Part 11 (1/2)
The much-debated question of whether a.s.sistance was ever promised or expected should be finally disposed of by the publication of two doc.u.ments which have not heretofore appeared in print. They are (a) the reply of Dr. Jameson to Colonel Rhodes' letters, and (b) the report of Mr. Celliers, the cyclist despatch-rider who took the letter and received the reply, which report was taken down in shorthand by the clerks in the Reform Committee room as it was made verbally by him immediately on his return. Both these records dispose of Mr. Rowland's statement about 2,000 men; and apart from this it should be observed that Mr. Celliers was the messenger sent by Colonel Rhodes and not Mr. Rowland; the latter having been later on picked up 'for company,' was presumably less qualified to speak about the instructions and messages than Celliers, from whom indeed he learned all that he knew.
The letter was written by Col. H. F. White in the presence of the cyclists, and partly at the dictation of Dr. Jameson. It was in the form of a memorandum from Col. H. F. White to Col. Frank Rhodes, and bore no signature; but the last line was in Dr. Jameson's handwriting, and was initialed by him. It ran as follows:
As you may imagine, we are all well pleased by your letter. We have had some fighting, and hope to reach Johannesburg to-night, but of course it will depend on the amount of fighting we have. Of course we shall be pleased to have 200 men meet us at Krugersdorp, as it will greatly encourage the men, who are in great heart although a bit tired. Love to Sam, Phillips, and rest,
L. S. J.
Mr. Celliers' report-after detailing the incidents of the ride out-runs:
... I reached the column between 9 and 10 o'clock. I saw Dr. Jameson personally. He received us very well, and was very glad with the news I brought him. He read the despatch, and asked me for full details. I told him the strength of the Boers and the dangers he was in. I told him that they had no guns, and all that I saw and heard that they had during my travels. I explained to him everything in detail. The Doctor seemed to be very brave. He told me that he had two scrimmages, and that no damage had been done. I said to him whether it would not be well for him to halt until we got through and sent him some help. The Doctor said he did not think there was anything to fear, and at the same time he did not want to go to Johannesburg as a pirate, and it would be well for them to send some men to meet him. I also made inquiries as to whether I could return by any other road, but found it was impossible, and that we had to come back the same way. I got his despatch, shook hands with him, wished us well, and set on our journey back.
The report, which is given above literally as transcribed from the shorthand notes, concludes with an account of the return journey. Mr. Celliers in a subsequent statement confirmed the above, and added:
The impression which the Doctor gave me most certainly was that he had never expected help and did not want it.{30}
The march continued on towards Krugersdorp. At one or two places a few shots were fired by Boer pickets, and on one occasion the Maxims of the invading force were turned on a party of some fifty Boers ensconced in a good position. No casualties however occurred until Krugersdorp was reached at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. A message was sent by Sir John Willoughby to the authorities at Krugersdorp that if he encountered any opposition he would sh.e.l.l the town, and he warned them to have their women and children removed.
Shortly after mid-day positions were taken up on the hills pear Krugersdorp, and at three o'clock severe fighting took place which lasted well on into the night. An ambush at the crus.h.i.+ng mill and works of the Queen's Mine was sh.e.l.led and an attempt was made to storm it by a small party of the invaders. It was unsuccessful however, and after nightfall Dr. Jameson's force was obliged to retreat from its position and seek a more advantageous one on higher ground.
They had suffered a reverse at the hands of a somewhat larger force of Boers who had selected a very strong position. Firing did not cease until 11 p.m. Here it is alleged the fatal military mistake of the expedition was committed. No precautions had been taken to ascertain the road. Instead of being well acquainted with the direction to be taken the force was dependent upon a guide picked up on the spot, a man who was never seen after the events of the following day and is freely alleged to have been a Boer agent. It is stated by competent judges that, had Dr. Jameson's force pushed on during the night on the main road to Johannesburg, they would have succeeded in reaching that town without difficulty. As it was however they camped for the night in the direction of Randfontein and in the early morning struck away south, attempting a big detour to avoid the road which they had tried to force the previous night. There is but little doubt that they were shepherded into the position in which they were called upon to fight at Doornkop. The following description of the Doornkop fight was written by Captain Frank Younghusband, the correspondent of the London Times, who was an eye-witness:
Galloping over the rolling open gra.s.sy downs in search of Dr. Jameson's force which was expected to arrive at Johannesburg at any moment, my companion Heygate and myself saw between us two forces, both stationary. Then one began to move away and from the regularity of its movement we recognized that this must be Dr. Jameson's trying to round the opposing Boer forces. We found a Boer guard holding the only ford across the stream; so going up to the Commander we asked for news. He, after questioning us, told us all that had occurred.
He was a field-cornet from Potchefstroom, and leader of one division of the Boers. He said that yesterday, January 1, Dr. Jameson had attacked the Boer force at the George and May Mine, two miles north-west of Krugersdorp, a small mining towns.h.i.+p twenty-one miles west of Johannesburg. Fighting took place from three in the afternoon to eleven at night, Dr. Jameson making three princ.i.p.al attacks, and doing great damage with his artillery, which the Boers, having then no guns, were unable to reply to.
My informant, the Boer leader, said that both then and to-day Dr. Jameson's men behaved with great gallantry, and he also said that admirable arrangements had been made at Krugersdorp for nursing the wounded on both sides.
This morning the Boers took up a position at Vlakfontein, eight miles on the Johannesburg side of Krugersdorp, on a circuitous road to the south by which Dr. Jameson was marching. The Boers in the night had been reinforced by men and with artillery and Maxims. Their position was an exceedingly strong one on an open slope, but along a ridge of rocks cropping out of it. It was a right-angled position and Dr. Jameson attacked them in the re-entering angle, thus having fire on his front and flank.
To attack this position his men had to advance over a perfectly open gently-sloping gra.s.sy down, while the Boers lay hid behind rocks and fired with rifles, Maxims, and artillery upon their a.s.sailants. The Boers numbered from 1,200 to 1,500, Dr. Jameson's force about 500, and the position was practically una.s.sailable.
Dr. Jameson, after making a desperate effort to get through, surrendered, and as we stood we saw his brave little band riding dejectedly back again to Krugersdorp without their arms and surrounded by a Boer escort.
We were allowed to ride close up, but were refused permission to see Dr. Jameson. It is therefore impossible to state his full reasons, but it is known that he was made aware that it was impossible to send a.s.sistance from here, and this may have influenced him in giving up the contest when he found the enemy's position so strong that in any case it would have been no disgrace to have been beaten by superior numbers of such a brave foe as that Boer force which I saw in the very position they had fought in. It was evident that probably no one had ever started on a more desperate venture than had this daring little force, and they gained by their gallantry the adoration, not only of the Boer burghers who spoke to me, but of the whole town of Johannesburg.
These Boers-rough, simple men, dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, with merely a rifle slung over the shoulder to show they were soldiers-spoke in feeling terms of the splendid bravery shown by their a.s.sailants. They were perfectly calm and spoke without any boastfulness in a self-reliant way. They said, pointing to the ground, that the thing was impossible, and hence the present result.
The total loss of Dr. Jameson's force is about twenty. Major Grey was, they said, the princ.i.p.al military officer, and they thought that no officer was killed, and that the report that Sir John Willoughby had been killed was unfounded. He and Dr. Jameson have been taken to Pretoria.
At 9.15 o'clock the white flag was put up. Sir J. Willoughby, the officer in command of the force, then sent the following note addressed to the Commandant of the Transvaal Forces:
We surrender, provided that you guarantee us safe conduct out of the country for every member of the force.
JOHN C. WILLOUGHBY.
A reply was sent within fifteen minutes, of which the following is a literal translation:
OFFICER,-Please take note that I shall immediately a.s.semble our officers to decide upon your communication.
COMMANDANT.
Twenty or thirty minutes later a second note was received by the surrendering force, addressed 'John C. Willoughby':