fatal effects. And then I rode back with the +little force who in spite of the shower of lead which had passed through their +ranks laughed and chaffed and thought only of their coming breakfast.</p> + +<p><i>Cape Argus</i> (Capetown):—Early this morning two companies Mounted +Infantry under Major Jones proceeded west came into touch with enemy at +Stinkossmulefontein Kopje which lies on farm belonging old Pete Bumbleknuckel +who well known Rand circles his daughter married Jacobus +Pimplewinkel who lost an eye fighting in the Langberg Campaign his cousin +maternal side is Jack Jackson who is one of General Brabant’s most active +Scouts. But to return to the skirmish the mounted infantry succeeded in +locating the enemy retired having effected their object with the loss of one man +and six horses wounded on way back I met native who told me commander +Boer force Lucus Prussic old personal friend mine who curious to relate still +owes me five pounds which borrowed just before I left Johannesburg.</p> + +<p><i>Daily Mail</i> (London):—Shakespeare said better lie bed than go fighting +early morning. I agree but Plutarch said man who lies abed when work +abroad moral coward am not moral coward but all same wish people fight +decent hours fancy going out fighting cold raw morning nothing in stomach but +one miserable cup cocoa however went being late lost my way instead witnessing +fight British side found myself next Boer who not perceive me firing over our +men by happy interposition Providence managed reach our men leaving behind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +enemy’s hand one horse Cape cart pipe lucky get off with life insensibly reminded +celebrated lines Heine “wo ist mein pferd und mein kaap-tart?” no +breakfast when arrived camp kept thinking how Boers enjoying my sausages +drinking my whisky Boers must be destroyed now, with spirit old Roman +I now say “delendi sunt Boeri” though I have greater reason for saying so +since Hannibal’s soldiers never stole sausages and whisky from Roman correspondents.</p> + +<p><i>Morning Post</i> (London):—Stinkossmulefontein mounted Jones reconnoitred +kopje half dismounted half rear enemy fired returned front. Experience say +half gone left flank greater success turning movement only against Boers see +Page 431 Napoleonic Legends also Life Moltke Page 239 Battle Schweitzerkässe. +Had Jones read more Schweitzerkässe—no Moltke—would capture +whole army waggons. Paper should impress importance this all arms.</p> + +<p><i>Reuter</i> (London):—Stinkossmulefontein Thursday via Disselboomlaagte per +despatch riders—Yesterday two companies Mounted Infantry Major Jones +under orders General Flanker proceeded reconnoitre kopje was present what +some may call unimportant rearguard action can say was most important event +entire expedition at distance 2033.4216 yards enemy opened fire. Jones dismounted +A company, B company sent E.N.E. by E. direction rear enemy. At +6.3½ a.m. front rank left section A after returned fire 6.4¼ a.m. Trooper Metford, +fourth man rear rank right section A received wound four inches below left +elbow. Having ascertained strength enemy force returned camp object reconnaissance +accomplished six horses missing five receiving wounds sixth left +behind with staggers not shot as some declare.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Every one exerted himself to make the newspaper a success, +and, as may be imagined, the journal became a source of merriment +and delight. Nor was it without pathos. Mr. Rudyard Kipling, +whose patriotic feeling had dragged him to the scene of action to +view the British flag as erected there by Mr. Thomas Atkins, contributed +his quota. On the death of Mr. G. W. Steevens, the +brilliant young war correspondent, who died in Ladysmith, he wrote +the following lines:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“Through war and pestilence, red siege and fire,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Silent and self-contained, he drew his breath.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Brave not for show of courage, his desire:<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Truth as he saw it, even to the death.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The Naval Brigade was now busy furbishing itself up, and +veritably began to look as “fresh as paint.” The guns received +new coats, and the Bluejackets and marines made themselves spick +and span. It is not often that Tommy waxes enthusiastic over Jack, +but over the conduct of the Naval Brigade he was even eloquent. +One writing home said:—“It was a good job the Boers did not +make a stand at Bloemfontein, for it would have been a great pity +to have had to destroy so fine a town. It would not have taken us +long to have made the town a heap of stones, as in addition to our +ordinary batteries, we had with us ‘Joe Chamberlain’ and five of +his ‘chums’ belonging to the Naval Brigade. I hope when the war<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> +is over you at home will not forget the splendid service of the Naval +men. I for one shall never forget the way in which they dragged +their heavy guns across a most difficult country, or the manner +in which they handled them in the face of the enemy.” On the +21st the Brigade, under Captain Bearcroft, was inspected by Lord +Roberts, who made one of the charming and appropriate speeches +which have always rendered him so popular. He thanked the +Brigade for the excellent work done in the campaign, and wished +good luck to those about to rejoin their ship. The Chief also +eulogised the splendid service of Captain Lambton and his men in +saving the situation at Ladysmith.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile on the east and south of the Free State things were +not entirely comfortable. Commandant Olivier and his hordes, +with their usual cunning, assisted by their remarkable mobility, +were flitting about, now withdrawing before General Brabant, now +evading the equally cunning and active French, now laying in wait +for unprotected detachments, or hanging about railway lines in order +to wreck them, but making themselves scarce with lightning velocity +when a hint of British reinforcements was given by the appearance +of a dust-cloud on the horizon. Fortunately our officers on +the principal line of communications were so vigilant and cautious +that the rail, running through some hundred miles of hostile ground, +was safely protected.</p> + +<p>On the 23rd of March an unlucky incident took place in the +neighbourhood of Karee Siding. Some officers of the Guards +Brigade rode off from Glen Camp in the early morning to make +arrangements with the local farmers for ensuring forage and supplies. +Glen Siding is a station on the Orange Free State Railway some +fourteen miles north of Bloemfontein. Near here the Brigade of +Guards and a force of Mounted Infantry had been stationed owing +to the destruction by the Boers of a bridge on the Modder. Other +troops were posted at intervals along the line of rail in order to watch +over the enemy and prevent any further efforts at dynamite wrecking. +On this day the party consisted of Colonel Crabbe, 3rd Grenadiers +(who greatly distinguished himself in the battle of Belmont, and was +wounded); Colonel Codrington, Coldstreams; Adjutant Hon. E. +Lygon, who was also wounded at Belmont; Captain Trotter, and an +orderly, Private Turner of the 1st Cape Volunteers. Why, when +officers of high rank were so extremely valuable, these two Colonels +should have thus recklessly exposed themselves has never been +satisfactorily explained. The day was spent in making a tour +of the farms, and everything went well until the middle of the +afternoon. While riding along close to a homestead called Maas +Farm, the Guards party discovered that four mounted men were +making for a kopje as though to head them off. Whereupon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +party instantly advanced to meet the enemy. These promptly hid +themselves behind the friendly boulders, where they were joined +by three other Dutchmen, who assisted them in pouring a smart +shower of lead upon the approaching officers. These, with only +four Lee-Metfords between them, made an effort to get at the +unseen enemy, but in a very few moments all the members of the +British band had dropped. Colonel Crabbe had a bullet through +arm and leg, and his horse was killed. Colonel Codrington was +injured in the thigh. Lieutenant Lygon was shot through the heart +and died instantaneously, while Captain Trotter and Private Turner +were also wounded. The situation was a lamentable one. The +veldt was strewn with helpless men, while from the kopje the Dutchmen +continued to fire, the flute-like song of the Mauser falling +ominously on the ears of the gallant men who were unable to move +a limb in defence. Then between the prostrate Colonels a debate +took place. Now that resistance was useless, each invited the other +to display a white handkerchief. One refused because he declared +he couldn’t—his handkerchief was a crimson one. The other refused +because he vowed he wouldn’t—his handkerchief was a British one, +and never manufactured for waving at Boers. But, finally, he was +brought to reason, and immediately on the display of the magic +square the Boers ceased fire. They now emerged from their +boulders, tended the wounded, spoke apologetically of their good +marksmanship, and finally carried off their prizes to the neighbouring +farm. Here the prisoners were fed and carefully looked after till +evening. A messenger was sent to the Guards’ Camp at Glen +requesting surgeons and an ambulance to remove the wounded to +their headquarters, and on the arrival of the medical party the +officers were given up by their captors and allowed to return to camp +in their charge. They were relieved of their warlike belongings, +firearms, and glasses, &c., but their private effects remained in their +pockets undisturbed.</p> + +<p>The body of the Hon. E. Lygon was also removed, but the next +day, in accordance with the wishes of his family, it was interred in +the wild and lonely spot where he met his death.</p> + +<p>On the 27th of March Sir Alfred Milner arrived at Bloemfontein +on a private visit, and was met by Lord Roberts and his +Staff. General French returned from Thabanchu after having +occupied the town and captured the flour-mills.</p> + +<p>Lord Kitchener also reappeared. His operations had been short +and to the point. He came on the same day from Prieska, having +received the submission of some 200 rebels, and put to flight such of +them as had no taste for an encounter with “the man of ice and +iron” as the Italians called the hero of Omdurman.</p> + +<p>Towards Ladybrand news was less satisfactory. The British<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> +loyalists, owing to their sympathy with their fellow-countrymen, were +subjected to annoyance and cruelty. Many of them were captured, +imprisoned, and some were sent to Kroonstad, which had been +declared to be the capital of the Free State. Daily, English farmers +were commandeered, robbed, threatened. The smart activities of +Olivier had produced a lamentable effect on the state of affairs, as it +was now impossible to afford full protection to the farmers in the +south-east and east who had surrendered their rifles, and who were +subjected to the vengeful barbarity of the Boers. The mistaken +policy of leniency to the Free Staters was now being demonstrated, +the “live and let live” principle having helped Olivier to gather +together under his banner such of the enemy as had met us with a +Janus-faced surrender. Those who fight and run away, live to fight +another day; and on this cautious code the Free Staters had +modelled their manners, so as to reserve themselves for further +truculent exploits. Again British magnanimity was mistaken for +weakness, and the temporary success of their manœuvres in the east +was causing the Boers to indulge in reprisals of abominable kind on +British born people, whose action in surrendering was the only possible +one in the circumstances. A rumour existed that the late +President Steyn had issued orders that all British burghers refusing +to fight with the Boer army would be shot.</p> + +<p>On the 27th of March a formidable figure was removed from the +drama in South Africa. General Joubert, who had long been in somewhat +delicate health (so much so that in his campaigns he was +accompanied by his wife, who cooked for him), now suddenly succumbed +to an acute attack of inflammation of the kidneys. General +Joubert was much esteemed by all who knew him. In him the +Boers lost not only a remarkable commander, but an enlightened and +level-headed politician. It was declared that had the General succeeded +to the Presidency in 1895, the whole Uitlander agitation would +have ceased to exist. The deceased Dutchman had moderately +progressive views, and he announced his belief that the demand +for a five years’ franchise was a reasonable one. He also discountenanced +the idea of war, and in many ways used the influence +he had with his countrymen in the cause of reason and liberality of +outlook. At times he seemed to desire friendly co-operation with +Great Britain. For this cause he was accused by his more narrow +countrymen of being half-hearted in the Africander cause, and was +intrigued against by Mr. Kruger and such of the subsidised +sympathisers as the President could gather around him. Still his +attitude may be gauged by his famous speech in 1878:—</p> + +<p>“I have been to England, and have with my own eyes seen the +might of that mighty nation. And let me tell you that England is a +very mighty nation—in my opinion the mightiest in the world. But,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +thank God, it is not almighty.” And his motto, which he invented +for himself, was, “Trust in God, and fight England.”</p> + +<p>On hearing the news of General Joubert’s death, Lord Roberts +sent the following to President Kruger:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“I have just received the news of General Joubert’s death, and desire at once +to offer my sincere condolence to your Honour and the burghers of the South +African Republic on the sad event.</p> + +<p>“I would ask you to convey to General Joubert’s family the expression of +my most respectful sympathy in their sad bereavement, and to assure them also +from me that all ranks of her Majesty’s forces serving in South Africa share +my feeling of deep regret at the sudden and untimely end of so distinguished a +general, who devoted his life to the service of his country, and whose personal +gallantry was only surpassed by his humane conduct and chivalrous bearing +under all circumstances.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>On the afternoon of the 29th the funeral took place, and many +wreaths were sent by the British officers in the Pretoria prison.</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">THE BATTLE OF KARREE</h3> + +<p>Karree Station is situated some seventy miles north of Bloemfontein, +and here the Dutchmen were distributed on kopjes commanding +the railway west and north. As they promised to be an +impediment to further progress, Lord Roberts decided that they +must be removed. Generals Tucker, Wavell, and Chermside, with +infantry and artillery, were already in the vicinity. To join them +General French started from Bloemfontein with reinforcements +on the 28th of March. These consisted of a Cavalry Brigade +composed of 12th Lancers, the Carabineers, the Greys, the +Australian Horse, a Mounted Infantry Brigade, Kitchener’s Horse, +and three Vickers-Maxim guns under Colonel Le Gallais.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 360px;"> +<a name="ill_261" id="ill_261"></a><img src="images/ill_261.png" width="360" height="512" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">Mr M. T. STEYN.<br /> +<br /> +LATE PRESIDENT ORANGE FREE STATE.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">From “South Africa” by permission of the Publishers.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The artillery planted their shells with admirable exactness on +the kopjes west of Karree where the enemy had ensconced himself. +Meanwhile, in a wonderful and almost invisible manner, +an enveloping movement was organised, Colonel Le Gallais, the +Mounted Infantry, and Kitchener’s Horse operating on the right wing, +while General French with 1st and 3rd Cavalry Brigades were on +the left. General Chermside’s Brigade was on the right centre, and +General Wavell’s on the left centre. About midday the enemy was +discovered near a farmhouse some two miles east of Karree. The +Dutchmen then began to fire from some small kopjes, on the infantry. +From this point they were routed by the smart action of the +Norfolks, but they continually reappeared, there being some five +thousand of them, under Grobler, occupying four different positions, +with a frontage some three miles long. Both ends of the position +were strengthened by trenches and guns. The right flank consisted +of a thickly wooded hill connected with the main position by a ridge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> +also covered with scrub. The left was protected by an incrustation +of minor kopjes, and round these fastnesses the Boers clung +tenaciously.</p> + +<p>The finest performance of the day was that of the East Lancashires, +who, with comparatively small loss, eventually succeeded in +moving the enemy from his main stronghold. The City Imperial +Volunteers also distinguished themselves, the men advancing the +first time under fire with the utmost coolness.</p> + +<p>While the enemy were retreating from the assault of the Lancashires +General French’s guns opened on them, and with such good +result that the fight was practically at an end, for the Boers having +begun to beat a retreat were forced finally to scuttle off as fast as +legs would carry them. Till sunset the artillery continued to direct +deadly attentions to the various kopjes, thus deciding the Dutchmen +that their efforts to run and return would be of no avail. Dusk was +setting in, and consequently the cavalry failed to pursue them, and +they succeeded once more in getting away clear. Owing to the +rapidity with which the night came on, most of the troops, who +had experienced some very trying hours of fighting, bivouacked where +they were.</p> + +<p>The battery on the right centre was unable to come into action +owing to the nature of the ground, which was sliced with ravines and +blotched with irregularities, but nevertheless the upshot of the day’s +work was satisfactory, as the country as far as the little town of +Brandfort—important to us in our future operations—was swept +clear of the enemy, and henceforth the British outposts covered the +ground gained and preserved it from further incursions of the nimble +Dutchmen.</p> + +<p>The casualties were numerous:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>King’s Own Scottish Borderers.—<i>Killed.</i>—Capt. A. C. Going. <i>Wounded.</i>—Lieut. +E. M. Young, dangerously (since dead); Second Lieut. B. J. Coulson; +Capt. W. D. Sellar. Norfolk Regiment.—Capt. E. Peebles; Capt. A. H. +Luard. Lincolnshire Regiment.—Capt. L. Edwards. South Wales Borderers.—Lieut. +W. C. Curgenven. Hampshire Regiment.—Lieut. C. N. French. 1st +Dragoon Guards.—Capt. W. M. Marter (Brigade Major).</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smaller">MAFEKING IN MARCH</span></h2> + +<p>Five months of beleaguerment and no nearer the end! +Ruefully the caged crowd began to draw pictures of +themselves as weird Rip Van Winkles, curious fossilised +things that would some day be unearthed by the inquiring +historian. They wondered whether Ginevra in her sealed +oaken chest felt more lost to the world, more forgotten, more impossible +of rescue! “We,” said some one who shall be nameless, +“we are all modern Ginevras—only no one seems to look for us, +and, by-and-by, perhaps no one will even mourn. It is five months, +you see! Ginevra was probably asphyxiated in five hours, whereas +we—we do the thing more sluggishly—more painfully—we starve +mentally and physically by slow degrees. If we get air, it is air +that is best not respired.” Nevertheless, these people sent forth to +the world radiant accounts of their doings, and sported the mask of +Punchinello over the visage of Melpomene. It was very British, +this jocose unreserve that was a still more tragic reserve, this +festivity on the lips with famine gnawing at the vitals.</p> + +<p>Fever, the fever of heat, ennui, and mental and bodily depression, +had begun to assail the unfortunate besieged. The climate of +Mafeking—in ordinary circumstances most inspiriting—was becoming +tainted, and the feeling of creeping malaria swept over all +who were forced to remain cooped within the sorry regions. But +the chief on whose wits the whole community depended defied the +malign influence of his surroundings. During the day, with +reserved, adamantine calm, he busied himself inventing the +thousand and one projects by which might be defeated any possible +move of the enemy, in reviving the spirits of his followers, and +providing for their appetites, in fighting against the encroachments +of disease and retaining the perfect discipline, which was no easy +matter in so small a radius with so many conflicting emotions to be +dealt with. At night, stealthy as a cat, he would creep forth to +make the necessary investigations and acquaint himself with the +state of the force opposing him, and if possible discover the Boer +machinations of the future. Creeping along the veldt all eyes and +ears, he gathered inspiration from a glimmer, the sound of a hoof, +the flutter of bird and rustle of bush. Even the colour of the darkness +in east and west gave him unspoken hints of designs nefarious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>—secrets +or prophetic warnings of movements to be. And then he +would return from his mysterious peregrinations primed with notions +ingenious and plans elaborate, and remain for the day under the +roof of the verandah of the headquarters office concocting some of +the multitudinous schemes which confounded the Boers and frustrated +their best efforts at assault.</p> + +<p>On the 3rd of March a little peace was secured owing to the +disappearance of the Teuton who worked the huge gun. He had +been what was described as “providentially potted.” On the +other hand a more valuable life than that of the German mercenary +had been sacrificed, for Sergeant-Major Taylor of the Cape Boys, +who had been doing splendid work for his country, fell early in +the morning mortally wounded. The Boers fired something under +forty shells before breakfast, and might have pursued their activities +the whole day had the loss of their chief gunner not damped their +ardour and forced them to postpone their activities to a more convenient +period. They nevertheless “sniped” at intervals throughout +the following Sunday, doubtless with the righteous desire to +avenge their artillery-man.</p> + +<p>New brooms sweep clean. As a fresh gunner had come upon +the scene, there now began some more active bombardment. But +the activity was no longer what it had been, and but for the meagreness +of the fare, and the fear that the rations might diminish till they +became invisible, the besieged would have got on fairly well. On +the 7th there died an adventurous Scotsman whose history would +have delighted the heart of the late Robert Louis Stevenson. +Major Baillie in his sparkling account of the siege gave a brief +outline of his romantic career. “Trooper M’Donald joined the +Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1847, served in the Crimea +(French and Sardinian medals and two clasps) and in the Indian +Mutiny, was kidnapped when embarking home by Americans, fought +for the North against the South, deserted the North and fought for +the South, afterwards went to Australia, thence to New Zealand, +and served in the Maori War, in which he was taken prisoner. +Later he came to South Africa, served in the Basuto War with +Sir Charles Warren’s expedition, Carrington’s Horse, the Bechuanaland +Border Police, and transferred to the Cape Police, in which +corps he has died of hardships and old age, fighting the Boers.” The +Major went on to say: “He is not the only Crimean veteran we +have here. Both the Navy and Army are represented. Mr. Ellis +joined the Royal Navy in 1854, served in the Baltic and the Black +Sea, came to Africa and served in the Galika War. Mr. Brasier +served in the Crimea and the Mutiny, and there are others of whose +records of service I am not so certain. The contrast between them +and the cadet corps, utilised for orderly work, &c., is remarkable, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> +if the Boers have their greybeards and boys fighting, why so have we.” +The cadet corps was composed of youths ranging from the ages of +ten to fifteen years, game little fellows who did their duty splendidly.</p> + +<p>The great news of the capture of Cronje and his horde now +served to raise the drooping spirits of the community. It was +also reported that Snyman was on the move, and that Malan, who +was opposing Colonel Plumer, had come into the neighbourhood of +Mafeking. Sounds of rejoicing came from the Boer camp, and on +the following day Boers with their field kit were seen to be clearing +off. The information that the force was marching to Bloemfontein, +that Cape Colony was being swept of rebels, that Ladysmith was +relieved, now poured in, and caused the whole place to become simply +inebriated with joy.</p> + +<p>On the 9th of March, to commemorate the victory at Paardeberg, +a special siege slip was published at the newspaper office. The +news was announced in the form of a poster, and concluded with the +effectively printed information: “Cronje a prisoner. Snyman to +be hanged.” Copies were afterwards liberally pelted into the Boer +quarter, who digested the news with their morning biltong.</p> + +<p>On the 11th (Sunday) a truce was observed. The Colonel, +writing at that date, said:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Our men, sitting upon the parapets, held a friendly conversation with a +detachment of the enemy, and an enterprising photographer endeavoured to +get them into line while he photographed them, but they were evidently suspicious, +and feared the temptation to turn a Maxim upon them instead of a +camera would prove too great. Small parties appeared throughout the day, +and amicable relations were maintained until dark.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>The Boers outside were a hardy and stalwart lot, brawny and +uncouth and unkempt, though from a distance not unpicturesque. In +their rough-and-tumble attire no two were alike. Some were +slouching in velveteen coats and soft felt hats, others in black +jackets with “billycocks,” and all with the inevitable well-worn +neckerchief that some one suggested might “come in handy for turtle +soup.” Their bandoliers and their Martini and Mauser rifles gave +them a certain uniformity of aspect, but otherwise they seemed the +most motley gang that the hands of fate could have shuffled together. +Some of the Boers did not approve of the camera, and +were inclined to suspect the British of attempting dodges equal to +their own, but others took a pride in being portrayed.</p> + +<p>A remarkable, almost a pathetic, feature of Mafeking fighting +was the strange ability of both sides to fraternise when hostilities +were suspended. The fact was that the combatants were linked +together by ties of relationship so mysteriously interwoven that the +fights partook of the nature of civil war—brothers and cousins-in-law, +and, in one case, two brothers, contending on either side of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +battlefield. Naturally, when the bloody business of their lives was +ended, they were inclined to foregather, to compare losses and +make kindly inquiries strangely inconsistent with the trend of +their antagonistic pursuits. The Colonel further reported:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Sergeant Currie has been promoted to the rank of a commissioned officer. +He has thus risen by gallantry and hard work from a third-class private to be +a lieutenant within five months. Early on Monday morning (12th) the enemy +recommenced the bombardment with their six-inch gun, which had been comparatively +silent the previous week, now firing shrapnel. Used against troops +in the open the fire of these projectiles is ineffectual as long as cover can be +obtained, but they are more dangerous to persons passing to the front from +the streets of the town. A detachment of Colonial native troops, under +Lieutenant Mackenzie, made an advance on Jackal Tree Fort, the position +originally occupied by the siege gun on the south-western heights. The Boers +got wind of the movement, and evacuated the position before it could be carried +through. To cover the advance on Jackal Tree Fort, a detachment of Baralong +natives were despatched to make a feint attack on Fort Snyman, a new work +recently erected by the Boers, and threatening the most advanced western +position. They succeeded in creeping to within thirty yards of the enemy, many +of whom were sleeping outside, and when near the fort poured in two or three +rapid volleys. Trooper Webb got sufficiently close to the fort to blow out the +brains of one of the enemy. The natives then beat a rapid retreat, in accordance +with instructions previously given to them, having inflicted some losses +upon the enemy. In the brickfields the Cape Boys were reinforced by a detachment +of Protectorate troops under Captain Fitzclarence.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>All were much perturbed at the sad news of the death of the genial +young trooper, Webb of the Cape Police, who was shot through +the head while on guard in the brickfields. This gallant fellow had +been previously wounded in October, and had been carried off under +fire by Trooper Stevens, and had only just returned to duty when +he lost his life—possibly in revenge for the act described above.</p> + +<p>According to Colonel Baden-Powell’s despatch of this date, a +raiding party of Baralongs, who had gone out on their own initiative, +encountered a patrol of the enemy, and opened fire upon +them, killing one man, whose rifle and bandolier they secured. +The enemy retired for reinforcements, but the Baralongs ambushed +these reinforcements from a convenient ditch at Madibi Siding, +and the enemy fell back in confusion, losing six men. The Baralongs, +being unable to cope with long-range fire, then commenced +to retire on Mafeking, having captured two horses with saddles and +bridles. Finding the Boers were in pursuit, and fearing the arrival +of reinforcements from the investing forces, however, they returned +to a kopje in the vicinity of Madibi. Here they maintained their +position until dark, and then made good their retreat into the stadt, +having lost one killed and bringing in a few wounded. Three of +the party were missing.</p> + +<p>It was impossible to prevent the Baralongs from retaliating by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> +raids of this description upon those whom they called the murderers +of their women and children. Mr. C. G. Bell, however, rendered +invaluable service in dealing with the natives, and a board was +appointed by the Colonel commanding to go thoroughly into the +native question.</p> + +<p>The Colonel described the effects of the bombardment on the +following day:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“On Tuesday a shrapnel shell, bursting just about my bomb-proof, sprinkled +the wall of the fire brigade office with bullets, which entered the bedrooms of +Dixon’s Hotel. These were unoccupied, but afterwards a steel-plated shell +passed through the wall of the office, and when spent fell beneath the table, +and was scrambled for by the staff of clerks. In the afternoon a shell, bursting +in the court-house, killed two natives and wounded four, slightly injuring +another. All these belonged to an unfortunate working party who happened +to be passing at the moment. A woman was also slightly wounded.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>The conduct of the Boers towards the natives varied according to +the policy of the commandant engaged in subduing Mafeking. A +Scottish farmer who remained some ten miles south of the heroic +hamlet, said that in the beginning of the war the Boers were not so +severe on the natives as they were later on. About Christmas-time +natives began to come out of Mafeking and loot cattle to take back +into the town. Then the Boers were ordered to give no quarter to +natives. If this order had had reference to those found looting +cattle, it would only have been according to the rules of warfare, but +the Boers were told to shoot down any strange native found in the +veldt without a pass from their people; and this was done in a very +large number of cases, their bodies being left to rot on the veldt as +if they were dogs. In some cases they had come out of Mafeking, +which need hardly be wondered at, in view of the scarcity of food +amongst the natives there. Considering the risk run, it was wonderful +how natives could be found willing to creep through the Boer +lines with despatches; but the natives are certainly anything but +cowards.</p> + +<p>Towards the middle of March the attitude of the Boers towards +the natives improved, and they began to allow fugitives to escape +through their lines. The reason for this change of front was attributed +to a desire to conciliate the Baralongs in the event of Boer +defeat, and to keep them from raiding into Boer territory when +their time for reprisals might come.</p> + +<p>Native spies brought in all manner of rumours, to the effect that +Colonel Plumer’s armoured train had reached Pitsani Pothlugo, +notable as Jameson’s starting-point on his famous raid, and that the +enemy was concentrating at Ramathlabama to prevent the advance +of the relieving force. But news certainly lost nothing by passing +through the medium of native channels, and the inhabitants of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> +Mafeking were not over credulous. The great ideal of the Bechuanas +was Dr. Jameson, and he, it was averred, was coming down +from Buluwayo with an army to relieve Mafeking. One rumour +had it that the famous raider had totally annihilated a Boer laager +with a bomb from a balloon! Over an extensive area, west and +south of Mafeking, all the natives had been compelled to leave their +homes, and were placed near the Transvaal border with a view—it +was thought—to prevent despatches passing through to Mafeking. +Whatever the object, such a proceeding, especially in the wet season, +was very cruel. The poor people were robbed of their herds and +household goods, and driven away, and deposited like cattle wherever +the Boers thought fit to place them.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 478px;"> +<a name="ill_269" id="ill_269"></a><img src="images/ill_269.png" width="478" height="340" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Native Church, Mafeking.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>On the 18th the Boers were found in occupation of the new +trench which had just been triumphantly constructed by the besieged. +It was, as Mr. Neilly said, “like the soldier crab who gets into the +shell of a winkle when the winkle has gone out for a walk. As a +rule the soldier crab keeps what he has gained, but in this case the +winkle came back and recovered his shell.” He did so very promptly. +Lieutenant Feltham and a small party advanced and threw bombs +at the intruders, which caused them quickly to evacuate their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +trenches. Then some of the Bechuanaland Volunteers “speeded +the parting guest” with a smart fusillade from the flank, and the +prized trench was recovered.</p> + +<p>On the 20th the Boers appeared to be breaking up their western +laager, and on the 23rd it was discovered that the enemy had evacuated +his positions in the brickfields. These were promptly annexed +and dismantled by the Mafeking men. Major Panzera had what +some one called “a real sporting day.” From morn till night he +plied his Hotchkiss and kept the Boers active till dusk. After dark +the acetyline searchlight built by the railwaymen was erected at +the main work, but no demonstration from the direction of the enemy +took place. Then started off Lieutenant Murray and trooper +Mallalen (Cape Police) to reconnoitre. On reaching the enemy’s +sap they crawled round cautiously on hands and knees to investigate. +It was a ticklish moment, but they were rewarded. They +peered in and made the discovery that the Boers had vanished. +They crept still farther along the connecting trench to the rear of +the main work and made assurance doubly sure. The Dutchmen +were flown. So rapid had been their flight that biltong, biscuits, +and journals were left behind. Quick as thought the trench was +dismantled. Then Sergeant Page (Protectorate Regiment) burrowed +about for the mine which he and Mr. Kiddy had laid in the direction +of this trench in the early days of the siege. The Boers had +“slimly” unearthed the dynamite, and presently it was discovered +that the evacuated trench was connected by a copper wire with the +enemy’s line. This was carefully cut. Then its direction was traced, +and a neat little plot of the Boers exposed itself to view. They had +arranged some 250 pounds of war gelatine and dynamite in the trench, +which, at a given moment, a touch from the wily Dutchman on the +look-out was meant to explode and blow some of the garrison into +the air.</p> + +<p>This failure served to depress the Boers, and for a time their +siege gun ceased fire, something having gone wrong with its works. +Colonel Baden-Powell was very proud of the brickfield’s success and +those who contributed to it. Colonel Vyvyan, Inspector Marsh +(Cape Police), Majors Panzera and Fitzclarence, Inspector Browne, +Lieutenant Currie (Cape Police), Sergeant Page, and trooper +Thompson (Cape Police), were all eulogised in general orders.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 482px;"> +<a name="ill_271" id="ill_271"></a><img src="images/ill_271.png" width="482" height="436" alt="" title="" /> +<div class="caption"> +<table summary="" class="w100"> +<tr> +<td class="center">(Captain).</td> +<td class="center">(Sergeant).</td> +</tr> +</table> +THE CAPE TOWN HIGHLANDERS.<br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Photo by J. E. Bruton, Cape Town.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>The captured newspapers afforded great satisfaction to the +beleaguered company, for they recounted the entry of Lord Roberts +to Bloemfontein, the surrender of Cronje, and the relief of Ladysmith. +The intelligence was intensely heartening, and the garrison +seemed to gain in backbone—not that it had ever been deficient +in that quality. But now its obstinate resistance of the Boers was +resumed with renewed zest.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> + +<p>It must be noted that besides the Baralongs, who defended +their own stadt, were four other black contingents—the Fingoes, +under Webster; the Cape Boys, under Lieutenant Currie, B.S.C.P., +who succeeded Captain Goodyear when that officer was wounded; +a detachment of Baralongs, under Sergeant Abrams; and a Zulu +crowd, called the “Black Watch,” under Mackenzie. All these +contingents “put their backs into it,” and rejoiced in making things +as hot and uncomfortable for the enemy as they could.</p> + +<p>In default of other amusement some of the inhabitants interested +themselves in the Dutch snipers, and began to grow so familiar +with them that they resorted to the primeval mode of christening, +that of designating each individual by his personal attributes. One +would be called “Bow-legs,” another “Bluebeard,” or “Draggle +Beard,” and so on. One Rip Van Winkle was particularly admired. +Despite his years and his probable “rheumatics,” he would +take up his post from dawn till dusk, and snipe with persistence +worthy a better cause. His patience and perseverance somewhat +endeared him to the garrison, and there was felt to be something +missing in the excitement of life when it was found that he, like +many of his compatriots, had been “curried,” otherwise “dished,” +by Lieutenant Currie, B.S.C.P., and his ever-active contingent. +These cheery fellows in off moments were ready enough to exchange +jocosities with the foe, almost treating him, despite his +barbarism, as one of themselves.</p> + +<p>The correspondent of the <i>Pall Mall Gazette</i> quoted a sample +scene to describe the style of friendly intercourse that took place.</p> + +<p>“Cape ‘boy’ to Boer: ‘Could you hit a bottle?’ ‘Yes, I think +so. Put one up.’ (A hand rises cautiously to the top of the British +trench, and a black bottle is deposited there.)</p> + +<p>“Boer: ‘I can’t see it. Put it higher.’ (The Cape ‘boy’ +balances a hat on the head of the bottle and says, ‘There you are; +you can see that.’) The Boer fires, and the bullet flies wide.</p> + +<p>“Cape ‘boy’: ‘Wide to the left.’ (Boer fires again and asks, +‘Is that nearer?’)</p> + +<p>“Cape ‘boy’: ‘Rather high.’ Boer fires a third shot that comes +through the loophole.</p> + +<p>“The Cape soldier announces the result, and the Boer, fearing +that he will lose his good reputation for marksmanship, and angered +by his bad display, sings out—</p> + +<p>“‘Look here, you rooinek, we were sent here not to shoot +bottles, but men.’”</p> + +<p>Curiously enough many of the Boers were hopelessly ignorant +and unsophisticated. They hardly knew what they were fighting +for, and one raw individual was heard to declare that he didn’t +believe the Queen had caused this war, but the foreman of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> +English Raad. They retained their bumptiousness in all circumstances. +After a victory they would brag of the number of +British killed, about 80,000 as a rule, their news being gleaned from +the imaginative columns of the <i>Standard and Diggers’ News</i>. On +the subject of defeat they were reticent, but fairly confident that the +Dutch flag in a month or two was bound to be floating over South +Africa.</p> + +<p>On Sunday the 25th, a great Siege Exhibition took place—an exhibition +notable for its originality. Among the articles on view were +bonnets which had been trimmed with “siege” materials by ladies of +the town. These were never tired of showing their usefulness and +versatility, but, as Lady Sarah Wilson—a host in herself—declared +in the <i>Daily Mail</i>, “even the dogs played a prominent part in the siege. +One belonging to the base commandant was wounded no less than +three times; another, a rough Irish terrier, accompanied the Protectorate +Regiment in all its engagements; a third amused itself by +running after the small Maxim shells, barking loudly and trying +hard to retrieve pieces; while the Resident Commissioner’s dog, a +prudent animal, whenever she heard the alarm-bell tore into the +bomb-proof attached to her master’s redoubt, and remained there +till the explosion was over. The sagacious creatures rendered themselves +most valuable, for no sooner had the warning bell announced +the firing of a shell than the town dogs began to bark loudly in all +quarters, thus enabling persons who, owing to the direction of the +wind or other circumstances, had failed to note the signal, to escape +to their shelters.” The natives were much more apathetic, and +Reuter’s correspondent gave curious instances of their stupidity and +<i>laisser faire</i>. “They would gather in great crowds round the soup-kitchens +in the town, and when bells were rung warning them that +the enemy’s 6-inch gun had been fired they were too lazy to take +cover in the lee of the surrounding buildings, and had to be driven +to do so by means of sticks and sjamboks. Many would rather die +than work, and were too lazy to attempt the now comparatively safe +journey to Kanya.”</p> + +<p>It was annoying to hear perpetual rumours of relief and to find +relief as far off as ever. Runners continually brought in telegrams +of congratulation, which added not a little to the bitterness of +incarceration. At one moment Plumer seemed to be coming; he +was said to be only eleven miles off, and the town was in ecstasies; +at another bombardment began briskly as ever, and spirits descended +to zero. One of the besieged, writing home on March 22, said:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“Things are going on as usual. Every one is heartily sick and tired of the +siege. Colonel Plumer, with 1500 men, is only about thirty-five miles away, +with provisions for us.... Every one here feels the want of more, better, +and varied food. A friend of ours was very ill for ten days, and the only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> +comforts the doctor could order were two tins of milk and some lunch biscuits! +There is no margarine left in the town, and the Commissariat Department +is calling in all the starch. The hospital is very full; and there is a good deal of +malarial and typhoid fever.... Sometimes the bread is awful, black, and made +from locally-crushed oats, with all the husks on, simply split in long pieces. +We are all downright hungry, and cannot buy a bit of food, except on some +special occasion. Last Sunday Weil’s store was allowed to sell certain articles +of food, <i>e.g.</i> pea flour and margarine; former, 2s. 6d. a tin; latter, 3s. per lb. +The crush outside the store was so great that women fainted, and some were +waiting for hours, and then unable to get in.... The railings of the park +and tennis-courts are used for firing, and we are authorised to use our +fences for the same purpose. Our meat is good, but poor and tough. We +almost entirely depend upon the natives looting enemy’s cattle, and sometimes +we have horse-flesh, but that I cannot manage, so on those days I am hungrier +than ever.... My husband is quarter-master-sergeant in charge of the +rations—not a very enviable billet. The whole town is on rations. We are all +under martial law, and Colonel Baden-Powell looks after us all, and we may be +very thankful that the defence of Mafeking has been entrusted to such a +capable man.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>The menu was not variegated. You took your choice between +a species of porridge (made from the husks of oats fermented for +some hours prior to boiling) and a noxious brown biscuit, or, as the +Indians called it, “chupattie.” But it had none of the savouriness +of the chupattie, and was described as a cross between a ship’s +biscuit and a baked brick. It was certainly filling at the price, so +filling, in fact, that those who devoured it suffered from what was +styled “hippopotamus on the chest” for some hours afterwards.</p> + +<p>March 27th was described as the hottest day in the siege, the +mud walls of Mafeking being liberally dosed to the tune of 200 +shells by Creusots and quick-firing Krupps. As many as 250 shells +were said to have been fired into the town, while the 100-pounder +was responsible for 70. Sergeant Abrams, of the Cape Police, an +officer who had been in the thick of the whole siege, was caught by +a high-velocity shell and had the misfortune to lose his foot. Some +of the shells penetrated the bomb-proofs, and one or two persons +were more or less injured. It was calculated that during the sixty-four +days of the siege as many as 1300 shells from the 100-pound +Creusot, independently of minor missiles, had descended in the +midst of the valorous community. Some of the shells were sold as +curios and fetched as much as five guineas apiece; rarer ones sold +for ten or twelve. The losses of the garrison up to this date were: +Killed and missing: 7 officers and 93 men, besides 53 native and +other non-combatants. Wounded: 11 officers and 38 men, besides +114 native and other non-combatants.</p> + +<p>The congratulations of the Lord Mayor of London on the relief +now arrived, and all began to hope that “coming events cast their +shadows before.” But cruel disappointment followed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p> + +<p>Heavy firing was reported from the north on the 31st, and there +was tremendous excitement. One and all agreed that it was +Colonel Plumer coming to the rescue. They hoped, they prayed, +and when at last the sounds died away hope died with them. The +next morning explained it. General Snyman sent in a letter under +a flag of truce requesting Colonel Baden-Powell to send an ambulance +for Colonel Plumer’s dead! A horrible description of the +battlefield “strewn with corpses” followed, and caused deep concern +to those who were the cause of the gallant enterprise which had +cost so many lives. Fortunately only three bodies were found, but +these had rifled pockets, while the boots of one had been removed. +The action of removing boots from the dead savours of the barbaric, +but it must be remembered that the Boers, and indeed some of our +own men, were almost soleless. War brings about strange conditions +and strange ethics. A trooper, one of the remnant of the +Light Brigade, told a strange story of how on that “great occasion” +he came on the corpse of a Russian officer magnificently booted, +while he himself could barely hobble in his tatters. He could not +resist the prize, and possessed himself of the much-needed apparel. +He was in the act of going off in triumph when his conscience +smote him; he returned, and taking off his own boots reverentially +clothed the feet of the dead man! He appeased his qualms by +arguing that exchange was not robbery!</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">COLONEL PLUMER’S OPERATIONS</h3> + +<p>Colonel Plumer lived in the hope of joining hands with Colonel +Baden-Powell at Mafeking, and messages were successfully interchanged +between the two officers. Life in the north was occupied +mainly with skirmishes and the repairs of railway lines and culverts, +which were needed along almost every mile of route. Between +Gaberones and Crocodile Pools the engineers worked arduously, +under the protection of an armoured train and a strong body of +dismounted men. Very useful information was received of the +Boers’ whereabouts from papers contained in a Boer mail-bag +captured between Sequani and Sauerpoord. The Boers were +found to be in force at Crocodile Pools, and to have in their possession +two cannon and two machine-guns, and here it was evident +they meant to harass any progressive movement of the British.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 756px;"> +<a name="ill_277" id="ill_277"></a><a href="images/ill_277.png"><img src="images/ill_277th.png" width="756" height="271" alt="" title="" /></a> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Map showing the Advance from the North and the South for the Relief of Mafeking.</span><br /> +<br /> +The above sketch-plan of Mafeking shows the Boer trenches and the British lines of defence round the town, with the +localities and dates of the principal fights which have taken place between the besiegers and besieged. Above and below +the plan (though not, of course, upon the same scale) there is a map of the country between Kimberley and Tuli. The +margin is divided into spaces of twenty-five miles, measuring from Mafeking north and south, and the advance of Plumer +from the north and of Methuen from the south is shown step by step. +</div></div> + +<p>On the 11th of January Colonel Plumer, with a portion of his +forces, arrived near Mochudi. The Boers—about 200—were reported +to have gathered some thirty miles to the south-east, while +others were entrenched on the kopjes by the railway at Crocodile +Pools. With them were said to be guns in charge of German +officers—an objectionable discovery for the British, who were almost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> +gunless! There was reason to suppose that discontent reigned +among the Boers owing to scarcity of provisions, and that they were +longing to throw up the sponge and return to their farms. They +found life in the trenches and kopjes not what is vulgarly described +as “all beer and skittles,” and began to think of the coming seasons +which would find them empty as the fabled grasshopper in winter.</p> + +<p>Some of the troops also proceeded to Gaberones, where three +armoured trains were kept active. On the 12th a Boer patrol made +an effort to burn a bridge a mile north of the station, but was frustrated +by the promptness with which Lieutenant Wallis brought +No. 3 armoured train on the scene. When the enemy fell back on +the station they were welcomed by No. 1 armoured train under +Colonel Llewellyn, and the welcome was so unexpected and so +hearty that the enemy bolted. Owing to the darkness they got off +in safety. Reconnaissances were made, and it was discovered that +the Boers were located one mile south of Crocodile Pools.</p> + +<p>Major Bird made a reconnaissance on the 23rd of January—with +four squadrons of the Rhodesian Regiment—in the direction of a +Boer laager. In consequence of a storm of rain operations could +not be carried as far as intended, but some of the enemy were +dislodged from a hill, and two horses and two Transvaal flags +were captured.</p> + +<p>On the 31st an animated artillery duel took place between +Colonel Plumer and Commandant Eloff, and on the following +day it was some satisfaction to see the Boers busily engaged +in repairing the havoc wrought by the British 12½-pounder on +their fort. On the 2nd of February more activities took place. +Major Bird, with 150 mounted infantry and one 7-pounder, made a +demonstration on the right flank of the Boer position. This occupied +a ridge running for a mile and a half from south-west to north-east. +In the centre of the ridge was a nek, which was protected on +either side by a fringe of Boer sharpshooters. This nek became +the object of British attention, and Lieutenants Harland and Blunt +with their men poured on it some forty volleys, to which the Boers +replied, but without serious effect. While the rattling of musketry +was kept up by the mounted infantry, a 7-pounder, manned by the +British South African Police, escorted by troopers under Captain Maclaren, +shelled the nek. Whereupon the Boers brought into play a +12½-pounder, which forced the British 7-pounder to retire. The +weapon, however, was met by one of its own calibre, which was +posted near Basuto kopje, and a spirited contest ensued. On the +4th of February the hostile guns were silenced by well-directed +shells adroitly dropped by Lieutenant Montmorency in the middle +of the Boer fortress.</p> + +<p>Colonel Plumer, though still too weak to make a decisive move<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> +on, was bent on energetically annoying the Boers, but night escapades +for some time were stopped by infamous weather. On the first +opportunity Major Bird devised a midnight attack, which, unfortunately, +was more costly than successful. In dense darkness, on the +night of the 11th of February, the troops deployed at the base of +a thorny and rocky ridge at Crocodile Pools Bridge, where the +enemy was entrenched. No sooner had the men neared the summit +than they came on wire entanglements and thorny scrub, and in +surmounting wire and bush they necessarily made some noise. +This set the Boer dogs barking and the Boer pickets blazing with +their rifles. Thereupon Major Bird ordered a bayonet charge. He +had forbidden rifle fire lest it should betray the position of the +storming party. Before the men could get to close quarters, however, +the Dutchmen exploded dynamite mines and followed the +fracas with volleys of musketry. The result was disastrous to the +British, and Major Bird ordered a retreat. Captain French (Royal +Irish Regiment) was among the killed. Seven of the party were +more or less severely injured. At first the Boers refused to give +up the dead and wounded. When Archdeacon Upcher and Father +Hartmann, under cover of the white flag, made the demand, they +declared that they could not respect the symbol, as General Buller +had stated that the British would no longer respect it. They +eventually gave up five of the dead, but refused for some time to +part with the wounded. Among these were Major Straker and +Colonel Hon. H. White (British South African Police).</p> + +<p>On the 26th of February Colonel Plumer, after many strenuous +efforts and continued fighting, occupied the enemy’s position at +Crocodile Pools, the Boers having taken themselves off and gone +south to Lobatsi. Trains were now moving from the Pools to +Ramoutsa. A cairn was erected over the spot where the valiant +officer, Captain French, met his fate. The wounds received by +Major Straker in the disastrous night attack were mending slowly, +and great hopes were entertained of his ultimate recovery.</p> + +<p>Colonel Plumer and his little force, numbering some 700 in all, +continued to suffer many harassments, to fight and to struggle +manfully for the assistance of Mafeking, whose relief they believed +could not be long delayed. To help in this relief was their perpetual +aim, and to this end Colonel Plumer accumulated a vast quantity +of stores at Kanya, some sixty miles to the west of Crocodile Pools, +so that when opportunity should offer the starving braves might +not have to wait for provisions. For some weeks the troops had +been fixed on a string of kopjes to the north of the Metsima Suma +Bridge, while the Boers’ laager, strongly fortified, occupied another +ridge in the vicinity. Both Britons and Boers from their elevated +posts could command the river above named, and the Notwani<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> +River for some miles. On the 26th of February, for some unaccountable +reason, the Boers suddenly made themselves scarce, and +suspicion grew that events elsewhere were demanding their prompt +attention. The disappearance caused some sensation, as it was +reported—erroneously as it afterwards proved—that not a Boer was +visible between the British and Mafeking. Thereupon Colonel +Plumer decided to be up and doing, and an advance on Lobatsi +(situated some forty-five miles from Colonel Baden-Powell’s kingdom) +was organised. First of all telegraph lines and rails were +repaired, an armoured train being sent forward to Pitsani Pothlugo +to protect the operations. This work accomplished, rations for thirty +days, the base hospital, &c., were transferred to Lobatsi.</p> + +<p>There on the morning of the 6th of March Colonel Plumer’s +force arrived. The efforts of the relieving party were now directed to +the reconstruction of the railway and bridges which had been wrecked +by the Boers in October. These were slowly got into working +order. Reconnaissances were pushed south with a view to farther +advance, and provision was made for the protection of the railway +behind him as Colonel Plumer advanced.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 531px;"> +<a name="ill_281" id="ill_281"></a><img src="images/ill_281.png" width="531" height="320" alt="" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption">COLONEL PLUMER’S GALLANT ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE MAFEKING FROM THE NORTH.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="small">Drawing by Frank Dudd, R.I., from a Sketch by F. J. Mackenzie.</span> +</div></div> + +<p>At daybreak on the 13th of March a column of some 300 men +with three guns marched towards Kanya on the west, while Colonel +Bodle (B.S.A.P.) with 150 men and a Maxim proceeded towards +Pitsani. When the former party had succeeded in reaching a place +some twenty miles beyond Lobatsi camp they were suddenly ordered +to return. Captain Maclaren with his party, though fairly worn out +after a long day’s tramp, at once obeyed orders, marched throughout +the night, and by dawn on the 15th had retraced his steps. +The reason for the recall was this. Colonel Bodle’s advanced scouts +had come upon swarms of the enemy to the north of Pitsani, and the +colonel with his small force had been compelled to retire in hot haste. +His position was a ticklish one, for all round, in every available +kopje, the Boers had ensconced themselves, and only by great nerve +and splendid presence of mind was it possible to execute anything +like an orderly retreat. But these qualities were possessed by +Colonel Bodle, who promptly retired his ambulance and waggons, +covering their move by forming his troops in Zulu fashion in crescent +shape. Unluckily the right horn of the crescent, under Lieutenant +Chapman, was pounced upon by some hidden Boers, who succeeded +in making three or four of the party prisoners, and capturing a box +or two of ammunition. Owing to an accident to his horse Lieutenant +Chapman was thrown and captured. Corporal Galt nearly +shared the same fate, but while he was engaged in a smart tussle +for freedom, Colonel Bodle came to the rescue and put the Boers to +flight. The Dutchmen then commenced to follow at the heels of +the column, approaching to within some 2500 yards of the camp,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> +doing some damage among cattle with their smokeless guns, which +with difficulty could be located. Their fire was eventually returned, +but not before Lieutenant Tyler (West Riding Regiment) had fallen +a victim to a shell, which caught him in his tent and killed him +instantaneously. The next day (the 16th) the Boers pursued their +aggravations, and the British, as usual, gave a very good account +of themselves, though their gunners had neither range-finder nor +range-table. An animated artillery duel lasted for some hours, and +was only terminated at sunset by the successful landing of a shell +in the midst of the Boer guns. This served to silence them for the +rest of the day. That done, the troops retired, most of the force +moving from Lobatsi back to Crocodile Pools (whither stores, &c., +had been removed by rail during the whole of the previous night), +while Colonel Plumer and the mounted men took the direction of +Kanya. On the 17th of March the armoured train voyaged +towards Lobatsi, where it was saluted by the Boers, who had +returned in hordes with marvellous celerity, and were hovering +round that place.</p> + +<p>The enemy had now placed a 1-pound Maxim and a 12½-pounder +on the east side of the line 4000 yards to the south of the main +camp, but fortunately the right flank was protected by the Chief +Bathoen, who defied the Boers to enter his territory. The left +flank, however, engaged Colonel Plumer’s attention, and there was +every fear that the enemy, repulsed on the western border, might +fall in force upon the Rhodesians. The Dutchmen were now busy +in wrecking the rail south of Lobatsi, and preparing to meet any +further advance made by Colonel Plumer with stout resistance. On +the 18th, somewhat exhausted with fruitless toil and endless marching +and fighting, the troops were once more at their starting-point on the +ridges overlooking the Metsima Suma and Notwani Rivers, Colonel +Plumer’s force now occupying the position there formerly held by +the Boers.</p> + +<p>On the 21st Commandant Snyman entertained himself with a +little journey to Lobatsi and gaily bombarded it, in ignorance that +it had been evacuated by Colonel Plumer’s force, and explosions on +all sides announced that he also was engaged in the destruction of +the railway. While the Boers were away, the Baralongs made hay—they +utilised the shining hour by looting some of the Boer cattle +and driving them in triumph into Mafeking. There, the result of +Snyman’s attack on Plumer was in its way approved; the town +enjoyed temporary repose. The bombardment lessened for a day +or two, and the besieged were buoyed up by the hope that Colonel +Plumer was pursuing his advance.</p> + +<p>To intercept the same the enemy had taken up positions at +Maritzuni and Ramathlabama, but they at the same time had to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> +engage themselves with a native chief in the south. This personage, +who had hitherto been friendly to them, working on the good old +principle of “kick a man when he’s down,” had heard of the Boer +reverses in the Free State, and promptly seized his opportunity.</p> + +<p>On the 25th Colonel Plumer left his base camp with a force of +infantry and as little impedimenta as possible, and invaded the +Transvaal, making two rapid night marches for the purpose of +threatening the Boer lines of communication. In this way, though +he found himself too weak in men and guns for really aggressive +operations, he determined to make himself a thorn in the side of the +persecutors of Mafeking, and keep the Boer hordes too busily +engaged to allow of their attempting serious operations on their +own part.</p> + +<p>Early on the morning of the 31st Colonel Plumer, with 270 +mounted men, some infantry, and a Maxim reached Ramathlabama, +where the Boers were said to have made their headquarters. The +advance guard under Colonel White proceeding within six miles of +Mafeking, encountered a Boer commando, whereupon Captain +Kensman on the left and Major Bordan on the right simultaneously +became engaged. Desperate fighting ensued, the Boers almost +doubling the British. The Dutchmen formed a semicircle, vainly +endeavouring to outflank the party east and west, while Colonel +Plumer’s small force, fighting “tooth and nail,” retired slowly, the +squadrons covering the retreat of the unmounted men for a good ten +miles till the force reached its base. Owing to the close proximity of +the Boer laagers, reinforcements of Dutchmen and guns were constantly +at hand, while Colonel Plumer was entirely at a disadvantage. +Little cover was available, and the railway embankment, which was +his only protection, was barely two feet high. Captain Crewe, +a most popular officer, was mortally wounded while covering the +retreat of the rest, as was also Lieutenant Milligan while gallantly +defending his position.</p> + +<p>Some interesting particulars of the fighting outside Mafeking +came in a letter from a trooper.</p> + +<blockquote><p>“On our latest patrol we had a real exciting time. We went to have a +look at Mafeking, and actually saw the promised land, but we had to pay dearly +for the sight. We marched from here (halfway between Kanya and Mafeking) +on March 30th, and arrived at Ramathlabama on the 31st at 9 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> Between +300 and 350 men went, with one Maxim, all under Colonel Plumer himself. We +were all mounted except thirty men of E Squadron. We formed a camp at +Ramathlabama, and at 11 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> all the mounted men moved off towards Mafeking, +our unmounted men and the Maxim remaining in camp. Our troop and Crewe’s +scouts formed the advance guard under our skipper, Colonel White. We rode +on about eight miles, and then we got our first glimpse of Mafeking. We +raised a bit of a cheer on spotting the place. Very soon we saw a large body +of Boers coming up in front at a fast pace, while others were working round<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> +our flanks. We started firing at 1000 yards, with hardly anything to see to +fire at. Their fire was high at first, but some of them soon got the range. +We had to retreat, as we were far outnumbered, and the Boers were working +away at our flanks. Moreover, they had an unlimited supply of ammunition, +their base being a mile or two away, while we had to go slow with ours. So +we retired by alternate squadrons.</p> + +<p>“We were nearly caught once. The Boers were coming round on our flank, +and were making for some Kaffir kraals whence they would have had us fairly +on toast. Our skipper, however, spotted the move in time, and we raced them +for the first place and won. Crewe’s men, who were sent to the second kraal, +also got there first. We made them turn tail and bolt, and they were never +afterwards quite so keen in getting round our flank. Our skipper worked +splendidly. It was a running fight for about eight miles, lasting from 1 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> +till 6 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> When we reached the camp we found that Colonel Plumer had +decided to abandon it, and had already sent the waggons off an hour before. +We had to cover the retreat of the unmounted men, who had been in turn +covering the retreat of the Maxim. There was a very warm time over that +business. The unmounted men nearly got caught. Our casualties were +pretty heavy—52 in all—12 killed, 26 wounded, and 14 missing. Altogether +75 horses were killed, wounded, and missing. Don’t get the idea that +we were disgracefully licked. We retreated certainly and were chased +by the Boers, but we retreated in perfect order without any confusion. Moreover, +in retreating we were doing as we were intended to do. Colonel Baden-Powell +had some move he wished to make at Mafeking, and we were to draw +away as many Boers as possible, and we certainly were successful in that. There +must have been at least 600 or 700 against us.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>In the fight at Ramathlabama the following were taken prisoners:—Captain +K. Maclaren, Captain F. Crewe, Captain Duncan +Robertson, all badly wounded; the two last mentioned since dead. +Staff-Officers Cecil and Granville and nine soldiers, of whom six +were more or less severely wounded, were also captured.</p> + +<p>Owing to the absence of war correspondents with Colonel +Plumer’s force this officer’s unceasing efforts to match the Boers +and rescue Colonel Baden-Powell received none of the publicity +they deserved. It has been possible only from private sources to +gauge the terrible tension of the situation, and the truly noble activity +that was maintained in the face of a most alarming outlook. Of the +heroism of the commander little has been said, but from a few lines +written by a trooper we may understand how his gallant conduct +stimulated his men. He said: “It was a good fight, and our men +behaved very well. Plumer was slightly wounded, but behaved +splendidly. He sent his horse away and walked behind the dismounted +men, encouraging them when they were retreating.”</p> + +<p>Colonel Bodle and Captain Rolt (adjutant) were also slightly +wounded.</p> + +<p>Some splendid service was rendered by Sergeant-Major Manning +(5th Dragoon Guards), on whom the whole work of staff officer +afterwards devolved.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p> + +<p>Another writer shows the trying circumstances in which Colonel +Plumer’s campaign was conducted, circumstances which, when the +historian of the future sets to work, cannot be disregarded:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>“On the 31st ult. we got as far as six miles from Mafeking, but had to +retire after four hours’ heavy fighting, losing 48 killed, wounded, and missing. +We have had a very rough time indeed, always fighting against much superior +odds armed with splendid artillery, living on short rations, without tents or any +other shelter, wet through with the rain, and scorched with the sun, and yet +the people at home never give us a thought. We have been so hard up for +tobacco that men have been smoking tea leaves. We have not had a thing +from home, not even the Queen’s chocolate, and yet we have done as much in +our small way as the troops down south. Of course, we have had no big +battles, as we have not the men or guns, but we have had constant patrols and +skirmishes, nearly always losing men killed or wounded, or both. We have +also suffered very heavily with fever and dysentery, and all our hospitals are +full.”</p></blockquote> + +<p>These lines in their bald simplicity are quoted because they, +like the work they describe, were originated with no view to effect +nor applause, and serve exactly to describe the modest deeds of +perpetual valour which were perpetrated by our countrymen, and +which by force of circumstance were left to waste their smartness +“on the desert air.”</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 524px;"> +<a name="ill_286" id="ill_286"></a><img src="images/ill_286.png" width="524" height="320" alt="Lobatsi Railway Station" title="" /> +<div><span class="caption smcap">Lobatsi Railway Station</span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="LIST_OF_STAFF" id="LIST_OF_STAFF"></a>LIST OF STAFF</h2> + +<p>The following is a list of appointments to the Staff of the Eighth Division, +which left England in February:—</p> + +<h3 class="gap2">EIGHTH DIVISION</h3> + +<p>Lieutenant-General on the Staff—Major-General (temporary Lieutenant-General) +Sir H. M. L. Rundle, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., R.A.</p> + +<p>Aides-de-Camp (2).</p> + +<p>Assistant Adjutant-General—Colonel G. E. Harley, C.B.</p> + +<p>Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-Generals—Major A. E. J. Cavendish, <i>p.s.c.</i>, Argyll and +Sutherland Highlanders; Captain G. I. Walsh, Leicestershire Regt.</p> + +<p>Assistant Provost-Marshal<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>—Lieut.-Colonel R. H. Morrison.</p> + +<p>Principal Medical Officer—Lieut.-Colonel W. A. May, Royal Army Medical Corps.</p> + +<p>Medical Officer—Major J. W. Jerome, Royal Army Medical Corps.</p> + +<p>Chaplains—Rev. C. F. O’Reilly; Rev. F. J. P. Jellicoe.</p> + +<p>Divisional Signalling Officer—Captain C. H. Bennett, Worcestershire Regt.</p> + +<h4 class="smcap">16th BRIGADE</h4> + +<p>Major-General on the Staff—Major-General B. B. D. Campbell, M.V.O.</p> + +<p>Aide-de-Camp.</p> + +<p>Brigade-Major—Captain E. F. O. Gascoigne, D.S.O., Grenadier Guards.</p> + +<h4 class="smcap">17th BRIGADE</h4> + +<p>Major-General on the Staff—Major-General J. E. Boyes.</p> + +<p>Aide-de-Camp.</p> + +<p>Brigade-Major—Captain C. B. FitzHenry, 7th Hussars.</p> + +<p>At the same time a Ninth Division was formed under the command of Lieut.-General +Sir Henry Colvile, consisting of the 3rd (Highland Brigade), Colonel (Major-General) +H. A. Macdonald, C.B., and 19th Brigade, Colonel (Major-General) H. L. +Smith-Dorrien. For particulars, see Vol. V.</p> +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Graded as a Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General.</p></div> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p> +<p> </p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="gap4"><a name="APPENDIX" id="APPENDIX"></a>APPENDIX</h2> + +<h3 class="gap2">KURUMAN<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></h3> + +<p>At time of the surrender of Kuruman it was impossible to obtain complete details +regarding the gallant defence of the place. The following short story published by the +<i>Cape Argus</i> serves to throw light on deeds too brave to be overlooked:—</p> + +<p>“On the 15th October 1899, the Cape Police, Vryburg, 96 miles north-east of +Kuruman, evacuated their station without giving battle to the Boers; the detachment +with one Maxim and 110 men retiring on Kimberley. The commanding officer, Major +Scott, Cape Police, committed suicide <i>en route</i>. Refugees came into Kuruman on the +16th and following days.</p> + +<p>“On the 23rd October communication was cut off from Kuruman except by wire to +Koopmansfontein, and on the 5th November all wires were cut. Information reached +Kuruman that the South African Republic and Orange Free State Boers, assisted by +rebels from that and surrounding districts, intended to march on Kuruman and hoist +the ‘Vierkleur.’</p> + +<p>“The defence of Kuruman was commenced by Captain Bates,<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> C.P. (formerly captain +B.B.P. under Sir Frederick Carrington), assisted by Sergeant Hemsworth, C.P., and +Captain Dennison, Intelligence Department. On the 19th October, Colonel Kekewich, +officer commanding forces Griqualand West and Bechuanaland, instructed the force to +endeavour to prevent Kuruman falling into the hands of the enemy. The officer commanding, +Captain Bates, had orders to defend the place, and the Kuruman defence force +was raised, consisting of, approximately, 54 Cape Police and Special Police (whites), 62 +Bastards and natives—total, 116.</p> + +<p>“Redoubts were built on the north, south, east, and west sides of the main camp, +which was fortified with trenches and stone walls loopholed and raised with sandbags.</p> + +<p>“On the 12th November 1899, a letter was received from Commandant Visser +(signed Fighting General), demanding the surrender of Kuruman voluntarily in the +name of the Z.A.R. and O.F.S. Governments, saying that he was at Pakani, six miles +off, with his commando, and failing compliance with his demand he would attack and +take Kuruman by main force at 7 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> the following day. A reply was sent that should +he attack he would have to take the consequences of his illegal act, as no instructions +had been issued by the Colonial Government to evacuate the town.</p> + +<p>“At 9 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> on the 13th November a commando of about 400 men came at full gallop +towards the Soeden Mission Station, three miles from Kuruman. Coming within range +(1500 yards) the redoubt on the eastern side opened fire on them with their rifles. The +enemy halted, and then at once retired out of range. After about ten minutes, one portion, +250 strong, advanced towards the Mission Station, the other, 150 strong, moving to the +ridge above the Court House. At 10 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> the commando from Soeden attacked the +western redoubt held by Corporal Childs, C.P., with six whites and seven natives. Heavy +firing took place. At about 5 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> the enemy, who had during the day occupied a ridge +about 400 yards from the redoubt, retired, and in so doing lost heavily—they were seen +falling from their horses. Our men behaved splendidly. The estimated Boer loss was +six killed and fourteen wounded; ours, one native killed. Captain Bates rode up during +the day to encourage the men, and both going and returning was received with heavy +volleys from the Boers, but both he and his horse returned unhurt. While the fighting +was going on Corporal Barnes, C.P., and nine men volunteered to take an extra supply +of ammunition to this redoubt, about 1000 yards in the open, under heavy fire, and remained +there to the end of the attack without any further casualty. Firing from all the enemy’s +schanzes was kept up during the night.</p> + +<p>“At dawn next day it was discovered that the enemy had built schanzes (stone +entrenchments) all round our redoubts at distances varying from 1200 to 900 yards, and +commenced firing volleys into our positions. We replied, and our losses this day were +one native slightly wounded and five horses badly wounded. The enemy stuck to their +schanzes and continued firing heavily on us daily until the 19th November, when to our +surprise they withdrew to Pakani.</p> + +<p>“On the 20th November our scouts, who were sent to find out the enemy’s movements, +returned, stating that they were retiring towards Vryburg.</p> + +<p>“On the 26th November it was reported by our scouts that the Boers had formed three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> +laagers, one at Mooifontein, 30 miles away; one at Magagapirie, 20 miles off; and one +at Botitilotse, about 18 miles off; the total commando numbering about 1100 to 1200 +men, and a large number of waggons.</p> + +<p>“On the 1st December a headman, Seloa, reported that the Boers were waiting for a +cannon from Pretoria, and were coming again to attack us or starve us out. Captain Bates +strengthened the forts as much as possible to resist shell fire.</p> + +<p>“On the 5th December the enemy arrived with from 1100 to 1200 men under Visser, +of the Transvaal, now Commandant, and Field-Cornet Wessels, of the Free State, but +without any cannon. They commenced by attacking Captain Dennison’s (Intelligence +Officer to Commanding Officer, Kimberley, Colonel Kekewich) redoubt on the east, but +were repulsed. The enemy made five night attacks on this redoubt and a smaller one held +by Private Brown, Special Police, about 300 yards on the S.E. Their mode of attack was +as follows:—They built schanzes within 500 yards of these redoubts, surrounding them, and +threw up small schanzes of stone and bags within thirty or forty yards of the redoubts early +in the night and attacked about two or three o’clock in the morning, retiring from time to +time to these small schanzes. They thus succeeded in pushing off the sandbags from our +redoubts on the S.E. side, but were driven back, losing about four killed and ten or twelve +wounded. This redoubt was held by Private Brown, three white men, and two natives, the +enemy numbering from sixty to seventy men. Our casualties were one white man wounded. +During these attacks a bullet (presumably an explosive one) struck inside the east fort or +redoubt, badly wounding two whites and two others slightly. Firing was kept up night and +day for these five days. The enemy ceased their attacks and went in for volley firing and +sniping, coming nearer our redoubts by building schanzes during the night. These two +redoubts had to be abandoned, as the loopholes of sandbags were shot away, and there was +no means of building them up agin. The enemy occupied them after being abandoned for +two nights, and also took possession of a store in a hollow about 800 yards from the main +camp, between it and the Court House. This left only one of our redoubts occupied by our +defence force, and which commanded the water. Corporal Gash, C.P., was in charge. +Our horses had to be watered at night.</p> + +<p>“The Boers made several attempts to cut us off from the water, but were prevented by +our pickets, who were placed in entrenched positions to cover our cattle and horses +while watered. The Boers must have fired away an enormous quantity of ammunition, +and they had five waggon-loads of it. A unique armistice was arranged on Christmas +Day. F. C. Wessels, of the Free State, wrote to the Commanding Officer saying that if we +would not fire on them this day, the Boers would not fire on us. This was agreed to, and +word was sent round to all the schanzes and redoubts notifying this. The men came out, +but to our surprise, as one of us was going to bathe, a volley from the Transvaal Boer +schanzes on the east was sent after him. Wessels went to inquire the reason, and was told +that the Transvaal commando would not agree to this armistice, whereupon Wessels +arranged with us that the Free State men, who were on the south and south-east side, +would not fire on us, and our men, running the gauntlet of the Transvaal fire for about +20 yards, went under cover of the Free State schanzes, and British and Boer bathed +together at the bathing-place. This circumstance caused a split in the Boer camp, and +Wessels with 150 men of the Free State burghers left for the south, presumably towards +Kimberley. The Boers continued firing and sniping daily. Up to this we had one white +(Private Ward, C.P.) and two natives killed, seven whites and seven natives wounded. Of +the animals 23 horses were killed and wounded and three oxen killed. We were holding +out and were confident of doing so for another two months, when on the 1st January 1900, +a New Year’s gift arrived in the Boer camp in the shape of a 9-pounder. They started +shelling at dawn, with common shell, the redoubt on the north side; then came to a ridge +on the south and shelled the main camp, four shells falling in the camp without doing any +serious damage. They then fired on the western redoubt without hitting it. On going to +their schanzes about 2000 yards on the eastern side, they shelled the only remaining +redoubt on that side, held by Corporal Gash, C.P., and 15 men. The 90th shell breached +the redoubt, the 91st and 92nd striking it, and the 93rd falling inside. The men in the +redoubt got into the trenches, which, owing to the stony nature of the ground, could not be +dug deep, and were subjected to such a heavy fire from three of the enemy’s schanzes, +that they were compelled to surrender.</p> + +<p>“Captain Bates then saw that as the key of the position had fallen, and that reinforcements +could not possibly arrive for weeks or months, it was hopeless to continue to hold out.</p> + +<p>“Thus Kuruman was surrendered after seven weeks, and its defence was principally due +to Captain Bates. Captain Dennison and Sergeant Hemsworth and Captain Bates were +sent to the Pretoria gaol (as they were supposed to know too much, whatever that meant), +and the Magistrate was sent to the State Model School with the other officers.”</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> See Vol. iii. p. 25.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> This officer’s name was originally given as Baker in telegrams home.</p></div> +</div> + +<div class="bbox gap4"> +<h3>TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES</h3> + +<p class="hangindent">Page vi: Christo standardised to Cristo after “Scene of Fighting at Monte”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page vii: Reit standardised to Riet after “on north bank of the”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page vii: Majesfontein standardised to Majersfontein (two instances)</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page vii: Koodoesrand standardised to Koodoosrand after “Spyfontein, +retreating to”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page viii: landdrost standardised to landrost after “and arrested the”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 9: ” added after “180,600 of all arms.”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 13: no corrected to not after “now engaged stronger,” cf. Hansard</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 22: “Homes were destroyed mothers and children stricken” as in the +original, without punctuation</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 30: Kimberly standardised to Kimberley before “man stared at the +three objects”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 33: Accent on détour not standardised as part of a quotation</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Pages 34, 152: Variable spelling of mosquitoes/mosquitos as in the +original</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 36: horseflesh standardised to horse-flesh after “Cronje had to be +paid for in”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 39: Duplicate the removed from “for the the team of mules”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 40: duplicate an removed in “having detected an an unusual haze of +dust”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Pages 40, 54: Inconsistent hyphenation of rear-guard as in the original. +Retained as part of a quotation</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 56: . added after “for the rest of the day”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 60: Infanty corrected to Infantry in “Duke of Cornwall's Light +Infantry”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 62: mid-day standardised to midday before “came the rumour that +French”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 65: reveille standardised to reveillé after “a volley by way of”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 69: insistance as in the original</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 71: silhoutte corrected to silhouette before “which gradually grew +clearer”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 88 [Illustration]: ( added before Colour-Sergeant)</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 93: Accent on débris not standardised as part of a quotation</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 101: depot standardised to depôt after “converted into the advanced”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 115: shortlived standardised to short-lived after “Rest was”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 116: Mr. Shcreiner corrected to Mr. Schreiner</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 120: Horseflesh standardised to Horse-flesh before “was diversified +by bread”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 122: head-quarters standardised to headquarters after “subsequently +established his”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 123: Lyttleton corrected to Lyttelton after “While this was going on +above, General”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 128: caligraphy as in the original</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 132: Lee-Mitfords corrected to Lee-Metfords after “been hit by +Mausers or”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 133: Inconsistent hyphenation of horseflesh as in the original. +Retained as part of a quotation</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 148: unchallengably corrected to unchallengeably after “kopjes, +kopjes, kopjes—ours,”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 148: . added after “rifle fire was raging on the left”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 150: Lieutenan corrected to Lieutenant before “C. H. I. Jackson”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 177: martrys corrected to martyrs after “calls for its ministers and”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 182: Llandrost corrected to Landrost after “Mr. Papenfus, whose +services as”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 189: fourteeen corrected to fourteen after “on the Orange Free State +Railway some”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 190: markmanship corrected to marksmanship after “spoke +apologetically of their good”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 192: ensconed corrected to ensconced after “where the enemy had”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 200: lookout standardised to look-out after “the wily Dutchman on +the”</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 210: Inconsistent hyphenation of halfway as in the original. Retained +as part of a quotation</p> + +<p class="hangindent">Page 216: agin as in the original</p> + +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of South Africa and the Transvaal War, +Vol. IV (of 6), by Louis Creswicke + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA, TRANSVAAL WAR, VOL IV *** + +***** This file should be named 38768-h.htm or 38768-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/7/6/38768/ + +Produced by Brownfox and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from +images generously made available by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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