d purpose more
clearly than during his six weeks' halt at Bloemfontein. De Wet, the
most enterprising and aggressive of the Boer commanders, was attacking
his eastern posts and menacing his line of communications. A fussy or
nervous general would have harassed his men and worn out his horses by
endeavouring to pursue a number of will-of-the-wisp commandos. Roberts
contented himself by building up his strength at the capital, and
by spreading nearly twenty thousand men along his line of rail from
Bloemfontein to Bethulie. When the time came he would strike, but until
then he rested. His army was not only being rehorsed and reshod, but
in some respects was being reorganised. One powerful weapon which was
forged during those weeks was the collection of the mounted infantry of
the central army into one division, which was placed under the command
of Ian Hamilton, with Hutton and Ridley as brigadiers. Hutton's
brigade contained the Canadians, New South Wales men, West Australians,
Queenslanders, New Zealanders, Victorians, South Australians, and
Tasmanians, with four battalions of Imperial Mounted Infantry, and
several light batteries. Ridley's brigade contained the South African
irregular regiments of cavalry, with some imperial troops. The strength
of the whole division came to over ten thousand rifles, and in its ranks
there rode the hardiest and best from every corner of the earth over
which the old flag is flying.

A word as to the general distribution of the troops at this instant
while Roberts was gathering himself for his spring. Eleven divisions of
infantry were in the field. Of these the 1st (Methuen's) and half
the 10th (Hunter's) were at Kimberley, forming really the
hundred-mile-distant left wing of Lord Roberts's army. On that side also
was a considerable force of Yeomanry, as General Villebois discovered.
In the centre with Roberts was the 6th division (Kelly-Kenny's) at
Bloemfontein, the 7th (Tucker's) at Karee, twenty miles north, the 9th
(Colvile's) and the 11th (Pole-Carew's) near Bloemfontein. French's
cavalry division was also in the centre. As one descended the line
towards the Cape one came on the 3rd division (Chermside's, late
Gatacre's), which had now moved up to Reddersberg, and then, further
south, the 8th (Rundle's), near Rouxville. To the south and east was the
other half of Hunter's division (Hart's brigade), and Brabant's Colonial
division, half of which was shut up in Wepener and the rest at