everything hostile. General Rundle (the flower of courtesy and chivalry)
kept the centre; General Boyes looked after our left wing; General Campbell
picked up the intermediate spaces as occasion demanded; and so we moved on,
trying, but trying in vain, to draw a cordon round the ever-shifting foe.
There was no chance for a dashing forward move; the country through which
we passed was lined by kopjes, which were simply appalling in their native
strength. What prompted the Boer leaders to fall back from them, step by
step, will for ever remain a mystery to me. It was not want of provisions,
for we knew that they had huge supplies of beef and mutton, whilst there
were in their possession almost inexhaustible stores of grain. It was not
want of fodder for their horses, for the valleys and veldt were covered
with beautiful grass, almost knee-deep. Water was plentiful in all
directions, and they apparently possessed plenty of ammunition. Prisoners
assert that Commandant Olivier was absolutely furious when compelled to
fall back, by order of his superiors. It is also asserted that he is now in
dire disgrace on account of his refusal to obey promptly some of his
superior's commands. It is further stated that he is to be deposed from his
command, and will cease to be a factor of any importance in the war. It is
hard to fathom Boer tactics. It does not follow because a line of kopjes
are abandoned to-day that the burghers have retreated; they fall back
before scouting parties; their pickets watch our scouts return to camp,
knowing that they will convey the news to headquarters that the kopjes are
empty of armed men. Then, with almost incredible swiftness, the light-armed
Boers swarm back by passes known only to themselves, and secretly and
silently take up positions where they can butcher an advancing army. If
General Rundle had been a rash, impetuous, or a headstrong man, he could
comfortably have lost his whole force on half a dozen occasions; but he is
not. He is essentially a cautious leader, and pits his brain against that
of the Boer leaders as a good chess player pits his against an opponent. He
may believe in the luck of the British Army, but he trusts mighty little to