Ladysmith | Page 6

and now just as the mail goes, we
are all back again in camp for tea. And so ends the first day of active
hostilities.
[Illustration: GENERAL SIR GEORGE STEWART WHITE, V.C.,
G.C.I.E., G.C.B., G.C.S.I.]
CHAPTER III
THE FIRST WEEK'S WAR
LADYSMITH, _Thursday, October 19, 1899_.
It is a week to-day since the Boers of the Transvaal and Free State
began their combined invasion of Natal. So far all action has been on
their side. They have crept down the passes with their waggons and
half-organised bands of mounted infantry, and have now advanced

within a short day's march of the two main British positions which
protect the whole colony. It will be seen on a map that North Natal
forms a fairly regular isoceles triangle, having Charlestown, Majuba,
and Laing's Nek at the apex, the Drakensberg range separating it from
the Free State on the one side, and the Buffalo River with its lower hills
separating it from the Transvaal on the other. A base may be drawn a
few miles below Ladysmith--say, from Oliver's Hoek Pass in the
Drakensberg to the union of the Tugela River with the Buffalo.
Newcastle will then lie about thirty miles from the apex of the triangle,
nearly equi-distant from both sides. Dundee is about twelve miles from
the middle point of the right side, and Ladysmith about the same
distance from the middle point of the base. Evidently a "tight place" for
a comparatively small force when the frontiers to right and left are
openly hostile and can pour large bodies of men through all the passes
in the sides and apex at will. That is exactly what the Boers have spent
the week in doing, and they have shown considerable skill in the
process. They have occupied Charlestown, Newcastle, and all the north
of Natal almost to within reach of the guns at Dundee on the west and
Ladysmith on the east and centre. Yet as far as I can judge they have
hardly lost a man, whereas they have gained an immense amount of
stores, food and forage, which were exactly the things they wanted.
"Slim Piet" is the universal nickname for old Joubert among friends and
enemies alike, and so far he has well deserved it. For the Dutch "slim"
stands half way between the German "schlimm" and our description of
young girls, and it means exactly what the Cockney means by "artful."
Artful Piet has managed well. He has given the Boers an appearance of
triumph. Their flag waves where the English flag waved before. The
effect on the native mind, and on the spirits of his men is greater than
people in England probably think. Before the war the young Boers said
they would be in Durban in a month, and the Kaffirs half believed it.
Well, they have got nearly a third of the way in a week.
But to-day they are brought within touch of British arms, and the
question is whether they will get any further. So far they have been
unopposed. Their triumphs have been the bloodless capture of a
passenger train, the capture of a few police, and the driving in of patrols
who had strict orders to retire. So far we have sought only to draw them

on. But here and at Dundee we must make a stand, and all yesterday
and this morning we have thought only of one question: Will they
venture to come on? They have numbers on their side--an advantage
certainly of three to one, possibly more. The rough country with its
rocky flat-topped lines of hill is just suited for their method of
warfare--to lie behind stones and take careful shots at any one in range.
Besides, if they are to do anything, they know they must be quick. The
Basutos are chanting their war-song on the Free State frontier. The
British reinforcements are coming, and all irregulars have a tendency to
melt away if you keep them waiting. But on the other hand it is against
Boer tradition to attack, especially entrenched positions. Their artillery
is probably far inferior to ours in training and skill, and they don't like
artillery in any case. Nor do they like the thought of Lancers and
Hussars sweeping down upon their flanks wherever a little bit of plain
has to be crossed. So the chances of attack seem about equally balanced,
and only the days can answer that one question of ours: Will they come
on?
Yesterday it seemed as though they were coming. The advance of two
main columns from the passes in the north-west had been fairly steady;
and last night our outposts of the Natal Carbineers were engaged, as the
5th Lancers had been the night before. Heavy firing was reported at any
distance short of fifteen miles.