In Order To Reach
Their Positions The Columns Had, Of Course, Started At Different
Points Of The British Blockhouse Line,
And some had a good deal
farther to go than others, while the southern extension of the line
was formed
By Rochfort's troops, who had moved up from the Vaal.
Above him from south to north came Walter Kitchener, Rawlinson, and
Kekewich in the order named.
On the morning of Monday, March 24th, a line of eighty miles of
horsemen, without guns or transport, was sweeping back towards the
blockhouses, while the country between was filled with scattered
parties of Boers who were seeking for gaps by which to escape. It
was soon learned from the first prisoners that De la Rey was not
within the cordon. His laager had been some distance farther west.
But the sight of fugitive horsemen rising and dipping over the
rolling veld assured the British that they had something within
their net. The catch was, however, by no means as complete as might
have been desired. Three hundred men in khaki slipped through
between the two columns in the early morning. Another large party
escaped to the southwards. Some of the Boers adopted extraordinary
devices in order to escape from the ever-narrowing cordon. 'Three,
in charge of some cattle, buried themselves, and left a small hole
to breathe through with a tube. Some men began to probe with
bayonets in the new-turned earth and got immediate and vociferous
subterranean yells. Another man tried the same game and a horse
stepped on him.
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