hall of the hotel at
Nylstroom to hold a Council of War, under the direction of the
Commandant-General.

Plans were discussed and arrangements made for the future. I was to
march at once from Pietersburg to the north-westerly part of the
Pretoria district, and on to Witnek, which would bring us back to our
old battle-grounds. The state of the commandos, I was told, in those
parts was very sad. The commandant of the Boksburg Commando had
mysteriously fallen into the enemy's hands, and with his treacherous
assistance nearly the whole commando had been captured as well. The
Pretoria Commando had nearly shared this melancholy fate.

That same night we travelled to Pietersburg. After we had passed
Yzerberg the train seemed to be going more and more slowly, till we
came to a dead stop. The engine had broken down, and all we could do
was to get out and walk the rest of the way. In a few hours' time, to
our great joy, the second, and the only other train from Pietersburg
there was, came up.

After having convinced the engine-driver that he had to obey the
General's orders, he complied with our request to take us to
Pietersburg, and at last, after a lot of trouble, we arrived the
following day. Our cattle and horses were now sufficiently rested and
in good condition. The commandos have been provided with the things
they most urgently needed, and ordered to be ready within two days.

CHAPTER XXV.

PUNISHING THE PRO-BRITISH.

During the first days of November, 1900, we went from Pietersburg to
Witnek, about nineteen miles north of Bronkhorst Spruit, in the
Pretoria district. We had enjoyed a fortnight's rest, which had
especially benefited our horses, and our circumstances were much more
favourable in every respect when we left Pietersburg than when we had
entered it.

The Krugersdorp Commando had been sent to its own district, from
Pietersburg via Warmbad and Rustenburg, under Commandant Jan Kemp, in
order to be placed under General De la Rey's command. Most of the
burghers preferred being always in their own districts, even though
the villages scattered about were in the enemy's hands, the greater
part of the homesteads burnt down and the farms destroyed, and nearly
all the families had been placed in British Concentration Camps; and
if the commanding officers would not allow the burghers to go to their
own districts they would simply desert, one after the other, to join
the commando nearest their districts.