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Mafeking
1 June 1900
My dear Tom
I am left here all alone, the Battery, much to my regret having
gone off South to join up with Gen. Hunter before I am fit to go
with it. I dont know when I shall get discharged from hospital,
not for some time I’m afraid, as in addition to being very
weak after a fortnight’s fever I have got complications which
are likely to keep me quiet for a bit. It’s a great disappointment
being put on the shelf like this. However it looks as if everything
was practically over now and in any case I dont think there’ll
be any more fighting on this side. We hear today that Hunter has
already been into Lichtenburg and found nothing there and our people
from here are in Zeerust and Otto’s Hoop where they were received
almost with enthusiasm. Most of the Boers who had been besieging
this place were so heartily sick of the war that they are glad of
an excuse to lay down their arms. They certainly didn’t show
any great fighting spirit against us and when towards the end of
the fight we got 2 of my guns into a position from which we could
really see a good many of them, an unusual thing as they manage
to hide themselves in an extraordinary way, 2 or 3 shells sent them
flying for all they were worth - I don’t believe we hit many,
perhaps none at all, but they jumped on their horses and galloped
off as if the devil was behind them and that was all we wanted.
I didn’t have any exciting adventures that day, we hardly heard
a bullet whistle all day. The Battery came in for a certain amount
of shelling but except for the one shell which hit poor Gray and
3 other men nothing was touched. The Boer gunner, whoever he was,
probably a German, shot pretty straight but they were apparently
out of any ammunition except common shell and that is quite a useless
form of projectile. I wasn’t with the Battery as when we joined
forces with Plumer I found myself in the position of C.R.A of the
united army and my place was on the staff. Of course one heard a
good many bits of shell flying over one’s head, my horse objected
to the noise strongly, but I have often heard the same sort of thing
when I’ve been on range at practice so it didn’t frighten
me much. We had a very long day starting soon after 6 in the morning
on a cup of cocoa and a little bit of biscuit and ending up in Mafeking
at 4 next morning. At about 8 o’clock at night we had a halt
and got something to eat, but we weren’t allowed a fire and
I with fever on me didn’t feel inclined for food. The first
idea was that we were to stop at this halting place about 5 miles
out of Mafeking for the night, but at 11 we were roused and told
we were to start at 12 and go straight in. I was dog-tired when
we got in and went straight off to sleep but we were (hunted?) up
again at daybreak and told to shift our camp and directly after
we’d done that we were sent for to shell the Boer laager which
they were evacuating in a great hurry. If our cavalry horses hadn’t
been so absolutely cooked we should have made a big bag and probably
have captured the whole of their wagons. As it was we couldn’t
pursue at all but we got a lot of stuff meal etc and several wagons
which they hadn’t oxen or mules to take away.
You will have seen in the papers a full description of our 2 fights
but perhaps an account from me may interest you. We had no opposition
whatever until the 13th Sunday. The night before in our camp at
a place called Settaholi (poss ref to
Setlagoli River?) we heard that the Boers were occupying
a position on the direct road to Mafeking. We knew that there was
an awkward place there the road passing through a dry water course
and then over a neck between two kopjes and made up our minds beforehand
to avoid it taking a road more to the west and of course as our
great object was to avoid any delay we were confirmed when we heard
of the Boers having laid a trap for us in our determination to go
round(?). We started off before daylight and got to a farm about
10 miles off by 10 o’clock. There we watered the horses and
had breakfast. I had just started this bout of fever and was feeling
very sore so I got some medicine from the ambulance, had a cup of
beef tea and lay down under a wagon in the shade all through the
halt. By the time we started again at 1 o’clock I was feeling
much better. We trekked on steadily meaning to go to a farm on our
original road where we knew we could get water. At about 4 o’clock
2 squadrons were ordered from the main body of the advance guard
to push on to the farm and secure it.
They trotted on through very thick bush and just as they were passing
through the line of the advanced scouts they suddenly encountered
a heavy fire from some Boers hidden in the thick bush and it was
here we had most of our casualties. At the same time we saw a big
cloud of dust coming away from the position the Boers had taken
up on the other road some 5 or 6 miles away from us. My Battery
was in rear of the advance guard and just in front of the convoy.
I was at first ordered to take up a position on the right of the
convoy to protect that flank in case the cloud of dust which we
saw meant that all that lot of Boers were coming down on us. I went
out that way to find a position from which we could see something
and took a fine toss on the way, my horse putting his foot into
a huge great hole. We were neither of us hurt at all in fact I think
it did me good and shook the fever out of me for the time. After
a bit I found a place where we got a certain amount of view and
got the Battery into action but no Boers turned up and we were soon
called up to the front where all the firing was. We trotted up and
soon began to hear bullets singing round but neither man nor horse
was touched - we soon got into action but couldn’t open fire
partly because I couldn’t make out where the Boers were and
partly because a lot of our led horses were standing just close
in front of the guns. After a deal of shouting we induced these
men to get their horses out of the way (bullets were buzzing all
round us all the time) and meanwhile I had spotted one Boer riding
about among the bushes on a white pony so as soon as our front was
clear we began to shoot. The range I started at was only 1500 yards
and that was a bit too long so you see they weren’t very far
away from us and how more of us weren’t hit is rather a wonder.
I believe our first shell sent them off as firing slackened at once
but we gave them about 20 and the 2 pompoms on our left let them
have about 20 more. We had one man hit by four bullets all flesh
wounds not a single horse was touched and one native boy and one
mule in the convoy which was quite close behind us were killed.
It was quite a hot corner for the 10 minutes or so we were waiting
before we could shoot. It was getting on towards sunset by the time
the firing stopped and the question was what was to be done. It
was much too risky to go to the original farm and none of our guides
seemed quite certain of being able to find another one where there
was water more to the West.
Eventually it was decided to stop where we were although there was
no water for the night and go to the more westerly farm at daylight
next morning. It was not at all a pleasant position sitting out
in the thick bush and not knowing what had become of the Boers.
However we were not disturbed in the night and we started off at
daylight next morning to make our next camp on the Molopo River
at Jan Massibi where we hoped we might meet Plumer. We found when
we arrived at the farm that water for the animals had to be got
by digging in the sand of the river bed but that there was a well
at the farm where we could get water for ourselves. We had a very
long halt there 7 hours it took to get all the animals watered and
then the rearguard and patrol had to be got in and allowed a chance
of watering. My battery were kept in action all the time as a precaution
in case of an attack from the right rear and the horses had to be
kept harnessed up. It was a close hot day and they felt it rather,
poor beasts.
Eventually we got off at 3 o’clock - the going was heavy sand
and most of the first part all up hill. What with the sand and the
heat the horses were knocked up badly and 4 had to be left behind
hopelessly done up - in fact one of them dropped down dead. After
the sun went down things improved but the convoy mules couldn’t
keep up so at 9 o’clock we halted till 1. I had had fever again
and was feeling frightfully knocked up once or twice after we started
again. I thought I should have to go to the ambulance however at
one of the halts which were frequent and lasted for half an hour
to let the convoy close up I got a nip of brandy and a sleep and
woke up feeling much better. After that for the rest of the night
I slept at every halt and so got through the march.
Just about daylight we got to the river and soon after our scout
reported fires on the other side of the river - somebody said “hurrah
- its Plumer’s force” and so it turned out to be - they
had just arrived and were settling into their camp. I believe the
scouts of the 2 forces came down to the river almost simultaneously.
While we were waiting to find out who it was for certain we lit
a fire and made some cocoa which bucked us all up - we were in camp
alongside Plumer by 8 o’clock and had a good rest and a decent
meal which we had not had all the day before, in fact the last one
had been breakfast on Sunday. I went over to the Dr again and got
from him some stuff which he said I was to take at night and which
would give me a good sweat - it did and I woke up in the morning
feeling rather cheap and with a thirst which nothing would quench
and which lasted me all day. We set off soon after 6, Col Plumer’s
force on the right taking the line of the river with 3 squadrons
on the other side and our column on the left with the convoy in
the middle. About 10 o’clock we got to a place called Sanies
where we intended to water and we all closed in towards the river.
The country was open rolling sort of downs, but the ridges were
all about the same height so that from the top of one we could only
see to the top of the next. We got the guns into action on the ridges
where we were in case of accidents and sent the horses off to water.
They had been gone about quarter of an hour and had half finished
as the place turned out to be a very bad one for watering a lot
of animals, when suddenly rifle firing began in front. The horses
had to be sent for at once, but I suppose it took about half an
hour to get them back and get our column into its proper places
again. The convoy was all collected in the valley and exactly opposite
the opening of the valley to the river on the other side there was
a ridge of sand running parallel to the rive. On the ridge the Boers
brought a gun into action and began pounding the convoy and at the
same time another gun from a farm in front opened fire also on the
convoy. They fired several shells which seemed to burst well in
the middle of the wagons, but no damage whatever was done. We had
8 guns on the spot belonging to Plumer, 4 of a Canadian battery
and 4 belonging to the BSA Police - it was pretty hard to spot where
the Boer guns were, but eventually I spotted the flash of the one
on the other side of the river and then tried to get the Canadian
battery to fire at it but I couldn’t make them understand and
when they did open fire I saw the shell burst about a mile away
to the left. I got hold of the Major then and showed him again and
laid one of his guns on the line to make it quite plain but before
he got another round off the order came for a general advance and
we went on. I left that part of the field and rejoined the Brigadier
- the Boers were reported to be working round both our flanks, but
we just strengthened our rear guard and flanks a little and held
on. It was just about this time that I met poor Gray being taken
to the rear and soon after heard that 3 more of our men had been
wounded by the same shell, but that 2 of them were all right and
still working their gun.
Courage with his section was having rather a warm time to look at
as I passed behind him but he had no casualties. We brought him
up however to another position from which we could see the gun which
had been annoying him and also a lot of Boers and led horses and
as soon as he opened fire on them the fun began, as I have already
described in the beginning of this letter. As a Dr who had been
with Plumer all through the campaign said “Its quite refreshing
after being hunted like Springbuck by the Boers for the last 6 months
to see them on the run for once”.
After these Boers had disappeared we got a message from Plumer to
say that he could not get over as he was held by a lot of Boers
with a gun and a pompom at the farm where their gun fired at the
convoy, so Courage went off to lend a hand and was soon after joined
by the other two guns which had been away protecting the left rear
but as the Boers had given up all hope of doing anything in that
quarter and had retired weren’t wanted any longer. The Boer’s
gun very soon stopped firing but the pompoms went on until it was
dark. However the fighting was all over practically and we proceeded
to discuss plans for the night. It was decided that we should go
on for a mile or two as the country was quite open there - (there
was a certain amount of bush where the Boers had had their firing
line) and camp there for the night, going into Mafeking the first
thing in the morning. This was altered as I have already told you
as a patrol of the I.L.H got in without meeting a soul and sent
back word that that side of the town was clear and also some native
boys came out with the same story, and so ended the March of the
Relief Column. It was a good performance - 240 miles in 12 days.
I believe my battery is now at Lichtenburg and I hope that I shall
catch them there. Everything seems to be going so swimmingly with
Lord Roberts that perhaps Hunter’s force wont be wanted and
may remain in these parts. I hope so as it will be so much easier
for me to pick them up. It is rather late to be wishing you many
happy returns of your birthday. My last letter from home was the
6th April I think so I am rather out of knowledge of how you all
are. Best love to you all.
Ever your affectionate
H.K.Jackson.
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