educated, but endowed with much
energy and common-sense. His military experience dated back to Majuba
Hill, and he had a large share of that curious race hatred which
is intelligible in the case of the Transvaal, but inexplicable in a
Freestater who has received no injury from the British Empire. Some
weakness of his sight compels the use of tinted spectacles, and he had
now turned these, with a pair of particularly observant eyes behind
them, upon the scattered British forces and the long exposed line of
railway.

De Wet's force was an offshoot from the army of Freestaters under De
Villiers, Olivier, and Prinsloo, which lay in the mountainous north-east
of the State. To him were committed five guns, fifteen hundred men, and
the best of the horses. Well armed, well mounted, and operating in
a country which consisted of rolling plains with occasional fortress
kopjes, his little force had everything in its favour. There were so
many tempting objects of attack lying before him that he must have had
some difficulty in knowing where to begin. The tinted spectacles were
turned first upon the isolated town of Lindley.

Colvile with the Highland Brigade had come up from Ventersburg with
instructions to move onward to Heilbron, pacifying the country as he
passed. The country, however, refused to be pacified, and his march from
Ventersburg to Lindley was harassed by snipers every mile of the way.
Finding that De Wet and his men were close upon him, he did not linger
at Lindley, but passed on to his destination, his entire march of 126
miles costing him sixty-three casualties, of which nine were fatal.
It was a difficult and dangerous march, especially for the handful of
Eastern Province Horse, upon whom fell all the mounted work. By evil
fortune a force of five hundred Yeomanry, the 18th battalion, including
the Duke of Cambridge's Own and the Irish companies, had been sent from
Kroonstad to join Colvile at Lindley. Colonel Spragge was in command.
On May 27th this body of horsemen reached their destination only to find
that Colvile had already abandoned it. They appear to have determined to
halt for a day in Lindley, and then follow Colvile to Heilbron. Within
a few hours of their entering the town they were fiercely attacked by De
Wet.

Colonel Spragge seems to have acted for the best. Under a heavy fire he
caused his troopers to fall back upon his transport, which had been
left at a point a few miles out upon the Kroonstad