To continue, we came round in a big sweep through Piet
Retief back to Lydenburg and we had to occupy some high ground and hold it
while the transport and main body came through the pass. A Boer patrol fired on us from long range and
our officer in command, a Bisley shot by the way, through his binoculars
spotted them, borrowed my rifle, got down and at a range of more than a mile,
shifted them.
I was now an unpaid Lance Corporal in command of the
section. The soldiers of section “D” of
the Army Reserve, mostly N.C.O.s had joined us.
This made a surplus of N.C.O.s – they drew the pay, I did the work.
When we left the railway we had loaded up rations and
ammunition on the wagons drawn chiefly by Trek Oxen and Mules and on these
supplies we were dependent for the month the operation had taken, and to get
more supplies we must get back to the railway.
So back we went doing the same kind of duties that we did coming
out. I remember one day, we were on
flank guard and we came across a lame old donkey. The old boy looked so wretched that our
officer decided to kill him. He pulled
out his pistol and gave the donkey one round which dropped but did not kill him
so he fired again, whereupon the old lad got up. It took seven rounds to finish that animal
off. That demoted the Bisley idea.
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