Having viewed this force, it becomes somewhat interesting to note how

smoothly wheel turned within wheel. The movement began by the

concentration of General French's division at Ramdam. On the morning of

the 12th the infantry appeared, and General French moved on, crossed

Dekiel's Drift on Tuesday the 13th, and captured Klip Drift and Drieput

Drift, on the Modder River. Following him closely on the 12th came the

divisions of General Tucker and General Kelly-Kenny. The latter division

was accompanied by Lord Kitchener and his staff. The negotiation of the

first drift, which was almost impassable for transport, next occupied

the ingenuity and tested the perseverance of the troops. The drifts,

like the kopjes, are the almost unconquerable bogies of South Africa.

They are the natural defences of the country, offering obstruction on

every hand, and, however boldly you may storm the kopje, you must with

infinite patience negotiate the drift. This is no small undertaking, for

drifts, in a way, partake of the paradoxical character of

individuals--the weaker the person, the more difficult is he to manage;

the more insignificant the river, the greater the perverseness of the

drift. It resolves itself in both cases into a question of narrowness.

Small streams and small minds are banked up too high to allow moving

room in their midst. The result of an attempt to advance is congestion

of a painful kind. At this particular drift it was found impossible for

the team of mules to lug the formidable waggon-loads up the north bank,

and at last the feat had to be accomplished by adding relays of oxen to

assist in the tremendous labour. Finally, by 4 A.M. the next morning the

troops got across, General Tucker's division marching to within some

three miles of Jacobsdal, and hugging the river all the way, so as to

run no risk of being without water. General Kelly-Kenny followed,

marching from Waterval Drift to Wegdraai on the morning of the 14th, and

proceeding thence at 5 P.M. on the same day to Klip Drift, which was

reached in the middle of the night. The rapidity with which this rush on

his heels was accomplished enabled General French, who had been awaiting

the arrival of the infantry, to proceed on his flying swoop for the

relief of Kimberley. This, as we know, was accomplished on Thursday the

15th of February. Meanwhile the wheels of the strategic machinery were

going round. A small cavalry patrol had entered Jacobsdal, which town

was found to be full of wounded, including many of our own invalids from

Rensburg. On the way back the mounted infantry were attacked, and

Colonel Henry was fired on by a party of Dutchmen who were concealed in

the vicinity of the river, and so sudden was the attack that nine men

were wounded. Colonel Henry, Major Hatchell, and ten men were missing. A

battery of artillery shelled the environs of the place, and put to

flight such Boers as were hanging about, whereupon the British remained

masters of the situation. Thus it will be seen that while the Dutchmen

were fleeing from Jacobsdal, from Alexandersfontein, and from the

neighbourhood of Kimberley, for fear of being cut off, they had

surrounding them Lord Methuen at Majersfontein, General Tucker at

Jacobsdal, General Kelly-Kenny at the Klip and Rondeval Drifts, General

French on the north, and General Colvile wheeling around, ready to suit

his movements to any emergency. In this manner Cronje found the teeth of

a trap preparing to close on him, and recognised that there was no

alternative but to "make a bolt for it."

Thus the first part of the programme was accomplished. Kimberley was

automatically relieved; Cronje was on the run. But his running was no

easy matter. Since Lord Roberts' strategy had come into play, there was

a prospect of a neck-and-neck race between the mobile Boer and the

mobile Briton, and success depended on General French's ability not only

to rout but to head off the retreat of the Dutchman. That the British

cavalry commander should outmatch him in celerity was a contingency

which had not occurred to Cronje; that he should advance independently

of the rail, and start off across the Riet to trek to the Modder, was

described by one of his countrymen as distinctly "un-British." Whether

this epithet was used to denote admiration or contempt we cannot say.

Certain it was that the wily persecutor of Mafeking and Kimberley

thought that the secret of the art of trekking was confined to himself

and his rabble, until he discovered, too late, that the equally wily

French with his disciplined legions was ready to ride over him. On the

16th of February the astonished commandant, with a horde of 10,000

Boers, was scudding in full retreat towards Bloemfontein. On all sides

were Boer laagers in a state of abandonment--stores, tents, food,

Bibles, raiment--everything had been left by the amazed and

panic-stricken Dutchmen. Dronfield, Saltpan, Scholtz Nek, and Spyfontein

were now evacuated. Under cover of darkness the investing hordes had

taken to their heels, leaving behind them even herds of cattle and

ammunition, in their desire to gain a loophole of escape. But they soon

found that, wherever they might go, there was the rumour of British

opposition, an armed and avenging race advancing!

The fact was that the trekking of the Boer hordes had been adroitly

discovered by Lord Kitchener, who, having detected an unusual haze of

dust in the distance, at once gave orders for the mounted infantry not

to follow French, but to pursue the enemy. Accordingly, to quote the

_Times_ correspondent, who was present:--

"The mounted infantry rode in pursuit across the plain, endeavouring to

get to the north of the convoy, while General Knox's Brigade was pushed

along the north bank of the river, which makes a large bend to the north

between Klip Drift and Klipkraal Drift, to strike the convoy on its

southern flank. Cronje sent on his waggons to Drieputs Farm, at the

north-eastern end of the bend, where they laagered at about eleven, and

maintained a running fight with our troops all day. The skill with which

the Boers conducted this rear-guard action extorted unqualified praise

from all our officers. As the detachments on the extreme right of the

Boer line were driven back by our mounted infantry, they rode round

behind their centre and took up fresh positions on their left against

the 81st Battery and Knox's Brigade, which were advancing along the

north bank of the river. At midday the Boers attempted to hold three low

kopjes two miles north-east of Klip Drift, but were driven back to a

stronger position at Drieputs."

[Illustration: CAPTURE OF A BOER CONVOY BY GENERAL FRENCH'S TROOPS NEAR

KIMBERLEY.

Drawing by Stanley L. Wood, from a Sketch by an Officer.]

Fighting went on throughout the day. At seven o'clock on the evening of

the 16th it became almost possible to see the end; the artillery had

commenced the vigorous shelling of the laager, and all the divisions

moving on the great axis were now aware that Lord Roberts' strategic

plan was likely--how soon they knew not--to be crowned with success.

But we must here break off to eulogise the wonderful activity of

Kelly-Kenny's division, which acquitted itself so honourably. The march

from Graspan to Brandvallei beyond Klip Drift, a distance 553/4 miles, was

accomplished in five marching days. The Light Brigade on the eve of the

battle of Talavera did sixty-two English miles in twenty-six hours,

losing only seventeen stragglers by the way. They accomplished this feat

by adopting the peculiar step invented by Sir John Moore, three paces

walking alternating with three paces running, which enabled them, when

tracks were suitable, to cover six miles an hour! No such evolutions as

these were possible, owing to the torrid weather and the necessity to

take precautions against exposure in the open veldt during midday. The

temperature may be imagined when it is stated that in one day about

sixty-six soldiers sun-stricken fell out of the ranks. On the morning of

the 12th of February the infantry marched some nine and a half miles

from Graspan to Ramdam, and from thence on the 13th moved to Waterval

Drift. On the 14th they proceeded to Wegdraai, and on to Klip Drift,

which was reached in the small hours of the 15th. Here, notwithstanding

their fatigues, the 13th Brigade at once engaged with the enemy's

rearguard, and exhibited splendid fighting qualities, which in the

circumstances were remarkable even for Englishmen. The West Riding,

Gloucesters, Buffs, and Oxfords had a warm time during the whole of the

16th, as the enemy from kopjes beyond the river in the region of

Klipkraal assailed them for nearly eight hours, assisted by a pom-pom

which caused considerable loss. Though a furious sandstorm later on

permitted the Boers under cover of night to get away, abandoning

seventy-eight waggons, the next morning the invincible Sixth Division

started in pursuit. Captain Trevor (1st East Kent Regiment), Lieutenant

Shipway (2nd Gloucester Regiment), and Colonel M'Donnell, R.A., were

wounded in the course of the engagement. Major Evelegh, Oxford Light

Infantry, while proceeding to join his battalion in the Sixth Division

with a small convoy and escort, was surrounded by a large party of

Boers, and after a gallant defence was forced to surrender.

Fighting and marching without ceasing, the infantry went to Brandvallei

and thence to Paardeberg, where they arrived at 9.30 P.M. on the 17th,

in time to take a brief rest prior to the operations which have yet to

be described, and in which they took such a prominent part. The

marching, considering the tremendous heat and the difficulty of

obtaining water, was a feat of which General Kelly-Kenny might justly

have felt proud. Though plodding along incessantly through the heavy

burning sand under a sun which baked and frizzled even through their

uniforms, these men maintained patience and cheerfulness in a rare

degree. The whole force was animated by complete faith in their

commander, and moved unanimously like some magnificent piece of

machinery, scarce taking time to eat or sleep in the zest of their

persistent pursuit of the enemy. And they were not alone in their

zealous performance of their share in the great scheme. The nicety and

precision of the transport arrangements may be imagined when we remember

that at one time four divisions were moving independently of their base,

making marches across the arid waterless tracks, and carrying with them

the necessaries of life for a healthy working multitude. A new regime

had begun, and the mobility of our columns had grown equal to that of

the Boers, while the railway had been relegated to a subordinate place

in the strategical plan.

Colonel Graham, in his "Art of War," declares that "to organise the

means of transport for an army acting at a long distance from its

principal magazines, in a country where it is entirely dependent on its

own supplies, is a problem difficult of solution." Now, the solution of

this problem was due to the wonderful talent of Lord Kitchener, who was

earning his right to be looked upon as the greatest military organiser

of his generation. But his gigantic effort did not increase the

popularity of the late Sirdar. He ran counter to too many private

interests. The army is too intersected with grooves to be crossed

without a few nasty jars, and it was scarcely possible for so young and

successful a general and a peer--one possessed of almost criminal good

luck and amazing moral as well as physical courage--to be looked upon by

his contemporaries-in-arms with excessive approval. The secret of

discord was given in a nutshell by Mr. Ralph of the _Daily Mail_. He

wrote:--"His first conspicuous act when in South Africa was the

withdrawal of the transport service from separated commands in order

that it should be managed by the Army Service Corps. Thus it came about

that every brigadier and colonel saw a certain amount of his power

shifted to what he considered a subordinate branch of the service. A

goodish degree of latitude in the enjoyment of comforts and extras,

which had been made possible when these officers controlled the waggons,

was also curtailed. The army wailed and gnashed its teeth, but I confess

I always thought that reason and right were on Lord Kitchener's side in

this matter. Lord Kitchener's plan was the only one by which an

insufficient number of waggons and teams could be utilised for all that

they were worth."

The mobility of an army depends on the reduction of transport, and to

the task of organising transport sufficient to ensure the mobility of

100,000 men the hero of Omdurman applied himself with his customary

thoroughness. He conceived the gigantic ambition of doing away with all

distinctions of transport, regimental, departmental, ammunition, or

ambulance, and merging them in an immense whole, thus creating a single

general corps, and it was doubtless to this conception and the able way

that the scheme--with the assistance of Colonel Richardson--was carried

out, that Lord Roberts owed the expedition of his march to Bloemfontein

and the further success which resulted from his sure and swift rushes

onward. Ordinarily speaking, in the army each unit is allowed its own

transport. For instance, colonel, adjutant, and orderly-room are

allotted by regulation a tent apiece. Every three officers share a tent,

every fourteen men another. Staff-sergeants, batmen, and other details

are proportionately provided for. Mounted officers are allowed 80 lbs.

baggage, double the amount allowed for "smaller fry." Without going into

minute particulars, we may reckon that a brigade would move with 70

waggons and a division with about 180. To reduce the huge encumbrance of

say some 2000 waggons, with their complement of oxen and drivers, was a

stupendous labour, from which, with its consequences, this military

Hercules did not shrink. Each unit was taken in hand, and its

excrescences--regulation excrescences, we may call them--were cut down,

peeled of all superfluities, much to the disgust of the staff officers

and various other personages who stickle for their rights, and resent

any innovation that threatens to dock off an iota of the creature

comforts that belong to them by the divine right of red-tape and

red-book regulations.

Not only were the rules of transport revised, but special hints tending

to the development of the initiative of the private soldier were issued

to the troops. Herewith is appended the notable document which may be

said to have marked the beginning of the new era:--

CAPE TOWN, _February 5, 1900_.

The following notes by the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief

are communicated for the guidance of all concerned.--By order,

KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM, _Chief of Staff_.

NOTES FOR GUIDANCE IN SOUTH AFRICAN WARFARE

_Cavalry_

1. On reconnaissances or patrols not likely to be prolonged

beyond one day, the cavalry soldier's equipment should be

lightened as much as possible, nothing being taken that can

possibly be dispensed with.

2. It has been brought to my notice that our cavalry move too

slowly when on reconnaissance duty, and that unnecessary long

halts are made, the result being that the enemy, although

starting after the cavalry, are able to get ahead of it. I

could understand this if the country were close and difficult,

but between the Modder and the Orange Rivers its general

features are such as to admit of small parties of cavalry,

accompanied by field-guns, being employed with impunity.

_Artillery_

3. If the enemy's guns have, in some instances, the advantage

of ours in range, we have the advantage of theirs in mobility,

and we should make use of them by not remaining in position the

precise distance of which from the enemy's batteries has

evidently been fixed beforehand. Moreover, it has been proved

that the Boers' fire is far less accurate at unknown distances.

In taking up positions, compact battery formations should be

avoided, the guns should be opened out, or it may be desirable

to advance by sections or batteries. Similarly retirements

should be carried out, at considerably increased intervals, by

alternate batteries or sections, if necessary, and care should

be taken to travel quickly through the dangerous zone of

hostile artillery fire.

The following plan, frequently adopted by the Boers, has

succeeded in deceiving our artillery on several occasions.

Suppose A to be a gun emplacement, the gun firing smokeless

powder. Simultaneously with the discharge of the gun at A a

powder flash of black powder will be exploded at B, a hill in

rear, leading us to direct our projectile on B. Careful

calculation with a watch, however, will defeat this plan.

_Infantry_

4. The present open formation renders it difficult for officers

to exercise command over their men, except such as may be in

their immediate vicinity. A remedy for this would appear to be

a system of whistle calls, by which a company lying in extended

order could obey orders as readily as if in quarter column. I

invite suggestions for such a system of whistle calls as would

be useful.

5. It is difficult to recognise officers as equipped at

present, and it seems desirable they should wear a

distinguishing mark of some kind, either on the collar at the

back of the neck or on the back of the coat.

6. Soldiers, when under fire, do not take sufficient advantage

of the sandy nature of the soil to construct cover for

themselves. If such soil is scraped, even with a canteen tin, a

certain amount of cover from rifle fire can be obtained in a

short time.

7. The distribution of ammunition to the firing line is one of

the most difficult problems of modern warfare. One solution,

which has been suggested to me, is for a portion of the

supports gradually to creep forward until a regular chain of

men is established from the supports (where the ammunition

carts should be) right up to the firing line. The ammunition

could then be gradually worked up by hand till it reached the

firing line, where it could be passed along as required. This

would, no doubt, be a slow method of distributing ammunition,

but it appears to be an improvement on the present method,

which is almost impossible to carry out under fire.

8. Reports received suggest that the Boers are less likely to

hold entrenchments on the plain with the same tenacity and

courage as they display when defending kopjes, and it is stated

that this applies especially to night-time, if they know that

British infantry are within easy striking distance from them.

How far this is true time only can show.

ROBERTS, _Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa_.

To return, however, to the great advance. Much of the travelling was

done by night, in order to save the oxen from the trying temperature of

the day, though even during the night the heat was equal to that of an

ordinary British midsummer. In addition to the painful toil of motion

over the heavy, sandy, rugged leagues, there was the hourly danger of

attack. Cronje had made known his need for reinforcements, and at the

time, from the south, Andries Cronje was moving, and from the north,

Commandants Snyman and Fournie, while from other quarters and in the

direction of Ladysmith there was the belief that Boer hordes might be

advancing. There was only one encounter with the Dutchmen, but it ended

in a mishap that was a serious one, for the results were felt for days

afterwards, and helped to try the heroism of the troops who engaged in

the movement to the uttermost. A convoy of 180 waggons, one-quarter of

the total transport, containing forage and provisions, was lost at

Waterval Drift. An interesting picture of the terrible passage of the

drift was given by a sapper who accompanied the convoy:--

"It was a pitiful sight to see the poor infantry fellows played out,

some dropping with a slight sunstroke, and the cattle dropping dead in

all directions. We moved sometimes by day and sometimes by night.

Night-time was the best on account of the oxen working much better in

the cool of night. Nothing occurred of note with us--but our fellows

were fighting every day in front on their way to Kimberley--till we got

to Riet River or Drift, which was a terrible pass in the river. Miles

and miles of transport had to pass through a narrow passage across the

drift, and it took a terrible time for one waggon to pass over, let

alone the hundreds that had to pass. We were lucky to get across and

encamp below a hill for the night. Next day they still continued to pass

the drift, in fact they had been at it all night, and still hundreds of

waggons to come on. The Boers evidently knew of this obstacle, and a

party came up from the south and had vengeance on the column, as they

couldn't on the fighting line. It was a lucky thing for us we were

clear, or else we might have found our baggage gone and ourselves put

over the border (i.e. sent to Pretoria or shot). The Boers took up

position in the hills and shelled the waggon convoy. The nigger drivers

are terrible cowards, and all fled to the hills or kopjes near at hand,

leaving the waggons and oxen to the mercy of the Boers. Some of the oxen

we succeeded in driving back into our camp on the other side of the

river. The good old New Zealanders (who have proved of great use and

very daring in this campaign) rode over to where the nigger drivers

were, and threatened to blow their brains out if they didn't return to

the waggons, which they did after the Boers had left off shelling for a

bit, after doing a terrible lot of damage. Lord Bobs came up just as

they were going to try and get some of the waggons away, and said 'Let

them go.' Our loss proved to be over L100,000, which I am glad to say we

recovered later. The Boers thought this convoy was lost purposely, and

when we arrived here we found the whole of it except what had been sent

to our prisoners at Pretoria."

[Illustration: TROOP OF THE 10TH HUSSARS WITH NORDENFELDT GUN. Photo by

H. Johnston, London.]

The unpleasant adventures of E Squadron of Kitchener's Light Horse, who

were taken as prisoners to Pretoria, make a separate narrative of

themselves, as they took place while the main body was moving on to the

relief of Kimberley.

The squadron was attached to General French's column, and took part in

the engagement at Riet River. On its way to the relief of Kimberley, a

halt was made at a farm a short distance from Modder River, and part of

E squadron was detached to hold a well of water until the arrival of

another column, expected in four hours, and then to advance along with

them. The relieving column never arrived. Squadron E held the position

for four days without food against a large force of Boers. They (E

Squadron) occupied an old farmhouse. They loopholed the walls, and

although continuously harassed by the Boer fire, they managed to

maintain their position and the post they were placed in charge of.

During that time they had to subsist on water only, and that brackish.

Their horses were dying daily, as there was not a blade of grass on the

veldt, and the stench was abominable. On the third day of the siege a

poor goat that had wandered near the besieged was immediately captured

and devoured. On the fourth day they commandeered one of the enemy's

horses, which they intended to slaughter, their own being too emaciated

for that purpose. But the Boers, having been reinforced, gave them no

time to do the butchering. On the evening of the fourth day a messenger

bearing a letter from General de Wet arrived, demanding surrender within

ten minutes. The Boer force consisted of 500 men and two 12-pounders.

The officers consulted together, and decided, in view of the hopeless

condition of their little garrison of fifty all told, worn out and

starving and their horses dead, to accept the inevitable.

While all this was going on, and Cronje was making the discovery that he

might be completely outflanked, and that the position of the Boer army

at Spyfontein must become untenable, Lord Roberts was entering into

Jacobsdal. The place was orderly and quiet. The three churches were full

of patients, the town having been used mainly as an hospital. The

invalids, for the most part, were sufferers from enteric, the result of

too much Modder River. After a long and painful intimacy with the

grilling veldt, the sight of houses and civilised dwellings struck

gratefully on the eyes of the incoming troops. A store was hailed as a

veritable godsend. Some one bought a tin of oatmeal, and walked off with

it as one who had secured a prize; some one else gave a goodly price for

a pot of pickles, and came away licking his lips like a modern

Eliogabalus. The rejoicing was no mean emotion, for the unfortunate men,

with the appetites of athletes, had been existing on lovers' fare. One

of the famished but cheery fellows wrote: "We marched into Jacobsdal,

and as soon as we arrived we thronged the stores for provisions. I made

the following purchases for three of us:--

_s._ _d._

Three two-pound loaves at 1s. each 3 0

Three tins of condensed milk at 1s. each 3 0

Two tins of syrup at 1s. 3d. each 2 6

One small packet of cocoa 0 9

One tin of Quaker oats 1 3

One pound of sugar 0 6

--------

11 0

Then we gorged ourselves to make up for three weeks' semi-starvation.

The most prominent building of Jacobsdal is the church, which stands in

the centre of the town. The town itself lies in a hollow--Sleepy Hollow

would be an apt title for the place just now. Most of the houses,

including the church, are at present converted into hospitals, and the

female population are acting as nurses. Most of them are in mourning for

relatives lost during the campaign." Later, the troops moved on and

encamped at a farm which had also been used as an hospital. Sights

pathetic were only too common--our own sick and wounded in various

stages of suffering, and outside, to use a "Tommy's" description, "some

poor devils wrapped in sheets ready to be put to bed for the last time!"

[Illustration: GENERAL CRONJE.

From a Photo by M. Plumbe.]

Lord Roberts visited the large German hospital, and expressed himself

well pleased with the splendid cleanliness of the place and the general

evidences of good management. Among the sufferers was found Colonel

Henry, who had been taken prisoner on the 14th. Strangely enough, all

the inhabitants of the place evinced satisfaction at the arrival of the

British, particularly on making the discovery that it was not the habit

of the British troops to loot and destroy, as they had been led by the

Burghers to believe was the case. They were now made acquainted with the

proclamation which Lord Roberts issued to the Burghers of the Orange

Free State when his force invaded their territory. It was printed both

in English and Dutch:--

"The British troops under my command having entered the Orange

Free State, I feel it my duty to make known to all Burghers the

cause of our coming, as well as to do all in my power to put an

end to the devastation caused by this war, so that, should they

continue the war, the inhabitants of the Orange Free State may

not do so ignorantly, but with full knowledge of their

responsibility before God for the lives lost in the campaign.

"Before the war began the British Government, which had always

desired and cultivated peace and friendship with the people of

the Orange Free State, gave a solemn assurance to President

Steyn that, if the Orange Free State remained neutral, its

territory would not be invaded, and its independence would be

at all times fully respected by Her Majesty's Government.

"In spite of that declaration, the Government of the Orange

Free State was guilty of a wanton and unjustifiable invasion of

British territory.

"The British Government believes that this act of aggression

was not committed with the general approval and free will of a

people with whom it has lived in complete amity for so many

years. It believes that the responsibility rests wholly with

the Government of the Orange Free State, acting, not in the

interests of the country, but under mischievous influences from

without. The British Government, therefore, wishes the people

of the Orange Free State to understand that it bears them no

ill-will, and, so far as is compatible with the successful

conduct of the war and the re-establishment of peace in South

Africa, it is anxious to preserve them from the evils brought

upon them by the wrongful action of their Government.

"I therefore warn all Burghers to desist from any further

hostility towards Her Majesty's Government and the troops

under my command, and I undertake that any of them who may so

desist, and who are found staying in their homes and quietly

pursuing their ordinary occupations, will not be made to suffer

in their persons or property on account of their having taken

up arms in obedience to the order of their Government. Those,

however, who oppose the forces under my command, or furnish the

enemy with supplies or information, will be dealt with

according to the customs of war.

"Requisitions for food, forage, fuel, or shelter made on the

authority of the officers in command of Her Majesty's troops,

must be at once complied with; but everything will be paid for

on the spot, prices being regulated by the local market rates.

If the inhabitants of any district refuse to comply with the

demands made on them, the supplies will be taken by force, a

full receipt being given.

"Should any inhabitant of the country consider that he or any

member of his household has been unjustly treated by any

officer, soldier, or civilian attached to the British army, he

should submit his complaint, either personally or in writing,

to my headquarters or to the headquarters of the nearest

general officer. Should the complaint on inquiry be

substantiated, redress will be given.

"Orders have been issued by me prohibiting soldiers from

entering private houses or molesting the civil population on

any pretext whatever, and every precaution has been taken

against injury to property on the part of any person belonging

to or connected with the army.

"ROBERTS, _Field-Marshal, Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa_."

THE HERDING OF CRONJE

To return to General French. The cavalry division bivouacked outside the

town of Kimberley, but their repose was limited. At 3 A.M. on the

morning of the 16th they were up and doing. The enemy in the north was

giving trouble. Some sharp fighting took place, during which Lieutenants

Brassey (9th Lancers) and P. Bunbury were killed. This early activity

was tough work for the already weary troops, who had been fifteen hours

without a meal. Indeed, it was generally remarked that the relievers

looked sorrier specimens of humanity than the relieved. The Colonial

troops, the Queensland and New Zealand Contingents, and the New South

Wales Lancers, considering all things, were wonderfully fit after having

played a conspicuous part in the operations. These troops had joined

General French's column from the regions of the Orange and Modder

Rivers. The New South Wales Lancers rode on the extreme right flank of

the first brigade, and their ambulance corps, under Lieutenant Edwards,

kept up with the column, and was complimented on being the first

ambulance to cross the Modder River. Like the rest of the troops, they

had taken their share of small rations, merely nominal rest,

sun-scorching, and maddening thirst, and yet were full of zeal--"keen as

mustard," as some one said--to engage in the herding of Cronje and

effect his capture. Worn out as they were, they had sprung to attention

on a rumour brought in by a despatch-rider to the effect that Cronje had

evacuated Majersfontein and was in full retreat.

At midnight on the 16th, no confirmation of this news had been received.

The jaded troops, and still more jaded horses--mere skeletons in horse's

skins--were preparing for real repose, when all was changed! A telegram

arrived from Lord Kitchener saying that Cronje, with 10,000 men, was in

full retreat from Majersfontein, with all his waggons and equipment and

four guns, along the north bank of the Modder River towards

Bloemfontein; that he had already fought a rearguard action with him;

and that if French, with all available horses and guns, could head him

and prevent his crossing the river, the infantry from Klip Drift would

press on and annihilate or take the whole force prisoners.

Here was a surprise! Pleasant yet unpleasant, for shattered men in the

last stage of fatigue. But General French--whom some one has described

as possessing the shape of a brick, with all the solid and excellent

qualities of one--rose to the occasion. He was on the point of going to

sleep, but there was no thought of rest now. Arrangements had to be

made, horses weeded--out of a division of 5000 only one brigade was fit

to move!--more borrowed from the Kimberley Light Horse, whose

holiday-time had come, and other preparations hurriedly set on foot to

ensure an immediate rush--a swoop that should be as swift and successful

as it was startling!

One may imagine the midnight picture. The dark immensity of veldt--the

dust-driven, sweltering veldt--and Cronje, miles ahead with his horde,

the remnant of his convoy, his women and children, fleeing along the

north bank of the Modder, harassed by the Sixth Division, threatened by

the Seventh and Ninth, and yet longing to cross the river, to get safely

to Koodoosrand Drift, where he hourly expected reinforcements would come

to his succour. French, dead beat after glorious work accomplished,

rising from the first hospitable pillow he had seen for days--springing

suddenly to action, ordering, organising, deciding how to effect the

great swoop on Koodoosrand Drift and head off the fugitive. There was no

time for the buckling on of mental and moral armour; only the warrior at

soul could have been ready for such a situation. But such an one was

here. He gave swift orders. In three hours' time General Broadwood and

his brigade and three batteries of artillery--the only ones available

out of seven--sallied forth towards the east, in the dusk of the

morning. Their destination--Koodoosrand Drift--was some forty miles off,

and once here Cronje's last loophole of escape would be gone! The

General and his staff followed at 4.15 A.M., riding at full speed, and

catching up the brigade about fifteen miles off.

The whole nature of their errand and the proposed movement was a

surprise, for this manoeuvre had not entered into General French's

original calculations.

When the General had seen the Sixth Division safely at Klip Drift and

secured his left flank, he proceeded on his rush to Kimberley. Of other

movements save his own he was ignorant. Even as he and the troops were

riding into the town, Cronje, who had discovered the futility of his

position at Majersfontein and the danger of it, was trekking madly across

the front of the Sixth Division. On the morning of the 16th Lord

Kitchener, hearing that the Majersfontein laager and the Modder River camp

were deserted, and seeing a cloud of dust in the distance, had guessed

what was happening, and immediately altered his plans to meet the

emergency. As we are aware, he instantly gave orders for the mounted

infantry not to follow French, but to pursue and attack the Boer convoy,

while he telegraphed later to French, with the results just described.

General French grasped the position at a glance. He knew no time was to be

lost, and soon Broadwood's brigade, with horses that could barely move,

was pushing on as fast as spurs could insist. The early morning dusk broke

into the green and grey and gold of dawn; birds flew frightened hither and

thither; foxes rushed to their holes; springbok and hares tempted the

sportsmen, but never a glance to right or left was wasted. All eyes were

strained to the east, to the momentous east, and the wooded banks of the

distant river. Nearer and ever nearer they came--specks were seen on the

horizon--men?--horses?--the enemy moving?--scudding away before he could

be cornered? No--Yes? A moment of excitement, anguish--joy! The General

had mounted a kopje, reconnoitred, and discovered the truth. It was

Cronje's force--the remnants of his convoy some 4000 yards off--the convoy

streaming down into the drifts that lead to Petrusberg and thence to

Bloemfontein! They must never reach that destination! Kitchener's

words--"Head him and prevent his crossing the river"--so simple in sound,

so complex in execution, thrilled every heart. Quickly the guns were got

into action--grandly--almost magically--the first shot plumped--bang! in

front of the leading waggon just as the convoy was preparing to descend

the drift! What a reveille! Cronje, as we know, was rushing from the

clutches of the Sixth Division at Drieputs. Breathless, he gathered

himself together. Suddenly he found himself assailed by a new force--a new

terror! He divined in a moment what had happened. It was French, the

ubiquitous French--French redivivus, as it were--who was putting the

finishing touch to the chapter of disaster. Poor Captain Boyle, in his

letter to the _Nineteenth Century_, thus described the great Dutchman's

plight:--

"His only chance now was to sacrifice his guns and convoy, and cut his

way across the river under the heavy fire of our guns. Immediately on

the first shell bursting in the laager, about thirty Boers galloped out

to seize a kopje on our right, afterwards called Roberts' Hill; but the

10th Hussars in a neck-and-neck race had the legs of them, and seizing

the hill in advance, beat them off with their carbine and Maxim fire.

The Boers from their laager answered our shell fire for a short time

with great accuracy from two or three guns. But these were quickly

silenced, and shell after shell from Artillery Hill fell plump into the

laager. Finally, our second battery was moved to a little distance from

Roberts' Hill and opened fire from the southern slope on to a kopje to

which the Boers had retired. All that afternoon at intervals our guns

poured shells into the laager, but no response came, and we spent our

time watching the Boers, now 3000 yards away, entrenching themselves in

the open and along the river-bank. Their waggons caught fire and the

ammunition exploded, and as they realised their position more and more,

so must their hearts have sunk. Anxiously must they have waited for the

first sign of the infantry gathering round, as anxiously as we did in

our turn watching from the high kopjes.

"The cavalry, worn out as they were and without food, had to hold the

kopjes and water their horses in turn some five miles off. They got what

grazing they could in the kopjes as they lay there, for no corn had come

on from Kimberley, and neither men nor horses had had any food except

the three days' rations with which they originally started from Klip

Drift the Thursday before, a good deal of which had been shaken off the

saddles or lost in the long gallop up the plain to Kimberley. The

General, the men, the horses, all alike had to live on what was found at

Kamilfontein--a few mealies, a few onions, and the crumbs of biscuits in

our pockets were all we had until some Free Staters' sheep and cattle

were rounded and killed. Had it not been for this plentiful supply of

meat, the men must have fared very badly for the next three days. No

transport came in until Monday night, and the horses had but 11/2 lb. of

corn in three days. The men were put on half rations of biscuits even

after the transport arrived.

"Meanwhile, on Saturday afternoon about 5 P.M. Broadwood sent word to

French that in the far distance he observed the dust rising, which he

took for Kelly-Kenny's division. French returned to Roberts' Hill, and,

until the sun set, anxiously awaited the arrival of the infantry--but

they marched but slowly. From 6 P.M. till 7 P.M. we opened fire again

from our batteries to show Lord Kitchener our exact positions." The

splendid work done by the Royal Horse Artillery was described by another

eye-witness. He said: "I will give you an idea of what good gunners we

have in the Artillery. General French said to one of the gunners, 'See

those three waggons over there? (a distance of about 31/2 miles); see what

you can do with them.' The gunner fired three shell, and the waggons

were no more."

We must now watch the progress of the other portions of the force who

were actively engaged in taking their share in the huge undertaking.

Colonel Stephenson's brigade, on the night of the 16th (while General

French was learning the great news), had re-crossed the river at Klip

Drift, and on the morning of the 17th (at the same hour as Broadwood's

brigade was moving from Kimberley) had marched to the south of the river

with the same intention--that of heading off Cronje at Paardeberg and

Koodoosrand Drift. Thus, with Broadwood's brigade on one side, and

Stephenson's on the other, Cronje's prospects of escape were scarcely

worth a dime. The _Times'_ correspondent, talking of Colonel

Stephenson's troops on the morning of the fateful 17th, said:--

"They were joined about ten at Klipkraal Drift by Knox's brigade, which

marched along the northern bank. The mounted infantry, pushing on,

reached Paardeberg Drift that evening, and encamped on rising ground

close to the south bank. The infantry, leaving Klipkraal at six in the

evening, made a night march for Paardeberg Drift, but, missing their

way, slightly passed the Drift and bivouacked on some rising ground

nearly two miles beyond, separated from the river by a smooth plain

shelving gently down to it. The mistake was a fortunate one, as it

brought the infantry almost opposite to the place where Cronje had

determined to cross. Cronje had left Drieputs during the night after the

battle, abandoning seventy-eight waggons, and pushed on along the north

bank of the river during Saturday for Koodoosrand Drift. Soon after

passing north of Paardeberg Drift he heard that French had already

returned from Kimberley, and was holding a line of high kopjes running

north-west from Koodoosrand Drift, and completely commanding the drift.

Wheeling his waggons to the right across the plain, he laagered on the

north bank of the river at Wolveskraal Farm. This was opposite to a

drift of the same name, about half-way between Paardeberg and

Koodoosrand Drifts, being about four miles in a straight line from each.

Here he intended to cross on Sunday morning. But already, during the

night, he became aware of the presence of the mounted infantry south of

Paardeberg Drift, and decided that he could not get his convoy away

without fighting. Probably Cronje did not realise that Kelly-Kenny's

infantry could have already marched up and occupied the rising ground

not three thousand yards south of Wolveskraal Drift; still less could he

know that General Colvile's division (whose endurance had been

extraordinary) was but a few miles behind, and was to reach Paardeberg

Drift before daybreak. If Cronje had known this, there is little doubt

that he would have promptly sacrificed all his transport and all his

guns in order to get his men away and escape from the trap into which he

was now caught. As it was, he sent a great part of his force to line the

river-bed all the way down to Paardeberg Drift, in order to act as a

rear-guard and check any attempt to interfere with his crossing

Wolveskraal Drift at his leisure."

Later on, the Ninth Division, with the Highland Brigade, who had made a

forced march from Jacobsdal, arrived on the scene just in time to see

the Boers sending up rockets to show their position to expected

reinforcements. And there is little doubt that Cronje, unable to realise

the expeditious advance of "lumbering Britons," mistook General

Colvile's troops for the longed-for relief.

Among the missing from near Paardeberg were Lieutenants Romilly (Duke of

Cornwall's Light Infantry) and Metge (Welsh Regiment), and Captains

Arnold and Vaughan of Kitchener's Horse.

Here we have the position of affairs as they stood on the night of the

17th and on the morning of the 18th, when the trap so ingeniously set

for Cronje commenced to close little by little--north, south, east, and

west. Everywhere he turned the detestable rooineks menaced him, and he

who so lately had eaten his breakfast to the tune of his 100-pounder

gun, that belched ruin and mutilation over the whole region of

Kimberley, was now constrained to breakfast to a new and disagreeable

inversion of an identical melody!

THE BATTLE OF PAARDEBERG

On Sunday, the 18th of February, the most exciting action of the war

took place. It was costly as it was momentous, for it served to decide

the fate of the fleeing Dutchman. The scene of the drama was not

unpicturesque. From the Paardeberg to the Koodoosrand Drift the Modder

flowed along a deep hollow from thirty to a hundred yards in depth. To

either side the forks of small dongas radiated, while the high banks

were fringed with the feathery foliage of the mimosa and willow. Donga

and tree stump afforded excellent cover for the slim adversary, sniper

or scout. The river travelled from Koodoosrand Drift west-south-west,

deviating southwards on either side of the Wolveskraal Drift. A vast

expanse of veldt, some two thousand yards wide, shelved down towards the

south bank of the river, fringed by higher ground; and this grassy plain

extending eastwards joined a circle of kopjes now known as Kitchener's

Hill. On the opposite, the north bank of the river, was another similar

plain, dotted with minor kopjes to within a thousand yards of the river,

and beyond them was the higher hump of Paardeberg Hill.

The action began at dawn. Firing grew hotter and hotter with the growth

of the morning, and soon pandemonium was let loose. While part of the

mounted infantry was forcing the rearguard up the river another part was

manoeuvring on the right front and flank of the enemy. The Dutchmen

meanwhile from King's Kop turned on a quick-firing Hotchkiss gun, which

swept the flat country from the kop to the southern bank of the river.

The antagonists had both posted themselves on the north bank of the

river--both banks of which were level, and this expanse afforded no

cover for movements. Over this expanse the Ninth Brigade had to move,

struggling through a zone of fire towards the concealed enemy.

Cronje by this time had realised that his position was critical--almost

hopeless. Bringing his fine military qualities to bear on the situation,

he decided to make the best of a bad job, and entrench himself with all

the skill possible. He held about one square mile of the river-bed on

either side of Wolveskraal Drift, and beyond that he knew were

encircling kopjes, each one concealing its multitude of rooineks. On the

east, slowly creeping up, were the menacing numbers of Tucker's

Division; on the west the vast crowds of the mounted infantry and the

Sixth Division; on the south were field-guns little more than a mile

off, threatening to shower destruction from Gun Hill, while on the north

were Naval guns and howitzers. Indeed, everywhere was fate frowning,

obdurate, vengeful. But the Dutchman retained his pluck and his wits. He

even believed that with everything against him he might yet employ the

same tactics which had nonplussed Lord Methuen at Modder River. He still

retained a poor opinion of his adversary, and his delusion lent him

confidence. He hurriedly built trenches, that in themselves were

masterpieces of defensive art, and took up his headquarters in the

centre, in a red brick house--a species of travellers' hostelry, which

may be found near all drifts in South Africa. Here at night Mrs. Cronje

joined him. During the day she was placed in the women's shelter at the

east side of the area, which shelter was protected by waggons and

trenches all along the bed of the river. Talking of these trenches, the

correspondent of the _Times_ declared that "the skill with which they

were constructed as defences against both rifle and shell fire was

worthy of the highest praise. All except those of the outer lines of

pickets were made so narrow and deep that it seems as though they were

in many cases entered from one end rather than the top, as any such

ingress must even in a week's time have considerably widened the neck of

the excavation. At the top they were perhaps eighteen inches wide, at

the bottom about three feet, and by crouching down the most complete

protection was afforded from bursting shell.

"Every natural protection, such as the ramifications of the dongas

which eat into the banks on both sides of the river, had been utilised,

though the bombardment from both sides compelled them to abandon their

first hasty breastworks cut into the actual top of the bank, which was

here from about fifty to a hundred yards from the river itself, and

thirty feet in height.

"For the first time here the 'T' trenches, of which much has been said

during the present campaign, were used. They did not seem to present the

least advantage over the ordinary shapes, except that in an exposed

angle they may have provided additional protection against an enfilading

fire."

Cronje's first object in entrenching himself in the bed of the river was

to arrest the further advance of the mounted infantry, who had taken

possession of the bed of the river west of his position. In this he was

successful. Worn, harassed, and almost helpless, he determined to make a

desperate stand, hoping against hope to gain time till some help from

without should arrive. But this help never reached him. A grand

enveloping movement commenced, and Cronje, brought to bay, found himself

face to face with what proved to be his Sedan.

By this time he and his followers were snugly ensconced in bush and

donga and scrub round the laager, and from the trees around they

vigorously sniped and poured volleys at the advancing troops. In the

advance to the attack the Highland Brigade was on the left, General

Knox's brigade in the centre and on the right, while General Smith

Dorrien's brigade, after crossing the river by Paardeberg Drift, moved

along the north bank. The Highland Brigade had a terrific duty. The

Boers, from their position in the bed of the river and on both sides of

it, commanded the left of the Brigade, and as the kilted mass moved

forward in the open poured upon them a deadly fire, which forced them to

lie prone for the rest of the day. Here at noon, when bullets were

humming their loudest, General Hector Macdonald was wounded. He had

dismounted, and was directing the movements of the brigade, when

overtaken by a shot which penetrated thigh and foot. Despite this

unlucky accident and a tremendous spell of hard fighting, the brigade

exhibited splendid pluck and tenacity. They were destitute of cover, but

maintained their position with astonishing fortitude, and this after the

long forced march they had made from Jacobsdal, and while enduring the

tortures of maddening thirst, which could not be assuaged. A heavy

thunderstorm mercifully overtook them in the course of the afternoon and

raindrops large as gooseberries clattered down their relieving moisture

on the parched and exhausted troops.

[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF PAARDEBERG.

Drawing by Sidney Paget from a Sketch by W. B. Wollen, R.I.]

On the north bank of the river was Cronje's laager, an environment of

waggons, carts, ammunition, and stores. While General Smith Dorrien's

force, among which were the Canadians, Gordons, and Shropshires,

attempted to charge into the laager, they too were vigorously shelled by

the enemy, who, undefeatable, held on valiantly to a kopje on the south

bank of the river. Here they posted a Vickers-Maxim and other deadly

weapons, and in a measure divided our force in two. The Seaforths and

the Cornwall Regiment made a splendid charge with the bayonet, and drove

the Boers from their cover round the drift, but in the glorious rush

both the Colonel and Adjutant of the Cornwalls were stricken down.

Ninety-six of the men were wounded, but they now held the north-west

side of the enemy's position.

[Illustration: PLAN OF THE BOER LAAGERS AND TRENCHES AND THE BRITISH

POSITIONS AT PAARDEBERG. (By an Officer of the Royal Field Artillery.)]

On the east the Sixth Division was hard at work tackling a horde of

Boers, who made a last despairing lunge in order to burst through the

entangling forces and push for the south bank of the river. The effort

was stubborn as it was desperate, but they were defeated by the dash of

the West Riding Regiment, who pressed forward with the bayonet and

succeeded in seizing the drift. Many splendid fellows were wounded and

slain in the collision. Meanwhile the artillery continued to direct

their incessant thunder against the laager, pouring in a deluge of

destruction from all quarters, and forcing the Dutchmen to shrink within

the space, little more than a mile square, into which they had so

hurriedly scrambled.

General Kelly-Kenny having possessed himself of both Klip Drift and

Koodoosrand Drift, the Boers were now enclosed east and west. But here,

crunched in a veritable death-trap, they fought tenaciously. Worn,

harassed, and weakened by their hurried march, they yet held a stubborn

front to our assaulting troops, and from the cramped region of their

laager did as much damage as it was possible to do. The Canadians, who

had behaved with conspicuous gallantry in the attack on the laager, lost

nineteen killed and sixty-three wounded. A description of the fight as

seen from their point of view was given by a private in the 1st

Contingent:--

"We left Klip Drift on the Modder River at 6 P.M. Saturday, and

marched all night until seven on Sunday morning, covering 23

miles. During the march we could hear the guns ahead. I was

orderly man for Sunday, so, removing my pack, I went to the

river for water. Just a little way up the river a brisk fire

opened up. When I got back to our lines I found them issuing a

ration of rum. I had mine, and it just braced me up.

"By this time the engagement was pretty brisk. Our brigade was

ordered on the left of the river, which we crossed at a ford

just in rear of the camp. The Shropshires crossed first, then

followed the Canadians and Gordons. The water was up to our

necks. Some went deeper and had to swim. We crossed in fours,

holding on to each other, formed up in column and advanced a

short distance, when we extended to seven paces in skirmishing

order. C Company formed to support A Company.

"By this time the bullets were coming pretty thickly, and we

had some very narrow squeaks. We reinforced A Company at 500

yards and opened fire. The Boer fire was heavy, and some of our

boys had been hit, but we soon subdued the fire. Their position

was in the river, and we were lying out in the open, no cover

of any kind except a few anthills. We could see very little to

fire at except the fire from their guns. Our line was in a

crescent shape, the right on the river, and the left extended

along about 500 yards. In the afternoon our troops were ordered

to cease fire. As soon as we stopped they started sniping,

which made us hug the ground.

"Shortly after joining the firing line Captain Arnold of A

Company was struck. The Boers started a murderous fire on the

stretcher-bearers who carried him away, a trick they did all

day long. Towards evening the left was ordered to reinforce the

right. It was a daring move, but we did it by running down in

threes and fours. At dark all the forces retired, and quite a

few men volunteered to search for the wounded. I was out all

night until four the next morning, when I laid down played out.

I never want to witness such terrible sights as I saw that

night again. Whenever we showed ourselves in the moonlight the

sharpshooters would fire at us. We were all up early next

morning, but the Boers had retired farther up the river. So we

collected our wounded and buried the dead. I was helping a

hospital sergeant, and he sent two of us up the river to search

for wounded. We found a few, and also came across a wounded

Boer, whom we bandaged and took back to camp. We also came

across a few dead. We questioned the Boer, and he said that

they had retired during the night, carrying their wounded and

throwing the dead into the river. After dinner, which we had

about four, we went out on outpost duty. During the night there

was quite a little firing going on. This morning we advanced

towards the position again, and about ten o'clock retired for

some breakfast and advanced again. Although under fire all day

we did not fire, but the artillery certainly played Cain with

them."

Captain Arnold's wound was mortal, but Lieutenant Mason, who was also

shot, was not dangerously hurt.

A Colonial, writing from the front at Paardeberg, said that fighting

"went on during the day until about five o'clock, when the Cornwalls

arrived in support. The officer commanding this battalion seemed to

think that too much time had already been spent in fighting the Boers,

so ordered the charge. The result was fatal to the Cornwalls, as they

had to retire. The Canadians, acting under the orders of the commanding

officer of the Cornwalls as senior officer, also charged, and with a

like result; but the Canadians, in place of retiring, simply lay down

and remained. It was during this charge that most of the fatalities

occurred. The unfortunate commanding officer of the Cornwalls was

killed, and Captain Arnold and Lieutenant Mason of the Canadians

wounded. The Brigadier subsequently expressed his regret that the charge

took place, but at the same time warmly congratulated the Canadians on

their behaviour, as did Lord Roberts also."

Of gallantry and daring there was no end. From dawn till sunset raged a

battle of appalling fierceness, of magnificent persistency. From drift

to drift the hollows reverberated with the perpetual roll of musketry,

the brawling of multifarious guns, the hoarse cheers of charging troops,

the shouts of the unflinching enemy. Curling smoke burst in wreaths and

garlands from the sides of the hills and rose against the purple of

thunder-clouds; flaring tongues of vengeful flame danced and forked

their reflections of heaven's lightnings; spouts and torrents of water

poured from the sky, mingling with the heroical blood of Britain's best,

that trickled in rivulets, north, south, east, and west of the scene,

and traced far and wide the history of sacrifice on the now sacred

ground. For all this, the position of the contending parties remained

unchanged--Cronje defiant and enclosed, the British lion crouching,

watching.

At dusk the scene was weirdly, terrifically picturesque. From the south

and north sides of the river shells hurtled through the air, falling and

exploding along the river-bed, now setting fire to a waggon, now a cart,

and filling the gloom with lurid panoramas of flame and an awe-striking,

ceaseless din. Once an ammunition waggon was struck. Then the blaze and

crackling which followed, intermingling as they did with the roar of

artillery and the rattle of rifles, made a fitting concert for Hades.

And to the tune of this demoniacal intermezzo the cordon round the enemy

was gradually closing, his last chances of escape were one by one being

sealed, the last links in Lord Roberts' strategical chain were being

forged.

At night there was peace. The Modder might have been the placid purling

Thames winding along between fringed and sloping banks to the bosom of

the sea. But there was none to admire the pretty scene. All were worn

out, and glad to drop to sleep where they had fought, while the

bearer-parties--"body-snatchers," as they were jocosely styled--picked

their way in the darkness, doing their deeds of mercy with zealous,

unflagging perseverance. During this time many deserters from the enemy

came in. They had seen the hopelessness of their case, and had been

urging, uselessly, the implacable Cronje to surrender.

The following is the list of those who were killed and wounded during

the fight:--

_Killed_:--Mounted Infantry--Colonel Hannay.[1] 2nd

Warwick--Lieutenant Hankay. Duke of Cornwall's Light

Infantry--Lieutenant-Colonel Aldworth,[2] Captain E. P.

Wardlaw, Captain Newbury. Seaforth Highlanders--Second

Lieutenant M'Clure. Argyll and Sutherland

Highlanders--Lieutenant Courtenay. West Riding

Regiment--Lieutenant Siordet. 1st Yorkshire--Second Lieutenant

Neave. Oxford Light Infantry--Lieutenant Bright, Second

Lieutenant Ball-Acton. _Wounded_:--Staff--Major-General Knox

(13th Brigade), Major-General Hector MacDonald (3rd Brigade).

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry--Captain J. H. Maunder,

Lieutenant H. W. Fife, Second Lieutenant J. W. C. Fife, Second

Lieutenant R. M. Grigg. Seaforth Highlanders--Captain G. C.

Fielden, Captain E. A. Cowans, Captain G. M. Lumsden,

Lieutenant J. P. Grant, Second Lieutenant D. P. Monypenny (died

of wounds), Second Lieutenant A. R. Moncrieff. 1st Gordon

Highlanders--Second Lieutenant W. B. J. Nutford. Argyll and

Sutherland Highlanders--Lieutenant C. N. Macdonald, Lieutenant

G. Thorpe, Second Lieutenant G. A. Akers-Douglas, Second

Lieutenant F. G. S. Cunningham. Black Watch--Lieutenant-Colonel

A. M. Carthew-Yorkstoun, Major Hon. H. E. Maxwell, Major T. M.

N. Berkeley, Captain J. G. H. Hamilton, Lieutenant J. G. Grieve

(N.S.W. forces attached). West Riding Regiment--Captain F. J.

de Gex, Captain H. D. E. Greenwood. 1st

Yorkshire--Lieutenant-Colonel H. Bowles, Major Kirkpatrick,

Lieutenant C. V. Edwards, Captain A. C. Buckle (South Stafford

attached). Oxford Light Infantry--Major Day, Captain Watt,

Lieutenant Hammich. East Kent Regiment--Captain Geddes.

Shropshire Light Infantry--Captain Gubbins, Captain Smith,

Lieutenant English, Second Lieutenant Kettlewell.

Canadians--Captain H. M. Arnold (since died of wounds),

Lieutenant J. C. Mason, Lieutenant Armstrong. R.A.M.C.--Captain

J. E. C. Canter. Lieutenant G. H. Goddard. East Surrey--Captain

A. H. S. Hart. 2nd Lincoln--Second Lieutenant Dockray

Waterhouse. 1st Yorkshire--Second Lieutenant W. G. Turbet. 2nd

Oxford Light Infantry--Captain Fanshawe, Lieutenant Stapleton.

2nd Bedford--Captain R. W. Waldy, Lieutenant Selous. 2nd

Norfolk--Lieutenant Cramer-Roberts. 1st

Welsh--Lieutenant-Colonel Banfield, Major Ball. 2nd East

Kent--Captain Godfrey-Faussett, accidentally shot (died

February 21). 1st West Riding--Captain Taylor, Captain Harris.

Roberts' Horse--Lieutenant A. Grant. Argyll and

Sutherland--Captain N. Malcolm, D.S.O. 1st Gordon

Highlanders--Lieutenant Ingilby. 1st Welsh Regiment--Major

Harkness, Lieutenant F. A. Jones, Lieutenant Veal. Mounted

Infantry--Lieutenant-Colonel Tudway (1st Essex). 1st

Essex--Captain Milward, Second Lieutenant Thomson.

_Missing_:--Captain Lennox, 81st Field Battery R.A.

The following table gives the distribution of the losses among

officers:--

_Killed._ _Wounded._ _Missing._ _Total._

Staff -- 2 -- 2

2nd Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry 3 4 -- 7

2nd Seaforth Highlanders 1 6 -- 7

1st Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 1 4 -- 5

1st West Riding Regiment 1 2 -- 3

1st Yorkshire Regiment 1 4 -- 5

1st Oxfordshire Light Infantry 2 3 -- 5

2nd East Kent Regiment -- 1 -- 1

1st Gordon Highlanders -- 1 -- 1

2nd Royal Highlanders -- 4 -- 4

2nd Shropshire Light Infantry -- 4 -- 4

Royal Canadian Regiment -- 2 -- 2

Royal Army Medical Corps -- 2 -- 2

81st Battery R.A. -- -- 1 1

--- --- --- ---

Total 9 39 1 49

The heaviness of this list and the evenness with which the casualties

were shared bear witness to the dash and daring displayed by all the

battalions engaged.

A good deal of comment subsequently took place regarding the methods

adopted during this day's warfare, and many were of opinion that the

attempt to take the position by assault was unnecessarily wasteful of

life. Considering the positions of the various regiments on the morning

of the battle, it seemed as though the encircling of the enemy and

forcing him to submission by a slow process of pressure would have

served equally well to bring about the inevitable end. But again it has

been urged that there was at the time no knowing how soon reinforcements

might come to the assistance of Cronje, or what results might accrue

from permitting the Boers--at the time breathless and weary--to gather

themselves together for fresh resistance. Delay was evidently the one

thing that Cronje was playing for, and Lord Kitchener, on his side, was

averse from risks which might bring about the failure of the vital

undertaking.

TRAPPED

The enemy had little rest. The small hours were spent in constructing

entrenchments round the laager. All owned that their stubborn energy was

admirable, but further active resistance on the part of Cronje was now

beginning to be regarded by all--even his own people--as an act of

suicide and murder. "It was magnificent, but it was not war," as the

Frenchman said. The Mounted Infantry and a battery of artillery next

morning turned their attention to an offending kopje, whence the Boers

could yet pour their equivalent for "cold water" on the British plans,

and while circling round the position were accosted with a morning

salutation from the rifles of the Federals on the summit of the hill.

Fortunately the fusillade was launched with more vigour than accuracy,

and there were no casualties. Pursuing their investigations, the troops

discovered a good defensive position and seized it.

Early in the morning Cronje sent a white flag, demanding twenty-four

hours' armistice for the purpose of burying his dead. This most probably

being part of a wary plot to gain time for reinforcements to come to the

rescue, a reply was sent back from Lord Kitchener to the effect that it

was impossible to grant the request, which must await the arrival of the

Commander-in-Chief. Lord Roberts was then on his way from Jacobsdal, and

when the matter was referred to him, he at once sent a message refusing

to accede to the proposition. General Cronje's reply, being roughly

translated, implied that he wished to surrender, but when Lord Kitchener

requested him to surrender in person, it was discovered that he had no

notion of capitulation--unconditional surrender being the terms offered.

Lord Roberts then ordered the resumption of the bombardment.

About midday came the rumour that French was at hand, and that he was

taking his share of the great hemming-in movement, but the cavalry

division was then nowhere in view. Lord Roberts arrived later, and

addressed the troops, who welcomed him with cheers. Meanwhile the 18th,

62nd, and 75th field-batteries and the 65th (howitzer) battery

surrounded the laager, and commenced an avalanche of destruction, the

howitzers battering the river-bed with an enfilading fire, the fumes of

lyddite rendering the surrounding air green with noxious vapour. Waggon

after waggon of ammunition exploded with infernal uproar, shrapnel and

lyddite danced diabolically over the river-bed and laager, yet there

were no signs of surrender--not the flutter of a white flag in the

direction where remained the obdurate man who, his last chance gone,

refused to bow to the inevitable. Prisoners now and then, worn out and

disgusted, came in, their rifles slung, and gave themselves up. In the

laager were sixty women and girls, they said, and Cronje, "disconsolate

and defiant, sat holding Mrs. Cronje's hand and comforting her in the

river-bed." Meanwhile Broadwood's brigade had appeared, exhausted and

starving. The cavalry had come along the river-bank to Paardeberg in

order to reach the forage and the convoy which was accompanying the

infantry divisions from Klip Drift. Their state was lamentable, for it

must be remembered that General Broadwood had galloped off during the

night of the 16th almost provisionless. His brigade had borne the brunt

of the fray, for General Gordon had only been able to follow later with

some 120 horses out of his whole brigade. Colonel Porter's brigade

marched later still, owing to some accident with the telegraph. The work

of relieving Kimberley and heading Cronje had cost the cavalry some 990

horses out of a total of 4800.

The loss of life, however, had not been excessive considering the strain

and the engagements that had taken place between the 14th and 16th, but

some goodly young officers were missing. Lieutenant Carbutt (R.H.A.),

Lieutenant Brassey (9th Lancers), Lieutenant Hesketh (16th Lancers), and

Lieutenant the Hon. M'Clintock Banbury (Scots Greys), were among the

killed. Among the wounded were Captain Humfreys (Q Battery), Lieutenant

Houston (P Battery), Lieut. Barnes (Q Battery), Captain Gordon and

Lieut. Durand (9th Lancers), Captain Tuson (16th Lancers), Lieut.

Fordyce and Second Lieut. Long (Scots Greys), Lieut. Johnson

(Inniskilling Dragoons), Lieut. Gray (Roberts' Horse). The fatigued

remnant of the cavalry division now engaged in tackling the

reinforcements that Cronje had so ardently expected.

In consequence of the huge circumference of the British circle, it was

almost impossible to chronicle the innumerable small but brilliant

actions which were continually taking place, and which in the excitement

of the investment were almost overlooked. On the night of the 19th the

Gloucesters performed a dashing though futile feat. In the afternoon

they neared a kopje in which the Dutchmen were ensconced. They bided

their time, and just as the shades of night began to fall rushed on the

enemy with bayonets and drove them off with considerable loss. The

positions taken were evacuated, however, during the night.

On the 20th the Boers before dawn were again hard at work increasing

their entrenchments all round their laager, but their plucky labours

were impeded by continual shells which were launched now and again to

prevent the work from being carried to completion. Meanwhile from the

east came the echo of artillery, a rumour of battle which proved that

the untiring French was actively engaged in standing between the Boer

reinforcements and Cronje, who still held out gallantly in the fond yet

forlorn hope of their ultimate arrival. He was humanely offered many

chances to give in, but since he stoutly refused them all, measures were

taken by Lord Roberts to bring the fighting to a speedy conclusion.

But the doggedly valiant attitude of the enemy was not lost on his

assailants. It had been impossible to withhold from Cronje a certain

admiration for the masterful manoeuvres which extricated him from his

impossible position at Majersfontein, or for the stubborn resistance

with which his force, outwitted, harassed by the mounted infantry, and

fighting a skilful rearguard action, had succeeded in getting at least

thirty-five miles to Koodoosrand Drift. It was now equally impossible to

overlook the magnificent energy of the man, who, with his means of

flight at an end, his 50,000 lbs. of ammunition sacrificed, his stores

captured, his oxen exhausted to the death, with almost certain defeat

staring him in the face, could turn and fight an action both ferocious

and sanguinary. Moreover, by the sheer magnetism of his personality he

forced his followers to show a bold front and maintain a desperate,

almost fatuous, courage in the face of the most terrific shelling that

the century has known.

[Illustration: CRONJE'S STRONGHOLD ON THE MODDER RIVER.

Drawing by H. C. Seppings Wright, from a Sketch by Frederic Villiers,

War Artist.]

Little by little the enclosing circle began to grow narrower. The

infantry--the Cornwalls assisted by the Engineers--again set to work to

push the enemy still farther back into the river, but otherwise little

advance was made. The position was now sufficiently terrible for the

enemy. Cronje's trap was about a mile square, while commanding it in

every direction were guns multifarious; bushes and banks and ravines

were swept by cataracts of shrapnel, while volumes of greenish-yellow

smoke from bursting lyddite curved and twisted around the river-bed,

then carried their noxious vapour to the serene sapphire of the heavens.

In the clear atmosphere the reiterations of Maxims filled up the pauses

between the steady booming of artillery, while now and again the

impotent despairing splutter of rifles from the enemy's laager mingled

with the stertorous rampage.

On the fourth day of Cronje's resistance what might have been an

unfortunate incident occurred. The Gloucester and Essex regiments by an

accident had bivouacked on the north side of the river too close to the

enemy's laager. The result was that on the first gleam of daylight they

were discovered by the Dutchmen, who treated them to a volley by way of

reveille. Luckily the firing was not at all up to the Boer mark and the

regiments came off scot-free.

During the day General Smith Dorrien's force on the north worked towards

the doomed laager while General Knox's brigade held the containing lines

on the south side of the river. In the east General French was keeping

an eye on a swarm of Boers who were hoping to come to the rescue of

Cronje. These held a strong position on a kopje which seemed to be

specially constructed by nature for defensive purposes. Still, when

General Broadwood's brigade and a battery of horse-artillery turned

their attention to the summit and scoured it thoroughly, the Dutchmen

helter-skelter fled. Unluckily for them, their precipitate action took

them straight into the arms of General French, who having headed them

towards the drift, now gave them so warm a reception that numbers bit

the dust. Some escaped, but fifty were taken prisoners. Forage,

provisions, and equipment were also seized, though the corpses of the

slain were carried off, so that the tale of loss could not be told.

The capture of the kopje was an excellent move, as it was a useful

position whence to watch for and intercept reinforcements that might be

coming from Ladysmith or elsewhere to the succour of the doomed. A

message was sent to the obdurate Commandant offering a safe conduct and

a free pass anywhere for the women and children. Lord Roberts also

proffered medical attendance and drugs. The offers were curtly rejected.

Finding courteous overtures of no avail, the bombardment of the position

was resumed, and the artillery continued to fire till dusk put an end to

the operations. While the firing was taking place the mules of the 82nd

Battery, while still hitched to the waggons, took it into their heads to

stampede, causing a scene of the wildest confusion. The next day,

however, all save one waggon were recovered.

During the night the Shropshire Regiment accomplished a fine feat. They

pressed forward some two hundred yards, captured new ground, and there

entrenched themselves. It was an excellent finale to four days'

incessant work under a withering fire, and by the 22nd they were fairly

exhausted. They were then relieved by the Gordons. Here be it noticed

that the Gordons were now incorporated with the Highland Brigade, which

was thus composed of four kilted regiments. The Highland Light Infantry,

who wear "trews," had joined General Smith Dorrien's force.

The exchange of positions between the Shropshires and Gordons was

effected in a manner worthy of the slim Boer himself, and showed that

the Britons had speedily taken practical lessons from their adversaries.

The Shropshires having, as said, seized 200 yards of new ground, they

were relieved the following morning by the Gordons. The Highlanders,

snake-like, wormed themselves forward to the trenches on their stomachs,

while the Shropshire men in like manner crawled over the bodies of the

relieving force. An officer who witnessed the evolution said, "I have

often heard of walking on an empty stomach, but I'm hanged if I've ever

seen the feat accomplished so well and so literally."

Another tremendous thunderstorm broke over the position, causing

considerable discomfort to the troops, but still more to the unhappy

creatures who, through the stout resistance of Cronje, were held to all

the horrors of the trap into which he had fallen. We were now closing in

on every side.

A grand attempt was made on the morning of the 23rd to bring help to the

Dutchman. Commandant de Wet with a horde of some 1000 Boers, collected

from the region of Ladysmith, appeared, and made a desperate effort to

thrust himself through the British lines. Part of the force on its way

towards its hoped-for destination was luckily accosted from a kopje

occupied by the Scottish Borderers. The greeting, smart and accurate,

was scarcely to the Dutchmen's liking, and they made off in another

direction, but still with the same result. From position to position

they were hunted, and in sheer despair they made for an unoccupied

kopje, where they hoped at last to make a stand. But they were

disappointed. The lively Scottish Borderers were "one too many for

them." Seeing the Boers in act of seizing this point of vantage, the

Borderers promptly hurled themselves in the coveted direction. There was

an animated neck-and-neck race, and the Borderers, who won by a nose,

promptly took possession of the hill and completely routed the Federals.

Finally the Boers found shelter in a kopje which was _vis-a-vis_ to a

like eminence held by the Yorkshires. A passage at arms followed, with

the result that the fusillade of the enemy died a natural death. Then

the Yorkshires, who had so strenuously brought about this result, were

reinforced by the Buffs, lest some more of the Boer hosts from Ladysmith

should put in an appearance. At this time the 75th and 62nd Batteries

gave tongue from an adjacent farm, but their vociferous notes produced

little effect upon the crown of the Boers' stronghold.

So great was the silence that the Yorkshires moved on with a view to

prodding the enemy in his lair, but, in the attempt, they were so

furiously assailed by the shot of the enemy that they, in default of

cover, were unable to proceed. Meanwhile the Buffs persevered, moving

warily round the position till within 150 yards of the Dutchmen, who

were eventually driven off. More than eighty--their horses having been

shot--surrendered. On many of these were discovered explosive bullets,

and it became evident that desperation was driving the Boers to

disregard the rules of civilised warfare. Many of our wounded were found

injured by these unholy missiles; and other tricks--barbarous

tricks--were reported. On one occasion a Vickers-Maxim gun was directed

at an ambulance, which at the time was fortunately unoccupied.

During the week our losses were fewer than on the opening day. Captain

Dewar and Lieutenant Percival, 4th King's Royal Rifles, and Lieutenant

Angell, Welsh Regiment, were killed. Among the wounded were:--

2nd Gloucester--Lieutenant-Colonel R. F. Lindsell; 2nd

Derbyshire--Lieutenant C. D. M. Harrington; 9th

Lancers--Captain Campbell; P.R.H.A.--Lieutenant Houston; Royal

Engineers--Captain Crookshank; 1st Lincoln--Second Lieutenant

Wellesley; Argyll and Sutherland--Lieutenant and Adjutant

Glasford; 1st East Kent Regiment (attached 2nd

Battalion)--Lieutenant Hickman; 2nd Lincoln--Captain Gardner;

King's Own Scottish Borderers--Captain Pratt; East

Kent--Captain Marriott; Yorkshire--Captain Pearson, Lieutenant

Gunthorpe, 2nd Lieutenant Wardle.

Lieutenant Metge (1st Welsh Regiment) was missing.

Daily the enemy was squeezed into a smaller space. General Smith Dorrien

had now pushed up the river-bed to within two hundred yards of Cronje's

entrenchments. The object lesson in perseverance, both on the part of

Boers and British, was becoming almost awe-inspiring--the tension was

veritably appalling. Soaked with rain to the very skin--the fevered skin

that had been scorched, and toasted, and begrimed with dust--our men,

grim and fierce, with the storm-winds piping the pipe of death about

their ears, held their ground. Rations had been intermittent till the

convoys began to come in, and, almost fasting, they had been acutely

conscious of the foul, the nauseating atmosphere that now enveloped them

like a loathely vaporous entanglement. The river had swollen and bore

upon its turbid breast horrific revelations--thousands of rotting

carcases and festering loads of poisonous wreckage, that rendered the

act even of drawing breath almost a heroism. All along the great march

endurance had been put to supreme test, for the track had been margined

with the dead bodies of exhausted oxen and horses. These lay littered

about, unburied, disembowelled, and in various stages of putrefaction.

Everywhere vultures and flies and other loathsome parasites of the

veldt hovered and sidled and crawled, glutting themselves at veritable

orgies of destruction, and contesting their prizes with the winds.

These, taking their fill, hastened to diffuse the remains of the grisly

banquet far and wide. Thus the foul dust, wantonly distributed, blew in

the throats and eyes and ears of gallant men, and contributed death more

liberally, more pitifully, than even the bullets of the Boers!

[Illustration: GUNS CAPTURED AT PAARDEBERG. Photo by Alf. S. Hosking,

Cape Town.]

Plentiful rain had fallen, saturating humanity, and causing the heated

ground to retract the fumes of a charnel-house. But in one way better

times had come. There was fuller fare. Large convoys made a daily

appearance, and the men were refreshed after their labours with the

promise of plenty. Food of a substantial kind was indeed necessary, for

it served to attune the stomach to the noxious vapours that hourly grew

almost tangible. Cronje, though he knew it not, was sowing the seeds of

a harvest of revenge! He was killing his thousands! For many days our

troops had been enduring lenten fare; they had rung the changes on

hardships, fatigues, and self-abnegations of all kinds. They had been

battered on by storms. They had outstripped transport and supplies. They

had kept the inner man appeased and working on quarter rations. They had

marched like giants in ten-league boots, and meanwhile fed like fairies;

yet withal had borne countenances cheery and noble, full of confidence

and unquenchable pluck. But these splendid creatures were but mortal.

The foul fiends of enteric and malaria were already sapping their

buoyant constitutions, and marking them, one after another, with the

deadly seal of possession.

Every day of the Dutchman's resistance was therefore full of horror,

full of anxiety. There were continual rumours that the Boer

reinforcements were in view, that the Federals were massing for a

desperate effort. Wearied and battered, the cavalry at Koodoosrand were

perpetually speeding on wild-goose chases, in one of which both General

French and Colonel Haig nearly lost their lives. A reconnaissance in

force had been ordered. The drift, swollen by rains, was now a torrent,

and in crossing the General and his A.D.C. were thrown by their restive

horses into the river, whence they only emerged safe and sound in

consequence of their being fine swimmers and pneumonia-proof Britons.

Cronje, finding that the reinforcements failed to reach him, decided on

the night of the 26th to cut his way out and seize a kopje before dawn.

But his intention was frustrated by the Mounted Infantry, who, in spite

of the darkness, kept a watchful eye on the slippery enemy.

Quite early on the morning of the 27th of February, the anniversary of

Majuba day, the splutter of musketry greeted the ears of the dozing

camp. Some one was up and doing early. It was the Canadians. They were

acting on the principle of the early bird that catches the morning worm.

Supported by the Gordons, Cornwalls, and Shropshires, they were

advancing, building a trench in the very teeth of the enemy, and at

fifty yards' range were saluting him with such deadly warmth as to

render his position untenable. How this energetic and gallant movement,

the wonder and admiration of all, was brought about was described by the

correspondent of the _Times_. "It appeared that Brigadier-General

MacDonald sent from his bed a note to Lord Roberts, reminding him that

Tuesday was the anniversary of that disaster which, we all remembered,

he had by example, order, and threat himself done his best to avert,

even while the panic had been at its height; Sir Henry Colvile submitted

a suggested attack backed by the same unanswerable plea. For a moment

Lord Roberts demurred to the plan; it seemed likely to cost too heavily,

but the insistance of Canada broke down his reluctance, and the men of

the oldest colony were sent out in the small hours of Tuesday morning to

redeem the blot on the name of the mother-country.

"From the existing trench, some 700 yards long, on the northern bank,

held jointly by the Gordons and the Canadians, the latter were ordered

to advance in two lines--each, of course, in extended order--thirty

yards apart, the first with bayonets fixed, the second reinforced by

fifty Royal Engineers under Colonel Kincaid and Captain Boileau.

"In dead silence, and covered by a darkness only faintly illuminated by

the merest rim of the dying moon, 'with the old moon in her lap,' the

three companies of Canadians moved on over the bush-strewn ground. For

over 400 yards the noiseless advance continued, and when within eighty

yards of the Boer trench the trampling of the scrub betrayed the

movement. Instantly the outer trench of the Boers burst into fire, which

was kept up almost without intermission from five minutes to three

o'clock to ten minutes past the hour. Under this fire the courage and

discipline of the Canadians proved themselves. Flinging themselves on

the ground, they kept up an incessant fire on the trenches, guided only

by the flashes of their enemy's rifles; and the Boers admit that they

quickly reduced them to the necessity of lifting their rifles over their

heads to the edge of the earthwork and pulling their triggers at random.

Behind this line the Engineers did magnificent work; careless of danger,

the trench was dug from the inner edge of the bank to the crest, and

then for fifty or sixty yards out through the scrub. The Canadians

retired three yards to this protection and waited for dawn, confident in

their new position, which had entered the protected angle of the Boer

position, and commanded alike the rifle-pits of the banks and the

trefoil-shaped embrasures on the north."

For some time it seemed as though hostilities were suspended, and

then--a sign, a flutter of white, a signal of surrender caught the

straining eyes of the regiment nearest the crest of the hill. In an

instant the plains and the hollows, the kopjes, and even the dome of

heaven, seemed animated--lending themselves to repeat the ringing cheer,

to reiterate the cry of an immense joyous heart splitting a little

universe in twain. Ears languid, ears hard-working, ears occupied, ears

expectant, all caught the sound, echoed it and knew that at last the

looked-for hour had come, Cronje had surrendered! Many Boers threw up

their hands and dashed unarmed across the intervening space; others

waved white flags and exposed themselves carelessly on their

entrenchments, but not a shot was fired. Colonel Otter and Colonel

Kincaid held a hasty consultation, which was disturbed by the sight of

Sir Henry Colvile (commanding the Ninth Division) quietly riding down

within 500 yards of the northern Boer trenches to bring the news that at

that very moment a horseman was hurrying in with a white flag and

Cronje's unconditional surrender, to take effect at sunrise.

THE SURRENDER OF CRONJE

Then all was activity. A note was borne to Lord Roberts stating that

Cronje had given in, and General Pretyman thereupon rode out to take his

surrender. The scene was highly impressive. Lord Roberts, in front of

the cart in which he slept, walked up and down awaiting his prisoner,

while a guard of the Seaforth Highlanders with drawn bayonets formed a

line to either side. In the distance a small group of horsemen was seen

approaching, a silhouette which gradually grew clearer in the golden

light of the morning. It was General Pretyman with the redoubtable

Cronje riding a white pony on his right and the escort of the 12th

Lancers following. The subsequent scene was a study in reserve. After

all the tumultuous passions, the ferocity of bloodshed, the

diamond-cut-diamond activities of death-dealing lyddite and

Vickers-Maxims, the two leaders met without the smallest sign of

emotion. To Lord Roberts, who stood with his staff awaiting him, Colonel

Pretyman said, "Commandant Cronje, sir!" The two great men looked at

each other, the Dutchman touched his hat, the Englishman returned the

salute. The group dismounted, and then, regretfully be it noted, Lord

Roberts, the blameless upright British soldier gave his hand to the

tyrant of Potchefstroom. "You have made a gallant defence, sir," said

the British Commander-in-Chief; "I am glad to see you. I am glad to get

so brave a man!"

The picture of the redoubtable Cronje as he approached our great little

Field-Marshal was remarkable in its contrast. On the one side you saw a

burly square-jawed agriculturist, grizzly of beard, tanned and battered

of complexion, portly and cumbrous of form. On the other, you had the

lithe figured aristocratical British soldier, trim in his kharki

uniform, and wearing his sword with the air of nameless distinction

which belongs to the born ruler of men. Cronje's aspect was that of a

substantial farmer, his heavy cane, his slouch hat encircled by its

orange leather band, his bottle-green overcoat and tan boots were

distinctly bucolic, but his rigid implacable countenance, an utterly

impenetrable facade, betrayed the masterly and indomitable character of

the man.

There is no doubt that by his fierce, his masterly resistance to the

British he won for himself the respect of all who trapped him. His

undoubted pluck, a quality which has such unending fascination for the

English, served in a great measure to wipe off the terrible remembrance

of his atrocious deeds in other years. Cronje spoke scarcely a word. He

said there were 3000 Boers in the laager--as a matter of fact, there

were over 3700--and also requested that his wife, son, grandson, and

secretary might be allowed to remain with him. This request was acceded

to; arrangements were made that his relatives should accompany him into

captivity. He then partook of refreshment in Lord Roberts' quarters with

the staff. Though he smoked, he said little and remained gloomy and

preoccupied.

The prisoners trooped across the river like some patriarchal or gipsy

horde, with trousers turned up so as not to damp them in the swollen

drift. They splashed along, each armed with his household effects, pots

and pans, blankets and rifles, some jesting and skipping in sheer

exuberance of animal spirits that long had been subdued, some stolid and

serious in the full comprehension of the grievous end of all their pluck

and endurance. And they had endured! From the hundreds of wounded that

were brought in the same tale of suspense, and misery, and horror was

told in varying keys. Always they had awaited reinforcement; they had

even invented a scheme for cutting a way out to meet the relieving force

which never came. But volunteers for this deed of daring were few. About

a hundred in all. This meagre array was not sufficient. Others had

pressed on the relentless Cronje the philosophy of surrender. They urged

that directly, if not annihilated by shell fire, they would be laid low

by fever; already eighty-seven men were slain and a hundred and sixty

wounded. These had no doctors even to attend them. The surgeons had been

left behind on the Modder, and the offer of Lord Roberts of medicine and

succour had been refused. The suffering had indeed been terrible and now

was of no avail.

It was not pleasing to the vanity of the British army to find themselves

confronted with such a rabble of tatterdemalions, and to remember how

this nondescript mob had so long held them in check. But there was no

denying that the ruffians had qualities, and that they, unkempt and

undisciplined as they were, had proved themselves foemen worthy of our

steel and tacticians meriting study.

[Illustration: "MAJUBA DAY"--CRONJE SURRENDERS TO LORD ROBERTS AT

PAARDEBERG.

Drawing by R. Caton Woodville, from a Sketch by Frederic Villiers, War

Artist.]

It was curious how much our troops had learnt both from the

undisciplined Boers and the inexperienced Colonials. From the latter

they picked up the art of taking cover, and from the former the art of

obtaining it. The Boer was not content merely to crouch behind a stone

and show a head only when about to shoot. He cunningly arranged his

sangar so that he should expose no head at all. He built up his small

stones to the necessary height, taking care to leave a central loophole

through which he could take aim and yet remain invisible. An officer, in

giving his opinion of the Boer as a fighter, showed the lessons that had

been taught by him. "As a defender of defensive positions in a

mountainous country he is unequalled. He digs good trenches and chooses

good defensive positions, and he lies there quietly and waits for his

enemy to advance across the open. But he never, hardly ever, dares to

attack in the open, and if his flank is turned or his rear

threatened, he gets nervous, and retires to a better position if he can.

If our positions could be reversed--that is, if Tommy Atkins had to

defend the kopjes, and if the Boers had to attack them in the open,

there can be no doubt as to the result. Tommy, perhaps, would not be

quite so good as the Boer in defence, but, on the other hand, the Boer

would fail in the attack; indeed, he could not be brought to attempt it.

As a shooter the Boer is no better than our own men. The only difference

is that he attempts to shoot at far longer ranges. The Boer has taught

us to dig big trenches and to use big guns as mobile artillery."

The mobility of the big guns was at the moment more of a puzzle than

ever. The Boers were in possession of some Vickers-Maxims in laager, two

15-pounders, and some big guns. We captured the minor weapons, but the

big ones were sedulously hidden, and how they had vanished became a

problem that was never solved. It was supposed they were buried in the

bed of the river, but search failed to unearth them.

Trophies innumerable were picked up. Sir Howard Vincent succeeded in

securing a quaint seventeenth-century Bible, and Roberts' Horse

possessed themselves of Cronje's green bell-tent and ox-waggon. One

cavalry officer thought himself lucky to secure a new pair of stays

marked "113/4, waist 28 inches," evidently the property of a capacious

vrow. Letters multifarious were found, among them Cronje's commission,

signed by President Steyn.

Most of the prisoners, when interrogated, declared they were sick of the

war, and confessed that but for their fear of Cronje they would long ago

have surrendered. His was the powerful, the guiding hand. Some of them

expressed queer notions of the causes of the trouble, giving forth at

second and even third hand--and in a very garbled condition--the

sentiments poured into them by "sympathisers."

Said one, "The war is got up by the capitalists. The generals arrange a

victory or a reverse to suit their own interests on the Stock Exchange!"

A private remonstrated, "You don't include Lord Roberts? You'll admit

that he is disinterested!"

"Not a bit of it! He is a shareholder along with Chamberlain and Rhodes

and the other millionaires. They all look after number one."

Against such prejudice and ignorance it was useless to argue.

Some of the Free Staters expressed their joy at being relieved of the

company of the Boers. They had been on bad terms with them, and had

scarcely dared to speak a word in English for fear of their lives. One

declared that he was not permitted even to address his horse in the

odious language!

There were great and astonishing contrasts in the groups of prisoners

that were gathered together. Many of them were youths of sixteen to

eighteen years of age. Some seemed in a hopeless stage of sickness and

despair, others attenuated by the amount of vinegar consumed to cure the

stupefying effects of our lyddite. Endurance, it was plainly to be seen,

had been carried to the last pitch. Some, on the other hand, appeared as

though already reviving with the relaxation of the strain to which they

had been subjected; some even delighted to find themselves in British

hands, no longer tormented by "hell-scrapers," as they called the

shrapnel, and already clamouring to partake of spirits and refreshment,

for which they had longed in vain. The rapture at their deliverance

overcame all other sentiments; they had no thought for the ups and downs

of the war, and many, indeed, were still unaware of the causes that had

led them to share in it. Cronje had evidently kept a tight hand on them,

and but for his unique influence many would long before have

surrendered. This peculiar despotism was marvellous when it is

considered that none of the younger commanders could induce more than a

portion of his commando to follow him from the Natal side to the scene

of operations. Cronje had the privilege of being the most admired and

well-detested person on the stage of the moment, and one Boer was seen

clenching his fist in the direction of the vanquished tyrant and

exclaiming, "You hard man! you deserve to be shot." There were many who

heard him who endorsed the opinion.

A great deal of undue attention seemed to be bestowed on the Dutch

Commandant, and evidently it was his undisputed military genius that

earned for him the admiration of his conquerors. Only to this final

display of skill and pluck can be attributed the deference paid to a man

whose Anglophobia had made itself prominent for many years, one who cut

such a despicable figure in his relations with us at Potchefstroom, and

who was responsible in particular for much of the brutality which has

been accredited to the Boers in general. It was certainly a case of

turning the other cheek to the smiter, for the captive was allowed to

take with him his wife, and retain in his possession his favourite

horse, Wolmarens!

Accompanied by Mrs. Cronje, he was sent to Cape Town in a covered

waggon, guarded by a special convoy under the command of Colonel

Pretyman. There was considerable pathos in the scene of departure, for

many of the other prisoners had gone through the ordeal of the

bombardment with their wives by their sides, and these, less fortunate

than Mrs. Cronje, had to be left behind!

The majority of people, it must be owned, were horrorstruck at the

consideration shown to one to whom the word consideration was an empty

name. A Scottish Colonial, writing home, expressed his irritation at the

mode in which warfare was conducted. He said: "Cronje is now a hero,

housed in the Admiral's cabin on board the _Doris_. He is probably

saying, 'What fools the British are.' For, give him a chance, and he

would commit again the treacherous murders for which he has been

responsible in the past with as little compunction as he would feel at

putting his heel on a scorpion. I wonder if we may take this bit of

foolishness as an indication of the way in which England is going to

settle up finally with the Republics. Her policy has so often before

ended in weakness that one cannot help feeling nervous."

He was merely one of a thousand who argued that it was impossible to go

to war with kid-gloves on, and who regretted the terms of the

proclamation which had been made on the entry of Lord Roberts to the

Free State. This proclamation, which will be discussed anon, was another

of the nineteenth-century humanitarian movements which were mistakenly

applied to seventeenth-century comprehension. To return to the events of

Majuba day.

Lord Roberts subsequently visited the Boer laager, and testified his

admiration of the ingenuity and energy with which the position was made

almost impregnable to assault. In spite of ten days' bombardment by over

fifty guns and howitzers, the number of Boer wounded was said to amount

to only 160--a fact which went to prove that the power of artillery can

be broken by the ingenious use of the spade. The entrenchments, when

examined, proved to be most skilfully contrived, with narrow mouths some

eighteen inches wide, and wide bases, some quite three feet broad, which

rendered them almost impregnable to shell fire.

The effect of the bombardment was terrific. The laager presented an

appearance of black chaos, varied only by streaks of yellow, which told

of the gambols of lyddite. Waggons were wrecked with shrapnel; some had

ceased to exist; rings and twists and girandoles of distorted metal were

all that was left of them. Within the laager was a decaying, disordered

mass of Boer belongings, saddles innumerable, karosses and panniers,

coats and feminine apparel, fragments of old tin trunks, and 2,000,000

rounds of ammunition; wreckage of all sorts, united by the

super-evident, unavoidable, and persistent bonds of stench, which

permeated everything, weaving visible and invisible in one noxious

nightmare of the senses.

Round this arena of pestilence sentries were posted. It was necessary to

prevent loot, though little of value remained save munitions of war.

Most of the Boer property had been left behind in the hurried rush from

Majersfontein and Spyfontein. Still the locality had to be guarded, and

the guards, as well as all who approached, had to pocket their

sensibilities. Indeed, it was a marvel how the Boers had managed to

exist in the pestilential atmosphere that pervaded the river-bed.

Dotted everywhere, or collected in heaps, already rotting in the

tropical heat, were the remains of horses, mules, and cattle, some of

which had been driven to death, while others had been hurried there by

the voice of our howitzers or the rain of our rifle fire. In the fringe

of this atmosphere our troops had lived for some three days past, for

nightly they had advanced some fifty to an hundred yards nearer the

laager, and there dug trenches and located themselves, till, at the end,

the last three nights were passed almost within pistol-shot of the enemy

and in the thick of a stench whose opacity was well-nigh suffocating.

An interesting account of his enforced stay in the laager was given by a

trooper in Kitchener's Horse, who was taken prisoner on the day previous

to the great battle which settled Cronje's fate. He had become separated

from the rest of his troop while scouting along the Modder River. When

he looked round for his friends, he found himself surrounded by a party

of Boers, who, jumping from the bushes, fired upon him. His horse was

shot and rolled over upon the young trooper, carrying him with him into

the river. The Boers rescued him, relieved him of his bandolier, and

made him prisoner. Together they went to the laager. "There," the

trooper said, "I was taken before Commandant Cronje, who asked me our

strength and movements. On my replying that I was only a trooper, and

did not know, he said, 'Oh, never mind; if you don't want to tell me, I

shall not try to make you.' A guard was placed over me, and we stayed

the night in the laager. I should say there were about 6000 Dutchmen all

told, and forty women and children. A great many among them were

Irishmen, a few Scotchmen; in short, almost every nation was more or

less numerously represented. All that night they were busy entrenching

themselves, employing a great deal of native labour to help them."

Through the whole of the 18th of February the young man endured the

bombardment, which he described as so heavy that it was impossible to

remain in the laager, and consequently all, even the women and children,

took refuge in the trenches. The Boers' mode of firing he specially made

a note of: "The Boers did not in the least mind our attack, and laughed

amongst themselves as they saw the men advancing. They allowed them to

come up to about 600 yards from the trenches, and then opened a

tremendous fire from their rifles. It did not seem to be aimed at any

particular man, but more at a certain fixed distance. At that they fired

as fast as they could. The range was obtained by a few fixed shots, who

fired, watched the dust caused by the strike of the bullets, and then

gave out the range. Our men came up to within 150 yards and then

retired. They fired volleys at the longer distances, but all their fire

seemed to me to be short." Each day there were losses, but comparatively

few, as the bottle-shaped trenches afforded excellent cover; those that

fell, however, were buried where they lay. He went on to say that "The

shelling of Monday night destroyed several waggons, two of which were on

either side of Cronje's own. No one could have been braver than he was.

He stood upon the waggon-step, field-glasses in hand, and did not seem

to care in the least how thickly the shells and bullets fell. Many of

the Free Staters, however, were quite the reverse, and were in a great

state of terror when the bombardment began. The ammunition waggons blew

up, and several of the provision waggons were burned. The shrapnel

killed the majority of the horses and cattle, which had no shelter but

the banks of the river. Beyond that the fire did little real damage."

The prisoner declared his belief that "could they have kept their laager

out of fire they would never have surrendered. The loss of the provision

waggons was what caused them to give in. They had only four days' food

left. Their ammunition was still plentiful. After the explosion of the

ammunition waggons by shell-fire on February 19, all the remaining

cartridges were distributed throughout the trenches, and on the south

side every trench was still full of unused ammunition. Everything was

done in the trenches, even the cooking, each individual having with him

a box of provisions sunk into the ground. These boxes were replenished

at night as there was no possibility of reaching the laager during the

day."

Lord Roberts addressed the Canadians, and expressed his satisfaction and

appreciation of the splendid work they had done and the courage they had

shown. To them he attributed the greater share in the Boer surrender.

All were delighted at the attention shown the heroic Colonials, who had

done splendid work, and at the exhibition of Lord Roberts' tact and

kindliness in thus singling out the Canadians for the position of

honour. In the Jubilee of 1897 the Field-Marshal had told the Colonial

Bodyguard that he would like to have them with him if he were ever in

another campaign, and now the Canadians felt that the Chief's cherished

words had been no mere formula, and that they had been given the chance

to distinguish themselves that they had so eagerly desired.

To General Colvile was given the credit of inventing the order of attack

which at last brought the Boers to their senses. He arranged that the

first rank should advance, bayonets fixed, till the enemy opened fire.

Then they were to lie down and continue to fire on the Boers, while

Engineers and the second line dug a trench. The trench thus made was

within eighty yards of those of the Boers, and owing to its trefoil

shape, the troops were able to enfilade both the river and northern

trenches of the enemy and make them untenable. From their point in the

original trench the Gordon Highlanders kept up a brisk fire, while the

Shropshire Light Infantry, who were posted over a thousand yards to the

north-west of the position, co-operated.

In the very successful attack on the enemy's trenches the Royal Canadian

Contingent lost seven killed and twenty-nine wounded. Major Pelletier,

who commanded the French company, foremost of the three companies, was

wounded, and also Lieutenant Armstrong. It is interesting to note that

few of this gallant company of Great Britain's defenders could speak

English!

[Illustration: BOER TRENCHES AT PAARDEBERG. Photo by Alf. S. Hosking,

Cape Town.]

Colonel Otter, in command of the Canadians, had distinguished himself on

many occasions by rare coolness and display of great talent in the

field, and he now took pleasure in reporting excellently of the various

members of the battalion under his command who had especially

distinguished themselves. Among these were:--

Captain H. B. Stairs, 66th P. L. Fusiliers, and Lieutenant and

Captain A. H. Macdonell, Royal Canadian Regiment. E Company,

No. 5130, Corporal T. E. Baugh, R.C.R. F Company, No. 7782,

Private O. Matheson, 12th Newcastle Field Battery; No. 7803,

Private A. Sutherland, D. of Y. R. C. Hrs.; No. 7868, Sergeant

W. Peppeatt, Royal Canadian Artillery; No. 7871, Corporal R. D.

M'Donald, Royal Canadian Artillery; No. 7822, Private C.

Harrison, 2nd Montreal Regiment C.A.; No. 7841, Private A.

Bagot, 65th Montreal Rifles; No. 7778, Private Sievert, 93rd

Cumberland Infantry; No. 7615, Private A. T. Seriault, 9th

Voltigeurs de Quebec.

But these were only a select few among the number who were engaged in

incomparable things done incomparably well.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Colonel Ormelie Campbell Hannay was in his fifty-second year, having

been born on December 23, 1848. He entered the army as an ensign in the

93rd Foot (now the Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders)

on October 5, 1867, received his lieutenancy on the 28th of October

1871, and from February to November 1878 was instructor of musketry.

Obtaining his captaincy on November 17, 1878, he was employed on special

service in South Africa during the latter part of the Zulu War, from

June to October 1879, for which he had the medal with clasp. From April

to September 1883 he was aide-de-camp to the brigadier-general at

Aldershot, was gazetted a major in January 1884, and from September 1886

to November 1887 was again employed on staff service, for the first

portion of the period as an aide-de-camp in Bengal, and for the latter

portion in Bombay. He became lieutenant-colonel in June 1893, and

colonel in June 1897, and in June 1899 was placed on the half-pay list,

from which he was removed last October in order to take up the temporary

appointment of assistant-adjutant-general at Portsmouth. Not till

December 30, 1899, was he chosen for special service in South Africa.

[2] Lieutenant-Colonel William Aldworth, D.S.O., was forty-four years of

age, having been born on October 3, 1855. He entered the army as a

sub-lieutenant on June 13, 1874, and was gazetted to the 16th Foot, of

which he was adjutant from October 17, 1877, to March 29, 1881. Gazetted

a captain in the Bedfordshire Regiment on March 30, 1881, he served with

the Burmese Expedition from January 14, 1885, to March 3, 1886, as

aide-de-camp and acting military secretary to Sir Harry Prendergast,

first as a major-general in Madras, and then as general officer

commanding in Upper Burma, being mentioned in despatches and receiving

the D.S.O. and the medal with clasp. He also took part in the Isazai

Expedition in 1892, and in February 1893 was gazetted a major. In 1895

he served with the Chitral Relief Force under Sir Robert Low with the

1st battalion of his then regiment (the Bedfordshire), and took part in

the storming of the Malakand Pass and the engagement near Khar, for

which he had the medal with clasp. Again he was in active service in

1897-98, under Sir William Lockhart, in the campaign on the North-West

Frontier of India, with the Tirah Expeditionary Force as

deputy-assistant-adjutant-general of the 2nd Brigade, and with the

Khyber Force as deputy-assistant-adjutant-general, being present at the

forcing of the Sampagha and Arhanga Passes, and the operations against

the Chamkanis and in the Bazar Valley. He was mentioned in despatches,

received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel (May 20, 1898), and two

clasps. He obtained the substantive rank of lieutenant-colonel in the

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry on October 12, 1898.