ready for them between Graspan and Belmont. His only complaint
is that there is not much of his mules left, an observation
which applies equally to men and animals."

To show how completely all the British projects were known, a curious
incident of this battle may be quoted. Four men were captured by
Rimington's Guides, but three of them being unarmed were released. It
was subsequently discovered that these same persons had taken to the
Jacobsdal commando minute details regarding the British camp, with the
result that a Boer force was detached to attack the station. The total
British casualties were estimated at 197, including twenty killed and
seven missing. At the close of the action, Lord Methuen complimented the
members of the Naval Brigade on their splendid behaviour, and expressed
regret at the losses they had sustained.

The following is the list of officers killed, wounded, and missing at
the battle of Graspan or Enslin of 25th November:--

2nd Battalion Yorkshire Light Infantry.--Wounded: Captain C. A.
L. Yate, Lieutenant H. C. Fernyhough, Lieutenant C. H. Ackroyd.
Naval Brigade.--Killed: Commander Ethelston, _Powerful_;[6]
Major Plumbe, R.M.L.I., _Doris_; Captain Senior, R.M.A.,
_Monarch_; C. A. E. Huddart, Midshipman, _Doris_.

The following were severely wounded:--

Flag-Captain Prothero, _Doris_, and Lieutenant Jones, R.M.L.I.,
_Doris_.

[Illustration: PRIVATE AND CORPORAL OF THE GORDON HIGHLANDERS.

Photo by Gregory & Co., London.]

Lord Methuen addressed his division in stirring words, congratulating
his men on the work they had done and the hardships they had surmounted.
The work, he said, was the severest accomplished by the British army for
many a long day. Not a single point, he added, could they afford to give
to the enemy. The Boers' tactics had been proved excellent and their
courage admirable. The gallant General added that when called on to
fight for his country, he preferred to fight against a foe worthy of his
steel rather than against savages, whose sole recommendation was
bravery. He hoped that he and his men had gained each other's
confidence, and that they would all do their duty to their country as
Englishmen should. Lord Methuen described as dastardly the firing by the
enemy on ambulance waggons, the shooting of a British officer by a
wounded Boer, and the use of Dum-Dum bullets; but he refused to believe
that these acts were characte