Stormberg Junction was a point the possession of which was almost vital to the British forces. It was easily defensible, and if lost might be very hard to retake. It commanded the lines of communication between the advance from East London and the advance from Port Elizabeth, so that if it fell into the enemy's hands the eastern portion of Cape Colony would be entirely cut off from the west. Through the later weeks of October it had been occupied by a small naval brigade with guns, and by a detachment of the Berkshire regiment. On November 3, by express orders from General Buller, this little garrison retired and fell back upon Queenstown, farther down the East London railway. At the same time a skeleton force at Naauwpoort was withdrawn to De Aar. The Boers pushed forward slowly; Aliwal North was occupied and rechristened Oliviersfontein, in honour of the Boer commandant; then they appeared in some force at Burghersdorp, some miles to the north of Stormberg, and destroyed a bridge at Steynsburg, on the line between Stormberg and Naauwpoort Junction. The disloyal farmers of this district crowded in numbers to the Free State flag, and the "commandeering" of British subjects and confiscation of British property went on merrily. It was a terrible time for the loyal Britishers, who had foreseen what was coming, but whose warnings had uniformly been disregarded. [Illustration: [_From a Photograph._ FACING THE BOERS.] [Illustration: EX-PRESIDENT STEYN. Martinus Theunis Steyn, President of the Orange Free State, was born at Wynburg (about 50 miles N.E. of Bloemfontein) Oct. 2, 1857. His father was a waggon-builder and farmer. He lived an outdoor life during his early years, and at twelve went to school at the Grey College in Bloemfontein. At nineteen he was sent to study law in Holland and England, and returned to his native State when twenty-five. He practised at the bar of the Supreme Court, became Attorney-General and (in 1889) a judge. In 1895, on the retirement of Mr. Reitz, he was elected President. It was not until September 1899 that he definitely threw in his lot with Kruger and the Transvaal Boers in opposition to the British Government.] [Illustration: THE PRESIDENCY, BLOEMFONTEIN. Formerly the official residence of President Steyn.] [Sidenote: Attitude of the Cape Dutch.]