er, they again formed upon a low
kopje and poured so galling a fire upon the right wing that the whole
movement was interrupted until we had driven this little body of fifty
men from their position. When, after a delay of an hour, the cavalry at
last succeeded in dislodging them--or possibly it may be fairer to say
when, having accomplished their purpose, they retired--the guns
and wagons were out of reach, and, what is more important, the
two Presidents, both Steyn and Kruger, who had come to stiffen the
resistance of the burghers, had escaped.

Making every allowance for the weary state of the horses, it is
impossible to say that our cavalry were handled with energy or judgment
on this occasion. That such a force of men and guns should be held off
from an object of such importance by so small a resistance reflects
no credit upon us. It would have been better to repeat the Kimberley
tactics and to sweep the regiments in extended order past the obstacle
if we could not pass over it. At the other side of that little
ill-defended kopje lay a possible termination of the war, and our crack
cavalry regiments manoeuvred for hours and let it pass out of their
reach. However, as Lord Roberts good-humouredly remarked at the end
of the action, 'In war you can't expect everything to come out right.'
General French can afford to shed one leaf from his laurel wreath. On
the other hand, no words can be too high for the gallant little band of
Boers who had the courage to face that overwhelming mass of horsemen,
and to bluff them into regarding this handful as a force fighting a
serious rearguard action. When the stories of the war are told round the
fires in the lonely veld farmhouses, as they will be for a century to
come, this one deserves an honoured place.

The victory, if such a word can apply to such an action, had cost some
fifty or sixty of the cavalry killed and wounded, while it is doubtful
if the Boers lost as many. The finest military display on the British
side had been the magnificent marching of Kelly-Kenny's 6th Division,
who had gone for ten hours with hardly a halt. One 9-pound Krupp gun was
the only trophy. On the other hand, Roberts had turned them out of
their strong position, had gained twelve or fifteen miles on he road to
Bloemfontein, and for the first time shown how helpless a Boer army was
in country which gave our numbers a chance. From now onwards it was only
in surprise and ambuscade that they could hope