Daylight came and revealed the column still looking for its objective, the fiery General walking in front and leading his horse behind him.

It was evident that his plans had miscarried, but his energetic and hardy temperament would not permit him to turn back without a blow being struck.

However one may commend his energy, one cannot but stand aghast at his dispositions.

The country was wild and rocky, the very places for those tactics of the surprise and the ambuscade in which the Boers excelled.

And yet the column still plodded aimlessly on in its dense formation, and if there were any attempt at scouting ahead and on the flanks the result showed how ineffectively it was carried out.