The fact that the British had made no attempt to attack any of these laagers gave the Boers a false sense of security and by early December sentries and picquets would usually lie and sleep rather than keep watch. Reitz wrote in Commando: During the daytime no guards were set at all, as there were always a sufficient number of men on the hill above amusing themselves with sniping to make sure of an alarm being given. At night, although we went on outpost so close to the English sentries that we could hear them challenge each other, we did not take our watches very seriously. We used to go out on foot after dark in parties of twenty or so, and, on reaching neutral ground on the plain between ourselves and the enemy-line, two men at a time would walk forward a short distance. Here they stood or sat on sentry-go while the rest of us pulled off our boots, spread out blankets and went to sleep.
