In the Colonel's letter-bag we found a letter addressed to his wife,
dated 19th September, 1901, and written the very day before his death.
We purposed to forward that letter, but the following day the bag was
retaken. Not only was it taken, but also the gun, while 20 burghers were
captured and one--Myburgh--was killed. We were again surprised.
Inconstant are the fortunes of war.


JAMES TOWN.

The villages in possession of the enemy were at length so thoroughly
fortified that it was well-nigh impossible to seize them without
sustaining great losses. Though they seemed impregnable, yet we were
sometimes compelled by sheer necessity to attack them. Beyond
expectation we now and again succeeded in inducing the garrison to
surrender. Such was the case at James Town, a village in the Eastern
Province of the Cape Colony.

Late one afternoon in the month of July, 1901, I set out to this village
to reconnoitre it in person. Unobserved, I reached the summit of a small
hill, about a mile from it. Through my field-glasses I carefully noted
the various forts, and there and then planned an attack. The next
morning I knew exactly what to do.

At 2 A.M. Commandant Myburgh, Commandant Lötter, and myself, with some
60 men, were in the saddle and on our way to James Town. What will be
the issue? Shall we succeed? Can we surprise the enemy? Such questions
we put to ourselves as we rode on in the darkness and silence of the
night to accomplish the work of destruction.