CHAPTER III

THE SIEGE OF WEPENER

Early in April a portion of the Colonial Division, composed of Cape Mounted Rifles, the Royal Scots Mounted Infantry, Driscoll's Scouts, Kaffrarian Mounted Rifles under Captain Price, Brabant's Horse, two 15-pounders, two naval 12-pounders, two 7-pounders, one Hotchkiss, and three Maxims, the whole force under Colonel Dalgety, crossed the Caledon Bridge at Jammersberg Drift, took possession of it as the most important strategetical point, and occupied the town of Wepener without opposition. The Colonel had no sooner done so than he was surrounded by Dutchmen, and made aware that he must prepare to stand a siege. A party of Boers accompanying a German officer, who were blindfolded before being brought in, now entered Wepener bearing a message from the commandant. He very kindly demanded the instant surrender of the British to save further bloodshed. The messengers retired without taking with them a reply to the considerate request, but asking whether some mistake had not been made, and inviting their surrender instead. As the Boers were now threatening an attack on the force, Sir G. Lagden demanded a demonstration by the Basutos on the Basuto border. This was readily responded to, for the nation naturally resented any invasion of their territory by their hereditary foes; and, moreover, the chiefs had been vastly impressed by the "big heart" of the Englishmen with whom they had come in contact, and their stubborn resistance of the Boer attacks. Wepener itself was evacuated, but a camp at Jammersberg, three miles off, was formed, entrenchments made, and defences ingeniously constructed. The position, somewhat resembling Ladysmith, was situated in the saucer-shaped hollow of many hills. It was practically isolated, but the lines were strong, and meat was plentiful.

Colonel Dalgety, who commanded the gallant little force, is an old officer of the Cape Mounted Rifles, and has as a record of services the Gaika and Galeka expeditions, and the operations in Basutoland in 1880-81. He had no doubt in his ability to hold out against the besiegers, although the force was only 1700 to 1800 strong, and the position was really too extensive. To protect it properly required about 4000 men. The Cape Mounted Rifles, with a company of Royal Scots, were ordered to hold the left of the position, the weakest point; 1st Brabants and some Kaffrarian Rifles the front; 2nd Brabants the right; and Kaffrarian Rifles the rear.

A stirring day's work was recorded on the 8th by an officer, whose experiences were published in the _Globe_:--

"_April 8_, 7 A.M.--As I write, with my back against the trench, we have reached the fifth day of the noisy concert without any appreciable result, except that we have expended most of our ammunition. Not a gun has been dismounted, not an inch of our long line of defence (ten miles, about) been yielded to the enemy; but about 150 gallant fellows, mostly gentlemen by birth, of the Colonial Division, are _hors de combat_, and we are still looking and longing to see the relief columns of Kitchener or Gatacre appear on the horizon.... While sitting chatting with Captain Cholmondley, I saw across the ravine my own squadron, 'M,' descending rapidly into the valley to reoccupy the rifle-pits which Ruttledge had vacated at daylight, and exposed to a heavy shrapnel fire. I scrambled down the ridge and joined them at the pits, but had scarcely got my men posted, when Cookson was seen coming towards us at a mad gallop. My orders were to leave one troop (Ruttledge's) in the rifle-pits, and take the other three to support Colonel Dalgety, who was hard pressed on our left rear. I should have to cross a plain swept by the Boer fire.

"When I had climbed up the steep ravine on the top of the main ridge we found all our horses hidden away in a fold of the ground. To mount was the work of a minute, and then we were launched on our mad gallop across a plain swept by Boer Maxim and rifle fire. I led, and the men followed most gallantly into the 'jaws of death.' Nothing but annihilation seemed to await us; but on we swept over that mile and a half like wild men, an excited American, constantly by my side and sometimes ahead of me, shouting, 'In the joy of battle.' It was, I think, the most exciting quarter of an hour I have spent in my adventurous life. My horse was going at racing pace, when suddenly I came upon a kranze, down which I leaped in fox-hunting style. I thought this would finish all my bad riders; but although they tailed off somewhat into a longer line than the open order I had ordered, they were still in the ruck, and we all came together somewhat too closely at a wire fence, which brought us to a standstill. Having negotiated this, we came upon another similar one, which we all got through somehow. All this time the little columns of dust were rising all round and constantly under my horse's belly. Again we were brought up by a deep donga, along which we had to turn to our right and skirt it till it was negotiable, where the banks had been cut down on each side for the horses of the C.M.R. to cross. I made then for a group of dismounted horses held in shelter behind a strong causeway. Here was Dalgety, to whom I reported myself. In a few minutes the Boers brought another gun into position, which sent a shell into us, killing four gun mules linked together in their harness, six troop horses, one of mine, and one nigger, who was holding the mules. They fell in a heap, and presented a most gruesome appearance. One or two men were also wounded by the same shell, which was the signal for a skurry for shelter behind huge boulders. The horses were sent down to the donga before mentioned, where, though sheltered from shot and shell, they spent four miserable days, until at last a heavy rain filled the donga, and some of the horses were swimming. All had had their saddles on from the first day. Some of these had been torn off by the horses' frantic efforts to get out, and were lost in the mud. Finally they all got out, and covered the plains under the Boer fire. Many of them were shot.

"After the deadly shell I began to count up my men and find out how many were missing after the charge across the plain, and the last dose of shrapnel. To my surprise, they all answered to their names excepting two. Macarthy had been struck full in the forehead by a Mauser bullet, and fell from his horse as one dead. He is now recovering. Reid, an American, was shot through the side and arm, and is also recovering. Turner, my senior lieutenant, had been struck in the hip with a bit of segment shell, but stuck most pluckily to his post."

The officer went on to narrate an episode which deserves to be remembered among the deeds of heroism which distinguished this notable period: "Coming across from the C.M.R. lines towards the Kaffrarian lines was a stretcher carried by four men with a wounded man on it. As soon as it came from under the shelter of the kopje on which we and the C.M.R. live, about 1200 yards from the ridge held by the enemy, opposite the open end of the horse-shoe, it was received by a hail of bullets. On went the gallant bearers for about a hundred yards, when they came to a sudden stand, put the stretcher on the ground, and seemed to consult. First one ran about twenty yards, to fall, apparently shot dead; then another did the same, and the third; and the three corpses were lying on the ground. The fourth man fell on his knees between the stretcher and the enemy. The Boers, then satisfied that they had disposed of this lot, ceased firing at them for the space of some minutes, when suddenly the four dead men came to life, rushed to the stretcher, and went on with it at the double, though little columns of dust rose thicker than ever round the devoted bearers. When they had crossed the fire zone and came under the shelter of a small kopje, something very like a cheer rose from the three hundred spectators of this exciting scene. Putting the breach of the Geneva Convention out of the question, there could not be a better exemplification of the savagery of the Boers. Even a savage foe would have respected such courage as these men showed in their efforts to save their wounded comrade. The wounded man turned out to be Captain Goldsworthy of the C.M.R., wounded in two places, whom I afterwards saw in hospital here, and the one who shielded him with his own body was a young trumpeter in the C.M.R., who, I believe, will get the V.C."

On the 8th a commando some 2000 strong, with four guns, laagered five miles out in the direction of Dewetsdorp, and on the 9th the town of Wepener was occupied by the Boers, who, in number from 5000 to 6000, spread themselves crescentwise around the British position. Not long were they inactive. Their guns began to open on the camp, and received a prompt answer from the 15-pounders. A vigorous artillery duel, involving great loss to the besieged, was then kept up throughout the day.

A member of the stalwart band gave his impressions of the first days of the fighting: "The brave lot of fellows of the C.M.R. were stormed at until we almost gave up hope that any human being could stand against it; but very fortunately for us they did so, and although the Boers came almost behind them and enfiladed their trenches, killing and wounding between sixty and seventy of the regiment. Goodness knows how many of the Boers were killed. Their losses must have been great, no matter what they may say afterwards. Towards daylight the enemy retired to their former position, and at daybreak the fight went merrily on its way, but, luckily, shifted from the poor played-out C.M.R. for a few hours. Major Sprenger, poor fellow, was simply riddled with bullets. Captain Goldsworthy and Major Waring, together with several other officers, were wounded, and now the C.M.R. are commanded by only a few officers, including their most gallant Colonel Dalgety. Captain Cookson, another of their officers, is an especial favourite with our men, as he looks after them as well as his own men in action. He fears no dangers, and so instils confidence into others.

"All went well with us until the good-night shell, which bursts over our camp about six o'clock each night, arrived. Cookson and I were superintending the sending of the food to the trenches, where our brave men were so bravely holding their own, when I heard the whistle of the shell and heard it burst, and simultaneously was knocked down by a shrapnel bullet, which, fortunately for yours truly, did not penetrate far into my thigh. As no bones were broken, I hope--in fact, I am sure--I shall be able to walk in a day or two from now. Lieutenant Duncan, also wounded in the leg, and myself were placed in a small schanze, erected for the purpose, but as there was no roof to it, and the rain poured for hours during the night, we were soaked to the bone. It could not be helped, there being no other place in which to put us; so we did not complain. It was just as well we did not go to the hospital, which is already overcrowded--no fewer than 110 wounded men there--as I learn that one of our wounded men was yesterday killed in it with a Boer bullet; in fact, the Boers several times fired at it. We now have a waggon sail over our schanze, and feel nice and comfortable. We expect to be able to move about by Easter Sunday. Captain Hamilton has been very kind; comes to visit us two or three times a day, and runs a strong chance of being shot, as the snipers shoot at every one who shows himself. He is only one of the lot; they are all the same."

On Tuesday, the 10th, came more duelling. In the morning with artillery, in the afternoon with rifles. The Cape Mounted Rifles did good execution, for the Boers who had approached to 250 yards of their position were forced to remove. An officer of Brabant's Horse spoke most enthusiastically of the C.M.R. He said:--

"We fought all day and all night. The big gun and rifle fire were almost deafening, and as we are entirely surrounded, it was pouring in on all sides, a continuous hail of shot and shell. Towards afternoon they directed all their gun fire to one spot, and blew to bits the schanzes of the C.M.R., thus leaving them almost unprotected, and in the night they attempted to take the position by assault. Although the C.M.R. were very considerably outnumbered, the Boers were unable to attain their object. They had not reckoned on the opposition of, undoubtedly, one of the finest regiments in the whole world, as the C.M.R. are. We (1st Brabants) were unable to send reinforcements to the gallant fellows, as we expected an attack ourselves at any moment, and our position is such an extended one, that it required every man to hold it. If only we had a few hundreds more to hold the trenches with us, and an ample supply of ammunition, we would be quite happy."

The scarcity of ammunition began to cause anxiety, and also the condition of the atmosphere. The air was almost unbreathable. Fumes from dead horses, cows, pigs, which were strewed on the surrounding plains, rose in sunshine or rain as from a caldron of pestilence. There was no avoiding them, and death by worse than shot and shell--by slow ravaging malaria, or greedy epidemic--seemed to be traced by the finger of expectation across the foul atmosphere. No longer was there pleasure in gazing out at the beautiful green hills, that but a little while ago had been speckled with white tents and draped with the ethereal gossamer of blue smoke from the fitful flame of the camp fires. War had sounded its most discordant note--hard--emphatic. The tents were all struck. On the ground they lay prone, battered by the pouring rain. Camp fires were now few and far between, and the only smoke to be seen came from the snorting nozzles of implements of death. The rattle of musketry made the melody of day and night. The men, huddled up in their trenches, rained on by heaven-sent storm, rained on by hell-sent shrapnel, unable to raise a head lest the movement would be their last, still remained glorious fellows, cheery, jocose, hailing the humours of their tragic position with shouts of laughter, and skipping, with true heroism, the ghastly and the terrible that thrust itself between them and their courage.

One of their number described the trenches as "simply ordinary trenches dug in the ground, with the earth and stones thrown out on the front side, strengthened by sand-bags. During the first day's fighting they were not very good, and the heavy losses sustained were attributable to that fact. The men improved them during the night, however, and they grew and grew until they were really like rabbits burrowing into the ground. During the shelling men would sit or lie down under the bank, and it was wonderful how the trenches protected them. Some of the trenches had hundreds of shells fired into them during the day, and as long as the men kept well down, they got off comparatively lightly. It was a fearful strain, however, as you might be crouching behind a traverse of sand-bags, when thump would come a shell and knock the sand-bags all over the place, upon which you would have to skip into the traverse and expose yourself while doing so to a hail of bullets from the Boer snipers. As the Boers were all round us, they brought guns to bear from different points, so as to enfilade the trenches, so we had to build transverse walls, sand-bags, or traverses to protect ourselves. The front Cape Mounted Rifles' trenches were fearfully battered during the day, and the tired men had to patch them up as best they could during the night. During the day we could not show our heads over the parapets, as there would immediately come a volley from the Boer riflemen."

All the troops had unceasing work, but most of the casualties fell to the share of those in the southern position--the Cape Mounted Rifles, Captain Garner's Squadron of Brabant's Horse, Captain Seel's Company of Royal Scots Mounted Infantry, and Driscoll's energetic scouts. The Kaffrarians, commanded by Captain Price elsewhere in four different positions to east and west--took their share of the defence, while on the heights north-east and north-west, the 1st and 2nd Regiments of Brabant's Horse, under Major Henderson and Colonel Grenfell respectively, also worked incessantly to protect the garrison.

The object of the concentration of the Boers around this region was supposed to be connected with offering opposition to General Brabant's advance, but the Dutchmen in their policy were somewhat uneasy, owing to their close proximity to the Basuto border.

Their alarm was not without reason, for if there was a force eager to attack them it was the Basutos, and these were only held back from rushing into the fray by the personal influence of Sir Godfrey Lagden and his British colleagues, who can never sufficiently be applauded for the skill and diplomacy with which they managed to keep, by invisible moral coercion, a fiery horde from rushing over the borders and possibly massacring such Free Staters as came in their way. The Boers, however, were not conscious of this coercion, and consequently their action around Wepener was somewhat cramped, and thus it was that the little community managed to defy them. Meanwhile discomforts were many, and the clouds often emptied themselves like a vast shower-bath involving doused trenches, drenched clothing, and the suspension of operations. On the 11th a cheery message was received from Lord Kitchener, who paid a visit to Aliwal North, and from thence sent word that he hoped "for an early change" in the circumstances of the besieged. Spirits rose. What Kitchener, the adamantine, said was sure to be done. On Thursday, 12th, the fourth day of fierce fighting, the Boers continued their aggression all day. During the contest an entertaining interlude in the drama of warfare took place. The enemy was busy shelling one of the garrison's 15-pounders, when a shot knocked off the left sight of Captain Lukin's gun. The Captain, generous in his admiration, jumped on top of the gun and made a complimentary salaam to the Boer gunner. Later on, by using the reserve sight on the right side, he himself planked a shell right into the adversary's gunpit, whereupon the officer in charge, imitating Captain Lukin's example, promptly leapt up and bowed his congratulations!

During the night of the 12th the Dutchmen attempted another attack, but volley after volley was poured into them with such animation that by 4 A.M. they were glad enough to retire. Fortunately not a man was killed or wounded, and those who had so well defended themselves felt a somewhat natural satisfaction in seeing the Boer ambulances at work the next morning. Soon it was rumoured that the Boers were bringing up another gun, and the garrison, who were beginning to get tired of being peppered at by guns big and small, began to long for the arrival of reinforcements.

Friday the 13th, the following Saturday and Sunday, were used by the Boers for their Easter devotions--not that they were too devout to enjoy a little sniping in the intervals. Nasal hymns took the place of the snorts of Long Tom, but after the reiterations of the Vickers Maxim the Federals resumed their bombardment with renewed zest, and Oom Sam, the British howitzer, took up the tune. Unfortunately, the Dutchmen resorted to expansive bullets. One of the commandants tried to assert that these were captured from the British, but truth not being the Boer forte, no effort was made to refute the vile impeachment.

The garrison next made a dashing sortie and captured a Boer gun. Aggressive action was necessary. Reinforcements were daily reaching the besiegers, and hostile gangs were collecting in the vicinity of Dewetsdorp. These soon gathered round the plucky British force, which, to protect itself, launched out with such vigour that the Boers, especially the Zastrom Commando, who had assaulted to a jubilate, retreated to a dirge. The women wept, and the men themselves grew anxious, for the Basutos, warlike and excited, were massing on the border, and a sword of Damocles, in the form of an exasperated legion of natives, threatened to drop on the Dutchmen's heads. They were getting into difficulties on all sides. One of Olivier's guns was smashed, and another had been captured in the sortie by the Cape Mounted Rifles. But the energies of this sprightly corps had also cost them dear. During the four days' fighting, from the 9th to the 13th, eighteen were slain and 132 wounded! The men on the south-western fringe fared worse even than the others. They feared to cook in their trenches lest they should attract the Boer fire, and meals brought from adjacent shelters were cold before they could reach them. Such reviving and inspiriting refreshment as hot tea or coffee was almost unknown, and as a natural consequence, particularly in such damp weather, warmth external and internal was most craved for and very generally missed. Washing was a luxury not to be thought of, indeed, a rain bath in a trench had to serve all purposes. The strain of such conditions on the men was most trying, and the account given by one of the officers was far from exaggerated. "They had to go into their trenches on the night of the 8th, and from then till the 25th they had to stay in them, crouching in them all day while being heavily shelled and 'sniped' at by the enemy's riflemen. During the night a couple of men from each trench would be sent to the place near the centre of the position where the food was prepared and take it up to their comrades. Cooking could only be done at night in dongas, and behind cover, such as walls, &c., and by the time the food got to the men it was ice cold, so the poor fellows, or the majority, in the forward trenches did not get anything hot in the shape of food or drink for eighteen days. Night was a blessed relief, as they could get out of the trenches and stretch themselves, but to cap our misery we had several days' heavy rain, and the trenches got full of water. The fellows had to bale it out with buckets, patrol tins, and even hats, I believe. Those rainy nights were awful, and the men were getting quite 'jumpy.' I really thought some of them would lose their reason, and was quite prepared to find some dead from exposure in the morning. However, the rain stopped in time, otherwise we would have been in great danger as the men could not have stood it. There is a limit to human endurance."

The investment had no showy nor picturesque characteristics: it was just a case of stern resistance, of obdurate endurance, that was infinitely more exigent in its demands on the human character than the brilliant soul-stirring deeds of open battle. Fortunately the Boers were getting correspondingly uncomfortable. They had surrounded Wepener, it is true, but, with a native guard of some 3000 strong assembled to prevent any encroachments on the Basutoland border, they remained where they were at their peril, and every hour brought with it the chance of being hemmed in on all sides. Yet they stuck on, inspired with the belief that by some, for them, lucky chance Colonel Dalgety might drop into their hands. Meanwhile the natives were assisting the besieged to the best of their power, and the resident Commissioner at Mafeteng was exerting himself to provide ambulances and medical stores, in hope of being able to forward them should opportunity offer. The charitable arrangement was much appreciated, for the state of affairs was far from salubrious. Apart from sick and wounded, many of the Boers, after the night attack of the 12th, had left their comrades unburied, and the bodies were still lying in the mill furrow, to the distress of those shut up within the narrow confines of the camp. The Caledon River now rose and added to the alarm of the Federals, who were aware that if it should become in flood they would undoubtedly be cut off. At the same time those within the besieged area were also beginning to get additionally concerned. Ammunition for the howitzer was running low, and the rifle ammunition promised to hold out but for a very limited period. Messages were continually being received from Lord Roberts, who heliographed _via_ Mafeteng congratulating the troops on their brave defence, and assuring them that he was keeping a watchful eye on them. This should have been consoling, but every hour, every instant, was now of importance. Still there was no lack of pluck. These men who had beaten the Boers three times were confident that they would make a good fight of it to the last. "We'll not surrender till half of us are killed," they said, and the gallant fellows, in their trenches, under a storm of shot and shell, pursued their games of cards as though they meant to "sit tight till Doomsday." Of them an officer writing at this time said: "The defence, so far, has been heroic. In the Crimea twenty-four hours on and twenty-four hours off was considered hard work. My men have been ten days in their trenches without leaving them, wet to the skin oftener than not, and day and night exposed to shrapnel, not able to raise their hand above without getting a bullet through them, and yet not a grumble is heard. As I sit scrawling this in pencil, with my back against the damp earth, the jest goes round, and peals of laughter follow the sallies of your light-hearted countrymen from the Emerald Isle. I positively love these men, and shall never forget, in spite of the ague attacks and the racked head, the enjoyment of these hours spent packed, all arms and legs, in the mass of humanity which fills these trenches--the work of our own hands."

They had tasted neither bread nor biscuits for a week. Fortunately they had meat in plenty, and occasionally certain meal-cakes which, though filling, brought about a sensation graphically described as "hippopotamus on the chest." Some one declared they were quite as hard and nearly as damaging as Boer bullets!

In spite, however, of their assumed jocosity they could not but be cognisant of the fact that, what with damp and dysentery, irregular meals, tainted water, poor medical appliances, and indifferent stores, the future was threatening. Questions as to the coming of the promised relief began to be anxiously bandied about, and now and again a terrible doubt crept in that it might never come at all.

Easter Monday they thought of as Bank Holiday in England. They pictured the gay Cockney multitude scampering free in parks and sunshine while they, huddled together in a deluge of perpetual rain, were wondering if life in trenches was worth living. Then some one, a philosopher, declared you couldn't get a daily rain-water bath at home for love or money, and they laughingly made the best of it. They wallowed in damp and mud, and counted on their fingers that there had been eight days of hard fighting, and wondered how many more they were good for. Books were scarce and conversation monotonous. "Any signs of Brabant or Gatacre?" some one would question. "None. I guess they've got lost somewhere." "Any chance of the rain stopping?" "None. We shall have deluges to-morrow." So passed the time between Job and his comforters.

Fighting proceeded wearily, spasmodically. The Boers too were damp, in spirit and in body, and the carols of Long Tom lost some of their demoniac mirth. Now and then the besiegers would smarten themselves up with a volley, occasionally they would snipe intermittently--a little venomous spitting at the obdurate, sturdy, magnificent fellows they had learned as much to respect as to detest. Still no relief column. Hoping, the men in their trenches puzzled and offered solutions for themselves.

"Perhaps the relievers had fallen into a trap," said a pessimist.

"Oh no; the rain must have delayed them," said some one more cheery.

"Perhaps the drifts are unpassable," volunteered a third.

"I wonder if any of us will be left to receive them?" questioned the pessimist.

"Poof! only ten per cent. of us are disabled as yet!" chaffed the optimist lightly.

Though they did not know it, General Chermside, with the Third Division, had now marched about eight miles east of Reddersburg, and encamped in the locality where the Royal Irish Rifles surrendered. On the 19th a large body of the enemy was moving on with the apparent object of encountering General Brabant near Rouxville, and later on from the distance the muffled roar of musketry gave promise of the relieving action. Naturally, the spirits of the garrison began to rise, but their joy was short lived, for soon the Boers appeared on the west, and there brought five guns to bear on the British force. All day the round lips of the new visitors opened and hooted and spat! The Kaffrarian Rifles were treated to no less than 130 shrapnel shells. Brabant's regiment and the Maxim kept up an active fire on the Boer gunners; but the guns were so cautiously protected that their efforts were crowned with small success. Even the redoubtable Captain Lukin failed to make his usual impression, for this officer had now decided that economy--economy of ammunition--must make the better part of Wepener valour. Major Maxwell, at dusk, with his cheery sappers, set to work to remedy the ravages of the day, but the prospect of affairs was not rendered more heartening by information which came in to the effect that Olivier, De Wet, Froneman, and others were closing in with their commandoes and mercenaries, numbering some 8000, from Rouxville, Smithfield, Ficksburg, and even from Ladybrand. This discovery caused no little anxiety. All were aware that Lord Roberts could and would come to their relief; but, nevertheless, it was impossible to ignore the fact that provisions began to dwindle and the poor trek oxen began to go, and no signs of a relieving column were evident. The officers and men were now on duty all night in the trenches--melancholy work, for deluges of rain made them sopping, and served to damp even the bellicose ardour of the most valorous.

Their position by day, too, was pathetic in the extreme. It was impossible even for the most rollicking and dauntless to look unmoved to right or to left of him. Perhaps on one side he would be bounded by a "pal" doubled up and sweating with the agony of his wounds, while on the other would lie, clay-cold and immobile--with that unmistakable stiffness that they had learnt to know too well--a form that some moments before had been vibrant with humanity. In this _entourage_ it was necessary throughout the long hours to keep up persistent fire at the enemy, and dodge and manoeuvre so that the fate that loomed large and unforgetable on either hand might be kept at bay! Few indeed were in possession of a whole skin in these times--they fought, got wounded, went into hospital, came out partially healed and fought again, only to go back with fresh holes for repair. Sometimes they were carried to the churchyard by comrades of their corps--gaunt, weary, aching, grimy fellows with large hearts, who grimly professed to envy those--many there were by now--who had "every night in bed!"

On the evening of the 23rd there was some jubilation in Jammersberg camp. General Brabant heliographed from a place some fourteen miles distant, reporting an engagement with the enemy, and that they were retiring, though there was a strong force on his left flank. Heavy firing continued to be heard all day, most probably from the artillery of Generals Rundle and Chermside, who, at this time, were approaching Dewetsdorp from the south, or of Generals French and Pole-Carew, who were nearing that destination from the north. The plot was thickening. The sun was shining, the guns were going, and there was a chance the Boers might yet be hoist with their own petard, and in expectation thereof a veritable thrill passed through the camp.

Then the Boer fire began to slacken perceptibly, the barking of big guns mysteriously subsided. What was happening? Anxiety and suspense made the young faces--faces that had been young at the commencement of the war--still more drawn and haggard; it was felt that should the Boers capture the position they would give little quarter to the Colonial Division, and these had determined never to hoist the white flag. The fact was, the Boers were silently preparing to sneak away. They had heard of the converging of the British armies, they were in receipt of information regarding a grand scheme for mopping them up, and after taking a last sullen, despairing lunge they took themselves off.

On the morning of the 25th a serpentine _cortège_ of waggons and carts and riders was seen winding its way in the direction of Ladybrand. Colonel Dalgety half suspected that Brabant's force would presently appear and chase this retreating company, and got himself and some 300 of his men in readiness to assist in harassing those who so recently had harassed him. But Brabant's force was apparently worn out, and was about some fourteen miles off when the retirement commenced, and though to his splendid exertions the retreat was due, it was evident that the enemy would manage to slide off without chastisement.

Thus ended the story of a grand achievement, an almost unique example in the way of defence of fortified positions, 1700 men having for seventeen days and nights in the trenches defended seven miles of entrenchment without giving up a single position! By the end there had been about 200 casualties, and only 1500 men were left to defend the tremendous length of entrenchments. One of the valiant defenders gave a graphic summary of the continuous fighting:--

"We lost between twenty and thirty killed and wounded the first day--not very many, considering what we had against us. At night the big guns ceased fire, and there was only a shot now and again during the night. On Tuesday morning at breakfast time the big guns started again; but there were only five guns that day, and we found out after the fight that we had knocked out three of the Boer guns on the previous day. The firing on the Tuesday was not so brisk, but at 8 P.M. the Boers attacked in force at the C.M.R. trenches, but our men were ready for them, and played one of the Boers' own games with them. They saw them coming, and the Royal Scots lined up on one side and the C.M.R. on the other side of the spruit. Our men allowed them to get right in and then opened fire at fifty yards. Every man had his bayonet fixed and ready, and at the word they went for them. In less than an hour it was all over, and the Boers were beaten back, leaving 300 dead. It was pitiful to hear them crying. They have not the heart of a school-girl, and they cannot stand a beating. After the Tuesday night the enemy kept very quiet for a few days, only independent firing going on both with rifles and big guns. This went on for several days, at times a little brisk, and then the Boers seemed to get tired and tried to rush us again with 2000 men. This was on the fifteenth day at ten in the morning. By twelve o'clock we had them beaten, and the next day they left us and we came on up here."

A great deal of the success of the resistance was due to the ingenuity of the entrenchments. The work had been carried out under the direction of Colonel Maxwell, R.E., and the splendid stand made by the besieged was made possible almost entirely by his genius. Captain Lukin was also a tower of strength, and but for his services with the guns the garrison would have suffered much more than it did. Captain Grant, C.M.R., too, was invaluable, working late and early, and carrying out with immense zeal the plans of the chief, while Colonel Grenfell was an untiring right-hand man to Colonel Dalgety.

Another of the heroes of the siege was Major Sprenger, of the C.M.R., who fell in his country's service almost at the beginning of the siege. He was a born soldier, and a distinguished member of a distinguished corps. He won his commission by his smartness and soldierly qualities, having risen to the rank of sub-inspector in the old F.A.M.P. On the merging of that corps into the C.M.R., he continued as lieutenant, and was awarded the next step for gallantry in the field, he being the first to mount the scaling ladders in the storming of Moirosi's Mountain.

General Brabant afterwards described the Cape Mounted Rifles as being the very finest corps in her Majesty's service, and recommended them to the notice of Lord Roberts. As for the artillery under Captain Lukin, the General said he did not think there was a battery in her Majesty's service that could excel it.

The casualties at Wepener from April 9th to 18th were:--

_Killed_:--Cape Mounted Rifles--Major Sprenger, Lieutenant E. A. Taplin. Brabant's Horse--Lieutenant Tharston. _Severely wounded_:--Cape Mounted Rifles--Major J. C. Warring, Lieutenant J. Heilford, Lieutenant L. Martin, Lieutenant R. Ayre, Lieutenant W. H. Nixon, Lieutenant H. G. F. Campbell. Brabant's Horse--Lieutenant W. J. Holford. Driscoll's Scouts--Lieutenant W. Weiner. Kaffrarian Rifles--Lieutenant C. Lister. _Slightly wounded_:--Cape Mounted Rifles--Captain C. L. M. Goldsworthy. Brabant's Horse--Surgeon-Captain L. C. Perkins (returned to duty), Lieutenant Turner Duncan, Lieutenant and Quartermaster P. Williams. 1st Royal Scots Mounted Infantry--Lieutenant C. G. Hill (1st Berks Regiment, attached).

The total losses were 33 killed and 132 wounded--a somewhat heavy bill for so small a force, when it is remembered that many of the wounded did not report their injuries but remained on duty during the siege.

In his diary the officer before quoted wrote: "We were relieved to-day at last, and march to-morrow. We have gone through an awful time, and some of the men look quite ghastly. They dragged their wasted forms from the trenches to-day at a crawl to the camp, which had been repitched. I had to give up the night before last, and after visiting my sentries, got back into the trenches in agony. At midnight I reached the hospital, where they injected morphine, and, after twenty-four hours lying on a stretcher, I am on my legs again.... Seventeen days and nights under fire, and the disgusting part of the whole is that it has been in vain. The Boers have slipped through our fingers after all."

The relief of Wepener may be said to have taken place on the 25th. To discover how this was automatically accomplished, it is necessary to follow Lord Roberts's strategic plan, and to return to the events of the 22nd of April.

OPERATIONS FOR RELIEF

As a continual reorganisation of the forces was taking place, it will assist us, before going further, to examine a rough table of the date, as compiled from various authorities by the _Morning Post_:--

DISTRIBUTION OF FORCES

_Commanding-in-chief_--FIELD-MARSHAL LORD ROBERTS.

THIRD DIVISION.

Lieutenant-General Sir H. G. CHERMSIDE.

22nd Brigade (Major-General R. E. Allen).

2nd Royal Irish Rifles. 2nd Northumberland Fusiliers. 1st Royal Scots. 1st Derbyshire.

23rd Brigade (Major-General W. G. Knox). (Composition not known.)

74th, 77th, and 79th Field Batteries.

SIXTH DIVISION.

Lieutenant-General T. KELLY-KENNY.

12th Brigade (Major-General Clements).

2nd Worcestershire. 2nd Bedfordshire. 2nd Wiltshire. 1st Royal Irish Regiment.

13th Brigade (Major-General A. G. Wavell).

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 G. TUCKER.

14th Brigade (Major-General J. G. Maxwell).

2nd Norfolk. 2nd Lincoln.

1st King's Own Scottish Borderers. 2nd Hants.

15th Brigade (Major-General C. E. Knox).

2nd Cheshire. 1st East Lancashire. 2nd South Wales Borderers. 2nd North Stafford.

83rd, 84th, and 85th Field Batteries. 9th Company Royal Engineers.

EIGHTH DIVISION.

Lieutenant-General Sir H. M. L. RUNDLE.

16th Brigade (Major-General B. B. D. Campbell).

2nd Grenadier Guards. 2nd Scots Guards. 2nd East Yorks.

17th Brigade (Major-General J. E. Boyes).

1st Worcester. 2nd Royal West Kent. 1st South Stafford. 2nd Manchester.

Brigade Division Royal Field Artillery. 5th Company Royal Engineers.

NINTH DIVISION.

Lieutenant-General Sir H. E. COLVILE.

3rd Brigade (Major-General H. A. MacDonald).

1st Argyll and Sutherland. 1st Gordon Highlanders. 2nd Seaforth Highlanders. 2nd Royal Highlanders (Black Watch).

19th Brigade (Major-General H. L. Smith-Dorrien). (Composition not certainly known.)

Highland Light Infantry. 2nd Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. 2nd Shropshire Light Infantry. Canadian Regiment.

Brigade Division Royal Field Artillery.

TENTH DIVISION.

Lieutenant-General Sir H. HUNTER.

5th Brigade (Major-General A. Fitzroy Hart).

2nd Somerset Light Infantry. 1st Connaught Rangers. 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers. 1st Border.

6th Brigade (Major-General G. Barton).

2nd Royal Fusiliers. 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers. 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers. 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers.

63rd, 64th, and 73rd Field Batteries.

ELEVENTH DIVISION.

Lieutenant-General R. POLE-CAREW.

18th Brigade (Major-General T. E. Stephenson). (Composition not certainly known.)

1st Essex. 1st Yorkshire. 1st Welsh. 2nd Royal Warwickshire.

1st Brigade (Major-General Inigo R. Jones).

3rd Grenadier Guards. 1st Coldstream Guards. 2nd Coldstream Guards. 1st Scots Guards.

18th, 62nd, 75th Field Batteries.

CAVALRY DIVISION.

Lieutenant-General J. D. P. FRENCH.

1st Brigade (Brigadier-General T. C. Porter).

6th Dragoon Guards. 6th Dragoons. 2nd Dragoons.

2nd Brigade (Brigadier-General R. G. Broadwood).

10th Hussars. 12th Hussars. Household Cavalry.

3rd Brigade (Brigadier-General J. R. P. Gordon).

9th Lancers. 16th Lancers. 17th Lancers.

4th Brigade (Major-General J. B. B. Dickson).

7th Dragoon Guards. 8th Hussars. 14th Hussars.

G, J, M, O, P, Q, R, T, U Batteries Horse Artillery.

MOUNTED INFANTRY DIVISION.

Major-General IAN HAMILTON.

1st Brigade (Major-General E. T. H. Hutton).

1st Corps (Colonel E. A. H. Alderson).

1st Canadian Mounted Rifles. 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. Lord Strathcona's Corps. One Battalion Imperial Mounted Infantry.

2nd Corps (Colonel de Lisle).

New South Wales Mounted Infantry. West Australian Mounted Infantry.

3rd Corps (Colonel T. D. Pilcher).

Queensland Mounted Infantry. New Zealand Mounted Infantry. One Battalion Imperial Mounted Infantry.

4th Corps (Colonel Henry).

Victorian Mounted Infantry. South Australian Mounted Infantry. Tasmanian Mounted Infantry. One Battalion Imperial Mounted Infantry.

2nd Brigade (Major-General Ridley).

South African Irregulars Mounted Infantry. Several Batteries Artillery.

COLONIAL DIVISION.

Major-General BRABANT.

Cape Mounted Rifles. Kaffrarian Mounted Rifles. Montmorency's Scouts (200). Brabant's Horse (1200). Border Horse. Frontier Mounted Rifles. Queenstown Volunteers. Cape Garrison Artillery. Two Naval 12-pounders.

OTHER TROOPS WITH LORD ROBERTS.

21st Brigade.

Battalions not known.

(Brigades not known.)

2nd Berkshire. 1st Royal Sussex. 1st Suffolk. 1st Cameron Highlanders. C.I.V. Infantry. Roberts's Horse. Kitchener's Horse. Two Squadrons Imperial Light Horse. 7th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry. C.I.V. Mounted Infantry. Ceylon Mounted Infantry. Lumsden's Horse. Lord Loch's Horse. 43rd, 65th, 86th, and 87th Howitzer Batteries. 2nd, 5th, 8th, 9th, 17th, 38th, 39th, 68th, and 88th Field Batteries. (Parts of 8th, 9th, and 11th Divisions.) Four naval 4.7-in. guns. Part of Siege Train.

Towards the end of April the authorities found that the situation was growing in interest as in difficulty. In the south-east of the Free State Colonel Dalgety and his small but truculent band had become the pivot round which British and Free Staters were manoeuvring, and the red drama of war on the north and west of Wepener was becoming tragic as that of the region around Mafeking. Developments on a large and complicated scale were taking place, developments not as might be imagined in the direction of Pretoria, but for the purpose of catching the enemy in the northern and eastern portion of the Free State, and dealing with as much of him as possible before proceeding to larger things. There were now several separate columns on the march, each and all so arranged that, at a given moment and at a given place within a very short time they could concentrate for purposes of battle when battle should be imminent, and with a view to mopping up such Boer commandos as might chance to step in between the fangs of the British lion. (We are already aware that the Boer commandos in this region were far too knowing, and the anxious fangs eventually snapped on nothing at all! Still a vast mass of the foe was held in the south-east of the Free State while plans for the great advance northwards were being elaborated.)

Lord Roberts began the second act of his campaign by deploying the army from Karee Siding as far as Wepener, a distance of some seventy miles. Indeed, on Sunday the 22nd of April, we find that one portion of the army was at Bushman's Kop, south of Wepener, another was near Dewetsdorp, half-way between the latter place and Bloemfontein, another was moving to Tweede Geluk, some twenty miles from Bloemfontein and twenty-two from Dewetsdorp, and already in communication with General Rundle, who was making for Dewetsdorp, while troops were also at or near Sanna's Post and fifteen miles west--at Kranz Kraal, a valuable passage of the Modder between Sanna's Post and the railways which for some weeks had been much used by the Boers. All these troops were sprayed out at distances varying from twenty to thirty miles from each other, and were capable of getting into heliographic communication. As this somewhat complicated machinery requires to be examined and not dismissed with a word, it is better, if possible, to follow the commanding officers as they each moved on his special duty.

Generals Rundle and Chermside had concentrated their divisions at Reddersburg with a view to assisting in what was called "the big partridge drive." The force of the united commanders moving from Reddersburg towards Dewetsdorp was now about 15,000 strong. It was composed of the 4th and 7th Imperial Yeomanry, the Mounted Infantry companies of the 1st Berkshire and 2nd Northumberland Fusiliers, sixty of Montmorency's Scouts (Captain McNeil), General Campbell's Brigade, General Boyes's Brigade, and General Allen's Brigade. The united artillery was commanded by Colonel Jeffreys, R.A. It comprised the 38th, 69th, 74th, 77th, and 79th Field Batteries. The Boers, disposed by De Wet, occupied a position astride the country from Leeuw Kop to Wepener, those in the former place covering those in the latter, and _vice versâ_.

About the 20th the troops, under Sir Leslie Rundle, were approaching Dewetsdorp, keeping the Boers in a perpetual state of anxiety and disturbance by worrying tactics which the Dutchmen were at a loss to understand. "The idea is to keep 'em on the dance where they are," said a Tommy who affected an interest in strategy, "keep 'em lively, so that when they want to run they've no legs to do it with." At the same time the Boers took their share in contributing to the life of the proceedings, and were also the means of bringing to light more deeds of British heroism. Early in the morning of the 20th a strong force of Yeomanry, with Mounted Infantry and two guns, had started out over the green pastures of the Free State to reconnoitre the enemy's left and discover his strength. (The left was the most vulnerable point of the foe, as, that turned, he would be cut off from Wepener and forced north into the arms of the advancing troops.) They soon came upon the main Boer position, and were assailed with a sharp fire from the Dutchmen. A smart encounter, or rather a series of encounters took place, during which the Yeomanry displayed remarkable steadiness under fire, and executed their share of the movements with the promptness and dexterity of seasoned--Mr. Kipling calls it "salted"--troops.

McNeil's Scouts (late poor De Montmorency's), always the first to be "in it," observed a party of Boers racing for a desirable kopje, and obtained permission to try and cut them off. With the party was Mr. Winston Churchill, who, thinking that fun was in the air, put spurs to his horse and was off with the intrepid band of scouts. For some time there was an animated race, the Boers being nearer to the strong eminence than the British, though less well mounted. When it came to climbing, it seemed as though they might get the worst of it. Rush--rush--rush went the fifty scouts; scamper--scamper--scamper went the foe. It was almost a neck-and-neck affair, when suddenly there came wire, and before this could be cut there were Boers in possession of the great kopje, Boers blazing downwards as fast as muskets would allow. Thereupon Captain McNeil shouted his orders: "Too late! back to the other kopje. Gallop!" and all obeying, the good steeds were off as hard as legs could carry them. And now happened the episode which singles out the reconnaissance from numerous military undertakings of the same kind, for it brought into notice another of the heroes of the war, whose courageous act will not easily be forgotten. As before said, Mr. Winston Churchill, the correspondent of the _Morning Post_, who, it may be remembered, escaped from the Pretoria prison, was accompanying McNeil's Scouts in their exciting expedition. No sooner was the order given to "gallop," than Mr. Churchill made a bound for his saddle. It twisted, the horse, alarmed by the fire, bolted, and the young man found himself on foot and alone, with the Boers a second time within an ace of him. A horrible vision, grown lifelike in a moment, as the vision of his past before a drowning man, now flashed before him; the walls of the dreaded Model School seemed to close in--nearer--nearer. But the Boers, he decided, should not get him again without a struggle. This time he had his pistol, he could not again be hunted down unarmed in the open. He shouted--a despairing roar--to the scouts, who were fleeing all unconscious of the accident that had befallen him. Then one, turning aside, heard, stopped in his rush for life, wheeled about, grasped the dismounted man, and an instant later, with Churchill at the back of his saddle, was off again. Then the rifles above, at a range of only forty yards, rippled out a deadly tune, as the flying hoofs of the horse, wounded, and leaving behind him a track of blood, flung up the turf and sod. Yet, from the showers of lead and dust they came out alive, and Mr. Churchill lived to tell the tale of his miraculous rescue. Curiously enough, the gallant scout whose action saved the journalist's life, owned the talismanic name which moved the army as the magnet moves a needle. Trooper Roberts was recommended to the notice of Lord Roberts by General Rundle, for, as Mr. Churchill said, all the officers were agreed that the man who pulled up in such a situation to help another, was worthy of some honourable distinction.

The fighting elsewhere continued with considerable heat, and the long day was vibrant with the brawl of big guns and the cacophonous whirr of shells. Without artillery to help in pounding the enemy, General Brabazon decided it was useless to continue the reconnaissance; he therefore withdrew with what some one described as "an instructive little rear-guard action." He had done an immense amount of work, reconnoitred, located laagers, forced the enemy to move his guns, and generally discomfited him at the cost of less than a score of men. Now he rested on his oars, for instructions from head-quarters arrived advising General Rundle to wait till reinforcements should arrive before further pressing his attack.

Accordingly, on Sunday the 22nd of April, General French was despatched from Bloemfontein to assist. The force consisted of the 3rd and 4th Cavalry Brigades, the Eleventh Division (General Pole-Carew's), and some naval guns. The plan was to move to Dewetsdorp, and _en route_ to turn out the enemy from his position at Leeuw Kop. General Dickson, with the 4th Brigade of Cavalry and a battery of Horse Artillery, was to move towards the south-east from Springfield, so as to head off the enemy in the event of his retreating to the east. General Stephenson, with the 18th Brigade, 83rd, 84th, and 85th Batteries, R.F.A., and two 4.7 naval guns, was to march south and effect a junction with General Pole-Carew and the Guards' Brigade, and Colonel Alderson's Mounted Infantry Brigade. At Leeuw Kop, the Guards were to get round the enemy's left flank, while a central attack was to be delivered by the 18th Brigade under General Stephenson. The Guards (who had hitherto been protecting the line), were met some five miles out, they having marched from Ferriera Siding. They proceeded to the position mentioned, some fifteen miles south-east of Bloemfontein, where the Boers were encountered. They were found to be ensconced in the high eminence of Leeuw Kop itself, and other kopjes thickly covered with bush in the north. Thereupon operations began, the artillery opening the programme some five miles off, followed by an attack late in the day on the part of the 18th Brigade and the Guards, to front and left of the enemy's position. On the north side of the position was a picturesque farm, towards which the 18th Brigade advanced. Five scouts were allowed to approach within a hundred yards before the enemy fired. Then our guns (84th Battery Field Artillery) having discovered the position, began to play upon it--hidden though it was by high trees and shrubberies--with such accuracy and vigour that the enemy retreated to some distant kopjes, whence they plied their Vickers-Maxims and Mausers with a will. Shells buzzed and bounded among them, but our men never flinched. They pursued their way more and more to the left, in order to surround the offending kopjes. The Warwicks in the centre, the Essex on the right, the Welsh on the left, moving in echelon, advanced. By-and-by General Dickson's cavalry, from its distant position, attempted to engage in the flanking movement, and to surround the hills if possible with mounted men during the development of the infantry attack. The operations were suddenly overtaken by an appalling darkness, which turned out to be a flight of locusts that came and went, leaving the land more bare than it was before. The infantry now were pouring volleys on the kopje, whence they were again attacked with such warmth that they had to "lie low." Their position at this time was an unenviable one, it being too exposed for advance, and too advanced for retirement. At last the Essex made a glorious dash on the western slopes, while the Warwick and Welsh regiments, wildly cheering, clambered ahead of them on the northern heights. The Boers fired half-heartedly for a time, but were subsequently seen careering down the eastern slopes, their sole care being to save themselves. Unfortunately in this gallant assault, Captain Prothero, Welsh Regiment, was mortally wounded.

The Guards, meanwhile, had extended on the right, while the Mounted Infantry, consisting of one battalion Imperial Mounted Infantry, 1st and 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles, and Strathcona's Horse (on their right) came in for so devastating a welcome from the Creusot gun which the enemy had posted on a neighbouring hill, that they were forced to retire. But the artillery came to the rescue, and the Boers removed their gun. The Dutchmen now found their numbers too meagre to hold their line of defence, which covered a semicircular chain of kopjes on the east, and in the morning of the 23rd all the enemy who held Leeuw Kop were discovered to have trekked eastward. The position was ours. Quantities of ammunition and rifles were seized, and General French had commenced an animated chase to the south, though his cavalry were unable to find the Boers in any strong position in the vicinity. A noticeable feature of the day's experiences was the exhibition of the white flag on the farmhouse, whence the Boers fired on the Canadians. These gallant fellows came safely out of the treacherous downpour, but lost two horses.

On the same day (the 22nd), while the other tentacles of the great octopus, the British army, were twisting as shown, General Ian Hamilton with his Mounted Infantry Division was moving on towards Sanna's Post to take possession of the waterworks there. As the enemy in some strength was holding the neighbouring hills, it was found necessary to despatch the Ninth Division, consisting of Smith-Dorien's and MacDonald's Brigades, to the support of General Ian Hamilton. With these movements we must deal anon. As Sanna's Post is situated some twenty miles from Tweede Geluk (where the Eleventh Division was operating), and twenty-five from the road to Dewetsdorp, near where we have left General Rundle, the nicety of the disposition of the troops in their relation to each other may be appreciated.

Moving almost at the same time, was Maxwell's (late Chermside's) Brigade (Seventh Division), which marched eastward and seized the hills covering the waggon-bridge over the Modder River at Kranz Kraal--the bridge whose utility to the Boers has been described.

Meanwhile General Brabant with his Mounted Division and General Hart's Brigade from Rouxville, had reached the vicinity of Bushman's Kop, some fourteen miles from Wepener. The bulk of the Boer force had opposed themselves to this advance, and during this time the strain on Colonel Dalgety at Wepener had naturally been relaxed. By Monday, the 23rd, the Colonial Division, supported by Hart's Brigade, had turned the Boer position, after having kept up a running fight all day. The casualties of the fight were twenty-five wounded. Some of these were removed to Basutoland, under arrangement with the resident Commissioner at Mafeteng. General Brabant was moving in a north-easterly direction, keeping Basutoland on his right flank, his operations being watched with amazing interest by the natives in this region. He was now some eight miles from Wepener and sixty from Bloemfontein, and in heliographic communication with Dalgety, a circumstance which caused the Boers round Wepener to grow uneasy as to their positions.

To return to General Pole-Carew. On the morning of Monday, the 23rd, the Boers, as we know, were found to have evacuated their main position at Leeuw Kop, and the Mounted Infantry took possession of the hill from which the enemy had been routed by the infantry. General French by then had moved on independently of his transport. Boers were known to be in the southern fringes of the Leeuw Kop position, but, without engaging them, General French pushed on, posting the 16th Lancers to keep an eye on his flank, till they should be relieved by the mounted troops which were following. Meanwhile, slowly in the rear, screened by the 4th Mounted Infantry, General Pole-Carew advanced his division and baggage train, and sent Roberts's Horse to relieve the 16th Lancers on the hill they were holding. The relievers came in for nasty attentions from a Maxim, but in spite of this they behaved with great gallantry, made for the kopje on which the Boers were ensconced, and finally cleared the summit. But this was not accomplished without lamentable loss. Major Brazier Creagh, 9th Bengal Lancers, who but recently had succeeded to the command of the regiment, was mortally wounded. Presently, to the assistance of Roberts's Horse came the 14th Hussars, squadrons of which regiment distributed themselves in hope of cutting off the enemy in retreat, but the Dutchmen, with all smartness, plied their guns till it was deemed best to retire, leaving the 2nd Coldstreams in the original position gained.

The cavalry soon became engaged. The Boers were espied in a long, low kopje to the east and west of the Dewetsdorp Road, the wide, flat ridge of which General French meant to seize. The 9th Lancers advanced to secure it, but the Boers instantly raced for the most advantageous position, with the result that while the troopers planted themselves on one edge of the plateau the Boers did likewise on the other. An animated combat ensued, the Lancers fighting most pluckily. The Boers offered determined resistance, whereon a "pom-pom" was ordered to the rescue of the Lancers, who were losing heavily. This weapon disturbed the efforts of the Dutchmen to sweep onwards, and soon they were put to flight, the "pom-poms" of the British harrying them in their retreat. The cavalry engagement was a pretty affair but costly, the dashing Lancers, enfiladed with a cruel fire, losing one officer, Captain Denny, K.D.G.'s, three wounded, and thirty-two men killed and wounded. The wounded officers were Captain H. F. W. Stanley, 9th Lancers, Lieutenant V. R. Brooke, 9th Lancers, and Lieutenant the Hon. A. W. J. C. Skeffington, 17th Lancers.

General Pole-Carew, whose object was to establish communications with General Rundle, and for that purpose was advancing his division, with baggage train, as quickly as possible, now appeared in the direction of the main kopje, where the Boers for some days had been hiding. Here Roberts's Horse came into action; they located the position, which was shelled with great vigour, while at the base was a containing line of the Warwickshire Regiment, which enabled the General to pass with division and baggage, almost under the nose of the enemy, in perfect safety. The Boers made a struggle to arrest the passage of the column, but it was a feeble one. They opened fire from the ridge where they had first ensconced themselves, and past which General Pole-Carew had to march, but the guns of the 85th Battery made their acquaintance with such scant ceremony and so much warmth that there was a stampede. After a few shots had burst into some groups of Boers they all speedily got out of range, taking with them their baggage and guns.

General Rundle, who as we know was waiting to march on Dewetsdorp, now communicated by heliograph that there were some 7000 of the enemy in his vicinity, and also that the country in front was crowded with low hills in which they might be hidden; but General Pole-Carew proceeded boldly to advance, and in his advance made some very necessary reprisals on such farmers, who, preferring covert-guile to open war, had been found aiding the enemy after receiving lenient treatment at our hands. He had previously set fire to a farmhouse whence, with a white flag flying over it, the Boers on Sunday had fired on our men. The farmers were told they could no longer play their double games, acting as they did at one moment the slim warrior, and the next the pastoral innocent.

Meanwhile General Rundle with some 2500 Boers in front of him was waiting till he should get into touch with General Pole-Carew. He was warned by heliograph of the approach of the 4th Cavalry Brigade and of General French, and throughout the 23rd there was little done save running the gantlet of shells which the Boers persistently fired but without doing serious damage. The Yeomanry, who already had shown remarkable "grit," received considerable attention from the "Creusots" of the enemy, who were apparently holding on to all their eastern positions regardless of the fact that the gigantic prongs of the steel trap which was being prepared for them were shortly about to close. All the forces were now gradually getting in touch with each other, and the Dutchmen's days were numbered. So it was thought on the night of the 23rd. The 24th broke quietly. No shot was fired. Rundle's force swung to the left, pivoted on Chermside, who remained in defence of the position, while the mounted brigade protected the outer flank. In this General French, now arrived from the north, also assisted, and proceeded to turn the enemy's left. The British movements were conducted with due silence and secrecy, they being determined to produce a surprise for the Boers. The surprise "came off," as the saying is, but it was on the wrong side. When the men creeping up the stony kopje came to peer for the enemy in the trenches they found--merely trenches. "Not a bloomin' Boer anywhere," cried a disgusted Tommy, kicking the quiet boulders with a dilapidated boot! The Dutchmen were galloping to Ladybrand. The magnificent web that had been prepared for them was empty.

An officer in the Royal Scots gave some interesting details regarding the part taken by the Third Division in this somewhat complex movement:--

"At this time we heard rumours that one of our mounted companies, the one commanded by Captain Molyneux-Seel, was, together with the Colonial Division, besieged at Wepener. This proved to be correct. At 1.30 A.M. on 12th April we got orders to march at 9 A.M., under General Chermside, who had taken over the command of the Third Division from General Gatacre, towards Dewetsdorp and Wepener, to the relief of the column at Wepener. We reached Reddersburg that afternoon. The rain came on late that evening, and literally flooded us out. Every officer and man was up from midnight, running about trying to keep warm. We had been without tents since 31st March, and are still without them (17th May). On 14th April we moved forward again and reached Rosendal, the scene of the recent disaster to the three companies of the Royal Irish Rifles and Mounted Company of the Northumberland Fusiliers. Graves, shells, cartridges, &c., here showed the tough work they had had. We remained at Rosendal waiting for the Eighth Division to come up until 19th, and had a very wet time of it. We marched again on 19th towards Dewetsdorp, about ten miles, when we went into bivouac. On 20th we moved off at 6 A.M., and after marching some six or seven miles we found the enemy in a position of very great strength covering Dewetsdorp. Our mounted infantry and artillery drove in the advanced posts, and we established ourselves on the Wakkerstroom Hills, in front of the enemy's position. It was then quite dark. We cooked our dinners as best we could, and lay down and slept the sleep of the just. I forgot to say that we found it very difficult to put out our outpost pickets in the dark, and one unfortunate party, belonging to the Worcestershire Regiment, actually walked into the enemy's lines and were captured."

The circumstances of the capture were these. A party of some twenty-five cooks and mates were carrying food to their comrades on the top of a hill. In climbing, dinner in hand, they sought an easy place of ascent, and while doing so, moved too far and found themselves practically in the Boers' arms. Another portion of this unlucky regiment, a few days later, was drawn up for "foot and arms" inspection, and while thus exposed made a target for the enemy, who promptly seized the opportunity and killed two and wounded four of the men. Continuing his story, the officer before quoted said:--

"At 6.15 A.M. on the 21st we were standing under arms, with extra ammunition issued, awaiting orders, when, "boom," the first gun had been fired, and the shell burst some 300 yards to our left. To cut a long story short, the battalion remained in reserve that day with the rest of the brigade, and also the next day, but early on the 23rd we were moved up to the first line. The battalion was on the right of a battery of artillery, behind the crest of the hill on a gentle slope. Except for the men in the trenches our position was unknown to the enemy, but the mere fact of manning the trenches was sufficient to draw fire, and in less than half-an-hour we had four of the men who were with the main body of the battalion behind the brow hit. The bullets flew all round us, and went "phut, phut" into the ground at our feet, and it is strange that more did not find resting-places in our bodies. In half-an-hour we had thrown up parapets in front of each company, behind which the men were safe, and we suffered no more casualties. All that day and the next we remained in this position. It was most interesting watching the shells as they burst amongst our trenches, around the gunners, and over ourselves. The Boers had nine guns, and, I believe, 5000 men. Amongst the guns was a quick-firer, a 9-pounder Krupp gun, a high-velocity gun, and two pom-poms. The last-named are unpleasant to the senses, but do little harm. The noise of the discharge resembles in the distance the knocking at a door, and the men constantly replied, 'Come in,' cheery and fearless fellows that they are! On the early morning of the 25th (?) we missed our usual awakener of guns and pom-poms, and eventually we found the Boers had evacuated their positions, and, alas! had escaped us and Generals French and Hart. We at once pushed forward on to Dewetsdorp."

After all the marching and turning and fighting and manoeuvring the knowing hordes had been able to steal off from every part of their horse-shoe position round Wepener entirely without chastisement! Here were five infantry and three cavalry brigades with more than seventy guns engaged in surrounding them, and yet they had succeeded in slipping through our fingers! Quite quietly, on the night of the 22nd, they had sent off their waggons; on the 23rd they had taken a parting kick at Wepener; and on the 24th they had retreated--"silently stolen away" to Ladybrand--while part of their force before Dewetsdorp, acting as a covering party, had retired on Thabanchu. That we were foiled and fooled may in a measure have been due to some tactical bungling, but certain it was that the Boers had superior advantages, for they were moving in a country entirely friendly to them, were well informed of all our intentions and movements, and were assisted in all their schemes by so-called farmers who, subtle and shifty, had comfortably surrendered the better to engage in covert operations which, while replenishing their pockets, did not imperil their skins! Moreover they escaped scot free, because Lord Roberts was not inclined to fritter more of his troops on side issues while the great object of the campaign, the seizure of Pretoria and the crippling of the Boers for prolonged military operations, was occupying his entire attention. The capture of De Wet's forces, or a part of them, was of secondary importance in comparison to the protection of railway communication with the sea base, and De Wet's minor successes, even when the disasters of Koorn Spruit and Reddersburg were counted among them, were not sufficient to frighten the Chief into a change of his larger strategical design.

Pursuit being useless, General French sent General Brabazon to the relief of Wepener (which was already free), and he himself occupied Dewetsdorp. On the 25th, however, he received orders from Bloemfontein to chase the Boers to Thabanchu, which, at dawn, he proceeded to do, followed later by General Rundle and the Eighth Division. Meanwhile part of the Third Division under Chermside kept the Union Jack floating in Dewetsdorp and watched over the outlying districts. General Pole-Carew, his work in the south done, started for Bloemfontein to prepare for the main advance.

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Then followed a glorious march into Wepener. Generals Hart and Brabant riding to Jammersberg Drift were cheered with enthusiasm, and the former General congratulated the defenders on their dogged pluck, and declared that the credit of the relief was due to General Brabant, "with whom it was an honour to serve." General Brabant, on his side, was loud in praise of the gallant Colonials, and of the assistance given him by the Cape Field Artillery, declaring that the very first time they came into action they saved him at a critical moment. His story merits repetition. He was advancing to the relief of Wepener, and had to take Bester's Kop, a very difficult position indeed, and he had to turn the position and leave his infantry supports a long way behind him and make a wide sweep round. In doing so his force came suddenly upon a body of the enemy within 190 yards of them. For a few minutes the enemy made it very warm. The General called up two guns under Lieutenant Janisch. He knew, he said, that Lieutenant Janisch's gunners had never been in action before, and in the circumstances he was a little doubtful as to how they would behave. But what did Lieutenant Janisch do? He at once set to work, and under a terrible fire, with shrapnel at 650 yards, and any man who knew what that meant, or who had seen it done as he had, would say that it was marvellously well done, with perfect coolness--with the coolness of veterans. In ten minutes Lieutenant Janisch had cleared the hillside. That, said the General, was a grand thing for men to do, men who, many of them, had never seen a shot fired in anger, and he had drawn the attention of the Commander-in-chief to the fact. There were no braver men in the service than the Royal Artillery, but the R.A. could not possibly have behaved better than the Cape Field Artillery did, and his only regret was that he could not get the other guns under Major Inglesby.

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The Colonials afterwards proceeded to join General Rundle's force, as the enemy, to avoid being caught, was now "on the run." Flying north-eastward along the Ladybrand Road some three or four thousand of them went as fast as legs, equine and human, would carry them. They evacuated the kopjes near the waterworks, they bolted from the neighbourhood of Dewetsdorp, they rushed from Jammersberg Drift--in fact, as the jovial Colonials said, "the enemy conjugated the verb to skedaddle" from all positions in a masterly manner. They were getting good practice, but they began to fear that there were others who might learn to cut across country besides themselves.

On the 28th General Brabazon, having completed his work at Wepener, moved _via_ Dewetsdorp on the way towards Thabanchu. As he was nearing this place he suddenly became aware that a British convoy had been caught in between the hills and was being briskly shelled by the Boers. Promptly he bribed a Kaffir to worm through the Boer lines and convey to the sturdy Yeomanry who were defending the convoy, the advice to hold on till he should advance to their aid. The message was delivered, and the Yeomanry stuck out manfully until, at dawn, the General and his Yeomanry came upon the scene. Thereupon the Boers, with their usual astuteness, made off, while rescuers and rescued alike pursued their way in triumph to Thabanchu.

Soon Wepener was deserted. The British in that locality took refuge in Mafeteng, while the troops which had evacuated the place were sweeping up the Free State after the Federals. These "slimly" enough were getting away with herds, and stores, and guns without being caught in any very huge numbers. A large party of Free Staters had taken up a truculent position to the north of Thabanchu Mountain, for the purpose of protecting their fellows and covering the withdrawal of their waggon convoys from the south, and they succeeded in taking with them the twenty-five prisoners of the Worcesters, who had unwarily dropped into their clutches at Dewetsdorp. The Transvaalers, on the other hand, at the instance of President Kruger, were trekking towards the north in order to save their energies for coming operations across the Vaal, but they took good care before leaving to make themselves as obnoxious as possible to such farmers as had surrendered to the British Government.

THE TENTACLES AT WORK

We left General Ian Hamilton on April 22nd, starting from Bloemfontein to take possession of the waterworks at Sanna's Post. His force was composed of about 2000 Light Horse, Australians and Mounted Infantry, and one battery of Horse Artillery; but following him closely, as has been said, came the Ninth Division, consisting of Smith-Dorrien's and MacDonald's Brigades. On reaching the waterworks the General decided, after reconnoitring, that they were but weakly held, and proceeded to attack the enemy, drive him into the distant hills, and recapture the waterworks and the drift over the river. The enemy had removed the eccentrics from the waterworks, thinking to paralyse British operations for a month or two, but it soon became evident that the mechanists in Bloemfontein were prepared to manufacture new ones at short notice. The drift was occupied on the 24th, and the enemy, for reasons above mentioned, made his way to a formidable position behind Thabanchu, whither it was decided he must be chased, and speedily.

On the same day 800 Boers were found at Israel's Poort, some seven miles from Thabanchu. Their demeanour was aggressive. They were posted on a semicircle of small kopjes, carefully entrenched and protected by two guns and barbed-wire entanglements. General Ian Hamilton decided that the Dutchmen must be removed, and removed they were, mainly by the gallantry of the Canadians and the Shropshires, supported by the Grahamstown Horse. With remarkable celerity the hills were cleared and the Boers driven off. The Canadians, commanded by Colonel Otter, approached by clever successive rushes to the foot of the kopjes before the Boers opened fire. Then, in the midst of a sharp volley from the enemy they came on the barbed-wire entanglements, but, undaunted, cut or cleared them, and with a gallant rush ascended the hill. With great ingenuity they took whatever cover they could, while from above, the storm from the hostile Mausers--which during the engagement had doubled in number--grew hotter and hotter. Colonel Otter was struck in the neck, but pursued his way, cheering on his gallant men. Presently another bullet found him out; tore from his shoulder its badge, but did no further damage. Still up they all went, with a glorious, an inspiriting yell, which apparently sent the Federals scudding into space. The crest of the hill was now the property of the Canadians and the Grahamstown Volunteers, who unfortunately lost a valuable officer--Captain Gethin. The Canadian losses were not so heavy as might have been expected, owing to the skill with which their advance was arranged and carried out; but the splendid turning movement was not without cost to others. During the fight Major Marshall (Grahamstown Mounted Rifles) was severely wounded, and also Lieutenants Murray, Winnery, Barry, Hill, and Rawal. Colonel Otter (Canadian Regiment), as has been said, was only slightly injured. The same night General Hamilton occupied Thabanchu.

On the 25th General French, as we know, had received orders from head-quarters to pursue the enemy in his retreat northwards to Thabanchu. Here the cavalry, covering Rundle's advance, arrived at midday on Friday the 27th to find General Ian Hamilton engaged with a horde of Boers temporarily routed, but holding a threatening position to the east of the place. An effort was made to dislodge the Dutchmen entirely. Cavalry and Mounted Infantry were sent to either flank, while the infantry advanced in front. But the mounted force was small, and moreover dreadfully fatigued (they having endured considerable hardships--half-rations among them--in the hurried march to Thabanchu), while the Boer position, as usual, was extensive, and therefore the cavalry was recalled. The Boers followed up the retirement with great skill, pressing so closely on the troops as to cause considerable anxiety, particularly for the safety of Kitchener's Horse, which did not get clear away till midnight. It was evident that the foe was bent on making valiant and despairing efforts to arrest the progress of the troops towards the east. From this part of the Orange Free State, in the neighbourhood of Ladybrand and Ficksburg, they drew their corn and other supplies, and these they were determined not to relinquish without a struggle.

During the day's engagement Lieutenant Geary, Hampshire Regiment, was killed, and Captain Warren, of Kitchener's Horse, was severely wounded.

Meanwhile General Rundle with the Eighth Division had arrived from Dewetsdorp. The advance of Generals Rundle and Chermside towards the north had had the effect of a vast sweeping machine. The country south and east had gradually been scoured of the enemy, with the result that he was gathered--and very cleverly gathered!--in a heap in the hills around Thabanchu. Some of the Transvaalers, however, were returning to their farms, while others were scuttling across country, retiring "the better to jump," as the French would say.

General Pole-Carew's march and prompt measures were also producing excellent effects, and helping to correct the misunderstandings created in the ignorant mind by British leniency. Till now the Boers had not been taught that there was necessity for honour even among foes, but now the General took drastic measures to show burghers on whose farms he found rifles that British "magnanimity" was not without its limits. Wherever these turncoats were found their horses and cattle were captured, their meal and provisions destroyed or carried off. In this way the delinquents were punished, and the Federal Army was crippled in the matter of supplies. Generals Pole-Carew and Stephenson, in conjunction with General Rundle's advance, and acting on information from the Intelligence Department, had made a round of certain farms in the district of Leeuw Kop, and everywhere propagated their wholesome lesson. The women and children, however, were treated with great consideration. There were, of course, tragic moments with these weaklings, whose notions of morality in the art of war were nil. All that interested them was to preserve their homesteads, and sell at as profitable rates as possible their goods to the first British buyer who had money in his pocket. They saw no sin in declaring they had no concealed ammunition when the place was stocked with it, or in handing out a few disabled rifles and burying the better ones for use "on a rainy day." Only when General Pole-Carew insisted that the Boers should give up with their Mausers a reasonable amount of ammunition, on pain of being seized as prisoners of war, were Mausers and ammunition in plenty forthcoming. There was now no doubt that these prompt measures helped to clear the military situation with astonishing rapidity. A typical conversation which conveyed a world of instruction took place during one of General Pole-Carew's invasions. A young Transvaal prisoner, who was standing among the confiscated goods from many farms, was questioned how long he thought the war would last. He cast a rueful glance at the commandeered effects, and said, "Not long, if this continues!" General Pole-Carew could have had no greater compliment to his acumen in dealing with what for more than a month past had been a perplexing problem!

So far, things were progressing favourably. At Bloemfontein there had been some fear of a water famine, but the recent rains had beneficently filled the dams, and good drinking-water was obtained by boring. The repairs of the damage done by the Boers to the waterworks went on apace, and at the same time arrangements for the general advance northwards were approaching completion. It was decided that the task of continuing the sweeping operations in the south-eastern corner of the Free State should be assigned to General Sir Leslie Rundle, and to this end he was to be left at Thabanchu in command of the Eighth Division, plus some 800 Imperial Yeomanry under General Brabazon, while Generals French and Hamilton proceeded north.

Thabanchu, on account of its strategical importance, both in view of its proximity to Bloemfontein and of checking further raids, the British determined to hold, and hold firmly, for the future. Accordingly at dawn on the 28th General French directed a great movement for the purpose of entirely routing the Boers from its neighbourhood. This was easier in conception than accomplishment. General Gordon's Cavalry Brigade moved round the left, the Mounted Infantry with General Smith-Dorrien's Infantry Brigade assailed the right, while General Rundle's somewhat worn-out division held the front of the enemy's position. The Boer left was so strong that General Gordon had to content himself with merely hammering at it, but the Boer right crumbled away before General Hamilton's advance, and opened a road for General Dickson's Cavalry Brigade, which, once having dashed through, sent the Boers scampering like goats from ridge to ridge. In a few moments it seemed that, with the British in the rear of their hill, the Dutchmen would be enclosed. Quickly came General Hamilton with such troops as he could muster to effect this desired consummation; but more quickly still, and with surprising regularity and precision, the Boer hordes, moving with such discipline as to be mistaken for a British mounted brigade, marched off to the north-east, while others of their huge numbers returned in force, harassed General Dickson's left and rear, and forced him in his turn quickly to retire. Thus ended a laudable effort.

The operations around Thabanchu and Ladybrand had therefore to be briskly continued, for at this time General Rundle stood in hourly danger of being invested, and General French with his flying warriors in a region of hill and dale was somewhat handicapped in his ability to help him. Still he kept a magnetic eye on the enemy which served to hold him, while General Ian Hamilton, moving on the left, prepared if possible to proceed forwards and join the main advance.