From August 19th Onwards It Was Defended By A
Garrison Of 250 Men, Under The Very Capable Command Of Colonel
Chamier, Who Handled A Small Business In A Way Which Marks Him As A
Leader.
The Boer force, which varied in numbers from five hundred
to a thousand, never ventured to push home an attack, for Chamier,
fresh from the experience of Kimberley, had taken such precautions
that his defences were formidable, if not impregnable.
Late in
September a relieving force under Colonel Settle threw fresh
supplies into the town, but when he passed on upon his endless
march the enemy closed in once more, and the siege was renewed. It
lasted for several months, until a column withdrew the garrison and
abandoned the position.
Of all the British detachments, the two which worked hardest and
marched furthest during this period of the war was the 21st Brigade
(Derbysbires, Sussex, and Camerons) under General Bruce Hamilton,
and the column under Settle, which operated down the western border
of the Orange River Colony, and worked round and round with such
pertinacity that it was familiarly known as Settle's Imperial
Circus. Much hard and disagreeable work, far more repugnant to the
soldier than the actual dangers of war, fell to the lot of Bruce
Hamilton and his men. With Kroonstad as their centre they were
continually working through the dangerous Lindley and Heilbron
districts, returning to the railway line only to start again
immediately upon a fresh quest. It was work for mounted police, not
for infantry soldiers, but what they were given to do they did to
the best of their ability.
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