E-text prepared by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Taavi Kalju, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net/) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 18794-h.htm or 18794-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/7/9/18794/18794-h/18794-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/7/9/18794/18794-h.zip) THREE YEARS' WAR by CHRISTIAAN RUDOLF DE WET Frontispiece by John S. Sargent, R.A. Four Plans and a Map [Illustration: (signature) C. R. de Wet New York Charles Scribner's Sons 1902 Copyright, 1902, by Charles Scribner's Sons All rights reserved Published, December, 1902 Trow Directory Printing and Bookbinding Company New York TO MY FELLOW SUBJECTS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Preface By way of introduction to my work I wish, dear reader, to say only this short word: "I am no book-writer."--But I felt that the story of this struggle, in which a small people fought for liberty and right, is rightly said, throughout the civilized world, to be unknown, and that it was my duty to record my personal experiences in this war, for the present and for the future generations, not only for the Afrikander people, but for the whole world. Not only did I consider this my duty, but I was encouraged to write by the urgings of prominent men among my people, of men of various nationalities and even of several British officers. Well, dear reader, I hope that you will not feel disappointed in reading these experiences, as it is not in me, as is perhaps sometimes the case with historical authors, to conjure up thrilling pictures--imaginary things--and put them together merely to make up a book or to make a name for themselves. That be far from me! In publishing my book (although it is written in simple style) _I had one object only_, viz., to give to the world a story which, although it does not contain the whole of the truth, as regards this wondrous war, yet contains nothing but the truth. The original has been written by me in Dutch, and I can therefore not be answerable for its translation into other languages. C. R. DE WET. Contents CHAPTER PAGE I. I GO ON COMMANDO AS A PRIVATE BURGHER 3 II. NICHOLSON'S NEK 13 III. LADYSMITH BESIEGED 19 IV. I AM APPOINTED VECHTGENERAAL 22 V. THE OVERWHELMING FORCES OF LORD ROBERTS 26 VI. PAARDEBERG 39 VII. THE WILD FLIGHT FROM POPLAR GROVE 49 VIII. THE BURGHERS RECEIVE PERMISSION TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES 56 IX. SANNA'S POST 61