nation should ever be able to rise
again. If then the Boers wished to remain a nation, it was absolutely
necessary to continue the war.

After having quoted various appropriate passages from the newspapers,
the President went on as follows:--

"All these considerations combine to make me believe that we should be
committing a National murder if we were to give in now. Brethren! Hold
out a little longer. Let not our sufferings and our struggles be in
vain; let not our faith in the God of our fathers become a byword. Do
all that you can to encourage one another."

The President concluded this very remarkable and powerful letter with
the question:--

"Are we again to leave the Colonial burghers in the lurch? God forbid."

We decided to set out for the Transvaal in order to discuss the matter
with the Government; and on the evening of the 5th of June we marched
four or five miles from Liebenbergsvlei, to a place opposite
Verkijkersdorp. We were, all told, between sixty and seventy men,
including the staff and part of the bodyguard of President Steyn, the
staff of General De la Rey, and eight of my staff officers.

The following morning, an hour and a half after sunrise, a burgher came
galloping up to tell us that the enemy had just captured a laager of
women.[97]

It seemed impossible to ride over to the rescue of these women, for our
horses had still to make the long journey into the Transvaal. I asked
our guest, General De la Rey, what he thought about the matter. He at
once replied that we must go and liberate the women. As we were already
up-saddled in readiness for our march, I had nothing to do but to give
the order to start. The President, with his staff and some of the
bodyguard, remained behind; while General De la Rey, Commandant Davel
and I, with fifty-five men, hurried off. The retired General, Piet
Fourie, was also with us.

The enemy had marched with the laager on to a hill near the Kaffir
kraal, consisting of four or five huts and a building made of sods.

We first caught sight of the English when we were at a distance of four
miles from them; they were then busy drawing up the waggons of the women
in rows of ten or twelve. The oxen belonging to the first row stood
close against the kraal, as we saw later on; those of the second row
being behind them, and so on.

The women told us afterwards that they had asked to be allowed to retire
to a place where they would not run the risk of being shot by