On the 22nd the "marauding bands" made themselves obnoxious in three places on the line. At dawn, a commando under Erasmus, with a 15-pounder and two pom-poms, attacked Elands River Station. (It must be noted that Elands River runs both east and west of Pretoria.) B Company, under Captain Cass, with about 120 Infantry and Cavalry details, succeeded admirably in defending their position, and after three hours' smart fighting drove off the enemy with eleven men disabled. The British party had only one casualty. This was a curious military rendering of the popular rhyme, "Taffy was a Welshman," which runs:-- "I went to Taffy's house, Taffy wasn't at home; Taffy came to my house and stole a marrow bone." Taffy, the filcher, in this case was the Briton; the filchee was the Boer. When Erasmus and his commando knocked with big guns at the door of Elands River Station, "Not at home," was so definitely expressed that the visitor was forced to turn on his haunches. Unfortunately, during his absence Taffy had called at his house and helped himself, not merely to a marrow bone, but to a good deal more. In other words, General Paget, the "slim" hero of the exploit, with the West Riding Regiment, two companies of the Wiltshires, two companies of the Munster Fusiliers, the City Imperial Volunteer Battery and two 5-in. guns, had made a forced night march of twenty-six miles, seized Erasmus's vacant camp, and with it 2500 cattle, 6000 sheep, 50 horses, 12 prisoners, 20 rifles, and some ammunition! Erasmus will be cautious when he goes a-visiting in future. At the same hour, a smaller commando attempted mischief at Bronker's Spruit, and was dispersed by Colonel Donald, with five companies of Royal Fusiliers, while at noon some other "snipers" pelted a train, which was conveying Generals Wood and Marshall from the front, between Brug Spruit and Balmoral. The enemy's sole success, after surprising activity, was the cutting of the line between Elands River and Skie Poort. On the 24th, General Pole-Carew, after one of the hardest and most fatiguing marches on record over nineteen miles of waterless jungle, occupied Komati Poort. Here he found the bridge, though prepared for destruction, still intact. Fourteen Long Toms and an enormous number of other guns, including two of the lost 12-pounders belonging to Q Battery Royal Horse Artillery, were found by the Guards, while General Ian Hamilton discovered more trophies in the Crocodile River near Hector Spruit. Rifles, small arm ammunition, boxes of Long Tom and other shells innumerable, formed the prizes of a memorable march, which was another feather in the cap of the Guards, whose endurance and cheerfulness under toil and privation was little less than heroic.