Commander-in-Chief at Kimberley. In the month of January he was
succeeded by Mr. J.S. Ferreira, who at once proceeded to make Kimberley
his headquarters. On the relief of that town, one part of the besieging
force went to Viertienstroomen, another in the direction of Boshof,
while a small party, in which was the Commander-in-Chief himself, set
out towards Koedoesrand, above Paardeberg.

It was while I was engaged in my efforts to relieve Cronje, that a gun
accident occurred in which General Ferreira was fatally wounded. Not
only his own family, but the whole nation, lost in him a man whom they
can never forget. I received the sad news the day after his death, and,
although the place of his burial was not more than two hours' ride from
my camp, I was too much occupied with my own affairs to be able to
attend his funeral.

On the following day I received from President Steyn the appointment of
Vice-Commander-in-Chief. I had no thought of declining it, but the work
which it would involve seemed likely to prove anything but easy. To have
the chief command, and at such a time as this! But I had to make the
best of it.

I began by concentrating my commandos, to the best of my ability, at
Modderrivierpoort (Poplar Grove), ten miles east of the scene of
Cronje's surrender. I had plenty of time to effect this, for Lord
Roberts remained inactive from the 24th of February to the 7th of March,
in order to rest a little after the gigantic task he had performed in
capturing Cronje's laager. His thoughts must have been busy during that
period with even more serious matters than the care of his weary troops;
for, if we had had two hundred killed and wounded, he must have lost as
many thousands.