Commandos and Civil War of 1864 103 



opponents. Pretoria used to be taken and evacuated 

 by the opposing commandos without a shot being 

 fired, but there were " excursions and alarms " in 

 plenty, and each incoming commando camped on 

 the Church Square, made requisitions for slaughter 

 cattle, meal, coffee, sugar, etc., and made a most 

 horrid mess of the place. One time, Rensberg's 

 (really Kruger's party), had given me a pass to go 

 with wagons to Natal. I sent the wagons on with 

 John Lumsden in charge, and my youngest brother 

 Fred (on his way to school in Maritzburg), accom- 

 panied him. I followed on horseback, and came 

 on a laager of Wakkerstroom Boers under James 

 Henderson, a wild, unruly lot. While I was talk- 

 ing to them and telling them that their side had 

 lost the fight on Moselikat's Nek, Magaliesberg, one 

 Boer tried to seize my horse's bridle, but I galloped 

 off and was soon too far for them to catch me, as 

 their horses were knee-haltered and grazing. Some- 

 one shouted out " shoot him if he does not stop," but 

 I was soon over the rise, too soon for them. On 

 overtaking the wagons near Heidelberg I found 

 Lumsden ill. A big Boer had knocked all his front 

 teeth out because he told him that the other side had 

 beaten theirs, and that several of their lot were shot. 

 Had not an old Boer dragged him away, the wheel 

 would have gone over him where he was knocked 

 down. As I never could find out what these two 

 Boer factions were fighting about, and they did not 

 quite know themselves, I did not take much interest 

 in the game beyond getting what fun I could out 

 of it. 



In the early sixties a small syndicate in Pretoria 

 smelted galena at Broederstroom, and sold the 

 argentiferous lead to the hunters for bullets at l/- 

 per Ib. ; but it did not pay, and soon shut down. I, 



