It Is Suggestive Of The Imperial Nature Of The
Struggle That The Assembly Of Dutch Afrikanders Was Carried Out
Under The Muzzles Of Canadian Artillery, And Closely Watched By
Australian Cavalry.
Had violent words transformed themselves into
deeds, all was ready for the crisis.
Fortunately the good sense of the assembly prevailed, and the
agitation, though bitter, remained within those wide limits which a
British constitution permits. Three resolutions were passed, one
asking that the war be ended, a second that the independence of the
Republics be restored, and a third protesting against the actions
of Sir Alfred Milner. A deputation which carried these to the
Governor received a courteous but an uncompromising reply. Sir
Alfred Milner pointed out that the Home Government, all the great
Colonies, and half the Cape were unanimous in their policy, and
that it was folly to imagine that it could be reversed on account
of a local agitation. All were agreed in the desire to end the war,
but the last way of bringing this about was by encouraging
desperate men to go on fighting in a hopeless cause. Such was the
general nature of the Governor's reply, which was, as might be
expected, entirely endorsed by the British Government and people.
Had De Wet, in the operations which have already been described,
evaded Charles Knox and crossed the Orange River, his entrance into
the Colony would have been synchronous with the congress at
Worcester, and the situation would have become more acute. This
peril was fortunately averted. The agitation in the Colony
suggested to the Boer leaders, however, that here was an untouched
recruiting ground, and that small mobile invading parties might
gather strength and become formidable. It was obvious, also, that
by enlarging the field of operations the difficulties of the
British Commander-in-chief would be very much increased, and the
pressure upon the Boer guerillas in the Republics relaxed.
Therefore, in spite of De Wet's failure to penetrate the Colony,
several smaller bands under less-known leaders were despatched over
the Orange River. With the help of the information and the supplies
furnished by the local farmers, these bands wandered for many
months over the great expanse of the Colony, taking refuge, when
hard pressed, among the mountain ranges. They moved swiftly about,
obtaining remounts from their friends, and avoiding everything in
the nature of an action, save when the odds were overwhelmingly in
their favour. Numerous small posts or patrols cut off, many
skirmishes, and one or two railway smashes were the fruits of this
invasion, which lasted till the end of the war, and kept the Colony
in an extreme state of unrest during that period. A short account
must be given here of the movement and exploits of these hostile
bands, avoiding, as far as possible, that catalogue of obscure
'fonteins' and 'kops' which mark their progress.
The invasion was conducted by two main bodies, which shed off
numerous small raiding parties. Of these two, one operated on the
western side of the Colony, reaching the sea-coast in the
Clanwilliam district, and attaining a point which is less than a
hundred miles from Cape Town. The other penetrated even more deeply
down the centre of the Colony, reaching almost to the sea in the
Mossel Bay direction. Yet the incursion, although so far-reaching,
had small effect, since the invaders held nothing save the ground
on which they stood, and won their way, not by victory, but by the
avoidance of danger. Some recruits were won to their cause, but
they do not seem at that time to have been more than a few hundreds
in number, and to have been drawn for the most part from the
classes of the community which had least to lose and least to
offer.
The Western Boers were commanded by Judge Hertzog of the Free
State, having with him Brand, the son of the former president, and
about twelve hundred well-mounted men. Crossing the Orange River at
Sand Drift, north of Colesberg, upon December 16th, they paused at
Kameelfontein to gather up a small post of thirty yeomen and
guardsmen under Lieutenant Fletcher, the wellknown oar. Meeting
with a stout resistance, and learning that British forces were
already converging upon them, they abandoned the attack, and
turning away from Colesberg they headed west, cutting the railway
line twenty miles to the north of De Aar. On the 22nd they occupied
Britstown, which is eighty miles inside the border, and on the same
day they captured a small body of yeomanry who had been following
them. These prisoners were released again some days later. Taking a
sweep round towards Prieska and Strydenburg, they pushed south
again. At the end of the year Hertzog's column was 150 miles deep
in the Colony, sweeping through the barren and thinly-inhabited
western lands, heading apparently for Fraserburg and Beaufort West.
The second column was commanded by Kritzinger, a burgher of
Zastron, in the Orange River Colony. His force was about 800
strong. Crossing the border at Rhenoster Hoek upon December 16th,
they pushed for Burghersdorp, but were headed off by a British
column. Passing through Venterstad, they made for Steynsberg,
fighting two indecisive skirmishes with small British forces. The
end of the year saw them crossing the rail road at Sherburne, north
of Rosmead Junction, where they captured a train as they passed,
containing some Colonial troops. At this time they were a hundred
miles inside the Colony, and nearly three hundred from Hertzog's
western column.
In the meantime Lord Kitchener, who had descended for a few days to
De Aar, had shown great energy in organising small mobile columns
which should follow and, if possible, destroy the invaders. Martial
law was proclaimed in the parts of the Colony affected, and as the
invaders came further south the utmost enthusiasm was shown by the
loyalists, who formed themselves everywhere into town guards. The
existing Colonial regiments, such as Brabant's, the Imperial and
South African Light Horse - Thorneycroft's, Rimington's, and the
others - had already been brought up to strength again, and now two
new regiments were added, Kitchener's Bodyguard and Kitchener's
Fighting Scouts, the latter being raised by Johann Colenbrander,
who had made a name for himself in the Rhodesian wars.
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