h they were compelled to
make their way back with a loss of five killed and fourteen wounded.

The cavalry under French had waited for the issue of this enterprise
at a point nine miles north of Johannesburg. On June 2nd it began its
advance with orders to make a wide sweep round to the westward, and so
skirt the capital, cutting the Pietersburg railway to the north of
it. The country in the direct line between Johannesburg and Pretoria
consists of a series of rolling downs which are admirably adapted for
cavalry work, but the detour which French had to make carried him into
the wild and broken district which lies to the north of the Little
Crocodile River. Here he was fiercely attacked on ground where his
troops could not deploy, but with extreme coolness and judgment beat off
the enemy. To cover thirty-two miles in a day and fight a way out of an
ambuscade in the evening is an ordeal for any leader and for any troops.
Two killed and seven wounded were our trivial losses in a situation
which might have been a serious one. The Boers appear to have been the
escort of a strong convoy which had passed along the road some miles
in front. Next morning both convoy and opposition had disappeared. The
cavalry rode on amid a country of orange groves, the troopers standing
up in their stirrups to pluck the golden fruit. There was no further
fighting, and on June 4th French had established himself upon the north
of the town, where he learned that all resistance had ceased.

Whilst the cavalry had performed this enveloping movement the main army
had moved swiftly upon its objective, leaving one brigade behind to
secure Johannesburg. Ian Hamilton advanced upon the left, while Lord
Roberts's column kept the line of the railway, Colonel Henry's mounted
infantry scouting in front. As the army topped the low curves of the
veld they saw in front of them two well-marked hills, each crowned by
a low squat building. They were the famous southern forts of Pretoria.
Between the hills was a narrow neck, and beyond the Boer capital.

For a time it appeared that the entry was to be an absolutely bloodless
one, but the booming of cannon and the crash of Mauser fire soon showed
that the enemy was in force upon the ridge. Botha had left a strong
rearguard to hold off the British while his own stores and valuables
were being withdrawn from the town. The silence of the forts showed that
the guns had been removed and that no prolonged resistance was