portion (estimated by some at 75 per
cent.) of the horses, for which no protection could be made, were
lost, that any dash for freedom by night was impossible and the
condition of the laager rapidly became so foul, that that alone, apart
from the want of food, would have compelled an early surrender. There
was no opportunity of getting rid of the vast number of dead animals;
burial was impossible, and the low state of the river prevented them
from sending them down stream for several days; all they could do was
to drag them to leeward of their camp. Meanwhile decomposition set in,
and the absolute need of clean air caused a serious rebellion in the
camp, most of the 4,000 men demanding that surrender should be made at
once. When on Sunday, the 25th, the flood brought down past our lines
an unending series of dead animals that cannot have been less than
1,500 or 2,000, the desperate straits of the enemy were apparent
indeed."

This {p.288} benumbing concentrated gun fire of February 20 was not
repeated. The British Commander-in-Chief thenceforth satisfied himself
with hemming in the enemy, under a steady pressure, the result of
which could not be doubtful. A few days more or less were not to be
counted against the husbanding of his soldiers' lives, in conditions
also of comparative rest, favourable to a recuperation sorely needed
by men and horses. The last arrived 7th Division entrenched itself on
both sides of the river--a cheval, as the French phrase runs--to the
eastward of and perpendicular to Cronje's lines, barring the way
against attempts to break out towards Bloemfontein, and against the
approach of aid from that quarter. The troops were further occupied by
the Boer reinforcements, from Natal, and elsewhere, which began to
cluster round the scene, seeking to help the beleaguered army. Several
smart actions were fought, but all attempts at relief were vain.

The approach of Majuba Day--February 27--appears to have influenced
both parties, hastening the issue. The Boers, huddled in the narrow
and loathsome bed of {p.289} the river, with senses sickened by the
disgusting accumulations of filth and decay inevitable in the
circumstances, clamoured for deliverance even at the cost of
surrender. Cronje, obstinately bent to prolong to the utmost the
chance of succour, is reported to have promised at last to surrender
on the 28th, but by no means on the date illustrated by a boasted Boer
victory. On the other hand, it