For some reason or other the houses there had not been burnt, perhaps owing to the verbal negotiation between Botha and Kitchener.  I know of only one house that was burned down there.  That was the finest house in the neighbourhood and belonged to Willem Basson.  Mrs. Basson herself told me how it happened.  Her husband had fled with the cattle when the enemy came along.  The soldiers asked her for money.  They said such a fine house must contain a great deal of money, and when she refused they became most impertinent.  The finding of a packet of dynamite in the coach-house afforded a fine excuse.  The dynamite was used by Basson for the making of wells.  On finding the packet they shouted ‘Hurrah!’ and rushed off with it to the camp close to the house.  They came back after a while and stormed the house, smashing the windows with stones.  Truly a heroic storming of a fortress held by women!  They destroyed everything in the house, and the women and children were obliged to flee to Mrs. Scheffers at Klein Kafferkraal, where I met them.

We know of many cases of cruelty and violence, cases that have roused us to a passion of hatred.

I do not believe that the cases of violence, which are not spoken of because of the horror, are tolerated by the military authorities, who are probably ignorant of them.  One can understand that the worst were committed by isolated patrols who could give free vent to their evil passions.  We cannot always hold the chief officers responsible for acts committed by individual soldiers, neither are our officers responsible for the unlawful acts of individuals on our side.  But if the English, with their national pride and obstinacy, deny these acts of violence, we can give them sufficient proof of more cases than one.

I was not present when the Krugersdorpers attacked Babington’s force near Lensdenplaats, in the neighbourhood of Groot Kafferkraal.  But the following morning, when they were retreating, I joined them with some cattle, and was present at the Battle of Stompies.  The night before the battle I heard De la Rey’s order given to Kemp to march his men at four o’clock the following morning in the direction of the enemy.  He was told to retreat fighting, in case the enemy attacked, so as to give our reinforcements an opportunity of attacking in the rear.  Kemp ordered the lager, or, rather, the few waggons, to retire to Bodenstein’s farm the following morning.

While we were busy inspanning we heard the enemy’s bomb-Maxim, and before the waggons had forded the dangerous drift of the donga near Bodenstein’s farm the bullets flew over our heads from the bult behind us.  The women fled into the house and the burghers retreated as fast as they could.  The enemy had surrounded us in the night, and each burgher had to do his utmost to escape from out of the half-circle.  The few who stayed behind to defend the guns were soon obliged to fly after the rest, and to abandon one gun still on the other side of the drift.  The others might have been saved if the women’s lager had not impeded their flight by obstructing the way.