Prinsloo and the Commandant,
reconnoitred the neighbourhood of Groenkop, on which Colonel Firman was
encamped. I approached as near as possible to the mountain, but could
only inspect it from the west, north, and east, but on the following day
I reconnoitred it also from the south.

My plan of making the attack early the next morning was somewhat spoilt
by the fact that the English had already, on the 21st of December,
quitted their camp on the mountain. Thus they had had four days in which
to entrench themselves.

Whilst we were reconnoitring the mountain from the south, we saw three
horsemen coming cautiously out of the camp, riding in a north-easterly
direction, and thus giving us no chance to intercept them. Commandant
Olivier and Captain Potgieter now made a detour, so that they could cut
off the unsuspecting scouts from their camp, and could also get nearer
to the mountain themselves. I knew that by doing so they would draw the
fire of the two guns, which would tell me precisely where Colonel
Firman's battery stood.

Before these officers could accomplish their purpose they were observed,
and seeing that they could not cut off the three men, they turned their
horses and galloped back. But when they saw that the three scouts had
the temerity to pursue them, they faced round at the first rise and
suddenly confronted them. The three (who were Kaffirs), seeing that the
tables were turned, hastily wheeled round towards their own camp, but
before they could reach it one of their number was caught and shot down.
One gun and the Maxim-Nordenfeldt now fired upon our two officers as
long as they were in sight, and thus we learnt that the guns were placed
on the high western point of the mountain, from which they could shoot
in all directions.

Let me describe Groenkop. On its western side was a precipice, on the
north and south a steep descent, and on the east a gentle slope which
ran down to the plain.

From which side should the attack take place?

Some of the officers were of the opinion that this should take place on
the east, where it was the least steep, but I differed from them, for
through our field-glasses we could see that the walls of the fort were
so built that it was quite clear the enemy had thought that, should they
be attacked, it would be from the east. The forts were built in a
semicircle towards that side, and although this would be of little
importance once the fight had begun (because the defende