Better horsed, better
riders, with better intelligence and a better knowledge of the
country, their ventures were always attended by a limited
liability.
The attacks seem to have been delivered by a strong commando, said
to have been under the command of Beyers, upon its way to join the
Boer concentration in the Eastern Transvaal. They had not the
satisfaction, however, of carrying the garrison of a British post
with them, for at each point they were met by a stout resistance
and beaten off. Kaalfontein was garrisoned by 120 men of Cheshire
under Williams-Freeman, Zuurfontein by as many Norfolks and a small
body of Lincolns under Cordeaux and Atkinson. For six hours the
pressure was considerable, the assailants of Kaalfontein keeping up
a brisk shell and rifle fire, while those of Zuurfontein were
without artillery. At the end of that time two armoured trains came
up with reinforcements and the enemy continued his trek to the
eastward. Knox 's 2nd cavalry brigade followed them up, but without
any very marked result.
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