Soon after sunset the various officers began to arrive. First came
riding into camp, alone and unnoticed in the darkness, that
incomprehensible man, Schalk Burger, now Acting President. He entered
the tent moodily, nodded to us, and squatted down in the corner,
absorbed in thought. My colleague and I were just making a meal of
coffee and biscuit. We expressed our regret that we had no chair to
offer him, asking him to accept a cup of coffee instead. This he did,
in silence. Silence was his strong point.
Masterful Lukas Meyer next entered, and after him came the pride of the
army, Louis Botha, soldier and gentleman, followed by several officers.
A general council of war was now held, General Joubert being consulted
by telegraph throughout the discussion. There was no sleep that night
for the telegraphists who had to transmit the queries and replies to and
from headquarters.
When the discussion was at its height, information was received that the
Johannesburg laager was surrounded by the enemy. This laager now
constituted our right wing. This intelligence was soon contradicted, but
not before it had exercised a considerable influence upon the decision
arrived at, which was to abandon Ladysmith. The minutes of this council
of war, could they be published, would probably make most interesting
reading, and be of great value to the impartial historian.
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