THE CLOSE OF HOSTILITIES—MARCH, APRIL, AND MAY 1902

TRANSVAAL (EAST)

General B. Hamilton, as we know, over mountainous country followed Botha to the neighbourhood of Vryheid. The Boer force consisted of a concentration of some 800 men who had been hustled from other districts of the Eastern Transvaal. A laager was located east of Vryheid on the 10th of March, and General Bruce-Hamilton having blocked all exits in the Ngotsi valley, proceeded to attack it. The manoeuvre was rewarded. General Cherry Emmett, Botha’s brother-in-law, and seventeen prisoners were taken, and Botha merely escaped by concealing himself in a kloof near the spot where his relative was seized. Eighteen more prisoners, some of importance in the fighting roll, were secured on the 18th.

On the 1st day of April, near Springs, a laager was suddenly discovered by a party of Queen’s Bays and some National Scouts under Colonel Fanshawe of Colonel Lawley’s column. Immediately the Boers in great strength attacked the small British force, and in the close and spirited fighting, which lasted from dawn till dusk, Major Walker was killed, and Captains Herron, Ward, and Lieutenant Hill were wounded. As an instance of the hand-to-hand nature of the combat it may be mentioned that the butt-ends of rifles as well as the blades of swords came into play. Two squadron leaders and ten non-commissioned officers and men were killed and five officers and fifty-nine men were wounded. This concentrated body of the enemy was commanded by Alberts and Pretorius. Commandant Prinsloo, who was with them, was wounded. The Boers lost twelve killed and forty wounded.

The middle of the month was spent by General B. Hamilton in sweeping from Middelburg to Standerton between the blockhouse lines. The hard-worked columns of Park and Williams and Spens were engaged in the undertaking, which was, though always hazardous, fatiguing as it was monotonous. One hundred and forty-five Boers were killed, wounded, or captured in the course of the operations.

Beyers, a troublesome personage, had betaken himself to a fertile valley in the region of Pietersburg. He then proceeded to invest Fort Edward, a fortified post near Louis Trichardt, placing the small garrison of fifty souls in an unenviable quandary. To their rescue went Colonel Denny (Northamptonshire Regiment) with some 500 men, but he was so strongly opposed at various points that he had to fall back on Dwars River without effecting his purpose. Colonel Colenbrander, hurrying from Klerksdorp however, succeeded. He completely surprised the enemy on the 29th and effected the relief of the Fort. Then Beyers himself had to be dealt with, and on the 8th of April Colonel Colenbrander and his warlike scouts, with the Inniskilling Fusiliers under Colonel Murray, started to ferret him out and attack him. Through the difficult and exhausting country, a wilderness of crags and steeps, the troops moved carefully, exercising the utmost perseverance and sagacity in stopping up all poorts or points of exit. They then secured a commanding position—one which the Boers had imagined to be inaccessible—and systematically delivered the attack. Their determination and dash and dexterity were marvellous. By night the Boers were driven out of their mountain stronghold, but only with great loss on both sides. Colonel Murray was seriously, Lieutenant Thompson slightly, wounded. Lieutenant Lincoln was killed. The enemy’s loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners was 106. But Beyers himself escaped. Operations against him were continued in this region till May with excellent results, for though the Boer leader was not caught, his following was considerably reduced, and thus his power to be mischievous crippled.

FINISHING CLEARANCE OF THE ORANGE RIVER COLONY

After the Majuba Day successes the lower part of the Orange Colony remained clear. Colonels Du Cane and Rimington in the region of Tafel Kop made some important captures. Among the prisoners were Adjutant Labuschaque and Viemann. Elsewhere, in the caves of the river bed, a large Boer supply depot was discovered by Major Ross (Canadian Scouts). A Krupp, a pom-pom, a Nordenfeldt, ammunition, heliographs, and other valuable supplies were taken possession of or burnt. Another of Lord Kitchener’s big drives took place, the troops and tactics being the same as before. The columns were encamped in the neighbourhood of Harrismith, and the impression was given that they would sweep towards the northern blockhouses. De Wet, finding that Elliot and Rimington pushed him north, consequently flew west round Elliot, and in the very direction desired. By the night of the 9th there was a complete line of troops from Lindley to Frankfort, De Wet and Steyn being enclosed. Stray parties made rushes at Dunlop’s and Scott’s lines but were repulsed, and some Boers were made prisoners. On the 10th, all keeping touch, the advance continued. It was scorching weather, but the British stalwarts, under the blazing sun, maintained splendid courage and cheeriness. As an example of their endurance, it may be noted that Rawlinson’s men on the 10th and 11th covered sixty miles. On the 11th the drive concluded, but not with the capture of the redoubtable one.

De Wet and Steyn, it appeared, had escaped west of the main Orange Colony Railway by crossing the Heilbron-Frankfort line at night at an hour when some of the British troops were expected to cross. Mentz, to escape Colonel Cox and Rimington’s Australians, adopted the same tactics as De Wet’s former ones. He rushed the Heilbron-Wolvehoek line on the night of the 10th of March by furiously driving a herd of horses against the line held by the Leinsters near Gothenburg. Though these leaders got off, in the course of the operations, 127 Boers were taken and Commandant Celliers was wounded.

De Wet and Steyn remained west of the railway line endeavouring, it was presumed, to get into communication with Delarey. That some Boers had evaded the big drive was evident by the fact that a convoy was attacked between Kronspruit and Frankfort. The enemy was, however, beaten off by the Mounted Infantry, who had some of their number wounded.

The members of the so-called Acting Transvaal Government—Messrs. Schalk Burger, Reitz, Lucas Meyer, Krogh, and Vanderwalt—proceeded on the 22nd of March, under flag of truce, from Balmoral to Kroonstad to interview Mr. Steyn, with Lord Kitchener’s consent. The interview had reference to possible peace proposals. The delegates travelled by special train accompanied by Captain Marker, A.D.C. to Lord Kitchener, Major Leggett, Assistant Director of Railways, and four other staff officers. The meeting concluded a few days later, apparently without practical results. The commandos in the district were now much scattered and reduced, but on the last day of April, near Frankfort, Colonel Barker had the good fortune to capture Mamie Botha (a smart and resourceful ally of De Wet), his adjutant, and eleven Boers.

Early in May (the 6th) another rapid drive took place. A continuous line of columns left Frankfort-Heilbron-Vredefort Road line quite unimpeded by wheel transport, and drove swiftly to Kroonstad-Liebenberg-Vlei line, which was reached in the afternoon. The British casualties were nil. The prisoners taken were 208. Ten Boers were killed. From opinions drawn from prisoners it was obvious that these “drives” were heartily dreaded, and the fact of being thus chased from their own district was a fruitful source of surrender.

TRANSVAAL (WEST)—MARCH

A new and original combined movement against Delarey was now conceived by Lord Kitchener. The Boers were dotted about recuperating in farms near Hartebeestefontein, and these had to be mopped up somehow before they had time to concert or to concentrate. The district was too vast for the usual cordon process, and there was great difficulty in arranging a plan which would dispose sufficient troops on the west. There, there were no blockhouse lines, but a line ran from the Vaal to Klerksdorp and thence up the Schoenspruit till it joined the Lichtenburg-Ventersdorp line. The programme was most concise. No wheeled transport and no guns were to be taken. The thing was to be accomplished “in the blink of an eye,” so to say, at the rate of nearly eighty miles in twenty-four hours at most. On the night of the 23rd of March every one was to be under way, silent and secret as burglars, bold and resolute as lions. Kekewich, from Vaalbank, was to march west. Rawlinson, from Klerksdorp, with columns of Scott, Briggs, and Dawkins, was to march south of Hartebeestefontein straight through the enemy’s lines—a thing the enemy would be at a loss till too late to understand—and arrive at dawn at a point thirty-nine miles to west. General W. Kitchener (with Keir, Lowe, and Cookson’s columns) was to continue the line and march south of Rawlinson to a point some forty miles distant. Lord Basing, from south of the Vaal, was to fill in the more southerly place, and Colonel Rochfort was to form up to the south of him with his right resting on the Vaal. Thus working on the 24th in a line drawn from north to south, the columns were to start forth and then drive back the enemy against the Schoenspruit blockhouse line.... The midnight march was admirably executed under the brilliant rays of the moon, and a Boer convoy was even chased and captured by Dawkins’ men by way of interlude! By dawn on the 24th, after a forty-mile march, the machinery was set in the appointed position. With sunrise the required revolution took place. The whole force turned right-about face and marched swiftly back again. It was not till 10 A.M. that Boers were discerned. Then, preparations were promptly made to welcome them, and Rawlinson’s men, in spite of their sore and aching frames, advanced with alacrity. But the Dutchmen made haste to retreat. By arrangement a signal was fired to inform the British line that the quarry in force was sighted. Excitement prevailed. All got into the semi-crescent position—the military equivalent for “open arms.” There were necessary gaps, however, before the troops could extend into touch on so vast an area, and these the Boers made for. But owing to the splendid activity of our men, the 2nd and 8th Mounted Infantry, the Scottish Horse, and others, the enemy failed to get away either their waggons or their guns. Lieutenant Herd (2nd Mounted Infantry), with the remnant of his company, pursued the fleeing band and expedited their race for the north, forcing them also to leave their valuables behind. They were now in the position of the traditional Derby dog—rushing helter-skelter, first north then south, not knowing where to find a loophole of escape. Finally, however, some of them abandoning everything did find it, and scurried towards Klerksdorp. The total results of this cleverly arranged movement, which concluded on the 25th, were 185 prisoners, 12 Boers killed; two 15-pounders, one 12-pounder, two pom-poms, a quantity of ammunition, over 1000 head of cattle, about 60 vehicles, and a lot of horses and mules captured.

That more of the enemy were not taken was accounted for by Reuter’s correspondent, who stated:—

“One commando was disturbed very early near a spot where two columns had not yet extended into touch. One of these columns saw what appeared to be the next column getting into position on its flank, and pressed on in order not to be outdistanced, but the column on its right acted strangely, and soon it was discovered that the strange column was a Boer commando seeking to escape. As a pursuit would have resulted in making a larger loophole the enemy got away.

“In another place a large body was observed passing along our front, and it was greeted with a volley, whereon an officer in British uniform, complete in every detail, with ‘K.F.S.’ on the shoulder-straps, rode up and reported that it was a British column passing along to take up its allotted place in the line. The force was accordingly allowed to proceed on its way. The ‘K.F.S.’ officer, however, was a Boer and the column a Boer commando.”

It was discovered after all that Delarey had not been within the radius of the big movement, and therefore General W. Kitchener, in hope still to entrap him, set to work to reconnoitre towards the Hart River. On the 31st of March Cookson and Keir struck track of guns, and presently they were attacked with great determination. A long running fight was continued for eight miles through the bush and scrub of the region. A position in the open was taken, and both parties set to work. Delarey, Kemp, and some 1500 Boers fought brilliantly, but were outmatched by the dogged courage of the newly raised R.H.A. Rifles, who let them advance within 200 yards, and then repelled them with steady gusts of rifle fire; by the staunchness of Colonel Evans’ Canadian Rifles, of which one party under young Bruce-Carruthers held their ground till every man was either killed or wounded; and by the dash of the 28th Mounted Infantry, Damant’s Horse, Kitchener’s Fighting Scouts, and the 17th and 27th Mounted Infantry. The enemy after losing tremendously refused to continue the conflict, in spite of being frantically urged forward by their leaders.

The columns of Von Donop and Grenfell under General Kekewich on the 11th of April, in the region of Rooival, had a hot fight with the enemy. These eventually were repulsed by the Yeomanry, Scottish Horse, and South Africa Constabulary, who fought with their accustomed coolness and brilliancy. Forty-four Boers were left dead on the field and thirty-four wounded. Twenty prisoners were taken. Captain Salter (7th Imperial Yeomanry) and five men were killed and fifty-two wounded. Lieutenant Bull, 3rd Inniskilling Fusiliers, died of wounds. The pursuit of the band was vigorously taken up, and General Kekewich had the satisfaction of securing two guns, a pom-pom, ammunition, and waggons. Among the Boer dead was Commandant Potgieter of Wolmaranstad, one of Delarey’s right-hand men. About this time Colonel Rochfort’s column made a night raid on a laager at Schweizerreneke, and secured fifty-five prisoners, with waggons and stock.

The columns under General Ian Hamilton continued their systematic sweeping of the Western Transvaal, and after clearing the central area to east of Harts River they formed a line, and in conjunction with Colonel Rochfort from Bloemhof, moved west on the 7th of May. They reached the railway on the 11th plus 357 prisoners and practically all the waggons and stock of the commandos in the district. The total reduction, therefore, in Delarey’s forces since his success at Tweebosch amounted to 860 men. The process of exhaustion had been steady and sure.

CAPE COLONY—MARCH

A spirited engagement took place at Buffelshoek between FouchÉ’s commando and Colonel Price’s men, with the result that Commander Odendaal and Captain Vanderwalt were killed and two Boers wounded. Major Wormald’s and other columns meanwhile hunted Malan and FouchÉ in the region of the Camdeboos Mountains, where pursuit is difficult, sometimes impossible.

And then, when negotiations for peace were being made between the two nations, while all the sad events of the last three years were apparently coming to a happy conclusion, the British nation lost a man whose like, one may safely say, will never be found again. On the 26th of March, at Muizenburg, Mr. Cecil Rhodes breathed his last. He had long been ailing, therefore this misfortune was not unexpected, and the effect of his loss on public affairs was minimised by the fact that with characteristic foresight he had arranged all his business matters, so that in his absence they might proceed without a hitch. His Will, when opened, proved to be a document for all time, one which might be studied with advantage by every British boy whose hope it is to leave his country greater than he found it. To this man’s life-work we have already alluded. Of his influence in the future it is impossible at present to write. Certain it is that his name is writ large wherever the glory of Great Britain’s greatest finds a place. He gave minute directions regarding his last resting-place. Neither St. Paul’s nor Westminster Abbey were wide enough for his free spirit.

“I admire the grandeur and loneliness of the Matoppos in Rhodesia, and I therefore desire to be buried in the Matoppos, on the hill which I used to visit and which I called the ‘View of the World,’ in a square to be cut out in the rock on the top of the hill, covered with a plain brass plate with these words thereon, ‘Here lie the remains of Cecil John Rhodes,’ and accordingly I direct my executors at the expense of my estate to take all steps and do all things necessary or proper to give effect to this my desire, and afterwards to keep my grave in order at the expense of the Matoppos and Buluwayo fund hereinafter mentioned. I direct my trustees, on the hill aforesaid, to erect or complete the monument to the men who fell in the first Matabele War at Shangani in Rhodesia, the bas-reliefs for which are being made by Mr. John Tweed, and I desire the said hill to be preserved as a burial-place; but no person is to be buried there unless the Government for the time being of Rhodesia, until the various states of South Africa, or any of them, shall have been federated, and after such federation the Federal Government, by a vote of two-thirds of its governing body, says that he or she has deserved well of his or her country.”

His wishes were carried out with reverence and to the letter. His body was conveyed to Groote Schuur, where it lay in state till it was removed to the Houses of Parliament in Cape Town, where it lay all night. Next day the procession started for the Cathedral. All business was suspended. The streets were draped with black—the thoroughfares were lined with troops and sorrowing crowds. A more wonderful service, a more impressive ceremony, has never been seen in South Africa. Finally the remains started on their last voyage. Of this melancholy journey the correspondent of the Standard wrote:—

“Not the least striking feature was the reception given to the train by the garrisons of the blockhouses as we passed them in succession. As we glided slowly out of a station away ahead of us would stretch the long vista of the line, dotted here and there with the little fortresses. We would gather speed, and the sun glinted on steel as the garrison of the nearest blockhouse began to fix bayonets and fall in. Then as we swept swiftly forward the little squad of men came abreast of us, and the bayonets rose and fell symmetrically amid the solemn solitude. Then the blockhouse was whirled away behind us and lost to sight. So it went on for mile after mile, the fireman busy at his duties and the driver, one of the oldest servants of the railway department, steady and watchful at his post. Down into De Aar we swept at such speed that as we passed the blockhouses the saluting rifles seemed to rise and fall mechanically and without intermission.”

Buluwayo was reached on April 8th, and the coffin placed in the Drill Hall and guarded by two Rhodesian volunteers with drawn swords. Finally it was borne, on the 10th, to its lonely bed in the almost inaccessible steeps that he loved.

Early in April the trial of Kruitzinger was concluded, and the prisoner was acquitted of the charges of murder or train-wrecking that were brought against him. He therefore fell into the category of prisoners of war. From intercepted despatches forwarded by the commandant to Scheepers it was discovered that he had seriously condemned the inhuman practices of his countrymen. The raiders continued their mischievous activities, the columns their incessant chases and hunts. Lovat’s Scouts engaged Bezuidenhout at Kaal River on the 26th of April, and in the scrimmage two of the rebels were wounded. On the 1st of May the town of Ookiep (in north-west of Cape Colony), which for some time had been invested by the Boers, was practically relieved by the appearance of reinforcements from Namaqualand under Colonels Cooper and Caldwell. These relieved the column at Klipfontein (fifty miles from Ookiep), and thus took the pressure off the neighbouring places.

Further particulars were given in the Morning Post:—“General Smuts demanded the surrender of Ookiep on 4th April. Colonel W. Shelton refused to entertain any terms whatever, saying that he would hold out to the bitter end. He must, however,” the letter proceeded, “have a relief column if the place is to be saved, as he has 6000 people to feed and provisions for only three weeks. Colonel Shelton brought in the Mesklip and Nababeep garrisons with all their arms and ammunition successfully. Nababeep has since been looted. Springbokfontein made a gallant fight, but had to surrender to overwhelming numbers, our casualties being four killed and six wounded. It is reported that Concordia surrendered without firing a shot. Colonel Shelton ordered the Concordia Town Guard to Ookiep, but they refused to go. The Boers seem to be bent on doing as much damage as they possibly can. They have destroyed miles of railway and are burning the sleepers as they take them up. The dynamite which they seized at Garrakop, eight miles from Ookiep, they are now using to destroy the blockhouses by dropping charges on the roofs from the kopjes above. Colonel White and his column are at or entrenched near Gassies, and cannot get out. Anenous, Kookfontein, Steinkop, Ooboop, and all outlying stations are deserted. Two trains of refugees arrived at Port Nolloth this morning during a heavy shower of rain. Lilliesfontein refugees are also here, making the number over fifteen hundred. The inhabitants of Port Nolloth are feeling very uneasy, for they greatly fear that an attack will be made on the port; but our defences are perfect, and with the assistance of his Majesty’s ship Barracouta we mean to give the Boers a warm reception. During a thunderstorm that broke over Ookiep a few days ago a party of Boers was seen on the mountain to the east of Ookiep making a blockhouse in good position, but Major Edwards with a small patrol soon put them to flight.”

A member of the garrison of the Springbokfontein blockhouse, commanded by Lieutenant Dorrington, reported as follows: “The Boers were gallantly kept at bay for twenty-four hours, when they succeeded in making a rush on the village. They first made a raid on the Civil Commissioner’s house, which they found locked, the magistrate, Mr. J. A. Van Renen, being at Ookiep at the time on his way back from Port Nolloth, where he had been to fetch his family. Lieutenant Dorrington, seeing a fire at the Residency from the blockhouse, thought the Boers were setting fire to the house. He ordered his men to open fire on them, whereupon the Boers rushed the kopje on the top of which the blockhouse was built, and demanded its immediate surrender. When Lieutenant Dorrington refused to surrender he was greeted with charges of dynamite. The Boers then crept under the hill, making it quite impossible for our men to fire on them, and began to place dynamite underneath the blockhouse. They again sent to tell the officer in command that if he did not surrender he and his men would be blown up. A message was sent back to them to say that he would surrender on condition that they did not harm his men. This was agreed to, and the men came out. They were all promptly lodged in prison. The same informant states that Mr. Stuart, the resident magistrate’s clerk, Mr. Van Coernden’s son, and two others were killed by charges of dynamite thrown on the top of the blockhouse from a kopje.”

A second letter, which was dated 12th April, announced that transports had arrived at Port Nolloth and that reinforcements were pouring into the town. A third letter was written on the following day, and it said: “Lieutenant Meyrick, with his party of N.B.S., has so far gallantly defended the viaducts and the mountain pass above Anenous. A native who has just come in reports that the Boers have, however, come round the mountain and destroyed the railway on this side of Anenous as far as the 37th mile. Mr. F. Phillips, of Concordia, son of the superintendent, arrived at Port Nolloth yesterday, having obtained a pass from the Boer Commandant Smuts. He states that the Boers who have got possession of Concordia are mostly Transvaal men. Ookiep is evidently giving the Boers a warm time, for many wounded are brought into Concordia, others going back to take their place. They say that they are quite determined to take Ookiep at any cost, and seem to have quietly settled down at Concordia. They have their doctor and chaplain, and hold services twice daily. The Commandant Smuts lives in the doctor’s house, the doctor being absent in Cape Town. He has his secretary with him, a Frenchman, whom they have nicknamed ‘Roberts,’ and who has a great reputation for ability among them.”

On the 27th of May Major Collett, with the Jansenville District Mounted Horse, encountered the Boers, who thought this a fine opportunity for attacking raw material. But the local force was tougher than they thought, and moreover Lovat’s Scouts, who had been pursuing Malan for a long time, were at hand. These promptly came to the rescue, upon which the enemy fled, leaving Malan—one of the best of the Boer leaders—in their hands. Malan was one of the “irreconcilables,” and he had rejected the offer of a safe conduct to attend the Vereeniging conference, which at this time was taking place with a view to the signing of peace.

THE SITUATION—APRIL AND MAY

It was officially computed that by May 1902 the British forces had been reduced through the South African war by 1055 officers and 20,520 men who died in South Africa, 1 officer and 131 men returned as missing and prisoners, 7 officers and 487 men who died after having been sent home as invalids, and 5531 invalided men who left the Service as unfit. These figures represent a total of 27,732. The following figures, taken from a table published by Colonel Henderson, Professor of Military Art and History at the Staff College, in his “Life of Stonewall Jackson,” may be found interesting for purposes of comparison with the British losses:—