There Was Still Considerable Effervescence In The Western Districts
Of The Transvaal, And A Mounted Detachment Met With Fierce
Opposition At The End Of August On Their Journey From Zeerust To
Krugersdorp.
Methuen, after his unsuccessful chase of De Wet, had
gone as far as Zeerust, and had then taken his force on to Mafeking
to refit.
Before leaving Zeerust, however, he had despatched
Colonel Little to Pretoria with a column which consisted of his own
third cavalry brigade, 1st Brabant's, the Kaffrarian Rifles, R
battery of Horse Artillery, and four Colonial guns. They were
acting as guard to a very large convoy of 'returned empties.' The
district which they had to traverse is one of the most fertile in
the Transvaal, a land of clear streams and of orange groves. But
the farmers are numerous and aggressive, and the column, which was
900 strong, could clear all resistance from its front, but found it
impossible to brush off the snipers upon its flanks and rear.
Shortly after their start the column was deprived of the services
of its gallant leader, Colonel Little, who was shot while riding
with his advance scouts. Colonel Dalgety took over the command.
Numerous desultory attacks culminated in a fierce skirmish at
Quaggafontein on August 31st, in which the column had sixty
casualties. The event might have been serious, as De la Rey's main
force appears to have been concentrated upon the British
detachment, the brunt of the action falling upon the Kaffrarian
Rifles.
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