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With Rimington by L. March Phillipps
page 85 of 184 (46%)

All the way from Modder River down the Kimberley line and up the central
one from Naauwpoort, the most dismal rumours reached me at all stations,
growing more definite as I neared Bloemfontein. Sanna's Post and
Reddersberg! You have heard all about them by now. Nearly 1000
casualties and seven guns taken.

You remember I told you in my last letter that a big body of Boers
marched north across our bows. Pilcher was out on that side and drew
back. The Boers got wind of him, and wheeled west in pursuit. Broadwood,
not strong enough to hold Thaba Nchu, moved in on Bloemfontein, the
Boers after him.

It is no fun describing things one has not seen. The ground I know. It
is a flat plain the whole way, but down the middle of it is a deep sluit
or watercourse, some thirty feet deep, with steep, sudden banks, and
through this the road dips down and passes. Broadwood halted on the east
side of it, thus leaving it between himself and home. In doing this he
gave a chance to an enemy who never throws a chance away. The Boer
leader was Christian De Wet.

The first thing in the morning the enemy began shelling our camp. The
convoy was sent on, not a scout with it. Meantime, during the night
several hundred Boer marksmen had been sent round into the sluit, and
were now lying right across poor Broadwood's retreat. The Boers, acting
with their devilish coolness as usual, took possession of the waggons
without giving the alarm. Our two batteries and Roberts' Horse came
along, and were allowed to get to point-blank distance, and then the
volley came; magazine rifles at pistol-shot range. For the moment the
result, as at Magersfontein, was chaos.
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