The horses of the burghers were in a very weak condition; and as the Boer is only half a man without his horse—for he relies on it to get him out of any and every difficulty—I had now to advance, and see if I could not find some means of providing my men with horses and saddles. I went on this errand in the direction of Zandriviersbrug to the farm of Mr. Jacobus Bornman.
Here, however, I divided the commandos. General Froneman, with the Vrede and Heilbron burghers, I sent back to cross the railway lines between the Doorn and Zand Rivers, with orders to operate in the northern districts of the State. I took with me Commandant Lategan of Colesberg, with about one hundred and twenty men, and Commandant Jan Theron, with eighty men, and proceeded on the 10th or 11th of November across the railway line between Doorn River and Theronskoppen, with the intention of executing my plan of making an inroad into the Cape Colony.
We wrecked the railway line and blew up a few small bridges, and then proceeded in the direction of Doornberg, where I met Commandant Hasebroek and his burghers. I sent orders to General Philip Botha to come with the Harrismith and Kroonstad burghers, which he had with him. They arrived about the 13th of November.
We then marched, with about fifteen hundred men, in the direction of Springhaansnek, to the east of Thaba'Nchu. At the northern point of Korannaberg, Commandant Hasebroek remained behind, waiting for some of his men to join him.
We took with us one Krupp with sixteen rounds—that was our whole stock of gun ammunition!
By the afternoon of the 16th we had advanced as far as Springhaansnek. The English had built a line of forts from Bloemfontein to Thaba'Nchu and Ladybrand. And just at the point where we wanted to pass them, there were two forts, one to the south and the other to the north, about 2,000 paces from each other, on the shoulder of the mountain.
My first step was to order the Krupp to fire six shots on one of these forts; and, very much to the credit of my gunners, almost everyone of these shots found its mark. Then I raced through.
All went well. The only man hit was Vice-Assistant-Commandant Jan Meijer, of Harrismith, who received a wound in the side. He was shot while sitting in a cart, where he had been placed owing to a wound which he had received a few days before, in the course of a hot engagement, which General Philip Botha had had at Ventersburg Station.
We now rode on through Rietpoort towards Dewetsdorp, staying, during the night of the 17th of November, at a place on the Modder River. The following day we only went a short distance, and halted at the farm of Erinspride.
On the 19th I made a point of advancing during the day, so as to be observed by the garrison at Dewetsdorp.