ugh of
Despond.' It was covered with water from one side to the other, and
we had to wade through knee deep, and sometimes the water reached
to our loins. The water was no serious obstacle, but the ground was
of a morass-like nature that our animals sank in to their knees and
often to their girths. Most of the burghers had to dismount and
lead their horses. Every now and then a horse would stumble, and
down came the rider splashing in the mud and water. I led my
faithful 'Klein Booi' all the way, walking knee deep through mud
and water. Just think how we must have looked the following
morning, with clogs of mud attached to our clothes, hands and
faces, while our horses were baptised in mud! The waggons and guns
gave us most trouble. It was quite impossible to get these through
the swamp. They stuck in the mud, with draft animals and all. We
had as many as fifty oxen before one waggon, but they could not
move it an inch. Some mules sank in so deep that they could not
extricate themselves, and were left to die in the mud!

"At daybreak the guns, De Wet's waggonette and a few carts were
through the swamp; the rest of the convoy was still in it. General
Fourie and a hundred burghers were left with the waggons while the
commando proceeded to the line. At sunrise we were safely on the
other side of the line, where we waited for Fourie. Suddenly, and
very unexpectedly, a shell exploded in our midst, like a
thunderbolt from a clear sky. I looked about to see whence it came;
but before my eyes detected the armoured trains, another and yet
another shell dropped in our midst. I say _in our midst_, for we
were riding in close formation when these horrible projectiles were
hurled upon us. As our horses were very tired and the veldt soaked
through and through by the heavy rains, we could not scatter, nor
ride fast, as we usually do when exposed to cannon fire in the open
veldt. Thus slowly we rode on under this cannonade. And how
wonderful none were injured! The hand of the invisible omnipresent
God must have shielded us. At last we were out of the cannon's
reach. Meanwhile the line had been repaired, the armoured trains
moved freely up and down. Fourie, five other officers, and about a
hundred burghers were now cut off from the commando. The burghers
found