General Broadwood was preparing to strike camp. It was then that I told my men to allow the British troops to get to close quarters and "hands-up" them, without wasting a single bullet.
Then our guns began to fire.
The result was a scene of confusion. Towards us, over the brow of the hill, came the waggons pell-mell, with a few carts moving rapidly in front. When the first of these reached the spruit its occupants—a man with a woman beside him—became aware that something was wrong.
I was standing at the top of the drift with Commandants Fourie and Nel. I immediately ordered two of my adjutants to mount the cart and to sit at the driver's side.
The other carts came one after the other into the drift, and I ordered them to follow close behind the first cart, at the same time warning the occupants that if they gave any signal to the enemy, they would be shot.
The carts were filled with English from Thaba'Nchu. I was very glad that the women and children should thus reach a place of safety, before the fighting began.
So speedily did the carts follow each other that the English had no suspicion of what was occurring, and very shortly the soldiers began to pour into the drift in the greatest disorder. As soon as they reached the stream they were met by the cry of "Hands up!"
Directly they heard the words, a forest of hands rose in the air.
More troops quickly followed, and we had disarmed two hundred of them before they had time to know what was happening. The discipline among the burghers was fairly satisfactory until the disarming work began. If my men had only been able to think for themselves, they would have thrown the rifles on the bank as they came into their hands, and so would have disarmed far more of the English than they succeeded in doing. But, as it was, the burghers kept on asking:
"Where shall I put this rifle, General? What have I to do with this horse?"