His purpose in moving on Modder River.]

[Sidenote: 4.30 a.m. Nov. 28th the march begins.]

At 4 a.m. on the 27th the division marched to Wittekop, about six
miles to the south of the Modder River bridge. Here the artillery and
infantry bivouacked while the cavalry and mounted infantry
reconnoitred on a front of six miles along the railway towards the
river. In the distance, lines of wagons could be seen leaving
Jacobsdal, apparently moving towards Modder River station, and at
about 1 p.m. the advance patrols of the 9th Lancers reported that they
had been forced to halt by the enemy's musketry from the direction of
the railway bridge, which had been wrecked by the Boers at the
beginning of the war. In the afternoon Lord Methuen joined Major
Little, commanding the 9th Lancers, in a reconnaissance towards the
Riet, but observed nothing to cause him to change the plan he had
already formed. This was to mask the Modder River bridge by a
reconnaissance in force, while he marched to Jacobsdal, and thence by
Brown's Drift across the Modder river to Abon's Dam, lying about
sixteen miles north-east of Jacobsdal, and thus turn the position of
Spytfontein (see map No. 9), on which he was convinced the burghers
intended to give him battle. The cavalry did not reconnoitre up the
Riet river towards Jacobsdal, and therefore the existence of the ford
at Bosman's Drift remained unknown to him. His only large scale sketch
of the ground near the Modder bridge did not include the windings of
this stream.[172] But in the course of the night much information came
in. Major Little reported that he estimated the number of Boers near
the Modder River village to be 4,000. Major Rimington ascertained that
the Boers expected reinforcements, and that they were making
entrenchments on the south bank near Modder River bridge. A loyal
British subject, at great personal risk, succeeded in sending a
message to the effect that the Boers were in force at the village, and
were "digging themselves in like rabbits." On this evidence Lord
Methuen concluded, and he continued to hold his opinion till the
battle began, that Modder River village was merely used as an advanced
post to cover the burghers' main position at Spytfontein. But as he
did not wish to leave even a detachment of the enemy threatening his
lines of communication, he decided to postpone his flanking movement
on Abon's Dam until he had captured the entrenched village. Before
dawn the orders