TO WINBURG.
Escorting the prisoners--Authority of the Commandants--Strength of
the commandos--Biddulph's Berg--Senekal--Sardines--Winburg--Release
of old men and boys--Remainder of prisoners entrained.
The battalion camped on the 31st of July at Klerksvlei, but next day
moved about three miles further on with a view of forming a guard to the
prisoners, whose laager had then been established at Korfshoek. The
march was commenced on the 2nd of August, when the laager with the
battalion as escort, together with the Mounted Infantry and the guns,
returned to Klerksvlei, proceeding the next day to Weltevreden, a long
weary march of 15 miles. There was a halt of a couple of hours on the
road after we had gone about 5 or 6 miles, as we met the Highland
Brigade on their way to Harrismith. Some Mounted Infantry were also
encountered on the look-out for horses: and we smiled as we saw them
select some that had been handed over to us as useless the day before.
However, we said nothing. We got off again at last and marched back on
the road by which we had come from Naauwpoort Nek. We halted once for a
couple of hours to enable the wagons to cross a drift, and took the
opportunity to have some food, and to water and graze our animals. At
this spot, with a strongish breeze blowing, one of our companies, lying
on the grass, seized the occasion to start a grass fire, which spread
like a flash and necessitated our moving; endeavours were made to turn
the course of the fire or to put it out, but without avail, so we had to
inspan and trek pretty smartly. On our road we passed the site of our
former bivouacs, and marched on for another few miles before camping at
Weltevreden. Next day we were afoot at eight o'clock, but halted a good
many times during the day, principally at drifts, of which there were
several, and also on two occasions to allow the Eighth Division, under
General Rundle, to pass us on their way to Harrismith. The troops of the
Eighth Division were much interested at the sight of the Boer prisoners
riding along, a huge column of 1,500 men; and I think the burghers
themselves were also impressed at the sight of the numerous troops we
passed on our way, first the Highland Brigade and then the Eighth
Division.
We bivouacked that night below Little Spitz Kop, a wretched place for a
camp--bad water out of a dirty sluit, and the whole neighbourhood as
black as your hat as the result of a grass fire.
The 5th of August was a terribly long day; we started at seven o'clock
and trekked along steadily for mile after mile, halting at mid-day for a
couple of hours to refresh man and beast, and eventually reaching
Bethlehem at six in the evening, just after dark.
Stringent orders had been issued by General Hunter with regard to the
safety of the prisoners, and these were read to commandants and
explained by them to their burghers; the prisoners, however, were quite
resigned to their fate, and I myself was sure that none would be missing
when we arrived at our destination; and in this I was quite correct, as
afterwards was proved. The burghers were at all times quite under the
thumb of their commandants, whom they looked up to with unswerving
fidelity and supported with implicit obedience; thus when they were
informed that the commandant himself would be held responsible in the
event of any man of his commando deserting, there was little doubt in my
mind as to their compliance.
The battalion furnished a cordon of sentries round the Boer camp that
night; they were relieved next day by the Bedford regiment, whom we
found in camp next to us. There was a halt for the troops that day, but
there was not much rest for us in the Boer laager, as there was a good
deal of organising to do which there had been no opportunity of carrying
out before. Seeing that the five officers under me were all very busy,
the General decided to attach five more for duty, and they came and
reported themselves during the day. This was a great addition to our
administrative staff, as it enabled two officers to be apportioned to
each commando, one of whom paraded and rode with the mounted men on the
march daily, whilst the other rode with the wagons and superintended
everything connected with them: by this means we were enabled to get
things done with some regularity and precision, especially as Captain
Tufnell volunteered to look after the whole of the wagons and Cape carts
when in camp and on the march, while Captain Wroughton undertook the
duties of Quartermaster and superintended the ration question: of these
two tiresome jobs, I am not sure which was the most worrying.
The five officers who joined us were Lieut. Willett, of our regiment,
and Lieuts. Greenwell and Veasey of the Bedfords, 2nd Lieut. Lord Murray
of the Camerons, and Lieut. Henderson of the City Imperial Volunteers.
The services of Sergeant Flynn and Drummer Briggs were also lent to us
to facilitate issuing orders and carrying messages.
The first thing to do was to have a proper roll call of the commandos;
we had had no opportunity before then of doing this, although the
adjutants of each commando had prepared rolls of their men, so a careful
muster was taken by the officers, the numbers of the prisoners proving
to be as follows:--
Commandant Jonker 239 burghers.
" Crowther 379 "
" Joubert 190 "
" Du Plooy 227 "
" Potgieter 512 "
To these had to be added four men who were sent down by the Provost
Marshal, and seven had to be deducted, who were admitted to hospital in
the town, making a net total of 1,544.
After the roll call was concluded the burghers were directed to give up
all property belonging to the Free State or to the British Government,
and this order resulted in a most miscellaneous collection of articles
being made, comprising tents, waterproof sheets, entrenching tools,
bayonets, military clothing of all kinds which had been looted from the
Derby Militia, and from the trains which had been held up and wrecked by
De Wet; saddlery and telescopes taken from the Yeomanry who surrendered
at Lindley; and hundreds of smaller articles, Gladstone bags, tin
uniform cases, water bottles, haversacks, ration baskets, signalling
panniers, books, canteens and equipment, which had all at one time
belonged to the Derby Militia.
There was very little property belonging to the Orange Free State, with
the exception of a few tents and some waterproof sheets; we were careful
not to receive anything which might be considered as the private
property of the burghers, and the whole day long numbers of these simple
minded men came to us, bringing all sorts of articles, and asking if
they could retain them.
In any case each Boer was allowed to keep a blanket for himself and one
for his horse, a water bottle and a waterproof sheet; and we did not
interfere with the clothing they were wearing, much of which was our
khaki serge, with many overcoats and khaki warm coats.
Some of the wagons, which were covered in and suitable for the purpose,
were sent over to the hospital to assist in carrying the sick and
wounded.
During the afternoon the commandants were received by General Hunter at
his quarters in the town, where they drank coffee, and, with the
assistance of an interpreter, made the polite and cautious remarks usual
on such occasions.
A few horses were exchanged for some in the Mounted Infantry, but all
those which were of the slightest use had already been taken. At night
our custom was for all horses, after watering, to be taken to the
Mounted Infantry lines, where they were fastened together in huge rings,
under a guard, the Boers going back to their lines and coming at
daybreak again to receive their animals. Any possibility of our friends
taking French leave during the night was thus precluded.
The commandants were warned and directed to inform their men that any
insubordination would be severely punished, the offender being placed
under a guard and compelled to walk instead of riding; and the
commandants were held personally responsible that none of their men
attempted to escape.
During our subsequent march to the railway, prisoners were constantly
being received in twos and threes from the Provost Marshal, and a large
number, some seventy-five, of the remainder of those who had surrendered
to General Hunter at Fouriesburg, were handed over to us on one
occasion.
The morning of the 7th of August saw us out of Bethlehem for the second
time and tramping along the well-known road to Meyer's Kop, over which
some of us had already marched three times.
Bethlehem looked better by daylight than it did when we left it in the
dark on the 16th of July; it is a large town and, as is usual, well
laid out with a fine church in the middle, but it would be a good deal
prettier if the indolent Boers could be persuaded to plant a few more
trees. It is a curious trait in the Boer character that, notwithstanding
their Dutch origin, they do not appear to care in the least for flowers,
or trees, or gardening of any kind.
In the teeth of an icy cold wind, which raised clouds of dust, we
tramped along, past Sevastopol, and our old friend, Meyer's Kop, to
Bester's Farm, a few miles beyond the latter place, and continued our
march the next day and the next in similar fashion, halting at each
mid-day for a couple of hours.
On the road we passed the redoubtable Biddulph's Berg, which had been
some time previously the scene of a severe action, where a battalion of
Guards was heavily engaged and suffered from a very large number of
casualties, over 150, I believe. They had a terrible experience in this
action which has happily seldom occurred in warfare before; the grass
was very long and dry, and there was a breeze blowing from the rear,
where a number of people were watching the fight; these individuals were
seen to drop matches on to the dry grass, and the consequent fire was
soon beyond their power to extinguish. Rapidly the flames grew and
spread to the right and left, and rushed, fanned by the breeze, straight
down upon the unfortunate Guardsmen, extended and carrying on the attack
upon the enemy in front: there was no escape, and the roaring flames
swept like a rolling torrent down upon the soldiers, scattering them in
all directions and scorching them severely: worse than this, the
wounded, of whom there were a considerable number lying in the long
grass, were badly burned and suffered terrible agony: it was a truly
dreadful experience.
On the 9th of August we reached Senekal, crossed the drift, and camped
just beyond the town; the opportunity was here taken to buy what food
could be purchased, for the Brigade Canteen; but there was little to be
had, and that was at famine prices.
Captain Wisden, however, struck what shopmen call a "line" of sardines,
in which he invested largely for the Officers' mess, and which proved to
be the worst possible kind of fish that had ever been put in a tin. How
the wretched animal had existed when it was alive was a marvel, as it
consisted, seemingly, of one huge backbone and little else; but no doubt
the bad oil, into which it was put when it was tinned, brought about a
speedy death and released the poor creature from its sufferings! Captain
Wisden will never hear the end of this, and all our officers will in
future beware of that particular brand of sardines.
Senekal is a small and neat town at the foot of a huge kopje, and was
occupied, when we passed through, by the other half battalion of the
Bedfords: it is the scene of one of the mishaps to the Yeomanry when
Major D'Albiac was killed and a number of others killed, wounded, and
taken prisoners; through great negligence they had not searched or
occupied the kopje, which frowns over the little town at a distance of a
few hundred yards, and from here the Boers suddenly opened fire on the
men walking about down below, and shot Major D'Albiac, a well-known man,
who had been in the Royal Horse Artillery, as he rushed out of the
hotel.
The next three days were occupied in moving towards Winburg, two marches
of 11 miles each, and the last of fifteen, into the town, which we
reached about three o'clock in the afternoon. Each day we had halted for
a mid-day rest, but the journey, although through open country, was not
a pleasant one owing to the wind and the dust; the camping grounds also
were filthy, as they had been used so frequently during the last few
months, no water being procurable elsewhere: they were surrounded by
dead mules, horses and bullocks: carcases littered each side of the road
as well, between one camp and another.
So we were pleased to reach Winburg and to camp on the plain beyond the
railway station, with the possibility of a few days' rest, and the
chance of buying some bread--a commodity we had not seen in any quantity
since leaving Pretoria in the middle of June. I foresaw, however, a good
deal of work for myself and the ten officers with the Boer laager, as
the burghers were to be handed over and despatched by train to Cape
Town: they had not been told this or given any hint of their
destination, and even now we were careful to say nothing further than
that they were going off in the train; but, of course, the more
intelligent of them quickly grasped the facts and fully imagined that
they were bound for St. Helena: they had not, apparently, heard of
Ceylon.
For the next three days there was very little rest in the Boer laager
for any of us: the very afternoon of our arrival round came Major
Maclaughlin and another officer of the Remount Department, who demanded
all the horses and ponies: Captain Camilleri, one of the Transport
Officers, also turned up and said he wanted all the Cape carts and most
of the wagons: Major Cardew said all the saddles and harness were to go
to the Ordnance Stores, and Major Orr, of the 18th Royal Irish, the
Railway Staff Officer, had his little say, too, about the probable
departure of the Boers, which was to take place as soon as trains could
be made up.
We did not attempt to do much that afternoon, as the whole camp was
overrun with visitors from the town and idlers of all kinds who came to
stare at the Boers and ask us questions, which we had no time to answer.
The first thing was to get off the horses and ponies, which were sent in
batches to some cattle kraals near by; the animals belonging to the
Commandants and Field Cornets, which had not been taken from them or
exchanged during the journey, were collected together and sent
separately to the same place, and by a little after dark we had got rid
of all the horses and ponies, some 1,200 in number.
Next morning, the 13th of August, we were early at our work, and got all
the saddles and harness together and laid out in rows, and collected any
more Government property, tents and other things, which had been used on
the march.
The drinking water was a long distance away, and the Boers were much
amused at our forming some of them into water parties and marching them
off, under a guard, to fetch water for their messes; they tramped off in
fours, calling to each other and laughing, just like so many children.
After breakfast there was a muster parade of each commando, when the
officers in charge called the rolls and ascertained that all their men
were actually present: this was a long business and took some hours. The
rest of the day was occupied in moving all the wagons and Cape carts to
the outskirts of the camp, and closing in the commandos a good deal, so
as to form a smaller circle for the sentries to guard; for, all this
time, and in fact ever since leaving Bethlehem, the Boer laager had been
surrounded by a cordon of sentries by day and night.
The following morning, such wagons, oxen and Cape carts as were of any
use, were removed by the transport people, and the saddles and harness,
about four wagon loads, taken away to the Ordnance stores: the burghers
did not like this part of the performance as they had all written their
names on the saddles, with what object goodness only knows, and were not
at all pleased when some of them were called upon to come and load the
saddles on to the wagons.
In the course of this day passes were given to the families, several of
whom were still with us, and they were permitted to go to their farms
with their wagons and oxen; the old men and the boys were also mustered,
and a selection made of those to whom passes might be issued with the
privilege of going to their farms and remaining there. A large number
turned up, most of the men being old and feeble, and some of the boys
being very young, so that we made a careful selection, rejecting all
those whose appearance gave the impression that they were able to carry
and use a rifle, and issuing passes to the remainder.
Altogether, there were no less than 105 permitted to go away, and they
were sent off that afternoon: some of the boys and older men, who
belonged to the Bethulie District, and who had no wagons, were provided
with railway passes to enable them to get to their homes speedily.
Had it been known that the disturbance and guerilla warfare in the
Orange River Colony would continue for so long after the dispersal of
what might be called the Boer army, it is probable that not a single
man, woman or child would have been permitted to go back to their farms;
which, although their occupants had taken the oath of allegiance to the
Queen, became centres whence horses, wagons and supplies of all kinds,
besides information as to our movements, were furnished to the nomadic
bands of insurgents who roamed the country.
That afternoon we succeeded in despatching Potgieter's commando, 477
strong, by train to Cape Town; the burghers fell in, with their
blankets and rations, and marched down to the train (which had steamed
up close to the camp), with all the regularity of soldiers; they were to
travel under a guard of militia, who were ready waiting, and to whom we
handed the Boers over as they got into the trucks.
They all seemed happy enough, laughing and chatting, and many of them
waved their hands to us as the train steamed off.
The next morning another batch, over 800 strong, was sent off, and the
remainder followed an hour later, bringing our connection with the Boer
laager to a close.