WEPENER  , a

town of the Orange Free State, 82 m. by rail S.E. of Bloemfontein, and 2 M . W. of the Basuto border . Pop . (1904) 1366, of whom 822 were whites . It lies in a rich grain district, and 3 M. north by the Caledon river are large flour mills . The town, named after the leader of the Boers in their war with the Basuto chief Moshesh in 1865, was founded in 1888 . In April 1900 it was successfully defended against the Boers under Christiaan de Wet by a Cape force of Irregulars commanded by Colonel E . H . Dalgety .