or the
purpose of making a last and determined effort to destroy the mines.
Being a great friend of the Krauses, he was invited to stay at their
house. In a burst of confidence he produced a letter signed by a very
high-placed official of the Executive Council, whereby he was
empowered, in indefinite terms, to call for the co-operation of any
military official whom he pleased. He showed Dr. Krause this letter
and requested him to instruct the mine police and certain other mine
officials to assist him. He was met with a blank refusal, and a threat
that if he persisted in this undertaking he would be arrested. Judge
Kock, or, as he then styled himself, "General" Kock, had gathered
together a cosmopolitan force of about 100 men.

About this time events were rapidly changing. The determined advance
of the British forces and the panic-stricken retreat of the Boers had
the effect of encouraging "General" Kock and his men. Dr. Krause's
hands were full in attending to the military necessities of the
situation. Urgent messages from Botha and the President were hourly
passing over the wires. General French, who was advancing on
Johannesburg from the east, had pressed forward to such an extent that
the Boers retreating from Vereeniging were practically hemmed in by
the British columns.

Commandant Krause on the Sunday afternoon hastily gathered as many
fighting men as he could muster, and with them occupied the hills
surrounding Van Wyk's Rust, in order to check the advance of French
and give the Boers an opportunity of retreating safely. On the Monday,
while fighting was going on, he was obliged to leave his men--who by
that time had been reinforced by the retreating Boers--for
Johannesburg, on receiving an urgent message that chaos was reigning
in town, and that the goods sheds at the station, where Government
provisions and food-stuffs were stored, were being looted. On his
return order was speedily restored.

Tuesday, May 29th, was the eventful day in the history of the saving
of the mines, as on this date Dr. Krause personally arrested "General"
Kock and dispersed his band of followers. It happened in this way.

During the progress of the war the Government had been working some of
the mines, and, at the time of the rapid advance of the British from
Bloemfontein, instructions were given that all the gold should be
conveyed to Pretoria. The week before the surrender of Johannesburg,
Dr. Krause had given the necessary inst