From the evidence on the trial at bar of Dr. Jameson and his comrades, it appears that about 20th October, 1895, orders were given to the Matabeleland Border Police to move southward. After this, further mobilization of other bodies took place and during the first week in December there collected at Pitsani Potlogo the body of men from whom Dr. Jameson's invading column was afterwards selected. For three weeks the men were continuously drilled and practised in all warlike exercises and thoroughly prepared for the enterprise which their leaders had in view. On Sunday, December 29, at about three in the afternoon, the little force was paraded and Dr. Jameson read to them the letter of invitation quoted in a previous chapter. He is alleged by certain witnesses to have said that he had just received this and that they could not refuse to go to the assistance of their countrymen in distress, and he confidently appealed to the men to support him. He said that he did not anticipate any bloodshed at all. They would proceed by forced marching straight through to Johannesburg, and would reach that town before the Boers were aware of his movements, and certainly before they could concentrate to stop him. It has been alleged by some witnesses that the men of the Bechuanaland Border Police who advanced from Mafeking under the command of Colonel Grey and Major Coventry were not so fully informed as to their destination and the reasons for the movement until they were actually in marching order to start. It would appear however from the general summary of the evidence and from the reports of the men who took part in the expedition, that they were informed that the destination of the force was Johannesburg, that the object was to render assistance to their countrymen in that town who were being grossly misruled by the Transvaal Government and were at that time in grievous straits and peril through having endeavoured to assert their rights and obtain the reforms for which they had so long been agitating, and that the immediate reason for marching was the receipt of an urgent appeal from Johannesburg citizens, which appeal (the letter of invitation) was duly read to them. In reply to questions as to whether they were fighting under the Queen's orders, they were informed that they were going to fight for the supremacy of the British flag in South Africa. A considerable proportion of the men declined to take part in the enterprise, and it is probably largely due to defections at the last moment that the statement was made that 700 men had started with Dr. Jameson, whereas it appears that only 480 ever left the Protectorate.
The following is a portion of the Majority Report of the Select Committee on the Jameson Raid appointed by the Cape House of Assembly:
On the 26th December there was a sudden check. On the afternoon of that day Colonel Rhodes telegraphs to Charter, Capetown, 'It is absolutely necessary to postpone flotation. Charles Leonard left last night for Capetown.' Messages to the same effect were sent from Mr. S.W. Jameson to his brother, and from Dr. Harris for the Chartered Company to Dr. Jameson, the latter concluding: 'So you must not move till you hear from us again. Too awful. Very sorry.'
As to the nature of the hitch that occurred, there is some light thrown on it by the statement from Mr. S.W. Jameson to his brother that any movement must be postponed 'until we have C.J. Rhodes' absolute pledge that authority of Imperial Government will not be insisted on,' a point that is further alluded to in Telegram No. 6,537 of Appendix QQ of the 28th December.
Whatever the exact nature of the obstacle was, there can be no doubt that some at least of the Johannesburg confederates were much alarmed and took all possible steps to stay proceedings.
In addition to urgent telegrams special messengers were sent to impress on Dr. Jameson the necessity for delay. One of these, Captain Holden, made his way across country.
According to Mr. Hammond's evidence Holden arrived at Mafeking on the 28th December, and went in with the column.
The other messenger was Captain Maurice Heany, who left Johannesburg on the 26th December, and on the 27th telegraphed from Bloemfontein to Charter, Capetown, informing them that 'Zebrawood' (Colonel Rhodes) had asked him to 'stop "Zahlbar" (Dr. Jameson) till Heany sees him,' and asking that a special train might be arranged for him. Dr. Harris replied to Kimberley on the 28th informing him that a special train was arranged, and added, 'lose no time or you will be late.'
It is in evidence that this special train was provided by the Chartered Company, that Heany left by it, caught up the ordinary train at Vryburg, and that he reached Mafeking at 4.30 a.m. on Sunday, the 29th.
The evidence is that he was coming with an urgent message to stop Dr. Jameson; that on his arrival at Mafeking he waked up Mr. Isaacs, a local storekeeper, and purchased a pair of field boots and a kit-bag, and proceeded by special cart to Pitsani; and that he subsequently on the same evening accompanied Dr. Jameson on his inroad and was captured at Doornkop.{24}
On the 27th, after receiving the discouraging telegrams mentioned above from Johannesburg, Dr. Jameson telegraphed to Harris, Charter, Capetown, 'I am afraid of Bechuanaland Police for cutting wire. They have now all gone forward, but will endeavour to put a stop to it. Therefore expect to receive telegram from you nine to-morrow morning authorizing movements. Surely Col. F.W. Rhodes advisable to come to terms at once. Give guarantee, or you can telegraph before Charles Leonard arrived.' This doubtless alludes to the necessity for guarantee mentioned in the message from S.W. Jameson, and the alternative suggestion was that authority to proceed should be given before the arrival of the Johannesburg delegate at Capetown.
Two hours later on the same day he sends another message of the utmost importance. He informs Harris, Charter, Capetown, as follows: 'If I cannot, as I expect, communicate with Bechuanaland Border Police cutting, then we must carry into effect original plans. They have then two days for flotation. If they do not, we will make our own flotation with help of letter, which I will publish.'
On the same day Dr. Jameson telegraphed to his brother in Johannesburg as follows: 'Guarantee already given, therefore let J.H. Hammond telegraph instantly all right.'
To this Mr. Hammond sent a most positive reply absolutely condemning his proposed action.
As bearing upon the attitude of the force at Pitsani, it may be noted that on the same day that the foregoing correspondence was taking place, Mr. A. Bates was despatched from Mafeking into the Transvaal with instructions from Major Raleigh Grey to collect information and meet Dr. Jameson en route. He was supplied with a horse and money, and seems to have done his best to carry out instructions.
Early the next day Dr. Jameson telegraphed to Harris, Charter, Capetown: 'There will be no flotation if left to themselves; first delay was races, which did not exist; second policies, already arranged. All mean fear.{25} You had better go as quickly as possible and report fully, or tell Hon. C.J. Rhodes to allow me.'
The reply to this was: 'It is all right if you will only wait. Captain Maurice Heany comes to you from Col. F.W. Rhodes by special train to-day.' And, again, two hours later, Dr. Harris for the Chartered Company telegraphs: 'Goold Adams arrives Mafeking Monday, and Heany, I think, arrives to-night; after seeing him, you and we must judge regarding flotation, but all our foreign friends are now dead against it and say public will not subscribe one penny towards even with you as a director—Ichabod.'
Still on the same day two further telegrams to Dr. Jameson were sent from Capetown, almost together, of a strongly discouraging tenour. One of them concludes by saying 'we cannot have fiasco,' and the other informs Dr. Jameson that Lionel Phillips anticipates complete failure of any premature action.
On the same day Dr. Harris informs Colonel Rhodes at Johannesburg that, 'Have arranged for Captain Maurice Heany; Dr. Jameson awaiting Capt. Maurice Heany's arrival. Keep market firm.'
And later:
'Charles Leonard says flotation not popular, and England's bunting will be resisted by public. Is it true? Consult all our friends and let me know, as Dr. Jameson is quite ready to move resolution and is only waiting for Captain Heany's arrival.'
A few hours later Dr. Jameson telegraphs to Harris, Charter, Capetown: 'Received your telegram Ichabod re Capt. Maurice Heany. Have no further news. I require to know. Unless I hear definitely to the contrary, shall leave to-morrow evening and carry into effect my second telegram (Appendix QQ, No. 06365) of yesterday to you, and it will be all right.'
On the next morning, Sunday the 29th, Heany arrived at Mafeking, and after making the purchases detailed above, left by special cart for the camp at Pitsani, where he probably arrived about eight o'clock a.m. At five minutes past nine Dr. Jameson telegraphed to Harris, Charter, Capetown: 'Shall leave to-night for the Transvaal. My reason is the final arrangement with writers of letter was that, without further reference to them, in case I should hear at some future time that suspicions have been aroused as to their intention among the Transvaal authorities, I was to start immediately to prevent loss of lives, as letter states. Reuter only just received. Even without my own information of meeting in the Transvaal, compel immediate move to fulfil promise made. We are simply going to protect everybody while they change the present dishonest Government and take vote from the whole country as to form of Government required by the whole.'
The force took with them provisions for one day only, relying on the commissariat arrangements made on their behalf by Dr. Wolff en route. They were well mounted and armed with Lee-Metford carbines, and took with them eight Maxims, two seven-pounders and one twelve-pounder. In order to facilitate quick movement no heavy equipment was taken, and but little spare ammunition. The vehicles attending the column were six Scotch carts and one Cape cart. The total distance to be covered was about 170 miles to Johannesburg, or 150 miles to Krugersdorp. The start was made from Pitsani shortly after 5 p.m., and marching was continued throughout the night. The force consisted of about 350 of the Chartered forces under Colonel Sir John Willoughby, Major in the Royal Horse Guards; the Hon. H. F. White, Major 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards; Hon. R. White, Captain Royal Welsh Fusiliers; Major J. B. Tracey, 2nd Battalion Scots Guards; Captain C. H. Villiers, Royal Horse Guards; and 120 of the Bechuanaland Border Police under Major Raleigh Grey, Captain 6th Inniskillen Dragoons, and the Hon. C. J. Coventry, Captain 3rd Militia Battalion Worcester Regiment. The two contingents met at Malmani at about sunrise on Monday morning, December 30. They marched throughout that day and night and the following day, Tuesday. There were half-hour rests about every twenty miles for rationing the men and feeding and watering the horses, the fodder being ready for the horses at various stores. Provisions for the men consisted of tinned meats and biscuits. There was no lack of provisions at all; but the men complained afterwards that they were so overcome with fatigue from continuous marching that when they reached the resting-places they generally lay down where they dismounted, and slept, instead of taking the food which was ready for them. A serious fault in the conduct of the expedition appears to have been the lack of opportunity for rest and food afforded the men. It was contended that the same or a higher average of speed might have been attained by pressing on faster for spells of a few hours and allowing reasonable intervals for rest and refreshment. Only about 130 miles had been covered by the column during the seventy hours that they were on the march before they were first checked by any serious opposition from the Boers.
On Monday, December 30, at about 1 p.m., Mr. F.J. Newton, Resident Commissioner at Mafeking, received the following telegram from the High Commissioner, Capetown, dated the same day:
It is rumoured here that Dr. Jameson has entered the Transvaal with an armed force. Is this so? If so, send special messenger on fast horse directing him to return immediately. A copy of this telegram should be sent to the officers with him, and they should be told that this violation of the territory of a friendly State is repudiated by Her Majesty's Government, and that they are rendering themselves liable to severe penalties.
Mr. Newton at once addressed to Dr. Jameson and each of the chief officers with him the following letter:
SIR,
I have the honour to enclose copy of a telegram which I have received from His Excellency the High Commissioner, and I have accordingly to request that you will immediately comply with His Excellency's instructions.
Trooper J.T. White was despatched as soon as possible with the five letters, enclosed in waterproof, with instructions to ride until he caught up to Dr. Jameson and delivered the letters. He was stopped by a party of armed Boers and taken before Landdrost Marais at Malmani, where the despatches were opened and read. He was delayed for four hours, and then allowed to proceed with an escort. On Tuesday morning he crossed the Elands River and caught up the column at about 11 a.m. He had ridden all night, covering about eighty miles. He alleges that at first the officers would not take the letters, but eventually Sir John Willoughby accepted and read his and the others followed suit. He stated that he had been instructed to deliver the letters personally, and to get a reply. Sir John Willoughby sent a message by him stating that the despatches would be attended to. Shortly after this Dr. Jameson also received a protest from the Commandant of the Marico district against his invasion of the State, to which he sent the following reply:
December 30, 1895.
SIR,
I am in receipt of your protest of the above date, and have to inform you that I intend proceeding with my original plans, which have no hostile intention against the people of the Transvaal; but we are here in reply to an invitation from the principal residents of the Rand to assist them in their demand for justice and the ordinary rights of every citizen of a civilized State.
Yours faithfully
L.S. JAMESON.
White states that this was about noon, and 'then the bugle sounded and the column moved off.' The force continued advancing in much the same way throughout Tuesday, and at 6 p.m. a skirmisher of the advanced guard met Lieutenant Eloff of the Krugersdorp District Police, who had been instructed by his Government to ride to Mafeking, presumably for the purpose of getting information. He had come with a guard of nine men, whom he had left some distance off; advancing alone to meet the column. He states that when released after two hours' delay he left the forces, and passing along the Rustenburg road met a commando of some 300 Boers with whom he made a circuit to avoid the column, and reached Krugersdorp before it did. From this it is clear that the Boers were collecting in considerable numbers to meet the invading force, and were moving with much greater rapidity than their enemies.
On Wednesday morning, at about 5.30, Messrs. Theron and Bouwer (despatch riders), who had been sent by Sir Jacobus de Wet, British Agent at Pretoria, at 1.30 p.m. on the previous day with a despatch for Dr. Jameson, reached the column and delivered their letters, and stated that they had been instructed to take back a reply as soon as possible. Dr. Jameson said, 'All right; I'll give you a reply,' and within a few minutes he handed to them the following letter:
January 1.
DEAR SIR,
I am in receipt of the message you sent from His Excellency the High Commissioner, and beg to reply, for His Excellency's information, that I should, of course, desire to obey his instructions, but, as I have a very large force of both men and horses to feed, and having finished all my supplies in the rear, must perforce proceed to Krugersdorp or Johannesburg this morning for this purpose. At the same time I must acknowledge I am anxious to fulfil my promise on the petition of the principal residents of the Rand, to come to the aid of my fellow-men in their extremity. I have molested no one, and have explained to all Dutchmen met that the above is my sole object, and that I shall desire to return at once to the Protectorate. I am, etc.,
(Signed) L.S. JAMESON.
At about 10.30 a.m. on the same day (January 1) two cyclists, Messrs. Celliers and Rowland, carrying despatches from members of the Reform Committee, met the column. The letters were received by Dr. Jameson, and taken with him as far as Doornkop, where, upon surrender of the force, they appear to have been torn up. With that good fortune which seems to have followed the Boers throughout this business, these torn fragments were picked up on the battle-field by a Boer official four months later, having remained undisturbed during the severe rain and wind storms of the wet season. Some portions were missing, but the others were pieced together and produced in evidence against the Reform prisoners. The letters are printed hereunder as they were written, as testified by the writers, and, in the case of the first one, by others who read it before it was despatched. The italics represent the fragments of the letters which were never found:{26}
DEAR DR.
The rumour of massacre in Johannesburg that started you to our relief was not true. We are all right, feeling intense. We have armed a lot of men. Shall be very glad to see you. We are not in possession of the town. I shall send out some men to
You are a fine fellow. Yours ever
F.R.{27}
We will all drink a glass along o' you.
L.P.{28}
31st, 11.30. Kruger has asked for some of us to go over and treat: armistice for 24 hours agreed to. My view is that they are in a funk at Pretoria, and they were wrong to agree from here.
F.R.{27}
DR. JAMESON.
It may be noted that the tone of this correspondence does not appear to be in accord with the attitude taken up by the Reform Committee. The letters however were written on Tuesday the 31st, when there was a general belief that Dr. Jameson had started in good faith, misled by some false reports. In the second letter Colonel Rhodes expresses the opinion that it was wrong to agree to send in a deputation to meet the Government. This was written before the deputation had gone to Pretoria, and clearly implies that the moral effect of treating would be bad. The phrasing also shows that the so-called armistice was for the purpose of treating, and not the treating for the purpose of securing an armistice: in other words, that the armistice would expire, and not commence, with the treating.
From the evidence given by the cyclist Rowland, it appears that he stated to Dr. Jameson that he could get 2,000{29} armed men to go out to his assistance; and Rowland in evidence alleged further that there was some offer of assistance in one of the despatches, and that Dr. Jameson, in reply, said he did not need any assistance, but that if 2,000 men should come out probably the Boers would draw off. This witness in his evidence at Bow Street also alleged that one of the despatches expressed surprise at Dr. Jameson's movement. There is now a complete record of these despatches. They make no allusions to giving assistance, and the Johannesburg leaders are very clear on the point that no promise or offer of assistance was ever made. The reply which Dr. Jameson caused to be sent was concealed in one of the bicycles, which were seized by the Boer authorities on the return ride of the despatch-carriers, and was not brought to light until the following March, when a mechanic who was repairing the broken bicycle discovered it.
The much-debated question of whether assistance was ever promised or expected should be finally disposed of by the publication of two documents which have not heretofore appeared in print. They are (a) the reply of Dr. Jameson to Colonel Rhodes' letters, and (b) the report of Mr. Celliers, the cyclist despatch-rider who took the letter and received the reply, which report was taken down in shorthand by the clerks in the Reform Committee room as it was made verbally by him immediately on his return. Both these records dispose of Mr. Rowland's statement about 2,000 men; and apart from this it should be observed that Mr. Celliers was the messenger sent by Colonel Rhodes and not Mr. Rowland; the latter having been later on picked up 'for company,' was presumably less qualified to speak about the instructions and messages than Celliers, from whom indeed he learned all that he knew.
The letter was written by Col. H. F. White in the presence of the cyclists, and partly at the dictation of Dr. Jameson. It was in the form of a memorandum from Col. H. F. White to Col. Frank Rhodes, and bore no signature; but the last line was in Dr. Jameson's handwriting, and was initialed by him. It ran as follows:
As you may imagine, we are all well pleased by your letter. We have had some fighting, and hope to reach Johannesburg to-night, but of course it will depend on the amount of fighting we have. Of course we shall be pleased to have 200 men meet us at Krugersdorp, as it will greatly encourage the men, who are in great heart although a bit tired. Love to Sam, Phillips, and rest,
L. S. J.
Mr. Celliers' report—after detailing the incidents of the ride out—runs:
... I reached the column between 9 and 10 o'clock. I saw Dr. Jameson personally. He received us very well, and was very glad with the news I brought him. He read the despatch, and asked me for full details. I told him the strength of the Boers and the dangers he was in. I told him that they had no guns, and all that I saw and heard that they had during my travels. I explained to him everything in detail. The Doctor seemed to be very brave. He told me that he had two scrimmages, and that no damage had been done. I said to him whether it would not be well for him to halt until we got through and sent him some help. The Doctor said he did not think there was anything to fear, and at the same time he did not want to go to Johannesburg as a pirate, and it would be well for them to send some men to meet him. I also made inquiries as to whether I could return by any other road, but found it was impossible, and that we had to come back the same way. I got his despatch, shook hands with him, wished us well, and set on our journey back.
The report, which is given above literally as transcribed from the shorthand notes, concludes with an account of the return journey. Mr. Celliers in a subsequent statement confirmed the above, and added:
The impression which the Doctor gave me most certainly was that he had never expected help and did not want it.{30}
The march continued on towards Krugersdorp. At one or two places a few shots were fired by Boer pickets, and on one occasion the Maxims of the invading force were turned on a party of some fifty Boers ensconced in a good position. No casualties however occurred until Krugersdorp was reached at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. A message was sent by Sir John Willoughby to the authorities at Krugersdorp that if he encountered any opposition he would shell the town, and he warned them to have their women and children removed.
Shortly after mid-day positions were taken up on the hills pear Krugersdorp, and at three o'clock severe fighting took place which lasted well on into the night. An ambush at the crushing mill and works of the Queen's Mine was shelled and an attempt was made to storm it by a small party of the invaders. It was unsuccessful however, and after nightfall Dr. Jameson's force was obliged to retreat from its position and seek a more advantageous one on higher ground.
They had suffered a reverse at the hands of a somewhat larger force of Boers who had selected a very strong position. Firing did not cease until 11 p.m. Here it is alleged the fatal military mistake of the expedition was committed. No precautions had been taken to ascertain the road. Instead of being well acquainted with the direction to be taken the force was dependent upon a guide picked up on the spot, a man who was never seen after the events of the following day and is freely alleged to have been a Boer agent. It is stated by competent judges that, had Dr. Jameson's force pushed on during the night on the main road to Johannesburg, they would have succeeded in reaching that town without difficulty. As it was however they camped for the night in the direction of Randfontein and in the early morning struck away south, attempting a big detour to avoid the road which they had tried to force the previous night. There is but little doubt that they were shepherded into the position in which they were called upon to fight at Doornkop. The following description of the Doornkop fight was written by Captain Frank Younghusband, the correspondent of the London Times, who was an eye-witness:
Galloping over the rolling open grassy downs in search of Dr. Jameson's force which was expected to arrive at Johannesburg at any moment, my companion Heygate and myself saw between us two forces, both stationary. Then one began to move away and from the regularity of its movement we recognized that this must be Dr. Jameson's trying to round the opposing Boer forces. We found a Boer guard holding the only ford across the stream; so going up to the Commander we asked for news. He, after questioning us, told us all that had occurred.
He was a field-cornet from Potchefstroom, and leader of one division of the Boers. He said that yesterday, January 1, Dr. Jameson had attacked the Boer force at the George and May Mine, two miles north-west of Krugersdorp, a small mining township twenty-one miles west of Johannesburg. Fighting took place from three in the afternoon to eleven at night, Dr. Jameson making three principal attacks, and doing great damage with his artillery, which the Boers, having then no guns, were unable to reply to.
My informant, the Boer leader, said that both then and to-day Dr. Jameson's men behaved with great gallantry, and he also said that admirable arrangements had been made at Krugersdorp for nursing the wounded on both sides.
This morning the Boers took up a position at Vlakfontein, eight miles on the Johannesburg side of Krugersdorp, on a circuitous road to the south by which Dr. Jameson was marching. The Boers in the night had been reinforced by men and with artillery and Maxims. Their position was an exceedingly strong one on an open slope, but along a ridge of rocks cropping out of it. It was a right-angled position and Dr. Jameson attacked them in the re-entering angle, thus having fire on his front and flank.
To attack this position his men had to advance over a perfectly open gently-sloping grassy down, while the Boers lay hid behind rocks and fired with rifles, Maxims, and artillery upon their assailants. The Boers numbered from 1,200 to 1,500, Dr. Jameson's force about 500, and the position was practically unassailable.
Dr. Jameson, after making a desperate effort to get through, surrendered, and as we stood we saw his brave little band riding dejectedly back again to Krugersdorp without their arms and surrounded by a Boer escort.
We were allowed to ride close up, but were refused permission to see Dr. Jameson. It is therefore impossible to state his full reasons, but it is known that he was made aware that it was impossible to send assistance from here, and this may have influenced him in giving up the contest when he found the enemy's position so strong that in any case it would have been no disgrace to have been beaten by superior numbers of such a brave foe as that Boer force which I saw in the very position they had fought in. It was evident that probably no one had ever started on a more desperate venture than had this daring little force, and they gained by their gallantry the adoration, not only of the Boer burghers who spoke to me, but of the whole town of Johannesburg.
These Boers—rough, simple men, dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, with merely a rifle slung over the shoulder to show they were soldiers—spoke in feeling terms of the splendid bravery shown by their assailants. They were perfectly calm and spoke without any boastfulness in a self-reliant way. They said, pointing to the ground, that the thing was impossible, and hence the present result.
The total loss of Dr. Jameson's force is about twenty. Major Grey was, they said, the principal military officer, and they thought that no officer was killed, and that the report that Sir John Willoughby had been killed was unfounded. He and Dr. Jameson have been taken to Pretoria.
At 9.15 o'clock the white flag was put up. Sir J. Willoughby, the officer in command of the force, then sent the following note addressed to the Commandant of the Transvaal Forces:
We surrender, provided that you guarantee us safe conduct out of the country for every member of the force.
JOHN C. WILLOUGHBY.
A reply was sent within fifteen minutes, of which the following is a literal translation:
OFFICER,—Please take note that I shall immediately assemble our officers to decide upon your communication.
COMMANDANT.
Twenty or thirty minutes later a second note was received by the surrendering force, addressed 'John C. Willoughby':
I acknowledge your letter. The answer is that, if you will undertake to pay the expense which you have caused the South African Republic, and if you will surrender with your arms, then I shall spare the lives of you and yours. Please send me a reply to this within thirty minutes.
P. A. CRONJÉ. Commandant, Potchefstroom.
Within fifteen minutes of the receipt of this letter, Sir J. Willoughby replied, accepting the conditions in the following terms:
I accept the terms on the guarantee that the lives of all will be spared. I now await your instructions as to how and where we are to lay down our arms. At the same time I would ask you to remember that my men have been without food for the last twenty-four hours.
'The flag sent with the first message (to quote the statement made on behalf of Sir J. Willoughby by his solicitor, Mr. B.F. Hawksley) was sent perhaps a little earlier than 9.15. Dr. Jameson's force ceased firing as soon as the flag was hoisted, except on the extreme right. Messengers were sent to stop that firing, and all firing ceased within five minutes. The Boers continued to fire for some ten minutes, and for some time after Jameson's force had ceased. After Sir J. Willoughby had received the first answer the State Artillery opened fire and continued firing for at least fifteen minutes. Sir J. Willoughby sent Colonel the Hon. H. White and Captain Grenfell to the Commandant with a note requesting to know the reason for firing on a flag of truce, and requesting that it might cease. Sir J. Willoughby has no copy of the letter he wrote accepting the conditions offered by Cronjé, but it was to the effect above given. 'Besides Cronjé, Commandant Malan was acquainted with the terms of surrender, for after Jameson's force had given up their arms Commandant Malan came up and repudiated part of the terms, saying he would not guarantee the lives of Jameson and the leaders, and that they would be handed over to General Joubert, who would decide their fate.'
The decision having been announced to the forces, and many of the men having stacked their arms and dropped off to sleep where they lay in the veld, several other commandants joined Cronjé, and an altercation took place in the presence of the surrendered officers, Commandant Malan of Rustenburg violently proclaiming that Cronjé had no right to spare the lives of the force, and that it lay with the Commandant-General and Krijgsraad (or War Council) to decide what should be done with the prisoners. Commandant Cronjé replied that they had surrendered to him upon certain conditions, and those conditions had been accepted by him. In the course of the discussion, in which several other prominent Boers joined, disapproval was generally expressed of Cronjé's acceptance of the terms and threats were used to Dr. Jameson in person. Eye-witnesses on the Boer side state that Dr. Jameson declined to discuss the matter further; he merely bowed and walked away. It may be remarked that it is not by any means unusual for the Boers to seek to stretch to their advantage terms which they have previously agreed upon. There can now be no question as to the conditions of the surrender. The officer in command on the field agreed to spare the lives of the entire force, and it was not competent for anyone to reverse that decision or to reopen the question. The incident is instructive, and also important since the lives of Dr. Jameson and his men were made to play a considerable part in President Kruger's game of magnanimity later on.{31}
The Johannesburg Star correspondent, describing the surrender, says:
There were upwards of 400 altogether, and the poor fellows made a sorry sight—tired from their long march, their privations, and the tremendous strain of continuous engagements for nearly twenty-four hours. Some almost slept in their saddles as they were being escorted; and when they arrived on Krugersdorp Market Square the scene will not soon be forgotten.
The Boers freely mixed with them and talked with them. Provisions were brought, and devoured with ravenous hunger. In many cases the Boers gave from their own scant stock of provisions to the starving men, for whom they expressed the utmost admiration for their pluckiness and determination.
Dr. Jameson and his principal officers, including Sir John Willoughby, were brought in separately from the main body of the captured troops. Although the Boers treated most of the prisoners with consideration, they jeered somewhat when Dr. Jameson was brought forward; but this was promptly suppressed by the Commandants. Dr. Jameson and the officers were temporarily housed in the Court-house, together with the other officers captured previously.
A mule-waggon was brought up, fitted with mattresses. The chief officers were despatched to Pretoria under a strong escort of Boers. About half an hour later the rest of the prisoners were also escorted out of the town to Pretoria, most of them on their own horses. Both men and horses were extremely emaciated.
The burgher losses were reported to have been 4 killed and 5 wounded. The losses of Dr. Jameson's force were 18 killed and about 40 wounded.
There were also taken: 400 magazine and Lee-Metford rifles, 8 Maxims (one spiked, or with the breach-piece gone), 4 field-pieces, 33,000 rifle cartridges, 10 cases of Maxim cartridges, 10 cases of projectiles, 2 sacks of projectiles, 300 cartridge-belts, 13 revolvers, 4 mule-waggons, 5 Scotch carts, 742 horses (in which were included the 250 horses which were captured in charge of two troopers near Blaaubank), a full-blooded stallion (the property of Dr. Jameson), 400 saddles, bridles etc., 38 mules with harness, 1 telegraph instrument (probably to tap wires with), harness and other accoutrements and instruments of war.
The prisoners were treated with every consideration by their captors, with the exception perhaps of Dr. Jameson himself, who was threatened by some of the unruly ones and freely hissed and hooted, but was protected by the officers in charge. It must be said of the Boers that they acted with admirable self-restraint and dignity in a position such as very few are called upon to face. However politic their actions may have been in their fear of provoking conflict with Johannesburg and the Imperial Government, however the juggling with Dr. Jameson's life afterwards and the spurious magnanimity so freely advertized, may detract from what they did and may tend to bring ridicule and suspicion upon them, one cannot review the broad facts of the Jameson invasion, and realize a position which, if only for the moment, gave the aggrieved party unlimited scope for revenge upon an aggressor who had not the semblance of personal wrong or interest nor the pretext of duty to justify his action, without allowing to the Boers that they behaved in such a manner as, for a time, to silence even that criticism which is logically justifiable and ultimately imperative. In so far as the invading force are concerned, the words of Mr. A. J. Balfour aptly sum up the position: 'President Kruger has shown himself to possess a generosity which is not the less to be admired because it is coincident with the highest political wisdom.'
With reference to the surrender of the force, it is reasonable to believe that the Transvaal Government, knowing how serious the complications would be if civil war actually took place, and believing as they undoubtedly did that Johannesburg contained upwards of 20,000 armed men, were quite willing—indeed anxious—to secure the surrender of Dr. Jameson's force on any terms, and that the conditions made by Cronjé were quite in accordance with what the highest Boer authorities would have accepted. It seems to be beyond question also that the conditions of surrender were purposely suppressed in order to enable the President to bargain with Johannesburg; and, as has already been stated, such action materially detracted from the credit due to the Transvaal Government. This is their characteristic diplomacy—the fruit of generations of sharpening wits against savages; and the same is called Kaffir cunning, and is not understood at first by European people. But when all such considerations are weighed, there is still a large balance of credit due to the Boers for the manner in which they treated Dr. Jameson and his invading force. It is difficult to conceive of any people behaving better to a foe vanquished under such conditions; indeed, it would be quite impossible.
The Boers when under control of their leaders have generally behaved in an admirable manner. It is only when the individuals, unrestrained by those in authority, are left to exercise their power at the dictates of their own uncurbed passions, that the horrible scenes have occurred which have undoubtedly blemished their reputation.
In connection with the Jameson raid there was one such incident—the shooting of Trooper Black. The unfortunate man fell into the hands of the Boers while out scouting and was taken as a prisoner to a farmhouse near Blaaubank. There he was tied up and beaten, and it is stated by a woman who gave him water when he was half mad with thirst, that his face had been smashed by a blow from a rifle butt. When unable to bear the treatment any longer Black stood up and, tearing his shirt open, cried out, 'Don't shoot me in the back! Shoot here! My heart's in the right place.' He was then untied and (as alleged by Dutch witnesses) given an opportunity to escape. He mounted his horse, but before he had gone far was shot dead. On the appeal of Sir Jacobus de Wet the Government consented to investigate the matter; but the Commandant in charge, Piet Grobler, when questioned on the subject, merely replied, 'Oh, he [Black] was a very insolent fellow. We could do nothing with him.' The man who fired the shot despatching Black, a half-caste Boer named Graham, stated on his return from Pretoria that he was asked no questions at the so-called inquiry.
A somewhat similar incident took place, but fortunately with less serious results, on the way from the battle of Krugersdorp. A well-known resident of Johannesburg had ridden out to ascertain news of Dr. Jameson, and, arriving as the surrender took place, thrust his way among the Boers until he reached the Doctor, where he was arrested by the Boer authorities as a spy. Being a burgher of the State who had been resident in the Transvaal for some sixteen or seventeen years, he was recognized and rather harshly treated. He was attached by a leather thong to the saddle of one of the Boer Commandants and made to run, keeping pace with the horse. After a spell of this treatment he was released, and the Commandant in question offered to make a bet with him that he would not be able to race him on horseback to the ambulance waggons a few hundred yards off, the prisoner to take a short cut across a swamp and the Commandant to ride round by the road. The prisoner thereupon replied, 'No, thank you, Commandant. I was in the Boer War myself and saw several men shot by that dodge, on the pretence that they were escaping.' The worthy Commandant thereupon drew his stirrup from the saddle, and thrashed his prisoner with the stirrup end. After some ten days' imprisonment under exceptionally hard conditions the gentleman in question was released without trial.
The complete success of the Boer forces against Dr. Jameson's band has been accounted for in many ways, but undoubtedly the one reason, if one can be selected, which enabled them to deal with the invaders, was their ability to mobilize at short notice. And in this connection arises the question: Did the Boers know beforehand of the intended invasion, and were they waiting until Dr. Jameson should walk into the trap? On behalf of the Boers it is strenuously maintained that they had not the remotest notion of what was brewing, and that had such an idea occurred to them they would of course have reported matters to the High Commissioner. The President's unyielding mood before he heard of Dr. Jameson's start, and his change afterwards, the state of demoralization in Pretoria, the unpreparedness of the State Artillery, and the vacillation of General Joubert, the condition of alarm in which the President was during that night of suspense before the surrender, when Chief Justice Kotzé sat with him to aid and cheer, and when the old white horse stood saddled in the stable in case Johannesburg should attack Pretoria; all point to the conclusion that it was not all cut and dried. With a singular unanimity, the Boers and their friends and the majority of the Uitlanders in the Transvaal support this view; but there are on record certain facts which are not to be ignored. Apart altogether from the hearsay evidence of telegraphists and Boer officials in different parts of the country, who state that they were under orders from Government to remain at their posts day and night—that is to say to sleep in their offices—a fortnight before the Jameson raid took place, a significant piece of evidence is that supplied by the Transvaal Consul in London, Mr. Montagu White, who in a letter to the London Press stated that on December 16 he received information as to the plot against the independence of the Republic, and that he on that date cabled fully to President Kruger warning him of what was in contemplation, and that the President took the necessary precautions. Now, on December 14 it was announced in Pretoria that the President, being greatly in need of a rest and change, was about to undertake a tour through the country to visit his faithful burghers. Perusal of the newspapers of the time shows that among the Uitlanders no significance was attached to this visit. Indeed, the Uitlander press agreed that it had become painfully evident that His Honour required a change in order to restore his nervous system. As nothing can better represent the opinions of the time than the current comments of the Press, the following extracts from the Johannesburg Star are given:
In short, His Honour is developing an ungovernable irritability and a tendency to choleric obsessions, when the word 'Uitlander' is barely mentioned in his presence, that are causing the greatest concern to those around him. Only on some such grounds are explicable the raging exclamations he is reported to have permitted himself to lately use towards Johannesburg and the cause of reform upon which it is so earnestly engaged. That His Honour should have been generally credited with indulging in unconventional vernacular terms concerning the pronouncedly loyal and hearty reception accorded to him on his visit to the Rand Agricultural Show, seems to argue a lapse into the habits of his youngest days, which has a direct significance in the case of ordinary individuals, and is known by a very familiar name. That he should tragically declare that only across his bleeding corpse will the Uitlander ever come into his own, is merely the extravagant and regrettable melodrama of an overheated mind. The general desire is quite averse to encountering any stepping-stones of that kind, and most of all averse to Mr. Kruger's taking any such place. Our quarrel is with principles and systems, and never yet has a note of personal vengeance been sounded whilst we have endeavoured to compass their destruction. It is quite obvious that a little relaxation from the cares of State, or reversion to more primitive conditions, a freer communion with Nature—viewed from an ox-waggon—are eminently desirable to restore His Honour's shattered nerves.—December 14, 1895.
AT HIS POST.
His Honour the President has returned to the seat of Government. The itinerary appears to have been somewhat prematurely cut short; but no one is likely to so ridiculously underestimate the sterling qualities of His Honour as to conceive the possibility of his absence when difficulty and danger imperatively command his presence at the head of public affairs. The conclusions which Mr. Kruger has derived from converse with his faithful burghers are likely to remain buried in his own breast. The outward and ostensible object of his recent tour has been fulfilled in much the accustomed manner; that is to say, he has discussed with apparent interest the necessity for a pont here or a bridge there; the desirability of Government aid for tree-planting, the trouble which the farmers experience in getting native labour, and so forth, and so on; but we must not derive from all this peripatetic fustian the erroneous impression that His Honour has been vacuously fiddling on the eve of a conflagration. The real business which took him to Lydenburg and Middelburg has no doubt been satisfactorily accomplished. Boer sentiment has been tested in secret, and the usual professions of fervid patriotism and of readiness for target practice with the Uitlander as the mark have been profusely evoked. This sub-official aspect of the itinerary has been discreetly veiled in all the reports which have been permitted to transpire, and the censorship thereof has been more than normally exacting and severe; but we are from private sources left in no manner of doubt that Mr. Kruger has been canvassing and stimulating the Boers to be ready for any emergency, and has been metaphorically planting a war-beacon on every hill. All scrutiny and inquiry fail to discover that he has uttered one single word which can be described as an emollient to the present critical situation. He has pandered rather to the worst racial passions of the Boer, instead of using the enormous responsibility resting upon him in the direction of mediation. Old patriarchs—whom we cannot but respect and admire whilst we deplore their immitigable and hopeless rancour against the cause of the newcomer—have been permitted, apparently without rebuke, to show their wounds to the younger and more malleable generation in His Honour's presence, and to boast of their readiness to receive as much more lead as they can conveniently find room for. The tour, indeed, has been a wapenschouwing, with oratory of the most dangerous and pernicious type for its accompaniment. His Honour's contribution to this interesting display of martial ardour has been couched, as usual, in the enigmatic form. He has spoken another parable. A mind so fertile in image and in simile cannot have lost much of its wonted vigour. The one he has chosen to employ on this occasion is full of instruction, and is derived, as Mr. Kruger's images frequently are, from the arena of natural history. When you want to kill your tortoise, he must be artfully induced to imprudently protrude his head beyond his thick and impregnable shell, and then the task becomes a very easy one. This little parable was considered good for use on more than one occasion, varied by the addition that, if the tortoise be up to the trick, it is necessary to sit down and wait until he does make the fatal mistake. The only drawback to our profound intellectual delight in the parable is the question, 'Who will be the tortoise?'—December 27, 1895.
A perusal of the German White Book shows that
On December 24 the German Consul in Pretoria telegraphed to the Foreign Office that 'news from Johannesburg points to the preparation of disturbances by the English party there, and the Government is taking precautionary measures.' Baron von Marschall communicated this to Sir Frank Lascelles, and, after pointing out the possible consequence of bloodshed, emphasized once again the necessity for maintaining the status quo. In reply to the German Consul in Pretoria, the Secretary of State telegraphed a similar statement, adding: 'Impress energetically upon the Transvaal Government that it must most scrupulously avoid any provocation if it wishes to retain German sympathy.'
Another little light on the inside history is that afforded by Mr. J.C. Bodenstein, Field-cornet of the Krugersdorp district, who in the course of an interview accorded to the Standard and Diggers' News, the Johannesburg Government organ, stated how he came to know of Jameson's intended invasion. He heard that a certain young lady who resided at Luipaardsvlei, near Krugersdorp, whose fiancé occupied a good position in the Bechuanaland Border Police, had received a letter from him at Mafeking to the effect that he intended paying her a visit about the New Year, and that he would not be alone, as the whole force was coming to Johannesburg. The lady proved no exception to the alleged rule concerning secrets, and Field-cornet Bodenstein personally assured himself of the authenticity of the report he had heard.
On Friday, December 27, a German gentleman from the Free State also informed the Field-cornet that Dr. Jameson and his troopers might be expected at any time. 'On hearing this confirmation of the letter,' said Mr. Bodenstein, 'I went at once to Pretoria. I arrived there at eleven o'clock at night, and early the next morning I saw the President and informed him about the letter and what I had been told. He remarked quietly: "Yes, I have heard all about it" The General (Joubert) then said: "All right; I will send you the ammunition you require."'
In the report of the Select Committee of the Cape House of Assembly (Blue Book A 6 of 1896, page 76) there is the evidence of the Hon. J.A. Faure, M.L.C., which shows that he and Sir Thomas Upington, the Attorney-General of Cape Colony, were on a visit to Johannesburg on December 27, and heard it publicly stated that Dr. Jameson with 800 men was on the border for the purpose of invading the Transvaal. Mr. Faure testifies that he learned this from a very prominent Free State Dutchman. Among others, one would suppose that the Transvaal Government must also have heard something of it.
Dr. Veale, a well-known Pretoria doctor, states that at daybreak on Thursday, January 2, Commandant Hendrik Schoeman called on him to secure his professional attendance for a member of his family who was very ill. The Commandant said that he had been sent out on Monday to watch the invading force and to ascertain their numbers, and also stated that he had been following the troop with others for a considerable time and that he was sure Jameson had not 800 but between 450 and 500, as he had repeatedly counted them; that the force was being delayed by small parties drawing it into useless fighting and so losing time; that he himself had been obliged to come on ahead, having been recalled on account of his wife's serious illness, but that it made little difference as there were others to take his place, and they had arranged not to tackle Jameson until they had drawn him among the kopjes at Doornkop, where it would be quite impossible for him ever to get through. This statement it should be noted was made in Pretoria some hours before the Jameson force surrendered at Doornkop.
So certain do the Boers appear to have been, and so confident of their ability to carry out their plans, that they stated to a reporter of the Government newspaper that they intended to stop Jameson at Rietspruit (Doornkop), and this statement was published in a Johannesburg paper on the morning of January 1, but was of course regarded as mere gossip of a piece with that which flooded the newspapers at the time. It is only right to add that there were numbers of other announcements at the same time which by no means agreed with this one, and it is stated that the editor was as much surprised as the public to find that he had been right.
In reviewing the whole of the circumstances of the raid, not the most biased and most interested of persons can withhold a tribute of admiration to the President's presence of mind, skill, and courage in dealing with circumstances wholly without precedent; and in quiet moments, when recalling all that has happened, if human at all, his Honour must indulge in a chuckle now and then to think how completely he jockeyed everybody.{32} Not the least amusing recollection must be that of the 'great trek' (Banjailand Trek), which his burghers threatened to make into Mashonaland viâ Rhodes' Drift when Sir John Willoughby gained his first experience of Oom Paul. The military commander of Dr. Jameson's force had called on the President to add weight to the remonstrances which were being made against the action of the burghers in invading the Chartered territory, and the President, playing his cards for a favourable settlement of Swaziland, had replied that he had done all that he could, and events must take their course. 'Tell him,' said Sir John to Dr. Leyds who was interpreting, 'that if the trek is not stopped of course the result will be war!' 'If it must be, let it be,' the old gentleman answered quietly. 'Then tell him,' Sir John replied, 'that in that case he will have to reckon with the British Army.' 'And tell him', said the President, pointing placidly at his interviewer with his big pipe, 'that I have reckoned with the British Army once before.' If the recollection occurred to both men on January 2, it must have been with different emotions.
In dealing with President Kruger's personal attitude it is not perhaps pertinent but, it is interesting, to recall an incident of his earlier career—a parallel between the prisoner and the President. Oddly enough President Kruger was a rebel and a filibuster himself in the days of his hot youth, and one of his earliest diplomatic successes was in securing the release and pardon of men who, in 1857, stood in exactly the same position as the Uitlanders whom he imprisoned.
The story of the Potchefstroom revolt is little known in England, but it is told in Theal's 'Standard History of South Africa,' and very instructive reading it is. Dr. Hillier, of Johannesburg, one of the Reformers, called attention just before the outbreak to the extraordinary parallel between the revolt of Potchefstroom in 1857 against the dominance of Lydenburg and the condition of Johannesburg in 1895 under the despotism of Pretoria. Dr. Hillier in his pamphlet said:
In 1857 the Republic north of the Vaal attained its twentieth year. It had increased in population, and had taken on, to some extent, the habits and mode of life of a settled community. Mr. Pretorius and his followers began to feel that in the altered circumstances of the State the time had arrived for a remodelling of the Constitution. Among these followers of Pretorius, these advocates of reform, it is interesting to find was Mr. Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger.
Mr. Theal says:
'During the months of September and October, 1856, Commandant-General M. W. Pretorius made a tour through the districts of Rutsenburg, Pretoria and Potchefstroom, and called public meetings at all the centres of population. At these meetings there was an expression by a large majority in favour of immediate adoption of a Constitution which should provide for an efficient Government and an independent Church.'
And again, later on, we have in the words of South Africa's historian the gist of the complaint against the then existing state of things:
'The community of Lydenburg was accused of attempting to domineer over the whole country, without any other right to preeminence than that of being composed of the earliest inhabitants, a right which it had forfeited by its opposition to the general weal.'
Such was the shocking state of things in this country in 1856. It was a great deal too bad for such champion reformers as Mr. Pretorius and his lieutenant, Mr. S.J.P. Kruger, as we shall see later. Shortly after these meetings were held, a Representative Assembly, consisting of twenty-four members, one for each field-cornetcy, was elected for the special purpose of framing a Constitution and installing the officials whom it should decide to appoint.
On January 5, 1857, the Representative Assembly appointed Mr. Martinus Wessels Pretorius President, and also appointed members of an Executive Council. The oaths of office were then taken, the President and Executive installed, and the flag hoisted. When intelligence of these proceedings reached Zoutpansberg and Lydenburg, there was a violent outburst of indignation. At a public meeting at Zoutpansberg the acts and resolutions of the Representative Assembly at Potchefstroom were almost unanimously repudiated, and a manifesto disowning the new Constitution and everything connected with it was drawn up. Mr. Pretorius then issued a proclamation, deposing Commandant-General Schoeman from all authority, declaring Zoutpansberg in a state of blockade, and prohibiting traders from supplying 'the rebels' with ammunition or anything else. This conduct on the part of the new Government under Mr. Pretorius appears to me distinctly adroit. Having taken upon themselves to remodel the entire Constitution of the country, they turn round on the adherents of the older Government, whom, by-the-by, they had not thought it worth while to consult, and promptly call them 'rebels.' And so you have this striking political phenomenon of a revolutionary party turning on the adherents of the Government of the State, and denouncing them, forsooth, as 'rebels.'
The 'Republic of Lydenburg' then declared itself into a sovereign and independent State. And thus two Republics, two Volksraads, two Governments, were formed and existed simultaneously in the Transvaal. And all this without a shot being fired, each party finding sufficient relief to its feelings by calling the other party 'rebels.' In order to strengthen its position, the party of Pretorius now determined on a bold stroke. They sent emissaries to endeavour to arrange for union with the Free State. The Free State Government rejected their overtures, but Pretorius was led to believe that so many of the Free State burghers were anxious for this union that all that was necessary for him to do, in order to effect it, was to march in with an armed force. He therefore placed himself at the head of a commando, and crossed the Vaal, where he was joined by a certain number of Free State burghers.
But Pretorius, with whom was Paul Kruger, found, like Dr. Jameson, that he had reckoned without his host. When intelligence of this invasion reached Bloemfontein, President Boshoff issued a proclamation declaring martial law in force throughout the Free State, and calling out burghers for the defence of the country. It soon appeared that the majority of the people were ready to support the President, and from all quarters men repaired to Kroonstad. At this stage the Free State President received an offer of assistance from General Schoeman, of Zoutpansberg, against Pretorius, in which object he believed Lydenburg would also join.
On May 25 the two commandoes were drawn up facing each other on opposite banks of the Rhenoster River, and remained in that position for three hours. Threatened from the north as well as the south Pretorius felt his chance of success was small, and he therefore sent out Commandant Paul Kruger with a flag of truce to propose that a pacific settlement should be made.
Here indeed is a very close parallel, but the climax is still to come. The treaty arrived at was practically an apology on the part of the South African Republic. Many citizens of the Free State who had joined the northern forces moved over the Vaal after this event. Those who remained and those who had been previously arrested were brought to trial for high treason. One man was sentenced to death, but the sentence was mitigated subsequently to a fine; others were fined. These fines were again still further mitigated at the solicitation of Messrs. Paul Kruger and Steyn, until it came to little more than a ten-pound note apiece.
There we have the story of President Kruger and his friends playing exactly the part Dr. Jameson and the Johannesburg Reformers tried to do. As Potchefstroom rose under Mr. Kruger against the oligarchical rule of Lydenburg, so Johannesburg was to rise against Pretoria. The Potchefstroom Republic under Pretorius and Kruger made a raid à la Jameson into the Orange Free State for political purposes, to encourage those who were believed to be anxious to effect a union. And just as Jameson failed against the Government of Pretoria, so Pretorius failed against the Government of the Orange Free State. In 1857 it was Paul Kruger not Dr. Jameson who hoisted the white flag. The Free Staters who had tried to help Kruger's raid were arrested just as the Johannesburgers were; but although one of them was condemned to death all of them were released, by the intervention of Mr. Kruger himself, on paying a slight fine.
History has repeated itself indeed; but the offence of Dr. Jameson is surely less than that of Mr. Kruger, if we are to pay heed to the records of the Free State Volksraad, wherein it is written that on a certain day the President stated in open Raad that proof had been obtained of a proposed combined attack on the Free State by the Transvaal Boers, led by Pretorius and Kruger on the one side, and the Basutos under Moshesh on the other—a horrible and unnatural alliance which was not effected only because Moshesh could not trust his professed allies. The Raad thereupon publicly gave thanks to the Almighty, Who had revealed and frustrated this 'hideous complot.'
Footnotes for Chapter VI
{24} In the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons the following questions and answers occur, Mr. Blake questioning and Major Heany replying:
'Having got the message you went off with it and you got in, as we see by the evidence, as quickly as you could, and you just gave the message as accurately as you could to Dr. Jameson?—I read the message from my note-book absolutely accurately to Dr. Jameson.
'And he did not lose much time in making up his mind?—No; he went outside his tent. He was in a bell-tent when I arrived and he went outside and walked up and down for about twenty minutes, and then he came in and announced his determination.'
{25} In the course of the Inquiry at Westminster, Dr. Jameson himself took occasion to explain this reference, when answering a question put by Mr. Sidney Buxton.
Knowing what you do now of the position at Johannesburg, do you think it was within their power to send out 300 mounted men?—I cannot give an opinion upon that; I think all their actions were perfectly bonâ fide. There is one telegram here which has been brought up against me very unpleasantly, which I wish I had never sent, where 'fear' is imputed in the telegram as it stands here. My explanation is that I was irritated at the time at the trouble going on, and that I used it inadvertently, or possibly there is a mistake in deciphering the code word; as to that I cannot tell, but I am sorry that it should appear so in the telegram, because I never imputed fear or cowardice to anyone in connection with anything.
{26} July 1899. The originals have since been photographed and are here reproduced.
{27} Colonel Francis Rhodes.
{28} Lionel Phillips.
{29} (July, 1899.) Is it not probable that the deleted figures '2,000' in Colonel Rhodes' letter (see photograph) may account for some of the talk about 2,000 armed men?
{30} After the arrival in England of the officers of Dr. Jameson's force, a report dealing with the military aspect of the expedition was sent by Sir John Willoughby to the War Office. It has been printed and—to a certain extent—circulated, and cannot therefore be regarded as private. But apart from this it is a document so peculiar—so marked by mishandling of notorious facts—that it deserves no consideration other than it may earn on merits. It is printed in extenso with notes by a member of the Reform Committee. See Appendix H.
{31} See Appendix G. It will be noted that in his declarations Commandant Cronjé modifies his terms very considerably. It was impossible for any reasonable person to accept the explanation preferred by him, that the promise to spare the lives of the surrendered force was only to hold good until they could be handed over to the Commandant-General. In fact, it is well known that Commandant Cronjé only took up this attitude after an extremely acrimonious discussion had taken place between him and Commandant Malan—a quarrel in which they went the length of making charges against each other in the public press of treachery and neglect of duty whilst in the field. The Commandant Cronjé referred to here is the same gentleman who commanded the Boer forces at Potchefstroom in the War of Independence, and his record is an extremely unpleasant one, his conduct of operations having earned for the Potchefstroom commando the worst reputation of any. Apart from the execution of several British subjects who were suspected and, on wholly insufficient grounds, summarily shot as spies, there are the unpleasant facts that he caused prisoners of war to be placed in the forefront of the besieging operations and compelled them to work in the trenches in exposed positions so that they should be—and actually were—shot by their own comrades. There was also the incident in which he refused to allow one or two of the ladies who were among the beleaguered garrison, and who were then in extremely bad health, to leave the fort to obtain such food and medical attendance as would enable them to live. One of the ladies died in consequence. But the incident which has more bearing on Jameson's surrender than any other is that connected with the armistice, when Commandant Cronjé, in defiance of treaty obligations, withheld from Colonel Winslow and the besieged garrison the news that an armistice had been arranged between the Boer and British forces, and continued the siege until the garrison, in order to save the lives of the wounded and the women and children refugees, were obliged to surrender. It will be remembered that this incident was too much even for Mr. Gladstone, and that on its becoming known after the terms of peace had been settled, the Transvaal Government were required by Sir Evelyn Wood to allow a British force to march up from Natal and re-occupy Potchefstroom as a formal acknowledgment of Cronjé's treachery. Mr. Kruger and his party, who were in the greatest fear that the settlement would not be effected, and that Sir Evelyn Wood's action might provoke a renewal of hostilities, agreed to the terms, but with grave apprehensions as to the results. However, no contretemps occurred.
{32} Once when out hunting on foot—a young man then—Mr. Kruger, after climbing to the top of a kopje, found that he had been seen by a number of hostile natives who were then running towards him, some to climb the hill, others branching out to surround it. He knew that those on the flat could cut him off before he could descend and that his only chance lay in 'bluff.' Stepping on to the outermost ledge in full view of the enemy he calmly laid down his rifle, drew off first one and then the other of his velschoens (home-made hide shoes, in those poorer days worn without socks) and after quietly knocking the sand out of them drew them on again. By this time the natives had stopped to observe him. He then picked up his rifle again, and turning to an imaginary force behind the kopje waved to the right and then to the left, as though directing them to charge round each end of the hill. The next instant the Kaffirs were in full retreat.
