the enemy were stationed at Pinaars River bridge, and that we could not with safety pass Warmbad and Pinaars River, we had to turn off at Kobaltmyn to the right to cross Olifants River lower down.  We had already passed Kobaltmyn in the beginning of July on our journey after General de la Rey.  The latter part of our journey, along Olifants River, through Zebedelsland to Pietersburg, was exhausting for man and horse.  Some of us often had nothing but a little rice and a small piece of meat for several days in succession.  There was scarcely any grass for our horses, and yet we had to ride hard night and day.

After a tiring journey of fully a month, President Steyn’s commando arrived at Pietersburg on October 11.  Although we had always intended to follow President Steyn to De Wet, my brother and I, with Malherbe, now accepted an invitation from my uncle, Ignace Mare, to stay awhile on his farm at Marabastad.  President Steyn left with his commando for Nylstroom.  Our horses were worn out, and could not follow the commando.  Most of the men had a spare horse that was still in good condition, and although my brother and I had only one horse apiece, we often had to do the hardest work.

My aunt and uncle did their best to make our stay a pleasant one, and our horses were well fed.  Soon General Ben Viljoen’s commando arrived at Marabastad, and stayed there a few weeks, so that we also experienced the discomfort arising from a lager camped on one’s farm.  The Boer is deprived by it of all necessaries, and all sorts and conditions of men constantly visit his house.  Some of them, the riff-raff of the commando, are very unwelcome guests, for they do much mischief intentionally, and thereby give the commando a very bad name.  The poles to which the wire is attached for camping at a farm were yet left undamaged.  The burghers were still accustomed to get plenty of dry wood in the Boschveld, and were not yet so demoralized as to work damage without scruple.

We stayed at my uncle’s far longer than we at first intended.  My saddle had chafed the horse’s back so severely that I could not ride it for several months.  My brother got an attack of malaria, and just as he was recovering had a relapse, so that President Steyn was so far in advance of us that there was no question of overtaking him.

The commando had already left Marabastad when we started for Tweefontein, near Warmbad, on our now strong, sleek horses.  There we joined Commandant Kemp, of the Krugersdorp commando, under Wyk III., who had parted from Ben Viljoen at Marabastad because the latter had on a Sunday afternoon during service fired off several cannon-shots for the edification of a few fast women.

Malherbe, my brother, and I formed a sort of comradeship under Corporal Botman—­or, to put it simply, we were ‘chums.’  At Warmbad we heard many interesting things about the khakies, who had stayed there nineteen days on their hunt after De Wet.  We could not understand why they destroyed the bathing-houses, unless it were to deprive our wounded of the chance of recovery.