ny miles round. He then put
the place under martial law, as Dutchmen and spies were slinking about
in the neighbourhood of the railway and the camps. The General's
regulations ran thus:--

"No person is allowed to remain in or to quit De Aar without a
permit signed by the Magistrate, and countersigned by the Camp
Commandant. The permits for railway officials will be signed
and issued by the heads of the traffic, locomotive, and
engineering departments, those for postal officials by the
heads of that department. Any person found selling intoxicating
liquors to a soldier or to a native or coloured person will be
immediately apprehended and the whole of his goods will be
seized. The sale of intoxicating liquors to others can only
take place between the hours of 11 A.M. and 6 P.M. This
includes sale of liquors to persons staying in any hotel or
boarding-house in De Aar. Every person keeping an hotel or
boarding-house, or any one receiving persons into his private
house to stay for one night or more, is required to obtain
permission of the Camp Commandant before doing so. No persons
other than railway and postal officials, who will be provided
with a special pass, will be allowed to be out of their houses
after 9.30 P.M. Any person infringing these regulations will be
dealt with by martial law."

We must now move in the direction of the Orange River, where more
activities were taking place. Information having been received that the
Boers in great numbers were gathered at Kaffir's Kop, a hill some 500
feet high east of Belmont, a reconnaissance was made in that direction
on the 10th of November. The reconnoitring force was composed of a
couple of squadrons of the 9th Lancers and detachments of the Munster
Fusiliers, the Northumberland Fusiliers, and the Loyal North
Lancashires. With these were a handy lot of mounted infantry and a half
battery of field-artillery. They bivouacked two nights before on the
north side of the bridge, in order to be ready to move on at daybreak.
Early on Thursday morning they marched out, the cavalry forming a wide
screen, behind which were the mounted infantry and guns. Belmont, which
was some twenty-eight miles off, was reached at 2.30, but not a sign of
the Dutchmen was to be seen. The troops consequently returned to
Fincham's Farm, some ten miles back, where they spent the night. In the
morning the