THE ADVANCE
The work was carried on steadily. The Kaffirs used their ponies only to
carry them to the point at which they commenced work. Here they would
be left while the natives proceeded on foot, scouted all day, returning
to their mounts late in the afternoon, and generally arriving at the
farm as the evening was closing in. For this work they had entirely
given up the clothes with which they had been furnished, and went about
in the scanty attire worn by Kaffir boys on a farm, or in the ragged
garments in which they had been engaged. Thus they were able to obtain
information from the Kaffirs at the farms, pretending either to have
come from the little native communities settled on the river bank, or
to have left the Orange Free State because of the troubles, and to be
on the look-out for work.
All that could be learned, however, was that the Boers who had crossed
the Orange River were either making south through the mountainous
district near Stormberg and Steynsburg, or were moving towards Aliwal
North. They were being largely joined by Dutch sympathizers, and the
farms of the British settlers were being everywhere looted.
After a fortnight of this work, Yorke was recalled to De Aar. The
troops from England had been pouring through. The first skirmish had
taken place. The mounted infantry of the Royal Munster Fusiliers,
the Northumberland Fusiliers, and the North Lancashire, with the 9th
Lancers, seven hundred in all, had gone some twenty miles along the
railway to the Orange River Station, and come in contact with a strong
Boer commando. There was a skirmish, two officers were killed, and two
others and two privates wounded.
Already guns, waggons, the soldiers' belts, and even their guns had
been painted khaki to match the uniforms. The officers, too, were in
khaki, but the emblems of their rank, and above all, their swords, had
marked them out, and the Boer sharp-shooters directed their attention
specially to them.
"You are to go up at once to Orange River station," the colonel said.
"I spoke about you and your little corps of Kaffir scouts to Lord
Methuen as he passed through here yesterday. He has already a body of
two hundred mounted colonials for scouting work; but on my pointing out
to him that your Kaffirs could pass anywhere, and obtain information
from their countrymen in the heart of the enemy's country without
exciting suspicion, he said the idea was an excellent one, and ordered
me to send you on at once. You will report yourself to him personally
on your arrival at Orange River. You must go by road; the railway is
entirely occupied by the troops going up."
Delighted at the order, Yorke, after an hour's halt to rest the ponies
and draw rations, started, and rode as far as Hout Kraal siding.
There he halted for the night, and the third day rode into Orange
River Station at twelve o'clock. He had no difficulty in finding Lord
Methuen's quarters. The general, a handsome soldierly man, was standing
at the door speaking to an officer, and when the conversation ended,
Yorke moved up and saluted.
"My name is Harberton, sir. On arriving at De Aar yesterday, Colonel
Pinkerton ordered me to come on here and report myself to you."
"Ah, you are the officer in command of a party of Kaffir scouts. He
spoke highly of you, and said that you had crossed the Orange River in
disguise and obtained valuable information from a Boer commando you
mixed with. It certainly seemed to me that you and your men might do
valuable service. Our scouts can only tell us what they see, whereas
your Kaffirs can go anywhere and obtain information from the natives,
while your speaking Dutch will enable you to pass as a Boer. You
yourself know something of Kaffir also?"
"Yes, sir."
"They have horses?"
"Yes, sir; but they only use them till they get to a point where they
really begin to scout. Then they knee-halter them and start on foot,
and are absent perhaps many hours before they return. The ponies enable
them to cover a much larger extent of ground than they could were they
to start in the first place on foot."
The general nodded. "We shall not start for another three or four
days, Mr. Harberton, but I shall be glad if you will be off to-morrow
morning on a reconnaissance. The other day the Boers were not met
with on this side of Belmont; I wish to ascertain whether the country
is still completely clear of them to that point, and if possible,
what force they have at Belmont. You will report yourself now to the
quartermaster-general, who will assign you a tent and a spot where your
Kaffirs can picket their ponies. They had better not take them with
them to-morrow, as they would be much more conspicuous to the Boer
scouts than if the men went on foot. You may as well, by the way, take
four horses on to the point where you yourself decide to stop. Your men
will, of course, return to you every evening, and you will send one off
each day with your report of what you have learned. A week's rations
will be issued to you. Oh, here is Major Rimington!
"Major," he said, as the officer came up, "this is Mr. Harberton, who
commands a small body of Kaffir scouts, who will be more useful in
obtaining information than your men can be, as they can pass anywhere
and pick up news from the local Kaffirs. He will be generally away,
but as he is quite alone, I shall be glad if you will allow him to be
attached to your corps while he is with us. He has already made one
dangerous expedition in disguise. He is, I hear, an old Rugby boy,
but has been out here long enough to speak Dutch fairly and to talk a
little Kaffir."
"With pleasure, sir. We will make him at home and look after him. If
you will wait a few minutes, sir, while I speak to the general, I will
take you off with me."
Saluting Lord Methuen, Yorke walked away a short distance greatly
pleased with his reception. He was soon joined by Major Rimington.
"Now, have you anywhere to go before you come to our camp?" the latter
asked.
"I have to go to the quartermaster-general's to get him to assign a
spot where the ponies of my men can be picketed, and to obtain an order
for them and myself for a week's rations, as we start out to-morrow,
and also to get a tent."
"It will be of no use your getting that till you come back; we are not
very closely packed. Anyhow, you can have a shake-down for the night.
When we once move forward there will be no coming back here, and it
would be absurd to have all the trouble of getting a tent and putting
it up, and taking it down and handing it over the next morning. Have
you a servant?"
"Yes, sir. I have a Dutch lad, a very good fellow, who acts as my
servant and sergeant."
"Then he had better draw his rations and yours, and look after you. I
shall be glad if you will share my tent for to-night."
The arrangements were soon made, and the quartermaster-general also
gave an order on the officer looking after the native labourers, to
tell off two Kaffirs to take care of the horses of the party until
they returned. Then Yorke went with Major Rimington to the camp of his
regiment, and was introduced to his officers. Two or three of these
were already acquainted with Yorke, having lived at the same hotel at
Cape Town.
"You are just in time for lunch," the major said. "I do not expect we
shall get any more regular meals for some time."
They sat down in the open air at a rough table constructed of planks
placed on empty barrels, and boxes, the latter being also used for
seats. The meal was a pleasant one; everyone was in high spirits at
the thought that the period of inaction was nearly over, and that in a
few days they would be advancing to the relief of Kimberley. There was
no stint of food, as, in addition to the ordinary rations, they had
brought up with them two or three cases of preserved meats and wine,
and as these could be taken on no farther there was no motive for being
saving with them. The officers were a fine set of young men. All were
colonials of good family, and the men were all strong and hardy young
fellows. They were to act not only as scouts, but as guides to the
army, and there was scarcely a square mile in the colony but was known
to one or other of them. Unlike the regulars, the officers had already
done away with everything that would distinguish them at a distance
from privates, their belts were khaki colour, and they carried carbines
instead of swords, in addition to their revolvers.
After the meal was over, the party broke up, the officers going to
look after the men and horses. The major said: "Come into my tent,
Harberton, and tell me how you come to speak Dutch so well, and how you
got up this corps of yours."
The major lit his pipe and seated himself on a box, which--with the
exception of a bed on the ground, two other boxes which served as a
writing-table, and another kept for a visitor--constituted the sole
furniture of the tent. Yorke took the spare box, and gave a sketch of
his history and doings to the major.
"You have done well indeed," the latter said when he had finished. "It
was a thousand times better to come out here and fight your way, than
to be hanging about waiting for something to turn up at home, and you
have certainly made the best of your time. Many men would be years in
the colony before learning to speak Dutch thoroughly. Your expedition
to Fauresmith shows that you have plenty of intelligence as well as
pluck, though, looking at you now, I can hardly fancy you would be able
to disguise yourself to pass as a Boer."
"I shall start in that character to-morrow morning, Major, so you will
have an opportunity of judging for yourself. I have no idea of stopping
idle all day while the Kaffirs are at work."
"Don't be too rash, you know," the major said. "Remember that a man
may do a thing half a dozen times in safety, but at the seventh some
accident may occur that will betray him."
That afternoon Yorke saw a party of troopers ride in with six Boers;
they had been captured in a skirmish. Two of these were men of a better
class, with well-made clothes, silk neck-ties, and polished boots; the
others were rough fellows, probably, he thought, men employed on some
of the farms belonging to the others. He noticed that these had all cut
their hair, so that it stood up rough and bristly.
"That is good," he said to himself. "I shall be able to do without that
wig that the colonel handed to me when I returned to De Aar. I don't
say that it might not come in useful if I had to change my disguise
quickly, but it would always be dangerous. Hat and wig might both blow
off in one of the thunder-storms, or get knocked off in a scuffle.
Still, I am afraid I shall look too English without it. Of course there
are boys of my age among them. We know that all over sixteen have to
go on commando. However, I will first go into the major's tent and slip
into my Boer clothes, and put on my wig and blacken my eyebrows, and
see if he recognizes me, then I will ask his opinion how I could alter
myself a bit if I gave up the wig."
He returned to the camp of Rimington's Tigers, as they were generally
called--from the fact that they wore a strip of raccoon skin as a band
round their slouch hats. When he had put on his disguise, he waited
till he heard Major Rimington ride up and call to his orderly to take
his horse, then he stepped out.
"Hullo! Who the deuce are you?" the major exclaimed, "and how dare you
enter my tent when I am away? What are you doing in the camp, sir? Show
me your permit."
"I did not know anything about a permit," Yorke said in Dutch,
disguising his voice as much as possible.
"How was it the sentry let you enter the camp?" the major said angrily.
"Hi, there!" he called to two of his men a little distance away. "Hi,
hand this man over to the guard, and tell the sentry to keep a sharp
eye upon him. I expect he is a spy, and by his going into my tent
possibly a thief."
"You needn't do that, major," Yorke said as he answered him in English
with a laugh. "You see I have been able to pass as a Boer, and even
you, seeing me come out of your tent, did not recognize me."
The major broke into a laugh, telling the soldiers who were running
up that it was all right, and they need not trouble themselves. Then,
as he alighted, he took another good look at Yorke. "No, I certainly
should not have known you. It is a wonderfully good get-up. That long
hair changes your appearance completely, and those loose slovenly
clothes quite alter your figure. You will be able to pass anywhere like
that. Come in; let me see what you have done to your face. Even that
seems changed somehow."
"It is only that I have darkened my eyebrows, sir."
"Where did you get that wig from?" he went on as Yorke, on entering,
took off his hat.
"I sent down from De Aar, and had it specially made."
"It is a capital one, and that sort of rough curl on the forehead
completely hides the edge of the parting."
Yorke spent a pleasant evening with the officers of the Tigers, and
started soon after daybreak next morning, wearing his uniform, the
bundle containing his other clothes being carried on one of the four
horses ridden by the Kaffirs.
They attracted no notice whatever in passing through the camp, but
at the bridge Yorke had to show the pass he had received from the
quartermaster-general on the previous day, ordering that he should at
all times be allowed to leave or enter the camp, and enjoining all
officers of patrols and detached parties to render him any assistance
in their power. Once across the bridge he rode on at a trot, the
unmounted natives keeping up without difficulty. He did not follow the
line of the railway, but struck off to the right, as any Boers who
might be on look-out on the top of the kopjes would be watching the
line, which was frequently patrolled for some miles from the camp, in
order to prevent it from being torn up or injured. The country on this
side of the river was greener and less arid-looking than on the plain
south of it.
Riding east for three or four miles across undulating and broken
ground, Yorke felt that he had probably got beyond the hills where
watchers were likely to be stationed. He and Hans now dismounted, took
off their uniforms, and dressed themselves in Boer attire. The Kaffirs
were told to scatter, and made their way as much as possible over rocky
ground, keeping the mounted party in sight. Half a dozen of them went
ahead, ascending every elevation whence they could get a view of the
country round and discover any Boers on watch. They were now travelling
parallel with the railway, and continued that course until, as Yorke
judged, they must be nearly abreast of Belmont. A spot was chosen in
a narrow valley between the two kopjes. It was thickly strewn with
great boulders and rocks of all sizes. Here the Kaffirs at once set to
work to build up a rough wall where a huge overhanging mass of rock
formed a natural roof. The six horses were given a good feed, and were
then allowed to wander about and nibble the grass and the leaves of the
bushes growing thickly between the rocks.
[Illustration: YORKE SURPRISES THE MAJOR.]
Yorke and Hans took possession of the rough shelter, and rations were
served out. With the tinned meat and a handful or two of mealies the
Kaffirs were well content, and as the clouds were banking up for a
thunder-storm, soon found shelter for themselves among the boulders.
The storm came up rapidly; the thunder was incessant for half an hour,
then the sky cleared up and the stars shone out. Yorke had procured
a stock of bread for himself and Hans, extra water-bottles had been
brought, and as Major Rimington had insisted upon his taking two
bottles of wine before starting, they made a comfortable meal.
"I thought you did not drink anything but tea and coffee, Master
Yorke," Hans said, when the latter poured a little wine into the water
in a tin mug.
"I do not as a general thing, Hans, but I cannot get tea or coffee at
present, and the water of the Orange River is scarcely a fluid that
it is desirable to drink alone. Spirits I never touch, but a spoonful
or two of wine takes away the muddy flavour and helps one to get down
this bread and tinned meat. Using it like this, the wine will last
for a week, and I expect before that time we shall join the troops at
Belmont. Hans, you must mind you have your story perfect. We are Dutch
from Cape Colony. We crossed the river at Colesberg Bridge, and decided
to come north to join Cronje outside Kimberley. Of course we must be
very careful as to where we say we live. It is pretty certain that a
good many of the Dutch from round Richmond will have come to aid the
Free Staters. I know by sight those who used to come to the farm; no
doubt you know more. They won't recognize us in our changed dress, but
they would know the names of all the farmers for many miles round, and
it would never do to say that we came from that part of the country.
"We had better say that we came from near Pearston. It is a good-sized
place in the East Somerset district, about half-way between the two
lines going up from the coast to Middelburg. It is very unlikely that
any of the Dutch from that neighbourhood would come up here; they will
be waiting for the Boers to come down across the Orange River through
Steynsburg and Molteno, before they take up arms, so that there will be
very little fear of our falling in with any who would question us very
closely as to the farm we came from or of the people we knew. But I do
not propose to go in among the enemy at Belmont. It is almost certain
that, although they may fight there, and perhaps at some of the kopjes
farther on, it is at the crossing of the Modder river that the big
fight will be.
"Every time we went into their camp the risk would increase. Some of
the men who saw us at one place and heard our story would be sure to
recognize us at the next. Of course if we remained with them all the
time, shared in the fighting and retreat, it would be all right; but
I have not the least idea of being shot by our own men or cut down in
the pursuit, for there would be no time to explain to a Lancer coming
right at you that you were an Englishman holding an authorization from
Lord Methuen. So I shall content myself this time with telling off four
of the Kaffirs. They are to make their way separately to Belmont, to
get into conversation with Kaffir drivers, teamsters, and so on, and to
endeavour to find out about how many Boers are assembled there, what
guns they have with them, whether there is any talk of their being
joined by a larger force, and whether they know of any place farther on
where they intend fighting.
"If they are questioned at Belmont they can tell any story they like.
They can say that they were working for English settlers, and that as
these have left, they are out of employment and want a job. They must
arrange among themselves where to meet at night, then, after comparing
notes as to what they have learned, one of them must steal away and
make his way back here. The other three, if they have been hired to
look after ponies, had better remain there, and retire with the Boers
if they retreat. The next day I will send off another to act exactly
in the same way, so that every night I shall get a messenger back.
The men not engaged in this work will scout all the country round,
visiting farms and asking for work, and finding out whether any more
men are coming from the east through Fauresmith, and if there are any
bands about who are likely to be making down to cut the line this side
of Belmont. You and I will scout along this line of hills, there may
be some parties lurking among them with the intention of damaging the
line."
The next morning at daybreak Yorke informed the Kaffirs of the work
they were to do, and chose four of them as the first to carry out his
plan, and explained fully to them the manner in which they should
proceed and the story they were to tell.
"You had better draw lots at once," he said, "which of you is to bring
me the news that you have gathered. Don't all tell the same story.
Two of you can go in together and can pretend you have come from a
deserted farm, the other two had better say they have come from one of
the little native collections of huts by the river. Where there are
Boers there are sure to be waggons, and it is probable that some of
the native drivers will have deserted, and the Boers will be glad to
take on fresh hands. It is not at all probable that any of you will be
exposed to fire, the waggons are sure to be sent off as soon as the
troops are seen to be advancing."
In a few minutes the whole party had scattered with the exception of
three men left to look after the horses. Yorke and Hans spent the
day in hard work, climbing up to the summit of the highest kopje,
whence they commanded a view over the lower hills near the line of
railway. The closest examination through a field-glass failed to
show that there was any force stationed on them, though on several,
single figures could be made out, evidently posted there as scouts. At
dusk, all save the four who had gone into Belmont had returned. They
brought no news of importance. The Kaffirs they had fallen in with,
when questioned, had heard nothing of any further commandos coming in
from the east. They stated that it was believed that great numbers had
assembled behind the Modder, and that they were digging trenches and
throwing up breast-works on their side of the river, and the general
talk was that they would annihilate the English army when it arrived
there.
The Boers were disappointed that Kimberley had not already been
captured. Everywhere the feeling of the Kaffirs was in favour of the
British, but all believed that these had no chance whatever against the
Boers. Yorke had brought candles and writing materials with him, and at
once sat down and wrote his report of the news.
Three hours later one of the men returned from Belmont. His report was
that many of the Boers had been there for upwards of a month, that
the kopjes had all been fortified by walls of rough stones round the
summits, and that these had been continuously occupied by the lower
class of Boer labourers and cattlemen. The Kaffirs are not good at
figures, but by careful cross-examination, Yorke gained the information
that there were more men there than would make two of the regiments
they had seen at Orange River. They said that more would move up from
behind when the British advance began, and that the leaders and the
richer Boers would then arrive in their Cape carts or on horseback.
The Boers felt confident that the British would never be able to storm
their kopjes.
These kopjes were isolated hills, apparently composed of rough
boulders, the rock from which they were formed rising sharply above
them. About Belmont they were seldom more than five hundred feet high,
but in many cases they rose fully three times that height, and it was
up two of these lofty crests that Yorke and Hans that day laboriously
climbed.
As soon as Yorke had written down the information he had gathered,
he dispatched one of the men with the horses to ride back with it to
Orange River. Yorke instructed the man that when challenged he was to
reply, "A friend with despatches;" then he was to stand still till the
sentry called to a sergeant, who would send forward two men to conduct
him to the proper authorities, who would pass him on to head-quarters.
Three days were passed at the same work, then one of the messengers
brought back an order for Yorke to join the troops on the following
evening at Fincham's Farm, half-way to Belmont. The troops would
halt there for the night, and advance to the attack on the following
morning. It was from Fincham's Farm that Yorke had obtained water for
the men and horses. Five of the Kaffirs had been down there every
day, in charge of Hans, with the horses, to give the animals a good
drink and fill the men's water-bottles, there being no water to be had
nearer. Yorke was glad to receive the order, for after the first day
the news from Belmont had varied but little. Some fresh parties of
Boers had arrived, but not in any great number; and although it was
believed that a stand could be successfully made at Belmont, it was
intended that the great, and, as expected, final blow was to be struck
at Magersfontein.
The party started early, and reconnoitred all the hills on the way
down. Late in the afternoon a cloud of dust was seen out on the plain.
No moving figures could be made out. It might have been a sand-storm,
such as sprang up nearly every afternoon, but Yorke had no doubt that
it was the army, with its waggons and baggage. When he rode into
Fincham's Farm he found Rimington's Guides and the Lancers already
there, and half an hour later the head of the column marched in. Their
figures could scarcely be made out until they were within a few hundred
yards of the place, so completely did the universal khaki disappear in
the cloud of dust they raised on the arid plain over which they were
marching. Yorke and Hans had resumed their uniforms, and the former
received a hearty greeting from Rimington and his officers.
"How have you got on, Harberton?" the major asked cheerily.
"It's been hard work, and by no means exciting, sir. I am afraid that
such news as I have sent in has been of no great use to the general."
"Yes, I think it has been useful. I saw the quartermaster-general
yesterday, and he said that your scouts were doing very well, better
than he anticipated. Thank goodness, work is going to begin at last!
And so you think there will be no stand made by the Boers until we get
to Belmont?"
"I am convinced of that. The Kaffirs have searched every kopje up to
that point. Beyond a vedette or two on some of the hills, they have
no force whatever along the line of railway this side of Belmont; but
they have a strong body there--from two thousand to two thousand five
hundred. As far as I can make out they have a few guns also. I got near
enough to make out with my glasses that they were at work on three
hills from four to five miles east of the station. Their guns are on
the two hills farthest east."
"And what is the ground like behind! Will it give us any chance of
acting on their line of retreat?"
"The ground is very rough and broken behind the centre, and there is a
big range of hills--not kopjes--still farther behind. To their right
is some flat ground where the cavalry could act, but they would have
to pass through a line of smaller kopjes forming a continuation of the
three principal ones. There were no men on these when I was watching
them yesterday; but if they should retreat across the plain, a small
body of them placed there could check the advance, if not stop it
altogether."
"Then, if I understand you, Harberton," the major said, examining the
leaf of the pocket-book on which Yorke had roughly dotted down the
positions, "we could move along the line of railway without the Boers
being able to trouble us from the position they occupy?"
"Certainly, major; but of course they would be able to come down behind
us directly we pass, and attack the baggage-train. Being all mounted
men, they could move very fast."
"Yes, I see that they might give us a lot of trouble, and I should
think Lord Methuen would clear them out before we go farther."
Yorke reported himself to the quartermaster-general, and he was told to
wait, as the general might wish to question him further; indeed, five
minutes later he was sent for. The general had only dismounted a few
minutes before, and was now in a room in the farmhouse. He had before
him the rough sketch of the Boer position that Yorke had sent in on the
previous evening.
"The information you have gathered is valuable, Mr. Harberton, and,
rough as the sketch is, it has given us a better idea of the Boer
position than we had previously been able to gather from the maps. Do I
understand you to say that if the Boers were prevented from making off
across this level ground to the right rear of the position, they would
be thrown back across this line of high hills which is marked in my map
as Mont Blanc?"
"Yes, sir. I went up to the highest point of those hills, and so far as
I could see they would have to go by a road that runs round the foot
of the mountain to the south-east. That road might be cut by a cavalry
force making its way round to the south of the three kopjes from
Witputs Station."
"And what is the length of front along these three kopjes at present
held by them?"
"I should say from five to six miles, sir. It is about as far from the
right-hand kopje to Belmont Station; the left or southern kopje is a
good deal farther from the line of railway."
"They have erected breast-works on the hill?"
"Yes, sir; rough barricades of rocks and boulders. Their horses are
gathered on the low ground behind the kopjes."
"You do not think they will fall back at our approach?"
"I should not think they would, sir. My Kaffirs say that they all think
it absolutely impossible for the troops to scale the hills in the teeth
of their rifle fire."
"Thank you, sir. You are attached for the present to Rimington's
Guides, are you not? You had better continue with them until your
Kaffirs can get to work again. You still have some among the Boers,
have you not?"
"Yes, six have obtained employment with them. My instructions were that
they were to retire with them, and that every night one or other should
make off and bring in news of what they were doing. I said they were
to come in the first place to Major Rimington, as I should probably be
there."
The general nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Harberton! your arrangements have
been very good."
The next morning the column advanced to a farm on the road on the
western side of the railway two miles from Belmont. The movements
for an attack on the following day were at once begun. The Ninth
Brigade--consisting of the Northampton Regiment, the 1st Northumberland
Fusiliers, the 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry, four companies of
the Loyal North Lancashire, and two companies of the 1st Royal
Munsters--passed the station, and took up their position to the north
of it. The three regiments of Guards halted at a house known as the
White House, some four miles short of the station. The Naval Brigade
had just come up after a tremendous march. A portion of the cavalry
went on to the town of Belmont--it was nearly three miles beyond the
station--while a portion remained at Witputs Station.
Unfortunately in this arm the force was extremely weak, the cavalry
consisting only of some two hundred and fifty 9th Lancers and
Rimington's Guides. It had with it the 18th and 75th Batteries of Field
Artillery, and numbered, in all, ten thousand infantry and artillery,
and five hundred sailors.
Orders were issued for the troops to be under arms and ready to move
at three in the morning. From a gun visible on the crest of the third
kopje this was called Gun Hill, the northern was christened Table Hill,
and the southern was locally known as Kaffir Kop. The Guards were to
march against Gun Hill. The Naval Brigade were to cover the right of
the Guards from any attack by the Boer force from Kaffir Kop. The
Northumberlands and Northamptons were to attack Table Hill, while the
other regiments of the brigade were to form a connecting link between
them and the Guards. It was clear from these instructions that, as
Kaffir Kop was not to be attacked, Lord Methuen's plan was to throw
back the Boer right, and force it in its retreat to move by the road
south of Mont Blanc, and so sever it altogether from the Boer forces
farther north. That complete success did not attend the operation was
due to the difficulty of moving in the dark across an unknown country.