The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-11-02

a separate force he attacked French's
column on the Modder river when it
was swooping down upon Cronje's
hard pressed band. The lively tactics
of the outsiders bothered the British
not little and delayed their attempts
to force Cronje to the wall One day De
Wet sent messenger through the lines
urging Cronje to cut his way out, he
having larger force, to join his own.
| After Cronje surrendered and the
British turned to move on toward
Bloemfontein they found De Wet in
| front of them. Too weak in numbers
to Withstand the whole British army,
he nevertheless INSTRUCTED the British
bent all his energies to the capture Of
the willy farmer soldier, rallied his
commands at Winburg, which he
made the base of some of the most re-
markable exploits of the war. De Wet
had other things besides clear head
to make good soldier on the spur Of
i the crisis. He is an inveterate hater of
the British and declared that he would
rather see his own blood squirting than
l
chair as president Of the Orange Free
State. Besides, when young mamie
was 40 at the outbreak of this war-he
had been among the stormers of MAUI
ba Hill.
The name Of guerrilla and raider will
cling to De Wet, Of course, for nothing
succeeds like success, and the British
generals, SO called, who have allowed
the Dutch farmer to play with them as
a cat with mouse will have extra tt
ties tackled to their names for defeat
ing those preposterous and uncivilzed
Beers. Korn Spruit, or Sannas Post,
was the scene of De Vets first master
Piece in war. There the British, march
ing in full battle array, with cavalry,
infantry and artillery, were cleverly
headed off, surprised and routed, with
a loss Of cannon and 500 men. De
Wet, with 400 Boer rifemen, struck
the telling blow and captured the
y -;arizes
II At Korn Spruit the British, who
were making leisurely retreat toward
Bloemfontein, had to cross the partly
dry bed of creek. Under the sharp
banks of the crossing De Wet massed
his 400 soldiers, and at signal the
whole force opened upon the British
wagons, which We're in the advance.
The British cavalry galloped to the aid
of the wagons and was stampeded, and
the artillery met worse fate, for the
horses were shot down and the guns
and gunners captured before a shot
could be fired in self defense.
In fact there was no defense at all at
Korn Spruit. for the Beers also attack
ed the rear column, and the British
commander was glad to get out Of the
trap by flank retreat in the fact of
the enemy. De Wet started the cap
lures on the road to Winburg and sent
his men off toward separate points.
While the tactics Of the Beers at the
time were in the nature of guerrilla
warfare, their field Of operations was
wide and the results of kind to Grip
pie Lord Roberts army for time.
The British were in Bloemfontein
and hastily concentrated at that point
Colony. ready for a quick advance
northward into the Transvaal. At
Dewetsdorp. southeast Of Bloemfon-
TEN and south of Korn Spruit, there
were about 600 Irish rifles and North
cumberland fusileers. Having orders to
march north, they reached Redders.
burg just as De Wet passed in the vi
entity with only a handful of his men.
Raliying the scattered burghers of the
region. he rounded up the British and
held them on kopje until messengers
sent in all directions brought up help
and among other resources four Of the
light guns captured at Korn Spruit
The British evidently had no fight in
them, for the whole outfit surrendered
to De Wet after losing As men in de-
\ Tense of the kopje.
De Vets exploits at Korn Spruit and
Reddersburg appeared at the time to
be the haphaZard efforts of a beaten
foe to hamper the march Of the enemy.
On the contrary, De Vets presence
and activity on the flank and rear Of
r nt.G pnIn - on ,ny,t Of a,