On the 23rd, at the request of Commandant Van Rensburg and Field-Cornet Du Preeze, Colonel Grenfell met them, accepted their surrender, and that of some 1500 of their followers, and in a short time marched them back to Pietersburg. With them came seventy waggons and quantities of forage and ammunition and stock. This was a highly satisfactory and pacific termination to the operations in this quarter, and Colonel Colenbrander was now able to turn his attention to roving gangs which were hiding in the direction of Buffels. Several of these groups were encountered, and in various skirmishes seven Boers were disposed of and a Maxim gun captured. Major Knott, with a detachment of the Scouts, pursued and fell upon a commando under Barend Viljoen, made seventy-nine prisoners, and secured 13,000 rounds of ammunition. Thus the work of pacification in northern districts was progressing favourably, and the Boers in the vicinity were learning that resistance was useless. The grand total results of the Zoutpansberg excursion included 9 Boers killed, 150 prisoners, many hundred voluntary surrenders, 550 rifles, 200,000 rounds of ammunition, a Maxim gun, which had belonged to the Jameson raiders, 175 waggons, and much stock. While these activities had been going forward, General Beyers, who had watched Colonel Grenfell's departure for Louis Trichard, decided that "while the cat was away the mice could play." He accordingly collected his playful burghers for purposes of mischief around the Pietersburg line. To frustrate him, Colonel Wilson, commanding the 2nd Kitchener's Scouts, with two guns and two companies of the 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders, concentrated at Naboom Spruit, while from Pretoria Major M'Micking, with 400 Mounted Infantry and two guns, was moved to Nylstroom. The combined operations began on the 19th of May over terrible country, which in some places was without roads and in others was seamed with ruts, obstacles, and bush. The Boers, however, were overtaken some twenty miles north-west of Nylstroom by Colonel Wilson, who succeeded in capturing Field-Cornet Oosthuisen and 79 burghers, 100 rifles, 33,500 rounds of ammunition, 66 waggons, a quantity of dynamite, and a vast amount of cattle. [Illustration: COLONEL COLENBRANDER]