op were sent
out to locate it, I being in the centre one. We had some wretched ground
to go over, and finally, without any signs of opposition, reached the
small farms lying at the foot of the range of hills. There the left and
centre group were stopped for some considerable time by a large barbed
wire fence and, as none of us possessed any wire nippers, we finally had
to go out of our way some distance in order to avoid it. I mention this
trivial incident as illustrative of how some Yeomanry matters of
equipment have been neglected. From my own knowledge, based on enquiry,
I find that none of the non-commissioned officers or men of our squadron
were provided with these very necessary implements--one or two happened
to have private ones, and that is all. So much for that grumble. Now to
resume. Having overcome the barb-wire difficulty, we continued our
progress in the direction where we understood the laager was situated,
convinced in our minds that of Boers there were none. _En route_ we
called at the few houses in the neighbourhood and made slight
investigations, with always the same result. There were women and heaps
of children, but of men none. Of course, you know the game. The
chivalrous Boer, having deposited his arms in Pretoria and taken the
oath of neutrality, has rested himself, and is now out again on the war
path, either from choice or through being commandeered. At last one of
our scouts rode up and told us that our right-hand group had found the
laager which had been evacuated. Riding through the trees, it was rather
thickly wooded, we soon came across wandering cows, calves and oxen, and
at length the laager at the foot of a small kopje. In it were the four
men of our right group, cattle, horses, a few donkeys, and a couple of
uneasy-looking niggers, who had evidently been left behind and in charge
by the Boers. It was a fine position for a laager, and well hidden away.
Several of us dismounted here and lighted our pipes while we watched the
fine cattle we had got, and those with bad horses haggled as to who
should possess the best of the Boer mounts, which were being held by the
uncomfortable-looking Kaffirs. Presently through a donga on the left of
the laager came the leading groups of the Fife Light Horse and soon the
laager contained the first troop. I remounted my horse and--_rap!_ went
a shot and over rolled a horse and rider (a Sussex sergeant) on my
right; then into us rapped and cracked the rifles