The Free State president, Marthinus Steyn was now ailing. He was suffering from ataxia, a nervous complaint, almost certainly caused by the strain that he had undergone for almost two years. His sight was affected as well as his limbs and riding a horse would have been difficult. His physical collapse was a shattering experience. Around the village of Reitz were a number of farms where they were safe from pursuit and Steyn stayed at Slabbert’s farm Rondebosch, to the north east of Reitz for much of the first two months of 1902. The President was able to rest at Rondebosch for some weeks and busy himself with the business and correspondence of the Free State government. De Wet’s whereabouts needed to be established before a decision was made by the British as to the direction of the first attempt at the new model drive. His base near Elandskop, today’s village of Petrus Steyn, was well-known but all attempts to nab him there had thus far failed.