KEMP'S ESCAPE

It was at Kimberley that news came through that Kemp was making a
desperate cross-country trek to get into German territory in the
Upington neighbourhood. A reference to a map will show that Upington,
on the Orange River, is on the extreme western borders of the Union;
and it must be said that the trek which Kemp and the remnant of his
moderate force, poorly mounted and equipped, had made since being
routed by General Botha on the 27th of October (a month before) stands
as a remarkable piece of work. We pushed on to Prieska, via De Aar, and
reached Upington, on the scarcely completed new line from Prieska, on
the 25th of November. The journey over the desert stretch from Prieska
to Upington was full of alarms; during the night the train halted in
the lonely veld owing to a washaway, and we stood to arms, throwing out
cossack-posts around the train wherein the Commander-in-Chief slept. It
was tremendously exciting work.

The old town of Upington was transformed in those days. Around the
Dutch Reformed Church, standing peaceful and dazzling white in the
torrid sun, were tents, wagons, horses, motor-cars, signalling-parties,
despatch-riders and infantry. Away over the hard red sand dunes to the
north was the action zone, and from that direction every five minutes
came sweating motor despatch-riders, who tore along to Headquarters.
The following day news came through that the Imperial Light Horse and
the Natal Carbineers had been engaging Kemp before and since dawn;
almost cornered, he was making a final dash for the border to get into
German South-West. It was an anxious time; each minute brought a fresh
rumour as to the fighting and the thousands of men Kemp had got