at the meeting how many men were needed for the work.
Immediately after the meeting the officers returned to their commandos,
and, after explaining to their burghers the nature and object of the
expedition, asked for volunteers. The officer could not call upon certain
men and order them to take part in the purposed proceedings he could only
ask them to volunteer their services. It happened at times that an entire
commando of several hundred men volunteered to do the work asked of them,
but just as often it happened that only from one-tenth to one-twentieth of
the burghers expressed their willingness to accompany the expedition.
Several days after the Spion Kop battle General Botha called for four
hundred volunteers to assist in resisting an attack that it was feared
would be made. There were almost ten thousand men in the environs of
Ladysmith at that time, but it was with the utmost difficulty that the
four hundred men could be gathered. Two hundred men came from one
commando, one hundred and fifty-three from another, twenty-eight from a
third, fifteen from another, and five from another made a total of four
hundred and one men--one more than was called for.

When Commandant-General Joubert, at his Hoofd--or head-laager at
Modderspruit, received an urgent request for reinforcements he was not
able to order one of the commandos that was in laager near him to go to
the assistance of the fighting burghers; he could only make a request of
the different commandants and field-cornets to ask their men to volunteer
for the service. If the men refused to go, then naturally the
reinforcements could not be sent, and those who were in dire need of
assistance had the alternative of continuing the struggle alone or of
yielding a position to the enemy. The relief of Ladysmith was due to the
fact that Generals Botha, Erasmus, and Meyer could not receive
reinforcements from Commandant-General Joubert, who was north of Ladysmith
with almost ten thousand men. Botha, Meyer, and Erasmus had been fighting
for almost a week without a day's intermission, and their two thousand men
were utterly exhausted when Joubert was asked to send reinforcements, or
even men enough to relieve those from fighting for a day or two, but a
Krijgsraad had decided that the entire army should retreat to the
Biggarsberg, and Joubert could not, or at least would not, send any
burghers to the Tugela, with the result that Botha was compelled to
retreat and abandon po