Book: Campaign Pictures of the War in South Africa (1899 1900)

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CAMPAIGN PICTURES OF THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA (1899-1900)

Letters from the Front

by

A. G. HALES

Special Correspondent of the "Daily News"

Cassell and Company, Limited
London, Paris, New York & Melbourne

1901







[Illustration]





Dedication.


This book, such as it is, is dedicated to the man whose kindliness of heart
and generous journalistic instincts lifted me from the unknown, and placed
me where I had a chance to battle with the best men in my profession. He
was the man who found Archibald Forbes, the most brilliant, accurate, and
entertaining of all war correspondents. What he did for that splendid
genius let Forbes' memoirs tell; what he did for me I will tell myself. He
gave me the chance I had looked for for twenty years, and the dearest name
in my memory to-day is the name of


SIR JOHN ROBINSON,

Manager of the _Daily News_, London.





CONTENTS


PAGE
WITH THE AUSTRALIANS.
AUSTRALIA ON THE MARCH 1
WITH THE AUSTRALIANS 6
A PRISONER OF WAR 15
"STOPPING A FEW" 29
AUSTRALIA AT THE WAR 38
AUSTRALIA ON THE MOVE 48
SLINGERSFONTEIN 60
THE WEST AUSTRALIANS 69

AMONG THE BOERS.
IN A BOER TOWN 75
BEHIND THE SCENES 83
A BOER FIGHTING LAAGER 90
THROUGH BOER GLASSES 104
LIFE IN THE BOER CAMPS 116

WITH GENERAL RUNDLE.
BATTLE OF CONSTANTIA FARM 127
WITH RUNDLE IN THE FREE STATE 149
RED WAR WITH RUNDLE 159
THE FREE STATERS' LAST STAND 174

CHARACTER SKETCHES IN CAMP.
THE CAMP LIAR 194
THE NIGGER SERVANT 199
THE SOLDIER PREACHER 207

* * * * *

PRESIDENT STEYN 212
LOUIS BOTHA, COMMANDANT-GENERAL OF THE BOER ARMY 218
WHITE FLAG TREACHERY 224
THE BATTLE OF MAGERSFONTEIN 229
SCOUTS AND SCOUTING: DRISCOLL, KING OF SCOUTS 242
HUNTING AND HUNTED 253
WITH THE BASUTOS 264
MAGERSFONTEIN AVENGED 280
THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR 289
HOME AGAIN 299






Australia's Appeal to England.



We grow weary waiting, England,
For the summons that never comes--
For the blast of the British bugles
And the throb of the British drums.
Our hearts grow sore and sullen
As year by year rolls by,
And your cold, contemptuous actions
Give your fervent words the lie.

Are we only an English market,
Held dear for the sake of trade?
Or are we a part of the Empire,
Close welded as hilt and blade?
If we are to cleave together
As mother and son through life,
Give us our share of the burden,
Let us stand with you in the strife.

If we are to share your glory,
Let the sons whom the South has bred
Lie side by side on your battlefields
With England's heroes dead.
A nation is never a nation
Worthy of pride or place
Till the mothers have sent their firstborn
To look death on the field in the face.

Are we only an English market,
Held dear for the sake of trade?
Or are we a part of the Empire
Close welded as hilt and blade?
If so, let us share your dangers,
Let the glory we boast be real,
Let the boys of the South fight with you,
Let our children taste cold steel.

Do you think we are chicken-hearted?
Do you count us devoid of pride?
Just try us in deadly earnest,
And see how our boys can ride.
We are sick of your empty praises!
If the mother is proud of her son,
Let him do some deed on a hard-fought field,
Then boast what he has done.

A nation is never a nation
Worthy of pride or place
Till the mothers have sent their firstborn
To look death on the field in the face.
Australia is calling to England,
Let England answer the call;
There are smiles for those who come back to us,
And tears for those who may fall.

Bridle to bridle our sons will ride
With the best that Britain has bred,
And all we ask is an open field
And a soldier's grave for our dead.



I have decided to enclose these verses in my book because some critics
have pronounced me anti-English in my sentiments. Heaven alone
knows why; yet the above poem was written and published by me in
Australia just before war was declared between England and the
Republics, at a time when all Australia considered it very
probable that we should have to fight one of the big European
Powers as well as the Boers.

A. G. HALES.







AUSTRALIA ON THE MARCH.

BELMONT BATTLEFIELD.


At two o'clock on the morning of Wednesday, the 6th of the month, the
reveille sounded, and the Australians commenced their preparations for the
march to join Methuen's army. By 4 a.m. the mounted rifles led the way out
of camp, and the toilsome march over rough and rocky ground commenced. The
country was terribly rough as we drove the transports up and over the
Orange River, and rougher still in the low kopjes on the other side. The
heat was simply blistering, but the Australians did not seem to mind it to
any great extent; they were simply feverish to get on to the front, but
they had to hang back and guard the transports.

At last the hilly country faded behind us. We counted upon pushing on
rapidly, but the African mules were a sorry lot, and could make but little
headway in the sandy tracks. Still, there was no rest for the men, because
at intervals one of Remington's scouts would turn up at a flying gallop,
springing apparently from nowhere, out of the womb of the wilderness, to
inform us that flying squads of Boers were hanging round us. But so
carefully watchful were the Remingtons that the Boers had no chance of
surprising us. No sooner did the scouts inform us of their approach in any
direction than our rifles swung forward ready to give them a hearty
Australian reception. This made the march long and toilsome, though we
never had a chance to fire a shot. At 5.30 we marched with all our
transports into Witteput, the wretched little mules being the only
distressed portion of the contingent.

At Witteput the news reached us that a large party of the enemy had managed
to pass between General Methuen's men and ourselves, and had invested
Belmont, out of which place the British troops had driven them a few weeks
previously. We had no authentic news concerning this movement. Our
contingent spread out on the hot sand at Witteput, panting for a drop of
rain from the lowering clouds that hung heavily overhead. Yet hot, tired,
and thirsty as we were, we yet found time to look with wonder at the sky
above us. The men from the land of the Southern Cross are used to gorgeous
sunsets, but never had we looked upon anything like this. Great masses of
coal-black clouds frowned down upon us, flanked by fiery crimson cloud
banks, that looked as if they would rain blood, whilst the atmosphere was
dense enough to half-stifle one. Now and again the thunder rolled out
majestically, and the lightning flashed from the black clouds into the red,
like bayonets through smoke banks.

Yet we had not long to wait and watch, for within half an hour after our
arrival the Colonel galloped down into our midst just as the evening ration
was being given out. He held a telegram aloft, and the stillness that fell
over the camp was so deep that each man could hear his neighbour's heart
beat. Then the Colonel's voice cut the stillness like a bugle call. "Men,
we are needed at Belmont; the Boers are there in force, and we have been
sent for to relieve the place. I'll want you in less than two hours." It
was then the men showed their mettle. Up to their feet they leapt like one
man, and they gave the Colonel a cheer that made the sullen, halting mules
kick in their harness. "We are ready now, Colonel, we'll eat as we march,"
and the "old man" smiled, and gave the order to fall in, and they fell in,
and as darkness closed upon the land they marched out of Witteput to the
music of the falling rain and the thunder of heaven's artillery.

All night long it was march, halt, and "Bear a hand, men," for those thrice
accursed mules failed us at every pinch. In vain the niggers plied the
whips of green hide, vain their shouts of encouragement, or painfully
shrill anathemas; the mules had the whip hand of us, and they kept it. But,
in spite of it all, in the chilly dawn of the African morning, our fellows,
with their shoulders well back, and heads held high, marched into Belmont,
with every man safe and sound, and every waggon complete.

Then the Gordons turned out and gave us a cheer, for they had passed us in
the train as we crossed the line above Witteput, and they knew, those
veterans from Indian wars, what our raw Volunteers had done; they had been
on their feet from two o'clock on Wednesday morning until five o'clock of
the following day, with the heat at 122 in the shade, and bitter was their
wrath when they learnt that the Boer spies, who swarm all over the country,
had heralded their coming, so that the enemy had only waited to plant a few
shells into Belmont before disappearing into the hills beyond. That was the
cruel part of it. They did not mind the fatigue, they did not worry about
the thirst or the hunger, but to be robbed of a chance to show the world
what they could do in the teeth of the enemy was gall and wormwood to them,
and the curses they sent after the discreet Boer were weird, quaint,
picturesque, and painfully prolific.

We are lying with the Gordons now, waiting for the Boers to come along and
try to take Belmont, and our fellows and the "Scotties" are particularly
good chums, and it is the cordial wish of both that they may some day give
the enemy a taste of the bayonet together.





WITH THE AUSTRALIANS.

BELMONT.


Australia has had her first taste of war, not a very great or very
important performance, but we have buried our dead, and that at least binds
us more closely to the Motherland than ever before. The Queenslanders, the
wild riders, and the bushmen of the north-eastern portion of the continent
have been the first to pay their tribute to nationhood with the life blood
of her sons, two of whom--Victor James and McLeod--were buried by their
comrades on the scene of action a couple of days ago, whilst half a dozen
others, including Lieutenant Aide, fell more or less seriously wounded. The
story of the fight is simply told; there is no necessity for any wild
vapouring in regard to Australian courage, no need for hysterical praise.
Our fellows simply did what they were told to do in a quiet and workmanlike
manner, just as we who know them expected that they would; we are all proud
of them, and doubly proud that the men in the fight with them were our
cousins from Canada.

The most noteworthy fact about the engagement is to be gleaned by noting
that the Australians adopted Boer tactics, and so escaped the slaughter
that has so often fallen to the lot of the British troops when attacking
similar positions. Before describing the fight it may be as well to give
some slight idea of the disposition of the opposing forces. Our troops held
the railway line all the way from Cape Town to Modder River. At given
distances, or at points of strategic importance, strong bodies of men are
posted to keep the Boers from raiding, or from interfering with the railway
or telegraph lines. Such a force, consisting of Munster Fusiliers, two guns
of R.H. Artillery, the Canadians, and the Queenslanders, were posted at
Belmont under Colonel Pilcher. The enemy had no fixed camping ground.
Mounted on hardy Basuto ponies, carrying no provisions but a few mealies
and a little biltong, armed only with rifles, they sweep incessantly from
place to place, and are an everlasting source of annoyance to us. At one
moment they may be hovering in the kopjes around us at Enslin, waiting to
get a chance to sneak into the kopjes that immediately overlook our camp,
but thanks to the magnificent scouting qualities of the Victorian Mounted
Rifles, they have never been able to do so. During the night they disperse,
and take up their abode on surrounding farms as peaceful tillers of the
soil. In a day or so they organise again, and swoop down on some other
place, such as Belmont. Their armies, under men like Cronje or Joubert,
seldom move from strongly-entrenched positions.

The people I am referring to as reivers are farmers recruited by local
leaders, and are a particularly dangerous class of people to deal with, as
they know every inch of this most deceptive country. As soon as they are
whipped they make off to wives and home, and meet the scouts with a bland
smile and outstretched hand. It is no use trying to get any information out
of them, for no man living can look so much like an unmitigated fool when
he wants to as the ordinary, every-day farmer of the veldt. I know Chinamen
exceptionally well, I have had an education in the ways of the children of
Confucius; but no Chinaman that I have come in contact with could ever
imitate the half-idiotic smile, the patient, ox-like placidity of
countenance, the meek, religious look of holy resignation to the will of
Providence which comes naturally to the ordinary Boer farmer. It is this
faculty which made our very clever Army Intelligence people rank the farmer
of the veldt as a fool. Yet, if I am any judge, and I have known men in
many lands, our friend of the veldt is as clever and as crafty as any
Oriental I have yet mixed with.

Now for the Australian fight. On the day before Christmas, Colonel Pilcher,
at Belmont, got wind of the assemblage of a considerable Boer force at a
place 30 miles away, called Sunnyside Farm, and he determined to try to
attack it before the enemy could get wind of his intention. To this end he
secured every nigger for some miles around--which proved his good sense, as
the niggers are all in the pay of the Boers, no matter how loyal they may
pretend to be to the British, a fact which the British would do well to
take heed of, for it has cost them pretty dearly already. On Christmas Eve
he started out, taking two guns of the Royal Navy Artillery, a couple of
Maxims, all the Queenslanders, and a few hundred Canadians. Colonel
Pilcher's force numbered in all about 600 men. He marched swiftly all
night, and got to Sunnyside Farm in good time Christmas Day. The Boers had
not a ghost of an idea that our men were near them, and were completely
beaten at their own game, the surprise party being complete. The enemy were
found in a laager in a strong position in some rather steep kopjes, and it
was at once evident that they were expecting strong reinforcements from
surrounding farms. Colonel Pilcher at once extended his forces so as to try
to surround the kopjes. Whilst this was going on, Lieutenant Aide, with
four Queensland troopers, was sent to the far left of what was supposed to
be the Boer position. His orders were to give notice of any attempt at
retreat on the part of the enemy. He did his work well. Getting close to
the kopje, he saw a number of the enemy slinking off, and at once
challenged them. As he did so a dozen Boers dashed out of the kopje, and
Aide opened fire on them, which caused the Boers to fire a volley at him.
Lieutenant Aide fell from his horse with two bullets in his body; one went
through the fleshy part of his stomach, entering his body sideways, the
other went into his thigh. A trooper named McLeod was shot through the
heart, and fell dead. Both the other troopers were wounded. Trooper Rose
caught a horse, and hoisted his lieutenant into the saddle, and sent him
out of danger.

Meantime the R.H. Battery, taking range from Lieutenant Aide's fire, opened
out on the enemy. Their guns put a great fear into the Boers, and a general
bolt set in. The Boers fired as they cleared, and if our fellows had been
formed up in the style usual to the British army in action, we should have
suffered heavily; but the Queensland bushmen had dropped behind cover, and
soon had complete possession of the kopjes; another trooper named Victor
Jones was shot through the brain, and fourteen others were more or less
badly wounded. The Boers then surrendered. We took 40 prisoners, and found
about 14 dead Boers on the ground, besides a dozen wounded. They were all
Cape Dutch, no Transvaalers being found in their ranks. We secured 40,000
rounds of their ammunition, 300 Martini rifles, and only one Mauser rifle,
which was in the possession of the Boer commander. After destroying all
that we took, we moved on, and had a look at some of the farms near by, as
from some of the documents found in camp it was certain that the whole
district was a perfect nest of rebellion. Quite a little store of arms and
ammunition was discovered by this means, and the occupants of the farms
were therefore transported to Belmont. Our fellows carried the little
children and babies in their arms all the way, and marched into Belmont
singing, with the little ones on their shoulders. Every respect was shown
to the women, old and young, and to the old men, but the young fellows were
closely guarded all the time. The Canadians did not lose a single man,
neither did any of the others except the Queenslanders.

Another Boer commando, about 1,000 strong, with two batteries of artillery,
is now hovering in the ranges away to the north-west of Enslin, but Colonel
Hoad is not likely to be tempted out to meet them, since his orders are to
hold Enslin against attack. However, should they venture to make a dash for
Enslin, they will get a pretty bad time, as the Australians there are keen
for a fight.

Concerning farming, it is an unknown quantity here, as we in Australia
understand it. These people simply squat down wherever they can find a
natural catchment for water. There is no clearing to be done, as the land
is quite devoid of timber. They put nigger labour on, and build a
farmhouse. These farmhouses are much better built than those which the
average pioneer farmer in Australia owns. They make no attempt at
adornment, but build plain, substantial houses, containing mostly about six
rooms. The roofs are mostly flat, and the frontages plain to ugliness. They
do no fencing, except where they go in for ostrich breeding. When they farm
for feathers they fence with wire about six feet in height. This kind of
farming is very popular with the better class of Boers, as it entails very
little labour, and no outlay beyond the initial expense. They raise just
enough meal to keep themselves, but do not farm for the market. They breed
horses and cattle; the horses are a poor-looking lot, as the Boers do not
believe much in blood. They never ride or work mares, but use them as brood
stock. This is a bad plan, as young and immature mares breed early on the
veldt, and throw weedy stock. Their cattle, however, are attended to on
much better lines, and most of the beef that I have seen would do credit to
any station in Australia, or any American ranch. They mostly raise a few
sheep and goats; the sheep are a poor lot, the wool is of a very inferior
class, and the mutton poor. I don't know much about goats, so will pass
them, though I very much doubt if any Australian squatter would give them
grass room.

On most of the farms a small orchard is found enclosed in stone walls. Here
again the ignorance of the Boers is very marked; the fruit is of poor
quality, though the variety is large. Thus, one finds in these orchards
pears, apples, grapes, plums, pomegranates, peaches, quinces, apricots, and
almonds. The fruit is harsh, small, and flavourless, owing to bad pruning,
want of proper manure, and good husbandry generally. The Boer seems to
think that he has done all that is required of him when he has planted a
tree; all that follows he leaves to nature, and he would much rather sit
down and pray for a beautiful harvest than get up and work for it. He is a
great believer in the power of prayer. He prays for a good crop of fruit;
if it comes he exalts himself and takes all the credit; if the crop fails
he folds his hands and remarks that it was God's will that things should so
come to pass. He knocks all the work he can out of his niggers, but does
precious little himself. In stature he is mostly tall, thin, and active. He
moves with a quick, shuffling gait, which is almost noiseless. Some of his
women folk are beautiful, while others are fat and clumsy, and are never
likely to have their portraits hung on the walls of the Royal Academy.





A PRISONER OF WAR.

BLOEMFONTEIN HOSPITAL.


I little fancied when I sat at my ease in my tent in the British camp that
my next epistle would be written from a hospital as a prisoner, but such is
the case, and, after all, I am far more inclined to be thankful than to
growl at my luck. Let me tell the story, for it is typical of this peculiar
country, and still more peculiar war. I had been writing far into the
night, and had left the letter ready for post next day. Then, with a clear
conscience, I threw myself on my blankets, satisfied that I was ready for
what might happen next. Things were going to happen, but though the night
was big with fate there was no warning to me in the whispering wind. Some
men would have heard all sorts of sounds on such a night, but I am not
built that way I suppose. Anyway, I heard nothing until, half an hour
before dawn, a voice jarred my ear with the news that "there was something
on, and I'd better fly round pretty sharp if I did not mean to miss it."

By the light of my lantern I saddled my horse, and snatched a hasty cup of
coffee and a mouthful of biscuit, and as the little band of Tasmanians
moved from Rensburg I rode with them. Where they were going, or what their
mission, I did not know, but I guessed it was to be no picnic. The quiet,
resolute manner of the officers, the hushed voices, the set, stern faces of
the young soldiers, none of whom had ever been under fire before, all told
me that there was blood in the air, so I asked no questions, and sat tight
in my saddle. As the daylight broke over the far-stretching veldt, I saw
that two other correspondents were with the party, viz., Reay, of the
Melbourne _Herald_, and Lambie, poor, ill-fated Lambie, of the
_Melbourne Age_. For a couple of hours we trotted along without
incident of any kind, then we halted at a farmhouse, the name of which I
have forgotten. There we found Captain Cameron encamped with the rest of
the Tasmanians, and after a short respite the troops moved outward again,
Captain Cameron in command; we had about eighty men, all of whom were
mounted.

As we rode off I heard the order given for every man to "sit tight and keep
his eyes open." Then our scouts put spurs to their horses and dashed away
on either wing, skirting the kopjes and screening the main body, and so for
another hour we moved without seeing or hearing anything to cause us
trouble. By this time we had got into a kind of huge basin, the kopjes were
all round us, but the veldt was some miles in extent. I knew at a glance
that if the Boers were in force our little band was in for a bad time, as
an enemy hidden in those hills could watch our every movement on the plain,
note just where we intended to try and pass through the chain of hills, and
attack us with unerring certainty and suddenness. All at once one of our
scouts, who had been riding far out on our left flank, came flying in with
the news that the enemy was in the kopjes in front of us, and he further
added that he thought they intended to surround our party if possible.
Captain Cameron ordered the men to split into two parties, one to move
towards the kopjes on our right; the other to fall back and protect our
retreat, if such a move became necessary. Mr. Lambie and I decided to move
on with the advance party, and at a hard gallop we moved away towards a
line of kopjes that seemed higher than any of the others in the belt. As we
neared those hills it seemed to us that there were no Boers in possession,
and that nothing would come of the ride after all, and we drew bridle and
started to discuss the situation. At that time we were not far from the
edge of some kopjes, which, though lying low, were covered with rocky
boulders and low scrub.

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