by a set of unscrupulous officers. They were told they could get all
they desired, except their independence. All could go home, each would
get a horse-saddle and bridle, their private property would not be
confiscated, and they would be allowed to follow their agricultural and
pastoral pursuits undisturbed. And the poor officers--well for them that
there were no extenuating terms, no mercy. So, at least, said Commandant
Polly de Villiers, of the Ficksburg Commando. He, when posing as a
martyr, announced these conditions to the burghers, who, after such long
separation from their families, found it impossible to withstand such
charming terms. Sorrowfully were they disillusioned after they had laid
down their arms.

To make the surrender a complete success, all sorts of rumours were
freely circulated. The burghers were told that all who did not surrender
would be shot as rebels when captured, that the pass, higher up the
mountains, was guarded by twenty-five lyddite guns, so that every exit
was cut off by the enemy. When these reports were brought to bear on men
already depressed and discouraged it did not require great pressure to
effect their surrender. Still, if these men had not been misled, if they
had known that Ceylon and India would be the final destination of many
of them, they never would have surrendered, and very few of them would
have been captured there and then. All this they found out when it was
too late.

These unfortunate burghers we do not wish to criticise too severely. The
officers were to blame. Many of them certainly fell into the hands of
the enemy through no fault of their own. There were, however, some who
were only too ready to lay down their arms, and these were the majority.
They did not act the part of men; for they deserted shamefully those who
still struggled bravely for freedom. Nor am I willing to judge these.