Except for a minor skirmish six days before at Besters, near Ladysmith, the fight on Rietfontein farm on 24 October 1899 was the first in which any large body of the Orange Free State army was involved. The action reflected poorly on the Natal Carbineers.   Using many first-person descriptions A Little Bicker with the Boers sets out what happened around the farmhouse of Rietfontein that day.