HALT ON THE MODDER BEFORE MAGERSFONTEIN.[195] [Footnote 195: Map No. 13 and freehand sketch.] [Sidenote: Reasons for the halt on the Modder.] The Modder River battle (November 28th, Chap. XV.) had placed the 1st division within twenty miles of Kimberley. Signals were made to that town by a Naval searchlight fitted "with a flasher."[196] Lord Methuen[197] halted for a short time on the banks of the Modder. Horses and men, worn out by the fighting and marching of the last six days, required rest. Reinforcements of troops and supplies were on their way to him along the lines of communication with the coast. Moreover, before he could attempt to carry out his orders to remove the non-combatant population of 8,000 Europeans and 25,000 natives from Kimberley, it was necessary to restore or replace the railway bridge which had been wrecked by the Boers. A message from Colonel Kekewich, who commanded at Kimberley, reached the General on the 4th December. It was to the effect that the town could hold out for forty days more. His fears for the immediate safety of the place thus allayed, Lord Methuen was able to concentrate his energies on the construction of the temporary (or "deviation") bridge across the Riet. He also threw up a series of redoubts on both sides of the river to enable a small garrison to defend the bridge when the column should resume its march on Kimberley. By dint of great exertions on the part of the Royal engineers and the infantry employed with them, the temporary bridge was completely finished by the 10th December. [Footnote 196: It was not until the 3rd December that the signals were clearly understood, and an exchange of messages properly established.] [Footnote 197: Wounded at the action of the Modder on 28th, he left hospital on 29th, but had to return there from 2nd to 6th December.] [Sidenote: Boers select their position for stopping further advance.] [Sidenote: Its nature.]