IN ORANGE RIVER COLONY, EAST. JUNE
General Rundle's activities had never relaxed. In June he was vigilantly
guarding the Senekal-Ficksburg region, posting strong forces at intervals
along the road, and fixing his headquarters at Scheepers Nek. Here he was
strengthened by the arrival of General Campbell's Brigade (16th), while
General Brabant's Force moved along the line in order to keep a wary eye
on the guerilla bands that were intent on ravage and destruction. In a
day or two he returned to Hammonia, however, as swarms of the enemy were
circling about sniping, forcing Boers who had retired to their farms to
rejoin the rebels, destroying telegraph wires, attempting to cut off
parties of troops and to press their way towards the south, and, in fact,
making themselves generally offensive.
In consequence of Lord Roberts's proclamation, Free Staters remaining in
the field now became rebels. But Mr. Steyn issued a counterblast--warned
burghers to take no notice of the proclamation at their peril, and
declared the country was still an International Sovereign State, with a
President and properly constituted Government. The unfortunate burghers,
therefore, found themselves between two fires, and their sentiments must
have resembled those of the man who, torn between rival fair ones, cried,
"How happy could I be with either, were t'other dear charmer away!"
Botha, it was said, desired to surrender, but from sense of loyalty to De
Wet was prevented from so doing, both Dutchmen having agreed to hold out
so long as one remained uncaptured. De Wet was reported to be still
keeping together some 6000 men in the Orange River Colony, Botha with
some 5000 more, broken into marauding bands, was guarding the east of the
Transvaal, while Mr. Kruger and his allies between Machadodorp and
Nelspruit resided in a railway carriage, awaiting the whistle that should
warn them to steam off.
On the 19th General Rundle, accompanied by his staff, Colonel Maxwell and
Captain George Farrar of General Brabant's Division, made a careful
examination of Ficksburg and its fortifications, and afterwards, during a
reconnaissance, it was discovered that a hornet's nest was concealed in a
series of sinister kopjes near by. The desperadoes had guns, and without
doubt intended to use them should the British be caught in the open, but
they were playing a waiting game, at which pastime General Rundle
decided to show himself equally proficient. Further investigations proved
that the Boer lines between Ficksburg and Bethlehem were of great
strength, and that the Dutchmen numbered some 5000. Besides these bands,
other roving commandos flitted about mosquito-wise, seeking to draw
British blood.
On the 20th Colonel Dalgety at Hibernia reported that he had been
surrounded. He stated that some 200 Dutchmen were ensconced on Doorn Kop
near his camp, and asked for help in order to effect their capture. Off
went General Rundle, with Scots Guards, Cavalry and Artillery, marching
nimbly, in the fond hope of making a "bag," through the pitchy blackness
of the night, and reaching the destination at dawn. When the troops
arrived, however, it was found that Colonel Dalgety had retired, and the
Boers in dispersed gangs were again a prowling danger to the vicinity.
Meanwhile General Paget, who was holding Lindley, was attacked by De Wet,
who brought five pieces to bear on him, but the guerilla chief was
successfully repulsed by the 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry, assisted later
on by a battery of the City Imperial Volunteers which gave a splendid
account of itself.
General Rundle's march was continued on the 23rd towards Senekal,
whereupon the Dutch hordes, seizing their opportunity, pounced on the
rear of the transport. Under cover of a fiercely-flaring veldt fire they
poured a volley on the rear guard--the Scots Guards and Hampshire
Yeomanry under Captain Seely--who instantly jumped to action, giving the
oncoming Boers so keen a dose from rifles and a Maxim, that they bolted
to their main position at Tafelberg. Sundry of their party, seeking
safety at the farm of some supposed neutral, were luckily captured and
their harbour of refuge razed to the ground. (It was impossible longer to
shut our eyes to the fact that the farms had become half-way houses for
rebels, and there was no other means of disposing of these death traps.)
In this engagement many of the Boers bit the dust, for the British troops
actively pursued the enemy in their flight, and succeeded in thinning
their numbers without casualties on their own side.
The dogged determination of the Boers was to break through to the south,
and it took all the ingenuity of Generals Rundle and Brabant to create a
linked chain from Winburg to the Basutoland border, through which the
slim ones could not squeeze. Owing to the nature of the country--in some
places a replica of Switzerland, with snow-capped peaks, enormous gorges,
and treacherous passes--it was difficult to assume the offensive, and Sir
Leslie Rundle had to content himself with the task of keeping the Boers
in check while help came from the north. General Clements, on the 24th,
engaged a body of fierce ruffians near Winburg, where he had gone to
gather guns and supplies prior to combining his force with those at
Lindley, Heilbron, and Heidelberg. He succeeded in driving the rebels
north of the Zand River without great loss, though Captain G. E. F.
Fitzgerald, 2nd Bedfordshire Regiment, was severely wounded, and Second
Lieutenant R. H. Lascelles, 8th Battery Royal Field Artillery, was
slightly injured.
At Bloemfontein, at this time, there was deep regret at the loss of
Captain Lord Kensington,[7] 2nd Life Guards, who had died of his wounds.
Meanwhile, near Ficksburg, on the 25th, General Boyes' Brigade also
encountered the Dutchmen. Two valuable officers were killed--Captain E.
B. Grogan and Lieutenant G. L. D. Brancker, 1st South Staffordshire
Regiment--and five men were wounded and missing.
A convoy returning with General Clements to Senekal from Winburg was also
attacked some seven miles from Senekal. Hearing of the fray, Colonel
Grenfell and his Colonials set out from Senekal, attacked the enemy's
left flank, and became so hotly engaged that General Brabant, with all
the available troops, rushed to the succour of the party. Of the combined
forces three men were killed and twenty-three wounded.
General Paget was also desperately engaged at Lindley on the 26th, when a
convoy of stores moving towards that place was attacked by the marauding
bands, but after a heavy rearguard action succeeded in getting to their
destination in safety. Ten men were killed and four officers and fifty
men wounded.
On the following day the Roodival Spruit post was attacked, but the
detachment of the Shropshire Light Infantry and West Australian Mounted
Infantry, who were there, briskly sent the enemy flying.
General Methuen, too, was not inactive. On the 28th the Boer laagers near
Vach Kop and Spitz Kop were found to be hastily removing in the direction
of Lindley, whereupon the General gave chase, pursued the enemy for
twelve miles, and eventually wrested from them some 8000 sheep and 500
head of cattle they had appropriated during their freebooting excursions
in the neighbourhood. Lieutenant G. C. W. G. Hall and Lieutenant L.
Simpson, 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry, and four men were wounded, but
otherwise the operations were highly satisfactory, as the Boer larder, if
not the Boer person, had been made to pay heavily at a time when both
belligerents were none too fully fed! The enemy once hemmed in, and once
devoid of supplies, it was hoped the end of the war would be reached.
On the 2nd of July General Clements joined hands with General Paget, and
the combined force began their advance on Bethlehem, of which anon.
IN THE WESTERN TRANSVAAL. JUNE
Early in the month came a report from General Baden-Powell, from camp
forty miles west-south-west of Rustenburg, that the railway to Mafeking
had been repaired, and that over a hundred arrested rebels were awaiting
their trial. The General was working his systematic way through the
districts of Manrico, West Lichtenburg, and Rustenburg, carrying out a
mission of pacification, re-establishing order, and collecting arms and
supplies. It must be explained that in recognition of his splendid
services he had been promoted to the rank of major-general, after which
he was appointed a lieutenant-general on the staff while employed with
her Majesty's forces in South Africa. Lord Edward Cecil now filled the
post of Administrator of the Rustenburg district, and had already
accepted surrenders and collected rifles innumerable.
Rustenburg was occupied on the 14th of June by General Baden-Powell, and
a column from Pretoria was sent out to meet this officer, to repair the
telegraph between the two places, and thus provide a second line of
telegraph between the Chief and Cape Town. This, with the opening of the
railway line from Durban to Pretoria (shortly to be accomplished by Sir
Redvers Buller's operations), made important advance in the work of
occupation.
On the 18th General Baden-Powell arrived at Pretoria, where he had an
enthusiastic reception. He stayed but two days, and was off again on his
return journey towards Rustenburg. This town at the time was garrisoned
by a very small force and one gun, whose occupation it was to continue
the work of pacification, and accept the surrender of arms--most of which
appeared to be of obsolete type.
[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL R. A. P. CLEMENTS, D.S.O., A.D.C.
Photo by Elliott & Fry, London]
At this date, between Rustenburg and Pretoria, a body of the enemy under
Commandant Du Plessis were roaming about, and these were met on the 19th
by Hutton's Mounted Infantry, who came out of the fray with two guns to
their credit. It was not often in the history of the war that Boer guns
were seized, and the little British force was justifiably pleased with
their prowess. There was no end to the activity of Hutton's Mounted
Infantry, and skirmishes with wandering tribes of the enemy were of
almost daily occurrence. On the 24th Captain Anley had a smart "set-to"
with Boer patrols south of Pretoria, in which Lieutenant Crispin and
one man of the Northumberland Fusiliers were wounded.
[Illustration: RAILWAY MAP SHOWING LINES TO W. AND S.W. OF PRETORIA.
(Scale, 1 inch=64 miles. By permission of the Publishers of "South
Africa.")]
About this period an informal armistice was in operation; Botha having
been given time to consider the philosophy of fighting against the
inevitable. Lord Roberts made the suggestion that the Boer commandant
should disarm his forces, and thus avert unnecessary bloodshed, but the
Dutchman doggedly refused to surrender without the consent of his
Government, and demanded further respite to obtain the same. This being
probably another ruse to enable the Dutch rebels, mercenaries, and
others--who were gathering round the standard of the commandant--to gain
breathing time, the request was refused, and hostilities were resumed. An
official warning was given to the effect that any further activities in
the form of the destruction of railway lines, &c., would be met with
prompt punishment, and involve the demolition of all farms within five
miles of the point molested. Colonel Girouard was also authorised to
compel leading residents to accompany trains--a wise precaution,
reminiscent of the policy of the East, which forces the Grand Vizier to
taste of every dish prepared for his sovereign!
When the cat is away the mice may play, and the opportunity for a game
was not lost on the Boers. During General Baden-Powell's absence from
Rustenburg a party of Dutchmen under Commandant Limmer made an effort to
lodge themselves on the heights commanding the town, and demanded its
surrender. Major Hanbury Tracy, who with 120 men was in charge of the
place, replied that he held Rustenburg for her Majesty's Government, and
intended so to do. Thereupon hostile artillery began its thunderous
detonations, and things grew frowning. But Colonel Holdsworth (7th
Hussars) from the region of Zeerust, forty-eight miles off, scenting
fight from afar, made a brilliant march, and assisted by Colonel Airey
and his mettlesome Bushmen drove back the enemy. Two Bushmen were slain,
and Captain Machattie and three men were wounded. This was the state of
affairs when General Baden-Powell returned on the 9th of July. By the
10th the Boers had betaken themselves to Olifant's Nek in the
Magaliesberg range, and so as to secure the other pass--Magato Nek--the
Rustenburg party seized it. Unfortunately, nearer Pretoria was another
nek, the Commando Nek, and here, as we shall see anon, the Boers, on the
11th of July, managed cunningly to locate themselves, thus cutting off
General Baden-Powell from Pretoria.
FOOTNOTES:
[7] Lord Kensington, of the 2nd Life Guards, succeeded his father in
1896. He was educated at Eton, and entered the army as second lieutenant
on June 22, 1892; he was promoted to lieutenant on April 5, 1893, and
obtained his company on February 3, 1900. He was J.P. for Pembrokeshire
and for Haverfordwest.