by the insurgents.

THE FATE OF CAPTAIN ELLIOT

The sole officer who escaped from the massacre at Bronker's Spruit
was Captain Elliot, who was subsequently treacherously murdered
while crossing the Vaal. The account of this tragedy was given by
Major Lambart in a report to Sir George Colley, and should be read
by all who wish to get a fair view of the events of that period,
particularly by those who insist on our brother-relationship to the
Boers:--

"SIR,--I have the honour to report, for the information of his
Excellency, that as I was returning from the Orange Free State on
December 18 (where I had been on duty buying horses to mount
Commandant Ferreira's men for the Basuto war, and also remounts for
my troop of Mounted Infantry and the Royal Artillery), when about
thirty miles from Pretoria, on the road from Heidelberg, I was
suddenly taken prisoner by a party of twenty or thirty Boers, who
galloped down on me (all around), and, capturing the horses, was
taken back to Heidelberg. After being there some six or eight days,
I was joined by Captain and Paymaster Elliot, 94th Regiment (the
only officer not wounded in the attack on the detachment of the 94th
Regiment), who arrived with some forty prisoners of war of the 94th
Regiment. On the following day (the 24th of December) we received a
written communication from the Secretary of the Republican
Government, to the effect 'that the members of the said Government
would call on us at 3.30 that day,' which they did. The purport of
their interview being 'That at a meeting of Council they had decided
to give us one of two alternatives. (1) To remain prisoners of war
during hostilities in the Transvaal. (2) To be released on _parole,
d'honneur_, that we would leave the Transvaal at once, cross into
the Free State under escort, and not bear arms against the
Republican Government during the war.' Time being given us for
deliberation, Captain Elliot and myself decided to accept No. 2
alternative, and communicated the same to the Secretary of the South
African Republic, who informed us, in the presence of the
Commandant-General, P. Joubert, that we could leave next day, taking
with us all our private property. The following days being
respectively Christmas Day and Sunday, we were informed we could not
start till Monday, on which day, having signed our _parole
d'honneur_, my horses were harnessed, and we were provided with a
duplicate of our parole or free pass, signed b