A West Pointer with the Boers /

by John Y. Fillmore Blake

Along the line of the Magaliesburg Mountains a few shots were daily exchanged between the English and the Boers, the English in the forts and the Boers in the foothills, but no actual fighting took place. General Beyers in the north was inactive, too, after he and General Plumer had had some hot fights, when the latter came to occupy the little town of Pietersburg, 180 miles north of Pretoria.

General Beyers had but a small command, but he kept General Plumer's force busy throwing up earthworks and preparing all sorts of defences. General Beyers placed his headquarters between Pietersburg and Pretoria and not far from the railway line, that he might continue to trouble the big force at Pietersburg.

Now I come to the month of April, when sufficient horses, mules and men had arrived from the United States of America for Lord Kitchener to put sixty-three mobile columns in the field, so the reader may be sure that the Boers had to make use of all of their natural wits to outwit the English. They did well, covered themselves with glory and again put the great English army to shame. The reader must remember at this time the actual fighting Boers numbered very nearly 30,000 men and no more. There were also on the farms several thousand women and old men, non-combatants, and children. I hope this will be remembered, for now comes the most interesting and marvelous part of the war.

During the next twelve months, the wonderful fighting qualities of the real fighting Boer came out and astonished the world, while the English army by its pitiful stupidity and unworthiness, becomes immortalized in the history of a fast declining and degenerated Empire. General Ben Viljoen and "Fighting Bill," General Muller, learned that a large convoy was leaving Machadadorp on the Delagoa railway line for Lydenburg, where there was a large English command. They resolved to try to take it, and with nearly 500 fine soldiers and determined men they left their laager, marched about thirty miles and concealed themselves near the main road to Lydenburg. At last, after waiting a day and a night, the convoy with six or seven hundred escort came in sight, and all the boys gazed at it with eager eyes. Nearer and nearer it came, till it came too near and the boys could not wait any longer. Off they went for it, fired a few shots, the escort fled, and the boys brought back about 100 loaded wagons with them. I tell you, the Tommies don't like the looks of the Boers when they come fast, and they put themselves out of danger as quickly as their horses can take them. Once again the English have supplied the Johannesburg commando with food, clothing and ammunition.

General Chris. Botha in the Vryheid district, like General Viljoen and General Muller, helps himself to a convoy that plentifully supplies him with all that is necessary in the way of food, clothing and ammunition, but the escort were all fortunate enough to escape.

Commandant Grobler ran against a large column of English five times his number, gave them a good short fight and then retreated as rapidly as he could. General Louis Botha and General Chris. Botha attacked a column 3,000 strong at Spitz Kop near Ermelo and kept these 3,000 Tommies moving lively all day. I really believe the English cavalry would do well if so many of them did not fall off when at a swift pace, and if they would not stampede and every man run for his life because a shell exploded near them. Here I saw over 600 cavalry put to flight by one shell from a French gun so directed by Major Pretorius that it struck and exploded in their midst. Major Pretorius had about twenty men with him, but the 600 Tommies had not lost any Boer guns and were not looking for any. As this body of 600 cavalry fled, several troopers fell off their horses and followed their fast flying comrades on foot. If the cavalry of other European countries is as bad as the English cavalry, my advice to them is to fight shy of the American cavalry—if it comes to a fight. This column intended to camp near Ermelo, but concluded that it was too warm for them and went several miles towards Carolina before going into camp.

Now there was a rest in this part of the world for about two weeks, and then, like a swarm of bees, the English columns fairly covered the whole high veldt, fifteen columns having shown up at one time. This was on the 29th of the month, so I will wait until the next month, May, to tell all that happened.

On this very day Major Pretorius, Gustave Preller and myself started on a round trip of 480 miles to the Western Transvaal with despatches for General de la Rey. We saw something, and before I forget it I must tell our experience. It was a perilous journey, but we felt confident that we would deliver the despatches and return to General Louis Botha with the replies. With a cart and four mules driven by a Pondo Kaffir, Kleinveld by name, two pack horses, and three riding horses, we started. On arriving at Olifantsfontein, about twenty miles from the Johannesburg-Pretoria railway line, we learned that it would be impossible to keep the cart with us because the English had every crossing so well guarded.

We decided to leave it, its Kaffir driver and the young burgher, Van Rensberg, and go ahead with the two pack horses. Young Van Rensberg, a brave and noble boy, was instructed to await our return, but if the English should show up before we did, he was to use his own judgment and save himself, cart and mules. Off we went, and on reaching a ridge about nine miles from the railway line we stopped, brought out our field glasses and found that the English were numerous all along the line. But we must pass through, and that was all there was to it; so we decided to pass the line very near to Olifantsfontein, because the English wouldn't think for a moment that any Boers would dare to take such desperate chances. We waited till the sun was down. It was the 3rd of May and the full moon came up in all her glory just as the sun dropped below the horizon. It seemed to us that it was as light as day, but go we must, and we did go. At about eight o'clock p.m. Major Pretorius said, "There is a line," and there it was. Cautiously we approached it, then crossed it and smiled a heavenly smile as we looked at the Tommies 600 yards away at the station, smoking, telling jokes and laughing by their camp fires. They had no guards out, and we passed by them without interruption, not seeing any trouble ahead. We rode on for a mile, stopped and rested our horses for fifteen minutes and then went on our way to the six-mile-spruit near Pretoria. We rode till one o'clock a.m. and we knew that we were near the Pretoria-Rustenberg main road, so we decided to stop, sleep until daylight and then hasten to Schurweburg, a farm settlement just twelve miles west of Pretoria. We hobbled our horses and went to sleep on the dry grass.

Just at daylight Major Pretorius stirred us up, and we caught, saddled and packed our horses and travelled at a gallop, because we were very near the English forts on the hill between us and Pretoria. Just as the sun rose we were crossing an arroya (a spruit), and Preller discovered a long canvas bag, well filled, by the roadside. It bore the name of one of Kitchener's scouts and had evidently fallen from a wagon during the night. The numerous horse and wagon tracks convinced us that we were very near an English command and therefore we must proceed very cautiously.