Roodewal
The ammunition arrived safely, and towards the end of May I made my way
to a certain hill, some twelve miles from Heilbron, to which we had
given the name of Presidentskopje, and where Commandants Steenekamp and
J.H. Olivier were posted.
Here I left the greater part of my commandos. But I myself, on the 2nd
of June, set out in the direction of Roodewal Station, taking with me
six hundred burghers, mounted on the best horses that were to be
obtained. I reached the farm of Leeuwfontein the same night, and found
it an excellent place in which to hide my men out of sight of the
Heilbron garrison. The farm stood about nine miles to the south of that
town.
The following evening we moved on as far as Smithsdrift, which is a
drift on the road from Heilbron to Kroonstad. There again I concealed my
men.
On the afternoon of the next day, June the 4th, news was brought me that
a convoy was on its way to Heilbron from Rhenoster River. This convoy
encamped that evening at the distance of a mile from the farm of
Zwavelkrans; the spot chosen was about five hundred paces from the
Rhenoster River, and quite unprotected.
Before sunrise I sent a party of burghers down to the river, some five
hundred paces from where the convoy was encamped, and by daybreak we had
entirely surrounded the enemy.
No sooner had the sun appeared than I despatched a burgher with a white
flag to the English officer in command. I ordered my messenger to
inform the officer that he was surrounded, that escape was out of the
question, and that if he wished to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, his only
course was to surrender.
[Illustration: ROODEWAL.
FROM A SKETCH BY THE AUTHOR.]
On hearing this one of their men came to me with the object of demanding
certain conditions. It goes without saying that my answer
was--"Unconditional surrender!"
He asked for time to communicate this to the officer in command. I
granted this request, and he returned to the convoy.
We were not left in suspense for long. The white flag was hoisted almost
immediately, and two hundred _Bergschotten_,[45] with fifty-six heavily
laden waggons, fell into our hands.
Fortunately, all this occurred out of sight of Roodewal Station and
Heilbron, and, as not a single shot had been fired, I had no reason so
far to fear that there was any obstacle in the way of my main
project--the capture of the valuable booty at Roodewal.
I at once returned with my capture to the spot where we had been the
previous night. General Philip Botha conducted the prisoners and the
booty to the President's camp, returning to our laager on the following
morning.
On the evening of the 6th of June I started on my road to Roodewal. At
Walfontein I divided my troops into three parties. The first party,
consisting of three hundred men with one Krupp, I despatched under
Commandant Steenekamp to Vredefort Road Station, with orders to attack
it the following day at sunrise. General Froneman, with Commandants Nel
and Du Plooij, were in command of the second party, which consisted of
three hundred burghers, with two Krupps and one quick-firing gun. My
orders were that, at daybreak, they were to attack an English camp which
was lying a mile to the north of the railway station at Rhenoster River,
and close to some brick-coloured ridges. The third party I commanded
myself. It consisted of Commandant Fourie and eighty burghers, with one
Krupp; and with this force I pushed on to Roodewal Station.
At Doorndraai I left behind me a few waggons, with twenty men to guard
them. I had previously stationed a hundred burghers there, with the
object of keeping in touch with the enemy.
The information which Captain Scheepers had gained while scouting was
amply sufficient to show me how the land lay.
Although I had heard that there were not more than fifty of the enemy at
Vredefort Road Station, I had nevertheless sent three hundred burghers
there. This was because I was aware that the main English force lay to
the north of the station, so that these fifty men might be reinforced at
the shortest possible notice. The numbers which General Froneman had to
encounter were much greater, and the enemy held safe positions. But as
General Froneman was himself able to take quite as good positions, I
only gave him the same number of troops as I had assigned to Commandant
Steenekamp. I also gave orders that two guns should proceed with him.
I was informed that there were only one hundred of the English at
Roodewal, but that these hundred were very securely entrenched. My
information was, however, at fault, for I discovered later on that there
were at least double that number.
I arrived at Roodewal very early in the morning of the 7th of June. I
brought my men up to within eight hundred paces of the station, and
ordered them to unharness the horses which were attached to the Krupp,
and to place it in position.
But listen! There is the crack of rifles in the distance! That must be
the sound of the enemy's fire on General Froneman. Again, and yet again,
the sound meets my ears. Then all is quiet once more.
It was still two hours before the sun would rise, and I took full
advantage of the opportunities which the darkness gave me. I ordered
four of my burghers to approach as close to the station as was possible,
and to find out everything they could about the enemy's position.
Following my directions, they crept with extreme caution towards the
English lines, until only a hundred paces separated them from the
station. They returned before it was light, and brought back word that
unless the enemy had thrown up unusually high _schanzes_, there must be
an untold quantity of provisions piled up there. Everything had been
very quiet, and they had seen no one stirring.
The day now began to dawn, and as soon as it was light I sent a message
to the enemy demanding their surrender. The answer came back at once. On
the back of my note these words had been written:
"We refuse to surrender."
I instantly opened a hot fire upon them, bringing the Krupp as well as
the Mausers into action. But the reply of the enemy was no less severe.
We had no cover. There was only a shallow _pan_[46]--so shallow that it
scarcely afforded protection to the horses' hoofs! A thousand paces to
the north-west of the railway I had observed a deep _pan_ where the
horses would have had better cover, but even there our men would have
been just as exposed as they now were. I had decided against taking up
my position in this _pan_, because I should have been obliged to cross
the line to reach it, and in doing so should have run the risk of being
observed by the English.
Thus it was that the burghers were compelled to lie flat down in order
to afford as little mark as possible to the enemy. But the men who
served the Krupp were naturally unable to do this; and, seeing that the
gun must be moved, I gave this order: "Inspan the gun, gallop it three
thousand paces back; then blaze away again as fiercely as you can!"
Under a hail of bullets the horses were attached to the gun. Whilst
this was being done, I ordered my men to fire upon the English
entrenchments with redoubled energy, and thus, if possible, prevent the
enemy from taking careful aim.
Incredible though it may appear, Captain Muller got the gun away without
a single man or horse being hit. When he had covered three thousand
paces, he halted, and turning the Krupp on the enemy, he shelled them
with good effect.
At about ten o'clock, General Froneman succeeded in forcing the English
troops which he had attacked to surrender. I therefore ordered the two
Krupps which he had with him to be brought up with the utmost despatch.
At half-past seven they arrived, and immediately opened fire on the
English.
When the enemy had been under the fire of three guns and eighty Mausers
for an hour, they thought it best to hoist the white flag. We
accordingly ceased firing, and I rode out towards the station. Before I
had reached it, I was met by two of the officers. They told me that they
were willing to surrender, on condition that they were allowed to retain
their private property and the mail bags, for it appeared that there
were two English mails under their charge.
I replied that so far as their private belongings were concerned, they
were welcome to keep them, as I never allowed the personal property of
my prisoners to be tampered with in my presence.[47] But I told them
that the letters were a different matter, and that I could not allow
them to reach their destination--unless they were directed to a bonfire!
There was nothing left for the officers to do, except to agree to my
terms then and there; for had they hesitated even for a moment, I should
certainly have stormed the station.
But they wisely surrendered.
On our arrival at the station, we were all filled with wonder at the
splendid entrenchments the English had constructed from bales of cotton,
blankets and post-bags. These entrenchments had been so effectual that
the enemy's loss was only twenty-seven killed and wounded--a remarkably
small number, when it is remembered that we took two hundred of them
prisoners.
I had expected that our booty would be large, and my expectations were
more than realized. To begin with, there were the bales of clothing that
the English had used as entrenchments. Then there were hundreds of cases
of necessaries of every description. Of ammunition, also, there was no
lack, and amongst it there were projectiles for the Naval guns, with
which Lord Roberts had intended to bombard Pretoria.
Some of the burghers attempted to lift these gigantic shells, but it
took more than one man to move them.
I read in the newspapers afterwards that I had inflicted a loss of three
quarters of a million sterling on the English Government--let that give
the extent of my capture.
But at that moment we did not realize how much harm we had done to them.
We had little time for anything which did not directly forward our
cause. I was, however, very sorry that I could not carry away with me
the blankets and boots which we found in large quantities, for they
would have been most valuable for winter use. But there was no time for
this, as the English held the railway and could at any moment bring up
reinforcements from Bloemfontein, from Kroonstad, or from Pretoria. So,
as I could not take the booty away with me, I was obliged to consign it
to the flames.
But before I did this I gave the burghers permission to open the
post-bags, and to take what they liked out of them. For in these bags
there were useful articles of every description, such as underclothing,
stockings, cigars and cigarettes.
Very soon every one was busy with the post-bags--as if each burgher had
been suddenly transformed into a most zealous postmaster!
Whilst my men were thus pleasantly occupied, two prisoners asked me if I
would not allow them also to open the post-bags, and to investigate
their contents. I told them to take just what they fancied, for
everything that was left would be burnt.
It was a very amusing sight to see the soldiers thus robbing their own
mail! They had such a large choice that they soon became too dainty to
consider even a plum-pudding worth looking at!
Although I had ordered my men to wreck the bridges both to the north and
to the south of us, I still did not feel secure--any delay on our part
was fraught with danger, and the sooner we were off the better.
But before we could start, I had to find some method of removing the
ammunition which I wished to take with me. Since I possessed no waggons
available for this purpose, my only course was to order my burghers to
carry away the quantity required. But my burghers were busily engaged in
looting.
Those who have had any experience of our commandos will not need to be
told that it was a difficult task to get any men to help me in the work.
I did succeed, however, in dragging a few of the burghers away from the
post-bags. But the spirit of loot was upon them, and I was almost
powerless. Even when I had induced a burgher to work, he was off to the
post-bags again the instant my back was turned, and I had to go and hunt
him up, or else to find some other man to do the work. Yet, in spite of
this, I succeeded in removing the gun and Lee-Metford ammunition. We
carried away some six hundred cases of this ammunition,[48] and hid it
at a spot about three hundred paces from the station.
When the sun set, the burghers were again on the march. But what a
curious spectacle they presented!
Each man had loaded his horse so heavily with goods that there was no
room for himself on the saddle; he had, therefore, to walk, and lead his
horse by the bridle. And how could it be otherwise? For the burghers had
come from a shop where no money was demanded, and none paid!
But the most amusing thing of all was to watch the "Tommies" when I gave
them the order to march. The poor Veldtcornet, who was entrusted with
the task of conducting them to our camp, had his hands full when he
tried to get them away from the booty; and when at last he succeeded,
the soldiers carried such enormous loads, that one could almost fancy
that every man of them was going to open a store. But they could not
carry such burdens for long, and soon they were obliged to diminish
their bulk, thus leaving a trail of parcels to mark the road they had
taken!
And now it was time for the fire to do its work, and I ordered fifteen
men to set the great heap of booty alight. The flames burst out
everywhere simultaneously--our task was completed.
In an instant we had mounted our horses and were off.
When we had covered fifteen hundred paces, we heard the explosion of the
first shells, and wheeled round to view the conflagration. The night was
very dark, and this rendered the sight that met our eyes still more
imposing. It was the most beautiful display of fireworks that I have
ever seen.
One could hear, between the thunder of the big bombs, the dull report of
exploding cordite. Meanwhile the dark sky was resplendent with the red
glow of the flames.
I must now give some description of General Froneman's engagement to the
north of Rhenosterriviersbrug.[49]
The firing we had heard before sunrise came from the English outposts,
as they were retreating to their camp. The burghers and the English had
both seized positions on small hills and in abandoned Kaffir kraals.[50]
Although the English had very good positions, and out-numbered our men
by two to one, they found it impossible to hold out against our fire.
They had no guns, whilst we possessed, as the reader knows, two Krupps
and a quick-firing gun, which latter had the same effect as a
Maxim-Nordenfeldt. Thus the enemy was forced to surrender; and five
hundred of them were taken prisoner, among whom were Captain Wyndham
Knight and several other officers. Their casualties amounted to the
large total of one hundred and seventy killed and wounded, Colonel
Douglas being one of the killed.
Commandant Steenekamp had also met with success, for he had captured the
English camp at Vredefortweg Station, and taken thirty prisoners,
without firing a shot.
Thus we had made eight hundred of the enemy our prisoners, and destroyed
an enormous amount of their ammunition, and this with scarcely any loss
on our side. At Roodewal only two of my men had been wounded, whilst
General Froneman had lost but one killed--a burgher named Myringen--and
two slightly wounded.
It had been a wonderful day for us--a day not easily forgotten.
We were deeply thankful for our success. Our only regret was that it had
been impossible for us to keep more of the clothing and ammunition. But
although we had not been able to retain it, neither had the enemy. It
was winter, and we had managed to burn their warm clothing. The English
would certainly feel the want of it; and some time must elapse before
they could receive a fresh supply from Europe.
Undoubtedly Lord Roberts would be very angry with me; but I consoled
myself with the thought that his anger would soon blow over. I felt sure
that after calm consideration he would acknowledge that I had been
altogether within my rights, and that he had been rather unwise in
heaping together at one place so large a quantity of insufficiently
protected stores. He should have kept his supplies at Kroonstad, or,
better still, at Bloemfontein, until he had reconstructed all the
railway bridges which we had blown up on the line to Pretoria. Lord
Roberts had already begun to trust the Free-Staters too much; and he had
forgotten that, whatever else we may have been thinking about, never for
a single moment had we thought of surrendering our country.
I received a report the following day that thirty English troops had
been seen eight miles to the west of Roodewal, and moving in the
direction of Kroonstad. I despatched General Froneman with thirty of the
burghers to fetch them in.
The next day, which was the 9th of June, I went with our prisoners to
within three miles of the railway, and left them there under Veldtcornet
De Vos,[51] ordering him to conduct them the rest of the way.
It was now my duty to bring away the ammunition which I had left at
Roodewal and to put it into some safe place. With this in view, I sent
the Commandants, when night had fallen, to Roodewal, each with two
waggons, and ordered them to bring it to my farm at Roodepoort, which
was three miles away from the railway bridge over the Rhenoster River.
There was a ford near my farm with sandy banks; and I told the
Commandants to bury the ammunition in this sand, on the south side of
the river, and to obliterate all traces of what they had done by
crossing and re-crossing the spot with the waggons. I found out
subsequently that the Commandants had left some of the ammunition behind
at Roodewal.
Before I conclude this chapter I have to record an event which filled me
with disgust.
Veldtcornet Hans Smith, of Rouxville, contrived to have a conversation
with Captain Wyndham Knight, who, as I have already stated, was one of
our prisoners. The Veldtcornet obtained from him a "free pass" to
Kroonstad through the English lines, and also a written request to the
British authorities there to allow him and twenty burghers to proceed
without hindrance to Rouxville. Alas! that any Free State officer should
be capable of such conduct!
Captain Wyndham Knight will be held in high esteem by all who truly
serve their country, for he was a man who never deserted the cause of
his fatherland, no matter what dangers he encountered.
Veldtcornet Hans Smith with his twenty burghers decamped on the night of
the 10th of June, but some days had passed before I discovered the mean
trick he had played.
It was far easier to fight against the great English army than against
this treachery among my own people, and an iron will was required to
fight against both at once. But, even though one possessed an iron will,
such events caused many bitter moments; they were trials which, as an
African proverb[52] says, no single man's back was broad enough to
carry.
[Footnote 45: Highlanders.]
[Footnote 46: A pond which only contains water during "the rains."]
[Footnote 47: The _Uitschudden_ (stripping) of the enemy had not become
necessary at that date. I can say for myself that when, at a later
period, it came into practice, I never witnessed it with any
satisfaction. Yet what could the burghers do but help themselves to the
prisoners' clothing, when England had put a stop to our imports, and cut
off all our supplies?]
[Footnote 48: At this time the burghers were beginning to use the rifles
which they had taken from the enemy.]
[Footnote 49: Rhenoster River bridge.]
[Footnote 50: These dated back to the time of Moselekatze (Umzilygazi).]
[Footnote 51: He was afterwards appointed Commandant.]
[Footnote 52: Literally the proverb runs as follows: "There are some
trials which will not sit in one man's clothes."]