CHAPTER XXIX. 

 RETURN TO SOUTH AFRICA. 



FIRST BOER WAR. 



As the news from the Transvaal was so bad and 

 the possibility of war imminent, we had to curtail 

 our visit to England as it seemed necessary to 

 be in Africa at such a crisis, so made up our 

 minds to leave almost at once. We started for 

 South Africa in the "Kinfauns Castle" with Captain 

 Robinson in command, on October 25th, 1880. On 

 arriving in Natal, I at once bought two wagons and 

 oxen to travel to Pretoria, but war had broken out, 

 the Bronkhorst Spruit disaster had taken place and 

 the roads were closed. I made frequent efforts to get 

 to Pretoria but was not allowed, so was obliged to 

 remain in Durban, arranging for landing and trans- 

 porting furniture, machinery, etc., which we had 

 brought from England. 



Sir George Colley, whom I had known in 

 Pretoria, sent an orderly to me frequently, to let 

 me know when I could get through, but we never 

 succeeded until the war was over. I was anxious to 

 get up, as our children were on " The Willows " and 

 afterwards in the siege of Pretoria, but we could get 

 no news about them. I saw Sir George Colley often 

 and very soon came to the conclusion that he under- 

 rated the capabilities of the Boers as irregular 

 troops, as sharpshooters and as veldsmen; and I 

 anticipated the reverse he met with. He was a 

 nervous, sensitive man, and appears to have lost his 

 head after the Ingogo fight. 



