We all had a quiet but good time lying in laager, smoking our pipes and growing fat on mealie pap (ordinary corn meal mush) and fresh beef. In the Free State General De Wet had a few little skirmishes and a few of his commandos had a brush with the enemy, but little or no damage was done. It seemed that the peace confab between Lord Kitchener and General Botha in the latter part of February had a soothing and quieting effect on everybody. In Cape Colony, General Kritsinger, Commandants Malan, Fouche, Hertzog and George Brand were going at a lively pace in many of the districts. They seemed to continue to have their own way and keep the English on the constant jump, and captured many prisoners. All of them supplied themselves and men with at least two horses each, and the English were kind enough to give them plenty of ammunition. So the Boers in Cape Colony had no reason to complain. In the western division of the Transvaal, General de la Rey's commandos had some pretty hard fights. The general attacked Lichtenburg and gave the English a good pounding. Had not reinforcements arrived just in time, he would have had the town and the English garrison. But as it was, he was forced to retire. One of his commandos near Klerksdorp attacked the English and forced them to retire. Near Kaffir Kraal General de la Rey had another fight, and although the English suffered severely, they were too many for him and captured his guns. The lieutenant in charge of the artillery was not to blame, however, for he was deceived by one of those Anglo-Africans who came to him and told him that General de la Rey wished the guns. Having obeyed he found himself and guns in the hands of the English. As this Anglo-African was evidently a burgher, the lieutenant thought nothing about it further than to obey instructions. Damn all Anglos, whether Americans, Boers, German, French or whatever their nationality. Along the line of the Magaliesburg Mountains a few shots were daily exchanged between the English and the Boers, the English in the forts and the Boers in the foothills, but no actual fighting took place. General Beyers in the north was inactive, too, after he and General Plumer had had some hot fights, when the latter came to occupy the little town of Pietersburg, 180 miles north of Pretoria. General Beyers had but a small command, but he kept General Plumer's force busy throwing up earthworks and preparing all sorts of defences. General Beyers placed his headquarters between Pietersburg and Pretoria and not far from the railway line, that he might continue to trouble the big force at Pietersburg.