Mr. Blundell, of the Morning Post, related a characteristic anecdote which served to show the debonnair spirit, the coolness and aplomb of some of the doughty band: “In the midst of the rush past some Kaffir kraals a goose waddled out through the line, and a man, not too preoccupied to forget the future, lowered his bayonet, swung the bird over his shoulder in his stride, and took possession of the captured position with his dinner on his back.” The goose was eaten in face of the frowning Wolhunter’s Kop, which next day, the 7th, fell into the hands of the British through a series of ingenious martial manœuvres, assisted by the brilliant execution of the 38th Battery R.F.A. and the C.I.V. Battery under Major M’Micking. The decisive move in the operations was brought about by the splendid persistence of the Royal Irish, who, extended in three lines, stormed a formidable kopje amidst cascades of fire, dropping, and sweating, and shouting, yet never halting till they had reached the crest, captured it, and in addition to it a prize—a gun, one of our own lost in the fatal affair at Stormberg. By midday the enemy was in full retreat, and the town was occupied by the combined forces.
The casualty list on the first day, considering the magnitude of the operations and the strength of the positions assailed, was not large: Thirty-two men of the Munster Fusiliers were wounded and one man missing; seven men of the Yorkshire Light Infantry wounded; one man of the 58th Company Imperial Yeomanry was killed, and two men wounded. The wounded officers were: Lieutenant A. H. D. West, 8th Battery Royal Field Artillery; Captain T. W. Williams, 5th Volunteer Battalion Liverpool Regiment (attached Royal Irish Regiment); Captain G. D. M’Pherson, 1st Munster Fusiliers; Captain W. C. Oates, 1st Munster Fusiliers; Lieutenant Conway, 1st Munster Fusiliers; Second Lieutenant Boyd Rochford, 4th Scottish Rifles. The following casualty occurred on the 7th: Captain J. B. H. Alderson, 1st Royal Irish Rifles, wounded (since dead).
On the morrow, Broadwood’s Brigade, preceding General Hunter, arrived.
After this, by systematic and strategic pressure, the Free Staters were being pushed off their impregnable heights to a mountainous place called the Brandwater Basin, some fifteen miles square, in the region of the Caledon River, leaving us in possession of practically the last of their towns—Lindley, Bethlehem, Biddulph’s Berg, and Senekal. Bethlehem was occupied by General Paget, Biddulph’s Berg by General Clements, Senekal by General Rundle, and thus a cordon was supposed to be drawn round the wily enemy. Unluckily, on the 15th, between Bethlehem and Ficksburg, a small gap existed—a gap which but for delay in regard to his supplies would have been held by General Paget—and through this loophole, Stabbert’s Nek, that very slippery fish De Wet contrived to slide, taking with him 1500 men and five guns. This was unfortunate, as the escaped enemy threatened to become a serious diversion from the business in hand, particularly as no general advance could be made till the necessary convoys had arrived for the enormous amount of troops forming the cordon.
Nevertheless while General Hunter, on one side, actively engaged in reconnoitring the positions held by the remainder of De Wet’s forces between Bethlehem, Ficksburg, Fouriesburg, Retief’s and Stabbert’s Neks, General Little (temporarily commanding the 3rd Brigade) pursued De Wet himself, and the force that had recently broken through the cordon was found to be hovering between Bethlehem and Lindley. A smart contest ensued, which lasted till dusk, when the Boers broke up into two parties and again vanished, leaving several dead and two wounded upon the field.
On the same day, 19th, General Broadwood, commanding 2nd Cavalry Brigade, who had been following up the fleeing Boers since the 16th, spent some hours in an animated engagement near Palmietfontein, between Ventersburg and Lindley. The enemy, with swelled numbers, and said to be accompanied by Steyn and one of the De Wets, had been wheeling round the railway communications as moths circle around a chandelier. Having caught them here General Broadwood made a brisk fight of it, but the Boers under cover of darkness evaded pursuit. On the following morning it was found that they had doubled back to Paardekraal during the night. The line on the north of Honing Spruit showed signs of their depredations, and on the western side the telegraph wires to Pretoria viâ Potchefstroom were cut. During the fight Major Moore, West Australian Mounted Infantry, was killed, and Lieutenant the Hon. F. Stanley, 10th Hussars, Lieutenant Tooth, Australian Contingent, and fourteen men were wounded. General Broadwood proceeded to Vaal Krantz, which place was reached on the 22nd.
PRINSLOO’S LAST STAND IN THE VALLEY OF THE LITTLE CALEDON: THE BOERS’ POSITION ON THE HEIGHTS
From a Sketch by M. F. R.
Meanwhile the desperadoes, routed on all sides, made a rush upon the line near Roodeval, tore up the rails, and succeeded in capturing on the night of the 21st, between Kroonstad and the Vaal, a supply train with two officers and a hundred men of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. De Wet’s force, doubtless well pleased with itself, then moved viâ Vredefort in a north-easterly direction, quickly pursued by General Broadwood, who, in his turn, was followed by General Little. The former officer succeeded on the 23rd in capturing some of De Wet’s waggons at Vredefort, at which place he halted till joined by General Little. On the 25th De Wet, ubiquitous, was found posted on some comfortable heights at Reitzburg, some seven miles south of the Vaal, while General Broadwood, like a cat watching a bird, was preparing to spring. But the bird was too wary, and kept his wings flapping for flight at the first provocation. Indeed, he had dodges at his fingers’ end, and tried a new variety every time he was warned of the British approach. One of these was at a certain place to keep a dozen or so Boer hats, which had previously been strung on a line, continually bobbing over a certain entrenched spot in order to impress the British and lead them astray, while he and his horde took an opposite direction.
While the chase was going forward some fighting took place, in which the Berkshire Yeomanry, the Imperial Bushmen, and the 38th Field Battery took part. They disputed the possession of a high hill to west of Bethlehem, but as possession makes nine points of the law, the Boers, posted in strength upon the hill, caused the small force to retire. During the retirement one officer and nine men were lost. General Bruce Hamilton also engaged in some active work, which cost him three of the Cameron Highlanders, whose regiment, assisted by 500 Mounted Infantry and the 82nd Battery, succeeded in securing a strong position on Spitzray. Captain Keith Hamilton, Oxford Light Infantry, was wounded severely, and Captain Brown, Captain A. C. M’Lean, and Lieutenant Stewart, Cameron Highlanders, Captain E. S. C. Hobson, Mounted Infantry Worcester Regiment, and thirteen Cameron Highlanders were all more or less severely injured.