Scarcely had I returned from posting my last letter when the camp was in a
commotion, caused by the news that the West Australians were in action at
Slingersfontein, distant about twelve miles from Rensburg. To saddle up and
get out as fast as horseflesh would carry a man was but the work of a very
short period of time, for the gallop across the open veldt was not a very
laborious undertaking. I soon found that the stalwart sons of the great
gold colony were in it, and enjoying it.
Slingersfontein is an important position on the right flank of French's
column. It is not only an important but a very hard position to hold on
account of the nature of the country. Here there is but very little open
veldt; mile after mile is covered by small kopjes that rise in countless
numbers, until the whole country looks as if it were covered with a
veritable forest of hills. Once inside that labyrinth of rocky
excrescences, an army might easily be lost, unless every individual man and
officer knew the place thoroughly. The Boers know the lay of the land, and,
consequently, shift from post to post by paths that are unknown to anyone
else with marvellous dexterity and incredible swiftness. Our forces hold a
small plain, which is like the palm of a giant's hand, with the surrounding
kopjes representing the digits. We hold those kopjes also. The shape of the
camp is in the form of a horseshoe, all around the little basin great hills
rise, and from those hills England's watch-dogs keep a sharp look-out on
the movements of the foe; and well they need to, for, in ground which suits
him, the African farmer is as 'cute and cunning as a Red Indian. Behind our
position, or, rather, outside of it, there is another small tract of open
country, but beyond that, lapping around our stronghold like a crescent, is
rough, hilly ground. None of those hills is worth dignifying with the title
of mountain, but all of them are big enough to shelter a hundred or two of
the enemy, and it is there that they play their game of hide and seek,
which is so trying to the nerves of young troops. The Boers hold that rough
country entirely, and the outer edge of their semi-circle is not, at any
given point, more than four miles from our centre at Slingersfontein.
The outer line of kopjes which skirt their stalking ground are bigger than
the hills on the inner side, so that they have an excellent opportunity to
conceal their movements from the observation of our most astute pickets,
and the only way in which our commanding officer can locate the enemy with
any degree of certainty is by making a reconnaissance in force, and, if
possible, drawing their fire. If the Boers fall into this trap they
invariably pay dearly for the slight advantage they gain over the
investigating force, for our guns soon make any known position untenable.
The Boer leaders know this, however, and are very loth to allow temptation
to overcome discretion; but at times, either through the impetuosity of
their troops or through errors in generalship, they give themselves away
entirely, and that is precisely what they did upon this occasion.
By means only known to those high up in authority, our people had become
acquainted with the fact that the enemy intended to try to extend their
line on our right flank, and so threaten us not only upon the left flank,
the direct front, and right flank, but also in the rear. Could they succeed
in doing this they would have us in a peculiarly tight place, as, once
posted in force well down on our right flank, they would then at least be
able to harass us badly in our communications with Rensburg, which is our
main base of operations. It is there that the General has his headquarters;
it is from there that we keep in touch, per medium of the railway and
telegraph lines, with the rest of the British Army in South Africa. It is
from there that we draw all our supplies of fodder and ammunition. It is
from there we should draw all our additional force if we needed
reinforcements in case of a general assault by the enemy upon our position
at Slingersfontein, and it is from there that we should be strengthened
should we decide to make a forward move on the Boers' position. Therefore
it behoved us to keep that line of communication intact, no matter what the
cost. All these things were as well known to the Boer leader as to us, and
that is why they were as keen to get the position as we were, and why we
are keen to stop them from accomplishing their object.
It was for the purpose of ascertaining just what the enemy intended to do,
and how many men they had to do it with, that Major Ethoran ordered out the
West Australian Mounted Infantry, consisting of about 75 men, under Captain
Moor, an Imperial soldier in the pay of the West Australian Government, and
a small body of Inniskilling Dragoons and Lancers, with a section of the
Royal Horse Artillery and two guns. The men moved out of Slingersfontein on
Tuesday about midday, and at once proceeded towards a farmhouse located
right under the very jowl of an ugly-looking kopje.
This farm was known as Pottsberg, and was well known as a regular haunt of
the most daring and dangerous rebels in the whole district. The farm
consisted of the usual white stone farmhouse of five or six rooms, a small
orchard, surrounded by rough stone walls from three feet six to four feet
in height, and about two feet thick, a small cluster of native huts, and a
kraal for cattle, made of rough, heavy stones, topped by cakes of sun-baked
manure, stored by the farmers for fuel. Some little distance from the back
of the farmhouse a stout stone wall ran down from the kopjes on to the
plain. This wall was between four and five feet in height and half a yard
across in its weakest place--an ugly barricade in itself--behind which a
few resolute men with quick-firing rifles, which they know how to use,
could make a good stand against vastly superior numbers advancing upon them
from the open veldt.
When our fellows trotted out from camp, Captain Moor received orders to
distribute his men in small bodies all along the edge of the kopjes between
Pottsberg farmhouse and Kruger's Hill, a small kopje lying almost in a line
with our camp, on the right. The men were ordered to go as close as
possible to the enemy's position, to see as much as they could possibly see
in regard to the numbers of troops in the hills held by the enemy. If they
succeeded in discovering the rebels in large bodies they were to draw their
fire and immediately retreat at full speed. In the meantime the two guns
belonging to the Royal Horse Artillery were beautifully placed in a dip in
the veldt, where they could play upon the Boers should they attempt to rush
the West Australians at any given point. The Lancers and Dragoons were
placed in charge of some kopjes behind the guns, in order to protect them
should a concerted onslaught be made upon them by the mounted Boers, who
were shrewdly suspected to be in hiding in strong force behind the first
row of hills, which screened the enemy's position.
The Australians rode out steadily, and took up their positions with an
amount of coolness that startled older soldiers. This was absolutely their
first trial on real fighting service, and everybody connected with them was
anxious to see how they would comport themselves in the face of the enemy.
Not only was it their first fighting effort, but it was their début in the
saddle, as until a week previous they had been simply infantrymen, and not
a dozen of them had ever been in the hands of a mounted drill instructor.
It was a big task to set such green men, but they proved before the day was
out that they were worthy of the confidence reposed in them. Captain Moor,
Lieutenant Darling, and Lieutenant Parker each took a small section into
action; the others were under the immediate control of their sergeants.
They split up into small parties, and swept the very edge of the kopjes,
peering into gullies, climbing the outer hills, working along the ravines
with a courage and thoroughness that would have done credit to the oldest
scouts in all the Empire. Yet nothing came of their investigations for
quite a long time. The enemy did not mean to be drawn, and remained
passive, so that the West Australians at last became a little bit reckless,
and were consequently not so guarded as they might have been. All at once a
body of scouts ran upon a large body of the enemy near Pottsberg Farm, in a
deep and shady ravine. The enemy were trying to evade notice, but that was
now impossible. In a moment rifles were ringing on the air, and after that
first volley the little band of Australians wheeled and galloped for the
open country. To have remained there would have meant certain death to
every one of the half-dozen who comprised the picket, so they did their
duty--they fired and rode for the veldt. In a few seconds Boers were
dashing out of the kopjes on all sides, trying to cut the small band of
Australians off or shoot them down. But the Australians knew their game;
they opened out, so that each man was practically riding alone.
The Boers could do little with them. Those who stood by the guns noticed
that very large numbers of men in the Boer ranks were either niggers or
half-castes, and it was also very noticeable that they knew but little
about the use of the rifle. They fired high and wide, and notwithstanding
the fact that they poured their ammunition away in wholesale fashion, they
did little harm worth mentioning, although many of them fired at little
more than pistol range. They were simply crazed with excitement, and did
not succeed in cutting off a single member of that adventurous band.
Whenever an Australian found himself in a tight place he simply dug his
spurs into his horse's flanks, lifted his rifle, and blazed into the ranks
of the foe. If his horse was shot dead under him he coo-eed to his mates,
and kept his rifle busy, and every time the coo-ee rang out over the
whispering veldt the Australians turned in their saddles, and riding as the
men from the South-land can ride, they dashed to the rescue, and did not
leave a single man in the hands of the enemy. Many a gallant deed was done
that day by officers and men. Captain Moor gave one fellow his horse, and
made a dash for liberty on foot, but he would have failed in his effort had
not Lieutenant Darling, a West Australian boy, ridden to his aid, and
together the two officers on the one horse got back to the shelter of the
guns. The enemy still blazed away in the wildest and most farcical fashion.
Had they been Boer hunters or marksmen very few of the West Australians
would ever have got across that strip of veldt alive. As it was, only two
of them got wounded, none were killed, one or two horses were shot dead,
and then the big guns got to work in grim earnest.
A party of Boers, however, got round one of the kopjes, where some of the
Lancers were posted, and now half a dozen of those brave fellows are
missing, and I fear they are to be counted amongst those who will never
return again. Sergeant Watson, of the R.H., was killed, and several of his
men and a few of the Lancers were wounded, but the R.H. guns soon swept the
plain clear of the enemy, and they retired, carrying their dead and wounded
with them. The work for the day was done, and well done, for the enemy had
shown his hand. We knew his position and his strength, and next day we went
out in force to have a word with him, but the wily Boers kept strictly
under cover, and refused on any terms to be drawn again.