f the Royal Scots and
a section of the 79th R.F.A., the Colonial of Brabant's Horse, the
Kaffrarian Mounted Rifles, the Cape Mounted Rifles and Cape Police, with
Queenstown and East London Volunteers. The force moved upon Dordrecht,
and on February 18th occupied the town after a spirited action, in which
Brabant's Horse played a distinguished part. On March 4th the division
advanced once more with the object of attacking the Boer position at
Labuschagne's Nek, some miles to the north.

Aided by the accurate fire of the 79th R.F.A., the colonials succeeded,
after a long day of desultory fighting, in driving the enemy from
his position. Leaving a garrison in Dordrecht Brabant followed up his
victory and pushed forward with two thousand men and eight guns (six
of them light 7-pounders) to occupy Jamestown, which was done without
resistance. On March 10th the colonial force approached Aliwal, the
frontier town, and so rapid was the advance of Major Henderson with
Brabant's Horse that the bridge at Aliwal was seized before the enemy
could blow it up. At the other side of the bridge there was a strong
stand made by the enemy, who had several Krupp guns in position; but
the light horse, in spite of a loss of some twenty-five men killed and
wounded, held on to the heights which command the river. A week or ten
days were spent in pacifying the large north-eastern portion of Cape
Colony, to which Aliwal acts as a centre. Barkly East, Herschel, Lady
Grey, and other villages were visited by small detachments of the
colonial horsemen, who pushed forward also into the south-eastern
portion of the Free State, passing through Rouxville, and so along the
Basutoland border as far as Wepener. The rebellion in the Colony was
now absolutely dead in the north-east, while in the north-west in the
Prieska and Carnarvon districts it was only kept alive by the fact that
the distances were so great and the rebel forces so scattered that it
was very difficult for our flying columns to reach them. Lord Kitchener
had returned from Paardeberg to attend to this danger upon our line of
communications, and by his exertions all chance of its becoming serious
soon passed. With a considerable force of Yeomanry and Cavalry he passed
swiftly over the country, stamping out the smouldering embers.

So much for the movements into the Free State of Clements, of Gatacre,
and of Brabant. It only remains to trace the not very eventful history
of the Natal campaign