With Roberts to Pretoria: A Tale of The South African War

by G. A. Henty

All but two of Yorke's Kaffirs who had been away came into camp after the battle was over. They had left the waggons while the fight was going on, and had hidden among the rocks until night fell. None had gained any information as to the Boer position on the Modder. None of the Boers whom they had heard conversing had been there. They had been told that the British would never get across the river, and even if they did so they would assuredly never be able to break through the strong position at Magersfontein, where Cronje intended to arrest their further advance. They had heard that no natives had been allowed to accompany the Boers who were posted on the Modder River, and that all new-comers had been directed to Graspan, a step which Yorke concluded was designed to prevent spies or well-wishers to the British from seeing the preparations that were made. He reported as usual to the quartermaster-general.

"It is a pity that we can't get some news as to what they are doing, Mr. Harberton, but certainly you have done all that is possible that way."

"I will try and go in disguise, sir, if you will give me leave."

"I do not think there is any chance whatever that your attempt would be successful. It is evident that Cronje is determined that his plans shall be kept secret. I have no doubt that you could, as you have already done, join any commando you wished, with a fair chance of a plausible story being believed. But the fact that all the new arrivals were sent on here, and that even Kaffir drivers are not allowed to approach the river, shows that no ordinary story would pass muster for a moment. You would simply be going to your death."

"It has been tougher work than we expected, Harberton," one of the officers of the Tigers said to Yorke the next day. "Of course we thrashed them, but the loss has been heavy, and as these kopjes are scattered all over the country, we may have to fight any number of battles like this. You see, the beggars only have to ride off on their ponies and take up a fresh position; necessarily we are kept at a distance out of fire; and before we can take up the pursuit and cross the hills they have been defending, they have got a couple of miles start of us. Besides, their horses are ever so much fresher than ours, so they could go on at that game for a very long time, and there can be no doubt their losses are much lighter than ours as we are always fighting in the open, while they are so hidden behind rocks that we don't get sight of them until they begin to bolt. However, we shall be stronger to-morrow, for I hear that the Argyle and Sutherlands will be up. That will a good deal more than fill up the vacancies caused by our casualties at Belmont and here."

The next day was passed in quiet, but on the 27th, after the wounded had been sent off by train, the force moved forward to the pools of Honeynest, eight miles south of the Modder. The march had been short, for the heat was great, and after halting the troops revelled in the luxury of a bath, the fact that the water was thick and muddy scarcely detracting from their enjoyment. The next morning one of Rimington's Guides came in and reported that he had been fired at from an apparently empty house near the river, and half an hour later another of Yorke's Kaffirs came in and told Yorke that the Boers with whom he had been, had made a long detour after the battle and had arrived at the Spytfontein kopjes. He found that there were very strong works there, but that they were not strongly occupied; and he had learned that a part of the force had some days before moved towards the Modder, but that no communication was allowed between them and Spytfontein.

Yorke at once went and reported the news. "That is important," the officer said. "I shall be glad if you will come with me at once to Lord Methuen, and you may as well bring your native with you, the general may wish to question him further."

The general indeed considered the information of such importance that he sent at once for one of Rimington's Guides, who spoke Kaffir perfectly, and through him asked the native many questions. There can be no doubt that the news that the main body of the Boers had at any rate moved forward towards the Modder influenced him in deciding upon the course he adopted. It had before been open to him to leave a battalion to hold the railway bridge, to prevent any Boers who might be there from crossing, and so cover the line of communication, while with the rest of his force he made a detour through Jacobsdal, and, making a wide sweep, as French's cavalry did later on, come down upon Kimberley from the north; but the fact that a large main Boer army was massed, if not at the Modder, at some place near, altered the situation. The river was fordable at many points, and were he to move away Cronje might throw his whole force across, crush the detached battalion, and take possession of the railway. It was, therefore, imperative that the direct advance upon Kimberley should be adopted.

A quarter of an hour afterwards the general, with two staff officers, rode down to within a short distance of the Modder, but all appeared still there. The banks were fringed with bushes; a few horses, doubtless belonging to a party of Boer scouts, grazed quietly near these. A mile away to the right were the hotels and gardens of the village; far beyond them were the hills of Spytfontein and Magersfontein. There was high ground two or three thousand yards behind the river. To the right of the railway the Riet River joined the Modder. No signs of any large body of the enemy, no earth-works or other preparations for defence, could be perceived. Although he and his staff were within easy range of the river-bank not a shot was fired, and Lord Methuen came to the conclusion that the passage would be opposed at most by a comparatively small body of the Boers, and that not until he had advanced some distance would he come upon a position where Cronje was prepared to give battle. Accordingly he decided to lose no time.