Louis Creswicke

“ If you allow burghers to carry rifles after surrender you will have petty revolts for the next ten years. There is no need of a Mauser or a Lee-Metford to defend the burgher against the native. Give him a shot-gun or a revolver, and no native will molest him. The demand for the retention of arms is nothing more nor less than the result of a determination on the part of the Boers to use them against you at the very slightest provocation. To give them rifles is suicidal.’ ”

“ If looting, flogging, ruining, and train-wrecking can be dignified by such a name as war, they hold that in all matters of supply our fighting men, who, as well as fighting our battles, guard our women-folk or our sick men, injured by wounds or disease in our service, come first and foremost; after them come our own civilian population; and lastly come our prisoners, or those Boers who have surrendered or been brought in. ”

“ But no; by dawn the sleeping gang was surrounded; they opened their eyes to the consciousness that a small forest of British rifles had grown up around them, and that efforts of defence were useless. They had to deal with men who were more than their match—Simpson of the New Zealand Regiment, Quintal of the New South Wales Bushmen, and other splendid fellows before whom they were only too glad to run! One Boer lost his life in the scrimmage, twenty-five were made prisoners, and Steyn, late Landdrost of Vredefort, was among them. ”

“ The splendid fighting of the despised Johannesburgers, of the Imperial Light Horse, and of the other South African Colonial Corps has become a matter of history, and the present levee en masse of the British people, including the townsmen, of this Colony, is proof positive that when the necessity is really felt they are equal to the best in courage and public spirit. ”

“ To the men of the Scottish Horse, the Yorkshire Mounted Infantry, and the artillerists is due the credit of maintaining the defence when it appeared to be almost hopeless. Knowing full well that only a few were left they held on, firing or selling their lives dearly, and keeping it up until almost the last man fell. The latest accounts show that out of 92 men of the Scottish Horse on the ridge, 88 were killed or wounded. Scotland may well be proud when at the end of a wearisome war she can send out men who die willingly and fearlessly in the performance of their duty. ”

“ They determined that Long Tom should show fight till his last gasp, and opened fire at over 10,000 yards range. Still Colonel Grenfell’s men pushed on and on, determined to capture their prize, while the horrible weapon snorted derisively. At last, after firing sixteen rounds, and while Kitchener’s Fighting Scouts were steadily bearing down on them, the Boers blew it up and scudded to the north-east to save their skins. The great object, therefore, of the splendid rush was defeated, but ten prisoners were secured, together with thirty-five rounds of ammunition for the defunct Long Tom. ”

“ This war has been remarkable for two things: first, the small regard that the Boers, from the highest to the lowest, have had for their womankind; and secondly, the great care and consideration the victors have had for the same, very often ungrateful, women.
“It is the fault of the Boer men, not ours, that their women and children are in concentration camps. ”

“ We are eleven hours a day in the saddle on patrol duty, and good solid work is being done by mobile columns. You will not get much of our movements through the Press, as the policy of secrecy is really the only safe one with the Cape Colony now undermined by rebels from north to south. It would be difficult to over-praise Lord Kitchener for his remarkable power of self-control and ability to keep his own counsel. His ceaseless efforts to get the right men into the higher and brigade commands are recognised by all of us who have suffered in the past from incompetent leaders. ”

“ It is impossible in a few lines to do justice to all the 18,000 members of this remarkable Colonial army, this goodly band of loyalists, English and Dutch, who stood at attention, ready, every man of them, to shed his heart’s blood in the defence of his home and the maintenance of the prestige of the Empire. ”

“ My hope and trust is still that we shall be delivered and saved; the sacrifices of lives, prayers, and misery, are too great not to be crowned with our hopes and expectations, according to our belief. As you will see for yourself, from the correspondence between Lord Kitchener and Commandant-General Botha, there is no mention of terms which meet us in any way, therefore I keep to the decision to surrender unconditionally if this must happen, which I trust God forbid. ”

“ But, he asked, what nation engaged in war has at any time, in any country, or under any conditions, endeavoured to feed, clothe, house, nurse, doctor, and educate 150,000 persons, who have been left on their hands by the enemy, whom they had called on—as Lord Roberts did on two occasions—to take over and maintain their own belongings, but who said they would leave them on our hands. And again, he explained that far from any inhumanity being shown the enemy, many of the troubles had been prolonged by excessive leniency to men who, on many occasions, had violated the rules of civilised warfare. ”

“ Quickly appreciating the ticklish position in which he himself was placed—it being imperative to protect not only his own guns but Major Gough’s baggage at Rooi Kop—he decided to retire to De Jager’s Drift and thus cover Dundee, which, as it turned out, was menaced by a gang of great strength. The tale of the misfortune to so magnificent an officer as Major Gough is hard to write, for a series of services more gallant and brilliant than his it is scarcely possible to find. ”

“ The mutual respect of the two principal white races is the first condition of a healthy [Pg 174] political life in the South Africa of the future. It is possible that if the extreme strain of the most recent developments of the war had never been felt throughout Cape Colony the British inhabitants would never have had the opportunity of showing that they were inferior to none in their willingness to bear all the burdens of citizenship, including that of personal service. ”

“ Had these people been shut off from communication with the enemy they would have maintained their calm, and engaged themselves with their former peaceful pursuits. As it was, while the great advance to Pretoria, and subsequently to Delagoa Bay, demanded the presence of the British troops in the north, the country was left open to raiders, who daily grew more audacious as the small successes of their guerilla leaders appeared to give promise of a turn of fortune’s wheel. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Boers were known to be in the valley, and the Constabulary posts were threatened by the dangerous contiguity of snipers sheltered in networks of dongas beyond them, but the strength of the Boers was not determined till the 17th, when the small British force came suddenly upon a gang of some 800 marauders which had halted at Middelburg. There was nothing to be done but to attack, and that with rapidity, and before the sudden and really splendid rush of Constabulary and Scouts the great Boer mass gave way—their horses stampeded—and many were wounded, while 11 were taken prisoners. ”

“ As soon as conditions permit, a commission, on which the local inhabitants will be represented, will be appointed in each district of the Transvaal and Orange River Colony, under the presidency of a magistrate or other official, for the purpose of assisting the restoration of the people to their homes, and supplying those who, owing to war losses, are unable to provide for themselves with food, shelter, and the necessary amount of seed, stock, implements, &c., indispensable to the resumption of their normal occupations. ”

“ The Scouts and the Lancaster Mounted Infantry routed the Boers from one position after another, chasing them for miles as far as Blesbokfontein, where they dispersed. Meanwhile on the left, near Byersberg, our troops had discovered the Boer laager, whereupon Rimington’s Scouts rode round the position, driving the enemy, who scampered from their concealment in the ridges, in a south-westerly direction. Owing to the exhaustion of the horses the pursuit could not be continued, but the troops returned to camp with a goodly show of horses, cattle, and Cape carts as a prize for their endurance. ”

“ Luxury is but comparative, and, as has been shown, the luxury of soap and other sanitary precautions were ignored by the lower classes of Boers from earliest times. In regard to the matter of diet, that these persons received food at all was a marvel, considering that every convoy had to be protected from their marauding relatives by the lives of our own valiant men, men who themselves were not without anxiety as to how their own wives, mothers, and babes were faring at home in their absence, and who themselves, after a long career of hazard and usefulness, might share a less enviable fate. ”

“ On the Natal frontier affairs had become somewhat unsettled. The Boers who had been swept off from the Standerton line were dribbling across the frontier, and others round about Vryheid and Utrecht seemed to be waiting an opportunity to effect a concentration. At the end of July it became certain that the foe was gathering in good numbers to the east of Nqutu, and that many more might be creeping through the long grass to other parts of the country which had become more or less settled. On the 28th of July things came to a climax. ”

“ The heroism on the ridge and the clever dispositions of the determined soldier commanding the camp had baulked the Boers, and Botha admitted that the fight was a failure. Between 200 to 300 Boers are known to have been killed and wounded. Man for man the losses were about equal on each side, but we have suffered the greater loss in the death of the gallant leader of the column and his equally brave associates. Men like Benson, Guinness, Murray, Lindsay, and Thorold, and the other officers who fell are difficult to replace. ”

“ It was a vandalism unjustified by the requirements of military operations and outside the scope of civilised warfare. Directly or indirectly, all South Africa, including the agricultural population, owes its prosperity to the mines, and, of course, especially to the mines of the Transvaal. To money made in mining it is indebted for such progress, even in agriculture, as it has recently made, and the same source will have to be relied upon for the recuperation of agriculture after the ravages of war. ”

“ That South Africa may soon be delivered from the troubles which beset her is our earnest prayer, and that ere long the only struggle she knows will be eager rivalry in the arts of peace and in striving to promote good government and the well-being of the community. ”

“ On went the C.M.R., Captain Lukin ahead of them, when suddenly this officer found himself in the thick of a volley. The enemy, alarmed by the picket, had upsaddled and were alert. But the heroes of Wepener were “all there,” as the saying is. A shout from their commanding officer was enough, and with a rush as of the wind, the C.M.R. (Captain Goldsworthy’s squadron) had galloped on the foe. The Boers were off. Blankets, baggage, rifles, clothing (much of the spoil captured from Jamestown) , horses, ammunition, all were left. Three wounded rebels fell into our hands, and fourteen other Dutchmen. ”

“ So far from regretting the proclamation I believe it has had great effect in increasing the number of surrenders, and in inducing the Boers still in the field to desist from further fighting. That has certainly been Kitchener’s opinion, as he has always pressed and given the greatest publicity to the lists of banished leaders. But it would be a mistake if the Boers now give in in a body and live as British subjects to continue a prescription which would only keep up bitter feelings and tend to prevent the country from settling down. ”

“ They point out that Boers still fighting have little to lose, that their women and children are protected and well treated, and that their farms are safe from confiscation, therefore Boers free from anxiety and encouraged to continue in the field, growing accustomed to life of pillaging and looting, and communicate frequently with refugee camps which thus are source of danger. Those who are not rebels know that if captured they will be treated as prisoners of war and released at the conclusion of hostilities. ”

“ The fact that during the last two years you have been passing through such troublous times, and that in addition to your other trials the Colony has suffered from an outbreak of plague, from which it is not yet entirely free, might well have detracted from the warmth of your greeting, but, in despite of all your trials and sufferings, you have offered us a welcome the warmth and cordiality of which we shall never forget. ”

“ The Parliamentary paper giving particulars of the peace negotiations has been eagerly read by all ranks of the Army. It is impossible to shut one’s eyes to the fact that the British forces now operating in South Africa are profoundly dissatisfied with them. On all hands, and from all ranks, the same complaint is heard, that they are too lenient, and are not calculated to bring permanent peace to South Africa. There is no bitterness against the Boers ”

“ In April, a careful computation of the strength of the enemy in the field put it at about 10,000 men. The commando of Delarey and Kemp was the largest, their following being about 900 men; but concentration was marvellously quickly accomplished, and near at hand on the west were odd bands of perhaps a hundred, commanded by Potgieter, Klassen, and Cronje. Beyers, with less than four hundred, hung about Zoutpansberg, and other leaders near Lydenburg were practically dependent on fragments from their master’s table, otherwise the escaped ones and twos from Botha’s and De Wet’s hunted forces. ”

“ And not a few of them are, perhaps, secretly glad that the prohibition of seditious speaking and writing, of political meetings, and of the free movement of political firebrands through the country, enables them to keep quiet, without actually themselves taking a strong line against the propaganda, and, to do them justice, they behave reasonably well under the pass and other regulations necessary for that purpose, as long as care is taken not to make these regulations too irksome to them in the conduct of their business, or in their daily lives. ”

“ Before De Wet enjoyed the short-lived triumph of Christmas day, Wessels, in the neighbourhood of Tafel Kop, had distinguished himself on the 19th. The troops of Colonels Rimington and Damant were moving by night in a fierce thunderstorm by parallel roads three miles apart to cover an extension of the blockhouse line. Damant’s advance guard beheld suddenly a force approaching. This force was kharki clad, and affected the formation usual with regular mounted troops. They also, as they advanced, fired volleys in the direction of some Boers who were escaping across the front of two British forces. ”