On August 7th Ian Hamilton Abandoned Rustenburg, Taking
Baden-Powell And His Men With Him.
It was obviously unwise to
scatter the British forces too widely by attempting to garrison
every single town.
For the instant the whole interest of the war
centred upon De Wet and his dash into the Transvaal. One or two
minor events, however, which cannot be fitted into any continuous
narrative may be here introduced.
One of these was the action at Faber's Put, by which Sir Charles
Warren crushed the rebellion in Griqualand. In that sparsely
inhabited country of vast distances it was a most difficult task to
bring the revolt to a decisive ending. This Sir Charles Warren,
with his special local knowledge and interest, was able to do, and
the success is doubly welcome as bringing additional honour to a
man who, whatever view one may take of his action at Spion Kop, has
grown grey in the service of the Empire. With a column consisting
mainly of colonials and of yeomanry he had followed the rebels up
to a point within twelve miles of Douglas. Here at the end of May
they turned upon him and delivered a fierce night attack, so sudden
and so strongly pressed that much credit is due both to General and
to troops for having repelled it. The camp was attacked on all
sides in the early dawn. The greater part of the horses were
stampeded by the firing, and the enemy's riflemen were found to be
at very close quarters. For an hour the action was warm, but at the
end of that time the Boers fled, leaving a number of dead behind
them. The troops engaged in this very creditable action, which
might have tried the steadiness of veterans, were four hundred of
the Duke of Edinburgh's volunteers, some of Paget's horse and of
the 8th Regiment Imperial Yeomanry, four Canadian guns, and
twenty-five of Warren's Scouts. Their losses were eighteen killed
and thirty wounded. Colonel Spence, of the volunteers, died at the
head of his regiment. A few days before, on May 27th, Colonel Adye
had won a small engagement at Kheis, some distance to the westward,
and the effect of the two actions was to put an end to open
resistance. On June 20th De Villiers, the Boer leader, finally
surrendered to Sir Charles Warren, handing over two hundred and
twenty men with stores, rifles, and ammunition. The last sparks had
for the time been stamped out in the colony.
There remain to be mentioned those attacks upon trains and upon the
railway which had spread from the Free State to the Transvaal. On
July 19th a train was wrecked on the way from Potchefstroom to
Krugersdorp without serious injury to the passengers. On July 31st,
however, the same thing occurred with more murderous effect, the
train running at full speed off the metals. Thirteen of the
Shropshires were killed and thirty-seven injured in this deplorable
affair, which cost us more than many an important engagement.
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