ile at the
foot of the mountains, to give the burghers, who were on foot, a chance
of coming up with me. The thought angered me, for it would have been
against all orders that any burghers, without special permission, should
go in advance. I proceeded to wake them up.

"What do you mean by riding ahead like this?" I called out to them.
Nearly all with one accord sprang up and asked, "Who are you?" "Hands
up!" I called out; as one man their hands went up. They explained that
they were seven of the twenty scouts before mentioned,--but here the
remainder opened fire upon us from about two hundred paces to the front.
I called out to the burghers, "Charge!"

The burghers did so, but as they came to the little hill where we had
seen the sparks from the guns they found nobody. The English had fled,
and, as the moon had just gone down, it was too dark to pursue them.
Taking with us the seven prisoners, we continued on our way until the
following morning. We allowed them to retain their clothes. It was
still before the "uitschuddings"[90] period.

The day broke, and after having been turned back on the banks of the
Brak River, we marched to the fifteenth ford. "If we could only get
across here," we said. We knew that once across we should have a respite
from the enemy, and could with thankful hearts take breath even if it
were only for three or four days.

When we came to the river I at once ordered a few burghers to undress
and go in. Alas! when the horses entered the ford, the water came over
their backs, and they had almost to swim. "Now they will have to swim!"
we cried, but presently we saw that the farther they went the shallower
it became, and that they walked where we expected them to swim, until at
last the water reached only to the horses' knees.

What a scramble there was now among the burghers in order to cross! Soon
the river was one mass of men from bank to bank.

I can hardly describe the different exclamations of joy, the Psalms and
the songs that now rose up from the burghers splashing through the
water. "Never will we return," "No more of the Colony for me," "The Free
State," "On to the Free State!" "The Free State for ever!" Then again,
"Praise the Lord with cheerful song," "Hurrah!" These were among the
expressions which met my ears.

Although this was only an old waggon-ford, which had not been used for
the last few years, my little waggon and a few carts got across. One of
the carts was drawn by two