Very occasionally one
boasted of the superiority of the Boer, and still more rarely would one be
heard to set three months as the limit required to conquer the British
army. The name of Jameson, the raider, was frequently heard, but always in
a manner which might have led one unacquainted with recent Transvaal
history to believe that he was a patron-saint of the Republic. It was not
a cry of "Remember Jameson" for the wrongs he committed but rather a plea
to honour him for having placed the Republic on its guard against the
dangers which they believed threatened it from beyond its borders. It was
frequently suggested, when his name was mentioned, that after the war a
monument should be erected to him because he had given them warning and
that they had profited by the warning to the extent that they had armed
themselves thoroughly. Seldom was any boasting concerning the number of
the enemy that would fall to Boer bullets; instead there was a tone of
sorrow when they spoke of the soldiers of the Queen who would die on the
field of battle while fighting for a cause concerning the justice or
injustice of which the British soldier could not speak.
After the commando-train reached its destination the burghers again took
charge of their own horses and conveyances, and in even less time than it
required to place them on the train they were unloaded and ready to
proceed to the point where the generals needed their assistance.
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