TRAPPING PRO-BRITISH BOERS.
In the month of July, 1901, we found ourselves once more on the scene
of our former struggles, and were joined here by General Muller, who
had completed his mission south of the railway. This district having
been scoured for three weeks by thirty thousand English soldiers, who
had carefully removed and destroyed everything living or dead, one can
imagine the conditions under which we had to exist. No doubt from a
strategical point of view the enemy could not be expected to do
otherwise than devastate the country, but what grieved us most was the
great amount of suffering this entailed to our women and children.
Often the waggons in which these were being carried to imprisonment
in the Concentration Camps were upset by the unskilful driving of the
soldiers or their kaffir servants, and many women and children were
injured in this way.
Moreover, a certain Mrs. Lindeque was killed by an English bullet near
Roos Senekal, the soldiers saying that she had passed through the
outposts against instructions. Small wonder, therefore, that many of
our women-folk fled with their children at the enemy's approach,
leaving all their worldly possessions behind to fall a prey to the
general destruction. We often came across such families in the
greatest distress, some having taken shelter in caves, and others
living in huts roughly constructed of half-burnt corrugated iron
amongst the charred ruins of their former happy homes. The sufferings
of our half-clad and hungry burghers were small compared to the misery
and privations of these poor creatures. Their husbands and other
relations, however, made provision for them to the best of their
ability, and these families were, in spite of all, comparatively
happy, so long as they were able to remain amongst their own people.
Our commandos were now fairly exhausted, and our horses needed a rest
very badly, the wanderings of the previous few weeks having reduced
them to a miserable condition. I therefore left General Muller near
the cobalt mines on the Upper Olifant's River, just by the waggon
drift, whilst I departed with 100 men and a pom-pom to Witpoort and
Windhoek, there to collect my scattered burghers and reorganise my
diminished commando, as well as to look after our food supplies. At
Witpoort the burghers who had been under the late Field-Cornet Kruge,
and had escaped the enemy's sweeping movements, had repaired the mill
which the English had blown up, and this was now working as well as
before. A good stock of mealies had been buried there, and had
remained undiscovered, and we were very thankful to the "bush-lancers"
for this bounty.
Still, things were not altogether "honey." Matters were rather in a
critical state, as treachery was rampant, and many burghers were
riding to and fro to the enemy and arranging to surrender, the
faithful division being powerless to prevent them. We had to act with
great firmness and determination to put a stop to these tendencies and
within a week of our arrival half a dozen persons had been
incarcerated in Roos Senekal gaol under a charge of high treason.
Moreover we effected a radical change in leadership, discharging old
and war-sick officers and placing younger and more energetic men in
command.
Several families here were causing considerable trouble. When first
the enemy had passed through their district they had had no
opportunity of surrendering with their cattle. But when the English
returned, they had attempted to go to the enemy's camp at Belfast,
taking all their cattle and moveables with them. At this the loyal
burghers were furious and threatened to confiscate all their cattle
and goods. Seeing this, these families, whom I shall call the
Steenkamps, had desisted from their attempt to go over to the enemy
and had taken up their abode in a church at Dullstroom, the only
building which had not been destroyed, although the windows, doors
and pulpit had long disappeared. Here they quietly awaited an
opportunity of surrendering to the enemy, whose camp at Belfast was
only 10 or 12 miles distant. We were very anxious that their cattle
and sheep, of which they had a large number, should not go to the
enemy, but we could bring no charge of treachery home to them, as they
were very smooth-tongued scoundrels and always swore fealty to us.
I have mentioned this as an example of the dangerous elements with
which we had to contend amongst our own people, and to show how low a
Boer may sink when once he has decided to forego his most sacred
duties and turn against his own countrymen the weapon he had lately
used in their defence. Such men were luckily in the minority. Yet I
often came across cases where fathers fought against their own sons,
and brother against brother. I cannot help considering that it was far
from noble on the part of our enemy to employ such traitors to their
country and to form such bodies of scoundrels as the National Scouts.
Amongst all this worry of reorganising our commandos and weeding out
the traitors we were allowed little rest by the enemy, and once we
suddenly found them marching up from Helvetia in our direction. A
smart body of men, chiefly composed of Lydenburg and Middelburg men,
and under the command of a newly-appointed officer, Captain Du Toit,
went to meet the enemy between Bakendorp and Dullstroom. Here ensued a
fierce fight, where we lost some men, but succeeded in arresting the
enemy's progress. The fight, however, was renewed the next day, and
the British having received strong reinforcements our burghers were
forced to retire, the enemy remaining at a place near the "Pannetjes,"
three miles from Dullstroom.
The English camp was now close to our friends, the Steenkamps, who
were anxiously waiting an opportunity to become "hands-uppers." They
had, of course, left off fighting long ago, one complaining that he
had a disease of the kidneys, another that he suffered from some other
complaint. They would sit on the kopjes and watch the fighting and the
various manoeuvres, congratulating each other when the enemy
approached a little nearer to them.
I will now ask the reader's indulgence to describe one of our little
practical jokes enacted at Dullstroom Church, which was characteristic
of many other similar incidents in the Campaign. It will be seen how
these would-be "hands-uppers" were caught in a little trap prepared by
some officers of my staff.
My three adjutants, Bester, Redelinghuisen, and J. Viljoen, carefully
dressed in as much "khaki" as they could collect, and parading
respectively as Colonels Bullock, "Jack," and "Cooper," all of His
Majesty's forces, proceeded one fine evening to Dullstroom Church, to
ascertain if the Steenkamps would agree to surrender and fight under
the British flag. They arrived there about 9 p.m., and finding that
the inmates had all gone to sleep, loudly knocked at the door. This
was opened by a certain youthful Mr. Van der Nest, who was staying in
the church for the night with his brother. J. Viljoen, alias "Cooper,"
and acting as interpreter between the pseudo-English and the renegade
Boers, addressed the young man in this fashion:--
"Good evening! Is Mr. Steenkamp in? Here is a British officer who
wishes to see him and his brother-in-law."
Van der Nest turned pale, and hurried inside, and stammering, "Oom
Jan, there are some people at the door," woke up his brother and both
decamped out of the back door. Steenkamp's brother-in-law, however,
whom I will call Roux, soon made his appearance and bowing cringingly,
said with a smile:--
"Good evening, gentlemen; good evening."
The self-styled Colonel Bullock, addressing "Cooper," the interpreter,
said: "Tell Mr. Roux that we have information that he and his brother
wish to surrender."
As soon as "Cooper" began to interpret, Roux answered in broken
English, "Yes, sir, you are quite right; myself and my brother-in-law
have been waiting twelve months for an opportunity to surrender, and
we are so thankful now that we are able to do so."
"Colonel Bullock": "Very well, then; call your people out!"
Roux bowed low, and ran back into the church, presently issuing with
three comrades, who all threw down their arms and made abeyance.
_The "Colonel":_ "Are these men able to speak English?"
_Roux:_ "No, sir."
_The "Colonel":_ "Ask them if they are willing to surrender
voluntarily to His Majesty the King of Great Britain?"
The burghers, in chorus: "Yes, sir; thank you very much. We are so
pleased that you have come at last. We have wished to surrender for a
long time, but the Boers would not let us get through. We have not
fought against you, sir."
_The "Colonel":_ "Very well; now deliver up all your arms."
And whilst the pseudo-colonel pretended to be busy making notes the
burghers brought out their Mausers and cartridge-belts, handing them
over to the masquerading "Tommies."
Roux next said to the "Colonel": "Please, sir, may I keep this
revolver? There are a few Hollanders in the hut yonder who said they
would shoot me if I surrendered; and you know, sir, that it is these
Hollanders who urge the Boers to fight and prolong the War. Why don't
you go and catch them? I will show you where they are."
Resisting an impulse to put a bullet through the traitor's head, the
"Colonel" answered briefly: "Very well, keep your revolver. I will
catch the Hollanders early to-morrow."
_Roux:_ "Be careful, sir; Ben Viljoen is over there with a commando
and a pom-pom."
_The "Colonel"_ (haughtily): "Be at ease; my column will soon be round
him and he will not escape this time."
The women-folk now came out to join the party. They clapped their
hands in joy and invited the "Colonel" and his men to come in and have
some coffee.
The "Colonel" graciously returned thanks. Meanwhile a woman had
whispered to Roux: "I hope these are not Ben Viljoen's people making
fools of us."
"Nonsense," he answered, "Can't you see that this is a very superior
British officer?" Whereat the whole company further expressed their
delight at seeing them.
The "Colonel" now spoke: "Mr. Roux, we will take your cattle and sheep
with us for safety. Kindly lend us a servant to help drive them along.
Will you show us to-morrow where the Boers are?"
_Mr. Roux:_ "Certainly, sir, but you must not take me into dangerous
places, please."
_The "Colonel":_ "Very well; I will send the waggons to fetch your
women-folk in the morning."
Roux gathered together his cattle and said: "I hope you and I shall
have a whiskey together in your camp to-morrow."
The "Colonel" answered: "I shall be pleased to see you," and asked
them if they had any money or valuables they wished taken care of. But
the Boers, true to the saying, "Touch a Boer's heart rather than his
purse," answered in chorus: "Thank you, but we have put all that
carefully away where no Boer will find it."
They all bid the "Colonel" good-bye, the "Tommies" exchanging some
familiarities with the women till these screamed with laughter, and
then the "Colonel" and his commando of two men remounted their big
clumsy English horses and rode proudly away. But pride comes before a
fall, and they had not proceeded many yards when the "Colonel's"
horse, stumbling over a bundle of barbed wire, fell, and threw his
rider to the ground. Just as he had nearly exhausted the Dutch
vocabulary of imprecations, the Steenkamps, who fortunately had not
heard him, came to his assistance and with many expressions of
sympathy helped him on his horse, Roux carefully wiping his leggings
clean with his handkerchief. After proceeding a little further the
"Tommies" asked their "Colonel" what he meant by that acrobatic
performance. Whereat the "Colonel" answered: "That was a very
fortunate accident; the Steenkamps are now convinced that we are
English by the clumsy manner I rode."
The next morning my three adjutants arrived in camp carrying four new
Mausers and 100 cartridges each, and driving about 300 sheep and a
nice pony. The same morning I sent Field-Cornet Young to arrest the
brave quartette of burghers. He found everything packed in readiness
to depart to the English camp, and they were anxiously awaiting
Colonel Bullock's promised waggons.
It was, of course, a fine "tableau" when the curtain rose on the
farce, disclosing in the place of the expected English rescuers a
burgher officer with a broad smile on his face. They were, of course,
profuse in their apologies and excuses. They declared that they had
been surrounded by hundreds of the enemy who had placed their rifles
to their breasts, forcing them to surrender. One of them was now in so
pitiable a condition of fear that he showed the field-cornet a score
of certificates from doctors and quacks of all sorts, declaring him to
be suffering from every imaginable disease, and the field-cornet was
moved to leave him behind. The other three were placed under arrest,
court-martialled and sentenced to three months' hard labour, and to
have all their goods confiscated.
Two days later the English occupied Dullstroom, and the pseudo-invalid
and the women, minus their belongings, were taken care of by the
enemy, as they had wished.