This Force Seems To Have Skirted
Wepener Without Attacking A Place Of Such Evil Omen To Their Cause.
Their Subsequent Movements Are Readily Traced By A Sequence Of
Military Events.
On October 1st Rouxville was threatened.
On the 9th an outpost of
the Cheshire Militia was taken and the railway cut for a few hours
in the neighbourhood of Bethulie. A week later the Boer riders were
dotting the country round Phillipolis, Springfontein and
Jagersfontein, the latter town being occupied upon October 16th,
while the garrison held out upon the nearest kopje. The town was
retaken from the enemy by King Hall and his men, who were Seaforth
Highlanders and police. There was fierce fighting in the streets,
and from twenty to thirty of each side were killed or wounded.
Fauresmith was attacked on October 19th, but was also in the very
safe hands of the Seaforths, who held it against a severe assault.
Phillipolis was continually attacked between the 18th and the 24th,
but made a most notable defence, which was conducted by Gostling,
the resident magistrate, with forty civilians. For a week this band
of stalwarts held their own against 600 Boers, and were finally
relieved by a force from the railway. All the operations were not,
however, as successful as these three defences. On October 24th a
party of cavalry details belonging to many regiments were snapped
up in an ambuscade. On the next day Jacobsdal was attacked, with
considerable loss to the British. The place was entered in the
night, and the enemy occupied the houses which surrounded the
square. The garrison, consisting of about sixty men of the Capetown
Highlanders, had encamped in the square, and were helpless when
fire was opened upon them in the morning. There was practically no
resistance, and yet for hours a murderous fire was kept up upon the
tents in which they cowered, so that the affair seems not to have
been far removed from murder. Two-thirds of the little force were
killed or wounded. The number of the assailants does not appear to
have been great, and they vanished upon the appearance of a
relieving force from Modder River.
After the disaster at Jacobsdal the enemy appeared on November 1st
near Kimberley and captured a small convoy. The country round was
disturbed, and Settle was sent south with a column to pacify it. In
this way we can trace this small cyclone from its origin in the old
storm centre in the north-east of the Orange River Colony, sweeping
round the whole country, striking one post after another, and
finally blowing out at the corresponding point upon the other side
of the seat of war.
We have last seen De Wet upon November 6th, when he fled south from
Bothaville, leaving his guns but not his courage behind him.
Trekking across the line, and for a wonder gathering up no train as
he passed, he made for that part of the eastern Orange River Colony
which had been reoccupied by his countrymen.
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