I wish to goodness that they had neglected
it, for I could not move a gun, even if I did not give the order till
midnight, but they knew it by daylight next morning. And they had their
agents, who gave them their intelligence through thick and thin. I locked
up everybody who I thought could go and tell, but somehow or other the
intelligence went on."
The Boer was an effective scout because he was familiar with the country,
and because his eyes were far better than those of any of the men against
whom he was pitted. The South African atmosphere is extraordinarily clear,
and every person has a long range of vision, but the Boer, who was
accustomed to the climatic conditions, could distinguish between Boer and
Briton where the stranger could barely see a moving object. Field-glasses
were almost valueless to Boer scouts, and few of them were carried by any
one except the generals and commandants, who secured them from the War
Department before the beginning of the war. There was no distinct branch
of the army whose exclusive duty it was to scout, and there was even
greater lack of organisation in the matter of securing information
concerning the movements of the enemy than in the other departments of the
army's work. When a general or commandant felt that it was necessary to
secure accurate information concerning the enemy's strength and
whereabouts he asked for volunteers to do the work. Frequently, during the
Natal campaign, no scouting was done for days, and the generals were
absolutely ignorant of everything in connection with the enemy.
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