Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-05-28


Ambush CunninsIy Prepared For
| Them by the Enemy-MaJOr Tay-
| Ior's Great Presence of Mind-Gnl-
| Iantry of the Artillery.
| The following account of the koorn
! spruit affair is written by the London
! Times correspondent at BloemfOntein;
! Realizing that the district was up in
: arms, Colonel Broadwood sent infor-
! nation to headquarters and drew in
f. his outlying force from the Flour Mills
preparatory TO falling back upon
j Bloemfontein. The road between Tina
banchu and the capital is important on
account Of the waterworks. which are
situated ON the Modder and form part
OF the water supply of Bloemfontein-
These works are matter of - miles
from the latter town. The Beers con-
tinued to mass in the vicinity of Tha-
banchu in such numbers that Broad
wood did not consider ii eXpedient TO
wait for re-enforcements, but fell back
from Thabanchu on March 80, deter
mined to do the So miles into BIoem-
fontein in two marches. The same
night Colonel Martyrs mounted infan-
try marched out of Bloemfontein to
hold the waterworks, General Colville's
infantry division following the next
morning.
Colonel Broadwood, realizing the
gravity of the situation in which his
column was placed, made a forced
march and encamped this side of the
waterworks. His baggage arrived
about p. III. on Friday night, he him
self with his rear guard at on Satur-
day morning. The enemy had been re-
ported upon their TANKS all through the
day, and, anticipating that time was
everything, Brcadwood determined up
on an early start on the Saturday morn
ing. The camp was peculiarly situat-
ed. The force had crossed the Modder
and lay in the open between two
spruits adjacent to the half formed en-
bankment of the Ladybrand railway,
under construction.
1t will be interesting now to digress,
for on this memorable Saturday after
noon the Beers accomplished one of
the finest pieces of strategy which
have marked the history of this war.
If the scale of the operations had been
greater and the affair had been more
than Il side issue in the campaign,
earned immortal fame. AS soon as the
Boer commandments realized that
Broadwood was in earnest retreat and
had ''outspanned" his advance guard
across the Modder, they conceived a
scheme of cutting off and surrounding
him. The scheme was delicate in the
extreme, as only Il few hours remained
for them to make their dispositions.
But n perfect knowledge of the coun-
try and the only route which was
open to the column and an energy
which was amazing in an enemy usual
" so apathetic rendered the plan feast
BILE. The Beers knew that three miles
west of their camp Broadwood's trans
port must cross Koorn drift. They
knew the topography of the country
and felt certain that if they We're in /
position 10 shell the camp at daybreak 4,
the baggage would be pushed on, |
while the bulk of the force remained
to guard the rear Consequently the
400 best mounted men were selected
and ordered to strain every nerve to
reach KOorn drift before daybreak. !
The four guns with the commando !
were double horsed and dispatched,
with 1000 mounted men, to follow the
column and TO be i'll position as soon
as day should break. The remainder
were to follow at the best pace they
could get out of their horses in order
TO reinforce as the morning adyanced.
The dispositions were admirable in |
design and perfect in execution. The
400 men were In KOOrn spruit before
daybreak, lining 1000 yards of nullah
and railway earthwork. The four guns
were in position on the rear and TANKS
Of BroadwoOd's camp and skirmishers
were within rife range at daybreak.
At n. NJ. the enemy opened with
rife fire on the encampment, and the
force was ordered to saddle up" Fiji
teen minutes later, just as the first of
the Boer guns opened on the mass. the
baggage train led out OF camp. They
passed out. taking the only road open
10 them-namely, the one which led to
Iloorn drift. The two horse batteries
the baggage, with the object
# taking up n position on the high
ground on the far side of the drift, TO
,over the rear guard as it fell back.
The camp was about three miles from
he drift, which. as was previously
pointed out. lay in the point of n rough
lngle made by the embankment under
and the bush grown SLUT J
which converged toward it. Thus
when the Beers were in position. lining
he SLUT and the embankment, the POI
'ition became like the base of a horses
DOT The Beers were the metal shoe, /,
'ur own troops the frog.
At the point where the drift cuts the !
luit the nullah is broad and extensive.
The Beers stationed at this spot real
zed that the baggage was moving !
Without an advanced guard. They
we're equal TO the situation. As each
wagon dropped bclo' the sky line into \
he drift the teams, RS We're directed
o take their teams 4 the right or left,
s the case might be. and the guards I