South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 7 (of 8) / The Guerilla War, from February 1901 to the Conclusion of Hostilities

by Louis Creswicke

OPERATIONS NEAR HONING SPRUIT AND THE LOSBERG—LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GARRATT

In August, Colonel Garratt, who was following in rear of General Elliot’s movement on the Modder (see p. 89), marched from the junction of the Vet and Zand Rivers to Bultfontein. Here, on the 12th, he encountered a band of guerillas, took two and killed two, and pursued the rest as far as the banks of the Zand River. Here he lost them, for horse flesh could do no more. Turning, he veered north towards Honing Spruit. In this direction, near the junction of the Rhenoster and Honing Spruit, was said to be the laager of Spanneberg, and consequently a force under Colonel the Hon. H. White (300 mounted men and 30 Burgher Police) was detached to deal with him. Through the night of the 18th the troops marched warily yet rapidly towards their prey, fearing that at any moment rumour of their approach might render the expedition—as these expeditions were so likely to be—futile. But no; by dawn the sleeping gang was surrounded; they opened their eyes to the consciousness that a small forest of British rifles had grown up around them, and that efforts of defence were useless. They had to deal with men who were more than their match—Simpson of the New Zealand Regiment, Quintal of the New South Wales Bushmen, and other splendid fellows before whom they were only too glad to run! One Boer lost his life in the scrimmage, twenty-five were made prisoners, and Steyn, late Landdrost of Vredefort, was among them. Carts, waggons, horses, cattle too, were taken possession of, and the smart little force, after having covered 56 miles in 36 hours, returned to headquarters, duly elated with their prize. It was now necessary to search in the region of the Losberg for fugitive bands, and to this end Colonel Garratt on the 21st crossed the Vaal at Lindique Drift. The mounted troops were eternally spying and scouring hither and thither, and their activity was not in vain. In the distance on the morning of the 24th loomed what appeared to be a convoy—a convoy moving towards Buffelshoek. In an instant the trackers were after it, and before long the hostile gang was caught, dispersed, their precious freight taken, and with it eight prisoners, carts, oxen, cattle, and horses. With this extra burden on their hands, the party, fatigued after the chase, were, as may be imagined, almost at the mercy of fate. Fate, as it happened, was capricious. Such of the Boers as had contrived to escape gave warning of the perilous position of the British force, and at noon returned with a party of 300 of their fellows, who had been collected from the skirts of the Gatsrand. A vigorous fight ensued. The Boers, doughty always, were now grown dashing, the spur of famine driving them to the valour of despair. Between both was the prize—the prize to be held by those who had won it; by now, infinitely more precious than in the winning—the prize to be recaptured by those who had all the calls of the flesh to prompt the spirit to battle and retaliation. This was indeed a tug of war. Till five of the afternoon—from noon till five—fought those men. The Boers, fresh from the hills, hungering with a mighty hunger for their precious convoy—the British, worn with the long rush since daylight and the previous fight, but holding on, like the never-say-die fellows they are, till the desperadoes were at length driven off in the direction of the Vaal. But this engagement was costly, for one officer and one man were killed, and two men were wounded.

This brilliant little force, which was covering the establishment of posts by the South African Constabulary, two days later made another successful night march from the Losberg to Leeuwpoort. More prizes of horses, mules, cattle, and prisoners—numbering thirteen—were the fruit of their pluck and perseverance, and in the net they had the satisfaction of discovering a nephew of General Delarey, a person who counted for considerably more than the poor tramps who had joined the guerilla proceedings for reasons of mere bellicose vagrancy.

On the 2nd of September Colonel Garratt marched to Meyerton and Vereening, and from thence moved by rail to Paardekop Station on the Standerton line. This was a precautionary measure, for rumour now pointed to possible raids on the Natal border, and to frustrate any concentration of hostile bodies Colonel Garratt was to commence working from Paardekop towards Wakkerstroom.