IN THE WESTERN TRANSVAAL--CHASING DE WET--THE SIEGES OF RUSTENBURG AND
ELANDS RIVER
Before entering on the complications which occurred in the Western
Transvaal immediately after the return of Lord Roberts and General Ian
Hamilton from the Middelburg Campaign, it is necessary to remember that,
while the Chief's back was turned and most of the army was moving to the
east, and a certain portion was forced to guard Pretoria, Delarey's gang
had been mustering round the Magaliesberg range. Here, as we know, the
passes were but poorly, if at all, protected, owing to the disasters at
Deerdepoort and Nitral's Nek, which thinned the already thin British
forces. Therefore the direct road from Pretoria to Mafeking, the road
past Rustenburg, Elands River, and Ottoshoop, which it was imperative to
guard--and which was guarded by Colonel Hore at Elands River, General
Baden-Powell at Rustenburg, and Sir Frederick Carrington further on--was
seriously menaced by the hovering hordes of the enemy.
Indeed the Boers, after their petty triumphs at Nitral's and Commando
Neks, had continued so to cluster around Rustenburg, that towards the end
of July General Baden-Powell was in danger of enduring the miseries of a
second siege. The General prepared himself for all emergencies, and
investigated all the Boer arrangements for bombardment which were in
course of completion. Meanwhile he was aware that to his support Methuen,
with a force of 6000 men, was approaching Olifant's Nek, and Colonel
Plumer prepared himself to co-operate. Unluckily the synchronal
arrangements were imperfect, and the result was that the passes which
should have been blocked to the Boers were open, and their several forces
succeeded in effecting a junction, and menacing not only Rustenburg and
the Elands River Station, but the Krugersdorp-Potchefstroom railway line.
Therefore Lord Methuen promptly retraced his steps, and by the 23rd of
July, as we have seen, had moved back to Krugersdorp, leaving General
Baden-Powell to rely on the wits that had hitherto stood him in such good
stead.
At this time Colonel Airey sent information to Rustenburg which promised
to bring about the capture of Boers who were threatening a convoy that
was expected from Mafeking, and accordingly reinforcements were sent out,
but only to find that Colonel Airey's Australians had got into
difficulties, and that the enemy, having killed six, wounded nineteen,
and shot down their horses, were very much in the ascendant. The
Colonials were fairly trapped, and surrender stared them in the face.
Fortunately, at this juncture, Captain FitzClarence and the Protectorate
Regiment galloped up, threatening the rear of the assailants, and forced
them to make off with all possible speed. But from this date until at the
beginning of August, when relief was sent from Pretoria, Rustenburg
remained cut off from the outer world.
General Ian Hamilton with the opening of August started towards the west
on his way to Rustenburg to the rescue of General Baden-Powell's
garrison. Near Vitbaal Nek he encountered some opposition, but skilfully
brushed away the Dutchmen, losing in the fray two officers and five men
wounded. He succeeded in turning the enemy entirely off the Magaliesberg
Range, a feat which was mainly accomplished by the gallantry of the
Berkshires and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The officers
wounded were Lieutenant-Colonel Rhodes, Berkshire Regiment, and Major G.
D. Williams. Thirty-nine men, twenty-six of whom belonged to the
Berkshires, were also injured. Their wounds were mostly of a serious
nature, as the seventeen prisoners who were taken, owned to the fact that
they had had soft-nosed bullets served out to them and used them.
The General reached Rustenburg on the 5th, and scattered the investing
Boers. He then heard the sound of firing in the direction of Elands
River, and soon it became known that the small force mounting guard there
was also in trouble. The fact was that at dawn on the morning of the 4th,
the garrison at Elands River--they arrived there on the day before to
guard the line between Zeerust and Rustenburg--was attacked by the Boers.
The force, which was commanded by Colonel Hore of Mafeking fame,
consisted of 140 Bushmen, 80 Rhodesians, and 80 Rhodesian Volunteers. Sir
Frederick Carrington, with a smart force of Yeomanry (Paget's Horse) and
Bushmen, about 700 rifles, and a 15-pounder battery manned by New
Zealanders, who was on his way to that region, being warned of the
trouble, had instantly hurried to the succour of the garrison. His troops
had reached Zeerust on the 1st, the Boers who were there decamping before
them in the direction of Elands River. The force followed them up and
fought them, but more Dutchmen--those pushed off from the neighbourhood
of Rustenburg--had added to the already large mass of the enemy, and made
further advance impracticable. General Carrington had barely realised the
impossibility of proceeding, when the report came in that Elands River
garrison had surrendered. He therefore decided to go no farther, but fall
back on Mafeking. This he did on the 9th, moving afterwards to Ottoshoop
with supplies for Lord Methuen, and engaging the enemy _en route_. His
casualties were somewhat large, but the fighting was of a desperate kind,
and the mettlesome New Zealanders were as usual to the fore. Captain J.
A. Harvey, New Zealand Mounted Infantry, and Lieutenant Gilpin, Victoria
Bushmen, were killed. Captain H. F. Fulton and Lieutenant R. W. Rollins,
New Zealand Rough Riders, were wounded. Captain R. Arbuthnot, Royal Irish
Regiment, was dangerously wounded. In the engagements prior to the return
to Mafeking, Major Paget, 20th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry, and
Lieutenant Webb were among the twelve wounded.
To return to General Hamilton. Having accomplished his mission, and freed
General Baden-Powell, and being advised that Colonel Hore had
surrendered, he was returning with General Baden-Powell and Colonel
Plumer to Commando Nek, when in came contradictory yet joyful news that
Elands River garrison was still holding out. Off went his mounted troops
to the rescue, while the unfortunates who had had to leave their homes in
Rustenburg, and the prisoners, among whom was a son of Kruger, were sent
on to Pretoria in charge of General Baden-Powell.
Meanwhile the small garrison at Brakfontein (Elands River), to whose aid
two forces had been moving, were fighting like demons, and making one of
the most magnificent stands of the war. Very little is known of their
pluck, their dexterity, and their heroism, but what little we do know
goes to prove that these Australians and Rhodesians were made of the
stuff that supplies the conquerors of the world. No sooner had they
comfortably settled down than they became aware of the close proximity of
Boers. Their camp was on a flat plain near a boulder-strewn kopje,
enclosed by a girdle of menacing hills which commanded not only them but
the nearest point of the river half a mile off. The Colonials looked and
saw, and came to their conclusion with rapidity: they were in a trap as
close as Cronje's, a trap which must be kept open as long as possible.
There were Boers already in the hills, but it was only on the morning of
the 4th that they knew the Boers had big guns--six of them--in position,
and meant to use them!
[Illustration: OFFICER OF THE VICTORIA MOUNTED RIFLES.
Photo by Gregory & Co., London.]
With dawn the overture had begun, an overture to a murderous opera, for
shells, 1500 in number, during that dismal day, were hurled over the
little British band. But these were not the fellows to be bombarded with
impunity. They examined their resources, looked ruefully at their one
gun, a muzzle-loader, which before long jammed, and became more of a
danger than a defence. The Boers' fire was too hot and snipers too
numerous to allow of remedy to the damage, so nothing could be done but
wait--wait for the kindly cloak of night. Then, the besieged set to work
with a will, brawny arms and knowing heads helping to construct trenches
and shelters, splinter proofs and tunnels, which should defy the
snorting weapons of the Dutchmen. But these, despite the darkness,
continued to snort and to shriek, and went on persistently till daybreak.
Then the besiegers varied the entertainment by directing at the
defenceless ones a pom-pom. This was as the last straw that breaks the
camel's back. Off rushed gallant young Aanat with twenty-five dashing
dare-devils, creeping, rifles in hand, into the bush, and then--the
pom-pom was silent! The Boers, chastened, were too cautious again to
approach it. But alas! at night this remarkable young Queenslander, so
full of grit and gallantry, dropped dead, a victim to the shells that
still poured intermittently into the camp. But his good work was done,
and the valiant Lieutenant, though he knew it not, had struck the keynote
of victory. His comrades swore with a tremendous oath that they would die
rather than give in, that the white flag should never float over those
five acres that were then the melancholy and diminutive symbol of British
Empire.
[Illustration: THE BATTLEFIELDS OF PRETORIA. (From a personal survey).
Scale 17 miles to an inch.]
The next day Delarey sent in to say that Rustenburg and Zeerust were
occupied by Boers, that they presently would be in possession of the
whole country, and he further mildly suggested that if they refused to
surrender, his 94-pounder "would blow them off the face of the earth."
Colonel Hore's reply stated that he was in command of Imperial troops who
would not surrender, and the ultimatum was met with renewed bombardment.
All day long the tempest of artillery raged. Then, to their joy, and also
to their anxiety, they heard the guns of Carrington coming to their
relief--the echo of them in the distant hills--and hope grew and grew,
and--waned. Carrington, as we know, had heard the report of their
surrender, and having given battle to an overwhelming force of Boers for
what he thought no purpose, had retired!
So, the 3000 Republicans in their hills laughed together, and trained
their guns on to the spot where, at night, they knew the gallant men who
defied them must water their horses and refresh themselves after their
long day's burrowing in the bowels of the earth. But these, emerging
parched and sinking from their subterranean holes, were still equal to
the ruses of their tormentors. Some took one way--the way towards the
longed-for river--while others took another, and went forth on sniping
operations which subdued, if they did not vanquish, their enemies, and
protected those who had to run through fire to reach the longed-for
draught. And so for eleven days the contest between Boer obstinacy and
British determination continued, till at last on the horizon the dust
rose and a rumour of the approach of Broadwood's Cavalry brought gladness
into a scene of desperation. But the little garrison by now was sadly
thinned, and the nature of the warlike activities may be guessed by the
casualty list. Five were killed, seven were mortally struck down, eleven
were wounded, and twenty-seven, though slightly injured, remained
combatants to the end! What the losses might have been had not the
ingenious Colonials applied their pluck and their wits to the scientific
construction of trenches, which defied the six big guns of the enemy,
cannot be discussed, for surrender would have been inevitable.
However, on the 16th, Colonel Hore and his doughty warriors were still
holding out when, to his intense relief, and that of his emaciated band
of heroes, the Boers were routed. Lord Kitchener had pressed to their
succour from the south-east. How Lord Kitchener contrived to push up and
arrive on the scene, may be told in a few words; but, to make the
movement intelligible, it is necessary to go back several days.
* * * * *
On the 5th of August Lord Kitchener, who was operating south of the Vaal,
was joined by a strong detachment of what was familiarly known as
"Brabanditti," and also by the Canadian Regiment. The late Sirdar was
personally superintending the hunt after the wiliest of foxes, De Wet,
whose nimbleness since his rush from Stabbert's Nek was a matter for
marvel and admiration even to his opponents. On the one side of the
quarry was Lord Kitchener, with cavalry and mounted infantry; while on
the right bank of the Vaal was Lord Methuen, preparing to pounce on the
Dutchman's advance guard, which was known to have crossed the river.
Early on the 7th, Lord Methuen engaged a portion of De Wet's force, which
was occupying a strong position on a succession of kopjes near
Venterskroon. In brilliant style the Scots and the Welsh Fusiliers
charged hill after hill, driving the Boers therefrom, but without
frustrating the designs of De Wet, who had succeeded in getting across.
The fighting was costly, for seven men were killed, and among the wounded
officers were Major F. C. Meyrick and Lieutenant H. Gurney, both 5th
Battalion Imperial Yeomanry; Major A. P. G. Gough, Captain G. F.
Barttelot, Second Lieutenant E. A. T. Bayly, all Royal Welsh Fusiliers;
and also Lieutenant E. S. St. Quintin, 10th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry.
On the 9th, Lord Methuen fought a rearguard action near Buffel's Hoek,
captured six waggons, two ambulances, but--no De Wet. Lieutenant Knowles
was killed, and Colonel Younghusband was wounded. The fugitive, fleeing
before the forces of Kitchener at Gatsrand (south of the
Krugersdorp-Potchefstroom Railway) and those of Methuen still further to
the south-west, now strove to cross the rail at Welverdiend Station, and
in so doing dropped almost into the jaws of Smith-Dorrien, who promptly
engaged him. Into the plan for frustrating the Dutchman's design the City
Imperial Volunteers and the 2nd Shropshires flung themselves with zeal,
the former regiment marching thirty miles in seventeen hours, the latter
forty-three in thirty-two hours, in order, as they hoped, to be "in at
the finish." But De Wet accomplished his purpose and eluded all. Later
Lord Methuen, after a forced march of thirty-two miles, came in contact
with the Boer convoy, fought vigorously a whole day, recaptured one of
our guns lost at Stormberg, sixteen waggons of stores and ammunition, but
again--no De Wet. Still the troops were full of hopes, and telegrams home
said, "His capture is only a matter of hours."
But the Dutchman was more than their match. He blew up three waggons
rather than be impeded by them--(he always attributed Cronje's downfall
to the tenacity with which he clung to his waggons)--and let loose from
his camp sixty British prisoners and an officer, left behind thirty
wrecks of horses at Schoolplats, and even flung away ammunition. Having
thus thrown out ballast, as it were, he soared into the unknown. The
disappointment on all sides was extreme, for sometimes the troops had
been so close on the track that they had even boiled their kettles on the
camp fires left by their quarry. "Collisions, but no cornering," was the
terse telegram home of a youthful officer who had been keen in the hunt.
Colonel Ricardo (10th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry) whose gallant men had
displayed first-rate cavalry qualifications, had gone so far as to offer
£50 for the prize, dead or alive! Yet the _ignis fatuus_ danced gaily
ahead, but never within clutch! Still, clever as he showed himself to be,
it must be remembered he had everything in his favour. His spies were in
every farmhouse, and no inch of the country was strange to him; he could
burrow, circle, or climb by day or by night, while his pursuers, though
their waggons had double teams of picked animals, were forced to
relinquish their vigilance at sundown. So both Lords Methuen and
Kitchener found themselves outmarched, and De Wet (who had gone off
through Olifant's Nek in the Magaliesberg range, while Methuen was
blocking Magato Pass, some twelve miles further westward) doubtless
plumed himself on his ingenuity. The reason for his success lay in the
fact that, owing to some synchronal accident, General Baden-Powell on
vacating Olifant's Nek had not been immediately relieved by General Ian
Hamilton, who was due on the 13th. Lord Methuen, unaware of this hitch,
thought that by veering towards Magato Pass De Wet must effectually be
cornered, and discovered too late that his mighty marches and spirited
efforts had been thrown away. Thus in following De Wet's evolutions we
learnt not so much a lesson in strategy as a lesson in quick-wittedness.
Moral maxims teach us to catch time on the wing; De Wet taught us
more--to leap to the back of opportunity, and fly with it where it may
lead. As at Koorn Spruit so elsewhere. He jumped to his decisions and
acted on them at one and the same moment. At Koorn Spruit it was a matter
of minutes that made him master of the situation. At Stabbert's Nek it
was little more. He was informed that there must be some hours' delay in
the clicking of the padlock round the Brandwater basin, and he used those
hours, exactly as he had now used the synchronal hitch that left a gap at
Olifant's Nek between the evacuation of General Baden-Powell and the
arrival of General Ian Hamilton. Deliberation in all three cases would
have been fatal. He did not deliberate but acted, and in getting across
from the south of Orange River Colony to the north of Pretoria he showed
himself a born genius in the art of war. Lord Methuen, knowing further
pursuit to be useless, moved afterwards to Mafeking, where he could
recoup his force, and allow it to recuperate after having fought fourteen
engagements besides skirmishes innumerable since his march from Boshof in
May.
Lord Kitchener, saving his strength, diverted his course and rushed to
the rescue of Colonel Hore. He arrived, as we know, on the 16th, and
scattered the enemy with small loss to himself. Unluckily in the
collision one of the most active and brilliant of the heroes of the
campaign, Colonel De Lisle (Durham Light Infantry), was seriously
wounded.[9]
To resume. General Carrington, as we know, was at Ottoshoop, and General
Ian Hamilton, freed from the necessity to relieve Colonel Hore, was now
able to occupy Olifant's Nek in the Magaliesberg, which he did on the
17th, meeting with considerable opposition from the enemy. His advance
troops (under Colonel Mahon) having reached Roode Kopjes on the west bank
of the Crocodile River, came in for a full share of fighting, but the
operations were crowned with success, and finally General Hamilton
crossed the Crocodile River in a north-easterly direction, plus two Krupp
guns, some transport and ammunition waggons, and seven Boer prisoners.
The losses on our side were small, but unhappily Lieutenant Henry
Bradburn succumbed to his injuries.
[Illustration: COMMANDO'S NEK, MAGALIESBERG]
An interesting case of diamond cut diamond took place elsewhere, which
resulted in the temporary tracing of De Wet. General Baden-Powell, who
was now holding Commando Nek, received a messenger with a flag of truce
from the Boer commandant requiring him to surrender, his real purpose
being to discover the strength of the garrison. The General, with his
usual "slimness," replied demanding what terms he was prepared to offer,
his demand being formulated with the object of ascertaining whether De
Wet himself was conducting the operations! Each of the "slim" ones having
obtained the information he required--having crossed the swords of
intellect, as it were--De Wet proceeded on his way to the north, probably
to effect a junction with Delarey, and General Baden-Powell, chuckling,
"shadowed" him.
The 20th found an animated chase taking place on the north-west of
Pretoria. De Wet was scurrying north-eastwards from Hebron--which is
nineteen miles north-west of the capital, with Colonel Mahon at his
heels, General Paget menacing his right rear, and General
Baden-Powell--who was now encamped at Waterval, and whose soldierly
defenders of Mafeking had there been inspected and complimented by the
Chief--in readiness to assist. Both the latter officer and General
Paget, while moving up the Pietersburg railway between Haman's Kraal and
Pienaars River Station, became engaged with some of the roving commandos,
and unfortunately a gallant young fellow, Lieutenant Fordham Flowers,
Warwickshire Yeomanry, was killed. Lieutenant Kirkby (49th Company
Imperial Yeomanry) was severely wounded, and six men of various corps
were also injured.
The whole of the 21st was spent in warm contest with Grobler's forces,
with the result that the enemy was driven off, prevented from going west,
and the railway station was occupied by General Baden-Powell's forces.
But these hard marching days in the bush veldt, groping after the enemy,
involved lamentable sacrifice. The splendid Rhodesian Regiment lost many
of its fine fighters, but most notably Colonel Spreckley,[10] whose
services throughout Colonel Plumer's operations had been invaluable.
Lieutenant Irvine and six men were wounded, as also was Captain Kinsman
(Dublin Fusiliers). Captain Bolton, 1st Wiltshire Regiment, was also
wounded during General Paget's operations.
De Wet, finding himself cornered towards the east, had now whisked back
in the direction of the Magaliesberg with the intention of again trying
his success in Orange River Colony. His excursion from Bethlehem had been
costly. Starting, he had some 1500 men and six or eight guns, while
behind him in the hills were Prinsloo and some 5000 Dutchmen. He now was
returning to find the Bethlehem band on its way to Ceylon and his own
force thinned to attenuation. Poor De Wet! At this juncture his display
of talent in the field had bred a feeling of pity which was "akin to
love," and those who were most interested in his capture were those
loudest in appreciation of his sporting proclivities, and pronounced him
"a first-class fighting man." He certainly seemed never at a loss, and
even now, in making his way back to Orange Colony, chased and jaded as he
was, he pursued the mosquito tactics which worried, annoyed, and wore out
those who were subjected to them. To cover his crossing of the rail near
Bank Station on the Potchefstroom line, his ally Delarey with a large
force summoned the garrison (the City Imperial Volunteers, under Lord
Albemarle) to surrender. Of course, the summons was declined, but the
little interlude served De Wet's purpose and gave him the time he needed
to save his skin and gather himself together. Still, as he was fairly
crippled, and the recuperative period promised to be a long one, the main
operations against Botha on the east, which had been gradually planned
out, could now be begun.
[Illustration: DE WET From a Photograph]
PLOTS AND PROCLAMATIONS. AUGUST.--THE TRIAL OF CORDUA
Affairs in Pretoria and Johannesburg that preceded the warlike movements
connected with the Lydenburg campaign must now be briefly discussed. On
the 1st of August the Railway Pioneer Regiment arrived at Johannesburg,
and entered on its new duties, that of policing the mines. The Transvaal
constabulary, under Colonel Maxse, continued to increase in size--by this
time 700 Colonials had joined--and in the Court of Justice many actions
which, owing to lack of faith in Transvaal administration, had been set
aside during the war, were now brought up for adjudication. Things seemed
to be shaping themselves fairly well, notwithstanding the rumour that the
Boers intended to maintain guerilla warfare till the presidential
election in America in November was over, when intervention was promised
them. America was scarcely propitiated by the conduct of Theron's Scouts,
however, for a day later a train flying the stars and stripes, and
containing the American Consul-General, Colonel Stowe, was thrown off the
rails and burned at Honing Spruit. To be awakened at 1 A.M. by the hail
of bullets and the hurly-burly of derailed waggons is scarcely pleasing,
and Theron's mode of ingratiating himself with the Americans, if not
happy, was original. Seventeen bullets penetrated the carriage in which
the Consul was travelling, one of which struck a friend who was occupying
the compartment. Colonel Lord Algernon Gordon Lennox, who was journeying
south, was taken prisoner, together with forty men, but all were
liberated at the request of Colonel Stowe. Two, however, were killed by
the overturning of the waggons.
The next day a force of Mounted Infantry chased the Boers, but these,
later on, continued to hover in the neighbourhood of the line. Though
General Knox was operating north of Kroonstad, and had attacked them at
Rhenoster Kop, and driven them off with the loss of their cattle and
waggons, these operations, and others which were going forward in all
parts of the line, remained similar to the action of fanning away
gnats--the pests receded merely to buzz elsewhere! As an instance of
this, it was found that owing to the withdrawal of the garrison at
Springs (an important coal centre on the East Rand) the Boers had buzzed
back there, seized railway rolling stock, threatened the destruction of
the mines, and generally made themselves offensive. A regiment was sent
to retake the place. Meanwhile, at Waterval, they were giving trouble by
treachery. A party having notified to the officer commanding there their
intention to surrender, seized the occasion to attempt ambush and
assassination. Fifteen of Strathcona's Horse approached the place of
rendezvous--fortunately in extended order--and when within fifty yards of
the house three native scouts were shot--two wounded, and one killed.
That done, the sergeant was called on to surrender. "Never!" he shouted,
and before he could gallop off a bullet had pierced his heart. A trooper
was also wounded, and only discovered a day later by a patrol.
Examples of Boer treachery were continually being reported, and one
incident described by Reuter's correspondent served to show how
regardless were the enemy of the sacred oath of neutrality, and what a
farce was the administration of it.
"A Boer ambulance sometime ago marched into our lines by error,
thinking they were their own. The waggon was searched, and was
found to contain a number of boxes of ammunition and seven
burghers carrying arms. When the latter were searched, each was
found to be carrying on him the oath of neutrality which he had
subscribed in Bloemfontein."
But little else could be expected of a nation fed on deceit. Lies hot
from the Boer factory had continually been served out to the simple
farmers, and were still being foisted on them with a view to stimulating
their interest in further hostilities. At one time it was announced that
Lord Roberts had committed suicide, at another that the plague was
ravaging the British. Fabrications regarding American sympathy and
intervention were many, and they asserted that both the commandants, De
Wet and Botha, had indignantly refused the offer of bribes to surrender.
Among the lesser and wilder tarradiddles was the statement that the first
batch of Dublin Fusiliers who had been taken prisoners, had offered to
join the Boers, but their sympathetic overtures had been declined! These
fictions were swallowed greedily, and thus the "neutrals" were inveigled
into having a new lunge at the British, which lunge they firmly believed
might yet be effective.
Still the western districts of Cape Colony were becoming pacified, so
much so that Sir Charles Warren was able to leave for England, and the
command of the troops in the Colony was given over to Sir F. Forestier
Walker. On the 13th a sad discovery was made by Colonel Hickman. He came
on the body of Colonel Helyar,[11] who had been reported missing since
the end of July. The gallant officer, who had so nobly rendered his
services in the hour of the nation's distress, was deeply regretted. He
was buried with military honours, and Lord Roberts attended the
impressive ceremony.
General Paget's Brigade, which returned to Pretoria on the 14th, was
followed on the 23rd by Colonel Mackinnon and a wing of his sturdy
battalion of C.I.V. after a 224 mile march, accomplished in fourteen
days, of which one was a halt. In telegrams home the Chief expatiated on
the excellent and workmanlike appearance of the force and of the gallant
2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry and Munster Fusiliers, who had so
distinguished themselves in operations around Bethlehem.
While the military routine continued as usual, Pretoria was seething with
inordinate emotion and excitement. Early in August an alarming conspiracy
had been suddenly brought to light. The main feature of the plot was
simultaneously to assassinate the British officers in Pretoria, and to
carry off the Chief. The idea was to set fire to some big buildings on
the west of the town, in the hope of drawing thither the troops for the
purpose of extinguishing the flames. While this excitement distracted the
attention of the British force, the Boers and their allies in the town,
headed by the ringleader Cordua, were to combine and kidnap Lord Roberts,
posting off with him, on fleet horses kept ready for the purpose, to join
the nearest commando. The conspirators, about fifteen in number, ten of
whom were immediately arrested, had taken the oath of neutrality, which
especially stated that any contravention was liable to punishment under
martial law. This diabolical development in the tactics of a supposed
civilised belligerent naturally caused consternation not unmixed with
rage, and there was a general outcry against the leniency which had made
an abuse of trust possible, and a universal demand for more drastic
measures in dealing with an enemy who had descended from the level of
fine fighters to that of marauders and assassins. The trial of the
ringleader, Hans Cordua, a youth of twenty-three, formerly lieutenant of
the Staats Artillery, was opened on the 16th. The prisoner was charged
with having broken his parole, and attempted to abduct British officers,
to which charges he pleaded guilty. Evidence was then brought forward to
prove the extent and ramifications of the plot, the complicity of Botha
and others therein. The prisoner was ably defended by Mr. Berrange, who
endeavoured to show the complicity of the witness, Detective Gano, a
clever Mexican, who was accused by Cordua of having been instigator of
the plot. This imputation was denied by Gano, who declared that the plot
was already hatched when he was sounded on the subject. The accused, on
the other hand, declared his own unwillingness to join in the plot, and
pretended that he had been overpersuaded by the detective, who
represented that he was a pro-Boer in British employ, who, tired of his
position, desired to help the Boers. The detective gave evidence
rebutting these assertions, stating on oath that he had been employed to
carry out inquiries in regard to a suspected plot to injure persons and
property connected with the British troops. He obtained close
acquaintance with the prisoner for the purpose of discovering, in his
capacity as secret-service agent, the nature of the plot, and his actions
in relation to Cordua were conducted with a view to that end. With this
object he affected a desire to join the enemy, and had purposely behaved
so as to arouse suspicion and cause his own arrest, and with it that of
the prisoner. The trial was conducted with the utmost impartiality, and
at the close of the address for the defence the prisoner's counsel
thanked the court for all the facilities which he had been afforded for
the conduct of that defence. The prisoner was found guilty on all
charges, and was condemned to death. On the 24th he met his fate like a
brave man within the precincts of the gaol, General Maxwell, Colonel
Maxse, the chaplain, the doctor, and the firing squad being the only
persons present at the execution.
So ended one of the most remarkable episodes of the campaign, and the
career of a young enthusiast, whose curious ambition renders more
convincing the old aphorism that every blackguard is a hero spoilt.
Regarding the clever capture which averted a crime calculated to "stagger
humanity," the _Bloemfontein Post_ reproduced some details. These were
given to an interviewer by Gano himself:--
"When the plot seemed to be nearly ripe," said Mr. Gano,
"Cordua and I rode out of Pretoria one night to communicate
with Botha, a fire burning on a kopje being the signal that his
commando had arrived. Of course the authorities knew of
Cordua's move, so I was ordered to accompany him to see what
was really going to take place. Cordua was going to obtain for
me a billet on Botha's staff, and that was the ostensible
reason of my travelling with him. When we were some distance
out in the direction of Silverton, I hinted to Cordua that it
would be advisable for me to return to Pretoria with him, but
he did not think it necessary.
"This put me into rather a difficult position, but fortunately
the commando was not at the kopje, and after riding round for
hours we had to return. I knew he had some papers on him, but
how to get at them was the difficulty. We both entered a
farmhouse, and then I purposely so aroused the farmer's
suspicions without giving myself away to Cordua that he sent
for the English picket, and the farmhouse was surrounded. We
were arrested and taken to a tent.
"I wanted the officer to search us, but this he neglected to
do, and Cordua still held the indispensable papers to prove the
plot. Then I turned to Cordua suddenly and said: 'Quick, hand
me your papers, they are going to search us.' He handed me some
letters, and as I hastily put them in my pocket, I noticed him
chewing, and later swallowing, a piece of paper. The letters
were in cypher, and he had swallowed the key. But I had the
letters, and that was something. My next move was to find out
who were actively implicated in the plot. As we jolted along to
Pretoria in an ox-waggon, I told Cordua it was a serious
business for me; who would protect me should I escape? He gave
me the names of several persons in Pretoria who would shelter
me. When we reached the city I prevailed on the picket to take
two cabs, and we were driven as prisoners to the
Provost-Marshal's office. That is the story of how Cordua was
captured, but my experiences were by no means ended there.
"Cordua was still under the impression that I was a prisoner,
an impression I wanted maintained, in order that I might lay
hold of the other conspirators. When we were taken into the
office, I therefore darted through a back door, and escaped
into the street, the officer recognising me. I was instructed
to continue my investigations, and went as an escaped prisoner
to the house to which I was directed by Cordua, where I was
concealed. The police, of course, kept searching for me, and
soon after I was settled they came along. I was changed from
one house to another with great rapidity. Sometimes there were
shots fired during the operations, sometimes not; sometimes I
even fired myself. I became quite expert at jumping out of back
windows and over fences, but it was necessary in the interests
of the service. After a short experience of this kind I was
allowed to relinquish my rôle of escaped prisoner, and return
to my ordinary duties."
It was now admitted that the Boers had misunderstood the principle of
leniency. They had used it as a cloak for further resistance, with the
result that precious lives were sacrificed, owing to the impossibility of
distinguishing between combatants and non-combatants, between supposed
neutrals and intending guerillas. Lord Roberts, therefore, found it
necessary to revoke his former proclamation--except in regard to those
who had already taken the oath--and promulgate a new set of rules of a
more stringent nature. In future all persons who had taken the oath and
broken it would be punished with death, imprisonment, or fine. All
burghers in districts occupied by British forces, except those who had
sworn the oath, would be regarded as prisoners of war and transported;
and all buildings, structures, and farms where the enemy's scouts were
harboured would be liable to be razed to the ground. All fines under the
former proclamation would be rigorously exacted, and prisoners were
warned to acquaint her Majesty's forces of the presence of the enemy on
their farms, otherwise they would be regarded as aiding and abetting the
enemy.
This new move afforded general satisfaction to those who had suffered
from the duplicity of the foe, and it was felt that the time was ripe for
the formal annexation of the country, whose capital was in our hands, and
for the intimation to Mr. Kruger that no longer could his scattered knots
of burghers be viewed in the light of belligerents, but merely as
irresponsible marauders.
In reference to Lord Roberts's proclamations, it is of interest to read
the following letter, which was addressed by "the envoys of the South
African Republic and of the Orange Free State to the Right Honourable the
Marquis of Salisbury, K.G.," by the "Consul-General temporarily in charge
of the interests of the South African Republic":--
"ST. PETERSBURG, _August 18, 1900_.
"EXCELLENCY,--According to a publication issued at Pretoria on
June 25, 1900, under the designation, 'Government Gazette
Extraordinary, vol. i. No. 7,' some proclamations have been
addressed to inhabitants of the South African Republic by Lord
Roberts, Field-Marshal, Commander-in-Chief of her Britannic
Majesty's troops in South Africa.
"By the first of those proclamations, dated Johannesburg, May
31, 1900, it is, _inter alia_, announced to all burghers 'who
have not taken a prominent part in the policy which has led to
the war between her Majesty and the South African Republic,'
&c., 'and who are willing to lay down their arms at once, to
bind themselves by an oath to abstain from further
participation in the war,' that they would be allowed, after
taking the oath, to return to their homes (section 2 of the
proclamation).
"By the second proclamation, dated at Pretoria, June 6, 1900,
it is, _inter alia_, notified that, in the event of any burgher
being granted a pass under paragraph 2 of the above
proclamation, he would be allowed to retain possession of his
stock; or should any or all of this stock be required for the
use of her Majesty's troops, he would receive current market
value for the same in cash.
"The undersigned, in the name of the Government of the South
African Republic and the Government of the Orange Free State,
feel themselves obliged most strenuously to protest against the
intent of both these proclamations.
"Because from these proclamations, taken in their mutual
relation to each other, there appears to be no other deduction
than that the burghers are only guaranteed retention of their
property if they shall first have taken the oath referred to in
paragraph 2 of the first-named proclamation clearly. The
declaration set forth in the proclamation of June 6, 1900, only
has sense if it is assumed that in the judgment of
Field-Marshal Roberts the property of burghers (even of those
who have taken no 'prominent part' in the policy which led to
the war) may be taken away from them by him solely on the
ground of there being war between England and the South African
Republic.
"This now is in direct conflict with principles of
international law in force for ages already, according to which
private property, not being contraband of war, must be
respected in war with the country, and which have been once
more expressly acknowledged by Article 46 (being a part of the
3rd Section, entitled 'De l'autorité militaire en le territoire
de l'état ennemi') of the declaration annexed to the
'Convention concernant les lois et coutumes de la guerre sur
terre,' which was also signed on behalf of her Britannic
Majesty. Said article reads as follows:--
"'L'honneur et les droits de la famille, la vie des individus,
et la propriété privée, ainsi que les convictions religieuses
et l'exercice des cultes, doivent être respectés. La propriété
privée ne peut pas être confisquée.'
"Although the South African Republics are not included amongst
the contracting Powers, the principles enunciated in the
article quoted may none the less be invoked by them, because
that article does nothing more than formulate what during ages
has been common right in war between civilised nations.
"By further proclamations of June 16, marked A 1 and A 2, the
threat is made in case of damage occasioned to railways and
telegraph lines that the principal inhabitants of the villages
and districts affected would be held jointly and severally
responsible for such damage; moreover, a heavy fine would be
imposed, and nothing be paid for goods delivered; also that
houses and farms in the neighbourhood would be devastated, and
that one or more of the inhabitants would be taken along in
trains used for purposes of war.
"By these proclamations punishments are threatened for actions
whereto a belligerent party has every right, and the infliction
of those punishments are by anticipation provided for even for
cases wherein no proof whatever of guilt is furnished, private
property is confiscated and destroyed, and an attempt is made
to make burghers appear against one another.
"Against the intent also of both these proclamations, which
violate every sense of right, the undersigned desire to record
their most strenuous protest.
"The Envoys,
"W. J. LEYDS.
"A. FISCHER.
"C. H. WESSELS.
"A. D. W. WOLMARANS.
"His Excellency the Right Hon. the Marquis of Salisbury, Prime
Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, &c., London."
Elsewhere the Dutchmen continued to make themselves obnoxious. On the
morning of the 27th Major Brooke, R.E., commanding at Kraai Railway
Station, had come in for his share of annoyance, some Boers having lodged
themselves in a kopje preparatory to pouncing on the rail. The Major with
a hundred men promptly went forth to tackle the conspirators, and with
the assistance of this small but plucky crew, notable among them the
brave fellows, Lieutenant Maurice Griffith and Sergeant Hannam (Volunteer
Company Royal Welsh Fusiliers) and Sergeant Southrood (Cape Garrison
Artillery), he succeeded in completely routing the Dutchmen, who left
five dead on the field.
FOOTNOTES:
[9] In order to fully appreciate the excitement of the De Wet chase, it
is interesting to read the account, contributed by the editors of _St.
Paul's School Magazine_, of a British prisoner who perforce was with the
hunted: "On the seventh day of our captivity we joined De Wet's commandos
as they were crossing the Vaal, going north to Lindique. As we arrived at
the Vaal a battle was in progress with Lord Methuen's force, which had
come down from Potchefstroom. We were hurried across Schoeman's Drift,
and barely cleared the drift when British infantry appeared, lining the
ridges commanding the drift, and we came under a heavy rifle fire. We
joined up with De Wet's waggons, who were trekking as fast as they could
towards Wolve Nek. A very steep ridge of hills runs from Schoeman's Drift
in a north-easterly direction, parallel with the Vaal River. De Wet held
a very strong position here. Lord Methuen's force was on the west and
north-west, and Lord Kitchener's cavalry and mounted infantry column was
on the southern bank of the Vaal. We remained here twenty-four hours, and
could see the British columns closing in on De Wet's laagers. It was here
the Boer general did a smart thing. Seeing that his only plan was to
break up his laagers, directly night came he moved his waggons out and
spread them in a long line along the roads that led out of the hills in
horse-shoe shape, commanding both western and eastern ridges. This gave
him two alternate routes to escape by, and commanded the narrow neks
where the three ridges of hills running in a north-east direction met at
an apex. Theron's force, with whom we still remained, were camped a mile
south of the front bend of the horse-shoe laagers, and nearest to the
British lines. At daybreak the following morning the Boers were caught
napping; a tremendous commotion was observable, and our inquiry elicited
the two words, 'Khaki's coming!' And no mistake, for during the night the
British had occupied a ridge on the west, flanking and commanding the
western end of the horse-shoe, and with the first grey streaks of dawn
bang came their shells into the waggons. The Boers scattered, abandoned
eight waggons, took half their convoy by the main road to the north, and
the balance, with their main column, the road to the north-east, Theron's
crowd and De Wet's burghers covering their rear. I saw at a glance we
were in an awkward fix, with two alternatives--either blown to pieces
where we stood, or run the gauntlet of a direct flank fire. De Wet soon
settled it, and ran the gauntlet. Away we went helter-skelter up the
steep slopes of the hills, aiming for an almost impossible-looking pass,
strewn with gigantic boulders and small stones. We had just reached the
pass when three waggons toppled over and fell down the gorge, and every
moment we expected the same fate. The pass selected was an inconceivable
place for vehicles to get through, but the Boer has a happy knack of
negotiating difficult country. Over through the nek we went bumping and
thumping on the boulders, and directly we showed on the other side we
were greeted with shell, as British artillery had gained a position
covering our exit. Shell after shell came whizzing over our heads; one
struck ten yards on the right of our cart, another shaved our left, a
third whizzed close by my head, causing a deafening sensation in my ears,
and a fourth plumped right down in front of our leading horses, killing
both. A crash, and over went the cart, flinging us through the air in
company with mailbags, Mausers, and cushions, landing amongst a pile of
boulders. With great difficulty the Boers righted the cart, pulled the
hood down, as being too conspicuous a mark, and putting in two horses we
dashed off. Fortunately, when we toppled over the British stopped
shelling, but directly we started, whiz! bang! came the shells, until we
reached a dip in the road, which shielded us from view, and, dashing on,
we caught up their main body, a mass of Cape carts and guns, yelling and
shrieking drivers, flogging their oxen and urging them on, while the
rattle of Mausers and boom of guns showed that a fierce rearguard action
was in progress. Again we were doomed to disappointment. Shelled by our
comrades, within an ace of being killed, we had the mortification of
being dragged away from the scene of what might have been our
deliverance. All through the broiling hot day we pushed on, never halting
until 6 P.M., to enable the rearguard to close up. We were on the move
again at 10 P.M. to midnight; then on at 2 A.M., climbing the Gatsrand,
and halting at 7 in the morning. Again on the march at 8 to 10 A.M.;
twenty hours' continuous trekking out of the twenty-four, covering a
distance of close upon 40 miles. Here we rested until 2 P.M., then
inspanned, and crossed a high ridge of the Gatsrand near Wolvaardt. As we
reached the top of this ridge we heard the boom of British artillery,
showing that we were being closely followed up. This welcome sound to us
caused the Boers to redouble their efforts, and we went scrambling,
tumbling, and slipping down the slopes of the Gatsrand at breakneck
speed, halting at 7 P.M. a few miles from the Potchefstroom-Krugersdorp
railway. At 8 P.M. we crossed this railway near Welverdiend, the Boers
blowing up the line in half-a-dozen places. Pushing on to 1 A.M., De Wet
thought he had outdistanced his pursuers, and felt safe, especially as he
was reinforced here by 1500 burghers and some guns. Our position now was
near to Bosman's Kop and Rietfontein, and we had covered about 95 miles
from Schoeman's Drift in 46 hours, fighting a rearguard action the whole
time. I here learnt our objective was the fastness of the Magaliesberg
mountains, to effect a junction with Delarey's commandos. At 8 P.M., to
De Wet's consternation, artillery fire was heard close to his left rear
flank, which turned out to be either Lord Kitchener's, Smith-Dorrien's,
or Lord Methuen's force shelling the Boer left rearguard, posted in some
kopjes near Klerkskraal, while the British field battery of horse
artillery were paying attention to his convoy. A shell burst on the
waggon containing British prisoners, wounding three men. The Boer guard
fled, and sixty out of eighty British soldiers made a rush in the
confusion for the British lines. De Wet was so closely pressed here that
he abandoned a gun and hastily left his position, trekking night and day
to reach the bush veldt of the Magaliesberg, where he knew kopjes or
ridges offered excellent positions to hold and detain the British from
following him up too closely. We pushed on the following day, climbing
the Magaliesberg, while a stiff rearguard action was being fought with
Lord Kitchener's combined forces, and, dropping into the Hox River
valley, pushed on till we reached the Olifant's Nek. De Wet was now
comparatively safe, having the mountains behind and between him and the
British force. A day or so after reaching Olifant's Nek all the British
prisoners taken at Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom, and ourselves were
collected and placed in four ox waggons, with an escort of 100 burghers,
and proceeded through Rustenburg, our ultimate destination being
Nooitgedacht."
[10] Lieutenant-Colonel Spreckley was the son of the late Mr. George
Spreckley of Derby, and was born in 1865. After spending four years on an
ostrich farm, he joined the British Bechuanaland Police in 1885, and
remained two years. He was quartermaster in the South Africa Company's
pioneer expedition to Mashonaland in 1890, and a Mining Commissioner in
Rhodesia from 1891 to 1894. He served with the Salisbury Horse against
the Matabele in 1893 and 1894, for which he was awarded a medal, and on
the outbreak of the Matabele rebellion in 1896 he was appointed
lieutenant-colonel of the volunteer force which fought against the
rebels. He greatly distinguished himself during that campaign, and Sir
Frederick Carrington spoke highly of him in his despatches. He did good
service in the conduct of a successful engagement at Umquasa, and
commanded an important patrol to Shiloh and Inyati. His services were
rewarded with a C.M.G. He was manager of the Willoughby Consolidated
Company at Buluwayo. He, with Colonel Plumer, had fought during the
various engagements on the Transvaal border, and was present at the
relief of Mafeking.
[11] Colonel Helyar obtained his commission on February 2, 1864; he was
promoted to lieutenant on December 1, 1868, obtained his company on
October 31, 1871, was gazetted major on October 15, 1881, was promoted to
lieutenant-colonel on April 15, 1891, and became a colonel on April 15,
1895. He retired on half-pay on October 26, 1895, but volunteered his
service for South Africa, where he was given the command of a battalion
of Imperial Yeomanry.