DuringthecourseofthewarsomesixteenEditionsofthisworkhaveappeared,eachofwhichwas,Ihope,alittlemorefullandaccuratethanthatwhichprecededit.Imayfairlyclaim,however,thattheabsolutemistakesmadehavebeenfewinnumber,andthatIhaveneverhadoccasiontoreverse,andseldomtomodify,thejudgmentswhichIhaveformed.Inthisfinaleditiontheearlytexthasbeencarefullyrevisedandallfreshavailableknowledgehasbeenaddedwithinthelimitsofasinglevolumenarrative.Ofthevariousepisodesinthelatterhalfofthewaritisimpossibletosaythatthematerialisavailableforacompleteandfinalchronicle.Bytheaid,however,oftheofficialdispatches,ofthenewspapers,andofmanyprivateletters,Ihavedonemybesttogiveanintelligibleandaccurateaccountofthematter.Thetreatmentmayoccasionallyseemtoobriefbutsomeproportionmustbeobservedbetweenthebattlesof1899-1900andtheskirmishesof1901-1902.
Myprivateinformantsaresonumerousthatitwouldbehardlypossible,evenifitweredesirable,thatIshouldquotetheirnames.OfthecorrespondentsuponwhoseworkIhavedrawnformymaterials,IwouldacknowledgemyobligationstoMessrs.Burleigh,Nevinson,Battersby,Stuart,Amery,Atkins,Baillie,Kinneir,Churchill,James,Ralph,Barnes,Maxwell,Pearce,Hamilton,andothers.EspeciallyIwouldmentionthegentlemanwhorepresentedthe'Standard'inthelastyearofthewar,whoseaccountsofVlakfontein,VonDonop'sConvoy,andTweeboschweretheonlyreliableoneswhichreachedthepublic.
ArthurConanDoyle,Undershaw,Hindhead:September1902.