committed on the
Government, the country, and the nation, to surrender three thousand men
in such a way. Even the burghers themselves cannot be held to have been
altogether without guilt, though they can justly plead that they were
only obeying orders.

The sequel to Prinsloo's surrender was on a par with it. A large number
of burghers from Harrismith and a small part of the Vrede commando,
although they had already made good their escape, rode quietly from
their farms into Harrismith, and there surrendered to General Sir Hector
Macdonald.--One could gnash one's teeth to think that a nation should so
readily rush to its own ruin!

[Footnote 61: The Harrismith and Vrede commandos had also received
orders to join us.]

CHAPTER XVIII

I am Driven into the Transvaal

As I have already stated, I led my commando, on the 15th of July,
through Slabbertsnek, out of the mountain district. My force amounted to
the total of two thousand six hundred burghers. The Government travelled
with us, and also alas! four hundred waggons and carts. Whatever I did,
it seemed as if I could not get rid of the waggons!

That night we reached a farm six miles to the east of Kaffirs Kop;
during our march we passed a column of the enemy that had left Bethlehem
in the afternoon.

On the following day I came into contact with some English troops, who
were marching in the direction of Witnek. They sent out a body of
cavalry to ascertain what our plans might be. It was very annoying to me
that they should thus discover our whereabouts, because it made it
impossible to carry out my intention of attacking one or other of the
English forces.

However, nothing was done that day, as neither we nor the enemy took up
the offensive.

In the evening we pushed on to the east of Lindley, and the following
day remained at the spot we had reached. The next evening we marched to
the farm of Riversdale; and the night of the 18th found us on the farm
of Mr. Thomas Naude, to the north-west of Lindley. We discovered that
the English had all left this village and gone to Bethlehem. My scouts
reported to me, the following day, that an English force, some four
hundred men strong, was approaching Lindley. Need I say that these men
had to be captured? With five hundred burghers and two guns I went out
to do this. When I was only a short distance from my camp, I received a
report that a large force of cavalry, numbering seven or eight thousand
men, had arr