en about so
by the overwhelming force of the enemy, that they are in a very poor
condition and weak, the more so because we have no more forage for
them.

They are so poor that it is difficult, almost impossible, to travel
any distance with them. Another reason is also, that most of the
burghers have now only one horse which must always do service, so that
there is no chance to let it have a proper rest. It has been suggested
that those commandos that can no longer exist in their own districts
should proceed to other parts of the country, but I may say that the
majority of our horses are not able to cover a long distance. If that
is attempted many burghers will be captured on account of their horses
giving up.

I always heard that the Cape Colony is waiting for a suitable
opportunity to rise in great numbers, but according to information now
obtained by me from General Smuts, I am convinced that the cause is
hopeless there. General Smuts also says, after having seen our horses,
that it is absolutely impossible for us to reach the Cape Colony, as
our idea was. We cannot, therefore, rely on the Cape Colony any more.
Our cause has been a failure there. Colonials are also so harshly
treated that they have not the chance or desire to rise. There are not
many Colonists under arms, and it appears to me that lately there are
more Africanders against us, than fighting for us.

In the beginning of the war I hoped and believed that the other
European Powers would not allow one Power to become master of the
Goldfields. But we cherished a false hope. In the letters received
from our Deputation last year they wrote us, that we should not hope
for intervention, because there was for the time being no prospect of
it. From the correspondence between the British and Netherlands
Governments it appears that our Deputation was accredited only to the
Netherlands Government, and therefore that Government alone was in a
position to take upon itself to procure the termination of the war.
The Deputation was accredited by both Republics to all the European
Powers. It appears, however, that only to the Netherlands Government
did they hand in their credentials. This fact has a particularly great
significance for me. It proves that they were advised not to present
their credentials to other Powers. We know that the Deputation would
have left no stone unturned to help us, but after they have been in
Europe for two years they had had to inform us