They succeeded in getting over the first ridge, and thus gained a certain amount of shelter, whilst we kept the English busy.
The enemy approached nearer and nearer to us with overpowering forces.
Then they charged, and I saw man after man fall, struck down by our merciless fire.

We were quite unable to hold the enemy back, and so we had to leave our positions, having lost one dead and one wounded.
That night we marched ten miles to the east of Gatsrand, on the road to Frederiksstad Station, and the following morning we arrived at the foot of the mountain.

Here we outspanned for a short time, but we could not wait long, for our pursuers were following us at a great pace.

It was not only the force from the other side of Vanvurenskloof with which we had to deal.

The united forces of the English had now concentrated from different points with the purpose of working our ruin.
The English were exceedingly angry that we had escaped from them on the Vaal River, for they had thought that they had us safely in their hands.
That we should have succeeded in eluding them was quite beyond their calculations; and in order to free themselves from any blame in the matter, they reported that we had crossed the river at a place where there was no ford, but this was not true; we had crossed by the waggon and post ford--the well-known Schoemansdrift.
But whether the enemy were angry or not, there was no doubt that they were pursuing us in very large numbers, and that we had to escape from them.