November that we saw the white flag go up, and knew that the victory was ours. We took four hundred and eight prisoners, amongst whom were Major Massey and seven other officers. We also took fifty Kaffirs. Two Armstrong guns with more than three hundred rounds of ammunition, some waggons, horses and mules, and a great quan- tity of Lee-Metford cartridges also fell into our hands. We never knew the exact numbers of the English dead and wounded, but they must have lost something between seventy and one hundred men. Our own loss was heavy. Seven of the burghers were killed and fourteen wounded; most of these, however, slightly. The sun had already set before we had put every- thing in order, and it was late in the evening when we returned to our laager at "Prospect." There I received a report that a great column was marching from the direction of Reddersburg, in order to relieve Major Massey--but they were too late! Very early the following morning we made prepara- tions to intercept the advance of this column. We took up positions to the west of Dewetsdorp, and the day was spent in exchanging shots with the enemy's guns. During the night we remained in our positions, but when the sun rose I discovered that the column, which was already too strong for us, was expecting a reinforcement, and as no attack was attempted on their side, I decided to leave the position quietly, and to march on. My inroad into Cape Colony must no longer be delayed. Our positions at Dewetsdorp were so situated that I could leave them unnoticed. I thought it well, how- ever, to leave behind a small number of burghers as a decoy, so that the English should not pursue us at once. -179- |