For ten days we searched the neighbourhood, and finally met one of the
Commandant-General's despatch-riders, who informed me of their whereabouts,
which they were obliged to keep secret for fear of treachery. We met the
whole party on William Smeet's farm near the Vaal River, every man on
horseback or on a mule, without a solitary cart or waggon. It was a very
strange sight to see the whole Transvaal Government on horseback. Some had
not yet got used to this method of governing, and they had great trouble
with their luggage, which was continually being dropped on the road.
General Spruit and myself undertook to escort the Executive Council through
the Ermelo district, past Bethel to Standerton, where they were to meet the
members of the Orange Free State Government. I had now with me only 100 men,
under Field-Cornet R. D. Young; the remainder I had left behind near Bethel
in charge of General Muller and Commandants Viljoen and Groenwald, with
instructions to keep on the alert and to fall on any column that ventured a
little ahead of the others.
It
was whilst on my way back to them that a burgher brought me a report from
General Muller, informing me that the previous night, assisted by
Commandants W. Viljoen and Groenwald, he had with 130 men stormed one of the
enemy's camps at Wilmansrust, capturing the whole after a short resistance
on the enemy's part, but sustaining a loss of six killed and some wounded.
The camp had been under the command of Colonel Morris, and its garrison
numbered 450 men belonging to the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. About 60 of
these were killed and wounded, and the remainder were disarmed and released.
Our haul consisted of two pom-poms, carts and waggons with teams in harness,
and about 300 horses, the most miserable collection of animals I have ever
seen. Here we also captured a well-known burgher, whose name, I believe, was
Trotsky, and who was fighting with the enemy against us. He was brought
before a court-martial, tried for high treason, and sentenced to death,
which sentence was afterwards carried out.
Our Government received about this time a communication from General Brits,
that the members of the Orange Free State Government had reached Blankop,
north of Standerton, and would await us at Waterval. We hurried thither, and
reached it in the evening of the 20th of June, 1901. Here we found President
Steyn and Generals De Wet, De la Rey, and Hertzog, with an escort of 150
men. It was very pleasant to meet these great leaders again, and still more
pleasing was the cordiality with which they received us. We sat round our
fires all that night relating to each other our various adventures. Some
which caused great fun and amusement, and some which brought tears even to
the eyes of the hardened warrior. General De Wet was then suffering acutely
from rheumatism, but he showed scarcely any trace of his complaint, and was
as cheerful as the rest of us.
Next day we parted, each going separately on our way. We had decided what
each of us was to do, and under this agreement I was to return to the
Lydenburg and Middelburg districts, where we had already had such a narrow
escape. I confess I did not care much about this, but we had to obey the
Commandant-General, and there was an end of it. Meanwhile, reports came in
that on the other side of the railway the burghers who had been left behind
were surrendering day by day, and that a field-cornet was engaged in
negotiations with the enemy about a general laying down of arms. I at once
despatched General Muller there to put an end to this.
We
now prepared once more to cross the railway line, which was guarded more
carefully than ever, and no one dared to cross with a conveyance of any
description. We had, however, become possessed of a laager—a score of
waggons and two pom-poms—and I determined to take these carts and guns
across with me, for my men valued them all the more for having been
captured. They were, in fact, as sweet to us as stolen kisses, although I
have had no very large experience of the latter commodity.
