The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-12-16

formation of their whereabouts. We
 had been captured early in the after
 noon, and by six o'clock General Rock
 and force of about thousand Boers
 had arrived, bringing with them two
 field guns On a sudden the solitude of
 the Wayside station was. as if by en-
 chantment, changed to a scene of hustle
 and activity. The picture was by no
 means such as might be conjured up in
 the minds of people at home unac-
 quainted with the diversity of tempera-
 lures and atmospheric conditions to be
 encountered in different parts of South
 Africa. There was no blazing sun from
 an unclouded sky, On the contrary, the
 weather had become cold and the sky
 overcast. Rain was falling, and white
 mist rested on the hilltops. The land-
 scape thus presented was what may be
 encountered under similar conditions in
 any bleak and hlly moorland part of
 England.
 The warrior bands With General Rock
 came riding up with waterproofs or
 greatcoats sodden with rain, or them-
 selves wet to the skin if they had not
 the good fortune to be the owners of
 waterproof garments. The great ma
 jorlty of them wore felt slouch hats all
 with broad brims, but not all of the same shape. Colored cravats in red,
 blue, or other bright tints, were favor
 ite form of comforter. There were men
 of all sorts and sizes clothed in as many different kinds of garments
 Most of the men--the exceptions being some very young lads-were strong, bronzed and hardy. Many were over six feet in height, and broad in propor- ton, with a sinewy, muscular breadth which had in it no trace of tlabbnesE. These giants were in most instances leaders, a proof that strength and bulk as well as brains are qualities esteemed in leaders by the Boers. All were hairy faced and travel-stained after twenty days of roughing it on the veldt in wind and rain. All grasped their Mauser ri- fies or carbines, seldom leaving them out of their hands; and all had round their shoulders new bandoiers, each carrying one hundred rounds of ammu- milton.
 Bands of Boers were continually com- ing and going. All were on horseback, and the horses were as miscellaneous in size and color as their masters, But, whether large or small, the horses looked wiry and in good condition, and were moved about at a gallop or at that sharp pace of canter or trot which enables the Boer to cover ground very quickly.
 SMOKING CONCERT
 General Rocks force was composed of n,,,- iol Dutch volunteers. Some of the men were illiterate farmers; many were from the Rand and the gold fields, and among such were the officers. One of these latter, appropriately named Schumann, was a player of the piano, and sat down, in waterproof and jack boots, with rifle slung over his shoul- ders, to treat himself and the tired and weather-b aten burghers, continually moving in and out of the hovel canteen, to selections very skillfully played. The fondness of the country burghers for music was remarkable. They stood round open-mouthed. admiring the swiftness with which the fingers of the player glided over the keys. Constantly they were urging him to continue, and when he played the "Volkslied' Ohe Transvaal national anthem) they all joined heartily in the song. At night, as the field cornet was not too greatly occupied. this impromptu music devel- oped into smoking concert in the room where the prisoners were confined. The field cornet was in the chair, and, as the prisoners supplied the bulk of the songs, the comic effusions of the London music halls and the songs of England, Ireland and Scotland were listened to and enjoyed by our Dutch captors, while the bottle passed freely round. It must be said, however that it was ,nly two or three of the leaders who were present at this concert. How the prisoners might have fared had they 'allen into the hands of less genial hosts t were hard to tell The leaders, by he way, had passed day and night in he saddle, and were fatigued through aclx of sleep. Obliged to remain awake Or some hours longer, they found the brightness of the concert room a vel ,ome change and relief
 General Rock, the leader of this Boer was an old man, with a long gray beard. He wore black water proof and waterproof leggings, smoked lis pipe continually, and carried in his fight hand a long rife of special finish, which had probably been supplied by he Mauser firm He was accompanied " his son, Judge Rock, who will be re- nembered in connection with the Ed i, ar case. The Boer general and his ad -isers held consultations on the veran a of the hotel, and were continually re- eiving reports from dispatch riders Iext morning the general was still at 1landslaagte. The rain and mist con- inued, and the prisoners could per eive the tactics of the Beers They lay n small detachments along the slopes