When our fellows trotted out from camp, Captain Moor received orders to distribute his men in small bodies all along the edge of the kopjes between Pottsberg farmhouse and Kruger’s Hill, a small kopje lying almost in a line with our camp, on the right.  The men were ordered to go as close as possible to the enemy’s position, to see as much as they could possibly see in regard to the numbers of troops in the hills held by the enemy.  If they succeeded in discovering the rebels in large bodies they were to draw their fire and immediately retreat at full speed.  In the meantime the two guns belonging to the Royal Horse Artillery were beautifully placed in a dip in the veldt, where they could play upon the Boers should they attempt to rush the West Australians at any given point.  The Lancers and Dragoons were placed in charge of some kopjes behind the guns, in order to protect them should a concerted onslaught be made upon them by the mounted Boers, who were shrewdly suspected to be in hiding in strong force behind the first row of hills, which screened the enemy’s position.

The Australians rode out steadily, and took up their positions with an amount of coolness that startled older soldiers.  This was absolutely their first trial on real fighting service, and everybody connected with them was anxious to see how they would comport themselves in the face of the enemy.  Not only was it their first fighting effort, but it was their debut in the saddle, as until a week previous they had been simply infantrymen, and not a dozen of them had ever been in the hands of a mounted drill instructor.  It was a big task to set such green men, but they proved before the day was out that they were worthy of the confidence reposed in them.  Captain Moor, Lieutenant Darling, and Lieutenant Parker each took a small section into action; the others were under the immediate control of their sergeants.  They split up into small parties, and swept the very edge of the kopjes, peering into gullies, climbing the outer hills, working along the ravines with a courage and thoroughness that would have done credit to the oldest scouts in all the Empire.  Yet nothing came of their investigations for quite a long time.  The enemy did not mean to be drawn, and remained passive, so that the West Australians at last became a little bit reckless, and were consequently not so guarded as they might have been.  All at once a body of scouts ran upon a large body of the enemy near Pottsberg Farm, in a deep and shady ravine.  The enemy were trying to evade notice, but that was now impossible.  In a moment rifles were ringing on the air, and after that first volley the little band of Australians wheeled and galloped for the open country.  To have remained there would have meant certain death to every one of the half-dozen who comprised the picket, so they did their duty—­they fired and rode for the veldt.  In a few seconds Boers were dashing out of the kopjes on all sides, trying to cut the small band of Australians off or shoot them down.  But the Australians knew their game; they opened out, so that each man was practically riding alone.