General Louis Botha's brilliant charge - Our French gun captured - Major Pretorius captured - A close call but all ends well – General De Wet's daring work
In the month of November, although on the high veldt there was daily skirmishing with the English, there was but one really good fight, and that was one of the most brilliant and dashing of the war. In the eastern part of the high veldt, many of the English columns were at their same old game, trying to corner General Louis Botha. For the tenth time, he had outwitted them and escaped from their clutches. He at once left those parts, and came to our section in the west. At Brakenlaagte, not far from the little town of Bethel, he discovered an English column. He collected some of the small commandos near and found he had 470 men. This he considered sufficient for his work.
Brakenlaagte is a beautiful grassy plain, very tempting for a cavalry charge. About a mile behind the main column, the English commander, Colonel Benson, left a strong rear guard and two guns. General Botha decided to charge first the rear guard and then the main column, which was about 1,500 strong. He gave the word, and off the Boers went at high speed, whooping and yelling and crying, "Look out, Khakies, we are coming." The rear guard mounted and fled, leaving two guns behind them, but the most of the burghers passed the guns and continued the chase. So demoralized were the English, that many of them threw away helmets, rifles, belts, etc., and ran in all directions in hope of escaping. A part of the column, however, stood its ground well and poured in a hot fire on the Boers near the two captured guns. Finally the whole column, with its four remaining guns, fled, leaving wagons, carts, etc., in the hands of the Boers. General Botha with 470 had, by a dashing charge, won a most brilliant victory. Over 300 English were killed and wounded, and nearly 400 taken prisoners. These men were released. This column never again took part in the war, and was for months laid up for repairs. Its brave commander, Colonel Benson, was mortally wounded and soon died.
Among the first captured was one Tommie, with whom a young burgher had exchanged clothes, and by accident General Botha saw this Tommie and, taking him for one of his burghers who was lagging behind, struck him with his whip and ordered him into the fight.
The poor fellow was scared half to death, but found words enough to murmur, "I am an English prisoner." General Botha then saw what had happened to the young fellow, and he immediately apologized. The young fellow said in reply "That he was proud that he could say that he had been struck with a whip by such a brave man, and the commandant general of the Boer Army."
Among Colonel Benson's letters was one written that day to his wife, and in it he stated that he had been searching for the Boers all day and had been much disappointed in not finding them, for he was longing for a fight. The letter was returned to be forwarded. Colonel Benson had a great reputation as an artillerist, and was undoubtedly one of the bravest and most dashing officers in the English Army.
General De Wet and some of his commandants had a few small fights in the Free State, but none of any importance. General Smuts was creating considerable excitement in Cape Colony, and some of the commandants were doing likewise. One of Smuts' commandos captured about 200 men hi one fight. The English press claim that these men deliberately refused to fight, and laid down their arms on a preconcerted agreement. I do not know how much truth there is in this, but I do know that the Tommies were getting tired of being shot down. Many hundreds of prisoners taken on the high veldt would fairly beg not to be released, and said they would be glad to live on. mush and meat. They were so utterly disgusted with the war that many, after being released, would follow up the Boer commandos, and then beg not to be sent away. Sometimes they had to be sent in with an escort. We could have put many in the bush veldt where there was food, but had any of them died of sickness, the English would have sent the news broadcast that they had been murdered. Evidently they preferred to be so murdered by the Boers rather than be actually murdered by their incompetent English officers.
With few exceptions, certain it is that the British soldier had but little respect for the British officer. Many times Lord Kitchener sent his cablegrams charging the Boers with maltreating or murdering some of the English prisoners, and after peace was made some British officers took pleasure in throwing this libellous charge into my face. In every instance I replied "Yes, you make this charge against the Boers; but call up some of the men who were taken prisoners at the same time, and let me hear what they have to say about it." Not one of them would think of doing this, because they said that an English officer's word was as good as his bond. No English officer would dare to submit the case to such a test, because he knows that the first man questioned would prove him a liar.
I came near getting into trouble with some of them on this subject, for at times my retorts were very warm and to the point, considering that I had just surrendered my rifle, and was being closely watched by a lot of hounds. The very fact that every one took particular pains to bring up this subject was proof in itself that they were lying, and trying to find some one who might say that possibly he had seen one man unfairly shot. I have seen and talked with hundreds of English prisoners, but never heard one make any such a charge. In fact, everyone will tell you that the Boers treated him as a soldier and a man, wounded or not wounded. In other parts of the land, there was no fighting of any consequence.
In December, although we had the usual daily attacks on the high veldt, there is but one that I will mention, because I read General Bruce Hamilton's report of it. At Wilkrans, a high ridge about nine miles from Ermelo, there were about 300 of us camped, with General Piet Viljoen in command. From this position, our scouts reports ed that there were twenty-eight English camps in striking distance and well around us. Our chances for escape were none too good. Yet General Piet Viljoen did not consider that we were in any danger.
Without going into details, I will simply say that at daylight the following morning, we were surrounded by 4,000 cavalry, and it was a case of run for your life or surrender. All escaped but sixty* nine men, and our one cannon. Not a man was killed on our side, that is certain, and if any were wounded, they were taken prisoners. We escaped under a hot fire, and this was kept up on us for about three miles. In his report, General Bruce Hamilton had sixteen killed, many wounded, whom he left at the farm ruins, and one gun taken, as well as sixty-nine prisoners. How an English general can report such a monstrous lie is beyond me, for he knows that his men know, and that we know that no one was killed on the Boer side. Within half an hour after the English left, some of the boys rode back to look over the place. There was but one man killed in that fight, and he was a Scotchman whom the English half buried before they left. Bruce Hamilton is generally known as "Brute" Hamilton, and while this name fits him as far as it goes, yet "Brute Hamilton the liar" would fit him still better.
It was during this month, too, that I suffered the loss of my old friend and companion, Major J. L>. Pretorius. During my absence he and thirty-three artillery boys were surrounded by about 300 cavalry near Balmoral Station, and captured. Be it said to his credit that he and his men never surrendered. Every cartridge they had they fired, and when they had no more, the English simply came and took them. I was sure he would never hoist the white flag, and I was sure, too, that he would never surrender as long as he had a cartridge left. He was a dashing fellow, thirty years old, and did not know what fear was. He is one of the great Pretorius family of South Africa, and he made the name good. Had he not been so reckless, I think he would have been appointed a general, and I am sure he would have proved himself a most brilliant one.
To show what a reckless devil he was, I will tell you that one day I was about 1,500 yards from him and another reckless fellow, Lieutenant Roos, of the artillery. They wished to attract my attention and have me come where they were. To do this he and Roos loaded their rifles, took deliberate aim, and fired at us. The bullets went just over our heads, and struck not twenty feet from us. We concluded they were English, and prepared to return the fire, when off they galloped. We went after them and found them at a house that had only been partially destroyed. We recognized their horses tied to a tree, and rode up to them. I gave him blazes, but he simply smiled, and said, "Can't you take a joke?"
Now that he had been captured, I felt very lonely, and took but little pleasure in every-day life. The English were continually after us, however, and surrounded about eighty of us at daylight in the morning. Firing seemed to come from all directions but one, and in that direction we looked for safety. We went at full speed and had gone but a few hundred yards when we saw some cavalry just coming up in front of us. We thought we were gone, and this cavalry thought we were charging them, so off they went at the top of their speed. We were brave now and went right after them, scattered them and chased them three miles, when we stopped, having captured in the race sixty-three of them with as many fine horses. That is what we considered great luck.
Now I will go into the Free State, and say a few words about one of General De Wet's most daring deeds.
It was at Groenkop, a high hill on the farm Tweefontein, near the little town of Bethlehem. It was Christmas eve and all wanted a Christmas pie. This was a high hill with three very steep, abrupt sides, while the other was a gentle slope leading to the plain below. On the top of this hill were about 380 men well protected in about twelve forts. General De Wet, when it was dark, took 500 men and approached the steep side opposite the one of easy ascent, because he knew that the English would all prepare for attack from the easiest way. He and his men crawled up that hill, and when first challenged by the English sentry they rushed forward, and after a hot face to face fight, captured all the force, forts and stores. According to General De Wet's own report, he lost fourteen killed and thirty wounded, while the English lost 116 dead and wounded, and 240 prisoners. He took one cannon, one pom-pom, twenty wagons, a great quantity of ammunition and rifles, 500 horses and mules, and a load of whiskey, so he and his men were well supplied for a fine Christmas dinner.
Strange to say, the Boers nearly always took from the English their Christmas dinners. The first Christmas they took nearly all the Queen's chocolates, the second Christmas, all the plum puddings, and now General De Wet, a third Christmas, has taken the poor devils' Christmas dinner from them again. I heard some prisoners once say that they wished their friends at home would secretly send them Christmas dinners three months ahead, so that they could get them and eat them before the Boers found it out.
Generals Smuts and Kritsinger continued to make things merry in Cape Colony, and their commandants helped themselves to several convoys, much to the regret of the English, but with great pleasure to themselves. Before the month closed, however, General Kritsinger was severely wounded while trying to rescue one of his wounded men near a block house, and was in consequence captured. In this was a severe loss, for he was a dashing and persistent fighter.
Many other small fights took place, and the Boer commandants were generally successful in taking a few prisoners and wagons.
