The Burghers Receive Permission to Return to their Homes
Thus Bloemfontein had fallen into the hands of the English; but whatever
valuables it contained were spared by the enemy. I did not myself
consider the place much superior to any other town, and I would not have
thought it a matter of any great importance if it had been destroyed.
Still, I felt it to be very regrettable that the town should have been
surrendered without a shot.
How can I describe my feelings when I saw Bloemfontein in the hands of
the English? It was enough to break the heart of the bravest man amongst
us. Even worse than the fall of our capital was the fact that, as was
only to be expected, the burghers had become entirely disheartened; and
it seemed as if they were incapable now of offering any further
resistance. The commandos were completely demoralized. Indeed! the
burghers from Fauresmith and Jacobsdal had already returned home from
Poplar Grove without asking for permission to do so; and now all the
others were hurrying back in the greatest disorder to their own
districts.
I felt sure that Lord Roberts' troops would remain for some time in the
capital, in order to obtain the rest they must have sorely needed. And I
now asked myself what I could do whilst the English were remaining
inactive. For notwithstanding all that had happened, I had not for a
single moment the thought of surrender. It seemed to me that my best
course was to allow the burghers, who had now been away from their
families for six months, an opportunity to take breath![29]
After everything had been arranged I went to Brandfort and thence to
Kroonstad, at which place I was to meet President Steyn, who had left
Bloemfontein the evening before it fell.
On my road to Kroonstad I fell in with General P.J. Joubert, who had
come to the Free State, hoping to be able to discover some method for
checking the advance of Lord Roberts. He was anything but pleased to
hear that I had given my men permission to remain at home till the 25th
of March.
"Do you mean to tell me," he asked, "that you are going to give the
English a free hand, whilst your men take their holidays?"
"I cannot catch a hare, General, with unwilling dogs," I made reply.
But this did not satisfy the old warrior at all. At last I said:
"You know the Afrikanders as well as I do, General. It is not our fault
that they don't know what discipline means. Whatever I had said or done,
the burghers would have gone home; but I'll give you my word that those
who come back will fight with renewed courage."
I knew very well that there were some who would not return, but I
preferred to command ten men who were willing to fight, rather than a
hundred who shirked their duties.
Meanwhile President Steyn had proclaimed Kroonstad as the seat of the
Government, so that in future all matters were to be settled there.
On March 20th, 1900, a war council was held, which was attended by
from fifty to sixty officers. President Steyn presided; and there
sat beside him that simple statesman, grown grey in his country's
service--President Kruger.
The chief officers at this council were Commandant General Joubert,
Generals De la Rey, Philip Botha, Froneman, C.P. Cronje, J.B. Wessels,
and myself. A number of the members of both Governments also put in an
appearance at this meeting.
Do not let it be imagined that the object we had in view was to come to
an agreement on any peace proposal made by the English. Nothing could
have been further from our minds than this. Lord Salisbury's letter to
our two Presidents, demanding unconditional surrender, had rendered any
thought of peace impossible. On the contrary, we were concerned to
discover the best method of continuing the war. We knew, I need scarcely
say, that humanly speaking ultimate victory for us was out of the
question--that had been clear from the very beginning. For how could our
diminutive army hope to stand against the overwhelming numbers at the
enemy's command? Yet we had always felt that no one is worthy of the
name of man who is not ready to vindicate the right, be the odds what
they may. We knew also, that the Afrikanders, although devoid of all
military discipline, had the idea of independence deeply rooted in their
hearts, and that they were worthy to exist as a Free Nation under a
Republican form of Government.
I shall not enter upon all that happened at that meeting. I shall merely
note here that besides deciding to continue the war more energetically
than ever, we agreed unanimously that the great waggon-camps should be
done away with, and that henceforth only horse-commandos should be
employed. The sad experience we had gained from six months' warfare,
and more especially the great misfortune that had overtaken the big
waggon-camp of General Cronje, were our reasons for this new
regulation.[30]
I left the meeting firmly determined that, come what might, I should
never allow another waggon-camp. But, as the reader will see before he
has concluded the perusal of these pages, it was not until many months
had elapsed that the waggons were finally suppressed. All the mischief
that they were destined to bring upon the African Nation was not yet
completed.
One of the effects of this council was to produce an unusually good
spirit among the officers and burghers. There was only one thought in my
mind, and only one word on every tongue: "FORWARD!"
I proceeded from Kroonstad to the railway bridge at Zand River, and
remained there until the 25th of March, when the commandos reassembled.
What I had foreseen occurred. The burghers were different men
altogether, and returned with renewed courage to the fight. They
streamed in such large numbers on this and the following days, that my
highest hopes were surpassed. It is true that certain burghers had
remained behind. Such was the case with the men from Fauresmith and
Jacobsdal, and with a large proportion of the commandos from
Philippolis, Smithfield, Wepener, and Bloemfontein. But with these
burghers I was unable to deal on account of Lord Roberts' Proclamations,
which made it impossible for me to compel the burghers to join the
commando; and I decided that I had better wait until I had done some
good work with the men I had, before I made any attempt to bring the
others back to the commando.
On the 25th of March we went to Brandfort. The arrival of the burghers
at the village doubled and even trebled its population. I was forced to
close the hotels, as I discovered that my men were being supplied with
drink. From this I do not wish the reader to infer that the Afrikanders
are drunkards, for this is far from being the case. On the contrary,
when compared with other nations, they are remarkable for their
sobriety, and it is considered by them a disgrace for a man to be drunk.
[Footnote 29: The men I still had with me belonged to commandos from
Bloemfontein, Ladybrand, Wepener, Ficksburg, Bethlehem and Winburg. They
were respectively under Commandants Piet Fourie, Crowther, Fouche, De
Villiers, Michal Prinsloo and Vilonel; and these Commandants took orders
from Vechtgeneraals J.B. Wessels, A.P. Cronje, C.C. Froneman, W. Kolbe
and Philip Botha.
The Colesberg and Stormberg commandos had received the order to go
northwards in the direction of Thaba'Nchu and Ladybrand. These commandos
also had been panic-stricken since General Cronje's surrender.
The Kroonstad, Heilbron, Harrismith and Vrede burghers, under
Commander-in-Chief Prinsloo, were directed to remain where they were,
and guard the Drakensberg.
General De la Rey followed my example, and gave his men permission to
return home for some time.]
[Footnote 30: This council also enacted that officers should be very
chary in accepting doctors' certificates. The old law had laid it down
that if a burgher produced a medical certificate, declaring him unfit
for duty, he should be exempted from service. That there had been a
grave abuse of this was the experience of almost every officer. There
were several very dubious cases; and it was curious to note how many
sudden attacks of heart disease occurred--if one were to credit the
medical certificates. I remember myself that on the 7th of March, when
the burghers fled from Poplar Grove, I had thrust upon me suddenly eight
separate certificates, which had all been issued that morning, each
declaring that some burgher or other was suffering from disease of the
heart. When the eighth was presented to me, and I found that it also
alleged the same complaint, I lost all patience, and let the doctor know
that was quite enough for one day. When this question of certificates
was discussed at the council, I suggested in joke that no certificate
should be accepted unless it was signed by three old women, as a
guarantee of good faith. The system had indeed been carried to such
lengths, and certificates had been issued right and left in such a
lavish manner, that one almost suspected that the English must have had
a hand in it!]