Chapter 14

THE COLESBERG OPERATIONS

Of the four British armies in the field I have attempted to tell the
story of the western one which advanced to help Kimberley, of the
eastern one which was repulsed at Colenso, and of the central one
which was checked at Stormberg. There remains one other central one,
some account of which must now be given.

It was, as has already been pointed out, a long three weeks after the
declaration of war before the forces of the Orange Free State began to
invade Cape Colony. But for this most providential delay it is
probable that the ultimate fighting would have been, not among the
mountains and kopjes of Stormberg and Colesberg, but amid those
formidable passes which lie in the Hex Valley, immediately to the
north of Cape Town, and that the armies of the invader would have been
doubled by their kinsmen of the Colony. The ultimate result of the war
must have been the same, but the sight of all South Africa in flames
might have brought about those Continental complications which have
always been so grave a menace.

The invasion of the Colony was at two points along the line of the two
railways which connect the countries, the one passing over the Orange
River at Norval's Pont and the other at Bethulie, about forty miles to
the eastward. There were no British troops available (a fact to be
considered by those, if any remain, who imagine that the British
entertained any design against the Republics), and the Boers jogged
slowly southward amid a Dutch population who hesitated between their
unity of race and speech and their knowledge of just and generous
treatment by the Empire. A large number were won over by the invaders,
and, like all apostates, distinguished themselves by their virulence
and harshness towards their loyal neighbours. Here and there in towns
which were off the railway line, in Barkly East or Ladygrey, the
farmers met together with rifle and bandolier, tied orange puggarees
round their hats, and rode off to join the enemy. Possibly these
ignorant and isolated men hardly recognised what it was that they were
doing. They have found out since. In some of the border districts the
rebels numbered ninety per cent of the Dutch population.

In the meanwhile, the British leaders had been strenuously
endeavouring to scrape together a few troops with which to make some
stand against the enemy. For this purpose two small forces were
necessary -- the one to oppose the advance through Bethulie and
Stormberg, the other to meet the invaders, who, having passed the
river at Norval's Pont, had now occupied Colesberg. The former task
was, as already shown, committed to General Gatacre. The latter was
allotted to General French, the victor of Elandslaagte, who had