Battles of the nineteenth century . atrain came across the bridge from the Transvaalside. It was the dynamite train. manned bythe engineers who had been wrecking the lineas the Boers retreated northwards. They were 348 THE BOER WAR. not aware that enemies were so near ihem unlilthey saw some of Henrys mounted men gallopout from behind a sheltering swell of the veldtand make for the line between the bridge andthe train in the hope of obstructing the trackand cutting off the retreat of the wreckers. Atonce the engine was reversed, and it ran back fullspeed to the bridge and thundered over the ir
Battles of the nineteenth century . atrain came across the bridge from the Transvaalside. It was the dynamite train. manned bythe engineers who had been wrecking the lineas the Boers retreated northwards. They were 348 THE BOER WAR. not aware that enemies were so near ihem unlilthey saw some of Henrys mounted men gallopout from behind a sheltering swell of the veldtand make for the line between the bridge andthe train in the hope of obstructing the trackand cutting off the retreat of the wreckers. Atonce the engine was reversed, and it ran back fullspeed to the bridge and thundered over the irongirders. The mounted infantry sent a volley rille tue was opened from the buildings andshale heaps by a partv of about 200 Boers. Afew shells from the pom-poms, and a fewminutes firing from a rapidly extending line ofskirmishers, was all that was needed to put anend to this show of opposition. The Boersgalloped off, and the coal mines were found tobe uninjured and proved very useful for theworking of the railwav. Another welcome. 0 I I L SCENE OF THE FIGHTING NEAR JOHANNESBURG. after it, but it was already out of range. Beyondthe bridge there was a pause. The engineerswere busy as ants, and everyone knew what theiractivity meant. Then there was a burst ofsmoke in the middle of the bridge, a bright flashthrough it even in the sunlight, a dull roar, anda resounding series of crashes as the latticegirders and roadway of the central span fell intothe river bed. But meanwhile the mounted infantry with acouple of pom-poms were moving towards thedrift. They crossed it without being fired upon,but as they advanced towards the coal mines capture was that of three big stacks of foragenear Vereeniging. They had been left un-burned by the Boers of the rearguard, who, asthey rode awav to the northwards, set fire to thebush and herbage of the veldt in all directions. By evening on Sunday, the 27th, LordRoberts had his main body across the river atViljoens Drift, and the engineers were busy
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1901
