must say that I cannot see
the hand of genius in the fitting of this plan to the map. This is the
line that both Plumer and I should take--Orange River Station, Ramah,
Luckhoff, Fauresmith. One of us halt at Luckhoff; Kimberley send a
column to Koffyfontein; Bloemfontein another to Petrusburg and
Abramskraal; while Fauresmith and Jagersfontein form bases for
columns sent to them from Springfontein; and then with a consistent
and strong line of outposts we might have stopped his main road north,
although we should be too late to man the river. But, anyhow, I'll
have a try at convincing them at headquarters that I am a better man
outside than inside a cattle-truck. So here goes. Mr Intelligence,
paper and ink and take it down, and mind it is to go in cipher!" The
brigadier then roughly drew a comparison in the saving of time
involved by a direct march upon Fauresmith from Orange River Station
and transport by rail, closing the message with a promise to be in
Fauresmith the second day after leaving the railway.

It then became a question of a square meal at the caravanserai. The
concentration of five columns had taxed the capabilities of the little
hostel beyond endurance. All that they could furnish was milk and
butter. But they were prepared to cook any food that was brought, so
with an effort it was possible to arrive at a meal. There was no lack
of entertainment, however. One of the columns had sent out 300 men and
a pompom in pursuit of Hertzog's fugitives, and the force had just
returned with quite a haul of prisoners. They had come across the
rearmost of them as they were in the act of crossing the river in a
rickety punt, which vessel had been scientifically rendered
unseaworthy by a well-directed belt of pompom-shells. Examination of
the bushes on the near bank of the river showed that dozens of Boers
had literally gone to earth. The river approach was full of
rain-fissures and water-cracks, and the men spent the whole morning
actually bolting burghers from cover, much in the same manner as a
pack of beagles is well used to aid sportsmen to shoot a
rabbit-covert.

It was not until you found opportunity to see these prisoners that you
realised what this war meant to these farmer guerillas, and the
influence which the failure of De Wet's invasion must have made on the
subsequent operations. Amongst the whole 200 prisoners that were
brought in that day, there was only one man--a man who called himself
Hertzog's se