CHAPTER I

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THROUGH SHOT

AND FLAME

THE ADVENTURES AND EXPERIENCES OF

J. D. KESTELL

CHAPLAIN TO PRESIDENT STEYN

AND

GENERAL CHRISTIAN DE WET

METHUEN & CO.

36 ESSEX STREET W.C.

LONDON

1903

_Colonial Library_

TO

MY WIFE

WHO WAS ONE OF THE THOUSANDS

WHO ENDURED IN THE GREAT STRUGGLE

FOR FREEDOM, I DEDICATE THIS BOOK

AND

WITH HER I COMMEMORATE HERE THE

FIDELITY AND PATRIOTISM OF HIM WHO

WAS MY COMRADE IN THE FIELD, AND

WHO DIED IN THE SPRINGTIDE OF HIS

LIFE, A PRISONER OF WAR, AT LADYSMITH,

NATAL

OUR SON, CHARLES KESTELL

THROUGH SHOT AND FLAME

PART I

_HOPE_

CHAPTER I

I JOIN THE HARRISMITH COMMANDO

I purpose to chronicle in the following pages my experiences of the war

between the Boers and the English. It is my object to record what I went

through on commando, and to give the reader an idea, according to my own

observation, of the struggles and sufferings of a small nation against

the overwhelming odds of an Empire--nay, against the world itself.

For was it not against the world that the little nation fought?

Think of it. Not only did England have 240,000 men in the field against

45,000 of the two South African Republics; not only did she have more

guns than the two little States, much more ammunition, a much greater

amount of supplies, a great many more horses, much more money--but she

had the world also on her side. The world looked on the strife without

putting forth a hand to help the weak against the strong: nay, it helped

the strong. The United States of North America sold horses and wheat

and meat to the mighty Empire, that was carrying on a war of

extermination against the two small States in South Africa; the

Republics of South America gave mules; Austria and Russia supplied

horses. I do not forget, when I say this, the large sympathy which the

world showed us. I should be guilty of the most heinous ingratitude if I

did not acknowledge that the world, and especially Holland, went out of

its way in liberally supplying clothing and large sums of money to our

women and children in the concentration camps, and to the prisoners of

war on the islands. But England had the advantage of a market almost

wherever she wished to buy; and she closed up every avenue through which

we might have been aided. And so the little nation stood alone, while

its great adversary was assisted from the four corners of the earth.

Now I purpose to put on record my experiences in this strife. I will do

so as well as I can. What I have to relate, however, will by no means be

a history of the war.--We shall not have a history of the war until our

children write it.--No, I am not going to write a history: I am going to

record my limited experiences. You will not find here, for instance,

anything about the events which happened at Stormberg or Magersfontein,

or about the taking of Bloemfontein or Pretoria. I was not present at

those events. Only on that of which I was an eye-witness, or on what

took place in the commando to which I belonged at the time, or what came

to my notice shortly after its occurrence--only on that will I report in

these pages.

But let me tell you before I proceed, that I accompanied the burghers

only as a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church. I was never armed. I

never took part in a fight as a soldier. I never meddled with military

matters. All that, I felt, lay outside of my province. And yet, as will

appear in what follows, I fought in the great fight. I was often in

action, and if I carried no arms, I carried a pouch of bandages. My

presence in a fight gave heart to some and eased the pain of others. I

fought, too, in another way: I encouraged the burghers in every service

I held, just as every chaplain ought to do, and admonished them to

persevere in the great fight. But I never forgot that I was a minister

of religion. Every Sunday, and whenever I had an opportunity in the

week, I conducted divine service, taking, as a rule, my text from the

Old Testament. Besides this I devoted myself to ambulance work, without,

however, ever wearing a Red Cross on my sleeve.

I need not say that I was heart and soul one with the great cause of the

Republics. Nothing lay nearer to my heart than their welfare; and when

it appeared that war was imminent, and that it would be disastrous to my

people, it weighed upon my mind like lead.

War?--Ay, war! I feared a collision with England from the moment that

Sir Alfred Milner proved at the Bloemfontein Conference that nothing

could satisfy him. I became convinced then of what I had all along

suspected, but would not believe, that the object of England was not to

see that the Uitlander should obtain his rights, but that the two

Republics should be annihilated, and that the map of South Africa

should, as Rhodes had put it, be painted red.

These suspicions of mine soon proved not to have been unfounded.

President Kruger had consented, at last, to grant the franchise to

Uitlanders, after a residence of five years in the country; and

everybody thought now that war was averted, and that there would be a

peaceful adjustment of the differences between England and the South

African Republic. But England did not want that. England wanted the

Transvaal. Contrary to the expectations of everyone, the British

Government did not accept the proposal of President Kruger, and said

that it would dictate its own terms. It was speedily seen that England

intended to do this by force of arms, for numbers of British troops had

begun to mass on the boundaries of the two Republics.

At last England got what it had been seeking--a palpable _causa belli_,

in the Ultimatum which the Transvaal Government, wearied to death, at

last issued.

Both Boers and Britishers have declared that it was a fatal mistake on

the part of the Transvaal to issue the Ultimatum. The Boers said that

President Kruger should have waited until England had begun hostilities;

and the English protested that there would have been no war, if there

had been no Ultimatum. Lord Salisbury, especially, has never wearied in

his attempt to make the world believe that England went to war with the

Republics solely because of the insult offered by the Ultimatum; and

that the two States themselves had by that act made it impossible for

the British Government to permit them to retain their independence.

But the world knows better.

The world knows that it was England, not the Republics, that began the

quarrel, when, contrary to the terms of the Convention of 1884, she

interfered with the internal affairs of the South African Republic; when

later on she would listen to no proposal of the Transvaal Government,

and when she began sending troops to the boundaries of the two States.

The world can comprehend also that the Republics could not wait until

England had completed the massing of her troops on the borders, to wake

up one morning and find themselves invaded from every side. The world,

too, knows what must be said of the blow which falls in a manner

mechanically, after unendurable provocation. And posterity, sitting in

judgment, will pass its verdict on the Ultimatum. It will say that it

was a protest against wrong and oppression. It will hear a little people

speaking through that Ultimatum to a great nation: "Thou art great and

mighty, and thou wouldst set thy foot upon my neck; but I declare here

before the whole world that Might is not Right; and I defy thee!"

I cannot enter into a discussion here of the question whether the South

African Republic wronged the Uitlanders. But if this had been the case,

was England then the knight-errant among the nations of the earth, to

rush to the succour of such as might be oppressed by the one or the

other Power?--And if she considered that this was her mission, why did

she never attempt to teach Turkey, Russia, even the United States of

America, what their duty was?

Nothing was further removed from the thoughts of England than such

disinterestedness. But she imagined that she had a chance with this

little people; and when she wished to beat the dog, she found a stick in

the grievances of the Uitlanders.

Poor Transvaal, thou wert not perfect--far from that! But thou hadst had

no time to become so. Thou hadst had no time to develop into what thou

wouldst have become in the course of years. Thy great neighbour, arrived

at maturity through centuries of imperfections, found thee a child, and,

counting it a crime in thee to be a child, made a murderous assault on

thee!

* * * * *

The negotiations between England and the South African Republic were

still progressing when England sent troops, not only to the Transvaal,

but also the Free State borders. What else but undisguised hostility

could the Governments of the two Republics see in this action of

England? They were compelled by it to prepare themselves for any

emergency; and enjoined, in consequence, the landdrosts to instruct the

commandants of all the districts of the two States to commandeer the

burghers. This commandeering took place on 2nd of October 1899. It was

on Sunday, and many a Boer had gathered his household around him, and

was sitting with his Bible open before him, while he was conducting his

Sunday family worship, when the field-cornet, or other person sent in

his stead, came and told him that he had to appear at a certain place,

with his horse, saddle and bridle, rifle and thirty rounds of

ammunition, and rations for eight days.

The Harrismith Commando was ordered to muster on the farm--_The Oaks_;

and most of the burghers composing it arrived there next day. We

proceeded thence to Tantjesberg, and approached in the course of a few

days the boundary between the Orange Free State and Natal, on the grand

range of the Drakensberg. To this border other Free State commandos

numbering in all about 8000 men came, while a like number were sent to

the western boundary, and a small force to the Basutoland line.

The southern border of the district of Harrismith was the line which had

to be guarded, between the Orange Free State and Natal. The commandos,

therefore, which had come from other places to this boundary, had to

pass somewhere through the district of Harrismith. This happened in due

course. During the week all the commandos passed east or west of, or

through the town. The Bethlehem burghers pitched their laager on the

south-west near Binghamsberg, a precipitous mountain which Erasmus Smit,

the missionary who accompanied the Voortrekkers, called Kerkenberg

(Church Hill) in his Journal. This he did because a great cleft of a

tremendous rock at the foot of the mountain, in which the name of Piet

Retief is written in green paint, afforded ample space for conducting

divine worship. The Heilbron Commando went to Bezuidenhout's Pass, and

the Kroonstad to Tintwa. The burghers of Winburg marched past on the

east of Platberg, and pitched their camp at Van Reenen, near the line of

railway; while the men of the Harrismith and Vrede Commandos went

farther east to Botha's Pass, and formed the connection with the line of

the Transvaal forces on the west of Majuba.

It rained a great deal when these Boer forces hastened to the

Drakensberg. I remember very well how the Heilbron and Kroonstad

burghers rode through the town of Harrismith in the rain.

Notwithstanding the depressing nature of the weather, everybody was

cheerful, and all looked with boundless trust in God into the future.

The Heilbron burghers did not remain in the town, but the men of

Kroonstad waited at the church until their greatcoats and blankets,

which they hung on the railings, were dry. Meanwhile our women poured

out warm coffee for the men, and began thus to take their share in the

great strife, which had begun.

I must here make mention of the manner in which the Government took the

interests to heart of such as had been deprived of their employment

through the new state of things. It appointed a commission in every

town, whose duty it was to inquire into the condition of the needy and

to distribute flour and mealie meal, wherever they found that there was

great want. The Government also afforded facilities to the poor of

earning money. It supplied the material for shirts and trousers, to be

made for such burghers on commando as were in need, and paid a small sum

for every garment that was made. The wives of the landdrosts and

ministers were intrusted with this department. Besides this, the women

of the towns were asked to bake biscuits--the Government supplying the

flour for the commandos. It was beautiful to see how willingly the women

undertook this hard labour. Some of them baked as much as a bag of

flour in a day; and I have seen at the Harrismith Station truck loads of

biscuits ready to be carried to the forces in Natal.

This baking of biscuits was one of the first proofs of the devotion and

self-sacrifice of our women.

But I have anticipated a little.

At five o'clock on the 11th October 1899 the forty-eight hours, which

were given by the Transvaal to England to decide whether she would

withdraw her troops from the borders of the Republics, had elapsed.

England had not withdrawn her troops, and it was now clear to everyone

that she desired war. Everyone knew also now that from that hour we were

in a state of war.

It was now the interest of every chief-commandant (Hoofd-commandant) to

occupy the best positions, if possible before the English could do so.

With this in view, orders were given that all commandos should be sent

forward with the utmost speed, and take positions on the Drakensberg.

This was done, and by the 13th of October all the passes on the great

mountain range were guarded by our forces.

On the same day a meeting of Free State officers was held in the tent of

General Marthinus Prinsloo, and the question was there discussed whether

a flying column should not, without delay, proceed west of Ladysmith and

blow up the railway bridge over the Tugela at Colenso. Most of the

officers were opposed to this idea, but it was resolved instead that

portions of the commandos of Heilbron, Winburg, Kroonstad, and

Harrismith should descend into Natal that very night, under the command

of Commandant C. J. de Villiers, who was temporarily appointed General

in the place of General A. P. Cronje. This force would have to

co-operate with the Transvaal commandos and endeavour to cut off the

retreat of the English at Dundee.

I was present when the Harrismith men were ready to go. How well I

remember the command given by the brave and never-to-be-forgotten

Field-Cornet Jan Lyon--

"Four deep!"

I see him in my mind's eye now, while I write, placing himself, every

inch a soldier, at the head of his men and riding away.

After him came Field-Cornet Z. J. de Beer with the Harrismith town

burghers. They rode past in splendid form, with the Free State flag

bravely fluttering in the breeze. Something thrilled through my being

when I saw these men, all of whom I knew, ride away into the great

unknown. I knew that some of them would never tread Free State soil

again.

And it happened sooner than I thought.

Next day Field-Cornet de Beer collided with the Carbineers not far from

Bester's Station, and the first burgher of the Harrismith Commando was

killed. To the best of my knowledge he was the first victim of the war:

his name was Jonson.

The Carbineers had attacked the men of Field-Cornet de Beer on a ridge,

and bombarded them with a Maxim. Our burghers held their ground until

Field-Cornet Lyon arrived with a reinforcement and charged the

Carbineers on their right wing. The English could not resist this

onslaught and betook themselves to flight, never resting until they

arrived out of breath at Ladysmith. One of their officers, Lieutenant

Galway, was taken prisoner, and sent to Harrismith. The camp of the

Carbineers also fell into our hands, and the burghers were immensely

pleased with the little light green tents they found. These were very

portable, and went far and wide with the burghers in later stages of the

war.

After addressing the Winburg men, I had returned to Harrismith on the

morning of the 18th, and was an eye-witness of the intense excitement

of the town during the next few days, when news of battles fought in the

north of Natal arrived. We heard of the fight at Glencoe on the 20th

October, at Elandslaagte on the 21st, and at Rietfontein (Modderspruit)

on the 24th. In the first two the Transvaalers had been engaged, in the

last the Free Staters.

I was very strongly affected, and felt after the news of Rietfontein

came that I could not remain at Harrismith. I therefore decided to go to

Natal without delay and join the Harrismith Commando. On Friday the 27th

October I took leave of my wife and children, and arrived in the

afternoon at the headquarters of General Marthinus Prinsloo. He was very

kind, and provided a cart for my journey and that of Dr. Cilliers who

also wished to go into Natal. Next day I arrived at Bester's Station,

and had the opportunity of visiting the burghers who had been wounded in

the fight at Rietfontein. I was especially glad to see Mr. Jacobus de

Jager of Loskop. As he was temporarily _hors de combat_, he offered me a

horse and his own saddle for a time. I was of course very grateful and

accepted his offer with alacrity.

After breakfast, next morning, I set out with the object of finding the

Harrismith Commando, and soon came to Smith's Crossing. There I saw what

a farm looked like where looting had taken place. Some of our burghers

had destroyed everything there that was not firmly built on, or planted

in the ground. The windows were smashed, the doors torn off, and

everything that was of value or use was carried away. Presses and chests

of drawers had been broken open, furniture dashed to pieces, pillows and

mattresses cut open, and everywhere about there were lying scattered in

dreadful confusion, feathers of pillows and beds, pieces of furniture,

torn books, photographs, plates, pots, pans, even articles of female

attire.

The sight of this affected me very unfavourably, as I found it did many

others too. Several remarked that we were not fighting for booty, but

for the sacred cause of our independence. But the foreigners fighting

among us against England laughed at our scruples. Destruction of

property, they said, was a part of the war, and England would destroy

our farms worse when once she began.

None of us would believe this assertion of the foreigners then. We know

now how true it was. It is nearly three years now since I looked at the

destruction at Smith's Crossing, and what have I not seen since of the

destruction carried out by England? Everything done by the Boers is as

dust in the balance, when compared with the devastation carried out by

the British soldiers.

Now English officers, when taxed with the barbarity with which they

devastated the farms in the two Republics, have been accustomed to

retort that it was we who began the game. To this it can be replied that

the Boers destroyed the houses of those only who had fled from their

farms, and had thus shown that they were hostile to us; that even this

was not done by order of the Boer Generals, nay, was done contrary to

the express orders forbidding the destruction of farms, and that it was

never carried out so ruthlessly as it was later by the English troops.

The houses were never committed to the flames by the Boers, nor did they

blow up any farmstead with dynamite. But the steadings in the Free State

and Transvaal were destroyed by fire or dynamite by order of a British

Field-Marshal, and later of a British Commander-in-Chief. And there were

hundreds of cases where this took place over the heads of women and

children, who were immediately after the destruction exposed to the wet

weather in summer and the cold of winter. Nothing approaching such

barbarity was ever done by the Boers. If, therefore, the English were

making reprisals in burning the farms, they avenged themselves not as

Cain seven times, but as Lamech seventy times seven.

I did not have to go far from Smith's Crossing. I found the Harrismith

burghers three miles to the west of Ladysmith, near the homestead of Mr.

Gert Potgieter. They consisted of what was called a horse-commando, they

were encumbered with no convoy, and only two or three waggons (one of

them carrying ammunition) stood about. The difference between the camp

here and the great laagers on the Drakensberg, with their walls of

encircling waggons, struck me. Here there was nothing besides the little

brown canvas Free State tents, and the beautiful little green tents

taken from the Carbineers on the 18th. One would be much in want of many

things, I thought, in a horse-commando, and life in it would be in the

utmost degree repulsive, to a person especially with studious

predilections, to whom the four walls of a study were more attractive

than the wide, wide plains under the great blue vault above. I thought

so then, but the time was coming when we should not have even little

Carbineer tents.

However inhospitable a "horse-commando" appeared, the burghers were not

so. They were mostly members of my congregation, and received me with

the utmost cordiality. They gave me something to eat--just what they had

ready--_Kaboemielies_, (boiled maize). What better--what more nutritious

food could they have given me than mealies? Many a Boer poet has sung

the praises of the mealies, but the inspiration of each has failed.

The day after I arrived in the laager, the 30th October, the battle of

Nicholson's Nek was fought. It was in this fight that Christian de Wet

made his first appearance. He was then an acting Commandant, and led

about 200 men up the hill, where he captured 800 British troops. The

Transvaal burghers were also engaged that day and took 400 soldiers

prisoners, so that we captured 1200 in all. I was not present. I only

saw from a great distance our shells exploding on the battlefield, and I

can therefore give no description of what took place.

I met the Rev. P. Roux, who was subsequently appointed General, next

day. He told me that he came on the scene just when the fight was over.

He had been struck, he said, by the distress of the wounded. It was

terrible to see what they were suffering in the broiling sun. He had

also spoken to several English officers. One had said in a surly tone of

voice: "This is only a beginning." Mr. Roux had replied: "Yes, and we

are quite satisfied with it."

CHAPTER II

A NIGHT MARCH

It was decided to invest Ladysmith, and the Free State burghers were

ordered to occupy positions towards the north-west, west, and south of

the town. The Transvaalers took the opposite ridges and hills.

Why did not the Boers make an onslaught on the town after the fight at

Rietfontein--why did not they do so after Nicholson's Nek?--or failing

this, why did they besiege Ladysmith? Why did they not leave an opening

on the south for the English to retire by?

Such questions have been repeatedly put after all was past, and it was

seen what might have been done. But the people who put these questions

assume circumstances which did not exist. For instance, it was

altogether impossible in the as yet unorganised state of the commandos

of the two States to venture on a united assault on Ladysmith, after

either Rietfontein or Nicholson's Nek. And it is quite dubious whether

the English wished to retire southwards. In fact the contrary appears to

be the case, for they might have evacuated the town, if they had wished,

before the 2nd of November,--eight days after Rietfontein,--on which

date the Boers had completed the investment of the town. The British

had, in point of fact, during those eight days not only shown no signs

of any desire to leave the town, but they had made a sortie, which had

resulted in the fiasco at Nicholson's Nek on the 30th of November.

It appears thus, when everything is taken into consideration, that no

General would have acted otherwise than General Joubert did; and nobody,

indeed, did think, during the siege of Ladysmith, that it was a mistake

to be doing so. It was only later that all manner of mistakes were

discovered in the besieging of Ladysmith, and not only of Ladysmith, but

also of Mafeking and Kimberley.

_The town was besieged._ That is a fact. I have only to do with that

fact now, and I am going to relate how the Free State commandos did

their part of the work.

On the day after Nicholson's Nek, certain Free State Commandants were

told by General A. P. Cronje, who had arrived on the 24th October and

assumed his command, to march their burghers to the south of Ladysmith,

and take up positions somewhere near or on the farm, Fouries Kraal.

These burghers consisted of portions of the commandos of Harrismith,

under Commandant C. J. de Villiers; Vrede, Commandant Anthony Lombaard;

and Heilbron, Commandant L. Steenekamp. General Cronje was in command of

the whole force.

Mr. Jan Wessels of Harrismith was appointed as guide, and the force

began to move as soon as it got dark. This was my first experience of

about a hundred night marches in which I took part during the war, and I

must confess that it was one of the worst I was ever in. I learned to

know the Africander in one of his weak points--his impatience of

discipline. I saw how he rebelled against what was the legitimate

authority under which he should have submitted.--How different it became

later in the war! As I write now nearly three years have passed since

that night march, and if I compare it with the night trek, for instance,

of the 23rd of February 1902 (of which I shall give an account later),

it is well-nigh impossible to believe that the strong, obedient burgher

of 1902 is the same man as the almost unbridled one of the end of 1899.

Everything was in chaotic confusion. One would have imagined that the

burghers stood under no orders whatever, and yet orders had been issued.

They were openly disregarded. It had been ordered, for instance, that

there should be no smoking, and yet all along the route--we were going

from the rear to the van--little flashes of light could be seen of

matches, with which the men lighted their pipes. Nobody bothered his

head about the question as to whether these lights could show our

whereabouts to the enemy. Then the men had been told to proceed in

absolute silence, and yet there was not even an attempt to do so.

Besides a dreadful din which was raised by the drivers of the mules that

were inspanned in the gun-carriages, the burghers conversed quite

loudly, cracked jokes, and laughed in explosive guffaws--for all the

world as if they were on some errand which involved no danger. In my

immediate vicinity there was a young burgher of the name of Adriaan

Venter--he was nicknamed _Dapperman_ because of his gallant behaviour at

Rietfontein. Well, this young fellow never wearied of saying funny

things; and I heard him use now for the first time his favourite

expression, "Jij is laat" (you are too late). This expression was soon

adopted by everybody in the field, and was used whenever anybody had

missed what he had had in view. Dapperman kept himself and all about him

in the best of spirits from the beginning to the end of that night

march, and it never entered his mind that scouts of the enemy might be a

hundred yards from us. Nothing struck me more than the entire

thoughtlessness of the burghers.

Just after we had begun to march, the clouds lowered, and it became very

dark. We could not see one another. The jokes of Dapperman only told me

that he was still near. Then it began to rain, and the road became

slippery. We progressed more and more slowly until at length we almost

came to a standstill. This was caused through the difficulty which was

encountered in taking the cannons through Sand River. The road at the

drift had become so slippery that it was next to impossible for the

mules to stand.

And meanwhile the darkness became thicker. I wondered whether I should

be able to see my hand if I held it before my eyes. Yes I could, so what

had been said of darkness so dense that you could not see your hand

before your eyes was not applicable here. Still, it was so dark that you

could not see the man you touched next you.

How provoking our slow progress was. We went twenty yards, and then we

halted for five or ten minutes. Then off we went again, and came to a

dead stop after we had progressed not more than twenty or twenty-five

yards. What were they doing in front, we were wondering; and the answer

came: "The guns can't get on."

Thus it went on until midnight. The General saw then that he could not

proceed, and ordered us to stop. We halted just where we were on either

side of the road we were travelling along.

Did the English know anything about us? I asked myself. There was

nothing to prevent it. Not only was it so dark that English scouts could

have been moving about among us, but we had shown them where we were

with our matches, and the noise we had made had revealed the direction

of our march. What, thought I, if they sent a shower of shells on us as

soon as it became light But this did not happen. The enemy had not yet

recovered from what they had suffered at Nicholson's Nek, and a few days

would elapse before a sortie from Ladysmith was again undertaken.

The morning broke dark and damp. Clouds hung low in the sky and it

looked like rain. This was not encouraging. Nor was it encouraging when

we saw how little we had got on in the night. We were not more than two

or three miles from where we had begun. But we had to go on

now--daylight or not, whether we were seen or not.

The whole force came into motion. It was a beautiful sight to see the

commandos together. I looked back from the van. The force was riding

over a great level space. There were at least two thousand together. An

insignificant number--but for us, the troops of two poor little

republics, it was large.

The clouds did not deceive us. We had hardly begun to march when several

heavy showers fell, and the prospect of a wet day was not pleasant. But

to the relief of all the weather cleared up before nine o'clock, and the

beautiful spring day followed: one of those days of unclouded sky which

are so rousing and vivifying in South Africa. After a short morning trek

we halted for breakfast, and then continued our march.

And now it began to be interesting.

A small body of Harrismith burghers had been told off to ride some miles

in advance, while the main body came on behind. Nobody could know what

might happen behind the ridges and kopjes which we were constantly

approaching and passing. The utmost care was observed. We halted

frequently until from time to time the reconnaissance of the country in

front was satisfactorily completed. Now and then we saw living objects

in the distance, and we could not know, of course, whether they were not

scouts of the enemy; but after Marthinus Potgieter had observed the

ridge or kopje through his long telescope and declared that the figures

were Kaffir women, and after our scouts had passed without adventure,

we knew that all was well, and went on.

We arrived at the house of an English missionary about twelve o'clock,

and Commandant de Villiers turned aside to see him. The missionary

showed signs of anxiety, and seemed to fear that harm would be done to

him. Commandant de Villiers assured him that nothing would happen, if he

put a white flag on the gable of his house as a sign that he was a

non-combatant. I accompanied the Commandant, and enjoyed a cup of tea

which the good wife of the missionary gave us. While we were drinking

the tea I heard children's voices in another part of the house, and I

was affected by them. A child always touches what is most tender in me.

And here I remember that I was especially moved by the sharp contrast

between those sweet children's voices and the harsh voices which I had

heard during the last few days of men talking about nothing but the war.

We hastened forward, and had scarcely reached the main body when we saw

in the distance some of our scouts galloping back. Field-Cornet Jan Lyon

thereupon set spurs to his horse, and dashed forward with a small body

of burghers. Soon we learned that, while a portion of our scouts were

proceeding along a cutting near Onderbroek Spruit, they were fired upon

by some Irish Fusiliers, who had concealed themselves behind huge

boulders on the roadside. Isaac du Plessis was wounded in the thigh. The

other portion of our advance party had gone over the hill, west of the

road, and had fired on the Irish Fusiliers, with the result that they

were driven off.

Isaac du Plessis was my first case. I bandaged him as well as I could,

and he was sent away for proper medical treatment.

We passed by the spot where the incident had occurred, and I saw the

corpse of a soldier lying on the roadside. He had been shot by our men

from the hill. He lay on his back, and had been covered by our burghers

with grass. How well I remember the emotion that passed through me when

I saw there for the first time the corpse of a man killed in action. How

many it would be my lot to see and--bury.

Nothing further happened, until we arrived late in the afternoon at a

spot on the high ranges of hills between Colenso and Ladysmith, about

three miles east of the main road. I went with two others over the

range, and they pointed out to me the tents of the English garrison, on

the left bank of the Tugela, near the village of Colenso. The view was

grand. A vast plain lay stretched out before us, and through it the

greatest river of Natal was cutting its way, and swiftly descending to a

series of rapids and falls into precipitous abysses. We stayed and

looked upon the great scene until the fast falling shades of night

warned us to return to the laager. Soon we were wrapped in deep and

restoring sleep, for we were very tired.

CHAPTER III

BESIEGERS AND BESIEGED

Ladysmith was now completely surrounded. It was besieged on the north

and east by the Transvaal and on the west and south by the Free State

commandos.

Early on the morning after we had marched to the south--on 2nd

November--Field-Cornet Jan Lyon went with a body of men to Pieter's

Station, broke up the rails there, and took the telegraph clerk

prisoner. While he was doing this the two guns which we had brought with

us were being dragged up the range of hills between Ladysmith and

Colenso. One of them was put on the summit of a pointed hill a little

south of Platrand (Caesar's Hill),--the other on the heights north of

Colenso. I was present when Commandant de Villiers drew the latter up

the precipitous slopes. There were huge boulders, as high as the wheels

of a waggon, thickly strewn on the hillside, and over them the Krupp had

to go. A strong span of oxen was put before the gun, and one could hear

the creaking of the yokes as the oxen strained to draw the gun up, but

as it became steeper and steeper it soon appeared that even the

South-African ox had a task which it could not do. The wheels of the

gun-carriage got jammed between the boulders and remained immovable.

Then the burghers took the work in hand, and what ox-power could not

do, human muscles accomplished. Some of the men seized the yokes and the

_trektouw_,[1] and others put their shoulders to the wheel, and up flew

the gun. It was not long before the Krupp made itself heard. To the

English fort near Colenso it sent a few shells--but the garrison there

had fled.

[Footnote 1: Chain to which the yokes are attached.]

The Winburg Commando was encamped a little more to the north-east than

we were, and had an early surprise. While they were engaged in broiling

meat for breakfast there were heard in sharp succession the reports of

guns, and immediately several shells fell right in their midst. It is

needless to say that there was a confused scramble in search of cover;

but fortunately nobody was hurt. The enemy, having given an exhibition

of their gun practice, retired immediately to Ladysmith.

The next day General A. P. Cronje sent 900 men chosen from all the

commandos to take a ridge south-west of Ladysmith, not far from the

house of Mr. Willem Bester, in order to oppose the enemy, who had made a

sortie from Ladysmith in considerable numbers, on the road leading to

Colenso.

From this ridge the burghers opened a steady fire on the approaching

English, who were also subjected to a heavy and continuous bombardment.

This went on for a considerable time, and then a number of mounted

troops charged the ridge, but were repulsed. After that others rode into

a donga to the west of our positions, and leaving their horses in it,

emerged with the object of taking possession of a low reef of rock

between themselves and us. But here, too, they were unsuccessful. Our

men opened such a withering fire on them that they were obliged to

abandon their design.

At this moment about 150 of the enemy gained possession of a hill to the

south with the object of surrounding us by the east. Sixty Winburg and

Harrismith burghers seeing this, charged them; but the bullets of the

English fell so thickly on them that forty of them turned back, so that

only twenty reached the top. There, however, they found themselves in

such a terrific fire that they could do nothing, and were obliged to

seek cover behind large boulders. Such was the state of things when our

Krupp on the pointed hill sent a well-aimed shell among the English, and

at once changed matters. The shell was followed without delay by

another, and when the fourth came the enemy was compelled to retire.

Then it was our opportunity. The twenty burghers emerged from their

hiding-places and fired upon the retiring English, and the hill was

quickly cleared.

While this was going on I was with the Harrismith Commando, which was

madly galloping as a reinforcement to the fight. We had to pass a spot

where shots occasionally fell, and as we raced along there, I heard for

the first time in my life the whiz of a passing bullet. We went on, and

arrived on the hill. But all was just then over, and we could only see

the English retreating to Ladysmith. Twice or thrice yet they fired

shrapnels at us, and again I had a first experience. It was of the

sound, sharp and shrill, of a shrapnel that went over our heads. I don't

know in what other words it can be described.

What a tyranny fear is! At the foot of the hill I saw a young burgher,

utterly overpowered by it, lying behind a large stone and not daring to

raise his head.

"Are you wounded?" somebody asked him.

"No," answered the terror-stricken youth, and pressed still closer to

the stone.

I met Mr. Roux here again, and assisted him to bandage the burgher

Gibson, who had been badly wounded in the leg. Two others also were

wounded.

Nothing further happened now, and in the evening we were in our little

field tents again.

During the following three days there was an armistice in order to

enable the enemy to get their women, children, and non-combatants out of

Ladysmith into the Intombi Camp, between the town and Bulwana.

On Sunday, the 5th of November, our commando went to Pieter's Station. I

had preached early in the morning for the burghers of Vrede; and now,

after we had inspected the station, we gathered under a great camel

tree, and had a most pleasant service. Just before the service some

burghers slipped away unobserved and sped to Colenso. Arrived there,

they helped themselves to what they fancied they needed in the shops.

While they were thus engaged, an armoured train came from Chieveley, and

began to fire on them.

We were lying unconcerned in the shadow of the great camel tree, when

Commandant de Villiers got the report that some burghers were hemmed in

at Colenso. He immediately gave orders that the horses should be saddled

and rode thither, but we heard on the way that the culprits had, by the

skin of their teeth, made their escape under a shower of bullets.

When we were returning to our laager, we met Kaffirs who had fled from

Ladysmith. They drew a terrible picture of the state of the town. They

told us that there were still unburied soldiers there, and that a bad

smell pervaded the town. Women and children too had to endure great

suffering, and were obliged to hide in holes which had been scooped out

in the river's bank.

We did not know then that we had to take Kaffir reports with a grain of

salt.

Towards the 10th of November the Free State laagers lay around Ladysmith

in this order: Near the railway line to the east of Smith's Crossing was

the laager of the Kroonstad Commando. To the west of the line, General

Prinsloo had fixed his headquarters; and thence round to the south stood

in succession the laagers of the Bethlehem, Vrede, Heilbron, Harrismith,

and Winburg Commandos. Each Commandant had one or two guns. Commandant

de Villiers had charge of two. For these he built forts on the hill upon

which the 150 English were shelled in the fight of the 3rd of November.

This hill lay to the west of Mr. Bester's house.

We Harrismith burghers pitched our camp at several places, but at last

we fixed it permanently at the south-west of this hill. From the forts

on the top of the hill you can see close at hand in the direction of

Ladysmith the Neutral Kopje. Right before you in the depth you see the

house of Mr. Bester, and there on the other side of the kloof rises

Platrand, or Caesar's Hill, on which the English are making forts and

sangars. Every now and then you see a cloud of smoke from our

cannon-forts, and a Krupp sends a shell on Platrand, to which the

English with splendid aim promptly reply. From every side and every

schanz the forts of the English were bombarded. The big gun of the

Transvaalers on Bulwana, to which the British gave the name of Long Tom,

was especially active, and sent its great shells regularly every day

into the town.

And now we were living in the constant expectation that Ladysmith would

speedily fall into our hands. Our expectations were also constantly

strengthened by Kaffir reports. There was, the Kaffirs told us, very

little food in the town, and the distress was great. Week after week,

therefore, we were expecting that Ladysmith would capitulate, but week

after week Ladysmith held out.

On the 14th of November another fight took place. The English made a

sortie to the south-west of the town, and attacked a position where

there were eighty men of the Vrede Commando. They opened a heavy

cannonade on the rand and made it almost untenable for the burghers

there. Then our guns came to the rescue. The two Harrismith Krupps fired

on the rear of the enemy. Others assisted, and everything was managed so

effectively that the English had to retire precipitously. A man came to

our laager in the evening and told us that he was in the Vrede position

while it was being shelled. It had been terrible, he said. One poor

fellow, a young burgher of the name of De Jager, had been hit in four

places, while lying behind a boulder, by a shrapnel--three bullets had

struck him in the shoulders and one in the head, and he had died

immediately. Two others were slightly wounded.

Our laager had not been out of danger. A piece of a shell had fallen in

it. Afterwards this happened frequently. Bits of missiles sent from

Platrand to the cannon-forts above now and again came into our camp, to

the great amusement of those who did not happen to be in danger at the

moment. How funny it was to see the men near the spot scramble to cover

when the danger was past.

About this time the Bethlehem Commando made a large capture of cattle.

Some Coolies were taken prisoners on the occasion. Everybody naturally

besieged the prisoners to hear something about Ladysmith. The wily

Indians took in the situation at once, and told us what they knew would

be agreeable to us. They "spoke comfortably to our hearts," and depicted

the condition of the town in the most appalling colours.

Just at this time too--on the 15th of November--Commandant-General

Joubert sent, under the command of General L. Botha, 1600 Transvaalers

and 500 Free Staters to Estcourt. Some of them came into action with an

armoured train near Chieveley. From the train a vigorous fire was opened

on the Transvaalers, who replied with cannon and rifle. Some Free State

burghers were in advance and attempted to break up the railway. But as

they had no tools to do this with, they could not, and instead raised

the rails on one side and placed big stones underneath. The train then

steamed back and two trucks were derailed. Immediately, under a heavy

fire from us, the English set to work to remove the stones, and then the

engine went backwards and forwards and came with every forward motion

into collision with the trucks. It succeeded soon in removing the

impediment, and sped away with the trucks which had not been derailed.

Fifty-six troops and three civilians were taken prisoners. Among these

was Mr. Winston Churchill, who escaped later in a very clever manner

from the Model School at Pretoria, in which he was being kept confined

as a prisoner of war.

We heard of this affair with the armoured train while we were chatting

in very rainy weather in the tent of Commandant de Villiers. It was

dripping wet outside and the laager had been converted into a perfect

puddle of mud by hundreds of feet. General J. B. Wessels and Commandant

Theunissen of the Winburg Commando were there on a visit. We were

talking about the armoured train, and presently General Wessels related

that a man had been taken prisoner the day before by the Winburg

burghers. This man had been found in a Kaffir hut, and had with him a

basket of pigeons, which he had brought from Maritzburg to smuggle into

Ladysmith. But as Dapperman said, "_He was too late._"

It did rain that day! and in the evening a steady downpour set in. I

sympathised with the sentries and outposts, who had to take duty on the

top and the slopes of the hill. What a cheerless thing it was, I

thought, to sit through the livelong dripping night with no shelter, and

to gaze into the darkness.

I can give no account of the adventures of the expedition which General

Joubert sent to Estcourt, as I did not accompany it. I can only say that

the burghers composing it did not remain long south of the Tugela, and

were obliged by great numbers of troops to return to Ladysmith. General

Joubert, however, said that he had succeeded in his object of preventing

all the English troops from massing on the western borders of the Free

State.

Shortly before the expedition was sent to Estcourt, the portions of the

several commandos which had been left on the Drakensberg were ordered to

descend into Natal and join the besiegers of Ladysmith. They arrived in

due time, and brought all the waggons with them. We had after that the

convenience of a laager. Tents of every shape and size soon sprang up

everywhere between the great waggons, and nobody who was not actually on

duty needed to have any apprehension with regard to heat, or cold, or

wet. There were indeed several who had raised their voices against the

bringing down of the waggons, and had said that they would prove to be

an encumbrance, in case a hasty retreat became necessary, but the

majority of the burghers were bent upon taking it easy--even in the

war--and demanded that the waggons should be brought down.

As far as I was concerned, though I did not approve of the presence of

the waggons, it was a personal pleasure to have a large square tent with

a table in it. Writing on a table was a decided improvement to writing

on a book, or a pad, on one's knees, or on the ground.

That tent in which I wrote!--how I remember it, while I am in Cape Town

writing my book over again.

The time passed swiftly, though it dragged from moment to moment. This

was one of the first things that struck me in the war. I would wake in

the morning and feel the duty of the day lying on me, as a burden which

could not be lifted. But when the shadows of night had fallen I found

that the burden had been borne. It often seemed as if the future lay far

beyond my reach, but after an hour, a day, a month was past, the hours

seemed to be seconds, the days hours, and the months weeks.

The burghers were terribly bored in the laager? Why? They wanted

nothing. The Government provided meat, bread (in the shape of meal),

coffee, sugar, potatoes,--sometimes tobacco;--we even lived in luxury,

for our wives sent us fruit and vegetables, cake and sweets. Why, then,

did the burghers feel bored in the laager?

The reason is that the Africander is not a soldier, who can take kindly

to camp or barrack life. The Boer detests a confined life, and whenever

he is away from the open plain, and the free breezes of heaven, he is

miserable. Thus it was that every burgher now longed to be back on his

farm.

How I pitied the Commandant! He was continually besieged by burghers

asking leave to go home. They asked for leave on the slightest pretexts,

or with no pretext whatever; for they would give as a reason for leave

of absence the work which had to be done on the farms. The women looked

after that as well as, and in many cases better than, the men themselves

had done. No, in the majority of cases there was no sound excuse to

justify a request for leave. It was simply because they could not stand

the confinement of the life in a laager.

Towards the end of the third week in November, one of the heavy guns of

the Transvaal--another Long Tom--was brought into the Harrismith laager

in order to be placed on the hill where our two guns stood. What a

monster it was!

A wooden platform of thick deal beams was constructed in the fort, and

Long Tom was drawn into position during the night. On the following

morning it fired on the forts at Platrand (Caesar's Hill), and the

terrific recoil splintered the stout beams of the platform as if they

had been thin lathes. The platform had to be rebuilt and rendered

stronger.

While we were doing this, the English were not idle. They were busy

putting a heavy gun on Platrand into position; and on the following day

they sent shell after shell, which pulverised the rocks and ploughed the

ground, but which happily did no injury to Long Tom.

On Sunday, 26th November, I visited the Bethlehem laager with the

intention of holding divine service there. On arriving, I found

everything in a state of hurry and bustle. Here someone was roasting

coffee, there another was shoeing his horse, yonder a third was greasing

the axles of his waggon. The cause of all this activity was that the

commando had been ordered to the western border by the War Commission,

and that they were preparing to start.

I succeeded in my intention of addressing the burghers, and took as my

text the comforting words of St. Paul: "Be of good cheer: for I trust in

God, that it shall be even as it was told me."

A fortnight afterwards, Acting-Commandant Christian de Wet was appointed

General, and likewise ordered to the western border. His achievement at

Nicholson's Nek had fixed the attention of the War Commission on him,

and he was now called to take upon himself the rank and important duties

of a General. I had no suspicion then that Christian de Wet had begun

the career which would make him famous throughout South Africa; nay,

throughout the world!

Thus far we had busied ourselves exclusively with the enemy hemmed in at

Ladysmith; but on the 28th of November the Boers were also threatened

from the south of the Tugela. On that day a considerable number of

troops advanced from the direction of Chieveley, and opened a heavy

fire on the Boer positions north of the river, with about twelve guns.

The Boers replied, and our shells fell upon the British until they were

forced to retire.

Platrand! What enchantment hung over that hill! From the first moment

that we had come south of Ladysmith, it had been the talk of everyone

that the hill should be taken; and about a week after the investment of

the town, Commandant de Villiers had actually made a night march with

the object of making an assault on it; but General Joubert had recalled

him before he could begin the attack. Since then the cry had ever been:

"The hill must be taken!" At last, wearied of the continual nagging, the

combined War Council of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State decided

that 900 men should storm the hill during the night of the 29th-30th of

November.

Many considered the decision unwise. They were of opinion that the hill

could not be taken without great loss of life, and that it was doubtful,

after it was taken, whether it could be held. Nobody, however, opposed,

and preparations were made to set out at two o'clock on the 30th of

November.

Something, however, intervened.

At ten o'clock in the evening some Transvaal officers entered the tent

of Commandant de Villiers, and pointed out that there was no shelter for

the storming party, and that the dongas at the foot of the hill, instead

of affording shelter, would prove disadvantageous to us in case we were

forced to retire. One officer after another entered the tent until there

were fifteen together, and all were opposed to the project of storming

the place. At one o'clock they had convinced one another that Platrand

could not be taken, and took it upon themselves to disobey the orders of

the Council of War, and so far from storming Platrand at two o'clock,

everyone was sound asleep in his bed at that hour. The evil day was

postponed.

On 7th December my son Charlie, aged 15, arrived in the laager. I had

left him behind at Harrismith to go to school, but it was impossible to

keep him there, and he had come to the laager at the first opportunity,

after receiving my consent. When he had been with me but a short while

he got a Lee-Metford from his friend Jan Cilliers, which had been taken

at Dundee.

At this time it became clearer and clearer that some event or other

might with certainty be expected from the south. The British

Commander-in-Chief in Natal, General Buller, had been there for some

weeks, and had had plenty of time to prepare himself. There was no doubt

that he had been busy, for more and more troops had come from Durban,

until the camps at Chieveley had grown to amazingly large proportions.

Everyone then was expecting that something was going to happen soon.

But in the meanwhile something took place closer to us, which filled us

with shame and indignation. In the night of the 7th-8th of December a

number of English climbed Lombard's Kop, where the heavy gun of the

Transvaalers was. They approached the fort in the greatest silence, but

the picquet became aware of their approach and cried, "Werda?"

Someone answered in good Dutch, "Don't shoot. We are the Modderspruit

burghers."

This satisfied the picquet, and the next moment the enemy was in the

fort.

Our men were taken by surprise, but they fired notwithstanding, and a

few English were wounded.

The few men in the fort were now forced to yield, and retreated before

overwhelming odds. Then the British damaged Long Tom so seriously that

it could not be used again for fifteen days. They also partially

destroyed a French quick-firing gun and captured a Maxim.

That same night another party of English damaged the railway bridge at

Waschbank (near Dundee) in such a manner as to stop the running of

trains for some days.

These two exploits of the English roused a feeling of dissatisfaction in

the minds of the burghers. They considered it a dishonour to us, and

although there were rumours of treachery, the general opinion was that

it was rather the carelessness and want of vigilance on our side that

was to blame. Everyone, on the contrary, meted out unlimited praise to

the English, and said that they had done a gallant thing.

Two days after it was Sunday, and I held divine services in different

places, according to my custom. On the same day, the Free Staters

captured a Kaffir, who had brought letters, sewn under the lining of his

sleeve, out of Ladysmith.

Those letters! How thoughtlessly they were read. Who cared that they

were the utterances of the heart, even though the heart of an enemy?

Who, whilst reading them, asked of himself: "What would I desire the

enemy to do, if a letter of mine should fall into their hands?" These

letters were from soldiers and civilians, mostly from husband to wife,

or from wife to husband. They bore witness to a very miserable state of

things in Ladysmith. One woman wrote that she lacked the common

necessaries of life; another that she went barefoot. Besides private

letters there was a report announcing that the troops were reduced to

half rations, and that many of them were sick; and also that an unknown

disease had broken out amongst the cattle.

Every day something happened, and the time passed rapidly. Was it not

because there was always something to keep us busy? Yes, a thousand acts

were crowded into each day.

The heart was filled with ever-changing emotions by the various

occurrences of each day. And one's mind was not occupied by the war

only. No! One's thoughts were drawn away irresistibly by the blue

expanse overhead, and by the wondrous landscape around, stretching away

to the finest horizons on earth. We lived in God's free nature, and as

we came nearer to her great heart throbbing in the grey veld and the

blue mountain, those of us who could felt ourselves borne away by a

delicious but withal terrible Power. How glorious, too, were the

evenings! How soothing was their deep silence after the exhausting,

bustling summer's day! And then there was the breath of air from the

east, which softly fanned the cheek, and calmed and laid to rest the

turbulent passions that rent the breast.

I used to sit of an evening beneath the camel thorn-tree, under which

Commandant de Villiers had pitched his tent, and gaze into the far west.

There lay Spion Kop, tinted pink by the last rays of the setting sun.

Far beyond rose the Drakensberg mountains with their rugged, dizzy

crags, scored and scarred, already veiled in the shadows of night. What

a thrill quivered through me when I presently looked up from that dark

mass and saw the glittering gold, which had been laid for a moment on

the clouds; or when, after the sun had set, turning, I beheld in the

east the wonderful maze of colour in the sky. The soft pink merged into

almost black purple, and this again, as if in need of support, rested on

the blue black rock foundation of the earth.

I forgot in such moments that we were at war. I was deaf to the

discordant sounds of the strife--the bursting of shells, and the whiz of

bullets. It was as if I heard God speaking in the still small voice.

Can I ever forget those evenings? I am living them over again. I still

gaze into that distant west, and seem to see the Unseen in that

wonderful vision: God, the Incomprehensible, the Unsearchable. I see how

He paints every evening a new picture on the mountains and on the

clouds. But He hides Himself in His picture. It is the robe, indeed, in

which He reveals Himself, but it is only the border, as Isaiah says, the

border of His robe: only the hem of His garment, and it--FILLS THE

TEMPLE!

CHAPTER IV

GENERAL BULLER'S FIRST GREAT ATTEMPT TO BREAK THROUGH

Since the beginning of November we had heard, as I have already said,

that Sir Redvers Buller had landed at Cape Town, and that he was in

supreme command of the troops in Natal. We also knew that he was busy

preparing himself for a grand attack upon our forces around Ladysmith,

in order thus to relieve Sir George White there.

Towards the end of November General Joubert received reports every day

of how matters were proceeding south of the Tugela. It was reported to

him that large numbers of troops were continually arriving from Durban,

and were occupying immense camps at Chieveley. Now, as it was impossible

to know exactly where General Buller would try to break through, it was

necessary to place commandos up and down the Tugela, with Colenso as a

centre. This was done. Various Transvaal commandos took possession of

the ridges opposite Colenso, and others were sent to the east of the

railway across the river to Klangwane, a wooded hill a few miles east of

the village, while General A. P. Cronje with from 1500 to 2000 men

trekked about twelve miles to the west.

I will here mention the names of the Transvaal commandos that occupied

the ridges opposite Colenso, because it was by them that the attack of

General Buller was repulsed. They consisted, to begin with the most

easterly wing, of a portion of the Krugersdorp Commando; next to them

were in succession westward the burghers of Heidelberg, Boksburg,

Johannesburg, the Swazieland Police; the Ermelo burghers and the

Zoutpansberg Commando on the wing farthest west.

These men worked night and day digging trenches and throwing up

earthworks. They did not make these works on the top of the mountain

range, where one would have expected them to, but on low ridges close to

the river. The enemy would thus, in case they attacked, first bombard

the wrong places, and the troops would approach to within a very short

distance of the position, and be subjected to a severe rifle fire,

before they knew from whence they were being fired on.

The first days of December passed by, and although there was no attack,

there were, however, signs every day to show that the English were

making preparations, and all held themselves in readiness.

Two or three days before the 15th of December one of the Transvaal

gunners, an Englishman, deserted, and as there was reason to fear that

he might acquaint the enemy with the preparations that had been made to

repulse an attack, General Louis Botha changed the positions of the guns

and also made the men dig other trenches and throw up new earthworks.

These trenches were dug on the level ground between the ridges I have

mentioned above and the river. If the former trenches were made where

the enemy would not expect them, this was still the case with the new

ones which were now made, as the result proved.

On the 14th of December Commandant de Villiers rode in the direction of

Colenso to see if he could discover any new developments in the

preparations of the enemy. He came to the top of the high hill between

Colenso and the Boer laagers around Ladysmith, and saw from there that

the British troops were approaching nearer and nearer to the village. He

computed them at about 10,000. "To-morrow," he said, on his return to

the laager, "there will certainly be a battle"; and he asked me if I

wished to go to the hill on the following day, in order to see what

might take place. I answered that I would like to go. Early on the

following morning, December 15th, we heard the roar of the great naval

guns. Commandant de Villiers had not been mistaken. The battle had

commenced.

I had my horse saddled and rode to the hill with a few burghers. There

lay the tiny hamlet of Colenso about five thousand yards from where we

stood, and down below with great curves the majestic Tugela flowed

onward, calmly and placidly. But there was no calm on its banks. The

ground shook with the thunder and reverberation of the great naval guns.

Everywhere, on both sides of the river, upon Boer and Briton, the shells

burst and the shrapnels exploded. Far away on the horizon seven or eight

miles from us, a little to the west of the railway, I saw the great

camps, looking like plantations of _black-wattle_ trees, from which the

troops had marched that morning. About two miles on this side of the

camps, the batteries of British field-guns stood in an irregular

semicircle, and in front of these the whole plain, for about three miles

to the west of the railway and a mile and a half to the east of it, was

covered with troops; not in compact masses, but widely scattered.

I also saw ambulance waggons riding to and fro. When the cannons fired,

no volumes of smoke rose in the air as was the case with our Krupps, so

if one looked for smoke as a sign that a gun was fired, one would never

know that a shell had been despatched. But even in the broad glare of

the day you could constantly see a small flash, and presently a

terrific crash somewhere on our positions would proclaim that a great

naval gun had been fired. Our projectiles too were aimed at the troops

and guns down in the plain. I could continually see our shrapnels

exploding there. And the tiny shells of our Maxim-Nordenfeldts created

havoc among the troops; while thousands of little clouds of dust, like

those which rise when the first great raindrops of a thunderstorm fall

on a dusty road, showed where the Mauser bullets fell.

The scene constantly changed.

What also struck me was, that the hundreds of small objects which I saw

down there were continually appearing and disappearing. I could not at

first understand what this meant; but I soon perceived that when the

objects seemed to rise from nowhere it meant that the soldiers were

making some dash or other to a certain spot, and when they disappeared

it meant that they were forced to lie down because of a destructive hail

of bullets which was poured upon them. This was the state of affairs

when I reached the top of the hill.

I must now relate something of what had taken place up to that moment.

General Buller had ordered four brigades of troops early that morning to

make an attack on us, supported by great naval and other cannon, with

the purpose of breaking through our lines and forcing a way to

Ladysmith. The troops had hardly commenced their advance before General

Botha perceived it, and ordered that all the men's horses without

exception should be taken away from the positions. He also issued a

strict command that no one should fire a shot before he gave the signal

by the firing of a cannon from one of the ridges behind the burghers.

Our burghers lay behind their schanzes and awaited the enemy.

It was hardly daylight when they saw the English advance--covering a

breadth of nearly eight miles--the one wing about four miles west of

Colenso, and the other about three miles to the east. Presently the

British cannon opened a tremendous fire on the ridges behind the

burghers and the shrapnel burst everywhere with terrific sound. The

noise was deafening, but our men did not answer. The English advanced,

the flanks approaching nearer and nearer to the centre, and there were

some of our officers who sent word to General Botha, beseeching him to

give the order to fire. No. He let the English come nearer and nearer.

Not a Boer could they see. Nearer and nearer the troops advanced. They

became over confident. The Boers had certainly fled and left the road to

Ladysmith open.

Suddenly General Botha gave the command. The cannon thundered forth the

signal, and a fearful storm of lead fell upon the over-confident

soldiers. They had not expected it, and the shock was terrible.

Nevertheless they advanced, and continued pressing forward, only to be

mown down by the withering fire of our Mausers.

In the meanwhile they had discovered where our burghers were, and a

fierce cannonade was directed on them, which, however, wonderful to

relate, did hardly any damage.

At last the troops ceased to advance on the west wing. It was then that

I arrived on the hill. But in the centre attempts were still being made

to break through, and in endeavouring to do this, they approached so

near to the Boer positions, a little to the east of the railway line,

that they could fire on the bodyguard of General Botha and on the

Krugersdorp Commando from a distance of not more than eight hundred

yards. Our men opened a terrible rifle fire on the gunners, and in a

moment all was quiet. Not a single cannon there fired another shot.

The English perceived that they had brought twelve guns to a spot from

whence they could not get them away again. Notwithstanding this they

rushed in to save the guns. From the hill above I saw how the matter

went, and I do not think that a more heroic deed was done in the whole

war than the rush of the English to save those guns.

It was a magnificent sight!

Team after team of horses I saw galloping in the same direction. I saw

how mercilessly they were mown down by the bullets of our Mausers and

the shells of our Maxim-Nordenfeldts. I saw how they persevered in their

efforts, till at last they ceased their attempts.

I could not, at the moment, understand what it all meant, and thought

that the English were trying to take a position, whence they could rush

across the bridge, and it was only in the evening that I heard that this

splendid gallantry had been displayed in order to save the guns.

Two of the twelve guns were rescued, but the English could not get away

the rest. General Botha made this impossible when he sent men through

the river to fetch them. These men waded the stream breast high, and

took positions so near the guns that it became absolutely impossible for

the British to make any further attempts, and ten of the twelve guns

fell into our hands together with a number of soldiers who were there.

General Botha had been the soul of everything in this great battle. He

went from position to position encouraging his brave Transvaalers. Here

he would direct their fire, and there he would send reinforcements.

Everything was controlled by him.

Some days later I had a conversation with Colonel de Villebois, who had

also been present at the battle. He said to me: "General Botha is a true

General. I saw this during the battle of Colenso. If I discovered a weak

point in the Boer positions, General Botha had perceived it before me,

and was already busy strengthening it. He is a true General."

Shortly after midday all was over.

Sir Redvers Buller commanded that the troops should retire. His plan had

been a great one, his troops had fought bravely, but they had failed,

failed splendidly.

The Boers, on the other hand, had repulsed the terrible attack. But they

did not ascribe it to their own efforts; no. General Botha telegraphed

to his Government that evening: "The God of our fathers has given us a

brilliant victory."

Our loss was, incredible as it may seem, seven killed, of whom one was

drowned, and twenty wounded. There had not been more than 3000 men in

the positions from whence the British had been repulsed!

On the following day Dingaan's Day was celebrated in all the laagers

with excessive joy, as might be expected. The Africander nation

perceived a new proof of God's protecting hand in what had happened on

the previous day, and the future seemed bright.

On Monday, the 18th, I left for my home, in order to celebrate Christmas

and New Year with my family. I remained at Harrismith till the 4th of

January 1900.

CHAPTER V

PLATRAND

On Friday afternoon, the 5th of January 1900, I was back in the laager

of Commandant de Villiers once more.

In the evening I sent a letter to my wife in which _inter alia_ these

words appeared: "And now I have no time to write anything more, but, as

the post leaves to-morrow, I wish you to know as soon as possible of my

safe arrival." I wrote nothing that could cause uneasiness, and yet

there was much that would have made her anxious if I had written about

it. Would this letter be the last I should write her? I asked of myself;

for we were on the eve of attacking Platrand (Waggon Hill).

As I have said in a former chapter, it had from time to time been

insisted on that Platrand, as being the key to Ladysmith, must be taken.

This had constantly been insisted on. General Prinsloo had declared that

the hill ought to be taken, and that he could do it with 100 men.

President Steyn had also telegraphed, saying that it was desirable to

have Platrand in our possession. Not a day passed without regret being

expressed that the rand had not been taken when, on former occasions,

attempts had been partially made, and now more than ever it was thought

that this should be done. This string had been so continuously harped

upon that the combined War Councils of the Transvaal and Free State

once more decided that an attempt to gain possession of Platrand should

be made. After I had held evening service for the first time since my

return, Commandant de Villiers made known to the burghers that men from

every commando would proceed to the hill that same night.

This famous hill, named Waggon Hill by the English, lies about three

miles south of Ladysmith, between the residence of Mr. Willem Bester and

the town. It runs from east to west. The ascent is very steep and its

slopes are partially covered with mimosa. On the summit the hill is

level, and round about its crest runs a cornice, to use an architectural

term, of great rocks, which we call a "krantz" in the Africander

language.

The British forts were built immediately above this "krantz." The idea

was that about 4000 men should make the attack. It was decided that the

Free Staters should scale the rand from the west and south-west, and the

Transvaalers from the south-west and south sides.

The Free Staters were drawn from the Kroonstad, Heilbron, Harrismith and

Winburg Commandos; and the Transvaalers from the commandos of Vryheid,

Utrecht, Wakkerstroom, Standerton, and Heidelberg.

The understanding was, that, after the storming party had taken the

hill, reinforcements would come from all sides to support them, and thus

carry out the attack. At about ten o'clock we, Harrismith burghers, left

the laager, in order to climb the hill at half-past two, in accordance

with the arrangement that had been made. We soon reached the Neutral

Hill. Here we halted a while, and those who could slept till one o'clock

on Saturday morning, the 6th of January 1900.

From there the burghers proceeded on foot. It was very dark, and all was

still as death. We walked forward slowly and spoke only in whispers; and

yet our progress was not so silent but that we feared we should be

heard. In the silence of the night, the slightest rustle of tree or

shrub sounded loud in our ears, and the thud of our feet on the loose

stones seemed to me like the tramp of a troop of horses.

The enemy, thought I, would certainly become aware of our approach long

before we could even begin to climb the hill. But it seems after all

that I was mistaken, and that the sentry did not discover us until we

had approached very close. At three o'clock we reached the deep dongas

at the foot of the hill, and the foremost men passed through. In about

twenty minutes we had climbed almost two-thirds of the hill, when we

heard a beautiful voice ringing out on the morning air: "Halt! who goes

there?"

No answer came from us. We continued climbing.

A moment passed, and then the silence was broken by the crash of a

volley. Then another and another. Everywhere above in front of us the

flashes of the rifles leapt forth into the darkness, and the sharp

reports followed in such swift succession as to give the impression of

Maxims firing. All of a sudden I saw a great long jet of flame, and

instantly the thunder of a cannon broke upon the startled air, and

presently behind us I could hear the shrapnel bullets falling on the

ground.

Then many of those who had not yet begun to climb the hill turned and

fled; but others rushed upwards and rapidly approached the cornice of

rocks whence the heavy firing issued. Silence was now unnecessary; and

voices were heard everywhere encouraging the men.

Field-Cornet Lyon and Zacharias de Jager in particular were of great

assistance to the Commandant; and one constantly heard, "Come along,

burghers! come along! forward!" At half-past three we reached the reef

of rocks and boulders, and presently I heard that two burghers had

already been wounded, while another lay motionless, but it was as yet

too dark to see who it was. It soon transpired that it was Assistant

Field-Cornet Jan van Wijk.

Before long it became light, and some of the burghers charged the forts

that were just above the ledge of rocks. They overpowered the soldiers

there, and took them prisoners, but were forced to fall back to the

escarpment of rocks immediately, on account of the heavy fire directed

on them from the other forts. And now the roar of the cannons and rifles

became terrific. This was especially the case with the ceaseless rattle

of small arms. One could with difficulty distinguish separate reports.

All sounded together like one continuous roar, and awoke an echo from

the Neutral Hill that sounded like the surging of a mighty wind.

We found ourselves under a cross cannon-fire. The shells from one of our

guns flew over our heads and exploded just in front of us on the forts,

so that we were often in fear of being struck by our own shells; and the

projectiles of the English were hurled in an opposite direction on our

cannon-forts and on the burghers on Neutral Hill.

Gradually we began to see in what a terrible position we were. We found

that we were a mere handful. Of all the Free Staters who had been

ordered to scale the hill there, only about 100 Harrismith men, 50

Heilbroners, and a few of the Kroonstad Commando, had obeyed the order.

The arrangement had not been carried out. As we learned afterwards, the

Winburgers had remained behind in a ridge at the foot of the hill, and

the rest were all crowded behind Neutral Hill, while most of the

Kroonstad burghers had not even got as far as that.

Of course we did not fully know then how matters stood, and expected

that reinforcements would come later on, which was impossible while

daylight lasted, for every approach to our position was exposed to a

terrible fire from above. It set us, however, somewhat at ease to know

that there were burghers behind the Neutral Hill. They guarded our rear

and left flank, and would beat back reinforcements attacking us there.

How terrible the firing was! It never ceased for a moment, for if the

burghers did not rush out, from time to time, to assail the forts, the

English charged us. This alternate charging of each other was taking

place every now and then, and it was during these attacks that the pick

of our men fell. Whenever a sangar was attacked a destructive fire was

directed on our men, and then some gallant fellows would always remain

behind struck down. In this manner Field-Cornet Celliers of Heilbron,

and of the Harrismith Commando: Kootze Odendaal, Marthinus Potgieter,

Gert Wessels, Zacharias de Jager, Jacob de Villiers, and Piet Minny,

were killed; and Hermanus Wessels and others mortally wounded. They were

mostly hit in the head, for the English as well as the Boers were on the

watch, and whenever anyone put out his head from behind a stone or a

fort, he was immediately fired at.

It was a fearful day--a day that no one who was there will ever forget.

The heat too was unbearable. The sun shot down his pitiless rays upon

us, and the higher he rose the hotter it became. It was terrible to see

the dead lying uncovered in the scorching rays; and our poor wounded

suffered indescribable tortures from thirst.

How glad I was that I could do something for the wounded. I bandaged

those within reach. I also rendered the first help to the British

wounded; one Tommy said to me, after I had bandaged him: "I feel easier

now." And a sergeant of the Imperial Light Horse, who had discovered

that I was a minister, remarked: "You are preaching a good sermon

to-day."

How the wounded suffered from thirst! And there was nothing to give

them--only a little whisky which I had got from an English officer who

had been taken prisoner. I gave a little of that, only a few drops, to

every wounded man. Not only the wounded--all of us, suffered from

thirst. Long before midday there was not a drop of water left in our

flasks. So intolerable was the thirst, that there were burghers who went

down to the dongas below in search of water, where there was none, and

where they knew that almost certain death awaited them.

How slowly too the time dragged! "What o'clock is it?" someone asked. It

was then only ten o'clock, and it seemed as if we had been fighting more

than a day, for up to that moment the firing had continued unabated; and

the Neutral Hill still sent back to us the echo of the firing--the echo

as of a mighty soughing.

Twelve o'clock passed, one o'clock, two o'clock--and still the fire was

kept up; and still the burning rays of the sun were scorching us.

Clouds! But they threw no shadow over us. Everywhere small patches of

shade checkered the hills and valleys; but they seemed to avoid us.

But a black mass of cloud is rising in the west, and we know now that

everything will soon be wrapped in shadow. Nearer and nearer to the

zenith the clouds are rising. What is that deep rumbling in the

distance? Thunder! Nearer and nearer it sounds, and presently we hear it

overhead above the din of the musketry and the boom of the cannon. How

insignificant the crash of the cannons sounds now. It is as the crackle

of fireworks when compared with the mighty voice of God!

We got more than shadow from the clouds. At five o'clock great drops

splash on the rocks. Presently the rain fell in torrents, and I could

wash the blood of the wounded from my hands in it.

It was now, just when the rain was descending in sheets of water and the

thunder-claps were shaking the hill, that the enemy redoubled their

efforts to drive us off the ledge, and our men had to do their utmost to

repel the determined onslaught. Had they been driven down to the plain

below, every burgher fleeing for his life would have formed a target for

the enemy. The fight was now fiercer than at any time during the day. It

is fearful to hear the roar of the thunder up above, and the crash of

the rifles below. But the enemy did not succeed in driving us off. We

remained there two and a half hours longer. Meanwhile we had been able

to quench our thirsts. We had made folds in our mackintoshes in which we

caught the rain, and then sucked it up. Streams of water too dashed down

through the rocks, and we drank our fill. These streams of water came

from the forts a few yards above us, and were red in colour. Was it red

earth, or was it the blood of friend and foe that coloured the water?

Whatever the cause, we were so thirsty that nothing would have kept us

from drinking. After the English had done their utmost to drive us from

the hill, and been baffled in their attempts, they returned to their

forts, and the firing subsided for a short time. It was quieter now than

it had been during the whole day, and the burghers had time to think how

wet they had got. Those who had no overcoats were drenched to the skin,

and many who an hour before did not know where to find shelter from the

heat, could now scarcely endure the cold. A keen wind, too, blew on our

damp clothes, and strong men stood shivering in the biting breeze.

It was now asked, "Where is Field-Cornet Jan Lyon?" Commandant de

Villiers had known for more than an hour that that brave man had fallen;

but he spoke to no one about it, for fear that the burghers should be

discouraged. It could not, however, remain a secret. Soon everyone knew

what had happened, and every countenance fell.

At last the sun set, and as it was clear to Commandant de Villiers that

no reinforcements would come, and as he had already lost at least a

third of his men, killed and wounded, he saw that it was impossible to

remain there. He therefore told me that he would continue there a little

while longer and withdraw when it became dark.

This took place at half-past seven. We had been on the hill for sixteen

hours under a most severe fire, and now we retired; but we were not

driven off by the Devons with levelled bayonets as I have read in an

English book. We were not driven off the hill. We held it as long as it

was light, and when twilight fell, Commandant de Villiers considered it

useless to remain there. He stopped there till the last man had gone,

then fired some shots, not, however, at Devons advancing with fixed

bayonets, but in the air, in order to make the English think that we

were still all in our positions. We then tramped through the water, till

we reached our horses, and then rode to the laager, depressed in

spirits, for we had left very dear ones behind us.

Of the Harrismith Commando there were 15 killed and 20 wounded;

Heilbron, 4 killed and 13 wounded; Kroonstad, 3 killed and 2 wounded;

Winburg, 1 wounded. Altogether 22 killed and 36 wounded. Including the

Transvaalers, we had lost 68 killed and 135 wounded.

I can give no description of how the Transvaalers had fared, as I was

not on their side of the hill; but there was the same lack of

co-operation amongst them. Only the men of one commando had scaled the

hill, and they, too, had to retire for want of support. Where were the

4000 who had been ordered to take the hill? Shamefully and criminally

had they left their comrades in the lurch. In the highest circles, too,

there was great mismanagement. One of the Long Toms, which had to take

an important part in the battle, had three charges! Another gun, too,

should have been posted at a certain spot; but it never turned up. One

felt embittered on hearing of such disgraceful mismanagement.

The next morning dawned, and inexpressible emotion surged through me

when in a moment I lived again through the events of the preceding day.

I thought of Jan Lyon and the other brave fellows who had fallen; and

when I knew that I should see them no more, my heart became as lead

within me.

It was a beautiful morning after the storm. The sun rose in glittering

splendour over the refreshed earth; and soulless nature smiled

regardless of the grief which tore the heart. It seemed as if the heat

and the burden of the day could not be borne; but it had to be borne!

In answer to a request from Commandant de Villiers, Colonel Ian Hamilton

had sent him a few lines giving us permission to fetch our killed and

wounded.

I accompanied a party of twelve, who went for that purpose. Our dead

were brought down from the hill by soldiers and laid in a row,--nineteen

dead! We placed our dead in a waggon, and conveyed them to the laager.

The Heilbron Commando buried their own dead. Zacharias de Jager,

Marthinus Potgieter, and Jacob de Villiers were taken to Harrismith, and

there laid to rest. The other burghers, with their Field-Cornet Jan Lyon

at the head, were buried in separate graves, alongside of one another,

about a mile from the laager.

It was my sad duty to address the men. I could have wept, as I saw

others do, especially at the thought of those amongst the slain who had

been my personal friends; but I felt that I had to restrain my feelings

there. It was my duty to encourage the men and turn their minds to God.

And God helped me to accomplish this; and, however bitter the sorrow of

everyone was before those graves were filled, we returned from that

sacred spot to the laager encouraged and hopeful.

CHAPTER VI

THE FIRST OF OUR DARK DAYS

The burghers soon recovered their spirits after the affair at Platrand.

Their dejection disappeared, and gave place to an activity which showed

itself in their willingness to perform any duty laid upon them. They dug

new trenches everywhere, on the top and along the sides of the hill

occupied by us, and built new "schanzes" (breastworks). There was also

more vigilance, Commandant de Villiers sent more burghers on guard every

night, and they went willingly. Then, too, a better spirit took

possession of the men. There was a greater sense of comradeship amongst

friends than formerly; there was no brawling, and swearing was seldom

heard. It seemed, too, as if the burghers felt the need of religion

more; for a request was made, emanating from them, that prayer-meetings

should be held in the laager, in small groups, every Sunday afternoon.

Shortly after the Platrand battle, a rumour went round that it was the

intention of General Buller to break through within seventy-two hours

and relieve Ladysmith. Very little belief was attached to this

particular rumour, although we were convinced that the English intended

soon to make a new and powerful attempt to relieve their besieged

comrades. But soon there seemed to be some truth in the rumour after

all; for, from about the 10th of January, great numbers of troops were

seen moving from Frere to Springfield, a place about twelve miles west

of Colenso, on the right bank of the Tugela. We could thus surmise that

General Buller intended breaking through in that vicinity.

As I have already mentioned, General A. P. Cronje had marched up along

the Tugela with a number of Free Staters some time before. He had kept

to the north side, and was stationed not very far from Potgieter's

Drift. He now went towards the cluster of hills of which Spion Kop is

the highest peak.

These hills form a sort of a range running from north to south, on the

left bank of the Tugela, about ten miles west of Ladysmith. Standing on

the summit one sees the beautiful Tugela, monarch of Natal rivers,

majestically winding and cutting its way through the plain. South

yonder, to the left, the main road can be seen passing through the river

at Potgieter's Drift, and leading towards Ladysmith at the foot,

eastwards of Spion Kop. There is another road passing through the river

higher up at Trichaard's Drift, which to the north joins the road from

Acton Homes to Ladysmith. This road climbs the mountain two or three

miles north of Spion Kop. Now, if General Buller intended fording the

Tugela from Springfield, at either Potgieter's or Trichaard's Drift, to

go to Ladysmith, he would have to bring his troops along one or both of

these roads.

Our Generals, therefore, took up positions all along the range. General

A. P. Cronje posted his men on the hill to the north-west of Spion Kop

and guarded the road from Acton Homes. During the battle Commandant de

Villiers stationed himself on Cronje's right, to the west of the Acton

Homes road. The Vrede burghers were placed by General Cronje on his

left, south-west of the road from Potgieter's Drift. And everywhere

between the Free State positions lay the Transvaalers, who had hurried

to Spion Kop immediately the intentions of the English became evident.

Thus, for example, to mention no others, General Burger occupied

positions in the immediate vicinity of Spion Kop.

While the British were massing at Springfield, the Boers did everything

in their power to strengthen their positions. They threw up splendid

breastworks everywhere on the hill, from the south-west of the

Potgieter's Drift road, up to the north of the other road. They sought

out the best places for cannon, and constructed forts wherever

necessary.

The movements of the English were most narrowly watched. No act of

theirs escaped our notice.--Where in the world can be found better

scouting than among the Boers?--And so it was seen that the English were

placing guns on Swart Kop, a wooded hill on the south bank of the

Tugela, somewhat to the east of Potgieter's Drift.

It was now clear to all that the enemy would attempt to break through

somewhere in the mountains of Spion Kop. We did not have to wait long.

On the 16th it was seen that troops and heavy guns were being brought

through the river at Potgieter's Drift. At the same time large numbers

of troops were proceeding through Trichaard's Drift, and everybody knew

that matters would soon come to a head. And so it proved.

Early on the following morning, 17th January, the cannon--great naval

guns--began to roar from Swart Kop, and the eight days' battle of Spion

Kop had commenced.

Soon now the troops passed by the road from Trichaard's Drift through

Venterspruit and slowly commenced to climb the hills.

A number of their mounted men detached themselves from their left wing

and hurried on in the direction of Acton Homes. It was clear that they

must be stopped, and some of our men were immediately sent to oppose

them. These men came in contact with the English on the following day,

and fell into an ambush.

Believing the English to be still ahead, they found themselves attacked

in front and on their flank. They hastily took up position on a kopje

and defended themselves for a time with unparalleled gallantry. There

were some of them who wanted to hoist the white flag when they found

themselves in a fearful cross fire; but the others declared that they

would shoot the first man who did so. Field-Cornet Mentz--better known

by his _nom de plume_ of Mordecai--fought like a lion. But he received a

mortal wound and sank to the earth to rise no more. After this our men,

overpowered by superior numbers, were forced to yield. Several more had

been killed and others wounded, and the enemy took twenty-four

prisoners.

The English did not advance any farther from that point. They were

prevented from doing so by the presence of numbers of Free Staters and

Transvaalers in the road from Acton Homes to Ladysmith, but no fighting

occurred there. The other forces, those that were advancing from

Venterspruit, stormed the centre of the ranges in great numbers. They

came on in two divisions, occupied some hills opposite our positions,

and placed cannon on them.

Meanwhile the English cannon had crashed and thundered unceasingly since

the preceding morning. The entire range was subjected to a terrible

bombardment, from the Vrede positions, east of the road from Potgieter's

Drift, up to our right wing on the Acton Homes road. Shells of every

sort and size fell fast and thick on our positions. I saw the huge

projectiles of the naval guns striking the earth, and how great clouds

of dust and smoke arose whenever one of these huge shells came in

contact with the earth. The ground was torn and ploughed up when the

lyddite shells burst with a terrific crash, and their yellow smoke gave

the burghers headaches and made the water in their flasks bitter. The

bombardment was fearful. Never for eight days long was there a pause.

Clouds of smoke constantly rose from the earth, where the shells burst,

and one could continually see the hundreds of vanishing cloudlets in the

air where the shrapnels burst over the positions.

Our cannon, although greatly outnumbered, were terribly destructive. The

gunners had the inborn talent of the Boer, alike of accurate aim and of

judging distances, and to this was added the advantage of military

training received at Pretoria or at Bloemfontein. So they did not fire

at random, and their missiles always seemed to burst just where they

were intended to. Our French quick-firing and Krupp guns often

demoralised the advancing troops. Our Maxim-Nordenfeldts were the

especial aversion of the British soldiers. We heard from some who were

taken prisoners at Spion Kop that "Hell clock" was the name they gave

our Pom-pom.

I visited the battlefield just in the middle of the eight days' battle,

on Sunday, January 21, when the bombardment was at its fiercest. I found

that it had often been so intolerable that the burghers were driven out

of the earthworks and compelled to seek shelter behind the hill slopes.

But they had always returned and kept up a continuous fire on the

advancing soldiers. I found, too, that the English had as yet always

been driven back, but that their repeated attacks had not had quite a

satisfactory moral effect on the burghers. The direction of affairs was,

however, in the hands of Commandant General Louis Botha, than whom there

was no man better qualified to encourage the burghers. Just as at

Colenso, so here he rode from position to position, and whenever

burghers--as I have related--were losing heart and on the point of

giving way under the awful bombardment, he would appear as if from

nowhere and contrive to get them back into the positions by "gentle

persuasion," as he expressed it, or by other means.

A case in point happened on 21st January, while I was there. A few of

our forts near the Acton Homes road were evacuated, and the English

would certainly have taken possession of them--and thus been nearer to

the attainment of their object--had not three Transvaalers remained

there, and by firing rapidly, made such a demonstration that the British

thought that the forts were still manned, while two others went to

acquaint General Botha with the state of affairs.

It was then that General Botha once more persuaded the burghers to

return to their positions; and the English did not approach any nearer

there.

On the following day, when riding back to the laager, I was struck by

the way the burghers were pouring in from all directions as

reinforcements. I saw persons of every age going to the positions. There

were amongst them boys and middle-aged men; there were even grey-beards.

And the most remarkable thing about this was that all these men had not

been ordered to the battle. They came of their own accord. I thought of

a text in the Bible which, when separated from its context, was

applicable here, "Thy people shall be willing" (Ps. cx. 3).

Amongst them was a youth of fifteen or sixteen, who was met by

Commandant de Villiers. He was riding a chestnut pony and looked very

shabby. Poor lad!

"Oom," he said to Commandant de Villiers, "I hear they are at it up

here." He used the untranslatable word "spook."

"Yes," answered Commandant de Villiers. "And you? Where are you going

to?"

"I am going to 'spook' too," said the boy, and rode off on his lean

pony.

On the following day Commandant de Villiers met him again; but how

changed he was. Instead of his dilapidated hat, a helmet of one of the

soldiers adorned his head; and he, or rather his poor little chestnut,

groaned under the equipment of two or three soldiers. He had three

Lee-Metford rifles, several water-flasks were slung from his shoulders,

and a number of bayonets hung at his horse's side and rattled whenever

the animal moved. Besides this, he had also several of the small spades

with which the English soldiers are provided; he had got his head

through three or four cartridge belts.

"He had 'spooked' indeed!" thought Commandant de Villiers.

The attack from Venterspruit lasted for four days. It was fearful to

witness what havoc our guns wrought amongst the English--especially the

Maxim-Nordenfeldt.

But the British allowed nothing to baffle them. They were repeatedly

driven back, and one constantly saw them carrying off their dead, and

constantly they reappeared with new reinforcements. They built small

entrenchments of stone and lay firing from behind them, and the shells

exploded and our Mauser bullets rained upon these small fortifications.

But there was no sign of retreat. The number of our dead and wounded had

already reached nearly a hundred. We began to tremble as to how matters

might turn out. How long would it last, we asked when the fourth day had

passed and our burghers continued to suffer terribly under the

bombardment.

How long, we asked ourselves, would our burghers be able to hold out?

At last the shades of the night of the 23rd of January closed in upon

the horrible scene, and many anxiously questioned what the morrow would

bring forth.

The night was dark and rainy, and this did not help to dispel the

depression which prevailed; but the burghers were not discouraged;

neither the four days' attack, nor the six days of shelling, nor the

depression caused by the drizzling rain, could quench the quiet

determination and courage of our men. They entered upon the night firmly

resolved that, when the light of morning dawned, they would once more

begin their schanzes and again face the fire of the guns, and beat back

the ever-returning odds.

On the following day everything looked dark. The mountain was enveloped

in a dense mist, and for a long time the men lay behind their schanzes

waiting for what would happen when the vapours were dispelled.

After some time the weather cleared, and what was the surprise of all to

see that there were English on the summit of Spion Kop! They had climbed

the mountain under cover of the dark night. And there were some who said

that all was over with us now. The battle was lost.

But the burghers who were in the vicinity of the Kop were not of this

opinion. General Burger reported to General Botha how matters stood, and

he himself gave orders to Commandant Prinsloo of the Carolina Commando

to storm the Kop. This was carried out splendidly by Prinsloo and his

Carolina burghers, at the cost of 55 killed and wounded out of the

gallant 88. The burghers of Lydenburg and Heidelberg also took part in

the onslaught. And when General Botha soon afterwards stormed the Kop

from another direction, no one doubted but that the attack would

succeed. In the meanwhile matters had gone hard with the English on

Spion Kop. From the moment that our gunners had discovered them, they

had bombarded them fiercely. The English perceived too, when it was too

late, that they had not been able in the darkness to find the best

shelter, and that they were now insufficiently protected from our

shells. These caused such slaughter amongst them that when our

storming-party reached the top, before ten o'clock, they met with very

little opposition. The English were driven to the other side of the Kop,

and the fight was carried on at very close quarters. Boer and Briton

were often but fifty yards apart.

And now something happened about which we had heard complaints before,

but of which I will now speak for the first and last time: the abuse of

the white flag.

When the English had been some time under the withering fire, they

hoisted the white flag and held up their hands. Our burghers thereupon

ran up to them; but to their intense indignation and abhorrence, when

they approached the English they were suddenly subjected to a hot fire.

This so incensed them that when the white flag was hoisted again shortly

after, they refused to believe that no treachery was intended, and

continued firing for a while even after they saw the white flag flying.

But, convinced at last that a genuine surrender was now meant, they

ceased their fire and took 187 prisoners.

During this fierce fighting on the Kop, reinforcements were continually

being sent up from below to help the British. But these were subjected

to a merciless bombardment, at one point especially, where they were

particularly exposed. They were cut to pieces by the shells of the

quick-firing guns, and mown down by the tiny projectiles of the

Maxim-Nordenfeldt.

At the end of this long day darkness closed in, to the relief of all.

All except a small number left the top of the Kop, and spent the night

against the slopes of the hill with the intention of renewing the bitter

contest at the first signs of daylight.

The burghers rose very early the next morning. They were soon in the

positions of the former day. But why was all so still? Not an Englishman

was to be seen--not even a rifle barrel protruded over the entrenchments

of the enemy. Cautiously our men proceeded to the other side of the Kop.

The mountain was deserted!

Down below, the entire force of the enemy could be seen retiring towards

the Tugela.

The great battle of Spion Kop had been fought. The English had made a

second attempt to relieve the besieged at Ladysmith and had a second

time been beaten back.

We could not accurately estimate their loss, but hundreds of dead lay on

the battlefield.

General Buller obtained leave from General Botha to bury his dead; and

it was heartrending to see how many there were. Many of them were flung

into the long trenches that had served as breastworks, and so great was

the number that the earth did not sufficiently cover them all. Some even

remained unburied. We did not know what the exact number was, but we saw

the dead lying in heaps.

It is unnecessary for me to say here at what number the Boers estimated

the strength of the English. The reader can learn the number for himself

from British sources when he is perusing these pages.

It is sufficient to state here that their numbers far exceeded those of

our men. For we did not have more than 5000 men there at the utmost, and

of these all did not take part in the battle; at the same time our loss

was great.

On the day after the battle General Burger telegraphed: "Our loss is not

exactly known, but must amount to about 120 dead and wounded." The

number afterwards proved to be 55 killed, 170 wounded.

We had now a short period of rest, and I got the opportunity of

visiting the Rev. H. F. Schoon, minister of Ladysmith, in Intombi Camp,

in which the English had placed the non-combatants, the women, and the

sick and wounded. An arrangement had been made with Sir George White to

allow burghers, who had leave from their Commandants, to enter this camp

to see their friends.

Strange, is it not? It was impossible for such a thing to happen in the

later phases of the war. Well, I got leave from Commandant de Villiers

to go, and had the pleasure of visiting my friend and his family, and of

comforting them in their trouble. They looked pale and weak. I learnt

that they got enough to eat, but that the meat was very lean and

bad,--other rations were dealt out to them in small doles. I found Mr.

Schoon and his family were very quiet and resigned. We could not

converse as we should have wished, for a magistrate was present; but I

could hear enough to gather that the besieged were in a piteous plight.

On my way to this camp I visited the dam which the Transvaalers were

constructing across the stream of the Klip River with the intention of

inundating Ladysmith. I saw a great number of Kaffirs there filling

thousands of bags with sand, with which to make the dam, which was

already level with the surface of the water.

On the 12th of February, General Buller commenced his third attempt to

break through. On this occasion he advanced along the Potgieter's Drift

road, and tried to force his way through to the south of that road. It

was marvellous to see how rapidly the burghers got into position

everywhere to oppose the English. The Johannesburg Police suffered very

heavy losses. Their position was subjected to such severe bombardment

that they could not endure it, and were forced to evacuate it, leaving

behind their dead. The English then took possession of it, but were in

turn shelled by our guns, especially by one of the Long Toms; and they

speedily relinquished the advantage they had gained.

Here again General Buller's effort was a failure, and he retired south

of the Tugela with his whole force.

The following week I went to Harrismith to spend a week with my family,

so that I was not on commando when the English broke through at Pieter's

Heights and at last relieved Ladysmith. I can therefore say nothing of

that, to us, ill-fated battle. I can only say in passing, that the great

mistake there seems to have been that General Botha was not in command.

When he arrived on the scene at the commencement of the battle, he

strongly disapproved of no measures having been taken to prevent the

English from taking Klanwane--the wooded ridge to the east of Colenso.

"If the English once get on that hill--we have no chance," he said. And

what he had said proved true.

The English took the kop and placed their naval guns on it, and they

then had the key to Ladysmith. It was then all over with us! From

Klanwane they could direct a terrific bombardment on all the Boer

positions. And the Boers were overpowered by the overwhelming odds of

cannon as well as men.

After besieging Ladysmith for four months, the siege was given up and

our forces retired to the north.

The commandos trekked with all speed through the mud--for the weather

was rainy: the Transvaalers to the Biggarsberg and the Free Staters to

the Drakensberg.

I visited the Harrismith burghers a few days after they had pitched

their camp on the great mountain range. What thoughts passed through my

heart on thinking how different was our position four months ago when

we had descended from those towering mountains into Natal. During the

four that had elapsed we had been very successful, except during the

last month, when we began to have disaster on disaster. Cronje had

surrendered at Paardeberg. Kimberley, Ladysmith, and Mafeking had been

relieved; and just after I arrived in the laager, the report came that

Lord Roberts had occupied Bloemfontein without firing a shot. Was this

the beginning of the end? I asked myself.

Those were dark days! And yet no one was utterly cast down. "Matters

will take a turn," so everyone said; and notwithstanding all that had

happened, we looked forward hopefully.

And how much help, too, did not the men receive from their wives. Those

who obtained leave to go home for a few days, found their wives as

courageous as ever. They found, too, that their womenfolk had performed

the labour of men on the farms, while they had been in Natal. They had

seen that the fields were ploughed by the Kaffirs, and in many cases

they had themselves scattered the seed in the furrows; and now the men

would commence to reap what the women had sown, to reap so plentifully

that man and beast would live for months upon the harvest.

What noble women are the wives of the Boers! They are the very

embodiment of the love of liberty. They have ever been ready to stand by

the sides of their husbands, in the holy cause of freedom. In former

days they moulded bullets for their husbands, while these were repulsing

a fierce onslaught of Kaffirs; and now they had managed the entire

farm-work, while the men were absent, fighting for their country. And in

the future--alas! that such a future should lie before them--they will

have to suffer inexpressible sorrows, because they will choose to be the

true-hearted mothers of a free nation. Because of their steadfastness

they will have to suffer as the women of no civilised nation have ever

suffered at the hands of the soldiers of another civilised nation. They

will refuse to call back their husbands from the heroic strife; and for

that they will have to submit to humiliation and insult; for that they

will be driven from their homes like cattle; for that they will have to

yield their lives in concentration camps; they will have to see their

homes burnt, and the food taken out of the mouths of their children, and

all this because they have held their Liberty dearer than anything. We

knew not then, during those dark days on the Drakensberg, that such a

future lay before our women. But we saw enough of their indomitable

courage, to know that with such heroines for mothers, wives, sisters,

daughters--it was impossible for us to give up the struggle at the first

sign of adversity. That was a source of consolation to us in the

sorrowful days of March 1900.

PART II

_ENDURANCE_

CHAPTER I

TO NAUWPOORT

This second part of my notes, like the first, is not cast in the form of

a journal. The reason is that my diary was lost on the 6th of June 1901

at Graspan, near Reitz, where I was captured by the English and remained

in their hands for seven hours.[2] I escaped with nothing more than the

clothes on my back. When, some days after, I arrived at Fouriesburg I

began to rewrite what I could recollect, and succeeded in this better

than might have been expected. I prepared a calendar of the Sundays, and

this helped me to recall to memory, for every day of the week, almost

everything I had noted down. It became evident, however, that I could

not now write a journal, but a narrative. This, as I knew, would be less

attractive for the future historian, to whom a chronicle, however dry,

is of more importance, but it would be, in regard to form, more pleasing

to the general reader.

[Footnote 2: How I was released will be described later.]

Girding myself to the task, I discovered when I began to write that what

I was recording afresh was perfectly reliable. I succeeded better than I

expected. Entire pages appeared almost word for word. This was no doubt

due to my having written my journal over several times at Zwart Klip, in

the months of January and February 1901.

I shall now proceed to relate what I witnessed during the war subsequent

to the events which had happened when I made my last notes in Natal.

When the burghers of the Free State had to retire from Natal, a large

number of them were ordered to go as reinforcements to our forces who

were endeavouring to prevent Lord Roberts with his immense army from

penetrating farther into our country. The burghers, however, of

Harrismith, Vrede, and Heilbron, under Chief-Commandant Marthinus

Prinsloo, were to remain on the Drakensberg to guard the border. They

lay along those mountains from Oliviershoek on the west as far as De

Beer's Pass to the east. Subsequently the burghers of Heilbron were also

called away; and when General Prinsloo shortly after went away to our

commandos in the neighbourhood of Lindley and Senekal, Commandant

Hattingh of Vrede was elected Chief-Commandant.

I spent nearly the half of my time in visiting these burghers. On

Sundays I held divine service in the church at Harrismith, and on

week-days I was in one or other of the laagers on the Drakensberg.

It was very irksome for our burghers to lie there inactive, without ever

coming into contact with the enemy; for from Natal the English made no

advance.

Our men stood guard day and night, and now and then a patrol went down

the mountain; but further than this nothing was done. The spare time was

employed in building sod-stables for the horses, and making "yoke-skeys"

and handsome walking-sticks from the wood of beautiful trees which were

ruthlessly felled in the large forests which grow on the Natal side of

the Drakensberg mountains. For the rest the younger men amused

themselves with swimming, cricket, football, and quoits, and so summer

glided away into autumn, and autumn into winter.

Sad waste of energy and time, one might say, whilst the other burghers

were engaged in a life-and-death struggle in the middle of the State.

Undoubtedly so! But the order had been given: Guard the frontier! And as

in obeying this command the burghers of Vrede and Harrismith had also

the advantage of protecting their own districts, it was by no means

against their will that they thus lay inactive from month to month along

the border.

But there came a change in this condition of things when, towards the

middle of July 1900, an order was issued by the President that all the

forces on the Drakensberg mountains should proceed to Nauwpoort.[3] The

border guard immediately raised the objection that it was not advisable

to remove all the forces from the frontier, and thus leave the only two

districts in the Free State--Vrede and Harrismith--that had not yet been

devastated, open to invasion from the side of Natal, and unprotected

against Kaffir "raids," and they asked the President if he would not

change his decision in this matter. After some correspondence, the

President agreed that a small body of men should be left as a guard

along the border under Mr. Jan Meyer, who for this purpose was appointed

Acting Chief-Commandant; but at the same time gave very strict orders

that all the other burghers should without delay proceed to Nauwpoort.

[Footnote 3: This was the order. When General de Wet passed through

Slabbert's Nek, the following arrangement was decided on: General de Wet

was to proceed on the 15th to Heilbron, and General Roux the day after

to the south of the State. It was further arranged that General

Marthinus Prinsloo should remain in command of a small body of men

stationed on the Roodebergen from Commando Nek to Nauwpoort in order to

guard the grain districts. General Crowther had on the same day as

General Roux to go to Witkop and stay there until he could join General

Hattingh, under whom he was then to operate in the districts of Vrede

and Harrismith. The unfortunate spirit, however, which, immediately

after the departure of the President, arose among the officers at

Nauwpoort upset all these arrangements.]

In accordance with these orders the burghers who had since the month of

February been stationed on the Drakensberg, left their positions there

on the 16th of July 1900, and two days later, after having made some

necessary arrangements at their farms, encamped for the night near Mont

Paul, about three miles from Elands River. This force consisted of

burghers from Harrismith and Vrede, with one Armstrong and two Krupp

guns under command of Chief-Commandant Hattingh, with Mr. C. J. de

Villiers as General. Early the following morning they crossed Elands

River, and the officers held a council of war on the left bank, during a

short halt of the laager, when it was decided to requisition

slaughter-cattle and horses from the burghers remaining behind, and some

of the men were immediately sent to carry out this resolution. That

night we encamped at Klerkespruit, not far from the dwelling of the late

M. Jacobsz.

On the following day things began to take a more lively turn. The

waggons were inspanned early, and had proceeded to the farm Sebastopol,

where, about five o'clock in the afternoon, a report-rider from a

position of the Bethlehem Commando at Spits Kop came riding into our

laager with the request that reinforcements should immediately be sent

by us to Spits Kop, to oppose an English force that had marched out of

Bethlehem with the apparent intention of going to Harrismith. General de

Villiers was in the vanguard, and immediately sent notice to the

Assistant Chief-Commandant, at the same time requesting him to send the

guns forward. Hurried preparations were now made to proceed without

delay with a body of mounted men, and from time to time other despatch

riders arrived, urgently asking that there should be no delay.

At ten o'clock everything was ready, and the men rode out in the raw

winter night. We progressed slowly, for the cannon remained far behind,

and from time to time we were obliged to wait for them to come up.

Everywhere along the road grass fires could be seen, which had been lit

by the burghers to warm their feet by whilst they were waiting for the

guns to arrive. At last they halted by a hill to the west of Groendraai,

and slept there until the moon rose. We proceeded then to near

Davelsrust, and whilst the burghers were filling their kettles there,

and partaking of an early breakfast, another messenger arrived with the

same request as before. The men ate their breakfast hurriedly, and we

were soon in the saddle again marching forward with various

expectations. When we drew near to the positions of the Bethlehem men,

General de Villiers sent forward the Armstrong under Acting Commandant

Streydom (Vrede) to Field-Cornet Gideon Blignaut, who was at Spits Kop,

whilst he himself with the two Krupp guns went eastwards, against a

force of the English on the left bank of Liebenberg's Vlei, on the hills

opposite Langberg. When we approached the enemy we occasionally heard

the whistle of a bullet, with the peculiar sensation which that sound is

apt to cause. But how suddenly did that pass when the roar of our own

guns fell on our ears. The fire of our Krupps made the English, at whom

they were aimed, scatter; but our gunners had, in their turn, to seek

safety behind a ridge, when the little shells of an English

Maxim-Nordenfeldt (pom-pom) began bursting rather unpleasantly around

them, and driving terror into the artillery horses. They took up a

position at the edge of the ridge, opposite the English, not far from

the house of Mr. Nicholas Kruger, a little to the east of a small body

of Bethlehem men, and from there kept up a desultory rifle fire until

the evening.

The following day was Sunday, the 22nd of July. When we awoke it

appeared that the enemy had disappeared from the ridge, and about ten

o'clock a portion of the burghers were ordered to occupy the deserted

positions.

The men were soon there, and a desultory fire was opened from the edge

of the ridge to the north-west. After a short time the firing became

more severe. The English also brought a Maxim into play, and it seemed

as if the fight was going to be a sharper one than that on the previous

day. Nothing in the world was the matter; everything, on the contrary,

was going satisfactorily, when some officers came riding back from the

position to General de Villiers, who was directing the fight from the

positions which we had occupied the day before, and told him that the

place where the burghers were fighting was untenable. Thereupon the

General ordered that they should retire slowly. The burghers who were

fighting at the edge of the ridge heard this with much astonishment and

disapproval, as they saw no reason for drawing back; but when they

noticed that the men on their left were all riding away from their

position, they were also obliged to give way. At two o'clock we were

back in the positions of the previous day, and the burghers thronged

together at a point of vantage to gaze at the positions which had thus

been forsaken, filled with dissatisfaction at the desertion.

When they were standing there crowded together, the sound of an

approaching shell was heard. It flew just too high, fortunately, over

the heads of the throng of burghers, and burst in the kloof behind them.

Had it been a little lower it would have worked dreadful havoc. The men

dispersed quicker than they had come together, and sought shelter behind

the large boulders; and then shell upon shell kept falling till the

evening, without, however, doing any damage to man or beast. It had

been quite unnecessary to leave those positions, and it struck me as a

bad sign that the burghers were so ready to give way. That evening when

we turned in the weather was beautifully mild, but this was the

harbinger of calamity! Hardly had we lain down to rest before a

drizzling rain set in. At midnight I heard a peculiar sound, as of

something soft falling upon the blankets. It was snow! Soon it lay two

inches thick upon our blankets. After two hours the rain and the snow

ceased, but most of us were wet to the skin; and when on the following

day we dried our clothes by the fire, we could speak from experience of

having had to sleep in the open air in a snowstorm.

After breakfast General de Villiers crossed Liebenberg's Vlei to

reconnoitre the positions of the English from Langberg. On arriving

there he saw that the enemy was drawing off in the direction of Spits

Kop, whereupon he immediately returned. He then ordered the whole of our

force to march in the same direction, to support Assistant Commandant

Streydom and Field-Cornet Blignaut. He had just given this order when a

report arrived from the latter officer, stating that the enemy had

occupied Spits Kop, and asking for reinforcements.

After dark we began marching thither; we proceeded with the utmost

silence. No fire was lit along the road; smoking was forbidden. Before

daylight we were near the position held by Field-Cornet Blignaut, near

the so-called "Schurve Kopje" (rugged hillock). It was then resolved

that we should go to the hill between the homesteads of Hans and David

Naude, where we arrived shortly before sunrise. We had not long been

there before General Hattingh arrived. He ordered Commandant Truter,

with a number of burghers, to return to Liebenberg's Vlei, and to remain

there in order to oppose the enemy should they return thither. In the

afternoon we saw a large force of the English approaching along the road

that leads over Suiherbosch Plaat. This force was under the command of

General Sir H. MacDonald, and had, as we ascertained later on, come from

Retief's Nek. The enemy pitched their camp about three or four miles

from us, and immediately began to throw out scouts in our direction.

On the following day a council of war was held, and it was resolved to

station the burghers as follows:--

The Bethlehem men, under Field-Cornet Blignaut, at Liebenberg's Vlei;

the men of Vrede, under Acting Commandant Streydom, at the "Schurve

Kopje"; one Field-Cornet at the hill, where the Harrismith men were; and

the burghers of Harrismith in the nek of Nauwpoort.

On that same afternoon General de Villiers received a letter from

General Roux requesting him to hold Nauwpoort, as it was the intention

of the commandos who were on the other side to come through this Pass.

The burghers of the various commandos occupied these positions

accordingly, and I went to Nauwpoort with the Harrismith burghers.

Next morning General de Villiers expected an attack, and as it was clear

to him that the Field-Cornet at the hill between the homesteads of Hans

and David Naude would not be strong enough to stop the English, he sent

Field-Cornet Pretorius and Assistant Field-Cornet Jan Jacobsz thither

with a number of men, whilst he posted Commandant Truter on a fine ridge

on the west of the Pass near the house of Abraham Naude. He remained at

Nauwpoort with the intention of going to the hill himself later on.

We had hardly reached the hill when it became evident that the enemy had

some serious intention in mind. They began to move forward, and marched

straight for the hill with two field batteries and one lyddite gun. The

force which had taken Spits Kop began at the same time to advance with

their guns to "Schurve Kopje."

This had just happened when we saw that the men of the Vrede Commando on

the Schurve Kopje were leaving their positions. They certainly had no

chance of holding out against the great odds that were advancing on

them.

It was now clear to us that we should be in danger of being attacked on

our right, if the English who were advancing from Spits Kop should reach

the Schurve Kopje, and the prospect was not very cheering. The enemy now

began to bombard our positions. The infantry were approaching in

extended order. Nearer and nearer they advanced in front as well as on

our left.

Our guns, under Sergeant Oosthuizen, did good work, and gave the troops

who were advancing on the left a warm reception. Louder and louder

roared the English guns, and their shells burst everywhere on and beyond

the kop.

General de Villiers rode over to us at one o'clock--just as the fight

was at the fiercest. Matters then stood thus: some of the English had

already approached so near to our left wing that we were exposed to a

cross fire, and others in front were already below the rocky ledges,

under cover of which they could get to our rear; moreover, we were in

danger of being at any moment bombarded by the guns on the Schurve

Kopje, which the enemy had already taken.

For another hour the burghers held their position, and a sharp rifle

fire was maintained against the troops on our left flank, especially by

Field-Cornet Jan Jacobsz. But when at last it became evident that we

should be surrounded if we remained there any longer, the order was

given at two o'clock to leave the position. We retired to the west of

Mr. Hans Naude's house, and halted on the banks of a donga not far from

the foot of the Roodebergen.

If we had had no cannon with us, we could immediately have crossed the

dongas near the mountains and have gone to the Pass. But there were the

guns. They could travel along the waggon road only; and this was now

impossible because of the proximity of the enemy. Our plan, therefore,

was to remain where we were until it became dark, and then, under cover

of the night, to trek to Nauwpoort.

But we had not calculated the probability that the enemy would

immediately follow up the advantage they had gained. That is just what

they did.

We had not been off-saddled at the donga three-quarters of an hour

before our pickets came in to say that the English were following us up.

At all costs now we had to push on to the Pass.

Most of the burghers sprang on their horses and rode away without

troubling themselves about the guns. They had to be stopped; and General

de Villiers asked me to ride forward and try to stop them, whilst he

would drag forward the guns as best he could. I succeeded in inducing

the men to halt at another ravine, and when the guns arrived there, many

of them helped the gunners to get the ordnance across. It was an ugly

defile through which vehicles never passed, and we were obliged first to

drag across the fore portion of the gun-carriage, and then to fetch the

hinder part. This caused great delay, and meanwhile the enemy fired at

us with Maxims, though luckily their shots fell short. The one cannon

was already across, and the second one nearly saved, when the shrill

shriek of the English shrapnel was heard.

And now there was no longer any chance to stop the men. Each went his

own way. To add to our troubles, the carriage of the second gun upset

and had to be left behind. The gunners removed the breach and rode

away.

It was now a case of _Sauve qui peut_. Some took shelter behind the

large rocks, others climbed the mountain, whilst others hurried on to

the Pass; but all became conspicuous targets before the Roodebergen and

the setting sun shining upon them.

I rode towards Nauwpoort, and saw how shell upon shell was fired after

our cannon and the swiftly retreating burghers.

Once during the retreat Sergeant Oosthuizen halted, directed his gun,

and fired three rounds of shrapnel at the enemy, hitched his horses to

again and drove on.

To add to our uneasiness, we saw on approaching the Pass, that the

English were advancing on our flank, with the object of cutting us off

from the nek; but they were hotly bombarded there by the burghers of

Commandant Truter from the ridge on which he was posted, and by a Maxim

of Commandant Hasebroek, who had in the meanwhile entered the Pass. This

prevented them from attaining their object of heading us off.

When the sun set the majority of those who had retreated in the

direction of that Pass had reached Nauwpoort; likewise our rescued gun;

and from there it opened fire heavily upon the English. Then the enemy

fired some lyddite shells at long range upon us in the Pass. I have

never heard anything more awe-inspiring than when those great shells

exploded there. Awakening the thousand echoes of the precipitous rocks

on both sides of the Pass, they resounded through the narrow defiles of

the mountains like mighty thunder-claps. The shades of night fell now,

and all was still. Then the gunners, reinforced by a number of burghers,

went and fetched the abandoned gun.

And what had we to record as to our loss on the following day after

this terrible bombardment? There had been no loss at all--this was the

most marvellous of all that had happened--no loss! This is the strangest

of all--no loss of man or beast! Nobody had even been wounded!

All--officers and men, were mustered without loss before midday.