Ian Hamilton Advanced Upon The Left,
While Lord Roberts's Column Kept The Line Of The Railway, Colonel
Henry's Mounted Infantry Scouting In Front.
As the army topped the
low curves of the veld they saw in front of them two well-marked
hills, each crowned by a low squat building.
They were the famous
southern forts of Pretoria. Between the hills was a narrow neck,
and beyond the Boer capital.
For a time it appeared that the entry was to be an absolutely
bloodless one, but the booming of cannon and the crash of Mauser
fire soon showed that the enemy was in force upon the ridge. Botha
had left a strong rearguard to hold off the British while his own
stores and valuables were being withdrawn from the town. The
silence of the forts showed that the guns had been removed and that
no prolonged resistance was intended; but in the meanwhile fringes
of determined riflemen, supported by cannon, held the approaches,
and must be driven off before an entry could be effected. Each
fresh corps as it came up reinforced the firing line. Henry's
mounted infantrymen supported by the horse-guns of J battery and
the guns of Tucker's division began the action. So hot was the
answer, both from cannon and from rifle, that it seemed for a time
as if a real battle were at last about to take place. The Guards'
Brigade, Stephenson's Brigade, and Maxwell's Brigade streamed up
and waited until Hamilton, who was on the enemy's right flank,
should be able to make his presence felt.
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