consisted of about 1000 men, and was opposed by an equal force of
Boers.

At Palapye there was a British force of 700, which was watched by a
Burgher force of about 1000.

The Boers had also a force estimated at 3000 in laager near Komati
Poort.

At Estcourt there was a considerable force under Brigadier-General
Wolfe-Murray, and at Pietermaritzburg other troops.

Distributed along the northern border of Cape Colony were some 5000 Free
State Boers and about 1000 or 1500 British troops and police.

The Natal Field Force was now confronted with the bulk of the Boer
commandoes, whose strength was vastly superior to its own, and whose
courage was generally acknowledged to be splendid. The Dutch have ever a
stoical stolidity which serves them in the hour of need as does the
bulldog tenacity of the Briton, and therefore "those who knew" were not
without apprehension in regard to the upshot of hostilities. It was
plain to all who were in any way familiar with previous history and with
local conditions that the struggle was likely to be both prolonged and
bloody, and they urged on the attention of those at home the need of
reinforcements. Yet the soldiers, particularly those who had recently
arrived, were light-hearted and confident, full of satisfaction to be
let loose from their hencoops in the ships, and keen to try conclusions
with the Boers. At Ladysmith the state of affairs was becoming more and
more complicated, and the invasion of the Free Staters into Cape Colony
was now an accomplished fact. The enemy's tactics everywhere were
acknowledged to be excellent, and where tactics failed tricks succeeded.
The Boer dodges, though scarcely honourable, might be described by the
Americans as "cute." For instance, an enterprising officer of the
Transvaal artillery conceived the idea of utilising the flag of truce in
a new and original fashion. Disguised as an ambulance driver, he arrived
at Ladysmith, and improved the occasion by observing the effects of Boer
artillery fire on the town.

The use of the white flag by the enemy was now beginning to be
distrusted, for daily evidences of treachery were forthcoming. As one
correspondent said in writing home of the subject, "Its advantages they
seem to construe in too liberal a spirit, but of its obligations on the
men who hoist it they do not appear to be aware." As in old times, they
tried to use the white flag to assist them in going from cover to cover,
or to create delay w