On Commando | Page 3

into the mountains to let our horses graze. But we had only just
off-saddled, when from all sides came the cry of 'Saddle! saddle!' and
from our left, in the valley, came the sound of firing. A detachment of
250 khakies, probably knowing nothing of our whereabouts, and
intending to pass round the mountains and attack Lucas Meyer in the
rear, was compelled to surrender in a few moments, after first having
sought cover in a kraal near a house.
We remained three days on the Dundee mountains, and during all that
time there was a steady drizzle, with intervals of hail and wind. Once
when it cleared up for a few hours we got the order to attack the town,
but it began to rain again, and that night we had to keep our positions in
the intense cold, without any covering. Fortunately, the enemy
abandoned their camp that night, and when we looked down upon the
town next morning the khakies had vanished. We had only the
preceding day placed our cannon in a position to command the camp.

When we returned to our saddles, the horses had strayed so far that it
took us almost all day to get them back. My uncle, Paul Maré, formerly
Volksraad member for Zoutpansberg, treated us to kaboe-mealies
(roasted maize), the first we had on commando, and we ate with great
relish.
Meanwhile the commando had left. We followed, and entered Dundee,
where we helped ourselves hungrily to the good things from the shops
placed at the disposal of the commandos.
In an unorganized army looting is a necessary evil. There are always
some of the lower classes who are the ringleaders, and when the
commandos reach a house or farm that has already been looted, they
join in the looting 'because the burghers are on commando, and they
must be well supplied with all necessaries, so as to be able to fight
well.' So we reasoned, and we joined in the looting. I can affirm, to the
honour of our burghers, that it was not our intention to plunder, and in
the beginning much was done to prevent it. The lower class Uitlander,
who joined us for the sake of booty, and not for love and sympathy
towards us, was largely responsible for the bad name we got among
right-minded people who did not know the facts of the case. It was the
same as regards theft. If anyone missed his horse, he had but to look for
it among the 'Irish corps,' or some other Uitlander corps, and unless he
knew his beast well he would fail to recognise it, as both mane and tail
would have been cut short by the thief. I do not wish to pretend that we
were always free from blame. It has happened that the Uitlander got a
very poor horse in exchange for his thoroughbred because a Boer had
tied the token of recognition to his own horse and made off with the
better one. The truth is that very few men are proof against the
demoralizing influence of war, and I will not deny that this war has
shown up our many faults; but in my tale I shall be able to take up the
cudgels for my people in cases where the rest of the world turned from
us because they were disappointed in their expectations of us.
After our departure from Dundee the looting went on freely. Then we
began to witness the devastation that is the irremediable consequence
of war. Here and there a house had been completely plundered. At
Glencoe Junction I entered the stationmaster's house, a well-furnished
house with beautiful pictures, books, and mirrors. Some massive silver
mugs and other articles of value were lying about. The family had only

just dined, for the cloth was still laid. I ate of the food on the table,
wrote a letter home with pen and ink, and left the house. Later on, when
I returned, it had been thoroughly looted and some of the mirrors
smashed. There were many of the riff-raff, Kaffirs and coolies in the
neighbourhood, and in all probability they had done the mischief.
When our commando left Dundee to move in the direction of
Ladysmith, part of the Pretoria town commando was sent to reinforce
Lucas Meyer, who was to follow the troops fleeing from Dundee with
his commando. My brother and I went with it. A terrible thunderstorm
came on just then, and during the whole march to Ladysmith it rained
heavily. Every moment we expected to come up with the troops, but
they had too great a start, and we did not overtake them at all. We were
too late again. An English General has said that 'the Boers are brave,
and make good