Before reaching Boshof, Major Driscoll and his scouts had found and rushed Jacob's laager, capturing six men, five wagons, and nine Cape carts. Driscoll's men were many of them Boers (it was said that more Dutch than English was to be heard in passing through his lines), and one of the first to rush the laager was greeted by his grandmother with a magnificent flow of abuse. The Boers were believed to be to the north of Boshof, and Col. Rochfort's columns accordingly surrounded and attacked at dawn on the 1st of March a large hill, the Baas Berg, said to be their stronghold. The Boers had, however, moved away, and, though they could be seen, it was hopeless to chase them. On the night of the 1st a party of fifty Driscoll's scouts, who had been sent to surround a farm, got entangled with 350 Boers; and half the Sussex, with the rest of Driscoll's and the pom-pom, were sent out to relieve them. The Boers retired, and the force returned, bringing with it 150 sheep. As they reached camp, three men with five horses appeared about a mile away, making for a farm. At first they were taken for British scouts, but, when it was realised that they were dressed in black, this seemed unlikely. A pom-pom shell was put over them, and they immediately scattered, and made in the direction of the Boers. They had mistaken the troops for a commando. They had two miles of open ground to cover, and the pom-pom made beautiful practice. Shells burst just behind them, just in front, just beyond and even (as it seemed) right under them, but they got away and behind a ridge, uninjured. The effect of a pom-pom is more moral than material. During the next few days several laagers were captured by the other columns, and 6,000 sheep and 300 horses taken, besides some cattle. On the evening of the 5th Col. Rochfort organized a night march of all columns to the north in the hope of catching up the Boers, who had retired in that direction. The Sussex column and Driscoll's Scouts were now working together, and Col. Rochfort accompanied them. The horses were not saddled nor the wagons inspanned till after dusk. Great fires were left burning in the camp when the combined column moved out. During the night a Boer Hospital was met. The sick Boers had got wind of the column's approach, and had not waited for it. After a trek of 20 miles a halt was made at Scheerpan. The wagons were out-spanned, hidden in the garden of the farm, and the men were allowed to snatch two hours' sleep. The farm at Scheerpan looks across an open plain to a long ridge about 2 miles off. This ridge (known as Busch Kop) is crossed at the right end of it (as you look from the farm) by a road from the north-east. To the left of the road the ridge is covered with very thick bush for some distance. A sugar-loaf hill and a small kopje stand in front of the ridge at about the centre. At the extreme left end a spur runs out from the ridge into the plain.