To read a British commander's glowing report, describing how thoroughly he has swept the Boers from a certain district, one is not apt to be much amused, but following on his heels is another British commander, and to read his report, relating how thoroughly he has been wiped up by an overwhelming force of Boers, one feels very much inclined to laugh. Not a week passes but that some of the English commanders are guilty of just such amusing contradictions. The English officers, with very few exceptions, excuse all these blunders and acts of stupidity by that one phrase, "Attacked by an overwhelming force of Boers," notwithstanding the fact that the officer who has just preceded him reported the same ground as swept clean of the Boers. Lord Kitchener cables these contradictory reports regularly to London, and the people, with their eyes bulging out of their heads, read every word of them, but not one ever sees the joke. During the month of March, there were plenty of small fights on the high veldt in the Free State and in Cape Colony, but none of them were of much importance. In the Colony, General Smuts captured a few towns, some prisoners and drove some of the English commands to the sea, but no heavy fighting took place. In the Western Transvaal was fought the most brilliant battle of the war, at Klipdrift (Tweebosch) on the seventh day of March. For more than two years, Lord Methuen with an army ten times as strong in numbers as that which General de la Rey had, struggled in vain to capture or destroy this Boer leader and his little army of patriots. They had fought over thirty battles, yet Lord Methuen could not lay claim to one real victory over General de la Rey. On this seventh of March, 1902, Lord Methuen with four cannon, 1,600 men and 134 wagons, arrived at Klipdrift, a beautiful place for a fight or a good horse race. General de la Rey, with 740 men, made up his mind to take in Methuen and show his burghers a real earthly Lord. He could see that Lord Methuen was well prepared to fight, and that if he were to win he must win quickly. He went to each of his 740 men, and told them that at the command, "Charge," all must use their spurs and lose no time in taking in the cavalry rear guard.