attention,
while Buller was concentrating his troops and guns on Spion Kop. The
ruse succeeded to a large extent, and on the 21st January the
memorable battle of Spion Kop (near the Upper Tugela) began.

General Warren, who, I believe, was in command here, had ordered
another "feint" attack from the extreme right wing. General Cronje and
the Free Staters had taken up a position at Spion Kop, assisted by the
commandos of General Erasmus and Schalk Burger.

The fight lasted the whole of that day and the next, and became more
and more fierce. Luckily General Botha appeared on the scene in time,
and re-arranged matters so well and with so much energy that the enemy
found itself well employed, and was kept in check at all points.

I had been ordered to defend the position at Potgietersdrift, but the
fighting round Spion Kop became so serious that I was obliged to send
up a field cornet with his men as a reinforcement, which was soon
followed by a second contingent, making altogether 200 Johannesburgers
in the fight, of whom nine were killed and 18 wounded. The enemy had
reached the top of the "kop" on the evening of the second day of the
fight, not, however, without having sustained considerable losses. At
this juncture one of our generals felt so disheartened that he sent
away his carts, and himself left the battlefield.

But General Botha kept his ground like a man, surrounded by the
faithful little band who had already borne the brunt of this important
battle. And one can imagine our delight when next morning we found
that the English had retreated, leaving that immense battlefield,
strewn with hundreds of dead and wounded, in our hands.

"What made them leave so suddenly last night," was the question we
asked each other then, and which remains unanswered to this day.

General Warren has stated that the cause of his departure was the want
of water, but I can hardly credit that statement, as water could be
obtained all the way to the top of Spion Kop; and even had it been
wanting it is not likely that after a sacrifice of 1,200 to 1,300
lives the position would have been abandoned on this account alone.
Our victory was undoubtedly a fluke.

CHAPTER X.

THE BATTLE OF VAALKRANTZ.

Soon after his defeat at Spion Kop, General Buller, moved by the
earnest entreaties for help from Ladysmith, and pressed by Lord
Roberts, attempted a third time to break through our lines. This time
my position had to bear the on