In the Shadow of Death | Page 7

deserted shamefully
those who still struggled bravely for freedom. Nor am I willing to judge
these. Let conscience speak to such as these.
Some officers, animated by a truer love of their country, protested
strongly against such an illegal and shameful surrender. One of these,
General Olivier of the Rouxville Commando, called his burghers
together and told them plainly what he thought. He warned them not to
place too much credence in British promises, and promised that those
who would follow him he would lead out safely. Of his whole
commando--about four hundred strong--scarcely seventy followed him.
The others surrendered.
Besides attending to his men, General Olivier also took charge of most

of the Boer guns, which were to have formed no mean part of the booty,
for Prinsloo had promised the British some thirteen guns, one pom-pom,
and a few maxims with all their ammunition. In the pass at Salmon
Raads, General Hector MacDonald met Olivier with the guns. He at
once ordered him to go no farther, as he was a surrendered man. Olivier
tarried as long as it pleased him, and then proceeded, taking the guns
along with him.
Of all the Boer forces concentrated in the Wittebergen, only about six
hundred did not surrender. To secure these also every means were
resorted to. No fewer than three times were messengers sent to them
with reports from the enemy. At first we were courteously invited to
return and surrender. To prove to us the validity of the surrender, all the
papers bearing on the negotiation from first to last were forwarded to us.
The excellent conditions granted to the surrendered burghers were also
transmitted to us. In these conditions we observed that the surrendered
burghers would each be provided with a horse to ride to their
destination, which would be Winburg, till further orders. We saw also
that they would be kept as prisoners-of-war until the war was over,
which meant, though they did not suspect it then, two years longer.
Their private property was to be respected. How the last condition was
violated is well known.
Olivier and his men were, however, not to be easily ensnared. He
politely rejected the proffered terms, stating at the same time that
Prinsloo's surrender was illegal. A few days later, and lo! in the
distance we beheld another flag-of-truce, a second report. The polite
request had failed, intimidation must now be tried--that might succeed
better. We were admonished urgently to come back at once, and
surrender without further delay. Failing that, we must not expect to
receive such generous and lenient treatment as would be extended to
those surrendered already. All our goods would be confiscated, etc.
On receiving this report, Olivier sent back the somewhat curt and
abrupt reply: "That if the British wanted his rifle they would have to
capture him as a man, for he would not surrender like an old woman.
And he would receive no more white flags on this matter."

Consequently the third messenger was sent back without being
interviewed.
So much for the Prinsloo disaster. It was a sad one for those still
struggling against overwhelming odds. Many a heart beat low, and
many a sigh was heaved. That was an "unkind cut," which wounded the
hearts of thousands. Many a one, even of those who stood to the last
day, never recovered from the effects of that shock. They fought
bravely, and did their duty towards their country, but hope for an
ultimate victory was dead within them.
And those who surrendered, what lessons they had to learn! Even
to-day, a year after the close of the war, some of them have not reached
their homes, but are on lonely islands, and in distant India, while many
have passed away to the unseen world on those foreign shores. Those
that came back, what did they find? A country strewn with ruins, their
homes destroyed and burnt, and their sheep and cattle stabbed and shot
lying in heaps upon the ground. What a sad sight did greet their eyes!
How many of their beloved families were missing, having died in the
Concentration Camps. But when they reflect on the past the saddest
thought should be their vanished freedom.
The next ordeal through which the Republicans had to pass began with
the denudation of the two States. As arms alone could not subdue the
Boers, some other expedient had to be tried--the starvation process was
resorted to; all food-stuff had to be destroyed or removed, so that the
burghers should not obtain sustenance. The country had to be cleared of
cattle and sheep--in fact, of everything which could keep the Boers
alive. This was considered the most feasible way of defeating the
so-called marauding bands of armed Boers.
But what about the women-folk, if the