OF

CHAPTER IX

THE DEFENCE OF WEPENER-THE JAMMERSBERG ENTRENCHMENTS-WORK THE REPATRIATION BOARD-RELIEF WORKS-COMPENSATION PROBLEMS-THE PROTECTION PROCLAMATION-ACROSS THE VELDT TO BLOEMFONTEIN-IN DE WET'S COUNTRY-THE BRITISH REVERSE

DEWETSDORP.

AT

THE defence of Wepener in April 1900 was an incident of the war of which all the British people may justly feel proud, reflecting as it does the greatest credit on the soldierly qualities of our irregular South African corps, in whose ranks, by the way, home-born and Colonial British are to be found in about equal number. The terms generally employed in the description of the defence are somewhat misleading. There was no siege or defence of Wepener itself. It was quite an untenable position, so the small British force abandoned the town to the Boers as soon as they were seen approaching. Our men occupied a strong and admirably-chosen position three miles away, on the further side of the Caledon River, which they defended with great gallantry, against a Boer force more than four times as large as their own, for seventeen days until relief came. The investing Boer force consisted of about eight thousand men; while the British, who formed part of General Brabant's Division, numbered only seventeen hundred, including men of Brabant's Horse, the Cape Mounted Rifles, the Kaffrarian Horse, some Royal Engineers, and a company of the Royal Scots. Both sides were

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well supplied with artillery, and the Boers succeeded in getting some guns up to the top of the steep Jammersberg, or Hill of Sorrow, which commanded the British camp. For seventeen days with shell and rifle fire the Boers in vain assailed the British positions. At first they delivered furious attacks both by day and by night. On one occasion they temporarily drove back the British from one portion of their defences; while at another time a Boer storming party crept up a deep nullah from the Caledon that brought it unperceived close under the British trenches. The Boers charged home resolutely, but were repulsed with heavy loss. And all this time, about two miles away, were drawn up along the Basuto border, just within the fence which forms the boundary, some thousands of Basuto warriors, mounted and armed with rifles, watching the turn of events and ready to prevent any violation of Basuto territory by the Boers. The Boers must have lost many men while making these assaults on the British positions. Our casualties amounted to about three hundred killed and wounded. At last, after seventeen days of bombardment, the Boers suddenly raised the siege and disappeared, just in time to avoid the hemming in and destruction of their force by the converging columns of Brabant, Chermside, and Rundle, who were advancing to the relief of the besieged.

One morning a friend drove me to the scene of the memorable defence. We followed the bank of the now almost dry Wepener spruit to its outlet into the mightier, ever-flowing Caledon River, down whose rugged bed a great body of water was rushing, the outpourings from many a gorge in the high Basuto mountains. We now saw before us on the further side of the river the heights that were held by the British. On either bank of the

river were standing what remain of the large flour mills belonging to Mr. Robertson, and on the further shore was his pleasant house, surrounded by groves and gardens. A great weir has here been thrown across the river, and from the two ends of it canals, that have been cut out of the rock, carry the water to the turbines that work the mills. The present aspect of these mills brings home to the spectator the merciless waste of war. Essential portions of the machinery, that could not be replaced, had been removed, so as to make it impossible for the Boers to work the mills should they attempt to do so. Instructions had been sent from headquarters, however, to all British columns that were clearing the country that these mills must be spared. But one of our patrols, no doubt in ignorance of the order, fired the mills, and the wanton act caused the destruction of, I believe, upwards of £60,000 worth of property, including the costly machinery, the buildings, and thirty thousand sacks of grain. It was, of course, of importance that the grain should not be left to fall into the hands of the Boers, but, as there was plenty of transport, in the shape of waggons and oxen, available, this might easily have been carried across the border into the neutral Basuto territory, where it would have been quite safe. Mr. Robertson is a Scotsman who was a burgher of the Free State; but that he was also an intensely loyal friend of Great Britain was well known. Relying on Lord Roberts's protection proclamation, he took the oath of neutrality and went on with his business at the mills at a time when this portion of the country may be justly described as having been in a condition of profound peace, no one for a moment expecting that the devastating wave of war would yet again and again roll over it.

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We crossed the fine iron bridge which spans the Caledon, and Mr. Robertson rode with us over the ground, pointing out the British and Boer positions and the points at which the enemy made their assaults, the whole story of the siege and the defence being thus made clear to us on the spot. First he showed us, near his house, the little cemetery where our dead soldiers are buried, the stone monuments that have been sent by their relatives standing at the head of several of the graves. Then we clambered up the ridges that form the Jammersberg positions, to give them their more correct name. One could understand, as one obtained a comprehensive view of the surrounding country from the summit of a lofty kopje, why this strong position had been chosen for the resolute stand of the little force. It was necessary, so as to avoid being commanded by the enemy, to occupy a great extent of ground. The main positions may be described as a line of stony ridges, bordering the river for some distance, and then sweeping round inland so as to form a hilly horseshoe enclosing an expanse of grass-grown veldt. The circuit of this horseshoe is said to be eight miles, a long line of defences indeed to be held by a force of only seventeen hundred men against eight thousand. The dispositions for the defence had been admirably made by the late Major C. Maxwell, R.E., in whom his country lost a most valuable officer, and as we followed the ridges we saw the trenches, sangars, and rifle pits, which had been constructed at his orders, the empty cartridges that lay thickly in front of each of them testifying to the vigour of the defence. The British entrenchments, too, lined the river bank, and at Jammersberg, fortunately, our men had a sufficiency of water as well as of food and ammunition, so that

there was never a question of surrender, and they were enabled to withstand for an indefinite time all the assaults that the Boers could deliver.

man.

When I arrived at Wepener I found that a Repatriation Commission had for some time been sitting there with the resident magistrate, Mr. Harley, as its chairIn this district the work of repatriation had been carried out with despatch, and with few exceptions the farmers were now back on their lands. I have already explained that different methods of conducting the repatriation prevailed in different districts. The following was the system adopted by the Wepener Commission. Men of large means received no assistance. Had all they asked been advanced to some of the applicants, there would have been nothing left for the relief of the really poor burghers. Thus a man who owned several large farms, but was loth to raise money by selling any portion of his land, applied to the district commission for a loan of £8,000, on the security of his property, to enable him to restock his farms, the loan of course to be on the stated Government terms, that is, to be free of interest for two years and bearing only 3 per cent. afterwards. I need scarcely say that his application was not entertained. It was only to those who had no capital or no adequate borrowing powers that the board made these advances, and then it did it in kind rather than in cash. In the same way, when the board was selling horses and stock at cost price, the richer farmers would have quickly bought them all up for cash as a speculation had not the Commissioners put a check on the sale and seen to it that the smaller men who had no ready money had an opportunity of purchasing on credit, on giving security. In this district the farmer, on the average, had