At Magersfontein Albrecht and
two of his artillerymen operated the cannon which were located behind
schanzes twenty feet apart. The British had more than thirty cannon, which
they turned upon the Boer cannon whenever one of them was discharged.
After a short time the fire became so hot that Albrecht sent his
assistants to places of safety, and operated the guns alone. For eight
hours the intrepid Free State artilleryman jumped from one cannon to
another, returning the fire whenever there was a lull in the enemy's
attack and seeking safety behind the schanze when shells were falling too
rapidly. It was an uneven contest, but the bravery of the one man inspired
the others, and the end of the day saw the Boers nearer victory than they
were in the morning. At Tafelkop, on March 30th, three burghers were
caught napping by three British soldiers, who suddenly appeared before
them and shouted, "Hands up!" While the soldiers were advancing toward
them the three burghers succeeded in getting their rifles at their
captors' heads, and turned the tables by making prisoners of them. There
were many such instances of bravery, but one that is almost incredible
occurred at the place called Railway Hill, near the Tugela, on February
24th. On that day the Boers did not appear to know anything concerning the
position of the enemy, and James Marks, a Rustenburg farmer, determined to
go out of the laager and reconnoitre on his own responsibility.
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