[Footnote 12: That minor operations such as these should receive but scant recognition at the hands of historians is not to be wondered at, but neither the official nor the _Times_ histories in their accounts of this surprise of Pochefstroom found space to mention the length of this march, an omission which is very greatly to be wondered at.] Nor was it altogether without result, for our mounted and waggon-carried troops had arrived much earlier, and, fairly taking the place by surprise, had surrounded it, killed seven, and captured some seventy or eighty prisoners, and put a good many more to ignominious and hasty flight. We also obtained some draught beer. Beer! None of us had tasted it for months. How it went down! Yet our memory of it is sad, for the unfortunate manager of the brewery was afterwards shot by the Boers for selling it to us. The column remained at Pochefstroom till the 12th, our stay being darkened by the melancholy death of the signalling officer, Lieutenant Maddox, of the Somersetshire Light Infantry, who was shot through the heart while going round his stations. [Illustration: A Group of Boer Prisoners taken at the Surprise of Pochefstroom.] On the 12th Colonel Hicks took command of a small force[13] which moved out to occupy some kopjes overlooking two drifts over the Mooi River. Starting at about 3 p.m., we did not reach our destination (some five miles south of Frederickstadt) till dark. Somewhat to our surprise, the hills were unoccupied, as Boers were known to be in the vicinity, while there had been a certain amount of distant sniping throughout the march. Putting piquets at the drifts, the infantry and guns occupied one hill, and the mounted troops another hard by. We had just turned in for the night when a sharp rifle-fire broke out all along the front, to which our sentries were not slow to respond. We immediately occupied the posts to which we had been assigned, but the firing soon died away. No one was hit by the enemy, but an unfortunate trooper in Marshall's Horse was shot by a comrade, and later on succumbed to the wound. [Footnote 13: Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 100 cavalry, two guns.] [Illustration: Colour-Sergeant Cossy issuing Beer.]