Several Skirmishes With The
Commandos Of Muller And Trichardt Gave No Very Decisive Result, But
A Piece Of Luck Befell The British On January 25th In The Capture
Of General Viljoen By An Ambuscade Cleverly Arranged By Major Orr
In The Neighbourhood Of Lydenburg.
Though a great firebrand before
the war, Viljoen had fought bravely and honourably throughout the
contest, and he had won the respect and esteem of his enemy.
Colonel Park had had no great success in his last two expeditions,
but on February 20th he made an admirable march, and fell upon a
Boer laager which lay in placid security in the heart of the hills.
One hundred and sixty-four prisoners, including many Boer officers,
were the fruits of this success, in which the National Scouts, or
'tame Boers,' as they were familiarly called, played a prominent
part. This commando was that of Middelburg, which was acting as
escort to the government, who again escaped dissolution. Early in
March Park was again out on trek, upon one occasion covering
seventy miles in a single day. Nothing further of importance came
from this portion of the seat of war until March 23rd, when the
news reached England that Schalk Burger, Reitz, Lucas Meyer, and
others of the Transvaal Government had come into Middelburg, and
that they were anxious to proceed to Pretoria to treat. On the
Eastern horizon had appeared the first golden gleam of the dawning
peace.
Having indicated the course of events in the Eastern Transvaal,
north and south of the railway line, I will now treat one or two
incidents which occurred in the more central and northern portions
of the country. I will then give some account of De Wet's doings in
the Orange River Colony, and finally describe that brilliant effort
of De la Rey's in the west which shed a last glory upon the Boer
arms.
In the latter days of December, Colenbrander and Dawkins operating
together had put in a great deal of useful work in the northern
district, and from Nylstrom to Pietersburg the burghers were
continually harried by the activity of these leaders. Late in the
month Dawkins was sent down into the Orange River Colony in order
to reinforce the troops who were opposed to De Wet. Colenbrander
alone, with his hardy colonial forces, swept through the
Magaliesburg, and had the double satisfaction of capturing a number
of the enemy and of heading off and sending back a war party of
Linchwe's Kaffirs who, incensed by a cattle raid of Kemp's, were
moving down in a direction which would have brought them
dangerously near to the Dutch women and children. This instance and
several similar ones in the campaign show how vile are the lies
which have been told of the use, save under certain well-defined
conditions, of armed natives by the British during the war. It
would have been a perfectly easy thing at any time for the
Government to have raised all the fighting native races of South
Africa, but it is not probable that we, who held back our admirable
and highly disciplined Sikhs and Ghoorkas, would break our
self-imposed restrictions in order to enrol the inferior but more
savage races of Africa. Yet no charge has been more often repeated
and has caused more piteous protests among the soft-hearted and
soft-headed editors of Continental journals.
The absence of Colenbrander in the Rustenburg country gave Beyers a
chance of which he was not slow to avail himself. On January 24th,
in the early morning, he delivered an attack upon Pietersburg
itself, but he was easily driven off by the small garrison. It is
probable, however, that the attack was a mere feint in order to
enable a number of the inmates of the refugee camp to escape. About
a hundred and fifty made off, and rejoined the commandos. There
were three thousand Boers in all in this camp, which was shortly
afterwards moved down to Natal in order to avoid the recurrence of
such an incident.
Colenbrander, having returned to Pietersburg once more, determined
to return Beyers's visit, and upon April 8th he moved out with a
small force to surprise the Boer laager. The Inniskilling Fusiliers
seized the ground which commanded the enemy's position. The latter
retreated, but were followed up, and altogether about one hundred
and fifty were killed, wounded, and taken. On May 3rd a fresh
operation against Beyers was undertaken, and resulted in about the
same loss to the Boers. On the other hand, the Boers had a small
success against Kitchener's Scouts, killing eighteen and taking
thirty prisoners.
There is one incident, however, in connection with the war in this
region which one would desire to pass over in silence if such a
course were permissible. Some eighty miles to the east of
Pietersburg is a wild part of the country called the Spelonken. In
this region an irregular corps, named the Bushveld Carbineers, had
been operating. It was raised in South Africa, but contained both
Colonials and British in its ranks. Its wild duties, its mixed
composition, and its isolated situation must have all militated
against discipline and restraint, and it appears to have
degenerated into a band not unlike those Southern 'bush-whackers'
in the American war to whom the Federals showed little mercy. They
had given short shrift to the Boer prisoners who had fallen into
their hands, the excuse offered for their barbarous conduct being
that an officer who had served in the corps had himself been
murdered by the Boers. Such a reason, even if it were true, could
of course offer no justification for indiscriminate revenge. The
crimes were committed in July and August 1901, but it was not until
January 1902 that five of the officers were put upon their trial
and were found to be guilty as principals or accessories of twelve
murders. The corps was disbanded, and three of the accused
officers, Handcock, Wilton, and Morant, were sentenced to death,
while another, Picton, was cashiered.
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