I Return to the Free State
Whilst we were encamped on the Krokodil River, President Steyn expressed
a wish to pay a visit, with the Members of his Government, to the
Government of the South African Republic, which was then at Machadodorp.
This was no easy task to accomplish, for one would have to pass through
a part of the Transvaal where there was a great scarcity of water--it
was little better than a desert--and where in some places the Kaffirs
were unfriendly. In other words, one would have to go through the
Boschveldt. There would also be some danger from the English, since the
President would have to cross the Pietersburg Railway, which was in that
direction.
However, this plan was approved.
I decided not to accompany the President, but to return at once with two
hundred riders to the Orange Free State. I intended to make it known on
the farms which I passed on the way that I was going back, hoping thus
to draw the attention of the English from our laager.
I called together the Commandants, and informed them of my intention.
They agreed that the course I proposed was the right one. Commandant
Steenekamp was then nominated to act as Assistant Commander-in-Chief,
with the duty of conducting the laager through the Boschveldt.
On August the 14th President Steyn left the laager on his way to
Machadodorp; and I myself took my departure three days later. I took
with me General Philip Botha and Commandant Prinsloo, and 200 men, and
also Captain Scheepers with his corps, which consisted of thirty men.
With the addition of my staff we numbered altogether 246 men.
Thus our ways parted--the President going to the Government of the South
African Republic, the laager to the north, and I back to the Free State.
I had now to cross the Magalies Mountains. The nearest two passes were
Olifantsnek and Commandonek. But the first named was too much to the
west, and the second was probably occupied by the English. I therefore
decided to take a footpath that crossed the mountains between the two
saddles. I was forced to choose this middle road because I had no means
of ascertaining whether Commandonek was, or was not, in the hands of the
enemy.
On August 18th we arrived at a house where some Germans were living--the
parents and sisters of Mr. Penzhorn, Secretary to General Piet Cronje.
They were exceedingly friendly to us, and did all in their power to make
us comfortable.
We did not stay here for long, but were on the march again the same day.
Soon after we had mounted our horses we came in sight of a large English
camp, which was stationed on the road from Rustenburg to Pretoria,
between Commandonek and Krokodil River. This camp lay about six miles to
the south-east of the point where we first saw it. Another great camp
stood about seven miles to the north-west.
The enemy could see us clearly, as it was open veldt, with only a few
bushes cropping up here and there. We now rode on in the direction of
Wolhuterskop, which is close to the Magalies Mountains. I thought I
should thus be able to reach the great road from Rustenburg to Pretoria,
which was eight or nine miles from the footpath across the Magaliesberg.
When we were about two miles east of Wolhuterskop we suddenly came upon
two English scouts. One of them we captured; and he told us that there
was a great force of the enemy in front of us and marching in our
direction. What could we do now? It was impossible to proceed along the
footpath because that road was closed by the enemy. North and west of us
there were other bodies of troops, as I have already said; and there,
directly in front of us, were the chains of the Magaliesbergen. Thus we
found ourselves between four fires.
In addition to this, I was much troubled by the thought that our horses
were now exhausted by all this endless marching. I knew this was also
the case with the English horses, but for all I knew, they might have
obtained fresh ones from Pretoria. They could at all events have picked
the best horses from each camp, and thus send an overpowering force
against me. This was one of those moments when a man has to keep his
presence of mind, or else all is lost.
Whilst I was still thinking the matter over, troops began to come out of
the camps, about two miles to the west of us on the road between
Wolhuterskop and Magaliesberg. The scout who had escaped might now be
with that force. I had therefore to act at once.
I decided on climbing the Magalies Mountains, without a path or road!
Near by there was a Kaffir hut, and I rode up to it. When the Kaffir
came out to me, I pointed to the Magalies Mountains, and asked:--
"Right before us, can a man cross there?"
"No, baas,[67] you cannot!" the Kaffir answered.
"Has a man never ridden across here?"
"Yes, baas," replied the Kaffir, "long ago."
"Do baboons walk across?"
"Yes! baboons do, but not a man."
"Come on!" I said to my burghers. "This is our only way, and where a
baboon can cross, we can cross."
With us was one Adriaan Matthijsen, a corporal who came from the
district of Bethlehem, and was a sort of jocular character. He looked up
at the mountains, 2,000 feet above him, and sighed:--
"O Red Sea!"
I replied, "The children of Israel had faith and went through, and all
you need is faith. This is not the first Red Sea we have met with and
will not be the last!"
What Corporal Matthijsen thought I do not know, for he kept silence. But
he pulled a long face, as if saying to himself:--
"Neither you, nor anybody else with us, is a Moses!"
We climbed up unobserved to a bit of bush which, to continue the
metaphor of the Red Sea, was a "Pillar of Cloud" to hide us from the
English.
We then reached a kloof[68] running in a south-westerly direction, and
ascended by it, still out of sight of the English, till we reached a
point nearly half-way up the mountain. There we had to leave the kloof,
and, turning to the south, continue our ascent in full view of the
enemy.
It was now so precipitous that there was no possibility of proceeding
any further on horseback. The burghers had therefore to lead their
horses, and had great difficulty even in keeping their own footing. It
frequently happened that a burgher fell and slipped backwards under his
horse. The climb became now more and more difficult; and when we had
nearly reached the top of the mountain, there was a huge slab of granite
as slippery as ice, and here man and horse stumbled still more, and were
continually falling.
We were, as I have said, in view of the enemy, and although out of reach
of the Lee-Metfords, were in range of their big guns!
I heard burghers muttering:--
"Suppose the enemy should aim those guns at us--what will become of us
then? Nobody can get out of the road here!"
I told them that this could only be done if the English had a Howitzer.
But I did not add that this was a sort of gun which the columns now
pursuing me were likely enough to possess.
But nothing happened. The English neither shot at us, nor did they
pursue us. Corporal Matthijsen would have said that they were more
cautious than Pharaoh.
We now reached the top of the mountain--entirely exhausted. I have
ascended many a mountain--the rough cliffs of Majuba, the steep sides of
Nicholson's Nek--but never before had I been so tired as I was now; yet
in the depths of my heart I was satisfied. All our toil was repaid by
the glorious panorama that now stretched out before us to the south. We
saw the undulating veldt between the Magaliesbergen where we stood, and
the Witwatersrand. Through a ravine we had a view extending for many
miles, but wherever we cast our eyes there was no sign of anything that
resembled the enemy.
As it was now too late to off-saddle, we began, after having taken a
little rest, to descend the mountain on the other side, my object being
to reach a farm where I hoped to get some sheep or oxen for my men, who
not only were tired out, but nearly famished.
We went down the mountain--well, somewhat quicker than we had climbed
it; however, we could not go very fast, as the incline was steep. In an
hour and a half we reached a Boer farm.
One can imagine how the burghers recovered their spirits as they ate
their supper, and what it meant for them to give their tired limbs a
rest.
The following morning we found good horse-provender, and plenty of it.
It was not as yet the habit of the English to burn everything they came
across--they had not yet begun to carry out that policy of destruction.
I now felt quite easy about the safety of our camp. The attention of
the English would be turned in quite another direction.
I was quite right in this view of the matter. For I heard a few days
later that the enemy had not been able to pursue the laager as their
draft-cattle and horses were so completely exhausted, that they had
fallen down dead in heaps. I heard also that they had soon been made
acquainted with the fact that I was on my way back to the Free State,
where I would soon begin again to wreck railway lines and telegraph
wires. They had also discovered that President Steyn had left the laager
and was on the road to Machadodorp.
It was on the 18th of August, 1900, that we were able to eat our crust
of bread in safety on the farm just mentioned, and to let our horses
have as much food as they wanted. It seemed that for the time being a
heavy burden had fallen from our shoulders. That afternoon we crossed
the Krokodil River, and stopped at a "winkel"[69] under the
Witwatersrand, which had been spared as yet, although it was nearly
empty of stores. Fodder, however, was plentiful, and thus, again, we
could give our horses a good feed.
I now received a report that a strong contingent of the enemy was on the
march from Olifantsnek to Krugersdorp, and accordingly we rode off in
the night. We found that this force was the very one that had flanked
our laager the previous week, when we were passing Ventersdorp. The road
which the enemy were taking was the same which Jameson had marched when
he made his inroad into the South African Republic.
My intention was to cross the enemy's path before daylight the following
morning, which I succeeded in doing; and we heard no more of this force.
I proceeded now in the direction of Gatsrand.
From there I still went on, and crossed the Krugersdorp-Potchefstroom
Railway, about eight or ten miles to the north of Bank Station.
The line was then not guarded everywhere. There were small garrisons at
the stations only, and so one could cross even in the day time. To my
vexation, I had not a single cartridge of dynamite, or any implements at
hand with which I could wreck the line. It was painful to see the
railway line and not be able to do any damage to it! I had made it a
rule never to be in the neighbourhood of a railway without interrupting
the enemy's means of communication.
We arrived now at the farm of Messrs. Wolfaard, who had been captured
with General Cronje; and here I met Commandant Danie Theron, with his
eighty men. He had come to this place to avoid the troops lying between
Mooi River and Ventersdorp. His horses, although still weak, were yet
somewhat rested, and I gave him orders to join me in a few days, in
order to reinforce me until my commandos should come back. My intention
was not to undertake any great operations, for my force was not strong
enough for that. I intended my principal occupation to be to interrupt
the communications of the enemy by wrecking the line and telegraph.
With regard to the main line in the Free State I must remark here that
things there were in a different condition from what they were on the
Krugersdorp line, which we had crossed. The Free State railway was Lord
Roberts' principal line of communication, and he had provided guards for
it everywhere.
During the night of August 21st, we arrived at Vanvurenskloof. How
delightful it was when the sun rose to see once more the well-known
mountains to the south of the Vaal River in our own Free State!
"There is the Free State," we called out to each other when day broke.
Every one was jubilant at seeing again that country which of all the
countries on the earth is the best. From here I despatched General Botha
with the purpose of collecting the burghers of Vrede and Harrismith who
had remained at home, and of bringing them back to join me.
We remained only as long as was necessary to rest the horses, and then
at once went on. The same evening we arrived at the farm of
Rhenosterpoort, where our laager had waited since we had crossed the
Vaal River more than a week ago.
The proprietor of the farm of Rhenosterpoort was old Mr. Jan Botha. It
could not be that he belonged to the family of Paul Botha, of Kroonstad,
for Jan Botha and his household (amongst whom was his son Jan, an
excellent veldtcornet) were true Afrikanders. And even if he did belong
to the family of Paul Botha, then the difference in his feelings and
actions from those of other members of his family was no greater than
that, alas! which frequently occurred in many families during this war.
One member put everything at the disposal of his country, whereas
another of the same name did everything possible against his country and
his people. But there was no such discord here. The two old brothers of
Mr. Botha, Philip and Hekky, were heart and soul with us.
Potchefstroom was not at that time in the hands of the English. I rode
over to the town, and then it was that the well-known photo was taken of
me that has been spread about everywhere, in which I am represented with
a Mauser in my hand. I only mention this so as to draw attention to the
history of the weapon which I held in my hand. It is as follows:--
When the enemy passed through Potchefstroom on their way to Pretoria,
they left a garrison behind them, and many burghers went there to give
up their arms, which forthwith were burnt in a heap. When the garrison
left the dorp the burghers returned. Amongst them were some who set to
work to make butts for the rifles that had been burnt.
"This rifle," I was told by the man who showed it to me, "is the two
hundredth that has been taken out of the burnt heap and repaired."
This made such an impression on me that I took it in my hand, and had my
photo taken with it. I am only sorry that I cannot mention the names of
the burghers who did that work. Their names are worthy to be enrolled on
the annals of our nation.
After having provided myself with dynamite, I left Potchefstroom and
returned to my commando, then quietly withdrew in the night to
Rhenosterkop. From there I sent Veldtcornet Nicolaas Serfontein, of the
Bethlehem commando, in the direction of Reitz and Lindley, to bring the
Kaffirs there to a sense of their duty, for I had heard that they were
behaving very brutally to our women. The remainder of the Bethlehem
burghers under Commandant Prinsloo and Veldtcornet Du Preez, remained
with me to assist me in getting under my supervision the commandos which
had escaped from behind the Roodebergen. These were under the command of
General Fourie, and some were in the south of the State. I left Captain
Scheepers behind me with orders to wreck the line every night.
That evening I went to Mr. Welman's farm, which was to the south-west of
Kroonstad.
There I received a report that the commandos under General Fourie were
in the neighbourhood of Ladybrand. I sent a despatch to him and Judge
Hertzog asking them to come and see me, with a view to bringing the
burghers under arms again, in the southern and south-western districts
of the State.
This letter was taken by Commandant Michal Prinsloo and some despatch
riders to General Fourie. The night that he crossed the line a train was
passing, and he wrecked the railway both in front of it and behind it.
The train could thus neither advance nor retreat, and it fell into the
hands of Commandant Prinsloo, who, after having taken what he wanted,
burnt it.
With regard to myself, I remained in the neighbourhood of Commandant
Nel's farm.
Here I had the most wonderful of all the escapes that God allowed me in
the whole course of the war.
On the third evening at sunset, a Hottentot came to me. He said that his
"baas," whose family lived about twelve miles from the farm of
Commandant Nel, had laid down their arms, and that he could not remain
in the service of the wife of such a bad "baas." He asked me if he could
not become one of my "achterrijders."
As he was still speaking to me, Landdrost Bosman from Bothaville, came
to pay me a visit.
"Good," I said to the Hottentot, "I shall see you about this again." For
I wished to cross-question him. I then went into the house with the
Landdrost, and spent a good deal of time in writing with him. Late in
the evening he went back to Bothaville and I to bed exactly at eleven
o'clock.
I had scarcely laid down when the Hottentot came back to my thoughts,
and I began to grow uneasy. I got up and went to the outhouse where my
Kaffir slept. I woke him up and asked him where the Hottentot was. "Oh,
he is gone," he replied, "to go and fetch his things to go with the
baas."
I at once felt that there was something wrong, and went and called my
men. I told them to saddle-up, and went off with my staff to the farm of
Mr. Schoeman on the Valsch River, to the east of Bothaville.
On the following morning before daybreak, a force of two hundred English
stormed the farm of Commandant Nel. They had come to take me prisoner.
From Schoeman's farm I went to the Rhenoster River and found Captain
Scheepers there. He reported that he had wrecked the line for four or
five consecutive weeks, as I had told him.
I also received there the sad news of the death of the
never-to-be-forgotten Danie Theron, in a fight at Gatsrand. A more brave
and faithful commander I have never seen.
So Danie Theron was no more. His place would not be easily filled. Men
as lovable or as valiant there might be, but where should I find a man
who combined so many virtues and good qualities in one person? Not only
had he the heart of a lion but he also possessed consummate tact and the
greatest energy. When he received an order, or if he wished to do
anything, then it was bend or break with him. Danie Theron answered the
highest demands that could be made on a warrior.
One of Commandant Theron's lieutenants, Jan Theron, was appointed in his
place.
From there I went with Captain Scheepers to the railway line, where I
burnt a railway bridge temporarily constructed with sleepers, and
wrecked a great part of the rails with dynamite. I then proceeded to
various farms in the neighbourhood, and after a few days, with
Commandant Michal Prinsloo, who had joined me, I returned to the same
part of the railway in order to carry out its destruction on a larger
scale.
At twenty-five different places a charge of dynamite was placed with one
man at the fuse, who had to set light to it as soon as he heard a
whistle, that all charges could be ignited at the same time, and every
one be out of the way when the pieces of iron were hurled in the air by
the explosion.
When the signal was heard the lucifers were struck everywhere, and the
fuses ignited.
The English, keeping watch on some other part of the line not far from
us, on seeing the lights fired so fiercely on the burghers that they all
took to their horses and galloped off.
Only five charges exploded.
I waited for a moment, but no sound broke the silence.
"Come on!" I said, "we must fire all the charges."
On reaching the line we had to search in the darkness for the spots
where the dynamite had been placed. And now again the order was given
that as soon as the whistle was blown every one had to ignite his fuse.
Again there was a blunder!
One of the burghers ignited his fuse before the signal had been given,
and this caused such a panic that the others ran away. I and a few of my
staff lay flat on the ground where we were until this charge had
exploded, and then I went to fetch the burghers back.
This time everything went off well, and all the charges exploded.
The bridge I had destroyed had been rebuilt, and so I was forced to burn
it again. When this was done we departed and rode on to Rietspruit,
where we up-saddled, and then pushed on to Rhenosterpoort.
[Footnote 67: Master.]
[Footnote 68: Ravine.]
[Footnote 69: General Store.]