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Title: South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. IV (of 6)
From Lord Roberts' Entry into the Free State to the Battle of Karree
Author: Louis Creswicke
Release Date: February 4, 2012 [EBook #38768]
Language: English
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SOUTH AFRICA AND THE
TRANSVAAL WAR
[Illustration: THE QUEEN LISTENING TO A DISPATCH FROM THE FRONT.
From the Picture by S. Begg]
SOUTH AFRICA
AND THE
TRANSVAAL WAR
BY
LOUIS CRESWICKE
AUTHOR OF "ROXANE," ETC.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
IN SIX VOLUMES
VOL. IV.--FROM LORD ROBERTS' ENTRY INTO THE FREE
STATE TO THE BATTLE OF KARREE
EDINBURGH: T. C. & E. C. JACK
MANCHESTER: KENNETH MACLENNAN, 75 PICCADILLY
1900
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
At the Ballantyne Press
CONTENTS----VOL. IV.
PAGE
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE vii
CHAPTER I
THE VOTE OF CENSURE 1
KIMBERLEY 14
GENERAL FRENCH'S RIDE, FEBRUARY 12 TO 15 30
STRATEGY _versus_ TACTICS 37
THE HERDING OF CRONJE, FEBRUARY 16 TO 18 49
THE BATTLE OF PAARDEBERG, FEBRUARY 18 54
TRAPPED 62
THE SURRENDER OF CRONJE 71
CHAPTER II
MAFEKING, DECEMBER AND JANUARY 80
CHAPTER III
AT POPLAR GROVE 95
THE FIGHT AT DRIEFONTEIN, MARCH 10 101
AT BLOEMFONTEIN, MARCH 13 108
CHAPTER IV
MAFEKING, FEBRUARY 112
CHAPTER V
AT CHIEVELEY AGAIN 121
LADYSMITH, FEBRUARY 1 TO 26 129
THE BATTLE OF PIETERS, FEBRUARY 20 TO 27 134
EXPECTATION 151
THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH, FEBRUARY 28 153
THE FORMAL ENTRY, MARCH 3 156
CHAPTER VI
CHANGES IN CAPE COLONY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH 163
AT BETHULIE, MARCH 12 171
CHAPTER VII
BLOEMFONTEIN UNDER BRITISH RULE 174
THE BATTLE OF KARREE 192
CHAPTER VIII
MAFEKING IN MARCH 194
COLONEL PLUMER'S OPERATIONS 204
LIST OF STAFF 213
APPENDIX 215
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS----VOL. IV.
MAP ILLUSTRATING THE MOVEMENTS FOR THE RELIEF OF
KIMBERLEY AND THE CAPTURE OF BLOEMFONTEIN _At Front_
1. _COLOURED PLATES_
PAGE
THE QUEEN LISTENING TO A DISPATCH FROM THE FRONT _Frontispiece_
THE IMPERIAL YEOMANRY 12
THE ROYAL LANCASTERS 16
WEST YORKSHIRE AND YORKSHIRE REGIMENTS 88
THE INNISKILLING DRAGOONS 104
SOUTH AFRICAN LIGHT HORSE, BRABANT'S HORSE, AND
DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S VOLUNTEER RIFLES 120
STRATHCONA'S HORSE 184
THE CAPE TOWN HIGHLANDERS 200
2. _FULL-PAGE PLATES_
PAGE
THE DASH FOR KIMBERLEY--THE 10TH HUSSARS CROSSING
KLIP DRIFT 32
THE LAST STAND MADE BY THE BOERS BEFORE KIMBERLEY 36
CAPTURE OF A BOER CONVOY BY GENERAL FRENCH'S TROOPS 40
THE BATTLE OF PAARDEBERG 56
CRONJE'S STRONGHOLD 64
CRONJE SURRENDERS TO LORD ROBERTS 72
CRONJE'S FORCE ON THEIR MARCH SOUTH 80
SHELL FROM THE NAVAL BRIGADE DISPERSING BOERS 96
THE FORMAL SURRENDER OF BLOEMFONTEIN 108
SLEEPLESS MAFEKING 112
THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH--THE LAST RUSH AT HLANGWANE HILL 128
IN BELEAGUERED LADYSMITH--WATCHING FOR BULLER FROM
OBSERVATION HILL 152
HINDOO REFUGEES FROM THE TRANSVAAL IN CAMP AT CAPE TOWN 168
CONVEYING WOUNDED TO WYNBERG HOSPITAL CAMP 172
THE BRITISH OCCUPATION OF BLOEMFONTEIN--AN EVENING CONCERT
IN MARKET SQUARE BY THE PIPERS OF THE HIGHLAND BRIGADE 176
COLONEL PLUMER'S GALLANT ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE MAFEKING
FROM THE NORTH 208
3. _FULL-PAGE PORTRAITS_
PAGE
THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY, K.G. 8
LIEUT.-GENERAL THOMAS KELLY-KENNY, C.B. 24
GENERAL CRONJE 48
MAJOR-GENERAL A. FITZROY HART, C.B. 136
MAJOR-GENERAL H. J. T. HILDYARD, C.B. 144
BRIGADIER-GENERAL THE EARL OF DUNDONALD, C.B. 156
LIEUT.-GENERAL HON. N. G. LYTTELTON, C.B. 160
MR. M. T. STEYN, LATE PRESIDENT ORANGE FREE STATE 192
4. _MAPS AND ENGRAVINGS IN THE TEXT_
PAGE
SHELL PICKED UP IN KIMBERLEY STREETS 15
"LONG CECIL" MADE AT DE BEERS MINES 21
PLACARD ERECTED BY MR. RHODES 27
TYPICAL UNDERGROUND DWELLING AT KIMBERLEY 36
10TH HUSSARS WITH NORDENFELDT GUN 46
PLAN OF PAARDEBERG 57
GUNS CAPTURED AT PAARDEBERG 68
BOER TRENCHES AT PAARDEBERG 78
MARKET SQUARE, MAFEKING 85
GUN MADE IN MAFEKING 87
DIRECTING AN ARMY FROM A MILITARY BALLOON 102
FACSIMILE OF "THE MAFEKING MAIL" 114
SCENE OF FIGHTING AT MONTE CRISTO 125
BALLOON MAP--BATTLE OF PIETERS AND RELIEF OF LADYSMITH 135
SIGNAL APPARATUS OF H.M.S. "FORTE" 146
KING'S POST, LADYSMITH 151
MAP OF OPERATIONS ON ORANGE RIVER 165
SIGNAL STATION AT BLOEMFONTEIN 182
NATIVE CHURCH, MAFEKING 199
MAP SHOWING ADVANCE TO MAFEKING 205
LOBATSI RAILWAY STATION 212
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE----VOL. IV.
FEBRUARY 1900.
12-13.--General French, following up Hannay's movement, crossed Riet
River, and next day with a strong force marched twenty-five miles into
the Free State, seized Klip Drift on the Modder River, occupied the
hills to the north, and captured three of the enemy's laagers, with
supplies.
13-14.--6th (Kelly-Kenny's) Division on north bank of the Riet River at
Waterfall Drift.
14.--Lord Roberts advanced to Dekiel's Drift.
15.--General French reached and relieved Kimberley, captured Boer laager
and supplies, and forced the enemy to withdraw.
The Boers evacuated Majersfontein and Spyfontein, retreating to
Koodoosrand Drift.
16.--General Kelly-Kenny, in pursuit of Cronje retiring east with 10,000
men on Bloemfontein, captured 78 waggons with stores, 2 waggons with
Mauser rifles, and 8 waggons with shell belonging to Cronje's column.
Capture of Cingolo Hill by Sir Redvers Buller's force.
Lord Roberts occupied Jacobsdal.
Flight of Cronje's force and occupation of Majersfontein by the Guards.
17.--Cronje's force overtaken and surrounded at Paardeberg. General
Brabant engaged the enemy near Dordrecht.
Successful reconnaissance by Colonel Henderson from Arundel.
18.--Severe fighting at Paardeberg, where Cronje was being gradually
surrounded.
Capture of Monte Cristo. General Lyttelton's Division, by a brilliant
converging movement, drove the Boers across the river.
19.--Capture of Hlangwane by the Fusilier Brigade. The Boers evacuated
the hill, and left a large camp behind them.
Bombardment of Cronje's position began. Boer reinforcements driven back.
Cronje asked for armistice, but Lord Kitchener demanded his surrender;
Cronje refused, and was then bombarded heavily.
Reoccupation of Dordrecht. General Brabant entered the town in the
morning, the Boers taking to flight.
20.--General Hart occupied Colenso.
Lord Roberts defeated Boer reinforcements at Paardeberg.
21.--5th Division crossed the Tugela at Colenso.
23.--Advance on Ladysmith continued. The Boers' position at Grobler's
Kloof attacked.
The cordon round Cronje began to close in.
Captain Hon. R. H. L. J. de Montmorency, V.C. (21st Hussars), killed
while doing magnificent work with his Scouts near Stormberg.
26.--Finding the passage of the river near Colenso commanded by strong
entrenchments, Sir Redvers Buller sent his guns and baggage back to the
south side of the Tugela, and found a new crossing.
26-27.--Colesberg and Rensberg, having been evacuated by the Boers, were
occupied by General Clements, while Jamestown was occupied by General
Brabant.
27 (on anniversary of Majuba, 1881).--Cronje, with 44 commandants and
other officers of all grades, and over 3500 men, surrendered
unconditionally to Lord Roberts.
Sir Redvers Buller's force captured the Boer position at Pieters. This
action opened the road to Ladysmith. Boers retired north to Ladysmith.
28.--Relief of Ladysmith after 120 day's investment.
MARCH 1900.
1.--Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener visited Kimberley and attended a
meeting in the Town Hall.
2.--Cronje and his staff, having been moved to Simonstown under a guard
of City Imperial Volunteers, were put on board H.M.S. _Doris_, and sent
to St. Helena.
3.--General Buller formally entered Ladysmith.
Skirmish near Osfontein. General French came in contact with a Boer
force, who tried to get away, but were held to their position by the
British force.
4-5.--General Brabant advanced from Dordrecht against Labuschagne, and
was completely successful.
5.--General Gatacre occupied Stormberg without opposition.
7.--Lord Roberts dispersed Boers near Poplar Grove.
General Gatacre reached Burghersdorp.
8.--General Clements occupied Norval's Pont.
10.--The Boers dispersed near Driefontein, fifteen miles east of Poplar
Grove.
11.--Presidents Kruger and Steyn received reply from the Prime Minister
refusing to entertain their absurd overtures for peace.
12.--General French (with cavalry, R.H.A., and Mounted Infantry) arrived
before Bloemfontein, and captured two hills which command the railway
and town.
General French captured the railway near Bloemfontein.
General Gatacre approached Bethulie.
13.--Lord Roberts occupied Bloemfontein. His despatch ran:--"The British
flag now flies over the Presidency vacated last evening by Mr. Steyn,
late President of the Orange Free State. The inhabitants gave the troops
a cordial welcome."
14.--General Pretyman, C.B., appointed Military Governor of
Bloemfontein.
15.--General Gatacre occupied Bethulie.
Boers attacked Colonel Plumer's camp and were repulsed.
16.--Fighting at Fourteen Streams.
19.--Lord Kitchener occupied Prieska, and received the submission of
rebels.
20.--Rouxville occupied by Major Cumming.
21.--Smithfield occupied by British troops.
23.--Party of English officers shot near Bloemfontein.
27.--General Clements occupied Fauresmith, and arrested the landrost.
Death of General Joubert.
29.--Action at Karree Siding. Boer position taken.
Wepener occupied by Brabant's Horse under Colonel Dalgety.
30.--Colonel Broadwood with Cavalry Brigade and two batteries Royal
Horse Artillery at Thabanchu retired on waterworks pressed by the enemy.
31.--Loss of convoy and six guns at Koorn Spruit.
Action at Ramathlabama for the relief of Mafeking, and Colonel Plumer's
small force repulsed by the Boers.
[Illustration: MAP ILLUSTRATING THE MOVEMENTS FOR THE RELIEF OF
KIMBERLEY AND THE CAPTURE OF BLOEMFONTEIN
EDINBURGH AND LONDON T. C. & E. C. JACK.]
SOUTH AFRICA AND THE TRANSVAAL WAR
CHAPTER I
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE
_February 27, 1900._
"Storm, strong with all the bitter heart of hate,
Smote England, now nineteen dark years ago,
As when the tide's full wrath in seaward flow
Smites and bears back the swimmer. Fraud and fate
Were leagued against her: fear was fain to prate
Of honour in dishonour, pride brought low,
And humbleness whence holiness must grow,
And greatness born of shame to be so great.
The winter day that withered hope and pride
Shines now triumphal on the turning tide
That sets once more our trust in freedom free,
That leaves a ruthless and a truthless foe
And all base hopes that hailed his cause laid low,
And England's name a light on land and sea."
--ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE.
THE VOTE OF CENSURE
The terrible events of the month of December had produced a disquieting
effect upon the public mind. Agitated questions were asked on all
subjects connected with the series of catastrophes, and the replies were
so unsatisfactory that one and all became sensible that the actions of
those in power were not sufficiently in unison with public sentiment,
and even the keenest supporters of the Government numbly experienced a
loss of confidence in those at the helm. It was felt that some one must
be to blame for the miserable condition of affairs, the hideous series
of defeats that had made Great Britain an object of ridicule on the
Continent. For the forwarding of our troops "in driblets," for the
ineffectiveness of our guns in comparison with Boer weapons, for the
uselessness of the carbine in competition with the Mauser, for the
scarcity of horses, for the preparedness of the Boers, for the
unpreparedness of the British, for the under-estimation of the strength
of the enemy, and for many other things which tended to bring about the
national disaster, various members of the Government were blamed.
Charges of incapacity were levelled at the Secretary of State for War,
the War Office, and the Committee of National Defence. Even the stoutest
Tories were found declaiming against the attitude of lethargy--flippancy,
some said--adopted by those in whose hands the fate of the nation rested.
Mr. Balfour, in certain speeches somewhat ill-advisedly delivered at a
critical moment, had contrived almost to wound people who were already
deeply wounded by humiliation and anxiety. His mood had not been in
sympathy with the public mood. He had endeavoured to brush away the stern
problems facing him by minimising their seriousness, by affecting to
believe that the Government was, like Cæsar's wife, beyond reproach. His
attitude implied that the Cabinet could do no wrong, and that the
misfortunes and errors (if errors there were) were due to a concatenation
of circumstances for which neither the Government at home nor the
generals abroad could be held responsible. In consequence of this
attitude, on one side Mr. Balfour was blamed, on another, Mr.
Chamberlain. The Colonial Secretary was accused of the policy of
"bluffing with a weak hand," while the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as
was inevitable, came in for his share of obloquy. It was the cheeseparing
principle that was at the bottom of it all; cheeseparing and red-tape
were responsible for debility and delay of all kinds, and political
inertia had undoubtedly spelt defeat. The clamour was reasonable and
just. It was felt that prudence and energy should have served as fuel to
stoke the engine of public affairs, not as a brake to be put on in the
face of disaster. On all hands the public of one consent cried for a new
broom and "a great co-ordinating guiding mind," and the universal clamour
awoke the Government to a consciousness that there are times and seasons
in the history of nations when party recriminations and crystallised
party etiquette must give way before the stress of a great national
need--the need to preserve at all costs the honour and the reputation of
the Empire in face of the whole world.
Accordingly, the opening debate of the Session was one which cannot be
passed over. The Queen's Speech struck a note of decision that was at
once comforting and in sympathy with her people. Thus it ran: "I have
witnessed with pride and the heartiest gratification the patriotism,
eagerness, and spontaneous loyalty with which my subjects in all parts
of my dominions have come forward to share in the common defence of
their Imperial interests. I am confident that I shall not look to them
in vain when I exhort them to sustain and renew their exertions until
they have brought this struggle for the maintenance of the Empire and
the assertion of its supremacy in South Africa to a victorious
conclusion."
The Earl of Kimberley commented on the ignorance of the Government
regarding the military preparations that for years had been going on in
the Transvaal, and indulged in criticisms which might have been weighty
had his hearers not been tickled by the strange irony of fate which
converted into critic one of the authors of the humiliating drama which
had been left to shape itself from the disastrous _scena_ of 1881.
To these criticisms the Prime Minister--somewhat broken by domestic
bereavement--offered but a weak and depressing reply. "How," he asked,
in regard to the Boer preparations, "could the Government know what was
going on?"
"I believe, as a matter of fact, though this must not be taken
as official, that the guns were generally introduced in the
boilers of locomotives, and that the munitions of war were
introduced in piano-cases and tubs. But we had no power of
search, we had no power of knowing what munitions of war were
sent out. We certainly had no power of supervising their
importation into the Transvaal. It is a very remarkable
peculiarity of the public opinion of this country that people
always desire to eat their cake and have it. They rejoice very
much with a spirit of complacency that we have a very small
Secret Service Fund. Information is a matter of money and
nothing else. If you want much information you must give much
money; if you give little money you will get little
information; and considering the enormous sums which are spent
by other Powers, not least by the Transvaal Republic, in secret
service--which I was told on high diplomatic authority has been
£800,000 in one year--and comparing this with the ludicrously
small sums which have for a great number of years been
habitually spent by English Governments, it is impossible for
us to have the omniscience which the noble Earl seems to regard
as a necessary attribute of Her Majesty's Government."
Further on he said:
"We must all join together to exercise all the power that we
can give in order to extricate ourselves from a situation that
is full of humiliation and not free from danger, though I do
not say the danger may not be easily exaggerated. Many a
country has commenced a great war with difficulties of this
kind. We have only to look back at what the Northern States of
America went through at the opening of the Civil War to see how
easy it would be to draw a mistaken inference from the reverses
which we have met at the opening of this war. We have every
ground to think that if we set ourselves heartily to work and
exert all the instruments of power we possess we shall bring
this war to a satisfactory conclusion. I think we must defer
the pleasing task of quarrelling among ourselves until that
result has been obtained. We have a work that now appeals to us
as subjects of the Queen, as Englishmen, and it must throw into
shadow the ancient claims which party expediency has on the
action of all our statesmen."
This speech concluded, Lord Rosebery suddenly sprang up, and delivered
himself with thrilling emphasis of sentiments which went at once to the
heart of the nation. Deeply he deplored the Prime Minister's speech,
which made it hard for "the man in the street" to support the policy of
the Government.
The country, he insisted, had a right to know if there was adequate
information given to the Government before the crisis of the Transvaal
affair, or even sufficient to guide them in their diplomacy or their
negotiation. "That is a point which the nation will insist on knowing,
whether in this House or the other. If you had not sufficient
information, dismiss your Intelligence Department, dismiss Mr. Conyngham
Greene and your consular agents wherever they had touch with this
matter--at Lourenço Marques or elsewhere. If you did know of it, you
have a heavy responsibility to bear. The noble Marquis asks, 'How could
we see through a deal board?' I suppose he meant by that to allude to
the pianoforte cases in which, with more knowledge than he gave himself
credit for, he unofficially states that the ammunition was brought into
Pretoria."
Passing on to the question of Secret Service money, he declared that the
Government was in possession of a very commanding majority in the House,
and that if they had the responsibility of Government they were bound to
ask for what funds, whether Secret Service or other, which they might
think necessary for the safety of the Empire.
"They cannot," he pursued, "devolve that responsibility on
others by speaking of the working of the British Constitution.
I ask noble Lords to analyse the speech of the noble Marquis,
which is still ringing in their ears. It is the speech of a
Minister explaining a disastrous position. He practically has
only given two explanations of that situation. They are, first,
that the Government had not enough Secret Service money to
obtain information, and, secondly, the mysterious working of
the British Constitution. I suppose that there are foreign
representatives in the gallery listening to this debate, and I
suppose that the speech of the Prime Minister will be flashed
to-night all over Europe, and Europe, which is watching with a
keen and not a benevolent interest the proceedings of our
armies in South Africa, will learn that the causes of our
disasters are one avoidable and the other inevitable. The
avoidable one is the inadequate amount of the Secret Service
Fund, and the inevitable one the secular working of the British
Constitution."
Leaving the question of unpreparedness, he came to the great point, and
asked what the Government intended to do.
"There is a paragraph in the Queen's Speech which I rejoice to
see, of a somewhat didactic character in its first sentence,
but not without interest in its second. 'The experience of a
great war must necessarily afford lessons of the greatest
importance to the military administration of the country. You
will not, I am convinced, shrink from any outlay that may be
required to place our defensive preparations on a level with
the responsibilities which the possession of so great an Empire
has laid on us.' The noble Marquis made no reference to that
paragraph, except to say that he does not think we shall see
compulsory service in the life of the youngest peer present. I
do not affirm or question that proposition, but I can say I do
not think it is so immeasurably remote as the noble Marquis
considers that some form of compulsory service may have to be
introduced to meet the growing exigencies of the Empire. I am
sure that neither from this nor from any other sacrifice will
the nation recoil to preserve the predominance of our Empire.
We have sent away from our island a vast mass of troops which
usually garrison it. Situated as we are in the centre of a
universe by no means friendly to us, that we should not have a
hint from the First Minister of the Crown what military
measures the Government propose to take in face of the
disasters we have met with, and what sacrifices we must
inevitably be called on to make to redress them, is one of the
most extraordinary features of the working of the British
Constitution on which the noble Marquis has laid such great
stress. I agree with him in saying that the country will carry
this thing through. It will carry it through in spite of all
the impediments, both of men and of methods, that have shackled
it in the past; but I venture to say that it will have to be
inspired by a loftier tone and by a truer patriotism than we
have heard from the Prime Minister to-night."
Mr. Balfour, in the House of Commons, was as damping to popular hopes as
the Prime Minister in the House of Lords. Regarding the all-important
subject of the under-estimation of the Boer strength, he somewhat airily
said:
"It will be asked, How comes it, then, that this great
under-estimate of the Boer strength was made if we knew
approximately what the Boer armaments were, and what Boers were
likely to take the field? I do not know that I have got any
very satisfactory answer to give to that question. It is a
purely and strictly military problem, and, as history shows, it
is a kind of problem very difficult to answer satisfactorily.
You can gauge the military strength of a European nation with a
fixed army, with all their modern military apparatus, and with
all their military statistics at your disposal; but when you
come to problems of States whose military organisation is not
of that elaborate kind, great mistakes have been made in the
past, and I doubt not great mistakes will be made in the
future. They certainly have been made by almost every military
nation of whom we have any record. But if this is regarded as
an attack upon the military experts of the War Office, it is
surely an unfair attack, because soldiers, who are not
especially given to agreeing with one another, were absolutely
unanimous upon this point. I do not believe you will be able to
quote the opinion of a single soldier of any position whatever,
or of no position, delivered before, say, July 31 or August 31
last, indicating any opinion which will show that the force
which we in the first instance sent out would not be amply
sufficient, or more than amply sufficient, for all purposes.
(Cries of "What about Butler?") The right hon. gentlemen put a
question to me about Sir W. Butler. We had not the slightest
trace at the War Office in any communication, public,
semi-public, or private--no communication of any sort, kind, or
description, which indicated that in Sir W. Butler's opinion
the force we sent out was not sufficient--I was going to say
doubly sufficient--for any work that it might be called upon to
perform."
Indeed, the whole tenor of the speech was generally regarded as
unsatisfactory and dispiriting. It was felt that, as Lord Rosebery
expressed it, the Government must be left to "muddle through" somehow.
People who hung anxiously on the lips of the Government for definite
statements regarding future resolute action were disappointed, and
waited wearily the conclusion of the debate.
On February 1, Sir Charles Dilke drew vigorous comparisons between the
present and former campaigns. In regard to our lack of artillery he
said:
"All our generals had told us that direct artillery fire had
failed against the Boer entrenchments. It had been known for
years past that direct artillery fire would be likely to fail
against strong entrenchments; yet we sent twenty-one batteries
of field-artillery to South Africa before the first one of the
three howitzer batteries was despatched. It was one of the
strongest charges which he and others had brought against the
War Office for some years, that our army was more badly
supplied with field-artillery than any other army in the world.
It was not even comparable with the field-artillery of
Switzerland and Roumania. In regard to our guns, the Leader of
the House had stated in a speech at Manchester that we had guns
in South Africa sufficient for three army corps of regular
troops. He should like to know on whose authority the right
hon. gentleman made that statement. The first force sent to
South Africa from India was supplied with guns, not on that
scale, but still in fairly decent and respectable measure. The
forces of Lord Methuen and Sir Redvers Buller fell altogether
short of even the scale adopted for the Indian Contingent. Both
these generals had themselves called attention to their
deficiency in this respect. We had not even now got artillery
on anything like the scale laid down by the right hon.
gentleman, and we could not have it in South Africa, because we
had not got it in the world. In these circumstances he could
only characterise the statement of the Leader of the House as
entirely erroneous and misleading, and altogether a blunder.
With regard to the batteries which were even now being sent
out, many of them were manned by reservists and by garrison
artillerymen, who had had no experience in the handling of
modern field-guns."
Proceeding to the question of lack of cavalry, he argued:
"With regard to cavalry as with regard to artillery, the first
force was well supplied, but the forces of Lord Methuen and
General Buller were very deficient in that respect. In that
connection the First Lord had made an attack on the critics of
the War Office. He said they had not seen, or if they had seen
had not insisted on, a novel fact in the present war, namely,
that for the first time in the history of the world they had
seen an army composed entirely of mounted infantry. The right
hon. gentleman had only to read Sir William Butler's 'Life of
General Colley,' where he would find very marked attention
drawn to that matter. As to the Defence Committee of the
Cabinet, of which the right hon. gentleman was a member, though
he himself had been spoken of as the author of that body, he
must admit that it had failed. It was instituted after a
correspondence in which he himself, his hon. friend (Mr. Arnold
Foster), and Mr. Spenser Wilkinson took part, and it was not
new to the present Government. It was instituted in the time of
Lord Rosebery's Government as a Committee of the Cabinet, but
it had been proclaimed to the world in the time of the present
Government. It had failed on account of the slackness of those
who attended the deliberations of the Committee. It had not
been worked as the authors of the proposal thought it might
have been worked in the interests of the Empire. The Committee
ought to have foreseen these difficulties with respect to
mounted men; they were foreseen by military men. Though
political differences occurred between Sir A. Milner and Sir W.
Butler, Sir A. Milner consulted General Butler on the military
aspect of the situation, and General Butler's opinions were
known to the Government, or should have been. They were known
to Sir A. Milner at any rate and were not concealed by him when
he was in this country a year ago. According to his (Sir C.
Dilke's) information, which reached him immediately after the
statement had been made to Sir A. Milner, General Sir W. Butler
declared that 60,000 men would be required in Cape Colony and
25,000 men in Natal. Leaving that, however, what was the
attitude of the Cabinet with regard to the need for cavalry?
They telegraphed to the Colonies to refuse mounted men. They
gave their reasons in the telegram of October 3: 'In view of
the numbers already available, infantry most and cavalry least
serviceable.' On December 16 they telegraphed to the Colonies,
'Mounted men preferred.' After all the loss of life that had
taken place, and the months of checks and reverses, they had
discovered what competent soldiers had discovered before the
war, and must have told them, that mounted men were essential
for a campaign of this kind."
In reply, the Under-Secretary of State for War made the first telling
and apposite statement which had been furnished for the Government
during the course of the proceedings. His exposition was
straightforwardness itself. Though merely the mouthpiece of the
Government, Mr. Wyndham gave utterance to definite statements which
created a very favourable impression throughout the country, and served
at once to wipe away the taste of foregone pronouncements. He said:
"Every one to his dying day would look back with regret on the
great many disasters which had followed, but no one could ever
know what would have happened if the other course had been
adopted. It was very easy to conceive that if Sir G. White had
not stayed at Ladysmith and Sir R. Buller had not gone to his
relief disaster might have been developed in another line, and
that there might have been that universal rising of the Cape
Dutch which, thank Heaven, had not occurred. When it was stated
that Lord Methuen had not sufficient cavalry and artillery with
him, it must be remembered that Lord Methuen was hurried off to
the Orange River, and, as a matter of fact, he arrived on the
frontier in fewer days than the German army reached the French
frontier, and he had not with him the cavalry, which had been
diverted for the relief of Ladysmith and other purposes. On the
morrow after Nicholson's Nek three more battalions were sent
from home, though none had been asked for, and Lord Landsowne
offered a sixth division. In reply, he was told that
preparation was desirable, but that there was no immediate need
for its despatch. The situation was again changed by the
reverses at Stormberg and Magersfontein and the check at
Colenso. Thereupon the sixth division was ordered to embark
without any communication from South Africa, and at the same
time the seventh division was ordered to be mobilised. On
December 15, the day after his check at Colenso, Sir R. Buller
asked for the seventh division, the mobilisation of which had
already been ordered, and for 8000 mounted irregulars from
this country. Lord Landsowne replied that the seventh division
would embark on January 4, which it did. Next day the first
step was taken in connection with the raising of the Imperial
Yeomanry, and volunteers were invited to come forward in order
to fill the places left vacant by the raising from each
battalion of one company of mounted infantry. The patriotism of
the Militia was also appealed to, and fourteen battalions were
now serving in South Africa, while others were on the way. A
great military authority once said, 'When a battalion is asked
for, send a brigade.' That had been the course pursued by Lord
Landsowne."
In regard to the number of our guns, Mr. Wyndham continued his argument
in the following terms:--
"As the right hon. baronet had pressed for information with
regard to the number of guns which had been despatched to South
Africa, it would not be out of place to tell the House that we
had sent and were sending 36 siege train heavy guns; there were
already there 38 mobile naval guns, and in addition to these
there were 36 5-inch howitzers carrying a heavy shell charged
with 50 lbs. of lyddite, in all 110 guns, some of them with a
range of 10,000 yards, and all capable of throwing heavy
shells. Besides these there were 54 horse-artillery guns and
234 field-artillery guns, in all, counting the howitzers, 324
guns capable of accompanying troops in the field. Including the
two mountain batteries, there were altogether 410 guns in South
Africa, without reckoning the guns that were going out with the
Volunteers and the Colonials, which would bring the number up
to 452."
[Illustration: THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY, K.G.
PRIME MINISTER AND FOREIGN SECRETARY.
Photo by Russell & Sons, London.]
Then taking the subject of mounted troops, he went on:--
"On the question of mounted troops, it had been said that the
Government announced to the world their conviction that
unmounted troops were the kind of troops most suitable to South
African warfare. The word 'mounted' was never used. However, he
would not insist on that, but he did think that those who had
quoted this opinion so often should consider when they were
used, because then they would see that they gave no indication
that the Government held the opinion attributed to them. As a
matter of fact, since the outbreak of the war the Government
had sent out a larger proportion of mounted troops than was
usually contemplated, because they believed that mounted troops
were especially suited to go to Africa. The time at which the
phrase was used that infantry was most wanted and cavalry least
wanted was on October 3, before the ultimatum was sent, before
the war began, and at a time when Sir R. Buller was satisfied
that an army corps, a cavalry division, and the necessary
troops for the line of communication, giving 50,000 men in
addition to the 25,000 already in South Africa, was an adequate
force. When the question of the Colonial Contingents was first
raised, Queensland offered 250 and New Zealand 200 mounted
infantry, and the 108 New South Wales Lancers then in this
country volunteered, making in all 558 mounted men. No specific
offer was received from the other Colonies, but they expressed
a wish that they might be allowed to take some part in the
campaign. He thereon consulted Sir R. Buller as to the number
that should be asked for in order that each Colony might be
represented more or less in proportion to their respective
populations. Sir Redvers stated that it would be easier to give
the Colonial troops an immediate place at the front if they
were invited to contribute manageable units of 125 men each. If
the original offers of the Colonies had been accepted, there
would have been 1375 more mounted men at the front at an
earlier date, when no one contemplated that the force sent out
would be insufficient for its task. The Colonial Legislatures
have not changed their note in consequence of the
disappointments and reverses which have been experienced, but
have made further offers--an example which might well have been
followed nearer home. Altogether there had been accepted from
the Colonies 2075 unmounted and 4678 mounted men. The
proportion of mounted to unmounted troops in South Africa at
four different periods were: In the original garrison, 7600
unmounted and 2000 mounted; on October 9, the day of the
ultimatum, 12,600 unmounted and 3400 mounted; on January 1,
83,600 unmounted and 19,800 mounted; while the total number of
troops in South Africa, not including the Fourth Cavalry
Brigade, were 142,800 unmounted and 37,800 mounted, and in the
next fortnight or three weeks there would be out there 180,600
of all arms."
Sir Edward Grey said:--
"He was giving the right hon. gentleman some instances of the
value of the support from his side. The primary object of the
policy which had ended in the war was not to drive the Boers
from British territory, as they were not then on it. The
primary object was not to plant the British flag at Pretoria
and Johannesburg. These two things might be the result of the
war, but they were not the primary objects of the Government
policy. The objects which he wished to see attained, and which
he would pledge himself to give the utmost support to the
Government in attaining, were, first, equal rights between all
white men in South Africa, and by that he meant that never
again should a situation arise in any part of the British
sphere in which a modern industrial community should be placed
under the heel of an antiquated minority which was dominated by
prejudice and governed by corruption. The second object was
that never again in South Africa should it be possible for
arsenals to be formed or an accumulation of military material
under any control except British control. That was the end to
be attained, and to that end the Government would have
support."
On the 3rd of February Mr. Bryce expressed his opinions. He affected to
disbelieve that there had been any Dutch conspiracy to drive the British
from South Africa, and considered that, owing to the menace of the
Government in the arrangement of negotiations, the meek Boer had no
resource but to prepare for war.
Mr. Goschen admitted the gravity of the situation and the responsibility
of the Government _en masse_. The Cabinet, he decided, must stand or
fall together. The Admiralty, in acceptation of its responsibility, had
assisted the army with heavy guns without weakening its resources.
Lastly, he touched enthusiastically on the exhibition of Colonial
loyalty:--
"Before concluding I must say a word with reference to the
Colonists. They have been supporting us with unstinted loyalty
and unstinted generosity. There has been a spirit shown by the
Colonies of affection to the mother country which has been the
admiration of the world. May we not suggest that that unstinted
loyalty and that unstinted generosity is to some extent a
reward for the consideration which has been shown the Colonies
for some time past; and is it not right to remember that for
years there has not been a Secretary for the Colonies who has
so endeavoured to win the affection of the Colonies as the
right hon. gentleman who now holds that office? You tax us with
not having shown foresight and judgment. At all events our
treatment of the Colonies has ensured, not their loyalty--that
will always be there--but the enthusiastic impulse of the
Colonies to come to the assistance of the mother country. We
have a great work to do; we want to do that work, and now hon.
gentlemen opposite move an amendment the only object of which
could be to damage and weaken the Government, who are the
instruments of the national will. If hon. gentlemen opposite do
not wish to take our places and to bear the burden which rests
on our shoulders, is it wise to endeavour to shake the
confidence of the country in the men who must continue this
war, and gather together all the forces of the Empire to bring
it to a successful conclusion? Supposing there should be a
division which could be called a bad division for the
Government, what would the cheers which would greet that
division mean? They would mean, 'We have succeeded in damaging
and weakening the Government.' The time may come when we will
be damaged. If the war is not successful, sweep us away as men
who have no judgment, but do not lame the arm of the Executive
Government when they have such a work on hand as we have got to
do. There has been patriotic co-operation between us and some
of the Liberal Party. We thank them for it. I believe this is a
Parliamentary bad dream--an interlude between the patriotic
attitude of these gentlemen a few weeks ago and the patriotic
attitude which I hope we may look forward to when this debate
closes. They have assured the country they will support us in
going forward. I thank them for that, for it is more important
than the petty criticisms to which we have been treated. We are
the trustees of the nation for the work that has to be done.
The nation will support us, I believe; and so long as we
receive that support, God willing, we will fulfil our task."
Sir E. Clarke, among other things, said:--
"He did not believe the annexation of the Transvaal and the
Orange Free State would be of the slightest benefit to the
country. The annexation of the two Republics would compel us to
very greatly increase our already enormous military
expenditure, and it would not give us any advantage
commensurate with the difficulties of administration. He had no
desire to press his own views, which were singular, and
certainly not popular, on that side of the House. He only
pleaded that this question might be left open, and that
Ministers might not pledge themselves to a course which would
involve so great a sacrifice. While he agreed generally with
the doctrine of Cabinet responsibility, he considered that the
real responsibility for the war lay with the Colonial
Secretary. The Prime Minister, in whom all England put the
greatest confidence, having many other things to deal with, and
being distressed by domestic anxieties, might not have been
able to attend so closely as he otherwise would have done to
South African affairs; but it could not be gainsaid that there
were two men, one in this country and the other in South
Africa, who must be associated with the beginning of the war.
He wished that the highest sentiments of patriotism would
induce those two men to leave to others the positions they now
occupied. He believed that the difficulties involved in a
solution of the questions arising out of the war would be
increased by the fact that the lines of communication and
action in South Africa were in the hands of the Colonial
Secretary and Sir A. Milner. He had not a word to say about the
honesty of these two gentlemen; but if, for a few weeks or a
few months, in this grave national crisis and time of deep
anxiety, others could take their places--if the Prime Minister
himself would take under his own control the communications of
the Colonial Office with South Africa, and if Lord Rosebery
would give his services to the country, and go out to South
Africa to assist in a solution of the difficulties, it would be
a sacrifice not too great to ask even from the greatest men
among us, and one for which the country would be very grateful.
He had said that he was not going to make a controversial
speech. He did not think he had. If he had, it had been with no
intention of personal attack or party bitterness, but with the
deep conviction that in deciding on the great issues with which
Parliament had to deal we had to consider not only the things
of to-day but the things of the future."
Mr. Chamberlain's speech on the 5th of February was an advance on former
proceedings. Sir William Harcourt dilated on the indomitable energy of a
free people fighting for their independence, praised the gallantry of
the troops, and blamed the Government for being led by the opinions of
the authors of the Jameson Raid, to which the Colonial Secretary made
dignified reply. Finally he questioned--
"How do we meet the charge of mistakes? Not by denying the
mistakes, but by saying what we have done and what we are doing
to repair them. You say we sent too few troops. We are pouring
troops into South Africa, and, as you have been told, in a few
weeks you will have an army of 200,000. You said we were
forgetful of the need for mounted men. We have been increasing
the number of horse infantry until in a very short time the
number of mounted men in the British forces will be almost as
great, if not as great, as the total number of mounted men in
the Boer army. You say our artillery is deficient and not heavy
enough. We have sent battery after battery, until now you have
an unexampled force of that arm. We have at the same time added
a number of heavier guns. When the war began, no doubt the
needs of the war were under-estimated at that time; it is part
of the same mistake. We failed to respond as we ought to have
done to the splendid offers that came from our Colonies. We
accepted enough to show how much we valued their assistance,
but we hesitated to put on them any greater strain than
necessary. But what is happening now? They are multiplying
their forces, and every offer is gratefully and promptly
appreciated and accepted. And we shall have in this war before
it is over an army of Colonials called to the aid of Her
Majesty who will outnumber the British army at Waterloo and
nearly equal to the total British force in the Crimea."
In conclusion he said:--
"In Africa these two races, so interesting, so admirable, each
in its own way, though different in some things, will now, at
any rate, have learned to respect one another. I hear a great
deal about the animosity which will remain after the war, but I
hope I am not too sanguine when I say that I do not believe in
it. When matters have settled down, when equal rights are
assured to both the white races, I believe that both will enjoy
the land together in settled peace and prosperity. Meanwhile,
we are finding out the weak spots in our armour, and trying to
remedy them. We are finding out the infinite potential
resources of the Empire; we are advancing steadily, if slowly,
to the realisation of that great federation of our race which
will inevitably make for peace, liberty, and justice."
On the following night Mr. Asquith, on Talleyrand's principle--that
speech is given us to hide our thoughts--dilated interestingly on the
position, his sympathies oscillating between the Opposition, the
Government, and Mr. Kruger. Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman declared it to
be the duty of the Opposition to press Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice's
amendment to a division. He inferred that the conspiracy of the Cape
Dutch was a chimera, and went so far as to suggest that when our
military supremacy was asserted in South Africa the question of
settlement might be left to decide itself _sine die_! Said he: "Provided
that our territories are free and our military supremacy asserted, what
matters it at what time or what place a settlement is arrived at?"
In his reply Mr. Balfour distinguished himself. He said that it was
discovered that the War Office has more than fulfilled its promises, and
appealed to the members of the Opposition who sympathised with the
justice of the war to reflect before voting for the amendment. It was
necessary to help the soldiers at the front by proving to them that they
were supported by a united country, and that every hostile vote might
induce or encourage our opponents to prolong the contest. He concluded
by saying:--
"Can they contemplate with equanimity that their first action
in a session of Parliament meeting under such circumstances
should be a weakening of the Government, whose hands they
profess to desire to strengthen--whose hands I believe they
genuinely desire to strengthen--in every succeeding operation
connected with this war? Can they contemplate with equanimity
the reflection that possibly their votes may lengthen the war,
and, by lengthening it, may increase that tragic list of losses
with which we are already too familiar? If in giving their vote
they add one fraction to the chances of a European
complication, one fraction of a chance that an unnecessary life
may be lost or a family thrown into mourning, can they easily
reconcile that with their duty towards their own principles and
to that country of which they are, I believe, as devoted
servants as we on this side of the House? I think it is a
violation of every Parliamentary tradition that men who desire
to keep in office a Government should vote for an amendment
which, if carried, will turn out that Government, and that it
is contrary to every patriotic instinct to vote in a minority
against the Government. The size of that minority will affect
the whole course of European policy, the whole course of the
war. I have stated the problem as it presents itself to my
mind. I know that you are men of conscience and honour, and I
must leave it to you to decide the problem, each man in his own
case as his conscience and honour dictate. To the House at
large I can only make one appeal. It is that we, who are the
representatives of the country, may rise to the height reached
by those whom we represent. I ask no more, and I can ask no
more, of the House than that they should imitate, for they
cannot exceed, the courage, steadfastness, resolution, and
firmness under adversity, and the calmness of temper with
which our countrymen all over the world have dealt with the
situation in its entirety. If the House of Commons do, as no
doubt they will, imitate, for they cannot better, the conduct
of those who have sent them here, then who can doubt that the
clouds by which we are at present surrounded will in a short
time be dissipated and the Empire will issue from the struggle
in which it is now engaged stronger, not only in its own
consciousness of strength, but in the eyes of the civilised
world."
[Illustration: SERGEANT OF THE IMPERIAL YEOMANRY.
Photo by Gregory & Co., London.]
In the end, by 352 to 139--a majority of 213--the vote of censure on the
Government moved by Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice was defeated. The decision
adequately expressed the feelings of the country. It must be remembered
that many of the Government supporters were in South Africa,
consequently a total poll of 491 represented a heavy vote. The following
list serves to show the number of members of both Houses who had
sacrificed party spirit to patriotic convictions, and had proceeded to
the front:--
HOUSE OF LORDS.--Earl of Airlie, commanding 12th Lancers; Earl
of Albemarle, lieutenant-colonel, City of London Imperial
Volunteers; Lord Basing, major, 1st Dragoons; Lord Castletown,
special service, South Africa; Lord Chesham, commanding a
battalion of Imperial Yeomanry; Earl Cowley, lieutenant,
Imperial Yeomanry; Lord Denman, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry;
Earl of Dudley, D.A.A.G. for Imperial Yeomanry; Earl of
Dundonald, C.B., major-general, commanding 3rd Brigade (Natal)
Cavalry Division; Earl of Dunraven, captain, Imperial Yeomanry;
Earl of Erroll, special service, South Africa; Earl of Essex,
second in command of battalion of Imperial Yeomanry; Earl of
Fingal, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Lord Kitchener of
Khartoum, G.C.B., K.C.M.G., Chief of the Staff; Earl of
Leitrim, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Earl of Longford,
captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Lord Lovat, captain, Lord Lovat's
Corps; Duke of Marlborough, staff captain for Imperial
Yeomanry; Lord Methuen, K.C.V.O., C.B., commanding 1st Division
in South Africa; Duke of Norfolk, K.G., captain, Imperial
Yeomanry; Lord Roberts of Kandahar, K.P., G.C.B., G.C.I.E.,
G.C.S.I., V.C., Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief; Lord
Romilly, special service, South Africa; Lord Rosmead, major,
6th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers; Duke of Roxburghe,
lieutenant, Royal Horse Guards; Earl of Scarborough, second in
command of battalion of Imperial Yeomanry; Earl Sondes,
lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Duke of Westminster, A.D.C. to
Governor; Lord Wolverton, second lieutenant, Somersetshire
Yeomanry Cavalry; Lord Zouche, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry.
HOUSE OF COMMONS.--Mr. W. Allen, trooper, Imperial Yeomanry;
Hon. A. B. Bathurst, captain, 4th Battalion Gloucester
Regiment; Colonel A. M. Brookfield, commanding battalion of
Imperial Yeomanry; Lieutenant-Colonel R. G. W. Chaloner,
commanding battalion of Imperial Yeomanry; Hon. T. H. Cochrane,
captain, 4th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders; Lord
A. F. Compton, captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Viscount Cranborne,
commanding 4th Battalion Bedford Regiment; Mr. W.
Bromley-Davenport, captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Sir J.
Dickson-Poynder, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Viscount
Folkestone, major, 1st Wilts Volunteer Rifle Corps; Mr. W. R.
Greene, lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Hon. J. Guest,
lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Mr. G. Kemp, captain, Imperial
Yeomanry; Mr. E. H. Llewellyn, major, 4th battalion Somerset
Light Infantry; Mr. H. L. B. McCalmont, commanding 6th
battalion Royal Warwick Regiment; Mr. F. B. Mildmay,
lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry; Viscount Milton, lieutenant,
Imperial Yeomanry; Mr. D. V. Pirie, with Remounts Department,
South Africa; Lord Stanley, special service, South Africa; Lord
Edmund Talbot, special service, South Africa; Viscount
Valentia, A.A.G. for Imperial Yeomanry; Major W. H.
Wyndham-Quin, captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Major the Hon. H. V.
Duncombe, adjutant, Imperial Yeomanry; Sir Elliott Lees,
captain, Imperial Yeomanry; Sir S. Scott, lieutenant, Imperial
Yeomanry.
KIMBERLEY
There was little bombardment after the 25th of November, and though not
living on the fat of the land, the garrison was not short of provisions.
Mr. Rhodes, with characteristic forethought, now caused the formation of
a committee to inquire into the resources of those dependent on the men
killed, with a view to compensating them for their loss, and in other
ways exerted himself for the welfare of sufferers in the town.
Considerable friction occurred between the civil and military
authorities. The clashing of wills was inevitable in so small an area,
for Colonel Kekewich represented military power, while Mr. Rhodes could
be no other than he is, and ever has been--a power in himself. It was
unfortunate that two such forces should have been placed in collision,
but it remains to the credit of both that, in spite of the tension of
the situation, they should have co-operated to the end to save the town
from the common enemy, and protect the interests and lives of all who,
but for this co-operation, might have suffered much more intensely than
they did.
Early on the morning of the 9th of December a force with a battery under
Colonel Chamier--to whom the efficient and mobile condition of the
artillery was due--made a reconnaissance to the north. The Lancashire's
Mounted Infantry and two guns were posted on Otto's Kopje while the Cape
Police protected the Dam Wall. The Kimberley Light Horse in the centre
extemporised some rifle-pits out of some prospectors' huts in order to
cover retreat when necessary.
The enemy were screened by the debris of a wall at Kamfeens, but when
the boom of the British gun burst out and a shell roared in their midst,
they hurriedly sought cover in their foremost rifle-pits, whence with
great energy they "sniped" in the direction of the officers who were
superintending the operations. Meanwhile tremendous barking of cannon
and pinging of rifles continued, the Boers having got the range of Otto
Kopje to perfection. The troops had an exceedingly hard time, but
continued their operations till dusk. They lost only one killed and four
wounded.
On the wise principle that it is safer to act early on the aggressive if
you do not want to have to act late on the defensive, the smart little
force indulged in more military movements.
[Illustration: SHELL PICKED UP IN KIMBERLEY STREETS. Photo by Alf. S.
Hosking, Cape Town.]
Colonel Kekewich's general plan for the defence of Kimberley was based
on the principle of always keeping the enemy on the move and constantly
in fear of attack from an unexpected quarter, but the immediate object
of the numerous sorties and demonstrations in force now made by the
garrison was to assist the operations of Lord Methuen. The Colonel
explained that, "when the advance of the Relief Column from the Orange
River commenced, and I was put in possession of information concerning
the probable date of its arrival at Kimberley, I adopted such measures
as I hoped would cause the retention of a large force of the enemy in my
immediate neighbourhood, and thus enable the Relief Column to deal with
the Boer force in detail." As the portions of mounted corps were
continually employed, the work which fell on the detachment, 1st Batt.
Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, Cape Police, Diamond Fields Horse,
Kimberley Light Horse, and the Diamond Fields Artillery, was very
arduous; but the bravery and dash of these troops was unending. Colonel
Murray, of the Loyal North Lancashire, was invaluable in many
capacities, and Captain O'Brien of the same regiment, in command of a
section of the defences, was unfailing in energy and zeal. Cool as the
proverbial cucumber were Major Rodger of the Diamond Fields Horse and
Major May of the Diamond Fields Artillery. The motto of these officers
was the reverse of that of the notable _gens d'armes_, for they were
"always there when wanted," and generally in the fore-front. The
officers of the Kimberley Regiment, too, were conspicuous for courage,
coolness, and sagacity. They knew as by intuition what was wanted and
did it. From Colonel Finlayson, who commanded the regiment, to
Surgeon-Major Smith, who tended the wounded in the field, there was none
who did not contribute to the stock of efficiency which was placed at
the disposal of the Colonel.
On the 20th of December, the mounted detachments under Colonel Peakman,
with maxims and 7-pounders under Colonel May, started off in the pitch
darkness of 2 A.M., and marched through Kenilworth in the direction of
the wreck of Webster's Farm, and on towards Tollpan in the Free State.
British cannonading then took place, the Kimberley guns shelling Tollpan
Homestead at 2500 yards' range, and the Boer gun on Klippiespan ridge
returning the compliment with interest. Fortunately the hostile shells
burrowed deep in the sandy soil, and consequently little damage was
done. The Boers were found to be very comfortably situated at the three
corners of a six-mile triangle--at Coetgie, Scholtz, and
Alexandersfontein--commanding three separate sources of water supply.
This reconnaissance was of importance, as the positions of the enemy's
guns and outposts were determined, and the garrison was enabled to be on
guard against raiders and snipers, and to protect itself, its patrols,
and cattle from the fire of the enemy. In the matter of protecting the
cattle from the tricks of the Dutchmen, as in many other ways, Mr. Fynn,
manager of the De Beers farms, did splendid service. This gentleman was
Mr. Rhodes's right-hand man, and as a natural consequence of the honour
he enjoyed rose to every occasion that offered, now managing a corps of
scouts, now superintending the conveyance of food, now dealing with
truculent natives, and always conducting his varied avocations with
immense energy and tact.
[Illustration: Lieutenant. Captain. Adjutant.
THE ROYAL LANCASTERS.
Photo by Gregory & Co., London.]
On the 22nd of December a good deal of martial activity took place. At
cockcrow a detachment of mounted forces, with artillery and infantry,
went west for the purpose of reconnoitring Voornitzright and part of
Weldermstkuil. On the right were the Diamond Fields Horse under Major
Rodger, supported by a company of the North Lancashire Regiment under
Lieutenant de Putron. Presently an animated cannonade began between the
enemy's artillery from Kamferdam and the Diamond Fields Artillery guns
on Otto's Kopje. In the centre Colonel Peakman, with the Kimberley Light
Horse and Cape Police, proceeded along Lazaretto Ridge. There, before
retreating, he made the necessary discoveries--firstly, that the Boer
patrols were then the only occupants of the place, and secondly, that
the enemy's reinforcements were advancing behind Wimbledon Ridge.
Meanwhile Colonel Chamier on the left, with R.A. guns and an escort
under Major Snow, was exchanging salutations with the Boer guns
posted in the earthwork in the centre of Wimbledon Ridge. This
occupation was pursued for some time, during which the enemy were found
to be rapidly approaching. Directly the guns were limbered up some 500
Boers came on the scene, and began to pour a fierce fire from the
earthworks at the foot of the Ridge upon the Kimberley troops, who
retired to cover. The object of the reconnaissance was gained, however,
for it proved in what an inconceivably short space of time the enemy
could summon his reinforcements, and, moreover, that three of his guns
were yet in the neighbourhood of the town.
On Christmas Eve congratulations were received by flashlight signals
from the Military Secretary at Cape Town:--
"Convey to Colonel Kekewich and all the garrison and
inhabitants of Kimberley his Excellency's best wishes for their
good luck on Christmas Day and in the coming New Year."
Colonel Kekewich replied:--
"Kindly inform the Military Secretary that I and the garrison
and inhabitants of Kimberley thank his Excellency for his kind
message. We also wish respectfully to offer our very best
wishes for Christmas and New Year."
This little interchange of compliments caused infinite pleasure to those
whose days were one unvarying round of trial and suspense. The weather
was exceedingly hot; at times the thermometer registered 105° in the
shade, and life without absolute necessities in torrid weather is trying
even to the patience of the active. To those whose intercourse with the
world was confined to flashlight signals, it was barren in the extreme.
But with much pluck they thus announced their sentiments in a journal
called the _Diamond Fields Advertiser_, which still maintained a
languishing existence: "Excepting two or three of our inhabitants who
shared the terrible privations of the siege of Paris, few of us have
ever spent such a Christmas before, and few will ever care to spend such
a Christmas again. The scarcity of turkeys and plum-pudding at this time
of traditional plenty need only distress the gourmand. The majority of
the people of Kimberley are happily made of sterner stuff, and do not
look for luxuries in a time of siege." They were nevertheless not
utterly plum-puddingless. Mr. Rhodes, with characteristic forethought,
had caused to be cooked in the Sanatorium some two score of these
bombshells to digestion, and had distributed them in each of the camps.
Here they were devoured with much merrymaking and a general interchange
of felicitations, which went on by telephone from one camp to another.
From the Mounted Camp to the Royal Artillery: "Best wishes and longer
range to your guns." From the gunners, in return, while they kept one
ear open for movement in the direction of the Boers' "Susannah:" "May
our range be always long enough for us to be guardian-angels to the
Mounted Corps."
On the following day the artillery was at work responding to the salutes
of the Boers, who commenced to fire with great activity after their
Christmas rest. They dropped some thirty-five shells in the direction of
the fort, and received nineteen well-directed replies. Two of the mines
were fired by the thunderstorm of the previous night, but no one was
injured. Food now was becoming more and more scarce, and those connected
with the distribution of provisions had to exercise much forethought and
economy.
The task of arranging for the victualling and supply of the garrison and
40,000 people in the town was undertaken by Major Gorle, Army Service
Corps, and the zeal and resource which he brought to bear on his onerous
duties were applauded on all sides. Of course there were found persons
who, on the take-everything-from-everybody-else-and-give-it-all-to-me
principle, thought they were badly treated, but these were the exception
rather than the rule. The arrangements for milk were made by a special
civil committee, consisting of Mr. Oliver, the Mayor, whose courage and
energy in keeping up the spirits of the people were wonderful, Mr.
Judge, and four visiting surgeons of Kimberley Hospital, Doctors Ashe,
Watkins, Mackenzie, and Stoney. These made themselves notable for the
untiring energy with which they devoted themselves to their incessant
duties. They kept a sharp eye on the milk, serving it out cautiously at
the depôt, and only to those who had a medical certificate that they
required it. The Colonel was very appreciative of the help given by most
of his civilian coadjutors, for, in reference to the difficulties of his
position, he stated in his despatch: "It will be realised that, under
the peculiar circumstances in which the defence of the scattered town,
containing over 40,000 inhabitants and much valuable machinery, was
entrusted in the first instance to a force consisting of about 570
Imperial troops and 630 Colonial troops, my efforts would have been of
no avail had it not been for the valuable assistance and advice which
many citizens afforded me in a military as well as a civil capacity."
Mr. Henderson, Captain Tyson of the Kimberley Club, and Dr. Smart
collaborated with the ruling spirit of the place, organising relief
committees, distributing thousands of pints of soup per diem, and
apportioning such fruit and vegetables as were to be had for the good of
those who were most sorely in need. That green stuffs were scarce may be
gathered from the fact that the allowance for nine people for half a
week was a bunch of five carrots, four liliputian parsnips, and several
beets (duodecimo editions). The garrison, later on, were glad of
mangel-wurzels, when quantity rather than quality came to be
appreciated.
The Boers were now beginning to build redoubts on Dronfield Kopjes,
about a mile east of the railway and in a northerly direction, showing
that whatever withdrawals might be going on from besieged places
elsewhere, the City of Mines would receive its due of attention up to
the last. The Boer prisoners inside the town presented quite a
rejuvenated appearance, owing to the delicate attentions of Mr. Rhodes.
Christmas saw them provided with new outfits, and a general air of
cleanliness and health pervaded them. The invalids in hospital, both
British and Boers, were visited frequently by the Colossus, whose
generosity in the matter of delicacies, which were now very scarce, was
highly appreciated.
Much of the Kimberley news was obtained through the energy and
acuteness, almost amounting to genius, of the despatch-runners. Of
these, Mr. Lumming of Douglas succeeded in getting in and out of the
town with missives for and from Mr. Rhodes, always at tremendous risk.
The Boers had offered a large reward for his capture. On one occasion,
so as to evade observation in a district swarming with the enemy, he had
to travel quadruped fashion on hands and knees for some thirty miles.
Tales of the despatch-runners' ingenuity in all parts of the Colony were
many. One Kaffir boy, though caught by the Boers and stripped by them,
carried his despatch safely, it having been packed in a quill and hid in
his nostril, while another--a canny Scot--concealed his treasure in the
inmost recesses of a hard-boiled egg.
On the morning of the 27th of January the mounted troops under the
indefatigable Colonel Peakman at an early hour reconnoitred the Boer
position near the Premier mine. The Boers were indulging in a last
little doze, when some shells were neatly dropped into their laager. The
alarum was effective. They were up and doing in no time, and set to work
firing with the utmost vigour, but their shots were not accurate and
much waste of ammunition took place. It may be remembered that Colonel
Peakman, Kimberley Light Horse, after the death of Colonel Turner was
selected for the command of the mounted troops in Kimberley. A tower of
strength of himself, he was surrounded by a gallant crew, among whom
were Major Scott, V.C., Captains Ap-Bowen and Mahoney (both severely
wounded on the 25th of November), Captains Robertson and Rickman. There
were also in the corps several lieutenants conspicuous for dash and
daring, notably Lieutenants Hawker (wounded 22nd November), Harris, and
Chatfield. Of the Colonel an amusing tale was told, which, if not
_vero_, was certainly _bentrovato_, and served to cheer up those who
needed to salt the monotonous flavour of daily life. It fell to the duty
of Colonel Peakman to introduce horse-flesh at the officers' mess, a
ticklish task, and one that required considerable tact. When the dish
was served, the Colonel said, "Gentlemen, as I was unable to get the
whole of our ration in beef, a part of it had to be taken in
horse-flesh. Here is the beef," said he, carving at the joint opposite
him, "that at the other end of the table is the horse. Any one who
prefers it may help himself." No one accepted the invitation, and after
there had been a great run on the beef, the Colonel suddenly said, "By
Jove, I'm mistaken; of course _this_ joint is the horse, the other is
the beef!" Thus the palates of the heroes of the Kimberley Light Horse
were educated to the fare that was shortly to become unvaried.
Later on, a chunk of donkey occasionally replaced the equine morsel, and
cats, it was noticed, began to be less in evidence. There were
whispers--hints---- But to proceed to facts.
On the 29th a tussle took place between the foe and a man named Sheppy,
who, with twelve mounted natives, was herding a thousand De Beers horses
and mules. The cattle-drivers were at work when out from the bushes
rushed a hundred Boers. These at once opened fire, but the herdsmen
managed to return it and effect their escape.
The transformation of diamond-diggers into warriors was an entire
novelty, of which Kimberley boasted not a little. The entire community
of the De Beers Company were now soldiers of the Queen, receiving the
same rate of pay as before, with food in addition. The total white
population in the town was 14,000, and of these 6000 were employés of
the mine, men from Natal. The Company worked wonders--of course under
the auspices of the ruling genius of Kimberley. They stuck at nothing,
from assisting with food supplies--distributing soup in gallons--to
providing for the employment of upwards of 4000 natives in making
improvements in the town. Sanitation too they undertook when contractors
failed, and, when the supply of water was cut off at the main reservoir
by the enemy, they came to the rescue by providing another source of
water supply.
Owing to the excellent management and regulation of stores, the
community had hitherto been enabled to live at normal prices, and food
had been within the reach of all. But now the pinch of the siege began
to be felt. Luxuries such as eggs, vegetables, &c., were naturally
scarce, but horse-flesh even grew to be limited, for there was little
forage left. The tramcars ceased to work, and Dr. Ashe predicted that
presently there would be "no carts save military ones and the doctors'
and the hearse!"
People had to take their meat allowance half in beef and half in
horse-flesh, and the over-fastidious were but meagrely nourished. These,
however, soon came to "take their whack" of horse-flesh gladly, and some
even declared that horse, by any other name, would be quite appetising!
Conversation largely consisted of speculations regarding food or its
absence, and once or twice there was a rub with the military. Dr. Ashe
expressed himself frankly when confronted with red-tape difficulties,
addressed the Colonel--of course, minding p's and q's, for people had to
look to the dotting of i's and crossing of t's in those days--and
suggested that, "in matters which affected the health and feeding of the
people," the doctors thought that, in virtue of their knowledge of town,
climate, and people, they might be consulted. The objection to the
red-tape difficulty being proved sound, the Colonel at once altered the
routine, but, said Dr. Ashe, "he flatly declined to ask any opinion from
the general body of doctors, as they might have ideas which would affect
the military situation."
[Illustration: "LONG CECIL," MADE AT THE DE BEERS MINES. Photo by D.
Barnett, War Correspondent.]
The new gun, "Long Cecil," manufactured in De Beers, was greatly prized.
It distinguished itself on its début by plumping a shell in the centre
of the Kamfersdam head-laager exactly over the position of the
Dutchmen's gun. Bombardment continued spasmodically, sometimes at night,
the shells entering several houses and "making hay" of the furniture;
but wantonly barbarous was the attack on the laager containing the women
and children, which took place on the 23rd of January. One of the little
innocents was killed and another probably maimed for life. On the 24th
more bombardment began as early as four in the morning, and firing
continued all day. The worst feature in the affair was the
attack--deliberate and premeditated it appeared--on the hospital, which
caused general grief and indignation. There was no excuse for such
inhumanity, as the place was distinguished by two Red Cross flags.
Very lamentable was this habit of the Boers to violate the sacred rules
of the Geneva Convention, for it alienated even those who were in
sympathy with their cause. They could not plead ignorance of the rules
of warfare, for at one time they ignored these rules to play the
barbarian, while at another they utilised them to act the poltroon. The
history of the Convention may not be generally known. It was promoted in
1864 and subsequently signed by all the Continental Powers. It was
decided that--
1. Ambulances and military hospitals were to be recognised as neutral,
and as such to be protected and respected by all belligerents.
2. The _personnel_ of these hospitals and ambulances, including the
_intendance_, the sanitary officers, officers of the administration, as
well as military and civil chaplains, were to be benefited by the
neutrality.
3. The inhabitants of the country rendering help to the sick and wounded
were to be respected and free from capture.
4. The sick and wounded were to be attended to without distinction of
nation.
5. A flag and a uniform were to be adopted for the hospitals,
ambulances, and convoys of invalids; an armlet or badge for the
_personnel_ of the ambulances and hospitals.
6. The badge was to consist of a red cross on a white ground.
Committees were formed throughout Europe and America to carry out this
convention, and the Society worked under the title of the "International
Society of Aid for the Sick and Wounded." It played its first important
part in 1870 in the Franco-German War, before which time battlefields
had been scenes of almost inhuman torture.
Now, in consequence of the brutal disregard of a world-appreciated
agreement, the Boers--in many ways men of fine character--were placing
themselves beneath contempt. Their conduct also to the loyalists and
non-belligerents was also causing exasperation.
The ministers of all denominations--Wesleyan, Presbyterian, Baptist,
Congregational, and Jewish--all united in condemning the Boer Government
and its methods. They were especially scandalised at the inhumanity of
the Dutch commandoes, who intermittently poured shells not only into the
heart of the town, but into the suburbs, where women and children were
known to congregate, while leaving for the most part unmolested the
forts occupied by the citizen-soldiers. Homes were destroyed mothers and
children stricken down, and some killed. These might have been looked
upon as the accidents of war had it not been confessed in Boer papers
that such acts were deliberately committed and vaunted.
Spasmodic bombardment took place during the evening of the 24th, and
continued through the night, striking some buildings--the hospital and
other defenceless positions--and maiming a woman and her child. Another
child was killed. Profound admiration was expressed by all in the
achievements of "Long Cecil," and the utility of the new long-range
weapon was highly appreciated. Indeed, Mr. Rhodes viewed this Kimberley
masterpiece with quite a paternal eye, and his pleasure in firing it was
considerable.
Enough could not be said of the splendid valour and pertinacity of the
townspeople, who co-operated in the warlike proceedings as though they
had been to the manner born. Though the fortification belt was some
twelve miles in circumference, at all points it was protected by these
amateurs of the sword, who, under no military obligations whatever till
sworn in on the immediate emergency, rose to the occasion with a
chivalric warmth that was as perfectly amazing as it was admirable.
Devotion to the Sovereign Lady who rules the Empire was never more
steadfastly shown and more ardently maintained.
The zeal and the "go" of the Cape Police was notable. Among the most
prominent of the corps were Colonel Robinson, gallant Major Elliot and
Major Ayliff (wounded on December 3), who was brave as he was tactful.
Perpetually useful and conspicuously gallant were Captains Colvin,
Crozier, White, and Cummings. Their duties, most difficult, were almost
interminable.
Life was monotonous in the extreme. From the town it was possible on
clear days to view the Modder River balloon, and the occasional sight of
it afforded a stimulus to the drooping spirits of the inhabitants. Its
rotund form floating so peacefully high in air seemed like a harbinger
of hope promising and consoling, and teaching the lesson of patience and
perseverance that overcome all things! Of course, it was only the
sentimentalists of the community who thus interpreted the language of
the aërial monster, but these, like the people who find sermons in
stones, promptly took heart, and bore their trials with renewed dignity
and pluck. Both these qualities were in great demand, for the Boers and
their tactics were exhausting to the patience of the most forbearing.
Their pertinacity was great. At one moment they would pour shells into
the town, making hearts palpitate or stand still in horror at the
gruesome fracas; at others they would persistently "snipe" from hidden
corners and bushes, and render movements in the open, to say the least
of it--inconvenient.
Sniping always continued, though, for a day or two, no serious
bombardment took place. Indeed, there was reason to believe that a Boer
gun was _hors de combat_. The report came in that "Susannah" had burst.
There was general jubilation. Later on it filtered out that "Susannah"
was "all serene," but this was doubted. The sanguine hoped against hope.
We are ready enough to believe what we wish to be true, and finally, for
want of something to discuss, the question of "Has she burst, or has she
not burst?" was bandied about in the tone of a popular riddle.
Unfortunately "Susannah" was intact, as subsequent experience proved.
Not only was "Susannah" herself again, but it was reported that a
considerable Boer reinforcement had arrived in the neighbourhood, and
that three guns from Spyfontein were being ranged in attitude to defy
"Long Cecil," whose prowess was more decided than pleasant. Still the
inhabitants bore up very creditably, and enlivened themselves
continually with concerts or entertainments of some kind. The
programmes, it must be noted, were always marked "weather and Boers
permitting"--a modern adaptation of the customary _D.V._
The Boer spies took a lively interest in all that concerned Mr. Rhodes,
and hopes were entertained that before long some one would receive the
price of his capture. But this gentleman pursued his avocations in the
town and its suburbs with unabated interest, arranging for the comfort
of the refugees, and evincing paternal solicitude in the laying out of
new suburbs, and the construction of a regular row of bomb-proof
shelters, which were being excavated at Kenilworth. People now became
great connoisseurs on the virtue of brick, old and new, and began to
mistrust corrugated iron as affording less protection from the artillery
fire of the enemy. They became judges also of shell--of the
peculiarities of shrapnel and ring shells--and sapiently discussed the
merits of time fuses and percussion fuses. Food, however, was the prime
subject of conversation--a subject of "devouring" interest, some one
said. The refugee fund now amounted to £3000, owing to the united
subscriptions of Mr. Rhodes and the De Beers Company. It was none too
much, as the demand on its resources was some £600 weekly.
[Illustration: LIEUT.-GENERAL THOMAS KELLY-KENNY, C.B.
Photo by C. Knight, Aldershot.]
The Colossus, regardless of the fate that hung over the town, continued
to make plans and projects for the development of the place. On a high
plateau he purposed to create a new suburb, and the name will doubtless
bear a relationship to the great events of 1900. A column was in course
of erection to commemorate the siege, but the tale of bombardment, writ
large on many of the buildings, is one that will scarcely be forgotten,
and forms memorial enough. Some curious damage was done, a shrapnel
shell electing to penetrate the wall of a draper's shop and wound a
feminine dummy and smash a wax effigy of a boy used as a clothes model.
Fortunately few human beings suffered. Great precautions were taken for
the safety of the inhabitants, and a look-out was kept, so as to give
warning by whistle whenever the smoke of the enemy's guns breathed a
hint of coming destruction. A calculation was made as to the sum total
expended by guns, British and Dutch, and it was discovered that
Kimberley had fired 1005 shells, while the besiegers had spent three
times that number. The total loss of life attributable to shell fire
amounted at this date to about twelve killed.
Affairs within the town were now growing almost as bellicose as affairs
without it. Continued friction generates heat, and of this throughout
the siege there had been more and more as time went on. It was quite
evident that Kimberley was not sufficiently large to afford an arena for
the combat of brains _versus_ military discipline, and that the patience
of the besieged was nearing the snapping-point. Indeed there was doubt
as to whether operations for the relief of Kimberley would be pursued,
and it is averred that the Commander-in-Chief sent a message to Mr.
Rhodes, saying, "Hope I shall not be compelled to leave you in the
lurch." Naturally the Kimberley barometer fell to zero. Then came
rumours of the coming of Lord Roberts, but these scarcely served to
allay the general impatience.
A curious incident occurred on the 29th. Some thirty-five Zulus took
their departure. They had been ordered by their chief to leave the town,
but when they obeyed they had promptly to return, as they encountered
the Boers, who threatened to shoot them.
At this time food was becoming more and more scarce; even horse-flesh
was distributed with caution. Milk was obtainable only by the invalids,
and some four hundred babes died for want of proper nourishment. It was
pathetic to see people standing at the Town Hall waiting eagerly to take
their turn for the scanty portion of meat that could be provided for
them. The ceremony of the drawing of meat rations had an aspect almost
comic in its desperate seriousness. Matutinally at 5.30 A.M. might be
seen a vast concourse of persons scampering in hot haste to gain a front
place. So animated was the early bird to catch its morning worm, that it
was up and doing before the regulated hour, 5.30 (fixed by
proclamation), before which time people were forbidden to leave their
houses. The police put a stop to this superactivity, and hungry persons
were seen from five to the half-hour waiting patiently at their gates
till the exact moment should arrive when they could make a dash for a
place in the tremendous crush which, two by two, gathered outside the
market.
Marvellous was the rapidity with which this vast crowd, at hint of a
shell, would drop to earth. As by some mechanical process there would
come a bang, and then, like a card castle, the whole procession would
drop flat. The Boers, knowing, most probably, that this was an eventful
period of the morning, would invariably start off about six with a
boisterous "good-morrow."
Gradually the rations grew shorter and shorter and shorter. They now
consisted mainly of horse-meat, served out every second day, mealie
meal, stamped mealies, with a sparse allowance of tea, coffee, and
bread. For those who had children under three years of age one tin of
milk was allowed. With this strong children could get along well, but
there were many weakly ones, and these waned and waned till the baby
funerals became pathetically frequent.
The Dutchmen were exceedingly ingenious in the invention of tricks and
traps. One of these was to move a waggon with sixteen fat oxen in charge
of but two men into the open Vlei below Tarantaal Ridge, and there to
leave it, apparently unguarded, for two hours. They thought that this
bait would lure forth the cattle-guard, but they were disappointed, for
the authorities were too acute to allow them to get "a bite." They knew
that in rear of the Vlei was a deep sand-drift, behind which a large
body of men might be comfortably concealed, and consequently left waggon
and cattle severely alone.
After this began the bombardment by a new Boer gun--a diabolical
instrument, whose perfections were hymned by an artillery expert, who
declared it to be one of the most perfect pieces of ordnance ever made!
A correspondent in the _Daily Telegraph_ described the terrifying effect
produced on the nerves of the sick and the weakly. He went on: "The
shock caused by the firing of this gun was distinctly perceptible five
feet under ground at a distance of five miles, and the miniature
earthquake thus created was clearly registered by the new seismograph at
Kenilworth, the pendulum of which remained perfectly stationary during
the firing of the smaller guns, or the passage of the most heavily laden
trains or vehicles at very close quarters."
The 9th of February was a terrible day. There was crashing and booming
from morning till night, and no one dared venture abroad. One inhabitant
had his child killed under his very eyes and his wife mortally stricken
down. Towards sundown a shell struck the Grand Hotel, killing Mr.
Labram, the De Beers chief engineer, whose valuable brains had been the
salvation of the place. He had constructed armoured engines, armoured
trains, and had completed his ingenious labours by constructing the huge
4.1-inch gun, with carriage and shells complete--a triumph of science
considering the conditions under which the achievement was attempted.
Now he was gone, and Kimberley was vastly the poorer.
The bombardment was growing daily more severe. Each time the Boers fired
their 100-pounder gun a bugle was blown from the conning tower and all
ran to cover. There would be an interval of seven minutes between every
shell, and the bombardment would last for about two hours. Then the
Boers would take a rest, and, after a breathing spell, begin again. By
the kindness of Mr. Rhodes the mines now became harbours of refuge for
thousands of women and children, who, huddled together in the 1200-feet
level, were thus protected from the shells which were launched in the
midst of the town. Those days in dark diamondiferous caverns were full
of strange experiences. There, over a thousand shrinking beings found
asylum, bedding, food, and such comfort as could be secured for them.
There, babes were born into the world--human diamonds brought into the
daylight from the grottoes of the millionaires--babes which surely
should take some strange part in the drama of the century. It was an
underground village swarming with the weak and the distressed, a
feminine populace, kept from panic and despair by the man who, large
enough to make empires, yet proved himself capable of sympathy with the
small sorrows and quakings of the sick and the fearful.
[Illustration: PLACARD ERECTED BY MR. RHODES. Photo by F. H. Hancox,
Kimberley.]
The experiences of a lady who enjoyed the hospitality of the mine were
scarcely exhilarating. She said: "We went down the mine, but only stayed
one day. Of course, one felt safe, but it was so miserable; still, it
was another siege experience, the crowds of people down there. On the
1000-feet level were 500 persons alone, and the buzz of tongues, and
the children crying, and the noises altogether, besides the damp, were
horrible; although Mr. Rhodes and those working under him did all in
their power to make things as comfortable as possible. Hot coffee, soup,
bread, milk for the children, everything obtainable was sent down; and
some thousands of people were fed free of charge from the Saturday night
till the following Friday morning.... Those people who run down Mr.
Rhodes should have been here during the four months of the siege. The
soup-kitchen was another of his institutions, threepence a pint for good
soup, and those who had no money got it free."
Now that the nerve-destroying capabilities of the Boers' 100-pounder gun
were proved, and Mr. Rhodes and other citizens were conscious of the
immense amount of danger to town and life that must result from the
bombardment, the Colossus, in conjunction with the Mayor and others,
forwarded to Colonel Kekewich a letter which he begged might be
heliographed to headquarters. The letter ran:--
"KIMBERLEY, _February 10_.
"On behalf of the inhabitants of this town, we respectfully
desire to be informed whether there is an intention on your
part to make an immediate effort for our relief. Your troops
have been for more than two months within a distance of little
over twenty miles from Kimberley, and if the Spytfontein hills
are too strong for them, there is an easy approach over a level
flat. This town, with a population of over 45,000 people, has
been besieged for 120 days, and a large portion of the
inhabitants has been enduring great hardships. Scurvy is
rampant among the natives; children, owing to lack of proper
food, are dying in great numbers, and dysentery and typhoid are
very prevalent. The chief food of the whites have been bread
and horse-flesh for a long time past, and of the blacks meal
and malt only. These hardships, we think you will agree, have
been borne patiently and without complaint by the people.
During the last few days the enemy have brought into action
from a position within three miles of us a 6-inch gun throwing
a 100-lb. shell, which is setting fire to our buildings and is
daily causing death among the population. As you are aware, the
military guns here are totally inadequate to cope with this new
gun. The only weapon which gives any help is one of local
manufacture. Under these circumstances, as representing this
community, we feel that we are justified in asking whether you
have any immediate intention of instructing your troops to
advance to our relief. We understand large reinforcements have
recently arrived in Cape Town, and we feel sure that your men
at Modder River have at the outside 10,000 Boers opposed to
them. You must be the judge as to what number of British troops
would be required to deal with this body of men, but it is
absolutely necessary that relief should be afforded to this
place."
To this Lord Roberts replied:--
"I beg you represent to the Mayor and Mr. Rhodes as strongly as
you possibly can the disastrous and humiliating effect of
surrender after so prolonged and glorious a defence. Many days
cannot possibly pass before Kimberley will be relieved, as we
commence active operations to-morrow. Future military
operations depend in a large measure on your maintaining your
position a very short time longer."
A great deal of gossip hung round the suppression of the _Diamond Fields
Advertiser_, but the whole affair was merely a storm in the ink-pot
resulting from the clashing of opinions civil and military. After the
publication of a leading article on the 10th of February, an article
with which Mr. Rhodes was entirely in accord, the military censor
addressed the following letter to the editor:--
"ARMY HEADQUARTERS, KIMBERLEY, _February 10, 1900_.
"Sir,--Since the _Diamond Fields Advertiser_ has now on two
occasions printed leading articles on the military situation
which are extremely injurious to the interests of the army and
the defence of this town, without previously submitting the
same to the military censor, I am directed to inform you that
from this date the proof of the _Diamond Fields Advertiser_
must be submitted to me before the copies of any daily number,
leaflet, or other form of publication is issued to the public.
"I am further requested to inform you, in your own interests,
that on the two occasions referred to you have committed the
most serious offences dealt with by the Army Act, under which
Act you are liable to be tried.--Yours faithfully, W. A.
O'MEARA, Major, Military Censor."
The military censor was within his rights. The editor, after the manner
of editors, did not care to be muzzled, so the _Diamond Fields
Advertiser_ was temporarily suspended.
The editorial chair at the time was not an enviable berth, owing to the
invasion of shells from the 100-pounder gun, therefore the holiday may
have been beneficial in more ways than one.
The new gun, mounted on the kopje at Kamferdam, was determined to make
life hideous, and so incessantly swept the neighbourhood that a state of
panic began to prevail even among those who had hitherto borne
themselves with unconcerned front. In addition to this perpetual tornado
of horror the pinch of famine was becoming sharper, and the question of
relief seemed to be growing into one of "now or never." Despair seized
on many. They began to count the days, and wonder when it would all end,
and whether indeed it would ever end at all! Two days--three days--five
days--the 15th of February! Then, dramatically, as in a fairy tale or a
stage play, came the rumour of help, the whisper that French, the
gallant, the energetic, the invincible, was coming, as on the wings of
the wind--coming to restore freedom to those who, in their tedious
imprisonment, were fainting with hope deferred. In an instant all was
changed. The rumour became reality. Colonel Kekewich and his staff rode
forth, and it was as though the good fairy had waved a wand. In an
instant the dismal streets seemed to grow gaudy with flags, to flutter
and flare as with the hues of the butterfly. Panic ceased, and gave way
to almost hysterical joy. People laughed, chaffed, threw up their hats.
The mines disgorged their human wealth--some thousand of women and
children, who came forth alacrious, with swinging step and loudly
babbling--babbling like mountain torrents let loose from the ice of
winter! It was a scene for painter, not for penman; for who shall
describe wrinkles of anxiety swept suddenly away, pangs of hunger
allayed by thrills of glad excitation, nervous exhaustion magically
forgotten, and all this simply because there was dust in the
distance--the dust of coming feet--the dust of the British cavalry
sweeping nearer and nearer on a glorious errand of deliverance!
Five minutes later the looked-for moment had arrived. Anticipation had
given way to fact--the 124 days' siege was at an end. Yet there were
some who could scarce believe their ears. A man, hearing that General
French had arrived, approached a trooper who was holding a horse outside
the Club, and asked if the good news was true. "Yes," was the reply;
"I'm 'is horderly; this is 'is 'at, and over there is 'is 'orse!" And
the Kimberley man stared at the three objects before him as though he
could never take his fill of satisfaction.
GENERAL FRENCH'S RIDE
And now, as the conjuror says, to explain how it was all done. The
object of the combined movements was to turn Cronje's position, which
extended west and east from Majersfontein to Koodoesberg Drift on the
one side towards Klip Drift on the Modder on the other, to relieve
Kimberley, and, if possible, cut off the retreat of the Boers to
Bloemfontein and invest the whole force. This stupendous programme was
unfolded to General French and his A.A.G. Colonel Douglas Haig at the
time already mentioned, when the great cavalry leader mysteriously ran
down from Colesberg to the Cape. Here the plans for the future campaign
were discussed, and here General French agreed to embark on an
enterprise which had it failed in a single particular might have brought
about "such a disaster as would have shaken England's dominion in South
Africa to its very foundation." This is the opinion of Captain Cecil
Boyle, a splendid young officer, who, when asked to join General
French's staff as galloper, was almost overcome with joy. But the plan
did not fail: indeed it succeeded beyond expectation, and the relief of
Kimberley, accomplished solely by the mounted troops--said to be the
largest force ever commanded by a British General--was a feat scarcely
to be excelled in the annals of warfare. This feat was performed between
the 11th and the 15th of February, during which the Division experienced
hardships of every kind. Horses and men were worked incessantly,
without a day's rest and in a broiling sun, which literally baked every
portion of the human frame exposed to it, and grilled the eyeballs,
causing the most acute suffering to man and beast. Supplies and forage
ran short, and the horses were reduced to 1½ lb. of corn a day, while
the men lived finally from hand to mouth, killing and eating as they
went along, now a sheep, now a goat, and presently nothing but boiled
mealie cobs. Water was so scarce, and the sufferings of the animals so
terrible, that when a stream was once encountered, the brutes, wild with
an anguish of delight, tore towards it in their frantic career, becoming
absolutely beyond control, and carrying their riders straight into the
river. Some in this way were drowned. Many horses died of exhaustion. At
the end, out of 8000, only 5400 remained. But all discomforts were
forgotten in the success of the achievement, which from first to last
was conducted with admirable _finesse_ and consummate dash. Indeed this
marvellous ride is looked upon by those who could technically criticise
the difficulty and daring of the enterprise as one of the finest
achievements of British arms.
On the 11th of February the great cavalry division under General French
started. With marvellous rapidity, and with a vast amount of mystery,
the troops had gathered together in the neighbourhood of Enslin or
Graspan, and commenced to move south-east on the now celebrated march
for the relief of Kimberley. So swiftly was everything planned, and so
dexterously was it accomplished, that even the wary Cronje, whose spies
were everywhere, was incapable of believing that the detested rooineks
were advancing with the rapidity of a cyclone for the purpose of
sweeping him and his burghers from their comfortable positions. But a
clean sweep they made nevertheless. Before the British advance Dutchmen
fled precipitately from their farms, leaving their sweet mealie pap _in
statu quo_, and all their effects exactly as they had been using them.
They carried to Cronje wild rumours of British multitudes approaching,
and preparing to make a last frontal attack upon Majersfontein, rumours
which exactly suited Lord Roberts' strategic plan. Cronje instantly
primed himself for the reception of the British, strengthening his
fortifications and keeping his eye on the west, where he knew the
Highland Brigade was operating. This again was precisely what Lord
Roberts had intended him to do.
Meanwhile, in the light of the stars, the great cavalry division with
its batteries of artillery was on the move, rumbling cautiously through
the mysterious, Boer-haunted regions under the guidance of the Hon.
Major Lawrence, Chief of the Intelligence Department, and travelling
many miles before sunrise on its important journey to Ramdam. Here
horses were watered, men rested, details and remounts from Orange River
picked up. On the morning of Monday the 12th, the troops were again on
the move, starting at 3 A.M., and endeavouring to cover as many miles as
possible before the sun should rise and make the whole earth into a
scorching, blistering wilderness. But now, in return for the cool night
air, they had to contend with jetty obscurity. Very slow, therefore, was
their progress. When helped by the dawn they got along faster, and soon
the whole division reached Waterval. Here extra precautions were taken,
for none knew how many Dutchmen might be ensconced in the surrounding
kopjes or whether the drift might be swarming with Boers. But they were
not long left in doubt. A Boer shell greeted the troops with such nicety
of range that the General and his staff barely escaped. Colonel Eustace,
R.H.A., immediately turned his attention to the hostile gun, and shortly
silenced it, but the enemy still held on.
Dekiel's Drift is commanded by kopjes, having on the bank an
octopus-armed donga which cuts deeply into the soil. At this drift the
Boers endeavoured to make a stand, but the Mounted Infantry and Roberts'
Horse were too much for them. Unfortunately, Captain Majendie, second in
command of the latter regiment, was shot from Drift Kopje, in the shadow
of which his remains were interred. There was no time for expression of
mourning and regret; the Boers had to be routed, and presently, finding
their rear threatened, they went streaming away from their strong
position, taking with them their guns. After this the drift was taken
possession of, and in the rays of the setting sun the disciplined
hosts--brigade after brigade--crossed the Riet River, keeping possession
of both banks.
Horses and men were wearied out, scorched, and famishing, and there was
a general sense of relief when at last they were joined by Lord
Kitchener and staff and the Sixth Division, with convoys of provisions
and fodder. At dawn on Tuesday a great deal had to be done--breakfast
finished, nose-bags filled, &c., before it was possible to order the
advance. Day was well developed by the time the brigades had started,
and now came the exceeding trials of their march. The level veldt was
like a mirror to a brazen sky, and all through the sweltering hours when
the sun blazed its strongest, men and horses, shadeless, parched, and
sparsely fed, moved on mile after mile on their imperative errand
without pause and without relief. Even a beautiful well of water, which
tempted them to distraction, had to be passed by untouched. It was
necessary to reserve it for the infantry, who were following on the
morrow. So dry, dejected, yet determined, they went on and on, crossed
the districts of Poortje, Zwart Kopjes, Kromkuil, and made a brief halt
at Wegdraai. From thence they swung along past pans and kopjes and
plains, due north to Klip Drift.
[Illustration: THE DASH FOR KIMBERLEY--THE 10th HUSSARS CROSSING KLIP
DRIFT.
Drawing by John Charlton, from a Sketch by G. D. Giles, War Artist.]
Captain Boyle, in the _Nineteenth Century_, gave a fresh and spirited
account of their movements on this important and critical march.
"The distance covered in extended order was great, and to save the
artillery horses Major Lawrence directed the columns by a slight
_détour_ north-easterly, leaving Jacobsdal some seven or eight miles to
our left. The heat was now intense, and was further increased by the
accidental burning of the veldt over a large area, thereby destroying
our field-cable, as we learnt afterwards. From flank to flank the
distance was so great that at times the General's gallopers could not
move their horses out of a walk, though the message was important, and
everywhere men and horses alike suffered from sun and thirst.
"General Gordon's brigade, far away on the left, was ordered to bring up
its left shoulders to meet what looked like an attack on the right, but
the guns of the 1st Brigade put the enemy to flight, and the march was
resumed in slightly different order. The left brigade, under General
Gordon, was ordered to advance; the centre brigade, under General
Broadwood, was deployed to the right; and the right brigade, under
Colonel Alexander, was ordered to follow in the rear. From a little
stone-covered knoll the General and his staff scanned the distant river
and its banks eight miles off, and instantly determined to push on for
the drift. 'Move up the whole division,' and the three gallopers started
back with the order to the brigades, which had been halted meanwhile.
General Gordon on the left, with the 9th and 16th Lancers and his guns,
and General Broadwood on the right, with the 12th Lancers, Household
Composite, and 10th Hussars, moved off at once; but Colonel Alexander's
brigade was far in the rear--he had already lost sixty horses, and the
rest could move but slowly. The artillery horses could scarcely drag
their guns and waggons, but still the General determined to force the
drift; and I believe this decision was one of the most critical in the
relief of Kimberley, for, had we not gained the drift directly our
presence was known, the enemy would most certainly have fortified a very
strong natural position. But the General's mind was made up, and he was
quick to act. Throwing Gordon on to the left to effect a crossing, and
Broadwood some five miles away on his right, the advance to the river
was made so swiftly that the enemy were absolutely surprised. After
shelling for some time, Gordon crossed and went in pursuit. Only four
guns out of twelve could come into action in the centre, but with such
effect that the enemy shortly retreated over the hills. By this time
General Broadwood had crossed on the right, and his brigade trumpeter
sounded the 'pursue.' The general rout was now complete--camp, waggons,
everything was in our hands. New bread was lying about on the veldt and
dough-tins ready to be placed on the fire, with such haste had the Boers
left their position.
"My horse had died with my last message to the 1st Brigade, and I
trudged on over the level veldt partly on foot, partly on ammunition
waggons, over the last five miles, crossed the Modder River with the
four guns of P and G Batteries, and went to congratulate the General,
who was sitting on the north bank, on his splendid achievement; for by
this last forced march of nearly ten miles he had won half his way to
Kimberley. Little incidents after the rout were full of the humour that
hangs around everything grave. One of the staff plunged into the river
and caught some geese, but some one else ate them; a pig ran the
gauntlet through the camp--amidst roars of laughter, even from the
serious General--of lances, bayonets, knives, sticks, boots,
water-bottles, anything to hand, and at length was caught by a lucky
trooper, who shared his feast that night with his friends. A waggon of
fresh fruit was taken, sufficient to make thirsty men's mouths water,
but some thought the grapes were sour. Why the Boers retreated in such a
hurry is difficult to understand, for the position and drift were very
strong and easy to defend, especially against a spent foe; and, but for
the quickness of the advance over the open veldt, which took the Boers
completely by surprise, the division would have encountered a very nasty
opposition."
The Dutchmen were pursued with splendid animation by General Gordon's
jaded brigade, who succeeded, worn out as they were, in capturing some
ambulance waggons and some Boer doctors; while General Broadwood's
brigade, also worn out, chased the Boers into the far distance till
absolute exhaustion forced the abandonment of the pursuit. So at the
drift the cavalry division enjoyed its terribly needed repose. They had
gone through an appalling ordeal, but it had been wonderfully
surmounted, and the command of river both at Klip Drift and Klip Kraal,
some miles to the east, had been secured.
On the 14th the Boers still continued to buzz about after the fashion of
mosquitoes--now advancing, now retiring, worrying and annoying, but
never coming boldly to the attack.
They made strong efforts to fathom the movements and designs of the
British, but without success. Colonel Gorringe, Chief of Lord
Kitchener's Staff, now arrived, and announced that Lord Kitchener and
General Kelly-Kenny were advancing by night from Dekiel Drift, whereupon
Captain Laycock, A.D.C., rode out and succeeded by midnight in
conducting these officers safely to camp. In the small hours the Sixth
Division, after a hard and really glorious march, which must be
described anon, arrived. Thus his left flank being secured, General
French was free to pursue his impetuous ride. This he did after handing
over to the infantry the positions he had gained. While the cavalry
division moved out, Kelly-Kenny's division--as in the game of "general
post"--quickly shifted to the vacant place, thus making any return of
the fleeing Boers impossible.
The three cavalry brigades then drew up in columns of brigade masses,
with the seven batteries of horse-artillery on their left, where the
strongest attack from the laager near Kimberley was expected. How far
the Boers were aware and prepared for the British move was uncertain,
but it was decided that at all costs the cavalry would cut through them.
Operations began with the shelling and capture of two laagers on the
north side of the river, and the way being thus cleared of the enemy,
the division made its way to a point where it was met by the contingent
from the Modder River. The force, now increased by Scots Greys,
Household Cavalry, and two Lancer Regiments, numbered some 10,000 men,
seven batteries of horse-artillery and three field-batteries.
Scarcely had the brigades proceeded before the Boers opened fire, and
soon men and gunners fell, and horses riderless and pairs devoid of
drivers were seen rushing madly over the plain. From a kopje on the
right came the rattle and roar of musketry, which was replied to by the
guns of the horse-artillery. There was no doubt now that a horde of
Boers were hiding in front, and that the way forward was only to be
gained by a desperate plunge. There was no hesitation. General Gordon
and his gallant men were ordered to charge and clear the right front,
and the thing was done. Away went the 9th and 12th Lancers, galloping
for all they were worth, on and on like a flash of avenging lightning.
At sight of the human avalanche the Boers, who had been "raining hell"
from their trenches, suddenly threw up Mausers and hands; but it was too
late, the whirlwind was upon them, and over a hundred Dutchmen bit the
dust. Others ran helter-skelter, a whimpering and shouting rabble!
Now came the greatest sight that military men have witnessed for
years--the rush of the legions across the great plain of
Alexandersfontein. This vast area, about three to five miles square, is
surrounded by menacing kopjes, which harboured Boers rendered desperate
by surprise and consternation. Across the open the Lancer regiments and
Scots Greys as advance guard, with the rest of the force deployed at ten
yards' intervals, rushed like a hurricane, a sirocco in the desert.
Boers still showered down their lead, but the cavalry, heedless,
thundered along, throwing up a volume of dust, while kopje after kopje
was swept by the mounted infantry. The enemy was dispersed on every
side.
Five long miles the race of the centaurs continued--centaurs galloping
as if for dear life--Carabineers and Greys leading the main body, the
12th Lancers on the left, the Household Composite Regiment with the 9th
Lancers on the right--a regal show, and one worth a lifetime to have
witnessed.
[Illustration: TYPICAL UNDERGROUND DWELLING AT KIMBERLEY.]
At De Villiers the exhausted warriors watered their horses and strove to
gather together the poor brutes for a final effort. Many were
sun-stricken, others had simply used themselves up. The speed that was
to outwit Cronje had to be paid for in horse-flesh. But, owing to that
speed, much loss of human life was spared. Lieutenant Sweet Escott (16th
Lancers) had fallen early in the day, but considering the fire of the
enemy it was a marvel that only one officer had been killed. One man was
also slain, and there were about thirty wounded.
[Illustration: THE LAST STAND MADE BY THE BOERS BEFORE KIMBERLEY--CHARGE
OF BRITISH CAVALRY IN THE ENGAGEMENT AT KLIP DRIFT.
Drawing by W. S. Small, from a Sketch by G. D. Giles, War Artist.]
At two o'clock the troops were halted at the base of a small kopje, from
the crown of which it was possible to descry the chimneys of Kimberley
in the distance. It was as though they had sighted the Promised Land. Up
went a mighty cheer from a thousand throats, ringing almost against the
vault of the burnished heaven, and echoing far and wide among the
threatening Boer-haunted kopjes! Kimberley was on the eve of relief.
The trial, the trouble, the turmoil were over! The triumph was won! On
went the Division, riding now with all their might, and at sight of them
the enemy, hot-foot, commenced to gallop into space. Soon the Division
was within sight of the suburbs, and their guns were addressing
themselves to a Boer laager on the east of the town. The extra uproar
struck fresh alarm in the people of Kimberley, who had been driven
distraught by the Boer's 100-pounders, and a message was flashed out,
"The Boers are shelling the town." Then came the answer--the glorious
answer--"_It is General French coming to the relief of Kimberley_." The
news to the imprisoned multitude seemed incredible. They dreaded lest it
might be a new wile of the Dutchman, and, to make assurance doubly sure,
flashed out a fresh query. But by sunset the British troops had
appeared: the whole force, battered, bronzed, but jubilant, was
galloping into Beaconsfield.
STRATEGY _VERSUS_ TACTICS
Some one has said that strategy is a permanent science whose principles
are immutable, while tactics vary with the variations of weapons and
modes of warfare. The first example of this permanent science was
presented only when Lord Roberts came to South Africa, but so complete
and skilful, and withal so subtle, was the initial demonstration, that
its fruits within ten days of his arrival at the front were ready to
drop to his hand. Looking back, the plan of Lord Roberts' operations
appears simple in the extreme, but at the time only masterly conception
and accuracy of execution could have ensured success for so complicated
a programme. To appreciate its subtlety and its neat execution, it
becomes necessary to follow the other portions of the programme,
beginning from the entry into the Free State of the enormous army that
was massed on its borders by Monday the 12th. On that day three
divisions of infantry, the 6th, 7th, and 9th, General French's division,
two brigades of mounted infantry under Colonels Hannay and Ridley
respectively, the artillery under General Marshall, consisting of three
brigade divisions of horse-artillery, two brigade divisions of
field-artillery, one howitzer battery, and a Naval Contingent of four
4.7-inch and four 12-pounders, marched from Graspan and Honeynest Kloof
through Ramdam. The total field force amounted to 23,000 infantry and
11,000 mounted men, with 98 guns, and a transport of over 700 waggons
drawn by nearly 9000 mules and oxen. Later on the artillery was
reinforced by the arrival of a battery of 6-inch howitzers, throwing
100-lb. shells, and three Vickers-Maxim quick-firers and the Brigade of
Guards, which had remained opposite the Boer trenches at Majersfontein.
The following table serves to show roughly the disposition of the
troops:--
FIELD-MARSHAL LORD ROBERTS' FORCE
FIRST DIVISION.--(Lieutenant-General Lord Methuen).--1st
(Pole-Carew's) Brigade--3rd Grenadier Guards; 1st Coldstream
Guards; 2nd Coldstream Guards; 1st Scots Guards. 9th
(Douglas's) Brigade--1st Northumberland Fusiliers; 1st Loyal
North Lancashire (half); 2nd Northamptonshire; 2nd Yorkshire
Light Infantry; 18th, 62nd, 75th Field Batteries.
SIXTH DIVISION.--(Lieutenant-General Kelly-Kenny).--12th
Brigade--2nd Worcestershire, 1st Royal Irish, 2nd Bedfordshire,
2nd Wiltshire (half battalions). 13th Brigade (Knox's)--2nd
East Kent; 1st Oxfordshire Light Infantry; 1st West Riding; 2nd
Gloucester; 76th, 81st, and 82nd Field Batteries; 38th Company
Royal Engineers.
SEVENTH DIVISION.--(Lieutenant-General Tucker).--14th
Brigade--2nd Norfolk; 2nd Lincoln; 1st King's Own Scottish
Borderers; 2nd Hants. 15th Brigade--2nd Cheshire; 1st East
Lancashire; 2nd South Wales Borderers; 2nd North Stafford;
83rd, 84th, and 85th Field Batteries; 9th Company Royal
Engineers.
NINTH DIVISION.--(Major-General Sir H. Colvile).--3rd
(Highland) Brigade (MacDonald's)--1st Argyll and Sutherland;
1st Highland Light Infantry; 2nd Seaforth Highlanders; 2nd
Royal Highlanders (Black Watch). 18th Brigade--1st Essex; 1st
Yorkshire; 1st Welsh; 2nd Royal Warwick.
CAVALRY DIVISION.--(Major-General (Local Lieutenant-General)
French).--1st Brigade (Broadwood)--10th Hussars; 12th Lancers;
Household Cavalry. 2nd Brigade (Porter)--6th Dragoon Guards;
6th Dragoons (two squadrons); 2nd Dragoons; New Zealanders;
Australians. 3rd Brigade (Gordon)--9th Lancers; 16th Lancers;
Horse Artillery; G, P, O, R, Q, T, U Batteries.
TROOPS WITH LORD ROBERTS.--Gordon Highlanders; 2nd Duke of
Cornwall's Light Infantry; 2nd Shropshire Light Infantry;
Canadian Regiment; Roberts' Horse; Kitchener's Horse; City of
London Imperial Volunteers (Mounted Infantry Company); 2nd,
38th, 39th, 44th, and 88th Field Batteries; A Battery R.H.A.;
37th and 65th Howitzer Batteries; three Naval 4.7-in. guns;
part of Siege Train.
It will be seen by the above that General Colvile had been appointed to
the command of the Ninth Division, while Colonel Pole-Carew was
transferred from the command of the Ninth Brigade to that of the Guards
Brigade, and was succeeded in the former post by Colonel Douglas, late
Chief of the Staff to Lord Methuen.
Having viewed this force, it becomes somewhat interesting to note how
smoothly wheel turned within wheel. The movement began by the
concentration of General French's division at Ramdam. On the morning of
the 12th the infantry appeared, and General French moved on, crossed
Dekiel's Drift on Tuesday the 13th, and captured Klip Drift and Drieput
Drift, on the Modder River. Following him closely on the 12th came the
divisions of General Tucker and General Kelly-Kenny. The latter division
was accompanied by Lord Kitchener and his staff. The negotiation of the
first drift, which was almost impassable for transport, next occupied
the ingenuity and tested the perseverance of the troops. The drifts,
like the kopjes, are the almost unconquerable bogies of South Africa.
They are the natural defences of the country, offering obstruction on
every hand, and, however boldly you may storm the kopje, you must with
infinite patience negotiate the drift. This is no small undertaking, for
drifts, in a way, partake of the paradoxical character of
individuals--the weaker the person, the more difficult is he to manage;
the more insignificant the river, the greater the perverseness of the
drift. It resolves itself in both cases into a question of narrowness.
Small streams and small minds are banked up too high to allow moving
room in their midst. The result of an attempt to advance is congestion
of a painful kind. At this particular drift it was found impossible for
the team of mules to lug the formidable waggon-loads up the north bank,
and at last the feat had to be accomplished by adding relays of oxen to
assist in the tremendous labour. Finally, by 4 A.M. the next morning the
troops got across, General Tucker's division marching to within some
three miles of Jacobsdal, and hugging the river all the way, so as to
run no risk of being without water. General Kelly-Kenny followed,
marching from Waterval Drift to Wegdraai on the morning of the 14th, and
proceeding thence at 5 P.M. on the same day to Klip Drift, which was
reached in the middle of the night. The rapidity with which this rush on
his heels was accomplished enabled General French, who had been awaiting
the arrival of the infantry, to proceed on his flying swoop for the
relief of Kimberley. This, as we know, was accomplished on Thursday the
15th of February. Meanwhile the wheels of the strategic machinery were
going round. A small cavalry patrol had entered Jacobsdal, which town
was found to be full of wounded, including many of our own invalids from
Rensburg. On the way back the mounted infantry were attacked, and
Colonel Henry was fired on by a party of Dutchmen who were concealed in
the vicinity of the river, and so sudden was the attack that nine men
were wounded. Colonel Henry, Major Hatchell, and ten men were missing. A
battery of artillery shelled the environs of the place, and put to
flight such Boers as were hanging about, whereupon the British remained
masters of the situation. Thus it will be seen that while the Dutchmen
were fleeing from Jacobsdal, from Alexandersfontein, and from the
neighbourhood of Kimberley, for fear of being cut off, they had
surrounding them Lord Methuen at Majersfontein, General Tucker at
Jacobsdal, General Kelly-Kenny at the Klip and Rondeval Drifts, General
French on the north, and General Colvile wheeling around, ready to suit
his movements to any emergency. In this manner Cronje found the teeth of
a trap preparing to close on him, and recognised that there was no
alternative but to "make a bolt for it."
Thus the first part of the programme was accomplished. Kimberley was
automatically relieved; Cronje was on the run. But his running was no
easy matter. Since Lord Roberts' strategy had come into play, there was
a prospect of a neck-and-neck race between the mobile Boer and the
mobile Briton, and success depended on General French's ability not only
to rout but to head off the retreat of the Dutchman. That the British
cavalry commander should outmatch him in celerity was a contingency
which had not occurred to Cronje; that he should advance independently
of the rail, and start off across the Riet to trek to the Modder, was
described by one of his countrymen as distinctly "un-British." Whether
this epithet was used to denote admiration or contempt we cannot say.
Certain it was that the wily persecutor of Mafeking and Kimberley
thought that the secret of the art of trekking was confined to himself
and his rabble, until he discovered, too late, that the equally wily
French with his disciplined legions was ready to ride over him. On the
16th of February the astonished commandant, with a horde of 10,000
Boers, was scudding in full retreat towards Bloemfontein. On all sides
were Boer laagers in a state of abandonment--stores, tents, food,
Bibles, raiment--everything had been left by the amazed and
panic-stricken Dutchmen. Dronfield, Saltpan, Scholtz Nek, and Spyfontein
were now evacuated. Under cover of darkness the investing hordes had
taken to their heels, leaving behind them even herds of cattle and
ammunition, in their desire to gain a loophole of escape. But they soon
found that, wherever they might go, there was the rumour of British
opposition, an armed and avenging race advancing!
The fact was that the trekking of the Boer hordes had been adroitly
discovered by Lord Kitchener, who, having detected an unusual haze of
dust in the distance, at once gave orders for the mounted infantry not
to follow French, but to pursue the enemy. Accordingly, to quote the
_Times_ correspondent, who was present:--
"The mounted infantry rode in pursuit across the plain, endeavouring to
get to the north of the convoy, while General Knox's Brigade was pushed
along the north bank of the river, which makes a large bend to the north
between Klip Drift and Klipkraal Drift, to strike the convoy on its
southern flank. Cronje sent on his waggons to Drieputs Farm, at the
north-eastern end of the bend, where they laagered at about eleven, and
maintained a running fight with our troops all day. The skill with which
the Boers conducted this rear-guard action extorted unqualified praise
from all our officers. As the detachments on the extreme right of the
Boer line were driven back by our mounted infantry, they rode round
behind their centre and took up fresh positions on their left against
the 81st Battery and Knox's Brigade, which were advancing along the
north bank of the river. At midday the Boers attempted to hold three low
kopjes two miles north-east of Klip Drift, but were driven back to a
stronger position at Drieputs."
[Illustration: CAPTURE OF A BOER CONVOY BY GENERAL FRENCH'S TROOPS NEAR
KIMBERLEY.
Drawing by Stanley L. Wood, from a Sketch by an Officer.]
Fighting went on throughout the day. At seven o'clock on the evening of
the 16th it became almost possible to see the end; the artillery had
commenced the vigorous shelling of the laager, and all the divisions
moving on the great axis were now aware that Lord Roberts' strategic
plan was likely--how soon they knew not--to be crowned with success.
But we must here break off to eulogise the wonderful activity of
Kelly-Kenny's division, which acquitted itself so honourably. The march
from Graspan to Brandvallei beyond Klip Drift, a distance 55¾ miles, was
accomplished in five marching days. The Light Brigade on the eve of the
battle of Talavera did sixty-two English miles in twenty-six hours,
losing only seventeen stragglers by the way. They accomplished this feat
by adopting the peculiar step invented by Sir John Moore, three paces
walking alternating with three paces running, which enabled them, when
tracks were suitable, to cover six miles an hour! No such evolutions as
these were possible, owing to the torrid weather and the necessity to
take precautions against exposure in the open veldt during midday. The
temperature may be imagined when it is stated that in one day about
sixty-six soldiers sun-stricken fell out of the ranks. On the morning of
the 12th of February the infantry marched some nine and a half miles
from Graspan to Ramdam, and from thence on the 13th moved to Waterval
Drift. On the 14th they proceeded to Wegdraai, and on to Klip Drift,
which was reached in the small hours of the 15th. Here, notwithstanding
their fatigues, the 13th Brigade at once engaged with the enemy's
rearguard, and exhibited splendid fighting qualities, which in the
circumstances were remarkable even for Englishmen. The West Riding,
Gloucesters, Buffs, and Oxfords had a warm time during the whole of the
16th, as the enemy from kopjes beyond the river in the region of
Klipkraal assailed them for nearly eight hours, assisted by a pom-pom
which caused considerable loss. Though a furious sandstorm later on
permitted the Boers under cover of night to get away, abandoning
seventy-eight waggons, the next morning the invincible Sixth Division
started in pursuit. Captain Trevor (1st East Kent Regiment), Lieutenant
Shipway (2nd Gloucester Regiment), and Colonel M'Donnell, R.A., were
wounded in the course of the engagement. Major Evelegh, Oxford Light
Infantry, while proceeding to join his battalion in the Sixth Division
with a small convoy and escort, was surrounded by a large party of
Boers, and after a gallant defence was forced to surrender.
Fighting and marching without ceasing, the infantry went to Brandvallei
and thence to Paardeberg, where they arrived at 9.30 P.M. on the 17th,
in time to take a brief rest prior to the operations which have yet to
be described, and in which they took such a prominent part. The
marching, considering the tremendous heat and the difficulty of
obtaining water, was a feat of which General Kelly-Kenny might justly
have felt proud. Though plodding along incessantly through the heavy
burning sand under a sun which baked and frizzled even through their
uniforms, these men maintained patience and cheerfulness in a rare
degree. The whole force was animated by complete faith in their
commander, and moved unanimously like some magnificent piece of
machinery, scarce taking time to eat or sleep in the zest of their
persistent pursuit of the enemy. And they were not alone in their
zealous performance of their share in the great scheme. The nicety and
precision of the transport arrangements may be imagined when we remember
that at one time four divisions were moving independently of their base,
making marches across the arid waterless tracks, and carrying with them
the necessaries of life for a healthy working multitude. A new regime
had begun, and the mobility of our columns had grown equal to that of
the Boers, while the railway had been relegated to a subordinate place
in the strategical plan.
Colonel Graham, in his "Art of War," declares that "to organise the
means of transport for an army acting at a long distance from its
principal magazines, in a country where it is entirely dependent on its
own supplies, is a problem difficult of solution." Now, the solution of
this problem was due to the wonderful talent of Lord Kitchener, who was
earning his right to be looked upon as the greatest military organiser
of his generation. But his gigantic effort did not increase the
popularity of the late Sirdar. He ran counter to too many private
interests. The army is too intersected with grooves to be crossed
without a few nasty jars, and it was scarcely possible for so young and
successful a general and a peer--one possessed of almost criminal good
luck and amazing moral as well as physical courage--to be looked upon by
his contemporaries-in-arms with excessive approval. The secret of
discord was given in a nutshell by Mr. Ralph of the _Daily Mail_. He
wrote:--"His first conspicuous act when in South Africa was the
withdrawal of the transport service from separated commands in order
that it should be managed by the Army Service Corps. Thus it came about
that every brigadier and colonel saw a certain amount of his power
shifted to what he considered a subordinate branch of the service. A
goodish degree of latitude in the enjoyment of comforts and extras,
which had been made possible when these officers controlled the waggons,
was also curtailed. The army wailed and gnashed its teeth, but I confess
I always thought that reason and right were on Lord Kitchener's side in
this matter. Lord Kitchener's plan was the only one by which an
insufficient number of waggons and teams could be utilised for all that
they were worth."
The mobility of an army depends on the reduction of transport, and to
the task of organising transport sufficient to ensure the mobility of
100,000 men the hero of Omdurman applied himself with his customary
thoroughness. He conceived the gigantic ambition of doing away with all
distinctions of transport, regimental, departmental, ammunition, or
ambulance, and merging them in an immense whole, thus creating a single
general corps, and it was doubtless to this conception and the able way
that the scheme--with the assistance of Colonel Richardson--was carried
out, that Lord Roberts owed the expedition of his march to Bloemfontein
and the further success which resulted from his sure and swift rushes
onward. Ordinarily speaking, in the army each unit is allowed its own
transport. For instance, colonel, adjutant, and orderly-room are
allotted by regulation a tent apiece. Every three officers share a tent,
every fourteen men another. Staff-sergeants, batmen, and other details
are proportionately provided for. Mounted officers are allowed 80 lbs.
baggage, double the amount allowed for "smaller fry." Without going into
minute particulars, we may reckon that a brigade would move with 70
waggons and a division with about 180. To reduce the huge encumbrance of
say some 2000 waggons, with their complement of oxen and drivers, was a
stupendous labour, from which, with its consequences, this military
Hercules did not shrink. Each unit was taken in hand, and its
excrescences--regulation excrescences, we may call them--were cut down,
peeled of all superfluities, much to the disgust of the staff officers
and various other personages who stickle for their rights, and resent
any innovation that threatens to dock off an iota of the creature
comforts that belong to them by the divine right of red-tape and
red-book regulations.
Not only were the rules of transport revised, but special hints tending
to the development of the initiative of the private soldier were issued
to the troops. Herewith is appended the notable document which may be
said to have marked the beginning of the new era:--
CAPE TOWN, _February 5, 1900_.
The following notes by the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief
are communicated for the guidance of all concerned.--By order,
KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM, _Chief of Staff_.
NOTES FOR GUIDANCE IN SOUTH AFRICAN WARFARE
_Cavalry_
1. On reconnaissances or patrols not likely to be prolonged
beyond one day, the cavalry soldier's equipment should be
lightened as much as possible, nothing being taken that can
possibly be dispensed with.
2. It has been brought to my notice that our cavalry move too
slowly when on reconnaissance duty, and that unnecessary long
halts are made, the result being that the enemy, although
starting after the cavalry, are able to get ahead of it. I
could understand this if the country were close and difficult,
but between the Modder and the Orange Rivers its general
features are such as to admit of small parties of cavalry,
accompanied by field-guns, being employed with impunity.
_Artillery_
3. If the enemy's guns have, in some instances, the advantage
of ours in range, we have the advantage of theirs in mobility,
and we should make use of them by not remaining in position the
precise distance of which from the enemy's batteries has
evidently been fixed beforehand. Moreover, it has been proved
that the Boers' fire is far less accurate at unknown distances.
In taking up positions, compact battery formations should be
avoided, the guns should be opened out, or it may be desirable
to advance by sections or batteries. Similarly retirements
should be carried out, at considerably increased intervals, by
alternate batteries or sections, if necessary, and care should
be taken to travel quickly through the dangerous zone of
hostile artillery fire.
The following plan, frequently adopted by the Boers, has
succeeded in deceiving our artillery on several occasions.
Suppose A to be a gun emplacement, the gun firing smokeless
powder. Simultaneously with the discharge of the gun at A a
powder flash of black powder will be exploded at B, a hill in
rear, leading us to direct our projectile on B. Careful
calculation with a watch, however, will defeat this plan.
_Infantry_
4. The present open formation renders it difficult for officers
to exercise command over their men, except such as may be in
their immediate vicinity. A remedy for this would appear to be
a system of whistle calls, by which a company lying in extended
order could obey orders as readily as if in quarter column. I
invite suggestions for such a system of whistle calls as would
be useful.
5. It is difficult to recognise officers as equipped at
present, and it seems desirable they should wear a
distinguishing mark of some kind, either on the collar at the
back of the neck or on the back of the coat.
6. Soldiers, when under fire, do not take sufficient advantage
of the sandy nature of the soil to construct cover for
themselves. If such soil is scraped, even with a canteen tin, a
certain amount of cover from rifle fire can be obtained in a
short time.
7. The distribution of ammunition to the firing line is one of
the most difficult problems of modern warfare. One solution,
which has been suggested to me, is for a portion of the
supports gradually to creep forward until a regular chain of
men is established from the supports (where the ammunition
carts should be) right up to the firing line. The ammunition
could then be gradually worked up by hand till it reached the
firing line, where it could be passed along as required. This
would, no doubt, be a slow method of distributing ammunition,
but it appears to be an improvement on the present method,
which is almost impossible to carry out under fire.
8. Reports received suggest that the Boers are less likely to
hold entrenchments on the plain with the same tenacity and
courage as they display when defending kopjes, and it is stated
that this applies especially to night-time, if they know that
British infantry are within easy striking distance from them.
How far this is true time only can show.
ROBERTS, _Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa_.
To return, however, to the great advance. Much of the travelling was
done by night, in order to save the oxen from the trying temperature of
the day, though even during the night the heat was equal to that of an
ordinary British midsummer. In addition to the painful toil of motion
over the heavy, sandy, rugged leagues, there was the hourly danger of
attack. Cronje had made known his need for reinforcements, and at the
time, from the south, Andries Cronje was moving, and from the north,
Commandants Snyman and Fournie, while from other quarters and in the
direction of Ladysmith there was the belief that Boer hordes might be
advancing. There was only one encounter with the Dutchmen, but it ended
in a mishap that was a serious one, for the results were felt for days
afterwards, and helped to try the heroism of the troops who engaged in
the movement to the uttermost. A convoy of 180 waggons, one-quarter of
the total transport, containing forage and provisions, was lost at
Waterval Drift. An interesting picture of the terrible passage of the
drift was given by a sapper who accompanied the convoy:--
"It was a pitiful sight to see the poor infantry fellows played out,
some dropping with a slight sunstroke, and the cattle dropping dead in
all directions. We moved sometimes by day and sometimes by night.
Night-time was the best on account of the oxen working much better in
the cool of night. Nothing occurred of note with us--but our fellows
were fighting every day in front on their way to Kimberley--till we got
to Riet River or Drift, which was a terrible pass in the river. Miles
and miles of transport had to pass through a narrow passage across the
drift, and it took a terrible time for one waggon to pass over, let
alone the hundreds that had to pass. We were lucky to get across and
encamp below a hill for the night. Next day they still continued to pass
the drift, in fact they had been at it all night, and still hundreds of
waggons to come on. The Boers evidently knew of this obstacle, and a
party came up from the south and had vengeance on the column, as they
couldn't on the fighting line. It was a lucky thing for us we were
clear, or else we might have found our baggage gone and ourselves put
over the border (i.e. sent to Pretoria or shot). The Boers took up
position in the hills and shelled the waggon convoy. The nigger drivers
are terrible cowards, and all fled to the hills or kopjes near at hand,
leaving the waggons and oxen to the mercy of the Boers. Some of the oxen
we succeeded in driving back into our camp on the other side of the
river. The good old New Zealanders (who have proved of great use and
very daring in this campaign) rode over to where the nigger drivers
were, and threatened to blow their brains out if they didn't return to
the waggons, which they did after the Boers had left off shelling for a
bit, after doing a terrible lot of damage. Lord Bobs came up just as
they were going to try and get some of the waggons away, and said 'Let
them go.' Our loss proved to be over £100,000, which I am glad to say we
recovered later. The Boers thought this convoy was lost purposely, and
when we arrived here we found the whole of it except what had been sent
to our prisoners at Pretoria."
[Illustration: TROOP OF THE 10TH HUSSARS WITH NORDENFELDT GUN. Photo by
H. Johnston, London.]
The unpleasant adventures of E Squadron of Kitchener's Light Horse, who
were taken as prisoners to Pretoria, make a separate narrative of
themselves, as they took place while the main body was moving on to the
relief of Kimberley.
The squadron was attached to General French's column, and took part in
the engagement at Riet River. On its way to the relief of Kimberley, a
halt was made at a farm a short distance from Modder River, and part of
E squadron was detached to hold a well of water until the arrival of
another column, expected in four hours, and then to advance along with
them. The relieving column never arrived. Squadron E held the position
for four days without food against a large force of Boers. They (E
Squadron) occupied an old farmhouse. They loopholed the walls, and
although continuously harassed by the Boer fire, they managed to
maintain their position and the post they were placed in charge of.
During that time they had to subsist on water only, and that brackish.
Their horses were dying daily, as there was not a blade of grass on the
veldt, and the stench was abominable. On the third day of the siege a
poor goat that had wandered near the besieged was immediately captured
and devoured. On the fourth day they commandeered one of the enemy's
horses, which they intended to slaughter, their own being too emaciated
for that purpose. But the Boers, having been reinforced, gave them no
time to do the butchering. On the evening of the fourth day a messenger
bearing a letter from General de Wet arrived, demanding surrender within
ten minutes. The Boer force consisted of 500 men and two 12-pounders.
The officers consulted together, and decided, in view of the hopeless
condition of their little garrison of fifty all told, worn out and
starving and their horses dead, to accept the inevitable.
While all this was going on, and Cronje was making the discovery that he
might be completely outflanked, and that the position of the Boer army
at Spyfontein must become untenable, Lord Roberts was entering into
Jacobsdal. The place was orderly and quiet. The three churches were full
of patients, the town having been used mainly as an hospital. The
invalids, for the most part, were sufferers from enteric, the result of
too much Modder River. After a long and painful intimacy with the
grilling veldt, the sight of houses and civilised dwellings struck
gratefully on the eyes of the incoming troops. A store was hailed as a
veritable godsend. Some one bought a tin of oatmeal, and walked off with
it as one who had secured a prize; some one else gave a goodly price for
a pot of pickles, and came away licking his lips like a modern
Eliogabalus. The rejoicing was no mean emotion, for the unfortunate men,
with the appetites of athletes, had been existing on lovers' fare. One
of the famished but cheery fellows wrote: "We marched into Jacobsdal,
and as soon as we arrived we thronged the stores for provisions. I made
the following purchases for three of us:--
_s._ _d._
Three two-pound loaves at 1s. each 3 0
Three tins of condensed milk at 1s. each 3 0
Two tins of syrup at 1s. 3d. each 2 6
One small packet of cocoa 0 9
One tin of Quaker oats 1 3
One pound of sugar 0 6
--------
11 0
Then we gorged ourselves to make up for three weeks' semi-starvation.
The most prominent building of Jacobsdal is the church, which stands in
the centre of the town. The town itself lies in a hollow--Sleepy Hollow
would be an apt title for the place just now. Most of the houses,
including the church, are at present converted into hospitals, and the
female population are acting as nurses. Most of them are in mourning for
relatives lost during the campaign." Later, the troops moved on and
encamped at a farm which had also been used as an hospital. Sights
pathetic were only too common--our own sick and wounded in various
stages of suffering, and outside, to use a "Tommy's" description, "some
poor devils wrapped in sheets ready to be put to bed for the last time!"
[Illustration: GENERAL CRONJE.
From a Photo by M. Plumbe.]
Lord Roberts visited the large German hospital, and expressed himself
well pleased with the splendid cleanliness of the place and the general
evidences of good management. Among the sufferers was found Colonel
Henry, who had been taken prisoner on the 14th. Strangely enough, all
the inhabitants of the place evinced satisfaction at the arrival of the
British, particularly on making the discovery that it was not the habit
of the British troops to loot and destroy, as they had been led by the
Burghers to believe was the case. They were now made acquainted with the
proclamation which Lord Roberts issued to the Burghers of the Orange
Free State when his force invaded their territory. It was printed both
in English and Dutch:--
"The British troops under my command having entered the Orange
Free State, I feel it my duty to make known to all Burghers the
cause of our coming, as well as to do all in my power to put an
end to the devastation caused by this war, so that, should they
continue the war, the inhabitants of the Orange Free State may
not do so ignorantly, but with full knowledge of their
responsibility before God for the lives lost in the campaign.
"Before the war began the British Government, which had always
desired and cultivated peace and friendship with the people of
the Orange Free State, gave a solemn assurance to President
Steyn that, if the Orange Free State remained neutral, its
territory would not be invaded, and its independence would be
at all times fully respected by Her Majesty's Government.
"In spite of that declaration, the Government of the Orange
Free State was guilty of a wanton and unjustifiable invasion of
British territory.
"The British Government believes that this act of aggression
was not committed with the general approval and free will of a
people with whom it has lived in complete amity for so many
years. It believes that the responsibility rests wholly with
the Government of the Orange Free State, acting, not in the
interests of the country, but under mischievous influences from
without. The British Government, therefore, wishes the people
of the Orange Free State to understand that it bears them no
ill-will, and, so far as is compatible with the successful
conduct of the war and the re-establishment of peace in South
Africa, it is anxious to preserve them from the evils brought
upon them by the wrongful action of their Government.
"I therefore warn all Burghers to desist from any further
hostility towards Her Majesty's Government and the troops
under my command, and I undertake that any of them who may so
desist, and who are found staying in their homes and quietly
pursuing their ordinary occupations, will not be made to suffer
in their persons or property on account of their having taken
up arms in obedience to the order of their Government. Those,
however, who oppose the forces under my command, or furnish the
enemy with supplies or information, will be dealt with
according to the customs of war.
"Requisitions for food, forage, fuel, or shelter made on the
authority of the officers in command of Her Majesty's troops,
must be at once complied with; but everything will be paid for
on the spot, prices being regulated by the local market rates.
If the inhabitants of any district refuse to comply with the
demands made on them, the supplies will be taken by force, a
full receipt being given.
"Should any inhabitant of the country consider that he or any
member of his household has been unjustly treated by any
officer, soldier, or civilian attached to the British army, he
should submit his complaint, either personally or in writing,
to my headquarters or to the headquarters of the nearest
general officer. Should the complaint on inquiry be
substantiated, redress will be given.
"Orders have been issued by me prohibiting soldiers from
entering private houses or molesting the civil population on
any pretext whatever, and every precaution has been taken
against injury to property on the part of any person belonging
to or connected with the army.
"ROBERTS, _Field-Marshal, Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa_."
THE HERDING OF CRONJE
To return to General French. The cavalry division bivouacked outside the
town of Kimberley, but their repose was limited. At 3 A.M. on the
morning of the 16th they were up and doing. The enemy in the north was
giving trouble. Some sharp fighting took place, during which Lieutenants
Brassey (9th Lancers) and P. Bunbury were killed. This early activity
was tough work for the already weary troops, who had been fifteen hours
without a meal. Indeed, it was generally remarked that the relievers
looked sorrier specimens of humanity than the relieved. The Colonial
troops, the Queensland and New Zealand Contingents, and the New South
Wales Lancers, considering all things, were wonderfully fit after having
played a conspicuous part in the operations. These troops had joined
General French's column from the regions of the Orange and Modder
Rivers. The New South Wales Lancers rode on the extreme right flank of
the first brigade, and their ambulance corps, under Lieutenant Edwards,
kept up with the column, and was complimented on being the first
ambulance to cross the Modder River. Like the rest of the troops, they
had taken their share of small rations, merely nominal rest,
sun-scorching, and maddening thirst, and yet were full of zeal--"keen as
mustard," as some one said--to engage in the herding of Cronje and
effect his capture. Worn out as they were, they had sprung to attention
on a rumour brought in by a despatch-rider to the effect that Cronje had
evacuated Majersfontein and was in full retreat.
At midnight on the 16th, no confirmation of this news had been received.
The jaded troops, and still more jaded horses--mere skeletons in horse's
skins--were preparing for real repose, when all was changed! A telegram
arrived from Lord Kitchener saying that Cronje, with 10,000 men, was in
full retreat from Majersfontein, with all his waggons and equipment and
four guns, along the north bank of the Modder River towards
Bloemfontein; that he had already fought a rearguard action with him;
and that if French, with all available horses and guns, could head him
and prevent his crossing the river, the infantry from Klip Drift would
press on and annihilate or take the whole force prisoners.
Here was a surprise! Pleasant yet unpleasant, for shattered men in the
last stage of fatigue. But General French--whom some one has described
as possessing the shape of a brick, with all the solid and excellent
qualities of one--rose to the occasion. He was on the point of going to
sleep, but there was no thought of rest now. Arrangements had to be
made, horses weeded--out of a division of 5000 only one brigade was fit
to move!--more borrowed from the Kimberley Light Horse, whose
holiday-time had come, and other preparations hurriedly set on foot to
ensure an immediate rush--a swoop that should be as swift and successful
as it was startling!
One may imagine the midnight picture. The dark immensity of veldt--the
dust-driven, sweltering veldt--and Cronje, miles ahead with his horde,
the remnant of his convoy, his women and children, fleeing along the
north bank of the Modder, harassed by the Sixth Division, threatened by
the Seventh and Ninth, and yet longing to cross the river, to get safely
to Koodoosrand Drift, where he hourly expected reinforcements would come
to his succour. French, dead beat after glorious work accomplished,
rising from the first hospitable pillow he had seen for days--springing
suddenly to action, ordering, organising, deciding how to effect the
great swoop on Koodoosrand Drift and head off the fugitive. There was no
time for the buckling on of mental and moral armour; only the warrior at
soul could have been ready for such a situation. But such an one was
here. He gave swift orders. In three hours' time General Broadwood and
his brigade and three batteries of artillery--the only ones available
out of seven--sallied forth towards the east, in the dusk of the
morning. Their destination--Koodoosrand Drift--was some forty miles off,
and once here Cronje's last loophole of escape would be gone! The
General and his staff followed at 4.15 A.M., riding at full speed, and
catching up the brigade about fifteen miles off.
The whole nature of their errand and the proposed movement was a
surprise, for this manoeuvre had not entered into General French's
original calculations.
When the General had seen the Sixth Division safely at Klip Drift and
secured his left flank, he proceeded on his rush to Kimberley. Of other
movements save his own he was ignorant. Even as he and the troops were
riding into the town, Cronje, who had discovered the futility of his
position at Majersfontein and the danger of it, was trekking madly across
the front of the Sixth Division. On the morning of the 16th Lord
Kitchener, hearing that the Majersfontein laager and the Modder River camp
were deserted, and seeing a cloud of dust in the distance, had guessed
what was happening, and immediately altered his plans to meet the
emergency. As we are aware, he instantly gave orders for the mounted
infantry not to follow French, but to pursue and attack the Boer convoy,
while he telegraphed later to French, with the results just described.
General French grasped the position at a glance. He knew no time was to be
lost, and soon Broadwood's brigade, with horses that could barely move,
was pushing on as fast as spurs could insist. The early morning dusk broke
into the green and grey and gold of dawn; birds flew frightened hither and
thither; foxes rushed to their holes; springbok and hares tempted the
sportsmen, but never a glance to right or left was wasted. All eyes were
strained to the east, to the momentous east, and the wooded banks of the
distant river. Nearer and ever nearer they came--specks were seen on the
horizon--men?--horses?--the enemy moving?--scudding away before he could
be cornered? No--Yes? A moment of excitement, anguish--joy! The General
had mounted a kopje, reconnoitred, and discovered the truth. It was
Cronje's force--the remnants of his convoy some 4000 yards off--the convoy
streaming down into the drifts that lead to Petrusberg and thence to
Bloemfontein! They must never reach that destination! Kitchener's
words--"Head him and prevent his crossing the river"--so simple in sound,
so complex in execution, thrilled every heart. Quickly the guns were got
into action--grandly--almost magically--the first shot plumped--bang! in
front of the leading waggon just as the convoy was preparing to descend
the drift! What a reveillé! Cronje, as we know, was rushing from the
clutches of the Sixth Division at Drieputs. Breathless, he gathered
himself together. Suddenly he found himself assailed by a new force--a new
terror! He divined in a moment what had happened. It was French, the
ubiquitous French--French redivivus, as it were--who was putting the
finishing touch to the chapter of disaster. Poor Captain Boyle, in his
letter to the _Nineteenth Century_, thus described the great Dutchman's
plight:--
"His only chance now was to sacrifice his guns and convoy, and cut his
way across the river under the heavy fire of our guns. Immediately on
the first shell bursting in the laager, about thirty Boers galloped out
to seize a kopje on our right, afterwards called Roberts' Hill; but the
10th Hussars in a neck-and-neck race had the legs of them, and seizing
the hill in advance, beat them off with their carbine and Maxim fire.
The Boers from their laager answered our shell fire for a short time
with great accuracy from two or three guns. But these were quickly
silenced, and shell after shell from Artillery Hill fell plump into the
laager. Finally, our second battery was moved to a little distance from
Roberts' Hill and opened fire from the southern slope on to a kopje to
which the Boers had retired. All that afternoon at intervals our guns
poured shells into the laager, but no response came, and we spent our
time watching the Boers, now 3000 yards away, entrenching themselves in
the open and along the river-bank. Their waggons caught fire and the
ammunition exploded, and as they realised their position more and more,
so must their hearts have sunk. Anxiously must they have waited for the
first sign of the infantry gathering round, as anxiously as we did in
our turn watching from the high kopjes.
"The cavalry, worn out as they were and without food, had to hold the
kopjes and water their horses in turn some five miles off. They got what
grazing they could in the kopjes as they lay there, for no corn had come
on from Kimberley, and neither men nor horses had had any food except
the three days' rations with which they originally started from Klip
Drift the Thursday before, a good deal of which had been shaken off the
saddles or lost in the long gallop up the plain to Kimberley. The
General, the men, the horses, all alike had to live on what was found at
Kamilfontein--a few mealies, a few onions, and the crumbs of biscuits in
our pockets were all we had until some Free Staters' sheep and cattle
were rounded and killed. Had it not been for this plentiful supply of
meat, the men must have fared very badly for the next three days. No
transport came in until Monday night, and the horses had but 1½ lb. of
corn in three days. The men were put on half rations of biscuits even
after the transport arrived.
"Meanwhile, on Saturday afternoon about 5 P.M. Broadwood sent word to
French that in the far distance he observed the dust rising, which he
took for Kelly-Kenny's division. French returned to Roberts' Hill, and,
until the sun set, anxiously awaited the arrival of the infantry--but
they marched but slowly. From 6 P.M. till 7 P.M. we opened fire again
from our batteries to show Lord Kitchener our exact positions." The
splendid work done by the Royal Horse Artillery was described by another
eye-witness. He said: "I will give you an idea of what good gunners we
have in the Artillery. General French said to one of the gunners, 'See
those three waggons over there? (a distance of about 3½ miles); see what
you can do with them.' The gunner fired three shell, and the waggons
were no more."
We must now watch the progress of the other portions of the force who
were actively engaged in taking their share in the huge undertaking.
Colonel Stephenson's brigade, on the night of the 16th (while General
French was learning the great news), had re-crossed the river at Klip
Drift, and on the morning of the 17th (at the same hour as Broadwood's
brigade was moving from Kimberley) had marched to the south of the river
with the same intention--that of heading off Cronje at Paardeberg and
Koodoosrand Drift. Thus, with Broadwood's brigade on one side, and
Stephenson's on the other, Cronje's prospects of escape were scarcely
worth a dime. The _Times'_ correspondent, talking of Colonel
Stephenson's troops on the morning of the fateful 17th, said:--
"They were joined about ten at Klipkraal Drift by Knox's brigade, which
marched along the northern bank. The mounted infantry, pushing on,
reached Paardeberg Drift that evening, and encamped on rising ground
close to the south bank. The infantry, leaving Klipkraal at six in the
evening, made a night march for Paardeberg Drift, but, missing their
way, slightly passed the Drift and bivouacked on some rising ground
nearly two miles beyond, separated from the river by a smooth plain
shelving gently down to it. The mistake was a fortunate one, as it
brought the infantry almost opposite to the place where Cronje had
determined to cross. Cronje had left Drieputs during the night after the
battle, abandoning seventy-eight waggons, and pushed on along the north
bank of the river during Saturday for Koodoosrand Drift. Soon after
passing north of Paardeberg Drift he heard that French had already
returned from Kimberley, and was holding a line of high kopjes running
north-west from Koodoosrand Drift, and completely commanding the drift.
Wheeling his waggons to the right across the plain, he laagered on the
north bank of the river at Wolveskraal Farm. This was opposite to a
drift of the same name, about half-way between Paardeberg and
Koodoosrand Drifts, being about four miles in a straight line from each.
Here he intended to cross on Sunday morning. But already, during the
night, he became aware of the presence of the mounted infantry south of
Paardeberg Drift, and decided that he could not get his convoy away
without fighting. Probably Cronje did not realise that Kelly-Kenny's
infantry could have already marched up and occupied the rising ground
not three thousand yards south of Wolveskraal Drift; still less could he
know that General Colvile's division (whose endurance had been
extraordinary) was but a few miles behind, and was to reach Paardeberg
Drift before daybreak. If Cronje had known this, there is little doubt
that he would have promptly sacrificed all his transport and all his
guns in order to get his men away and escape from the trap into which he
was now caught. As it was, he sent a great part of his force to line the
river-bed all the way down to Paardeberg Drift, in order to act as a
rear-guard and check any attempt to interfere with his crossing
Wolveskraal Drift at his leisure."
Later on, the Ninth Division, with the Highland Brigade, who had made a
forced march from Jacobsdal, arrived on the scene just in time to see
the Boers sending up rockets to show their position to expected
reinforcements. And there is little doubt that Cronje, unable to realise
the expeditious advance of "lumbering Britons," mistook General
Colvile's troops for the longed-for relief.
Among the missing from near Paardeberg were Lieutenants Romilly (Duke of
Cornwall's Light Infantry) and Metge (Welsh Regiment), and Captains
Arnold and Vaughan of Kitchener's Horse.
Here we have the position of affairs as they stood on the night of the
17th and on the morning of the 18th, when the trap so ingeniously set
for Cronje commenced to close little by little--north, south, east, and
west. Everywhere he turned the detestable rooineks menaced him, and he
who so lately had eaten his breakfast to the tune of his 100-pounder
gun, that belched ruin and mutilation over the whole region of
Kimberley, was now constrained to breakfast to a new and disagreeable
inversion of an identical melody!
THE BATTLE OF PAARDEBERG
On Sunday, the 18th of February, the most exciting action of the war
took place. It was costly as it was momentous, for it served to decide
the fate of the fleeing Dutchman. The scene of the drama was not
unpicturesque. From the Paardeberg to the Koodoosrand Drift the Modder
flowed along a deep hollow from thirty to a hundred yards in depth. To
either side the forks of small dongas radiated, while the high banks
were fringed with the feathery foliage of the mimosa and willow. Donga
and tree stump afforded excellent cover for the slim adversary, sniper
or scout. The river travelled from Koodoosrand Drift west-south-west,
deviating southwards on either side of the Wolveskraal Drift. A vast
expanse of veldt, some two thousand yards wide, shelved down towards the
south bank of the river, fringed by higher ground; and this grassy plain
extending eastwards joined a circle of kopjes now known as Kitchener's
Hill. On the opposite, the north bank of the river, was another similar
plain, dotted with minor kopjes to within a thousand yards of the river,
and beyond them was the higher hump of Paardeberg Hill.
The action began at dawn. Firing grew hotter and hotter with the growth
of the morning, and soon pandemonium was let loose. While part of the
mounted infantry was forcing the rearguard up the river another part was
manoeuvring on the right front and flank of the enemy. The Dutchmen
meanwhile from King's Kop turned on a quick-firing Hotchkiss gun, which
swept the flat country from the kop to the southern bank of the river.
The antagonists had both posted themselves on the north bank of the
river--both banks of which were level, and this expanse afforded no
cover for movements. Over this expanse the Ninth Brigade had to move,
struggling through a zone of fire towards the concealed enemy.
Cronje by this time had realised that his position was critical--almost
hopeless. Bringing his fine military qualities to bear on the situation,
he decided to make the best of a bad job, and entrench himself with all
the skill possible. He held about one square mile of the river-bed on
either side of Wolveskraal Drift, and beyond that he knew were
encircling kopjes, each one concealing its multitude of rooineks. On the
east, slowly creeping up, were the menacing numbers of Tucker's
Division; on the west the vast crowds of the mounted infantry and the
Sixth Division; on the south were field-guns little more than a mile
off, threatening to shower destruction from Gun Hill, while on the north
were Naval guns and howitzers. Indeed, everywhere was fate frowning,
obdurate, vengeful. But the Dutchman retained his pluck and his wits. He
even believed that with everything against him he might yet employ the
same tactics which had nonplussed Lord Methuen at Modder River. He still
retained a poor opinion of his adversary, and his delusion lent him
confidence. He hurriedly built trenches, that in themselves were
masterpieces of defensive art, and took up his headquarters in the
centre, in a red brick house--a species of travellers' hostelry, which
may be found near all drifts in South Africa. Here at night Mrs. Cronje
joined him. During the day she was placed in the women's shelter at the
east side of the area, which shelter was protected by waggons and
trenches all along the bed of the river. Talking of these trenches, the
correspondent of the _Times_ declared that "the skill with which they
were constructed as defences against both rifle and shell fire was
worthy of the highest praise. All except those of the outer lines of
pickets were made so narrow and deep that it seems as though they were
in many cases entered from one end rather than the top, as any such
ingress must even in a week's time have considerably widened the neck of
the excavation. At the top they were perhaps eighteen inches wide, at
the bottom about three feet, and by crouching down the most complete
protection was afforded from bursting shell.
"Every natural protection, such as the ramifications of the dongas
which eat into the banks on both sides of the river, had been utilised,
though the bombardment from both sides compelled them to abandon their
first hasty breastworks cut into the actual top of the bank, which was
here from about fifty to a hundred yards from the river itself, and
thirty feet in height.
"For the first time here the 'T' trenches, of which much has been said
during the present campaign, were used. They did not seem to present the
least advantage over the ordinary shapes, except that in an exposed
angle they may have provided additional protection against an enfilading
fire."
Cronje's first object in entrenching himself in the bed of the river was
to arrest the further advance of the mounted infantry, who had taken
possession of the bed of the river west of his position. In this he was
successful. Worn, harassed, and almost helpless, he determined to make a
desperate stand, hoping against hope to gain time till some help from
without should arrive. But this help never reached him. A grand
enveloping movement commenced, and Cronje, brought to bay, found himself
face to face with what proved to be his Sedan.
By this time he and his followers were snugly ensconced in bush and
donga and scrub round the laager, and from the trees around they
vigorously sniped and poured volleys at the advancing troops. In the
advance to the attack the Highland Brigade was on the left, General
Knox's brigade in the centre and on the right, while General Smith
Dorrien's brigade, after crossing the river by Paardeberg Drift, moved
along the north bank. The Highland Brigade had a terrific duty. The
Boers, from their position in the bed of the river and on both sides of
it, commanded the left of the Brigade, and as the kilted mass moved
forward in the open poured upon them a deadly fire, which forced them to
lie prone for the rest of the day. Here at noon, when bullets were
humming their loudest, General Hector Macdonald was wounded. He had
dismounted, and was directing the movements of the brigade, when
overtaken by a shot which penetrated thigh and foot. Despite this
unlucky accident and a tremendous spell of hard fighting, the brigade
exhibited splendid pluck and tenacity. They were destitute of cover, but
maintained their position with astonishing fortitude, and this after the
long forced march they had made from Jacobsdal, and while enduring the
tortures of maddening thirst, which could not be assuaged. A heavy
thunderstorm mercifully overtook them in the course of the afternoon and
raindrops large as gooseberries clattered down their relieving moisture
on the parched and exhausted troops.
[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF PAARDEBERG.
Drawing by Sidney Paget from a Sketch by W. B. Wollen, R.I.]
On the north bank of the river was Cronje's laager, an environment of
waggons, carts, ammunition, and stores. While General Smith Dorrien's
force, among which were the Canadians, Gordons, and Shropshires,
attempted to charge into the laager, they too were vigorously shelled by
the enemy, who, undefeatable, held on valiantly to a kopje on the south
bank of the river. Here they posted a Vickers-Maxim and other deadly
weapons, and in a measure divided our force in two. The Seaforths and
the Cornwall Regiment made a splendid charge with the bayonet, and drove
the Boers from their cover round the drift, but in the glorious rush
both the Colonel and Adjutant of the Cornwalls were stricken down.
Ninety-six of the men were wounded, but they now held the north-west
side of the enemy's position.
[Illustration: PLAN OF THE BOER LAAGERS AND TRENCHES AND THE BRITISH
POSITIONS AT PAARDEBERG. (By an Officer of the Royal Field Artillery.)]
On the east the Sixth Division was hard at work tackling a horde of
Boers, who made a last despairing lunge in order to burst through the
entangling forces and push for the south bank of the river. The effort
was stubborn as it was desperate, but they were defeated by the dash of
the West Riding Regiment, who pressed forward with the bayonet and
succeeded in seizing the drift. Many splendid fellows were wounded and
slain in the collision. Meanwhile the artillery continued to direct
their incessant thunder against the laager, pouring in a deluge of
destruction from all quarters, and forcing the Dutchmen to shrink within
the space, little more than a mile square, into which they had so
hurriedly scrambled.
General Kelly-Kenny having possessed himself of both Klip Drift and
Koodoosrand Drift, the Boers were now enclosed east and west. But here,
crunched in a veritable death-trap, they fought tenaciously. Worn,
harassed, and weakened by their hurried march, they yet held a stubborn
front to our assaulting troops, and from the cramped region of their
laager did as much damage as it was possible to do. The Canadians, who
had behaved with conspicuous gallantry in the attack on the laager, lost
nineteen killed and sixty-three wounded. A description of the fight as
seen from their point of view was given by a private in the 1st
Contingent:--
"We left Klip Drift on the Modder River at 6 P.M. Saturday, and
marched all night until seven on Sunday morning, covering 23
miles. During the march we could hear the guns ahead. I was
orderly man for Sunday, so, removing my pack, I went to the
river for water. Just a little way up the river a brisk fire
opened up. When I got back to our lines I found them issuing a
ration of rum. I had mine, and it just braced me up.
"By this time the engagement was pretty brisk. Our brigade was
ordered on the left of the river, which we crossed at a ford
just in rear of the camp. The Shropshires crossed first, then
followed the Canadians and Gordons. The water was up to our
necks. Some went deeper and had to swim. We crossed in fours,
holding on to each other, formed up in column and advanced a
short distance, when we extended to seven paces in skirmishing
order. C Company formed to support A Company.
"By this time the bullets were coming pretty thickly, and we
had some very narrow squeaks. We reinforced A Company at 500
yards and opened fire. The Boer fire was heavy, and some of our
boys had been hit, but we soon subdued the fire. Their position
was in the river, and we were lying out in the open, no cover
of any kind except a few anthills. We could see very little to
fire at except the fire from their guns. Our line was in a
crescent shape, the right on the river, and the left extended
along about 500 yards. In the afternoon our troops were ordered
to cease fire. As soon as we stopped they started sniping,
which made us hug the ground.
"Shortly after joining the firing line Captain Arnold of A
Company was struck. The Boers started a murderous fire on the
stretcher-bearers who carried him away, a trick they did all
day long. Towards evening the left was ordered to reinforce the
right. It was a daring move, but we did it by running down in
threes and fours. At dark all the forces retired, and quite a
few men volunteered to search for the wounded. I was out all
night until four the next morning, when I laid down played out.
I never want to witness such terrible sights as I saw that
night again. Whenever we showed ourselves in the moonlight the
sharpshooters would fire at us. We were all up early next
morning, but the Boers had retired farther up the river. So we
collected our wounded and buried the dead. I was helping a
hospital sergeant, and he sent two of us up the river to search
for wounded. We found a few, and also came across a wounded
Boer, whom we bandaged and took back to camp. We also came
across a few dead. We questioned the Boer, and he said that
they had retired during the night, carrying their wounded and
throwing the dead into the river. After dinner, which we had
about four, we went out on outpost duty. During the night there
was quite a little firing going on. This morning we advanced
towards the position again, and about ten o'clock retired for
some breakfast and advanced again. Although under fire all day
we did not fire, but the artillery certainly played Cain with
them."
Captain Arnold's wound was mortal, but Lieutenant Mason, who was also
shot, was not dangerously hurt.
A Colonial, writing from the front at Paardeberg, said that fighting
"went on during the day until about five o'clock, when the Cornwalls
arrived in support. The officer commanding this battalion seemed to
think that too much time had already been spent in fighting the Boers,
so ordered the charge. The result was fatal to the Cornwalls, as they
had to retire. The Canadians, acting under the orders of the commanding
officer of the Cornwalls as senior officer, also charged, and with a
like result; but the Canadians, in place of retiring, simply lay down
and remained. It was during this charge that most of the fatalities
occurred. The unfortunate commanding officer of the Cornwalls was
killed, and Captain Arnold and Lieutenant Mason of the Canadians
wounded. The Brigadier subsequently expressed his regret that the charge
took place, but at the same time warmly congratulated the Canadians on
their behaviour, as did Lord Roberts also."
Of gallantry and daring there was no end. From dawn till sunset raged a
battle of appalling fierceness, of magnificent persistency. From drift
to drift the hollows reverberated with the perpetual roll of musketry,
the brawling of multifarious guns, the hoarse cheers of charging troops,
the shouts of the unflinching enemy. Curling smoke burst in wreaths and
garlands from the sides of the hills and rose against the purple of
thunder-clouds; flaring tongues of vengeful flame danced and forked
their reflections of heaven's lightnings; spouts and torrents of water
poured from the sky, mingling with the heroical blood of Britain's best,
that trickled in rivulets, north, south, east, and west of the scene,
and traced far and wide the history of sacrifice on the now sacred
ground. For all this, the position of the contending parties remained
unchanged--Cronje defiant and enclosed, the British lion crouching,
watching.
At dusk the scene was weirdly, terrifically picturesque. From the south
and north sides of the river shells hurtled through the air, falling and
exploding along the river-bed, now setting fire to a waggon, now a cart,
and filling the gloom with lurid panoramas of flame and an awe-striking,
ceaseless din. Once an ammunition waggon was struck. Then the blaze and
crackling which followed, intermingling as they did with the roar of
artillery and the rattle of rifles, made a fitting concert for Hades.
And to the tune of this demoniacal intermezzo the cordon round the enemy
was gradually closing, his last chances of escape were one by one being
sealed, the last links in Lord Roberts' strategical chain were being
forged.
At night there was peace. The Modder might have been the placid purling
Thames winding along between fringed and sloping banks to the bosom of
the sea. But there was none to admire the pretty scene. All were worn
out, and glad to drop to sleep where they had fought, while the
bearer-parties--"body-snatchers," as they were jocosely styled--picked
their way in the darkness, doing their deeds of mercy with zealous,
unflagging perseverance. During this time many deserters from the enemy
came in. They had seen the hopelessness of their case, and had been
urging, uselessly, the implacable Cronje to surrender.
The following is the list of those who were killed and wounded during
the fight:--
_Killed_:--Mounted Infantry--Colonel Hannay.[1] 2nd
Warwick--Lieutenant Hankay. Duke of Cornwall's Light
Infantry--Lieutenant-Colonel Aldworth,[2] Captain E. P.
Wardlaw, Captain Newbury. Seaforth Highlanders--Second
Lieutenant M'Clure. Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders--Lieutenant Courtenay. West Riding
Regiment--Lieutenant Siordet. 1st Yorkshire--Second Lieutenant
Neave. Oxford Light Infantry--Lieutenant Bright, Second
Lieutenant Ball-Acton. _Wounded_:--Staff--Major-General Knox
(13th Brigade), Major-General Hector MacDonald (3rd Brigade).
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry--Captain J. H. Maunder,
Lieutenant H. W. Fife, Second Lieutenant J. W. C. Fife, Second
Lieutenant R. M. Grigg. Seaforth Highlanders--Captain G. C.
Fielden, Captain E. A. Cowans, Captain G. M. Lumsden,
Lieutenant J. P. Grant, Second Lieutenant D. P. Monypenny (died
of wounds), Second Lieutenant A. R. Moncrieff. 1st Gordon
Highlanders--Second Lieutenant W. B. J. Nutford. Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders--Lieutenant C. N. Macdonald, Lieutenant
G. Thorpe, Second Lieutenant G. A. Akers-Douglas, Second
Lieutenant F. G. S. Cunningham. Black Watch--Lieutenant-Colonel
A. M. Carthew-Yorkstoun, Major Hon. H. E. Maxwell, Major T. M.
N. Berkeley, Captain J. G. H. Hamilton, Lieutenant J. G. Grieve
(N.S.W. forces attached). West Riding Regiment--Captain F. J.
de Gex, Captain H. D. E. Greenwood. 1st
Yorkshire--Lieutenant-Colonel H. Bowles, Major Kirkpatrick,
Lieutenant C. V. Edwards, Captain A. C. Buckle (South Stafford
attached). Oxford Light Infantry--Major Day, Captain Watt,
Lieutenant Hammich. East Kent Regiment--Captain Geddes.
Shropshire Light Infantry--Captain Gubbins, Captain Smith,
Lieutenant English, Second Lieutenant Kettlewell.
Canadians--Captain H. M. Arnold (since died of wounds),
Lieutenant J. C. Mason, Lieutenant Armstrong. R.A.M.C.--Captain
J. E. C. Canter. Lieutenant G. H. Goddard. East Surrey--Captain
A. H. S. Hart. 2nd Lincoln--Second Lieutenant Dockray
Waterhouse. 1st Yorkshire--Second Lieutenant W. G. Turbet. 2nd
Oxford Light Infantry--Captain Fanshawe, Lieutenant Stapleton.
2nd Bedford--Captain R. W. Waldy, Lieutenant Selous. 2nd
Norfolk--Lieutenant Cramer-Roberts. 1st
Welsh--Lieutenant-Colonel Banfield, Major Ball. 2nd East
Kent--Captain Godfrey-Faussett, accidentally shot (died
February 21). 1st West Riding--Captain Taylor, Captain Harris.
Roberts' Horse--Lieutenant A. Grant. Argyll and
Sutherland--Captain N. Malcolm, D.S.O. 1st Gordon
Highlanders--Lieutenant Ingilby. 1st Welsh Regiment--Major
Harkness, Lieutenant F. A. Jones, Lieutenant Veal. Mounted
Infantry--Lieutenant-Colonel Tudway (1st Essex). 1st
Essex--Captain Milward, Second Lieutenant Thomson.
_Missing_:--Captain Lennox, 81st Field Battery R.A.
The following table gives the distribution of the losses among
officers:--
_Killed._ _Wounded._ _Missing._ _Total._
Staff -- 2 -- 2
2nd Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry 3 4 -- 7
2nd Seaforth Highlanders 1 6 -- 7
1st Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 1 4 -- 5
1st West Riding Regiment 1 2 -- 3
1st Yorkshire Regiment 1 4 -- 5
1st Oxfordshire Light Infantry 2 3 -- 5
2nd East Kent Regiment -- 1 -- 1
1st Gordon Highlanders -- 1 -- 1
2nd Royal Highlanders -- 4 -- 4
2nd Shropshire Light Infantry -- 4 -- 4
Royal Canadian Regiment -- 2 -- 2
Royal Army Medical Corps -- 2 -- 2
81st Battery R.A. -- -- 1 1
--- --- --- ---
Total 9 39 1 49
The heaviness of this list and the evenness with which the casualties
were shared bear witness to the dash and daring displayed by all the
battalions engaged.
A good deal of comment subsequently took place regarding the methods
adopted during this day's warfare, and many were of opinion that the
attempt to take the position by assault was unnecessarily wasteful of
life. Considering the positions of the various regiments on the morning
of the battle, it seemed as though the encircling of the enemy and
forcing him to submission by a slow process of pressure would have
served equally well to bring about the inevitable end. But again it has
been urged that there was at the time no knowing how soon reinforcements
might come to the assistance of Cronje, or what results might accrue
from permitting the Boers--at the time breathless and weary--to gather
themselves together for fresh resistance. Delay was evidently the one
thing that Cronje was playing for, and Lord Kitchener, on his side, was
averse from risks which might bring about the failure of the vital
undertaking.
TRAPPED
The enemy had little rest. The small hours were spent in constructing
entrenchments round the laager. All owned that their stubborn energy was
admirable, but further active resistance on the part of Cronje was now
beginning to be regarded by all--even his own people--as an act of
suicide and murder. "It was magnificent, but it was not war," as the
Frenchman said. The Mounted Infantry and a battery of artillery next
morning turned their attention to an offending kopje, whence the Boers
could yet pour their equivalent for "cold water" on the British plans,
and while circling round the position were accosted with a morning
salutation from the rifles of the Federals on the summit of the hill.
Fortunately the fusillade was launched with more vigour than accuracy,
and there were no casualties. Pursuing their investigations, the troops
discovered a good defensive position and seized it.
Early in the morning Cronje sent a white flag, demanding twenty-four
hours' armistice for the purpose of burying his dead. This most probably
being part of a wary plot to gain time for reinforcements to come to the
rescue, a reply was sent back from Lord Kitchener to the effect that it
was impossible to grant the request, which must await the arrival of the
Commander-in-Chief. Lord Roberts was then on his way from Jacobsdal, and
when the matter was referred to him, he at once sent a message refusing
to accede to the proposition. General Cronje's reply, being roughly
translated, implied that he wished to surrender, but when Lord Kitchener
requested him to surrender in person, it was discovered that he had no
notion of capitulation--unconditional surrender being the terms offered.
Lord Roberts then ordered the resumption of the bombardment.
About midday came the rumour that French was at hand, and that he was
taking his share of the great hemming-in movement, but the cavalry
division was then nowhere in view. Lord Roberts arrived later, and
addressed the troops, who welcomed him with cheers. Meanwhile the 18th,
62nd, and 75th field-batteries and the 65th (howitzer) battery
surrounded the laager, and commenced an avalanche of destruction, the
howitzers battering the river-bed with an enfilading fire, the fumes of
lyddite rendering the surrounding air green with noxious vapour. Waggon
after waggon of ammunition exploded with infernal uproar, shrapnel and
lyddite danced diabolically over the river-bed and laager, yet there
were no signs of surrender--not the flutter of a white flag in the
direction where remained the obdurate man who, his last chance gone,
refused to bow to the inevitable. Prisoners now and then, worn out and
disgusted, came in, their rifles slung, and gave themselves up. In the
laager were sixty women and girls, they said, and Cronje, "disconsolate
and defiant, sat holding Mrs. Cronje's hand and comforting her in the
river-bed." Meanwhile Broadwood's brigade had appeared, exhausted and
starving. The cavalry had come along the river-bank to Paardeberg in
order to reach the forage and the convoy which was accompanying the
infantry divisions from Klip Drift. Their state was lamentable, for it
must be remembered that General Broadwood had galloped off during the
night of the 16th almost provisionless. His brigade had borne the brunt
of the fray, for General Gordon had only been able to follow later with
some 120 horses out of his whole brigade. Colonel Porter's brigade
marched later still, owing to some accident with the telegraph. The work
of relieving Kimberley and heading Cronje had cost the cavalry some 990
horses out of a total of 4800.
The loss of life, however, had not been excessive considering the strain
and the engagements that had taken place between the 14th and 16th, but
some goodly young officers were missing. Lieutenant Carbutt (R.H.A.),
Lieutenant Brassey (9th Lancers), Lieutenant Hesketh (16th Lancers), and
Lieutenant the Hon. M'Clintock Banbury (Scots Greys), were among the
killed. Among the wounded were Captain Humfreys (Q Battery), Lieutenant
Houston (P Battery), Lieut. Barnes (Q Battery), Captain Gordon and
Lieut. Durand (9th Lancers), Captain Tuson (16th Lancers), Lieut.
Fordyce and Second Lieut. Long (Scots Greys), Lieut. Johnson
(Inniskilling Dragoons), Lieut. Gray (Roberts' Horse). The fatigued
remnant of the cavalry division now engaged in tackling the
reinforcements that Cronje had so ardently expected.
In consequence of the huge circumference of the British circle, it was
almost impossible to chronicle the innumerable small but brilliant
actions which were continually taking place, and which in the excitement
of the investment were almost overlooked. On the night of the 19th the
Gloucesters performed a dashing though futile feat. In the afternoon
they neared a kopje in which the Dutchmen were ensconced. They bided
their time, and just as the shades of night began to fall rushed on the
enemy with bayonets and drove them off with considerable loss. The
positions taken were evacuated, however, during the night.
On the 20th the Boers before dawn were again hard at work increasing
their entrenchments all round their laager, but their plucky labours
were impeded by continual shells which were launched now and again to
prevent the work from being carried to completion. Meanwhile from the
east came the echo of artillery, a rumour of battle which proved that
the untiring French was actively engaged in standing between the Boer
reinforcements and Cronje, who still held out gallantly in the fond yet
forlorn hope of their ultimate arrival. He was humanely offered many
chances to give in, but since he stoutly refused them all, measures were
taken by Lord Roberts to bring the fighting to a speedy conclusion.
But the doggedly valiant attitude of the enemy was not lost on his
assailants. It had been impossible to withhold from Cronje a certain
admiration for the masterful manoeuvres which extricated him from his
impossible position at Majersfontein, or for the stubborn resistance
with which his force, outwitted, harassed by the mounted infantry, and
fighting a skilful rearguard action, had succeeded in getting at least
thirty-five miles to Koodoosrand Drift. It was now equally impossible to
overlook the magnificent energy of the man, who, with his means of
flight at an end, his 50,000 lbs. of ammunition sacrificed, his stores
captured, his oxen exhausted to the death, with almost certain defeat
staring him in the face, could turn and fight an action both ferocious
and sanguinary. Moreover, by the sheer magnetism of his personality he
forced his followers to show a bold front and maintain a desperate,
almost fatuous, courage in the face of the most terrific shelling that
the century has known.
[Illustration: CRONJE'S STRONGHOLD ON THE MODDER RIVER.
Drawing by H. C. Seppings Wright, from a Sketch by Frederic Villiers,
War Artist.]
Little by little the enclosing circle began to grow narrower. The
infantry--the Cornwalls assisted by the Engineers--again set to work to
push the enemy still farther back into the river, but otherwise little
advance was made. The position was now sufficiently terrible for the
enemy. Cronje's trap was about a mile square, while commanding it in
every direction were guns multifarious; bushes and banks and ravines
were swept by cataracts of shrapnel, while volumes of greenish-yellow
smoke from bursting lyddite curved and twisted around the river-bed,
then carried their noxious vapour to the serene sapphire of the heavens.
In the clear atmosphere the reiterations of Maxims filled up the pauses
between the steady booming of artillery, while now and again the
impotent despairing splutter of rifles from the enemy's laager mingled
with the stertorous rampage.
On the fourth day of Cronje's resistance what might have been an
unfortunate incident occurred. The Gloucester and Essex regiments by an
accident had bivouacked on the north side of the river too close to the
enemy's laager. The result was that on the first gleam of daylight they
were discovered by the Dutchmen, who treated them to a volley by way of
reveillé. Luckily the firing was not at all up to the Boer mark and the
regiments came off scot-free.
During the day General Smith Dorrien's force on the north worked towards
the doomed laager while General Knox's brigade held the containing lines
on the south side of the river. In the east General French was keeping
an eye on a swarm of Boers who were hoping to come to the rescue of
Cronje. These held a strong position on a kopje which seemed to be
specially constructed by nature for defensive purposes. Still, when
General Broadwood's brigade and a battery of horse-artillery turned
their attention to the summit and scoured it thoroughly, the Dutchmen
helter-skelter fled. Unluckily for them, their precipitate action took
them straight into the arms of General French, who having headed them
towards the drift, now gave them so warm a reception that numbers bit
the dust. Some escaped, but fifty were taken prisoners. Forage,
provisions, and equipment were also seized, though the corpses of the
slain were carried off, so that the tale of loss could not be told.
The capture of the kopje was an excellent move, as it was a useful
position whence to watch for and intercept reinforcements that might be
coming from Ladysmith or elsewhere to the succour of the doomed. A
message was sent to the obdurate Commandant offering a safe conduct and
a free pass anywhere for the women and children. Lord Roberts also
proffered medical attendance and drugs. The offers were curtly rejected.
Finding courteous overtures of no avail, the bombardment of the position
was resumed, and the artillery continued to fire till dusk put an end to
the operations. While the firing was taking place the mules of the 82nd
Battery, while still hitched to the waggons, took it into their heads to
stampede, causing a scene of the wildest confusion. The next day,
however, all save one waggon were recovered.
During the night the Shropshire Regiment accomplished a fine feat. They
pressed forward some two hundred yards, captured new ground, and there
entrenched themselves. It was an excellent finale to four days'
incessant work under a withering fire, and by the 22nd they were fairly
exhausted. They were then relieved by the Gordons. Here be it noticed
that the Gordons were now incorporated with the Highland Brigade, which
was thus composed of four kilted regiments. The Highland Light Infantry,
who wear "trews," had joined General Smith Dorrien's force.
The exchange of positions between the Shropshires and Gordons was
effected in a manner worthy of the slim Boer himself, and showed that
the Britons had speedily taken practical lessons from their adversaries.
The Shropshires having, as said, seized 200 yards of new ground, they
were relieved the following morning by the Gordons. The Highlanders,
snake-like, wormed themselves forward to the trenches on their stomachs,
while the Shropshire men in like manner crawled over the bodies of the
relieving force. An officer who witnessed the evolution said, "I have
often heard of walking on an empty stomach, but I'm hanged if I've ever
seen the feat accomplished so well and so literally."
Another tremendous thunderstorm broke over the position, causing
considerable discomfort to the troops, but still more to the unhappy
creatures who, through the stout resistance of Cronje, were held to all
the horrors of the trap into which he had fallen. We were now closing in
on every side.
A grand attempt was made on the morning of the 23rd to bring help to the
Dutchman. Commandant de Wet with a horde of some 1000 Boers, collected
from the region of Ladysmith, appeared, and made a desperate effort to
thrust himself through the British lines. Part of the force on its way
towards its hoped-for destination was luckily accosted from a kopje
occupied by the Scottish Borderers. The greeting, smart and accurate,
was scarcely to the Dutchmen's liking, and they made off in another
direction, but still with the same result. From position to position
they were hunted, and in sheer despair they made for an unoccupied
kopje, where they hoped at last to make a stand. But they were
disappointed. The lively Scottish Borderers were "one too many for
them." Seeing the Boers in act of seizing this point of vantage, the
Borderers promptly hurled themselves in the coveted direction. There was
an animated neck-and-neck race, and the Borderers, who won by a nose,
promptly took possession of the hill and completely routed the Federals.
Finally the Boers found shelter in a kopje which was _vis-à-vis_ to a
like eminence held by the Yorkshires. A passage at arms followed, with
the result that the fusillade of the enemy died a natural death. Then
the Yorkshires, who had so strenuously brought about this result, were
reinforced by the Buffs, lest some more of the Boer hosts from Ladysmith
should put in an appearance. At this time the 75th and 62nd Batteries
gave tongue from an adjacent farm, but their vociferous notes produced
little effect upon the crown of the Boers' stronghold.
So great was the silence that the Yorkshires moved on with a view to
prodding the enemy in his lair, but, in the attempt, they were so
furiously assailed by the shot of the enemy that they, in default of
cover, were unable to proceed. Meanwhile the Buffs persevered, moving
warily round the position till within 150 yards of the Dutchmen, who
were eventually driven off. More than eighty--their horses having been
shot--surrendered. On many of these were discovered explosive bullets,
and it became evident that desperation was driving the Boers to
disregard the rules of civilised warfare. Many of our wounded were found
injured by these unholy missiles; and other tricks--barbarous
tricks--were reported. On one occasion a Vickers-Maxim gun was directed
at an ambulance, which at the time was fortunately unoccupied.
During the week our losses were fewer than on the opening day. Captain
Dewar and Lieutenant Percival, 4th King's Royal Rifles, and Lieutenant
Angell, Welsh Regiment, were killed. Among the wounded were:--
2nd Gloucester--Lieutenant-Colonel R. F. Lindsell; 2nd
Derbyshire--Lieutenant C. D. M. Harrington; 9th
Lancers--Captain Campbell; P.R.H.A.--Lieutenant Houston; Royal
Engineers--Captain Crookshank; 1st Lincoln--Second Lieutenant
Wellesley; Argyll and Sutherland--Lieutenant and Adjutant
Glasford; 1st East Kent Regiment (attached 2nd
Battalion)--Lieutenant Hickman; 2nd Lincoln--Captain Gardner;
King's Own Scottish Borderers--Captain Pratt; East
Kent--Captain Marriott; Yorkshire--Captain Pearson, Lieutenant
Gunthorpe, 2nd Lieutenant Wardle.
Lieutenant Metge (1st Welsh Regiment) was missing.
Daily the enemy was squeezed into a smaller space. General Smith Dorrien
had now pushed up the river-bed to within two hundred yards of Cronje's
entrenchments. The object lesson in perseverance, both on the part of
Boers and British, was becoming almost awe-inspiring--the tension was
veritably appalling. Soaked with rain to the very skin--the fevered skin
that had been scorched, and toasted, and begrimed with dust--our men,
grim and fierce, with the storm-winds piping the pipe of death about
their ears, held their ground. Rations had been intermittent till the
convoys began to come in, and, almost fasting, they had been acutely
conscious of the foul, the nauseating atmosphere that now enveloped them
like a loathely vaporous entanglement. The river had swollen and bore
upon its turbid breast horrific revelations--thousands of rotting
carcases and festering loads of poisonous wreckage, that rendered the
act even of drawing breath almost a heroism. All along the great march
endurance had been put to supreme test, for the track had been margined
with the dead bodies of exhausted oxen and horses. These lay littered
about, unburied, disembowelled, and in various stages of putrefaction.
Everywhere vultures and flies and other loathsome parasites of the
veldt hovered and sidled and crawled, glutting themselves at veritable
orgies of destruction, and contesting their prizes with the winds.
These, taking their fill, hastened to diffuse the remains of the grisly
banquet far and wide. Thus the foul dust, wantonly distributed, blew in
the throats and eyes and ears of gallant men, and contributed death more
liberally, more pitifully, than even the bullets of the Boers!
[Illustration: GUNS CAPTURED AT PAARDEBERG. Photo by Alf. S. Hosking,
Cape Town.]
Plentiful rain had fallen, saturating humanity, and causing the heated
ground to retract the fumes of a charnel-house. But in one way better
times had come. There was fuller fare. Large convoys made a daily
appearance, and the men were refreshed after their labours with the
promise of plenty. Food of a substantial kind was indeed necessary, for
it served to attune the stomach to the noxious vapours that hourly grew
almost tangible. Cronje, though he knew it not, was sowing the seeds of
a harvest of revenge! He was killing his thousands! For many days our
troops had been enduring lenten fare; they had rung the changes on
hardships, fatigues, and self-abnegations of all kinds. They had been
battered on by storms. They had outstripped transport and supplies. They
had kept the inner man appeased and working on quarter rations. They had
marched like giants in ten-league boots, and meanwhile fed like fairies;
yet withal had borne countenances cheery and noble, full of confidence
and unquenchable pluck. But these splendid creatures were but mortal.
The foul fiends of enteric and malaria were already sapping their
buoyant constitutions, and marking them, one after another, with the
deadly seal of possession.
Every day of the Dutchman's resistance was therefore full of horror,
full of anxiety. There were continual rumours that the Boer
reinforcements were in view, that the Federals were massing for a
desperate effort. Wearied and battered, the cavalry at Koodoosrand were
perpetually speeding on wild-goose chases, in one of which both General
French and Colonel Haig nearly lost their lives. A reconnaissance in
force had been ordered. The drift, swollen by rains, was now a torrent,
and in crossing the General and his A.D.C. were thrown by their restive
horses into the river, whence they only emerged safe and sound in
consequence of their being fine swimmers and pneumonia-proof Britons.
Cronje, finding that the reinforcements failed to reach him, decided on
the night of the 26th to cut his way out and seize a kopje before dawn.
But his intention was frustrated by the Mounted Infantry, who, in spite
of the darkness, kept a watchful eye on the slippery enemy.
Quite early on the morning of the 27th of February, the anniversary of
Majuba day, the splutter of musketry greeted the ears of the dozing
camp. Some one was up and doing early. It was the Canadians. They were
acting on the principle of the early bird that catches the morning worm.
Supported by the Gordons, Cornwalls, and Shropshires, they were
advancing, building a trench in the very teeth of the enemy, and at
fifty yards' range were saluting him with such deadly warmth as to
render his position untenable. How this energetic and gallant movement,
the wonder and admiration of all, was brought about was described by the
correspondent of the _Times_. "It appeared that Brigadier-General
MacDonald sent from his bed a note to Lord Roberts, reminding him that
Tuesday was the anniversary of that disaster which, we all remembered,
he had by example, order, and threat himself done his best to avert,
even while the panic had been at its height; Sir Henry Colvile submitted
a suggested attack backed by the same unanswerable plea. For a moment
Lord Roberts demurred to the plan; it seemed likely to cost too heavily,
but the insistance of Canada broke down his reluctance, and the men of
the oldest colony were sent out in the small hours of Tuesday morning to
redeem the blot on the name of the mother-country.
"From the existing trench, some 700 yards long, on the northern bank,
held jointly by the Gordons and the Canadians, the latter were ordered
to advance in two lines--each, of course, in extended order--thirty
yards apart, the first with bayonets fixed, the second reinforced by
fifty Royal Engineers under Colonel Kincaid and Captain Boileau.
"In dead silence, and covered by a darkness only faintly illuminated by
the merest rim of the dying moon, 'with the old moon in her lap,' the
three companies of Canadians moved on over the bush-strewn ground. For
over 400 yards the noiseless advance continued, and when within eighty
yards of the Boer trench the trampling of the scrub betrayed the
movement. Instantly the outer trench of the Boers burst into fire, which
was kept up almost without intermission from five minutes to three
o'clock to ten minutes past the hour. Under this fire the courage and
discipline of the Canadians proved themselves. Flinging themselves on
the ground, they kept up an incessant fire on the trenches, guided only
by the flashes of their enemy's rifles; and the Boers admit that they
quickly reduced them to the necessity of lifting their rifles over their
heads to the edge of the earthwork and pulling their triggers at random.
Behind this line the Engineers did magnificent work; careless of danger,
the trench was dug from the inner edge of the bank to the crest, and
then for fifty or sixty yards out through the scrub. The Canadians
retired three yards to this protection and waited for dawn, confident in
their new position, which had entered the protected angle of the Boer
position, and commanded alike the rifle-pits of the banks and the
trefoil-shaped embrasures on the north."
For some time it seemed as though hostilities were suspended, and
then--a sign, a flutter of white, a signal of surrender caught the
straining eyes of the regiment nearest the crest of the hill. In an
instant the plains and the hollows, the kopjes, and even the dome of
heaven, seemed animated--lending themselves to repeat the ringing cheer,
to reiterate the cry of an immense joyous heart splitting a little
universe in twain. Ears languid, ears hard-working, ears occupied, ears
expectant, all caught the sound, echoed it and knew that at last the
looked-for hour had come, Cronje had surrendered! Many Boers threw up
their hands and dashed unarmed across the intervening space; others
waved white flags and exposed themselves carelessly on their
entrenchments, but not a shot was fired. Colonel Otter and Colonel
Kincaid held a hasty consultation, which was disturbed by the sight of
Sir Henry Colvile (commanding the Ninth Division) quietly riding down
within 500 yards of the northern Boer trenches to bring the news that at
that very moment a horseman was hurrying in with a white flag and
Cronje's unconditional surrender, to take effect at sunrise.
THE SURRENDER OF CRONJE
Then all was activity. A note was borne to Lord Roberts stating that
Cronje had given in, and General Pretyman thereupon rode out to take his
surrender. The scene was highly impressive. Lord Roberts, in front of
the cart in which he slept, walked up and down awaiting his prisoner,
while a guard of the Seaforth Highlanders with drawn bayonets formed a
line to either side. In the distance a small group of horsemen was seen
approaching, a silhouette which gradually grew clearer in the golden
light of the morning. It was General Pretyman with the redoubtable
Cronje riding a white pony on his right and the escort of the 12th
Lancers following. The subsequent scene was a study in reserve. After
all the tumultuous passions, the ferocity of bloodshed, the
diamond-cut-diamond activities of death-dealing lyddite and
Vickers-Maxims, the two leaders met without the smallest sign of
emotion. To Lord Roberts, who stood with his staff awaiting him, Colonel
Pretyman said, "Commandant Cronje, sir!" The two great men looked at
each other, the Dutchman touched his hat, the Englishman returned the
salute. The group dismounted, and then, regretfully be it noted, Lord
Roberts, the blameless upright British soldier gave his hand to the
tyrant of Potchefstroom. "You have made a gallant defence, sir," said
the British Commander-in-Chief; "I am glad to see you. I am glad to get
so brave a man!"
The picture of the redoubtable Cronje as he approached our great little
Field-Marshal was remarkable in its contrast. On the one side you saw a
burly square-jawed agriculturist, grizzly of beard, tanned and battered
of complexion, portly and cumbrous of form. On the other, you had the
lithe figured aristocratical British soldier, trim in his kharki
uniform, and wearing his sword with the air of nameless distinction
which belongs to the born ruler of men. Cronje's aspect was that of a
substantial farmer, his heavy cane, his slouch hat encircled by its
orange leather band, his bottle-green overcoat and tan boots were
distinctly bucolic, but his rigid implacable countenance, an utterly
impenetrable façade, betrayed the masterly and indomitable character of
the man.
There is no doubt that by his fierce, his masterly resistance to the
British he won for himself the respect of all who trapped him. His
undoubted pluck, a quality which has such unending fascination for the
English, served in a great measure to wipe off the terrible remembrance
of his atrocious deeds in other years. Cronje spoke scarcely a word. He
said there were 3000 Boers in the laager--as a matter of fact, there
were over 3700--and also requested that his wife, son, grandson, and
secretary might be allowed to remain with him. This request was acceded
to; arrangements were made that his relatives should accompany him into
captivity. He then partook of refreshment in Lord Roberts' quarters with
the staff. Though he smoked, he said little and remained gloomy and
preoccupied.
The prisoners trooped across the river like some patriarchal or gipsy
horde, with trousers turned up so as not to damp them in the swollen
drift. They splashed along, each armed with his household effects, pots
and pans, blankets and rifles, some jesting and skipping in sheer
exuberance of animal spirits that long had been subdued, some stolid and
serious in the full comprehension of the grievous end of all their pluck
and endurance. And they had endured! From the hundreds of wounded that
were brought in the same tale of suspense, and misery, and horror was
told in varying keys. Always they had awaited reinforcement; they had
even invented a scheme for cutting a way out to meet the relieving force
which never came. But volunteers for this deed of daring were few. About
a hundred in all. This meagre array was not sufficient. Others had
pressed on the relentless Cronje the philosophy of surrender. They urged
that directly, if not annihilated by shell fire, they would be laid low
by fever; already eighty-seven men were slain and a hundred and sixty
wounded. These had no doctors even to attend them. The surgeons had been
left behind on the Modder, and the offer of Lord Roberts of medicine and
succour had been refused. The suffering had indeed been terrible and now
was of no avail.
It was not pleasing to the vanity of the British army to find themselves
confronted with such a rabble of tatterdemalions, and to remember how
this nondescript mob had so long held them in check. But there was no
denying that the ruffians had qualities, and that they, unkempt and
undisciplined as they were, had proved themselves foemen worthy of our
steel and tacticians meriting study.
[Illustration: "MAJUBA DAY"--CRONJE SURRENDERS TO LORD ROBERTS AT
PAARDEBERG.
Drawing by R. Caton Woodville, from a Sketch by Frederic Villiers, War
Artist.]
It was curious how much our troops had learnt both from the
undisciplined Boers and the inexperienced Colonials. From the latter
they picked up the art of taking cover, and from the former the art of
obtaining it. The Boer was not content merely to crouch behind a stone
and show a head only when about to shoot. He cunningly arranged his
sangar so that he should expose no head at all. He built up his small
stones to the necessary height, taking care to leave a central loophole
through which he could take aim and yet remain invisible. An officer, in
giving his opinion of the Boer as a fighter, showed the lessons that had
been taught by him. "As a defender of defensive positions in a
mountainous country he is unequalled. He digs good trenches and chooses
good defensive positions, and he lies there quietly and waits for his
enemy to advance across the open. But he never, hardly ever, dares to
attack in the open, and if his flank is turned or his rear
threatened, he gets nervous, and retires to a better position if he can.
If our positions could be reversed--that is, if Tommy Atkins had to
defend the kopjes, and if the Boers had to attack them in the open,
there can be no doubt as to the result. Tommy, perhaps, would not be
quite so good as the Boer in defence, but, on the other hand, the Boer
would fail in the attack; indeed, he could not be brought to attempt it.
As a shooter the Boer is no better than our own men. The only difference
is that he attempts to shoot at far longer ranges. The Boer has taught
us to dig big trenches and to use big guns as mobile artillery."
The mobility of the big guns was at the moment more of a puzzle than
ever. The Boers were in possession of some Vickers-Maxims in laager, two
15-pounders, and some big guns. We captured the minor weapons, but the
big ones were sedulously hidden, and how they had vanished became a
problem that was never solved. It was supposed they were buried in the
bed of the river, but search failed to unearth them.
Trophies innumerable were picked up. Sir Howard Vincent succeeded in
securing a quaint seventeenth-century Bible, and Roberts' Horse
possessed themselves of Cronje's green bell-tent and ox-waggon. One
cavalry officer thought himself lucky to secure a new pair of stays
marked "11¾, waist 28 inches," evidently the property of a capacious
vrow. Letters multifarious were found, among them Cronje's commission,
signed by President Steyn.
Most of the prisoners, when interrogated, declared they were sick of the
war, and confessed that but for their fear of Cronje they would long ago
have surrendered. His was the powerful, the guiding hand. Some of them
expressed queer notions of the causes of the trouble, giving forth at
second and even third hand--and in a very garbled condition--the
sentiments poured into them by "sympathisers."
Said one, "The war is got up by the capitalists. The generals arrange a
victory or a reverse to suit their own interests on the Stock Exchange!"
A private remonstrated, "You don't include Lord Roberts? You'll admit
that he is disinterested!"
"Not a bit of it! He is a shareholder along with Chamberlain and Rhodes
and the other millionaires. They all look after number one."
Against such prejudice and ignorance it was useless to argue.
Some of the Free Staters expressed their joy at being relieved of the
company of the Boers. They had been on bad terms with them, and had
scarcely dared to speak a word in English for fear of their lives. One
declared that he was not permitted even to address his horse in the
odious language!
There were great and astonishing contrasts in the groups of prisoners
that were gathered together. Many of them were youths of sixteen to
eighteen years of age. Some seemed in a hopeless stage of sickness and
despair, others attenuated by the amount of vinegar consumed to cure the
stupefying effects of our lyddite. Endurance, it was plainly to be seen,
had been carried to the last pitch. Some, on the other hand, appeared as
though already reviving with the relaxation of the strain to which they
had been subjected; some even delighted to find themselves in British
hands, no longer tormented by "hell-scrapers," as they called the
shrapnel, and already clamouring to partake of spirits and refreshment,
for which they had longed in vain. The rapture at their deliverance
overcame all other sentiments; they had no thought for the ups and downs
of the war, and many, indeed, were still unaware of the causes that had
led them to share in it. Cronje had evidently kept a tight hand on them,
and but for his unique influence many would long before have
surrendered. This peculiar despotism was marvellous when it is
considered that none of the younger commanders could induce more than a
portion of his commando to follow him from the Natal side to the scene
of operations. Cronje had the privilege of being the most admired and
well-detested person on the stage of the moment, and one Boer was seen
clenching his fist in the direction of the vanquished tyrant and
exclaiming, "You hard man! you deserve to be shot." There were many who
heard him who endorsed the opinion.
A great deal of undue attention seemed to be bestowed on the Dutch
Commandant, and evidently it was his undisputed military genius that
earned for him the admiration of his conquerors. Only to this final
display of skill and pluck can be attributed the deference paid to a man
whose Anglophobia had made itself prominent for many years, one who cut
such a despicable figure in his relations with us at Potchefstroom, and
who was responsible in particular for much of the brutality which has
been accredited to the Boers in general. It was certainly a case of
turning the other cheek to the smiter, for the captive was allowed to
take with him his wife, and retain in his possession his favourite
horse, Wolmarens!
Accompanied by Mrs. Cronje, he was sent to Cape Town in a covered
waggon, guarded by a special convoy under the command of Colonel
Pretyman. There was considerable pathos in the scene of departure, for
many of the other prisoners had gone through the ordeal of the
bombardment with their wives by their sides, and these, less fortunate
than Mrs. Cronje, had to be left behind!
The majority of people, it must be owned, were horrorstruck at the
consideration shown to one to whom the word consideration was an empty
name. A Scottish Colonial, writing home, expressed his irritation at the
mode in which warfare was conducted. He said: "Cronje is now a hero,
housed in the Admiral's cabin on board the _Doris_. He is probably
saying, 'What fools the British are.' For, give him a chance, and he
would commit again the treacherous murders for which he has been
responsible in the past with as little compunction as he would feel at
putting his heel on a scorpion. I wonder if we may take this bit of
foolishness as an indication of the way in which England is going to
settle up finally with the Republics. Her policy has so often before
ended in weakness that one cannot help feeling nervous."
He was merely one of a thousand who argued that it was impossible to go
to war with kid-gloves on, and who regretted the terms of the
proclamation which had been made on the entry of Lord Roberts to the
Free State. This proclamation, which will be discussed anon, was another
of the nineteenth-century humanitarian movements which were mistakenly
applied to seventeenth-century comprehension. To return to the events of
Majuba day.
Lord Roberts subsequently visited the Boer laager, and testified his
admiration of the ingenuity and energy with which the position was made
almost impregnable to assault. In spite of ten days' bombardment by over
fifty guns and howitzers, the number of Boer wounded was said to amount
to only 160--a fact which went to prove that the power of artillery can
be broken by the ingenious use of the spade. The entrenchments, when
examined, proved to be most skilfully contrived, with narrow mouths some
eighteen inches wide, and wide bases, some quite three feet broad, which
rendered them almost impregnable to shell fire.
The effect of the bombardment was terrific. The laager presented an
appearance of black chaos, varied only by streaks of yellow, which told
of the gambols of lyddite. Waggons were wrecked with shrapnel; some had
ceased to exist; rings and twists and girandoles of distorted metal were
all that was left of them. Within the laager was a decaying, disordered
mass of Boer belongings, saddles innumerable, karosses and panniers,
coats and feminine apparel, fragments of old tin trunks, and 2,000,000
rounds of ammunition; wreckage of all sorts, united by the
super-evident, unavoidable, and persistent bonds of stench, which
permeated everything, weaving visible and invisible in one noxious
nightmare of the senses.
Round this arena of pestilence sentries were posted. It was necessary to
prevent loot, though little of value remained save munitions of war.
Most of the Boer property had been left behind in the hurried rush from
Majersfontein and Spyfontein. Still the locality had to be guarded, and
the guards, as well as all who approached, had to pocket their
sensibilities. Indeed, it was a marvel how the Boers had managed to
exist in the pestilential atmosphere that pervaded the river-bed.
Dotted everywhere, or collected in heaps, already rotting in the
tropical heat, were the remains of horses, mules, and cattle, some of
which had been driven to death, while others had been hurried there by
the voice of our howitzers or the rain of our rifle fire. In the fringe
of this atmosphere our troops had lived for some three days past, for
nightly they had advanced some fifty to an hundred yards nearer the
laager, and there dug trenches and located themselves, till, at the end,
the last three nights were passed almost within pistol-shot of the enemy
and in the thick of a stench whose opacity was well-nigh suffocating.
An interesting account of his enforced stay in the laager was given by a
trooper in Kitchener's Horse, who was taken prisoner on the day previous
to the great battle which settled Cronje's fate. He had become separated
from the rest of his troop while scouting along the Modder River. When
he looked round for his friends, he found himself surrounded by a party
of Boers, who, jumping from the bushes, fired upon him. His horse was
shot and rolled over upon the young trooper, carrying him with him into
the river. The Boers rescued him, relieved him of his bandolier, and
made him prisoner. Together they went to the laager. "There," the
trooper said, "I was taken before Commandant Cronje, who asked me our
strength and movements. On my replying that I was only a trooper, and
did not know, he said, 'Oh, never mind; if you don't want to tell me, I
shall not try to make you.' A guard was placed over me, and we stayed
the night in the laager. I should say there were about 6000 Dutchmen all
told, and forty women and children. A great many among them were
Irishmen, a few Scotchmen; in short, almost every nation was more or
less numerously represented. All that night they were busy entrenching
themselves, employing a great deal of native labour to help them."
Through the whole of the 18th of February the young man endured the
bombardment, which he described as so heavy that it was impossible to
remain in the laager, and consequently all, even the women and children,
took refuge in the trenches. The Boers' mode of firing he specially made
a note of: "The Boers did not in the least mind our attack, and laughed
amongst themselves as they saw the men advancing. They allowed them to
come up to about 600 yards from the trenches, and then opened a
tremendous fire from their rifles. It did not seem to be aimed at any
particular man, but more at a certain fixed distance. At that they fired
as fast as they could. The range was obtained by a few fixed shots, who
fired, watched the dust caused by the strike of the bullets, and then
gave out the range. Our men came up to within 150 yards and then
retired. They fired volleys at the longer distances, but all their fire
seemed to me to be short." Each day there were losses, but comparatively
few, as the bottle-shaped trenches afforded excellent cover; those that
fell, however, were buried where they lay. He went on to say that "The
shelling of Monday night destroyed several waggons, two of which were on
either side of Cronje's own. No one could have been braver than he was.
He stood upon the waggon-step, field-glasses in hand, and did not seem
to care in the least how thickly the shells and bullets fell. Many of
the Free Staters, however, were quite the reverse, and were in a great
state of terror when the bombardment began. The ammunition waggons blew
up, and several of the provision waggons were burned. The shrapnel
killed the majority of the horses and cattle, which had no shelter but
the banks of the river. Beyond that the fire did little real damage."
The prisoner declared his belief that "could they have kept their laager
out of fire they would never have surrendered. The loss of the provision
waggons was what caused them to give in. They had only four days' food
left. Their ammunition was still plentiful. After the explosion of the
ammunition waggons by shell-fire on February 19, all the remaining
cartridges were distributed throughout the trenches, and on the south
side every trench was still full of unused ammunition. Everything was
done in the trenches, even the cooking, each individual having with him
a box of provisions sunk into the ground. These boxes were replenished
at night as there was no possibility of reaching the laager during the
day."
Lord Roberts addressed the Canadians, and expressed his satisfaction and
appreciation of the splendid work they had done and the courage they had
shown. To them he attributed the greater share in the Boer surrender.
All were delighted at the attention shown the heroic Colonials, who had
done splendid work, and at the exhibition of Lord Roberts' tact and
kindliness in thus singling out the Canadians for the position of
honour. In the Jubilee of 1897 the Field-Marshal had told the Colonial
Bodyguard that he would like to have them with him if he were ever in
another campaign, and now the Canadians felt that the Chief's cherished
words had been no mere formula, and that they had been given the chance
to distinguish themselves that they had so eagerly desired.
To General Colvile was given the credit of inventing the order of attack
which at last brought the Boers to their senses. He arranged that the
first rank should advance, bayonets fixed, till the enemy opened fire.
Then they were to lie down and continue to fire on the Boers, while
Engineers and the second line dug a trench. The trench thus made was
within eighty yards of those of the Boers, and owing to its trefoil
shape, the troops were able to enfilade both the river and northern
trenches of the enemy and make them untenable. From their point in the
original trench the Gordon Highlanders kept up a brisk fire, while the
Shropshire Light Infantry, who were posted over a thousand yards to the
north-west of the position, co-operated.
In the very successful attack on the enemy's trenches the Royal Canadian
Contingent lost seven killed and twenty-nine wounded. Major Pelletier,
who commanded the French company, foremost of the three companies, was
wounded, and also Lieutenant Armstrong. It is interesting to note that
few of this gallant company of Great Britain's defenders could speak
English!
[Illustration: BOER TRENCHES AT PAARDEBERG. Photo by Alf. S. Hosking,
Cape Town.]
Colonel Otter, in command of the Canadians, had distinguished himself on
many occasions by rare coolness and display of great talent in the
field, and he now took pleasure in reporting excellently of the various
members of the battalion under his command who had especially
distinguished themselves. Among these were:--
Captain H. B. Stairs, 66th P. L. Fusiliers, and Lieutenant and
Captain A. H. Macdonell, Royal Canadian Regiment. E Company,
No. 5130, Corporal T. E. Baugh, R.C.R. F Company, No. 7782,
Private O. Matheson, 12th Newcastle Field Battery; No. 7803,
Private A. Sutherland, D. of Y. R. C. Hrs.; No. 7868, Sergeant
W. Peppeatt, Royal Canadian Artillery; No. 7871, Corporal R. D.
M'Donald, Royal Canadian Artillery; No. 7822, Private C.
Harrison, 2nd Montreal Regiment C.A.; No. 7841, Private A.
Bagot, 65th Montreal Rifles; No. 7778, Private Sievert, 93rd
Cumberland Infantry; No. 7615, Private A. T. Seriault, 9th
Voltigeurs de Quebec.
But these were only a select few among the number who were engaged in
incomparable things done incomparably well.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Colonel Ormelie Campbell Hannay was in his fifty-second year, having
been born on December 23, 1848. He entered the army as an ensign in the
93rd Foot (now the Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders)
on October 5, 1867, received his lieutenancy on the 28th of October
1871, and from February to November 1878 was instructor of musketry.
Obtaining his captaincy on November 17, 1878, he was employed on special
service in South Africa during the latter part of the Zulu War, from
June to October 1879, for which he had the medal with clasp. From April
to September 1883 he was aide-de-camp to the brigadier-general at
Aldershot, was gazetted a major in January 1884, and from September 1886
to November 1887 was again employed on staff service, for the first
portion of the period as an aide-de-camp in Bengal, and for the latter
portion in Bombay. He became lieutenant-colonel in June 1893, and
colonel in June 1897, and in June 1899 was placed on the half-pay list,
from which he was removed last October in order to take up the temporary
appointment of assistant-adjutant-general at Portsmouth. Not till
December 30, 1899, was he chosen for special service in South Africa.
[2] Lieutenant-Colonel William Aldworth, D.S.O., was forty-four years of
age, having been born on October 3, 1855. He entered the army as a
sub-lieutenant on June 13, 1874, and was gazetted to the 16th Foot, of
which he was adjutant from October 17, 1877, to March 29, 1881. Gazetted
a captain in the Bedfordshire Regiment on March 30, 1881, he served with
the Burmese Expedition from January 14, 1885, to March 3, 1886, as
aide-de-camp and acting military secretary to Sir Harry Prendergast,
first as a major-general in Madras, and then as general officer
commanding in Upper Burma, being mentioned in despatches and receiving
the D.S.O. and the medal with clasp. He also took part in the Isazai
Expedition in 1892, and in February 1893 was gazetted a major. In 1895
he served with the Chitral Relief Force under Sir Robert Low with the
1st battalion of his then regiment (the Bedfordshire), and took part in
the storming of the Malakand Pass and the engagement near Khar, for
which he had the medal with clasp. Again he was in active service in
1897-98, under Sir William Lockhart, in the campaign on the North-West
Frontier of India, with the Tirah Expeditionary Force as
deputy-assistant-adjutant-general of the 2nd Brigade, and with the
Khyber Force as deputy-assistant-adjutant-general, being present at the
forcing of the Sampagha and Arhanga Passes, and the operations against
the Chamkanis and in the Bazar Valley. He was mentioned in despatches,
received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel (May 20, 1898), and two
clasps. He obtained the substantive rank of lieutenant-colonel in the
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry on October 12, 1898.
CHAPTER II
MAFEKING IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY
Christmas Day, in deference to warlike etiquette, was observed as a
holiday; but, in spite of the pacific nature of the occasion, the man
who was the brain of Mafeking was organising a plan by which the cordon
around the town might be broken. He was deciding that there must be a
big fight on the morrow, and that a desperate effort must be made to
change the cramped vista of affairs. Waiting was a weary game, and it
was felt that some one must make a move. The Boers certainly, had they
chosen, might have carried the town by assault, but for such activity
they had no appetite. This was no boy's job, and, as they themselves
confessed, they went out to shoot, not to be shot. Not so the gentle
civilians, who, while incarcerated in this little hamlet of the veldt,
had developed into valiant campaigners. They were always ready to be up
and doing, and gladly fell in with the Colonel's plans. Frequent
reconnaissances had disclosed the fact that the enemy's position, though
strong on the western face, was fairly vulnerable at a point on the
east, and at this point it was decided an attack on the morning of the
26th should be directed.
The plan of attack was as follows:--Captain R. Vernon, King's Royal
Rifles, with C Squadron, and Captain FitzClarence and D Squadron, to
lead; Captain Lord Charles Bentinck, with A Squadron, to hold the
reserve upon the left, which was under the command of Colonel Hore.
Major Panzera and the artillery were to take up a position upon the
extreme left of the line. The railway running to within a few hundred
yards of Game Tree had been repaired, in order that the armoured train,
under Captain Williams and twenty men of the British South Africa
Police, with one-pounder Hotchkiss and Maxim, from a point parallel with
Game Tree, might protect the right flank. This flank was to be further
supported by Captain Cowan and seventy men of the Bechuanaland Rifles.
The entire operations from this side were to be under the command of
Major Godley, while Colonel Baden-Powell and his staff, Major Lord
Edward Cecil (Chief Staff Officer), Captain Wilson, A.D.C., and
Lieutenant Hanbury Tracy watched the direction of events from Dummie
Fort.
[Illustration: CRONJE'S FORCE ON THEIR MARCH SOUTH.
Drawing by Sidney Paget, from a Sketch made 8 Miles South of Paardeberg
by W. B. Wollen, R.I.]
It must be remembered that at that time the character of the fort they
intended to assail was barely known. In reality, it rose some seven
feet above a ditch deep and wide, which almost defied assault. However,
it was decided that Game Tree, from which had poured voluble rifle and
artillery fire for many weeks, must at all hazards be silenced. It was
most important that communication with the north should be, if possible,
re-established, and there was every hope that a successful fight might
make it easier for Colonel Plumer to eventually join hands with the
besieged.
The night passed. As the grey dawn broke over the veldt, a flash weirdly
orange and a golden puff of smoke showed that the preconcerted plan had
begun to be put in operation. Major Panzera with his seven-pounders had
started the programme. Presently the Maxim rapped out in chorus, while
on the right the great dusty crocodile, the armoured train, slunk along
to its destination. Its whistle shrieked. It was Captain Vernon's signal
for action. On the instant a thin line of moving kharki broke from
cover, bayonets glittered among the scrub, cheers and the rattle of
musketry filled the air. Officers and men were dashing, as only Britons
can dash, each striving to outrush the other towards the lair of the
enemy. Quick as thought they had plunged into the scrub that girdled the
sandbags, and excitedly, jubilantly, some one on Dummie Fort sang out,
"They are swarming over the bags--the position is ours!"
All waited anxiously, almost breathlessly. The moments grew and grew,
seconds became years. The sputtering of rifles continued, and swelled
into a vast hum, and then some one--the same some one, only in a very
different voice from that which spoke last, said hoarsely, "Our men are
coming back!"... Yes. They were indeed coming back--the remnant--firing
sullenly their parting shots ere they receded. The enemy's position had
been proved impregnable! Their parapet was loopholed in triple tiers and
roofed with a bomb-proof protection. It had but a single opening, large
enough to admit one man at a time. It was in firing his revolver into
one of the loopholes and endeavouring to pull out a sandbag with his
left hand that Lieutenant Paton was killed. Captain FitzClarence, far
ahead of his men, was shot in the thigh within 150 yards of the fort,
and both Captains Sandford and Vernon were laid low almost within a
stone's throw of the rifles of the enemy. Lieutenant Swinburne, who,
directly Captain FitzClarence was wounded, led his men forward with
dauntless energy, escaped unhurt. But few were equally lucky. Out of a
storming party of eighty, twenty-one were killed and thirty-three
wounded. It was when he saw this useless sacrifice of life that Major
Godley sent a message to headquarters by the aide-de-camp. "Captain
Vernon, sir, has been repulsed," he said, "and Major Godley does not
think it worth while trying again." Nor was it. All that could be done
was to send the ambulance to perform its grim duty.
In describing the tragic affair, Mr. Angus Hamilton, in _Black and
White_, said: "Indeed, from the armoured train it could be seen that the
progress of the men towards the fort was like the Charge of the Six
Hundred into the Valley of Death--a conviction which became more and
more apparent as our men gallantly held to their course. Within 300
yards of the fort it was almost impossible for any living thing to
exist, and the rush of the bullets across the zone of fire was like the
hum of myriads of locusts before the wind. The gallantry of the effort,
the admirable steadiness and precision with which the attack was
delivered, has been compared by our commanding officers to deeds which
rank among the foremost of our martial chronicles."
It was veritably a charge of heroes. Scarcely one man could be singled
out as the bravest of the brave where all showed such magnificent
courage. Captain Sandford, Indian Staff Corps, though wounded mortally
by a bullet in the spine, with his last breath ordered his men to
continue their advance and leave him to his fate. Captain FitzClarence,
wounded in the leg, bleeding, exhausted, was seen sitting up and
directing the charge. Elsewhere was Captain Vernon, with a bullet
through him, rushing on and on in company with the heroic youth, Paton,
whose effort to scale the inaccessible rampart brought about his death.
This splendid fellow was shot through the heart; while Captain Vernon,
who had again been hit, and still pursued his onward course into the
teeth of the foe, was struck on the head and killed. The only other
officer that escaped uninjured was Lieutenant Bridges, and he hurt his
ankle while assisting a wounded comrade. The details of the killed and
wounded were as follows:--Officers killed, three; wounded, one. Men
killed, eighteen; wounded, thirty-two; missing, thirteen. Thus ended a
superb effort, which, failure though it was, was vastly superior to many
a meaner martial success.
So the garrison had to go on in the old, old way, though many popular
and beloved members were now missing, and the hospital was full of cases
that threatened to end seriously. Owing to the commendable forethought
of Lord Edward Cecil and the enterprise of Messrs. Julius Weil, the
garrison was provided with the wherewithal to make what resistance they
did. Lord Edward Cecil's work was ceaseless; as Chief Staff Officer he
came in for both the external fights and the internal discords. He
smoothed down quarrels, dispensed justice, allayed "siege fever" in all
its intermittent phases, and in fact performed the tasks of ten men,
with unfailing courtesy and inexhaustible patience. The pinch of the
siege had gradually become more painful, and luxuries for some time had
been commandeered for the use of the sick. Luckily, some Chinamen among
the besieged contrived to grow vegetables in small quantities for the
use of the inhabitants, and by force of good management in the disposal
of the food supplies, which had been stocked by Messrs. Weil before the
outbreak of the war, a fixed scale of rations for every man, woman, and
child was secured. Conversation grew monotonous. It circled round the
positions of the guns, the chance of relief, and question of stores,
till it produced a mental giddiness that verged on the idiotic. Few
grumbled, few swore. In this matter the Boers acted as a safety-valve.
When people felt in the "something's too bad of somebody" mood, they
could go out and snipe, and vent their spleen usefully and to the honour
of their country! Sundays were more than ever flat. There was not the
excitement attendant on dodging shells in the open. Speculation on the
subject of food languished round the limitations of Hobson's choice. Mr.
Neilly in the _Pall Mall Gazette_ gave a sorry outline of the scanty
fare. "I will attempt to give you an idea of what this scarcity of diet
means. You are in a trench. In the early morning you have handed to you
a piece of bread as big as a breakfast roll and a little tin of 'bully'
sufficient for one average meal. You have some of it for breakfast, and
if you have not an iron will you will eat the lot there and then, and go
hungry for the rest of the twenty-four hours. What you leave is kept in
the broiling sun until luncheon-time, when you find the beef reduced to
an oily mess that does not look very appetising. You eat more and
tighten your belt a hole or two to delude yourself into the belief that
you have had a satisfying meal. You roast away again until dinner-time,
when you gather up the last crumb and sigh for a few hours in the
Adelaide Gallery or even in an East-End cookshop. But this is not all;
you are for guard duty from midnight until 3 A.M. You have no sleep
before you go on, and the slumber you fall into when relieved is
destroyed an hour after you have entered upon it by the morning order to
stand to arms. You thus get a schoolboy's luncheon to keep you alive for
twenty-four hours. It is made unpalatable by the sun, and if a Mafeking
shower falls, the odds are that it will be flooded over and buried in
the mud at the bottom of the trench."
At this time Cronje, by way of recreation, returned to Mafeking, a
fleeting visit, possibly to test some novel plans for the purpose of
subduing the town. He came armed with incendiary shells, which were
supposed to hit and blaze up and cause an inspiriting conflagration. But
they did not succeed. They caused a conflagration certainly, but its
duration was limited. At the end of it, Mafeking smiled still, but
smiled with the curled lip of scorn. The convent, notwithstanding its
symbol of the Red Cross, had been hit, and crushed, and wrecked; the
hospital had been assailed; the sacred claim of humanity had been
outraged; women and children had been subjected to terrors of fact and
terrors of dread. These atrocities continued, and Her Majesty's
long-suffering subjects looked on and waited; they believed that
deliverance must soon come. If they had not had that belief to help
them, they would have died or surrendered. They believed that a day of
reckoning would arrive, and that then Cronje and his diabolical
hirelings would come by their deserts. If only they could have skipped
six weeks and looked into the mirror of Fate, the drama at Paardeberg
Drift would have reassured them. As it was, they had to live in faith.
The series of atrocities that marked the Boer assaults had scarcely a
counterpart in modern history, and it grew doubtful, if ever their turn
should come, whether the besieged would be prevailed upon to emit one
spark of that "magnanimity" with which their countrymen had been so
lavish, and which the Boer had grown to account as a natural weakness of
these "verdomde rooineks."
Siege life was now becoming painfully irksome. A blazing sun, a
drenching rain, a gust of wind through the pepper trees, this was all
the variety at hand. The inhabitants of the town began to feel like
ghosts of themselves, ghouls walking the earth, yet out of touch with
those who spoke of them as a memory, and nothing more. To them it was
the quiet of the grave. They waited like some enchanted princess of a
fairy tale for the time when the magic wand should wave and their pulses
throb with joy and excitation, with laughter and zest for the good
things of the hour. Now they walked as in a dream to the accompaniment
of shot and shell, surrounded by devilish ogres and looters of the dead,
while somewhere within a few miles of them, kith and kin, living and
breathing kith and kin, seemed as phantoms in a nightmare to pass by and
to ignore! A speechless, soundless asphyxia of the soul seemed to be
creeping over these tired patient heroes! They still waited and hoped,
but hoping and waiting had now grown monotonous, almost mechanical, as
the tickings of an eight-day clock.
Rumours many and fantastic were brought in by the natives. It was
believed that a new year's gift of three waggon loads of ammunition had
been received by the Boers from Pretoria, and also a new gun. This
weapon it was afterwards discovered was provided with more combustible
bombs, horrible missiles that disgorge a chemical liquid which ignites
in contact with the air. Here was a continual horror, and one that was
only combated by extreme precautions. Though Colonel Baden-Powell in his
nook on the stoep of his house continued to whistle his insouciant
notes, his busy brains needed to be Machiavellian in their ingenuity.
Some declared he slept with one eye open; others, that he never slept at
all. Certain it was that when all were hushed in slumber he was "on the
prowl," either on the roof or in the open, reading from the heavens
above or the earth beneath the enemy's approaching machinations. Some
find sermons in stones; B.-P. found inspiration in sand and sky.
[Illustration: THE MARKET SQUARE, MAFEKING.]
The Boers continued their bombardment, the sun continued to blaze, to
smite the tin roofs and glaring sandy roads. After persistently
directing shells on the women's laager the ruffians succeeded in
murdering three little children. These were of Dutch nationality, and it
was hoped that their loss might possibly awaken a feeling of humanity
and remorse in the breast of those who had prompted the assault on the
defenceless position. But their conduct was rendering those within the
town exasperated almost to madness. They panted for a chance to mete out
annihilation to the blood-lusting rascals and untamed savages who were
harassing them. They did their best, and sat down to the business of
clearing off as many as possible of the polyglot horde who worked the
guns.
The work done by the Bechuanaland Rifles and the British South Africa
Police was prodigious. They shrunk from no toil and no exposure so that
they might reduce the number of the besiegers. Early in the New Year the
Rifles entrenched themselves within 900 yards of the enemy's big guns,
and spent days and nights in the trenches, relieved at intervals by the
Police. From nine on one night till nine the next they would occupy
their unenviable position, carrying with them their day's food and
water, and employing themselves during the hours of light by keeping up
a persistent fire on the Boer siege gun. On occasions their fire was so
accurate that the Dutchmen had entirely to abandon the work of loading
and training the gun. So smart, at last, grew the British sharpshooters,
that during each Sabbath the gun was shifted farther and farther away.
Colonel Baden-Powell's resourcefulness was again put to the test, and
was again triumphant. The Boers were somewhat nonplussed by the
discovery that he had a new weapon of defence. They put their heads
together and concluded that the weapon must have sprung from the bowels
of the earth. It so happened that in some long-forgotten stores in the
town an old ship's gun was suddenly discovered. Quickly it was brought
into action. But the ways of this old muzzle-loading 16-pounder were not
as the ways of the modern "Long Toms," whose tricks were "understanded"
of the Boer people. It had curious and distinctive virtues of its own.
This gun threw solid shot, which, unlike a shell that bursts and is done
with for better or for worse, gallivanted along the ground according to
its own sweet will, and produced little surprises that caused the
Colonel much amusement and not a little satisfaction.
[Illustration: GUN MADE IN MAFEKING. Photo by D. Taylor, Mafeking.]
The biography of the treasure-trove was written by Mr. Angus Hamilton
of _Black and White_, who declared that there was quite a flutter of
excitement at the appearance of the antiquated weapon. "It would seem,"
he said, "to have been made about 1770, and is identical with those
which up till very recently adorned the quay at Portsmouth. Its weight
is 8 cwt. 2 qr. 10 lbs., and it was made by B. P. & Co. It is a naval
gun, and is stamped 'No. 6 port.' How it came here is uncertain, and its
origin unknown; but one gathers that it must have been intended more for
privateering than for use in any Government ship of war, since it is
wanting in all official superscription. This weapon, which we have now
christened 'B. P.' out of a compliment to the Colonel, has been lying
upon the farm of an Englishman whose interests are very closely united
with the native tribe whose headquarters are in Mafeking Stadt. Mr.
Rowlands can recall the gun passing this way in charge of two Germans
nearly forty years ago. He remembers to have seen it in the possession
of Linchwe's tribe, and upon his return to the Baralongs, after one of
his trading journeys, he urged the old chief to secure it for use in
defence of the Stadt against the attacks of Dutch freebooters. The chief
then visited Linchwe and bought the gun for twenty-two oxen, bringing it
down to Mafeking upon his waggon. In those days it had three hundred
rounds of ammunition, which were utilised in tribal fights. With the
exception of visits which the gun made to local tribes, it has remained
here, and is now in the possession of Mr. Rowlands. It has recently
been mounted, and is in active operation against our enemies. We have
made balls for it, and are intending to manufacture shells, in the hope
we shall at least be able to reach the emplacement of Big Ben. The first
trial of 'B. P.' in its new career gave very satisfactory results. With
two pounds of powder it threw a ball of ten pounds more than two
thousand yards. The power of the charge was increased by half pounds
until a charge of three pounds threw a ball of the same weight as the
first rather more than two miles. We, therefore, have pinned our hopes
upon it, and commend to the responsible authorities the reflections
which may be derived from the fact that our chief and most efficient
means of defence lie in such a weapon."
The mosquito tactics of the wily Colonel proceeded as usual, but the
Boer was hard to checkmate. On the 15th of January an attack was made by
the sharpshooters against the enemy's big gun battery, with the pleasing
result that on the following day the 94-pounder and high-velocity Krupp
evacuated their positions, and retired to a more distant one on the east
side of the town, whence their command of the place was comparatively
limited. In this quarter, now that the foe was pushed out of rifle
range, it was possible to open grazing for cattle, a very desirable
movement, for the poor lean beasts were waning rapidly. At this time
Captain FitzClarence was reported among the convalescents, the wound
received on the 26th of December having almost healed.
Preparations were set on foot for the purpose of routing the enemy with
dynamite, failing all other means of ridding the town of his too
intimate proximity. Colonel Baden-Powell's motto, unlike that of British
Governments, was to take time by the forelock. He left nothing to
chance. In order to avert any risk of running short of supplies, rations
were reduced, and oats which had previously belonged to the beasts were
promoted to the use of their owners. Very stringent laws existed for the
economising of everything. Matches and tinned milk were commandeered,
and the theft of a matchbox was now viewed as a heinous crime. Tobacco
in small quantities remained, but wines and spirits were fast running
out. There were pathetic leave-takings as each quart of whisky
disappeared from the stores; there was no knowing when would arrive the
hour for a fond and a last farewell. Conversation grew still more
monotonous. It mostly consisted of how the inner man should be
sustained, and of anecdotes of agility in avoiding shot and shell.
[Illustration: WEST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT (Colour-Sergeant).
YORKSHIRE REGIMENT (Sergeant).
Photo by Gregory & Co., London.]
Still, considerable interest was taken in the performances of the old
16-pounder, which had been rigged up and christened by some "Skipping
Polly," on account of its skittish habits and its propensity to
ricochet. This, though erratic in its proceedings, did good work, and
struck the parapet of the enemy's fort. On the 10th of January violent
rains came down, and rendered most of the trenches in front of the town
uninhabitable, and life in general almost unendurable. Never was there
greater need for the inestimable virtues of pluck and patience, and if
medals had been awarded for these united qualities, the inhabitants of
Mafeking would all have possessed them.
The pinch of siege life now became terribly evident, for the Kaffirs
were reduced to eating mules. The British feared their turn at this diet
would come directly. But the garrison was still cheery, and their
entrenchments were considerably improved. In these Colonel Baden-Powell
took a just pride, and his activity in promoting the safety and comfort
of the inhabitants was boundless. They declared that they could feed
themselves for another three months, but the nature of the form of
provision was not divulged. Hardships and privations were endured by the
little force with really amazing pluck. Beds they had scarcely enjoyed
since the commencement of the siege; baths were almost as foreign, few
had had a chance to remove their clothes; and news--the stimulus of the
outside world--was entirely lacking. Letters now and then were passed
out, but the real truth could never be trusted to black and white.
The office of censor was undertaken by the Hon. A. H. Hanbury Tracy
(Royal Horse Guards). His occupation was a hard and a thankless one, for
constant vigilance had to be exercised lest reports concerning the inner
state of Mafeking--reports most ardently craved by those interested at
home--might fall into the hands of the enemy, and thus cramp the
operations of Colonel Baden-Powell and those who helped him to present a
bold and fearless front to the hovering hordes who were waiting smugly
for what they believed to be the inevitable.
On the 17th General Snyman bethought himself of a new way of starving
the garrison into surrender. He sent a party of natives to enjoy the
hospitality of the already sparsely fed town. It had not a mule to spare
for extra Kaffirs, and Colonel Baden-Powell sternly though regretfully
refused admittance to the new-comers. According to Boer usage, the
officer and orderly who conveyed the message, notwithstanding the fact
that they carried a white flag, were fired upon by the enemy while they
were returning. A dastardly trick this, and the garrison resented it.
At this time the news of the grand Ladysmith sortie was received with
rejoicings, and the bellicose youngsters of the community began to rack
fertile brains in hope to emulate the courage and dash of the sister
garrison. On this day a shell hit the shelter occupied by Major Baillie
and Mr. Stent, Reuter's correspondent, and portions crashed through
Dixon's Hotel, but fortunately without injuring any one.
News now reached the benighted villagers that Colonel Plumer, with three
armoured trains, had actually reached Gaberones, some three hundred
miles north of Mafeking. The troops had some sharp tussles with the
Boers, and drove them out of rifle range while the railway operatives
mended the line. Where Colonel Plumer's three trains came from was a
mystery. He was known to have _one_, but there was no saying of what
Rhodesia might not be capable in time of stress. Colonel Plumer had his
work cut out for him, but he was not a man to sheer off difficult tasks,
and there was intense hope that he might succeed. But there was always
the Boer artillery--a terrible barrier between the relieving force and
Mafeking--and in the face of this even the finest warriors, almost
gunless, could scarcely be expected to advance alive.
On the 19th of January the small community celebrated the 100th day of
the siege. All the corners of the square had been knocked off by the
ever-active Boers, but the village maintained a suitable air of
liveliness. Exhibitions were arranged, and some smart fighting showed
that the right arm of the British had lost none of its cunning.
There were fat days and lean days in Mafeking. Though for the most part
leanness prevailed, there was now and then to be found an oasis in the
desert of the commissariat. Occasionally some successful raid made by
the natives was productive of real meals--succulent beef _versus_ old
mule and husks. In the course of one daring foray the natives secured
two dozen head of cattle; in another they carried off prizes of fat kine
to the tune of a score. The excursions took place under cover of
darkness, and, like all raids, were pursued without the consent of the
Government. The natives had a process peculiarly their own in seducing
the fat kine to follow them home. Devoid of clothing, and crawling
snake-like over the veldt, they would approach the grazing cattle and
gradually draw off such beasts as appeared goodly in their eyes, and
which had been previously marked down with the acuteness of hungry
instinct. Noiselessly the animals were enticed on and on till they
reached the precincts of the staadt, where the raiders were anxiously
looked for by their Baralong friends. These famishing individuals
greeted the successful capture of the wherewithal to maintain life with
shouts and dances of joy.
The garrison was soon put on a scale of still more reduced rations.
These consisted of half a pound of meat and the same of bread daily. The
luxuries of life--the people in England looked on them as
necessaries!--tea, sugar, biscuits, jams, &c., were commandeered. In
January the following housekeeper's notes were made by the correspondent
of the _Times_:--"Meal and flour have jumped from 27s. per bag to 50s.;
potatoes, where they exist at all, are £2 per cwt.; fowls are 7s. 6d.
each; and eggs 12s. per dozen. Milk and vegetables can no longer be
obtained, and rice has taken the place of the latter upon the menus.
These figures mark the rise in the more important food-stuffs as sold
across the counter, but the hotels have, in sympathy, followed the
example, they upon their part attributing it to the increase which the
wholesale merchants have decreed. A peg of whisky is 1s. 6d., dop brandy
1s., gin 1s., large stout is 4s., small beer 2s. In ordinary times
whisky retails at 5s. per bottle. This rate has now advanced to 18s. per
bottle and 80s. per case. Dop, which is usually 1s. 4d., is now 12s. per
bottle; the difference upon beer is almost 200 per cent., and inferior
cigarettes are now 18s. per 100."
On the good management of the contractors, Messrs. Weil & Co., every one
depended for flesh and blood. On them rested the responsibility of
issuing daily rations--bread and meat for the garrison, forage for
horses, and food for natives--and very excellently they fulfilled their
difficult task.
On the 21st an unusual sort of show was held. The exhibits ranged from
foals to babies, Mr. Minchin (Bechuanaland Rifles) securing first prize
for the former, while Sergeant Brady, B.S.A.P., was the proud winner of
the prize for the latter.
Colonel Baden-Powell sent a despatch reporting his own doings at the end
of January to Colonel Nicholson. It ran as follows:--
"Inform the Commanding Staff Officer that we are well here. On
January 23 the enemy moved their north-east supporting laager
to within 4500 yards of the town. We pushed our advance works
in that direction, and mounted Lord Nelson, an old naval
smooth-bore gun, in an emplacement 3100 yards from the enemy.
On the evening of January 29 we unmasked our guns and shelled
the enemy's camp with complete success. Next morning the Boer
laager was moved back two miles.
"On the 31st we were busy on all sides of the town. On the
south the men in our advance works had a skirmish with three of
the enemy's Krupp and Maxim guns, the firing being very heavy.
A bombardment of our front on Cannon Kopje by the Boer
94-pounder followed. On the east front our four guns replied to
this by a concentrated fire on the brickfield entrenchments,
where the enemy poured in a musketry and artillery fire.
"On the north the enemy's 5-pounders kept up a steady fire.
They dropped one shell through the roof of the hospital, but
luckily it did not explode. On the west the enemy, from their
advanced works, opened a heavy rifle and Maxim fire on Fort
Ayr, which our fort eventually silenced by the well-aimed fire
of its guns. The enemy sent three big shells into the town
after dark, but they gained nothing during the day.
"Our casualties during the past two days from the enemy's shell
fire have been three killed and three wounded. Mr. Kiddy, of
the Railway Department, has died of fever.
"On February 2 General Snyman, in reply to my letter with
regard to his deliberately shelling the women and children's
laagers on the 27th ult., offered no excuse or apology, and by
a transparent falsehood practically admits that he ordered it.
I have told him that I have now established temporary premises
for the Boer prisoners in the women's laager and in the
hospital, in order to protect these places from deliberate
shelling."
General Snyman and Colonel Baden-Powell had also a correspondence
regarding Snyman's arming and raising of natives. In reply the old
commandant said that he had merely armed the natives as cattle-guards.
In his turn he complained that the British had been seen making
fortifications on Sunday. The Colonel, who only relaid some mine wires,
informed him that he had himself been entertained by watching the
building of new fortifications by the Boers on that day.
On the 25th of January a shell burst through the convent, which was used
as a convalescent hospital, and slightly wounded Lady Sarah Wilson, who
had taken upon herself the care of the invalids. On the following day
the women's laager was continuously shelled, but fortunately with small
result. There was general jubilation at reports received regarding the
success of Lord Roberts' operations. The news was an immense stimulus,
and speculation as to the date of relief was freely indulged in. The
besieged had learnt to gather hope from the smallest incidents. The
disappearance from time to time of the 5-pounder Krupp, the 1-pounder
Maxim, the 9-pounder quick-firing Creusot, which had a trick of making
weekly excursions somewhere--caused them to conjecture whether Colonel
Plumer had reached a point where these pieces could be made to come in
handy. The 100-pounder Creusot, however, was untiring. It engaged only
in shorter peregrinations, moving from one emplacement to another by way
of variety, and keeping up a system of torture which acted badly on the
nerves of the unhappy persons who were honoured with its attentions.
The following telegram, forwarded by runner from the Mayor of Mafeking
(Mr. Whiteley), was addressed to Queen Victoria: "Mafeking upon the
hundredth day of siege sends loyal devotion to your Majesty, and
assurance of continued resolve to maintain your Majesty's supremacy in
this town." The splendid little garrison had indeed a right to be proud
of itself for having for so long a period held at bay a puissant and
spiteful foe. It had fought, it had schemed, it had set its wits against
the wits of Cronje and his successors, and defied them magnificently.
"No surrender" was its motto, and the reply from the enemy was stamped
on every house of this minute town--so minute that it could have been
"stowed within the railings of St. James' Park"--and scribbled in large
black defacing lines wherever shot and shell could penetrate. Some idea
of life's daily accompaniment of artillery may be arrived at by reading
a description of his experiences recounted by Mr. Neilly of the _Pall
Mall Gazette_. He said:--"When the enemy's artillery began to send us
the heavy ration, those who knew most about the power of modern
long-range high-velocity arms dreaded most the consequences. At the
advice of our commander-in-chief, we went to earth, some into dug-outs,
I, with others, into the wine-cellar of the hotel, which I consider was
the most comfortable and luxurious place in the town. After breakfast a
twelve-pounder on the heights went 'Boom!' Where had the shell gone? Had
it struck a house? Had the building collapsed? Would the town be
flattened and set on fire when the whole battery came into action? We
speculated so until the second boom sounded, and the third quickly
followed. Himmel! We had got it, and what a crash it was! Something had
given way, and _débris_ and shrapnel scattered like a hailstorm across
the dining-room floor overhead. While some calmed the ladies, others of
us doubled up through the trapdoor, slid the panel that divides the bar
from the dining-room, and looked in. The dense smoke of the bursting
charge filled the place, but there was nothing to indicate that anything
was aflame. When the air cleared slightly we entered, to find the floor
and tables littered with brick-dust and scrap iron; but the area of
destruction was confined to the brickwork at the side of the window.
Nothing was stirred upon the tables, which were laid for luncheon. That
was enough. Had the house been built of good tough English brick, its
flank would have probably collapsed; the rottenness of the walls had
saved them; the rottenness of all the houses would bring about
comparative safety to the town. Solids struck by shell add to the
destruction wrought by the projectile through flying splinters; but
there is no use in trying to batter sand stuck together with water. The
concussion sends off the detonator, the burst makes a hole in the wall,
and the further results are an untidied room and a bad fright to anybody
who may be in it."
The writer, like the rest of the plucky crew, talked airily of the
ordeal that all passed through, without a single boast of the splendid
effect of the garrison's doughty resistance to the enemy in the early
phases of the war.
It is scarcely possible to exaggerate the full importance of this
magnificent defence at that time. As an object-lesson in British pluck,
and the marvellous celerity with which peace-loving citizens may become
glorious fighters, the defence as a whole stands without parallel. But
from a political point of view the initial stoutness of the resistance
was a _coup_ which had far-reaching results.
There is no doubt that at the outset of the war a conspiracy was on foot
between the Cape Dutch and the Federals, and that the capture of certain
towns was to be taken as a signal for the joining of the allies to drive
the British from South Africa. It was thought that the apparently
insignificant village of Mafeking would be among the first to fall, and
the conspirators congratulated themselves that once the place went
under, the door to Rhodesia would fly open. The gallant Cronje, with
nothing better to occupy him, could have worked his way north, attacked
Colonel Plumer and his small force, and without doubt defeated them. He
would then have proceeded on a triumphal march. Having intimidated the
natives, who invariably back the man with the visible biceps, and having
armed the Matabele and Mashonas, he would have completely swept and
devastated the fair country of the Colossus before our troops could have
had time to save it from ruin. How far the ruin would have spread it is
difficult to say. Like dynamite, it would have struck upwards and
downwards, north and south. The capture of Mafeking would have unhinged
the native population there, and forced them to side with the Boers; and
once the natives got under arms the situation would have become so
complicated that it might have taken years to unravel, if indeed the
Government had the patience to unravel it at all.
Then disaffection would have spread rapidly, even to Table Bay. Had
Cronje at the outset not been kept tied to the place, occupied in trying
to crack the nut which he eventually found too hard for his own teeth
and for the sledge-hammer weapons of his mercenaries, he would have gone
on from town to town gathering up adherents as he went, and causing
intimidation of such a kind that even the loyally disposed would in
sheer self-defence have thrown in their lot with him.
CHAPTER III
AT POPLAR GROVE
Before going on, it must be noted that on the 19th Lord Roberts had
issued a proclamation to the Burghers of the Free State in English and
Dutch. He said that the British having entered the Free State, he felt
it his duty to make known the cause, and to do his utmost to end the
war. Should the Free Staters continue fighting, they would do so in full
knowledge of their responsibility for the lives lost in the campaign.
Before the war, the Imperial Government desired the friendship of the
Free State, and solemnly assured President Steyn that if he remained
neutral the Free State territory would not be invaded and its
independence would be respected. Nevertheless, the Free Staters had
wantonly and unjustifiably invaded British territory, though the
Imperial Government believed that the Free State Government was wholly
responsible, under mischievous outside influence, for this invasion.
The Imperial Government bore the people no ill-will, and was anxious to
preserve them from the evils which the action of their Government had
caused. Lord Roberts warned the Burghers to desist from further
hostilities, and he undertook that Burghers so desisting should not
suffer in their persons or property. Requisitions of food, forage, fuel,
and shelter must be complied with. Everything would be paid for on the
spot, and if supplies were refused they would be taken, a receipt being
given. Should the inhabitants consider that they had been unjustly
treated, and should their complaint on inquiry be substantiated, redress
would be given. In conclusion, Lord Roberts stated that British soldiers
were prohibited from entering houses or molesting the civil population.
By the terms of this proclamation it was necessary to abide, though, by
degrees, as will be seen, it began to be discovered that generous
concessions made to our enemies were misinterpreted and taken advantage
of in ways which tended to prolong the war.
Lords Roberts and Kitchener paid a flying visit to Kimberley on the 1st
of March, and attended a crowded meeting in the Town Hall. Lord Roberts,
with his usual grace, dwelt on the courage, endurance, and heroism
exhibited by the troops and residents, not only in Kimberley, but in the
other besieged towns.
Cronje's fate being sealed, the Field-Marshal shifted his headquarters
to Osfontein, seven miles up the Modder from Paardeberg. Near here it
was rumoured that such Boers as had failed to come to the succour of
Cronje had flocked. These, numbering some 10,000, had gathered at the
summons of their chief from the regions round Stormberg, Colesberg, and
Ladysmith, and were now busily entrenching a position some fifteen miles
long. Of this the flanks rested on kopjes to the south of the river on a
group called Seven Sisters, and to the north across the river on a
flat-topped kopje, behind which were further fortified kopjes, forming a
formidable position at Poplar Grove, a place so called because of a
sparse display of poplar and Australian gum-trees in the vicinity.
At this time the two Presidents of the Republics, finding things getting
too hot to be comfortable, made magnanimous proposals for peace. The
following is the text of their despatch.
"BLOEMFONTEIN, _March 5, 1900_.
"The blood and the tears of the thousands who have suffered by
this war, and the prospect of all the moral and economic ruin
with which South Africa is now threatened, make it necessary
for both belligerents to ask themselves dispassionately, and as
in the sight of the Triune God, for what they are fighting, and
whether the aim of each justifies all this appalling misery and
devastation.
"With this object, and in view of the assertions of various
British statesmen, to the effect that this war was begun and is
being carried on with the set purpose of undermining Her
Majesty's authority in South Africa, and of setting up an
Administration over all South Africa independent of Her
Majesty's Government, we consider it our duty solemnly to
declare that this war was undertaken solely as a defensive
measure to safeguard the threatened independence of the South
African Republic, and is only continued in order to secure and
safeguard the incontestable independence of both Republics as
sovereign international States, and to obtain the assurance
that those of Her Majesty's subjects who have taken part with
us in this war shall suffer no harm whatsoever in person or
property.
"On these conditions, but on these conditions alone, are we
now, as in the past, desirous of seeing peace re-established in
South Africa, and of putting an end to the evils now reigning
over South Africa; while, if Her Majesty's Government is
determined to destroy the independence of the Republics, there
is nothing left to us and to our people but to persevere to the
end in the course already begun, in spite of the overwhelming
pre-eminence of the British Empire, confident that that God who
lighted the unextinguishable fire of the love of freedom in the
hearts of ourselves and of our fathers will not forsake us, but
will accomplish His work in us and in our descendants.
"We hesitated to make this declaration earlier to your
Excellency, as we feared that as long as the advantage was
always on our side, and as long as our forces held defensive
positions far in Her Majesty's Colonies, such a declaration
might hurt the feelings of honour of the British people; but
now that the prestige of the British Empire may be considered
to be assured by the capture of one of our forces by Her
Majesty's troops, and that we are thereby forced to evacuate
other positions which our forces had occupied, that difficulty
is over, and we can no longer hesitate clearly to inform your
Government and people, in the sight of the whole civilised
world, why we are fighting, and on what conditions we are ready
to restore peace."
[Illustration: SHELL FROM THE NAVAL BRIGADE DISPERSING BOERS FROM BEHIND
THE SEVEN SISTERS KOPJES, DURING THE ACTION OF 7th MARCH AT LE GALLAIS
KOPJE, NEAR OSFONTEIN.
Drawing by Sidney Paget, from a Sketch by W. B. Wollen, R.I.]
The answer to this effusion, addressed by Lord Salisbury on behalf of
Her Majesty's Government to the Presidents, ran:--
"FOREIGN OFFICE, _March 11, 1900_.
"I have the honour to acknowledge your Honours' telegram, dated
March 5, from Bloemfontein, of which the purport is principally
to demand that Her Majesty's Government shall recognise the
'incontestable independence' of the South African Republic and
Orange Free State as 'sovereign international States,' and to
offer, on those terms, to bring the war to a conclusion.
"In the beginning of October last, peace existed between Her
Majesty and the two Republics under the Conventions which then
were in existence. A discussion had been proceeding for some
months between Her Majesty's Government and the South African
Republic, of which the object was to obtain redress for certain
very serious grievances under which British residents in the
South African Republic were suffering. In the course of these
negotiations, the South African Republic had, to the knowledge
of Her Majesty's Government, made considerable armaments, and
the latter had, consequently, taken steps to provide
corresponding reinforcements to the British garrisons of Cape
Town and Natal. No infringement of the rights guaranteed by the
Conventions had, up to that point, taken place on the British
side. Suddenly, at two days' notice, the South African
Republic, after issuing an insulting ultimatum, declared war
upon Her Majesty; and the Orange Free State, with whom there
had not even been any discussion, took a similar step. Her
Majesty's dominions were immediately invaded by the two
Republics, siege was laid to three towns within the British
frontier, a large portion of the two Colonies was overrun, with
great destruction to property and life, and the Republics
claimed to treat the inhabitants of extensive portions of Her
Majesty's dominions as if those dominions had been annexed to
one or other of them. In anticipation of these operations the
South African Republic had been accumulating for many years
past military stores on an enormous scale, which, by their
character, could only have been intended for use against Great
Britain.
"Your Honours make some observations of a negative character
upon the object with which these preparations were made. I do
not think it necessary to discuss the questions you have
raised. But the result of these preparations, carried on with
great secrecy, has been that the British Empire has been
compelled to confront an invasion which has entailed upon the
Empire a costly war and the loss of thousands of precious
lives. This great calamity has been the penalty which Great
Britain has suffered for having in recent years acquiesced in
the existence of the two Republics.
"In view of the use to which the two Republics have put the
position which was given to them, and the calamities which
their unprovoked attack has inflicted upon Her Majesty's
dominions, Her Majesty's Government can only answer your
Honours' telegram by saying that they are not prepared to
assent to the independence either of the South African Republic
or of the Orange Free State."
To return to Osfontein. There was now a short and much-needed interval
of repose, in which men and horses tried to recuperate. It was, however,
necessary for the cavalry to be continually scouring the country to
ascertain the whereabouts of the enemy.
On the 6th of March Lord Roberts welcomed the Ceylon Mounted Infantry,
and sent the following telegram to Sir West Ridgeway, Governor of
Ceylon:--"I have just ridden out to meet Ceylon Mounted Infantry, and
welcome them to this force. They look most workmanlike, and are a
valuable addition to Her Majesty the Queen's army in South Africa."
These troops were in excellent condition, so also were their handy Burma
ponies, smart, knowing, and game little beasts, warranted to turn on a
sixpence and stand any amount of wear and tear.
On the same day the Colonials had a smart set-to with the Dutchmen, who
were endeavouring to locate themselves in the vicinity, and the New
Zealanders and Australians made themselves more than a match for the
Boers, losing themselves only six wounded, while they put ten of the
enemy out of action. The rest of the gang disappeared, on the principle
of those who fight and run away live to fight another day. In fact, they
moved to some strong eminences that commanded either side of the river,
the centre of the position being at Poplar Grove Farm. Here the Federals
thought to embarrass the British advance, but Lord Roberts decided to
undeceive them. The Field-Marshal's plan was now to turn their left
flank with the cavalry division, and then to meet their line of defence
with the infantry divisions, and thus enclose them as Cronje had been
enclosed.
Accordingly the troops got themselves into battle array. The Naval
Brigade brought their 4.7 guns four miles north-east of Osfontein, while
the cavalry prepared to turn the Boer left, and started before daybreak
of the 7th to accomplish this feat. On the north bank was left the Ninth
Division with some handy Colonials and guns. Moving to the east were the
Sixth and Seventh Divisions, with the Guards Brigade in the centre.
The dawn grew. The Boers in the golden rays of morning were disclosed
massed in the far front, and later was seen the glorious mass of
French's cavalry sweeping south--a martial broom which the Boers began
to know meant business.
At eight o'clock the music of battle started, the Naval guns on one side
and the batteries of General French on the other. Lyddite and shrapnel
bounced and spluttered over all the small kopjes wherein the Dutchmen
had made a lodgment. It was sufficient. The Boer guns spat
impotently--the puling cry of dismay--then, knowingly, the Federals made
preparations for a stampede. They saw in the distance the Sixth Division
advancing, the Colonials cleaving the columns of dust, the Highland
Brigade coming on and on, their dark kilts cutting a thin line across
the atmosphere--they saw enough! To east they flew, speeding towards
Bloemfontein--guns, waggons, horsemen--as arrows from the bow, and
leaving behind them their well-constructed trenches, their ammunition,
tents, and supplies. After them went the Colonials and City Imperial
Volunteers, all keen sportsmen, exhilarated with the heat of the chase,
but the Boers were uncatchable. No one has yet beaten them in the art of
running away. Nevertheless, Lord Roberts was left in undisturbed
possession of Poplar Grove. In the early afternoon the Boers certainly
endeavoured to make one futile, feeble stand, but their effort was
unavailing, and by sunset they were careering into space, while the
cavalry vainly endeavoured to hem them in. Horse-flesh had come to the
end of its tether; poor food and much galloping had reduced the noble
steeds to helpless wrecks, and unfortunately the manoeuvres of
Paardeberg could not be repeated. Curiously enough, though no Boers were
caught, the military net was full of strange fish, a Russian, a
Hollander, a German all being left in the lurch. It was a humorous
episode. While the Boers were making off as fast as legs--the mounts of
some had been shot--and horses could carry them, a dilapidated country
cart, surmounted by a red flag, was seen to be approaching. From this
cart presently emerged several forlorn personages, looking very sorry
for themselves indeed. They accounted for their plight by saying that
while the final fight was taking place their mule-waggon had broken
down. The mules having been unloosed, promptly stampeded, and left them
between two fires, that of the Boers (to whom they were attached) and
the British. The name of one foreigner, in dark blue uniform, was
Colonel Prince Gourko, of the Russian army; the other, attired in plain
clothes, was Lieutenant Thomson, of the Netherlands (Military Attaché of
the Boers). With them was a German servant in attendance on the Russian
prince. Finding themselves in an uncomfortable quandary, one from which
there was no escape, they decided to join the British. They were
introduced to Lord Kitchener, and thereupon presented to the
Commander-in-Chief, who received them with his usual courtesy.
Lord Roberts, telegraphing home in the afternoon, thus described the
day's work:--
"OSFONTEIN, _March 7_ (4.30 P.M.).
"March 7.--Our operations to-day promise to be a great success.
"The enemy occupied a position four miles north and eleven
miles south of Modder River.
"I placed Colvile's division on north bank; Kelly-Kenny's and
Tucker's, with cavalry division, on south bank.
"The cavalry division succeeded in turning the left flank,
opening the road for 6th Division, which is advancing without
having been obliged to fire a shot up to present time (twelve
noon).
"Enemy are in full retreat toward north and east, being closely
followed by cavalry, horse-artillery, and mounted infantry,
while the 7th (Tucker's) and 9th (Colvile's) divisions, and
Guards Brigade, under Pole-Carew, are making their way across
the river at Poplar's Drift, where I propose to place my
headquarters this evening."
Later on the Commander-in-Chief wired from the said headquarters:--
"POPLAR GROVE, _March 7_ (7.35 P.M.).
"We have had a very successful day and completely routed the
enemy, who are in full retreat.
"The position they occupied was extremely strong, and cunningly
arranged with a second line of entrenchments, which would have
caused us heavy loss had a direct attack been made.
"The turning movement was necessarily wide owing to the nature
of the ground, and the cavalry and horse-artillery horses are
much done up.
"The fighting was practically confined to the cavalry division,
which, as usual, did exceedingly well, and French reports that
the horse-artillery batteries did a great deal of execution
amongst the enemy.
"Our casualties number about fifty.
"I regret to say that Lieutenant Keswick, 12th Lancers, was
killed, and Lieutenant Bailey, of the same regiment, severely
wounded. Lieutenant De Crespigny, 2nd Life Guards, also
severely wounded."
Though the state of the cavalry was deplorable, it was thanks to the
splendid execution of General French that the Boers showed so little
fight, and there were so few casualties. The enemy saw the cavalry
menacing their line of retreat, and pelted off from kopje to kopje, now
and then sniping at the leading squadrons, and occasionally plumping a
shell or two into the British midst. With the Dutchmen, Presidents Steyn
and Kruger were said to be, and these worthies made a desperate attempt to
rally the forces, but without success. Some say they even shed tears to
encourage their countrymen, which tears had evidently a damping effect,
for the Boers--some 14,000 of them--retreated all the faster. They were
absolutely demoralised by Lord Roberts' tactics, and felt seriously
injured that the trenches which had been prepared against a frontal attack
should have been ignored. They had been so accustomed to be attacked in
front that they began to look upon the Commander-in-Chief's "roundabout
way of doing things" as distinctly unfair. They took themselves off, and
when General French, who advanced ten miles ahead of the main body,
scoured the front, he reported that not a Boer was to be seen. A vast
amount of ammunition was left behind, and this, including several boxes of
explosive bullets, labelled "Manufactured for the British Government," was
promptly destroyed.
Good news now arrived. The A and B squadrons of Kitchener's Horse,
reported missing, suddenly returned to camp at Paardeberg. They, with E
squadron, were cut off on the 13th of February, and given up for lost.
Though E squadron was captured by the enemy, A and B squadrons succeeded
in escaping, and, after losing their bearings on the veldt, and
enduring three weeks' somewhat unpleasant experiences, found their way
into safety.
Quantities of the Transvaalers disbanded and returned to their farms. In
other quarters, too, progress was announced. General Gatacre occupied
Burghersdorp and General Clements had reached Norval's Pont, and thus
the sporadic rebellion in Cape Colony was slowly beginning to die out.
The army advanced and formed a fresh camp beyond Poplar Grove, where on
the 8th and 9th more of the troops concentrated. The force was now
moving through a fine grassy country, made additionally green and
refreshing by plentiful rains, and the horses were improving in
condition and spirits, while the men were in first-rate fettle.
On the 10th of March the army proceeded onwards. By this time the Boers
had posted themselves on the kopjes eight miles south of Abraham's
Drift. It was imagined that they would be able to offer little
resistance to the advancing force, but they, however, made a very
determined stand.
THE FIGHT AT DRIEFONTEIN
On leaving Poplar Grove, Lord Roberts' force, rearranged and divided
into three, advanced on Bloemfontein _via_ Driefontein, a place about
six miles south-west of Abraham's Kraal and some forty miles from the
capital of the Free State. Along the Petrusberg Road, to the right,
moved General Tucker's division, with the Gordons and a cavalry brigade.
The central column, composed of General Colvile's division, the Guards
Brigade (General Pole-Carew), and Colonel Broadwood's brigade of
cavalry, accompanied Lord Roberts, while on the left, advancing along
the Modder River, was General French with Colonel Porter's cavalry
brigade and General Kelly-Kenny's division. The ranks had been filled up
by detachments from the Modder and Kimberley, which latter place had
been converted into the advanced depôt. Among the additional troops were
the Ceylon Mounted Rifles, a soldierly lot and much admired by those who
saw them. At 10 A.M. the brigade of cavalry under Colonel Broadwood,
which was marching in advance of the central column, came in touch with
the enemy. Their position was a strong one, an open, crescent-shaped
group of kopjes, with the centre a plateau, dropping on all sides to
flat ground. At the extreme end of the semicircle (on the crescent at
the north-east) was posted a formidable gun, and this weapon, perched on
a commanding kopje at Abraham's Kraal, protected the position from
advance from the north-west. It also provided the Republicans with a
loophole for escape. Colonel Broadwood had no sooner discovered the
enemy in his snake-shaped array of kopjes than he commenced to shell
him and drive him forth from the lower projections of the position. That
done, he there planted his mounted infantry till reinforcements should
come to his aid.
[Illustration: DIRECTING AN ARMY FROM A MILITARY BALLOON.]
On the right Colonel Porter had now come in contact with the foe.
General French's orders were to avoid imbroglio with the enemy and to
keep in touch with the centre. On a message being sent by Colonel Porter
to inform General French of the presence of the Dutchmen, the infantry
division changed its course. They now marched twenty miles to the south,
reaching the position about one o'clock. The march was an achievement.
Twenty miles across the blistering, blinding veldt, as a commencement to
a fighting day six hours in length, was a feat of endurance of which the
infantry division might well have been proud. The change of course had
the effect of avoiding the necessity to attack Abraham's Kraal, though
at the same time it unfortunately left open the enemy's line of retreat
to the north, which, later on, he was not slow to make use of. With the
arrival of General French's force, Colonel Broadwood was free to
continue his movement to the left of the enemy's position, and working
round it, found himself assailed by the 9-pounder of the enemy. He
nevertheless pursued his course, gaining ground very slowly but surely,
and by nightfall the brigade of cavalry had worked eight miles to the
rear of the Dutchmen's position. This flanking movement, though not
concluded at dusk, resulted in the eventual retirement of the enemy.
Meanwhile in the centre of the plateau hot fighting was taking place,
General Kelly-Kenny's division having made a bold attack on the north of
the stronghold, whence the troops were greeted from behind a screen of
boulders with a storm of shot and shell. The Dutchmen, safe and
invisible, could not, however, succeed in arresting the dogged advance
of the Welsh Regiment, who formed the first line of the attacking force.
They went on and on despite the fierce fusillade of the Federals, their
numbers growing momentarily thinner, but their nerve and perseverance
showing no diminution. The Boers, ingenious as ever, offered a skilful
and stubborn resistance, pouring a heavy enfilading fire from kopjes
both east and south-west, while they plied two 12-pounders with intense
vigour.
From the south now came the artillery, T Battery R.H.A. sweeping the way
for the infantry advance. But they had no easy task. Before they could
get into action the Vickers-Maxim of the Federals commenced its deadly
activities, and while the gunners were unlimbering killed first one man
then another, and laid low several horses. But the brave artillerymen
undauntedly pursued their work, and presently, with the loss of very few
minutes, exchanged hearty greetings with the weapon which had wrought
such havoc among their numbers. At this time U Battery, at the north of
the Boer centre, was active, but later on, when the 76th Field Battery
moved towards the enemy with a view to clearing a way for the rush of
the infantry, U Battery joined T, and together they blazed away at the
ridges held by the Dutchmen. But throughout the whole period they
pursued their work under showers which unceasingly rained down from the
rifles of the foe. Meanwhile the Welsh Regiment, supported by the Essex
and Gloucesters, moved on and on till they reached the shelter of the
crest of the ridge. Here, at 500 yards range, a crackling concert of
musketry was heard, the Boers firing with great ferocity and
stubbornness, the British with coolness and accuracy. From the centre of
the position the Yorks, supported by the Buffs, did magnificent work,
and they, together with the Essex Regiment, later on in the afternoon
began doggedly to ascend towards the stone sangars of the enemy, which
yet vomited forks of flame.
Now they crawled and now they wormed themselves along through the grass,
dripping with gore and covered with sweat, many of their officers gone,
comrades dropping to right and to left of them, while the fire of the
enemy continued to rattle down in their midst. Then, as the fusillade
slackened, they leapt up and made for the ridge, taking it, going over
the crest with glittering steel and ringing cheer, and finding not one
single Boer had awaited their coming. The Dutchmen had vanished into
thin air! It was a magnificent deed--the finest that had been witnessed
for a long time--but it was dearly paid for. The way was paved to
Bloemfontein, but with the corpses of the honoured dead. The brunt of
the fighting fell on the Sixth Division, more particularly on the Welsh
and Essex Regiments, the Ninth Division, with the Guards, arriving too
late in the day to take part in the fight. A great number of officers
were put out of action--so many, indeed, that some of the leading
companies were led, and admirably led, by their colour-sergeants. A
characteristic feature of the engagement was the Dutchmen's slim and
ingenious mode of firing a big gun from amid a group of red houses, each
floating a white flag, an arrangement which served to cover the
retirement of the enemy, and on the success of which he doubtless
complimented himself not a little.
[Illustration: SERGEANT OF THE INNISKILLING DRAGOONS.
Photo by Gregory & Co., London.]
At dusk a splendid sight was visible. In the last glimmer of day Lord
Roberts and his staff entered the central plateau, followed by degrees
by all the troops--an imposing force, which evidently determined the
Boers in their resolution to make themselves scarce. This they did, guns
included, with really creditable and surprising rapidity. They were much
disheartened by defeat, however, and though they had offered most
stubborn resistance, the character of their defence was lacking in
evidence of the determination which had hitherto been noticeable. Among
the mortally wounded was the gallant officer commanding the Royal
Australian Artillery, Colonel Umphelby.[3] The Boers lost over 100, but
the list of our own killed and wounded was a long one. Amongst the
killed were:--Captain Eustace, the Buffs; Lieutenant Parsons and Second
Lieutenant Coddington, Essex Regiment; Captain Lomax, Welsh Regiment;
Mr. McKartie, a retired Indian civilian attached to Kitchener's Horse.
Wounded--Colonel Hickson, the Buffs, Lieutenant Ronald, the Buffs;
Captain Jordan, Gloucesters; Second Lieutenant Torkington, Welsh
Regiment; Second Lieutenant Pope, Welsh Regiment; Second Lieutenant
Wimberley, Welsh Regiment; Captain Broadmead, Essex Regiment; Lieutenant
Devenish, Royal Field Artillery; Major Waite, Royal Army Medical Corps;
Lieutenant Berne, Royal Army Medical Corps; Colonel Umphelby, Royal
Australian Artillery (since dead); Lieutenant C. Berkeley and Second
Lieutenant Lloyd, Welsh Regiment; Second Lieutenant G. H. Raleigh, Essex
Regiment.
The Australians came in for a heavy share of the fighting. The 1st
Australian Horse, brigaded with the Scots Greys, were fiercely fired on
by the enemy as they advanced to within 800 yards of the wide bend of
kopjes. The New South Wales Mounted Infantry, under Colonel Knight, and
the Mounted Rifles, under Captain Antill, engaged in animated pursuit of
the enemy as they fled towards the north, their fleet horses showing a
marked contrast in condition to the jaded steeds of the English cavalry.
Lord Roberts expressed his satisfaction at the brilliant work performed
by the Welsh Regiment in the storming of Alexander Kopje, a feat in
which they displayed consummate skill as well as amazing pluck. Some
heroic actions took place during the day, particularly in connection
with the supply of ammunition, which ran short owing to the necessity of
relieving the infantry for their heavy march, of fifty rounds apiece.
Some dastardly ones were also practised by the Boers, who, finding
themselves in a perilous situation, the artillery in front and a
squadron of mounted infantry hovering on their flank, hoisted a white
flag and threw up their hands in token of surrender. Naturally the
British accepted the sign, and, while they were approaching the
Dutchmen, some others of their number hastened to pour a volley into the
British ranks. Lord Roberts himself having been a witness of this
treacherous act, remonstrated with the Boer leaders, and ordered that in
future if such action were repeated the white flag should be utterly
disregarded. The following protest was made by the Commander-in-Chief:--
"To their Honours the State Presidents of the Orange Free State
and South African Republic.
"Another instance having occurred of a gross abuse of the white
flag, and of the signal of holding up the hands in token of
surrender, it is my duty to inform your Honours that if such
abuse occurs again, I shall most reluctantly be compelled to
order my troops to disregard the white flag entirely.
"The instance occurred on the kopje east of Driefontein Farm
yesterday evening, and was witnessed by several of my own
staff-officers as well as by myself, and resulted in the
wounding of several of my officers and men.
"A large quantity of explosive bullets of three different kinds
was found in Cronje's laager, and after every engagement with
your Honours' troops.
"Such breaches of the recognised usages of war and of the
Geneva Convention are a disgrace to any civilised Power.
"A copy of this telegram has been sent to my Government, with a
request that it may be communicated to all neutral Powers."
The Boers had now entirely disappeared. It was nevertheless hinted that
they might be collecting in some new and unexpected region. The column,
however, resumed its victorious march, proceeding twelve miles without
coming upon the enemy. The beating of yesterday had produced a good
effect, for the Dutchmen kept their distance, though in the kopjes all
along the direct road to Bloemfontein, which lay due east, they were
said to be swarming. It was also reported that Transvaalers and Free
Staters had fallen out, and that the former, under Joubert, were
determined to make a stand behind a magnificent entrenchment that they
had built. The advance was supposed to come from the west, and
consequently the Boer line of entrenchments extended some six or eight
miles from the town facing towards Bam's Vlei. There were shelter
trenches, made not on the kopjes, but about a hundred yards out on the
plain beneath. They used sandbags, and had gun epaulements besides. In
addition to all this, they had made sangars and piles of stones on the
kopjes. Unfortunately for them, our troops made a cunning detour, which
again dislocated the Dutchmen's programme, and forced them in their
mountain fastnesses to sit inactive, while the cavalry was wheeling
south to the outskirts of Bloemfontein! Here there were no
fortifications and very few Boers.
Mr. Steyn now secretly left Bloemfontein for Kroonstad, as, in spite of
Mr. Kruger's representations, it had been decided to surrender the
capital of the Free State. Lord Roberts, who had sent in a formal demand
for surrender, received no reply. General Joubert made preparations,
with some 3000 men, to avert the surrender, but his approach, veritably
at the eleventh hour, was barred by the clever manoeuvres of the
British. This splendid piece of work was executed by Major
Hunter-Weston, R.E. He was sent by General French to cut the railway
north of Bloemfontein, and thus preclude any chance of Boer interruption
to the triumphal progress into the town. In the dead of night the Major,
with seven men of the field-troop, all mounted on picked horses (a
precaution that was very necessary considering the hard work done by the
troops both before and after the relief of Kimberley), started on their
hazardous expedition. Darkness cramped, though it cloaked their
movements, and the ground over which they sped was seamed with dongas
and many impediments; and, moreover, a wide sweep had to be made to
avoid Boer pickets. Before the peep o' day they reached their
destination. Then they began to search for a place suitable for
demolition. They came on a culvert supported with iron girders, one of
which was hastily but cautiously prepared by placing two 10-lb. charges
of gun-cotton against the web, which was fired within twenty minutes.
Then, with a detonation that seemed to shake the day into dawning, the
line was completely wrecked and rendered impassable, and Joubert, whose
"special" was timed to arrive at Bloemfontein at 8.10 A.M., lost his
last chance of interfering with the proceedings! This in itself was an
excellent _coup_, and particularly serviceable, since it secured to the
British the use of twenty-six locomotives at a time when they were much
needed.
General French had also seized and destroyed some portions of the
railway south of Bloemfontein. His headquarters were made at the house
of Mr. Steyn's brother--who had tried unsuccessfully to get away, and
was forced to remain at his farm--while the troops were now posted at
different points outside the town, and were, in comparison with their
former state, in clover.
Early on the 13th the 1st Cavalry Brigade moved slowly towards some
kopjes to the east of Bloemfontein and occupied them. All knew the great
day was come when Lord Roberts with Kelly-Kenny's and Colvile's
divisions, the Guards Brigade, and the Mounted Infantry would be
presently marching into the Free State capital. Whereupon the
adventurous journalist, determined there should be no pie without the
impress of his finger, put his best leg foremost and decided to lead the
way. The correspondents of the _Sydney Herald_, the _Daily News_, and
the _Daily Telegraph_ were seen like madmen spurring over the plain.
There was ten to one on the favourite, the Burleigh veteran, and the
Colonial was only backed for a place, yet he it was who won! They were
received in the Market Square with beams. There was a shade of relief
even on the most surly countenances. Mr. Fraser, a member of the
Executive, the Mayor of Bloemfontein, and others, "bigwigs of B.," as
somebody called them, came out and did the honours. These gentlemen were
invited to take carriages out to welcome the British force,
which--diplomacy being the better part of hostility--they accordingly
did. In starting they encountered the first of the British victors,
Lieutenant Chester-Master, with three of Remington's scouts. At last
they came to the Chief's halting-place, and the surrender of the town
was made known. The mediæval ceremony of delivering up the keys of
Parliament and Presidency was gone through. Formalities over, Lord
Roberts made the gracious assurance that, provided no opposition was
offered, the lives and properties of the Bloemfontein public were safe
in his hands. Having notified his intention to enter the capital in
state, the Mayor, Landrost, and others departed to acquaint the
townspeople.
AT BLOEMFONTEIN
Bloemfontein! A name of milk and honey, of flowers and dew! Every vowel
breathed of pastoral simplicity, of luscious grasses and lowing kine, of
gambolling game and purling stream. A name for a poet to conjure with! a
talisman to awaken the mellow music of a Herrick and recall the soul of
Walton to benevolent rejoicings in the "sights and sounds of the open
landscape." Unfortunately, the mellifluous name was not derived from the
German for flowers or from the melody of fountains. It owed its origin
to a Boer peasant who stood godfather to the hamlet and also to an
adjacent stream. Here in other days the innocent Voertrekker unpacked
his waggons and set out his little farmstead, choosing green rising
ground, an oasis in the sandy veldt, and the neighbourhood of a
refreshing rivulet for comfort's sake, and not because he foresaw that
in fifty years this spot would be the central scene in one of the
largest dramas of the world! In the year 1845 the Union Jack first waved
its protective folds over the homestead. At that period it was converted
into the official abode of a British Resident, and from that time, with
an expansion which was truly British, the tiny village developed till it
became a town, and finally passed over, through British apathy and
dislike for responsibility, to the hands of the Free Staters. And there
it might and would have remained had not President Steyn, who owed us no
grudge, and with whom we were on the best of terms, decided to put his
finger in the diplomatic pie, in the hope that some of the plums would
fall to his share. Thus, in his greed for power and his contempt for the
British, he embroiled his country, and being unable to defend his
capital, was forced to scurry off to his birthplace, Winburg, some miles
to the east, where, with the assistance of his foreign mercenaries, he
yet hoped to save himself from the consequences of his ill-advised
interference. So it came to pass that on the 13th of March 1900,
thirty-nine days after the commencement of his great march, Lord
Roberts, with the magnificent British army in his wake, moved unopposed
towards the capital of the Free State.
[Illustration: THE FORMAL SURRENDER OF BLOEMFONTEIN.
Drawing by J. Finnemore, from a Sketch by W. B. Wollen, R.I.]
The entry into the town was an imposing spectacle. The Mayor, Dr.
Kellner, the Landrost, Mr. Papenfus, and Mr. Fraser, as we know, had
driven out in a cart to meet Lord Roberts, and four miles outside the
town the keys of the town were given up. Then the Field-Marshal, the
most simply dressed man in his whole army, appeared at the head of a
cavalcade a mile long. He was followed by his military secretary, his
aides-de-camp, the general officers on his staff with their respective
staffs. Then came the foreign attachés, some war-correspondents, and
Lord Roberts' Indian servants, who contributed a warm note of colour
to the sombre files of kharki. After this came a serpentine train of
cavalry and guns, which entered the city at one o'clock. It was the most
wonderful military display that has been seen for years. A gigantic
army--not a peace but a war army, not the crude army of Salisbury Plain
but the perfected article, the army minus its raw recruits and plus its
trained reserves, which owed its magnificent development to the man whom
Lord Wolseley has called "the greatest War Minister we ever had."
Looking at the splendid physique of the warrior multitude, it was
impossible for military men, even those who had criticised most severely
the short service system, to deny that to-day the triumph of Lord
Cardwell's principle was complete!
The crowds collected from far and wide, all business was suspended, and
knots and cliques gathered together to witness the procession moving up
the slopes towards the town itself. Cheer after cheer rang through the
air, kerchiefs waved and blessings were prayed for, as the procession
marched through the collected crowd and on into the market square. Lord
Roberts then went to the Government Buildings, and took formal
possession in the name of the sovereign. There was renewed cheering and
singing of "God save the Queen," when, half-an-hour later, at twenty
minutes to two, a small silken Union Jack, specially worked by Lady
Roberts, was seen floating over the town.
The day passed without notable incident. A public holiday was observed,
and the kharki-clad crowds rejoiced themselves by singing "Tommy Atkins"
and feasting right royally. They were quite undisturbed by the scarcely
complimentary remarks of the Burghers, who compared them in number and
colour and appetite to a swarm of locusts!
Mr. Steyn's brother, who, it may be remembered, had failed to get away
with his belongings in time, remained discreetly at his farm, where he
entertained General French, and subsequently Lord Roberts. One of the
curious features of the entry into the capital of the Free State was the
extraordinary welcome given by the inhabitants to the conquerors.
Regiment after regiment filed past to the tune of hearty cheers, and
surprised pleasure at the orderly and humane entry of the enemy was
visible on every face. While the public offices were taken over by Lord
Roberts' staff, the banks were visited by Colonel Richardson. This
officer was accounted one of the heroes of the hour, for sufficient
praise could not be given to the achievements of the Army Corps or to
Colonel Richardson, whose task of provisioning, foraging, and
transporting 40,000 men and 18,000 horses savoured of the labours of
Hercules. There were quibblers, of course; but, practically considered,
all had gone off without a hitch, and the whole arrangements moved, as
the phrase is, "on greased wheels," the influence over all of the
beloved "Bobs" having been simply magical.
The next day Lord Roberts inspected the Guards Brigade, complimented
them on their splendid march, and expressed his regret that through a
mistake he had been unable to enter Bloemfontein at the head of the
Brigade. He consoled them by saying, "I will lead you into Pretoria!" In
these gracious words the troops were rewarded for their disappointment,
for the Chief, though he had promised them to lead them into the town,
had finally decided that it was expedient to enter the capital without
waiting for the infantry.
The Guards Brigade had made a magnificent march of thirty-eight miles in
twenty-eight hours, taking from 3 P.M. on the 12th to 1 P.M. on the
13th, with an interval of only two and a half hours for sleep. Yet, in
spite of this, and of having been in some of the toughest fights of the
campaign, they were cheery and elated. One of their number (the Scots
Guards) described their arrival:--"We waited three hours outside
Bloemfontein for Lord Roberts, as we were told that the
Commander-in-Chief wished to ride at the head of the Guards Brigade into
the town. But he did not come, and our Colonel got orders to go in on
his own. Our reception in Bloemfontein would have surprised you. It was
quite funny in its way--not in the least like entering an enemy's town.
The people simply came forth and cheered us as friends. A small group of
nuns who came out to meet us wished us 'Good evening,' and said we were
very welcome. To myself, as an Aberdonian, it was very home-like to pass
by a shop with the inscription, 'Bon-Accord Restaurant.' The proprietor
was standing at the door shouting himself hoarse. I was not surprised
afterwards to learn that he was a pure Aberdonian. We camped outside the
town, and next day Lord Roberts reviewed the Guards Brigade. His
Lordship made a short speech, in which he complimented us on our rapid
march, and said he was sorry he had not been able to lead us into
Bloemfontein. 'But,' said his Lordship, 'I hope to be at your head when
we go into Pretoria.' We all gave three very hearty cheers for the
Commander-in-Chief, who has always been the soldier's friend. We would
follow him anywhere."
To return to the closing events of the momentous 13th. At 8 P.M. a
telegram was sent home describing with simple brevity the entry into the
capital:--"From Lord Roberts to the Secretary for War.--Bloemfontein,
March 13, 8 P.M.--By the help of God and by the bravery of Her
Majesty's soldiers, the troops under my command have taken possession of
Bloemfontein. The British flag now flies over the Presidency, vacated
last evening by Mr. Steyn, late President of the Orange Free State."
An army order was issued on the 14th, in which the Chief said:--
"On February 12 this force crossed the boundary of the Free
State; three days later Kimberley was relieved; on the
fifteenth day the bulk of the Boer army under one of its most
trusted generals was made prisoner; on the seventeenth day news
came of the relief of Ladysmith; and on March 13, twenty-nine
days from the commencement of operations, the capital of the
Free State was occupied.
"This is a record of which any army would be proud--a record
which could not have been achieved except by earnest,
well-disciplined men, determined to do their duty, whatever the
difficulties and dangers.
"Exposed to the extreme heat of the day, bivouacking under
heavy rain, marching long distances often on reduced rations,
all ranks have displayed an endurance, cheerfulness, and
gallantry which is beyond all praise."
Lord Roberts added that he desired especially to refer to the heroic
spirit with which the wounded had borne their suffering. No word nor
murmur of complaint had been uttered. The anxiety of all when succour
came was that their comrades should be attended to first.
So the great march was over--the hurry, the fatigue, the loss of life,
the perpetual anxieties had brought about the desirable end--and the
tremendous first act in the historic drama of the century was nearing
its conclusion. Looking back on the difficulties that had been
surmounted--the movement of some 40,000 men and 20,000 quadrupeds across
over 100 miles of mostly dry veldt, where water was scarce and heat
tropical, and where the enemy lurked in masses in kopje or donga, and
had to be fought at intervals--the march appeared little short of
miraculous. Now the curtain was shortly to go up on the first scene of
the second act, an act which would have for its background the Orange
River Colony, formerly known as the Orange Free State!
FOOTNOTES:
[3] Lieutenant-Colonel C. E. E. Umphelby, who died of the wounds which he
received during the fight, was forty-six years of age. He commanded the
Victorian portion of the Royal Australian Regiment of Artillery. He joined
the Victorian Militia Garrison Artillery in 1884, and in the following
year was appointed lieutenant in the Permanent Artillery. He was promoted
to be captain in 1888, major in 1891, and lieutenant-colonel in 1897. Sent
to England by the Victorian Government in 1889, he passed through various
artillery courses, including the long course at Shoeburyness.
Lieutenant-Colonel Umphelby was attached to the staff of Major-General M.
Clarke at Aldershot from June to August 1890. See vol. iii., "Victoria."
CHAPTER IV
MAFEKING IN FEBRUARY
The investment was much less close than formerly. Owing to the
increasing activity in other parts of the theatre of war, Colonel
Baden-Powell was relieved of the pressing attentions that were
previously bestowed on him. Now for the first time he found himself in
touch with the outer world, for telegraphic communication was restored
in the direction of Gaberones, about ninety miles north of Mafeking, and
from thence a bi-weekly service of runners was instituted for the
conveyance of letters and telegrams, of course at the owners' risk.
There was delight all round, and "Old Bathing Towel," as contemporary
Carthusians used irreverently to call him, made haste to rejoice the
hearts of those at home with a report of his doings.
[Illustration: SLEEPLESS MAFEKING--HOT WORK IN THE TRENCHES.
Drawing by R. Caton Woodville.]
On the 4th of February the etiquette of the Sabbath was broken by an
accident. The machine-gun at Fort Ayr was fired, and the enemy was not
slow to reply. Lieutenant Grenfell, unarmed and without a flag of truce,
pluckily went out to tender apologies for the accident. He was met by
the Boers, who exchanged for a flask of whisky two copies of the
_Standard and Diggers' News_, containing glowing accounts of Boer
victories on the Tugela! It needed more than the contents of the flask
to correct the dismay occasioned by the lamentable, if exaggerated, news
of the abandonment of Spion Kop, and the inhabitants could only console
themselves by remembering what a stupendous and gratuitous liar the Boer
could be. Luckily for them, they only accepted half of the Dutchmen's
tales, and had learnt by experience that the art of editing Boer
journals was dependent on imaginative rather than realistic talent. For
instance, "one who knew" described the methods of _Volkstem_
thus:--"When you knew it, something could be extracted. The key to the
mystery was this: The paper always published the exact opposite of what
had taken place. For instance, a few days before Cronje's capture it had
a grand headline--'Cronje the Captor.' And underneath came the
astounding statement that Cronje had cornered 900 British Lancers on the
Koodoosrand. Alas! for Cronje and his Lancers! They existed only in the
editor's fertile imagination." So, notwithstanding the report of
reverses elsewhere, the large heart of Mafeking was still bent on
bursting its cramped shell. If antiquated methods of warfare were
carried on in other parts of South Africa, they were certainly not
pursued here, for Colonel Baden-Powell was a modern of the moderns. The
secrets of the enemy's tactics were at his fingers' ends, and where
science failed to match them resource came in. He knew how to make
dynamite spit and scream and threaten; he studied the problem of tension
and the art of playing on the nerves of his adversary, and Cronje's
remark, "Not men, but devils," made as that redoubtable one shook the
dust of Mafeking off his shoes, must have been the dearest compliment
the Colonel's heart could crave. The Colonel, in a despatch forwarded to
Colonel Nicholson--an officer who, with a small column and armoured
train, held Mangwe, Palapye, and other places on the rail--dated
February 12, described his activities:--
"MAFEKING, _February 12_.
"On the 3rd inst. our Nordenfeldt was chiefly occupied in
preventing the enemy from completing their new work on the
northern slope of the south-eastern heights. Assistance was
rendered by our seven-pounder, emplaced in the bush to the east
of Cannon Kopje. The enemy's siege-gun replied vigorously.
During that night the enemy were nervous and restless, and kept
firing volleys at our working parties, being apparently
apprehensive of attack. Their firing continued until dawn, when
the work in our trenches ceased.
"There was a curious incident at Fort Ayr that Sunday. Our
machine-gun there was fired accidentally, and the enemy
replied. Lieutenant Grenfell went out and apologised for the
accident. Though the gun had been fired and the enemy had
replied, he did not take a flag of truce with him. The Boers
met him, and exchanged two copies of the _Standard and Diggers'
News_ for a flask of whisky.
"On Monday, the 5th, irregular shelling continued all day. In
the evening heavy rains fell, but the enemy kept up the
bombardment till midnight, firing a new incendiary shell,
which, however, failed to take effect.
"On the 7th there was a desultory bombardment, and the
sharpshooters were busy. On the 8th the enemy's siege-gun fired
one shell only.
"On the 11th the enemy were quiet, being engaged in fortifying
their big gun emplacement, and generally preparing to resist
attack from outside. A good deal of night-firing was exchanged
between our outlying positions and those of the enemy, volleys
being fired at short ranges.
"Next day the enemy were fairly quiet. Mr. Dall, a well-known
citizen, was killed, and two Cape boys were wounded, while two
natives in the town were killed and some four wounded."
The circumstances of Mr. Dall's death were deeply tragic, for his wife,
who was in the women's laager at the time, on hearing of the news was
half-distracted by the shock. Owing to the grievous affair the dance
that was to have taken place was postponed to the following day.
[Illustration: FACSIMILE OF ISSUE OF 25TH JANUARY 1900 OF THE _Mafeking
Mail_.]
Colonel Baden-Powell issued an order which broke to the besieged the
information that the Commander-in-Chief had requested them to hold on
till May. Hearts dropped to zero! If properly conserved, it was believed
that provisions might be eked out till the Queen's birthday, but the
quality of the fare was bad enough without consideration of the
quantity. The men were tough, they were game for anything; but the
women--helpless, worn, unnerved, surrounded by children, and limited to
the confines of an insanitary laager--they made an additional tangle to
the already knotty situation. The townsfolk going to the posts in the
trenches, with their own lives in their hands, had upon them the burden
of thought for those, their weaklier belongings, who were waning with
anxiety and disease--waning many of them into their graves. Still the
garrison grumbled little. It set out as Sabbath decoration for the forts
and trenches some smart Union Jacks which had been worked by the ladies
in the town, and the dauntless ones engaged in a concert, the programme
of which was vastly appreciated. Here "B.-P.'s" well-known talents came
in handy, for he played the Chevalier of the entertainment and displayed
all the versatility of that renowned performer. From the æsthetic
Paderewski (with his hair on) to a Whitechapel Coster is a good jump,
but the gallant Colonel, who had so long impersonated Job to order of
the British Government, was not to be defeated by minor representations,
however various. After this joviality a ball was attempted, but alas!
with sorry success. Before the gaily attired guests were well under way
the uproar of Maxims and Mausers had begun. They tried to dance. It
would have been a case of Nero fiddling while Rome was burning. A staff
officer arrived ordering all to fall in. Soon there was a general
stampede, officers fled to their posts, orderlies rushed off to sound
the alarm, the galloping Maxim tore through the blue obscurity from the
western outposts to the town; the Bechuanaland Rifles and the
Protectorate Regiment hurried to the brickfields, the Cape Police made
for the eastern advance posts, while the ladies, charming, disconsolate,
hied them precipitately to places of refuge. There, in the lambent beams
of the moon, were seen excited shadows, all either rushing to their
bomb-proof shelters or scudding to the sniping posts of the river.
Showers of bullets flecked the sapphire air, and the exquisite serene
night was changed into a long, wakeful, quaking anguish. The Boers kept
up their firing operations throughout the small hours, but at dawn, when
they received a _quid pro quo_ from the British quarter, they deemed it
best to subdue their ardour for a brief space. Rest was short-lived. On
the 13th the gunners again made themselves offensive by endeavouring to
hit the flour-mill, and they succeeded in their efforts, though
fortunately without destroying it. They pursued their murderous
industries throughout the day, pouring bullets on any one who dared to
show a nose in the open, and about noon succeeded in seriously wounding
Captain Girdwood, who was returning to luncheon on his bicycle.
The unfortunate officer--one of the most popular fellows and as gallant
as he was jolly--never rallied after receiving the fatal wound and died
on the following day. In the evening he was buried. The solemn rite was
conducted with simplicity under the mild moonbeams which silvered the
gloomy scene and softened the rigid faces of the bronzed warriors who
hung in melancholy regret round the open grave.
The Boers sometimes endeavoured to affect jocosity. From the advanced
trench, which was some hundred and ten yards from the besiegers' main
trench, their voices could be heard travelling on the breeze. The
prelude to their attacks began not seldom with "Here's a good morning to
you, Mafeking," or other remarks of cheery or personal nature. Then
rattle, rattle, and one of the British band would drop. On one of these
occasions an amusing if tragic ruse was perpetrated. The Boers were
known to be fond of music, and some one of the tormented hit on the
happy idea of performing for the benefit of the hostile audience. The
savage breast was soothed. The Boers were "drawn." They stopped to
listen. Enraptured, they advanced nearer, nearer. Finally, two
enthusiastic, inquisitive heads protruded from cover--protruded never to
protrude again!
The Boers soon began to try the expedient of attacking Mafeking by
proxy. Assaults were made, or rather attempted, by a mongrel force,
composed largely of mercenaries--Germans, Scandinavians, Frenchmen, and
renegade Irish (probably "returned empties" from the gallant Emerald
Isle), ne'er-do-weel's, who felt it necessary at times to do something
for their living. These were assisted by natives, who were pressed into
their service to make a convenient padding for their front in advance,
for their rear in retreat, as they took good care to save their own
hides when retirement was obligatory.
Fortunately their artillery practice, which was patiently kept up, was
very inferior, otherwise Mafeking would soon have been in ruins. On one
afternoon the enemy plied his siege-gun and another gun with great
vigour. Out of eight rounds one shot besprinkled two of the besieged
with dust; a 5-pounder gun from one quarter and a 1-pounder Maxim from
another filled the air with deplorable detonations for two whole hours,
yet happily no life was lost. To this hot fire the inhabitants replied
only with their rifles. It was wonderful in what good stead their rifles
had stood them, and it was thanks to them, and not to the Government,
that the town had been saved at all.
The difficulties both at Kimberley and Mafeking were the result of the
obstructive policy adopted by the Colonial Government before the
outbreak of hostilities. While the storm-cloud hung on the horizon,
Kimberley had appealed to Mr. Schreiner for permission to send up from
Port Elizabeth Maxims which had been ordered by the De Beers Company,
and the licence was refused on the ground that there was no necessity to
strengthen the defences of the town. The appeals from Mafeking were
treated in much the same way, the authorities at the Cape suggesting
that there was no reason to believe that the situation demanded extra
precautions!
Ingenuity and pluck had been the backbone of British defence, not
British guns. An ordnance factory was established, and excellent shells
were cast, and even powder manufactured. Thus the alarm lest ammunition
should run out before the arrival of relief was allayed. The great
ambition of the garrison was to complete a 5½-inch howitzer, and throw
"home-made shells from a home-made gun with home-made powder."
Major Baillie described with some pride the self-contained nature of the
community: "We have our bank, our ordnance factory, and our police; and
we flourish under a beneficent and remote autocracy. And now, as regards
the ordnance factory, it was started for the manufacture of shells for
our 7-pounder, for shot, brass and iron, for our antique cannon, and for
the adaptation of 5-pounder shells (left here by Dr. Jameson) to our
7-pounders by the addition of enlarged driving-bands. These have all
proved a complete success, and too much praise cannot be given to
Connely and Cloughlan of the Locomotive Department, who have organised
and run the factory. As great a triumph has been the manufacture of
powder and the invention of fuses by Lieutenant Daniels, British South
Africa Police and the Glamorgan Artillery Militia, which render us
secure against running short of ammunition. A gun also is being
manufactured, and will shortly be used. This factory is of long
standing, but the authorities had not allowed us to allude to its
existence."
Other manufactures, too, were commenced, for manufacture it must be
called--the art of making the poor skeletons, at one time known as
horses, into succulent meat. Some declared that the number of cats and
dogs was visibly thinning, but none dared pry too closely into the
workings of the wonderful machinery that fed them. A number of the
Protectorate Regiment's horses were slaughtered, and any others that
were shot by the enemy were passed on to the commissariat.
A soup-kitchen, under the supervision of Captain Wilson, was opened for
the purpose of supplying some 600 natives with nourishing food, and
rendering them contented with the vicissitudes of fate. The compound was
scarcely inviting, and resembled a third-rate haggis. In two great
boilers scraps of such meat as could be gathered together were simmered
down, and to this immense stockpot was added various meals, which gave
the mess the necessary consistency. The natives bought it eagerly at 6d.
a quart, and really rejoiced in it.
The blacks, indeed, suffered less than the whites. The latter were
paying a guinea a day for very scant fare, while the Baralongs, who were
earning from 1s. to 2s. 6d. a day, were able to sustain life on half
their wages, and save the rest to buy luxuries, a wife possibly, when
the stress of the siege was over. The young children suffered most of
all, for malaria and unsuitable food played havoc in the women's laager,
and the graveyard was filled with small victims to the Imperial cause.
About the middle of the month the Boers became abnormally active, and
for several days sounds of digging and picking suggested that they were
throwing out new trenches beyond those they already manned in the region
of the brickfields. The full significance of the activity was discovered
by Sergeant-Major Taylor, who--in charge of three pits which formed the
most advanced post--suddenly espied, some fifty yards in advance of the
limit of the Boer trenches, a hostile figure! The apparition wore a
German uniform, and Sergeant-Major Taylor was soon aware that the enemy
were intending to sap the British position. Colonel Baden-Powell was
informed of the impending danger, and at night a counter-sap extending
100 yards was thrown out, from which point it would be possible for the
besieged to fire on the new work. The tension of the situation was
extreme. Eighty yards only separated the combatants, and the enemy
continued to burrow, approaching little by little, while the British
continued to harass them in their labours by an active fusillade
whenever a chance presented itself. But the operations continued, and
every hour brought the Boers nearer. At last a night came when the enemy
had almost reached his goal, and, moreover, had moved the Creusot gun to
a position on the south-eastern heights so as to command the entire
area. With due precaution the defenders tried to occupy the advanced
posts, but the Boer firing was so correct and persistent that the
position was rendered untenable. Sergeant-Major Taylor, a splendid
fellow--who more than once had ventured eavesdropping to the edge of the
Boer trenches--and four others were mown down in their gallant efforts
to save the situation. The enemy, satisfied with his exertions in this
direction, now began to turn his attention to the forts in the rear--a
bad move, for while the Dutchmen hammered in that region the British
rapidly seized the occasion to construct a traverse across the mouth of
the sap. This, of course, was not carried forward without attracting the
attention of the enemy, who fired fast and furiously. But the task was
accomplished, after which the Boers and the British, worn out, rested
from their hostilities. For a day and a night the Boers were in
occupation of the advanced hole and the sap that had been carried from
it, but it was soon recaptured, and the connection made with the Boer
trenches blown up with dynamite.
On the 20th the Protectorate Regiment gave a dinner, which turned out to
be quite a luxurious repast. Invitations were supplemented by the
request to bring their own bread! Some of the officers shot a few
locust-birds, small as quail, which, when carved judiciously, went round
among the guests. Added to this there was a sucking pig, obtained none
knew whence, but nevertheless most welcome.
On the 22nd, Sergeant-Major Looney of the Commissariat was sentenced to
five years penal servitude for the misappropriation of comestibles and
stores, which had been going on for some time. The Commissariat was
reorganised by Captain Ryan (Army Service Corps) with untiring energy
and economy. To the soup-kitchen went everything, scraps of meat, or
hoof, meal, unsifted oats, bran, all were turned to account, and food of
a sustaining, if not luxurious kind, was provided for every one. At this
time the Boers were growing despondent, and began to doubt their chance
of forcing the town to surrender. From a conversation overheard by some
wary ones who had crept close to the enemy's trenches, it appeared that
President Steyn had urged Commandant Snyman to carry the town by storm,
and afterwards to come to the rescue of the Free Staters with his force,
but the Burghers had expressed their opinion that it was now too late to
take Mafeking--they should have done so the first week.
The inhabitants were very pleased with their own ingenuity, and in their
ordnance workshops the manufacture of shot and shell went on apace. The
mechanics of the railway works, by a system which seemed to act on the
lines of a conjuring trick, turned out from the shell-factory about
fifty rounds a day. No waste was allowed. Even the fragments of the
enemy's shells were utilised. These and scraps of cast iron were
purchased at twopence a pound for smelting, and twopence, it must be
remembered, was now a magnificent disbursement, as money was growing
more and more scarce. Curiously enough, the present foreman, Conolly,
was at one time manager of the shell department of the ordnance factory
at Pretoria, where he personally supervised the manufacture of the
larger shells. He now necessarily took a parental interest in the shells
flung into Mafeking by the Boers' Creusot gun, and also in those new
ones that were flung out of Mafeking as a result of his own and others'
inventive genius! A good deal of shelling took place, and that on the
23rd was said to be a salute in honour of Independence Day in the Orange
Free State. The inhabitants of Mafeking would not have grudged their
enemies the, to them, distressing attempt at festivity had they then
known that four days later the death-blow of that independence would be
struck, and the salute was destined to be the last in the history of the
Republics!
Fare was growing more and more meagre. Horse-flesh was diversified by
bread made from horse forage; water, to say the least of it, was
becoming interesting only to bacteriologists. The native population for
the most part starved; they now and then indulged in a raid and brought
back fat fare, which for a day or two had a visible effect upon their
ebon skeletons, but they brought it at the risk of their lives.
Uninterrupted deluges of rain made existence a perpetual misery, the
trenches and also the bomb-proof shelters were flooded, and the hapless
inhabitants, saturated, fled into the open, uncertain whether death by
fire was not preferable to death by water. The first, at all events,
promised to be expeditious, while the second offered prospects of
prolonged sousing and exquisite tortures of enduring rheumatism. Daily
the state of affairs became less tolerable. Typhoid and malaria stalked
abroad, and in the children's and women's laager diphtheria had set in.
On the 25th a message was received from the Queen. Its effect was
electrical. It was vastly heartening to feel and to know that the great
Sovereign herself knew and sympathised with the history of the struggles
and privations, the loyalty and pluck of this little hamlet in a remote
corner of Her Majesty's possessions. It seemed more possible now to
starve patriotically, and, with every mouthful of nauseating mule or
horse, to put aside personal discomfort and to remember the gracious
fact that each individual was a symbol, a sorry and dilapidated one
perhaps, but nevertheless a symbol of the majesty and might of Greater
Britain. In addition to the royal message there came two days later the
stimulating intelligence that Kimberley had been relieved, and that Lord
Roberts was advancing on Bloemfontein!
On Majuba Day, all made sure that some sort of attack might be expected,
and they prepared to welcome it with a salute from the new howitzer gun
which had engaged the genius of the siege arsenal. The Boers, however,
were quiet. A good deal of psalm-singing took place in the Boer camp,
while the besieged put the big gun through his paces.
Ash Wednesday was observed without sackcloth and ashes. Mafeking had
been enjoying Lenten abstinence for months past, and therefore when, at
the service on the following Sabbath, the parson reminded them that it
was the fast season, every one in the church enjoyed the joke so hugely
that smiles were with difficulty suppressed. As one of the congregation
afterwards suggested, they had had so much "Extra Special" fasting that
they ought to be let off Lenten obligations for five years.
[Illustration: SOUTH AFRICAN LIGHT HORSE (Trooper).
BRABANT'S HORSE (Trooper).
DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S VOLUNTEER RIFLES (Dispatch Rider).
Photos by J. E. Bruton, Cape Town.]
CHAPTER V
AT CHIEVELEY AGAIN
On the 8th of February General Buller again retired across the Tugela.
He realised that his whole flanking movement had been a failure, and
though the ill-success has been attributed to many causes, we may safely
say that the main cause of the fiasco was the insufficient rapidity with
which the scheme was conducted. Napoleon declared that flank marches
should be as short, and executed in as brief a time, as possible.
Celerity and concealment in these cases must go hand in hand, and when
celerity is overlooked concealment becomes impossible. Delay had given
the Boers the opportunity to shift their positions and produce a new
front even more powerful than that at Colenso. The General's idea had
been, after taking Vaal Krantz, to entrench it as the pivot of further
operations, but the experience of two days' hard fighting taught him
that, owing to the nature of the ground, and the despatch of the
Dutchmen, the plan was far from practicable. The position was found to
be dominated in every direction by the enemy, and unless Vaal Krantz
could be held securely during the advance to Ladysmith, it was thought
advisable not to hold it at all. For this reason the Natal Field Force
returned to Chieveley, the original scene of operations, where the "Red
Bull," as the Boers called him, with indomitable energy, planned out a
fourth scheme of attack. It was now to be directed against the Boer
left. The battle of the 15th of December was mainly directed against the
Boer right, as there were reasons to believe the right to be the weaker
of the two flanks. That attack had failed for reasons we know.
Circumstances having changed, and more guns and men being now at his
disposal, the General determined to direct his energies to the Boer
left. The task was a complicated one. Both river and hills twist
themselves mysteriously, and seemingly in conspiracy with Boer notions
of defence. For instance, the river after leaving Colenso (which may be
looked upon as the Boer centre) twists invisibly into the shelter of the
impregnable kopjes, and takes a direct turn towards the north, thereby
passing in front of the Boer right and in rear of the Boer left. By
taking to themselves possession of Hlangwane the enemy had made their
position almost unassailable. This formidable left ran in a series of
trenches, sangars, and rifle-pits from Colenso past the thorn-bushes by
the river, and on to the powerfully fortified hill of Hlangwane. From
thence it was extended over the ridge called Green Hill, and farther to
the companion eminences of Cingolo and Monte Cristo, and the nek that
united them. The first thing, therefore, to be done in a plan for
turning this formidable position was to take possession of Hussar Hill,
which was accomplished on the 14th of February, from which day and on
till the 27th fighting without cessation took place. Some one called it
the fighting march, for it was a series of ferociously contested moves
from Chieveley to Hussar Hill, and thence _via_ Cingolo Nek and Monte
Cristo Ridge till the Boer line had been turned and the British forces
had placed themselves diagonally across the left of the Boer position.
Having worked round in a species of hoop, which crumpled the Boer left
before it, and having deposited men and guns to mark as milestones the
victorious advance, a frontal advance was soon made on Green Hill, the
adjacent slope some three miles from Hlangwane, which mountain became,
as a natural consequence of the foregoing proceedings, a somewhat easy
prize. The victory at Monte Cristo, which enabled us to acquire Green
Hill, may be looked upon as the turning of the tide. From the hour that
commanding point was occupied the future of the relieving army was
practically secure, for the river was gained, and the Boers once on the
run, there needed only the fine fighting quality of our troops--the A1
quality of the world--to bring things to a satisfactory conclusion. But
now to try to follow this complicated and well-considered march.
On the 12th of February a force of mounted infantry, with a battalion of
infantry, a field-battery, and a Colt battery, reconnoitred Hussar Hill
(so called because it was the scene of the surprise to a picket of the
13th Hussars), a long ridge situated at the south of Hlangwane, where
General Buller subsequently established his headquarters. The South
African Light Horse and another Colt battery were treated to some fierce
volleys by the enemy, with the result that Lieutenant J. Churchill and
another officer were wounded. Four men were injured and one was missing.
The fight was a brisk one, though of but half-an-hour's duration, for
the hill was not strongly held. The troops then moved forwards, winding
through a series of wooded ridges to the right, till they reached an
entrenched ridge connecting Hlangwane with higher hills on the east. As
there were continual increases and changes in regard to the troops, it
will be found advisable, before going further, to refer to a table of
the distribution of the forces as far as they were then known:--
SIR REDVERS BULLER'S FORCE
SECOND DIVISION.--(Major-General Lyttelton).--2nd (Hildyard's)
Brigade--2nd East Surrey; 2nd West Yorks; 2nd Devons; 2nd West
Surrey. 4th (Norcott's Brigade)--1st Rifle Brigade; 1st Durham
Light Infantry; 3rd King's Royal Rifles; 2nd Scottish Rifles
(Cameronians); Squadron 13th Hussars; 7th, 14th, and 66th Field
Batteries.
THIRD DIVISION.--5th (Hart's) Brigade--1st Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers; 1st Connaught Rangers; 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers;
1st Border. 6th (Barton's) Brigade--2nd Royal Fusiliers; 2nd
Royal Scots Fusiliers; 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers; 2nd Royal
Irish Fusiliers; Squadron 13th Hussars; 63rd, 64th, and 73rd
Field Batteries.
FIFTH DIVISION.--(Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Warren).--10th
(Coke's) Brigade--2nd Dorset; 2nd Middlesex; 2nd Somerset Light
Infantry. 11th (Wynne's) Brigade--2nd Royal Lancaster; 2nd
Lancashire Fusiliers; 1st South Lancashire; 1st York and
Lancaster; Squadron 13th Hussars; 19th, 20th, and 28th Field
Batteries. Corps Troops--1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers; Imperial
Light Infantry; Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry; 61st Field
Battery (Howitzers); 78th Field Battery; Natal Battery,
9-pounders; twelve Naval 12-pounder quick-firers; 4th Mountain
Battery; two 4.7 Naval guns, 1st Cavalry Brigade
(Burn-Murdoch)--1st Royal Dragoons; 14th Hussars; Gough's
Composite Regiment. 2nd Cavalry Brigade (Dundonald)--Natal
Carabineers (squadron); South African Light Horse (four
squadrons); Imperial Light Horse (squadron); Natal Police
(squadron).
General Lyttelton succeeded General Clery (disabled by blood-poisoning)
in command of the Second Division, while Colonel Norcott (Rifle Brigade)
temporarily took command of the Fourth Brigade.
On the 14th the army moved to occupy the new position on Hussar Hill. As
we know, the irregular cavalry, the South African Horse, had secured the
position, and some disappointed Boers who had thought to be beforehand
with them had disappeared with much haste and not a little chagrin.
After a short time Generals Wynne Coke, and Barton with their respective
brigades joined Sir Charles Warren's division, and bivouacked on the new
ground. There was some trouble about water, as Hussar Hill was arid and
the nearest river was some miles away. However, necessity is the mother
of invention, and necessity brought to light a system of water-waggons
by which a small but appreciable amount of water was carried to the
troops. While this was going on above, General Lyttelton was moving to
the east of Chieveley round the eastern spur of Hussar Hill.
Here during the afternoon a number of Boers hiding among the boulders
and dense scrub made themselves obstreperous; but their fire was
overcome by our artillery, and before long they were dislodged.
Little happened for two days save some artillery duelling, then an
appreciable advance was made. A wooded hill called Cingolo, part of the
range east of Hlangwane, was the next to be seized by an adroit flanking
movement of the infantry. They gained and kept the top of the hill with
but few casualties owing to the dense cover.
At dawn on the 17th a general advance was ordered. Consequently soon
after midnight the business of movement began. At daybreak the cavalry
under Lord Dundonald marched to discover the enemy's left flank through
the tangled and rugged country to the east--country so broken and wooded
that on occasions it was impossible to ride, and all that could be done
was to lead the horses through thicket, and thorns, and over boulders by
the light of intelligence rather than military regime. And while this
was going on the artillery was performing a boisterous symphony on
seventy instruments, an _aubade_ to awaken such Boers as might still be
dozing in rock, ravine, or ridge in the regions of Hlangwane.
At last the troopers had wormed and torn and scrambled their way up the
ridge, where, on arriving, the Boers accosted them with the music of
musketry in tolerably fast time. Bullets whizzed and commenced to send
the now well-known cataracts over the advancing troops, and for the
moment it seemed to be a toss up as to whether the toil of gaining the
position would be in vain. However, the Boers were in small number, and
very soon they fell back, leaving the top of the hill before the advance
of the Imperial Light Horse and the Natal Carabineers, who slew or
captured some Burghers and horses. In their attack they were supported
by the Queen's, the right battalion of Hildyard's attack, who had taken
a short cut and came up in the nick of time, so that the Boers promptly
scurried off and left the troops in undisturbed possession of Cingolo
Hill.
[Illustration: THE SCENE OF THE FIGHTING AT MONTE CRISTO HILL ON
FEBRUARY 19. (From sketches taken during the action by Captain P. U.
Vigors, 2nd Devon Regiment.)]
Further important movements took place on the 18th. Through the
operations of the day before, the Boers had been hunted along towards
Monte Cristo, and from thence at daylight they commenced to pour Creusot
shells on the British troops. The Queen's, who had bivouacked on the
northern slope of Cingolo, and came in for a good deal of fire,
valiantly crossed the nek, and, supported by the rest of the 2nd Brigade
under General Hildyard, assaulted and finally took the southern end of
Monte Cristo. The 4th Brigade occupied the left or western slope.
Operations were begun very early, and the long precipitous climb in a
baking sun occupied till midday. The advance over country that is
trellised with spruits, dongas, thorn-bush, and scrub at times was
painfully slow, and the scrambling and stumbling, sometimes on all
fours, to the roll and rattle of musketry and the banging of unseen and
unlocatable guns occupied some hours. The words of the Scripture, "Eyes
have they and see not," might have been applied to this nerve-trying
assault against hidden men with smokeless weapons. No sooner had the
troops reached the top of Monte Cristo than they were assailed by a
well-directed artillery fire from the direction of the invisible foe,
shrapnel, Maxim, and Nordenfeldt guns pouring over the men as they
advanced. But they steadily pushed on and up till at last they entirely
routed the Boers. These, finding themselves in a desperate situation,
took to their heels, leaving tents, food, biltong, lard, potatoes,
onions, clothing, bridles, blankets, and Bibles behind them in disarray.
In their retreat they were fired on by the cavalry, but they made small
reply. Quantities of ammunition were captured, and, unfortunately for
those who still maintained their respect for the enemy, several forms of
expanding bullets. The Royal Welsh Fusiliers, supported by the rest of
the 6th Brigade, assailed the eastern flank of the enemy's position. The
2nd Brigade of Cavalry on the extreme right watched the eastern slopes
of Monte Cristo, and drove back those of the enemy who scurried there to
escape the artillery fire. They had been completely taken by surprise;
they had expected the British to begin a frontal attack on Green Hill, a
smooth grassy eminence sliced with the gashes of Boer entrenchments,
some of these six feet in depth, others blasted in the solid rock.
Assaulted now by big guns in front and flank, attacked in flank and
rear, the enemy, without offering much resistance, evacuated their
strong positions and fled across the Tugela. That their flight was
precipitate was testified by the fact that they even left letters
behind. One of these was from General Joubert in answer to a request for
supports, in which he said these could not be sent; the position was
sufficiently garrisoned with the men they had.
The crest of Monte Cristo gained, all at once took heart. This hill was
the hinge on which all the subsequent movements turned. By means of it
Green Hill and the frowning eminence of Hlangwane could become ours.
From Hlangwane the whole western section of the great Colenso position
could be rendered untenable by the enemy. This the Boers well knew, and
this was the reason for their tough resistance on the dreadful 15th of
December. Now, seeing us masters of Monte Cristo, they wisely decided to
make themselves scarce. The British guns once mounted on Monte Cristo
made a complete difference in the situation. It was now possible to
enfilade many of the choice positions which for two months had been the
snug hiding-places of the enemy. Now, in the distance, was visible--the
subject of many dreams, many nightmares--Ladysmith. Around it, here and
there, were dotted the enemy's camps and hospitals--only eight miles
away--a comfortable walking distance--eight miles ahead of our advanced
lines! Ladysmith--an austere queen to be wooed, a fainting beauty to be
won--so she had seemed, with lives risked and sacrificed like mere
handfuls of sand for the sake of her, for a few yards of approach near
to that cestus which engirdled all the grand British blood that had
palpitated for our coming, so long, so very long. It was glorious merely
to know that Ladysmith was now in sight of the British picquets: there
was a sense of exhilaration in the thought of real progress after the
ghastly six days at Spion Kop, the fluctuating four at Vaal Krantz, the
fourteen in and out and round about the precincts of fatal Colenso.
Success was now almost within a stone's throw, and all hearts throbbed
with expectation and confidence. All were in some way longing for the
handclasp of those beleaguered men. There, in that cup of the hills were
kindred; if not kindred, friends; if not friends, comrades in
arms--comrades who had belonged to the same old regiments or "ground"
with the same "crammers" at the same schools. And even for complete
strangers there was a thrill of excitement, almost of exultation, at the
prospect of coming in touch with these men, of grasping hands with
renowned warriors, every one of whom had helped to illuminate one of the
most sumptuous pages of the history of the nineteenth century.
The intense heat, the terrific toil, the unparalleled hardships were
forgotten. The energy and dash of the troops, hitherto unfailing, were
now redoubled. They had now taken possession of the most important ridge
which pointed towards the frowning guardian eminence of the beleaguered
concave--Bulwana Hill--and hopes were high and spirits exuberant. There
remained but Pieter's Hill between them and the imprisoned multitude.
They now saw that the turn of the tide had arrived, and already they
looked towards the distressed town, veiled in the haze of distance, and
pictured the hour when their long spell of strain and turmoil should
meet its reward. In this day's fight, the Queens, the Scots Fusiliers,
the Rifle Brigade, and the irregular cavalry had especially
distinguished themselves. It was the distinction of endurance rather
than of display. The dogged perseverance with which they launched
themselves at the positions to be taken, toiling through scrub and
thorn, "potting away" at an invisible foe, was more to be applauded than
more demonstrative feats of heroism. Colenso and Spion Kop had been
showy in their tragedy, but the "fighting march," as it was called, was
a feat of superb endurance, of obdurate pluck. A perpetual stumbling and
tearing, an eternal pushing up and on against opposition the more
terrifying because unseen; the sound of booming, smokeless murderous
guns; the sight of maimed or mutilated human beings dropping suddenly
under the serene and smiling sky were experiences to test the grit of
the toughest and most stoical. A bolt from the blue! That was all. Yet
presently there were dead men littered about, and far away, unconscious
of their woe, were widows and orphans.
On the 19th, Hlangwane Hill--the impregnable Gibraltar, as it has been
called--was taken by the Fusilier Brigade. As this hill, which commanded
Colenso, had been evacuated by the enemy--who had left three camps and
all their paraphernalia, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and 2000
Maxim automatic shells behind them--we were now free to cross the
Tugela. Whether the enemy would continue to fight inch by inch was
uncertain, but still there was one subject of rejoicing--the river was
ours. The following officers were killed and wounded during this day's
operations:--2nd Royal Fusiliers--Killed, Captain W. L. Thurburn;
wounded, 2nd Lieutenant E. C. Packe. 2nd Scottish Rifles--Wounded, 2nd
Lieutenant J. M. Colchester-Wemyss.
On the 20th General Hart, after a slight resistance by a weak rearguard,
occupied the village, and now the line of the Tugela on the south side
from Colenso to Eagle's Nest was in British hands.
Colenso was found to be a desolate ruin. The enemy had evidently tried
to make matchwood of the place. Windows and doors told the tale of
wanton destruction. They were wrecked past remedy. Houses everywhere
were redolent of the Boer, the walls bore traces of his illiterate
caligraphy, and his offensive remarks in many tongues amused without
disturbing those who read them. They could afford to smile now. And
while they went on their tour of investigation the hidden Boers could
not resist some sniping shots from their trenches in Port Wylie, which
were only silenced by the forcible arguments of the Naval gunners on
Hussar Hill. On this day another trooper of the South African Light
Horse (Walters) distinguished himself by swimming across the Tugela and
bringing over the pontoon, thus repeating the gallant deed of his
comrades at Potgieter's Drift. Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry, though
peppered by Boers who were ensconced on the kopjes on the opposite side,
succeeded in fording the river, and proceeded to reconnoitre the kopjes
on the other side. All the guns were gone, and the kopjes themselves
seemed to be weakly held. In the distance small clusters of Boers were
seen in the act of digging trenches, but it was generally believed that
the enemy's tactics were now those of a rearguard action.
[Illustration: THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH--THE LAST RUSH AT HLANGWANE HILL.
From a Sketch by René Bull, War Artist.]
Terrible reminiscences of the battle of Colenso greeted them wherever
they turned. Fort Wylie was seamed with bombardment. The railway bridge
remained a lamentable picture of upheaval. Outside the village, lying as
they had dropped, were the rotted carcases of horses which had fallen
victims to the enemy's volleys--fallen in tangled masses, all harnessed
together, while making a futile effort to save the guns of the 14th
and 66th Batteries. The trenches, beginning on the very brink of the
river, with their protective layers of sandbags and their ingeniously
arranged earthworks, told how comfortably and with what immunity from
danger the Boers had set about their fell work on the fatal 15th of
December. The labour in making Colenso and its surroundings impregnable
must have been as immense as it was skilful.
General Hart's advanced guard now proceeded to cross the Tugela, the
Boers having vacated all their positions south of the river, and on the
21st he was followed by the 5th Division, who drove back the enemy's
rearguard. The enemy had moved north and turned into a strongly
fortified line of kopjes midway between the river and Grobler's Kloof,
and from thence there was some doubt whether he could ever be displaced.
At the approach of the British, he, however, retired precipitately
towards Grobler's Kloof.
The crossing, on both days, of the magnificent infantry was apiece with
all that had gone before. First came one shell, then another, but the
troops steadily pursued their warlike course while the missiles hurtling
over their heads exploded in the plain behind them. The great question
had been as to where the river should be crossed. Now that the British
were in possession of the whole area of Hlangwane and its connecting
hills, it was possible to cross either where the river ran north and
south, or where it ran east and west. The idea was to cross and get
along the line of railroad, and follow a straight course up to
Ladysmith. The enemy were believed to be in retreat, and therefore it
seemed perfectly feasible to advance in the way attempted.
On the 21st the gunners continued persistently at work, determining that
the Dutchmen should have no spare time for the building of further
entrenchments. The foe managed, however, to render themselves aggressive
by firing on an ambulance train that was steaming out of Colenso
station. Meanwhile the army was moving westward from Hlangwane plateau,
with a view to marching up beyond the stream, and getting out of the
valley of the river and beyond the kopjes that frowned over it.
LADYSMITH
The story of famine is an insidious story, a creeping horror that,
scarcely visible, yet slowly and very gradually saps first the spirits,
then the energies, then the blood, and finally all the little sparks of
being that serve to divide us from the dead. The seal of hunger was set
on every action, though there was no complaint. The cramped-up Tommy in
his sangar was scarcely as conscious of his risk of danger from shot and
shell as of the aching void that assured him how much nature abhorred a
vacuum. When he marched, he marched now with the step of one who
husbands his resources; when he whistled as of old, he ceased abrupt,
the lung power being scant and short-lived. His eyes, plucky and
Britishly dogged, grew large and wistful, as though looking for
something that never came. Dysentery and fever caught him and left him,
but left him still in charge of famine, which held him in
leading-strings, allowing him his freedom to crawl so far and no
farther. Yet daily routine went on as of yore. The shadow of the man
went on picket or fatigue duty and met his fellow-shadows as often as
not with a jest. In ordinary life you don't look upon cheek-bones as the
features of a face. You take stock of eyes, nose, mouth, possibly ears.
In Ladysmith a man's character betrayed itself in his cheek-bones and in
the anæmic tone of the tanned parchment that was stretched across them.
You could read of patience and heroism in the hard, distinct outlines,
and comprehend the magnificent endurance of one who, expecting to fight
like a devil, was condemned to feed like an anchorite.
The men were very near the barbaric brink of starvation. On one occasion
a shell plumped into the mule lines and killed a mule. There was a
general rush. Shells followed on the first, crashing all around, but the
famished racing throng heeded them not; their one desire was to get at
the slain beast, to capture the wherewithal to stay their grievous
cravings. Quickly with their clasp-knives they possessed themselves of
great chunks of the flesh, and then, with death hurtling around them and
over their heads, they proceeded to carry their prize to safer quarters.
Here they determined to have a good "tuck-in." Fires were kindled, and
the flesh was toasted and swallowed with lightning rapidity.
For some weeks the inhabitants had been reduced to an essence of horse
politely termed Chevril, which was declared to be both palatable and
nourishing. The horses, with their ribs shining in painful high lights
along their skins, dropped day after day from sheer famine, and were
boiled down to meet the pressing demand. Their bones were gelatinous,
however wizened their poor flesh.
The horses that were used for food, like those that yet crawled, were
mere skeletons. When the General, in view of making another sortie,
inquired how many there were in camp that could still carry their rider
for six miles, he was informed that there were only twelve equal to the
task.
The lack of fat and milk and vegetables was irremediable, but dainties,
so called, were provided in curious ways. Blancmange was manufactured
from ladies' violet-powder which had been "commandeered" for service in
the kitchen, and biscuits were fried by the men in the axle-grease
provided for the carts, in hope to make the task of biting them less
like crunching ashes.
The place itself appeared to be becoming the Abomination of Desolation.
Many of the dwellings were unoccupied; the low bungalow-shaped villas
were closed and barricaded; here and there were buildings cracked and
seamed by shot and shell, with great gaps in their faces, reminding one
of human beings without eyes and teeth. Melancholy and depression
reigned everywhere--on the tangled, desolated gardens, as on the silent,
listless men, who had almost ceased to converse, for there was nothing
left to converse about. Buller's coming had been discussed threadbare;
the prospect of the food holding out had been examined in all its
hideous emptiness. Lassitude and weariness was the universal expression
on the visages of the hollow-eyed spectres that were the remains of the
dashing heroes of Glencoe and Elandslaagte. The land and riverbeds
presented the appearance of a series of grottoes, shelters of wood,
stone, and wire, the dens of wild animals, the caves of primitive man.
Between the burrows and caves were sentry-paths and paths to the
water-tanks, worn with the incessant traffic of weary feet.
Though affairs were arriving at a sorry pass, there were still some
wonderful recoveries. For instance, Captain Paley (Rifle Brigade), who
was wounded in both hips, was getting on amazingly. Though the leg was
badly shattered near the joint of the hip, there was every reason to
hope that it might be saved. Captain Mills, too, was mending. To have a
bullet pass through the lung and pierce the spinal column is not a
common experience, and one that few recover from; yet the doctors gave
hopeful reports. They had scarcely thought that Major Hoare would
outlive a fractured skull--completely riddled they said it was--yet the
Major was expected to be himself again shortly. These were marvellous
cases, and probably the wounded owed their curious recovery to the
nature of the weapon of offence. Missiles have peculiar characteristics,
and differ in their capacity for deadliness. For instance, bullets of
the most harmless kind are those having a high velocity, those that hit
apex-first and do not "keyhole," and those possessing a hard, smooth
sheath with a smooth, rounded surface. After these come missiles of more
death-dealing or mutilating nature--the Dum-Dum bullets, with the nickel
sheaths around the apex removed in order to expose the lead nucleus,
Remington lead or brass bullets, shrapnel bullets, and fragments of
shell. Each and all of these things had been endured by one or other of
our gallant men during the course of the campaign, and the surgeons were
able to make a profound study of causes and effects. One of the heroes
of Ladysmith who went near to testing the efficacy of that most deadly
thing, the shell, was Archdeacon Barker. With the utmost presence of
mind, he picked up a shell in the act of exploding and plumped it into a
tub of water, thus saving many lives. Numbers of officers who had been
hit by Mausers or Lee-Metfords were now pronounced out of danger, among
them Colonel C. E. Beckett (Staff), Major F. Hammersley (Staff), Captain
W. B. Silver, Captain M. J. W. Pike, Major H. Mullaly, Lieutenants
Crichton, S. C. Maitland, W. W. MacGregor (of the Gordons), and A. A. G.
Bond. Captain Lowndes, who was wounded dangerously on Surprise Hill, was
picking up wonderfully. Lieutenant Campbell, of the Imperial Light
Horse, whose case at first seemed serious, was rapidly gaining ground.
Very capricious sometimes was the action of bullets. Some of the injured
would have as many as four or five wounds, all "outers," to use their
musketry phrase, while others would suffer strange and wonderful things
in consequence of the vagaries of a single shot. A strange chapter of
accidents befell one officer. He was hit under the left eye, the bullet
passing out of his cheek into his left shoulder, and then into his upper
arm, which it broke. Not content with doing this damage, the shock of
the blow knocked him down, and in falling the unfortunate man broke the
other arm! On the other hand, there were some, reported doing well, and
expecting to be fit for duty shortly, who were veritably perforated with
bullets--"a perfect sieve" one man called himself, with a touch of
excusable pride.
The bravery of these men! The bravery of these women! Outside we knew
only of the husk of their suffering; but the kernel of it, the bitter
sickening taste of it, the taste that lived with them, that was there
when they woke, and remained after they had closed their eyes in
sleep--that, none but themselves could ever know. Boredom and flies,
they jestingly said it was! Rather was it a slow petrifaction of the
soul. Death to them had lost its sting, as life had lost its fire.
Ladysmith was the grave of corpses that were not dead, forms in the
cerements of burial now too weak to knock themselves against the
coffin-lid and cry, "Save us! our last breath is not yet spent; we are
living, loving men!" Yes, they were too weak. They made no sound, no
cry. They who had so long resisted could resist no longer; they, who
with their last effort on that fatal 6th of January had been a terror to
their enemies, were now only a terror to themselves. Could they bear it
longer? Was it possible? Might they not in some fit of madness, some
palpitating moment of lust for dear life, begin to spell the letters of
the unframable word, begin just to think how it might be
spelt?--S--u--r--r-- No! They could not get to the end of it! It choked
them. They could stand the fetid water, the foul air with its loathsome
whispers, its hideous suggestions, which at eventide grew strong as
phantoms from the nether world; they could face the sight of virulent
disease and gaunt famine stalking up and down as the hyena slinks round
and about his prey; they could gasp under the fierce heat; they could
tune their ears to the racking, rending tortuous explosions of death
dealing shells--they could do all this, but they could not get beyond.
The first syllable of the crushing word could never pass their lips!
* * * * *
Food now was only interesting because of its mystery; it was beginning
to have merely an ornamental value in the programme. Various
"confections" made of violet-powder that had been impounded, strange
brawns of mule-heel and suspicious "savouries" were the subject of
speculation and awe. People pretended to be pleased and to put a good
face on matters, and indeed they had every reason to be thankful; for,
owing to the ingenuity of Lieutenant M'Nalty, A.S.C., under whose
auspices potted meats, jellies, soups, were manufactured, the
imagination if not the appetite was appeased with what, when not too
closely investigated, appeared to be quite delectable fare.
The following prices were realised at an auction on February
21:--Fourteen lbs. of oatmeal, £2, 19s. 6d.; a tin of condensed milk,
10s.; 1 lb. of fat beef, 11s.; a 1-lb. tin of coffee, 17s.; a 2-lb. tin
of tongue, £1, 6s.; a sucking-pig, £1, 17s.; eggs, £2, 8s. per dozen; a
fowl, 18s.; four small cucumbers, 15s.; green mealies, 3s. 8d. each; a
small quantity of grapes, £1, 5s.; a plate of tomatoes, 18s.; one
marrow, £1, 8s.; a plate of potatoes, 19s.; two small bunches of
carrots, 9s.; a glass of jelly, 18s.; a 1-lb. bottle of jam, £1, 11s.; a
1-lb. tin of marmalade, £1, 1s.; a dozen matches, 13s. 6d.; a packet of
cigarettes, £1, 5s.; 50 cigars, £9, 5s.; a ¼-lb. cake of tobacco, £2,
5s.; ½ lb. of tobacco, £3, 5s.
A doctor, writing home about this time, said:--
"Things are getting very trying here now. For two or three weeks we have
had only half a pound of horseflesh and a quarter a pound of very bad
mealie-meal bread, with one ounce of sugar. Sometimes a little mealie
porridge is added or a little more bread. This is precious low fare, I
can tell you, especially as the bread is so bad we can hardly eat it,
and it makes us ill. Of course, drinks gave out after the first month,
and tobacco followed suit some time ago, but, fortunately, they
discovered a little Kaffir tobacco recently, which, vile as it is, we
smoke eagerly. Alas! mine won't last long now. It is impossible to get
proper food for patients, and not much of improper. Consequently men are
beginning to die fast of scurvy, enteric, and dysentery. We have reduced
the number of sick from two thousand to seventeen hundred here, of which
I have about a hundred severe cases, and am allowed about two to three
wineglasses of stimulants a day for the lot; so you can imagine what a
farce that is. Drugs, too, are almost finished, and firewood for
cooking is an endless difficulty; so you can imagine I am pretty tired
of the daily duty in these terrible fever-tents. About half of our
doctors and half the nurses are sick, and there were always few enough.
One doctor has already died and a nurse."
Among the severe cases alluded to was one especially to be deplored.
Colonel Royston, whose name is intimately connected with Volunteering in
Natal, was hopelessly ill. In spite of his iron constitution, he
succumbed to the ravages of enteric fever, and was in reality marked by
the finger of death at the very time when the relief force was pressing
to deliver the town from the awful doom that hung like a miasma over the
whole place. The gallant Colonel had done splendid service, and for two
decades had worked energetically to promote the welfare of the Colony
and stimulate interest in the Volunteer movement. As trumpeter in the
Carabineers in 1872, the youth was found engaging in operations against
Langalibalele, including the flying column in the Double Mountains and
the capture of the chief; and in 1879, in command of a troop of
Carabineers, he distinguished himself in the Zulu campaign. Later he
accompanied Sir Bartle Frere to the Transvaal in command of the High
Commissioner's escort. From 1881 to 1889 he commanded the regiment, and
was appointed Commandant of Volunteers in 1898. When the call to arms
came, the brave Volunteers of Natal were ready to a man, fully equipped
to go to the front--a practical proof of the splendid ability and
foresight of their chief. All agreed in deploring his illness, and
declared that an officer more fitted to lead the gallant regiment, more
trusted and more beloved, it would be hard to find.
THE BATTLE OF PIETERS
On Wednesday the 21st, as we know, our troops were back at Colenso. The
day was mainly devoted to "sniping," to bringing up heavy guns, and to
getting the troops across the Tugela. But the 12-pounder Naval guns on
Hlangwane, and the 61st Howitzer Battery in the open, indulged in a
stupendous concert addressed to the enemy's position, in which they were
assisted from below Monte Cristo on the right by more Naval guns. The
enemy was not inactive. No sooner had a pontoon been thrown across the
river below Hlangwane than they began to drop shells in the
neighbourhood of the troops who were attempting to cross. These,
however, accomplished their intention without sustaining much loss.
Meanwhile, Corporal Adams, of the Telegraph Brigade, distinguished
himself by swimming across the Tugela, wire in mouth. The troops now
advanced--General Coke's Brigade, followed by two battalions of General
Wynne's and a field-battery. The Somersets, Dorsets, Middlesex, covered
by shell-fire from two field-batteries and the heavy guns, moved across
the plain to the foot of the hill, with the object of reconnoitring
Grobler's Kloof. At first no signs of the enemy were visible, the
Dutchmen, though not entrenched, being cunningly hidden in the dongas
and thorn-bushes, which crowded the vicinity. But no sooner had the
Somersets, who had been the first across the pontoon, approached the
base of the hill, than a cataract from the rifles of the enemy suddenly
burst over them. The Boers had withheld their fire till the troops were
within point-blank range, and then rent the weird mystery of the dusk
with jets of flame. Nearly a hundred of the gallant fellows dropped and
three officers were killed. Some said that they were fighting the
enemy's rearguard, but in reality a large portion of the whole Boer army
was engaged. Though it was the first time the regiment had been under
fire, the admirable behaviour of the men in the face of overwhelming
hostile numbers was remarkable. Nevertheless, the unpleasant discovery
of the enemy's strength at last involved the retreat of the troops, and
decided the General that an advance in force must be made on the
following day.
[Illustration: BALLOON MAP ILLUSTRATING THE BATTLE OF PIETERS AND RELIEF
OF LADYSMITH.]
The following officers were killed and wounded in the operations of 20th
and 21st February:--
1st Rifle Brigade--Wounded, Lieutenant W. R. Wingfield-Digby.
2nd Somersetshire Light Infantry--Killed, Captain S. L. V.
Crealock, Lieutenant V. F. A. Keith-Falconer, Second Lieutenant
J. C. Parr; wounded, Captain E. G. Elger. 2nd Dorsetshire
Regiment--Wounded, Second Lieutenant F. Middleton. 2nd Royal
Irish Fusiliers--Wounded, Colonel J. Reeves. Staff--Wounded,
Captain H. G. C. Phillips. Royal Army Medical Corps--Died of
wounds, Captain R. E. Holt.
On Thursday the 22nd, part of General Wynne's Brigade began to advance.
They were supported by Hildyard's Brigade from the region of Fort Wylie.
(General Barton's Brigade and part of General Hart's were left on the
south side of the river.) Progress was slow and painful. The country--a
strip some two miles broad and stretching out between high hills and the
river--was richly veined with irritating dongas and covered with bushes
and scrub. The position was commanded by the wooded slopes of Grobler's
Kloof, and enabled the Boers to worry the men in their advance with an
enfilading fire. All around were steep kopjes such as the Boer soul
delights in, and thorny tangles which afforded comfortable shelter for
the enemy's guns. The movement, therefore, was costly, as it was
difficult to locate the guns, and the sharpshooters of the enemy, well
hidden in their rocky fastnesses, maintained a continuous fire on front
and flanks of the advancing force. With their usual wiliness, the
Dutchmen had evidently suspended their contemplated retreat, and had
gathered together, crept up, and taken up a strong position on the left
flank, whence they were enabled to hamper the troops considerably.
Nevertheless the Royal Lancasters leading, the South Lancashire
following, valiantly advanced towards their objective so resolutely that
the Boers, who almost to the last stood their ground, pelted off to
the sheltering nooks and dongas in the shadow of Grobler's Kloof. Only
one remained to face the bayonet. But the losses consequent on this
smart day's work were many. Brigadier-General Wynne while conducting
operations was slightly wounded, and about a hundred and fifty more were
put out of action.
[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL A. FITZROY HART, C.B.
Photo by Elliott & Fry, London.]
The troops were now moving on a route along the line of river and rail
to Ladysmith, half-way between Colenso and Pieters Hill, and with kopjes
to be stormed at intervals during the onward course. They had performed
a species of zigzag movement, pointing from Chieveley north-east to
Cingolo and Monte Cristo, and coming back in an acute line north-west to
the river. Now the forward march involved the capture of all the strong
positions, beginning with the twin kopjes, Terrace and Railway Hill, and
ending with the whole Pieters position, and possibly Bulwana.
On the three hills--Terrace Hill, Railway Hill, and Pieters Hill--rested
the Boers' second line of defence. The first hill, called Terrace Hill,
lay about a mile and a half to north-east of the right flank. Farther
east, divided by a valley, was Railway Hill, so called because on its
east came the railway line, on the other side of which was Pieters Hill.
Sir Redvers Buller's plan was to advance the infantry beyond the angle
of the river, and then stretch round the enemy's left from Railway Hill,
and so go straight to Ladysmith. The idea seemed a good one, as the
Dutchmen were believed to be moving off; but it was afterwards
discovered that they, seeing the assault was not to be made at once upon
the weak, the left edge of their position, had gathered courage and
returned, reinforced by commandos from Ladysmith, to their well-known
hunting-ground on Grobler's Kloof and elsewhere, preparing to give
battle so long as there was safety for their extreme left. Most of the
night of the 22nd was spent in fighting of desperate character, the
Howitzer Battery keeping up an incessant roar, explosion following
explosion in the sombre blackness of midnight. The Boers, meanwhile,
were attacking with rifle fire all along the line, and so persistent
were the Dutchmen in their effort to get rid of the troops, that some
even were only repulsed by the bayonet.
Details of that dreadful night's work are scarce, but a faint, yet
tragic, outline was given by an officer of the 60th Rifles, who was one
of the survivors of the fatal fray. This regiment had moved on the left
of Hildyard's Brigade, and were swinging along a boulder-strewn
hillside, which, surmounted by a series of uneven and indefinite
crest-lines, gave on to a plateau where they intended to take up a line
of outposts for the night. It so happened that the Boers had ensconced
themselves at the rear edge of the position which the troops, in the
belief that it was evacuated, were so incautiously approaching.
Accordingly, in the gathering gloom a collision of amazing violence
occurred--amazing to both Britons and Burghers, for the former
surprisedly plumped upon the Dutchmen, who as surprisedly gave way
before them. In an instant the gallant 60th were after the fugitives,
charging and cheering, but assailed now by fierce volleys from
undreamed-of trenches. This sudden and furious attack forced them,
unsupported as they were, to seek cover till reinforcements could
arrive. But no help appeared. The plight of the unfortunate band, whose
peril had been hidden in the grim density of the night, was entirely
unsuspected by the companion forces that fringed the crests in the
vicinity, and therefore the unhappy fellows lay all night clinging to
the cover of the boulders, and rained on by showers of bullets that
traced a tale of agony along the ground. At dawn on the 23rd, no
supports having arrived, and under the same fervid fusillade, they began
to retire. In twos and threes they commenced to go back, finally covered
in their retreat by the East Surreys, who had grandly gone forward to
the rescue. But the cost of splendid succour was dearly and almost
instantaneously paid. Men fell thick and fast over the hilltop--the
Colonel, second in command, and four officers of the East Surrey
Regiment dropping one after another, some wounded in many places.
Captain the Hon. R. Cathcart, "the rearmost of his command, as he had
been foremost of the night before," dropped dead, and round him within a
few moments fifty other noble fellows had passed to the Unknown!
General Buller's orders on the 23rd were brief. Push for Ladysmith
to-day, horse, foot, and artillery; both cavalry brigades to cross the
river at once. The advance, which had hitherto been slow, was now
hurried on. At midday it was in full swing, the cavalry having crossed
the Tugela and massed at Fort Wylie. Meanwhile the Boers had taken up a
formidable position on the right--on the well-entrenched height called
by the gunners Three Knoll Hill, to describe the three hills, Terrace,
Railway, and Pieters, that formed the entire position--while on the left
they plied their activities from Grobler's Kloof. The artillery in front
of Railway Hill concentrated a brisk fire upon the Boers therein
entrenched, who returned some animated replies, assisted by other
Dutchmen from a hidden vantage-point on the north-east of that eminence.
General Hart's Brigade, to whose valiant Irishmen the difficult task of
capturing the position was entrusted, was ordered to advance. This
advance from Onderbrook Spruit to the base of Terrace Hill, the
companion of Railway Hill, was a feat of cool courage that has seldom
been equalled. The hill, triangular and standing some three hundred feet
above the Tugela, was approached by a wide open space, which was
commanded by the Boers, whose complicated position on Railway Hill and
its component ridges gave them every advantage. The correspondent of the
_Standard_ furnished a description of these precipitous steeps. "Railway
Hill rises from the Tugela a mile from Platelayers' House. It is,
perhaps, best described as triangular in shape, with one angle pointing
towards the river. It rises from the latter in a series of jagged,
boulder-strewn kopjes, until three hundred feet or so above the Tugela.
A kloof, through which the railway passes upwards on its way to Pieters
Station, separates the last jagged ledge from the hill proper. From the
last kopje or ledge, and immediately on the other side of the line, the
main part of the hill rises abruptly, almost precipitously, with a sharp
edge running back in a north-westerly direction for several hundred
yards. The base of this north-westerly line of hill makes up a kloof
thick with thorn trees, and this kloof recedes round the left end of the
hill to the rear, where the enemy's force, under Commandant Dupreez, had
its quarters, while a little farther to the rear is still another kloof,
in which the enemy's Creusots were mounted. Along the beginning of the
sharp edge referred to a long trench was cut out, and right ahead, as
the hill ran still upwards on an incline for three hundred yards or so,
were other trenches, until the hill terminated in a crest crowded with
commanding fortifications." To assail this formidable stronghold the
troops moved off in the following order--the Inniskilling Fusiliers
leading, followed by the Connaught Rangers, the Dublin Fusiliers, and
the Imperial Light Infantry. Steadily marched the kharki-clad throng,
advancing along the railroad in single file with rifles at the slope. At
that time there was comparative silence save for the muffled drumming of
artillery in the surrounding kopjes. These apparently frowned free of
human influence, the dark, dull frown that portends many evil things to
the eye of the advancing soldier. But nevertheless the troops moved
nearer and nearer to the hill over the open ground by the railway bridge
with a steady step and that air of consolidated distinction that marks
acutely the difference between Briton and Boer armies. They had no
sooner showed themselves in the open than the air grew alive, the
trenches on the frowning hill vomited furiously. A casual observer
remarked that it reminded him of the pantomimes of his youth, of Ali
Baba's cave, when, at a given signal, its jars opened and the forty
thieves suddenly--simultaneously--popped up their heads. Only now there
were not forty but thousands of brigandish forms--forms that hastened to
deal death from their Mausers on the advancing men. These were now
coming on at a rush, a rush through the hailstorm whose every shower
meant disaster. But Hart the valiant had said, "That hill must be taken
at all costs"--and that was enough! The hill was about to be seized and
the payments had already begun. One, two, three, four, six--more and
yet more down, one after another. So the men began to fall. The ironwork
of the bridge had now its fringe of fainting forms. Still the splendid
fellows pushed on. Still the air reverberated with the puissant
pom-poming of the Boers' automatic gun. This they had turned on to the
position they knew must be passed by the advancing warriors. Meanwhile
the British artillery was saluting the hill, throwing up to heaven dust
and splinter spouts that filled the whole atmosphere with blinding,
choking debris, and causing the purple boulders far and wide to give
forth rumbling echoes of the infernal rampage.
Gradually, in face of the deluge of shot and shell, the Inniskilling
Fusiliers, the Connaught Rangers, and one company each of the Dublin
Fusiliers, had wound their way towards the eastern spurs of Railway
Hill, and in the late afternoon were ready for the attack. General Hart
gave the word. Then, up the rugged stone-strewn heights the troops
laboriously began to climb. Soon they reached a point, some hundred
yards above, whence the Boers could pepper them with ease. At the same
time from the adjacent hill more bullets whizzed upon them. Yet, with
this horrible fire on their flanks and the deadly fusillade from the
front, they persevered, dropping one after another like ripe fruit in a
gust of wind. Volley after volley poured down on them, but up they went,
cutting through wire, leaping boulders, and hurling themselves forward,
and in such grand style, that the Boers, seeing the determined glitter
of the bayonet, thought it wiser to retreat. They receded some two
hundred yards up the hill, while the troops occupied the first position.
Then, in the growing dusk, the Dutchmen were seen taking a commanding
place on a somewhat higher or parent peak of the hill. From this point
the Inniskillings, flushed with their first triumph, deemed it necessary
to rout them. Fire streamed and spouted, the dim gloom of twilight came
on; still the Irishmen, through the mist of evening and flashings
furious from every side, advanced along the hill--a glorious, a tragic
advance. One after another bit the dust. Men in mute or groaning agony
lay prone in the gathering dusk. First went a major, afterwards another,
and then two captains of this gallant band. The Boers had known their
business. Some of their kopjes are of the nature of spider-webs; the
outer fringe involves entanglement; and this especial eminence was of
that particular nature that the second Boer position commanded the
first. The Dutchmen, even as they receded, were able to mow down the men
as they advanced, by a converging fire, against which it was impossible
to stand. It was now an almost hand-to-hand struggle between doughty
Dutchman and dashing Briton. The Inniskillings were close, but every
inch was gained with appalling loss to their numbers--indeed, the
charging companies might almost have been described as individual men!
Finally, some one gave the order to retire. But how? Most of the
valorous band were stricken down, or had perished. The wounded could not
be removed. Yet those that remained were too few to hold the ground in
the darkness. All that could be done was to retire below the crest and
wait till morning. A retirement was attempted, under the personal
direction of the Colonel (Colonel Sitwell),[4] but in the course of the
movement he was hit, never to rise again. The troops at last got to the
cover of the hill, where they built schanzes and bivouacked. But from
this point throughout the night firing continued, while the Boers above,
between the intervals of dozing, peppered the bivouacs with bullets.
At 7 A.M., while cannonading had elsewhere assumed dangerous
proportions, the Irish regiments were again assailed in their schanzes
by the persistent Dutchmen. These had crept round the base of the hill
and attacked the trenches from the western side. Volleys poured from all
directions on a scene that was already deplorable. Only four officers of
the Inniskillings remained. Of the Connaught Rangers five officers were
wounded. The Dublin Fusiliers had lost their gallant Colonel (Colonel
Sitwell), and also Captain Maitland of the Gordon Highlanders
(attached). The picture at dawn and on throughout the day was truly
appalling. The trenches of the Boers and those of the attacking force
were now only some three or four hundred yards apart, and between them
was spread an arena of carnage heart-breaking as irremediable. It was
impossible for any one to show a nose and live. Wounded lay here, there,
and everywhere, heaped as they had fallen, drenched in their own gore
and helpless, yet struggling pathetically to edge themselves with hands
or knees or heels nearer some place of safety. Dead, too, were entangled
with the sinking, huddled together in grievous ghastly comradeship....
For thirty-six hours some of these heroes lay in wretchedness, hanging
between life and death. Mercifully the Boers brought them water, but all
their acts were not equally generous. Unfortunately, some
misinterpretation regarding the Red Cross flag accentuated the
misfortunes of the day.
The Boers, it appeared, had begun by producing one. This signal should
have been responded to by our troops, who, however, were not prepared to
show another Red Cross flag, which display would have been the signal
for truce. This being the case, the Boers, after carrying off their
wounded and giving certain of the British wounded some water, removed
their rifles. Further, they rifled their pockets and despoiled dead and
wounded of boots and other property. Naturally, those who saw them were
so infuriated at this wanton behaviour that they began to fire. From
this time hostilities recommenced, and the innate cruelty of the Boers
was evidenced in several cases. It was stated on the authority of an
officer that many of the wounded in act of crawling away were
deliberately shot. Let us hope that the aggravation at the
non-appearance of the British Red Cross flag was the cause of the ugly
display of character on the part of the enemy.
During the late afternoon the worn-out troops in their trenches at the
base of the hill were fiercely attacked by the enemy's guns from all
quarters. No such effective shell fire had been experienced since Spion
Kop. Indeed, with the assistance of Krupps, and Creusots, and Maxims,
and other diabolical instruments, the Boers managed to make a fitting
concert for Beelzebub. Many of our positions on the lower slopes of the
kopjes were enfiladed, and thus many gallant fellows in Hildyard's and
Kitchener's brigades were killed. Several officers among those who were
fighting on the left also fell, among them Colonel Thorold, Royal Welsh
Fusiliers.
* * * * *
At this juncture, finding that the original passage of the river was
commanded by entrenchments on every side, and that further advance would
be costly in the extreme, the General decided that he must reconnoitre
for another passage across the Tugela. This was forthwith discovered.
Meanwhile, the day being Sunday, there was an armistice for the
interment of the dead on both sides. Grievous were the sensations of
those whose duty brought them to the awesome scene of death, who spent
the long hours surrounded by sights hideous and forms uncouth, the
remains of heroes, discoloured from days of exposure to the sun's
scorching rays, to the damps and dews of night--lying limply rigid and
rigidly limp in the unmistakable and undescribable abandonment of
untenanted clay; or succouring still more pitiable wrecks, wrecks joined
perhaps by an invisible handclasp with comrades in the other world, but
still here, making a last struggle for the dignity of manhood, or
fainting slowly, peaceably, beyond all knowledge of pain as of the
splendid heroism that had placed them where they were!
One who was present contributed to _Blackwood's Magazine_ a curious
account of that armistice--that was not entirely an armistice--of
Colonel Hamilton's approach with the flag of fraternity (so often
misused and abused by the Dutchmen), and of the strange apparitions that
came forth suspiciously one by one from the depths of the hostile
trenches. He said: "Seldom have I set eyes on a more magnificent
specimen of male humanity than the Commandant of the trenchful of Boers,
Pristorius by name, a son of Anak by descent, and a gallant,
golden-bearded fighting-man by present occupation; for in far-away
Middleburg those mighty limbs--he told it us without any of that stupid
deprecation which would probably have characterised a similar confession
on the part of an Englishman--were wont to stretch themselves beneath a
lawyer's desk. Close on his heels came what a person who had never seen
Boers before would have thought the strangest band of warriors in the
world--old men with flowing, tobacco-stained, white beards; middle-aged
men with beards burnt black with the sun and sweat of their forty years;
young men, mostly clean shaven, exhibiting strongly the heavy Dutch
moulding of the broad nose and chin; big boys in small suits, suits of
all kinds and colours, tweed, velveteen, homespun, and 'shoddy,' all
untidy in the extreme, but mostly as serviceable as their wearers."
These strange beings formed a strong contrast to the men who joined
them, particularly in their attitude when confronted with the ghastly
foreground of death which made the prominent feature of the amicable
picture. The eye-witness before quoted declared that "it was much more
difficult for them to conceal the natural discomposure which all men
feel in the presence of the silent dead than for their more artificial
opponents. From the airy and easy demeanour of the uniformed British
officers, that dreadful plateau might have been the lobby of a London
club. A Briton is at all times prone to conceal his emotions, and
certainly in this instance the idiosyncrasy gave him a great social
advantage over the superstitious Burghers, with their sidelong glances
and uneasy shiftings." By-and-by, however, both parties grew even
friendly, and the writer went on to describe an animated dialogue
between himself and "a deep-chested old oak-tree of a man, whose swarthy
countenance was rendered more gipsy-like by the addition of ear-rings.
The opening of the conversation had its humours. 'Good-morning!' quoth
I. 'Gumorghen,' rumbled the oak-tree sourly. 'Surely we can be friends
for five minutes,' I ventured, after a pause. The rugged countenance was
suddenly, not to say startlingly, illumined with a beaming smile. '_Why_
not, indeed! _why_ not, officer! Have you any tobacco?' Out came my
pouch, luckily filled to bursting that very morning, and the oak-tree
proceeded to stuff a huge pipe to the very brim, gloating over the
fragrance of the 'best gold flake' as he did so. The rumour of tobacco
had the effect of dispelling the chill that still lingered on the
outskirts of that little crowd, and many a grimy set of fingers claimed
their share as the price of the friendship of the owners, the Commandant
himself not disdaining to accept a fill with a graceful word of thanks.
They were out of tobacco in that trench, it appeared, and suffering
acutely from the deprivation of what to a Boer is more necessary than
food."
Near to the place where they were stricken the Irish heroes were buried.
Their last bed was made in a picturesque spot within the whisper of the
spray of the river, and sheltered by the low-spreading thorn-bushes. The
rest of the day was unusually peaceful, but in the evening the crackle
of musketry from left to right of the position taken up by the Durhams
again showed that the enemy was on the alert, and it was believed he was
preparing for offensive operations during the night. It was discovered,
however, that a gallant deed had put any effort to rush the British
lines out of his power. Captain Phillips with eight Bluejackets had
effectually rendered their searchlight useless, and had, moreover, got
safely away after the venturesome act had been perpetrated and
discovered.
The new passage was found by Colonel Sandbach (Royal Engineers) at a
point below the waterfall on the east, and again guns, baggage, &c.,
were ordered to be removed to the south side of the Tugela. It may be
advisable to note that the armistice mentioned was an informal one,
which did not interfere with military movements. Owing to the desperate
straits of the wounded on Inniskilling Hill (as the position, baptized
in the blood of our heroes, had now been christened), the General had
sent in a flag asking for an armistice. The Boers had refused. On
condition that we should not fire on their positions during the day,
they only consented to allow the bearer companies to remove the wounded
and bury the dead. The Boers meanwhile improved their entrenchments, and
the British troops, as stated, prepared for the operation of removal
across the river. This they at first did with some misgivings, for they
had tacked about so many times, but, on the whole, they bore the strain
admirably. What with the hammering of Maxims, Nordenfeldts, and the
fluting of Mausers, the men had for twelve days past run through the
gamut of discomfort. They had been fed up with war. They were in the
daytime fried, grilled, and toasted. At night the cold with its contrast
had bitten and numbed them. They had bivouacked now in keen chilly
blasts, now in intermittent downpours of rain, which had drenched them
and made existence a prolonged wretchedness. And nothing had been
achieved. Lives only had been lost. But they still munched their bully
beef and biscuit with an heroic cheerfulness and resignation that served
to astonish and inspirit all who beheld it. There was no doubt about it
that the pluck and perseverance of the British Tommy had become subjects
for wonder and veneration!
[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL H. J. T. HILDYARD, C.B.
Photo by C. Knight, Aldershot.]
During the night the pontoon bridge was removed from its original
position and relaid at the point indicated by Colonel Sandbach. The
Boers, watching the commencement of the move, were under the impression
that a repetition of the retirements from Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz was
to be enacted. They therefore deemed that the movement might be carried
out with more expedition did they start a magazine fire at long range at
such troops as happened to be between Colenso and the angle of the
river. When they discovered, however, that only a portion of the troops
had departed, they subsided and reserved their ammunition till morning,
when a brisk artillery duel commenced operations--a duel in which the
British in quantity and the Dutch in quality of practice distinguished
themselves.
General Buller's revised plan was now to avoid the enemy's front, and
work back again to the Hlangwane plateau, whence he would start again,
having, as it were, made a redistribution of his troops, so that Hart's
brigade in its expensively acquired position would now, instead of being
his extreme right, become his extreme left. To this end guns and cavalry
were removed, Naval batteries being posted on the Hlangwane and Monte
Cristo positions, while Hart's brigade was left holding to the skirts,
so to speak, of the enemy at Inniskilling Hill, and preventing him from
congratulating himself on freedom.
The anniversary of Majuba began in clouds. Guns very early broke into an
_aubade_, but awakened few. For there had been little sleep that night.
All had dozed in their boots, ready for the worst. The cavalry proceeded
to range itself at the northern point of the Hlangwane position, in
order that by their guns and long-range rifle fire they might assist the
advance of Barton's Brigade. This brigade was the first to start in the
attack on the three hills on which the Boer left still rested. The
disposition of the forces was as follows:--General Barton's Fusilier
Brigade on the extreme right, with Colonel Kitchener's Lancashire
Brigade--Colonel Kitchener having taken over General Wynne's Brigade
while that officer was wounded--on his left, this latter being on the
right of Colonel Northcott's Brigade. Colonel Stuart, working with a
composite regiment on the south bank of the Tugela, protected the
crossing.
General Barton, with two battalions of the 6th Brigade and the Royal
Dublin Fusiliers, crept one and a half miles down the banks of the
river, the Scots Fusiliers leading. Here the Tugela flowed between high
shelving banks, while above them frowned the three spurs of the great
Pieters position. As usual, these eminences were well ribbed with
shelter trenches, and embedded everywhere were Boer sharpshooters, ready
to pit cunning against courage, and sniggle at the victory of one over
the other. A hot fire commenced on the river-banks while Barton's
Brigade advanced gallantly towards its destination. The top of the hill
was being raked noisily by the gunners. "Hell was dancing hornpipes
aloft," some one said. However, in the afternoon British bayonets
glittered against the skyline, and the thing was done. This, the most
wonderful infantry in the world, had ascended precipitous cliffs 500
feet high, assaulted Pieter's Hill, gained the crest, and turned the
enemy's left.
[Illustration: SIGNAL APPARATUS OF H.M.S. _FORTE_, MOUNTED ON TRUCK AND
USED NIGHTLY TO COMMUNICATE WITH LADYSMITH.]
This storming of the main position, which was accomplished by the Royal
Scots Fusiliers and the Royal Irish Fusiliers, was a remarkable
achievement, though the enemy, conscious of their weakness at this
point, and knowing how completely they were dominated by the Monte
Cristo ridge, made no very prolonged opposition. No sooner had the
brigade occupied the hill than the disheartened Boers removed in
considerable strength to some dongas on the east, whence they continued
to be aggressive, and poured a heavy rifle fire on the Fusiliers, whose
losses were considerable. They failed, however, to dislodge them. At
this time a simultaneous attack was taking place in the region of the
two other hills which composed the Pieter's position. These the 4th
Brigade under Colonel Northcott and the 11th Brigade under Colonel
Kitchener were now assailing with magnificent courage. For two hours
every spot on the kopjes had been searched, painted with the noxious
hues of lyddite, and seamed with shrapnel, and few Dutchmen there were
who cared to remain to welcome the bayonets of Kitchener's braves. Their
preliminary advance was scarcely recognisable, kharki and kopje so
smoothly blending themselves in one. Then on a sudden, as in the
transformation scene when jars become forty thieves or shell-fish become
fairies, the boulders took to themselves human shape and human tongue,
and up flew a surging, yelling mass of fierce warriors, rushing the hill
in the red light of the setting sun. The crest was carried magnificently
by the Royal Lancasters, men who had been in the thick of everything for
a month past, and who yet maintained their unconquerable British
qualities without a flaw; and the Boers, recognising that the game was
up, were seen skimming the distance like swallows in flight. Some
magnificent service was done by the gunners of the Royal Navy and the
Natal Naval Volunteers, service that was especially eulogised by the
General, who declared that the losses consequent on the taking of the
position might have been far greater but for the efficient manner in
which the artillery was served. Be this as it may, an officer said what
many echoed, namely, that however deadly our shell fire was, and however
instrumental in winning the battle, "No infantry in the world but ours
would have crowned such a victory with so much glory." For the Boers at
first fought doggedly, relinquishing their hold of trench after trench
only when artillery followed by the bayonets of the infantry made their
positions untenable. In turn three hills were stormed; in turn cheer on
cheer rent the air and travelled along the funnel-like banks of the
river, and floated up to the rejoiced ears of those on Hlangwane and
Monte Cristo, who had assisted to bring about the devoutly wished for
consummation. The song of victory seemed to be taken up by the elements,
earth and air and water, and the last flare of the guns of the enemy
repeated it. All now knew that the way to Ladysmith was won; that the
toil and tribulation, the perplexity and suspense, that had harassed
them since the fatal day of Colenso had come to an end! There, right and
left, were little black figures scudding away like ants disturbed; here
streams of prisoners who had thrown up hands at glint of bayonet; on all
sides kopjes, kopjes, kopjes--ours, unchallengeably ours!
Some idea of the situation may be gathered from the description of a
sergeant in the 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers:--
"On the 27th we put the damper on them.... You have read, no doubt, of
Barton's Brigade deploying to the right early in the day. That
deployment was made by crossing the pontoon bridge put up during the
night by the Engineers. Instead of climbing up the banks on the opposite
side, we crept down the water's edge over huge rocks for about a couple
of miles. In the meantime our Naval guns, artillery, Maxims, were all
blazing away overhead, and a terrible rifle fire was raging on the left.
As we struggled up the steep banks the beggars spotted us, and things
began to get lively. We got under a little cover, and blazed away for
all we were worth.
"The whole brigade gradually pushed forward from one bit of cover to
another, but still the Boers held their ground. About five o'clock in
the afternoon the staff passed the word round to charge them out of it.
We left our cover, and advanced by half-companies at the double. The
company officers were given a point to make for, and as soon as we got
in the open it was a case of every man for himself. It was a good 800
yards of open ground where my company had to cross, and, of course, they
fired at us for all they were worth. A good many dropped, including
A---- and the two subalterns. What with shells bursting and a front and
cross fire, it was like a full-dress rehearsal for the lower regions. We
got on the hill, and made short work of our Brothers. Needless to say,
they didn't all stand for the steel. They kept up a heavy fire on us
until long after dark. Orders were passed to hold our own until
daylight. As many of the wounded were without water, a terrible night
was put in. The shouts for water, mingled with the groans of the dying,
the sparks from the Mauser bullets as they struck the rocks, the
blackness of the night, &c., fairly made me say my prayers.... The
stretcher-bearers searching for the wounded carry lamps, and these lamps
made a nice target for Brother Boer to snipe at. Daylight came at last,
the night mist began to clear away, dead Tommies grinning at dead Boers,
wounded men of all sorts, everybody stiff, sore, dirty, and tired. The
Boers scooted."
And the next day came the serene happiness of viewing the Boers in full
retreat behind Bulwana and in the direction of Acton Homes, the winding
string of waggons trekking away from the scene of past triumphs. The
misery, the lives, the pains, the doubts, the disappointments were well
repaid by that vision of the departing foe, the foe moving off for ever
from the strongholds of Natal. All had been accomplished by a blend of
pluck, obduracy, and perseverance that can scarcely find its match in
the records of British prowess. They had suffered at Colenso, they had
tested the deadly summit of Spion Kop. They had backed out from that
cruel region with their lives in their hands, and repeated the same
process in the equally terrific area of Vaal Krantz. They had come forth
smiling, stalwart, staunch as ever, believing and trusting and
determining to hew their way through the rocky wilderness sown with
destruction and save the 8000 odd of their fellows whose lives verily
hung by a thread. And now for fourteen days, each hour fraught with
blood and broiling, they had moved on from one dangerous position to a
second more dangerous position, till at last, after protracted torment
and suspense, they had driven before them the whole horde of adventurous
Dutchmen--foes allowed to be the bravest of the brave, if the shiftiest
of the shifty. Now they had their reward. The Boers were scrambling to
be off--that much they could see of them. It was only in those fleeing
moments they saw them at all. At other times, when battle raged warmest,
all that was known of the Brother Boer was the shape and number of his
bullet!
The following officers were killed and wounded on the 22nd, 23rd, and
24th of February:--
Staff--Wounded, Major-General A. S. Wynne, C.B. 3rd King's
Royal Rifle Corps--Killed, Lieutenant Hon. R. Cathcart;
wounded, Lieutenant D. H. Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell and
Lieutenant A. F. MacLachlan. 2nd Royal Lancaster
Regiment--Killed, Lieutenant R. H. Coë and Second Lieutenant N.
J. Parker; wounded, Major E. W. Yeatherd, Lieutenant A. R. S.
Martin, Lieutenant F. C. Davidson (since dead), and Lieutenant
R. G. D. Parker. 2nd East Surrey Regiment--Wounded,
Lieutenant-Colonel R. H. W. H. Harris, Major H. L. Smith, Major
H. P. Treeby, Captain F. L. A. Packman, Lieutenant C. H.
Hinton, Second Lieutenant J. P. Benson. 1st South Lancashire
Regiment--Wounded, Captain B. R. Goren, Lieutenant H. R. Kane,
Captain S. Upperton, Second Lieutenant C. H. Marsh. 2nd
Devonshire Regiment--Wounded, Lieutenant E. J. F. Vaughan. 2nd
Royal West Surrey Regiment--Wounded, Lieutenants B. H. Hastie,
H. C. Winfield, and A. E. M'Namara. 1st Rifle Brigade--Wounded,
Captain and Quarter-Master F. Stone and Second Lieutenant C.
D'A. Baker-Carr. 2nd King's Royal Rifle Corps--Wounded,
Lieutenant W. Wyndham and Second Lieutenant G. C. Kelly. 2nd
Rifle Brigade--Wounded, Second Lieutenant H. C. Dumaresq. 1st
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers--Killed, Lieutenant-Colonel T. M.
G. Thackeray,[5] Major F. A. Sanders, Lieutenant W. O. Stuart;
wounded, Major C. J. L. Davidson, Captain R. M. Foot,
Lieutenant J. Evans, Lieutenant J. N. Crawford, Second
Lieutenant C. Ridings, Second Lieutenant H. P. Pott, Second
Lieutenant J. G. Devenish; missing, Second Lieutenant T. A. D.
Best. 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers--Killed, Brevet
Lieutenant-Colonel C. G. H. Sitwell, D.S.O.; wounded,
Lieutenant A. V. Hill, Second Lieutenant A. Broadhurst-Hill,
Second Lieutenant F. B. Lane, Second Lieutenant J. T. Dennis.
2nd Gordon Highlanders--Killed, Captain S. C. Maitland.
Imperial Light Infantry--Wounded, Major Hay. 1st Connaught
Rangers--Wounded, Lieutenant J. L. T. Conroy, Lieutenant R. W.
Harling, Lieutenant H. Moore Hutchinson, Lieutenant A. Wise,
Second Lieutenant A. T. Lambert, Second Lieutenant J. M. B.
Wratislaw, Captain E. M. Woulfe Flanagan (5th Battalion,
attached). Royal Welsh Fusiliers--Killed, Lieutenant-Colonel C.
C. H. Thorold,[6] Lieutenant F. A. Stebbing; wounded, Second
Lieutenant C. C. Norman and Second Lieutenant H. V. V. Kyrke.
2nd Royal Fusiliers--Wounded, Lieutenant R. H. Torkington.
The following casualties occurred on the 27th of February:--
_Killed._--1st South Lancashire Regiment--Lieutenant-Colonel W.
M'Carthy O'Leary.[7] 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers--Brevet-Major V.
Lewis, Captain H. S. Sykes, Second Lieutenant F. J. T. U.
Simpson. 1st Royal Warwickshire Regiment--Lieutenant H. L.
Mourilyan. Second Royal Irish Fusiliers--Second Lieutenant C.
J. Daly.
_Wounded._--Major-General Barton. 2nd Scots
Fusiliers--Lieutenant-Colonel E. E. Carr, Captain C. P. A.
Hull, Captain E. E. Blaine, Lieutenant C. H. I. Jackson, Second
Lieutenant H. C. Fraser. 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers--Major F. F.
Hill, Lieutenant A. G. Knocker, Second Lieutenant A. Hamilton,
Second Lieutenant V. H. Kavanagh. 1st South Lancashire
Regiment--Major T. Lamb. 2nd West Yorkshire Regiment--Captain
C. Mansel Jones, Captain C. C. B. Tew, Lieutenant L. H. Spry,
Lieutenant A. M. Boyall. 2nd Derbyshire Regiment--Lieutenant H.
S. Pennell, V.C. 2nd Royal Lancaster Regiment--Captain G. L.
Palmes, Second Lieutenant C. W. Grover, Lieutenant E. A. P.
Vaughan. 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers--Second Lieutenant G.
R. V. Steward. 1st Rifle Brigade--Captain and Adjutant S. C.
Long, Second Lieutenant J. L. Buxton. 2nd Royal
Fusiliers--Lieutenant H. B. G. Macartney. 2nd Royal Dublin
Fusiliers--Lieutenant J. M'D. Hastard, Second Lieutenant De B.
Bradford.
EXPECTATION
[Illustration: KING'S POST, THE ENTRENCHED POSITION OF 2ND BATT. RIFLE
BRIGADE AT LADYSMITH. (Reduced facsimile of sketch by Melton Prior.)]
"Gloom, gloom, gloom, unending gloom!" So said one on the 26th of
February, one who was fast sinking in the slough of despondency into
which so many had slipped lower and lower, till they were sucked down
and ended their troubles with fever and the grave. Some few days before
all hearts had leapt with joy at reading of hopeful signals, listening
to booming guns, which all thought to be bursting the gates of their
imprisonment. So certain were they that the joyful hour of freedom was
at hand that the force was placed on full rations. "We can afford to
have a blow-out now," some one had said, and began to arrange what menu
he should chose when he at last came face to face with civilisation.
Then had come gloom--gloom blacker than Erebus--for it was gloom without
and within. The guns--the welcome guns--not the obstreperous ones of
Bulwana and the companion hills--had ceased their clamour. Hope was
gone, and even the "helio" refused its communications. The sky was
overcast, and rumours, that had always been prolific as flies, now began
to breed apace. The air of Ladysmith was thick with them. No word from
Buller's column. Kaffirs hinted that for the fourth time the relief
column had retired at the back of the Tugela. Doubt, anxiety, suspense
set in with renewed terrors. Quarter rations--the more trying because
temporarily dropped--again became the order of the course. This in spite
of the fact that Buller had now signalled "Everything progressing
favourably." It seemed that they had heard that message before, those
poor, half-hopeful, half-sceptical sufferers.
Some said that on Tuesday, Majuba Day, the spirits of the community
arrived at their nadir. When the barometer of fate registers its lowest,
it is bound to rise. It rose in skips and jumps. There came the grand
news that Cronje had surrendered to Lord Roberts. It was evident that
the Boers too had heard, understood, and decided that they must scuttle
the next morning. Signs of disturbance were evident. Long serpentine
lines of trekking waggons were throwing up dust columns in the roads
leading to Modder Spruit and Pepworth; droves of oxen were hurried along
as fast as hoofs would carry them. Guns--the terrible guns which for 118
days had bayed and barked and rumbled and thundered--were in course of
being dismantled. What did it all mean? Time was when the "braves" in
Ladysmith would have sallied forth with their inherent dash and turned
the retreat into a rout. But things were changed. Men and horses were
now almost too weak to enter into sustained conflict with a mosquito,
had a mosquito deigned to look at them. But most of them were past even
the attentions of mosquitos. All they could do was to send a salvo at
the heels of their tormentors, and hope that one or two shells at least
might serve to "speed the parting guest." This was all they could
attempt. They also flashed to Monte Cristo a message--a deplorable
message--full of their despair and despondency. It said, "Garrison
bitterly disappointed at delay of relieving force." This was at twelve
o'clock. Then, as though Fate, with a full appreciation of the
picturesque, had placed her highest light against her deepest
dark--then, within the hour, came back glorious news!
[Illustration: IN BELEAGUERED LADYSMITH--WATCHING FOR BULLER FROM
OBSERVATION HILL.
From a Sketch by Melton Prior.]
"Have thoroughly beaten the enemy. Believe them to be in full retreat.
Have sent my cavalry to ascertain which way they have gone." Surprise,
rapture, prolonged jubilation! Cheer on cheer rose on the clear midday
air and rang for miles, till the sick in Intombi camp lifted pallid
heads and strained their ears and wondered. Then came the rolling
National Anthem and "Rule Britannia," and Sir George White and those
around him who had grown old within the spell of those awful 118 days,
began to grow young again. And soon the Jack Tars set to work and the
Naval guns pounded away with a reckless disregard for ammunition and a
zest that did them credit. "One more go at him!--only one more!--only
one more!" and "Long Tom," which was in act of being dismantled, was the
subject of boisterous farewells.
THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH
At six o'clock on the evening of the 28th of February all the suffering,
suspense, and tension came to an end. The obstinate resistance, the
heroic combats, the semi-starvation, the appalling melancholy of
enforced exile, all were over.
In the late afternoon those viewing the departure of the Boers from a
vantage-point at Cæsar's Camp espied along the hazy blue of the valley
horsemen recklessly approaching, riding at full gallop across the open.
Conjectures wild were attempted. Hearts began to flutter, to stand
still, to beat again with sharp quick thuds. Boers? Or Buller's cavalry?
Yes--no--yes! Hurrah! Hurrah! They were coming--the squadron was
distinctly visible--they were making direct for Ladysmith. A roar went
up from a multitude of throats. The Manchesters on Cæsar's Camp, the
Gordons at Fly Kraal, and presently the troops in the town, broke into
shouts of exultation. Soon it was known everywhere they were
coming--coming--coming--at last--at last! It was quite true. There was
Lord Dundonald with Major Mackenzie (Light Horse) and Major Gough (16th
Lancers), accompanied by the little column of Colonials, grand gallant
fellows of the Light Horse, Natal Carabineers, and Border Mounted
Police, some three hundred of them, pounding across the open country as
fast as horses would carry them.
In the twilight the troops sped along over boulder and rock, down donga
and ravine, reckless of every obstacle, and at last the melancholy
perimeter was reached. Then from out the gloom came a challenge. A
British voice called "Halt! Who goes there?" A British voice gave
answer--the almost unbelievable answer--"The Ladysmith Relieving Army."
Four words, just four words! Paradise seemed to be opened. From all
quarters came crowding and cheering--cheering faintly with wizened
voices of the famished--men battered and almost bootless--happy, yet for
all that deplorably sad in their happiness. Tears even glistened on some
cheeks and in some eyes--the "unconquerable British blue eyes" of the
Ladysmith "invincibles." With a due sense of decorum, and in the
determination to give none the precedence, the procession had arranged
itself in special order. The Natal Carabineers and Imperial Light Horse
riding two and two abreast, with Major Gough at the head of the column,
now marched in triumph into the town.
At the English church they were met by General White, the defender of
Ladysmith, fevered and thin and grey-haired, yet erect with the carriage
of one who, without the strength, has the inextinguishable pride of his
race, and the will to bear his country's burden to the last. With him
were General Hunter and Colonel Ian Hamilton, heroes of the defence.
Each instant the scene gained in colour, in vehemence, in pathos.
Cheers and tears were commingled. Women wept unreservedly. Men, to
dispose of a lump in their throats, shouted with all the scanty vigour
that a limited diet of horse-sausage and mule would allow. But new life
coursed through their veins. There was no glow of health on their
cheeks, but the gleam of joy in their eyes rendered them young, almost
hale. The Kaffirs and coolies gave expression to their rapture by dances
and shouts that relieved the almost solemn ecstasy of the moment. Then
General White, surrounded on one side by his pallid, worn, and wounded
heroes, on the other by the bronzed warriors of the relieving force,
made a brief address to the crowd: "People of Ladysmith," he said, in a
voice that wavered with the emotion it was needless to conceal--"People
of Ladysmith, I thank you one and all for the patient manner you have
assisted me during the siege. From the bottom of my heart I thank you.
It hurt me terribly when I was compelled to cut down rations, but, thank
God, we have kept our flag flying!" Cheers broke out afresh, and then
the battered multitude with one voice rent the grey gloom of the
evening, and the strains of "God save the Queen" rang forth, till the
banks, hollows, and rocks of the surrounding country gave back the
glorious refrain. That night Sir George White, with his valorous
colleagues around him, gave a dinner to the newly arrived, and these sat
down with a feeling of exaltation, almost of awe, to find themselves
thus in the familiar company of heroes. And all were conscious of a
strange sense of unreality which pervaded the scene. It was almost
impossible to realise that the drama was played, that they were about to
ring down the curtain on the last act. It was scarce possible to believe
that for three months the Natal Field Force had kept at bay a force
double its number, had fortified and held a perimeter of fourteen miles
against the most fiendish inventions of modern artillery, had made
brilliant sorties and repulsed assaults innumerable--two of them being
ferocious, almost hand-to-hand combats--had fought and watched and
sickened and starved.... And now, all was changed. Those dire
experiences were over for ever!
Yet the effect of them remained. As a consequence of the close
confinement of some 20,000 persons, disease was stalking abroad, even
attacking those who but an hour ago had neared the place. Away at
Intombi camp, too, where drugs were scarce, many of the
patients--convalescent patients--were sinking for want of the sustaining
food which was necessary to recovery. There was regret, poignant and
newly awakened, in this moment of relief, regret standing dry-eyed, yet
with a grievous ache at the heart--regret that before had learnt to bear
and be still. It was impossible to see the glad side without also
remembering the deeply pathetic one. The pestiferous atmosphere
breathed of fever and disease, and those coming into it realised only
too well what havoc such an atmosphere must have played on the sickly
and the starved. Besides this there were gaps--woeful gaps. Names that
dared not be mentioned, spots that could scarce be looked upon with dry
eyes. The bronzed warriors, who day after day had shown tough fronts to
the enemy, and whose ceaseless struggles should have hardened them to
emotion, now turned aside to conceal the agony of bleeding hearts.
Outside the town, in a sheltered hollow below Waggon Hill, was a
pathetic garden of sleep. Here, under the shadow of cypress trees, lay
the honoured remains of brave fellows who had given themselves to save
the town, and with the town the prestige of their motherland. The earth
barely covered them, but for all that their peace was perfect. They had
struggled to save Natal, and Natal through them and the survivors was
saved. If there is a loophole whence those who have passed on to the
Invisible can peer down and observe the issues of mortal deeds, surely
in that great hour, those splendid, those self-abnegating ones, who had
given their heart's blood for the glory of the Empire, must then have
gazed their fill, and in the general rejoicing have reaped their
beatific reward.
* * * * *
The effect in England of the news of the relief was truly surprising.
The spectacle was unique in the annals of Victoria's reign. On Thursday
the 1st of March the whole City of London by one consent burst into
jubilation. Every human being, however hard-worked, wore a smile; every
heart, however sore, throbbed with a sense of reflected triumph; for
all, if they had not been at the front in the flesh, had been there in
the spirit these many, many days. Never was such a spontaneous outburst
of rejoicing! A nation of shopkeepers indeed! Why, shopkeeping and work
of all kinds were forgotten, and in front of the Mansion House crowded
the delighted multitudes, oblivious of everything save the glorious fact
that British bull-dog tenacity had withstood the most fiendish warfare,
and wiles, and wickedness that vengeful Dutchmen could invent.
From north, south, east, and west the people flocked, springing as it
were from the very earth. The news came in at 10 A.M. By eleven the City
was alive with drama. Hats were being waved or flung into the air,
regardless of the effect upon the nap; flags from here, there, and
everywhere fluttered--in default of these, other brandishable things
were seized. Sometimes handkerchiefs did duty, newspapers, and even
parcels and commercial bags; and from tongues innumerable came cheers
and shouts and snatches of patriotic song, till an ignorant spectator,
if one such there could have been, might have imagined Bedlam to have
broken loose. "Rule Britannia," "God save the Queen," "Tommy Atkins,"
"The Absent-Minded Beggar"--all tunes poured forth to an accompaniment
of cheers. The Lord Mayor was called out, and appeared on his balcony.
He was forthwith invited to speak. The great man opened and shut his
mouth--he was much moved with the general emotion--but no sound
penetrated the uproar. Cheers loud and vehement tore the air, and the
walls of the civic domain literally shook with the inspiriting fracas.
Then for a moment or two there was a lull, and taking advantage of the
opportunity, in a short sincere speech the Lord Mayor expressed himself.
"Fellow-citizens, this news of the relief of Ladysmith makes our hearts
leap with joy. We are now satisfied that at last our sacrifices of blood
and treasure are not in vain!"
Upon that the crowd roared itself hoarse, sung "For he's a jolly good
fellow," and never with better cause, for Sir A. J. Newton had put the
best of himself into the launching of the glorious C.I.V.'s. By-and-by
came, with banners and much ceremony, a deputation from the Stock
Exchange, and after them waves on waves of shouting enthusiasts--a
spectacle so un-English, so genuine, so unrestrained, that the gloomy
decorous regions of the City seemed suddenly to have become things
apart, card-houses to fill in the background to a soul-stirring scene.
Everywhere, in the alleys of "'Arriet," in the haunts of the "wild, wild
West," at the Bank, in Leadenhall Market, and along the Thames, went up
the jubilant echo--"Ladysmith is relieved!" Whereupon windows and
balconies were dressed, flags, red, white, and blue, and the green of
Erin with its romantic harp in the corner, fluttered wings of ecstasy
from every British nest, and from every British household there rose
unanimously a rapturous cry that was almost a sob, a cry of thanksgiving
that the end had come, and that Ladysmith and the honour of the old
country were saved!
THE FORMAL ENTRY
It seemed but artistic that Lord Dundonald and his brave irregulars
should have met the keen edge of joyous welcome, that the burst of
enthusiasm which greeted them should have been the heartiest of which
Ladysmith, after a siege of 118 days, was capable. It was right, almost
beautiful, that the staunch Colonials, who so well had fought for the
Empire, should be the ones to throw open the doors of the dolorous
prison, and deliver those who had been not only victims to the devilish
machinations of the Boer, but had suffered from the active ache of
suspense and the passive one of starvation, from their hellish
bondage. Their informal coming was part and parcel of the unrehearsed
and the splendid that appeared at every corner in this absolutely
incomprehensible war.
[Illustration: BRIGADIER-GENERAL THE EARL OF DUNDONALD, C.B.
Photo by R. Faulkner & Co.]
The next day things were more decorously done--more English in their
reserve. Etiquette and custom resumed their sway, and General Sir
Archibald Hunter straightened out the limp backbone of the army, and
made soldierly preparations to welcome the relief column. There were
cleansings and polishings, washings and brushings up, of a ramshackle
kind, it is true, but they savoured of the old parade days returned.
Poor skeletons of horses were groomed down, Sunday best was smoothed
out, everything was done that the slender resources of the melancholy
perimeter would allow. Shortly after noon on the 3rd of March Sir
Redvers Buller made his formal entry. His arrival was somewhat
unexpected, and there was little effervescent demonstration. Sir George
White and Sir Redvers Buller meeting with a handclasp, said at first
little more than the familiar "D'ye do?" of saunterers in Piccadilly.
What else could be done? There was much to say, so much that must remain
ever unsaid, and throats to-day were too tightly compressed in
strangling the large and unspeakable emotion to give vent to the
infinitesimal resource of speech. Meanwhile the forlorn streets had
begun to fill. They were margined by the garrison, and with them were
collected such of the sorry civilians as were able to stand exposed to
the tropical glare of the sun in its zenith. They came out wondering,
almost diffident. Was it possible that the morning message of melenite
was no longer to be heard? that the hoarse cadence of hostile artillery
was silent for good? Was the open distance really innocuous--clear and
peaceful as a Swiss landscape? They scarcely recognised themselves or
their surroundings, and looked dazedly to right and left as on a changed
world. Sir George White, with his staff, now took up a position in front
of the Town Hall, where, backgrounded by the ruined tower--it had been
battered, as it were, by the whole armoury of Satan--the broken blue tin
houses and the parched trees, the group made an appropriate picture of
noble wreck--of aristocratical exhaustion. The relievers, though
physically hale, were externally scarcely more presentable than the
relieved. The outsiders, it is true, were begrimed and tattered, though
robust and swarthy; while the Invincibles, rigged up in honour of their
deliverers in Sunday best, and washed and scrubbed to a nicety,
seemed--soap-like--to have dissolved in the very process of ablution. No
joy of the moment could alter the tale of shrinkage that was printed on
man and beast. But jubilation expressed itself in the best way it could.
From windows and balconies soon hung strips of colour, national emblems,
gathered from hither and thither to mark a rapture that it was
impossible for human tongue to describe. From hotels and habitations
the citizens began to pour forth and to congregate. And then, when all
were collected, the curtain drew up on the most wondrous scene that the
nineteenth century has witnessed--the march past of the Ladysmith
Relieving Column! Sir Redvers Buller, imperturbable of visage as usual,
accompanied by his staff, rode at the head of his magnificent warriors,
and leading, in the place of honour, were the valorous Dublin Fusiliers,
the poor but glorious remnant, consisting now of 400 of the original
battalion who had so grandly acquitted themselves in many battlefields.
Next came Sir Charles Warren and the Fifth Division, and afterwards
General Barton and General Lyttelton's Brigades--goodly fellows all, who
had proved themselves deliberately brave and doughtily undefeatable.
Meanwhile the pipes and drums of the Gordon Highlanders, with such
vigour as was left them, made exhilarating music, to which was united
the clanking and clamping of the Artillery Howitzer Battery and Naval
Brigade as they filed past with uproarious martial rampage. Each section
was greeted with admiring cheers. The regiments moved along in review
order, a superb throng, bronzed, and battered, and brawny, a curious
contrast to the pallid and emaciated comrades-in-arms--morally superb
too, but physically degenerate--who welcomed them. The spectacle was
unique in soul-stirring grandeur as in unspoken pathos.
"A march of lions," said Mr. Churchill, who had played his part with
Lord Dundonald's force, and was now looked on as a critic. "A procession
of giants," said some one else, who watched the lines and lines of
heroes greeting each other with wild huzzas! Friends, kindred,
comrades-in-arms--from either side the yawning gulf of destruction, from
even the voracious maw of death--they came together again, all jubilant,
all generously appreciative, all self-respecting, and glowing with
honest and honourable emotion. The Gordon Highlanders cheered the
Dublins, the Dublins, with little sprigs of green in their caps,
responded right royally to the greeting of the Scotsmen. One battalion
of the Devons met its twin battalion: the men of doughty deeds,
large-hearted and large-lunged, accosted with zest the men of equally
doughty deeds but dwindled frames, whose deep bass notes cracked with
the strain of rollicking intention and futile realisation.
While all this was going forward, from the balcony of the gaol a
wondering crowd of Boer prisoners looked on agape. They could barely
believe the evidence of their eyes: the town was free. Had their
compatriots at last turned tail and bolted? They stared down on the vast
interminable avenue of men and guns winding through what only the day
before yesterday was a fiery concave--watched a continuous moving
multitude, tattered and begrimed, saddle-brown and burly--and little by
little began to fathom the meaning to themselves of this mighty display.
The despised rooineks had, after all, not even been thrust into the sea:
in fact, it appeared that the sea had cultivated a trick of casting up
rooineks by the thousand, to be killed in scores only to come up in
swarms!
By-and-by, when the military parade was over, the Mayor of the town, Mr.
Farquhar, presented Sir George White with an address, in which the
corporation and inhabitants expressed their appreciation of all that he
had done for them in those dark days of durance. Flattering reference
was also made to the services of General Hunter and Colonel Ward
(A.A.G.). To these officers the General, in reply, alluded gratefully,
eulogising the work done by the former, and describing the latter as the
"best supply officer since Moses." He then called attention to the
stubborn patience of the civilians of Ladysmith, "who had borne
themselves like good and true soldiers throughout a very trying time."
These remarks were followed by three hearty cheers for the civilians of
Ladysmith. The Mayor expressed his pride in the manner the civilian
population had comported itself, and the excellent feeling that had
existed between both civil and military authorities. He then presented
an illuminated address to Sir Redvers Buller, of which the following is
the text:--
"We, the Mayor and members of the Town Council of the borough
of Ladysmith, Natal, and as such representing the inhabitants
of the said borough, beg most respectfully to welcome with
great joy the arrival of yourself and your gallant soldiers at
our township, and to express to you our most sincere and
heartfelt appreciation of your noble and courageous efforts in
the relief of this long-beleaguered borough. As members of the
great British Empire, as loyal subjects of Her Most Gracious
Majesty the Queen, and as colonists of Natal, we beg
respectfully to tender you our most hearty thanks, realising as
we do the magnitude and difficulty of the work you have
accomplished. At the same time our sympathies are great for the
heavy losses among your gallant troops that have occurred in
your successful efforts to relieve us."
The following telegrams were sent to Sir Redvers Buller and Sir George
White by the Queen.
To Sir Redvers Buller:--
"Thank God for news you have telegraphed to me. Congratulate
you and all under you with all my heart.
"V.R.I."
To Sir George White:--
"Thank God that you and all those with you are safe after your
long and trying siege, borne with such heroism. I congratulate
you and all under you from the bottom of my heart. Trust you
are all not very much exhausted.
"V.R.I."
Reply from Sir George White to the Queen:--
"Your Majesty's most gracious message has been received by me
with deepest gratitude and with enthusiasm by the troops.
"Any hardships and privations are a hundred times compensated
for by the sympathy and appreciation of our Queen, and your
Majesty's message will do more to restore both officers and men
than anything else.
"GENERAL SIR GEORGE WHITE, Ladysmith."
The following telegram was received by the Queen from Sir Redvers
Buller:--
"Troops much appreciate your Majesty's kind telegram.
"Your Majesty cannot know how much your sympathy has helped to
inspire them.
"GENERAL BULLER."
An additional telegram was sent by the Queen to Sir Redvers Buller on
the 2nd inst.:--
"Pray express to the Naval Brigade my deep appreciation of the
valuable services they have rendered with their guns.
"V.R.I."
Later on a special Army Order was issued as follows:--
GALLANTRY OF IRISH REGIMENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA--DISTINCTION TO BE
WORN ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY.
Her Majesty the Queen is pleased to order that in future, upon
St. Patrick's Day, all ranks in her Majesty's Irish regiments
shall wear, as a distinction, a sprig of shamrock in their
headdress, to commemorate the gallantry of her Irish soldiers
during the recent battles in South Africa.
* * * * *
Soon after this came the transformation scene. Seventy-three
waggon-loads of supplies, eleven of which contained hospital comforts,
began to wind into the town. Major Morgan and Colonel Stanley, like
fairy godmothers in the story-book, waved the wand of office, and
promptly the machinery began to revolve, and manna in the form of
nourishing food-stuffs poured into the famished regions. The Boers, too,
in the precipitate retreat had left welcome loads of grass, herds, and
ammunition--the ammunition of the besieged was well-nigh
exhausted--besides individual necessaries which came in handy. But of
course, the machinery of relief, well as it worked, could scarcely work
fast enough to make an appreciable result, and save invalids who were
sinking from the protracted trial. It was amazing how the sick-list
swelled. Many who had come into the town jocund and jaunty, found
themselves in a few hours clutched by the fell fever. It was enough but
to breathe the tainted atmosphere to fall sick, and those who were
seized at once discovered all the horror of helplessness in an area
where provision for the comfort of the suffering was well-nigh
exhausted. Looking back on the past from the new standpoint, the gaps
became more than ever remarkable; for, despite incessant fighting, shot
and shell were responsible for less lives than famine and fever.
[Illustration: LIEUT.-GENERAL HON. N. G. LYTTELTON, C.B.
Photo by Elliott & Fry, London.]
Ladysmith at the commencement of the siege held some 13,496 fighting men
and over 2000 civilians. Owing to sickness and hard fighting, the number
had diminished to 10,164 men. There were about 2000 in hospital, but the
death-rate practically increased only when, after January, food,
nourishment of all kinds, and medical appliances grew scarce. At that
time sickness of whatever kind assumed an ominous aspect; there was no
chance of relief. It was impossible for languishing men to apply
themselves to the soup made of old horse and mule, which was gladly
devoured by those who had still the appetite without the means of
appeasing it. From the 15th of January death stalked abroad uncombated;
later he held carnival. Many died from wounds, very slight wounds,
received on the 6th of January, from which they had not stamina to
recover; the fevered and weakly dropped off from sheer starvation and
famine; the gaunt talons needed scarcely to touch them, for they were
exhausted, and some of them were glad to go. The deaths as a result of
fighting were 24 officers and 235 men, while those attributed to
sickness numbered six officers and 520 men, exclusive of white
civilians.
The following special Army Order was issued:--
"The relief of Ladysmith unites two forces which have striven
with conspicuous gallantry and splendid determination to
maintain the honour of their Queen and country. The garrison of
Ladysmith for four months held the position against every
attack with complete success, and endured its privations with
admirable fortitude. The relieving force had to make its way
through unknown country, across unfordable rivers, and over
almost inaccessible heights, in the face of a fully-prepared,
well-armed, tenacious enemy. By the exhibition of the truest
courage, which burns steadily besides flashing brilliantly, it
accomplished its object and added a glorious page to our
history. Sailors, soldiers, Colonials, and the home-bred have
done this, united by one desire and inspired by one patriotism.
"The General Commanding congratulates both forces on their
martial qualities, and thanks them for their determined
efforts. He desires to offer his sincere sympathy to the
relatives and friends of the good soldiers and gallant comrades
who have fallen in the fight. BULLER."
Less formally and with more warmth the Chief addressed himself to his
friends in England. He said:--
"We began fighting on the 14th February, and literally fought
every day and nearly every night till the 27th. I am filled
with admiration for the British soldiers; really, the manner in
which they have worked, fought, and endured during the last
fortnight has been something more than human. Broiled in a
burning sun by day, drenched in rain by night, lying but 300
yards off an enemy who shoots you if you show as much as a
finger; they could hardly eat or drink by day, and as they
were usually attacked at night they got but little sleep; and
through it all they were as cheery and willing as could be."
Telegraphic wires and cables wore themselves out in repeating
congratulation on the relief of Ladysmith. Veritably all the winds of
heaven seemed to repeat them. From north, south, east, and west came the
chorus of acclamation, a chorus most reviving to the magnificent
multitude both inside and outside the place, who had been ready to offer
up their heart's blood on the altar of patriotism. Though the haunted
and worn look could not die out of the faces of the sufferers in a
moment, they had already begun to mend; though the shrunken and
emaciated forms could not at once be relieved from the starvation and
disease which had wasted them, there was over all a soothing glow of
hope that acted magically, beatifically, as the mists of sunrise over a
squalid landscape.
On the 9th of March Sir George White, looking much worn, he having
suffered from Indian fever brought on by the malarious surroundings,
left with his staff. The General addressed the Gordon Highlanders who
formed the guard of honour, and in few and affecting words bade them
farewell.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Claude George Henry Sitwell, D.S.O., 2nd
Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers, was born in 1858, and entered the army
through the militia in 1878. His first ten years of service were with
the Shropshire Light Infantry, from which he exchanged, in 1889, into
the Manchester Regiment. He was subsequently promoted to a majority in
the 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers in October 1898. Colonel Sitwell had seen
a considerable amount of active service, his first campaign being the
Afghan war of 1879-80, in which he served with the Koorum Division, and
took part in the Zaimust expedition. He accompanied the 1st Battalion
Shropshire Light Infantry in the Egyptian war of 1882, and was present
at the occupation of Kafr Dowar and the surrender of Damietta. From 1892
to 1895 he was employed with the Egyptian army, and from 1895 to 1898 in
the Uganda Protectorate. In 1895, as a captain, he commanded the
expeditions against the Kitosh, Kabras, and Kikelwa tribes in East
Africa, and was present with the Nandi expedition in 1895-96. Finally,
he commanded the operations against Mwanga in 1897-98, including the
engagement near Katonga River, and several minor affairs. For his
important services in Uganda Major Sitwell was given a brevet
lieutenant-colonelcy, and decorated with the Distinguished Service
Order.
[5] Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Martin Gerard Thackeray, commanding the
1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was born in 1849, and was
appointed to the 16th Foot in 1868. In 1876 he exchanged into the 1st
West India Regiment, subsequently obtaining his captaincy in the Royal
Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1881. During 1880 and part of 1881 he served
as Fort Adjutant at Sierra Leone. He was promoted to the command of the
1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in February 1897.
[6] Lieutenant-Colonel Thorold, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who was
killed on February 24, became lieutenant on June 13, 1874, a captain on
October 25, 1882, a major on July 10, 1890, and was promoted to be
lieutenant-colonel on March 4, 1896.
[7] Lieutenant-Colonel William M'Carthy O'Leary, commanding the 1st
Battalion of the South Lancashire Regiment, was born on January 6, 1849,
and entered the 82nd Foot (now the 2nd Battalion of the South Lancashire
Regiment) as an ensign in the old purchase days on April 17, 1869. He
obtained his lieutenancy, also by purchase, on February 15, 1871. He was
instructor of musketry to the regiment from July 19, 1874, to March 19,
1878, when he became captain, received his major's commission on August
13, 1883, and from the January preceding until January 1888, was an
adjutant of Auxiliary forces. He had been lieutenant-colonel of the
battalion since November 1896. He was a Justice of the Peace for the
County of Cork and one of the Under Sheriffs of the city.
CHAPTER VI
CHANGES IN CAPE COLONY
We must now return to Colesberg after the departure of General French.
The Boers, doubtless much relieved to get quit of him, still occupied a
semicircular set of camps from east to west round the north of the town,
while the British, in the same manner, occupied the opposite half of the
circle, and so continued, by dint of much fighting and skirmishing, to
keep them in check. On the 9th February the Dutchmen threatened the
right flank of the British, and shot one of Rimington's Guides. During
the morning Captain Cameron, commanding the Tasmanian Contingent, with
Captain Salmon and fifty Australians and Tasmanians, started out from
Rensburg on a reconnaissance. He was supported by a detachment of the
Inniskilling Dragoons under Captain Stevenson-Hamilton. The enemy was
soon encountered, and promptly gave the Australians a warm time as they
advanced across the plain. These cleverly took shelter and returned an
active fusillade, but the Boers seemed to be everywhere in overwhelming
numbers. The Australians with great gallantry took possession of a
kopje, and maintained their grip of the position for a good hour and a
half; but the crowds opposing them were too great, and when the Dutchmen
worked round to the rear and fired on their horses, they thought it high
time to come down, mount, and retire, amid a hurricane of lead from the
foe. The same action was repeated, the holding of another kopje, and the
evacuation of it in consequence of the arrival, in the rear, of the
Boers; and finally a retirement had to be effected across the open plain
exposed to fierce volleys from the pursuing enemy. Strange to say, very
few of the Colonials were injured, though they held their ground
throughout the day with wondrous pluck, and tackled the Boers with
dexterity equal to their own. Indeed, the coolness and courage of
Captain Cameron were reflected by his men, and Captain Salmon, whose
baptism of fire it was, made a remarkable display of talent in the
field. Of grit and gallantry there was no end. Specially noticeable was
the pluck of Corporal Whiteley of the Tasmanians, who hurried to the
rescue of a dismounted comrade, and through a storm of bullets brought
him to a place of safety.
More of the Australians on the same day came in for a good share of
work. A reconnaissance was made from Slingersfontein by the
Inniskillings and some Australians under Captain Moor. The Australians
discovered the enemy in the act of preparing to shell the British camp
from the south-east. They therefore took up a position on a hill some
9000 yards from camp, but here were assailed by a party of Dutchmen who
endeavoured to force them to surrender. So close had the Boers
approached, that their shouts calling them to give up their arms could
be heard by the Colonials. For answer, however, the Australians only
fixed bayonets and yelled defiance! Their position was most critical;
nevertheless they held their ground with such fierce tenacity that the
Burghers were cautious of approach. Meanwhile, through the maze of fiery
elements and in the teeth of the enemy, a sergeant and two troopers had
galloped off to inform the commanding officer of the safety of the
little band, and of their intention to make a good fight of it until,
under cover of the shades of night, they could effect an escape. This
they eventually did. Three of their number were wounded and one was
killed in the act of succouring a wounded comrade.
On the 11th of February, at Rensburg, a picket of five Victorian Rifles
had a nasty experience. After pluckily holding a post for several hours,
during which they were fired on by the Boers from an adjacent kopje,
they were forced to retire. Three of the party were slightly wounded,
and one gallant fellow, who had helped the others to mount and escape,
was missing. A patrol from Jasfontein, consisting of eight Tasmanians
and eight of French's Guides, also came to grief. Only two Tasmanians
and three Guides returned to camp, the rest being captured by the enemy.
In course of the day's work Trooper Bosch distinguished himself. On his
way with two comrades to join the main body at Slingersfontein he came
on a large party of Boers on a hill. Though fired on, the party made off
in hot haste, when Trooper Bosch, who was ahead, came suddenly on a
solitary horseman. The two riders, each believing the other to be a
friend, approached, then discovering their mistake, they raised rifles.
But Trooper Bosch being the quicker, promptly disarmed his antagonist
and made him prisoner. With the Dutchman in charge, Bosch and his
companions proceeded. Presently they came on seven Boer riders. On these
the scouts opened fire, with the result that the enemy hurriedly made
off, leaving behind them one wounded, who was taken prisoner. So the
three scouts returned to camp very proud of their "bag."
The correspondent of the _Melbourne Herald_, accompanied by Mr. Cameron,
the Australian correspondent, bearing a flag of truce, went to the Boer
line west of Rensburg to make inquiries from Commandant Delarey
regarding Mr. Lambie and Mr. Hales, the missing Australian
correspondents. They were blindfolded before being taken to the Boer
camp, where they were informed that Mr. Lambie had been killed, and
were handed the portrait of his wife, which had been found in his
pocket. Mr. Hales, owing to a fall from his horse, had been taken
prisoner. The correspondents were informed that some 120,000 men were
fighting with the Federals, which was probably a piece of Boer bravado.
[Illustration: MAP ILLUSTRATING THE OPERATIONS ON THE ORANGE RIVER.]
It was now found necessary to retire from Coles Kop and the outposts
round it, as the Boers had placed a 40-pounder off Bastard Nek, and thus
commanded the vicinity. The Wiltshire Regiment retired from Pink Hill,
and the Australians and Bedfordshire Regiment moved from Windmill Hill.
The Berkshire Regiment had also to move from their post--indeed, a
wholesale withdrawal became imperative owing to the activity of the Boer
pieces. There was now no camp west of Rensburg, and presently the camp
at Slingersfontein had to withdraw on Rensburg, the eastern flank being
threatened. There were Boers on all sides busily shelling the hills, and
the overwhelming number of the enemy made retreat to Rensburg
inevitable. In the course of the fighting Colonel Coningham was mortally
wounded.[8]
On the 13th the British "strategically" evacuated Rensburg, and General
Clements fell back on Arundel. The guns from Coles Kop were safely
removed, and a Maxim was destroyed to save it from the clutches of the
enemy.
The retirement was quite orderly. On the previous day the stores and
baggage-waggons were removed. After the evacuation the Boers held a
prayer-meeting, and offered up thanks for their success. They then
marched off in small parties to their various outposts, chanting in
nasal tones their favourite hymns.
The gallantry displayed by the members of General Clements' force during
the retirement was amazing. It is found impossible to note all the acts
of pluck and heroism which took place, and elicited the profound
admiration of those who witnessed them, but especially noticeable was
the devotion of some score of the Mounted Victorian Rifles. These were
surrounded by the enemy--caught in a veritable trap--but they refused to
surrender, and declared they would "die game." They fought like heroes,
not one of them being left to tell the tale.
Near Dordrecht, too, which had been occupied by General Brabant, the
Colonial forces were performing prodigious feats of pluck. They forced
the rebels to abandon the country between Dordrecht and Penhoek. During
the attack on a Boer laager on the 16th, Trooper Drysdale bravely rushed
to the succour of Sergeant Weinecke under a close and heavy fire and
carried him off to a place of safety. The young Colonial was promoted to
the rank of lieutenant in recognition of the valorous deed.
Unfortunately two gallant officers--Captain Crallah and Lieutenant
Chandler--were killed.
Curiously enough, when the Boers and British became acquainted with each
other they grew friendly with great rapidity. When Captain Longhurst,
R.A.M.C., from Arundel, was attending wounded Australians, he remarked
on the exceeding kindness of the enemy to the wounded. He also
fraternised with the Boer commander, and discovered they had mutual
friends in London. The "Tommies" chatted most amicably with the Boers,
notwithstanding the fact that their bandoliers were filled with
soft-nosed bullets. To account for their having them, the Boers said,
"We must use whatever we can get." It was suggested that their
ammunition--since they were of the northern district--had been obtained
for the purpose of hunting big game at the Limpopo. This excuse the
"Tommies" accepted, and one wounded in the thigh said good-humouredly,
"Well, I wish you'd been kind enough to hit me lower down." Another
informed a Boer that the British had specially come to deliver them out
of the House of Bondage. The Boer was sceptical, whereon "Tommy"
enlightened him. "Africander bondage," he explained, with a wink of the
eye.
The moral effect of the relief of Kimberley soon became obvious. Barkly
West was occupied by troops on the 21st of February, and there was
evidence that the country west of Cape Colony and Kimberley was
gradually settling down.
On the same day, General Brabant occupied Jamestown, some twenty miles
north of Dordrecht, and seized quantities of horses belonging to the
enemy, who in their retreat modestly had recourse to "Shank's pony."
During a reconnaissance of the Boer position at Stormberg, a party of
scouts under Captain Montmorency, V.C., got within some fifty yards of
the enemy, and a fierce and fatal combat ensued, which resulted in the
sad loss of one of the most brilliant officers of the day.
The object of the reconnaissance was to ascertain the strength of the
Boers at Stormberg. Accordingly, with four companies of Mounted Infantry
drawn from the Royal Scots, the Northumberland Fusiliers, the Derbyshire
Regiment, and the Royal Berkshire Regiment, with the 77th and four guns
of the 74th Batteries Royal Field Artillery, the Derbyshire Regiment
(Sherwood Foresters), a portion of De Montmorency's Scouts, and some
Cape Police, supported by the armoured train under the charge of
Lieutenant F. J. Gosset, 2nd Royal Berkshire Regiment, Sir William
Gatacre occupied Molteno early on Friday morning the 23rd. Preceded by
thirty Scouts, Captain de Montmorency, Lieutenant Hockley, and Colonel
Hoskier, the force marched in the same direction that was to have been
taken on the night of the fatal affair in December. Unfortunately the
Scouts, on nearing their destination, came on a party of dismounted
Boers, and these, as the British rushed up a kopje, executed the same
feat on the other side of the hill. Though both instantly took cover,
the scouts got the worst of it, each one as he raised a head being laid
low by the fatal bullets of the completely hidden foe. Among the first
to fall was Captain de Montmorency,[9] who, gallant fellow, was
creeping round to a flank to surprise the enemy. Not long after Colonel
Hoskier[10] received his second wound, a mortal one, and two comrades,
Collett and Vice, adventurous and dashing Colonials, were shot through
the head. Lieutenant Hockley, rendered almost blind and senseless by a
wound between the eyes, was taken prisoner. A gallant attempt to rescue
the Scouts was made in the midst of a tremendous storm. All were
drenched to the skin. The thunder and lightning rendered artillery fire
almost impossible, and very few of the daring party got away from the
scene of the fight. On the kopje by Shoeman's Farm were left seven
killed and five wounded.
On the following day the bodies were recovered by the military
chaplains. Deeply to their regret, they discovered that the dead had
been robbed, and it is asserted that a Boer was seen in the feathered
hat of the heroic leader of the Scouts, while even the clothes of the
others had been filched by some despicable Dutchmen. Mr. Duncombe-Jewell
in the _Morning Post_ gave a pathetic account of the affair:--"The
chaplains to the forces, Father Ryan and Rev. R. Armitage, proceeded
under a flag of truce on the following morning to recover the bodies.
This they were permitted to do, but they found that the Boers had
stripped and robbed the slain, one of them riding about in triumph with
poor De Montmorency's hat, with its black riband ornamented with the
white skull and cross-bones and the black ostrich feather at the side,
hanging at his saddle-bow. So far did they carry these ravages, that on
the tunic, which they hastily replaced as the chaplains approached,
there remained only one button. The rest of the unfortunate men were as
shamefully treated, the three buried by the Boers before the arrival of
the flag of truce being interred without either clothing or ceremony of
any sort."
A sad funeral took place on the Sunday following, when the remains were
buried. The band played a dirge as the procession--in which was the
younger officer's gallant servant and comrade, Byrne, V.C., of
Omdurman fame, and his favourite grey Arab pony--wound its way through
the town to the Molteno Cemetery. Wreaths were placed on the
newly-turned earth by the General and his staff--ephemeral symbols, but
in this case emblems of lasting lament for heroes sacrificed on the
altar of duty.
[Illustration: HINDOO REFUGEES FROM THE TRANSVAAL IN CAMP AT CAPE TOWN
Photo by Alf. S. Hosking, Cape Town.]
In a Divisional Order General Gatacre recorded with deep regret the news
of the death of Captain Montmorency, V.C., commanding Montmorency's
Scouts, and of Lieutenant-Colonel Hoskier, 3rd Middlesex Volunteer
Artillery, who were killed at Schoeman's Farm. "By their deaths," the
order concluded, "the division has lost two very valuable officers."
While this affair was taking place at Molteno the West Riding Regiment
was distinguishing itself at Arundel. The troops were preparing to clear
some kopjes held by the enemy when some Boers suddenly advanced on them.
The West Ridings stood their ground grandly, waited with fixed bayonets
the arrival of the Dutch horde, and then promptly advanced and scattered
them. Unfortunately Captain Wallis was shot dead. Lieutenant Wilson was
wounded, but rescued in the midst of a leaden blizzard by a gallant
sergeant (Frith), who rushed to his assistance and carried him off on
his back to a place of shelter. Scarcely had he done so than he was
wounded in the face--in the left eye and nose. Lieutenant Wilson and
Sergeant Frith were placed in an ambulance, but owing to the tremendous
storm which prevailed at the time, their waggon lost its bearings and
wandered aimlessly throughout the night. The sufferers reached hospital
on the following day. On the 26th Colesberg and Colesberg Junction were
held by our troops, and on the 27th Rensburg was reoccupied.
On the 5th of March Captain M'Neill, who after the death of Captain de
Montmorency was appointed to the command of Montmorency's Scouts,
discovered that the Boers had evacuated Stormberg. The Scouts now
pursued the enemy, determining to keep him on the run. This they did
over rugged country and at great personal risk, eventually chasing the
Dutchmen to and beyond Burghersdorp.
On the 7th of March General Gatacre occupied Burghersdorp, and the
railway arrangements towards Stormberg and Steynsburg were being hurried
on in view of the coming operations. The enthusiasm of the loyal
inhabitants of the district was great and their relief intense. The
greetings from one and all were most effusive, the National Anthem was
sung, and the British flag hoisted with jubilation so great that many
wept at the relaxation of the long strain.
General Gatacre issued a proclamation requesting rebels to surrender and
give up arms, when they would receive a pass to their farms, and where
they were to remain till called to account later. Some few rebels
appeared to the summons, but many were still shy and were waiting, as
the phrase says, "to see which way the cat jumped."
The oath administered to rebels was as follows:--
"I, a British subject, do hereby and hereon swear and declare
that I was forced by the Queen's enemies to take up arms
against Her Majesty's troops, and that the rifle and ammunition
were issued to me by Commandant ----, that I joined the
commando on or about ----, and left it on or about ----. I now
hand in my horse, rifle, and ammunition, and, if permitted,
will proceed direct to my own farm, to remain there as a loyal
British subject until Her Majesty's pleasure be made further
known. I further promise to hold no further communication,
either directly or indirectly, with Her Majesty's enemies, or
to aid or abet them in any way whatever, under penalty of
death."
General Clements now took up his quarters at Norval's Pont, on the south
bank of Orange River. The north bank was still being strongly held by
the enemy, who had succeeded in blowing up the bridge two days
previously.
Aliwal North was next occupied, but the occupation was attended with
severe fighting across the river. But the British took up tenable
positions, while the Boers, after a wholesome experience of British
fire, removed their laager from the hills. The inhabitants of the town,
despite the fact that our entry was accompanied by shells, were full of
enthusiasm. Colonel Page Henderson and his advance party seized the
heights beyond Lundean's Nek. The enemy shelled the bridge with Krupp
guns with great vigour, and twenty men were wounded. The British from
their entrenched positions silenced these barkings, but were then
attacked by the Boer riflemen, who were finally driven off by the Border
Horse and a Maxim gun. A waggon of ammunition was captured and several
Boers. There were general complaints as to the treatment experienced by
British people in the place, and there was some satisfaction when Mayor
Smuts was subsequently arrested on a charge of treason.
Railway and telegraphic communication were now carried to Burghersdorp.
Everywhere the commencement of a new system was evident. In the
north-eastern districts of the Free State the rebels, on the withdrawal
of the commandos, slowly returned to their senses. Both English and
Dutch loyalists were beginning to breathe freely; they had both equally
suffered from Boer oppression. Europeans and natives were jubilant at
the now continual laying down of arms by rebels and Boer refugees along
the whole of the Colonial borders. The Boer refugees, some of whom were
in a pitiable plight, many of them having subsisted for weeks mainly on
bread and water and a species of coffee made from rye, were anxious for
protection. They stood in fear of their lives, as Commandant Olivier had
threatened to shoot those who should surrender. Major Hook of the Cape
Police, with his smart men, occupied Barkly East, and at Lady Grey
British rule, after three and a half months of oppression, was
re-established. It is pleasing to record that the heroic postmistress
returned to her post there with an increased salary. The total collapse
of the rebels was impending, and there were now only animated arguments
among loyalists and others as to the treatment which should be given to
those who had engaged in and fostered the lamentable revolt. All voted
for the speedy appointment of a Judicial Commission. Though a policy of
revenge was to be deprecated, it was urged that the ringleaders should
be punished with exemplary severity, as a deterrent for the future, and
for the purpose of demonstrating to those who had suffered annoyances,
loss, and anxiety, that there was some advantage in the maintenance of
loyalty in trying circumstances.
AT BETHULIE
Sir William Gatacre, owing to the species of general post that had been
set on foot by Lord Roberts' successful advance, suddenly found himself
released from the shackles that had bound him. As we know, the enemy had
retreated from Stormberg, and from Burghersdorp. Towards the Orange
River they had betaken themselves in hot haste, and it was now time to
fly after the retreating foe, to catch them, if possible, at the river.
At Bethulie there was still the railway bridge. But even as it was
neared it ceased to exist. Fragments filled the air. The Boers had blown
it up behind them, and wrecked iron was all that displayed itself to the
British troops. The road bridge, however, remained; a structure valued
by the Colony at £100,000. Of course that would go directly, and the
great question was whether the British troops, by putting the spur on
their already jaded energies, would be able to reach the place in time
to defend it. Captain M'Neill and thirty Scouts made a rush for it; and
only just reached the scene of action in time! The Derby was never more
hotly contested. The Scouts, like hunted fiends, had sped over obstacle
and acre to gain the goal before the fell work of the Boers could begin.
They won by a neck. The Boers were already buzzing along the bridge,
manipulating with wire and explosive, putting the finishing touches on
their design! At sight of the British there was a stampede to north of
the river. Here the enemy had supports. (The Scouts carefully hid the
fact they had none.) Here the enemy ensconced himself and prepared to do
his worst. The Scouts took up their position in the kraal of a farm from
which they could sweep the northern approach to the already laid mines,
and sent back word urgently praying for reinforcements. Others took
their well-deserved rest. Meanwhile with ferocious tenacity some eleven
of them held on to the bridge, hawk-eyed, watching, firing, hiding,
dodging, anything that should gain time till the reinforcements could
appear. On the other side, only a question of yards off was the
foe--numberless, it seemed to them, sniping, potting, and banging with
every missile at their command, and determining to hang round the
precious bone of contention, the valuable road bridge. The British
maintained the same determination. Perhaps a touch, an unseen movement,
would set the whole string of dynamite mines in motion; perhaps in this
moment or the next, with a roar and a rumble, the clear atmosphere would
be decked to blindness with little bits--bits of the bridge that stood
before them--bits, too, of the men that were! Still they hung on. It was
a grievous subject for contemplation, a sorry possibility to roll in the
wrappings of meditation. But fear they scorned. The Boers in vast
numbers thronged on the opposite side, bullets from Mausers and
Martini-Henrys spurted and flicked up their little wisps of dust till
sand became thick as a veil between Boer and Briton. But still the hardy
Scouts clung to their post. Moments, every one long as days, sped on;
hours passed, night waned, day broke. Still the tiny British band of
braves behind bush and boulder stayed with rifles cocked and pointed at
the bridge. They dared not approach, but they defied the enemy to
venture. Then, with morn, the eternity of anxiety was ended--they were
reinforced by the Cape Police! Later the artillery came up. Oh, the sigh
of relief! The bridge was saved! Oh, the rejoicing to hear the grand
bark of British guns, and see the great earth mushrooms opening up to
the sky on the opposite side! Then, at eventide came the supreme deed,
among deeds no less worthy. Shot and shell were now falling on all sides
of the mined bridge. The Boers were firmly ensconced across the front;
hidden and sniping, and now and then appearing and firing boldly. The
gloaming was otherwise peaceful, the purple shades of evening blending
with the gentle, rippling golden grey of the river. Then from his
fellows advanced one Lieutenant Popham of the Derbyshire Regiment.
Straight to the threatened bridge, already peppered with the storms of
the enemy, he went, crossed to the other side, and quick as thought
deftly cut the connecting wires for firing the mines! By a miracle no
Boers observed the act, an act that rendered abortive all their
ingenious efforts and made the British masters of the situation. Then
followed more plucky feats. Young Popham, on advancing through the
trenches, had come across large, suspicious-looking boxes. He returned
to the British lines. He gathered together some of the goodly men of his
regiment, and with them again made his way to the threatened bridge. The
sight of the party was the signal for a volley from the Dutchmen, but
still they pursued their way to the boxes. "Dynamite, by Jove!" said
one; "Kingdom come!" said another. But up they took them, and there
and then, under a storm of bullets that now meant more even than death,
the splendid fellows marched back again. The astonishing feat cast
dismay over the Federals on the other side of the water, as it filled
with admiration and pride all in the British camp who were privileged to
view a sight seldom seen in a lifetime. And then, later on, as though
the quality of heroism were inexhaustible as the widow's cruse of oil,
another splendid act followed on the heels of the foregoing ones. In the
dead of night Captain Grant of the Royal Engineers groped his way to the
bridge. The Boers were on the alert, but he groped cautiously. The
soldier's martial step gave way to the catlike burglarious tread! It was
ticklish work that had to be done--work that needed time and nicety of
touch. But he meant to do it, and one hint, one rumour of activity would
have roused the whole Dutch horde and ruined his plan. The bridge, as we
know, was mined. Lieutenant Popham had cut the wires. But the charges of
dynamite were somewhere. These Captain Grant found, removed, and
dexterously dropped, buried for ever in the purling river! Then with
infinite care he detached the other connecting wires, and the bridge was
safe! This was the beginning of the end. A few more passages at arms,
and then the British on the 15th of March crossed the Orange River.
[Illustration: CONVEYING WOUNDED TO WYNBERG HOSPITAL CAMP.
Photo by Alf. S. Hosking, Cape Town.]
Yet another brilliant act was performed soon after the arrival of the
troops at Bethulie. Captain Hannessy of the Cape Police, an officer on
General Gatacre's staff, was detailed to capture the railway station,
which was situated some distance from the town. This he did. He examined
the telegraph room, found the instrument intact, and learnt by
communication with Springfontein that there were Boers still in that
direction. Without hesitation he at once set off, in company with
another adventurous spirit (Captain Turner of the Scouts), on his way to
Springfontein. They commandeered a trolley and moved up the line. On
nearing the station they saw two trains with steam up, ready for
departure. Within the building were Boers--not slim Boers this time--but
snoring ones, with bandoliers awry and rifles lollopping. It was a
moment to be grasped. The rifles and the bandoliers were gently removed.
Then the sleepers were awakened. They rubbed their eyes, and found, not
rifles or bandoliers, but that they were prisoners of war! They were
without arms, resistance was useless. They were escorted to the railway
trucks; an engine-driver was found, and presently the two officers with
their "bag" (two trains and eight prisoners) returned in triumph to
Bethulie. Here their big-game hunting was vastly appreciated, as at this
time, their engines having been left on the other side of the river, the
capture of rolling stock was of tremendous importance. Soon after this,
troops from Bloemfontein were sent off to occupy Springfontein.
FOOTNOTES:
[8] Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Coningham, 2nd Battalion Worcestershire
Regiment, was born in 1851, and joined the army in 1872. His first
appointment was to the 103rd Foot, afterwards the 2nd Battalion Royal
Dublin Fusiliers, with which he served until 1891, when he was
transferred as major to the Worcestershire Regiment. Colonel Coningham
was an adjutant of Militia from 1889 to 1894. He also served in the
Soudan with the Frontier Field Force in 1885-86.
[9] Captain the Hon. Raymond Harvey Lodge Joseph de Montmorency, 21st
Empress of India's Lancers, and commanding De Montmorency's Scouts in
South Africa, was the eldest son of Viscount Frankfort de Montmorency,
K.C.B. He was born on February 5, 1867, joined the army on September 14,
1887, as second lieutenant in the Lincolnshire Regiment, and was
promoted to a lieutenancy in the 21st Lancers, November 6, 1889. In this
rank he served in the campaign in the Soudan in 1898, and was present at
the battle of Khartoum, and was awarded the Victoria Cross for the
following service:--"At the battle of Khartoum on September 2, 1898,
Lieutenant de Montmorency, after the charge of the 21st Lancers,
returned to assist Second Lieutenant R. G. Grenfell, who was lying
surrounded by a large body of Dervishes. Lieutenant de Montmorency drove
the Dervishes off, and finding Lieutenant Grenfell dead, put the body on
his horse, which then broke away. Captain Kenna and Corporal Swarbrich
then came to his assistance, and enabled him to rejoin the regiment,
which had begun to open a heavy fire on the enemy." Lieutenant de
Montmorency, in addition to being mentioned in despatches and receiving
the V.C., had also the British medal and Khedive's medal with clasp. He
was promoted to captain August 2, 1899, having in the previous October
been despatched on special service to South Africa, when he raised and
commanded the special body of scouts whose gallant services have under
him been so frequently referred to in connection with the operations in
the neighbourhood of Stormberg and Dordrecht.
[10] Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant F. H. Hoskier was a well-known
Volunteer officer, who had brought the force which he commanded to a
high state of military efficiency. He held a certificate for proficiency
in several subjects, and had obtained special mention in examinations in
tactics, besides having qualified as an interpreter.
CHAPTER VII
BLOEMFONTEIN UNDER BRITISH RULE
The pastoral little town of brick and tin in the vast expanse of toasted
grass had now become a centre of civilisation, one may almost say a
fashionable rendezvous. There regiments multitudinous were congregated,
and these helped to convert the sleepy, dozing capital into a miniature
sphere of many dialects born of a common tongue. Human beings, the
conquered and the conquerors, brushed shoulders in friendliness, bought
and sold, listened to the bands playing the well-worn British airs in
the market-place, and discoursed, under the ægis of the Union Jack,
which fluttered from pinnacle and spire, of trade and prospects as
though such things as big guns had never acted in place of handshakes,
and such men as Steyn had never staked their all on the possibilities of
a mirage.
That potentate had betaken himself to Kroonstad, which, in new
conditions, had also assumed a new aspect. It was now the capital of the
Free Staters, and the seat of the polyglot army that was gathered
together to consider the new face of affairs. A Norwegian attaché, who
was with the strange horde, gave a description of the quaint dust-bound
town and its still quainter inhabitants:--
"KROONSTAD, _March 16_.
"Here prevails the most extraordinary life it has ever been my
lot to witness. All hotels and private houses are filled to
overflowing, whilst little laagers are spread everywhere in and
outside the town. A wild stream of loose horses, mules,
donkeys, and oxen, and little bodies of troops and solitary
riders pour through the streets, broken by heavy ox-waggons and
mule-carts driven by whips and shouts. All nationalities and
all colours are present, and the most Babylonian babble of
tongues resounds on all sides. Here are foreign military
attachés, surgeons, nurses, regular and irregular Boer troops,
volunteers of all arms, officers as well as privates, and
besides a goodly lot which I can only stamp as 'freebooters,'
for they do not belong to any fixed commando, but look upon the
fighting as sport or chase. Frequently, however, among them I
come across men of high culture and of first-class families,
often fine handsome men with martial bearing, side by side with
the worst scum of the earth. Many pass from one war to another.
I have spoken with some who have gone through the Greek, Cuban,
and Philippine wars. And what uniforms do these mercenaries
wear? None at all, or, more correctly speaking, each one has
invented his own! The only common badge is the bandolier across
the shoulder and the slouch hat. Otherwise every one wears
whatever clothes he may possess, only so that it is nothing
new. Many of them who are well off have donned a fantastic
costume--slouch hat, with waving ostrich feathers and gold
lace, jacket edged with yellow, orange, and green bands,
epaulettes with great gold tassels, white or gilt buttons,
stripes on the trousers, top-boots with spurs, cockades in the
hat and on the breast, and revolvers in the belt. At present
the Boer troops are spread all over the place, mostly without
any order or discipline. Most of them, particularly the Orange
Boers, are sick of the war, and long to go home to their
families and farms. Others have simply gone home after the
Bloemfontein _débâcle_. In these circumstances Steyn considered
it best to allow his men to go home for a few days, and call
them together again when the great council of war at the end of
the week had decided whether the war should be continued. Many
thousands have thus gone home, with or without leave. Will they
return? It seems a dangerous experiment."
The fact was that gradually, very gradually, the eyes of the Boers were
being opened, though they still tried to persuade themselves that Lord
Roberts' presence in the capital of the Free State had no decisive
effect on the game of war. They began to look anxiously towards the
Continental Powers, who, they had been led to believe, were in sympathy
with them, and to wonder when some intervention would save them from the
doom they had brought on themselves. In one respect they were beginning
to see clearly and to understand, that the great ideal of sweeping the
British into the sea was a chimera, and that they must limit their aim
to retaining their own freedom, the sole one that could be indulged in
and clung to with any shadow of success.
The Dutchmen still hoped against hope for victory, but their scorn for
the British was fast dying a natural death. Our repeated fights, had
they served no other purpose, succeeded in educating those who had dared
to flout us, and after the capture of Cronje the effect of the somewhat
brusque lesson was very conspicuous. Before the battle of Elandslaagte,
a resident of Cape Town indulged in argument with an obstinate Boer in
terms somewhat similar to these:--
"We are going to send 50,000 or 60,000 troops into the field."
"They will be all shot!" he bragged.
"We shall send another 50,000 or 60,000."
"They, too, will all be shot!" he repeated.
"We shall send more."
"Almighty! am I to keep on shooting the Englishman all my life!" sighed
the Dutchman, with his best air of braggadocio.
Such bumptiousness was not confined to himself. All his compatriots
started on the campaign with identical bombast, for they took their cue
from the attitude of those Continental nations with which they had
lately become associated. Our neighbours across the Channel had found it
convenient to persuade themselves we were a decadent race, that the Old
Country was played out and her children effete. As with the empires of
Xerxes, Alexander, Augustus, so with that of Victoria, they said to
themselves; and since the wish is father to the thought, the idea was
rapidly propagated that Great Britain was fast becoming a second-rate
Power.
Almost the whole of Europe had indulged in objectionable comment on the
subject of the campaign, and treated us to naked truths that, though
unpalatable, were useful as an excellent opportunity to see ourselves as
others see us, and correct a somewhat overweening passion for resting on
British-grown laurels. But however good as a tonic the cosmopolitan
criticism may have been, it was distinctly ill-timed and decidedly
ungrateful. Our sneering foes should have patted us on the back, have
applauded us. They might even have subscribed to help us to do the hard
work of Europe, for, as the Norwegian showed, we were not fighting the
Boer alone, but were attacking thousands of his mercenaries--the scum of
Europe. We were scouring a veritable Augean stable. Ne'er-do-weels of
every nationality were congregated under the Transvaal flag--vagabonds,
for the most part, who had made their own country too hot to hold them,
and who hoped by promoting a general upheaval to come down on their feet
safely--somehow, somewhere!
Fortunately Lord Roberts' masterly combinations had rapidly brought
about a general disillusionment, and served to prove to our critical
neighbours that our martial race--from officers to the most raw and
fledgling "Tommies"--was the same race as of yore, "game for anything,"
even when the thing might range between and include shot and shell,
sickness and starvation! The object-lesson was a grand one, and could
not pass unrecognised. For us the sad part of it was that the flower of
our country, the valiant sons of brave men and the noble descendants of
kings, should have had to risk their lives against such a mob of
adventurers and filibusters, creatures who were actuated by none of the
finer and natural impulses of the Boers to secure their independence,
but flung themselves into the fight merely because the spirit of
ruffianism which had driven them from their native soils was too rampant
to be appeased by any other exercise. But there is no achievement
without sadness--no success without pain. Lives must ever be sacrificed
to maintain any great nation's prestige, and now how much more noble
seemed the sacrifice when it secured the prestige of a Power that had
propagated equality and civilisation over the whole face of the world!
[Illustration: THE BRITISH OCCUPATION OF BLOEMFONTEIN--AN EVENING
CONCERT IN MARKET SQUARE BY THE PIPERS OF THE HIGHLAND BRIGADE.
Drawing by A. Forestier.]
The British once having put their hand to the plough, had stuck manfully
to their work, not in hope of reward, but in the belief in the ministry
of their great race. Beyond the minor considerations of franchise and
political advantage, there had been greater and higher ends to be
attained, and as the flag was fluttering over the capital of the Free
State these great ends served to inspire and refresh those who almost
fainted by the way. Where the British flag waved there was freedom,
enlightenment, progress, evolution--there was emancipation from sin,
injustice, and degradation; therefore at the cost of precious lives, and
for no personal gain, the great end for which they toiled and suffered
and died had to be achieved.
Every ideal, whether merely human or bordering on the divine, demands
enormous sacrifices from those who desire to realise it, and the spread
of civilisation calls for its ministers and martyrs, and will continue
to call for them so long as there are men of heroic mould who,
regardless of personal cost, are ready to prize and protect a great and
national cause. Only this reflection could serve to hearten and brace
our warriors at the front, for, at this time, Lord Roberts' glorious
position was far from a happy one. It was impossible to ignore the cost
at which the prestige of his country and his splendid success was being
secured. He found himself at Bloemfontein with the wreck of an army on
his hands, with men dropping thick as flies from disease resulting from
the terrible exhaustion of the march and from the insanitary conditions
of the camp at Paardeberg. There the only water available for drinking
purposes had flowed down from the Boer camp a mile and a half up the
river, and was polluted by rotting carcases in various stages of
decomposition, and, as a natural consequence of these conditions,
Bloemfontein was suddenly filled with an appalling number of sick, some
2000 patients suffering from typhoid and enteric, in addition to a very
considerable number of wounded at the fight at Driefontein. How to help
the abnormal number of sufferers was a problem that taxed the medical
authorities to the utmost, for it was impossible to meet the huge demand
under the existing conditions. To improvise mere accommodation for so
large an influx of sick within the narrow confines of Bloemfontein was a
hard task in itself, and even the field-hospitals were inadequate, for
owing to the rapidity of the march from the Modder no tents were carried
with the force, and none were available until railway communication with
Cape Colony could be restored. The Commander-in-Chief of this immense
army in this dilemma had but a single narrow-gauge line of railway
between himself and his base some 700 miles distant, and this line of
rails was not yet available. The first duty was to utilise it for the
bringing up of supplies sufficient to sustain the bare life of the
healthy force, and prevent those who were sound from joining those who
were already exhausted. Tents for the sick, nurses, doctors, hospitals
were ordered up, but these could only arrive in their turn, and
meanwhile the patients were distributed in all the public buildings,
schools, &c. The town being small, this accommodation was meagre in the
extreme, and quantities of the sick in the field hospitals had to place
their blankets and waterproof sheets on the ground, and lie there
huddled together in a condition that was grievous in the extreme. The
mortality was tremendous, and the sufferings of those who were
recovering were pitiable, but these things it was impossible to avert;
they have belonged in all ages to the horror of war, and in other times
were the natural and ordinary, and not, as in the present case, an
abnormal consequence of an exceptional situation.
* * * * *
The relief of Ladysmith and Kimberley accomplished, Lord Roberts was
able to adhere to the cherished Napoleonic maxim--an army should have
but one line of operation, which should be carefully preserved, and
abandoned only as the result of weightier considerations. This army was
now being reorganised as one great whole, a task which involved gigantic
labour and called for rare discrimination. But the marvellous tact, one
might say magnetism, of Lord Roberts smoothed every difficulty, and the
enthusiasm with which those who were brought into contact with the
Commander-in-Chief alluded to him, was remarkable. An army chaplain,
writing home, voiced the popular feelings for the one and only
"Bobs":--"We are serving under the best and noblest man who ever led an
army. You can have no conception of the passionate and devoted affection
which Lord Roberts inspires in all ranks. It is not artifice, or
adroitness, or dramatic power, but a simple overflowing of the milk of
human kindness. Every one notices it; all remark it. The roughest and
most cynical of the brave men out here cannot escape the fascination of
his delightfully quiet and natural manner, his transparent
unselfishness; and one sees in him the value in a born leader of men of
a clear and musical voice, and eyes bright and piercing, yet full of
kindness and benevolent sympathy. He is entirely without affectation,
and takes care that the troops are fed, and not stinted of recreation
whenever it can be found. Nothing pleases him more than to mix with the
men when at play. And he is an example to all in his regular attendance
at public worship and in resting on the Lord's Day. His staff take their
'tone' from him, and this is good for all who come into contact with
that staff. I never met so active a man. At daybreak he is in the
saddle, riding round the camp before he makes an informal inspection,
without notice, of some portion of the lines. He shows no sign of
failing strength or of impaired energy, and fatigue is a word not to be
found in his vocabulary. I am told that the secret is frugal living and
early to rest which keeps him in such excellent health. It is a
privilege which all value very highly that they have had the good
fortune to serve under our Field-Marshal."
No such raptures were expended on the silent man of Egyptian fame who
had made himself into the machinery of the tremendous movement, but how
much his wonderful work was appreciated the following extract from the
_Times_ serves to show:--"When Lord Roberts and his Chief of the Staff
reached Cape Town, we had troops of all arms in South Africa, but we had
no field-army, and until we had a field-army the enemy were to a great
extent masters of the position. It is not easy to realise the abilities
and the unwearying energy needed to convert all the scattered raw
material we possessed in South Africa and the reinforcements daily
arriving from all parts of the Empire into the coherent and mobile
fighting machine now directed by the Commander-in-Chief. To Lord
Kitchener under him belongs the credit of that remarkable achievement.
He has not only marshalled the fragmentary units of the paper army corps
into a workmanlike fighting force, but in a country without roads in a
European sense, and with few and light railways, he has seen that they
were fed and clothed and supplied with all the innumerable articles
indispensable to their efficiency. If Lord Roberts has won the battles,
Lord Kitchener has been the 'organiser of victory.'"
The result of the combined methods of these two great soldiers was
little short of marvellous, and when we look back to the days of
Wellington, and compare the army of his day with the army at
Bloemfontein, we can but wonder and admire and congratulate ourselves.
For instance, the army at Bloemfontein, the victorious army, which had
suffered exceedingly from the many annoyances of the Boers, comported
themselves in their day of triumph with admirable reserve. Brave as the
British warriors of old, they showed themselves men of finer stamp and
higher discipline than the men who followed Wellington. We have the
words of that great commander, to assure us that his force was almost
incorrigible. He declared that his own troops at the beginning of the
Peninsular war were "a rabble, who cannot bear success any more than Sir
John Moore's army could bear failure." He also confessed, "I am
endeavouring to tame them, but if I should not succeed, I must make an
official complaint of them, and send one or two corps home in disgrace.
They plunder in all directions."
Things in Bloemfontein were very different. The victorious army under
Lord Roberts walked in like the heroes they were, stopped their
predatory instincts at a word, and paid their way and conducted
themselves like gentlemen. Indeed the Free Staters lined their pockets
almost too satisfactorily at the expense of their conquerors!
Meanwhile the enemy conspired and plotted. On the 17th of March, at
Kroonstad, a great council of war was held by the two Presidents, which
was attended by a strange and mongrel community. Among the motley crew
were some forty Boer leaders, De Wet, De Larey, Botha, and De
Villebois-Mareuil (who was killed at Boshop later on). They were not
goodly to look on, as uniform was non-existent, and clean shirts were
luxuries that long since had been dispensed with. The action of the
Boers, their strength and weakness, came under discussion, and all
decided that they must fight to the bitter end. President Kruger offered
up prayer, and petitioned the Almighty to give ear to the just claims of
his people, while President Steyn, when his turn came, stuck to
practical matters, discussed the situation, and declared that if the
English thought that because they had captured the Free State capital
they had won the battle they were self-deluded. He went on to say: "How
should we now continue the war? Should we, as before, defend ourselves
in fortified positions, or should we try a new method? I am no soldier,"
he continued, "but, according to my conviction, we ought no longer to
occupy fortified positions, as the English have learned to manoeuvre us
out of them without fighting, for which they invariably have plenty of
men. Therefore, we ought only, as much as possible, to hamper the
enemy's forward march, and, whilst threatening his rear and flank,
attack him everywhere where there is a chance with small commandos
without train. We must by this method proceed more offensively than
hitherto, and before all turn upon his lines of communication."
The President's scheme was much applauded and approved, after which De
Larey began to complain of the state of the Boer army, the size and
irregularity of the commandos, and the huge waggon laagers behind their
positions, stating that owing to these being threatened by a manoeuvre
of the British, the men were forced hurriedly to leave the ranks to look
after the safety of the waggons. He attributed the Boers' flight at
Poplar Grove entirely to anxiety regarding these waggons. He suggested
in future fighting with small commandos without train, as he declared it
impossible for the Boers to succeed in wielding big armies, because when
the enemy attempted to surround or outflank them the Boers lost their
heads.
General Joubert proposed "that the so-called 'veldcornetschappen,' which
are too large bodies to be led by one man, should be reduced to sections
of twenty-five, with a corporal at the head. In the Transvaal this had
already been initiated with very satisfactory results." This proposal
was also adopted, with the proviso that "'veldcornets' who did not at
once adopt it should be fined £10." The position of such a corporal is
similar to that of a sergeant in Europe.
Discussion later turned to the coalfields in Dundee, and to prevent them
becoming of use to the British it was decided that they must be
destroyed. General Botha, however, objected to this destruction, on the
principle that the fields were not contraband of war, but private
property. Thereupon President Steyn argued: "I am not of a destructive
disposition, but this is necessary, and in accord with the law of
nations. Does any one think that the English would let a vessel with
coal for the Transvaal go by? If I had to blow up half the Orange Free
State in order to secure the independence of my people I would do so."
The great council then closed with the following appeal by President
Steyn:----"I close the council in the hope that every officer realises
the seriousness of the situation. It is a question of life or death to
us, whether we shall remain an independent nation or become slaves. I do
all that is in my power, and so does also my elder brother (Kruger). I
am no soldier, but you officers are, and to you much is entrusted--the
future of our country. Your reward will depend on your actions. Your
task is a very difficult one. May God aid you! We are all mortal, but is
there a more glorious death than to fall for your country and people at
the head of your fellow-Burghers. May God help us! The position is
indeed full of trouble, but when night is darkest dawn is nearest."
These impassioned periods were highly effective, and the Burghers who
were present forgot to ask themselves why the speaker had carefully
insured himself against so glorious an exit from life by carefully
taking to his heels whenever he was confronted by the British!
Some Burghers evidently thinking that an ounce of example was worth a
ton of precept, decided not to die gloriously, but to live at peace with
all men inside their homes, and consequently turned their backs on their
party and returned to their farms.
A proclamation had been issued requiring Burghers residing within ten
miles of the military headquarters and the town to deliver up all arms
and ammunition by noon on the 18th, under penalty of being punished and
having their goods confiscated, and by degrees, as a consequence of the
proclamation, rifles in considerable quantities were handed in. On the
other hand, a great many more modern weapons were surreptitiously
disposed of, many of them being buried in order to be dug up as occasion
might require, and obsolete firearms surrendered in their place.
The work of pacification was going on apace at Springfontein, where the
1st Scots Guards, the 3rd Grenadier Guards, four Royal Artillery guns,
and forty Mounted Infantry were now stationed, and at Bethulie, which
place also had decided not to show fight.
Sir Godfrey Lagden from Maseru now telegraphed to Lord Roberts stating
that the residents of Wepener (a town at the extreme east of the Free
State on the Basutoland border) wished to receive copies of the
proclamation and had decided to lay down their arms, and it was stated
that many more towns on the eastern fringe desired to follow suit.
With marvellous celerity things began to shape themselves. The law
courts resumed work. Mr. Papenfus, whose services as Landrost had been
dispensed with, was replaced by Mr. Collins. A train service was
speedily established between Bloemfontein and Cape Town, and the Bank of
Africa and the National Bank of the Free State were permitted (subject
to restriction) to continue business. Transactions with towns in the
Transvaal and Free State still occupied by the enemy were not allowed.
[Illustration: SIGNAL STATION AT BLOEMFONTEIN.
On the left of the picture is the heliograph, and on the right a Begbie
signal lamp, for use when there is no sun. (Photo by Reinhold Thiele.)]
Naturally some of the best type of farmers in the vicinity who had
surrendered were anxious for protection against attacks by Boers still
in the field, and Lord Roberts, bearing this in mind, sent out columns
to register names and take over arms, and give assurance that the
necessary protection was forthcoming. During the end of March, General
French, on this mission intent, was sent to Thabanchu (forty miles east
of Bloemfontein), while a detachment from General Gatacre's headquarters
had gone to Smithfield (some forty miles north of Aliwal North). General
Clements operated in the same pacific way round the south-west skirts of
Bloemfontein, while General Brabant "tackled" the only still aggressive
force of the Boers in the southern part of the Free State. Commandant
Olivier with a force of some 5000 men and sixteen guns was there, being
pushed back inch by inch, it was hoped into the arms of General French,
who was waiting with such horses as he could still muster at Thabanchu
to pounce on him. Still, though slowly, the country was settling down,
and the inhabitants were beginning to realise the advantage of bringing
in supplies for sale. They, however, were "slim" at the core, and their
slimness was responsible for some lamentable occurrences with which we
shall have to deal anon.
The telegraph was now restored as far as Reddersberg Railway,
communication had been restored with Bethulie, and the railway at
Norval's Pont had been completed. In south and west peace reigned. There
were even signs that the Transvaalers were thinking of abandoning the
defence of the Free State. Friction between the Federals was reported on
all sides. Even Mr. Steyn and Mr. Kruger were scarcely at one. Mr.
Steyn's last remark to the grand old man of Pretoria when they parted at
Bloemfontein was, "Mind the British don't catch you, or you will get
better quarters in St. Helena than I." Both Presidents were aware that
the Commander-in-Chief was a person to be reckoned with, and that, if
they wished to make a last wild effort, they must put their shoulder to
the wheel. So on the 21st of March President Steyn and General Joubert
went on a tour of inspection for the purpose of encouraging the troops.
With them was a foreigner who described their movements. "The troops who
are in laager at Venterburg, Roodstation, Zand River Bridge, and
Smaldeel (Winburgroodstation), number only some 700 men, with a battery
and six machine guns, all Transvaal Boers. The feeling was everywhere
buoyant, and all were determined to hold out. To-day the Orange Boers
begin to return after their leave. It looks as if they are recovering
their breath after the Bloemfontein _débâcle_, and if the English wait
much before they advance, the men will have time to reorganise
themselves. Colonel De Villebois-Mareuil is now occupied with the scheme
of organising a flying column of foreigners, to be called the 'European
Corps,' of 600 men, two guns, and a waggon with dynamite and tools, with
which he intends to operate on the English lines of communication, if
possible in conjunction with Major Stenekamp, who has collected some
2000 men to the west, who are furnished with ammunition, stores, and
money by General du Toit at Fourteen Streams. The English have indeed
lost much valuable time; the next few weeks should show if the Boers
have understood to take advantage of it. But there seems to be too
little plan and too little organisation among them."
The loss of time was deplored on all hands, but Lord Roberts, rather
than do things imperfectly, was content to wait. There was no use in
attempting to hammer at the demoralised Boers till, rail, horses, and
constitutions being in working order, his tools should be equal to the
task required of them.
But the Chief, though stationary, was not allowing the grass to grow
under his feet. It must be remembered that prior to his entry into
Bloemfontein he had been marching and fighting for a month away from the
railway, and that his primary duties had been, first, to capture and
secure the railroad; second, to repair it and get it, together with
bridges, &c., in working order; and thirdly, to shift his base from Cape
Town to Port Elizabeth, a distance of 750 miles, by a single line of
rails with a rise of 4500 feet. Much time had also been spent in
defeating detached forces of the enemy which threatened his
communications with Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, and blocked them from
East London.
The question of horses, too, was a most important one, one which could
not be settled without much delay, because, do what it might, the
Government could scarcely send them off with sufficient haste to meet
the demand. During the first four months of the new year there had been
shipped, as remounts, in addition to those sent with the troops, 27,041
horses and 17,143 mules. A further supply was expected in May,
consisting of 7500 horses and 4500 mules, and after that date another
batch of 7500 horses and 20,000 mules was to be forwarded. The total of
remounts bought since the opening of 1900 was about 42,000 horses and
23,000 mules! But, until the steady flow of these into the country
commenced, the great final move could not be more than planned out.
[Illustration: STRATHCONA'S HORSE.
Photo by Pittaway, Ottawa.]
The art of battle had resolved itself into a question of pace. The Boers
had taught us that to be successful we must be slim, swift, and sudden.
Lord Roberts decided that there must be no breathing-time, that their
cunning commandos must not be permitted to collect, and that mounted
troops must be met by mounted troops. It began to be evident that the
army of the future would need to gallop--machine guns with the Horse
Artillery, Royal Engineers with the cavalry, while guns of position and
traction engines would have to follow a corresponding process of
activity! With flying cavalry and mounted infantry must also go flying
engineers, ready to take their share in schemes of scientific
demolition, effective destruction of lines and culverts and bridges,
which cannot be remedied under the loss of days--days which will mean
the success or the failure of the enterprise in hand. In fact, hereafter
a vast and wonderful military dictionary will be comprised in the word
"mobility."
To the ordinary mind the question of mobility resolves itself into a
mere matter of mounted men. It is almost impossible to follow the
extraordinary ramifications strategically and tactically connected with
the term. To increase the mobility of the army--the problem which had to
be faced by Lord Roberts on his arrival at the Cape and again at
Bloemfontein--it was, above all things, imperative to have quicker
moving transport; strategically, a leader would be hand-tied without it.
After this it was necessary to provide for perpetual relays of mounts
for the cavalry with far less weight on the saddle, and to feed up the
infantry, and thus restore to the men their mental and muscular
elasticity. Tactical mobility was dependent on these considerations, and
they had to be faced equally with the great difficulty of how to deal
with the daily increasing number of sick. The Boers had been given too
much breathing-time at first, and the delay had to be made up for by the
hurried and costly swoop on Cronje, which turned the tide of British
fortune. It was now important that another rush should be made--a rush
without the "intervals for refreshments" which had served the Boers so
conveniently, and enabled their recuperative courage to assert
itself--and to organise this a somewhat long halt was obligatory.
The Chief now intended to make the capital the advanced base for the
invasion of the Transvaal, and decided to attempt no further move till
sixty days' supplies should have arrived from the Cape. The
heterogeneous units of Imperial and Colonial troops now called for
redistribution. Gaps had to be filled in and "inefficients" weeded out.
General Warren was put into civil charge of Griqualand West; General
Nicholson was given charge of the transport--a thankless and onerous
post; General Chermside took over the Third Division from General
Gatacre; General Hunter was drawn with Barton's Brigade from Natal to
the Free State side; Generals Pole-Carew and Rundle got Divisions; and
General Ian Hamilton was appointed to the command of a Division of
Mounted Infantry, 11,000 men in all, composed of two Brigades, each of
four corps, with batteries of artillery attached. The remounting of the
cavalry and Mounted Infantry was an undertaking needing time and help
from all parts of the British world. Activities were not all serious,
however.
Bloemfontein boasted a newspaper. It was styled the _Friend of the Free
State_. Before many days were over it had changed hands, and had become
the perquisite of the war correspondents. It was now run on Imperial
lines, and formed the organ of official communications during the
military occupation of the capital. But for that reason it did not lose
the sense of humour with which the freelances of the press--Rudyard
Kipling among them--were bubbling. A specimen of the jocosity of our
exuberant scribes serves as a memento of a wonderful period.
"STINKOSSMULEFONTEIN"
THE DESCRIPTIVE ART
We have often felt that the gallant members of Lord Roberts'
force, although themselves daily engaged in doing deeds which
will live in history, yet have to exercise a vast amount of
patience before they can read for themselves the brilliant,
graphic, and wonderful accounts of their doings sent home by
the war correspondents attached to the force. England is three
weeks away, and it is a long time for the gallant soldier to
wait to see his name in all the glory of leaded type. With the
usual enterprise of the _Friend_, we have--we will not say
how--managed to see and copy the telegrams sent home by the
leading correspondents describing the action at
Stinkossmulefontein Kopje. It was not, it is true, a very big
engagement, for two companies of Mounted Infantry were sent to
see if there were any Boers in the said kopje. They found them
there--in the usual manner--one man wounded and six horses--and
then retired to report the fact. That is the bare solid truth
of the whole thing; now for the correspondents' accounts:--
_Times_ (London):--Human element in what commonly supposed be
machine, namely, two companies Mounted Infantry to-day severely
tried. To put to-day's action form algebraic equation situation
briefly this Boers keen-eyed, rugged held kopje (forget name
kopje but know stink and fontein in it but see Reuter) sitting
behind boulders, while other portion equation represented two
companies Mounted Infantry (don't know commander or regiment
see Reuter) is possible work whole thing algebraically Boer on
kopje equal ten Mounted Infantry advancing along level plain
therefore fifty boers on kopje more than match for two hundred
Mounted Infantry advancing across plain whole thing followed
mathematical sequence Mounted Infantry returned from kopje
having tried solve impossible equation.
_Daily Telegraph_ (London):--Early morning while camp asleep
rose prepared my coffee saddled horse left camp each side lay
poor wearied soldiers fast asleep dreaming doubtless home
mothers wives sweethearts some tossed uneasily hard veldt moon
shone pouring paling with silver light features [please insert
here one my night-before-battle scenes No. 4] but I could not
help feeling Army doing wrong sleep knew enemy front determined
myself go forward find out position enemy passed outlying
picket told officer keep good look out as knew enemy front
officer answer and actually wished prevent me passing picket
but when told him my name allowed pass sun now rising glorious
[insert sunrise scene No. 2] moved cautiously forward saw near
distance kopje approached near suddenly whole kopje burst forth
into flame of flashes bullets whizzed past but I remained still
counting carefully each flash till I found out exactly number
Boers then putting spurs galloped back full speed flying past
picket sentries horse lines arrived myself and horse breathless
Field Marshal's cart dismounted saluted told him I had
discovered fifty enemy in position four miles on. Field marshal
drinking coffee said thank you continued eating breakfast I
then developed to him my plan campaign drew statement correct
map. Field marshal continued breakfast again said thank you I
left him field marshal following my plan ordered two companies
Mounted Infantry reconnoitre position which did with loss one
man six horses wounded [insert famous "Vulture Scene"].
_Daily News_ (London):--Again British arms successfully came
contact enemy locating position number with great exactness
early morning two companies mounted infantry under Major Jones
pushed just as sun tinging kopjes with ruby light saw kopje
front which from indications appeared be held enemy opening
into skirmishing order small force advanced till within rifle
range when enemy opened heavy fire Major Jones having found
what he wanted immediately ordered retirement of force without
replying to enemys fire our loss man wounded six horses enemys
loss unknown but must be enormous value of horses wounded about
£150.
_Cape Times_ (Capetown):--Morning opened with soft breezes from
north just sufficient to shake mimosa bushes into sweet
rustling music when I rose rode forward fully sure that I
should see something and I did for before we rode forward two
gallant companies of Mounted Infantry having, it is true, none
of the shining pomp war for every button, every shining bit of
steel or metal covered with kharki still little force looked
gallant enough reminded me one James Grant's novels. Veldt was
green with recent rains there was a freshness in the air
everything was peaceful around me but in front was war and
wounds and death. I stood on rising ground and saw before me a
panorama unfolded the little band of British soldiers
approaching the grim kopje where lay the watchful Boer. Closer
and closer rode our men and now I could see them open out and
work like a perfect machine round the bases of the kopje and
then across the still morning air came the ominous crack! which
told me that the grim game had commenced crack! crack! crack!
followed in quick succession the Boers were firing on our men
whose orders were simply to feel for the enemy, but they not
only felt for him, but also felt him for as we retired one man
was wounded in the fleshy part of the arm, and through six
horses Boer bullets passed though without fatal effects. And
then I rode back with the little force who in spite of the
shower of lead which had passed through their ranks laughed and
chaffed and thought only of their coming breakfast.
_Cape Argus_ (Capetown):--Early this morning two companies
Mounted Infantry under Major Jones proceeded west came into
touch with enemy at Stinkossmulefontein Kopje which lies on
farm belonging old Pete Bumbleknuckel who well known Rand
circles his daughter married Jacobus Pimplewinkel who lost an
eye fighting in the Langberg Campaign his cousin maternal side
is Jack Jackson who is one of General Brabant's most active
Scouts. But to return to the skirmish the mounted infantry
succeeded in locating the enemy retired having effected their
object with the loss of one man and six horses wounded on way
back I met native who told me commander Boer force Lucus
Prussic old personal friend mine who curious to relate still
owes me five pounds which borrowed just before I left
Johannesburg.
_Daily Mail_ (London):--Shakespeare said better lie bed than go
fighting early morning. I agree but Plutarch said man who lies
abed when work abroad moral coward am not moral coward but all
same wish people fight decent hours fancy going out fighting
cold raw morning nothing in stomach but one miserable cup cocoa
however went being late lost my way instead witnessing fight
British side found myself next Boer who not perceive me firing
over our men by happy interposition Providence managed reach
our men leaving behind enemy's hand one horse Cape cart pipe
lucky get off with life insensibly reminded celebrated lines
Heine "wo ist mein pferd und mein kaap-tart?" no breakfast when
arrived camp kept thinking how Boers enjoying my sausages
drinking my whisky Boers must be destroyed now, with spirit old
Roman I now say "delendi sunt Boeri" though I have greater
reason for saying so since Hannibal's soldiers never stole
sausages and whisky from Roman correspondents.
_Morning Post_ (London):--Stinkossmulefontein mounted Jones
reconnoitred kopje half dismounted half rear enemy fired
returned front. Experience say half gone left flank greater
success turning movement only against Boers see Page 431
Napoleonic Legends also Life Moltke Page 239 Battle
Schweitzerkässe. Had Jones read more Schweitzerkässe--no
Moltke--would capture whole army waggons. Paper should impress
importance this all arms.
_Reuter_ (London):--Stinkossmulefontein Thursday via
Disselboomlaagte per despatch riders--Yesterday two companies
Mounted Infantry Major Jones under orders General Flanker
proceeded reconnoitre kopje was present what some may call
unimportant rearguard action can say was most important event
entire expedition at distance 2033.4216 yards enemy opened
fire. Jones dismounted A company, B company sent E.N.E. by E.
direction rear enemy. At 6.3½ a.m. front rank left section A
after returned fire 6.4¼ a.m. Trooper Metford, fourth man rear
rank right section A received wound four inches below left
elbow. Having ascertained strength enemy force returned camp
object reconnaissance accomplished six horses missing five
receiving wounds sixth left behind with staggers not shot as
some declare.
Every one exerted himself to make the newspaper a success, and, as may
be imagined, the journal became a source of merriment and delight. Nor
was it without pathos. Mr. Rudyard Kipling, whose patriotic feeling had
dragged him to the scene of action to view the British flag as erected
there by Mr. Thomas Atkins, contributed his quota. On the death of Mr.
G. W. Steevens, the brilliant young war correspondent, who died in
Ladysmith, he wrote the following lines:--
"Through war and pestilence, red siege and fire,
Silent and self-contained, he drew his breath.
Brave not for show of courage, his desire:
Truth as he saw it, even to the death."
The Naval Brigade was now busy furbishing itself up, and veritably began
to look as "fresh as paint." The guns received new coats, and the
Bluejackets and marines made themselves spick and span. It is not often
that Tommy waxes enthusiastic over Jack, but over the conduct of the
Naval Brigade he was even eloquent. One writing home said:--"It was a
good job the Boers did not make a stand at Bloemfontein, for it would
have been a great pity to have had to destroy so fine a town. It would
not have taken us long to have made the town a heap of stones, as in
addition to our ordinary batteries, we had with us 'Joe Chamberlain' and
five of his 'chums' belonging to the Naval Brigade. I hope when the war
is over you at home will not forget the splendid service of the Naval
men. I for one shall never forget the way in which they dragged their
heavy guns across a most difficult country, or the manner in which they
handled them in the face of the enemy." On the 21st the Brigade, under
Captain Bearcroft, was inspected by Lord Roberts, who made one of the
charming and appropriate speeches which have always rendered him so
popular. He thanked the Brigade for the excellent work done in the
campaign, and wished good luck to those about to rejoin their ship. The
Chief also eulogised the splendid service of Captain Lambton and his men
in saving the situation at Ladysmith.
Meanwhile on the east and south of the Free State things were not
entirely comfortable. Commandant Olivier and his hordes, with their
usual cunning, assisted by their remarkable mobility, were flitting
about, now withdrawing before General Brabant, now evading the equally
cunning and active French, now laying in wait for unprotected
detachments, or hanging about railway lines in order to wreck them, but
making themselves scarce with lightning velocity when a hint of British
reinforcements was given by the appearance of a dust-cloud on the
horizon. Fortunately our officers on the principal line of
communications were so vigilant and cautious that the rail, running
through some hundred miles of hostile ground, was safely protected.
On the 23rd of March an unlucky incident took place in the neighbourhood
of Karee Siding. Some officers of the Guards Brigade rode off from Glen
Camp in the early morning to make arrangements with the local farmers
for ensuring forage and supplies. Glen Siding is a station on the Orange
Free State Railway some fourteen miles north of Bloemfontein. Near here
the Brigade of Guards and a force of Mounted Infantry had been stationed
owing to the destruction by the Boers of a bridge on the Modder. Other
troops were posted at intervals along the line of rail in order to watch
over the enemy and prevent any further efforts at dynamite wrecking. On
this day the party consisted of Colonel Crabbe, 3rd Grenadiers (who
greatly distinguished himself in the battle of Belmont, and was
wounded); Colonel Codrington, Coldstreams; Adjutant Hon. E. Lygon, who
was also wounded at Belmont; Captain Trotter, and an orderly, Private
Turner of the 1st Cape Volunteers. Why, when officers of high rank were
so extremely valuable, these two Colonels should have thus recklessly
exposed themselves has never been satisfactorily explained. The day was
spent in making a tour of the farms, and everything went well until the
middle of the afternoon. While riding along close to a homestead called
Maas Farm, the Guards party discovered that four mounted men were making
for a kopje as though to head them off. Whereupon the party instantly
advanced to meet the enemy. These promptly hid themselves behind the
friendly boulders, where they were joined by three other Dutchmen, who
assisted them in pouring a smart shower of lead upon the approaching
officers. These, with only four Lee-Metfords between them, made an
effort to get at the unseen enemy, but in a very few moments all the
members of the British band had dropped. Colonel Crabbe had a bullet
through arm and leg, and his horse was killed. Colonel Codrington was
injured in the thigh. Lieutenant Lygon was shot through the heart and
died instantaneously, while Captain Trotter and Private Turner were also
wounded. The situation was a lamentable one. The veldt was strewn with
helpless men, while from the kopje the Dutchmen continued to fire, the
flute-like song of the Mauser falling ominously on the ears of the
gallant men who were unable to move a limb in defence. Then between the
prostrate Colonels a debate took place. Now that resistance was useless,
each invited the other to display a white handkerchief. One refused
because he declared he couldn't--his handkerchief was a crimson one. The
other refused because he vowed he wouldn't--his handkerchief was a
British one, and never manufactured for waving at Boers. But, finally,
he was brought to reason, and immediately on the display of the magic
square the Boers ceased fire. They now emerged from their boulders,
tended the wounded, spoke apologetically of their good marksmanship, and
finally carried off their prizes to the neighbouring farm. Here the
prisoners were fed and carefully looked after till evening. A messenger
was sent to the Guards' Camp at Glen requesting surgeons and an
ambulance to remove the wounded to their headquarters, and on the
arrival of the medical party the officers were given up by their captors
and allowed to return to camp in their charge. They were relieved of
their warlike belongings, firearms, and glasses, &c., but their private
effects remained in their pockets undisturbed.
The body of the Hon. E. Lygon was also removed, but the next day, in
accordance with the wishes of his family, it was interred in the wild
and lonely spot where he met his death.
On the 27th of March Sir Alfred Milner arrived at Bloemfontein on a
private visit, and was met by Lord Roberts and his Staff. General French
returned from Thabanchu after having occupied the town and captured the
flour-mills.
Lord Kitchener also reappeared. His operations had been short and to the
point. He came on the same day from Prieska, having received the
submission of some 200 rebels, and put to flight such of them as had no
taste for an encounter with "the man of ice and iron" as the Italians
called the hero of Omdurman.
Towards Ladybrand news was less satisfactory. The British loyalists,
owing to their sympathy with their fellow-countrymen, were subjected to
annoyance and cruelty. Many of them were captured, imprisoned, and some
were sent to Kroonstad, which had been declared to be the capital of the
Free State. Daily, English farmers were commandeered, robbed,
threatened. The smart activities of Olivier had produced a lamentable
effect on the state of affairs, as it was now impossible to afford full
protection to the farmers in the south-east and east who had surrendered
their rifles, and who were subjected to the vengeful barbarity of the
Boers. The mistaken policy of leniency to the Free Staters was now being
demonstrated, the "live and let live" principle having helped Olivier to
gather together under his banner such of the enemy as had met us with a
Janus-faced surrender. Those who fight and run away, live to fight
another day; and on this cautious code the Free Staters had modelled
their manners, so as to reserve themselves for further truculent
exploits. Again British magnanimity was mistaken for weakness, and the
temporary success of their manoeuvres in the east was causing the Boers
to indulge in reprisals of abominable kind on British born people, whose
action in surrendering was the only possible one in the circumstances. A
rumour existed that the late President Steyn had issued orders that all
British burghers refusing to fight with the Boer army would be shot.
On the 27th of March a formidable figure was removed from the drama in
South Africa. General Joubert, who had long been in somewhat delicate
health (so much so that in his campaigns he was accompanied by his wife,
who cooked for him), now suddenly succumbed to an acute attack of
inflammation of the kidneys. General Joubert was much esteemed by all
who knew him. In him the Boers lost not only a remarkable commander, but
an enlightened and level-headed politician. It was declared that had the
General succeeded to the Presidency in 1895, the whole Uitlander
agitation would have ceased to exist. The deceased Dutchman had
moderately progressive views, and he announced his belief that the
demand for a five years' franchise was a reasonable one. He also
discountenanced the idea of war, and in many ways used the influence he
had with his countrymen in the cause of reason and liberality of
outlook. At times he seemed to desire friendly co-operation with Great
Britain. For this cause he was accused by his more narrow countrymen of
being half-hearted in the Africander cause, and was intrigued against by
Mr. Kruger and such of the subsidised sympathisers as the President
could gather around him. Still his attitude may be gauged by his famous
speech in 1878:--
"I have been to England, and have with my own eyes seen the might of
that mighty nation. And let me tell you that England is a very mighty
nation--in my opinion the mightiest in the world. But, thank God, it is
not almighty." And his motto, which he invented for himself, was, "Trust
in God, and fight England."
On hearing the news of General Joubert's death, Lord Roberts sent the
following to President Kruger:--
"I have just received the news of General Joubert's death, and
desire at once to offer my sincere condolence to your Honour
and the burghers of the South African Republic on the sad
event.
"I would ask you to convey to General Joubert's family the
expression of my most respectful sympathy in their sad
bereavement, and to assure them also from me that all ranks of
her Majesty's forces serving in South Africa share my feeling
of deep regret at the sudden and untimely end of so
distinguished a general, who devoted his life to the service of
his country, and whose personal gallantry was only surpassed by
his humane conduct and chivalrous bearing under all
circumstances."
On the afternoon of the 29th the funeral took place, and many wreaths
were sent by the British officers in the Pretoria prison.
THE BATTLE OF KARREE
Karree Station is situated some seventy miles north of Bloemfontein, and
here the Dutchmen were distributed on kopjes commanding the railway west
and north. As they promised to be an impediment to further progress,
Lord Roberts decided that they must be removed. Generals Tucker, Wavell,
and Chermside, with infantry and artillery, were already in the
vicinity. To join them General French started from Bloemfontein with
reinforcements on the 28th of March. These consisted of a Cavalry
Brigade composed of 12th Lancers, the Carabineers, the Greys, the
Australian Horse, a Mounted Infantry Brigade, Kitchener's Horse, and
three Vickers-Maxim guns under Colonel Le Gallais.
[Illustration: Mr M. T. STEYN.
LATE PRESIDENT ORANGE FREE STATE.
From "South Africa" by permission of the Publishers.]
The artillery planted their shells with admirable exactness on the
kopjes west of Karree where the enemy had ensconced himself. Meanwhile,
in a wonderful and almost invisible manner, an enveloping movement was
organised, Colonel Le Gallais, the Mounted Infantry, and Kitchener's
Horse operating on the right wing, while General French with 1st and 3rd
Cavalry Brigades were on the left. General Chermside's Brigade was on
the right centre, and General Wavell's on the left centre. About midday
the enemy was discovered near a farmhouse some two miles east of Karree.
The Dutchmen then began to fire from some small kopjes, on the infantry.
From this point they were routed by the smart action of the Norfolks,
but they continually reappeared, there being some five thousand of them,
under Grobler, occupying four different positions, with a frontage some
three miles long. Both ends of the position were strengthened by
trenches and guns. The right flank consisted of a thickly wooded hill
connected with the main position by a ridge also covered with scrub.
The left was protected by an incrustation of minor kopjes, and round
these fastnesses the Boers clung tenaciously.
The finest performance of the day was that of the East Lancashires, who,
with comparatively small loss, eventually succeeded in moving the enemy
from his main stronghold. The City Imperial Volunteers also
distinguished themselves, the men advancing the first time under fire
with the utmost coolness.
While the enemy were retreating from the assault of the Lancashires
General French's guns opened on them, and with such good result that the
fight was practically at an end, for the Boers having begun to beat a
retreat were forced finally to scuttle off as fast as legs would carry
them. Till sunset the artillery continued to direct deadly attentions to
the various kopjes, thus deciding the Dutchmen that their efforts to run
and return would be of no avail. Dusk was setting in, and consequently
the cavalry failed to pursue them, and they succeeded once more in
getting away clear. Owing to the rapidity with which the night came on,
most of the troops, who had experienced some very trying hours of
fighting, bivouacked where they were.
The battery on the right centre was unable to come into action owing to
the nature of the ground, which was sliced with ravines and blotched
with irregularities, but nevertheless the upshot of the day's work was
satisfactory, as the country as far as the little town of
Brandfort--important to us in our future operations--was swept clear of
the enemy, and henceforth the British outposts covered the ground gained
and preserved it from further incursions of the nimble Dutchmen.
The casualties were numerous:--
King's Own Scottish Borderers.--_Killed._--Capt. A. C. Going.
_Wounded._--Lieut. E. M. Young, dangerously (since dead);
Second Lieut. B. J. Coulson; Capt. W. D. Sellar. Norfolk
Regiment.--Capt. E. Peebles; Capt. A. H. Luard. Lincolnshire
Regiment.--Capt. L. Edwards. South Wales Borderers.--Lieut. W.
C. Curgenven. Hampshire Regiment.--Lieut. C. N. French. 1st
Dragoon Guards.--Capt. W. M. Marter (Brigade Major).
CHAPTER VIII
MAFEKING IN MARCH
Five months of beleaguerment and no nearer the end! Ruefully the caged
crowd began to draw pictures of themselves as weird Rip Van Winkles,
curious fossilised things that would some day be unearthed by the
inquiring historian. They wondered whether Ginevra in her sealed oaken
chest felt more lost to the world, more forgotten, more impossible of
rescue! "We," said some one who shall be nameless, "we are all modern
Ginevras--only no one seems to look for us, and, by-and-by, perhaps no
one will even mourn. It is five months, you see! Ginevra was probably
asphyxiated in five hours, whereas we--we do the thing more
sluggishly--more painfully--we starve mentally and physically by slow
degrees. If we get air, it is air that is best not respired."
Nevertheless, these people sent forth to the world radiant accounts of
their doings, and sported the mask of Punchinello over the visage of
Melpomene. It was very British, this jocose unreserve that was a still
more tragic reserve, this festivity on the lips with famine gnawing at
the vitals.
Fever, the fever of heat, ennui, and mental and bodily depression, had
begun to assail the unfortunate besieged. The climate of Mafeking--in
ordinary circumstances most inspiriting--was becoming tainted, and the
feeling of creeping malaria swept over all who were forced to remain
cooped within the sorry regions. But the chief on whose wits the whole
community depended defied the malign influence of his surroundings.
During the day, with reserved, adamantine calm, he busied himself
inventing the thousand and one projects by which might be defeated any
possible move of the enemy, in reviving the spirits of his followers,
and providing for their appetites, in fighting against the encroachments
of disease and retaining the perfect discipline, which was no easy
matter in so small a radius with so many conflicting emotions to be
dealt with. At night, stealthy as a cat, he would creep forth to make
the necessary investigations and acquaint himself with the state of the
force opposing him, and if possible discover the Boer machinations of
the future. Creeping along the veldt all eyes and ears, he gathered
inspiration from a glimmer, the sound of a hoof, the flutter of bird and
rustle of bush. Even the colour of the darkness in east and west gave
him unspoken hints of designs nefarious--secrets or prophetic warnings
of movements to be. And then he would return from his mysterious
peregrinations primed with notions ingenious and plans elaborate, and
remain for the day under the roof of the verandah of the headquarters
office concocting some of the multitudinous schemes which confounded the
Boers and frustrated their best efforts at assault.
On the 3rd of March a little peace was secured owing to the
disappearance of the Teuton who worked the huge gun. He had been what
was described as "providentially potted." On the other hand a more
valuable life than that of the German mercenary had been sacrificed, for
Sergeant-Major Taylor of the Cape Boys, who had been doing splendid work
for his country, fell early in the morning mortally wounded. The Boers
fired something under forty shells before breakfast, and might have
pursued their activities the whole day had the loss of their chief
gunner not damped their ardour and forced them to postpone their
activities to a more convenient period. They nevertheless "sniped" at
intervals throughout the following Sunday, doubtless with the righteous
desire to avenge their artillery-man.
New brooms sweep clean. As a fresh gunner had come upon the scene, there
now began some more active bombardment. But the activity was no longer
what it had been, and but for the meagreness of the fare, and the fear
that the rations might diminish till they became invisible, the besieged
would have got on fairly well. On the 7th there died an adventurous
Scotsman whose history would have delighted the heart of the late Robert
Louis Stevenson. Major Baillie in his sparkling account of the siege
gave a brief outline of his romantic career. "Trooper M'Donald joined
the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1847, served in the Crimea
(French and Sardinian medals and two clasps) and in the Indian Mutiny,
was kidnapped when embarking home by Americans, fought for the North
against the South, deserted the North and fought for the South,
afterwards went to Australia, thence to New Zealand, and served in the
Maori War, in which he was taken prisoner. Later he came to South
Africa, served in the Basuto War with Sir Charles Warren's expedition,
Carrington's Horse, the Bechuanaland Border Police, and transferred to
the Cape Police, in which corps he has died of hardships and old age,
fighting the Boers." The Major went on to say: "He is not the only
Crimean veteran we have here. Both the Navy and Army are represented.
Mr. Ellis joined the Royal Navy in 1854, served in the Baltic and the
Black Sea, came to Africa and served in the Galika War. Mr. Brasier
served in the Crimea and the Mutiny, and there are others of whose
records of service I am not so certain. The contrast between them and
the cadet corps, utilised for orderly work, &c., is remarkable, and if
the Boers have their greybeards and boys fighting, why so have we." The
cadet corps was composed of youths ranging from the ages of ten to
fifteen years, game little fellows who did their duty splendidly.
The great news of the capture of Cronje and his horde now served to
raise the drooping spirits of the community. It was also reported that
Snyman was on the move, and that Malan, who was opposing Colonel Plumer,
had come into the neighbourhood of Mafeking. Sounds of rejoicing came
from the Boer camp, and on the following day Boers with their field kit
were seen to be clearing off. The information that the force was
marching to Bloemfontein, that Cape Colony was being swept of rebels,
that Ladysmith was relieved, now poured in, and caused the whole place
to become simply inebriated with joy.
On the 9th of March, to commemorate the victory at Paardeberg, a special
siege slip was published at the newspaper office. The news was announced
in the form of a poster, and concluded with the effectively printed
information: "Cronje a prisoner. Snyman to be hanged." Copies were
afterwards liberally pelted into the Boer quarter, who digested the news
with their morning biltong.
On the 11th (Sunday) a truce was observed. The Colonel, writing at that
date, said:--
"Our men, sitting upon the parapets, held a friendly
conversation with a detachment of the enemy, and an
enterprising photographer endeavoured to get them into line
while he photographed them, but they were evidently suspicious,
and feared the temptation to turn a Maxim upon them instead of
a camera would prove too great. Small parties appeared
throughout the day, and amicable relations were maintained
until dark."
The Boers outside were a hardy and stalwart lot, brawny and uncouth and
unkempt, though from a distance not unpicturesque. In their
rough-and-tumble attire no two were alike. Some were slouching in
velveteen coats and soft felt hats, others in black jackets with
"billycocks," and all with the inevitable well-worn neckerchief that
some one suggested might "come in handy for turtle soup." Their
bandoliers and their Martini and Mauser rifles gave them a certain
uniformity of aspect, but otherwise they seemed the most motley gang
that the hands of fate could have shuffled together. Some of the Boers
did not approve of the camera, and were inclined to suspect the British
of attempting dodges equal to their own, but others took a pride in
being portrayed.
A remarkable, almost a pathetic, feature of Mafeking fighting was the
strange ability of both sides to fraternise when hostilities were
suspended. The fact was that the combatants were linked together by ties
of relationship so mysteriously interwoven that the fights partook of
the nature of civil war--brothers and cousins-in-law, and, in one case,
two brothers, contending on either side of the battlefield. Naturally,
when the bloody business of their lives was ended, they were inclined to
foregather, to compare losses and make kindly inquiries strangely
inconsistent with the trend of their antagonistic pursuits. The Colonel
further reported:--
"Sergeant Currie has been promoted to the rank of a
commissioned officer. He has thus risen by gallantry and hard
work from a third-class private to be a lieutenant within five
months. Early on Monday morning (12th) the enemy recommenced
the bombardment with their six-inch gun, which had been
comparatively silent the previous week, now firing shrapnel.
Used against troops in the open the fire of these projectiles
is ineffectual as long as cover can be obtained, but they are
more dangerous to persons passing to the front from the streets
of the town. A detachment of Colonial native troops, under
Lieutenant Mackenzie, made an advance on Jackal Tree Fort, the
position originally occupied by the siege gun on the
south-western heights. The Boers got wind of the movement, and
evacuated the position before it could be carried through. To
cover the advance on Jackal Tree Fort, a detachment of Baralong
natives were despatched to make a feint attack on Fort Snyman,
a new work recently erected by the Boers, and threatening the
most advanced western position. They succeeded in creeping to
within thirty yards of the enemy, many of whom were sleeping
outside, and when near the fort poured in two or three rapid
volleys. Trooper Webb got sufficiently close to the fort to
blow out the brains of one of the enemy. The natives then beat
a rapid retreat, in accordance with instructions previously
given to them, having inflicted some losses upon the enemy. In
the brickfields the Cape Boys were reinforced by a detachment
of Protectorate troops under Captain Fitzclarence."
All were much perturbed at the sad news of the death of the genial young
trooper, Webb of the Cape Police, who was shot through the head while on
guard in the brickfields. This gallant fellow had been previously
wounded in October, and had been carried off under fire by Trooper
Stevens, and had only just returned to duty when he lost his
life--possibly in revenge for the act described above.
According to Colonel Baden-Powell's despatch of this date, a raiding
party of Baralongs, who had gone out on their own initiative,
encountered a patrol of the enemy, and opened fire upon them, killing
one man, whose rifle and bandolier they secured. The enemy retired for
reinforcements, but the Baralongs ambushed these reinforcements from a
convenient ditch at Madibi Siding, and the enemy fell back in confusion,
losing six men. The Baralongs, being unable to cope with long-range
fire, then commenced to retire on Mafeking, having captured two horses
with saddles and bridles. Finding the Boers were in pursuit, and fearing
the arrival of reinforcements from the investing forces, however, they
returned to a kopje in the vicinity of Madibi. Here they maintained
their position until dark, and then made good their retreat into the
stadt, having lost one killed and bringing in a few wounded. Three of
the party were missing.
It was impossible to prevent the Baralongs from retaliating by raids of
this description upon those whom they called the murderers of their
women and children. Mr. C. G. Bell, however, rendered invaluable service
in dealing with the natives, and a board was appointed by the Colonel
commanding to go thoroughly into the native question.
The Colonel described the effects of the bombardment on the following
day:--
"On Tuesday a shrapnel shell, bursting just about my
bomb-proof, sprinkled the wall of the fire brigade office with
bullets, which entered the bedrooms of Dixon's Hotel. These
were unoccupied, but afterwards a steel-plated shell passed
through the wall of the office, and when spent fell beneath the
table, and was scrambled for by the staff of clerks. In the
afternoon a shell, bursting in the court-house, killed two
natives and wounded four, slightly injuring another. All these
belonged to an unfortunate working party who happened to be
passing at the moment. A woman was also slightly wounded."
The conduct of the Boers towards the natives varied according to the
policy of the commandant engaged in subduing Mafeking. A Scottish farmer
who remained some ten miles south of the heroic hamlet, said that in the
beginning of the war the Boers were not so severe on the natives as they
were later on. About Christmas-time natives began to come out of
Mafeking and loot cattle to take back into the town. Then the Boers were
ordered to give no quarter to natives. If this order had had reference
to those found looting cattle, it would only have been according to the
rules of warfare, but the Boers were told to shoot down any strange
native found in the veldt without a pass from their people; and this was
done in a very large number of cases, their bodies being left to rot on
the veldt as if they were dogs. In some cases they had come out of
Mafeking, which need hardly be wondered at, in view of the scarcity of
food amongst the natives there. Considering the risk run, it was
wonderful how natives could be found willing to creep through the Boer
lines with despatches; but the natives are certainly anything but
cowards.
Towards the middle of March the attitude of the Boers towards the
natives improved, and they began to allow fugitives to escape through
their lines. The reason for this change of front was attributed to a
desire to conciliate the Baralongs in the event of Boer defeat, and to
keep them from raiding into Boer territory when their time for reprisals
might come.
Native spies brought in all manner of rumours, to the effect that
Colonel Plumer's armoured train had reached Pitsani Pothlugo, notable as
Jameson's starting-point on his famous raid, and that the enemy was
concentrating at Ramathlabama to prevent the advance of the relieving
force. But news certainly lost nothing by passing through the medium of
native channels, and the inhabitants of Mafeking were not over
credulous. The great ideal of the Bechuanas was Dr. Jameson, and he, it
was averred, was coming down from Buluwayo with an army to relieve
Mafeking. One rumour had it that the famous raider had totally
annihilated a Boer laager with a bomb from a balloon! Over an extensive
area, west and south of Mafeking, all the natives had been compelled to
leave their homes, and were placed near the Transvaal border with a
view--it was thought--to prevent despatches passing through to Mafeking.
Whatever the object, such a proceeding, especially in the wet season,
was very cruel. The poor people were robbed of their herds and household
goods, and driven away, and deposited like cattle wherever the Boers
thought fit to place them.
[Illustration: NATIVE CHURCH, MAFEKING.]
On the 18th the Boers were found in occupation of the new trench which
had just been triumphantly constructed by the besieged. It was, as Mr.
Neilly said, "like the soldier crab who gets into the shell of a winkle
when the winkle has gone out for a walk. As a rule the soldier crab
keeps what he has gained, but in this case the winkle came back and
recovered his shell." He did so very promptly. Lieutenant Feltham and a
small party advanced and threw bombs at the intruders, which caused them
quickly to evacuate their trenches. Then some of the Bechuanaland
Volunteers "speeded the parting guest" with a smart fusillade from the
flank, and the prized trench was recovered.
On the 20th the Boers appeared to be breaking up their western laager,
and on the 23rd it was discovered that the enemy had evacuated his
positions in the brickfields. These were promptly annexed and dismantled
by the Mafeking men. Major Panzera had what some one called "a real
sporting day." From morn till night he plied his Hotchkiss and kept the
Boers active till dusk. After dark the acetyline searchlight built by
the railwaymen was erected at the main work, but no demonstration from
the direction of the enemy took place. Then started off Lieutenant
Murray and trooper Mallalen (Cape Police) to reconnoitre. On reaching
the enemy's sap they crawled round cautiously on hands and knees to
investigate. It was a ticklish moment, but they were rewarded. They
peered in and made the discovery that the Boers had vanished. They crept
still farther along the connecting trench to the rear of the main work
and made assurance doubly sure. The Dutchmen were flown. So rapid had
been their flight that biltong, biscuits, and journals were left behind.
Quick as thought the trench was dismantled. Then Sergeant Page
(Protectorate Regiment) burrowed about for the mine which he and Mr.
Kiddy had laid in the direction of this trench in the early days of the
siege. The Boers had "slimly" unearthed the dynamite, and presently it
was discovered that the evacuated trench was connected by a copper wire
with the enemy's line. This was carefully cut. Then its direction was
traced, and a neat little plot of the Boers exposed itself to view. They
had arranged some 250 pounds of war gelatine and dynamite in the trench,
which, at a given moment, a touch from the wily Dutchman on the look-out
was meant to explode and blow some of the garrison into the air.
This failure served to depress the Boers, and for a time their siege gun
ceased fire, something having gone wrong with its works. Colonel
Baden-Powell was very proud of the brickfield's success and those who
contributed to it. Colonel Vyvyan, Inspector Marsh (Cape Police), Majors
Panzera and Fitzclarence, Inspector Browne, Lieutenant Currie (Cape
Police), Sergeant Page, and trooper Thompson (Cape Police), were all
eulogised in general orders.
[Illustration: (Captain). (Sergeant).
THE CAPE TOWN HIGHLANDERS.
Photo by J. E. Bruton, Cape Town.]
The captured newspapers afforded great satisfaction to the beleaguered
company, for they recounted the entry of Lord Roberts to Bloemfontein,
the surrender of Cronje, and the relief of Ladysmith. The intelligence
was intensely heartening, and the garrison seemed to gain in
backbone--not that it had ever been deficient in that quality. But now
its obstinate resistance of the Boers was resumed with renewed zest.
It must be noted that besides the Baralongs, who defended their own
stadt, were four other black contingents--the Fingoes, under Webster;
the Cape Boys, under Lieutenant Currie, B.S.C.P., who succeeded Captain
Goodyear when that officer was wounded; a detachment of Baralongs, under
Sergeant Abrams; and a Zulu crowd, called the "Black Watch," under
Mackenzie. All these contingents "put their backs into it," and rejoiced
in making things as hot and uncomfortable for the enemy as they could.
In default of other amusement some of the inhabitants interested
themselves in the Dutch snipers, and began to grow so familiar with them
that they resorted to the primeval mode of christening, that of
designating each individual by his personal attributes. One would be
called "Bow-legs," another "Bluebeard," or "Draggle Beard," and so on.
One Rip Van Winkle was particularly admired. Despite his years and his
probable "rheumatics," he would take up his post from dawn till dusk,
and snipe with persistence worthy a better cause. His patience and
perseverance somewhat endeared him to the garrison, and there was felt
to be something missing in the excitement of life when it was found that
he, like many of his compatriots, had been "curried," otherwise
"dished," by Lieutenant Currie, B.S.C.P., and his ever-active
contingent. These cheery fellows in off moments were ready enough to
exchange jocosities with the foe, almost treating him, despite his
barbarism, as one of themselves.
The correspondent of the _Pall Mall Gazette_ quoted a sample scene to
describe the style of friendly intercourse that took place.
"Cape 'boy' to Boer: 'Could you hit a bottle?' 'Yes, I think so. Put one
up.' (A hand rises cautiously to the top of the British trench, and a
black bottle is deposited there.)
"Boer: 'I can't see it. Put it higher.' (The Cape 'boy' balances a hat
on the head of the bottle and says, 'There you are; you can see that.')
The Boer fires, and the bullet flies wide.
"Cape 'boy': 'Wide to the left.' (Boer fires again and asks, 'Is that
nearer?')
"Cape 'boy': 'Rather high.' Boer fires a third shot that comes through
the loophole.
"The Cape soldier announces the result, and the Boer, fearing that he
will lose his good reputation for marksmanship, and angered by his bad
display, sings out--
"'Look here, you rooinek, we were sent here not to shoot bottles, but
men.'"
Curiously enough many of the Boers were hopelessly ignorant and
unsophisticated. They hardly knew what they were fighting for, and one
raw individual was heard to declare that he didn't believe the Queen had
caused this war, but the foreman of the English Raad. They retained
their bumptiousness in all circumstances. After a victory they would
brag of the number of British killed, about 80,000 as a rule, their news
being gleaned from the imaginative columns of the _Standard and Diggers'
News_. On the subject of defeat they were reticent, but fairly confident
that the Dutch flag in a month or two was bound to be floating over
South Africa.
On Sunday the 25th, a great Siege Exhibition took place--an exhibition
notable for its originality. Among the articles on view were bonnets
which had been trimmed with "siege" materials by ladies of the town.
These were never tired of showing their usefulness and versatility, but,
as Lady Sarah Wilson--a host in herself--declared in the _Daily Mail_,
"even the dogs played a prominent part in the siege. One belonging to
the base commandant was wounded no less than three times; another, a
rough Irish terrier, accompanied the Protectorate Regiment in all its
engagements; a third amused itself by running after the small Maxim
shells, barking loudly and trying hard to retrieve pieces; while the
Resident Commissioner's dog, a prudent animal, whenever she heard the
alarm-bell tore into the bomb-proof attached to her master's redoubt,
and remained there till the explosion was over. The sagacious creatures
rendered themselves most valuable, for no sooner had the warning bell
announced the firing of a shell than the town dogs began to bark loudly
in all quarters, thus enabling persons who, owing to the direction of
the wind or other circumstances, had failed to note the signal, to
escape to their shelters." The natives were much more apathetic, and
Reuter's correspondent gave curious instances of their stupidity and
_laisser faire_. "They would gather in great crowds round the
soup-kitchens in the town, and when bells were rung warning them that
the enemy's 6-inch gun had been fired they were too lazy to take cover
in the lee of the surrounding buildings, and had to be driven to do so
by means of sticks and sjamboks. Many would rather die than work, and
were too lazy to attempt the now comparatively safe journey to Kanya."
It was annoying to hear perpetual rumours of relief and to find relief
as far off as ever. Runners continually brought in telegrams of
congratulation, which added not a little to the bitterness of
incarceration. At one moment Plumer seemed to be coming; he was said to
be only eleven miles off, and the town was in ecstasies; at another
bombardment began briskly as ever, and spirits descended to zero. One of
the besieged, writing home on March 22, said:--
"Things are going on as usual. Every one is heartily sick and
tired of the siege. Colonel Plumer, with 1500 men, is only
about thirty-five miles away, with provisions for us.... Every
one here feels the want of more, better, and varied food. A
friend of ours was very ill for ten days, and the only
comforts the doctor could order were two tins of milk and some
lunch biscuits! There is no margarine left in the town, and the
Commissariat Department is calling in all the starch. The
hospital is very full; and there is a good deal of malarial and
typhoid fever.... Sometimes the bread is awful, black, and made
from locally-crushed oats, with all the husks on, simply split
in long pieces. We are all downright hungry, and cannot buy a
bit of food, except on some special occasion. Last Sunday
Weil's store was allowed to sell certain articles of food,
_e.g._ pea flour and margarine; former, 2s. 6d. a tin; latter,
3s. per lb. The crush outside the store was so great that women
fainted, and some were waiting for hours, and then unable to
get in.... The railings of the park and tennis-courts are used
for firing, and we are authorised to use our fences for the
same purpose. Our meat is good, but poor and tough. We almost
entirely depend upon the natives looting enemy's cattle, and
sometimes we have horse-flesh, but that I cannot manage, so on
those days I am hungrier than ever.... My husband is
quarter-master-sergeant in charge of the rations--not a very
enviable billet. The whole town is on rations. We are all under
martial law, and Colonel Baden-Powell looks after us all, and
we may be very thankful that the defence of Mafeking has been
entrusted to such a capable man."
The menu was not variegated. You took your choice between a species of
porridge (made from the husks of oats fermented for some hours prior to
boiling) and a noxious brown biscuit, or, as the Indians called it,
"chupattie." But it had none of the savouriness of the chupattie, and
was described as a cross between a ship's biscuit and a baked brick. It
was certainly filling at the price, so filling, in fact, that those who
devoured it suffered from what was styled "hippopotamus on the chest"
for some hours afterwards.
March 27th was described as the hottest day in the siege, the mud walls
of Mafeking being liberally dosed to the tune of 200 shells by Creusots
and quick-firing Krupps. As many as 250 shells were said to have been
fired into the town, while the 100-pounder was responsible for 70.
Sergeant Abrams, of the Cape Police, an officer who had been in the
thick of the whole siege, was caught by a high-velocity shell and had
the misfortune to lose his foot. Some of the shells penetrated the
bomb-proofs, and one or two persons were more or less injured. It was
calculated that during the sixty-four days of the siege as many as 1300
shells from the 100-pound Creusot, independently of minor missiles, had
descended in the midst of the valorous community. Some of the shells
were sold as curios and fetched as much as five guineas apiece; rarer
ones sold for ten or twelve. The losses of the garrison up to this date
were: Killed and missing: 7 officers and 93 men, besides 53 native and
other non-combatants. Wounded: 11 officers and 38 men, besides 114
native and other non-combatants.
The congratulations of the Lord Mayor of London on the relief now
arrived, and all began to hope that "coming events cast their shadows
before." But cruel disappointment followed.
Heavy firing was reported from the north on the 31st, and there was
tremendous excitement. One and all agreed that it was Colonel Plumer
coming to the rescue. They hoped, they prayed, and when at last the
sounds died away hope died with them. The next morning explained it.
General Snyman sent in a letter under a flag of truce requesting Colonel
Baden-Powell to send an ambulance for Colonel Plumer's dead! A horrible
description of the battlefield "strewn with corpses" followed, and
caused deep concern to those who were the cause of the gallant
enterprise which had cost so many lives. Fortunately only three bodies
were found, but these had rifled pockets, while the boots of one had
been removed. The action of removing boots from the dead savours of the
barbaric, but it must be remembered that the Boers, and indeed some of
our own men, were almost soleless. War brings about strange conditions
and strange ethics. A trooper, one of the remnant of the Light Brigade,
told a strange story of how on that "great occasion" he came on the
corpse of a Russian officer magnificently booted, while he himself could
barely hobble in his tatters. He could not resist the prize, and
possessed himself of the much-needed apparel. He was in the act of going
off in triumph when his conscience smote him; he returned, and taking
off his own boots reverentially clothed the feet of the dead man! He
appeased his qualms by arguing that exchange was not robbery!
COLONEL PLUMER'S OPERATIONS
Colonel Plumer lived in the hope of joining hands with Colonel
Baden-Powell at Mafeking, and messages were successfully interchanged
between the two officers. Life in the north was occupied mainly with
skirmishes and the repairs of railway lines and culverts, which were
needed along almost every mile of route. Between Gaberones and Crocodile
Pools the engineers worked arduously, under the protection of an
armoured train and a strong body of dismounted men. Very useful
information was received of the Boers' whereabouts from papers contained
in a Boer mail-bag captured between Sequani and Sauerpoord. The Boers
were found to be in force at Crocodile Pools, and to have in their
possession two cannon and two machine-guns, and here it was evident they
meant to harass any progressive movement of the British.
[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE ADVANCE FROM THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH FOR
THE RELIEF OF MAFEKING.
The above sketch-plan of Mafeking shows the Boer trenches and the
British lines of defence round the town, with the localities and dates
of the principal fights which have taken place between the besiegers and
besieged. Above and below the plan (though not, of course, upon the same
scale) there is a map of the country between Kimberley and Tuli. The
margin is divided into spaces of twenty-five miles, measuring from
Mafeking north and south, and the advance of Plumer from the north and
of Methuen from the south is shown step by step.]
On the 11th of January Colonel Plumer, with a portion of his forces,
arrived near Mochudi. The Boers--about 200--were reported to have
gathered some thirty miles to the south-east, while others were
entrenched on the kopjes by the railway at Crocodile Pools. With them
were said to be guns in charge of German officers--an objectionable
discovery for the British, who were almost gunless! There was reason
to suppose that discontent reigned among the Boers owing to scarcity of
provisions, and that they were longing to throw up the sponge and return
to their farms. They found life in the trenches and kopjes not what is
vulgarly described as "all beer and skittles," and began to think of the
coming seasons which would find them empty as the fabled grasshopper in
winter.
Some of the troops also proceeded to Gaberones, where three armoured
trains were kept active. On the 12th a Boer patrol made an effort to
burn a bridge a mile north of the station, but was frustrated by the
promptness with which Lieutenant Wallis brought No. 3 armoured train on
the scene. When the enemy fell back on the station they were welcomed by
No. 1 armoured train under Colonel Llewellyn, and the welcome was so
unexpected and so hearty that the enemy bolted. Owing to the darkness
they got off in safety. Reconnaissances were made, and it was discovered
that the Boers were located one mile south of Crocodile Pools.
Major Bird made a reconnaissance on the 23rd of January--with four
squadrons of the Rhodesian Regiment--in the direction of a Boer laager.
In consequence of a storm of rain operations could not be carried as far
as intended, but some of the enemy were dislodged from a hill, and two
horses and two Transvaal flags were captured.
On the 31st an animated artillery duel took place between Colonel Plumer
and Commandant Eloff, and on the following day it was some satisfaction
to see the Boers busily engaged in repairing the havoc wrought by the
British 12½-pounder on their fort. On the 2nd of February more
activities took place. Major Bird, with 150 mounted infantry and one
7-pounder, made a demonstration on the right flank of the Boer position.
This occupied a ridge running for a mile and a half from south-west to
north-east. In the centre of the ridge was a nek, which was protected on
either side by a fringe of Boer sharpshooters. This nek became the
object of British attention, and Lieutenants Harland and Blunt with
their men poured on it some forty volleys, to which the Boers replied,
but without serious effect. While the rattling of musketry was kept up
by the mounted infantry, a 7-pounder, manned by the British South
African Police, escorted by troopers under Captain Maclaren, shelled the
nek. Whereupon the Boers brought into play a 12½-pounder, which forced
the British 7-pounder to retire. The weapon, however, was met by one of
its own calibre, which was posted near Basuto kopje, and a spirited
contest ensued. On the 4th of February the hostile guns were silenced by
well-directed shells adroitly dropped by Lieutenant Montmorency in the
middle of the Boer fortress.
Colonel Plumer, though still too weak to make a decisive move on, was
bent on energetically annoying the Boers, but night escapades for some
time were stopped by infamous weather. On the first opportunity Major
Bird devised a midnight attack, which, unfortunately, was more costly
than successful. In dense darkness, on the night of the 11th of
February, the troops deployed at the base of a thorny and rocky ridge at
Crocodile Pools Bridge, where the enemy was entrenched. No sooner had
the men neared the summit than they came on wire entanglements and
thorny scrub, and in surmounting wire and bush they necessarily made
some noise. This set the Boer dogs barking and the Boer pickets blazing
with their rifles. Thereupon Major Bird ordered a bayonet charge. He had
forbidden rifle fire lest it should betray the position of the storming
party. Before the men could get to close quarters, however, the Dutchmen
exploded dynamite mines and followed the fracas with volleys of
musketry. The result was disastrous to the British, and Major Bird
ordered a retreat. Captain French (Royal Irish Regiment) was among the
killed. Seven of the party were more or less severely injured. At first
the Boers refused to give up the dead and wounded. When Archdeacon
Upcher and Father Hartmann, under cover of the white flag, made the
demand, they declared that they could not respect the symbol, as General
Buller had stated that the British would no longer respect it. They
eventually gave up five of the dead, but refused for some time to part
with the wounded. Among these were Major Straker and Colonel Hon. H.
White (British South African Police).
On the 26th of February Colonel Plumer, after many strenuous efforts and
continued fighting, occupied the enemy's position at Crocodile Pools,
the Boers having taken themselves off and gone south to Lobatsi. Trains
were now moving from the Pools to Ramoutsa. A cairn was erected over the
spot where the valiant officer, Captain French, met his fate. The wounds
received by Major Straker in the disastrous night attack were mending
slowly, and great hopes were entertained of his ultimate recovery.
Colonel Plumer and his little force, numbering some 700 in all,
continued to suffer many harassments, to fight and to struggle manfully
for the assistance of Mafeking, whose relief they believed could not be
long delayed. To help in this relief was their perpetual aim, and to
this end Colonel Plumer accumulated a vast quantity of stores at Kanya,
some sixty miles to the west of Crocodile Pools, so that when
opportunity should offer the starving braves might not have to wait for
provisions. For some weeks the troops had been fixed on a string of
kopjes to the north of the Metsima Suma Bridge, while the Boers' laager,
strongly fortified, occupied another ridge in the vicinity. Both Britons
and Boers from their elevated posts could command the river above named,
and the Notwani River for some miles. On the 26th of February, for some
unaccountable reason, the Boers suddenly made themselves scarce, and
suspicion grew that events elsewhere were demanding their prompt
attention. The disappearance caused some sensation, as it was
reported--erroneously as it afterwards proved--that not a Boer was
visible between the British and Mafeking. Thereupon Colonel Plumer
decided to be up and doing, and an advance on Lobatsi (situated some
forty-five miles from Colonel Baden-Powell's kingdom) was organised.
First of all telegraph lines and rails were repaired, an armoured train
being sent forward to Pitsani Pothlugo to protect the operations. This
work accomplished, rations for thirty days, the base hospital, &c., were
transferred to Lobatsi.
There on the morning of the 6th of March Colonel Plumer's force arrived.
The efforts of the relieving party were now directed to the
reconstruction of the railway and bridges which had been wrecked by the
Boers in October. These were slowly got into working order.
Reconnaissances were pushed south with a view to farther advance, and
provision was made for the protection of the railway behind him as
Colonel Plumer advanced.
[Illustration: COLONEL PLUMER'S GALLANT ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE MAFEKING FROM
THE NORTH.
Drawing by Frank Dudd, R.I., from a Sketch by F. J. Mackenzie.]
At daybreak on the 13th of March a column of some 300 men with three
guns marched towards Kanya on the west, while Colonel Bodle (B.S.A.P.)
with 150 men and a Maxim proceeded towards Pitsani. When the former
party had succeeded in reaching a place some twenty miles beyond Lobatsi
camp they were suddenly ordered to return. Captain Maclaren with his
party, though fairly worn out after a long day's tramp, at once obeyed
orders, marched throughout the night, and by dawn on the 15th had
retraced his steps. The reason for the recall was this. Colonel Bodle's
advanced scouts had come upon swarms of the enemy to the north of
Pitsani, and the colonel with his small force had been compelled to
retire in hot haste. His position was a ticklish one, for all round, in
every available kopje, the Boers had ensconced themselves, and only by
great nerve and splendid presence of mind was it possible to execute
anything like an orderly retreat. But these qualities were possessed by
Colonel Bodle, who promptly retired his ambulance and waggons, covering
their move by forming his troops in Zulu fashion in crescent shape.
Unluckily the right horn of the crescent, under Lieutenant Chapman, was
pounced upon by some hidden Boers, who succeeded in making three or four
of the party prisoners, and capturing a box or two of ammunition. Owing
to an accident to his horse Lieutenant Chapman was thrown and captured.
Corporal Galt nearly shared the same fate, but while he was engaged in a
smart tussle for freedom, Colonel Bodle came to the rescue and put the
Boers to flight. The Dutchmen then commenced to follow at the heels of
the column, approaching to within some 2500 yards of the camp, doing
some damage among cattle with their smokeless guns, which with
difficulty could be located. Their fire was eventually returned, but not
before Lieutenant Tyler (West Riding Regiment) had fallen a victim to a
shell, which caught him in his tent and killed him instantaneously. The
next day (the 16th) the Boers pursued their aggravations, and the
British, as usual, gave a very good account of themselves, though their
gunners had neither range-finder nor range-table. An animated artillery
duel lasted for some hours, and was only terminated at sunset by the
successful landing of a shell in the midst of the Boer guns. This served
to silence them for the rest of the day. That done, the troops retired,
most of the force moving from Lobatsi back to Crocodile Pools (whither
stores, &c., had been removed by rail during the whole of the previous
night), while Colonel Plumer and the mounted men took the direction of
Kanya. On the 17th of March the armoured train voyaged towards Lobatsi,
where it was saluted by the Boers, who had returned in hordes with
marvellous celerity, and were hovering round that place.
The enemy had now placed a 1-pound Maxim and a 12½-pounder on the east
side of the line 4000 yards to the south of the main camp, but
fortunately the right flank was protected by the Chief Bathoen, who
defied the Boers to enter his territory. The left flank, however,
engaged Colonel Plumer's attention, and there was every fear that the
enemy, repulsed on the western border, might fall in force upon the
Rhodesians. The Dutchmen were now busy in wrecking the rail south of
Lobatsi, and preparing to meet any further advance made by Colonel
Plumer with stout resistance. On the 18th, somewhat exhausted with
fruitless toil and endless marching and fighting, the troops were once
more at their starting-point on the ridges overlooking the Metsima Suma
and Notwani Rivers, Colonel Plumer's force now occupying the position
there formerly held by the Boers.
On the 21st Commandant Snyman entertained himself with a little journey
to Lobatsi and gaily bombarded it, in ignorance that it had been
evacuated by Colonel Plumer's force, and explosions on all sides
announced that he also was engaged in the destruction of the railway.
While the Boers were away, the Baralongs made hay--they utilised the
shining hour by looting some of the Boer cattle and driving them in
triumph into Mafeking. There, the result of Snyman's attack on Plumer
was in its way approved; the town enjoyed temporary repose. The
bombardment lessened for a day or two, and the besieged were buoyed up
by the hope that Colonel Plumer was pursuing his advance.
To intercept the same the enemy had taken up positions at Maritzuni and
Ramathlabama, but they at the same time had to engage themselves with a
native chief in the south. This personage, who had hitherto been
friendly to them, working on the good old principle of "kick a man when
he's down," had heard of the Boer reverses in the Free State, and
promptly seized his opportunity.
On the 25th Colonel Plumer left his base camp with a force of infantry
and as little impedimenta as possible, and invaded the Transvaal, making
two rapid night marches for the purpose of threatening the Boer lines of
communication. In this way, though he found himself too weak in men and
guns for really aggressive operations, he determined to make himself a
thorn in the side of the persecutors of Mafeking, and keep the Boer
hordes too busily engaged to allow of their attempting serious
operations on their own part.
Early on the morning of the 31st Colonel Plumer, with 270 mounted men,
some infantry, and a Maxim reached Ramathlabama, where the Boers were
said to have made their headquarters. The advance guard under Colonel
White proceeding within six miles of Mafeking, encountered a Boer
commando, whereupon Captain Kensman on the left and Major Bordan on the
right simultaneously became engaged. Desperate fighting ensued, the
Boers almost doubling the British. The Dutchmen formed a semicircle,
vainly endeavouring to outflank the party east and west, while Colonel
Plumer's small force, fighting "tooth and nail," retired slowly, the
squadrons covering the retreat of the unmounted men for a good ten miles
till the force reached its base. Owing to the close proximity of the
Boer laagers, reinforcements of Dutchmen and guns were constantly at
hand, while Colonel Plumer was entirely at a disadvantage. Little cover
was available, and the railway embankment, which was his only
protection, was barely two feet high. Captain Crewe, a most popular
officer, was mortally wounded while covering the retreat of the rest, as
was also Lieutenant Milligan while gallantly defending his position.
Some interesting particulars of the fighting outside Mafeking came in a
letter from a trooper.
"On our latest patrol we had a real exciting time. We went to
have a look at Mafeking, and actually saw the promised land,
but we had to pay dearly for the sight. We marched from here
(halfway between Kanya and Mafeking) on March 30th, and arrived
at Ramathlabama on the 31st at 9 A.M. Between 300 and 350 men
went, with one Maxim, all under Colonel Plumer himself. We were
all mounted except thirty men of E Squadron. We formed a camp
at Ramathlabama, and at 11 A.M. all the mounted men moved off
towards Mafeking, our unmounted men and the Maxim remaining in
camp. Our troop and Crewe's scouts formed the advance guard
under our skipper, Colonel White. We rode on about eight miles,
and then we got our first glimpse of Mafeking. We raised a bit
of a cheer on spotting the place. Very soon we saw a large body
of Boers coming up in front at a fast pace, while others were
working round our flanks. We started firing at 1000 yards,
with hardly anything to see to fire at. Their fire was high at
first, but some of them soon got the range. We had to retreat,
as we were far outnumbered, and the Boers were working away at
our flanks. Moreover, they had an unlimited supply of
ammunition, their base being a mile or two away, while we had
to go slow with ours. So we retired by alternate squadrons.
"We were nearly caught once. The Boers were coming round on our
flank, and were making for some Kaffir kraals whence they would
have had us fairly on toast. Our skipper, however, spotted the
move in time, and we raced them for the first place and won.
Crewe's men, who were sent to the second kraal, also got there
first. We made them turn tail and bolt, and they were never
afterwards quite so keen in getting round our flank. Our
skipper worked splendidly. It was a running fight for about
eight miles, lasting from 1 P.M. till 6 P.M. When we reached
the camp we found that Colonel Plumer had decided to abandon
it, and had already sent the waggons off an hour before. We had
to cover the retreat of the unmounted men, who had been in turn
covering the retreat of the Maxim. There was a very warm time
over that business. The unmounted men nearly got caught. Our
casualties were pretty heavy--52 in all--12 killed, 26 wounded,
and 14 missing. Altogether 75 horses were killed, wounded, and
missing. Don't get the idea that we were disgracefully licked.
We retreated certainly and were chased by the Boers, but we
retreated in perfect order without any confusion. Moreover, in
retreating we were doing as we were intended to do. Colonel
Baden-Powell had some move he wished to make at Mafeking, and
we were to draw away as many Boers as possible, and we
certainly were successful in that. There must have been at
least 600 or 700 against us."
In the fight at Ramathlabama the following were taken
prisoners:--Captain K. Maclaren, Captain F. Crewe, Captain Duncan
Robertson, all badly wounded; the two last mentioned since dead.
Staff-Officers Cecil and Granville and nine soldiers, of whom six were
more or less severely wounded, were also captured.
Owing to the absence of war correspondents with Colonel Plumer's force
this officer's unceasing efforts to match the Boers and rescue Colonel
Baden-Powell received none of the publicity they deserved. It has been
possible only from private sources to gauge the terrible tension of the
situation, and the truly noble activity that was maintained in the face
of a most alarming outlook. Of the heroism of the commander little has
been said, but from a few lines written by a trooper we may understand
how his gallant conduct stimulated his men. He said: "It was a good
fight, and our men behaved very well. Plumer was slightly wounded, but
behaved splendidly. He sent his horse away and walked behind the
dismounted men, encouraging them when they were retreating."
Colonel Bodle and Captain Rolt (adjutant) were also slightly wounded.
Some splendid service was rendered by Sergeant-Major Manning (5th
Dragoon Guards), on whom the whole work of staff officer afterwards
devolved.
Another writer shows the trying circumstances in which Colonel Plumer's
campaign was conducted, circumstances which, when the historian of the
future sets to work, cannot be disregarded:--
"On the 31st ult. we got as far as six miles from Mafeking, but
had to retire after four hours' heavy fighting, losing 48
killed, wounded, and missing. We have had a very rough time
indeed, always fighting against much superior odds armed with
splendid artillery, living on short rations, without tents or
any other shelter, wet through with the rain, and scorched with
the sun, and yet the people at home never give us a thought. We
have been so hard up for tobacco that men have been smoking tea
leaves. We have not had a thing from home, not even the Queen's
chocolate, and yet we have done as much in our small way as the
troops down south. Of course, we have had no big battles, as we
have not the men or guns, but we have had constant patrols and
skirmishes, nearly always losing men killed or wounded, or
both. We have also suffered very heavily with fever and
dysentery, and all our hospitals are full."
These lines in their bald simplicity are quoted because they, like the
work they describe, were originated with no view to effect nor applause,
and serve exactly to describe the modest deeds of perpetual valour which
were perpetrated by our countrymen, and which by force of circumstance
were left to waste their smartness "on the desert air."
[Illustration: LOBATSI RAILWAY STATION]
LIST OF STAFF
The following is a list of appointments to the Staff of the Eighth
Division, which left England in February:--
EIGHTH DIVISION
Lieutenant-General on the Staff--Major-General (temporary
Lieutenant-General) Sir H. M. L. Rundle, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., R.A.
Aides-de-Camp (2).
Assistant Adjutant-General--Colonel G. E. Harley, C.B.
Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-Generals--Major A. E. J. Cavendish, _p.s.c._,
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders; Captain G. I. Walsh, Leicestershire
Regt.
Assistant Provost-Marshal[11]--Lieut.-Colonel R. H. Morrison.
Principal Medical Officer--Lieut.-Colonel W. A. May, Royal Army Medical
Corps.
Medical Officer--Major J. W. Jerome, Royal Army Medical Corps.
Chaplains--Rev. C. F. O'Reilly; Rev. F. J. P. Jellicoe.
Divisional Signalling Officer--Captain C. H. Bennett, Worcestershire
Regt.
16th BRIGADE
Major-General on the Staff--Major-General B. B. D. Campbell, M.V.O.
Aide-de-Camp.
Brigade-Major--Captain E. F. O. Gascoigne, D.S.O., Grenadier Guards.
17th BRIGADE
Major-General on the Staff--Major-General J. E. Boyes.
Aide-de-Camp.
Brigade-Major--Captain C. B. FitzHenry, 7th Hussars.
At the same time a Ninth Division was formed under the command of
Lieut.-General Sir Henry Colvile, consisting of the 3rd (Highland
Brigade), Colonel (Major-General) H. A. Macdonald, C.B., and 19th
Brigade, Colonel (Major-General) H. L. Smith-Dorrien. For particulars,
see Vol. V.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] Graded as a Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General.
APPENDIX
KURUMAN[12]
At time of the surrender of Kuruman it was impossible to obtain complete
details regarding the gallant defence of the place. The following short
story published by the _Cape Argus_ serves to throw light on deeds too
brave to be overlooked:--
"On the 15th October 1899, the Cape Police, Vryburg, 96 miles north-east
of Kuruman, evacuated their station without giving battle to the Boers;
the detachment with one Maxim and 110 men retiring on Kimberley. The
commanding officer, Major Scott, Cape Police, committed suicide _en
route_. Refugees came into Kuruman on the 16th and following days.
"On the 23rd October communication was cut off from Kuruman except by
wire to Koopmansfontein, and on the 5th November all wires were cut.
Information reached Kuruman that the South African Republic and Orange
Free State Boers, assisted by rebels from that and surrounding
districts, intended to march on Kuruman and hoist the 'Vierkleur.'
"The defence of Kuruman was commenced by Captain Bates,[13] C.P.
(formerly captain B.B.P. under Sir Frederick Carrington), assisted by
Sergeant Hemsworth, C.P., and Captain Dennison, Intelligence Department.
On the 19th October, Colonel Kekewich, officer commanding forces
Griqualand West and Bechuanaland, instructed the force to endeavour to
prevent Kuruman falling into the hands of the enemy. The officer
commanding, Captain Bates, had orders to defend the place, and the
Kuruman defence force was raised, consisting of, approximately, 54 Cape
Police and Special Police (whites), 62 Bastards and natives--total, 116.
"Redoubts were built on the north, south, east, and west sides of the
main camp, which was fortified with trenches and stone walls loopholed
and raised with sandbags.
"On the 12th November 1899, a letter was received from Commandant Visser
(signed Fighting General), demanding the surrender of Kuruman
voluntarily in the name of the Z.A.R. and O.F.S. Governments, saying
that he was at Pakani, six miles off, with his commando, and failing
compliance with his demand he would attack and take Kuruman by main
force at 7 A.M. the following day. A reply was sent that should he
attack he would have to take the consequences of his illegal act, as no
instructions had been issued by the Colonial Government to evacuate the
town.
"At 9 A.M. on the 13th November a commando of about 400 men came at full
gallop towards the Soeden Mission Station, three miles from Kuruman.
Coming within range (1500 yards) the redoubt on the eastern side opened
fire on them with their rifles. The enemy halted, and then at once
retired out of range. After about ten minutes, one portion, 250 strong,
advanced towards the Mission Station, the other, 150 strong, moving to
the ridge above the Court House. At 10 A.M. the commando from Soeden
attacked the western redoubt held by Corporal Childs, C.P., with six
whites and seven natives. Heavy firing took place. At about 5 P.M. the
enemy, who had during the day occupied a ridge about 400 yards from the
redoubt, retired, and in so doing lost heavily--they were seen falling
from their horses. Our men behaved splendidly. The estimated Boer loss
was six killed and fourteen wounded; ours, one native killed. Captain
Bates rode up during the day to encourage the men, and both going and
returning was received with heavy volleys from the Boers, but both he
and his horse returned unhurt. While the fighting was going on Corporal
Barnes, C.P., and nine men volunteered to take an extra supply of
ammunition to this redoubt, about 1000 yards in the open, under heavy
fire, and remained there to the end of the attack without any further
casualty. Firing from all the enemy's schanzes was kept up during the
night.
"At dawn next day it was discovered that the enemy had built schanzes
(stone entrenchments) all round our redoubts at distances varying from
1200 to 900 yards, and commenced firing volleys into our positions. We
replied, and our losses this day were one native slightly wounded and
five horses badly wounded. The enemy stuck to their schanzes and
continued firing heavily on us daily until the 19th November, when to
our surprise they withdrew to Pakani.
"On the 20th November our scouts, who were sent to find out the enemy's
movements, returned, stating that they were retiring towards Vryburg.
"On the 26th November it was reported by our scouts that the Boers had
formed three laagers, one at Mooifontein, 30 miles away; one at
Magagapirie, 20 miles off; and one at Botitilotse, about 18 miles off;
the total commando numbering about 1100 to 1200 men, and a large number
of waggons.
"On the 1st December a headman, Seloa, reported that the Boers were
waiting for a cannon from Pretoria, and were coming again to attack us
or starve us out. Captain Bates strengthened the forts as much as
possible to resist shell fire.
"On the 5th December the enemy arrived with from 1100 to 1200 men under
Visser, of the Transvaal, now Commandant, and Field-Cornet Wessels, of
the Free State, but without any cannon. They commenced by attacking
Captain Dennison's (Intelligence Officer to Commanding Officer,
Kimberley, Colonel Kekewich) redoubt on the east, but were repulsed. The
enemy made five night attacks on this redoubt and a smaller one held by
Private Brown, Special Police, about 300 yards on the S.E. Their mode of
attack was as follows:--They built schanzes within 500 yards of these
redoubts, surrounding them, and threw up small schanzes of stone and
bags within thirty or forty yards of the redoubts early in the night and
attacked about two or three o'clock in the morning, retiring from time
to time to these small schanzes. They thus succeeded in pushing off the
sandbags from our redoubts on the S.E. side, but were driven back,
losing about four killed and ten or twelve wounded. This redoubt was
held by Private Brown, three white men, and two natives, the enemy
numbering from sixty to seventy men. Our casualties were one white man
wounded. During these attacks a bullet (presumably an explosive one)
struck inside the east fort or redoubt, badly wounding two whites and
two others slightly. Firing was kept up night and day for these five
days. The enemy ceased their attacks and went in for volley firing and
sniping, coming nearer our redoubts by building schanzes during the
night. These two redoubts had to be abandoned, as the loopholes of
sandbags were shot away, and there was no means of building them up
agin. The enemy occupied them after being abandoned for two nights, and
also took possession of a store in a hollow about 800 yards from the
main camp, between it and the Court House. This left only one of our
redoubts occupied by our defence force, and which commanded the water.
Corporal Gash, C.P., was in charge. Our horses had to be watered at
night.
"The Boers made several attempts to cut us off from the water, but were
prevented by our pickets, who were placed in entrenched positions to
cover our cattle and horses while watered. The Boers must have fired
away an enormous quantity of ammunition, and they had five waggon-loads
of it. A unique armistice was arranged on Christmas Day. F. C. Wessels,
of the Free State, wrote to the Commanding Officer saying that if we
would not fire on them this day, the Boers would not fire on us. This
was agreed to, and word was sent round to all the schanzes and redoubts
notifying this. The men came out, but to our surprise, as one of us was
going to bathe, a volley from the Transvaal Boer schanzes on the east
was sent after him. Wessels went to inquire the reason, and was told
that the Transvaal commando would not agree to this armistice, whereupon
Wessels arranged with us that the Free State men, who were on the south
and south-east side, would not fire on us, and our men, running the
gauntlet of the Transvaal fire for about 20 yards, went under cover of
the Free State schanzes, and British and Boer bathed together at the
bathing-place. This circumstance caused a split in the Boer camp, and
Wessels with 150 men of the Free State burghers left for the south,
presumably towards Kimberley. The Boers continued firing and sniping
daily. Up to this we had one white (Private Ward, C.P.) and two natives
killed, seven whites and seven natives wounded. Of the animals 23 horses
were killed and wounded and three oxen killed. We were holding out and
were confident of doing so for another two months, when on the 1st
January 1900, a New Year's gift arrived in the Boer camp in the shape of
a 9-pounder. They started shelling at dawn, with common shell, the
redoubt on the north side; then came to a ridge on the south and shelled
the main camp, four shells falling in the camp without doing any serious
damage. They then fired on the western redoubt without hitting it. On
going to their schanzes about 2000 yards on the eastern side, they
shelled the only remaining redoubt on that side, held by Corporal Gash,
C.P., and 15 men. The 90th shell breached the redoubt, the 91st and 92nd
striking it, and the 93rd falling inside. The men in the redoubt got
into the trenches, which, owing to the stony nature of the ground, could
not be dug deep, and were subjected to such a heavy fire from three of
the enemy's schanzes, that they were compelled to surrender.
"Captain Bates then saw that as the key of the position had fallen, and
that reinforcements could not possibly arrive for weeks or months, it
was hopeless to continue to hold out.
"Thus Kuruman was surrendered after seven weeks, and its defence was
principally due to Captain Bates. Captain Dennison and Sergeant
Hemsworth and Captain Bates were sent to the Pretoria gaol (as they were
supposed to know too much, whatever that meant), and the Magistrate was
sent to the State Model School with the other officers."
FOOTNOTES:
[12] See Vol. iii. p. 25.
[13] This officer's name was originally given as Baker in telegrams
home.
TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES
Page vi: Christo standardised to Cristo after "Scene of Fighting at Monte"
Page vii: Reit standardised to Riet after "on north bank of the"
Page vii: Majesfontein standardised to Majersfontein (two instances)
Page vii: Koodoesrand standardised to Koodoosrand after "Spyfontein,
retreating to"
Page viii: landdrost standardised to landrost after "and arrested the"
Page 9: " added after "180,600 of all arms."
Page 13: no corrected to not after "now engaged stronger," cf. Hansard
Page 22: "Homes were destroyed mothers and children stricken" as in the
original, without punctuation
Page 30: Kimberly standardised to Kimberley before "man stared at the
three objects"
Page 33: Accent on détour not standardised as part of a quotation
Pages 34, 152: Variable spelling of mosquitoes/mosquitos as in the
original
Page 36: horseflesh standardised to horse-flesh after "Cronje had to be
paid for in"
Page 39: Duplicate the removed from "for the the team of mules"
Page 40: duplicate an removed in "having detected an an unusual haze of
dust"
Pages 40, 54: Inconsistent hyphenation of rear-guard as in the original.
Retained as part of a quotation
Page 56: . added after "for the rest of the day"
Page 60: Infanty corrected to Infantry in "Duke of Cornwall's Light
Infantry"
Page 62: mid-day standardised to midday before "came the rumour that
French"
Page 65: reveille standardised to reveillé after "a volley by way of"
Page 69: insistance as in the original
Page 71: silhoutte corrected to silhouette before "which gradually grew
clearer"
Page 88 [Illustration]: ( added before Colour-Sergeant)
Page 93: Accent on débris not standardised as part of a quotation
Page 101: depot standardised to depôt after "converted into the advanced"
Page 115: shortlived standardised to short-lived after "Rest was"
Page 116: Mr. Shcreiner corrected to Mr. Schreiner
Page 120: Horseflesh standardised to Horse-flesh before "was diversified
by bread"
Page 122: head-quarters standardised to headquarters after "subsequently
established his"
Page 123: Lyttleton corrected to Lyttelton after "While this was going on
above, General"
Page 128: caligraphy as in the original
Page 132: Lee-Mitfords corrected to Lee-Metfords after "been hit by
Mausers or"
Page 133: Inconsistent hyphenation of horseflesh as in the original.
Retained as part of a quotation
Page 148: unchallengably corrected to unchallengeably after "kopjes,
kopjes, kopjes--ours,"
Page 148: . added after "rifle fire was raging on the left"
Page 150: Lieutenan corrected to Lieutenant before "C. H. I. Jackson"
Page 177: martrys corrected to martyrs after "calls for its ministers and"
Page 182: Llandrost corrected to Landrost after "Mr. Papenfus, whose
services as"
Page 189: fourteeen corrected to fourteen after "on the Orange Free State
Railway some"
Page 190: markmanship corrected to marksmanship after "spoke
apologetically of their good"
Page 192: ensconed corrected to ensconced after "where the enemy had"
Page 200: lookout standardised to look-out after "the wily Dutchman on
the"
Page 210: Inconsistent hyphenation of halfway as in the original. Retained
as part of a quotation
Page 216: agin as in the original
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of South Africa and the Transvaal War,
Vol. IV (of 6), by Louis Creswicke
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