Amsterdam was occupied by Smith-Dorrien on the 14th, and on the 16th General French, with the troops of Knox and Pulteney, made his entry into Piet Retief, where the landdrost at once surrendered. Rains had now made the already almost impassable country into one mighty morass, and the mists, fogs, and torrents rendered the position of the troops a critical one. Great consternation prevailed as to the fate of Colonel Burn-Murdoch, on whom all hopes were set. He had been charged by the General Officer Commanding in Natal with the duty of conveying, from Utrecht, food to the force, and had apparently got lost in the mists and bog, for not a sign of his anxiously awaited convoy could be discovered. This convoy had left Newcastle on the 12th, but it was not till the 27th that its welcome supplies reached the famishing troops, who, from the 20th, had had to subsist entirely on the country, while the horses ate grass only. The rivers had by this time become raging torrents, and the roads, quagmires. The Boer farms had already been cleared out, and only by offering a sovereign for a 200-lb. bag of mealies could the natives be prevailed upon to unearth their buried treasure. The ration during this lean period sounds distinctly unpleasing: three-quarters of a pound of mealie meal (ground in the steam mill at Piet Retief), and an ounce of mealie coffee (an infusion of the same meal roasted and ground), made the sole variation to a diet of saltless meat. The men nevertheless maintained their health and cheeriness, their constant hauls conducing much to their enlivenment, and the number in hospital was abnormally low. Still there was vast annoyance in the fact that they were unable to be up and doing.
A new line of supply was opened on the 28th, when Colonel Bullock started from Volkrust to Piet Retief with a convoy of ninety-one waggons. Though this reached its destination in safety on the 5th of March, it was not till he returned with a second load, on the 21st of March, that sufficient oats could reach Piet Retief to enable the force to move. Despite the inconvenience of delay a tremendous amount of work was carried on, the troops pushing continually into Swaziland and tackling Boers who struggled to slip through the British line, and many captures were made both north and south of the border. The surrounding country was thoroughly cleared, and many guns and much ammunition were brought to light. The Engineers also worked like Trojans, improving the roads and bridging the numerous, now swollen, rivers and spruits that abounded in the district. As an instance of the force of the unceasing floods between the 6th and 13th of March, it may be mentioned that the Assegai, which is normally fordable, averaged 12 feet in depth, and on the 12th rose to 18 feet.
A NIGHT ATTACK: DEFENDING A TRAIN DERAILED BY THE BOERS
Drawing by Frank Dadd, R.I.
The position of the forces on the 1st of March stood thus:—
General Smith-Dorrien (who had moved south from Amsterdam on the 25th of February) was now eight miles north of Piet Retief, while his mounted troops, under Colonel Henry, had penetrated into Swaziland. At Piet Retief was General French, with Colonels Knox and Pulteney, some of whose mounted troops, under Colonel Rimington, were covering the road south-west of Luneberg as far as Schihoek, whence Colonel Burn-Murdoch carried on the line to Utrecht. Colonels Campbell and Allenby were twelve and seventeen miles south-east of Piet Retief respectively, Colonel Alderson was at Marienthal, and General Dartnell at Intombi River. Colonel Bullock was at Wakkerstroom.
Soon the Utrecht-Luneberg line was abandoned as a line of supply, and the troops were based on Utrecht. On the 18th of March General Dartnell occupied the village of Paul Pietersburg, and Colonel Rimington seized the stone bridge over the Pivaan River running south of it, while Colonel Alderson built a pontoon bridge over the Pongola River at Yagd Drift.
On the 21st General French, with Colonels Knox and Pulteney, moved on, leaving General Smith-Dorrien in command north of the Pongola. Here the latter, with the columns of Colonels Campbell and Allenby, held a line from Langdraai Drift, in the Lower Pongolo, by Platnek, Mahamba, Zaudbauk, and Piet Retief, to Yagd Drift, so as to prevent Boers from breaking north and north-west.