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CIHM 
Microfiche 
Series 
(Monographs) 


ICI\1H 

Collection  de 
microfiches 
(monographies) 


Canadian  Instituw  for  Historical  Microraproductioni  /  imritut  Canadian  da  microraproductiont  Itittoriquas 


1996 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  technique  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 


D 
D 
D 
D 

n 
n 

D 
D 

n 

D 


n 


Coloured  covers  / 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged  / 
Couverture  endominagee 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couverture  restaur^  et/ou  pellicuiee 

Cover  title  missing  /  Le  litre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  gtegraphiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
Encre  de  couleur  (I.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  mustratkxis  / 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material  / 
Relie  avec  d'autres  documents 

Only  editnn  available  / 
Seule  edition  disponible 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin  /  La  reliure  serrde  peut 
causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la  distorsion  le  long  de 
la  marge  Jnterieure. 

Blank  leaves  added  during  rsstcratons  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  tiave 
been  omitted  from  liming  /  II  se  peut  que  certaines 
pages  blanches  ajoutees  lors  cTune  restauration 
apparaissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  kxsque  cela  etait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'om  pas  M  fknees. 


Adittonal  comments  / 
Commentaires  stppiemenlaires: 


This  ittm  it  filmad  tt  tiM  raduciion  rttio  dMcfcad  btlew/ 

C«  dodHMfit  m  filirt  w  uu>  di  rMuction  indiqu*  ei^tnaiB. 


L'Institut  a  miciofllm^  le  meilleur  examplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
6te  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire  qui  sent  peut-4tre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modifications  dans  la  meth- 
ode  nonnale  de  (ilmage  sont  indiques  ci-dessous. 


D 
D 
D 


Cokxjied  pages  /  Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommagees 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Pages  restaurees  et/ou  pellicuiees 

Pages  discokwred,  stained  or  foxed  / 
Pages  dicotorees,  tachetees  ou  piquees 


I     I      Pages  detached/ Pages  detachees 

rT\      Showlhrough/ Transparence 

I     I     Quality  of  print  varies  / 

' — '     QuaUte  In^gale  de  I'impression 

I     I      Includes  supplementary  material  / 
' — '      Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 

I  I  Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
' — '  slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image  /  Les  pages 
totalement  ou  partiellement  obscurcies  par  un 
feuilM  d'enata,  une  pelure,  etc.,  ont  ete  filmees 
h  nouveau  de  fa^on  a  obtenir  la  mellleure 
image  ponible. 

I  I  Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
' — '  discolouratlons  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the 
best  possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant 
ayant  des  colorations  variables  ou  des  decol- 
orations sont  filmees  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la 
meilleur  image  possible. 


10X 

14X 

1«X 

22X 

26X 

»» 

_ 

7 

n 

12X 

ttx 

XX 

J«x 

28  X 

22X 

Th«  copy  fllmad  har*  hu  baan  raproduead  thanki 
to  tha  ganaroiity  of: 

Otitr  LItinry, 
McGill  Univinlty, 
Montrtal 

Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  ttia  baM  quality 
poailbia  eonaidaring  tha  condition  and  lagiblllty 
of  tha  original  copy  and  In  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  apaclflcationa. 


Original  coplaa  in  printad  papar  eovar*  ara  fllmad 
baglnning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  tlluatratad  Impraa- 
tion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  fllmad  baglnning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impras- 
slon.  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  impraaalon. 


Tha  last  racordad  frama  on  aach  microflcha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  -•■  Imaanln^  "CON- 
TINUEO"),  or  tha  symbol  V  (moaning  "END"), 
whlehovor  appllas. 

Maps,  plataa,  charts,  ate.,  may  ba  fllmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  iarga  to  ba 
antiraly  ineiudad  in  ona  anpoauro  ara  filmed 
baglnning  in  tha  uppar  loft  hand  eomor.  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bonom.  as  many  framaa  as 
raqulrad.  Tha  following  diagrams  lllustrsta  tha 


L'axampiaira  fiim4  fut  raproduit  grica  k  la 
9tntro»\tt  da: 

Otier  Library, 
McOill  Uninrtity, 
Montrral 

Laa  imagas  suivantos  ont  M  raproduitas  avsc  la 
plus  grsnd  soin,  compta  tanu  da  is  condition  at 
da  la  nattat*  da  i'axamplaira  film*,  at  »n 
oonformM  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
fllmaga. 

Los  Mampiairss  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  an 
poplar  ast  imprimOa  sont  flim«s  an  commanqant 
par  la  pramlar  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  la 
darniira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'Imprassion  ou  d'illustratlon,  solt  par  ia  second 
plat,  salon  lo  eas.  Tous  las  autros  sxamplairos 
originaux  sont  fllmto  an  commandant  par  la 
promlira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'Imprassion  ou  d'illustration  at  an  tarminant  par 
la  darnlira  paga  qui  comporta  una  taila 
amprainta. 

Un  das  symbolas  sulvants  tpp«raitra  lur  la 
darnMra  imaga  da  chsqua  microfiche,  salon  la 
cos:  la  symbols  — »  signifio  "A  SUIVRE".  ia 
symbols  ▼  slgnifis  "FIN". 

Las  cartas,  planchas.  tabiaaux.  etc..  peuvent  itre 
filmis  i  dee  uux  do  rMuction  dlff«rents. 
Lorsque  ie  document  est  trop  grand  pour  ttra 
raproduit  an  un  soul  cllch*.  il  ost  film*  i  partir 
do  i'anglo  sup4riaur  gaucha.  do  gaucho  t  droits, 
et  de  haut  on  bas,  en  pronant  la  nombra 
d'imagos  ntesssalra.  Las  dlagrammos  sulvants 
illustront  la  mMhodo. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

MIOOCOPV    RBOUJTION   TKT   CHART 

(ANSI  ond  rSO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


^      /IPPUED    IIVHGE      In. 

1653   Eait   Warn   Sir**) 

P(oeti«»l*r.   FMm   Yort         U609        US* 

,'716)  »8Z  -  0300  -  Ph=ne 

;716)   :;8B  -  5989  -  Fo. 


SIR  ALEXANDER  OGSTON,  K.C.V.O.,  I.L.D. 


REMINISCENCES   OF 
THREE  CAMPAIGNS 


BY 


SIR   ALEXANDER   OGSTON 

K.C.V.O.,   LLD.,   Etc. 
IMiHiTui  PRornnoB  OF  ii'Kyitllv  m  rH« 

IHIVUMITV    OF    ABEHJISIN 


HODDER   AND   STOUGHTON 

LONDON  NEW  YORK  TORONTO 


PREFATORY   NOTE 

The  present  work  was  written  at  the  request  of  some 
of  my  friends  who  knew  that  1  had  kept  journals  of 
the  campaigns  which  1  had  attended  as  surgeon.  It 
aims  at  no  more  than  at  presenting  a  faithful  recoid 
of  my  own  personal  experiences  and  of  my  interest  in 
the  medical  and  surgical  treatment,  and  especially  the 
nursing,  of  sick  and  wounded  soldiers. 

'  "  Pardon  my  putting  so  many  '  I's  '  in  my  dis- 
course," said  the  candidate,  "but  when  a  man  is 
talking  of  himself,  'tis  the  briefest  and  simplest  way 
of  talking  "  '  (Thackeray). 

A.  O. 


I; 


If  '■> 


! 


CH* 

11 

II. 

T( 

III. 

Bt 

IT. 

8. 

V. 

SI 

VI. 

B 

VII. 

Tl 

VIII. 

1 

IX. 

a 

X.  Tl 

XI.  Tl 

XII.  Tl 

XIII.  C, 

XIV.  Tl 
XV.  Tl 

XVI.  M 

XVII.  B 

XVIII,  H 

XIX.  C, 

XX.  P 

XXI,  X 

xxn.  8' 

7XIII.   8' 


JONTENTS 


PART  FIRST 
F.OYPTIAN  WAH 

CHAr 

I,  MILITARY  SIROERY 
II.   TO   EOYPT 
III.  SUEZ 

TV.   S.g.    '  OANOEU  '    . 
V.   8UAKIN 

VI.   BATTLE   or   IIASHEEN 
VII.   THE   PLAINS   AROUND   SUAKIN 
VIII.   1  \HAI  .... 

IX.   HOSPITAL   WORK   AT   SUAKIN 


1 

8 

4 

6 

0 

18 

21 

sa 

40 


^      .1 


PART  SECOND 

SC  "TH  AFRICAN  WAB 


X,   THE   PORTSMOUTH   ADDRESS 
XI.   THE   BLACK   WEEK 
XII.   TO  THE   CAPE      . 

XIII.  CAPE  TOWN 

XIV.  THE   MILITAHV   SITUATION      . 
XV.    TO    MODDER    RIVER 

XVI.    MODOER    RIVER    CAMP 
XVII.    BELMONT    .... 
XVm,   MODDER  TO   CAPE   TOWN 
XIX.   CAPE   TOWN   TO   PORT   ELIZABETH 
XX.   PORT   ELIZABETH 
XXI.   EAST   LONDON      . 
XXn.   STERKSTROM 
7X111.   STERKSTROM   TO   CBADOCK    . 


48 

49 
50 
S8 
55 
56 
61 
68 
68 
69 

ri 

74 
77 


■'Hi.!' 


» 

vi      REMINISCENCES  OK  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

C>l.f 

r*<iB 

XXIV. 

COLF.SBKKO 

91 

XXV. 

MEDICAL   ArrAIRH   AlOl  T   TAPK   TOWN    . 

85 

XXVI. 

THE   ARMY   MEOICAl     HKRViCE 

.     1(M 

xxvii. 

LORD    METHUEN'iI   COl.l  MN    . 

.    n« 

XXVIII. 

LORD    HOBEHTS'S   ■.'RATCOV 

.      IM 

tmAt. 

XXIX. 

LUKU    KOBERTIi'S   ADVANCE  . 

.     138 

LTU. 

XXX, 

MAOERSrONTEIK 

.    »e 

LTIII. 

XXXI. 

KIMBERLEY   REUCVED 

,     138 

UX. 

LX. 
LXI. 

XXXII. 

CONDITIONS    AT   MODDER 

.     18S 

XXXIII. 

MORE   ABOUT   MODDER 

.     143 

XXXIV. 

TREK   TO   KIMBERLEY 

.     149 

LXII. 

XXXV. 

AROUND    KIMBERLEY    . 

.     154 

I.XIII 

XXXVI, 

'  COUNTER-SUNSETS  '    . 

.     158 

LXIT. 

XXX  Vli. 

KIMBERLEY  TO   BOSIIOI' 

.    lai 

LXT. 

XXXVIII, 

BOSHOF 

.     166 

LXVI. 

XXXIX, 

CONDITIONS   AT    BOSHOF 

.     186 

LXVII. 

XT,. 

aOSHOf   TO   HOOPSTAD 

.     103 

LXVIU, 

xu. 

HOOPSTAU 

.     207 

LZIX, 

XLII. 

H007STAO   TO   BOTHAVILLE  . 

.     209 

XUII. 

BOTUAVILLE 

.     215 

imde: 

XUV. 

BOTHAVILLE   TO   BLOEMFONTEIN 

.     318 

XLV. 

BLOEMFONTEIN   . 

.     331 

XLVI. 

BLOEMFONTEIN   TO   CAPE   TOWN 

.     336 

XLVII. 

RETURN   TO   ENOLAND 

.     338 

PART  THIRD 

SERBIA 

XLVIII 

FROM   ENOLAND   TO    BELGRADE 

.     381 

XLIX 

BELGRADE 

.     386 

L 

BACK   TO  THE   MEDITERRANEAN 

.     289 

u 

SALONIKA   TO   MALTA   . 

.     341 

Ul 

MALTA         .            .            ,            , 

.     244 

LIII 

MALTA   Tu    LONDON       . 

.     247 

LIV 

THROUGH    UNPLEASANT   ITALY 

.     248 

LV 

THE    LEVANT 

.     256 

IVI 

SERBIAN   HOSPITALS     . 

.     359 

CONTENTS 


PART  FOriHTH 

ITALY 

CH«f. 

ITU.  me  viun  britiih  ambitlanck  usit  ro*  italy  . 

LTIII.   OORITUA   (AUSTRIAN   otftt) 

ux.  THE  itaNio  atVEii  barrici 

LX.   TUB   ITAUAN    BABE    HOBriTALS 
LXI.   THE   WINTER    CAMPAIGN   or    l»lll.|7 
LXII.   OUR   ITAUAN    PATIENT8 
LXin.  THE  CUHMEB  OFfEMBIVE  OF  1>I7 
IXrr.  ITAUAN   DRESiING  STATtONH 
LXT.    MORE   ITALIAN    DREISINO   STATIONS 

LZVI.   THE   CARSO 

LXVII.   A   FIELD   HOSPITAL   IN   THE   CARNIC  ALU 
LXVIU.  UFE  IN  OUR  UNIT       .... 
LZIX.  THE  COLLAPSE  OF  THE  HOSPITAL 


361 
M4 

Miy 
179 

aw 

a«3 
3W 
808 
8OT 
818 
)17 
833 


INDEX 


881 


1 

: 

; 

1 
f 

! 

1';' 
■  i 

4  ■ 

^ 

M.I 

LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


Sib  Alexander  Ogston,  K.C.V.O.,  LL.D.,  (Portrait)  Frontupiece 
The  Gobge  ok  Tamai 


Map  of  the  CoimrRY  amacent  to  Scakin 

COUNTER-SUNEISE   AND   ConNTER-SuNSKT 

Map  of  South  Africa 

Bud's-eye  View  or  the  Italian  Isonzo  Front 


38 


ii 
1S8 
XSO 
880 


1  1 


PART    FIRST 
EGYPTIAN  WAR 


;?  ii! 


MlUTAKT  SUBOEBY 

MnjTAEY  SuKOEEY  is  a  subject  which  has  always  had  a  fascina- 
tion for  me,  but  I  believe  that,  more  than  anything  else  it 
was  the  Franco-Prussian  War  of  1870-71  which  specia'uy 
directed  my  attention  to  this  branch  of  my  profession  and 
brought  me  into  close  relation  with  some  of  the  most  stirrina 
events  of  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries. 

It  is  well  known  that  although  in  the  times  of  Napoleon  i 
something  was  done  by  his  chief  surgeon.  Baron  Larrey,  iii 
introducing  into  the  French  army  services  the  employment 
of     ambulances  volantes '   which  were  first  used   in   1792 
at  the  battle  of  Konigstem,   while  his  contemporary  Baron 
Percy  simultaneously  (in  1798)  initiated  the  use  of  special 
stretcher-bearers  or  '  brancardiers  '   for  the  wounded   in  the 
field,  yet  it  may  be  justly  said  that  military  surgery,  as  a 
special  department  of  medicine,  had  its  real  origin  in  the 
sixties  and  seventies  of  the  last  century.    There  are  doubtless 
many  yet  living  among  us  who  can  remember  the  impression 
made  upon  the  world  by  the  Swiss  doctor  Henri  Dunant  and 
his  coadjutor  Moynier,  also  a  Swiss,  appealing  to  civilisation 
for  mercy  to  the  wounded  and  protection  to  those  employed 
in  alleviating  their  sufferings.    That  which  he  had  witnessed 
in  the  hospitals  after  the  battle  of  Solferino,  in  1859,  first 
induced    Dunant    to   take   the   initiative   in   agitating   for 
ameliorating  the  condition  of  those  overtaken  by  disease  or 
wounds  in  warfare.     It  was  to  bun  that  the  world  is  in- 
debted for  the  attention  of  the  nations  of  Europe  having 
been  directed  towards  practical  measures  of  compassion  for 
these  unfortunates,  and  nowhere  did  he  receive  more  zealous 
support  than  in  Great  Britain.    The  outcome  of  the  agitation 
was  the  signing  of  the  famous  Geneva  Convention  of  1864, 
whereby  all  civilised  nations  agreed  to  regard  the  wounded  as 

A 


a        REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

neutrals,  and  to  neutralise  as  well  their  medical  attendants 
and  even  such  non-combatants  as  were  engaged  in  the  merciAii 
work  of  ministering  to  them.  The  Red  Cross  was  selected 
as  the  badge  whereby  all  engaged  in  such  dutits  were  to  be 
distinguished.  Dunant,  it  may  be  mentioned,  died  in  poverty 
at  the  age  of  82,  in  the  year  1910. 

In  OUT  own  country,  sympathy  with  this  humane  institution 
was  enhanced  by  the  recollection  of  our  calamitous  experi- 
ences in  the  Crimean  War  of  18S4,  by  the  reports  of  the  benefits 
resulting  from  the  introduction  of  an  ambulance  service  into 
the  armies  of  the  Northern  States  of  America  in  their  War  of 
Secession  of  1861 -6S,  and  by  the  participation  of  many  of  our 
compatriots  in  the  ambuUmce  work  of  the  Franco-Prussian 
War  of  1870-71,  where  they  took  a  part  in  the  systematised 
surgical  war  services  of  the  armies  on  both  sides.  It  would 
be  out  of  place  here  to  endeavour  to  enumerate  all  the  results 
to  which  this  widespread  wave  of  sympathy  gave  origin,  but 
prominent  among  them  may  be  mentioned  the  formation  of 
the  British  National  Society  for  Aid  to  the  Sick  and  Wounded 
in  War  (usually  called  the  National  Aid  Society)  which  later 
became  the  British  Red  Cross  Society,  the  provision  in  our 
armies  of  bearer  companies,  two  of  which  were  sent  out  under 
comrades  of  my  own  to  the  Secocoeni  Campaign  in  South 
Africa,  the  origination  in  England  of  the  St.  John's,  and  in 
Scotland  of  the  St.  Andrew's  and  the  Aberdeen  Ambulance 
Associations — ^the  last  two  soon  fusing  into  one  for  patriotic 
reasons — and  almost  everywhere  to  the  enthusiastic  study 
and  instruction  in  first  aid  among  the  civil  population. 

The  north-eastern  district  of  Scotland  experienced  to  the 
fiill  the  fascination  of  the  great  philanthropic  movement. 
Besides  the  already  mentioned  Aberdeen  Ambulance  Associa- 
tion for  the  succour  of  the  injured  in  civil  life,  there  were 
raised,  for  the  wounded  in  war,  under  the  encouragement  of 
Surgeons-Major  Evatt  and  Peter  Shepherd,  and  of  Dr.  James 
Cantlie  in  London,  the  Volunteer  Bearer  Companies  of  the 
Aberdeen  University.  The  activities  of  both  of  these  were 
great.  With  the  support  of  the  late  Mr.  William  Smith, 
advocate,  classes  of  first  aid  for  the  police,  railway  officials, 
and  others  of  the  community  were  taught  and  largely  attended 
in  our  city  and  surrounding  districts ;  while  Dr.  Alexander 
Macgregor  and  others  developed  the  University  Bearer 
Companies  into  large  and  enthusiastic  units  of  high  efficiency, 
which  embraced  the  flower  of  our  medical  students. 

In  order  to  foster  these  agencies,  at  least  while  they  were  in 
their  earlier  stages,  it  was  incumbent  on  me,  as  a  teacher  of 
surgery  and  professor  in  the  University,  to  give  instruction 


EGYPTIAN  WAR  3 

in  the  field.    Henw   Xn  iZ^l  ^jntaess  its  operations 
drawn  bv  di«*«,  ,W„  i  ?PPortunity  arrived,  1  was 

™»wn  by  degrees  into  the  experiences  which  I  am  about  to 


U'.m 


II 

To  Egypt 
under  General  Sir  GemH  rr.i„>.v.  *      ^  -2  "'  ^"*  °"t 

u  *s  eS^il?^'?^--  r  Kr^  i:'^^"^^; 

«  was  expected  to  consist  of  12,000  men  anH  »«  i».        ■       i 

forEgypt.andlost^otoe^X^  Cwg.„H    ""'  T 
27th  of  February  1886  *       leaving  London  on  the 

Su^n^];ft^r*lt^F:r'^^.tea•Sirw"^^^^^^^ 
to  fall  in  when  at  bieakfas^^L  sS^rf^s  Hoter.nf^"^ 
me  to  the  principal  medical  offl,£r  ^f  C^Kd  S':^ 
from  him  a  recommendation  to  the  head  of  the  fSl^i       -^ 
Department,  through  whom  I  warable  to  nh^^.T??^^^'^* 


!  I  f  iji 


*  i    I'i  .     :i  li 


f''';ll 


1 1 


ha.  .'( 


.■:;lli? 


4      REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

tion  as  to  how  to  deal  with  the  medical  staff  and  othen  who 
were  to  accompany  the  forces. 

I  may  mention  that  Beattie  was  in  medical  command  of  the 
military  hospital  in  the  Citadel  of  Cairo,  which  was  perched 
on  the  highest  brow  of  the  hills  to  the  south  of  the  city.  The 
hospital  was  in  many  respecto  an  ideal  one.  Being  one  of  the 
Khedive's  palaces,  its  splendid  cool  marble  halls  had  been  con- 
verted into  wards,  each  as  large  and  airy  as  a  cathedral,  and  in 
them  were  being  treated  our  soldiers  who  had  been  invalided 
from  the  Nile  Campaign.  I  saw  no  wounded  there,  however, 
the  cases  being  all  of  typhoid  fever,  liver,  abscess  and  abdominal 
complaints,  with  some  slighter  ailments,  n.A  everything  that 
seemed  to  be  possible  in  those  days  was  being  done  for  the 
invalids ;  one  could  not  but  admire  and  approve ;  yet  even 
in  this,  the  first  actual  war  hospital  I  had  visited,  I  felt, 
though  at  the  time  it  eluded  me,  that  there  was  something 
defective,  and  I  presently  realised  that  this  was  the  want  of 
trained  women  nurses  which  left  the  splendid  hospital  a  little 
short  of  perfection.  Its  site  was  overpoweringly  magnificent. 
At  such  an  elevation  the  wards  enjoyed  abundance  of  pure 
ventilation  associated  with  protection  from  the  heat  of  the 
sun,  and  from  the  balconies  there  were  exquisite  views  over 
the  whole  town  of  Cairo  and  of  the  glories  of  the  morning  sun 
reddening  the  splendid  pyramids  of  Gizeh. 


Ill 

Suez 

EvEKYTHiNG  having  been  satisfactorily  arranged  with  the 
authorities  in  Cairo,  the  next  thing  to  be  done  was  to  hurry 
on  to  Suez,  in  order  to  catch  the  hospital  ship  Gimge*.  in 
which  a  passage  had  been,  promised  me  to  Suakin.  Sir 
Gerald  Graham,  our  commander,  who  had  been  expected  to 
proceed  by  that  or  another  vessel,  was  detained  in  Cairo  by 
Utoess ;  nothing,  it  was  true,  would  happen  until  he  reached 
Suakin  ;  but  it  was  anticipated  that  he  would  soon  be  on  the 
move,  and  it  would  not  do  to  risk  missing  the  beginning  of  the 
campaign,  which  was  evidently  not  far  off,  for  the  Indian 
contingent  had  reached  the  harbour,  and  was  reported  as 
being  rapidly  disembarked.  So  I  crossed  the  desert  by  rail 
to  Suez  without  delay,  across  the  battlefield  of  Te|-el-Kebip, 
of  which  on  this  occasion  I  got  a  mere  glimpse,  as  it  war  uring 
the  night  that  the  journey  had  to  be  made. 

In  Suez  I  bad  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  Gmtget  for  four  or 
five  days,  and  these  were  utUised  in  exploring  the  town  and 


EGYPTIAN  WAR  ^ 

showed  me  oX  Ws  hnS"    ^™,  Pn"o>Pal  medical  officer 

wooden  build^^.'^^i^TlpVof  fSWh  ''"~^«'"  °^ 
shady  verandahs,  a  few  tente  for  in  W-  **" '^"'^'  "■*'' 
fortheArmvHosDitairnJrfc T..  u  ""«=*'°"s  cases.  buiWings 

andeverythCeCtSn^'^^^S^I.int^^t'''"'^^ 
looked  after,  ^d  had  the  «H«w  *  J^  ""^  ""^^  "e" 

four  nuking  sistewlrom  Nrtl^^  of  'die  ministration,  of 
expected  shortly  ^'^^'^-  °^  ''•»<>"  fo"r  more  were 

defi^^rSw^'mo:^]'*  '"^^'^f  "^^•'•'''  --^  being 
pick  up  an  ScL  and  JThlt*'''."''"''''"'"  "^^ool  tS 
education  which  wa^  giten  bv  tl  ft  *""*  T  **"  «»*  "^ 
called  him.  I  found  Vh^^uL  *?"^''"'  •"■  '•>«■>*  ««  they 
on  the  g^>u„d^™s*:itt^L''K^^e?'  ''^j:'^^'^  ^'^'°» 
passages  from  it  writ^ro„  wooded  «.if"  *''^'"'  °'"  '^^ 
painted  white  which  rt»  l.-iTv  ?  ^'"***  ^^^  P'cces  of  tin 
«d  n.bbeS^dov^^'ctfa  U  ,^J^  ~Pied  with  "  ««»  P«n 

Robertson  Smith  writiff  th/ ^?5  '  ^  "*"  °»y  *"«>nd 
the  children  was  c^S  to  re^^"**;,  ^'"=  ^"^t^ction  of 
and  passages  from  mmorv  as^n^^  repeatmg  the  texU 

table ;  no  real  imtJScUo™  ^'  ^""''  *''*'  multiplication 
language  of  the  Koran  dMe^s^miiTr'^^u  ^°/  ^^«=«  *« 
were  accustomed  to  u«  th^  ^  i"  ^1P"  *''^  -^-^c  they 
they  were  all^im.Hf  J!,  '     .  ^  ""derstood  little  or  nothinir  • 

pit4  ofThe  vo  rtuTtt\''^r.*l"«  °"*  *«  '«'»«  «tae 
of  authority,  tKd'^ro'Vb^SJ^'^tf'^^i  ^-y  '''''  ^'^P-*- 
and  greeting  the  sheikh  in  mv  fV,^  ""  "^  entering 

'aleikum,'  the  taips  teokTuTtheirn^""  t"*r*  "'*'*  '  «''«»•" 
heretic  stranger  asking  fuL^r  V  "■  ^  '='"***''  "'""^  the 
m  the  way  T^te  ^^"  '^^  °^  questions,  and  interested 

with  my  lift  Cd  on^heS  sktes^ln  t  """f  '  ^•'"»'  ^Uah.' 
than  those  they  were  used  to  n.' Jf  "^"^^  «»«  classic 
the  '  dominie  •  ^ve  me  a  W  ?  « !?^  '•"'^  "^^^  ^  Suez 
modern  Arabic  S  ^nd^phrase^""^  °'  ""'^  ■"''*™'=*-°»  « 

salle'mT^oirton^e^  tvTh^T""^*"  »"  «-"y  "  bed  of 
the  sun  duC^  tKv^  ,t  t  ''*'  ^^  7?''*  ""•»  hardened  by 
home  of  aSant  moL'uifll^  unhealthy  and  makrial,  the 
my  blood  at^anTfX^^^Th""*^  themselves  with 
to  their  lean  unfed  brotb^i^wK  """«? '•°"*<' '»nt'«st 


I  'l 


6      REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

breeses  played  from  the  north  and  tempered  the  heat  to  an 
agreeable  degree.  Moreover,  none  of  the  sunsets  I  had  wit- 
nessed in  other  parts  of  the  world  seemed  to  me  able  to  sustain 
a  comparison  with  the  beautiful  and  singular  displays  over  the 
desert.  When  the  sun  had  disappeared,  and  the  land,  which 
at  first  gleamed  orange-yellow  and  then  became  purple,  had 
faded  into  dull  colours,  the  whole  sky  became  ruby-red,  like 
a  magnificent  garnet,  and  one  or  two  of  the  brightest  stars 
twinkled  in  this  beautiful  bed.  This  colour  remained  for  a 
long  time,  and  nfter  it  had  gradually  disappeared  the  horizon 
to  the  west  received  a  border  of  scarlet-orange-yellow,  that 
girdled  the  town  and  surrounding  plains  like  a  rosy  flame  and 
slowly  faded  into  the  night. 

IV 

S.S.  'Ganges' 

The  Ganget  was  at  that  time  the  latest  achievement  in  the 
construction  of  British  hospital  ships.  So  complete  and 
remarkable  was  she  considered  that  before  leaving  the  Thames 
for  the  Red  Sea  she  was  visited  by  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Wales,  the  Director-General  of  the  army  medical  department, 
and  many  others,  whilst  at  Malta,  and  also  at  Suez,  where  she 
presently  arrived,  she  was  crowded  during  the  hours  she  stopped 
there  by  sightseers  who  came  to  inspect  and  admire.  The 
Ganges  was  one  of  the  newest,  largest,  and  finest  of  the  Penin- 
sular and  Oriental  Compan/'s  steamers  which  ran  between 
Britain  and  India,  and  she  had  just  been  gutted  of  all  her 
cabin  arrangements  for  passengers  so  as  to  be  rendered  suitable 
for  the  treatment  of  invalids  and  wounded  men  in  the  hot 
climate  of  the  Red  Sea.  She  bore  as  her  flag  the  red  Geneva 
cross  on  a  white  ground .  For  coolness  she  was  entirely  painted 
white  externally,  and  her  boats  and  a  large  barge  with  which 
she  was  equipped  for  conveying  wounded  on  board,  were 
similarly  painted.  The  boats  were  provided  witl.  canvas 
awnings  overhead  and  curtains  at  the  sides  to  shade  *hem  from 
the  sun,  and  in  them  the  patients  were  transported  in  cots 
which  were  so  slung  as  not  to  be  shaken.  When  the  ship's 
side  was  reached,  the  cots  were  attached  to  special  tackle  and 
gently  lifted  into  openings  in  the  side  of  the  vessel.  All 
partitions  between  decks  had  been  taken  away,  so  that  from 
nearly  end  to  end  the  ship  was  a  long  series  of  airy  wards, 
fitted  with  iron  standards  sustaining,  either  swinging  or  motion- 
less as  desired,  whi:.e  clean  iron  beds  with  sides  which  could 
be  folded  down,  and  with  invalid  apertures  in  the  centre,  for 
bathing,  cleanliness   and   other  attentions.    The  mattresses 


EGYPTIAN  WAR 

decks   anri  .  ^.^  *  *u         ^'^  ''"'^'  occupied  two  of  the 

m5Lf;i-.raVdVerri^\t^tw^titT"'' 

hehnete  and  pugarees,  red  shoulder  capes,  wrev  Z.11^  H«f.. 
and  wlute  aprons,  with,  of  course.  th^el'^Zura^^rprt' 
There  was  even  an  interpreter  who  snoke  AmhioT,,        ^  • 
htOe  man,  who  pi^fessJto  kn^w  thrSou^f ^eU  .^S'to'Ef 

hills   and  in  place  of  the  wild  Arab  charces  w^  K^  h  J^ 

:f'r^ar,:.Ss"  --^^^  ^"  ^'^  ^^oS^^y  tK^st 
£l^X°^^o^S-/^tas^i::^ni^^^^^ 

picture  under  the  morning^  Ouf^^L  kvd^  ^ 


.     .H 

hi 


'■•■'^I 


8      REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

wmbling  the  peaks  of  the  Trolltinder  in  Norway,  lined  the 
shores  where  we  approached  them  and  were  the  only  objects 
that  broke  the  level  monotony  except  an  occasional  lighthouse 
showing  the  position  of  some  coial  reef  at  a  distance  from  the 
land,  or  a  passing  vessel,  both  of  which  made  small  excitements 
in  the  otherwise  quiet  days.  The  sun  emerged  dusty  red 
over  Arabia  is  he  rose  from  his  morning  bath,  and  set  at  night 
over  Egypt  in  a  wonderful  worM  of  gorgeous  light,  dropping 
into  a  fiery  haze  which,  after  he  had  set,  flashed  up  into  crimson 

and  flame-coloured  glows ;  and  as  these  slowly — very  slowly 

faded,  they  le't  a  band  like  a  sword  of  clear  white  moonbenms 
running  across  the  heavens  from  the  sunset  point,  the  beautiAil 
Zodiacal  Light. 

On  the  morning  of  our  nearing  Suakin  we  ran  all  forenoon 
at  slow  speed  in  a  narrow  channel  inside  the  reefs  which  lined 
the  coast,  and  thus  passed  for  many  miles  quite  cfose  to  the 
land.  Inland  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and  extending 
far  to  north  and  south,  lay  a  flat  diy  scrubby  plain,  barely 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  separated  ♦'rom  the  open  ocean  by 
a  clear  greenish,  almost  white,  belt  of  glassy  liquid  bordered 
towards  the  deep  by  a  creamy  line  of  breakers  where  the  reef 
ended,  and  presently,  miles  inland  to  the  west,  ragged  high 
mountains  became  visible.  Continuing  onwards,  on  the  out- 
look for  the  town  of  Suakin,  we  perceived  in  the  distant  south 
the  masts  of  a  group  of  ships,  and  found  as  we  approached 
them  that  they  were  those  of  the  vessels  in  its  harbour  visible 
above  the  low-lying  town  and  land.  When  opposite  them,  a 
sixty-foot  gap  marked  oft  by  buoys  showed  itself  in  the  reef, 
and  proved  to  be  the  outer  entrance  to  a  '  Y  '  shaped  haven. 
After  interminable  signalling  by  flags,  and  cruising  about  of 
small  boats  and  vessels,  a  little  steam  launch  finally  came  off, 
left  a  naval  officer  on  board  to  pilot  us,  and  we  sailed  cautiously 
in.  We  crept  for  miles  into  a  narrow  gut,  and  the  first  object 
we  beheld  on  land  was  a  little  cemetery  with  its  white  and  black 
crosses  where  the  English  were  buried,  a  spectacle  that  stilled 
the  words  of  many  of  the  gallant  fellows  on  board. 

We  had  scarcely  reachod  our  mooring  place  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  channel,  when  we  were  brought  to  a  realisation 
of  the  presence  of  war  by  the  approach  of  a  steam  launch 
bringing  out  a  guardsman  transfixed  through  ar.n  and  chest 
by  an  Arab  spear,  and  his  companions  reported  to  us  that 
every  night  the  Arabs  were  penetrating  our  lines  and  spearing 
our  men  in  their  tents,  while  sleep  was  also  rendered  difficult 
by  the  nocturnal  rattle  of  the  rifies  and  the  booming  of  the 
cannon  directec  against  the  straggling  raiders  who  swarmed 
round  the  camp. 


EGYPTIAN  WAR 


SUAXIN 

1^  port  of  Suakin  aeemej  as  u'  it  had  been  shaped  bv  natim. 
for  the  conceaiment  of  a  nest  of  pirates.    iCSthe  .^^ 

Zl^  "t^**  "j;"""  "»«  almost  ^visibte."an5C  not 
more  tEan  800  yards  across,  while  it  gave  access  to  a  h^rn 

trated  for  wme  two  miles  into  the  land,  biiureated  •  rSh  nn  . 
S'ttl  ""^J:^'  "^  '»"•  «"'•  "  q^arter^f^milet  dl" 

cussing  the  ^ir^^^T^z^'jii^'^r^,,  rs 

of  ouTll^ta'i'^/ndThr  i^nr"*^  "'"""'•  *••'  P"'*  »'  *•"  ti"' 
the  a!+^^  *  impressicns  conveyed  to  a  novice  in 

^'tJf  fu  \"' ^5-  "ot  be  uninteresting.    In  the  B^C 

mostly  to  emanate  from  an  English  gunboat  steWoned^^^ 
entrance  mouth  of  the  channel  Farther  in  iTv  the  ^„ 
moored  to  the  northern  bank  of  the  innJr  l«^kl  Gongw, 
opposite  the  cemetery  and  not  ?ar  ^^^  the  t:v^"•^Z?? 
have  called  the  inner  harbour  was  the  shallow  f^ked^oJ 

fcatr:Xe'Z^-  Z^^;^^^^^^ 

uCTie  aistance  from  the  shore,  or  with  native  dug-outs  or  built 
canoes  rowed  bv  merrv  lii-H»  ii..k  u  ■     .  o^"'-*  or  duuc 

bX?r^f  K^  *'"=  "^"'^  ?°"«  by^ear'no^g 
oamooorods     The  quays  were  crowded  with  Arabs  usuallv 

S«s  w"h'°.U'r"'°*V"''  »  «»*to°  plaid.  tXm^ 
^dlLr,^.i  ^*  .""•*  ''"™  brown  skins,  carryine 

S  E^^H^ °™;f -^  ^"^^s  duties.    Here  and  thire  h^* 
S^  *=»T*'»"  «>Wiers  m  red  fez  and  white  linen  unifoms 

wt^  "^"ErK^S^T'""  or  marched  in  squads.  wWle  ^ve™! 
wnere  tne  Jinglishman  with  brown  linen  suit  anH  wh;*« 
hehnet  was  active  in  the  heat,  dirocting  andJ.ve^S,''"" 
Suakin  was  a  picturesque   Egyptian  city^w^^shbing 


'11 


10    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

housei  were  conitrueted  of  pure  white  coral  bloclu,  re*embling 
white  marble,  of  Moorish  architecture,  with  finely  carved 
woodwovk  on  doors  and  windows  ;  superficially  the  prettiest 
place  I  had  yet  seen  in  Africa.  But  its  streets  were  crooked, 
narrow,  dirty,  hot,  and  fetid,  and  crowded  with  strings  of 
camels  plying  between  the  town  and  the  camps  outskle,  often 
ridden  by  an  English  soldier  or  jack  tar,  or  occasionally  by  s 
turbaned  and  belted  Arab  chieftain  bristling  with  scimetar, 
daggers,  and  pistols.  The  natives  were  fbte-looking  people, 
whom  one  respected  at  first  sight ;  they  were  '  firiendliei.  of 
course,  and  showed  us  their  spears  and  shields  with  a  proud 
defiant  air  as  they  chaffed  the  Britons.  The  townspeople 
appeared  happy  and  contented ;  men,  women,  and  the  beautiful 
chocolate-coloured  babies  who  ran  about  with  nothing  on. 
In  the  sea  between  Suakin  and  its  suburb  £1-Khaf  were 
merry  companies  of  men  and  women  bathing,  laughing,  and 
enjoying  thr  sunshine. 

El-Khaf,  the  suburb  on  the  mainland,  was  that  half-moon- 
shaped  portion  of  land  which  was  marked  oft  from  ihe  si  irround- 
ing  desert  by  a  high  enclosing  wall.  It  was  perhaps  Miae  six 
times  the  size  of  Suakin  itself,  but  was  only  partirjly  built 
upon ;  the  buildings  resembled  those  in  Suakin,  though  in  a 
meaner  way,  and  there  were  large  open  spaces  beyond  the 
houses.  Neither  the  city  nor  its  suburb  had  any  gardens  or 
trees  beyond  an  occasional  dry,  dusty,  ragged  palm;  the  whole 
did  not  contain  a  bush  over  twelve  feet  in  leight ;  yet  the 
white  marble-like  houses  redeemed  many  defects  and  gave  an 
attractive  air  to  both  Suakin  and  El-Kh^.f. 

The  rampart  which  enclosed  El-Khaf  was  high,  bastioned 
and  crenellated,  and  was  pierced  by  several  gates  leading  out 
to  the  plain  beyund.  Inside  it  swarmed  with  soldiers  and 
native  population,  all  unarmed  except  the  friendlies  and  the 
war  correspondents,  among  whom  I  met  Bennett  Burleigh 
busy  collecting  news.  But  outside  the  rampart  everything 
was  utter  barrenness  and  aridness,  there  was  not  a  green  leaf 
visible,  even  in  what  had  been  Osinan  Digna's  garden,  which 
was  represented  by  a  ruined  enclosure  and  a  single  bush  of 
the  cotton  plant. 

Looking  from  the  ramparts  of  El-Khaf  one  saw  a  series  of 
redoubts  resembling  chalets,  loopholed  for  musketry,  about 
a  mile  from  the  rampart,  each  of  them  standing  solitary  in 
the  desert ;  while  a  mile  or  two  farther  out  towards  the  west, 
and  about  a  mile  apart  from  one  another,  were  the  two  Water 
Forts,  something  like  wedding  cakes,  and  hence  most  striking 
and  conspicuous  constructions  tis  they  appeared  far  out  in 
the  desert. 


EGYPTIAN  WAR  „ 

•J^  i^i."^^  Pj*'"  °"^'^"'  El-Khaf,  .t  the  time  of  my 
or.l  Fn^fi  P""**  T-  r*"**"***  ^  ""  innumerable  tenU 
or  tne  English  amy,  which  turrounded  the  suburb  on  all  sidei 
excepting  on  the  south,  where  the  camps  were  those  of  the 
Indian  auxil«nes.  The  whole  formed  groups  or  villages  of 
canvas  rather  too  widely  apart  for  safety,  as  It  seemed  to  me  j 
nvf,in  lH"*"  '"  """'.'l"  cavalry  in  another;  engineers 
marine.,  bearer  companies,  and  field  hospitals  formed  yet 
n^"  ;  most  conspicuous  was  the  tent  of  the  field  hospital 

&t  ""  »'J:'"  '  ^«  "'*•"  ''»  "*■  ««"■  On«  other  giSup, 
and  It  was  the  least  protected,  though  not  far  from  the  4ntre 

JJL  -  .  headquarters,  where  tb-  (general  and  heads  of 
departments  were  concentrated  for  consuJUtion  and  co- 
operation. One  thmg  particularly  struck  m«,  as  it  did  in 
subsequent  campaigns,  namely  that  it  is  usually  our  British 
way  to  locate  the  hospiwi  contingent  in  the  most  exposed 
and  dangerous  quarter  of  the  camp. 

hr^St^K "  i"l!  **r?'  ''^^  "»*  '  "I'tch  with  earthen 
breastwork,  the  latter  being  on  the  inner  side,  and  some  two 
feet  only  in  height.  Within  it  sentries  pavioUed  at  night" 
m^ft^*'  Jf  hundred  yard,  beyond  it  were  the  alrSdy 
mentioned  redoubts  where  outposts  and  sharpshootera 
watcn«^  during  the  dark  hours  trrepel  the  pr3  nr«nd 
marauding  parties  of  the  Arabs.  *^       "ng  ana 

^^^^  'he  lines  and  among  the  groups  of  tents  were 

Z^  fl  'm  vt  i.  •'°'""'  ?'"''**"'  '"  '«»»•  «»"  cooking  pota 
over  field  kitchen-trenches,  officers  and  soldiers  standtog 
about  m  every  sort  of  undress,  mostly  in  boots,  shirts,  and 
trousers  only,  with  unshaven  faces  and  pipes  in  their  mout™ 

mSLrfi^r^^i^r;''"*"'^  "^'  '^«  *°o  ""*''•  Mounted 
orderlies  of  Sikh  lancers  rode  about  with  messages,  with  their 
long  spears  and  small  pennants  flying  from  thi  points  ;  and 
busy  men  were  wntmg  in  the  tents  sending  or  receiving  orders 
while  wagons  stood  about,  and  a  printing  press  wagon  was  at 
"*  D^.rin^P.r'"^  '"^f  clusterof  tents  forming  the  he^quaAe^ 
Dunng  the  couple  of  days  in  which  I  continued  to  live  in 
h^.Tf  ''"*  the  <?«««  I  had  opportunities  of  explorii^g 
the  coast  for  several  mUes  around  Suakin,  and  with  all  iti 
barrenness  found  ,t  most  attractive.  The  enormous  plain. 
?he  nn,^".?  f"' cight  or  ten  miles  inland  and  for  fifty  or  more  t,^ 

coral.  When  walking  along  it,  the  foot  crushed,  not  earth 
and  stones,  but  stalks,  bunches,  fragments,  and  d Jst  of  white 
conJ  of  many  sorts  and  the  clear  sea  water  that  washed  the 

^.^n. T/"L°/  ^"^f  T'^  °^  ^^^  «""«'  *hile  over  its 
shining  white  bottom  played  bright-coloured  fishes  resembling 


I-  ,1  ii 


13    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

iMge  perch  and  mMkercl,  gnen  eels,  or  bbck-qwtted  imiUler 
fry.  Along  the  shallow  imugins  sUlked  inow-white  cranes 
upon  their  long  black  legs,  or  lines  of  pink-white  flamingoee 
stood,  and  tiny  waders  like  sandpipers  hopped  about  afeng 
the  edges,  making  everything  cheery  with  their  piping  twitter 
and  plaintive  cries.  Curlews  with  their  king  curved  beaks 
•oared  overhead,  ak)ng  -vith  fine  hawks  and  seagulls,  kurger 
then  our  home  birds,  more  splendki,  and  altogether  different. 
The  tide,  as  it  rose  and  fell  for  a  foot  or  two,  left  a  border 
where  hermit  crabs  crept  about,  and  a  larger  species  of  crab 
with  long  legs  ran  so  fast  into  the  rathole  which  it  dug  close 
to  the  water  that  one  could  not  get  en  opportunity  of  securing 
it  for  examination.  Farther  inland  the  plain  was  bare,  with 
sparse  tufts  of  a  short  fleshy-l'  ved  shrub  reminding  one  of 
a  heather-dotted  moor  on  the  S,  Msh  uplands,  but  the  folia^ 
had  the  shape  of  berries  or  smuii  sausages,  and  was  dull  m 
colour,  and  occasionally  purple.  Numbers  of  little  ants  ran 
busily  about,  and  crowned  hoopoes  were  busied  in  feeding  on 
the  apparently  sterile  surface. 

It  was  somewhat  dangerous  to  extend  one's  explorations, 
for  the  Arabs  were  said  to  be  occupying  some  wells  not  far 
bom  the  town,  ind  we  were  told  that  it  was  contemplated 
to  attack  them  there  at  once,  and  drive  them  if  possible  back 
to  the  fortiued  town  of  Sinkat,  where  the  most  serious  work 
of  assaulting  them  in  their  stronghoW  was  anticipated.  If 
this  were  the  case,  my  arrival  at  Suakin  was  in  the  very  nick 
of  time. 

On  directing  my  steps  back  to  the  c«  mps  I  met  and  received 

a  kind  welcome  from  man>  friends.  Surgeon  James  P at 

the  Marine  Battalion  Camp,  Surgeon-Major  E ,  D  .  A , 

Secretary  to  the  Principal  Medical  Officer.  Surgeon-BIajorW 

of  the  Firct  Bearer  Company,  and  the  P.M.O.  himself.  Dr. 
Bamett,  who  took  me  along  to  Y  -adquarters,  mtroduced  n  - 
to  most  of  the  staff  there,  and  promised  to  arrange  about  my 
tent,  ratu>ns,  etc.,  and  to  see  if  a  hor  e  could  be  procured, 
though  horses  and  saddlery  were  things  uncommonly  difficult 
to  be  got  hold  of  in  Suakin.  A  telegram  also  reached  me 
from  Mr.  Harrington  Kennett  in  Cairo,  to  say  that  he  was 
oominK  through  in  a  couple  of  days  and  wished  me  to  join  the 
National  Aid  Society  under  him.  Dr.  Bamett  attached  me 
to  the  First  Bearer  Company,  so  Mohammed  and  I  transported 
my  belongings  to  the  extreme  north-west  comer  of  the  lines, 

where  Surgeon-Major  Wilson,  with  his  colleagues  Drs.  B 

ftnd  C and  Quartermaster  T- ,  gave  me  a  friendly 

reception  and  shared  with  me  their  mess  and  tent. 

I  can  even  now  vividly  recall  the  pure  delight,  such  as  life 


EGYPTIAN  WAR  ,3 

ftrthert  corner  of  the  low  bre«itwork  of  the  ounp  whenaJI 

dwert  on  wUch  we  looked,  w>tching  the  purpling  «unset  ikT 
wnammted  by  the  hori*,ntally  pbced  SwEent  of  tS  new 
moon  Acting  bo-t-lik.  .bout  thirty  degre^i^ve  the  h^n 
U.  convexity  directed  rtraight  ioi^warf..  Sowfng  m  i! 
brUl..nt  green  .gainst  the  coloured  heaven,,  with  tie  .tu' 
Itthter  green  dwc  of  it«  unilluinin.ted  side  ..  .  faint  circle 
?£  «1?J'  K*"  »i?"  """"Jl^l  and  the  .ky  d  Jkened  IS 
ih^rrTL  ^».»»'™<»  ^.  *ith  bUck  flgutei  flitting  .cZ 

.  T"to  ~,^  '"I!f »  "•'"•'t?  """^  *•"=  «™«1»  ««»"«».  till  •" 
»      'torepoM.    The  Gre.tBe.rw..  out  of  sight  in  the  north" 

Ji.To'v'li!::^"''  «•'"='?  W-B'  »«»  «"'th«'n  Scottish  sky  "we,; 
nght  overhe.d,  .nd  m  their  accustomed  place  on  the  southeni 
honitn  W.8  the  Southern  Cross.  "outnem 

Next  day  promised  to  be  a  stirring  one,  and  we  were  to 
.natch  only  a  short  sleep  in  our  dothS,  yrt  sl~p  Hng^  ^ 

l^tU^C'*'  *^'»k"*  '^^r'^^m  the  moon  d^^'tte 
western  hills  and  the  stars  blaze  brighter,  till  the  constant 
challenge  of  the  sentinels  m^  fainter  and  ibUvion  s^fn    "* 


■'  ;jiii 


VI 

TTLK  or  Hashezm 

Tm  next  mcniing,  ,    'day,  the  20th  Jfarch.  wc  w(      aroused 

at  four  o'ckMsk,  wasl  i  and   breakfasted  by  cTnUieriThtln 

our  tent    .uckled  on  our  belts  and  revolvers,  ^  weU  as  oir 

out     The  whole  camp  was  m  a  bustle  ;  in  the  dark  men  w«e 
oadmg  up  the  mules  and  camels,  saddling  the  ho^s    and 

Umg  m  to  their  companies  and  regiments  in  r^^nU 
snouts  and  bugle  calls.  '^Soon  all  was™  for  tK^  '" 

hu?  V  "v.*""^^  *•'!  f^*  ^"'  Company  were  aUmou^^ed 
but  Mol«mmed  and  I  went  on  foot,  a^d  along  w.th  ?he  oth*; 
bodies  of  men  we  marched  out  to  the  plain  beyond  thl  ^»™^ 
just  as  it  became  light,  and  were  thereKS  altriZ 
before  advancing  towards  the  mountains.    There  must  haCe 

stood  m  the  rear  we  cou  d  see  far  awav  on  the  rioht  n,.  .„,    j 
regiments  on  foot,  their  bearer  company  under  Dr.  E— 


I     . 


'I      \m 


14    REMINISCENCE    OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

behind  them  with  the  baggage,  and  our  own  company  on  the  left 
behind  the  Guards  Regiments,  to  whom  it  had  been  attoched. 
But  instead  of  the  clean  trim  unifonns,  handsome  war  array, 
and  music,  to  which  one  was  used  at  home,  nearly  all  the 
British  troops  were  clad  in  the  then  uncommon  brown  cotton 
(khaki),  dirty  and  worn  untidily  as  the  men  pleased,  with 
unshaven  chins  and  unwashed  faces,  set  oft  by  OMasional 
blue  spectacles.  The  rough  men  and  badly  groomed  horses 
conveyed  something  of  ^he  impression  of  a  lot  of  day-latourers 
rather  than  of  soldiers;  the  only  reaUy  picturesque  fellows 
were  those  of  the  Indian  contingent,  dressed  m  flowmg  jackets, 
putties,  or  leggings,  and  turbans;  and  one  remarked  that 
the  turbans  of  their  cavalry  had  enwound  in  them  the  circles 
of  steel  as  large  and  broad  as  reaping  hooks.  Superficially 
everything  was  untidy  and  disorderly ;  but  the  underlying 
reality  belied  this  appearance,  for  the  men  stood  firm  and 
steady  in  their  ranks,  were  well  armed,  and  behaved  excellently. 

Presently  the  line  moved  forwards,  and  in  the  clear  cool 
morning  air  walked  on  for  many  miles,  halting  occasionally 
to  rest  the  men,  and  after  some  hours  we  approached  the 
hills.  As  we  were  advancing,  the  plain,  which  was  at  first 
sandy  and  bare,  became  broken  up  by  ravines  and  pnckly 
bushes ;  then  it  became  hard  and  stony,  the  coral  giving 
place  to  rocks  and  stones,  with  shrubs,  at  first  small  gorse- 
iike  bushes,  which  became  higher  till  they  were  thickets  of 
mimosa,  flat-topped  and  ten  feet  high,  among  which  every 
man  wound  his  way  as  b^t  he  could,  so  that  our  ranks  were 
broken,  and  the  various  companies  got  greatly  mixed.  Every 
now  and  then  there  occurred  a  pause  to  re-form  in  order. 

Signs  of  caution  now  began  to  be  evident  in  the  method  of 
advance.  The  cavalry  rode  forward  and  passed  singly  or 
in  small  groups  between  the  trees  considerably  ahead  of  us ; 
signalling  now  and  then  with  flags  from  the  top  of  small 
eminences  as  to  what  they  saw  or  heard.  According  to  the 
signals  we  followed  and  reached  the  base  of  the  nearest  of 
the  hills,  named  Dihilbat,  as  I  was  told,  about  eight  or  ten 
miles  from  Suakin.  It  may  have  been  a  couple  of  hundred 
feet  high,  seemed  isolated  from  the  other  hills,  and  had  some 
structure  resembling  a  rude  hut  on  the  top.  A  solitary 
horseman  was  detached,  and  sent  up  to  ascertain  whether  any 
of  the  Arabs  were  there ;  and  it  was  a  fascination  for  the 
whole  force  below  to  watch  with  breathless  interest  this 
one  man  as  he  climbed  en  his  horse  up  the  steep  bare  sides 
of  the  hill  in  zig-zags,  so  as  to  explore  every  hollow  for  hidden 
foes.  We  expected  every  moment  to  see  him  shot  down, 
but  no  shot  was  fired  and  no  enemy  seen,  and  he  eventually 


EGYPTIAN  WAR 


"5 


f,^t.    f  ^°l  °'  '•''.•''"■    Next  other  horsemen,  to  the 
number  of  perhaps  a  dozen,  crept  similarly  up,  joined  him 

The  Arabs  had  abandoned  their  outpost  there,  left  the  smal 
back  mto  the  mtenor  of  the  mountains  '""ner 

«nH  i^"*i'l'*  jT  *"?''  P'""*  "••"«  «  company  of  engineers 
and  camels  loaded  w.th  timber,  went  up  to  the  top  of  Sai 
to  construct  a  walled  fort  and  strong  redoubt  there    and 
General  Graham,  with  some  artillerymen  and  three^'nons 
«™'"«f  temporarily  to  watch  and  direct  turihe^e^Z      ' 
w.t^!ft       °^'"'  ''J^^  ^^^  exception  of  the  baggage  which 
two  ^;Z?     """*  if  °  "  Bquare-the  bearer  compf  nies  and 
two  Gardner  guns  m  the  centre,  the  sides  and  front  formed  of 
regiments  of  mfantry  and  the  Guards  under  Gen^lp,^ 
mantle-and  it  advanced  into  the  defiles  betweS^X  hUls 
fur  some  other  four  miles  through  rather  more^t^n  JSuntiv 
As  we  marched  we  often  started  game  :  hares  raram~»g  «„; 
feet ;   p.geons  and  larger  birds  fluttered  overhead  •   and  vet 
higher  up  circled  hawks  and  vultures  on  the  outT^k  for  fo^ 
Among  the  Guards  one  noted  now,  for  the  first  time,  a  st^t 
old  gentleman  in  plain  clothes,  on  horseback,   said  to  ^ 
J;?     ^I~'.?  ^°"^'"'  •»'°"«'  °f  *•>«  Guards,  who  had  defied 
a    considerations  of  age  and  prudence  m  order  to  ac^mpan  v 
tas  beloved  regiment  to  the  field.    Meantime  theTvalrv 
rode  ah«»d  and  far  out  on  either  side,  scouting  and  sigSaHin^ 
and  in  and  out  among  the  mimosa  trees  we  walked^  r^f' 
seeing  very  little  but  the  hills  on  all  sides.    E^n  the  inte^st' 
however,  in  the  events  which  aU  now  felt  to  be  im^nding^uy 
r^unS      T.^  divert  our  minds  from  the  attra^ive  Es 
around.    It  was  a  beautiful  cool  forenoon,  and  manv  Drettv 
blossoms  began  to  bestrew  our  path.    A  yelW-floO 
shrub,  with  blossoms  like  small  roL,  and  lar^^ff  lZ« 

w^ermi^r Jiirx  -z^^^^d^^ 

outspread  in  umbrella  form,  prevented  ouTsilngTore^^w 
tt.an  two  hills   or  rather  twin  conical  peaks,  in  fro^^f  us 

te  l^nf  n  r^r*^  K*""*  'H  "  8°'8«  *°  '^'  northw^rS  lay  ?he 
wells  of  Deberet,  where  the  Arabs  were  lying  in  wait  for  us 
having  concentrated  as  they  fell  hack.^A^  yet  however' 
not  an  enemy  was  seen,  the  silence  was  absolute  and  we 
slowly  advanced   until  we  were  halted   at  tl^  f^t  of  th^ 

S"h  PP'=^  l?!i''  ^™  ^°"'  ''™'J'«1  f«et  hSi,  which  was 
called  Hamob  Adarob.    The  stony  ground  we%to^  on  was 


'■  I'il 


.     ■*> 


i6    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

almost  flat,  with  considerably  less  bush  and  more  open  spaces, 
in  which  were  growing  wild  govuds  and  tniiling  plants  with 
large  melon-like  fruits. 

At  this  point  our  force  was  divided.  A  portion  was  sent 
to  the  northward  to  the  village  and  wells  of  Deberet,  which 
was  found  deserted ;  they  formed  square  there,  but  I  under- 
stood they  sustained  no  attack.  Some  skirmishers  were 
sent  out,  also  to  the  north,  to  occupy  a  little  hill ;  it  too  was 
unoccupied  by  the  enemy ;  in  fact  no  Arabs  were  to  be  seen 
at  all.  Next  our  square  moved  forward  to  attack  the  double- 
pointed  hill,  and  the  Marines  along  with  some  of  the  Sikh 
infantry  were  thrown  out  to  ascend  its  nearer  side.  Up  this 
they  slowly  climbed  in  skirmishing  order  to  the  nearer  summit, 
which  was  separated  from  the  farther  and  higher  one  by  a 
valley.  They  went  ever  upwards,  without  a  shot  being 
fired,  and  we  watched  them  intently  until  they  had  reached 
the  crest  and  began  to  show  above  it ;  when  all  at  once  the 
stillness  of  nature  and  the  tension  of  expectation  were  broken 
by  tremendous  volleys  of  musketry  from  the  Remington 
rifles  of  the  Arabs  who,  -  >  far  as  I  could  judge,  in  a  force 
of  several  hundreds,  occupied  the  farther  crest  beyond  the 
valley  which  was  now  wreathed  in  clouds  of  smoke  from  the 
discharges. 

Dr.  B had  been  called  away  from  our  bearer  com- 
pany' to  do  duty  somewhere  else,  and  I  had  mounted  his 
horse.    I  was  riding  with  the  other  oflicers  of  my  bearer 

company  in  the  middle  of  the  square  ;  one  of  them.  Dr.  C , 

had  just  dismounted,  and  L ,  a  young  surgeon  from  one 

of  the  field  hospitals,  had  mounted  C 's  horse  and  ridden 

up  to  his  place  beside  me,  while  E of  the  Second  Bearer 

Company  had,  without  waiting  for  orders,  run  forward  to 
ascend  the  hill  and  give  his  services  to  the  Marines  and  Sikhs 
— an  act  of  splendid  promptitude. 

The  instant  the  firing  broke  out  our  square  stopped,  and 

poor  I, gave  a  loud  cry  and  fell  backwards  oft  his  horse. 

With  a  spring  like  a  cat  Sergeant  H sprang  forward  and 

caught  him  ere  he  reached  the  ground  ;  the  others  of  us  were 
down  in  an  instant,  found  he  had  been  shot  through  the  left 
breast,  dressed  his  wound  and  transferred  him  to  a  litter  beside 

which  I  remained  to  look  after  him,  while  W and  the  others 

hurried  off  to  attend  to  the  other  men  who  had  fallen  by  the 
same  volley  or  by  the  subsequent  shots  which  now  rolled  like 
loud  thunder  from  the  hill.  It  was  fortunate  that  the  Arabs 
fired  so  high  that  not  more  than  a  dozen  men  were  hit  in  our 
square  at  this  time. 

Hitherto  our  troops  on  the  nearer  summit  had  returned 


EGYPTIAN  WAR 


17 


no  reply  to  the  Arabs'  fire,  but  now  they  began  to  return  the 
volleys  from  the  farther  peak,  and  the  rattle  of  musketry 
contmued  from  both  sides  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  by 
which  time  our  soldiers  had  silenced  the  enemy's  fire,  and  now 
crept  down  mto  the  valley  and  up  the  other  side  to  where  the 
enemy  had  been  posted,  drove  them  from  their  positions  and 
P?"""™*™*  into  them  as  they  retreated  down  the  back  of  the 
u-lri.  J  '"*  *°  ***"■  opponents  firing  so  high  our  men  on  the 
hUl  had  none  seriously  injured,  but  the  Arabs  suffered  heavily 
and  left  many  of  their  dead  upon  the  mountain. 

During  this  engagement  our  cavalry,  the  Bengal  Lancers, 
had  gone  round  to  the  back  or  south  of  the  hill  to  cut  off  the 
enemy,  but  found  themselves  engaged  there  by  the  Arabs 
descending  from  the  hill  and  another  strong  body  at  ite  foot  • 
and  immediately  we  saw  our  horsemen  fleeing  back  like  chaff 
before  the  chargmg  enemy,  entirely  .lable  to  face  the  onset 
of  these  agile  footmen  among  the  ocnse  thorny  trees.  The 
fugitives  came  rushing  into  our  square,  bearing  some  of  their 

wounded,  one  of  whom,  Y  -  ior  R ,  was  speared  through  the 

right  thigh,  and  many  both  men  and  horses  bore  spear 
wounds,  fortunately  not  of  great  severity.  The  cavalry  had 
no  sooner  entered  the  square  than  the  Arabs,  who  were  now 
being  fired  down  upon  by  our  soldiers  on  the  hill,  appeared  in 
pursuit,  and  fell  like  a  flood  on  the  southern  side  of  the  square 
which  received  them  with  volleys  from  their  rifles  and  dis- 
charges growlmg  out  from  the  Gardner  guns,  though  the  latter 
soon  became  choked  ;  but  the  reception  was  too  much  for  the 
enemy,  and  they  retreated  without  being  able  to  break  the 
square. 

I  was  at  the  north-eastern  comer  of  the  square  while  this 
charge  took  place,  and  did  not  see  much  of  the  repulse,  as  I 

was  busied  with  L and  Major  R and  attending  to 

others,  but  when  I  went  to  see  if  any  more  of  the  wounded  had 
not  received  attention,  I  witnessed  a  body  of  some  thousands 
of  Arabs  come  pouring  towards  our  square  from  the  bush  on 
the  north,  and  as  the  front  rank  of  our  soldiers  knelt  down 
to  Are,  one  could  perceive  the  spaces  between  the  trees  whence 
they  were  emerging  black  with  dancing  figures  rushing  on 
and  leaping  from  bush  to  bush  like  an  inky  flood.  Into  these 
masses  our  men  poured  their  fire,  and  the  impetuosity  of  the 
cha^  diminished,  so  that  by  the  time  they  had  come  within  a 
hundred  yards  they  were  mostly  mown  down  by  the  tremendous 
hail  of  bullets.  At  last  only  a  few  crouching  bounding  figures 
were  seen,  as  they  plunged  sideways  into  cover ;  then  there 
were  none  at  all.  Our  musketry  ceased  as  they  fell  before  the 
withering  storm  of  balls. 


,1    :■  If 

.  1 

m 


m! 


18    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

In  the  midst  of  the  smoke  of  the  rifles  (for  in  this  war  only 
black  pow  er  war  as  yet  in  use)  and  the  dust  raised  by  the 
striking  bullets  and  the  falling  bodies  and  rushing  feet,  I  saw 
one  brave  act  done.  A  handsome  Arab  chief  riding  a  beautiful 
horse  dis"iounted  in  the  thick  of  the  slaughter,  picked  up  a 
wounded  comrade,  set  him  behind  him  on  his  horse,  and  amid 
showers  of  balls  p  de  up  a  slight  eminence  and  disappeared 
^-ith  him  into  the  bush.  Some  of  our  men  cheered  him  as  he 
escaped,  and  so,  very  herrtily,  did  I. 

In  these  charges  on  the  square  there  was  very  little  flrinc 
by  the  Arabs  from  their  rifles.  Only  the  leaders  appeared 
to  carry  lireurms.  One  Arab  boy  of  about  twenty,  clearly  a 
chief  among  them,  was  conspicuously  mounted  on  a  fine  white 
ramel,  and  showed  great  heroism  in  leading  them  on.  He  was 
shot  through  the  fleshy  part  of  both  thighs,  and  feU  so  close  to 
the  square  that  his  followers  did  not  dare  to  attempt  to  rescue 
hun.  When  he  fell  his  camel  bounded  away  at  great  speed, 
and  was  seen  for  some  time  leaping  over  the  bushes  as  it  made 
iu  ^^y- Pr°baWy  wounded  like  its  master,  along  the  slope  of 
the  hiU  to  the  north  of  us.  The  rider  was  presently  piaked  up, 
broupht  into  the  square,  and  after  his  Remington  rifle,  spear, 
shield,  and  a  couple  of  cartridges  had  been  taken  from  hiniand 
he  had  been  searched  for  other  weapons,  and  those  he  had 
conflsrated  as  trophies  by  some  of  his  captors,  his  wounds 
were  dressed  and  he  was  conveyed  along  with  our  own 
wounded  to  a  military  hospital  in  Suakin,  where  he  recovered 
ana  was  eventually  set  free. 

When  the  roar  of  the  rifles  from  the  mountain,  multiplied 
by  the  reverberations  from  the  surrounding  hills,  broke  out 
so  suddenly,  and  one  charge  on  the  square  was  followed  by 
the  other,  it  was  cunous  to  watch  the  behaviour  of  the  different 
persons.  Our  officer^  rode  about  or  stood  quite  calm  and 
apparently  unconcerned  ;  many  of  the  soldiers  ducked  their 
heads  when  a  stray  bullet  whizzed  past  them;  while  the 
Hindoo  porters  and  doolie  bearers  (litter  carriers)  crouched 
flat  down  in  rows  behind  the  bushes  or  in  the  slight  hollows  of 
the  ground,  remmding  one  of  figs  in  a  box  or  salmon  in 
a  pool. 

The  main  attack  having  been  repulsed,  the  Arabs  ventured 
only  now  and  then  to  re-advance,  and  some  volleys  of  musketry 
were  necessary  to  check  them  ;  but  their  '  snipers '  (a  term 
that  had  not  then,  I  think,  come  into  use)  kept  up  individual 
firing  from  the  bushes  and  thickets,  which  seemed  to  do  more 
harm  to  wagons  and  htters  than  to  men  and  horses.  We  had 
I™1„"?K  J^^  more  particularly  to  our  wounded.  especiaUy 
among  the  Sikhs  who  had  been  brought  into  our  square  ;  and 


EGYPTIAN  WAR 


'eYveTrn'=S°«t4*:S°  ^X'  °'5-'  "-«• '-«.' 
of  them  had  se„*t  to^ne  ont  illustr^"''''  ^°""''  "«'  °"« 
sketch  of  myself  kneelhtah^lh      ■f^.?^P'^  '"  ^"don  a 

attending  to\1m      fS  ^d  t  J  th"^  fJ"^"." "«  "«" 

scenes  which  I  aftema^saw  inlSe  EnXh'1.  »* "^^  "''  "" 
were  uncommonJy  faithfnlTt^th  ^"^''^Vu'"''/"'"*  P»Pe" 
us  by  their  marLmen  for  s!me  iirnP^I! '  V  t*'' '^™^^«« 
charged  the  north-eastern  coTcr  ofVt.^^^^"  ^ 
the  positions  whence  they  ^rcome  an^  .r  "*"***=^  *° 
await  our  attacking  them  irtu™  iJ^  'i''^"'  **"""*  *» 
»ent  out  against  then,  and  the  Ap w"  ""l  ."^^whers  were 
were  tum?d  upon  them  but  th'i  ^""'  l"^  ""^  ^PP««'*d 
much  impression  beyond  comnemLTlf  "f^  ^""'^  *°^''''= 
distance.  ^        compelling  them  to  retire  for  a  little 

first -t'  haTbe'Tn'Sitd^alout^r  P-"*  °^  *"«  '^^y-  The 
twelve  so  we  tho..^f  o'^f^^^.^trbTt'  a^  T  •^'^'P-' 
visions  had  been  fo>-otten  with  f^  i'  ^^ '    °"'"   Pro- 

there  followed  a  t^iouThouf  and  a^^^f '^ '  "'^"'«'* '  «> 
broiled  in  the  sun  and  envied  thn^V^u"?  "^'''^  «« 
thought  to  provide  themselves  witwV''°>'*  *'"=  f""' 
cold  coffee.  "emseives  with  a  biscuit  or  a  flask  of 

Somewhere  about  two  o'cWW    t„«    „i     l^ 
having  been  completed  for  otupat  ?n  I^/"''*  °"   »'hilbat 
zanba  of  cut  thorn  bushed  „,T  surrounded  by  a 

The  men  on  the  h^ls  a^^tC  ,^'oTat°the''*T  "?  t^^^' 
were  withdrawn  ;  they  march^n?!f  ^  ^^^  "^  Jiebttet 
our  square  remaned  to  Sthe,tr  ^/^  *°*"'  ^^'e 
afresh, with  somecavalrvbSrerJnm^;  ^"^  "'"'*  ^°""«d  up 
No  sooner  had  it  also  _^^'^?r"'''^*=- '"'*»  interior 

turbances  bX  out  afeh  the  Ar2  "*'fu*  *•""  *»"=  di^" 
down  anew  on  our  sqvS^  'a^d  rec^t^,"  "!f  """"^  P°"««l 
Guards  faced  about,  dJ^"  hem  off^ht^,h"'"'ff^  '*•  The 
continuing  the  withdrawal  and  reTe^vi^th^'^'' '**^'*"y 
renewed  musketry  when  the  n.«h^7  *      ,    *"*'">'  with 

got  even  in  the^hiSof  Se  busT^L*';"*  '""'^  "«^" 
yards.    After  experiencing  thefn.rH     '*'*'''°,ten  or  twenty 

the  A«bs  hung^n  the^XstK^TrLt"''''  •''^^^• 
and  from  very  close  ranire  keot  i.n  7^.  r  '^^^'^'S  square 
which  men  4an  to  feff  thSL  a'^rfo^««''"8  "«*=  fi^«  under 
unpractised  ^  like  mine  t Tgan  to  l^t""""*  "J"  '^°  «" 
ugly  business,  for  the  terrific!  ho^th~-T''^'"*  '*«  »" 
hurried  forward  to  the  »fer  W  of  tL^""*^' r"*  °*''"». 
^d.  part  empty,  and  the  thinlLe  of  s^w4^^"~  i^^  '^s 
rearwaid  side,  seeing  themselves  unsup^m  '^0^^ 


,'■  H 


m  'J 


'!]', 


ao    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

deserted,  oommenoed  also  to  hasten  their  steps  and  bulge 
inwards,  so  that  it  appeared  as  if  a  breach  in  the  formation 
were  about  to  follow.  The  numbers  of  the  wounded  oom- 
menced  to  increase  rapidly,  and  we  of  the  bearers  were  speedily 
taxed  to  the  utmost  of  our  capacity,  and  all,  men  and  officers 
alike,  had  to  lend  a  hand  along  with  other  soldiers  in  carrying 
the  stretchers.  The  Arabs  still  firing  high,  most  of  the  casual- 
ties took  place  among  the  mounted  men.  When  matters  were 
really  looking  queer,  a  halt  was  called,  the  square  was  re- 
formed, and  the  field  guns  from  a  small  eminence  opened  with 
shrapnel  upon  all  the  groups  of  Arabs  who  could  be  espied. 
This  gained  us  time  to  look  properly  after  our  dead  and  wounded 
and  get  them  transferred  to  the  ambulance  carts  and  litters. 
The  Arabs  appeared  to  have  suffered  severely  on  the  whole 
and  to  have  been  taught  a  lesson,  for  they  now  desisted  from 
their  attempts  to  break  the  square,  gave  over  their  firing,  and 
the  rest  of  the  march  to  Dihilbat  was  accomplished  in  quiet 
and  at  leisure.  When  Dihilbat  was  reached  we  observed  that 
the  smart  engineers  had  already,  in  the  few  hours  since  we 
had  passed,  crowned  it  with  no  fewer  than  four  forts  of  stone 
roofed  with  wood,  and  made  a  strong  zariba  at  a  distance 
round  it,  leaving  a  clear  zone  of  fire  for  its  defenders,  for  in  it 
were  now  left  a  large  number  of  troops  with  provisions  and 
artillery.  While  waiting  for  the  completioi  of  these  arrange- 
ments we  found  our  luncheons,  and  as  the  labours  of  forti- 
fication were  being  completed  we  watched  some  of  the  artillery 
below  making  beautiful  practice  on  black  groups  of  the  enemy 
on  the  hills  around,  bursting  their  shells  right  over  them  and 
leaving  sprawling  masses  bestrewing  the  ground  whence  the 
survivors  were  in  flight. 

The  rest  of  the  day  was  less  rich  in  military  events.  We 
marched  slowly  homewards  across  the  dusty  desert  and  reached 
camp  just  as  night  fell.    I  visited  the  base  hospital  to  see 

how  Dr.  T and  Surgeon  T disposed  of  the  wounded 

there ;  I  saw  their  reception,  their  being  skilfully  cared  for 
and  put  into  the  tents  by  kind  and  gentle  hands,  all  of  which 
greatly  impressed  ma;  and  then  Dr.  Wilson  and  I  walked 
home  among  the  encampments  of  the  tired  and  sleeping 
troops,  challenged  every  now  and  then  by  the  sentries,  washed 
the  grime  and  sweat  off  our  dirty  faces,  had  a  welcome  meal 
of  tea  and  dry  bread,  and  turned  in  to  sleep,  both  of  us  toler- 
ably tired  out  by  our  twenty  miles  of  walking  under  the 
tropical  sun. 


EGYPTIAN  WAR 


at 


VII 
The  Plains  abouhd  Suakin 
DuwNO  the  ten  days  that  followed  the  actions  at  Deberet 
Wells  and  theHamob  Adarob  Hills,  which  is  generally  termed 
the  battle  ot  Hasheen,  most  of  my  time  was  spent  in  studying 
the  methods  of  the  military  medical  department.  Every 
possible  fecihty  for  this  was  affoided  me  by  Dr.  Bamett,  the 
prmeipal  medical  officer,  whose  goodness  I  even  now,  after 
the  lapse  of  more  than  thirty  years,  continue  to  think  of  with 
gratitude.    He  gave  me  a  free  hand.    Though  still  attached 

to  the  bearer  company,  I  was  permitted  to  share  Dr.  B "s 

tent  m  the  base  hospital,  where  its  P.M.O.,  Dr.  T ,  with 

"^-  *^7~T  *."'*  Surgeon  T ,  received  me  most  fraternally, 

and  at  all  tunes  access  was  given  me  to  the  Gangei  hospital 
ship,  so  that  I  could  study  the  arrangements  from  the  front 
backwards. 

I  have  abeady  partially  described  the  work  at  the  ftont. 
uurmg  the  fighting  it  chieBy  consisted  in  the  application  of 
dry  antiseptic  dressings  to  the  wounds,  and  the  administra- 
tion of  morphia  hypodermically  to  reUeve  the  pain  and  permit 
of  the  wounded  being  transported.  Out  in  the  desert  there 
was  no  water,  even  the  water  bottles  Lad  long  been  emptied, 
and  as  every  appliance  had  to  be  carried  on  shoulder  haver- 
sacks, dry  antiseptic  dressings  were  the  only  possible  ones, 
and  no  others,  it  may  be  added,  could  have  given  better 
results. 

The  transport  of  the  wounded  was  a  question  which  had 
an  especial  fascination  for  me.  My  own  bearer  company 
had  only  ambulance  wagons,  much  like  those  of  the  present 

day  J    but  the  second  company,  under  Dr.  E ,  had  in 

addition  mule  cacolets  (a  sort  of  sitting  panniers),  and  camel 
litters  as  weU  as  mule  litters.  I  tried  and  was  personally 
transported  on  all  of  these,  and  the  conclusion  I  came  to  was 
that  though  cacolets  were  tolerable  for  slightly  wounded, 
and  litters  on  mule  or  camel  back  far  from  uncomfortable 
under  oidinary  conditions,  yet  for  such  country  as  existed 
round  Suakin,  roadless,  with  thorny  bushes  and  deep  gullies 
the  ambulance  wagon  was  on  the  whole  the  best  conveyanc^ 
tor  the  seriously  wounded.  Where  the  gradients  were  too 
t^at  for  the  ambulance  wagons,  the  hand  stretcher  was 
still  possible;  and  where  the  ground  was  level  and  unen- 
cumbered, most  excellent,  though  slow,  was  the  Indian  doolie 
ol  which  we  had  some,  for  the  shuffling  gait  of  the  Indians 
ahnost  elimuiated  the  unavoidable  swinging  and  jolling  of  the 


'1 


If 


i     I  " 


22    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

other  foimi  of  conveyance.  I  felt  lure  that  on  the  whole 
the  wounded  who  were  brought  back  ttom  Haiheen  in  dooliea 
»n°»n>bulance  wagons  suffered  the  least. 

The  doolie  bearers  themselves  were  a  quaint  study 
Dunng  the  day  they  squatted  together  in  one  place,  made  a 
small  enclosure  about  two  feet  across,  of  mud,  stones,  or 
empty  meat  tms,  resembling  a  child's  house,  built  a  minute 
nrq>Iacc  with  a  semicircle  of  stones,  tins,  or  such  like  materials, 
and  baked  over  a  few  sticks  laid  in  it  tempting  chupt.tties  like 
the  large  white '  baps  '  we  eat  at  breakfast  in  Scotland,  or  made 
a  stew  of  rice  and  butter.  They  would  not  eat  our  food,  but 
cooked  m  their  own  brass  pans  or  flasks  and  used  their  own 
leathern  water-bottles.  At  night,  before  they  lay  down  in 
a  heap  together,  covered  by  a  rug  or  two,  they  took  off  all 
their  clothes,  and  the  spaces  of  the  camps  were  strewn  with 
naked  black  bodies  engaged  in  cleaning  themselves. 

The  base  hospital,  into  which  the  patients  from  the  field 
were  received,  was  situated  on  a  coral  platform  ten  feet  in 
,  I"* ,  .  *'~"*  *^°  hundred  across,  a  mile  to  the  north-wost 
of  Suakm.  On  the  northern  end  of  the  platform  a  redoubt 
liad  been  constructed,  one  of  the  circle  of  outlying  defences 
beyond  the  bastions  of  El-Khaf,  and  hence  the  base  hospital 
usually  went  by  the  name  of  the  '  H  '  Redoubt.    Its  smiical 

work  was  admirably  conducted  by  Dr.  T ,  who  had  been 

sent  out  as  operator  from  Netley  Hospital,  where  he  had 
been  Assistant  Professor  of  Surgery.  His  skiU  could  haidly 
have  been  surpassed,  and  during  the  days  following  the  fight 
at  Hasheen  there  was  much  to  test  it  in  the  work  done  in 
the  operation  tent,  the  interest  of  which  sometimes  attracted 
Ijcneral  Graham  as  a  visitor.    The  medical  cases  were  under 

the  charge  of  Its  P.M.O.,  Dr.  T and  Dr.  P ,  whose 

stall  and  kindness  I  had  frequent  occasion  to  admire.  The 
comfort  of  the  patients  in  the  base  hospital  was  very  well 
cared  for,  they  were  lodged  in  large  oblong  Indian  soldiers' 
tmts.  Identical  with  those  occupied  by  the  chief  medical 
officers ;  during  the  day  the  side  curtains  were  removed 
for  coolness,  so  that  the  inmates  lay  under  the  canvas  loof 
alone,  beneath  which  the  fresh  breezes  played  over  them. 
The  junior  medical  oflicers  had  only  bell  tents.  From  che 
base  hospital  the  patients  were  evacuated  as  quickly  as 
possible  to  the  Ganges,  or  other  hospital  ships  ;  some  of  these 
cruised  about  outside  the  port  to  refresh  such  men  as  were 
likely  to  return  to  duty ;  the  severer  cases  were  taken  to 
huez,  on  their  way  home  to  England,  and  the  gravest  only 
were  retamed  m  the  base  hospital  or  on  board  the  Gong^. 
aut  however  well  affairs  were  managed  as  regards  the  patients 


EGYPTIAN  WAR  a, 

r^^k  lJ?.ilf^^^°"u.*°  ^  ""'*''''''  '^"^  «>«  by  auction 
Nrtley,  and  received  his  commission  in  the  army  medic^ll 

siiakin  my  first  considered  impressions  of  the  British  amiv 
medical  service,  and  because,  as  wUl  be  seen  lat^  thev  W 
*»me  influence  on  oy  future,  I  give  them  he«  as  they  we« 
noted  down  at  the  time.  While  it  was  impossfbie  t7,^t" 
hold  an  unstinted  admiration  of  the  qualitrof  the  m^  c«l 
officers,  non-commissioned  officers,  an3  nui^s  vet  the  '^ 
viction  forced  itself  upon  me  that  ^mewheiTthew  Us  some' 

t  o°i;rf  T  *°  P'*"'  '^''"  ^®"«"=y  in  Se  poS  Zch 
It  ought  to  have  occupied.     I  repeat  that  better  work  ~ 

^?Ln    "^  *'  circumstances,  hiTve  been  done  by  any  Cdv 
of  men  and  women  ;  but  even  at  that  time  the  med^i,^!  ^S 

^|r^-^4-XTrrs„a^^^^^^^^^ 


fi 


1 1  •    1, 

-.1  Vi 


34    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

adjuited  when  it  wai  almovt  too  ktc,  thoush  in  Egypt  this  did 
not  perhapi  nutter  lo  much  si  it  would  have  done  on  a 
greater  and  more  urgent  field  of  operationi,  against  an  enemy 
of  larger  powers  and  resources.  The  rank  and  file  of  the 
Army  Medical  Corps  were  not  of  the  class  whom  one  would 
have  liked  to  see  in  a  body  of  men  sent  out  by  Britain  to  save 
the  lives  rf  its  soldiers  in  the  flekl.  One  could  not  honestly 
call  them  the  refuse  of  the  army,  they  possessed  many  admir- 
able non-commissioned  ofBcers  and  others,  but  it  was  not 
difficult  to  detect  that  the  best  men,  physically  and  other- 
wise, were  in  the  other  branches  of  the  army,  while  it  was  the 
residuum  only  which  were  attracted  into  the  ranks  of  the 
army  medical  department. 

Again,  the  other  services  of  the  army,  the  artillery,  engineers, 
army  service  corps,  and  the  infantry,  were  polished  and 
organised  to  as  near  perfection  as  human  ingenuity  could 
ensure  it,  and  were  as  perfect  as  Britain  could  make  them, 
but  the  medical  service  fell  distinctly  behind,  suffered  con- 
sequently in  its  efficiency,  and  was  regarded  as  the  Cinderella 
of  the  army.  Its  officers  were  like  a  handfiil  of  rich  jewels 
left  neglected  and  uncared  for  in  some  repository  until  they 
should  chance  to  be  required,  while  the  other  services  were 
like  similar  gems,  valued,  polished,  and  set  in  some  gorgeous 
diadem  where  their  excellence  was  visible  to  the  whole  world. 
I  acquired  the  conviction  that  the  army  medical  service 
could  never  attain  its  rightful  position  until  it  was  put  in  a 
place  of  honour  at  least  equal  to  that  of  any  other  branch, 
until  it  was  recognised  that  the  education  and  training  of  ito 
officers  entitled  them  to  be  ranked  at  least  equally  with  the 
other  officers  in  the  fighting  forces,  until  its  ranks  were  re- 
cruited with  the  very  best  and  most  highly-classed  material 
the  country  affords,  until  their  Director-General  occupied  a 
position  equivalent  to  that  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  of 
Army,  and  until  in  fact  our  nation  had  come  to  understand 
that  it  is  not  less  important  to  save  the  lives  of  its  battle- 
worn  men  and  officers  than  to  destroy  those  of  the  enemy. 

While  I  was  c  ccupied  in  studying  medical  affairs  and  spend- 
ing my  days  between  the  bearer  company,  the  base  '  --pital, 
and  the  Ganget,  there  were  plenty  of  other  matters  of  interest 
going  on.  Opinions  had  been  freely  expressed  by  some  that 
the  battle  of  Hasheen  had  taught  a  lesson  to  the  Arabs  ;  and 
that  all  the  fight  had  gone  out  of  them  in  consequence.  But 
this  was  quickly  proved  to  be  by  no  means  the  case,  for  the 
very  night  after  Hasheen  we  were  kept  long  awake  by  the 
crash  of  rifle  volleys  from  the  redoubt  which  had  been  estab- 
lished on  Dihilbat,  showing  that  it  was  being  subjected  to  a 


EGYPTIAN  WAR  ,j 

h«i  been  foiled  •wh?oi,l.«?r»    '"?  *»"*"  «»  '•»*  «>e  ArmU 

It  W8.  not  .gafn  .^iiei   f^P'T'  '^'"  "  '"  the  morning. 

from  the  enemy  on  its  outZd  i™,™"  ""''i*?*'*  *»  «  «»«"»• 

WM  mided  almoit  nSitlv  ,m.n  ™^^"  V'l  •*•"?  '*'*'^  "'^ 
in  the  dark  through  £twLT»i\S3t!  °'  *5'  ^"^  «'*«?'"« 
up  individual,  o'smau^un.^""''*""'^  ""''■«■  «"tting 
them  atowst  to  Piec^  wiS«feirl T''  "'»•«'"«•  WkinJ 
and  doing  their  work^iT-iStlv  wSh  f  '^.~»»-'"'ndled  .words! 
whieh  dS  not  cTduci  to  iuirt^Wn"r«-  ^''™» '  «^'"t« 
ventured  to  undress,  ^^^1  . n  ?  °f  "'«5"''  »"  '^at  few 
might  chance  to  o"ur  ^     '  ''"P*  ''"^y  '"'  wUtever 

ft'S«X"'oTl!'m™"'''^K!L""°"«'  """^"y  of  the  enemy 
ford^uSiTith  tt^'Si'^  P'es^ntly  toV  elaSS 

wilway  from  the  doS"  J^!  ??*T'  '^*"«"  °'  constructing  . 
was  pressed^on,  a'^d  f^^  *•"  '^•*^  *»''«=  Nile  at  B^ 
«fctyof  the  wirkbV^.V.N?"'^""  "  '""^  *°  "»"«  the 
of  it  which  w«  bSS/^L  t'  r*  °l'*;*'°"«  '*">  portion 
Ot««>.  along  a  ^  ff  ^f^J''"**"^"  ''y  H«ndoi^  and 
north-west  Since^jJ^  tr,i!.??T'u''"*  *«"  """«»  to  the 
be  Stationed  at  TamaU  ^uTflft^,"'''  -^^  ''"  »*'«^«1  to 
another  and  stronge.  ?oJ«^f^  "'"''" *° ^'"^  «'"t''-west, 

upon  it  and  giHto  &  the~"15±f~''y  '"  '"^^''n™ 
necessary  to  Sinkat  Tn^Thl,  J^ere,  proceedmg  ufterwaids  if 
mountal  t:e^''r:Z't' ^^I'^J^"^  ''y  t"^<"^  the 
this  last  direction  was  exnect^^!,  k^Iw?™"'-  ^"<=^s  '" 
en»,y  i„  this  part  oTthe  Kn        ^"^  ""'  P"''"  °^  'he 

ligi^""  ^i^^'^'^Vef Lrir^  ^ "  ^  <'»y  =  - 

al»o  on  the  open  plain  where  tC  1°"'''  °"  ^^'  ^'^"'  h"t 
"ted  by  shells  flyiSg  "eld  tl  H  M  Tn"  °^^"^  P""'''"' 
Poups  of  Aiabs  sDiedf.v„«kr"-^-^'''P*'"' aimed  at 
»^ryice  was  startto^i'^^i/^^p'^  *T-,  °"''  T?*'  Sunday 
^siting  the  base  hosp/tel  h^^tl^™  ^"^^  """^  '  had  been 
the  forenoon  to  the  Zp  whL  tW  •""%  "•«*  ^™t  on  in 
^nch.  We  learned  ?£t  ou'f^end  T*^  "'  V""^  ^o^ 
gone  out  in  the  morning  with  a  pTrti  „  u  ~~  ^~7-'  ^"^ 
who  were  preparing  thf  wax-  fJ^  a  **"'''"     *"^  others. 


'  !i'i 


rj.    I 


II  ! 


Ih 


36    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

oominuid  of  G«ncnl  M'Neill,  and  hence  the  larifa*  wm  bv 
lome  called  Baker'i,  by  other*  M'NeiU'i  wrib*.  I  ihaU 
continue  to  call  it  by  the  latter  name.  The  lervice  was  con- 
ducted by  an  army  chaplain  and  wai  approaching  iti  eonehi- 
(ion  when  an  immenne  bunt  of  firing  became  audible  away 
to  the  aouth-west,  while  over  the  top  of  the  buih  there  rose 
gnat  cloudfi  of  amoke  and  duat,  and  theie  continued  to  loud 
and  long  that  there  remained  no  doubt  that  a  very  lerious 
battle  was  taking  place.  Wilion  hurried  out  of  his  bathroom 
and  we  both  hastened  out  to  the  camp,  where  we  learned 
that  a  considerable  engagement  had  indeed  been  going  on, 
that  many  fresh  troops  !<ad  been  ordered  out  to  the  lariba, 
and  that  consequently  a  few  only  were  left  to  guard  the  camp. 
We  were  all  preparing  to  withdraw  for  the  night  into  one  of 
the  forts,  leaving  thi^  tents  and  baggage  to  take  their  chance, 
when  we  saw  the  reinforcements  returning  and  learnt  that 
there  had  been  a  gieat  fight,  but  no  seriou<)  disaster.  Their 
report  was  that  t)ie  forces  at  the  zariba  had  been  heavily 
attacked  from  the  bush,  but  had  inflicted  very  severe  loss  upon 
the  enemy ;  so  that,  when  the  relief  column  had  arrived,  they 
were  found  not  tC'  have  been  required,  and  returned  to  Suakin 
to  man  the  camps  there. 

A  party  which  had  gone  to  fortify  Handoub,  in  the  opposite 
direction,  had  simultaneously  been  attacked,  but  not  so 
seriously. 

Straggling  fugitives  tiom  M'Neill's  zariba  dribbled  in  during 
the  evening,  some  of  whom  had  barely  escaped  with  their  lives. 
An  Irishman,  an  officer  of  the  medical  department,  was  un- 
armed when  the  onslaught  happened,  but  contrived  to  possess 
himself  of  an  axe  with  which  the  bush  was  being  cut  down, 
defended  himself  with  it  so  effectually  as  to  have  killed  and 
disabled  the  Arabs  who  assailed  him,  and  succeeded  in  fleeing 
back  to  Suakin  in  a  half-mad  condition  fh>m  the  excitement 
and  perils  he  had  undergone.  Wounded  were  also  brought 
back,  and  by  piecing  together  the  accounts  obtained  from  these 
sources  the  following  version  of  the  battle  came  to  be  generally 
accepted  in  the  camp  as  being  as  nearly  as  possible  the  true 
narrative  of  what  had  occurred  at  the  zariba.  The  column 
which  had  been  despatched  to  occupy  it  had  reached  it  without 
any  adventures,  and  a  portion  of  the  force  was  retained  under 
arms  while  others  were  sent  to  cut  down  the  surrounding 
brushwood,  clear  a  free  zone  around,  and  pile  the  thorny 
bushes  into  a  ring  so  as  to  constitute  a  rariba.  Some  were 
also  employed  in  bringing  the  loaded  camels  and  baggage  into 
the  interior  of  the  enceinte  which  was  being  formed,  and  a  gap 
was  left  in  the  ring  of  the  defenders  through  which  the  go<ids 


EGYPTIAN  WAR  ay 

impkment  they  could  wiSd  for  thrir  H^f.^    '  "S'""*  '"^ 
who  had  been  ^.ZIa     ^  ^  "**""''  *"  '"'"•    The  troopd 

£9"uY:hr&rs;rdra^^^^^^^ 

^^^£rXoto^^^^^^^^ 

:^rd:Vh'';^xre'strr^^^^^^^^^^ 

sKle  many  were  killed  or  wound^,  nuXr,  of  th^  L     °" 

fctae&ofi!"""!'  \^°^  ""'•  """'P't^'  »«d  ac  "mTnied 
ineattacked  force,  and  who  witnessed  the  whole  aetior 

Furauve  quiet  for  some  days  afterwarHs     w-  i i  ii,      » 

u?rj^:«*sfvi^"?r^^^ 

wanT  nit  hot      Z  n    K^^"  ''"'*'*•  ^  **"*  '*  '^'«'  ■"'""y 


■I  '; 


28    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

drops  blotted  out  all  objects  more  than  a  feet  few  distant, 
and  it  was  usually  some  time  before  the  sun  dispelled  this, 
and  sent  it  away  in  trails  over  the  distant  mountains.  Fine 
displays  of  '  mirage '  >'ers  often  witnessed  on  the  plains. 
With  the  advent  of  the  sunshine  began  the  activities  of  the 
house  flies,  whose  name  was  legion,  and  who  were  worthy  of 
their  historical  fame  as  one  of  the  plagues  of  Egypt  I  Our 
noses,  eyes,  lips  and  hands  were  covered  with  swarms,  and 
an  unending  struggle  with  hand  and  handkerchiefs  was 
required  to  keep  them  off,  so  that  reading  and  writing  were 
most  difilcult  and  vexatious.  At  mealtimes  our  plates  were 
blackened  with  them,  and  upon  the  sugar,  tea,  jam,  etc.,  their 
arrays  were  so  thick  that  no  space  existed  between  them,  they 
were  there  often  two  or  three  deep  on  each  other's  backs. 
Considering  whence  they  came,  the  filthy  things  around  on 
which  they  had  been  feeding  and  breeding,  the  wounds, 
typhoid  fever,  and  even  worse,  which  they  had  deserted  in 
order  to  visit  our  table,  they  were  a  most  disgusting  accom- 
paniment to  our  meals,  even  if  the  food  and  liquids  cooked 
for  us  had  not  been  already  black  with  the  dead  bodies  of 
those  who  had  been  stewed  with  our  victuals.  Their  numbers 
sufficed  to  account  for  many  diseases  spreading  as  they  were 
doing. 

In  this  camp  of  ours  on  the  shore  of  the  Red  Sea  the  happen- 
ings wore  endlessly  varied,  and  not  wanting  in  fascination 
for  such  as  myself.  At  one  time  we  would  be  sitting  in  the 
sunshine  or  shade  quietly  engaged  in  our  various  occupa- 
tions, when  we  would  feel  a  puff  of  wind  from  the  north,  and 
behold  1  on  the  horizon,  a  low  bank  of  brown  cloud  on  which 
the  sun  shone  brightly  ;  it  drew  nearer  and  grew  higher  and 
blacker,  till  it  overhung  us  like  a  wall  two  hundred  feet  in 
height,  seeming  to  be  solid  and  yet  in  motion ;  the  sun  was 
blotted  out  as  the  wall  reached  us,  and  we  then  sat  in  what  was 
reminiscent  of  Egyptian  darkness  for  a  few  hours,  when  the 
wind  would  fall,  the  dust  cease,  and  we  and  every  object  were 
half  an  inch  deep  in  dry  desert  sand  ;  the  sandstorm  was  over. 
At  another  time  one  of  us  would  seat  himself  on  the  ground 
prepared  to  rest  comfortably,  when  lo  I  scorpions  would  come 
pushing  themselves  up  through  the  sand,  and  the  intended 
repose  would  have  to  be  hastily  transferred  elsewhere. 

The  manners  and  customs  of  the  soldiers  fettered  one's 
interest ;  some  of  the  regiments  had  their  canvas  houses  put 
up  in  the  neatest  of  rows  ;  others  contented  themselves  with 
getting  behind  boxes  or  carts,  or  under  a  pole  with  a  black 
woollen  blanket  stretched  from  it  to  a  wall  of  their  accoutre- 
ments and  belongings,  and  so  forming  a  house ;   and  happy 


EGYPTIAN  WAR  2^ 

a«ir„'^cS- ? ««" .:™; 

headed  audien^  of  Wh^h  ?h^  V™^  "^  '^^y'"'  *»  his  bare- 
a  Scot  brought  un,^H.,fl^*f"  simplicity  appealed  to 
Knox     Wn^rj^-        ^'^  *^^  Calvmistic  regimen  of  John 

av^ion  where  t^eZmoTr  "°"lf-  ^""°^*  »>''-«  "-"^S 
calls  and  words  of  cLZ»ni?K  '""''''!"g  *«»?".  their  bugle 

One  of  these  was  the  arrival  of  the  Npw  <5«.,fi.  w  i     ^ 
tmgent,  which  was  sent  over  by  the  PremTer  s^r  r^I^'^i^S" 
and  was  the  first  bodv  nf  ~.iL-  i  *  '    "^  George  Reid, 

visiting  therr wa^  Z'aht^  /  1  '''T^  *'^''*-  «" 
contingent  was  ^nt  inKe  fi.°M ''^''  *^*  .*'^''''  "«»*«" 
VVinehLter  rifles  It  S^  ^^hapf  hf^^^Jt^r  "^fT^i^ 
our  own  hosiitals  unH  K..™,  "^  nardly  be  believed  that 
totally  un«™^.    ^n  .^      """Panies  were  sent  to  Suakin 


;  1 


m 


•I  I 

■I  'f 


Ml'' 


il  i ;  i? 


11  •r''']! 


30    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

in  despatching  unarmed  men  into  warfare  with  remorseless 
enemies,  who  had  no  regard  for  and  probably  had  never  even 
heard  of  the  Geneva  Convention. 

The  second  was  my  introduction  to  the  National  Aid  Society 
(afterwards  to  become  the  Red  Cross  Society),  as  represented 
by  its  Commissioner,  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir)  Barrington  Kennett, 
which  had,  it  has  already  been  said,  sent  out  two  medical 

men,  Messrs.  P and  L ,  to  do  duty  on  board  of  the 

Ganges,  and  Mr.  Kennett  now  invited  me  to  join  his  force, 
which  I  willingly  consented  to  do.  He  provided  me  with  a 
good  horse,  of  which  I  stood  much  in  need,  attached  to  his 
Society  my  Dongolese  servant,  Mohammed  Achmet,  and 
otherwise  gave  me  much  aid  and  support.  There  was  in 
reality  not  much  scope  for  the  Society  at  Suakin  ;  its  minis- 
trations were  mostly  confined  to  distributing  some  welcome 
luxuries,  and  assisting  in  whatever  it  was  asked  to  do.  But 
even  at  Suakin  it  could  be  seen  that  in  warfare  under  other 
conditions  than  ours,  its  services  might  become  of  great  value 
indeed,  provided  that  no  jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  War 
Office  proved  to  be  an  obstacle.  One  could  not  but  fear, 
however,  that  there  might  be  a  serious  difficulty  with  the 
latter,  in  the  tendency  which  besets  every  public  department 
to  regard  whatever  it  does  as  perfect  and  complete,  and  that 
under  no  conceivable  circumstances  can  it  require  any  kind 
of  extraneous  support,  an  attitude  which  is  doubtless  very 
natural,  but  which  interposes  regrettable  barriers  to  any 
suggestions  for  its  improvement. 

The  absence  of  newspapers,'  except  such  as  were  too  ancient 
to  be  of  much  mterest,  favoured  the  cuculation  in  the  camp 
of  many  rumours,  often  a  fresh  one  every  day.  Thus  one  day 
a  war  with  Russia  was  reported  as  being  imminent ;  next  day 
it  was  said  that  our  mutual  differences  had  been  arranged. 
Some  would  have  it  that  a  peace  with  Osman  Digna  was  being 
negotiated,  others  asserted  that  Osman's  forces  were  so 
seriously  broken  that  only  a  few  small  skirmishes  might  be 
expected  in  the  present  campaign,  that  the  Guards  were  to  be 
sent  back  to  England  and  the  bearer  companies  broken  up  ; 
and  the  next  day  we  were  amazed  to  learn  that  Osman  was 
still  in  strong  force  at  Tamai,  where  we  were  to  march  to  fight 

'  Only  a  single  newsleaf  was,  to  my  knowledge,  printed  for  us  and 
eirculated  at  Suakin.  It  was  neatly  typed  on  a  slip  of  bine  paper,  Bi  by  34 
inches  in  size,  and  its  contents  were  as  follows : — 

'  TiLioBui.— From  Zobel  to  General  Graham.  ChineM  Foreign  OIBce  rattled  peac> 
prejimmanes.  Brigson  declared  France  would  iiuiBt  on  execution  of  treaty  of  Tientsin 
and  nwotiations  tailing  France  would  carry  on  war  vigorously.  Chamlnr  Danuti«> 
Toted  Tonkin  credit  of  300  mUlious.  Prince,  Frinoeas  Wales,  Prince  Victor  left  for 
Uublm.    atli  April  1886. 


EGYPTIAN  WAR 

to  the  north  in  oi5er  to  sh^tT*""*'^'' '"*'''''"«  t^^'Plain 
when  the  tone  again  bea.me^l^.K"'*  «"«J-«~"se  ;  bu? 
as  the  month  oftwrewt  aTend^r'*  '"'•"'^•^'»'  ""d 
dications  that  the  oeaselesT  act?vffv  "'f^^'^  were  plain  !„. 
about  to  find  express  oTL:^'^f,°lGe""''l  Gwham  was 
"Kloubton  Dihilbat,  asefu  onTv  as  in*  k"'"'""^"*'  ^°^  the 
evacuated  and  the  troop  '  H  b™"StTf°"  P°^*' '^'''' 
stores  of  provisions  and  esDeckll.^  *  .  ^^''^'  "^^^  gwat 
M'Neiil-s  zariba  and  Xl^^her'^"*,^/  "^  !f"*  °"'  *° 
n  the  base  hospital  were  evacuated  ^  1,%'^'' "f*^  ^°""''«d 

w.commotion.  Tents  we^e  al!  dtw  1  the  whole  camp 
bemg  demolished  ;  men,  horses  1h  T  "''  "^  "•«  ^^t  of 
bemg  loaded  with  materials  \;r/l  ^^^  "'^^  P«<^g  or 
that  we  were  to  b^k  u^trnp  f nd  "^.'^  '"^  «°"«  ^"^h 
canvas  town  was  vaniSi^r^anH  i^^ ""  ^«"^i-  Our 
I  therefore  tumbled  my  fewVoH,  T"^-  "  "^'^  P'am. 
my  blanket  down  to  thTbl^rhosptla^d^rV  '  ' '^Vt 
the  process  of  demolition.  PreWous  toft^l^' ''i,  '^^•^h 

men  dmed  in  the  open,  where  th^  !^  ^""^  °^'  '-"eersand 
stzck^,  heaps  of  boxes  aid  sto4ten^""°''  ''f'  ''**«'«1  '^i* 
mmiition  boxes,  camp  lant^rTc^m"*^^'  P'^'i  °J  "««^'  ""- 
and  one  odds  and  ends  tlSriron^f        '"' ^'' ^''^  thousand 
own  tent  was  the  last  toTe  sS  Tn7  ""'^  "'^'"-     O"^ 
ropes  were  slackened,  itrte^t  ™-    I     1  *i  ^^"^  »""  set  its 
waUs  removed,  and  the  L'fTnl'^^le^f^jf  ?f -t,  '^  T^^-^ 
The  pleasant  house  that  one  had  i^t .  ^.    *  "^""^  °f  dust, 
and  all  prepared  to  trave"  over  th^  nk^f ^r"  '*«°°«''hed, 
ment.    The  camels  were  mad^to  kn/nw     °  ^'l'  "'^  ^"«"«p. 
oaded  with  our  goods  and  cl^ter'^7?'  their  backs  were 
■ke  the  noise  of  men  badly  s^ckLwff  T"'*^"'  ""*^ms 
the  last  to  leave     Manv  H  J!^'    '    ^  ^^^*  "^^rk  we  started 
faihng  off  the  camefe'lTd  "°^  f"  ^"^  *^«  "^^ 
seeing  them  fairly  on  thefr  wav  for^^  ^"P''"*^'«'«fter 
and  1  wended  our  way  on  LT  Z^    ./^^  "'^^^  Mohammed 
Ifts  of  the  base  h^  ^&d7wat'  '^^*  '^*^"^^  *»  t^ 
of  a  tent  there.    Ne^xt  day  c^mpk^tr^'T'r'^  *  ^^^ 
the  entrenchments  which  su3d^  <!V*°.^°'™"»t  of 

•■one  being  left  garrisoned,  artrwtl!'^;^^^'-^"';^ 


.1  , 


32    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

were  concentrated  outside  the  suburb  of  El-Khaf,  on  the 
south-west  of  the  city  and  harbour ;  and  as  the  base  hospital 
('  H  '  Redoubt)  was  thus  left  open  to  being  attacked,  its  plat- 
form was  fortified  by  a  four-foot  wall  built  round  it  and  some 
Krupp  guns  were  added  to  its  artillery.  My  bearer  company 
now  slept  in  the  open,  but  as  the  cold  during  the  nights  was 
somewhat  intense.  Dr.  Bamett  arranged  that  1  should  spend 

them  in  the  base  hospital,  where  Dr.  B kindly  allowed 

me  to  share  his  accommodation. 

The  expected  advance,  however,  hung  fire,  none  of  us  knew 
why.  Some  surmised,  and  there  may  possibly  have  been  some 
truth  in  the  conjecture,  that  Osman  Digna  had  withdrawn 
from  Tamai  into  the  interior,  and  had  even  sent  envoys  under 
a  flag  of  truce  to  trc  "  for  terms  of  peace.  Nearly  all  hoped 
that  the  latter  might  be  true,  for  even  our  keenest  fighters 
were  wearied  of  seeing  so  many  brave  men,  who  were  only 
defending  their  land  and  homes,  being  mown  down  in  a  hope- 
less contest  with  our  superior  weapons.  In  the  begmnmg  of 
April,  however,  the  decision  to  advance  was  finally  come  to, 
and  as  so  far  I  had  not  seen  the  field  hospitals  at  their  work 
during  an  action,  I  obtained  Dr.  Bamett's  approval  to  my 
accompanving  the  forces  who  were  to  storm  Tamai.  Mo- 
hammed had  behaved  with  so  much  courage  at  Hasheen,  and 
begged  not  to  be  left  behind  when  he  was  offered  permission 
to  do  so,  that  I  arranged  to  take  him  to  look  after  the  horse 
which  was  to  carry  me. 


vm 

Tjmai 

On  the  first  of  April,  hardly  expecting  any  instant  advance, 
I  sallied  out  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  camp  for  a  stroll, 
along  with  one  of  the  ^ung  doctors  from  the  base  hospital, 
roamed  about  for  thi  -  rtours,  followed  the  lines  of  railway 
which  were  being  laid  down  towards  Berber,  and  on  the  way 
back  called  at  the  encampment  of  the  First  Bearer  Company. 
There  we  were  to  learn  that  our  elusive  friend  Osman  Digna 
had  really  been  located  at  Tamai,  and  that  beyond  any  possi- 
bility of  doubt  the  army  was  next  morning  to  go  out  to  fight 
him.  Rather  regretting  that  I  had  wearied  myself  by  the 
long  walk.  I  ran  back  to  the  base  hospital,  humedly  packed 
into  a  Wolseley  valise  the  requisites  for  an  expedition  of  a 
few  days'  duration,  and  rode  back  to  the  company,  leavmg 
Mohammed  to  foltew.  Having,  as  I  already  said,  not  yet  seen 
a  field  hospital  in  action,  I  could  not  miss  the  chance  of  gomg 


EGYPTIAV  WAR  33 

A°l'\u^"^  ^  '^'"^  ^"^  ""  *»s  bustle  and  activity  in  the 

tt\  .'/'*  ''"*^*'"'  ^  ^'"  P"t  "P  ^ere  down,  and  the 
babel  of  tongues  and  neighing  of  horses,  the  packing  of  mul« 

glare  ot  the  huge  fires  where  they  were  bumina  all  that  thev 

:.^ri  L"*"^  -'*•'  *"-■ «"-  *"»  ™p-'°"  o-'^  S 

li<«!l'  ^  j1^  '^'*''  *••*  headquarters'  mess  near  the  left  Watek 

fmm  ?h  "^K  T"  """^^  ""^  °P^"  "''y  °"  stretchers  borrow^ 
from  the  ambulance  wagons,  hut  it  was  long  ere  we^roT 
The  shouts  of  the  soldiers  and  the  bugle  calls,  combing  wfth 
an  attack  of  sickness,  the  blazing  camp-flies  and  the  telms 

head  o/h  mI  ^tn,  r'P'llIJ"  *''^  P"^'"  '"""  ""'  ^a"- 
nenti  ot  H.M.S.  Dolphin,  robbed  me  of  rest  until  it  was  lat^ 

m  the  evenmg,  and  hardly  had  I  dropped  ofT  wheri  wis 

awakened  at  one  o'clock  by  the  bugles  blowing  ZlilU    H 

we  got  up.  the  moon  rose  and  in  i^,  clear  light  our  few  amnee 

nients  were  completed,  we  mounted  our  horses  Jnd  ^™S  to 

the  part  of  the  plain  where  the  army  was  to  muster.    No  long 

t^  „nf' ^'"''r'  *°  ^°r  "  ^^  '^"''«''  '^ith  the  infantry  on 
n5  fl»n?       ^"''?""«  ^^^  *™"^P°^  ""'-^Is,  while  a  screen 

formation  we  advanced  to  M'NeiU's  (Baker's)  zariba      Ftom 

WnXThn-  f'^'  "f*'  '."^  """  "'^  ~'al  Vts.  our  S 
being  the  thm  telegraph  wire  which  ran  along  the  irr^und 
over  dusty  tracks,  where  dead  camels,  horses,  f  nd  mlTwere 
putrefying  m  the  sun  and  poisoning  the  air.  Starting  Thu^ 
rir  "^f  '?i^°' P.*'*  °^°"'  ""^y  thi  advantage  of  the  moon! 
ow  1"h  1V^^  "-g*"  '^"'P^^t"^.  which  was  indeed  nfpSy 
low,  and  the  zariba  was  reached  before  the  sun  became  vfr^ 

^11^^  u  "^'^  unstrained  to  hold  their  noses,  an?  it 
n         Z  '^n  ^""sing  to  see  a  whole  aimy  in  thi,  ktttode 

e^entTth^tVS'-  *?k°'«'=*  '^'  '""^^  "^^^^  '^^  the  ^m 
events  which  had  just  been  enacted  there.  * 

hehind^nV^t^*?  ^"^^  "?""*  sketches,  and  arrange  to  leave 
behmd  all  that  I  could  not  carry  on  my  horse,  when,  after  the 
deiay  of  a  couple  of  hours,  we  set  off  again  for  Tama  It  was 
kng  before  we  approached  it.  The  |round  we^a  sed  over 
became  more  undulating,  the  density  of  the  spiny  trees  a^d 
bushes  tesened.  while  the  place  of  the  coral  Vas  teken  Sy 

Z  fJ"**'?"™.  ?*°"'^''  P'^™^  "f  e^''^-  quartz,  fekpar 
and  fragmenfs  of  jasper.  The  yellow  rose-like  flowe«  the 
g^ntian-hke  thistles,  and  deliciously  scented  herbs  relmblS 
the  tansy,  were  grateful  to  our  senses,  and  th-  varieties  rf 
anmial  hfe  were  many  ;  doves,  sand-grouse,  gazel^.  I  and  iSrL 


I  ' 


I        m 


■  ,■  I 

■'  •     ■    1 1 

i 


34    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

rose  before  us,  and  among  our  feet  were  huge  black  ants, 
snakes  two  feet  long,  spiders  with  bodies  an  inch  in  length, 
and  slugs  with  shells  which  plastered,  like  pellets  of  grey  mud, 
the  stems  of  the  bushes. 

We  had  been  riding  thus  for  nearly  sixteen  hours,  with  no 
food  or  water  beyond  the  biscuits  in  our  pockets  and  the 
water  in  our  bottles,  and  our  horses,  who  had  had  neither 
forage  nor  water,  were  getting  well  wearied  with  carrying 
their  riders  or  dragging  the  field  guns  through  coppices,  and 
up  and  down  the  sides  of  water-gullies  or  rather  dry  ravines. 
But  we  were  leaving  behind  the  horrid  signs  of  the  recent 
carnage,  where  the  bodies  of  the  Mahdi's  men  in  their  uniforms 
of  white  calico  jackets  edged  and  seamed  with  blue  chevron 
trimmings  at  neck  and  shoulders,  and  red  lozenges  down  the 
breast,  were  being  torn  in  pieces  by  the  vultures  which  had 
gathered  in  multitudes ;  we  were  in  a  clean  pure  country 
where  the  cool  evening  air  laved  us  gratefully  after  the  heat 
of  the  day  ;  and  were  druwing  very  near  to  Tamai,  where  we 
were  expecting  to  have  a  good  and  probably  decisive  fight. 

It  was  considered  possible  that  we  might  sustain  an  attack 
at  any  moment,  for  the  country  favoured  a  surprise.  After 
we  left  M'Neill's  zariba,  the  Engineers  sent  up  a  captive 
balloon — I  rather  think  it  was  the  first  ever  used  in  warfare — 
which  was  attached  to  a  horse  wagon,  and  followed  and 
signalled  to  us  from  a  height  of  some  two  hundred  feot ;  but  the 
rising  wind  so  tossed  it  that  its  occupant  was  brought  down, 
and  when  it  was  sent  up  again  empty  it  rent  and  came  down, 
so  that  our  scouts  were  all  we  had  to  depend  upon  to  give  us 
the  notice  required  to  remedy  the  gaps  in  our  square  in  case 
of  an  onset  by  the  Arabs.  However,  we  sustained  no  molesta- 
tion, though  we  continued  to  expect  it,  and  when  the  long 
day  was  ending  and  the  last  light  departing  from  the  sky, 
and  weariness  was  creeping  over  us  all,  and  we  espied  on  the 
near  horizon  a  rugged  fortress-like  hill  covered  with  the  forms 
of  men  and  horses  silhouetted  in  black  against  the  night  sky, 
we  drew  the  breath  which  preludes  the  battle.  We  arranged 
ourselves  accordingly,  but  it  was  fortunately  unnecessary, 
for  the  forms  on  the  skyline  were  only  our  own  cavalry  who 
had  seized  the  hill  called  Teselah,  where  it  was  intended  to 
form  up  for  the  storming  on  the  morrow  of  Tamai,  still  two 
miles  distant.  We  were  relieved  not  to  have  to  encounter 
an  Arab  charge  in  the  dark. 

Teselah  stood  out  from  the  level  of  the  country  round  like 
the  ruins  of  a  great  hill  fort.  We  proceeded  to  give  it  breast- 
works of  stones,  and  fortified  it  with  field  pieces  ;  while  others 
formed  a  large  square  zariba  at  its  northern  foot,  protecting 


EGYPTIAN  WAR 


anyhow  in  the  zariba  •  thSpw!~     ^  ^°'*"  anywiiere  and 
So  long  as  it  wasd^rk  t^J      no  reserved  places. 

an  occasional  shot'^toVr'oTnfXlrH't'r^^ 

sentries,  though  by  one  whirh  ..fS  r,°'' ''''*'>' ^""m  neiVous 

a  soldier  was  kill^  Tone  of  the Ich      ""  '^^°''^'  ''»""* 
nearly  blown  away  j    in  "«  iLiiLnH  .r''  ^''  ^^^  be'ng 
done  by  a  comrade.    But  when  the  m  J   k  T'-  """dentall^ 
o'clock  an  attemptat  a  ni^ht  a?tlck  w.  "  ^  "'""  "'  ^'^^en 
of  shots  came  plunging  tC,Khthe^ri{^'''^\''"'*  »'"''"'«<»« 
hattmg  such  noisy  thinifs  «  thl  i^  ^^',  '*''«^n«  past  or 
ambulance  wagons,  stXhek  etc    ^n^-^'rll^P"'*''' <=-«" 
Our  guards  replied  by  volley;  I  fi' ?h     disturbing  our  sleep 
came  into  action,  and  IK' time  1''"''*  °"  "^^"^^^  HUl 
troubling,  and  all  remained  Qu^erLnf  "''^"'y  '""''^  from 
no  one  within  the  zariba  was  Wt  '""'"'"«•    '  *'«"«ve 

thou^Xetttitti^^fr^L^T-^i  ■"»-  ^'^ 
Marines,  and  Artillery,  aloMwrft       ^^^"de,  Australians, 
names  I  did  not  leamTactmpani'^  bwH  'n*'*"™*'  ^^ose 
Madras  Seppers,  and  a  bodv  nf  w     -^  *''*  ^«'"8al  Cavaby 
fodian  Infantry    muste^'^'^utite'"'  ^k"*  '^'«'''"'  ^^^ 
BearerCorapanyhadthehononr^fK  ■    ^.^"'^-    '^he  First 
this  force.    The  otherfw^rrr/ft  ^  Tf'^^'='"'t<>''<=«>n,pany 
outliers.    No  baggage  ofT„yl"criottn^  ^'^  ^"''^  -^  "^ 
be  taken,  and  we  did  not  foZ  sou«r« T  "'"  P«"ni«ed  to 
that  so  fine  a  force  was  abWtft    '  ^°^  "  ""^^  considered 
adopting  that  formation.  L  ^.W  th^f"  °^  1*'^'^  ^^'hout 
across  the  undulating  ground  whTch  wfl^'^'^^y  '"^^'"><«1 
tation,  but  was  studdfd  w^h  ^,™        '  ^^"'"'^  "^  ^ny  vege- 
protruding  here  and  tferrae  Z^e^'T  "^'""ck  basa*t, 
^der  the  tropical  sun  into  sl'llth*L~:  a„d"l  "If  *''^""« 
ine  heat  was  so  creat  th«f  if    '"*"  Bra-vel  and  rough  stones 

the  hand  a  stonel^ch  te  piS'T'^  5°f  •'"'  *°  h°'d I'n 
"»  "  we  marched  on  for  an'^ho^n?;'""^  ""*.'""  ^~«bed 
entangled  among  barren  rock^hSk  Th";  ^'""'L^  «"''"«% 
we  had  almost  ceased  to  eJ^e„f  »"'*••  Then  sudden  y,  when 
C^ty  •  (1 , ,)  of  Ta^i.*°S  ;"oC"*f  ^\T'  "^"  the 
finding  it  a  second  Suakin  #e  iT  t1"'  ^^  ""ticipated 
Md  wretchedness  of  Tamai  are  dffflil.v''  ""*"•  barrenness 
i»  described  on  Daner    h,.f       difficult,  if  not  impossible  to 

^htideaofther'^    •     "'  ""^  ""^^  "««">?*  to^ convey^ 
Coming  over  a  low  rocky  crest,  we  unexpectedly  beheld,  on 


;  ,'*' 


f  I 


U      :'i 


36    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

a  flat,  somewhat  stony  expanse  beneath,  what  iieemed  to  be  a 
few  withered  bushes  or  heaps  of  grass  casually  left  on  the 
ground ;  but  as  we  drew  nzarer  and  saw  more  closely,  it 
became  evident  that  they  were  wretched  booths  arranged  as 
dwellings  by  human  hands,  and  that  we  were  gazing  on  what 
was  really  Tamai. 

Dismounting,  I  gave  my  horse  over  to  Mohammed,  took 
my  pencil,  and  made  a  sketch  of  the  place,  and  while  I  was 
doing  so,  the  column  of  troops  formed  into  line,  and  advanced 
in  a  long  array  to  sweep  both  the  village  and  the  hills  which 
lay  around  and  beyond  it,  which  were  now  seen  to  be  black 
and  white  with  the  forms  of  the  enemy.  This  time  they 
were  evidently  not  intending  to  charge  us ;  of  that  they  had 
had  enough ;  they  were  to  stand  on  the  defensive.  The 
action  commenced  and  bullets  began  to  fly,  so  I  hastily 
finished  my  drawing,  remounted,  and  pressed  on  after  our 
men,  into  whose  ranks  single  shots  and  volleys  were  being 
poured,  and  who  were  returning  the  fire  as  they  advanced. 
On  our  part  the  action  was  entirely  in  the  open,  while  the 
Arabs  had  to  a  large  extent  the  shelter  of  their  rocks  and  hills, 
but  their  missiles  flew  mostly  too  high,  while  ours  told  upon 
them  so  severely  that  they  cleared  ofi  before  us,  and  we  passed 
through  the  village  and  continued  to  advance  beyond  it.- 

When  closely  inspected,  the  village  consisted  of  many 
lake-like  hollows  bottomed  with  sand,  interspersed  among 
the  black  rocks,  the  whole  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  across, 
and  each  hollow  containing  twelve  to  forty  huts,  recently 
occupied,  with  the  embers  in  them  hardly  cold,  and  skins 
of  cattle  or  bones  of  oxen,  sheep,  or  goats,  freshly  picked, 
lying  about.  A  description  of  one  of  the  hollows  or  lakes 
will  serve  for  the  others  as  well.  It  might  have  been  about 
three  acres  in  extent,  or  sometimes  much  more,  and  within 
it,  scattered  irregularly  here  and  there,  stood  huts  constructed 
of  leafless  shrubs,  afiording  scarcely  any  shelter  from  sun  or 
wet,  barely  the  amount  of  shelter  a  withered  bush  would  have 
afforded.  One  of  the  huts  would  perhaps  appear  to  be  better 
than  the  others,  as  if  a  headman  lived  in  it,  and  would  resemble 
a  beehive  or  bottle-cover  of  straw.  In  the  centre  of  each 
group  of  huts  was  a  circular  enclosure  of  prickly  bushes, 
stuck  in  the  ground,  with  a  diameter  of  thirty  feet ;  in  this 
fence  was  an  opening,  generally  on  the  western  side,  and  in 
the  middle  of  the  enclosure  was  arranged  a  ring,  a  couple  of 
yards  across,  of  stones  about  the  size  of  a  loaf  of  bread,  and 
many  articles  were  strewn  around  indicating  a  hnsty  flight, 
such  as  swords,  bayonets,  scabbards,  sandals,  camel  trappings, 
pots  of  earthenware,  ladles  and  bowls  of  wood,  water  skins. 


EGYPTIAN  WAR 


articles  of  domestic  ,  e,  primSn  v  "J^T*  "^^^-  i-^V 
to  the  Arabs,  such  a»  heKt,  hi  i,^"'''u ""'"«''  ^"'"'bte 
etc.,  the  only  objects  bett^.?*'  ~'''«"'  bottles,  headeeaT 
wn^wgsanda„rCi„^tS^^«  ?''r  ^i"«  "">«  ffi 

Our  long  line  of  armed  men^n/  S^T.u^  *•"=  ^°"'"- 
sweepmgfartor,ghtardlef?^'?irf^.*'^"8h  the  village, 
"lound.    Along  „1th X  «ttle'  f  ?         '^''^^"'  'he  hUh 
to   hill,  concentrated  occa^i^nH     ^ !^'"^  "^'"t  "«  from  hiH 
repeated  against  some  ,^t  defenSJf *°I°"*y*  ^""^  »d 
Such  resistance  as  was  met  wkh  rf^  "'V  ""J"'"'''  obstinacy 
nor  was  the  loss  caused  by  Tt  iUl^  ?"'  '^""J'  °"'  «lv«n«^ 
flew  over  our  heads  anrstr^ck  t&.fnH  t°K-  ^^  *''«  ''""«t^ 
advance  I  did  not  see  a  s™Sl  P».f?*  "^  '^'""^  "*•    In  this 
our  men  .swept  on.  Z^^X  ^'J^tVl^''    ^*«  »  '"-e 
as  we  approached  the  wells   LI?  ,  T^l^'  "'"'  Presently, 
some  of  our  soldiers  began  t;>dL    "^'%'?f:y°"d  the  villagl 
my  bearer  company  so  I  fnn„. ^x.. ^^  *••"  time  I  had  lost 
assisting  the  wound^l^s  onni  J*^-.*''''  "^P'  nearest  to  mc 
<»me  to  the  edge  of  a  preSr""".'^  °*"«^'  ""^  shortly  we 
the -bUtck    ho^ibll  ^SZrS  ir  T^nT'^"  '^^"^  ■"" 
tXtw^urt^rilt'^-^lef^^^^ 

eve^he.^  preci^toZJ^^'^^:J'^  v*^  waii.,  nea^ 
Its  bed  was  simply  a  river^W.?    u-.      ^  '^  ^V  '^e  action 
lower  end  was  there  an v  »  f         '^'"'^  «"«J'  and  only  at  i?s 
muddy  fluid,  tasthg  oTsaTaL"  ""J""  ^U'"  pool  oVdark 
th'rsty  horses.    AloL  t^       ^  "ndnnkable,  even  by  o..r 

hidden  f^msight'^thT^lXter^S'  "f  ""  '-'''lidZ 
down  on  the  gorge  on  our  m.n  as  t  W  T^  H'"*  ""  ^°'  fi« 
f«ht, crossed  itatsomeof  the  pWswhLJr'"^  round  to  the 
and  hnmg  the  cliffs,  advanidT'^  T*'?'''^«*P'''<=ticable, 
f "  Jf  "'mpanies  in  the  riy„  of ^sTnJ^Lf °"8  '*'  ^'^^  thei; 
anothsr  sketch  here   T  litJ    •  ""  below.    After  takino 

Ponied  the  soldier^loVg'r'^ttr'^^/"""  «"«»  ~ 
l^y  up  It,  but  fewer  and  fewer  of  th^-  ^^^^  advanced  some 
thetf  firing  fejj  andTt  'ou  H    ^T'l^^'^^  to  be  found, 

men  needlessly  to  ^JZe     We  w."^'^  ^^  5^usted  the 

-.  -  balls-re  XZ^^,  TtL^J^-,::^^  ^^ 


I    It 


,':    H 


38    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

seemed  to  oome,  but  cannon  and  rifle  alike  flattened  their 
miuUea  against  the  black  rocks,  and  no  advantase  was  per- 
ceptible. 

Two  of  the  Australian  soMiers  were  wounded  here,  to  their 
own  delight  and  the  envy  of  their  comrades,  and  both  of  them, 
by  good  fortune,  only  slightly. 

After  resting  for  an  hour  or  two  the  troops  were  withdrawn, 
and  as  they  returned  to  the  village  there  were  some  renewed 
outbursts  of  firing,  and  many  individual  shots,  following  us 
and  flattening  themselves  for  the  most  part  against  the  rocks, 
pve  rise  to  a  few  more  casualties,  without  our  being  able  to 
locate  their  origin.  Some  shells  fh)m  our  gum,  however,  put 
an  end  to  this  annoyance,  and  we  had  no  further  trouble. 

When  we  were  returning  through  the  village,  the  huts  were 
set  Are  to,  and  the  plain  became  thick  with  clouds,  columns, 
and  whirlwinds  of  dense  black  smoke  from  masses  of  swirling 
flames  below,  while  the  s'  -.  crackling  explosions  from  stores 
of  ammunition  hidden  away  in  their  walls  ai.d  roofs,  or  buried 
underneath  them,  broke  out  as  the  huts  were  quickly  con- 
sumed. 
The  battle  of  Tamai  was  at  an  end 

We  went  quietly  back  to  the  zariba,  which  •-  found  like  a 
swarm  of  bees.  Word  had  been  sent  on  to  ;t,  i  r,  J  those  who 
had  remained  there  were  busy  packing  up  to  return  to  Suakin. 
I  gave  my  help  in  arranging  the  sick  and  wounded,  furnished 
each  of  them  with  a  drink  of  iced  water  and  a  lump  of  ice  in 
his  handkerchief,  then  climbed  the  Teselah  Hill  and  watched 
the  camp  preparing  to  move.  It  was  like  a  Derby  Day. 
The  plain  was  filled  with  a  motley  crowd  of  tents,  canvas- 
covered  ambulance  wagons,  field  hospitals  flying  the  red  cross, 
piles  of  boxes  and  bags,  rows  of  camels  and  horses,  soldiers  in 
their  khaki  suits,  marines  in  grey  serge,  sailors  in  blue  suits 
round  their  Gardner  guns  with  white  canvas  covers,  Arabs  in 
white  clothes,  Sikhs  with  blue  turbans  and  long  lances,  Hindoo 
doolie  bearers  with  their  black  legs,  field  guns  and  their 
carriages,  wagons,  a  mountain  battery  of  small  cannon  in 
pieces  on  mules'  backs,  and  the  favourite  regimental  dogs  or 
goats  trotting  happily  about  the  men  here  and  there.  The 
noise  and  babble  and  shouting,  the  English  profanity,  the 
Hindoo  cackle,  and  the  hoarse  roars  of  the  Gibraltar  mule 
drivers,  mingled  now  and  then  with  the  bugle  calls,  sent  up 
to  heaven  a  noise  that  sounded  weird  in  that  otherwise  silent 
land,  under  its  tranquil  heavens  and  among  its  now  peaceful 
hill  tops. 

At  one  o'clock  the  advance  sounded,  and  we  departed, 
leaving  Tamai  to  its  normal  desolation.    We  marched  slowly 


'I 


■'HK  (iokliii  UK   lAMA 


t!i 


if 


I)  '  • 


I 


bMk 


■t  Ul 

we  it 
tumi 
with 
■cem( 
when 
•nd  t 
been 
evert 
suboi 
tniei 
decidi 
and  t< 

WMb 

half  1; 

unloa< 

way. 

and  al 

tea,  b 

and  ti 

men,  ( 

Ha^ 

drink, 

andai 

We  fo 

circle  ( 

the  an 

itowini 

themo 

Vfey 

that  w 

so,  he& 

posed  t 

serve  a 

post  Wl 

stiilwar 

horse ; 

beyond 

the  hasi 

despite 

and  the 

and  wel 

fired  du 

probabl 


EGYPTIAN  WAR  „ 

«^  Ki.  .^  »     ^^ir**"  '^  "''''">  on  to  Su«kin  •lone 

tubordinatei  m  oomiMnd,  loon  began  to  diipUy  t^Llv« 
m  laying  the  ch«.f  in  which  we  had  been  iSt     lCm7„ 

t^.  u'^  ^'^'  *°  '"  *""  •"  '>°"'  a  «»ribB  of  thorn  bushn 

u^LTf  '"""  *»^  baggage,  water  mule,,  and  wagon,  were 
«r^a™  fl^'"  ~",^^  distributed  in  a  rougHut  fa" 
way.    Camp  flrei  were  ht,  kettles  put  on,  and  cotfee  made  ■ 

^  b^L""  ^  « ,r  "•=•'  °' '•>«  ^"""d^  a  supptyoJtef : 
tea  bread,  and  milk,  we  sat  down  to  our  dinner  of  St 
and  tmned  meat  in  the  dusk.  It  was  to  hJa.^a  .""*"'* 
men,  a  very  good  meal  and  ^uj  Tn^y^.'"^  """  """^ 
drSj''^.r!5iY  ^'  c""""*^  ^'^  something  to  eat  and 

We  we^'aSr»  dS^  '^Z^  ^"C^^"  "'*•''"  *«  «"«='°»""e 
th.7  J!^  w  ^? .""'  begnmed  from  our  day's  marchinir 
^h^  IM  ri.*^«  ?f  J3l»8  down  on  the  Vou"d  t^' 
J^"s^e,^l^  '  ^,j;^J^^  »  »  box,  officers  and  men  dU^ 

serve  as  a  pillow,  and  so  we  passed  the  night.  My  own  bed- 
P°"*  ':"/  '«8on  wheel,  and  beneath  the  waZ, Ty  tihe 
sWwart  form  of  Mohammed.  whUe  beyond  hXstoS  my 
horse;  and  outside  the  wagons  slept  a  roTof  s^im^ 
Khi'^J^'"  ^««  theTntries  and  the  cut  bush^^f 
the  hastily  extemporised  zariba.    I  fancy  no  one  slept  much 

aK,*S^";?**";'  ''"*  '°°'*  ^y  watcSiig  the  Lto  h^^et; 
!^!^^,!:?'**«n  C"".  thinking  over  the  events  of  th^day! 
tofj^f2^.r^  to  be  there  in  a  whole  skin.  Two  shots  were 
fi»d  during  the  night,  but  they  came  trom  our  own  men  «id 
probably  were  needless,  for  the  enemy  m^U^oTtiaA 


^  Vn 


II  : 


'I 

1 

i.     t 

'  '.'-    ■ 

> 

t  '     i 

m 

40    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

Some  mules  broke  loose  and  a  squad  of  them  charged  across, 
kicking  and  trampling  us  where  we  Jay,  but  every  disturbance 
passed,  and  possibly  we  dozed  a  little,  now  and  then,  until 
the  bugles  blew  the  r^veill^  at  live. 

From  M'Neill's  zariba  we  set  off  for  Suakin  at  seven,  in 
square  as  before,  but  soon  there  was  a  halt  of  two  hours  in  the 
sun,  while  some  reserve  ammunition  which  had  been  forgotten 
was  sent  back  for,  and  the  opportunity  of  having  a  look  about 
me  at  the  cotmtry  was  irresistible.  So  I  left  the  square  and 
its  dust  and  spent  some  time  in  exploring  the  flora  and  fauna 
of  the  land.  There  was,  however,  little  new  to  be  seen  ;  the 
ground  was  covered  with  hundreds  of  Arabs  lying  dead  and 
rotting  under  the  bushes  everywhere,  and  the  country  was 
strewn  with  biscuit  boxes,  water  barrels,  pack  saddles,  bales 
of  forage,  etc.,  from  the  actions  which  had  taken  place. 
The  square  was  again  slowly  moving  on  when  I  returned,  and 
after  accompanying  it  to  within  four  miles  of  Suakin,  I  sent 
Mohammed  back  into  it,  and  rode  quickly  on  alone,  no  one 
disturbing  me,  and  got  to  the  camp  at  noon,  dreadfully 
tired,  and  thankful  to  be  back  among  the  comforts  of  the 
base  hospital. 

IX 

Hospital  Wokk  at  Suakin 

Afteb  the  battle  of  Tamai,  Dr.  Bamett  attached  me  per- 
manently to  the  base  hospital  at  the  '  H '  Redoubt,  and 
there  I  remained  during  the  rest  of  my  stay  in  the  Soudan. 

I  had  scarcely  seen  the  town  of  Suakin  since  my  first 
arrival  there,  and  was  surprised  to  find  it  much  changed  for 
the  better  in  the  interval.  The  advent  of  the  army  had 
awakened  the  place  from  its  secular  lethargy,  and  the  British 
administration  had  improved  its  sanitation  and  even  lent 
the  town  a  touch  of  the  modem  and  occidental.  The  streets 
were  cleaner  than  they  used  to  be,  more  quays  had  been  con- 
structed, and  the  quantity  of  shipping  in  the  harbour  had 
become  quite  considerable.  The  line-head  for  Berber  started 
from  the  shore,  and  small  locomotives  were  transporting  small 
loaded  trucks  with  water,  provisions,  and  materials  for  the 
labourers  on  the  desert  end  of  the  railway.  Where  formerly 
nothing  was  to  be  bought,  there  were  now  good  stores  kept 
by  Greek  merchants  who  had  arrived,  and  many  delicacies 
could  be  purchased  in  them.  Some  one  had  even  opened  a 
restaurant  in  which  an  excellent  dinner  could  be  obtained ; 
and  in  the  markets  fresh  fruits,  fish,  and  vegetables  were  on 
sale.    The  city  was  becoming  really  a  nice  place.    After  the 


EGYPTIAN  WAR  ^, 

coUection  of  miseiible  booths  which  in  the  desert  went  h« 

observing  the  attentions  they  reSfv^  anHn  <?,r''- '" 
«.e„  distribution  to  the  tents^r?he  t se  hospi Jft'^tSf 
KflT^°:^'  '^^  the  Go«««.  It  would  not^^Xwe  'or 
me  to  tad  words  in  which  to  express  the  kindness  att«>H^^ 
and  assistance  with  which  eve^  one  of  iSe  offi;*,^„f  fu ' 
e\™^"in  ''Z^"^'  and'^aj'thl' of  te^na^J  t 
fnT^t  ^  Everything  was  shown  to  me  ;  every  wi^  for 
3,1  »v  '"^°™?';°"  *«s  gn«tified  without  re^rl  to  the 

^tr^^rtoVnl^nd-^l,-'^^^^^ 

tr:-td^^aJd\%-x-H^rpSS^^^^^ 
S^r^h.^ns^d?£a= 

It  was  also  my  good  fortune,  while  at  the  base  at  Suntin 
to  observe  the  operations  of  the  National  AM  &>cietv  for  nn' 

sHould  be  un^":  ^L^r^^^Sbl^l^fe^t^t/lfSr 


til'. 


H 


'4,  •! 


.1  j.t' 


4a    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

nation,  and  the  profession,  who  should  be  aided  by  a  council 
composed  of  officers  of  the  services ;  and  an  equal  number  of 
civilian  experts  of  the  highest  standing  possessing  rank,  pay, 
and  authority  equal  to  the  service  officers,  theb  colleajJuS 
so  as  to  ensure  their  status  and  give  weight  to  their  opSons. 
1  atoo  conduded  that  it  was  quite  necessary  that  the  officers 
or  the  medical  services  should  have  military  rank  like  the 
other  branches  (a  thing  which  has  since  been  conceded): 
and  that  as  a  matter  of  course  the  medical  services  ought  to 
be  kept  complete  and  perfect  in  every  point,  with  their  own 
transport  and  appliances,  and  all  this  in  peace  as  weU  as  in 
war. 

As  regarded  the  National  Aid  Society,  it  seemed  to  me. 
If  Its  work  were  to  be  fuUy  carried  out,  that  it  also 
ought  to  come  under  the  same  parliamentary  chief  as,  and 
through  hun  operate  hand  in  hand  with,  the  medical  services, 
tnus  dunmishmg  jealousies  and  ensuring  proper  supervision 
proper  responsibility,  and  proper  continuity  of  policy.  Mv 
views  were  possibly  Utopian,  at  any  rate  they  wert  such  as 
could  not  well  be  urged  until  the  times  were  ripening  for  them, 
but  I  had  Uttle  doubt  but  that  they  must  eventuaUy  prevaU  • 
and  one  of  the  results  of  the  experience  I  gained  at  Suakin 
was  a  resolution  which  I  formed  that,  if  it  should  ever  Ue  in 
my  power,  I  should  strive  to  advocate  such  improvements  of 
the  services  as  might  lie  in  the  directions  I  have  just  indi- 
cated, without  regard  to  the  odium  which  is  the  sure  portion 
ot  every  one  who  ventures  to  suggest  reforms  in  the  War 


I 


Inlll 


'i)'. i;  .■] 


I  i 


yl 


U 


n  '\ 


ii: '  ■ 


KsnI^." 


PART   SECOND 

SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 

X 

Thi  Pobtsmoutr  Addbess 

a  suitable  opportunity  Zm^        ^"  ^"^  '^^^  •>«&« 

officers,  an3  so  acquired  a  toU«hi„  ^"?  ?""y  ""^'"l 
the  conditions  ofXiTseAn^  t  ^  '"='="™?«  k'-o^'Mge  of 
ments  of  the  mediral  se^/^n    r  .V^'*"'*'**'  *•>«  «"»»««- 

withrecomme"dSs1^r£^%^to"^r^-  ^"^ 
to  compare  these  Hth  our  BHH.k      Victoria,  1  was  enabled 

of  the  tetding  Engl  sh  militaJl  h  '^^'^''  ^^  ^^'*^«  «»»« 
medical  institutions  and  ^^^.T^''-  '?'"'  "^  *•"=  ""val 
our  navy.  With  her ^nrZ.  'J^^^^-  °^  **'^  ™"»Wps  of 
ambass^oratS?.Pete«d'«'}^  an  mtr^luction  to'^our 
from  Count  Mouravfeff  Sini  f  *'°*  ^"u"""'"'  "''*»««' 
to  inspect,  and  mide  the^~.  "  !°  "''  whatever  I  wanted 
patkinVnd  Dr  sZTert  th.T""*"1^u°^  ^"'="''  K°"™- 
Sive  Director-cienemT'ff  the  ^''7..«""«'>**"«i  «nd  progres- 
ment.    The  Russian  mJlif.Jf  «"''»■?"  army  medical  depart- 

and  the  '^y2^LrZ7f.^^''X:^^f^r}'  *'""^- 

dressmgs,  and  appliances  fnr  ««^'  *"^  mstruments, 

were  biing  arran^Trn  the  mn^  T"^  Zf""  P^eP""^-  and 
manner  for  thWsth^ed  e^nl  '"'"V"":^  ""d  practicable 
Naval  Inspector  DrKo^ri^'^^'"u"*-  ^=  ^hief  Russian 
me  to  visitXsS;  o^wl^vin?'  ^'''"  "i""*""  *»  P«"»it 
all  dismantled  foX  wX^^  ■"  ^"^'"dt.  as  they  were 

^  Surgery  at  the  ^"rri^Xg^lf  tt^h  ^S 


ml 
II 


;v^l-.Si 


f 


44    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

Asiociation,  held  in  Portamouth  in  1890,  it  seemed  fitting 
to  devote  it  to  a  discussion  of  the  subject. 

Though  many  improvements  had  been  introduced  into  the 
services  in  the  fourteen  years  which  had  passed  since  my 
Soudan  e]n)erience8,  they  had  yet  fallen  far  short  of  those 
which  ought  to  have  been  effected,  and  I  felt  that  I  was 
justified  in  making  use  of  the  occasion  to  speak  very  plainly. 
The  following  extracts  from  my  address  will  show  the  purport 
of  what  I  then  said  : — 

'  The  destitution  of  the  army  and  navy  of  institutions  where 
surgery  can  be  practised  is  very  great.  Netley  Hospital,  limited 
as  it  is  to  the  treatment  o(  soldiers,  and  Haslar  to  that  it  sailors, 
do  not  offer  such  varied  material  as  is  required  by  surgeons  and 
physicians  to  cultivate  the  piactical  blanches  of  their  art.  And 
there  is  an  almost  total  absence  of  hospitals  and  lazarettoes 
throughout  the  stations  where  medical  officers  are  serving,  of  a 
kind  fitted  to  afford  them  any  of  the  facilities  they  have  a  right 
to  expect.  The  provision  of  places  of  study  and  practice  is  im- 
peratively called  for,  where  the  younger  and  middle-aged  officers, 
provided  with  all  the  appliances  found  in  civil  institutions  and 
with  every  class  of  patients  on  whom  they  may  be  used,  may  fit 
themselves  for  the  duties  of  attending  the  wounded  during  action 
or  in  field  or  base  hospitals. 

'  Had  custom  not  dimmed  our  eyes,  the  position  of  matters  in 
the  army  and  navy  would  ere  now  have  excited  indignant  surprise. 
While  the  calk  of  modem  science  have  been  heard  in  the  surgery 
and  medicine  of  civil  life,  and  effected  the  changes  to  whidi  I 
have  alluded ;  and  while  they  have  been  taken  to  heart  in  the 
medical  services  of  foreign  armies  and  navies,  they  have  fallen 
on  unheeding  ears  among  those  responsible  for  the  efficiency  of 
our  own.  The  contrast  between  the  medical  and  other  depart- 
ments makes  the  matter  more  astonishing.  Such  scientific  corps 
as,  for  instance,  artillery,  engineering,  and  telegraphy,  have 
undergone  extensive  improvements  and  reforms  in  the  last  few 
decades.  No  means  of  enhancing  their  efficiency  is  neglected. 
For  them  all  the  inventions  of  modem  science  are  studied,  ulopted 
and  improved.  Elaborate  care  is  taken  that  every  one  whose 
duties  in  war-time  will  necessitate  his  familiarity  with  appliances 
or  knowledge  of  any  kind  is  trained  in  them,  so  that  when  the 
call  of  war  is  heard  perfect  efficiency  shall  have  been  attained. 
The  hves  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Navy,  of  the  Royal 
Engineers  and  Artillery,  of  the  cavalry  and  infantry,  ate  devoted 
to  the  daily  acquirement  of  a  knowledge  and  familiarity  with 
what  they  must  use  in  war,  attainable  only  by  constant  practice 
under  conditions  resembUng  as  nearly  as  may  be  those  of  a  real 
campaign.  Tactics  are  studied,  manoeuvres  held,  officers  and 
men  practised  and  drilled,  fleets  and  bodies  of  men  are  put  in 
motion,  and  any  unreadiness  is  observed  and  remedied.  Yet  the 
Royal  Army  Medical  Corps  and  the  Naval  medical  service,  which 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  45 

t^^  Z7  "^S^"  *°d  mo»  v«ied  culture,  «  mo«.  profound 
a^7e??*I'nn^«"!,'""  '*'«~'.°'  P~««  •"'1  "PoHeSce  than 

f^ll!.^  ij  j"°?u*''  "'y  y™"  *8°'  «••'»  rough  and  ready 
wlSSTk  ^Jf Vk"'*  ""gh  ^d  """y  work  then'requiS.^  but 
mXi-„  '  ""Piony  with  the  revoluUoniMd  condiUoM  of 

«d^  n"^77C3  ^V'^"  °^  *^'  """"i^  .ervicc.  rf  Se  aH^ 
S.   ^»       J         ■   ™'''t»ry  Powers.    Even  the  care  that  has 
hTl^i^*-"^  °",^*  '»'=™loP«'»t  of  ambulance  ^  only  Lmh 
m  wounded  men  bemg  now  brought,  on  the  best  suJcalTrin 
aples,  to  surgeons  as  unBt  to  treit  them  as  it  is  Dos^We  for  a 

h^^  th"».  supiH^mg  that  their  ofBcen,  "after  acquiring  t^ 
i^™i« '^n  -"Hi'""  ""•  ^^"^  «»"«'«<»'  'hit  nSfita^ 
bTd^i^.Tl?.-!,"''  """•  °".  "btaiuing  their  commissions,  to 

te;:^ih"::2t?'-:5s  r'e^^Lti^'rsi,-^  z±i 

Hons,  weapons,  and  manouvres  t£at  war  wTroi^l^^f^S^ 
:S'?mJ:*^%''*"^""y  "''1^'*  a«.u,e'Siv:"al^erisTon,'^L*en?o.^ 
wnat  we  wi.  ess  m  the  medical  services,  where  the  problems  dea't 
wtb  are  even  more  sdentiflc  and  recondite,  and  in  S^Sit 
practiMl  apphcabon  is  even  more  necessary  instant 

.11  .fl^^fT"  »y''^">  has  had  a  sufficient  trial.'and,  in  spite  of 
^iin»TP5.'°J"fl°'^  '*!  ^  y^'^^  unsadsfactoiir  r«ults,  mdnry 
^^\^A  k"  '^'^!"^r.  ^^'^^-  The  Royal  Army  MeS 
Corps  tuid  Navy  medical  department,  indeed,  are  at  present  «dst- 
mg  under  impossible  conditions ;  they  cannot  be  subjS  o  s"ch 
nnpediments  without  their  effects  being  felt  in  a  himdr«l  wa« 

raHnn  1«  i  P"'.??""' the  same  privileges  of  professional  oc^- 
M.Hn^  their  civil  confrira,.  and  are  seSsible  that  they  arTnot 
equipped  as  they  ought  to  be  in  following  out  the  inteUectuS 
problems  to  which  they  have  dedicated  their  Uves  IWs  "m^ 
oeived  not  only  by  themselves  but  by  othe«,  e^ally  byfhe 
other  scientiBc  branches,  and  naturally  they  do'not  enjoy  the 
3ame  appreciative  esteem  as  is  accorfed  to  department^^^Lged 
m  the  constant  healthful  exeidse  of  all  their  due  acHvi*TSd 
possessmg  the  intemiU  vitality  and  self-respect  i^Sg  from 

SZ^T""  '"  fr  ^'ihi'^Tting  ^  of  intellectua?prog^ 
which  forms  the  ve^y  hfe  of  the  leading  professions  in  the  worM^s 

i«Xt  h«°7;  ^^  "  '*^-5'  "»•  ^'  ">e  sa^e  ca^:^^^ 
lies  what  has  often  been  complained  of,  namely  the  cold  reDarf 
psrf  by  th.  naval  and  militar/authoriti^s  Tthe  m^iS  seS 
in  Jh^^'PP'*'"''"'"?  °'  **"•  *«  ™y  i°  which  theyTre  sS^^- 
Lm^  ^^'"'^  requirements,  and  the  fashion  in  which^eU 
etercise  and  traimng  during  peace  are  overlooked  and  neglect 
IVy  would  seem  to  be  considered  as  less  deserving  of  devd^: 
mat  than  even  such  department,  as  the  commissarilt  and  ImX 
port-the  contemptuous  belief  being  apparently  held  that  tS 


^1 


n 


i)   •:• 


:IJ 


i;   ?  I 
1:    ; 

'Mi'.,  li 
.; , ill  11'" 


h] 


46    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

•urgeon*  can  be  summoned  into  the  Held  at  a  momi-nt'i  nutioe 
by  the  expenditure  ot  lo  much  money,  like  the  hor«r<i,  mulet,  and 
csmrls  that  an  anny  requires.  ...  j.     ,  • 

'  Let  me  give  an  example  of  how  the  army  medical  •ervice 
worked  in  an  expedition  ol  lomc  eleven  thouiand  men,  lent  under 
Sir  Gerald  Graham  to  the  Extern  Soudan,  and  landed  on  the  Red 
Sea  littoral  in  1888.  Following  aa  it  did  on  the  death  of  Gordon  at 
Khartoum,  when  the  country  waa  rouaed  into  excitement,  many 
millions  were  spent  upon  it,  and  it  was  fu  jhed  with  everything, 
even  to  hospital  ihipa,  at  profuse  expense,  nothing  being  wanting 
to  it»  medical  department  that  money  could  procure  and  nre 
provide  Vet  in  the  bearer  companies  the  men  were  from  Alder- 
shot,  the  carta  and  hameas  from  Woolwich,  the  mules  and  muleteers 
from  Spain,  the  doolie*  and  doolie  bearers  from  India,  arid 
camels  and  camel  driven  from  Aden.  The  wagons  arrivnl  m 
one  ship,  the  harness  in  another,  the  mules  in  a  third,  and  ^ 
at  different  times.  When  the  ambulance  wagons  were  landed, 
along  with  several  carU,  the  pieces  were  mixed  up,  and  the  men 
had  to  fit  them  tcjether  as  best  they  could.  When  the  mules 
and  harness  turned  up,  it  was  found  that,  while  the  wagons  were 
made  for  one  kind  of  draught,  the  harness  was  made  for  another, 
and  so  on.  And  the  officers,  non-commissioned  offlcen  and  men 
knew  nothing  of  one  another. 

'  For  the  medical  part  of  the  expedition  generally,  the  stores 
came  without  storekeepers,  and  without  proper  outward  indica- 
tion of  wiiat  the  packagea  contained.  Chaos  reigned,  and  I  Mn 
assured  that  if  there  had  been  an  engagement  on  the  day  the 
forces  landed,  there  would  not  have  been  a  bandage  forthcoming 
for  the  wounded.  And  very  much  the  same  state  of  matters 
exists  in  the  service  to-day.  .  .  •     ,     „       ,  ,         ,...,« 

'  So  complex  an  organisation  as  the  Royal  Army  Medical  Corps 
ought  to  be  kept  in  a  state  of  high  efficiency,  and  be  vitalised  by 
continual  practice.  It  ou^t  to  consist  of  separate  units,  each 
complete  in  itself  and  familiar  with  its  e<^uipment  and  work. 
Bach  field  hospital  should  be  completely  furnished  and  frequently 
practised  in  its  duties.  Every  corps  should  be  ready  to  act,  as  in 
other  departmenU,  the  moment  it  takes  the  field,  and  not  have 
to  learn  its  duties  there  when  the  day  of  trial  comes  in  a  cam- 
paign. Whether  stationed  at  home  or  abroad,  the  officers  should 
be  provided  with  all  the  proper  means  of  keeping  themselves  in- 
formed regarding  the  advances  that  are  for  ever  beinp  introduced 
into  their  sciences.  The  literature  bearing  on  every  r  v  progress 
should  be  supplied  to  them  at  remote  stations  where  scientific 
periodicals  and  books  are  not  found ;  for  no  medical  officer  can, 
from  his  pay,  purehase  and  transport  a  Ubrary  ot  the  newest 
medical  works,  even  if  he  were  aware,  which  he  often  cannot  be, 
of  what  he  ought  to  procure.  ... 

'  In  the  department  of  the  navy  ...  as  in  the  army,  the 
fundamental  error  is  perpetuated  of  adhering  to  a  system  whereby 
its  officers,  shut  out  from  practising  their  profession  as  civil 
surgeons  have  to  do,  fall  year  by  year  more  out  of  touch  with  the 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ^^ 

^r.^.,S^        2   ""u*'  •™n««ment.   thmt  seem  ddibenteN 

rf^v^J!^?.  u J'T^  ""°2«''  *"  •Women,  the  only  chj^ 

™  wL^„     l»P«n>tomy  perfonned  within  twelve  hours ;   but 

«rf^n-  °'i.°'  ^"  M'Je'ty''  fleet  U  there  any  poMiWl  tv  ot 

£^^^1  "  "P*'?"""  '■  ^"  »  ""ther  aLSSSodaUon 

insuumenti,  nor  accessories.  .  .  .  •^.v<u«uuu, 

•..If*"*"  *"  *^*°,  *""'*  ""   '><»«l  "he  smaller  vessels    which 

T.^      »  J      "!.-°°  ?>*'«"'»'»  'or  making  spUnts,  onlv  a  box 

to  tt^  G  ^  pI  •  *'  »a.hng.master  acts  as  doctor.  .  .  . 
^~L  '!3  -PP"*  '"""y  '"'*<»'  m»n  who  has  served 
possesses       jied  nuhtary  rank,  even  if  engaged  in  civil  DiacHa 

;»^  •       °'  '^'T;*^  '"  ">«  «8^a'  army,  but  are  in^rivate 

wa.  Office,  as  to  whefter  they  are  preparad  to  serve  their  Father- 
rL^  °  T-  *=Y'''y.Ge™-S  medicJ  man  who  hL  seri^ 
nX!  ^V'  *S  "  """""oed  'or  nineteen  years  under  miUta™ 
Ume  oi  ^l"-  ^v  P°'«^.''6x^  rank,  and  is  allot?ed,"ven  ^ 

rbteut'&TiiieSsir^.^^^^^^^^ 

Mikulicz  have  to  teach  these  classes  during  the  Easter  hoUdam 
Um"e°r5ti«  '°^1r„:^,"'  the  m„tor  and  simmer  re^foSsolTe 
hTiTl™  .  *  Pro'e^or  has  his  fixed  mihtaiy  rank  assigned 

to  him  m  case  of  war ;  most  of  them  rank  as  iieute^t-oen^ 
some  a,  generaU.  and  even  higher;  «,d  in Se  ™^' ^'5fe 
act  as  consulting  surgeons  to  the  medical  officers  of  tte  .r^jT^ 


'   i      J  j    j    .'      '  i 


48    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  fleU  or  Imuc  boapiUl*.  They  Roeive  the  Mine  pay  u  the 
miUtary  aurgron*,  w  do  aliio  the  other  luroruiu  who  an  liable 
to  be  called  out  in  caM  of  war ;  tome  of  the  latter  have  plaoei 
anignrd  to  them  in  the  SaniUry  Curpi,  etc.,  so  that  their  akill 
and  experience  arc  utiliaed  in  cveiy  department  of  the  lerviee.  .  .  . 

'  All  lurgioal  initiumenti  and  appUaneei  in  the  Qcrman  army 
are  provided  by  the  SUte,  and  in  the  navy  thi>  it  likewi»e  the 
caw ;  ev<!ry  hoipitiU  in  which  the  medical  oiBccn  Krve  hai  iti 
complete-  armamentarium  provided  for  it,  so  that  no  unwiie 
economy  hampera  the  moat  thorough  and  modem  practice  of  the 
healing  art ;  and  the  uune  thing  ii  true  in  icgard  to  the  naval 
medical  nervice. 

'  In  the  Ruuian  army  and  navy  aimilar  care  is  taken  ot  the  pro- 
icHional  culture  of  the  medical  offioen.  Russia  poueuc*  tix 
large  and  three  hundred  iimall  honpitab  connected  with  the  army, 
besidn  smaller  laxarrttoes  :  and  in  some  of  theae  the  equipment 
is  far  in  odvanci;  of  anything  the  services  posteaa  in  thia  oounlry 
Thus  the  military  hospital  of  St.  Petersburg,  wherein  are  treat,  a 
all  medical,  surgical,  gynaecological,  ophthalmic,  and  other  diacaaes, 
conaisis  of  Ave  sepaiiitr  clinics  or  mflrmariea,  each  of  which  ia 
complete  in  itself  and  possesses  dcpnrtmenta  for  every  dasa  of 
disease,  and  even  wards  for  nuying  pati'-nts.  The  wards  are 
excellent  and  replete  with  appliances  of  t.cry  kiiul  i  tliere  are 
bandage  rooms,  purifying  rooms,  operation  theatres,  bacterio- 
logical departmente,  rooms  fo.  phvei  -;J  leaearch,  laboratories  for 
teachers,  and  labonttories  for  iti.jwnts,  all  excellent  and  com- 
plete. Kach  clinic  possesses  8'h"  iieds.  .  .  .  And  about  45,000 
patients  are  treated  per  annum.  .  .  .  Russia  has  8000  surgeons 
in  her  armv,  and  any  of  these  may,  if  he  show  ability  and  powers 
of  work,  appl  v  for  and  bt'  ordered  to  return  to  study  in  the  hospitals 
for  a  period  of  two  year  ^  .  .  .  The  Russian  naval  hospitals  are 
arranged  like  their  army  hospitals.  .  .  . 

'  In  the  French  army  post-graduate  courses,  expressly  for 
medical  officers,  are  conducted  by  professon  at  the  different 
Universities  throughout  the  republic,  and  the  cost  is  borne  by  the 
army  medical  department,  while  a  certain  number  of  the  medical 
officers  of  the  active  and  reserve  army  are  every  year  ordered  to 
attend  them,  extra  pay  being  drawr.  by  those  who  do  so.' 

These  extracts  are  perhaps  somewhat  lengthy  for  a  non- 
medical reader,  but  they  are  necessary  to  show  the  lines  on 
which  my  address  was  planned.  They  constituted  a  heavy 
indictment  of  the  system  on  which  our  services  were  then 
conducted.  None  of  my  facts  were  ever  challenged  ;  I  was 
prepared  indeed  to  prove  every  one  of  them. 

The  address  concluded  by  offering  suggestions  for  the 
amelioration  of  the  services.  The  suggestions  made  were 
moderate  and  reasonable,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
some  of  them  have  since  been  brought  into  effect,  and  they 
were  limited  to  such  as  suited  the  time.    Had  the  address 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


XWn  Vh.^S'.i!:^^^'^'""-  "->  -«"-  -V.  been  ^ 

once  agreed  to  do  ^  ""'  '""°"''  "Wch  I  at 

The  Bi^ck  Wuk 

doctjo^tou,.  ^mu^  aut£^^^x--''irits!;s- 

•  Mv  n         B.  W'"""*  CA*ri.,  Aowwi^  t4tt,  t8g(). 

'or  the  purpr  «  of  .bldJin/mnii  °  °'  '?'""'«  SouthVifrica, 

'  Ahthuh  Bigqe.' 

in  South  Africa,  l^tl^"!^„t  J"^  **"  "••'rt«V  authorities 

«aymg  that  suih  imJ^l^iS  t'^ere^oul^""""""""  '" 
came  from  the  head  oTh^  . ™,  ^"  placed  m  my  way 
While  this  WM  so  and  wMu  HT  ""^"f" '  1? I»rtment  there^ 
of  the  milit  Jy  K  I  f~rii,^r  "'*r^""«'  ^^  behaviour 


'     HI 


i  1  •  ^  I 


so    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

subordinate  officers  of  the  army  medical  service,  with  the 
exception  of  a  very  few  who  sided  with  the  party  which 
believed  itself  wrongly  assailed  in  my  Portsmouth  address. 
Still  the  result  was  that  I  did  not  see  so  much  in  some  direc- 
tions as  I  had  hoped,  and  had  reason  to  congratulate  myself 
on  having  gone  out  on  my  own  charges  and  responsibihty, 
without  having  asked  for  the  countenance  of  the  then  Director- 
General,  for  I  fancy,  had  I  done  the  latter,  my  opportunities 
might  have  been  even  fewer.  As  the  event  proved,  and  as  good 
fortune  would  have  it,  I  obtained  the  most  valuable  insight 
into  matters  which  I  might  have  entirely  missed  had  I  been 
able  to  carry  out  my  original  intentions. 

Having  forecasted  that  there  would  be  a  long-drawn-out 
war,  though  not  so  long  as  proved  to  be  the  case,  I  had  not 
intended  to  go  out  until  the  beginning  of  1900,  but  the  events 
which  happened  in  Africa  hastened  my  decision.  Calamity 
followed  calamity  there.  The  inability  of  General  Buller 
to  cross  the  Tugela  River  and  relieve  the  besieged  Lady- 
smith,  the  serious  defeat  of  General  Gatacre  at  Stormberg, 
and  the  &ilure  of  General  Lord  Methuen  to  force  his  way 
beyond  the  Modder  River  and  set  Kimberley  free  from  its 
besiegers,  all  of  which  events  were  attended  with  heavy 
losses,  had  brought  Britain  to  a  serious  sense  of  the  task 
which  lay  before  it ;  and  it  was  during  what  was  called  in 
London  '  The  Black  Week,'  on  the  6th  of  December  1899, 
that  I  completed  my  arrangements  and  started  for  the  seat 
of  war  on  board  the  Union  Line  steamer  Mexican,  which  was 
proceeding  direct  from  Southampton  to  Cape  Town. 

That  week  I  found  London  indeed  in  a  serious  mood ; 
gloomy  apprehensions  for  the  future  were  deeply  impressed 
on  every  one,  and  I  saw  the  railway  terminus  fill^  with 
drawn  &ces  and  anxious  eyes  as  the  trains  moved  out  with 
the  troops  and  others  leaving  for  AfHca. 


xn 

To  THE  Cape 

I  RAD  made  the  voyage  to  the  Cape  once  before,  among 
the  usual  crowd  of  tourists,  groups  of  speculators  whose  dress, 
gesture,  and  speech  spoke  of  diamond  fields  or  gold  mines, 
invalids  going  out  to  Madeira,  and  bar-haunting  sots  sent 
from  home  in  the  hope  that  the  sea  voyage  would  work 
amelioration  or  perhaps  bring  about  the  end.  But  now, 
beyond  a  couple  of  convalescents  for  Funchal,  and  a  pair 
of  Dutch  families  retiuning  from  their  European  tour,  every- 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


thing  was  for  the  war     n...  —  ^' 

stores,  and  aoceS  fo^^h?^""  'Z?"'**  ''^  -""y 
OUT  passengers  the  soTs  of  the  R^i  '"l"*^  department ; 
where  to  rush  into  the  &;hHn„  "Pu""'  8»**"ed  from  every 
^Ucdforormadeweit^^'^,""^  «ven  ^fo«  they  w% 

the  bar  was  neglected  for  snorts  IS  ~"^  ^^^  """J  ™"0^. 
keep  men  fit,  Md  th«V  L!^  °  "erases  which  would 

between  tet!  ^Lt^^"^"  ^f^  'T""*  ''""^^^^ 
have  foreseen  the  different  f^  "^'f^s  cabms.  Could  one 
fellows,  it  would  have  sSde,^^^  ^h«:h  awaited  these  toe 
would  have  drawn  iZ^      '^  "'  ""'  *""  ^  think  no  man 

P^of'^X^t^-'SZlr^'tl^'^  ^o-^hire. 
Highland  regimTnt^n  hi»  „         T^  enhsted  as  a  boy  in  a 

«d  efBd«i^to  a'^^^s^n'^^^t*^"  '"^ "^  "^ "^-"'^ 
the  Chartered  ComDanvth.  n^r  '"**?«  ""ny  to  manaire  for 
was  ahnost  enteS'^*fu?^«"*  *^"  ^'«Ws  in  HSXi^' 
Matabele  War  ffi  L^'^tfo™^'*?^"'  "^^  ^^^^ 
others  mto  a  fighting  force  Witt  wwTh^  his  workmen  and 
eampaign  in  the  MatopDoffiH,^„^'^''"t«  brilliant 
most  against  thousandf  a^'wr^M  °  !""«J«d  ™t 

St  Ata»«.S-^"^  --o.:-^' 
the  colonel  in  oljSn^d  of  ^rd  RnL!^*;''^^'''^  «PPomtaJ 
veiy  brave  man  and  a  W^m^H^,^'  ^odygu^.     a 

selves  in  training.     Thev  h«d  W     u^"v"*^''  •»  keep  th^^ 
them,  and  hop^  to  get  ™-^"«''*.  *'^  ^^  alo^^h 

mojmted  coTnhich*te«T2'°Srt'>,°'r'''''  ^^J"' 
within  a  few  months  one  of  S  wh!fi  i  ^*  ^=P*-  ^las  I 
gettmg  a  commission  i^  Tho^vcmft^J""*  succeeded  in 
was  shot  on  the  very  momie  SSTn  th  ^^"^^  ^^ntry 
Ifop  on  the  TugelTwhile  anotRiS  S'/J^"?^  °'Spio„ 
about  the  same  time  ;  and  onlv  «f»  i-^-j  ?y?«ntery  in  Natal 
survived  the  war.  Fran!  S^^  1'''"  -Musketeei?. 
suffering  ftom  rheumatism  of  hT.  ^  ^^  *«°  J  he  was 
was'spinaldisease.-bur.S'ul^^i'^JI^.-^^^^^wa^^ld 


f.e^ 


r,  ■'•} 


:iMfj 


f 


1(1:  ■ 


ja    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  war,  to  share  afterwards  in  the  Hons  battles,  where 
he  won  undying  fame  and  gained  the  Victoria  Cross,  and 
was  killed  shortly  thereafter. 

Among  the  English  was  also  B ,  traveller,  sportsman, 

and  athlete,  who  had  left  his  young  wife  in  order  to  take  his 
share  in  England's  battles  ;  more  than  all  others,  he  was  the 
life  of  the  party  on  board. 

Hany  other  English  were  there,  often  in  the  second  or  third 
cabins,  of  all  ages  ftom  nineteen  upwards,  engineers,  artisans, 
and  even  officers,  one  of  a  mounted  and  another  of  an  infantry 
regiment,  all  burning  to  take  a  part  in  the  work  which  they 
had  failed  to  obtain  at  home.  Men  from  the  Colonies  were 
there  as  well— glorious  material  for  the  irregular  mounted 
infantry.  But— and  sure  it  was  a  thing  unique  where  fighting 
was  in  prospect — only  a  single  Irishman,  or  at  least  but  one 
with  an  Irish  name,  was  among  the  passengers  going  to  the  war. 
The  neutral  or  perhaps  even  hostile  side,  however,  were 
represented  by  a  couple  of  young  American  reporters  with  their 
wives,  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  Webster  Davis,  Assistant  Secretary 
to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  of  the  United  States,  all  of 
whom  were  on  their  way  to  join  the  Boers  at  Delagoa  Bay. 
They  kept  themselves  much  in  the  backgroimd,  but  all  felt 
that  an  atmosphere  of  suspicion  and  dislike  of  Britain  was 
perceptible  in  their  neighbourhood ;  and  no  one  liked  their 
pretence  of  having  no  connection  with  one  another,  which  was 
carried  too  far  to  be  genuine. 

ad  the  old  Metican  been  a  sentient  thing,  she  woukl  have 
been  herself  surprised  on  this  voyage  to  find  that  the  usual 
bar-swilling  and  euchre-gambling,  as  well  as  gambling  of  other 
sorts,  was  superseded  by  shooting  at  marks,  athletic  exercises, 
tugs  of  war  and  strong  manly  games,  instruction  in  mounted 
infantry  drill,  and  an  almost  universal  abstinence  tcota 
alcohol. 

None  of  the  liners  whom  we  met  on  our  way  to  the  Canaries 
responded  to  our  signalling  for  news.  We  were  eager  to  learn 
what  had  happened  in  Afnca,  and  hoped  to  be  cheered  by  the 
latest  reports,  but  were  left  in  ignorance  until  we  had  reached 
and  anchored  at  Madeira,  where  some  of  the  passengers  had 
wires  of  the  home  news,  and  as  their  contents  spread  men 
looked  in  their  neighbours'  faces  and  spoke  softly.  Another 
reverse  for  BuUer  on  the  Tugela— over  80  killed,  600  wounded, 
and  800  missing  1  and  who  might  not  be  on  those  lists  ?  for 
naturally  we  had  no  details.  Lord  Roberts  appointed 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Forces  in  South  Africa,  with 
Kitchener  his  Chief  of  the  Staff!  And  the  Militia  and 
Volimteers  called  out!      What  serious  anxiety  and  grim 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


53 


rwoluUon,  It  seemed  to  us,  must  be  pervading  the  old  country 
Md  Its  Government  at  home,  when  it  had  rome  to^such  S^ 

to  have  b«en  sup«seded  ;   but  Lord  Roberts's  appoinrmenj 
had  the  approval  of  the  military  men  whom  we  hJd^^rthTs 


M" 


XIII 

Cape  Town 

forces  under  General  Buller.    But  his  repulsed  onThixSella 

p«IT-    ^  ^^^^  therefore  was  to  remain  there  until 
S  r"^"^'  ^"^  ^P^^  by  his  movements 

r^J^^n'lf  ""/l?"^'  ^''''  -""1^™  additionsUund 
It.     me  (general  and  his  secretary  received  m..  wirt.  Z..u 

courtesy,  and  gave  me  such^S.^^'^fs  ThJ'l^ 
fh.f  ^J"'?^'^  =""*  P^bable  future  of  thfww  ^ 
U.ey  agreed  with  me  that  I  ought  on  no  account  t^^'on  to 

of  the  land  When  we  had  left  London,  thefe  was  Mubitably 
T^TV^^J^t'  '^^  «^1'"i«ht  prove  too  st^^t^^l 
?h.  ^     ?■   ^"^  *'™^'  ^""^  *•"'  disasters  might  multinlv  in 

sL^Th  ■  °"*''"  ^?f  ""*  «'^"  informed^abortSS 
strength  and  resources.  But  at  the  Cape,  where  these  w^^ 
known  to  most  there  was  quiet  confidence  tkuhere  was  r^U^ 

^Grwt  Bntam,  which  was  familiarly  known  to  nearly  ever; 
one.    TJ«  Dutch  population  of  oou«e  sympathised  not  a  uSte 


III 

(       ■  1 

.   M  if 


54    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

with  their  feUow-countrymen  ;  this  could  not  be  otherwise, 

for  many  of  them,  such  as  my  friend  T)r.  I ,  who  had  just 

had  his  brother  killed  fighting  in  thr  Transvaal  ranks,  had 
their  blood  relations  in  arms  against  us.  But  their  sjrmpathy 
was  most  unlikely  to  resolve  itself  into  hostile  deeds,  for  well 
they  knew  the  advantages  of  British  rule,  and  they  would  not 
willingly  have  exchanged  it  for  that  of  the  Transvaalers  and 
the  ignorant  old-world  Dutch  farmers  from  the  back  districts. 
A  few  of  the  fiery  young  men  would  and  did  steal  off  to  join 
the  Boer  forces,  but  the  vast  majority  were  not  only  not  hostile 
but  were  even  favourable  to  the  British.  In  my  journeys 
through  the  remoter  parts  of  Cape  Colony  which  were  to  come 
later,  I  was  almost  always  received  with  hospitality  and  kind- 
ness by  the  Dutch  settlers,  but  even  trom  the  day  of  my 
arrival  in  Cape  Town,  I  had  reason  to  conclude  that  there  was 
no  imminent  danger  of  a  general  rising  of  the  Dutch  population 
against  the  British  rule.  Among  those  Africanders  who  could 
hardly  be  termed  British,  though  sympathy  with  the  Boers 
undeniably  existed,  loyalty  to  Britain  held  the  upper  hand. 
My  cousin  was  an  instance  of  this.  He  was  a  native  of  the 
country,  had  before  the  war  to  some  extent  become  a  pro- 
fessed Dutch  sympathiser,  and  joined  the  Dutch  Ministry  in 
the  Cape  Parluiment ;  he  was  now  suspected  and  misrepre- 
sented in  the  newspapers  ;  but  my  many  conversations  with 
hiiri  convinced  me  that  Ls  was  a  loyal  and  conscientious  man 
who,  in  a  difficult  position,  was  striving,  while  remaining  a 
friend  of  Schreiner  and  other  Dutchmen  who  had  also  no 
intention  of  becoming  opponents  of  England,  to  do  his  duty 
to  Britain. 

The  Cape  Dutchmen,  however,  were  not  scrupulous  about 
conveying  messages  and  information  to  those  in  the  Transvaal 
and  Orange  Free  State,  and  so  much  of  this  went  on  that  Boer 
prisoners  had  to  be  isolated  and  sent,  some  to  St.  Helena 
and  others  on  board  ship  in  Simon's  Bay,  and  while  there 
visitors  and  correspondence  were  permitted  only  under  very 
strict  precautions. 

The  attitude  of  men  such  as  Solomon  and  Schreiner,  and 
even  of  the  Dutch  sympathisers,  was  understood  and  respected 
by  the  British  authorities,  but  the  latter  was  not  the  case  with 
some  others  who  wished  to  stand  well  with  both  sides,  while 

committing  themselves  to  neither,  such  as  Sir  J S , 

who  astutely  offered  his  houise  and  estate  to  England  as  a 
hospital  for  convalescents,  and  equipped  and  sent  out  an 
ambulance  to  the  Boers.  His  offer  of  the  house  was  refused  ; 
but  the  ambulance  came  out,  and  along  with  it  two  loyal 
Scots,  for  whom  much  sympathy  was  felt,  and  who  were 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  55 

that  time  allowed  to  go  towIrfsTh^i^.^  no  nurses  were  at 

own  department.'  That  volunte^  ^m  •?T*fu'"*  ""** 
everywhw  outside  Britain  fcX^Kf  ^'""*'  **  ''"'^ 
in  WM,  and  one  tolE  ™«r^  '^j^"  pepressible  force 
hardly   find    any  outTet    olw '^  ""^  "*"^'  """'d  here 

withthes%t"tleof  .TeafforTl"  "  '^'°V'^^«  ^'^' 
benevolences.  Tommies    and  other  minor 

su^";u'^^nr'  H  op^Smi:."""^  *•""  ^"p«'«'^"y  -*» 

miperltive  for  me  SclE^T^I!!f  °°*.*°^  ^'^'  **  ''»'» 
probabilities  of  thefotSe  and^kf th""7*^'  *°  *?"«"  *•"= 
Natal,  where  militar^^ekts  we^  „  ^'""l  ^*"  ^l^" 
occurred,  or  were  liSly  to  Elpp^r  ^="™«'  ^'^  "''^""y 


,  I  ■ 


1*     II 


u  = 


XIV 

The  MiuTAKY  Situation 

J^^sTt^rrSus'Vnel'  T  '°T^'»"'<^  »'*-<='^ 
port  of  Dirkin  to  tS  Tr^nW«?  >"  **^"^«''  ^''*^'  '^'n  *»><= 
Wlute  had  C  «nt  bS  h^  w.  '  ,f -""^  I*  '^""'^'  Sir  George 
and  besieg^"hSe  by  sup^oT  for^'^K^"''  into  Ladysmith 
General  Buller,  de"pZE  ufS  S  "fJ^^  ™''^' 
siege,  and  met  withreverse  after  ™        ^u^^°  ""^  ^^^^ 


«». 


56    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

of  the  thiee  by  which  access  oould  be  got  to  the  Orange  Fiee 
State.  By  it  "General  Gatacre  had  advanced,  but  after  hii 
serious  defeat  at  Stormbeig  was  lying  a  few  miles  to  the 
south  of  it  at  Sterkstrom. 

A  hundred  miles  to  the  west  of  Gatacre  was  the  third  line, 
running  from  Port  Elizabeth  into  the  very  centre  of  the  Orange 
Free  State,  and  this  was  occupied  by  a  weak  force  under 
General  French,  who  had  been  recalled  from  Ladysmith  at 
the  very  last  moment  before  the  ring  of  the  besiegers  closed, 
and  was  now  blocking  the  road  at  Colesberg  by  which  the 
Dutch  could  have  advanced  into  Cape  Colony. 

The  fourth  line  went  from  Cape  Town  in  a  north-westerly 
direction  to  Kimberley  and  Mafeking,  important  towns  on  the 
western  border  of  the  Orange  Free  State  and  Transvaal,  both 
of  them  invested  by  the  Boers.  Along  this  line  General  Lord 
Methuen  had  been  sent  with  picked  forces,  had  fought  a 
series  of  severe  actions,  met  with  a  disastrous  defeat  at 
Hagersfontein,  and  was  lying  on  the  Modder  River  unable  to 
make  further  progress. 

All  four  lines  were  furnished  with  railways,  by  which  alone 
operations  could  be  conducted  in  a  land  of  such  endless  arid 
plains  and  sterile  mountain  ranges. 

Lord  Roberts  was  on  the  seas,  and  large  forces  were  being 
transported  in  haste  across  the  ocean  for  the  further  conduct 
of  the  war. 

It  was  impracticable  for  me,  owing  to  the  distance  and  loss 
of  time  which  would  have  been  entailed,  to  proceed  to  Natal, 
and  I  therefore  occupied  the  time,  pending  Roberts's  arrival, 
in  visiting  the  columns  who  were  standing  on  the  defensive 
on  the  other  three  routes. 


XV 

To  MODDEB  RiVEK 

My  first  expedition  was  to  Methuen's  force  which,  lying  on  the 
Modder  River,  I  judged  to  be  waiting  for  reinforcements  and 
orders  from  Lord  Roberts,  who  was  soon  expected.  I  hoped 
to  study  some  of  Methuen's  battlefields,  and  ascertain  what 
the  medical  arrangements  had  been  during  these  fights.  A 
few  days  spent  at  Modder  would  also  enable  me  to  form  some 
idea  as  to  the  future  prospects  of  gaining  information  if  I 
were  to  attach  myself  to  his  command. 

Leaving  all  my  baggage  in  the  Mount  Nelson  Hotel  in  Cape 
Town,  I  took  the  train  for  Jfodder  River  on  the  second  evening 
after  arriving  in  the  Colony.    About  five  years  previously  I 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  5^ 

to  be  good-natured  «dt^wme'^v7,^^r"'T  *~"»''« 
This  time  there  weieno  ftJrlTf  everything  of  interest. 
««ept  wWiers  and  0^0^^' "1^"^ '   **'«'«  "•«  none 

w^o'S-r^JCiT^ST^^^^^ 

th^";^,!!  ateruiA':X»{''.?r:jSf '^  "'  ^' 
our  train  loyaUy    ^^  *"  '""^  '"ilf-breeds  who  cheered 

f^m  iS:fe£^;fth°foiro7"r?.„"rd"sf  "*'^^ "' » »«- 

Junction  we  S«o  JimT^V  *     ofiBcers.  and  at  De  Aar's 

French  fo^on  XpL  a^'SfrK  ""*t'',*i\"''  ''y  G""* 
with  a  repulse  anS  "a  3*0 ^oS-'s  d^f  "if  ^^^  '"^  -"Ly- 
tween  lao  and  200  men  W^  »«^  k!  °®'*"  *"'J  *»- 
experience  the  uTiXmof^nteTat^v?  """8"*  '■y  '''**" 
fortified  kopjes  held  b^^X^e^     °"  '"^"""^  •» 

As  It  was  dark  when  we  Uft  ^wTSi 
occasion  see  the  „^.  wST^J.^P' JST^T  ^'^  ""»  on  this 
which  the  line  runs  fo/ thTfll^ir^  '^l^''*  "«'""  ^^^B^ 
country  of  agri^l?^?  yfnevSS*  ^'^  ""'^  t°  Worcester,  a 
with  milk  and  honev  Mrt  of  til  i  f  *°°?'''  '  '""^  Ao'^g 
the  seacoast  in  tWs'^^.K  ^eL'"'"^«  "^'^  ""V*  adjoin! 
climbed  the  Hex  HiverPas<=  nTf    •  °"  mommg  we  had 

tableland  which  ffms  the  ^^t*o«fT/~t''  *°  *•""  ^  '*«' 
our  eyes  on  the  Karoo  DeLrt^e„f.T/'"'"*'  ""'^  "?«"«• 
the  name  of  a  desert  an^Hi;..^*  "/^  ^  ^^"^  '*'  '*  Reserved 
»nall  tufU  of  t^;.l^r^i^'^P'*'"  °^'"/y  ''tony  earth  with 
««tte«d  mean  d^^  S^''^B^t^r^  f'^  ^'^'-  "'"^  &'" 
had  effected  many  SCS^hv  tK.  '^  J!!J"^?"'"«  ^""^  years 
pumps  to  utilise  thrah»nH.?f   \  '"t^'duction  of  windmill 

Siven'^etSSsofcSSon  fe™"'  ^fK*?'  *^«°"  "^^ 
had  arisen,  and  isolatXCits'  hT^***  *"*"  """'*  *!"="' 
esfontein,  the  pZertVof  Mr  ?  ^"J*  townlets.    Mat- 

a  few  sheds  in.S^K~  tXl^U^"*1  ?°'"  »*"« 
owner,  a  Member  of  thrr-^jT*-  ?.'P'""^'  ""•*  '*s  capable 
enenj^  wS,   .ni  kI    ^f'slative  Council  and  a  num  of 

authorities  as  ThosStel  and  «„^f  "^  "^"^  *°  *»»'  ■»■"*«* 
wHierB.  It  waTThk  C  r-"^"*  •«""«  for  invalid 
Wauchone's  bX  H™1  J?*^   ""^   '"ought   Generel 

•t  Matjesfontein  ^    "™'  ">  his  own  pretty  oemrtery 


il 


•     ';  1 


M;'!i  -^^ 


58    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

Every  bridge  and  culvert  on  the  line  was  now  guarded  by 
the  pickets  and  white  tents  of  the  Cape  Mounted  Rifles ;  jumJ 
from  the  Cape  Town  Highlanders  in  their  picturesque  kUts 
who  were  being  drilled  in  the  great  square  of  Cape  Town,  aU 
the  way  onwards  up  the  line,  everything  spoke  eloquently  of 
war  ;  the  sword  was  waving  over  the  formerly  peaceful  land. 
At  Richmond  we  crossed  the  Nieuwefeld  Mountams  whi^ 
form  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Karoo,  and  thenceforw^ 
were  in  another  great  plain,  less  arid  and  more  populated, 
which  extends  aU  the  way  to  Kimberley  and  far  beyond  it. 
During  the  morning,  ere  we  reached  De  Aar  s  Junction,  1 

heard  another  account,  from  Major  S ,  a  fellow-traveller, 

of  the  strong  feeling  which  was  springmg  up  concerning  the 
neglect  of  employment  of  women  in  the  campaign.  Slany  of 
these,  he  stated,  trained  nurses  and  others,  were  anxious  to 
assist  in  the  hospitals,  up  country  and  at  the  front,  but  were 
not  allowed  the  privUege ;  while  every  day  mformation  was 
filtering  down  the  line  of  the  very  urgent  need  for  theu-  services, 
of  many  bad  cases,  especially  of  wounds  and  typhoid  fever, 
being  attended  only  by  men  of  the  R.A.M.C,  with  merely 
'Sisters'  who  were  not  trained  nurses  over  them.  Dissatis- 
faction was  felt,  he  affirmed,  not  only  by  the  men  and  women 
of  the  Colony,  but  by  the  officers  of  the  army  as  weU. 
Indeed,  that  this  discontent  with  the  attitude  of  the  medical 
service  towards  outside  help  must  have  been  widespread  was 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that  when  we  halted  at  De  Aar  at  noon 
it  was  again  voluntarily  brought  under  my  notice. 

At  De  Aar  (Dutch,  the  Vein)  martial  law  commenced,  or 
at  any  rate  was  more  stringent,  for  being  the  only  person  on 
board  the  train  in  civilian  clothing,  I  was  asked  by  a  non- 
commissioned officer  to  report  myself  to  the  colonel  m  charge 

of  the  district.    This  proved  to  be  Colonel  R .  and  when 

I  had  authenticated  myself  by  the  production  of  my  papers, 
we  found  we  had  mutual  friends,  and  I  met  with  a  cordial 
reception.  He  likewise  at  once  spontaneously  passed  some 
unfavourable  criticisms  of  the  medical  regulations.  A  man  of 
enlightened  views  himself,  he  commented  on  the  jealousy  of 
the  medical  department  lest  the  perfection  and  adequacy  of 
their  arrangements  should  be  called  in  question  on  any  point, 
on  the  unreasonable  impediments  which  were  hem?  placed  in 
the  way  of  the  sick  and  wounded  receiving  all  the  comforts, 
indulgences,  dainties,  and  cares  that  private  benevolence  was 
so  eager  to  place  at  their  disposal,  so  ft..'  as  they  were  not 
injurious  to  them,  and  on  the  fact  that  in  bad  cases  the  nursing 
by  trained  women  nurses  which  the  pubUc  were  only  too  ready 
to  supply,  and  which  would  be  received  in  pnvate  life,  was 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  5, 

refused  by  the  medical  authorities.  It  was  he  h«M  ~.r 
ticularly  unjustifiable  in  the  case  of  offlLJI  wl.„  fif  '  J^' 
one  would  claim  that  they  s^o?W  ^'^^i;^"' X' wa"y 

eWhSr^™^n  «»uld  only  agree  with  him,  that  sta^ 
Z^M'JZZ^r^:,'^  "  "^e^'^  that  the  officer  shall 

in  rt  rtnn!^  T.°"I'  ^  "°*  *^°'  """i"8  sisteK  doing  duty 
op^^kinHrof^dt.vS''"''''''^^*'"-  --  '  "^--^  -t  - 

ran  along  i„  close  proximity  to  the^estern  sMe  of  ?he  Stet? 
3?M Ws"*;fth  r  "o'th^'er  r  •""P^  '"^  simplyihe 'ratwiy 
plainsTduTd^^  turn's  ItTdt  ateet  ^1^1^ 
kopjes  now  fortified  and  garrisoned/and  ta  The^^iddle  "^^ 

of  the  ^wr"**  *^'  '*^*J°"  •'°"^«'''  ^^^  the  griupTof  tents 
?o  J      »°M'«^'  «nd  a  shaUow  tiench  and  b^stwork-thp 

SdTstlnr  ""^  "^^  '"  *'•'  Soud«n^„elos'rg\rm  ^^l 

the^'ost'1^te™!r  '7»n  tK  *'t  """^^  »"y  •"'*  ^'-^  B«>""»'t. 
It  hTd  tTn  the  :c        nf     •**  »t°PP">8-places  of  this  journey, 
of  advam^i^  *  „!i         '  °^  ""'  °^  '•'^  *"'y  battles  on  this  line 
01  advance,  and  was  now  commanded  bv  Colonel  WW.C 
whom  I  afterwards  visited,  as  will  be  told  later!    But  at^hat" 


'1  ". 


■■\ 


r.af  II  ■; 


f' 


at. 


I  ' 


60    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

eriwW  "t  Modder  River  and  Storlutrom ;  fttnek  Iwd  iust 
nute^ed  wmething  approwihing  •  check  >t  Coletberg ;  and 
Koberu.  on  whom  all  the  ftitute  depended,  was  stUl  on  the 
high  Mat.  So  in  Britain  and  eliewhere  doubt  pravaUcd  about 
the  luue  of  the  war. 

u^"^.^^  "^  "™'*'  •*'•  eoniniand  at  Belmont  a  irnaU 
"°°y°^  Queenilanders  and  Canadian*,  and  by  the  time  we 
*mv«d  there  he  had  jurt  carried  out  with  the«e  exiguous 
wwei  an  entoTiriie  which  wai  the  only  one  showing  that 
Britam  was  stUfable  to  deal  severe  blow*  on  the  enei^when 
hat  troops  were  properly  led  and  suitable  strategy  employed. 
Through  hit  intelligence  department,  PUcher  had  heard  of  a 
unall  army  of  Boers  lying  at  Douglas,  a  town  on  the  Vaal 
Kiyer  just  above  its  junction  with  the  Orange  River,  forty 
miles  to  the  wett  of  him.    With  a  body  of  his  men  he  set  o* 
at  night  for  Douglas,  stopped  at  and  •  sealed  up  '  every  house 
and  hut  on  the  way,  leaving  small  detachments  so  that  no 
mteUigence  of  his  movements  might  be  carried,  reached  and 
surnunded  the  Boer  commando  in  Douglas,  and  with  very 
shght  loss  captured  or  killed  every  man  of  the  enemy.    He  was 
retummg  m  tnumph  as  we  reached  Belmont,  and  the  pUtfbrm 
was  crowded  with  the  prisoners  he  had  taken.    They  were  aU 
m  civdian  clothes,  and  were  guarded  by  the  Canadiiis  in  sun 
helinets  and  the  Queenslanders  in  slouch  hats  with  a  bunch 
or  ostnch  feathers  for  a  plume.    This  feat  of  Pilcher's  was 
tolled  as  a  great  enoouragement,  and  relieved  the  prevail- 

WlS^und        "'"''  *'"  **"  ^'^  "''  "^  '**'*  °"  '  **^  ^^^ 

w.,^™*ilf  T"L*°  Modder  River  we  passed  many  ostrich  farms 
Where  the  buds  were  feeding,  quite  tame  and  undisturbed  by 
the  war,  and  several  stations  whose  names  were  at  that  time 
familiar  to  British  ears,  such  as  Enslin,  Graspan,  and  Honey- 

j  :  *'*  "«°*  »"d  orderly  camps  of  tents,  with  breastworks 
arid  trenches  round  them,  and  all  provided  with  iield  guns, 
Maxims  and  so  forth,  where  bodies  of  infantry  were  assoemted 
with  mounted  infantry;  and  in  the  evening,  as  it  became 
cloudy,  ramy,  and  cool,  we  came  to  the  most  forward  point 
occupied  by  our  forces,  on  the  then  famous  Modder  River 

Everywhere  the  eye  was  met  by  one  great,  uppareutly 
boundless  plam    through   which  ran  two   rivers,  th*  Reit 

lu  'wu"*  *"?,*  *'°^^"  (*^"^)  K'^e"-  <="«i"8  deep  passages 
through  the  alluvial  soil  and  uniting  at  the  spot  whereby  the 
station  of  Modder.  Near  by  on  the  fork  stood  the  wooden  and 
stone  buildmgs  of  the  hotel,  which  went  bv  the  name  of  th- 
in '  J*  f"?"""  resort  of  the  inhahitanta  of  Kimberley. 
AU  around  the  junction  of  the  rivers,  encircled  by  an  extensive 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


one  crap  by  faraway  to^S.'l"fJ^''  ^T  "'*  *»  '»«*•  but 
•nd  water  .uddIv  ^f  m..  Jn    ""'t;?"*  *°  P'°*^  the  weUs 

andiepamnothesiSv7J?t  h?  h    "  *^  i?  straightening  them 

but  the  cannon  we«,hl\^w  ^*i*'  numerous  ant  hillt. 

Methuei.     ^    '^         "°"*  ***'  *•••"  mes«age»  to  Lord 

XVI 

MoDDZR  River  Camp 


mI*^'' 


t ;  Tj 

^  '1 

■^^:J 

V  '■■ 

•  •■  ■ 

♦ 

6»    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

of  their  medicAl  arrangements.  There  was  no  pkee  where  I 
could  deposit  myself  and  pass  the  night,  but  the  station 
authorities  permitted  me  to  Kleep  in  the  carriage  by  which  I 
had  come,  and  when  I  turned  in  there  at  ten  o'clock,  the 
lightning  was  flashing  round  the  eastern  horizon,  the  search- 
light was  playing  over  the  camps  and  sending  up  into  the 
sky  intermittent  messages  to  Kimberley  in  the  north,  which 
answered  also  by  signals  thrown  up  into  the  sky.  On  all  the 
distant  elevations  lamps  were  sparking  off  their  messages  to 
their  base;  and  the  enemy's  lines  at  Magersfontein  were 
bestowing  an  occasional  gun  on  our  defences,  which  were 
responding  now  and  then. 

The  next  day,  after  I  had  made  a  toilet  at  a  bucket  of  wHtoi 
on  the  station  platform,  was  devoted  to  an  inspection  of  the 
water  supply,  and  the  typhoid  hospital  occupying  the  half- 
finished  schoolhouse  with  mcompleted  walls,  where  there  was 
barely  room  to  move  among  the  over-crowded  beds,  with  few 
if  any  comforts,  no  charts,  and  of  course  no  nurses  except  the 
orderlies  of  the  R.A.M.C.  The  ambulance  service  was  in  the 
form  of  carts  of  all  sorts,  from  the  regulation  British  cars, 
drawn  by  eight  mules,  and  the  Cape  ambulances  which  were 
really  the  better  of  the  two  kinds,  down  to  the  buck-wagons, 
which  were  about  the  roughest  means  of  transport  for  wounded 
one  could  possibly  conceive.  I  was  fated  to  see  much  of  these 
wagons  before  I  finally  parted  with  the  Modder  River.  I  shall 
merely  add  here  that,  while  the  medical  officers  were  of  a 
quality  which  couM  hardly  have  been  surpassed,  and  had  done 
everything  that  was  humanly  possible  for  their  sick  and 
wounded,  the  conditions  they  had  to  work  under  and  the 
materials  supplied  to  them  were  such  thi.t  they  did  not  bear 
out  the  boast  that  the  Royal  Army  Medical  Corps  was  '  in  no 
way  in  need  of  assistance  in  its  own  department.'  Even  the 
eyes  of  the  non-medical  officers  could  not  fail  to  perceive  that 
things  were  not  as  they  ought  to  have  been ;  and  the  very 
privates  saw  it  too. 

At  that  time  I  saw  the  Boer  lines  only  from  a  distance,  and 
shall  have  occasion  to  describe  them  fully  later.  In  some 
respects  their  ways  were  peculiar;  they  sometimes  used 
expanding  bullets,  though  probably  these  were  not  supplied 
by  their  government,  but  were  the  Jeflries  buUets  and  others 
which  they  employed  in  the  game  rifles  to  which  they  were 
accustomed,  and  were  not  a  deliberate  breach  cf  the  inter- 
national understanding  against  them.  Their  ambulance  men, 
however,  worked  their  big  guns,  and  used  their  ambulance 
cars  for  war  work,  but  all  agreed  that  they  were  humane  to 
the  wounded,  and  were  not  bad  fellows  afb»  all. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  63 

STsSm'  -  "^ •^•*' Mqu.inUaoet  whom  I hMd  iownta 
the  Soudan  oampaign,  u,d  wme  of  my  former  puoS^  inth^ 
Unirer^y . «  well ..  other,  with  whom^l  h^SeS  .Wu.^tod 

I.  Ji      j""'  f °'°"*'  Townsend,  who  had  a  kind  and  fHendIv 

!n!f  fh  u^.l*^"""  ""npany  "  1  returned  tS  Modder  lUrw 
th.  J^y' **  """  '^^  'i'*^'*  •>•  <»"»  give  me  was  to  do  ^.T,! 
the  Bwatestprospect  of  seeing  active  work  lay  there     nif 4« 

Sr')i?l*''*1"'2''  '"'''"  Town^nd  gave  mTa  Ih^Je  " 
nuit^^'"'  "•'"''  ""  populated  by  the  mort  vinilenTmo^. 
Sln^v.  "  **?"  "f^^"'  '°'  "ft"  pacing  one  night  th^ 
below  the  grove  of  apricot  trees  in  the  headquarters,  mv  E 
were  covered  with  tlood-stained  blisters  WWch  Vwe^L  te  . 
great  si„,  and  .0  infl«„«l  the  ab«,r^t  v^lsTf  m^J^t 
""tmovement  was  painfiil  indeed.  ' 

While  at  Modder  River  I  paid,   with   l^M   M.fk...  . 
approval  a  visit .»  Behnont.  on^^Jo*  to  slf tt  SlttlelSd 

CoZh  Kl  r*"'t'  '  P""  •"''  "  '«*»"  of  introduSon  to 
Colonel  Pilcher  who  was  in  command.  Lord  Methuen  e« 
pressed  himself  a.  being  interested  in  my  design  of^SSytaa 
the  condition,  of  hi.  victory  thero,  and  so  also  iS  the  mXI 
officer,  who  had  taken  part  in  it,  and  fh>m  both  I™^ 
valuable  information  and  hints  as  to  the  special  feat^I^ 
pr«|ented ;  indeed,  on  mj  return  to  ModdeMl^ver  th^i^ 
^pected  my  plan,  and  supplemented  them  with  many  vaSLble 
detail,  whicli  could  not  otherwiw  have  been  obtS 


I 


.1  »*1 


xvu 

BsUfONT 

te^*r»^TnJi".''^"v''y.  '***'°"  °f  ^•^o"*'  on  the  line 
7m JS'^D  °^  *?  Kimberley,  some  thirty  miles  to  the  south 
.f  Modder  River,  there  was  fought  a  battle  between  the  eS 
.nder  Lord  Methuen  and  the  Boers,  which  to  a  Sm:  of 
nUitary  sui^geo;  is  one  of  the  most  instructive  of  the  i^^ny 
perations  m  the  Boer  War.  Accounts  of  the  battleTre 
^™L.  ""/'**^  *'''*•"?"  e^  *"  South  Afncan  Campai^" 
ature  than  the  present,  but  an  account  of  what  I  mviielf 
bserved  and  learned  from  many  who  had  narticipated  W 
^U^»^  ^  °^  some  slight  value  and  mterest.'^  My  ^  t 
.ught,  and  I  had  the  assistance  of  officers  who  had  tato^  p^ 


64    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

in  it,  u  well  as  of  war  comspondents  who  had  been  there. 
The  Boers  were  still  showing  considerable  aetirity  on  both 
sides  of  the  railway  line,  endeavouring  to  cut  our  communica- 
tions, and  their  artillery  was  sounding  in  the  west,  where 
mounted  reconnaissances  were  endeavouring  to  locate  them 
and  frustrate  their  intentions. 

The  railway  line  at  Belmont  station  ran  from  south  to  north 
over  a  vast  plain  which  was  to  the  eye  a  dead  level  in  all 
directions  excepting  to  the  east,  where  there  was  an  elevated 
group  of  bare  hills,  four  miles  fh)m  north  to  south  and  two 
from  east  to  west,  a  mile  distant  from  the  station  which  was 
directly  opposite  to  them.  The  best  description  I  can  give 
of  the  grour  of  hills  is  to  liken  them  to  a  huge  dead  rhinoceros 
lying  on  its  side  with  its  head  to  the  north  and  its  snout, 
fore-legs,  and  hind-legs  pointing  towards  the  railway.  The 
rump,  hind-feet,  fore-feet,  and  snout  were  strongly  fortified  by 
the  Boers  with  numerous  breastworks  of  stone,  and  so  also 
was  a  small  detached  eminence  in  firont  of  the  snout.  Behind 
the  group,  i.e.  to  the  east  of  it,  was  a  mile  broad  dry  watercourse, 
and  beyond  that  was  another  long  group  of  hills,  similar  in 
size  to  the  former,  and  also  standing  out  in  the  plain.  On  its 
farther  side  or  slope  was  the  Boer  laager.  Three  miles  away 
to  the  north  of  the  fortified  hill,  hidden  by  rising  ground,  the 
Boers  had  their  field  hospital  at  Bushof 's  form. 

On  the  28rd  of  November  1899,  when  the  battle  was  fought, 
the  British  force,  about  8700  in  number,  and  consisting  largely 
of  the  Guards  Regiments,  was  drawn  up  in  line  opposite  the 
fortified  hills,  at  some  distance  to  the  west  of  and  parallel  to 
the  railway.  Our  bearer  companies  were  with  this  line,  and 
our  field  hospitals  on  the  right  rear,  near  some  buildings  called 
Thomas's  farm.  The  cavalry  Were  on  the  fianks.  The  attack 
was  a  frontal  one,  and  when  it  had  advanced  and  reached  the 
railway,  the  artillery  were  established  there  and  came  into 
action.  As  the  line  advanced  farther  in  open  order  across  the 
plain,  where  there  was  no  cover,  the  Boers  opened  fire,  and  the 
first  casualties  took  place  at  about  twelve  hundred  yards  from 
the  enemy.  Owing  to  the  height  of  the  Boer  positions,  it  seemed 
to  me  when  examining  the  ground  that  the  zone  of  their  fire 
would  have  had  a  breadth  of  only  about  seventy  yards,  for 
their  missiles  must  all  have  been  directed  at  an  angle  down- 
wards. Before  the  hill  was  reached,  our  men  had  to  ascend 
slopes,  at  first  of  five  to  ten  degrees  for  over  a  thousand  yards 
through  short,  prickly  bushes ;  but  at  the  hill  foot  the  slope 
increased  to  twenty  degrees,  or  over,  with  scattered  rounded 
stones  a  foot  and  a  half  in  sice,  giving  no  cover ;  and  finally, 
beneath  the  Boer  breastworks,  the  slope  increased  to  forty 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


which  decided  ther^^t  fi^fl*  fc^"  ^  ""^  ^^'  »»yonet 
by  carefully  cut«„gl';l°'t^^%^'^"«'  ^^'  "^  '  «J=^ted 
twelve  by  twelve  fet TnT  .^  ! P,  "*  ''"'''"  °''er  areas  of 
««rth,  reach^  a  sev^rit„  of  nn?"^'^  examining  the  ha^d^ 
forty^ight  squaw  f^^      "°*  """*  **""  °"«  bullet  in  evei^^ 

brS^sJ:fto"tt  ro4s™a'rtsri:f  *'^  '^y"-*-  ^^ 

«»valry  had  made  a  gallaTeffort  to  ^^^l  """^  ''«'•  »" 
them,  but  it  was  a  task  Chari^^r  tK  °"*^"^  """*  '"^"nd 
and  men,  and  most  ff  „^aU  ^f  tL  ft  "^t^"*  ''"'^''^y  Worses 
farther  hills  were  a  so  defenW«?  a  t^"^«  escaped.  The 
swept  clear  of  tte  fo^l^W  th  '  ^t^^  *°  ^  '"°™«J  '"d 
character  of  the  artLn  w»!  ^  ■^''*  :^"*  »*  «  ™d,  but  the 
were  not  obta^blarthrtLrf^  ^^^^-  """  ''^t^ils  of  It 

The  work  of  thf  A™J„  «^*  °f  o  ^  observations, 
of  Colonel  Townstd^J  Eri^^'Ct  '\''^''"^ 
When  the  bearer  comnan^  hr^Hir;  .t  ^^"  admirable. 
fieM  hospitals  were  S  foSs  t^th^'  "T""'"^^'  '^' 
and  a  ganger's  hut  farSerT^  S!  ^i"  '*l'^»y  station 
•tations  wer^  establL^  u„"er  th^^heYtS^Af  T^"''  ^''^ 
spurs  of  the  first  hills  which  Thflrt.."'  **■*  projecting 
hind  feet  of  the  recum^nf  rli^o^^^i-^Xm  t^  '""^  '"' 

Colonel  Pilcher  leadingTcol,^^!'  '''l!^  *°  **>'  "^-tb. 
(funs,  and  wagons,  off  to  thi^^S  mounted  men,  infentry, 
PVee  State  boS^  and  wheTl  w?'*  ^^IT^''  '^'  ^^^ 
photographing  a  m^u'nt^  ot^r  1^^^'^!^™^*  """^ 
■nquire  what  I  was  doinff  b^Mt  ^'^^?^  ^^  them  to 
satisfied  him.    As  I  nZ^^      ^'  exhibition  of  my  pass 

beyond  the  tortmj SS^^^r^^T^ ,'^'  ''"'^  ""•*  ''"*^t 
the  farther  range   I  had  *^~*'„*be  watercourse  to  the  top  of 

distinguishable^'  „ey  tw^'^ir*  '''J''^  ''^'^'y 
^Bt  of  our  outposts  S^n  ^™'*'  P»'^  *br«ugh  thi 
'he  Boer  laager  Ktj^nl^v  flJ^™  "*"™"«  from*where 
»kyline,  and  I  was  cartu,Jlf*^"r!  conspicuous  on  the 
"ho  had  been  ^nt  S^ke  me  '"n"*  "^^  '^'^  Canadians 
tet  me  continue,  and  I  w^s  on  Z  way  wlT  ^  5""  '•"^^ 
"hen  I  was  similarly  arrested  Ibv  TnnfK  V  ''"^quarters 
»ho,  not  satisfied  wit^pa^rorr^r"  *^T,^'^"  P'^"'**' 
™«pect.  because  the  ci^K  ^»e  a'r^"^'"'=""^  '° 
*-.    h.n.self   an    AlSSonia"  tr'i:;v^^"rt"'"e„^J:^ 


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66    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

relieving  the  tedium  of  a  wearisome  day  at  outpost  duty  by 
the  joke  of  marching  in  a  fellow-Aberdonian  as  a  prisoner, 
took  me  before  the  otBcer  in  command.  This  was  Lieutenant 
(afterwards  Brigadier-General)  Armstrong,  who  later  became 
a  good  friend  of  mine.  He  was  living  the  life  of  a  mole  in  a 
cavity  which  he  had  scratched  in  the  ground  and  had  covered 
over  with  bushes,  and  he  seemed  to  appreciate  the  monotony 
of  his  existence  there  being  broken  by  my  having  been  brought 
in  as  a  captive  ttoia  beyond  his  lines ;  so  I  shared  his  hos- 
pitality before  betaking  myself  farther.  We  discussed  the 
Boer  breastworks,  for  at  the  time  of  the  Belmont  battle  they 
had  not  devised  their  system  of  trenches  which  subsequently 
proved  to  be  so  novel  and  effective  a  method  of  defensive 
warfare  and  has  since  revolutionised  military  tactics.  At 
Belmont  they  still  built  their  defences  in  the  form  of  stone 
breastworks  on  the  top  of  eminences,  the  height  of  which 
necessitated  their  firing  downwards,  and  so  narrowing  the 
zone  of  fire  through  wUch  their  assailants  had  to  pass.  At 
Belmont,  as  I  said,  the  zone  was  some  seventy  yards.  Later 
on,  at  Magersfontein,  for  instance,  after  they  had  gained  in 
the  Modder  River  battles  the  added  experience  of  firing  from 
sunk  banks  such  as  the  river  ravines  across  a  dead  flat  in 
front,  where  the  zone  of  fire  extended  to  perhaps  seven  him- 
died  yaids,  and  was  the  more  deadly,  they  adopted  the  system 
of  digging  deep  narrow  trenches  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  they 
were  defending,  a  method  which  enabled  them  to  sweep  the 
plains  in  front  and  do  terrible  execution  on  our  forces  as  they 
came  forward,  thus  rendering  a  frontal  attack  almost  impos- 
sible of  success  ;  and  having  the  added  advantage  of  causing 
our  artillerymen,  before  they  learned  the  trick,  to  waste  their 
ammunition  on  the  harmless  hills  behind. 

On  returning  to  the  station,  which  was  kept  by  a  Boer 
farmer  De  Kock,  whose  wife  and  five  little  girls  and  two  boys 
had  passed  through  the  fight  unscathed,  and  were  happy 
among  our  soldiers,  I  had  reason  to  congratulate  myself  on 
the  honesty  of  these  potential  enemies,  for  I  found  a  belt  full 
of  gold,  which  I  had  forgotten  on  the  verandah  in  the  dusk  of 
the  morning,  lying  where  they  had  placed  it  on  the  top  of  my 
shoulder-bag,  with  its  contents  untouched. 

I  may  perhaps  add  here  the  result  of  Colonel  Pilcher's 
expedition  of  which  I  hac!  witnessed  the  departure  in  the 
morning,  as  it  was  afteiwards  told  me  by  Mr.  Smith, 
Mr.  O'Donoghue  of  the  Doily  Chronicle,  and  Mr.  Wallace, 
Renter's  representative,  with  whom  I  subsequently  travelled 
down  to  Cape  Town .  Its  destination  was  the  farm  of  the  Iocs  I 
commander  uf  the  Orange  Free  State  troopj,  a  man  of  the 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


one  of  them  and  taken  a^rhrpSe""  tII""*^'  '^""""^ 
was  conveyed  to  LubW's  form  , ,!?^  n  T^*  ^"^^ded  man 
attend  him,  but  he  refi.sedS  A  "  ^'J^'"^^  sent  for  to 
EngJishman.  On  his  refnXoVtSe  w  ""  ^^J  P"*'*'"*  "»^  «» 
,^'.VT  *!i''""  *°  JoeobX  a 5^e  Statist "^  """^  "nwounded 
m  the  hands  of  the  Boers  where  th^  ^" 'i"  *''^  ^''""ty 
hiimaneJy  treated.  C^eipSlJ^^TT^'^  '°^^'  ^"^ 
pn«ners  had  been  «mov^hop^''t''"°t  *'^*  t"'" 

the  Boers  themselves.  ml^^Z,  "^^  *''*'"  ""^  "^Pture 
to  surprise  and  punue  ^^e^^^^Zf/'  I-^bW's  in^iime 
managed  to  escape  after  beim,  t.,!f f  u  '^i™'  ^""^  however 
landers  Some  ^s  w^e^ft^^^y  ^f ^f*  by  the  Queens- 
with  whatever  else  was  lik^ST  u  ""^  *"''^"  ""ay.  alonn 
Klcher.s  force  was  thrndit^'^  the^f"'."^^  *°  the^eb^l^ 
and  the  mounted  men  ren«inT^'   f   '"^""try  returning  home 

they  did.  bivouack"g'S'"fhl°na''°'T'"'«^  ThS 
started  next  morning  Lin  t7s*™""8bt  °"  the  veld,  and 

ascending  an  elevat^T^  o/^nH  •~"",Vy-  They  were 
to  the  Free  State  border  »n^  ^  "^  '"  "  direction  i4ral]el 
Lubb^-s  farm,  c^nvoy1S\y\%^^«f ««  -agon  takeKm 

hadgottanirled  imwitw^  ""*"  ""der  Major  B 

the  K  wK  Cy  of  mtr"'' ""  ^'^"«"  behtrde^' 
bearing  down  on  thd^^si^irfo"' ^""t,!"""  ^'"'"g'  ''as  ^f 
^ted  wagon  and  itsl.S,fef^"^  ^^1^.!'^  °°  '^e  be 

for  a  fight ;  Major  D -  hw^Loff  fl'^.u'^"  ""«*«  ready 

temforce  Major  B •«  .,„°ii     !?  °**  5?"  the  larger  body  to 

tion  of  the  JhllT^':^^^y-^.'n^<^mJorar^i^. 
themselves  to  the  hS,  thSirT'"*:  ^'^y  ^  d'^nd 
feet  apart,  rifles  were  load JSthe^„°J" .'?.  °P*"  "^'^  eight 

given,  when  D -   who  h^n'l^       °'^  'Ready!  Present  I  • 

of  the  antagonists'  Id^a^^  ^d"hT.^  ''^  *''«  ^'^^ 
through  his  glasses,  reSd  that^e  t^M*".''^*"*  *bem 
»peaK  among  them,  and  that  thev  t,  W*  S'  ~"M  «* 
accordmgly  rode  stwight  ovct  to  thL  *  *  ^u  ^"*"b.  He 
P«.d  for  with  his  life  had  they  b^n  SUt^  ""^J".  ^"""^  ^ave 
was  m  reality  as  he  had  sn^icfT  j  ^'  """^  *0"nd  that  it 
to  the  Belmont  me^  weariS^^chZ  J  rt'  f^^^'"'  °^^ 
to  open  fire  on  his  party,  whlmthev  ^^  *'  *'"'  ^''"''  about 
to  attack,  and  whL  therhad  l^e^'telS'eTl.''""^"^'^ 
Both  sides  were  eager  to  feht  and  it  i^  ?>"  "'^  morning. 

I  ^^^t^"'Z^^':rn.1^^^;^^.  ^  «^^'r  River, 
-und^lorinva  Jed,Lj™tlgt'- :?;w^ad^^ 


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68    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

regiments  at  Modder,  after  having  been  treated  in  the  hospitals 
at  De  Aar  and  farther  south,  and  had  an  opportunity  of  learn- 
ing trom  them  the  opinions  of  non-commissioned  officers  and 
privates  on  their  experiences  there.  All  agreed  in  criticising 
unfavourably  the  army  hospitals,  where  they  had  been  denied 
those  small  luxuries  which  meant  so  much  to  them  and  would 
have  relieved  their  sufferings  and  discomforts  during  their 
convalescence.  Some  had  iMen  treated  in  a  hospital  which 
was  provided,  they  understood,  by  the  Good  Hope  Society,  and 
there,  in  contrast  to  the  others,  they  had  had  daily  gifts,  such  as 
cigars,  fruit,  and  newspapers.  I  was  told  that  when  they  were 
in  camp  in  Cape  Town  there  were  many  who  wished  to  send  to 
the  private  soldiers  such  things  as  effervescing  drinks,  Eno's 
fruit  salt,  tinned  and  fresh  fruit,  and  tinned  daintiej,  which 
would  have  been  very  welcome  and  which  they  missed  in 
these  hot  days,  but  that  such  things  were  not  allowed  to 
reach  them.  Some  of  them  who  had,  during  the  cold  weather, 
been  occupying  tents,  longed  for  the  simple  indulgence  of 
nightcaps  to  cover  their  h^ds  at  night,  but  such  things  were 
either  not  sent  to  them,  or  if  sent,  not  issued. 


xvm 

Modder  to  Cape  Town 

Having  gathered  all  the  information  which  I  required  at 
Modder,  I  took  the  train  back  to  Cape  Town.  We  had  a 
delay  of  nearly  six  hours  at  De  Aar  Junction,  which  gave 
me  an  opportunity  of  visiting  the  military  hospitals  there 
under  Major  Perry  Marsh,  containing,  at  that  time,  about 
160  patients,  85  of  whom  were  being  treated  under  bell  tents 
and  the  remainder  in  woodoi  huts,  erected  at  a  cost  of 
£1500  each,  forming  very  good  wards  of  100  by  25  feet  or 
thereabouts.  The  typhoid  fever  pases  only  seemed  to  have 
their  temperatures  kept ;  the  arrangements  for  treating  firac- 
tures  of  the  thigh  by  extension  could  have  been  improved 
had  better  beds  been  provided ;  and  there  were  few  comforts 
for  the  inmates.  There  were  no  antitoxin  serums.  I  was 
shown  a  tent  crammed  with  all  sorts  of  gifts  for  the  patients, 
such  as  fruits,  fresh  and  preserved,  tobacco,  clothing,  etc., 
which  were,  I  was  told,  being  distributed  as  seemed  judi- 
cious. There  was  no  X-ray  apparatus,  and  the  instruments, 
sterilisers,  irrigators,  etc.,  were  somewhat  ancient  in  type 
and  not  quite  what  one  would  have  expected  in  the  Thud 
Stationary  Hospital  of  the  Lines  of  Communication.  There 
were,  moreover,  at  that  time  no  nursing  sisters  at  De  Aar. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ^ 

awaiting  81*0^4^  J^n^?^""'?"*'  ^^^^  we  had  been 
by  a  r«ash  out^n  the  line  S".,,*''"''.  "^^  been  dela^S 
our  joumey  to  Cape  Town  We^''^"''u'"^'  *«  eonHnued 
the  night,  ind  when  b^kfast^T^  ''"l^"^  °«*^rt  *" 
I  eneountered  twenty-fiv^  i&tu  °'"?i**''  "'''^  "noraing 
to  escape  f„>„  the  E  «^\;''?^  fl«<l  f""n  Vryburf 
eWdren  with  them,  and  S  been  ^f^tt- ^''f'f  '^'""«'"  »nd 
and  eight  weeks  diwn  JS^nC^"  *^ne'  ^'tween  seven 
where  they  had  joined  ^r  f™i  '"  ^^^  ''eaehed  De  Aar, 

utter  destitutio„,Cd  lad  Lf^'S'  fr^u"'  *^""  ^««  « 
to  breakfast,  which  w^  a  U  for  whom  ^^  ""  "?''*  °'  *em 
be  found,  and  telecraDhed  In  fK-  T  ^^"^  """^  '^""d  could 
meal  of  bread,  nim  and  ^,«  "***  ''**'°"  to  have  a  good 
five.  When  Cfrriv^  tw'  ^^"t^  ^°'  '^'  ^J""'"  t*e?^ 
heard  their  story  Thi  ^^eLTu'!?"  ''"J"^*"*  this,  and 
number  sick  in^he  han^f  the  ^^''  '"i^^  '^°  °' t^eir 

about  thirty  trat  t^ad^^P^jS'IS  InTr"'  '  ^''°""'  *»'-''• 
bemg  conveyed  up  to  0,7^.^*  sorts  of  munitions  of  war 
we  arrived,  there  Ce  ttw~f  tW  ""  I"^''  ^y'  «ben 

there  would  have  ^1^^^:  r^etl^ i;?^™" 

XIX 

Cape  Town  TO  PoBT  EwzABETH 

^^^G^^i  F^i^L^rTlL^r^r '^™'*^  -  °'"»-« 

mission  necessary  for  my  vStinrAt'^  rn"*"'^  ">*  P«'- 
lymg  at  Sterkstrom  near  si!,ri^K.  "T'  '^"tacre's  fSrce 
membered  he  had  met  wrth  «  r^'*'  ^^"^  '*  "'"  be  re- 
Boers.  "  "'*''  "  """st  senous  defeat  from  the 

^^'St'^^'Sof:'^r^'kZ''^'  'r^^'  -  "  ^-f  time 
oa  board  the  ^«3/i^  rJ^f''''^^  '  P'«"s  were  ripe,  f  went 
b«ther,ana:aloffl"^h^':'i^',:?"8  -th  Grenfe^Tand  Z 
for  the  Daily  Mail,  and  fo?nd  T  „!.  P^'""  T"'«P""'l«"t 
tmveller  with  Mr.  Webster  D«vi«  7k  1?"'"*°  ^  «  ^^-Uo^- 
Pfthiserwithwhomlh^L"  "•  *^"*'""'<=^n  Boer  sym- 
KeUy  Kenny  Tnd Tis  staff  wT^  T  ^'^  ^°«'''"''-  ^^'^i 
l-y  the  steamer,  and  1 4asinTrodu?S'?l!?«  "^  ^^^*  I^ndon 
-ved.    XheE.lofTJ!!ltt;ll^^"irmTaf^ 


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1L'a!^Br.^£74KV!jaKbi.--v~%£&i.v 


70     REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

compatriot ;  he  was  endeavouring  to  obtain  a  command,  but 
had  not  as  yet  succeeded  and  found  difficulty  in  doing  so. 

Mr.  W ,  who  had  been  spoken  of  very  highly  to  me,  was 

also  on  board,  and  gave  me  a  letter  to  his  brother  in  Queens- 
town,  in  case  of  my  requiring  advice  there  about  a  plan  I  had 
formed  of  endeavouring  to  make  a  dash  across  disturbed 
country  to  French's  column  after  I  had  seen  Gatacre's. 

Our  steamer  was  prevented  from  starting  until  2.80  in  the 
afternoon,  when  we  sail«i  out  of  the  harbour  and  roadstead, 
winding  our  way  among  numerous  vessels  and  through  flocks 
of  large  black  I'rds  of  the  duck  species  which  were  swimming 
about  in  great  companies  between  the  vessels.  We  passed 
close  to  H.M.S.  NMe,  and  I  obtained  a  photograph  of  her  and 
her  steam  launch,  lying  close  to  her  like  a  baby  duckling  by 
its  mother  duck.  We  passed  one  of  the  hospital  ships  flying 
its  characteristic  flag  near  the  north  breakwater,  and  then 
rounded  Sea  Point,  where  the  hotels  and  factories  were 
heliographing  their  names  to  our  steamer. 

The  Dunottar  Castle  was  a  fine  vessel,  very  well  fitted  up, 
and  we  old  Mexicans  congratulated  ourselves  on  the  change 
for  the  better.  Her  fine  large  state  rooms,  numerous  con- 
veniences and  fittings,  and  marble  baths,  appealed  to  our 
sense  of  luxury.  It&ny  passengers  and  business  men  were 
on  board,  proceeding  to  the  various  coast  towns,  parents  and 
children  were  booked  to  similar  destinations,  and  one  passenger 
was  an  otBcer  in  Remington's  Guides,  who  had  been  captured 
by  the  Boers  in  one  of  their  flying  raids.  They  had  told  him 
that  they  would  not  allow  him  to  accompany  them,  and  tiiat 
he  must  either  be  shot  or  give  his  parole  not  to  serve  against 
them  ;  he  chose  the  latter  course ;  they  treated  him  well, 
deprived  him  of  none  of  his  ornaments  or  trinkets,  and  on  his 
pointing  out  that  he  would  have  to  travel  on  foot  for  a  journey 
of  two  days  through  disturbed  country  to  reach  British  lines, 
gave  him  his  revolver  and  one  cartridge. 

As  we  sailed,  the  children  on  deck  were  indulging  in  a  fight, 
the  ringleader  being  a  small  maid  of  five.  I  quelled  the  dis- 
turbance by  letting  her  work  my  firelighter,  gave  her  a  lemon 
squash  with  'ots  of  sugar  in  it,  took  her  along  to  the  barber's 
cabin  in  the  alleyway  which  was  distinguished  by  a  barber's 
pole,  and  left  her  happy  consuming  a  big  box  of  bonbons  and 
chocolate  creams. 

Next  day,  Sunday,  the  14th  January,  we  steamed  quietly 
past  Cape  Agulhas,  and  along  the  coast  of  Cape  Colony. 
There  was  no  divine  service.  I  had  a  long  talk  with  the 
General,  and  with  his  permission  introduced  Mr.  Webster 
Davis  to  him.    In  the  evening  we  reached  Port  Elizabeth, 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


whiJe  the  Geneiund  hil^Sr!^i°'^?'^«  «  » t^. 
foUowing  momi^.  '^  "'""'^  on  bo«d  untU  t£ 

XX 

Port  Elizabbth 

of  Port  ESh"°'':S:t ' Vf ^'•n  ^^f^^  "'"  *«  fw^ 
the  sea,  and  hence  is  b^th  L?»k  "'"^!,'^  ^^tWy  open  to 
««  breeze  blow"  whi,*!?  <J^  *    ""?  dangerous ;   whS  the 

m  of  white  watoi^ti^HheT'^  7"^  ''^*«™°°"'  it  « 
to  and  ftom  the^onf  m^*     ■    *™"'ference  of  passengers 

goods  da^^g  to  air«*  "^P'T"*'  """^  *'«'  handli^Tf 
weU-protertS^L^Bes  f^P*i"«  *"  strongest  articles  or 
from'the  hold  ffihS;^  'in  o  L^"  banged  violently  up 

««r.a,asthecasemayt^  Vtao^^?I  "k"*  '«''*«^  °'  "*« 
and  rough  stronir  wind,  fn  JT      °1««"t'e  breezes  are  unuiual. 

this  ternVr^hf  C^\'u?"t  urf'!5"'\*"^°^*'«<='i^ 
two  wooden  piew  ^jeSta^  j!^  "ts  d«wbacks  There  we,; 
landing.plac£  on  Dil«  ^*.  ""  *"'  ''"*  t''^  were  mere 
a-d  l^e'shi^.  „7wS  '^T^  Tdt^J'T'^  ^'^^ 
present  at  one  time,  thousTth^rw^if  .^  .  ordmarily  six 
our  visit,  had  to  anchor  fL^s  7),.^  "^^^  "'^  ^^"^ 
much  exposed  to  hrin»M  !  **  ^^^    ^"e  they  woi 

battere^^e^sSw  W«'T;k"  r*^*?  '^"°*  ""^  ^ 
once  met  with  thi?  fete  on  ?^^  ^"j  "*''""  '  six  of  them 
»sho»  the  day  we  L^^  °  *'"'  '^'  ^^^  «"«»  ^^  saw  one 

General  Ke%  Kennyra^v  fni^r'v!"  '''8''  «»»»««J  *» 
»nk  of  DirictorS^^te  fe  *"^"1.'  ~«  *°  *»« 
complaining  of  my  w^T^t  t^^'^7^  *»  headquarters 
authorisation  ;  hS  actT^u  J?  „  ^'T  '  T**"""  "^thout 
instance  of  th;  attitude  LCf!^  .     no  trouble,  but  it  was  an 

m  the  medical  s^c^^du^K  ^artltS't  ^^  '°'"''  °«-« 
'ng  reforms.  *  P°"  ^  "^  taken  m  advocat- 


^'iit 


■:■(■  11  4 


I     HI     .  ? 


7S    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

ahabby  houKs  and  stores  among  its  prettiest  edifices.  Raaeh- 
ing  the  shore  was  not  onattcnded  with  disagreeables ;  it  was 
an  awkward  step  from  the  accnmnK>dation  ladder  at  the  ship's 
side  inti)  the  heaving  little  steam  tug  beneath,  but  the  help- 
fulness of  the  sailors  rendered  it  safe  to  most,  though  one  man 
slipped,  and  fell  down  the  ladder,  and  was  only  prevented 
from  pitching  into  the  sea  by  a  hemp  fender  that  lay  at  its 
foot.  We  tossed  about  imtil  all  had  come  aboard  iie  tug, 
and  were  drenched  by  spray  and  our  feet  wetted  by  the  seas 
which  kept  washing  inboard,  while  just  as  we  were  casting  off 
it  was  so  owtrived  that  the  port  side  of  the  tug  on  which  I  and 
some  othfi's  sat  was  brought  under  a  cascade  of  watrr  flom  an 
aperture  in  the  steamer's  side  where  the  water  esK^ped  in  a 
large  stream  ttom  the  condenser  of  the  engines,  or  something 
else.  My  mackintosh  saved  me,  but  siome  lad:  had  th«ir 
diMKs  ruined  by  the  douche.  On  reachii^  the  jetty  we  had 
to  nold  by  a  swinging  rope  made  fasit  above,  and  jump  on  the 
steps  when  a  favourable  moment  occurred. 

After  seeing  the  town  and  malting  some  purchases,  including 
a  basket  of  the  irresistible  fhiit  of  the  place,  oranges,  giapei, 
pears,  peaches,  grenadillas,  plums,  banana*,  and  mangoes,  for 
Grenfell,  who  was  not  yet  strong  enough  to  leave  the  steamer 
and  face  the  rough  landing,  I  went  to  say  adieu  and  widt  good 
fortune  to  Gwieral  Kelly  Kenny.  At  the  station,  a  gentle- 
man to  whom  he  had  been  talking  came  after  me  and  reminded 
me  that  he  was  a  comrade  with  whom,  when  last  we  met,  I 
had  ridden  out  on  the  march  to  Tamai  in  the  Soudan,  and 
whose  magnificent  physique  I  had  admired  as  he  sat  his  horse 

in  command  of  the  artillery  there .    He  was  now  Major  W , 

Base  Commandant  at  Port  Ehzabeth,  and  he  offered  to  be  of 
any  service  to  me  he  could,  and  invited  me  to  come  to  visit 
him  if  I  again  passed  that  way. 

By  the  time  we  had  to  return  to  the  Dunottar  CaitU  the  wind, 
which  had  freshened,  was  blowing  almost  a  gale,  and  the  water 
m  the  bay  was  very  rough  indeed.  The  scenes  when  going 
out  were  almost  indescribable.  The  staggering  jump  from 
the  jetty  into  the  heaving,  splashing,  and  disappearing  tug 
bek>w  was  no  trifie  even  for  an  agile  man,  but  it  had  to  be 
taken  as  well  by  leuiies,  children,  and  tipsy  men.  The  women 
hung  back  and  grew  pale  at  the  sight  before  them,  but  were 
finally  in  desperation  coaxed  to  try  it,  and  were  all  safely  got 
into  the  boat  by  the  skilful  boatmen.  The  poor  children 
screamed  and  ran  away  up  the  steps  and  had  to  be  caught  and 
carried  by  force  by  the  sailors,  who,  however,  managed  to 
hand  them  aU  safely  in.  But  really  a  special  providence 
seemed  to  watch  over  the  drunken  recruits  or  soldiers ;  they 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  „ 

Queen  andXt  l^  ^*  P«tnotic  soiiB»-God  save  the 

«  ODod  d«il  of  fJrrr  J  ■      ^ »pla«hed  inboard.ai  t stopped 
electnc  lights,  and  most  of  us  had  long  been  asler  .  ino " 


Mk 


■)  m 


HI, 


74    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

esbint  befon  mil  ihook  into  their  places,  and  the  veHc 
■teamed  once  more  out  into  the  open  lea  and  made  eaatwaidf 
along  the  coart  tor  her  next  stoppage  at  East  London. 


XXI 

lUlT  LoMDOlf 

Bast  London  was  reached  very  early  on  the  morning  of 
Tuesday,  the  leth  Januanr,  and  as  seen  from  the  sea  had  an 
entirely  different  aspect  firom  that  of  Port  Eliiabeth.  The 
latter  appeared  arid,  treeless,  grassless,  and  presented  mostly 
sand  and  dry  bushes,  while  the  former  was  green  with  herbage 
and  beautified  with  trees,  looking  like  a  piece  of  Old  England. 
From  the  sea  Port  EUxabeth  seemed  to  be  an  irregular  garish 
town,  while  East  London  showed  on  its  front  a  pretty  and 
regular  series  of  villas  like  those  of  a  fashionable  watering- 
place,  constructed  of  cool  whitish  or  yellowish  walls  with 
ornamental  fronts  and  red  painted  iron  roofs,  embowered  in 
groves  and  forests  of  trees,  and  beside  it  emerged  a  capacious 
river,  which  came  winding  down  out  of  the  interior  in  stately 
curves,  flouing  through  deep  wood-clad  banks,  and  escaping 
between  two  converging  breakwaters  over  a  troubled  sandbar. 
This  was  the  Buttalo  River.  The  breakwaters  were  fine 
specimens  of  engineering,  founded  on  masses  of  concrete  blocks 
of  the  sise  of  a  house  deposited  on  the  sand,  and  finished  with 
regularity  above.  Against  them  the  big  Antarctic  rollers  beat 
ceaselessly  into  surf,  but  were  powerless  to  move  them ;  and 
through  the  opening  between  them  glimpses  were  obtained  up 
the  river,  showing  peeps  of  ships  and  steamers  which  lay 
withm,  but  merely  peeps,  for  the  wharves  and  landing-places 
were  a  mile  or  so  up  stream,  and  East  London  was  reached 
from  the  landward  side,  not  from  its  sea  face.  Villages  of 
white  tents  stood  all  along  the  beach,  where  many  of  the  in- 
habitants came  to  spend  the  summer  under  canvas,  and  their 
numbers  were  then  augmented  by  crowds  of  refugect  from 
the  interior,  some  of  whom  were  even  persons  of  wealUi  who 
had  fled  from  the  troubles  up  country. 

The  debarkation  arrangements,  though  resembUng  those  at 
Port  Elizabeth,  differed  from  them  in  some  respects.  So 
fierce  is  the  sea  that  landing  is  sometimes  impossible  at  East 
London,  hence  it  was  less  favoured  and  less  used  as  a  seaport 
than  its  rival.  Most  of  the  heavy  traffic  for  the  Orange  Free 
State  and  Transvaal,  such  as  heavy  machinery,  goes  up 
country  by  Port  Elizabeth,  and  wool,  mohair,  and  ostrich 
feathers  are  extensively  exported  through  it,  giving  it  thus 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  fg 

th^  «inffT*  "T.^r  ^°'"''  •'Wch  d«U  mof  )y  with 
It  hS  .  !?^  f  "^"^  traJe..  ..  weU  «s  over  E.«t  London. 

diS^HH^fi^S^',."!  **"'^''«  ^'^'^  iUu.ti.ted  well  the 
difflcult,esof  debarkation  at  East  London.    A  tug  was  brouaht 

deSeS  «tt^  been  .hum  down  into  it  in  greit  nets  by 
demcki  and  donkey  engines,  a  large  basket  of  cane  shan^ 

wa'jx^iiSr "  "T*  .'*"'*•  "'<•'*'•«»  high  »n:;zs 

was  deposited  on  tlie  steamer's  3eck  on  its  flat  bottom  bTa 
stoim  o^ane  worfang  overhead,  and  w.  were  toW  th^t  m  thU 
tte  pattengers  were  to  be  sent  on  board  the  tug.    I  w°" 

pencils  into  a  case,  when  a  door  opened  in  its  side  an<f  into 

oS^^r^?cK:S  *^'  P^""^"  "•>°  --«'«>  'hmselv^ 
on  small  benches  fixed  as  seats  round  its  sides ;  the  door  was 

K''a"nd°th'r'l"''^'^'*''i^''  '*'  inmates  Washoist^'i^" 

Uy  Wow  ^n  mv"^  ^T'"*'  '^'  '"  '"*°  **>«  tug  which 
«?^l«fri.        "™°  "y  own  turn  came  to  descend,  they  let  me 

f^  tt  T  ^1^  '  ''TP  °»  *•«  '^•«''  "'  the  tug,  reLrkW 
as  I  was  tumbkd  out.  'Oh,  it's  only  a  soWier      ft  won^ 

an^w^ignoSj:.'^''  "°*'  *^"«''  ^'^^  ^^  ^^>  '«S 

SSiTe  XL^.n,f'^K  "^"^  "^  "*  *«"  »'=''•  ^°^  the  wind 

th?!^-  ^bI'  iiy."",*"-  Y't  we  were  not  splashed  by 
i^uS^l«!'»!l^°'*,?''?'**'  ""•*  ^  't  had  been  smooth  M 
would  have  been  well ;  but  we  were  told  we  could  at  least 
congratulate  ourselves  on  the  fact  that  it  was  often  ve,^  much 

l^A  T  f^**  "^^'I^-  't  the  long  last,  we  set  off  for  the  show 
and  I  waved  my  adieus  to  some  of  the  friends  I  had  made  ™ 
the  Z)u„o««-  CoHle.  We  steamed  shorewards  througrrough 
waves  all  hurrymg  to  break  in  surf  rollers  on  the  land,  direS 
^^Tnt'  "■?  "IV^  ^""^  "^the  grey  breakTat;^  wh^ 
stoetched  out  into  the  ocean  like  cyclopean  walls,  and  were 

A^lr  ente^*?h  ^  V  "  *••""  ""^  *•>'  '^ter  became  ZZ^. 
o^Zthtr^^  '  ^^"^  ".r'"  ''"h  its  high  wooded  banks 
for  nlitl,  ,  t'  "'  "^.^  "^  '^  ^"""^  ^"^  th*  centre  of  Africa. 
Z^tV  ^T  n°'J'°"«  '"'«  visible,  but  after  sailing  ^p 

rSdstLmTltr  v/*^*!  ^J^^  8""'»''t  was  anchored 
^d^t^f  ^'''^**;*''?^  ^"«'^'»  ^*1°"  moving  about 
?he  .^^  V  ""^""t  their  rifles  and  Maxim  guns  One  of 
the  moored  ships  bore  the  name  Trajan  and  had  on  bow  and 


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76    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 
stem  the  big  red  cross,  the  distinguishing  mark  of  a  hospital 

We  went  ashore  at  a  little  landing-place  at  a  bend  of  the 
river,  and  having  satisfied  some  easy  customs  formalities,  I 
got  mto  a  two-horsed  hooded  gig  caUed  a  Cape  cart,  and  was 
rattled  away  up  a  rough  road,  through  woods  which,  when 
seen  near  at  hand,  consisted  of  strange  trees  and  gigantic  cacti, 
and  wayside  shrubs  having  flowers  resembling  yellow  marbles 
or  long  scarlet  trumpets,  which  last  I  was  told  was  the  Kafir 
honeysuckle.  Large  red  and  yellow  butterflies  hovered  in  the 
air  and  became  invisible  when  they  settled  and  closed  their 
wings.  We  passed  a  handsome  iron  gate,  the  entrance  to  a 
public  park,  but  I  had  no  time  to  visit  it,  for  my  object  was 
to  get  to  the  railway  station  to  find  out  when  the  next  train 
left  for  General  Gatacre's  camp  at  Sterkstrom.  It  was  I 
discovered,  to  leave  in  the  evening,  so  /  had  the  whole  day 
before  me,  and  ample  time  to  explore.  On  walking  down  in 
the  heat  for  a  couple  of  miles  to  the  landing-place  and  wharves, 

1  tound  out  the  office  of  the  Base  Commandant,  Major  S 

of  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers,  met  with  the  usual  friendly 
reroption  and  obtained  a  permit  to  travel  to  Sterkstrom  Camp 

and  a  note  mtroducmg  me  to  Major  H of  the  R.A.M  C 

who  was  in  command  of  the  Trojan.  ' 

Major  H was  good  enough  to  receive  me  kindly,  and 

took  me  over  the  ship,  which  was  an  old  Union  liner  that  had 
been  fitted  up  m  Southampton.    She  had  two  civilian  medical 

officers  under  Major  H ,  and  three  nursing  sisters  wearing 

the  red  cape,  who  were  all  very  anxious  to  go  up  to  the  front 
to  the  work  there.  I  shall  not  describe  the  Trojan,  but  merely 
state  that  she  was  well  adapted  to  her  purposes  as  the  base 
hospital  for  Gatacre's  column,  and  was  found  so  comfortable 
by  the  patients  that  they  rarely  went  ashore.  There  was  a 
clever  adaptation  of  a  sloping  ramp  to  overcome  the  incon- 
vemences  of  the  ship's  stairways,  the  invention,  I  rather  think 

of  Major  H- ,  and  owing  to  the  presence  of  the  sisters  the 

wards  were  homelike  and  filled  with  beautiful  flowers  and  other 
pretty  things.  The  operation  theatre  was  dark,  and  even  at 
midday  required  electric  light.  There  was  a  want  of  anti- 
toxines  and  other  medical  and  surgical  requisites 

After  lunching  with  Major  H and  his  staff  I  returned 

to  the  railway  station  through  much  thunder  and  rain,  met 
there  some  Aberdeen  friends  who  had  heard  of  my  visit,  and 
found  that  I  was  to  have  the  pleasure  of  the  company 
Ste  k  t         '^""^'"*  ^'  ^  ^  Tylden  camp,  on  the  way  to 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


77 


XXII 

Sterksthom 
It  was  night  when  the  train  for  Sterkstrom  left  East  Ix>ndon 
and  only  a  faint  idea  could  be  formed  of  the  land  w1  were 
passing  through^  The  carriages  were  arranged  for  s?^pTng  b^ 
were  unprovided  with  washing  and  dressing  accom3fiion 
Stiil  they  were  comfortable  enough,  and  the  two  Grenfells 

te"  rfnear  T:?d»   tT''"  T  ''""^  ^*  ^°"' '"  the  moi^'^'g 
we  were  near  lylden  station  where  thev  were  to  Icrvi.  ur,A  i? 

r  wS""^ u'i'* '"'  T '°  ^  *»-*  -  -« pa^trCugh 

a  brautiful  country  such  as  now  for  the  first  time  I  beheld 
m  the  mterior  of  South  Africa.     We  were  runnSg  thwrnah 

^  wrnhT"^  '''"^'  ^•'r  '^"'  ""'  e»^'  fields  aKa^ows 
m  which  sheep  and  cattle  pastured,  and  ploughed  fields  wheTe 
hens  and  chickens  picked  about  as  at  home     Groverand 
^t^      T  If  '"„""""  8reen,  where  birds  were  ILZ 
thmned  gradually  off  up  the  sides  of  the  grassy  hills  th"  tons 
of  which  were  hidden  in  caps  or  trails  of  mist,  and  st;e;ms  «n 
±Wt^**°rt  °l  '^'  ^""^y^-    H^«  «"d  there  ~p^ 
might  be  found  on  such  a  morning.     It  looked,  in  fact   ii^t 
hke  home  much  resembling  the  fertile  parts  of  CumSnd 
and  seemed  all  the  more  familiar  that  a  gentle  drizXa  ^fn' 
was  falling,  and  the  cold  made  it  plcasf"  to  w^p  "oS 
what  ^^r  *  ™''^""""\^  th°"«h  it  was.     It  show^  us 
Th^L^    /''^''^"^  ""8''*  ^  '^  't  ^^  enough  of  water 
though  the  trees,  except  a  row  or  two  of  Lombardy  po^C' 
were  not  the  home  trees,  but  were  wattle  trees  and  wU  ow- 
leaved  mimosas,  of  which  picturesque  aloes  and  cacti  ?onC  the 
undergrowth.    The  birds  too  had^only  a  shortly   ter™n1hei^ 
song,  and  the  red-coloured  ant-heaps,  resembling  iriTnt  moL 
hJls^  whichthicklydotted  every  fieldfaccentuateSthS^ent 
from  Bntam,  as  morning  wore  on  and  the  light  increasS 

The  Grenfells  left  at  Tylden  to  go  to  the  ramp  there  which 
was  finely  situated  in  the  form  of  a  perfert  smiare   nn  th, 

mrim""'  °'^^  ""''  ''"''.""«'^'  have'contain'^'t^Csa^d 
hX  T  f  ^•'°'?.'»««  the  well-known  horsemen  of  Colonrf 
fw,  'v  '"^  °^  '"^'""  '"°""*«^  '"f''°try  who  did  adC 
naUvrdialc^s!"""'^'  ""'"^  '"°'*'^  ^"'""'^-^  -»«'  '''-the 
After  halting  at  the  little  city  of  Queenstown  when-  «n. 
l^^J'"^^'  '"'^  '^'  maLiair^or  a  Lsty  toUet  I 
t^"^  T  *°  Sterkstrom,  along  with  colonL  felW- 
travellers  who  were  going  in  the  same  direction,  and  ^tt 


\    I- 


'I  lil 


I .'     ta 


1 

I. 

'"'1 

»  : 

i 

78    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

whom  one  fell  into  conversation.  I  did  not  like  to  hear  such 
comments  on  the  brave  but  unfortunate  General   Gatacre 

as  I  had  now  to  listen  to  from,  among  others,  Mr.  A M , 

a  partner  of  the  mercantile  firm  of  M — —  Brothers,  a  loyal 
Englishman  wlio  had  been  in  the  colony  for  forty  years  and 
knew  the  district  thoroughly,  his  firm  having  branches  at 
Aliwal,  Colesberg,  Bethulie,  etc.,  and  even  much  wider 
ramifications.    But  everywhere  in  this  district  the  feelings 

were  bitter  and  strong  on  either  side.    Mr.  M was  a 

resident  in  Queenstown,  and  was  very  frank  and  outspoken. 
He  considered  that  our  generals  were  much  to  be  blamed  for 
the  selection  of  their  advisers  and  guides  in  the  Colony,  having 
chosen  them  from  among  men  who  were  suspected  of  being  of 
but  doubtful  loyalty,  and  passed  over  in  their  favour  true  and 
good  subjects  who  were  desirous  of  giving  them  their  advice 
and  assistance.    He  and  others  drew  graphic  pictures  of  the 

condition  of  the  country  in  and  about  Queenstown.    Mr.  M 

had  suffered  heavily  in  his  business  by  the  interruption  of 
trade  and  the  enforced  closure  of  his  various  branches  in  the 
towns  and  districts  occupied  by  the  Boers,  estimating  his 
losses  in  the  preceding  three  months  at  £1000  and  over. 
Apart  from  the  district  being  full  of  disloyal  Dutch,  the  feelings 
of  soreness  against  the  English  military  were  certainly  very 
strong,  even  among  our  own  countrymen. 

The  force  under  General  Gatacre  was  intended  to  operate 
against  the  south-easterly  comer  of  the  Orange  Free  State, 
and  eventually  advance  along  the  railway  which  led  to 
Bloemfontein,  its  capital.  He  had  proceeded  successfully  as 
far  as  Queenstown,  where  he  found  himself  face  to  face  with 
a  Boer  army  which  had  invaded  the  Cape  Colony  in  that 
quarter,  and  had  driven  them  back,  pacifying  the  country  as 
he  went,  to  beyond  Sterkstrom,  some  thirty  miles  to  the  north 
of  Queenstown.  There  he  planned  to  surprise  the  Boers  by 
a  night  attack  on  their  camp  at  Stormberg,  but  had  not  only 
failed  to  surprise  them,  but  had  sustained  a  severe  repulse, 
with  considerable  loss  of  men  and  prestige.  As  a  result,  the 
loyalists  in  the  Queenstown  district  were  incensed  at  him 
and  depressed,  while  the  Dutch  sympathisers  were  exultant, 
and  feeling  on  both  sides  ran  very  high. 

No  papers  or  passes  were  demanded  of  me  when  I  entered 
the  townlet  and  camp  of  Sterkstrom  at  ten  in  the  morning  of 
Wednesday,  the  17th  of  January,  and  I  proceeded  at  once  to 
the  headquarters  just  across  the  railway  line  and  close  to  the 

station .    I  was  received  most  frankly  by  Colonel  D E , 

principal  medical  offictr  of  the  force,  who  conducted  me  at 
once  to  the  General. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


79 


Gataere,  of  whom  I  had  heai-d  so  much,  and  of  appearing 
tefore  whom  I  confess  to  having  felt  some  awe,  was  altoKther 
the  reverse  of  what  I  had  expected  and  been  led  to  believe 
1  had  elsewhere  seen  generals  with  enormous  and  uncountable 
arwys  of  packages  and  boxes  containing  all  sorts  of  bagmBe 
and  comforts,  but  I  found  General  Gataere  living  in  a  state 
or  the  most  Spartan  simplicity.  His  habitation  was  a  raUwav 
carnage  m  a  siding,  and  it  served  him  for  office,  bedroom,  and 
everything,  except  that  he  possessed  in  addition  a  simple 
bell  tent  pitched  near  at  hand.    After  being  presented  to 

Colonel  A ,  the  chief  of  his  staff,  and  Captain  H his 

aide-de-camp,  I  was  taken  to  see  the  General.    He  came  out 
or  his  compartment  to  receive  me,  gave  me  a  cordial  welcome 
to  his  camp,  and  took  me  into  his  private  retreat,  where  we 
had  p  long  and  mteresting  conversation.    I  on  my  part  told 
him  all  I  knew  about  the  actions  and  conditions  on  the  western 
line  I  had  just  oome  from,  and  he,  on  his,  explained  to  me 
everythmg  about  his  position  and  prospects  at  Sterkstrom 
reservmg  nothing.   He  gave  me  the  plans  of  his  position  there 
and  personaUy  walked  about  with  me  pointing  them  out  and 
showing  the  fortified  posts  held   by  the  fibers  who   were 
opposing  him ;  some  explanatory  plans  he  drew  with  his  own 
hand  in  my  notebook.     I  also  had  his  freest  sanction  to  going 
where  I  pleased  and  photographing  and  sketching  everything 
about  the  camp.    He  finally  offered,  quite  unsolicited,  to 
place  at  my  disposal  an  armoured  tram  in  which  I  could 
proceed  to  the  outlying  parts  of  the  country  held  by  the 
torces  under  his  command,  and  obtain  a  closer  view  of  the 
Boera    entrenchments  at  Stormbei^  kopjes.     I  need  haidly 
say  I  was  grateful  for  such  kindness  and  willingly  accented 
the  offer  of  the  armoured  train,  which  he  forthwith  ordered 
to  be  in  readmess  for  the  afternoon 

Having  completed  my  plans  o.   .,ie  Stormberg  positions 
and  of  the  Sterkstrom  camp,  I  was  delivered  over  agam  to 

Lolonel  D— -  E ,  and  taken  to  the  field  hospital,  where 

there  were  eight  or  nine  cases  of  typhoid  fever,  fifteen  or  twenty 
or  gastro-mtestinal  disturbances,  a  few  wounded  or  injured 
mostly  from  horse  accidents,  a  couple  of  eye  cases,  and  some 
mmor  ailments.    The  hospital  consisted  of  ten  double  bell 

tents  under  the  charge  of  Major  L .    There  was  a  fairly 

good  operation  tent  in  which  there  was  a  simple  and  convenient 
operation  table,  the  invention  of  General  Gataere  himself 
U  seems  that  during  some  war  (?  the  Franco-Prussian)  which 
occurred  during  his  earhcr  years,  the  General  wished  to  share 
m  It  and  could  obtain  no  post  except  that  of  an  ambulance 
driver,  m  which  capacity  he  learned  a  good  deal  about  the 


I   '." 


J I 


m 


■  I 

i    . 

'  J 

/'      '1:          i 

■UMiu   i 

I 

t  1  ■ 
>  ♦ 

}: 

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r.       ' 

B 

SB 

*   L. 

i 

1 

8o    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

medical  service,  and  became  interested  in  its  improvement. 
His  operation  table  was  the  result  of  this  ;  it  was  cjm-  act 
and  folded  up  into  a  flat  board,  very  portable.  The  ins'tru- 
ments  of  the  operation  tent  were  the  usual  ones ;  they  included 
no  X-ray  apparatus,  an  application  for  one  having  been  re- 
fused on  the  plea  that  they  were  not  supplied  to  field  hotpitals  I 
The  only  lights  with  which  to  search  for  wounded  nt  night 
were  candle  lanterns  carried  in  the  hand. 

There  were  some  apprehensions  in  the  Sterkstrom  camp 
lest  it  should  be  surrounded  and  overpowered  by  the  superior 
tovce^  which  were  presumed  to  be  occupying  the  country 
around  ;  trenches  were  being  prepared  round  the  field  hospital, 
and  an  underground  operation  theatre  wus  being  dug  and 
made  bomb-pp;of  in  case  of  such  an  eventua  ;  and  a  hill 
or  ridpe  on  the  west  of  the  camp  was  being  tu.tified  in  the 
strongest  manner  possible  with  all  the  means  at  the  General's 
disposal  as  a  place  of  final  resistance.  At  that  time  Gatacre 
had  a  force  of  only  8000  men  to  hold  a  front  of  twenty- 
flve  miles  of  mountainous  region  against  a  Dutch  army 
which  was  supposed  to  be  much  more  numerous,  and  which 
was  striving  to  force  the  passes  and  pour  down  again  into  the 
rich  and  disloyal  district  lying  between  and  including  Queens- 
town  and  East  London.  With  such  an  insuflicient  body  of 
men  Gatacre  was  unable  to  undertake  any  important  enter- 
prise, and  t  was  rather  surprising  that  he  had  been  able  by 
constant  vigilance  and  activity  to  maintain  his  ground  and 
even  slowly  to  make  slight  advances.  But  it  was  apparently 
the  intention  of  those  then  responsible  for  the  strategy  of  the 
whole  war  to  keep  his  forces  where  they  were  unless  a  move  in 
some  new  direction  threatened  his  rear  and  compelled  him  to 
fall  back.  It  was  a  trying  position  for  an  active,  ambitious, 
and  brave  man,  who  was  moreover  desirous  of  obtaining  some 
success  to  atone  for  his  misfortune  in  the  Stormberg  night 
attack  where  he  lost  so  heavily. 

1  next  visited  with  Colonel  I) E the  schoolhouse 

which  was  being  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  typhoid 
fever  cases.  Considering  the  circumstances,  it  was  a  good 
and  suitable  building,  well  isolated,  and  was  being  put  under 

the  charge  of  Sister  R ,  an  English  colonial  trained  nurse 

from  Queenstown,  but  who  had  urgent  need  of  another  nursing 
sister  to  relieve  her  in  her  duties. 

I  then  proceeded  to  the  luncheon  with  General  Gatacre  to 
which  he  had  invited  me.  It  was  indeed  a  most  primitive  meal, 
in  his  railway  carriage,  and  as  simple  as  every  meal  I  had  in 
Sterkstrom,  consisting  of  a  plain  cupful  of  bovril,  a  plateful 
of  Irish  stew,  and  a  spoonful  of  rice  pudding,  served  on  a  not 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  8, 

Xt™  ''i!?"  *''^'^"^'°*h,  with  dingy  dinner  napkins.    The  liquids 

a  small  glass  of  port  wine  and  a  cigar.  The  coffee  was  drunk 
out  of  tin  or  enamelled  mugs,  the  spirits  and  water  from  broken 

«™!  1  *•  ^*^^'^'  ""i.^  ^^^  •""'*»«•■  ^«'t'  ""d  P^PP"  were  in 
small  tm  canisters  which  seemed  to  have  held  tacks  or  pi  ,. 

nuLilff  ^  "^*"'  ^"'^  '''"''"*'*  °^  ^'^  °"e  made  all  most 
pleasant  and  mterestmg ;  the  General  himself  took  a  lively 
interest  m  every  subject  discussed,  and  extracted  all  the 
details  I  could  furnish  him  with  concerning  the  plans  of 

^.^^r.'^h^^"  ^""-  ''"'^  Magersfontfin  battles  and 
of  all  that  I  had  seen  m  South  Africa  on  my  present  visit. 
The  busy  chief  of  the  staff.  Colonel  A .found   time  to 

SL"  ^.?/-i"5,*°  ""  "ii**  '°  j°'"  '"  ""y  jest  tl^"w^ 

fn  «mJi  "'^"•^^■Tf-  ^"P*^*"  H .and  I  found  much 

IL^  u  '^^  T  ^^  common  friends,  and  one  of  his 
A^'^  "^        '"  medicine  in  the  University  of 

By  the  time  our  cigars  were  finished,  I  was  told  that  my 
amouMd  trem  was  in  readiness,  and  that  the  General  had 
given  orders  that  it  was  to  be  put  at  my  disposal  to  go  wherever 

I  chose.    He  had  also  mstructed  Colonel  D — -  E to 

tel^ph  or  heliograph  to  the  outposts  to  look  out  for  us  and 
meet  us  at  the  places  we  wished  to  stop  at.  I  photographed 
my  new  conveyance,  and  was  introduced  to  Lieutenant  G—- 
aoyal  Irish  Rifles,  who  had  planned  out  and  studied  the  train,' 

J  »i."  '!'  ""^  ^^  *•"=  "designer  of  the  signals  for  working  it 
and  the  tactics  to  be  pursued  in  its  management  when  used 

agamst   the   enemy.    At   three   o'clock   Lieutenant   G . 

Colonel  D-—  E ,  twsnty-five  armed  soldiers,  and  I,  got 

on  board  and  steamed  northwards  out  of  Sterkstrom  towards 

I^    '!!!i  J^*^'..^*.  u*"'™''^-    ^  '<»™«*  tJ^*  this  particular 

armoured  tram  had  been  so  well  managed  by  Lieutenant  G 

that  It  was  the  only  one  in  any  of  the  columns  which  had  been 
of  real  service  in  the  war.  and  indeed  was  the  only  one  in  South 
Africa  that  was  then  anywhere  in  use.  It  had  been  constantly 
employed  both  for  fightmg  and  for  repairing  the  railway  lin^ 
when  they  had  been  damaged  by  the  Boers,  who  had  made 
many  artful  attempts  to  wreck  it  at  sharp  curves,  by  throwino 
down  the  embankment  or  removing  the  outer  raU,  taking  away 
the  fishplates  that  linked  the  rails  together,  or  by^sing  a 
litUe  asunder  the  lines  of  rails  so  that  the  train  might  Tlip 
down  between  them  and  be  disabled  ;  but  their  artiflres  had 
not,  on  a  single  occasion,  been  etfectual  in  getting  the  better 

?' r ^  constant  vigilance  and  cleverness.    Luckily  they 

Had  not  used  dynamite,  in  the  opinion  of  the  lieutenant 


'^■l 


I'  1 


1   i!  ■  I 


"•71 1*,    " 


I 


82    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

probably  because  they  did  not  happen  to  have  among  them 
any  one  who  understood  its  use. 

The  train  consisted  of  two  cattle  trucks  with  an  engine 
between  them.  Each  was  covered  by  a  box  of  half-inch  iron 
plate,  enclosing  all  except  the  short  stump  of  the  funnel. 
Slits  ran  along  the  floors  through  which  men  lying  down  fired, 
and  also  below  the  tops  hrough  which  men  standing  on  little 
platforms  eighteen  inches  high  also  flred  ;  and  at  both  ends 
were  apertures  for  the  Maxim  guns.  The  slits  and  apertures 
were  closed  during  the  cold  nights  by  iron  shutters,  for  both 
officers  .ind  men  regularly  .lept  in  the  train.  There  were 
lateral  doors  for  entering  and  smaller  ones  for  oiling  the 
wheels  and  machinery.  The  tender  with  the  fuel  formed  port 
with  the  engine.  The  train  had  two  whistles,  one  for  ordinary 
use,  and  one  with  a  lower  note  which  was  not  hearr'  >  far  and 
was  therefore  inaudible  by  the  enemy,  and  also  a  t  ,  and  by 
these  signals  were  given  to  the  drivers  and  the  uutposts, 
according  to  what  was  required,  such  as  '  Go  on,'  '  Stop,' 
'  Go  back,'  '  Open  shutters,'  '  Close  shutters,'  '  Fire,'  '  Cease 
firing,'  etc.    The  train  weighed  120  tons. 

After  crossLig  level  country  for  some  distance  we  entered 
a  region  resembling  the  Grampians  at  the  sources  of  the 
Aberdeenshire  Dee,  and  then  commenced,  by  a  series  of  loops 
»nd  turns,  to  climb  the  ranges  in  front  of  us,  over  bridges  and 
through  many  cuttings,  along  a  track  which  was  a  most 
creditable  piece  of  engineering.  A  big  homed  ram  got  on  the 
line,  and  the  whistle  sounded  in  vain  to  warn  him  olt.  The 
train  slowed  down  and  stopped,  but  not  until  the  ram  had  got 
a  bump  behind  which  he  was  not  likely  soon  to  forget,  though 
his  life  was  spared  on  this  occasion.  As  we  crept  up,  the  plain 
below,  with  the  camp  in  its  centre,  spread  out  map-like  before 
us  and  we  could  better  understand  its  arrangement.  Yet 
higher,  and  we  got  views  of  lateral  valleys,  and  some  lovely 
lonely  recesses  in  the  hills,  where  farms  nestled,  shut  ott  from 
all  the  world  save  by  a  narrow  portal  where  road  and  stream 
emerged  side  by  side;  and  we  passed  groups  of  soldiers 
watching  over  the  safety  of  gangs  of  platelayers  and  railway- 
men  repairing  the  parts  of  the  line  that  had  sustained  damage. 
Climbing  to  the  skyline  of  the  range,  we  stopped,  got  out,  and 
found  horses  waiting  for  us  to  ride  to  the  fortified  prnk  called 
the  Buschmannshoek,  which  we  had  selected  as  our  place  of 
outlook.    On  its  top  we  found  a  fort  with  cannon,  Maxims, 

breastworks,  and  tents,  and  were  met  by  Major  A of  the 

Royal  Irish  Rifles,  who  showed  us  the  places  round  the 
Stormberg  kopjes  where  the  Boers  lay,  and  the  points  held 
by  our  soldiers,  of  which  I  made  a  plan,  and   afterwards 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


•S 


enjoyed  a  cup  of  tea  in  his  mess  tent.    Major  A •»  two 

senior  officer,  were  ^ptured  by  the  Boers  at  Sl.,r,nbei».  and 
.m^""  "pmmanded  the  regiment.  He  had  one  medical 
tiSf.  Jlfh  •""'  ;•:;  ""=  Buschmannshoek,  but  no  hotpi^ 
tent ;  all  the  invalids  or  wounded  on  these  mountain  stations 
were  at  once  sent  down  to  Sterkstrom.    After  ..p^",d  na  an 

on  board,  and  were  back  in  the  camp  at  6.80.  when  I  eneaBed 
a  room  m  the  Commercial  Hotel,  and  did  the  General,  tith 
whom  I  was  going  to  dine,  the  compliment  of  putting  on  mv 
last  clean  pair  of  cuffs.  "^         »       ""^ 

At  dinner  the  General  placed  me  at  the  head  of  his  tabic 

ects,  military,  medical,  and  scientific,  in  which  last  he  greatly 
mterested  himself.  After  the  meal  there  came  in  LieuCt 
MacB— -,  cousm  ot  one  of  our  Gordon  Highlanders  in  Aber- 
deen, the  provost  marshal,  and  some  others.    MacB wu 

killed  about  a  year  afterwards  on  the  Maghaliesberg  Mounts^ 
in  the  Transvaal.  Our  dinner  was  as  plain  a  meal  as  lunch^n 
had  been,  and  moderation  m  eating  and  abstemiousness  in 
drmkuig  were  characteristic  of  the  General  and  all  his  officers 
at  Sterkstrom.  We  broke  up  at  9.80,  and  I  went  on  f!^t  down 
IlLit.  ""  w^^.V  ,  ^^'""''nB  the  line  there  rang  out  the  usual 
startling  Halt  I  Who  goes  there  ? '  and  on  the  word  '  Friend  I ' 
the  order  Advance,  friend,  and  give  the  countersign  I '  The 
fnend  waUced  forward  and  spoke  in  a  subdued  voici  the  nass- 
word  of  the  night. '  Bedford.-  Down  went  the  rifk  Khe 
Heady,  the  sentinel  assumed  a  peaceful  attitude,  turned  on 
his  walk  callmg  out  'Pass,  friend,  and  all 's  well!'  and  no 
father  unpedunent  was  offered  to  my  reaching  the  Commer- 

cial  Hotel.     Colonel  D E ,  a  sensible  good  man  and 

an  excellent  doctor  and  soldier,  told  me  I  had  '  dug  it  into 
n^^^^  '"  *""'."!  him  my  opinion  that  his  strictness  in 
ordermg  the  removal  from  his  officers  of  all  badges  of  rank  was 
a  mistake,  as  the  experience  of  the  battle  of  the  Modder  River 
had  made  it  evident  that  some  sign  of  rank,  especially  that 
on  the  collar  and  shoulder,  ought  to  be  retained,  for  in  action 
men  of  dinerent  regiments  so  frequently  got  mixed  up,  that 
they  could  not  know,  a.id  would  not  fully  obey  and  follow 
strangers,  wh-!n  they  were  ignorant  of  their  rank,  or  indeed 
whether  they  possessed  any.     I  learned  in  my  conversation 

with  Colonel  D E— -  that  he  held  advanced  opinions 

*?  the  employment  of  nursing  sisters  in  field  hospitals,  such 
as  that  at  Sterkstrom,  where  typhoid  and  pneumonia  had  to 
De  nursed.  But  others  of  the  medical  officers  under  him  held 
other  opinions,  mamtaining  that  nurses  usurp  the  functions  of 


\-'\ 


'  ;;.i  .1 

1 

■  ,«  1 

*'      1 

1      '  LkL 

84    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  trained  orderliei  of  the  R.A.M.C,,  interfere  with  their 
training  and  so  leiien  their  efficiency  ;  that  there  were  diffi- 
culties about  '  conservancy  ' ;  that  their  tenU  could  be  aeen 
through  at  night,  and  that  with  thr  young  officers  lounging 
about  them  scandals  arose ;  thai  some  of  the  army  nurses 
were  '  above '  performing  certain  services  for  the  men  patients, 
and  that  many  of  the  officers  preferred  men  to  render  these 
special  services,  and  would  not  have  women  about  them  at  any 
price.  This  rather  astonished  me,  but  I  may  say  that  these 
views  were  quite  exceptional  and  seemed  ti  be  held  by  those 
vho  had  had  only  limited  personal  experience  of  army  and 
other  trained  nurses. 

I  hcd  hardiv  come  down  from  my  room  next  morning  when 

Colonel  D E rode  up  at  6  a.m.,  and  having  sent  his 

horse  away,  took  me  for  a  walk  round  the  interior  of  the  camp. 
Together  we  visited  his  fever  hospital,  then  receiving  its 
finishing  touches,  and  it  was  time,  for  on  the  previous  night 
sixteen  new  cases  of  typhoid  were  admitted  to  it.  Sister 
R-; —  had  been  offered  £40  to  £M  a  year  to  take  charge,  but 
as  in  Cape  Colony  the  usual  remuneration  of  a  .mrso  was  over 
three  gcmeas  per  week,  she  had  refused  the  offer,  and  the  local 
nurse  in  Sterkstrom  was  to  be  installed  until  the  sunmioning 
of  a  sister  from  Cape  Town  had  been  sanctioned  and  one  such 
sent  for.  We  also  inspected  the  water  supply  of  the  camp, 
which  was  frrm  a  bored  well  where  watei-  was  struck  at  a 
dep;h  of  seventy  feet,  and  was  good  in  quality  and  unlimited 
in  quantity,  though  it  had  to  be  pumped  up  by  steam  power. 
Next  v/e  found  the  camp  bakery  supplying  good  white  bread. 

In  our  rounds  we  were  fortunate  in  meeting  Montgoi  .ery 
at  the  head  of  his  famous  Scouts,  who  wore  the  South  AA-ican 
slouched  hat  looped  up  on  the  left  side,  with  a  skull  and  cross 
hones  in  white  on  the  fW)nt.  Montgo.nery  and  the  orderly 
he  had  with  him  had  both  won  the  Victoria  Cross  in  endeavour- 
ing to  rescue  the  body  of  Lieutenant  Grenfell  in  the  cavalry- 
charge  at  Omdurman.  Montgomery  was  a  man  of  great 
daring  ;  the  day  before  I  saw  him  he  had  ridden  up  to  a  Boer 
farm,  leaving  the  one  man  who  accompanied  him  posted  a 
hundred  yards  distant,  and  walked  quietly  into  the  house,  where 
there  were  four  or  five  hostile  Boers.  They  had  their  r/omen 
and  children  with  them,  as  he  observed,  and  he  concluded 
that  they  would  not  begin  to  shoot  just  then,  so  he  addressed 
them,  informing  them  that  they  were  rebels  and  had  arms 
hidden  in  the  house  with  which  he  knew  they  would  fire  on  him 
when  he  left,  but  that  he  would  return  next  day  and  punish 
them  if  they  did  so.  He  asked  for  a  drink,  and  though  they 
civilly  offered  him  refreshment,  he  would  accept  only  water. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


h  s  m.  ?5™"?  '*^T  "■'  "e*spnpew  that  he  had  kept 

oftheirh   \1  "■""•  ""P*""""  "'*"  "  'kirmish  thirty 

thJ^t """'  morning  I  obtained  „  couple  of  ph  tomnhs  of 
the  Sherwood  Foresters  advancing  in  open  oX  to^Stack  a 
kopje,  a.  well  a»  a  number  of  cha«.cteri,tic  views  o"™mp 

After  breakfasting  with  General  Gattcre.  I  returned  to  f,,. 

^■t  sci,'^'S^^z.x  SIS 

Itl^fill'K 'f^*'"^  "'*''*'"  ^"""l  »nd  took  leave  of  him 
Jt  was  with  sincere  regret  that  I  said  good-bye,  forno  one  hS 

f^t     "'i"""  deeply  than  did  General  Gata^     I  have 

?™  ~"~*'"8 -ny  materials  pauly  from  memory  and  nartlv 
from  notes  made  at  the  timi.  f#«.  t  u.j  u    ^      '      .  P""'y 

t\"e^^t^re.ri„"l?"r''-^^^^^ 

gmnmg  of  h,s  command  with  the  calamitous  attecW  tt-' 

a^:rw^^l-pe::^rar^^^^^^^^^^ 

pos^ss«l  immense  endurance  a'drii^eL-r.^rqu^o^er" 
rated  the  capacities  of  the  soldiers  under  hL  IS  Th^ 
t«jops  who  were  to  carry  out  the  ente^ris^   a?^  woru": 

StoX^u"SiL^'cS  ^^aru'ttal^tv'L^^^^^^^^^ 
exiwed,  and  urnved  at  theu-  destination  after  daylight 


■^in 


86    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

inntead  of  before  it,  in  an  abtiolutely  exhausted  condition 
without  h«vii,K  had  any  food,  and  being  ihort  of  water  a.  well! 
After  they  had  arrived  at  the  Boer  p<»ilions  they  wer;  them 
wive!,  taken  by  surprise,  u.,  it  was  the  wrong  part  of  the 
entrenchments  which  they  attacked,  with  the  result  that 
ta^  numbers  of  then,  were  ouptured  by  fhe  Dutch  and  the 
•^st  badly  routed. 
General  Gatacre  was  a  tall  handsome  soldierly  man  of  about 

nnltnn 'f  J^'"*  *«">''•''"  yuiBe"-  •  ^t  h.d  an  intensely 

nervous  face,  and  was  often  broodInK  'Iwply  over  what  had 
occurred,  with  p,.ri.Kls  of  silence  from  ubkh  he  roused  himself, 
and  he  pumfully  felt  h»  inability  to  do  mow  than  to  act  on  the 
defensive.  The  statements  about  his  suffering  from  ner>e 
shock  xvhich  had  seriously  told  on  him  I  hod  no  hesiution  i„ 
setting  down  as  being  unreliable  camp  rumours,  for  I  had  had 
^r^j;.^'T  '•^j*'^"^""  °f  «■««»  affecting  the  brain  and 
nerves,  and  could  not  doubt  that,  though  shaken  bv  what  had 

^k!^  ^T'  •"'.'■^?"'f«J  only  »n  opportunity  to  "prove  that 
l^r.t  r^  "^P"'-;"' .hi,  valour  and  talents  as  a  leader  of  men 
.vhich  had  placed  him  m  the  high  position  to  which  he  had 
attained.  The  cure  for  his  wounded  spirit  would  have  been 
round  m  action  and  an  opportunity  of  retrievuig  his  niis- 

GaUcre,  and  I  believe  he  felt  my  sympathy. 

XXIII 

Stehkstrom  to  Cradock 
1  HAVE  repeatedly  mentioned  that  three  lines  of  railwav 
reughly  parallel  to  one  another,  ran  northwards  ftem  t^e  ^^t 
to  the  Orange  Free  State,  one  starting  from  Cape  TownTne 
from  Port  Elizabeth,  and  one  from  East  London,  and  on  ihes^ 
hneslayrespectivelyMethuen's.French's.andGaiac«'s^ie^ 
f^«  Hnf  )i?  "  ^  T*'"'  *"  '^"'^^  *"  ^^«"=h's  camp,  but  the 
Td  I  had^oTS  *'"  '^l^^^iy^  «e«  held  by  the  enemy! 
and  1  had  to  find  a  way  through  the  disturbed  district  as 
inconspicuously  as  possible.  For  this  purpose  I  deS  to 
drive  across  m  a  hired  Cape  cart,  as  being  the^plan  letst  like  v 
alnlr*  °^«^t*'°.»-  On  going  down  from  Stekstre^t 
Qiieenstown  to  obtain  one,  on  Thursday  the  18th  January 
evidences  of  commotion  were  not  wanting  ;  the  press  S- 

we^T4n";7.i*T''  ""i,  "'  "'-"l-n^e  the  wild^est  rumo"« 
^Z.r7    ^"*'  "'°?t'y,'''thout  foundation,  such  as  that 

If^rlt^K  '"'"'f  *'  ^^"^  »i^"  in  Natal  and  that  She 
Brers  hod  lost  over  1000  men  in  a  recent  attack  on  Lad^th 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  g^ 

There  were  aliu  ruuioiirs  adveru  to  th.  n„»    i     . 
become.  t,ht  or  exuggtr^^^^^X'^,'  '""■  «*'">"""B 

«!"«.  kept  uni„foS{:5r:?Th:  ,i.^'cf ''n''"''\""y 

Queeii»town,lwenttotheBn«liu?i  1.  .•  ^"  fraching 
it  r..  the  be.t  bote  .  thouS'^?^°If  ■  j^'P*  V^  J"-  "'-"""; 
vogue,  n»  General  G^t«o^  k  j  '   ,~ —  '*'  *""'  "  (frtuter 

On  the  very  d^y  on  wth  he  h^d  ar?  :::i*'at*''T;idT*.K'"'"''" 
there  wa.  moved  on  to  Queenitown  th.™ .  J^  u '1;  u*"  «=""? 
to  g  ve  him  onl V  «  teni  r^fj  u  'T  '  .  ■  "*  **'*>'  bud  been  >le 
the'cmp  to°"t!re"town'  ?n"'i"„^sTw  ^,1^1  ~"  "-" '™m 

J •..  been  bitten  by  buBu  Tnd  ™,m.^  S   °'  the  nighl  to 

h«lf  expecting  to  find  me  111^1^      u'  '°,f '"f  »*  '*"  R^y'. 

and  hadThilh  teSr^tU'*^-,  a""vi^"i;.' t^'h"*'^  '" 
bedroom  and  defer  ivfnmi.,™  .     '  ""visea  hi      to  share  my 

night.  He  wished  tfgoZh  me  ?'  p  ""^1?'  '""*  ^^^  t^at 
wouJd  wiUingly  have  taken  h^  !?  '^""='' »  ^'"'nn,  and  I 

fitted  for  travelling  on  wLtm;^t1^"*'  ''"*  ^^  """  P^'^'y 
bi«  brothers,  the^ms^d^f-n^.r"^  •""«''  "'"''  »"^ 
Hor...  were  temp^rab'" t  tnH  *•"  ™''J°'-  P^  B«banf 
«"  to  the  responsibility  '^  ""^  ""'*'  "°*  **  ""-su't' 

^ttTi^n't'h'TSt^r  *^fo^^?'  «r'- "  ''"if  *""  "^^  --  -- 
horsehirer  to  who?^  iL°^  /  L""'  ^^""^  *"  ''^  ^  Crebo, 

toappTfert7i;:'t:>'etsSr«;t"c*^d'"'w'''r^ 

start  eaily  ne^Tmomfng      '    ^  "'  '"'^'""^  *''»'  '*  should 

vi^'^^'TSuwLbfthe'edt;  ^T'T''  "'  '«'"'«  ' -*- 
-hogot  little  from  mV£:ytfge"„'er' li^7'!7h^-' ^-'. 

^rf^t^igl'tl^sti?nr^^^^^^^^^^^ 

inhabitants  were  D^toh^nTlr'Lt'K/'ll"'"^""*^  °'  "^ 

them  not  a  single  n-an  ^t  «:  ^  to  hrBrit'h'T^ 
opmion  was  that  <ift»i.  fk.  "  tne  Uritish :    his 

disarmed  for  othemUZt;!'''''  uV^"^  ""S''*  ""  *«  ^e 
among  them  labL  Tnd  h^  ^  T"^  ^  '"'°*'"'"  ^=be"i°n 
langufge)  o^tt^o  longer  to^'us'^l.^'S:,?''*  ^^'  <9"'<* 
Hewasanuneompromifi^'TatrofXSinrev^^-H^; 


.^1 


if 


88    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

in  the  country.     I  doubted  if  many  students  of  history  could 
have  assented  to  his  views. 

When  I  rose  at  half -past  four  next  morning,  it  was  to  find 
that  poor  Grenfell  had  had  but  a  sorry  night ;  yet  I  had  to 
leave  him,  there  was  no  help  for  it.  He  resolved  to  remain 
where  he  was  for  a  few  days,  and  secured  the  second  bed  in 
my  room,  which  was  but  an  outhouse  with  its  door  opening  to 
the  street,  and  as  I  was  arranging  to  meet  his  wish  to  see  my 
cart  drive  past  the  open  door,  I  forgot  to  settle  my  hotel  bill, 
but  I  afterwards  remitted  more  than  enough  to  cover  it.  On 
going  out  I  succeeded  in  catching  the  stout  Mr.  Crebo  only 
after  much  hunting,  but  eventually  got  a  cart  and  driver, 
and  got  away  at  seven  o'clock.  I  never  met  Grenfell 
again. 

For  the  first  eight  or  ten  miles  the  drive  to  Tarkastad  was 
through  a  green  grassy  country,  studded  with  thick  bush,  in 
which  the  mijr"-sa  trees  were  sometimes  thirty  feet  in  height, 
with  huge  tho^'ns  five  inches  long.  Mr.  Crebo  had  at  my 
departure  produced  for  me  a  plateful  of  peaches,  and  upon 
them  and  some  biscuits  I  breakfasted  as  we  drove  along. 
The  next  twenty  miles  were  over  a  rising  plain  of  grass, 
absolutely  devoid  of  any  trees,  its  centre  crowned  by  a  large 
isolated  kopje ;  while  ranges  of  mountains  with  the  charac- 
teristic South  African  summits  of  peak  and  table  encircled 
it  many  miles  away.  There  was  no  made  road,  only  a  track 
formed  by  conveyances  and  horsemen  ;  it  ran  sometimes  over 
level  plains  of  soft  earth,  full  of  mud  holes,  sand  holes,  and 
ruts,  and  whenever  these  became  too  bad  we  drove  over  the 
likeliest  bit  of  the  veld.  The  last  ten  miles  of  our  route  were 
along  a  broad  flat  strath  clothed  with  a  sea  of  mimosa  bush 
poorer  and  thinner  than  that  around  Queenstown.  Occasion- 
ally we  had  to  cross  dry  watercourses  and  rocky  beds  of 
flowing  streams,  termed  '  drifts,'  down  to  which  led  natural 
slopes  01.  the  banks  by  which  access  was  obtained  to  a  species 
of  ford.  It  had  rained  heavily  of  late,  and  the  dry  weather 
which  had  followed  had  left  the  land  hard  and  firm,  with  very 
little  dust,  and  I  fancy  that  I  saw  the  country  at  its  best. 
There  were  few  if  any  inhabitants,  and  little  life.  An  occa- 
sional bird  called  a  '  fink '  (finch),  of  the  size  and  colour  of  a 
thrush,  with  two  long  black  tail  feathers,  twelve  to  fifteen 
inches  in  length,  which  wavered  like  black  ribbons  in  the  wind, 
flew  overhead,  and  numbers  of  grey  animals  like  squirrels  of 
the  size  of  guinea  pigs,  called  '  mirkatze,'  wit>i  bands  of  white 
down  the  sides  of  their  tails,  ran  along  the  ground,  sat  up  like 
kangaroos,  and  ended  by  popping  into  ant-heaps  or  holes 
which  they  had  burrowed  into  the  soil ;   these  were,  with  s 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


89 


couple  of  springbuck  which  we  passed  within  one  hundred  and 
dUWrt  '         '*"*  ""'  observable  of  the  fauna  of  the 

At  loi^  intervals  we  stopped  to  have  coffee  at  tiny  hamlets, 
such  as  Lehmannsdnft  and  Kleinfontein,  at  which  latter  place 
I  obtained  from  an  English  settler  some  information  about 
the  mhabitants.  This  differed  from  the  Queenstown  editor's. 
1  was  now  mformed  that  though  almost  exclusively  Dutch 
they  were  as  a  rule  not  actively  disloyal,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  present  war  had  been  for  years  careftilly  arranged, 
and  every  Dutchman  had  his  arms,  and  knew  where  his  station 

i!Z.r  »     u      *  *'°"^'  "^'"8  "'«'*  t°  take  place.    The  few 
loyalists,  however,  seemed  to  be  in  no  fear  of  any  outbreak 
just  then,  and  were  confident  that,  if  armed  and  permitted, 
they  could  easily  keep  the  peace  of  the  country,  for  ttey  men- 
tally dommated  the  Dutch  fanners  and  beat  them  hollow  at 
their  nfle  practisings.    So  confident  were  they,  that  they 
disagreed  with  the  views  I  had  heard  expressed  at  Queenstown 
and  considered  that  it  would  be  perfectly  safe  if  the  Dutch 
wore  allowed  to  retam  their  sporting  rifles  and  cartridges, 
cf  n    ^'i">'"'^^<'  last  few  niUes  into  Tarkastad.  in  perfectly 
still  weather,  there  came  down  upon  us  without  an  instant's 
wwnmg  a  violent  tornado  of  wind,  sweeping  along  the  ground 
and  eanyu,g  dust  and  stones  before  it.    The  (Wver  was  un- 
prepwed  for  it  and  was  immediately  blinded,  but  the  horses 
^kf?  to  be  used  to  such  an  occurrence,  for  they  instantly 
dashed  round  as  if  they  were  about  to  run  away,  bit  the  wii 
features  only  wanted  to  turn  their  backs  to  the  volley  of 
stones,  and  havmg  accompUshed  this  stood  stock  still  until  it 
had  passed  over,  which  it  did  with  the  same  rapidity  as  it 
had  arisen ;  it  was  presently  followed  by  a  rainstorm,  which 
we  naiTowly  escaped,  and  we  reached  the  Molteno  Hotel  at 
Tarkastad,  where  I  washed,  dined,  and  arranged  with  a  Mr 
Mock  to  hire  me  a  cart  to  drive  me  the  remaining  fifty  miles 
to  Cradock  for  the  sum  of  £4.  ' 

H^T^f^.tT'"  *  80od  many  Boers  gathered  in  the  Molteno 
Hotel;  they  were  evidently  unfriendly,  some  of  them  intoxi- 
t^I  D  ^  r  "  ^e-narks  were  made  about  me  and  my  wearing 
the  Red  Cross,  which  though  spoken  in  the  '  Taal '  I  managed 
to  understand  from  my  knowledge  of  European  Dutch.  Thev 
did  not  actively  mterfere  with  me.  however,  and  I  should  have 
been  comfortable  enough  had  I  not,  when  I  retired  to  bed,  had 
to  hold  It  like  a  besieged  fort  against  strong  investing  cohorts 
of  bugs,  who  stormed  it  and  attacked  me  whenever  n7y  candle 
went  out  or  I  fell  into  a  short  nap. 
I  was  to  have  been  called  at  4.80,  as  the  cart  was  promised 


11;  ifjH 


■I  ill 


^1H'l 


'irK 


;H\ 


!   i 
t 


90    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

to  be  in  readiness  at  five  o'clock,  but  found  it  was  4.45  when 
I  awoke  with  a  start.  Rising  hastily  I  dressed,  washed,  suaved, 
and  was  in  readiness  at  the  appointed  hour,  having  swallowed 
some  dry  biscuits,  but  no  cart  was  to  be  si'cn,  no  person  was 
awake,  and  there  was  not  even  my  bill  ready.  I  rooted  out 
the  cart,  left  what  I  thought  was  sufficient  to  clear  my  score, 
and  had  just  started,  when  one  of  Mr.  Molteno's  assistants 
came  running  after  us  to  demand  an  ertra  sum,  which  was 
handed  to  him.  In  the  previous  evening  Mr.  Molteno  had 
spoken  a  good  deal  with  me,  and  been  profuse  in  his  expressions 
of  desire '  to  do  anything  in  the  country's  cause,'  but  he  seemed 
to  me  to  be  professing  too  much,  and  I  certainly  could  not 
admire  the  kind  of  company  in  his  hotel. 

While  to  the  east  of  Tarkastad  the  land  was  what  was 
known  as  sweet  grass  veld,  towards  the  west,  on  the  Cradock 
side,  it  is  Karoo  Desert.  The  road  therefore  ran  over  great 
expanses,  many  miles  in  extent,  of  arid  heathy  levels,  or 
traversed  picturesque  gullies  through  the  mountains  and  hills 
bordering  the  flats,  until  it  brought  us  to  a  high  broad  plateau 
from  which  it  dipped  steeply  down  to  the  pretty  town  of 
Cradock,  nestling  among  trees  at  the  bottom  of  a  narrow 
valley  that  ran  for  a  long  distance  from  north  to  south  through 
the  country.  It  was  a  good  road  as  compared  with  that  from 
Queenstown  to  Tarkastad,  being  engineered  and  provided  with 
cuttings,  embankments,  and  bridges,  so  the  drive,  though  long, 
was  not  tiresome  or  even  uninteresting.  The  koraan,  a  bird 
like  grouse,  the  mirkatze,  lizards  brown  and  green,  and  many 
sorts  of  birds,  were  constantly  met  with  and  gave  life  to  the 
loneliest  parts.  At  one  time,  on  a  great  plain,  we  passed  close 
to  a  herd  of  some  fifty  springbuck,  and  ostriches  were  verj' 
numerous ;  indeed  on  one  occasion  a  flock  of  more  than  a 
hundred  of  these  birds,  dusting  themselves  in  the  hot  sand, 
blocked  our  road,  and  were  so  tame  that  some  of  them  did  not 
rise  even  when  we  drove  past  them  within  two  yards.  There 
were  intervals  for  refreshment ;  breakfast  I  got  at  Klipkraal, 
and  midday  coffee  at  Dwingfontein,  a  farm  belonging  to 
Mr.  J.  D.  Duplessis— called  Plessey— a  kind  and  intelligent 
Dutchman,  and  at  both  of  these  stopping-places  the  talk  ran 
much  upon  a  giantconvoy  of  two  hundred  wagons  and  ox-teams 
which  had  passed  through  to  an  unknown  destination  ;'  there 
was  little  difficulty  in  forming  the  surmise  that  they  were  the 
transport  wagons  furnished  to  General  Kelly  Kenny's  column. 
"The  drivers  of  these  wagons,  like  people  of  that  class  in  all 
times  and  lands,  were  behaving  lawlessly.  steaUng  the  hens 
and  sucking  pi^j,  injuring  fences  and  using  them  for  fuel  at 
their  bivouacs,  etc.,  and  refusing  the  usual  payment  of  a 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,, 

shaiing  a  day  per  wagon  for  the  privilege  of  pasturiiw  their 

S,"to?oW  V  ffl  T  ^*  '"'y  ^"'  &.veCenT7a^^^ 
t™f.T/  f^  herdsman  went  before  the  district  nZis- 

trate  and   complained   that  the  wagoners   had,  durinc   his 

thTt  th^tthT';'"*"*'^  '°r;"y  ^  S-*'""*  *''«^  conviction 
tnat  the  Dutch  residents  as  a  whole,  with  the  exception  of  the 

^°^i^^nr"/.^*-^'°^'''  ^'"  *""  ^«"  ^'tisfi^  w"th  Se 
government  of  the  a,untry  under  the  British  rule  to  be  ex- 
cerfmgly  desirous  of  any  change.    Most  of  them  were  kind 

or  other  requuements,  and  were  quite  frank  in  expressine 
of  theTT'-  ^"V^^"""!  tobelittledoubtthataiLjori?? 
had  Z'^'T  '«'"?«""y'  *°"W  have  risen  in  rebellion 
had  the  Boers  from  the  Transvaal  and  Orange  Free  State 

the^e"^ouV^^  W  '""f^  tl'e  P„.vince,  though  even  then 
W  tl,^~  have  been  a  large  minority  undesirous  of  this; 
but  there  was  nothmg  resembling  race  hatred  between  the 

he  Bri«°,rh  r '  ''"'^-  *'"'■'"  7\"  ^'"^  ^^'^  '°"8  'n  t°"<=h  with 
,™,^»i w-  .^'T^^^f  "T  °^  ^^^  advantages  of  their  just  and 
sympathetic  Hile.  and  desired  no  change  which  might  have 
been  for  anything  but  the  better. 


V-       i 


XXIV 

COLESBERO 

^l^J^'T.t'^lV^  ^'°"^^y  ^"^^  «*  ^™'l°«''-  where  I  was  on  the 

r^^lh  if '  *'"nr"''"y  'i""^  *'•''''•  "^  "P  *"*»  the  middle 
of  South  Africa.  Its  coastal  end  was  at  Port  Elizabeth  and 
.t  went  right  up  passing  Cradock  to  Rensburg.Xe  Reach 
was  facing  the  Boers  who  were  at  Colesberg,  and  N^uwS,rt 
was  half-way  up  this  line.  There  had  teen  a  bmnK 
Queenstown  from  Cradock  through  Tarkastad,  and  that  wa^ 

was  abandoned  owmg  to  the  disturbed  state  of  the  distrct. 

^InW?T"^'  "^""^  "^"^  """^  '^^""ty  ■""«  north  of 
Cradock  the  line  gave  off  another  branch  westwards  to  De  Aar 
on  the  Cape  Town-Kimberiey  line,  and  by  it  regular  traffic 
was  gomg  on  between  Port  Elizabeth  and  Cape  To^.  Alon^ 
the  Cradock-Naauwport  rail  General  KelirKenny's  forc^ 
whoh  r^.n  "P,  '°  "'"^""^  °'  support'^Genera^  FrenS 

rL  Ki:^'^  '"  «°  ""  *°  «™^*^«  *°  -«  *••«  »*«*^  "^ 
Arriving  at  Cradock,  inquiry  elicited  that  there  was  a  train 


Iri   '■ 


iPI 


I 


i :  ., 

■  1  'j| 

t 

"*•'': 
!'1'    ^ 

"'!:^ 

If 


92    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

^,?^^°?  Elizabeth  to  Cape  Town  passing  about  six,  which 
could  ttke  me  to  Naauwport,  but  from  there  to  Rensburu 
there  was  no  certainty  of  transport.     I  therefore  telegraphed 

to  U>lonel  G ,  the  principal  medical  officer  at  Naauwport, 

begging  hmi  to  give  me  a  comer  to  lie  down  in  until  there  was 

some  tram  gomg  to  Rensburg.   Colonel  G ,  who  afterwards 

1  tnmk  became  director-general,  was  the  medical  officer  who 
^me  along  with  us  in  the  steamer  from  Cape  Town  to  Port 
Elizabeth,  and  had  coldly  avoided  me  in  the  company  of 
General  Kelly  Kenny,  and  as  I  afterwaids  found  reason  to 
believe,  was  he  who  had  sent  the  P.M.O.  at  Cape  Town  a 
comptemt  as  to  my  wearing  khaki  clothing,  a  garb  most  in- 
nocently assumed  on  my  part,  as  :  had  always  worn  it  in  the 
Soudan,  and  hitherto  no  one  had  seen  anything  unusual  in 
my  domg  so.  In  ignorance  that  I  had  offended  his  suscepti- 
bilities, I  sent  my  request  for  shelter,  never  doubting  that  he 
would  be  pleased  to  comply  with  it;  and  when  it  had  been 
despatched,  I  lunched  at  the  station,  got  a  pass  to  Rensburg 

from  Major  K— -  K and  sat  down  to  write  up  my  notes 

I  was  muneduitely  accosted  by  the  Government  engineer  of 
the  raUway  Mr.  MuUer,  who  invited  me  to  visit  his  bungalow 
across  the  lines,  and  after  he  had  given  me  a  welcome  bath, 
his  wife  kmdly  provided  me  with  a  cup  of  tea. 

The  town  was  garrisoned  by  the  local  volunteers,  whose 
rommander.  Captain  S-—,  entered  into  conversation  and 
remmded  me  that  he  had  once  visited  Aberdeen  and  attended 
some  of  my  operations  in  the  Aberdeen  Infirmary 

There  was  nothing  eventful  in  the  journey  to  Naauwport, 
where  the  tram  arrived  at  11.80  p.m.,  and  where  I  was  left  t<i 
nnd  out  that  G— —  had  paid  no  attention  to  my  request  for 
accommodation.  That  however  mattered  little  to  me.  and  as 
the  benches  m  the  station  were  all  filled  with  sleeping  soldiers 
I  lay  down  on  the  platform  to  pass  the  night,  when  Ueutenant 
n^~~   •    ™,K°y«'  Engmeers,  who  was  the  Railway  Staff 

?^"^'J"l^^T™!-*°  "!  '^°''"  '""  ^^  ™°'°'  «"<!  was  almost 
offended  when  I  objected  to  taking  possession  of  his  own  bed. 
1  had  to  yield,  and  turned  in  to  a  splendid  sleep  from  midnight 
until  four,  and  when  I  awoke  once  or  twice,  there  was  my 
host  himself  lyuig  on  the  bare  boards.  It  was  a  piece  of 
extraordmary  kindness  to  have  shown  to  an  unknown 
stranger. 

The  train  for  Rensburg.  nominally  timed  to  leave  at  five, 
did  not  start  until  half-past  six;  it  oontaine--  only  a  few 
soldiers  and  wme  newspaper  correspondents  its  course  was 
over  typical  Karoo  desert  untU,  after  a  journey  of  two  hours. 
It  passed  a  large  camp  of  the  Suffolks  at  Arundel,  and  stopped 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,3 

allthe  camp  and  the  actions  wKich  were  going  on,  were  visAte 
and  I  was  able  to  make  a  survey  of  the  whole  d  is  riet  and  the 


I'll 


IH 


Ill 


ii 


I 


94    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

who  were  then  busy  wrecking  and  looting  it — b  proreie  which 
we  watched  through  our  binoculars. 

The  medical  staff  at  Rensburg  were  doing  excellent  work. 
There  were  two  field  hospitals  and  two  bearer  companies ; 
one  pair  was  distributed  over  the  extensive  front,  a  section 
being  at  Slingersfontein,  ten  miles  to  the  east  of  the  camp,  and 
another  even  farther  away,  seven  miles  beyond  that.  The 
work  was  mostly  surgical,  only  one  case  of  typhoid  being  in 
hospital  at  the  date  of  my  visit.  One  dreadful  case  of  amputa- 
tion at  the  hip  joint,  magnificently  managed,  was  on  the  way 
to  recovery  under  the  care  of  Captain  P .  It  was  dis- 
appointing to  find  that  such  officers  were  so  badly  provided  in 
some  respects.  They  had  no  serums,  and  no  operation  tahli 
beyond  the  army  panniers.  The  packets  of  first  dressings 
were  somewhat  rude  affairs,  and  had  been  coarsely  made  up 
by  a  firm  in  Cape  Town  ;  ai  d  the  two  railway  ambulance  cars 
they  possessed,  though  most  cleverly  fitted  up  on  trucks  by 

Major  A ,  were,  as  may  be  imagined,  but  poor  substitutes 

for  properly  constructed  cars,  for  I  travelled  down  by  the 
train  on  which  they  were  running,  and  the  journey  in  them  was 
a  rough  experience  for  invalid  or  injured  soldiers.  An  ambu- 
lance train  for  which  Colonel  D had  telegraphed  had  been 

refused  to  him  on  account  of  the  expense. 

After  I  had  seen  all  the  medical  arrangements,  and  had  a 

long  conversation  with  Colonel  D ,  whose  original  distrust 

of  me  had  worn  off,  about  the  functions  of  his  bearer  companies 
in  action,  and  about  some  very  interesting  personal  experiences 
of  his  own  at  Jan  Batai  in  the  Tirah  Campaign,  where  he  had 
safely  transported  and  fed  thirty-five  cases  of  typhoid  fever 
for  five  days  on  doolies,  without  a  single  one  dying  or  having 
haemorrhage  on  the  way,  I  saw  that  there  was  nothing  further 
to  detain  me  in  Rensburg,  and  arranged  to  leave  it  by  the 
train  carrying  down  the  patients  to  De  Aar  and  Cape  Town, 
■"/here  the  base  hospitals  for  General  French's  troops  were 
situated. 

I  witnessed  the  transference  of  the  patients  into  their  car- 
riages and  obtained  accommodation  fo.-  myself  in  the  guard's 
van.  It  was  a  rough  ride,  and  the  van  was  crowded  with 
newspaper  correspondents,  so  I  left  it  at  Naauwport,  and 
waited  for  the  evening  tra  in  from  Port  Elizabeth  to  Cape  Town, 
which  passed  at  11.80  at  night.  As  already  said.  General 
Kelly  Kenny's  army  were  now  in  possession  of  Naauwport. 
When  I  awoke  in  the  morning,  it  was  almost  time  to  obtain 
breakfast  at  Victoria  Road,  where  we  were  again  on  the 
western  lii'e,  running  down  for  Cape  Town. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


99 


XXV 

Medical  Affairs  about  Cape  Town 

Having  thus  vUited  aU  the  cohmrns  except  thit  which  wa. 
opejatmg  m  Natal  under  General  Buller.  my  ne"S„  ^ 

J£  al^ti^X.*"'  ""1?  "y  ™P«»»"  was  that  most  of 

^K^K  J  Kimberley,  I  resolved  to  consult  Lord  Hoberts, 
who  had  now  amved  in  Cape  Town.  I  accordingly  caUed  on 
him  at  hui  quarters  in  55  Graves  Stwet,  and  wafadTis^  by 

Mitels  a^S  l°tU^°K"''?*'7"'*!r«  '"  t''^  meant^mfth^ 
T^!?n  D  u  J^**""  subjects  of  medical  interest  about  Cane 
?h^see^°^nd\.*'  '"^f"t«^  in  my  account  of  the  cam^ 
tr^uS^iTih  *"'"*'°"  °*  '•''  '"^*""^  ^""'^  I  hTd 
folfow.S°"  f^uni  ^"^"'.^j.^hief  principal  medical  officer. 
™i?r?'  ^^  'V™  ^"«"*iy  P»''te'  and  though  he  wa^ 
quite  disengaged  he  kept  me  waiting  for  a  very  teng  tta^ 
before  receivmg  me.  Ahnost  his  first  remark  was  to  ask  tf  I 
ZaftW  T,  """L^Kes  of  army  rank  or  sel^f^  Mytp,  J 
was  that  I  claimed  and  wore  no  badges  of  rank  hift  tw 
I  thought  I  was  justified  in  wearing  uSki  aS  tL  rihi^ 

ment^^^Vh"'*  '^'^"'"y  *?  »  ^tudy  of  the  medical  ^n^! 
?^^!fl,  f  »"""?  """^  °*"  "^"^^  there.  I  shalldteX 
th^  chapter  to  .n  description  of  these  experiences,  and  foUow 
It  up  by  another  m  which  I  shall  sum  up.  as  far  as  1^^ 
the  mipressions  received  and  the  conclusions  dra«Ti  4m  th«n' 

and"bll'^'tth^''""f''°*^'"''"y°^"y'^-i^^^^^^ 
h^j^        •  ^^^  information  up  to  date  about  what 

^n^l"  *n  ""•  •  ^y  °''*  fellow-student  Sir  WiUia^  Stok^ 
of  Dublm  had  amved  to  serve  as  one  of  the  army  mS 
consulting  surgeons,  and  our  meeting  was  a  joyful™  e     E 

av«^  Hrn«  i  *?  Bodyguard  to  come  and  dine  with  me 
rX  mS  Dr  h'  'T"^  ""^*"S  """  °"  experien^ 
«^C*^e^W^o.,^^l^^erS-  ^J?^-"i^ 
^^^^  ^"^^  *°  *•»«  Boers.  From  them  I  l^rf 
the  fall  history  of  that  ill.&ted  expedition.  sSidcsXte 
two  Bnt»h  members,  ite  male  staff  .insisted  of^tch  S 


<     IH 


t'W  ! 


.:  «  » 


fill  , 


i 


96    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

Afriouis,  bU  of  them  good  fighting  maUrial,  but  mo«tly 
incapable*  t.s  regarded  medical  aervice.  When  the  hospital 
arrived  at  the  Cape  and  had  been  refuged  permission  to  pass 
through  to  the  Transvaal,  its  members  went  round  the  ooast 
by  steamer  to  endeavour  to  make  their  way  by  Delagoa 
Bay  in  Portuguese  territory.  At  Natal  the  officer  in  com- 
mand of  naval  matters  placed  a  sentry  over  them  and  per- 
mitted none  of  them  to  land.  Up  to  then  matters  had  on 
the  whole  gone  harmoniously  enough  among  them,  the  Dutch 

element  thrusting  Dr.  G- into  prominence  as  their  leader ; 

though  at  Cape  Town  one  of  them.  Dr.  Nietbling,  had  held 
communications  with  the  Dutch  there  without  consulting 

Dr.  G ,  and  from  that  time  the  British  members  began  to 

be  left  out  in  the  cold.  After  they  had  left  Durban  K-r 
Lorenzo  Marques,  the  Dutch  members  indicatec^.  to  Dr.  G — — 
that  he  was  only  a  subordinate,  and  when  they  arrived  in 
Delagoa  Bay  it  was  intimated  to  them  that  the  Transvaal 
declined  to  receive  them,  and  that  there  were  no  woimded  for 
them  to  attend  to.  Dr.  Ni.:thling  wrote  from  there  to  Pretoria 
and  got  a  pass  to  go  there  to  confer,  and  a  few  days  later  the 
Dut(£  members  of  the  party,  including  one  nurse  of  doubtful 
English  nationality,  also  went  off  into  the  Transvaal,  taking 

with  them  the  whole  ambulance  outfit.    G and  Johnson 

returned  to  Natal,  where  they  were  not  well  received  by  the 
authorities  and  the  local  newspapers,  the  latter  publishuig 
articles  against  them,  and  the  former  refusing  their  offers  of 
service  and  dealing  somewhat  harshly  with  them.  I  am  glad 
to  add  that  after  some  delay  at  Cape  Town  they  obtained  their 

desire  of  entering  the  British  medical  service.  Dr.  C  doing 

good  work  at  De  Aar,  and  Allan  Johnson  serving  in  the 
R.A.M.C,  previous  to  his  lamented  death  from  typhoid  fever 
at  Bloemfoii^^in. 

On  a  visit  to  the  Red  Cross  Depot  in  Parliament  House,  1 
found  plenty  of  useful  stores  accumulated  there,  but  a  want 
of  proper  organisation  for  their  distribution ;  they  might  almost 
as  well  have  been  left  in  England  for  all  the  use  they  were  in 
Africa.  I  conjectured  that  the  ideals  of  the  Red  Cross  that  all 
their  work  should  be  done  by  unpaid  volunteers  paralysed  the 

hands  of  Mr.  P who  had  charge  of  that  department.    I 

shall  in  my  next  chapter  give  a  personal  instance  of  how  the 
usefuhiess  of  the  Red  Cross  was  frustrated  by  the  army 
medical  service. 

The  Good  Hope  Society  was  introduced  to  my  notice  by 
Dr.  David  Gill,  a  former  class-fellow,  then  Astronomer  Royal 
at  Cape  Town.  It  was  originated  to  provide  luxuries  and 
cor.  brts  for  the  sick  and  wounded,  but  I  was  informed  that 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


97 


the  attitude  adopted  towaids  it  by  the  Red  Cross  Commissioner, 

Colonel  y ,  and  by  the  R.A.M.C.,  had  chilled  their  hopes 

of  being  of  much  service,  and  I  found  them  deeply  concerned 
to  find  their  benevolent  intentions  being  rendered  futile. 
They  had  collected  funds  to  the  amount  of  £8000,  of  which 
they  had  already  expe-ided  half;  they  had  many  women  anxious 
to  nurse,  though  perh^s  only  a  limited  number  of  them  were 
trained  and  fully  qualified,  and  of  these  no  use  was  being  made 
as  far  as  I  could  learn.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  2'«th  of 
January  I  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Society,  and  heard 
addresses  by  members  who  reported  upon  the  work  of  the 
association.  What  I  there  learned  convinced  me  that,  except 
in  a  few  very  important  directions,  their  work  was  rendered 
of  almost  no  avail  by  the  unspoken  but  clearly  shown  jealousy 
and  even  hostility  of  the  army  medical  department.  It  was 
plainly  most  galling  to  that  body  of  warmly  patriotic  Britons 
and  Colonists  that  their  earnest  efforts  to  place  their  services 
and  wealth  at  the  disposal  of  our  country  should  have  met 
with  so  cbillin^  a  reception.  All  the  best  of  the  British  resi- 
dents were  oresent  at  the  meeting  and  in  sympathy  with  its 
objects,  and  it  was  deplorable  to  realise  that  their  endeavours 
for  the  good  of  the  motherland  were  being  frustrated  by  those 
who  represented  the  British  Government. 

At  a  luncheon  at  Groote  Schuur,  Cecil  Rhodes's  country 
house,  I  made  the  ricquaintance  of  some  of  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  who  were  most  a-rtively  interesting  themselves  in 
the  voluntary  aid  institutions  connected  with  the  war,  and 
heard  much  about  their  plans  and  the  difficulties  which  they 
were  encountering,  and  on  the  same  afternoon  I  visited  the 
Portland  Hospital,  which  had  been  originated  by  private 
benevolence  in  England,  greatly  aided  by  funds  presented  by 
Lord  Portland,  after  whom  it  was  named  ;  it  was  under  the 
surgical  charge  of  Mr.  Bowlby  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital, 
though  an  army  medical  officer  was  nominally  over  him.  It 
would  have  been  hard,  in  those  days,  to  have  imagined  a  more 
perfectly  equipped  military  hospital,  and  its  personnel  was  an 
ideal  one  ;  in  fact,  though  I  made  many  inquiries,  I  could  not 
discover  that  there  was  a  single  thing  wanting  to  make  it 
absolutely  perfect,  except  an  electric  bone-drill.  It  served  as 
a  sort  of  annexe  to  the  No.  8  Military  Hospital  at  Rondebosch, 
from  which  it  was  only  separated  by  an  unfenced  road. 

Not  far  distant  was  the  Claremont  Sanatorium,  which  was 
a  portion  of  a  vegetarian  hydropathic  establishment  hired 
by  the  army  medical  department  from  the  Seventh  Advent 
Sect,  and  was  used  for  convalescent  or  slightly  wounded 
officers ;  in  no  way  did  I  find  it  particularly  remarkable. 


'f        I       ! 


i  'M 


^''»:i 


qS    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

The  district  where  these  institutions  lay  vas  very  beautiful, 
and  rich  with  fine  woods  of  pine  and  oak,  with  many  villas 
of  the  wealthy  and  farms  and  houses  of  the  middle  classes. 
It  compared  well  with  England  in  the  size  of  its  forest  trees, 
while  Scotland  in  this  respect  was  nowhere  in  comparison. 
Cecil  Rhudes's  house  and  grounds  at  Groote  Schuur  were 
exquisite,  but  I  had  not  time  to  do  them  justice.  Rhodes 
was  not  there  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  being  one  of  the  besieged 
in  Kimberley. 

On  a  separate  ucco  sion  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  Military  Hospital 
at  Wynberg,  after  having  said  my  last  farewell  to  my  old 
comrade  Sir  William  Stokes,  who  was  to  leavt  at  midday  for 
Natal,  where  he  soon  afterwards  died  ;  he  was  looking  very 
ill  when  we  parted,  and  I  was  grieved  that  he  should  go, 
but  no  choice  was  allowed  to  him.  A  train  leaving  Cape 
Town  took  me  in  half  an  hour  to  Wynberg  station,  from 
which  the  hospital  was  three-quarters  of  a  mile  distant 
The  surroundings  of  the  village  and  hospital  of  Wynberg 
were  beautiful,  both  being  pUnted  down  amid  forests  of 
fine  trees  resembling  Scots  i&s,  but  more  naked  in  appear- 
ance, and  around  and  underneath  then  throve  thickets 
of  red  and  white  oleanders,  mimosas,  peaches,  apricots,  and 
all  manner  of  fruit  trees,  often  covered  with  the  climbing 
passion-flower.  The  place  was  laden  with  flowers  and  fruit, 
and  was  variegated  by  patches  of  garden,  grass,  Indian  com, 
bamboo,  etc.  Even  here,  however,  aridity  underlay  the  rich 
vegetation,  giving  to  a  British  eye  the  idea  of  drought  rather 
than  of  moist  succulerce.  After  ralking  through  the  village 
and  climbing  a  slight  hill,  I  found  the  hospitals  situated  on 
the  top  of  the  latter.  There  were  two  of  them,  the  first, 
designated  No.  1,  under  the  charge  of  my  old  class-mate  and 
friend  of  the  Soudan,  Dr.  Antonisz ;  the  second,  called  No.  2, 
under  Dr.  Duke.  I  was  taken  over  No.  1,  which  consisted  of 
a  series  of  wooden  pavilions,  and  was  formerly  a  station  and 
barracks  used  by  the  troops,  until  it  was  vacated  and  devoted 
to  medical  purposes  at  the  commencement  of  the  war.  The 
Hospital  No.  2,  in  contact  with  No.  1,  consisted  of  a  number 
of  square  tents  and  lay  a  little  to  the  southward.  The  chief 
ofQcer^>  were  army  surgeons,  and  the  care  of  the  patients 
occupying  the  pavilions  was  entrusted  to  a  number  of  civil 
surgeons  engaged  for  the  purpose,  many  of  them  being  ex- 
ceptionally capable  men,  house  surgeons  from  London,  Bath, 
the  Colony,  etc.,  and  their  work  was  of  a  high  class  indeed. 
These  sui'geous  were  employed  because  at  that  period  the 
R.A.M.C.  could  not  itself  furnish  the  needed  men,  for  I  was 
informed  that  there  were  only  eight  R.A.M.C.  officers  remain- 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ^ 

ing  in   BriUin.    The  wooden  hospiUl  building.,   formerly 
banack  room.,  would  have  made  g-ood  airy  waidt  but  for 
certain  drawbaclu  inherent  in  old  ivooden  houses  in  luch  a 
clunate.    They  were  kept  beautifully  tidy  and  nice  by  the 
•rmy  nuriuig  sisters,  all  the  notes  of  the  cases  were  well 
written  up,  the  temperature  charts  were  adequately  kept,  and 
so  forth.    A  number  of  ladies  from  outside  were  pennitted 
to  visit  and  look  afUr  the  sick  and  wounded,  to  bring  them 
fruit  and  flowers  and  tobacco,  and  to  entertain  them  with 
concerts.    The  operation  theatre  was  made  of  iron,  n-inted 
white  with  Aspmall's  enamel ;   It  was  all  very  plain,  i    a  the 
irrigation  and  sterilising  arrHngeneiits  were  upparently  rather 
msufflcient,  though  possibly  adequate  to  the  wVrk  eaiVied  on 
One  couM  not  but  miss,  howev.  i,  in  a  hospital  where  Britain's 
best  were  bemg  treated,  el.    1 1  ic  saws  and  drills,  etc.,  antitoxin 
serums,  and  a   bacteriological  department.     The  pavUions 
were  so  infestfd  with  bugs  that  the  feet  of  the  beds  had  to  be 
put  in  cans  of  kerosene,  and  curtains,  uominallyfor  mosquitoes 
.u    u  ?"*  u  ^??  P'J"""*  ^'''  ''"8»  dropping  from  the  roSfs  int^ 
the  beds,  had  to  be  used  over  all  the  patiente.    I  could  not 
hear  of  any  efficient  attempts  being  made  to  eradicate  these 
peste.  but  could  not  ask  too  many  questions,  as  my  position 
was  a  delicate  one.     Besides  the  patients,  who  were  interestina 
from  a  surgeon  s  point  of  view,  there  were  many  there  who 
w.;re  notable  on  their  own  account,  among  those  uhom  I 
specially  remember  being  the  Boer  General  Pretorius,  whose 
r  NUr      u  "l"'"^  amputation  for  a  gunshot  injury. 

General  Wauchope's  nephew,  who  had  been  w.  unded  in  many 
places  by  the  side  ol'  his  chief  at  Magersfoiitein,  and  Major 

nrT'»f!!!f™D"*"'''°^u'"^"™^  ''"^^  ^ 'wd  consulted 

At  «  r,5'T-  ^^  general  impression  which  I  formed 
of  the  No.  1  Wynberg  Hospital  was  that  its  staff  had  done 
everjthingm  their  power  to  make  it  a  flrst-class  hospital,  and 
had  succeeded  m  domg  so  except  where  the  department  had 
failed  to  provide  tliem  sufficiently  with  what  they  required 

The  Prwcm  of  JFofe*  hospital  ship,  under  the  command 
of  Major  M-—,  which  I  visited  on  the  80th  January,  was, 
1  must  frankly  confess,  a  disappointment.  With  the  sole 
exception  of  the  installation  of  electric  fans,  she  was  inferior 
m  every  respect,  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  to  the  hospital  ship 
Gar^ai  which  was  sent  out  to  Suakin  in  the  Soudan  War^ 
fliteen  years  earlier. 

I  saw  almost  nothing  personally  of  the  operations  of  the 
Ketugees  Committee,  which  administered  the  £160  000  sub 
scribed  m  London  to  the  Lord  Mayor's  Refugee  Fund  ;  but 
from  several  sources  I  learned  a  good  deal  about  its  work      It 


I      <l), 


(  l! 


'i      -I 


^  ■11 


•  t 


:  1 


100    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

WM  indeed  a  valuable  agency,  and  I  had  myself  leen  how  wre 
wai  the  need  for  it  which  exiited  among  the  rehigeei.  House*, 
campii,  tents,  and  other  Bccommodatiun  were  provided  for  these 
destituU  persons  ut  different  parts  of  the  territories,  such  as 
at  Sea  Point  and  Simon's  Bay  near  Cape  Town,  and  at  Queens- 
town.  Port  Elizabeth,  East  London,  Durban,  and  Pietermaritx- 
burg.  The  distress  was  on  the  increase,  in  proportion  as  the 
exiguous  resources  of  the  refugees  diminished,  and  the  funds 
were  approaching  exhaustion,  though  the  greatest  economv 
was  exercised  in  their  distribution,  one  shilling  a  day  only 
being  granted  to  adults  and  sixpence  to  children.  It  was  one 
of  the  few  organisations  which  seemed  to  be  unhampered  by 
official  red  tape.  ' 

I  received  authorisation  to  visit  the  Dutch  prisoners  of  war 
at  Simon's  Buy.    Taking  the  midday  train  ttom  Cape  Town 
to  Simon's  Town.   T  was  carried  past  the  fertile  districts  of 
Kondebosch  and  '      nberg,  and  passed  into  the  valley  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Tauic  Mountain,  where  the  wild  hills  with 
ragged  tops  and  precipitous  sides  recalled  to  mind  the  Gram- 
pians of  the  Clova  Valley  in  Forfarshire,  und  presently,  passing 
u  freshwater  lake  which  reminded  me  of  my  own  Loch  Oavan, 
fringed  with  reeds  and  rushes,  we  emerged  on  the  seashore  at 
the  head  cf  False  Bay,  where  the  great  expanse  of  cobalt-blue 
woler  barre<l  with  green  of  a  pale  hue.  enclosed  in  a  spacious 
bay,  seemed  to  the  eye  some  ten  miles  long  by  Ave  broad. 
It  was  waled  roimd  with  dry  rugged  mountains  resembling 
enormous  cinders,  with  the  white  waves  breaking  ut  their  feet 
and  th>  sea  breezes  playing  on  reaches  of  white  sand  as  far  as 
vision  extended.     We  run  along  the  western  side  of  this  gulf 
finding  little  watering-pla<es  nestling  here  and  there  amonc 
shady  trees,  ard  separated  by  deep  bays  of  blue-green  sea  and 
broad  while  .sands  und  sandhills,  which  the  railway  crosses  as 
if  washing  its  wheels  in  the  playing  waves,  until  at  two  o'clock 
it  ended  at  Simon's  Town,  the  last  und  largest  of  these  water- 
ing-places.    Simon's  Town  fringed  Simon's  Buy,  i  semi-lunar 
arm  of  False  Bay,  and  in  the  bay  were  lying  seven  cruisers 
three  or  four  gunboats,  und  two  or  three  merchantmen.    Her 
Majesty's  Transport  No.  21,  the  Catalonia,  wher«  the  Dutch 
prisoners  were  confined,  was  anchored  a  mile  or  so  from  the 
shore,   with  small  two-sailed  lugger-rigged  boats  from  the 
men-of-war  cruising  round  and  round  her  as  patrols— a  dutv 
which  I  was  informed  they  continued  constantly  to  dischaiBc 
by  day  and  night.    A  walk  of  half  an  hour  brought  me  to  the 
Town  Pier,  where  I  hired  a  sailing  boat  to  take  me  to  the 
Cataiania,  await  me  there,  and  bring  me  bock,  for  the  sum  of 
seven  shillings.    Visits  to  the  prisoners  were  permitted  on 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,o, 

I!l!f1f'*"'"  ^  ♦•'•''••''  between  the  h..Mni  .,f  3.ao  m.d  i  p.m 
.We  n«»ni"Ji'  '""  *"'  '"T"'  •""'"  "»""  »  climbed  up  t^ 

mHi^ur  «"  *.'»V~"'««  rifles  „nd  fixed  b«y.,net?^n"il"he 
militury  offlcer  in  charge  could  be  «,mmnni<ited  with  On 
tooking  round!  could  see  that  the  Catalonia  «n7«n  „|d  liner 
of  po.».bly  4000  ton,,  with  ample  room  for  the  440  pZoZl 

IrSI^e  h/,n  "■"  ''""B'nK  "U'  f^P".  1100  pen»n.  were "id 
to  have  been  accommodated  on  board  of  her  without  undue 

to  the  offlce.  and  had  a  conversation  with  the  offlcer  in 
command  and  the  cen«,r,  after  which  intenx,gatory^^nd  a 

™mLil  J  "' JP"™''-  "°t".  «nd  papers,  us  well  »  my 
^S^m"  w  r'''t'"t°sh.  were  not  takS  from  me,  and  any 

Ts  relv:^''\f  KP*™'"i?«u"'«  ^  '^  '^'  "hole  of  the  vesL^ 
a^riJ^TX^'  J' happened  that  I  was  the  earliest  visitor  to 
arnve  that  day,  but  while  we  were  conversing,  others,  friends  ^f 
JTT"'-  '"'?'?  "P  "'  *«"-«ives,  brothers,  andSons 
t":  whi^h?!.*"''  '"'""  °1"  ^y  ""•  '"*"  »P~i«l  """ns  on  deck! 
Ind  hLl5  '^\P"^?"«"  they  had  come  tS  visit  were  brought 
and  half  an  hour's  conv-rsation  was  granted  to  each  in  the 

of  ThT  »»  h'1"''°.:1"'''""~?  '^'  languageTmade  u« 
^iol«  ^  ''5'''."8  '^''"  """'hed  to  prevent  forbidden 
^d1^  le  'l^^/'^  over  Amongst  thcs^  were  stimulants 
the  Mnsor.  ''*^*"  '^  ^°^  *^'*  ""'    "*"  '""""^  "^•'^  ^^X 

Dr^vrsferXr/r- W  'Jf""'*"  'h«  medical  attendant, 
hI"  h^TL.  ^'*°''?^  *°  'how  me  over  the  whole  vessel 
rrin^f  ^"  ^  practitioner  in  the  town  of  Douglas,  Wwt 
^/iL'.?  :]'^iv°"'l'"  "  '"y"'  ~'°"'''*  had  been  menafed  by  the 
rebels  and  Free  Staters  ;  by  his  own  account  his  life  had  even 

BelmnlTf  ^tPTi  "^^^  ^°'°"*'  ^"'her's  expedition  f^,^ 
ioSo^t'^rn"  mT  "'""•  '""«•''  "^^  ""•*  '''^  °''- 

PWkP"TI"  "^"^  of  various  nationalities,  Dutch.  Gennans 
French,  and  Swedes,  with  all  of  whom  the  doctor  waVable  to 
wlZT"?**  ?**">'  ^^**Pt  i"  *he  case  of  thTCch,  with 
adC  ^  "v  ^'"^?'«H™lty.  Nearly  all  of  them  whom  I 
addressed  sD„ke  English  well,  but  there  were  a  few  of  The 
Boers  froiu  !he  remoter  districts  who,  I  found,  Imew  onlv 
t^  .T  n^""' '  '*'''«^  °'  the  Dutch  ton^e  I  ^w  aU 
except  the  German  Colonel  Shiel,  who  was  wrHing  lett^s  and 
whom  therefore  I  declined  to  disturb.    The  pSe"  were  a 


I  I    ! 

il 


I' '  *.i 


■  11!; 


Hi  it 

i 


:| 


; 


Pi 


loa    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

fine,  well-built,  jnlly  set  of  men  on  the  whole,  who  smiled  and 
spoke  freely  to  i..d,  and  seemed  giants  in  height  and  strength 
alongside  of  the  small  sentries  who  walked  among  them  with 
loaded  rifles  and  fixed  bayonets.    One  or  two  of  the  Boers, 
generally  the  younger  ones,  were  sour,  evil-looking  fellows, 
but  the  others  were  a  good  set.    Almost  all  wore  beards. 
They  had  to  rise  at  six  in  the  morning  and  go  to  bed  at  nine, 
but  some  slept  on  deck  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day  as  well. 
They  had  permission  during  the  day  to  go  up  on  the  main-deck, 
or  even  on  the  upper  deck,  excepting  in  certain  roped -off  parts 
reserved  for  the  garrisoning  officers  and  men,  of  whom  there 
were  as  I  guessed  only  some  forty.    The  captives  sauntered 
about,  conversed,  played  at  various  games,  one  of  which  was  a 
sort  of  draughts,  smoked  on  the  upper  deck ;  and  fishing  was 
evidently  a  favourite  occupation  among  them,  for  at  every  four 
feet  or  so  on  the  bulwarks  there  were  fishing  lines  out,  and  at 
the  end  of  each  was  a  prisoner  baiting  his  big  hook  with  a  piece 
of  mackerel  flesh,  and  making  captures  of  numbers  of  fine  sport- 
ing salmon-shaped  fish  of  four  or  five  pounds  weight,  which 
they  called  '  yellow  tails '  from  the  lemon  tint  of  their  slender 
terminations,  the  bodies  being  of  a  silvery -green  colour,  and 
they  were  said  to  be  capital  eating.    The  sport  was  evidently 
good  and  popular,  for  two  of  the  crew  were  similarly  engaged  in 
a  dinghy  moored  astern,  and  my  two  boatmen  had  caught  half 
a  dozen  when  I  returned  to  them  to  go  ashore.    Some  among 
the  prisoners  who  had  held  officer's  rank  were  accommodated  in 
state-rooms,  two  occupying  each,  and  such  had  their  own  little 
mess-room.    The  men  slept  in  hammocks  between  decks. 
The  table  arrangements  were  good ;  so  also  were  the  lavatories ; 
and  everything  rfas  clean  and  nice.    The  sick  bay,  where  there 
were  twelve  patients,  was  mostly  required  by  the  Boers  who 
came  from  the  High  Veld,  as  these  suffered  from  the  motion 
of  the  sea  whej  it  was  rough,  as  well  as  from  influenzas  and 
coughs,  and  two  of  the  iiunates  whom  I  saw  were  rather 
seriously  ill.    No  temperature  records  were  being  kept.    I 
was  told  that  it  was  very  common  for  the  prisoners  to  indulge 
in  surfeits  of  the  cakes  and  rich  eatables  which  were  supplied 
to  them  by  their  friends,  and  these  along  with  the  deprivation 
of  their  accustomed  exercise  induced  much  indigestion  and 
stomach  complaints.    After  everything  had  been  shown  me, 
I  bade  good-bye  to  Dr.  Visser,  took  my  boat,  went  ashore 
again,  and  as  there  was  an  hour  to  spare  before  the  train  left, 
I  employed  it  in  walking  southwards  along  the  coast  for  a 
couple  of  miles  to  see  the  prisoners'  camp  which  was  being 
prepared  for  them  ashore,  and  into  which  they  were  to  be 
transferred  in  a  day  or  two.    It  was  finely  situated  on  a  sunny 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


103 


headland  projecting  into  the  sea  belo*  the  naval  battery  and 
magazines,  on  a  cleared  field  of  some  four  or  five  acres,  where 
a  square  enclosure  was  formed  by  two  fences,  an  inner  one 
five  feet  high  of  wire  netting,  and  an  outer  one  fifteen  feet 
distant  of  close  barbed  wire  seven  feet  in  height.  An  iron 
standard  at  one  comer  supplied  the  support  for  an  arc  light 
for  nocturnal  illumination.  The  enclosed  area  contained  bell 
tents  for  the  prisoners,  as  well  as  ample  recreation  space. 
Adjacent  to  it  on  the  south  were  the  tents  of  the  military 
guardians. 

"Hiough  it  was  a  matter  quite  aside  from  military  questions, 
1  chanced  to  discover  that  a  formei  pupil.  Dr.  Sinclair  Black, 
was  in  charge  of  the  Leper  Community  on  Robben  Island, 
and  embraced  the  opportunity  of  an  invitation  from  him  to 
visit  this  interesting  spot,  and  Mr.  Allan  Johnson  accompanied 
me.  The  tiny  steamer  which  plies  to  the  island  left  the  har- 
bour of  Cape  Town  at  half-past  nine  in  the  morning,  and  its 
deck  was  piled  high  with— of  all  things  in  the  world— quan- 
tities of  ginger  beer  for  the  Robben  Islanders.  There  must 
have  been  ten  or  twelve  thousand  bottles  there.  It  seemed 
that  every  patient  received  one  bottle  a  day,  and  many  of 
them  purchased  more,  which  accounted  for  the  large  quantity. 
An  hour's  rough  sailing  brought  us  near  the  low  flat  piece  of 
limestone  overspread  with  sand  which  constituted  the  island, 
and  we  cast  anchor  a  few  hundred  yards  from  a  wooden  jetty, 
whence  a  whaleboat  rowed  by  four  brown  boys  in  white  suits 
all  stamped  over  with  the  broad  arrow,  because  they  were 
convicts,  came  pulling  out  with  a  long  rope  trailing  behind. 
We  entered  the  boat  and  were  rowed  to  the  jetty,  while  the 
long  rope  was  left  in  order  that  by  its  means  a  big  barge  should 
be  drawn  out  to  the  steamer  in  which  to  land  the  goods  and  the 
rest  of  the  passengers. 

On  landing  we  were  presented  to  Mr.  Pearce,  the  Command- 
ant, and  to  Drs.  Atherstone  and  Mitchell,  the  latter  of  whom 
was  the  pathologist  of  the  island. 

The  island  was  somewhat  elliptical  in  outline,  lay  five  miles 
distant  from  the  shore,  was  about  three  miles  long  by  one 
broad,  and  consisted  of  a  chalky  rock  resembling  noral,  which 
was  nowhere  more  than  fifty  or  sixty  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  Across  its  centre,  at  its  narrowest  diameter,  a  fence 
bisected  the  island  and  divided  off  the  northern  half  on  which 
the  lepers  lived.  At  our  landing-place  on  the  southern  part 
we  found  a  little  townlet  of  houses  and  sheds,  and  behind  it, 
just  above  the  jetty,  a  large  lighthouse.  The  townlet  con- 
tained a  convict  station,  like  a  prison,  with  accommodation  for 
the  police  in  charge.     Both  police  and  convicts  were  well 


I 


HI 

i  1 
i| 


i'»  i'f 


:        i 
'  ■■       i 

if  ^  ;■ 

•  1  ♦ 

"I 

If'  *[ 

(    ■        ,     • 

104    RKMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

lodged,  well  fed,  uiid  appeared  to  be  happy  and  contented. 
All  the  convicts  wore  the  white  suit  bespangled  with  the  broad 
arrow,  and  the  warders  who  watched  over  them  carried  rifles, 
which,  however,  I  was  told  were  not  loaded  ;  and  the  discipline, 
though  military,  was  not  very  hard.  Indeed  many  of  the 
convicts  were  hardly  what  one  would  call  criminals,  but  only 
illicit  diamond  buyers  and  such  like.  The  himdred  convicts 
who  were  there  at  our  visit  were  well  treated,  and  had  nice 
rooms  and  wards,  clean  sleeping  quarters,  good  accommodation 
for  the  sick,  good  airing  grounds,  and  open-air  employment 
over  all  the  island. 

From  the  village  a  small  tramway  ran  along  the  eastern 
beach  to  the  leper  settlement,  which  consisted  of  two  parts,  a 
male  and  a  female,  divided  from  one  another  by  a  fence.  Each 
of  these  parts  possessed  n  scries  of  wooden  pavilions  like  hos- 
pital wards,  with  balnmies  in  front.  Some  of  the  wards  which 
they  contained  were  large,  120  by  80  feet,  others  were  small 
private  rooms  for  the  better  classes.  Most  of  the  patients,  of 
whom  there  were  five  or  six  hun>!rcd,  were  blacks,  bi  i  there 
were  a  few  Dutch  and  other  whites,  and  they  were  believed 
to  include  all  the  lepers  in  Cape  Colony,  except  a  few  who  could 
afford  to  isolate  themselves  to  the  satisfoction  of  the  authori- 
ties. It  was  admitted  that  the  system  of  dealing  with  the 
lepers,  however,  wn  .  as  yet  a  little  lax. 

The  lepers  for  the  most  part  appeared  to  be  happy  and  con- 
tented ;  there  was  little  to  be  seen  that  was  loathsome  or 
repulsive,  and  there  were  a  good  many  children,  even  babies, 
some  of  whom  had  been  born  on  the  island  of  leprous  parents 
and  were  free  from  disease.  There  were,  it  is  tnie,  maimed 
people  crawling  about,  and  deformed  hands  and  feet  were 
common,  but  there  was  little  even  in  them  to  shock  a  visitor. 
Those  who  had  sores,  or  who  required  dressings,  were  kept  in 
wards  by  themselves,  and  were  well  and  neatly  dressed  by 
male  or  female  ottendants.  The  others,  whose  skin  was  un- 
broken, though  they  may  have  had  only  stumps  of  arms  or 
legs,  were  given  work,  which  they  often  did  very  cleverly. 
One  woman  who  had  no  hands  was  sewing  neat  patchwork, 
holding  the  needle  between  her  two  stumps,  and  a  boy  with 
no  hands  was  doing  some  quite  tidy  penmanship.  Much 
useful  work,  such  as  scrubbing  and  cleaning,  was  done  by  the 
lepers,  who  were  paid  for  their  services,  about  £1000  a  year 
being  thus  earned  by  the  patients. 

The  different  forms  of  the  disease  were  grouped  into  different 
wards  ;  the  tubercular  form,  with  knobbed  checks  and  noses, 
by  themselves ;  as  were,  on  the  other  hand,  the  paralytic  forms 
with  twisted  £aces.    A  few  cures  were  obtained.    At  the  time 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


"05 


^LTf^/"J'  *'?*'*■  T"*  *'«*''""  «»'"  ''ho  *"e  cured  *  ,d 
awaiting  dismissal,  but  such  a  result  is  rare.    Every  sort  of 

wTh^  7"'  ^'"'^n'i'f'  °i  •""*  "'""^y  ^'"  experimented 

the  cur«  rj;   7.'"f' t'  '"?"""""  *"'  *"«»"  °'  non-existent : 
the  cures  seemed  to  take  place  quite  spontaneously. 

Among  my  notes  I  find  a  few  additional  facts  which  may 

™XwT''  '"*r''*-    ^^  '"'"'«"''  ''«'^«  »"d  buildings  were 
presided  over  by  an  excellent  matron,  and  many  ladies  from 

^^JZ"  '"♦fr*«^  themselves  in  her  work  and  came  f«  visi? 
wi?h  JTv  h  '  It  *'"^?rf"  ''"8ht,  tidy,  and  ornamented 
with  gay  shawls,  flowers,  little  feminine  decorations,  pictures 
etc.  ^  the  wards  of  the  male  patients  were  not  so  attractive. 
^Ud  Lit  *°''lthat  those  of  this  sex  were  as  a  rule  indole,^ 
and  careless  about  keeping  their  rooms  nicely.  There  were 
several  churches  for  the  lepers,  pretty  buildings  conUin"g 
harmoniums ;  and  tl^re  was  a  mortuary  and  a  little  cemetei^t^ 
where  all  manner  of  tombstones,  varying  from  the  poorest 
menjOTials  up  to  handsome  crosses  and  headstones,  ^ked 
me  graves. 

nJ!Z!^  °^  *i!f  '"P"!  r^  8ood  J  their  drinking  water  was 
obtnmed  from  the  rainfall ;  but  four  or  five  windmills  were 
w»T.?'"i? P^ ^  ^"^  /^  '"'"''''"h  water  from  wells,  und  t his 
was  used  for  houst....ld  purposes.  The  patients  amused  them- 
selves in  various  ways,  playing  games  such  as  football,  and 
nshing;  and  on  such  occasions  as  the  New  Year  they  had 
races  and  other  festivities  in  which  they  took  much  pleasure 

wi?h"I'"„i  ^''''"'1!  "/''  "'..'""'  ^'-  »'"<=''•  I  ^^^  presented 
with  a  photograph  of  an  object  which  I  thought  was  a  rude 

^^n-rJiHT"  "i*^"*  "'t^''  "^  fr»P"ents  of  drift-wood 
constructed  by  some  lepers  who  on  one  occasion  attempted  to 

^f^M"  'V*^?""  ^^^  "°"^hern  end  of  the  island.  It  sank 
before  they  had  got  far  away. 

When  luncheon  was  over,  we  were  conducted  over  the  rest 
tK,I^l"j"''j  visited  the  part  where  the  criminal  lunatics, 
!w  il  u"^!'"  """"her,  were  detained,  and  found  it  admir- 
able.   It  had  been  attempted  to  plant  the  island  with  eucalyp- 

Z  t^Jl  1- V*^'' ''" V'f  '*"'"8  "^  ^'"''^  ^^--^  inimical  to 
the  growth  of  trees,  and  the  aspect  of  the  island  was  one  of 
wretchea  barrenness,  though  we  were  assured  that  when  the 
rains  came  a  few  wet„s  later  it  would  become  fresh  and  green, 
and  be  gay  with  the  flowers  of  many  spring  bulbs.    Even  as 

^st^.       "  ^^^  """^  """'*'  ^^""^^  *°  ""^  sufficient 

stJ^mr^T'^J"/"''^  '^°'^"  *"  *he  afternoon  by  the  little 
steamer  ;  it  phei  four  times  a  week  to  and  from  the  mainland, 
and  as  the  island  is  situated  in  the  open  Atlantic  just  beyond 


■'  I 


M 


;    I 
i    I 


I  I 


P  !■    ! 


' ,  -1 . 1 : 


i  :" 


Mil 

I 


106    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  protection  of  Table  Bay,  the  traniit  is  often  a  very  rough 
exper  ence. 

These  expeditions  of  which  1  have  given  a  short  account, 
embraced  most  of  the  professional  observations  which  I  was 
able  to  carry  out  during  the  last  days  of  January  and  the  first 
few  days  of  February.  I  learned,  of  course,  a  good  deal  more 
from  the  conversations  I  had  with  well-informed  persons,  and 
was  invited  to  visit  some  other  medical  units  which  were  very 
unfavourably  reported  on  to  me,  but  they  did  not  come 
within  the  lines  I  had  marked  out,  and  want  of  time  prevented 
me  fix>m  following  up  the  suggested  visits. 

ITie  condition  of  Cape  Town  during  the  month  of  January 
continually  recalled  to  me  the  accounts  which  history  has 
handed  down  to  us  of  the  state  of  Brussels  in  the  summer  of 
1816,  just  before  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  The  city  simoly 
swarmed  with  distinguished  and  representative  individuals. 
The  nobility  were  almost  as  numerous  as  commoners,  men  of 
letters  were  well  represented,  and  so  were  statesmen  and 
politicians,  and  nearly  all  were  there  with  the  purpose  of 
offering  unselfish  aid  to  our  country.  Volunteers  from  most 
parts  of  the  Empire,  who  had  been  unable  to  obtain  useful 
posts  when  applying  at  home  in  Britain,  had  come  to  Africa 
to  make  tender  of  their  services  ;  they  were  there  from  Alaska, 
New  Zealand,  Australia,  and  from  almost  every  place  which 
it  was  possible  to  name ;  numbers  of  them  were  desirous  of 
entering  the  volunteer  irregular  corps  which  were  being  rapidly 
embodied  and  organised,  and  all  who  were  physically  qualified 
quickly  obtained  their  wish  and  in  such  corps  did  magnificent 
service  in  the  later  stages  of  the  war.  The  South  African 
Colonists  and  Africanders,  a  fine  set  of  men,  who  mostly  knew 
the  country  and  the  tongues  spoken  in  it,  joined  the  forces  in 
great  numbei*.  Troopers  from  Victoria  arrived,  other  regi- 
ments were  constantly  being  disembarked  and  despatched  to 
their  various  destinations,  and  as  I  returned  from  my  visit  to 
Robben  Island  I  counted  116  vessels  in  Table  Bay.  I  was 
constantly  meeting  in  the  streets  or  the  Mount  Nelson  Hotel 
comrades  whom  I  had  last  seen  in  the  Soudan,  all  eager,  both 
soldiers  and  civilians, to  strike  another  blowfor  the  old  country. 
The  consultant  surgeons  who  had  been  sent  out  from  England 
to  place  their  unrivalled  skill  at  the  disposal  of  the  army  were 
also  there  in  numbers,  all  of  them  such  as  had  risen  or  were 
rising  into  the  higher  ranks  of  the  profession  at  home.  Many 
ladies,  beautiful  and  accomplished  women  who  at  the  first 
glance  appeared  to  be  butterflies  come  to  flutter  in  the  eyes 
of  the  military,  were  soon  found  out  to  be  intent  only  in  doing 
everything  that  was  possible  to  aid  the  cause  by  voluntary 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


107 


work,  influence,  and  money.  I  think  it  was  there  that  I  first 
fully  appreciated  the  immense  power  which  voluntary  aid  is 
capable  of  rendering  to  a  nation  in  war  time,  and  it  was  bitter 
to  see  how  it  was  wasted  by  having  to  dash  in  vain  against 
the  barriers  of  officialdom. 

Departmental  heads  of  army  services,  billeted  in  Ihe  Mount 
Nelson  Hotel,  took  their  meals  there,  and  I  learned  to  know 
some  of  them,  who  were  polite  and  even  kind  to  me,  and  the 
dining-room  and  the  lounge  later  in  the  evening  were  brilliant 
with  people  whose  names  and  functions  one  was  familiar  with. 
Prominent  South  African  jurists  and  statesmen  and  war 
correspondents  elbowed  among  the  crowd,  and  the  Hotel, 
which  was  in  a  bad  financial  position  previous  to  the  war,  was 
reaping  a  rich  harvest  of  British  money.    There  I  met  the 

Times  correspondent,  Mr.  A ,  who  later  suggested  that  I 

should  write  the  medical  part  of  the  History  of  the  War  which 
he  was  compiling  for  his  newspaper,  a  task  I  had  to  decline 
as  I  felt  that  the  time  was  not  appropriate  for  the  publication 
of  the  views  which  I  held. 

Of  all  the  wej;  'mown  personalities  whom  I  met,  there  were 
only  one  or  two  m  whom  time  and  circumstances  permitted 
me  to  take  a  real  interest,  and  whose  characters  arrested  my 

particular  attention.    Among  them  was  Sir  J F ,  the 

representative  of  the  British  Red  Cross,  who  gave  me  a  good 
deal  of  information  as  to  what  was  being  done  by  his  associa- 
tion ;  no  doubt  that  was  its  best,  but  it  was  easy  to  see  that, 
in  many  respects,  its  best  might  have  been  bettered  had  its 
organisation  been  laid  down  on  wider  lines,  better  prepared 
beforehand,  more  energetically  worked,  and  cordially  sup- 
ported from  within  the  army.  I  must  not  omit  the  mention 
of  my  old  friend  Dr.  David  Gill,  who  was  active  and  interested 
in  questions  of  voluntary  aid  to  our  forces,  was  ever  over- 
flowingwith  kindness  to  all,and  in  whose  beautiful  observatory, 
practically  his  own  creation,  furnished  with  instruments  and 
apparatus  at  that  time  unmatched  in  the  whole  world,  he 
carried  out  astronomical  investigations  which  gained  him  a 
world-wide  reputation  and  earned  him  the  well-merited 
honour  of  Knight  Commander  of  the  Bath,  as  well  as  many 
other  distinctions.  But  the  most  impressive  personality  with 
whom  I  was  brought  into  contact,  more  so  than  even  General 
Roberts,  was  Sir  Alf^d  Milner.  The  Queen  had  allowed  him 
to  be  written  to  about  me,  and  after  I  had  called  at  Govern- 
ment House  he  invited  me  to  lunch  with  him.  He  inquired 
into  the  work  which  I  had  in  prospect,  and  was  interested  in 
what  I  had  seen  and  learned  regarding  the  positions  at  the 
front,  and  the  state  of  health  of  th-  (Toops  there.    After 


nft'    l|M 


It'  '1 


.  H       m 


108    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

lunoheon  we  had  a  long  talk  d  deux  on  the  varies  subjects 
which  were  on  every  one's  lips  at  the  time,  until  Kitchener 
was  announced,  when  I  took  my  departure  'I  had  the  m"" 
„^il'?u  "•^''"  Per«'"«"y  t"  meet  I,ord  Kitchener),  and  I  left 
w.th  the  .mpression  that  Sir  Alfred  Mihier  was  oni  of  the  few 
really  great  men,  m  every  sense,  whom  I  had  met,  e  '  was 
certamly  the  greatest  man  in  South  Africa 
tn  h^^J't  ?''  f  Janya^  I  had  seen  about  everything  likely 
to  be  of  value  to  me  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cape  Town,  and 

N^so^nllltll^K '';'"'''  f  "^^«  '"  '"''"'y  '"  the  Mount 
Si  K  ••  ^^^  ""1^  ?^  '*»'""«  indicated  to  me  by  Lord 
Roberts  havmg  expired,  I  went  to  his  office  on  the  2nd  of 
Fe^aiy,  saw  his  secretary,  and  left  with  him  an  application 
tL^%i°^  "11°  *°"''  P*!^'  °^'hc  forces  where  I  could  study 
the  methods  of  bringing  aid  to  the  wounded  under  the  modeni 
r»w  C  J^""^'"^-  I  ^°«J«1  ^y  application  thus  becau™ 
l^vl  i  were  surgeons  enough  at  the  bases  and  along 
the  Imes  of  communication,  and  that  the  consultants  were 
bemg  sent  to  such  places.  The  secretary  promisS  a  riply 
to  my  apphca  ion  I  could  not  help  being  somewhat  anxious 
as  to  the  result,  and  wondering  if  by  any  chance  I  should  meet 
with  arefusal.    I  felt  that  the  influence  of  the  army  medical 

f^r/^^H*  rrl^  P?l'"""y  ^  unfavourable;   but, T the 
other  hand,  I  had  hitherto  got  everything  1  want^   whSe 
many  greater  men  had  been  refused,  without  respect  of^rTons 
anythmg  l*e  the  facilities  which  had  been  coSdto  me 
However,  I  had  been  chafing,  though  endeavouring  not  to  do 

^',^  t^'"*.K°J'T^'"  V  ^"P''  '"^"-  "»«»  it  waf  becoming 
hard  to  bear  the  delay.    Lut  1  did  not  have  to  wait  very  Ion/ 

TZ  -oxZ^^  °^  '^  6th  February,  on  calling  at  th7officf ! 
fW  T^  ^  "::"'  *hc  military  secretary,  learned  from  him 
that  I  was  to  go  the  next  night  to  Modder  River,  and  obtained 
the  necessary  passes.    This  was  precisely  the  arrangement  1 

^^fw^l  t'T  ""  t*''*"'  ^°'  ^  »"™'^  that  ^Kberts 
would  strike  from  that  quarter,  and  that  his  first  blow  was 
^st  about  to  fall.  When  I  called  on  General  W— TtX 
medical  headquarters  next  morning,  to  go  through  the 
foimahty  of  asking  his  sanction  to  my  joining  Methuen's 

C^Za  T  ^°^''^^  ^^''-  ""-^  ^«l"^ti  I  be^atteched  to 
Colonel  Townsend's  command,  he  did  not  readily  consent 

fu  ?„'?'>.'lrr'''  ^1  "."u*^"*  8'°^^  campaign,'  but^S  l^ 
full  of  hardships  and  fighting,  and  that  he  would  give  me 
neither  tent,  service,  nor  transport  for  my  baggaRe  but  that 

th^'diST''''  ""y  rVe"^'  ^°'^- «"«»  ^ervanTVt  one  o 
these  did  I  possess,  for  I  had  expected  to  receive  them  ■  they 
could  not  be  obtained,  if  at  all,  in  the  half-dozen  houTs  before 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,09 

^^i!"}"^-    ^".u  ^  *""  ""^  '  ™"  °f  '"ther  beds,  and  my 


XXVI 

The  Akmy  Medical  Service 
It  seems  to  pe  appropriate  to  introduce  here  a  few  remarks 
eoncernmg  the  condition  in  which  I  found  the  p^pS^ 
of  the  Bntish  forces  in  South  Africa  for  dealing  ^th  ?he^ck 

von  Bloik    th!°  P"'^"t,t''*^«  «ith  »  quotation  from  Johann 
von  Block,  the  great  Russian  writer  on  modem  w»rSn. 
probably    he  greatest  authority  who  has  ^ver  ?eaTt^m 
prehensively  with  the  strife  of'^nations.    I  quote  ft«m  the 
German  edition,  which  was  well  known  before  th^  ^  ^ar 
broke  out,  through  which  his  opinions  came  to  be  acSTfn 
most  civhsed  countries,  though  they  did  not  app^^^ve 
dawned  upon  those  who  were  charged  with  the  ^^istraHon 
of  the  roya    army  medical  department.    The  pTs^Br^ns 
as  follows  :  '  In  den  Zuki-jiftskriegen  durfte  es  l^um  moi^nh 
sem  ohne  eine  Beteiligung  der  Gesluschaft  an  der  Hitfekfi 
fur  Verwundete  za  bestehen.    Wenn  man  aber  die^  Sn? 
^nh^"'^^.'"'"  ^°?^'**8  organisieren  und  ^e  dann  syiL^ 
lerSe^   -^I^."  ^-"J' »^8"»f  d^'en  Folgen  ausserst  iSSh 
werden      This  assertion  of  Block's  that  calamity  is  likehTto 
ensue  if  the  aid  of  the  civilian  population  is  not  Jarly  organTs^ 
and  regularly  continued  on  behalf  of  the  sick  and  wo32dto 
warfare  in  supplement  to  the  medical  organisation  w"thin  tte 
army,  was  already,  at  this  period  of  my  connec^L  with  the 
wax  provmg  itsetf  to  be  well  founded,  and  the  fo     mutteriSs 

?or  nl?  r  ""^'"^  ^"?  ''•~"*  *°  •>«="''  upon  our  War  Offlfe 
for  neglectmg  the  wammg  were  already  audible  in  Cape  T^n 
and  m  our  armies  in  the  field.  The  best  people  in  C^Se  ToZ 
were  almost  in  revolt  at  the  conditions  whfch  were  showZ 
themselves,  and  many  others,  who  were  not  cTCials  S 
at  home  and  at  the  Cape,  were  expressing  themXes  v^ry 

SL=irtt%L--:*  £fgH^- 
o4is^L,ti^^s»i:^'is^itt^Sy",s 


•.Ml 

i      ,.  i  -] 

i  .    ] 

<  \   ■ 


I. 


no    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

by  the  W«r  OfBoe,  and,  it  muit  be  aMiuned,  with  the  authority  of 
the  Seeictary  of  State  lor  War,  it  ha*  never  even  been  pretended 
that  the  army  medical  department  wai  organiied  (or  the  purpoees 
of  war.  It  was  maintained  on  the  very  lowest  peace  footing,  and 
no  proper  measurei  were  talun  tor  its  expanaion.' 

'^    '^  (Patt  MttU  Giaette,  »rd  July  \900.) 

Yet  when 

'Sir  Walter  Foater  wrote  to  Mr.  Wyndham,  propoaing  the 
appointment  of  a  small  sanitary  commission  to  proceed  to  South 
Africa,  and  offering  his  own  services  (the  work  of  such  a  commis- 
sion would  have  been,  among  other  things,  to  guard  against  the 
contamination  of  water  supplies,  or,  when  that  was  not  possible, 
to  warn  the  camps  against  the  use  of  suppUes  which  were  contami- 
nated). Lord  Lansdowne  declined  his  oner  on  the  ground  that  the 
need  of  special  assistance  was  not  the  same  in  samtary  matters  as 
in  surgical  operations.  Yet  it  is  possible  that  sdentinc  sanitation 
directed  by  experts  might  have  saved  hundreds  of  Uves,  and  pre- 
vented thousands  of  cases  of  sickness.' 

{Wettmifuter  Gazette,  29lh  June  1900.) 

This  was  a  straw  which  showed  the  direction  of  the  wind. 
But  at  the  Cape  matters  had  moved  quickly  on,  and  people 
there  showed  resentment  of  what  was  occurring     Thus : 

'  There  had  been  a  tremendous  amount  of  criticism.  .  .  .  There 
was  a  general  feeling  that  things  were  not  right  in  the  hospitals 
or  convalescent  wards ;  he  had  heard  that  the  convalescent  homes 
were  really  not  properly  attended  to  in  the  matter  of  food.' 

(Rev.  J.  J.  M'Cluee,  Daily  Neat,  25th  July  1900.) 

Again: 

'  A  civilian  who  spent  hundreds  upon  hundreds  of  pounds  in 
buying  common  necessaries  for  the  field  hospitals  told  me  that  he 
was  informed  the  army  medical  men  could  not  purchase  a  ther- 
mometer except  at  the  risk  of  personal  pecuniary  loss.  It  wanted 
three  months,  he  said,  for  a  field  hospital  to  observe  *he  formula 
for  getting  supplies  which  he  used  to  buy  at  an  hour's  notice.' 

(JuuAN  Ralph,  Daily  Mail,  29<A  June  1900.) 

And  once  more : 

'  At  a  meeting  of  the  Good  Hope  Society  for  the  Aid  of  the  Sick 
and  Wounded,  the  Archbishop  of  Cape  Town  remarked  that  it 
fairly  made  his  blood  boil  to  think  that  there  was  such  disgraceful 
neglect,  particularly  at  Rosebank  Hospital.  .  .  .  There  has  been  a 
growing  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of  both  public  and 
patjent£  with  the  way  in  which  the  miUtary  hospitals  and  con- 
valescent wards  are  being  managed.  Grave  complaints  are  made, 
anonymously  for  the  most  part,  in  the  press,  but  the  greatest 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  m 

difficulty  is  ezpeiienoed  in  obUining  definite  deuili,  with  pnwfa. 
owmg  to  the  unwillmgnen  of  the  men  concemed  to  m»ltt  <i«Sei 

^i-i'  °"|y  *»"■  to  »y  t>»»t  the  Archbishop  subsequently 
modified  his  statements.  "»«=S"™"y 

1  ^i  i*  P°  r  i'','"  *•"*  *''*"*  '«"  quotations  and  their  dates  may 
lead  to  a  httle  confusion,  but  1  have  thought  it  best  to  give 
the  published  words,  as  they  represented  the  exact  feelings 
which  prevailed,  and  the  remarks  which  were  being  pass^ 
from  mouth  to  mouth  nearly  everywhere  during  the  month  of 
January,  when  I  was  in  Cape  Town.  I  myself  was  often  the 
recipient  of  complamts  as  to  the  condition  of  some,  particu- 
larly of  one,  of  the  hospitals,  of  the  indifference  with  which 
the  efforts  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  to  be  serviceable  in  atten- 
tions to  the  sick  and  wounded  were  met,  that  ladies  wishing 
to  give  voluntan^  help  were  refused  admission  to  the  wards! 
and  ev«i  t^t  offers  of  beds  for  sick  men  lying  on  the  ground 

.Jf  ^^^^  it  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  abundant  evidence 
that  the  heads  of  the  army  medical  department  in  Africa 
were  out  of  sympathy  with  progressive  ideas.    The  principal 
medical  officer  m  especial  was  the  usual  product  of  the  depwt- 
ment  in  those  days.    A  man  of  ability  and  a  good  administra- 
tor, he  believed,  and  expected  others  to  accept,  that  the  armv 
medical  service  was  perfect ;   he  had  no  proper  appreciation 
of  the  value  of  the  civilian  consultants  who  were  sent  out  bv 
the  authorities  at  home,  told  them  that  there  was  nothing  for 
them  to  do,  and  that  there  were  only  a  few  minor  cases  of 
ailments  in  the  hospitals  (one  of  his  staff  told  me  personaUy 
the  same  story),  and  presumed  to  direct  eminent  metropolitan 
sw^ns  exactly  how  they  were  to  deal  with  penetrating 
abdominal  wounds,  and  even  the  fashion  in  which  they  must 
dress  the  wourded  men.    He  probably  had  good  grounds  for 
refusmg  the  offer  of  a  hospital  from  Sir  James  Sievewriaht 
whose  motives  m  other  things  were  not  entirely  beyond  the 
suspicion  of  being  ambiguous ;   but  in  the  case  of  a  similar 
offer  from  Mr.  Logan  of  Matjesfonteiii.  the  refusal  created  a 
bad  unpression  in  the  country.    He  showed  a  spirit  of  dislike 
towards  the  Red  Cross,  and  on  one  occasion  questioned  me  in 
sharp  accento  concerning  a  request  which  I  had  forwarded 
ftom  a  very  able  army  surgeon  to  the  Red  Cross  for  some 
specK      pparatus  which  was  urgently  needed,  and  which  the 
arm;,  uid  not  provide.    Under  his  persistent  adherence  to 
obsolete  or  mappropnate  methods  of  circumlocution,  too.  the 
hospitals  suffered  ftt)m  want  of  necessaries  which  were  easily 


'I; 


'  > 


!  I 


113    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

obtainable,  such  as  those  alluded  to  by  an  ofHcer  of  the  Army 
Service  Corps,  who,  writing  from  Woodstock  Hospital  (No.  5 
Base  Hospital)  in  Cape  Town,  to  the  newspapers,  said  : 

'  My  official  position  is  sufficient  authority  tor  the  truth  of  the 
statement  that  the  deficiency  of  milk  and  medical  eon\forU  is  quite 
inexcusable.  The  supply  officers  place  no  limit  on  either.  The 
army  doctors  can  have  them  without  limit  j  but  they  refuse,  for 
reasons  best  known  to  tliemselves,  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
opportunities  offered.  The  cooking  is  execrable.  Food,  as 
cooked  here,  is  barely  eatable  by  a  sound  man.  The  only  excuse 
tne  army  medical  authorities  can  otter  is  that  it  is  war  time. 
War  time  is  not  responsible  for  the  site  of  the  hospital,  nor  for  any 
of  the  scandals  I  have  detailed.' 

The  spirit  that  pervaded  the  P.M.O.'s  administration  was 
shown  in  an  order  issued,  1  think,  in  February,  that  all  applica- 
tions to  the  Red  Cross  should  be  submitted  to  the  army 
principal  medical  officer  for  his  approval  before  being  sent. 
The  comments  of  those  who  knew  what  other  nations  were 
doing  in  adapting  their  army  medical  services  to  the  times, 
were  not  such  as  a  Briton  could  be  proud  of ;  one  could  not 
but  be  ashamed  of  the  contrast  between  what  was  everywhere 
witnessed  in  the  Cape  and  the  standard  accepted  in  the  United 
States,  that  the  wounded  soldier  is  entitled  to  e^^ct  the  same 
treatment  and  privileges  as  he  would  have  received  if  he  had 
sustained  a  similar  injury  in  civil  life. 

As  regards  the  British  Red  Cross  Society,  its  attitude,  as 
reported  by  prominent  and  patriotic  citizens  of  Cape  Town, 
was  not  altogether  a  satisfactory  one.  Some  of  their  officials 
seemed  to  suffer  from  the  arrogant  idea,  which  elsewhere  and 
often  has  been  one  of  the  weaknesses  of  that  organisation, 
that  no  voluntary  assistance  to  the  sick  and  wounded  can  be 
rendered  otherwise  than  through  the  Red  Cross  Society,  and 
this  had  caused  it  to  be  regarded  with  some  dislike  and  in- 
difference. Their  chief  officer  had,  by  some  representations 
of  this  sort,  mano6U"red  the  Good  Hope  Society,  whose  good 
intentions  I  have  aheady  described,  into  making  him  its  agent, 
intimating  that  in  no  other  way  could  they  render  effectual 
service.  My  own  subsequent  experience  of  the  Red  Cross 
Society  in  Africa  was  by  no  means  a  favourable  one.  One 
instance  I  may  cite,  though  it  belonged  to  a  later  stage  of  the 
war.  A  certain  field  hospital  which  was  .  My  provided  had 
only  a  few  boxes  for  scats ;  some  of  its  medical  officers,  though 
almost  dropping  from  fatigue  from  their  work,  had  to  take 
their  meals  standing ;  and  among  their  patients  it  was  an 
almost  hourly  occurrence  to  see  wounded  officers  and  men,  just 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


I'  I 


'13 


urivecl  after  houn  and  dsyi  of  travelling  in  primitive  carts 
which  had  brought  them  in  from  Paardeberg  and  elsewhere, 
limping  out  of  these  oonveyancea,  or  hopping  painfully  out 
of  their  tents,  trying  to  sneak  off  with  a  something  to  sit  upon, 
the  many  unaccommodated  watching  the  fortunate  few  who 
were  in  possession  in  order  to  annex  it  when  one  of  them  left 
it  unguarded  for  an  instant.  I  wrote  an  application  to  the 
Red  Cross  officials  in  Cape  Town  for  the  gift  or  loan  or  purchase 
of  half  a  dozen  or  twelve  folding  chairs,  but  no  attention  was 
paid  to  my  request.  In  fact,  up  country,  where  the  ministra- 
tions of  the  Red  Cross  were  most  needed,  1  can  remember  only 
one  instance  where  a  Red  Cross  representative  was  seen  on 
the  veld,  and  then  he  had  nothing  which  was  of  any  use  to 
offer.  The  society  ought  to  have  had  its  own  transport  from 
the  very  beginning,  and  have  sent  up  to  the  front,  or  as  near  to 
it  as  possible,  suitable  officers  provided  with  well-selected 
stores  for  the  medical  units.  Instead  of  this,  which  would 
have  been  Invaluable,  they  spent  the  funds  on  some  hospital 
trains  and  such  like  imposing  contributions,  which  benefited 
only  a  very  few.  Had  they  sent  out  a  few  capable  cooks  for 
the  medical  units,  they  would  have  done  incalculable  good  at 
a  vanishing  fraction  of  the  expense. 

Since  I  am  dealing  with  the  subject  of  the  provision  for  the 
sick  and  wounded  in  this  campaign,  it  is  well  that  I  should 
remind  my  readers  of  the  punishment  which  Nemesis  presently 
sent  down  on  the  army  medical  department,  which  however 
unfortunately  fell  on  the  shoulders  of  the  able  and  faithful 
subordinates  instead  of  on  those  who  chiefly  deserved  it.  In 
doing  so  I  am  forced  to  anticipate  a  little,  for  the  occurrences 
to  which  I  am  about  to  refer  happened  some  months  later, 
wher  I  was  lying  unconscious  at  Bloemfontein. 

In  ue  month  of  June,  Mr.  Burdett-Coutts  wrote  to  the 
newspapers  at  home  an  account  of  what  he  had  witnessed  in 
some  of  the  hospitals.     I  quote  a  portion  of  his  remarks  : 

'  After  the  occupation  of  Bloemfontein  hundreds  of  men,  to  my 
knowledt^,  were  lying  in  the  worst  stages  of  typhoid,  with  only  a 
blanket  and  a  thin  waterproof  sheet  (not  even  the  latter  for  many 
of  them)  between  their  aching  bodies  and  the  hard  ground,  with 
no  milk  iwid  hardly  any  medicines,  without  beds,  stretehcre,  or 
mattresses,  without  pillows,  without  linen  of  any  kind,  without  a 
single  nurse  among  them,  with  only  a  few  private  soldiers  to  act  as 
orderlies,  rough  and  utterly  untrained  to  nursing,  and  with  only 
three  doctors  to  attend  on  850  patients.  .  .  .  About  the  same  time 
a  convoy  of  wounded  men  were  being  subjected  to  nameless  torture 
for  want  of  any  ambulance  transport  or  the  simplest  coniforts, 
huddled  together  in  rough,  springless  ox-wagons,  jolted  over  spruit 
U 


M-    '; 


^    '  !      'Il^ 


it4    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

and  drift  lor  forty  mile* ;  the  road  being  itmtcgiialljr  lafe  and 
their  destination  being  thii  lame  Bloemfontein,  provided  with 
moit  thing!  excsept  humane  appUanoei  for  the  wounded.  Bloem- 
fbntein,  it  may  be  added,  wai  onlv  one  mile  diitant.  Many  of  the 
patienti  in  the  fleld  hoipital  at  the  lame  place  were  leen  lying  in 
three  incheo  of  mud  I ' 

Two  weeks  later  another  visit  disclosed  the  following  state 
of  things : 

'  With  no  further  equipment  than  two  marquees  and  a  few  bell 
tents,  no  addition  of  staff  or  anything  else,  there  were  818  patients, 
of  whom  half  were  typhoida.  Their  condition  was  almost  inde- 
scribable. In  many  of  these  there  were  ten  typhoid  cases  lying 
closely  packed  toocther,  the  dying  against  the  convalescent,  the 
man  in  bis  "  crisis  pressed  against  the  man  hastening  to  it.  There 
was  not  room  to  step  between  them.  The  heat  of  these  tents  in 
the  midday  sun  was  overpowering,  their  odours  sickening.  Men 
lay  with  their  faces  covered  with  flies  in  bUck  clusters,  too  weak 
to  raise  a  hand  to  brush  them  off,  trying  in  vain  to  dislodge  'hem 
by  painful  twitching  of  their  features.  At  night  there  were  not 
enough  to  prevent  those  in  the  delirious  stage  from  getting  up  and 
wandering  about  the  camp  half-naked  in  the  bitter  cold.  In  one 
tent,  where  some  slept  and  others  lay  with  eyes  open  and  staring,  a 
case  of  "  perforation  was  groaning  out  his  life  huddled  against  his 
neii^bour  on  the  ground.'  {Daiiy  Mail,  iSth  June  1900.) 

Again: 

'There  were  3800  enteric  patients  when  I  left  Bloemfontein, 
and  they  were  in  large  proportion  left  to  He  on  the  ground  and  be 
nursed  by  ignorant  and  slovenly  "  Tommy  "  attendants.  They  lay 
in  water,  they  were  rained  on,  and  the  sanitary  arrangements  were 
such  that,  at  least  in  some  hospitals,  they  had  to  leave  their  blanket 
at  the  risk  of  death.'  {Wetlmimter  Oazette,  2Wh  June  1900.) 


Burdett-Coutts's  statements  were  amply  confirmed  by 
others,  but  I  cite  only  two  in  corroboration.  Julian  Ralph 
wrote: 

'  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  considered  the  treatment 
of  the  sick  and  wounded — especially  after  the  main  advance  from 
Modder  River — primitive,  cruel,  and  almost  barbaric,  as  well  as 
needless  and  inexcusable.  And  Surgeon-Captain  Brownlee,  who 
was  with  the  Highland  Brigade  during  the  mareh  on  Bloemfontein, 
in  command  of  the  bearer  company,  is  quoted  as  stating  in  plain 
tenns  that  he  had  not  enough  men  or  ambulances  to  cope  with  the 
heavy  work  to  he  done.  At  one  time,  it  is  stat^.  two  ambulances, 
with  accommodation  for  four  patients  lying  and  six  sitting,  were  all 
he  had  to  wait  on  the  sick  and  wounded  of  a  bodv  of  4000  men.' 
{Wettmiruter  Gazette,  WlA  June  1900.) 


SOUTH  AFRrCAN  WAR  ,,3 

Ewry  medioBl  oiBMr  who  w>.  in  the  Orange  Free  State  at 
m^reTll^t?  *^'*  Burdrtt-CoutU',  .t.lunenU  were  nothing 
«,^J^^i.  t  *""  unv«m.!,hed  tn.th,  and  the  sceneN  ther? 
r^  ti?.^*  have  never  left  the  meniorie,  of  tho.e  who  wit- 
r^  ""em-    At  home  hi.  reports  created  a  great  uusa^ion, 

but  hu  statement!  were  never  denied  or  disproved  ;  they  were 
notonouily  too  true.  Hence  the  War  Offlci  had  ti  blTwhlte! 
wBiUed.  Emment  authorities  replied  to  him  that  '  War  is 
War.  and  seemed  to  thinlc  that  that  solved  the  questiot.. 
CHhers  m.sj|ed  the  pmnt  of  the  matter  by  defending  th.  medica 
offlcen.  whom  Burdett-Coutt,  had  never  attacked.  Some 
extenuated  the  conditions  which  they  could  not  other^Ts^ 

which  don  t  carry  beds,'  as  if  it  had  been  divinely  oXined 
!hSuM  ll°^T^'"  \".  Commandment,  of  a  field  hospital 
should  be  'Thou  Shalt  carry  no  beds,'  and  were  at  on^ 
coimtered  by  Julian  Ralph  : 

r.Z'?!,'*  "  "° ,"?;"■  '*"™  "''y  even  "  flying  hospital.  "  cannot 
^rL^  ""^  '°"""f  American  beds  than  there  wm  reaJTwhy 
we  correspondent,  sfiould  do  without  them;  yet  we  .TrarrieS 
^eje  or  mfenor  beds,  which  were  Ught,  smkll.  and  po^k 
nve  to  seven  hundred  American  camp  beds  could  be  carried  in 
one  ox-wagon.'  (C^-^  mm,  2W*  Junt  IKw!) 

Public  opinion  was  roused  and  something  had  to  be  done 
IL  »•■  •'«'=n^«d  the  War  Office  in  Parliament.  A  South 
Attioan  Hospitab  Inquiry  Commission  was  appointed  at 
Which  experts  talked  vaguely  about  the  necessity  of  havina 
etosticity  m  the  army  medical  arrangementa  and  laroe  reserves 
;  JJ?^  ^"t-  ,^™  newspapers  opined  that '  The  Commander- 
in-Chiers  first  thought  was  for  his  men  who  were  to  enaace  the 
enemy,  not  for  those  who  had  fallen  by  the  way,'  as  if  a  Bieat 
and  wealthy  nation  like  Britain  hud  any  justification  in  pre- 
paring for  war  without  as  much  consideration  for  the  sick  and 
wounded  as  for  the  fighting  forces.  The  director-general  of 
the  urmy  medical  department  was  reported  to  have  said  : 

'  All  I  can  teU  you  is  that,  whatever  has  happened,  the  depart- 
ment has  done  the  right  thing/  "^ 
{fFatmiruter  Gazette,  2nd  June  1900.) 

And  the  following  burlesque  was  solemnly  enacted.     I  quote 
from  the  PaU  Mall  Gasette  of  the  2»th  of  June  1900  : 

'  A  FURTHZE  £s  BEQUiRED.— Included  in   the  pariiamentarv 
papers  to-day  is  a  copy  of  the  Army  Supplement  EsUmate,  dated 


.•'    I' 


•  '8 


;•■  l|l: 


I  •  \i 


116    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

yesterday,  for  the  nominal  sum  of  £S  for  the  army  medical  estab- 
lishment, which  the  Govemtnent  have  submitted  as  a  vehicle  for 
to-day's  discussion  on  the  charges  of  hospital  mismanagement  and 
insufficiency  in  South  Africa.  The  document  sets  forth  that  it  is 
an  "  Estimate  of  the  further  amount  that  will  be  required  during 
the  year  ending  March  81,  1901,  to  meet  expenditure  in  excess  of 
that  provided  for  in  the  original  army  estimates  for  the  year  for 
medical  establishment  aid  for  medicines."  The  original  estimate 
for  medical  establishment,  pay,  and  so  on,  was  for  £S5S,000.  The 
•'  revised  estimate  "  is  for  £5JJ,00J  :  additional  sum  required,  £8.' 

And  it  ended  in  that!  Who  can  marvel  at  my  holding 
more  strongly  than  ever  the  conviction  that,  whether  it  comes 
to  pass  soon  or  late,  the  army  medical  service  will  never  take 
its  rightful  place  in  the  nation's  defence  until  it  is  made  in- 
dependent of  the  War  Office,  and  has  its  own  heads  directly 
responsible  to  Parliament  ?  In  whatever  shape,  or  however 
late,  it  must  come  to  that. 


XXVII 

Lord  Methlten's  Column 

Having  given  an  account  of  what  was  going  on  in  Cape  Town, 
I  next  propose  to  tell  of  my  experiences  while  attached  to 
Lord  Methuen's  column,  the  fortunes  of  which  I  had  decided 
to  follow. 

Leaving  the  capital  on  Wednesday  evening,  the  7th  of 
February,  my  only  luggage  being  a  large  bundle  of  the  latest 
newspapers  for  distribution  among  the  troops  along  the  line 
and  a  small  bag  containing  a  few  books  and  some  changes 
of  clothing,  I  followed  the  same  route  to  Modder  River  as 
on  the  previous  occasion,  my  companions  being  Dr.  and  Mrs. 

G ,  who  were  going  to  do  duty  at  De  Aar,  and  an  old 

colonial.  Captain  Sissison,  a  man  of  sixty-seven  years  of  age, 
who  had  seen  war  in  battles  witli  the  natives  and  was  now- 
drawing  his  veteran  sword  once  more  in  the  service  of  the 
homehmd,  which  he  had  left  half  a  century  before. 

There  was  intense  activity  all  along  the  line.  There  were 
no  more  comfortable  breakfasts  and  dinners  at  the  stations, 
but  scrambles  and  thankfulness  for  anything  eatable  that 
could  be  obtained  ;  and  morning  toilets  hastily  performed  at 
draw-wells  and  tubs  at  wayside  stoppages.  Orange  River 
camp  had  increased  to  ten  times  its  former  size,  and  so  busied 
was  the  railway  there  that  we  had  to  wait  six  hours,  from  eight 
in  the  morning  until  two  in  the  afternoon,  before  they  could 


.  > 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


"7 


send  us  on.  Not  only  was  the  line  blocked  with  trains,  but  the 
roads  over  the  veld  alongside  it,  for  many  miles  on  the  north 
of  Orange  River,  were  a  spectacle  worth  beholding  owing  to 
the  enormous  numbers  of  wagons  with  mule  and  oxen  teams 
rolling  northwards  like  a  great  river,  some  moving  on,  others 
outspanned  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  their  ox-chains 
spread  out  straight  before  them  on  the  ground,  and  the  oxen 
spilling  themselves  like  out -poured  water  in  great  droves  over 
the  country.  These  masses  of  transport  re.  !:>>.-ed  p.  sort  of 
order,  with  division  behind  division  and  .nter/als  be^i»  :en, 
squadrons  of  wagoni  guarded  by  troops  of  c  v  ^  i?.y  transp(  r ting 
ammunition  and  stores  to  reheve  the  prestar''  on  the  n  ilway 
which  otherwise  would  have  been  far  too  g.eat  iui  i<-.  Still 
farther  north,  towards  Belmont  and  Enslin,  bodies  of  soldiers, 
a  thousand  or  two  in  each,  with  their  bands  and  baggage 
carts;  were  marching  along  parallel  to  the  railway  among 
clouds  of  dust,  all  of  them  parts  of  an  army  being  assembled 
for  some  great  purpose  near  Modder  River. 

No  one  knew  what  the  intentions  were,  or  what  were  Lord 
Roberts's  movements — these  were  well-concealed  secrets — but 
we  afterwards  learned  that  he  and  Kitchener  had  gone  north 
the  day  before  us,  and  were  making  like  ourselves  for  Modder 
River.  It  was  midnight  before  we  reached  it,  though  we  came 
within  sight  of  it  at  nine ;  and  as  it  was  too  late  to  disturb 
any  one  I  got  leave  to  sleep  in  the  railway  carriage.  In  the 
morning  I  rose  and  dressed  at  a  very  early  hour  and  went  in 
search  of  Colonel  Townsend,  whom  I  found  at  his  former 
quarters.  Though  these  were  unchanged,  yet  Modder  River 
had  altered  greatly  during  my  abseree.  Instead  of  about 
12,000  troops,  there  were  now  some  60,000,  and  instead  of  a 
few  camps  scattered  about,  with  only  two,  and  these  small 
ones,  on  the  southern  bank  of  the  river,  the  whole  plain  on 
the  south  was  a  huge  city  of  canvas  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  while  far  away  on  the  surrounding  eminences  glittered 
the  lamps  of  the  outposts  flashing  their  messages  to  the  centre, 
and  on  the  eastern  horizon  glowed  the  bush  fires  lit  by  the 
Boers  to  clear  off  the  scrub  which  would  have  impeded  their 
markmanship  against  their  opponents.  Day  was  breaking 
and  these  lights  disappearing,  and  the  bustle  of  the  day  was 
awakening  in  the  great  army.  I  received  a  welcome  and  a  cup 
of  coffee  from  Townsend,  who  then  walked  over  with  me  to  the 
First  Divisional  Field  Hospital  of  Lord  Methuen's  column,  to 
which  he  had  decided  to  attach  me,  and  it  was  delightful  to 
find  it  was  under  the  command  of  an  old  acquaintance  and 

former  pupil.  Major  C ,  some  of  whose  subalterns  I  had 

already  met  when  they  were  serving  at  De  Aar.    After  break- 


:.   n 


1 

:  wn 

I 

i 

i  ' 

ii8    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

fasting  with  my  friend  P of  the  Naval  Brigade,  I  made  my 

adieus  to  Colonel  Townsend  and  proceeded  to  what  was  now 
to  be  my  permanent  abode,  whither  my  small  baggage  had 
preceded  me.  The  principal  medical  officer  at  Cape  Town, 
in  dissuading  me  from  going  to  the  front,  had  told  nie  that  I 

should  receive  nothing  but  food,  but  Major  C got  me  a  tent, 

though  it  was  one  out  of  which  a  typhoid  fever  pnticnt  had  just 
been  carried  ;  a  mess-sergeant  undertook  to  fetch  me  a  bucket 
of  watpr  every  morning,  and  therewith  was  provided  all  the 
service  I  required.  '  Shanks's  Mare,'  ns  we  say  in  Scotland, 
would  furnish  a  means  of  locomotion  equal  at  least  to  that  of 
any  foot  soldier,  and  surely  I  could  get  my  light  kit-bag  stuck 
away  on  some  baggage  van,  and  there  was  my  transport 
provided  ;  or  at  the  worst  I  could  hire  or  buy  at  some  farm 
on  the  way  a  horse,  mule,  or  curt.  Accordingly,  with  a  thank- 
ful spirit  I  hung  up  my  things  in  the  tent,  laid  a  mackintosh 
on  a  stretcher  for  a  b«d,  and  was  better  off  than  many  a  man 
on  the  same  plain. 

The  First  Divisional  Field  Hospital,  about  a  mile  from  Lird 
Methuen's  headquarters  and  lying  to  the  west  of  the  Highland 
Brigade,  was  the  important  hospital  which  gathered  in  most 
of  the  cases  of  illness,  and  had  attached  to  it  two  enteric  fever 
hospitals  in  buildings  and  a  number  of  marquees  filled  with 
sufferers  from  the  same  disease.  Since  my  former  visit  the 
fever  had  enormously  increased,  and  was  becoming  a  scourge 
in  the  camps.  In  place  of  twenty  a  month  previously,  there 
were  over  a  hundred  cases,  besides  many  who  had  been  sent 
down  the  line  to  De  Aar  or  Cape  Town  ;  they  were  daily 
increasing  in  number,  and  the  virulence  of  the  disease  was 
augmenting,  the  proportion  of  deaths  becoming  very  high. 
After  C— ^  had  disposed  in  the  morning  of  the  usual  crowd 
of  walking  patients  who  came  to  consult  him  in  the  pharmacy 
tent,  I  accompanied  him  round  the  two  fever  hospitals,  a 
third  under  two  junior  officers,  and  a  fourth  under  Dr.  Greig, 
a  London  physician  aged  sixty-two,  who  had  come  out  and 
volunteered  to  serve  the  country  by  devoted  work  among  the 
fever-stricken.  It  was  a  noble  action,  and  one  for  which  he 
shortly  afterwards*  paid  with  his  life.    Three  nursing  sisters 

were  now  attending  the  sick,  one  of  whom.  Sister  G ,  had 

given  up  a  nursing  home  of  her  own  in  order  to  give  her  skill 
to  the  army.  It  was  doubtless  owing  to  these  women  that 
the  fever  hospitals  were  now  cleaner,  and  bright  with  pictures 
and  bits  of  colour,  charts  were  being  more  satisfactorily  taken, 
and  things  generally  better  done,  but  there  was  still  a  great 
want  of  better  accommodation,  and  of  more  women  nurses  to 
give  attention  to  the  patient's  food,  medicines,  and  cleanliness. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


119 


Things  were  really  being  done  as  well  as  possible,  but  the  task 
lay  beyond  the  powers  of  the  workers.  Mosquito  curtains 
were  now  supplied  for  the  flies,  but,  whether  or  not  the  fault 
was  due  to  their  management,  they  wer  not  used,  but  squares 
of  muslin  were  laid  instead  over  the  i'aces  of  the  patients. 
Instructions  were  written  up  in  the  wards  and  tents,  where 
all  might  read  them,  but  it  can  easily  be  imagined  how  little 
they  could  be  iiurried  into  effect  where  there  were,  among  the 
hundred  or  more  grave  cases,  but  these  three  ladies  and  a  set 
of  orderlies  who  were  for  the  most  part  unfitted  to  be  in  charge 
of  the  management  of  men  so  seriously  ill.  The  patients  had 
to  assist  their  own  purposes,  infectious  matters  were  not 
properly  disinfected  or  properly  disposed  of,  all  from  want  of 
a  suitable  number  of  competent  sick-ward  attendants.  The 
soldiers  who  volunteer  to  enlist  in  the  Royal  Army  Medical 
Corps  do  so  under  the  imagination  that  their  functions  will  be 
to  take  part  in  battles,  carry  wounded  under  fire,  and  so  forth, 
and  when  they  have  to  do  dangerous  and  repulsive  duties  in 
pest-houses,  become  for  the  most  part  disillusioned  and  in- 
efficient. The  quiet  heroism  required  for  the  latter  work  is 
beyond  most  men.  The  hospitals  were  a  sad,  sad  sight. 
And  the  flies  !  They  were  swarming  on  the  faces  of  the  in- 
sensible men,  swarming  even  inside  their  mouths,  and  then 
conveying  the  poison  elsewhere,  and  poison,  traps,  and  papers 
were  next  to  useless  in  dealing  with  them.  Many  men  were 
dying,  and  in  the  evening  the  bagpipes  were  wailing  the 
'  Flowers  of  the  Forest '  as  small  sorrow  •  "oups  of  kilted 
men  went  slowly  and  solemnly  across  the  V  :he  cemetery, 

carrying  the  uncoffined  bodi;s  of  some  ^  „or  Highlander 
comrades  (for  whom,  alas  1  it  was  '  Lochaber  no  more  ')  who 
had  given  their  lives  for  England  and  died  far  from  home  amid 
rough,  though  kindly  strangers.  One's  heart  grew  full  to 
think  how  many  of  these  men  might  have  been  saved,  but  for 
the  fact  that  our  rich  country  was  ready  to  spend  its  money 
on  everything  save  in  organising  in  peace  time  the  proper 
care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  in  war. 

Surely  Horace  had  not  seen  all  the  sides  of  warfare  when  he 
wrote  of  the  soldier's  life :  '  Momento  cita  mors  venit,  aut 
victoria  leta.'  It  was  the  reverse  of  the  military  medal  which 
one  saw  in  these  military  hospitals.  The  sights  were  such 
that,  had  our  rulers  spent  a  few  weeks  in  them,  seen  what  they 
had  to  reveal,  and  compared  them  with  our  best  civil  fever 
hospitals,  well  provided  and  well  staffed  as  they  were  at  home, 
they  would  have  carried  an  undying  remorse  with  them  to 
their  graves. 

Some  of  the  doctors  had  no  stethoscope  ;   I  myself  had  to 


:il< 


:,;  ;l 

f 

i '  '. 

ig 

i 

'"; 

!^ 

11- 

1 1 ,'_ 

M 

tao    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

supply  one  surgeon  with  some  instruments  for  the  diagnosis 
of  acute  ear  disease ;  and  the  operations  of  the  Red  Cross 
Society  hardly  reached  or  were  even  heard  of  up  country, 
where  the  need  of  them  was  greatest. 

On  that  same  morning  I  witnessed  another  and  more  re- 
freshing sight.    On  going  with  C ,  after  seeing  him  slaving 

at  his  thankless  duty,  into  some  other  marquees,  I  noticed 
that  every  patient's  face  was  joyful  and  every  eye  bright. 
And  why  1  Because  they  were  all  to  be  sent  down  by  a 
hospital  train  that  very  du  v  to  Cape  Town.  They  were  about 
six-and-twenty  glad  men,  more  eager  to  get  out  of  the  camps 
in  the  front  thnii  those  in  Cape  Town  were  to  get  into  them. 
The  poor  lads  knew  and  had  experienced  what  were  the 
realities  of  wor  ;  a  brief  fight  or  two  ;  brief  joys  dearly  bought 
at  the  price  of  e.  tloads  of  dead  comrades,  and  probably 
never  a  visible  foe ;  the  malaise ;  the  illness ;  the  dread 
hospital  or  sick  tent,  crowded,  hot,  noisy ;  food  which  they 
loathed  ;  restless  days  of  heat  and  flies  superadded  to  their 
sickness,  nights  of  fever-tossing  or  snatches  of  rest  broken  by 
the  groans,  the  sufterings,  the  smells,  the  death  noises  and  cries 
and  the  passing  o  way  of  two  or  three  daily  of  their  companions 
in  the  ward,  whose  last  agonies  were  hidden  from  them  by  no 
friendly  screen.  Then  the  thought  whether  they  too  must  go, 
and  the  alternation  of  fear  and  hope  the  only  breaks  in  the 
sad  monotony  of  the  long  hours.  No  wonder  they  were  glad 
to  be  going  down  country  I  To  get  lifted  out  on  stretchers 
across  the  burning  plain,  to  get  into  the  crowded  carriages, 
to  be  tossed  and  jolted  for  days  down  to  just  such  another 
lazar-house,  where  the  vermin  would  fall  upon  them  all  night 
and  their  troubles  be  but  repeated  in  a  new  locality — even 
these  changes,  most  of  which  they  did  not  foresee,  were  being 
looked  forward  to  with  eager  gladness,  because  they  would 
get  nearer  home  and  farther  from  the  war  of  which  they  had 
seen  enough.  I  saw  them  shipped  on  their  train,  and  after 
hours  of  delay  forwt  >^  on  their  long  hot  journey,  and  hardly 
were  they  gone  thv  vheir  places  were  taken  by  others  who 
were  being  hurried  in  &om  the  camps  as  fast  as  room  could 
be  found  for  them. 


XXVIII 

Lord  Roberts's  Strategy 

I  WAS  next  able  to  watch  Lord  Roberts's  opening  moves  in 
the  great  game  which  he  was  playing,  which  ended  in  the 
victory  of  Briton  over  Boer.    He  mov^  fast  and  struck  hard. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  121 

He  arrived  at  Modder  River  on  the  9th  of  February,  and  when 
I  rode   round  the   cnmp  on  the   morning  of  the  11th,  the 
tents  on  the  whole  great  area  to  the  south  of  the  river  were 
as  silent  as  death  ;  the  tents,  though  standing,  were  empty, 
and  the  armies  there  had  gone  in  the  night ;   80,000  men 
had  departed  at  two  in  the  morning  for  a  march  of  sixteen 
miles,  and  no  one  was  left  to  tell  whither  they  had  gone.    Next 
day  the  Highland  Brigade  had  also  vanished,  and  there  re- 
mamed  only  the  Guards,  Northumberlands,  and  some  others 
under  Methuen's  command.     But  the  tents  of  those  who  had 
gone  wtre  left  undisturbed,  so  that  they  seemed  as  big  as  ever, 
although  their  garrison  had  shrunk  to  a  few  thousiind  men! 
This  may  have  been  designed  to  convey  to  the  enemy  the  idea 
that  the  whole  army  was  still  there ;  yet,  however  skilfully 
concealed,  it  was  not  likely  to  have  been  unsurniised  by  the 
crafty  Boers,  and  their  turning  the  tables  upon  us,  by  attack- 
ing m  thej-  turn,  had  become  quite  a  probable  event.    The 
whole  arrangement  may  hp  vt  i>een  in  part  a  ruse  to  induce 
them  to  do  -o,  as  1  conjectured  from  Lord  Meihuen  having  said 
to  me,  when  1  called  on  him  on  the  morning  of  the  12th,  that 
he  hoped  they  would  venture  to  attack  him.    Orders  had 
been  issued  that,  until  further  instructions,  every  man  was  to 
sleep  in  his  boots,  ready  for  duty  at  a  moment's  notice ; 
and  observation  by  captive  balloons  went  on  steadily  every 
day  so  as  to  ascertain  the  dispositions  and  possible  movements 
of  the  enemy. 

It  was  then  the  hottest  part  of  the  year,  the  temperature  in 
the  shade  being  110  degrees,  and  dust  storms  were  frequent. 
Through  the  heat  and  dust  refugees  kept  pouring  in  to  Modder 
River,  coming  from  the  north,  twelve  hundred  in  a  day,  with 
passes  written  in  Dutch  on  British  Government  paper,  and 
each  refugee  wearing  a  ribbon  rosette  of  the  four  Transvaal 
colours— the  '  Vierkleur  '—to  distinguish  them  as  refugees. 
They  were  many  of  them  from  Barkly  West,  a-.d  were  in  a 
miserable  plight ;  all  classes  were  represented,  ladies,  gentle- 
men, farmers,  and  blacks,  and  of  every  age  dorfn  to  babies  in 
arms.  Others  had  come  ftxjm  much  longer  distances,  and 
had  been  travelling  on  foot  and  in  carts,,  in  heavy  rains  and 
bummg  heat,  and  were  very  dirty  and  evil-smelling,  though 
some  of  the  better  class  had  contrived,  Heaven  knows  how, 
to  keep  themselves  and  their  children  c!ean  and  tidy.  Poor 
folks !  they  felt  as  if  the  worst  of  their  troubles  were  over 
when  they  saw  the  trains  in  which  they  were  to  be  taken 
down  country. 

I  had  a  memorable  interview  with  General  Hector  Mac- 
donald,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  command  r-f  the  Highland 


i  :! 


1>W 


I    ',  ■ 


it    >.( 

iff 


pi- 

f'tl. 


;i 


:r  !t 


11  I 


IJ2    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

Brimde.  before  it  left,  and  it  wus  the  last  time  I  ever  saw  him. 
He  was  wandering  about  in  the  Naval  Brigade  camp,  looking 
the  simple  Scot  and  flnc  fellow  he  was,  and  had  just  returned 
from  i.n  expedition  to  KocKlocsberg.  awny  towards  the  west, 
and  had  enjoyed  what  he  considered  a  satisfactory  time  with 
the  Boers,  having  closed  the  fords  of  the  Reit  River  by  which 
they  and  the  disloyal  Dutch  were  passing,  and  given  them  a 
Kood  beating,  which  was  only  prevented  from  being  a  rather 
important  victory  by  the  failure  of  the  cavalry  leader,  who  was. 
I  believe,  subsequently  got  rid  of. 

The  whole  day  long  on  the  18th  of  February  cannonad- 
ing was   going  on  all   round   us,  particularly  towards   the 
south-east,  the  direction  in  which  Lord  Roberts  had  moved, 
and  from  the  tops  of  the  houses  in  Modder  people  were  watch- 
ing the  fight  going  on  in  the  distance.    Towanls  evening  the 
skv  in  that  quprter  was  illuminated  by  the  glare  of  a  great 
confUigration.  and  a  magnificent  storm  of  thunder  and  light- 
ning sprang  up.  followed  by  a  tremendous  wind  and  dust 
storm,  so  dense  that  all  the  openings  of  *}>«*"''» ''8^*°.™ 
closed,  and  the  evening  meal  taken  amid  choking  dust  by  the 
dim  light  of  lanterns,  for  no  candle  could  be  kept  alight. 
When  the  wind  had  lulled  f.  little  we  crept  into  our  tents  and 
laced  ourselves  in,  but  soon  the  wind  veered  round,  and  trom 
the  reverse  direction  another  dust  storm  arose,  more  violent 
than  the  first,  so  that  we  lay  with  layers  of  dust  falling  on  our 
clothing,  beds,  faces,  and  ears,  while  the  wind  roared,  and 
guns  boomed,  and  the  tents  were  being  blown  away.    Fmally. 
however,  the  wind  fell,  we  rose,  shook  off  the  dust,  freed  our 
obstructed  breathing  apertures,  and  fell  asleep  hopmg  that 
some  great  event  had  at  last  turned  the  tide  of  unending 
reverses  which  Britain  had  up  to  then  sustained,  and  that 
'  Bobs  '  was  fighting  a  successful  battle  and  burning  Jacobsdal. 
On  the  day  following,  the  14th  of  February,  the  f^hting 
seemed  to  be  harder  than  ever,  the  cannon  continued  their 
noisy  chorus  all  around,  the  war  balloon  was  in  the  sky  dttect- 
ing  them,  and  this  went  on  from  daybreak  until,  between  three 

and  five  in  the  afternoon,  there  came  a  lull  of  which  C and 

I  took  advantage  to  go  up  to  the  outposts  where  the  great  naval 
Buns  were  posted  in  their  deep  concealed  pits.  We  sustained 
no  harm  beyond  a  drenching  from  a  thunderstorm,  which 
cooled  the  intense  heat  a  little,  yet  not  so  much  but  that  we 
were  dry  again  by  the  time  we  had  walked  back  to  afternoon 
tea  No  sooner  were  we  back  than  the  cannonadmg  burst 
out  afresh,  this  time  rather  more  to  the  north-east,  and  now 
and  again  came  the  rattle  of  small  arms.  Evening  brought 
someTnlightenment  as  to  the  result  of  all  the  fightmg.    From 


SOITH  AFRICAN  WAR 


"3 


the  wounded  who  came  back  we  learned  that  the  glare  we  had 
Men  was  really  from  the  burning  of  Jacobsdal,  of  which 
Roberts  was  ui  full  possession,  and  that  he  had  captured  the 
river  fords,  thus  commanding  the  niiiin  line  of  commimiciitions 
between  the  Boer  army  at  Miigcrsfontein  and  the  Oningc  Free 
State.  The  fighting  had  been  severe,  and  during  it  one  of 
Lord  Roberts's  staff  had  been  shot  dead.  We  had  nil  by  this 
time  become  so  accustomed  to  adverse  news  that  we  had  a 
certain  mistrust  of  the  got)d  tidings,  though  I  think  we  turned 
m,  stdl  in  our  boots,  the  happier  for  the  accounts  we  had  iust 
received. 


XXIX 

Lord  Roberts's  Advance 

The  days  that  followed  were  eventful.  It  is  difficult  to  tell 
of  their  happenings  without  an  understanding  of  the  lie  of 
the  country. 

It  has  to  be  grasped  that  from  Modder  River  camp  there 

rim  to  Kimberley,  which  was  some  thirty  miles  due  north, 

1    the  railway  on  the  west ;  (2)  the  road  in  the  middle ;  and 

(3)  the  boundary  of  the  Orange  Free  State  on  the  east,  and 

that  all  three  were  roughly  parallel  to  one  another. 

A  long  range  of  low  but  steep  kopjes,  called  the  Langcberg, 
extended  from  west  to  east  across  the  rail  and  road  five  or  six 
miles  north  of  Modder,  its  partially  detached  eastern  end, 
shaped  like  a  couching  lion,  with  a  wide  saddle-shaped  dip  at 
I  he  loins,  which  we  called  Magersfontein  (though  Magersfontein 
was  really  a  farm  behind  it),  filled  the  interval  between  the 
road  and  the  rail,  and  it  was  there  that  the  Boers,  having 
crossed  theu-  frontier,  and  occupied  and  fortified  the  range, 
u  SJ.  ^"^  Methuen.  Their  line  of  communication  with 
the  Free  State,  by  which  they  drew  their  supplies,  came  from 
Bloemfontein,  their  capital,  in  a  virtually  straight  line  west- 
wards to  Magersfontein,  across  the  great  plains  which  form 
that  part  of  the  Free  State. 

■Through  these  plains  two  large  rivers  flowed  westwards,  to 
unite  at  Modder  River  camp,  the  more  northerly  being  the 
Modder  and  the  other  the  Reit.  Both  were  destitute  of 
bridges  ;  their  crossings  had  to  be  negotiated  by  fords  (drifts) ; 
and  over  these  were  the  main  lines  for  the  Boers'  supplies. 

Between  the  rivers,  twelve  miles  distant  from  Modder, 
was  the  important  town  of  Jacobsdal,  and  it,  as  well  as  the 
fords  over  the  rivers,  were  occupied  by  the  Boers  in  strong 


Ml 


1 ,  i 


:i-ii- 


ItUl 


ia4    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

The  Boen,  acting  on  the  supposition  thnt  the  British  could 
advance  only  along  the  railway,  had  their  chief  forces  and 
defences  extending  along  the  Langeberg  t«  the  west,  moat 
concentrated  at  Magorsfontcin  in  the  centre,  and  continuing 
thence  enstwords  in  a  line  of  trenches  across  the  level  plain 
to  the  bank  of  the  Moddcr  River.  Behind  them  were  the 
town  of  Kimberley  clamouring  to  be  relieved,  and  the 
valuable  diamond  mines  of  which  it  was  the  centre. 

Roberts  hod  decided  that  his  blow  wa.-  to  fall  in  an  un- 
expected direction.  He  had  got  his  troops  together  at  Modder 
ond  the  stations  on  the  railway  south  of  it,  collected  an 
immense  service  of  ox-wagons  and  other  vehicles  for  transport- 
ing the  supplies  his  armies  would  require,  and  gone  eastwards 
to  capture  Jacobsdal,  secure  the  river  fords,  and  cut  off  the 
Magersfontein  army  under  General  Cronje  from  the  Orange 
Free  State.  Of  course,  none  of  us  were  in  Roberts's  counsel, 
but  so  much  could  readily  be  surmised  from  what  was  visible, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  confirmation  was  received  of  its 
general  correctness.  On  the  Ifith  news  arrived  that  he  had 
occupied  Jacobsdal  with  a  part  of  his  forces,  while  his  cavalry 
were  pushing  northwards  from  thence  across  the  two  rivers 
towards  Kimberley,  ond  on  the  same  afternoon  we  could  see 
that  something  unusua'  was  stirring  among  the  Boers  at 
Magersfontein.  They  seemed  to  be  moving  one  of  their 
great  guns  from  the  lowest  port  of  the  saddle-shaped  depression 
there,  where  we  knew  it  had  been  located  and  where  our 
ortillery  had  for  days  been  endeavouring  to  destroy  it  and  had 
very  nearly  succeeded,  us  we  afterwards  discovered.  Our  guns 
now  concentrated  their  fire  on  that  place,  and  our  lyddite  shells 
threw  up  huge  fountains  of  dust,  which  rose  all  over  the  spot 
and  slowly  drifted  away  eastwards.  As  the  dusk  of  evening 
fell  we  could  see  the  convoys  and  guns  of  the  Boers  moving 
away  from  Magersfontein  towards  the  Free  .State,  and  our 
cannon  in  the  camp  were  turned  upon  them,  without  however 
eliciting  any  reply.  The  balloons  were  sent  up,  and  much 
activity  prevailed,  and  before  night  had  come  we  heard  that 
French  had  entered  Kimberley. 

The  following  day,  Friday  the  16th,  was  occupied  in  sending 
forward  the  balloon  and  the  cavalry  to  take  possession  of 
Magersfontein  and  clear  out  all  the  Boers  who  stood  in  the 
way  of  our  advance  towards  the  Diamond  City.  They  soon 
discovered  that  the  whole  army  of  the  Boers  under  Cronje 
had  streamed  out  of  Magersfontein  in  such  haste  as  to  save 
little  but  their  artillery  ond  wagons,  and  that  instead  of 
retiring  on  their  second  line  of  fortifications  at  Spytfontein, 
half-way  to  Kimberley,  they  had  made  tracks  due  eastwards 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  135 

for  Blocmfontein,  by  bridle  paths,  aince  their  only  good  road 
WB8  in  Roberts's  hands ;  und  most  unfortunately  for  us,  had 
stumbled  across  a  great  convoy  of  800  ox  and  other  wagons 
conveying  the  supplies  to  our  army,  and  captured  the  whole 
after  a  successful  fi  :ht  with  the  sniall  body  which  guarded  it. 
I  say  most  unfortunately  for  us,  for  the  loss  of  these  supplies 
altered  for  n  time  the  course  of  the  campaign,  iis  will  immedi- 
ately be  seen,  necessitating  short  rations  for  the  troops  and 
cutting  off  of  the  transport  for  the  sick  and  wounded. 

Very  eariy  next  morning,  as  I  had  just  completed  my  budget 
of  letters  for  home,  men  began  to  stream  .icross  the  camp, 
regiment  after  regiment,  with  their  baggage  wiigons  complete, 
as  if  for  some  distant  expedition,  all  going  towards  Mngers- 
fontein,  and  in  the  early  afternoon  we  too  got  instructions 
that  half  of  us,  including  myself,  were  to  be  ready  to  start 
for  Kimberley  at  five  o'clock.  We  packed  ha.stily,  took  down 
all  our  tents,  and  were  in  readiness  when,  coming  towards  us 
over  the  plain  from  the  south,  we  perceived  the  dark  mist  of 
a  sandstorm,  with  its  precursors  of  white  whirlwinds  of 
'  sand -devils,"  and  soon  all  was  wind  and  blinding  dust  lasting 
for  some  hours,  clearing  off  just  before  dark,  sufficiently  to 
show  us  our  troops  in  possession  of  Magersfontein  and  burning 
the  materials  left  there  by  the  Boers.  Orders  came  to  defer 
our  departure  until  six  o'clock  next  morning. 

But  it  was  not  to  be.  Fate  had  decided  otherwise.  The 
loss  of  the  200  wagons  had  so  seriously  crippled  Roberts's 
transport  that  every  cart  which  could  be  spared  had  to  be 
requisitioned  for  the  use  of  his  army  ;  even  our  ambulance 
cars  were  taken  away,  at  least  so  few  were  left  to  us  that  we 
were  rendered  immovable,  and  all  the  following  day  we  waited 
on  the  now  bare  plain,  where  our  baggage,  left  standing  in 
heaps,  was  all  that  remained  to  tell  where  our  canvas  hamlet 
had  existed.  As  many  as  possible  of  our  patients  were  sent 
down  to  De  Aar  hospital  by  train,  under  the  charge  of  one  of 
our  officers ;  the  others  of  us  got  hold  of  a  stretcher  or  lay 
down  in  the  sand,  and  there  fought  the  mosquitoes  until  eleven 
at  night,  when  the  worst  sandstorm  we  had  yet  seen  came 
over  us,  and  lasted  all  night,  burying  us  under  inches  of  dust 
and  robbing  us  of  sleep  save  for  a  few  snatches  before  the 
morning  broke. 

Presently  teams  of  wagons  and  ambulance  carts  were  seen 
pouring  in  with  wounded  men  from  the  direction  of  Jacobsdal, 
80  we  sorrowfully  put  up  our  tentp.  again,  unearthing  them  and 
ourselves  from  under  a  thick  coating  of  sand,  like  moles 
emerging  trom  the  ground,  and  set  to  work  to  attend  to  the 
wounded. 


I     il 


1 

1 

t 

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i 

iiy 

136    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 


XXX 

Maoebsfontein 

A  VISIT  tn  the  fortified  Boer  position  at  Mafiersfonteiii  gave 
one  a  high  respect  fur  the  military  ability  of  the  enemy,  when 
a  comparison  wns  made  between  the  tactics  and  fortifications 
he  employed  at  Belmunt  in  the  first  days  of  the  wnrand  those 
he  adopted  a  few  weeks  later,  as  the  result  of  his  experience  of 
the  effects  which  could  be  obtained  from  modern  rifle  fire. 
He  had  grasped  in  an  instant  the  fact  that  stone  breastworks 
on  the  top  of  hills  were  incomparably  inferior  for  defence  to 
trenches  dug  across  the  levels  at  their  feet.  Since  the  latter 
were  almost  invisible  and  gave  little  mark  for  artillery,  while 
the  flat  plain  in  front  of  him  yielded  a  broader  and  more 
advantageous  zo  of  fire,  he  had  instantly  abandoned  the 
former  and  adopted  the  latter  method  of  warfare,  modifying 
the  trenches  which  were  up  to  then  customary,  exchanging 
the  shallow  ditch  and  bank  which  afforded  hardly  any  pro- 
tection against  shrapnel  fire,  in  favour  of  deep  but  narrow 
excavations  with  a  hardly  visible  or  i'rlfully  concealed  b^nk 
in  front,  with  roofed-in  shelters  nr-i  .  i^-out  hollows  in  the 
bottom  of  the  trenches,  which  were  almost  shell  proof.  The 
genius  which  the  Boer  di-^iplayed  in  trench  formation  has  really 
revolutionised  all  subsequent  warfare.  At  Magersfontein 
battle  the  result  was  that,  while  our  artillery  were  uselessly 
enveloping  the  tons  of  the  hills  in  an  overwhelming  torrent 
of  shell  fire,  the  enemy,  lying  in  safety  and  unsuspected  in  the 
plain  beneath,  was  able  to  sweep  off  the  face  of  the  earth  with 
a.  flood  of  small-arm  fire  every  living  thing  that  advanced 
against  him. 

In  order  to  grasp  to  the  full  the  situation,  I  followed  the 
route  by  which  Methuen's  army  had  advanced  at  night  on 
the  occasion  of  that  memorable  bat;.Ie,  made  a  survey  of  the 
positions  occupied  in  it  by  the  field  hospitals  and  bearer 
companies,  and  passed  over  the  ground  across  which  the 
Highland  Brigade  had  advanced  and  where  General  Wauchope 
was  killed,  until  I  reached  the  Boer  trenches.  These  lay  at 
some  distance  out  in  the  plain  from  the  foot  of  the  stony 
kopjes  the  groups  of  which  formed  the  range  of  hills,  and  thus 
were  able,  as  I  estimated,  to  command  a  zone  of  fire  of  one 
thousand  yards,  every  foot  of  which  would  have  been  swept  by 
the  bullets  of  the  Mauser  rifles,  assuming  that  they  were  laid 
nearly  horizontally,  sighted,  say,  for  six  or  seven  hundred 
yards.  A  few  bunches  of  brushwood  scattered  over  th''  low 
breastwork  before  the  trenches  rendered  them  invisible     itil 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


"7 


one  wa«  juit  upon  them,  and  one  or  two  upright  rough  wooden 
port!  with  •  strand  or  two  of  bwbtd  w&ertretched  acroti. 
were  hard.y  to  be  noticed  until  one  camr  in  contact  with  them. 
Ihe  trenches  themselves  were  quite  narrow,  not  more  than 
two  and  B  half  feet  broad,  but  were  six  feet  or  more  deep,  and 
both  m  front  and  behind  were  so  hollowed  cut  below  that  men 
could  sleep  in  them  in  almost  absolute  safety  troxn  shell  fire 
They  were  the  most  artful  constructions  in  the  way  of  trenches 

.VfK  ^!?i"'i*".u'"*  *'?"•  ""•*  ''"y  *""*  P^v"!  their  value 
n  the  battle,  for  the  result  was  that  in  the  charge  by  the  Hish- 
land  Brigade  only  two  men  (Seaforths)  reached  them,  and  both 
were  found  dead  at  the  barbed  wire,  while  it  is  doubtful  if 
the  Boers  lost  a  smgle  man  in  the  trenches. 

The  Boers  in  their  hurried  evacuation  of  the  place  had  left 
all  save  the  most  portable  possessions ;  bags  of  food,  supplies 
of  meal,  dothmg.  books,  letters,  cartridges,  field  classes,  skins 
and  even  money  remained.  The  trenches  and  "shelters  wer^ 
ma  disgustmg  state  of  filth  from  refuse,  mburied  horses 
and  so  forth.  ' 

I  took  photographs  and  made  a  survey  of  the  whole  position 
It  seemed  pretty  clear  tlmt  not  a  single  British  shell  hadVeached 
any  of  the  trenches,  but  at  the  place  where  the  Boer  big  guns 
had  lam  m  a  flat  gorge  between  two  of  the  kopjes,  hidden 
away  m  the^  gun-pits,  our  lyddite  shells  had  made  holes  six 
feet  broad  by  eighteen  inches  deep,  and  had  for  the  most 
part  exploded  directly  upwards,  leaving  a  greenish-yellow  crust 

^1^.%^  »rf  ?J'r'\"^"'-  "^^^  ''"PJ"  ^^°^^  similar 
eflerts  from  the  lyddite  s»-"  as  well  as  evidences  of  furious 
bombardment,  for  at  onf  ,.  .  which  I  measured  and  marked 
out  three  feet  by  three  feet,  and  which  seemed  to  be  typical 
of  the  rest,  there  were  nineteen  marks  of  Lee-Metford  bullets 
ha vmg  struck,  and  their  empty  torn  mantles  were  lying  around 
everywhere;  and  at  another  spot,  also  three  feet  square, 
K  n'f  17  f°"'^  favourably  be  counted,  seven  shrapne 
bullets  had  struck.  Fragments  of  lyddite  shells  were  everv- 
where,  and  cases  of  the  shrapnel  shells,  but  they  were  all  upon 
the  kopjes  where  none  of  the  enemy  had  been  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  artillerymen  who  may  possibly  have  been 
worfang  a  single  gun,  and  none  were  down  at  the  trenches 
which  were  really  occupied  by  the  enemy. 

It  would  perhaps  be  of  little  interest  to  give  a  description 
of  what  I  may  call  the  fortress  of  Magersfoiitein,  but  I  mav 
say  a  word  about  the  Boer  laager.  It  was  placed  in  a  most 
picturesque  situation.  From  the  plain  which  lay  behind  the 
range,  a  small  level  arm  of  sand  ran  like  a  river  into  the  kopies 
among  which  it  bent  round  to  end  in  a  circular  amphitheatre 


■  m 


^ri 


i  I     '     >J 


1 


'hi'    ill 

;  S 


i 


i 


128    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

of  .bout  .  hund».d  y«M.  bctom.  the  bottom  "f  T^Jf'' •'" 
nerfectlv  Bat  «nd  smooth,  while  itt  .ides  were  •»<«?  •1°")' 
KjreJ.cJ:.inB  it  on  .11  .ide.  u,  ..  to  .helter  it  •«.'"•' >^«« 
flrr      Built  like  swallows'  neitu  on   the  slopes  were  urnBll 
?^,u«ti.W  over  with  bushes,  thorjw.  "t«w,  -nd  .»nd.r 
materUls.  their  floors  somewhat  sc.«ped  out  ""d  marginwi 
by  circles  of  stones,  while  all  sorts  of  re  ics  lay  «»»>  ■;•  •''"P- 
sUns  letters,  meat  tins,  pickaxes,  cartridge  cases,  bullets,  and 
Ihe  wreoDini.  and  Ik.xcs  in  which  the  last  had  been  packed 
*.JrtrZm*unrti;,n  be«riuK  n.urks  which  t"ldth.a  they  had 
been  uumufactured  in  Pretoria,  and  most  of  them  bemi;  Boxer 
c^^riZ^for  Martini-Henry  rifles.    The  bottom  ofthe  amph.- 
?hratre''h.d  s.7?e.l  to  picket  the  Boer  horses,  and  out  from  .t 
there  ran  two  pretty  little  lanes  of  level  ground,  wu.dmg  hke 
'll^^k  entrances' thro'ugh  among  the  >copje»  and  -r>Mn«  Jen 
necessary  as  avenues  for  escape.    On  the  tops  of  the  kopjes 
hmS  there  were  stone  sangars  or  •  schunxes.'  hut  they 
were  not  many,  for  the  main  defence  was  the  trench  which 
Wtow^  the  ciive  of  the  foot  of  the  range,  westwards  across 
the  railway  .tnd  eastwards  to  the  Moddcr  R.ver   extenduig 
for  iI^JeTin  d?her  direction,  and  always  o.,  the  plan,  fifty  or 
a  hundred  yards  distant  from  the  kopjes. 

Wherretummg  to  our  camp  over  the  plam,  which  was  now 
bes^^';gM  with  ^wers,  snajragon,  lobelia  heath,  a^^^ 
and  with  short  shrubs  whose  blossoms  resembled  Ral'um,  I  was 
t^rised  to  come  upon  a  macadamised  rou.l.  one  and  a  half 
r^r^n  M^der  s'tl.tion.  constructed  of  broken  stones  from 
Sie  vriU.  the  only  semblance  of  a  made  road  which  I  had 
hitherto  seen,  or  indeed  ever  saw.  in  the  district. 


XXXI 

KiMBESLEY  Relieved 
Within  an  hou.-  or  two  after  the  Boers  had  quitted  Magers- 

lo  iiu»c  "«^"       M.;„-  p naid  it  o  V  sit  by  one  of  the  flrst 

STntiy^^ing  ^^iers      It  insisted  only  of 
trucks  and  a  guard's  van.  into  which  we  and  one  or  two 

"t^l  ;?:rSi  for  it  to  start,  we  heard  a  report 
wh^  we  h^peS  was  trueShough  we  doubted,  that  L^^^ay.^^^^^ 

had  been  relieved;  but  we  learned  on  gooc  authority  that 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  raq 

Cronje'i  forcei  were  hemmed  in  by  KuberU'i  troop-  nenr 
Paarde  Krul  Berg  (PaardebergJ.and  were  there  beiiiKattacked 
fu  **^'"'.y  ™'''  P'««*»  •"«*  "TO  f^-  It  w«»  aluo  ruinoiirtd 
that,  finding  himwlf  unable  to  excape,  Cronje  had  »ent  a  white 
flag  with  iin  offer  to  iturrender,  but  on  beiiifr  invited  to  i-omc 
out  and  give  himself  up  had  changed  his  mind  uiid  decided  to 
light  to  the  end,  and  it  wan  conjecturwl  that  some  sly  stratn- 
gem  underlay  the  move.  At  any  rate  he  refused  Kr.berts'H 
offer  of  an  armistice  to  send  away  his  women  uiid  children 
expecting  possibly  to  be  relieved  by  Jouhort,  from  whom  u 
heliographij  message  was  intercepted  to  the  effect  that  he  was 
hurrying  to  hia  assisUnce  with  10,000  men,  und  advising  him 
to  read  the  88rd  Psalm  I  Consequently  our  attacks  on  him 
were  going  on  all  day  iind  every  day,  and  our  losses  were 
becoming  heavy.  Only  two  officers  of  the  Black  Watch,  it 
was  Mid,  had  escaped  unwounded,  and  Hector  Macdonald 
had  been  shot  in  the  foot,  but  refused  to  be  invalided,  and 
continued  to  accompany  his  men  in  a  cart. 

With  these  encouraging  accounts  we  got  into  the  train  and 
moved  northwards  towards  the  Magcrsfontein  (Longcberg) 
ranjie.  The  range  was  not  a  chain  of  continuous  niountuiiis, 
but  a  dense  labyrinth  of  isolate*!,  crowded,  innumerable 
kopjes,  through  which  the  railway  wound,  comma  tiled  on 
both  sides  by  the  now  empty  Boer  breastworks  and  entrench- 
ments. The  line  itself  was  not  much  injured,  but  the  culverts 
had  been  bk  ti  up,  and  the  rails  displaced  and  converted  into 
the  shape  of  bows  and  corkscrews,  while  the  telegiaph  wires 
had  been  cut  and  thrown  down,  and  the  earthenware  insulators 
had  formed  a  favourite  shooting  mark  in  the  pastimes  of  the 
Boers.  The  damage  was  being  rapidly  repaired  by  our 
engineers,  and  pickets  were  placed  at  intervals  along  the  line, 
the  men  bivouacking  ui  dei  U  .  ir  brown  blankets  which  were 
pinned  on  bushes  as  improvised  shelter-tents.  The  kopje 
rountry  continued  by  the  railway  some  ten  miles  or  more  and 
^en  gave  place  to  an  open  grassy  plain  sloping  down  to 
Kimberley,  ot  which  we  began  to  see  the  houses  and  the  great 
heaps  of  refuse  where  the  diamond  mines  were.  We  crossed 
a  tram  containing  the  first  people,  a  dozen  or  so  of  whites  and 
blacks,  who  left  the  city  after  the  siege. 

The  fortifications  of  the  Boer  besiegers  were  trenches, 
breastworks,  and  wire  entanglements,  very  strong,  and  barely 
discernible,  while  farther  on  those  of  the  besieged  were 
apparently  mere  rifle  pits,  though  very  numerous  and  well 
placed. 

Knaliy,  we  came  to  the  native  location  of  booths  madft  of 
sacks,  twigs,  boards,  and  corrugated  iron,  then  to  Beaconsfield 
t 


ni 


i  i¥ 


I30    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

station,  and  the  semi-lunar  curve  by  which  '*^»"*»y '~»?^ 
round  into  Kimberley.  As  our  tram  entered  t^e  tovm^ta 
^burbs  showed  no  signs  of  any  bombardment  o;;  da"J?8«>^ 
the  shelling  ;  it  was  unchanged  from  what  I  ^''""'7  '^• 
except  that  all  the  bustle  was  gone  from  it.  Glad  eyes, 
howler  watched  us  as  we  passed,  children  grouped  and 
^^^aCg  the  line,  and  every  little  native  hut  was  flyujg 
rS  Union  Jack.  Near  Kimberley  station  ^ere  was  qu^te 
a  town  of  tents  where  the  population  who  had  «>ine  mfrom 
the  vicinity  to  take  refuge  from  the  D"t<*7,f  V  "^{j., 
^rstetin,  which  1  remembered  as  so  f""  °^«Xtf  to 
in  former  days,  was  desolate  ;  a  few  wagons  stood  about,  but 
^t  a™  ul  was  io  be  seen,  and  all  its  gates  were  locked,  so  that 
when  we  W?  the  train  we  had  to  find  an  exit  through  a  hole 
Tn  Se  fence'and  make  our  way  up  to  the  town  through  the 

"ExLpl'Sr'ihe  unwonted  solitude,  the  interior  of  the  town 
prf^S^  no  outward  evidences  of  the  siege  to  which  it  had 
Wn  suWected.  There  was  hardly  a  wrecked  house,  or  a  tree 
^  d^wn.  n^;  chip,  nor  a  bullet  mark.  But  the  -^^^J^ 
Zsem  aid  the  houses  were  in  very  many  «ises  ^"t  "PJ"^ 
abandoned  There  were  no  signs  of  lootmg  or  disorder, 
men  we  reached  the  centre  of  the  town,  we  fo«"d  the  tram- 
way  cars  still  running,  and  we  got  into  one  of  *em^°'^ 
was  S  drawn  by  three  mules.  We  were  there  welcomed 
r^d^en'metwith^acquaintances;   - -•^"rj^^-^ras 

oreeted  me :  P met  some  men  whom  he  knew  ,  ana  as 

STwTwire  not  permitted  to  pay  our  own  feres.  We  went 
SSfto  Ae^WtoiSm.'  belonging  to  the  De  Beers  Com^»y' 
the  residence  of  CecU  Rhodes  to  whom  I  h'«».t„'«t^  °J 
introduction  from  a  friend.  Rhodes  was  at  l^<=^n' ^f  .  J 
mSui  my  card  and  letter,  and  we  were  •»  topes  that  he 
Sht  in^t'^  "s  to  join  him  at  his  table,  for  we  had  lujd  no  food 
S^  early  morning ;  but  though  we  waited  for  hatfMi  hour, 
:^d  e^f hSted  tL  we  would  likesome  tfa  ?r  ^freshment 
nothing  happened,  and  at  last  I  l««»^e  f  ^>«!«'"1 "?"  f! 
oMted  leaving  a  message  that  we  could  wait  no  lon^. 
S  ilSneditely  we  £et  t-o  memb«s  of  the  crty  ^^. 
both  of  them  Scots,  one  from  Elgm  and  the  "ther  from  retK 
Wd  who  kindly  guided  us  back  to  the  town,  fbr  which  we 
rewarf^  tC  ^th  a  nip  of  whisky,  a  substance  neither  of 
thlm  had  seenffor  many  a  week.  Agam  "'^^^.^^ 
and  oroceediniTto  its  terminus,  we  discovered  a  pl»ce  where 
we  JS^Have  lunch-The  Creamery-a  little  refreshment 
^.T  which  we  entered.  Two  dainty  ladies  w«ettere  as 
attendants,  but  the  shelves  and  glass  cases  that  should  have 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,„ 

contained  provisions  were  aU  empty.  The  poor  girls  were 
bravely  doing  their  best  to  serve  their  customers,  who  were 
numerous,  with  the  scraps  of  food  and  refreshments  that  re- 
mained. Two  cups  of  tea  were  brought  to  us,  the  milk  so 
doled  out  as  to  produce  a  famt  opalescence  in  the  beverace 
and  two  mmute  squares  of  bread,. without  butter,  remindine 
us  by  then-  size  of  postage  stamps,  were  neatly  cut  and  placed 
before  us  as  carefully  as  if  they  had  been  the  finest  of  cakes 
and  that  was  all.  I  walked  round  to  spy.  Nothing  1  But 
yes  1  T^re  were  seven  eggs-stale  ones,  and  of  these  I  ordered 
t^t  ?ir~'  '"'•^"'•"S  tl»t  they  should  not  be  more  tlian 
thuty  shillings  each,  and  so  we  dined.  The  cost  was  only 
seven  shilhngs  each,  which  I  considered  moderate.  But  I 
have  omitted  :  as  a  great  dainty,  a  small  raised  flour  scone 
ot  the  siie  of  half  an  orange  was  cooked  and  produced  at  lone 
mtervals  for  the  more  exacting  customers,  as  being  the  finest 

damty  the  city  could  produce,  and  P received  one  of 

them,  most  prettily  served  up. 

Thus  refreshed,  ^^e  started  to  hunt  for  my  missing  relation 
:niough  we  inquu^  everywhere,  we  could  hear  of  no  recister 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  even  at  the  military  headquarters  in 
Lennox  Street  our  researches  were  fruitless.  We  were  about 
to  abandon  our  quest  in  despair,  when  a  kind  and  helpful 
officer,  Captam  O'M-— ,  who  overheard  us,  remembered 
that  when  he  was  visiting  some  Police  Camp,  he  had  heard  of 
a  volunteer  whose  name  was  he  thought  G ,  a  man  possess- 
ing extraordmary  acuteness  of  vision,  so  that  he  was  able  to 
detect  Boers  at  a  distance  of  four  mUes,  when  they  were  visible 
to  no  one  else  Getting  into  telephonic  communication  with 
the  camp,  he  located  our  man,  who  was  on  duty  far  out  on 
the  veld,  but  might  get  off  in  the  evening  to  meet  us  at  the 
Kunberley  Club  or  the  T  p.m.  train  for  Modder  Ri,--r.    Captain 

O  M gave  himself  a  deal  of  trouble  to  assist  us,  for  which 

we  were  grateful,  and  came  after  us  to  the  Club  to  report  what 
he  had  been  able  to  discover ;  he  said  that  the  police  were 
having  a  rough  time  but  he  took  my  name  and  address  in 
case  he  could  help  us  farther.  As  we  were  leaving  him,  a  Cane 
cart  with  a  messenger  ftom  Mr.  Rhodes  drove  up  asking  us  to 
dme  with  him  that  evening,  to  which  I  sent  a  verbal  reolv 
explammg  why  I  was  unable  to  do  so.  So  1  lost  the  onlv 
C^'^cJdes  ^  ^''"  ^^  °^  ""'''"*  "**  acquaintance  of 
Our  reception  at  the  Kimberley  Club  was  an  imposing  one  • 
we  were  informed  that  everything  was  at  our  disposal,  and  an 

influential  citizen,  Mr.  B ,  took  us  to  the  1^,  where  we 

were  to  be  sure  to  order  whatever  we  desired.    Alas  1    The 


\ 


ffi 


:H-' 


'  •   il 


■'it 
:,.  I, 
J  I 
,'  H: 

'^ 


i  .;■ 

I 


a  I 

I* 


1^ 


132    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

mogniflcence  dwindled  down  when  we  came  to  particulars. 
There  was  no  soda  water.    There  was  no  whisky,  no  ginger 
ale,  nothing  whatever  that  we  asked  for  except  lime  juice, 
water  pumped  from  the  mines,  and  tea,  so  we  had  to  have  tea 
and  were  grateful  for  it.    We  sat  on  the  verandah  or  strolled 
through  the  town,  to  see  it  and  its  people  just  relieved  from 
the  siege.    The  shops  were  open,  but  empty.    There  was 
nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  in  the  windows  ;  except  in  some 
a  few  handkerchiefs  or  towels,  the  last  remnants  of  their  stock, 
displayed  where  formerly  exuberantly  rich  wares  had  lined  the 
busy  main  streets,  which  latter  now  showed  only  a  few  passers- 
by  and  the  horses  of  the  few  soldiers  who  had  as  yet  entered, 
held  by  negro  boys  under  the  empty  verandahs  of  the  finest 
magaiines   in  the   finest  streets.    Presently  a   few   elderly 
civilians  of  the  city  strolled  into  the  club,  and  in  rich  fat  old 
voices  bragged,  damned,  and  told  their  tales  of  what  they  had 
said  and  done  during  the  siege,  or  what  they  would  yet  do  or 
thought  ought  to  be  done,  welcomed  others  who  turned  up  and 
whom  they  had  heard  were  killed,  and  made  the  most  of  the 
situation  telling  or  inventing  tales  of  what  had  occurred,  tales 
that  would  doubtless  often  be  repeated  with  embellishments 
to  wondering  listeners  and  be  handed  down  to  children  and 
grandchildren  as  the  wonders  of  the  times  that  had  been,  and 
of  those  who  had  lived  through  them.    Some  of  these  old 
fellows  I  had  personally  known  in  former  days,  and  they  spoke 
freely  of  their  past  hopes  and  fears,  and  of  their  anxieties 
for  the  fate  of  the  town  which,  they  said,  would  in  six  weeks 
more  have  had  to  surrender.    But  now  honest  gladness  was 
in  every  eye,  and  even  the  babies  and  coloured  children 
advertised    in  their  very  looks   that   their   troubles  were 
over. 

Evening  came,  but  brought  no  G ,  and  at  length  we  had 

to  go  to  catch  the  train.    It  was  merely  a  lot  of  trucks  for 

soldiers  going  down  the  line,  but  P ,  good  liar  !  had  gone 

to  the  station  people  and  impressed  them  with  the  idea  that 
I  was  some  great  swell,  and  they  put  a  carriage  on  in  front  for 
me,  into  which  we  and  some  ofiBcers  got  and  had  a  darkling 
ride  to  Modder.  The  electric  lights  were  still  flashing  out  their 
messages  between  the  two  places,  as  they  had  done  a  month 
before,  for  of  the  wires  cut  by  the  Boers  only  one  or  two  had 
been  repaired  by  the  engineers,  and  those  were  so  choked  by 
military  and  other  work  that  it  would  take  a  month  before 
any  unofficial  telegrams  would  get  through  from  one  place  to 
the  other. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


»33 


XXXII 

Conditions  at  Moooer 

ZH^fn^r^'^'l^i"?*^''  marched  in  the  direction  of  Bloem- 
fontein  Cronje  had  for  a  time  escaped  from  Magersfontein 

northwards  t«  raise  the  investment  of  Kimberley.    We  soon 

w^^n^"-  'Tk''  "  ^''P  ^y,  "^'"^  *"=  ""^  attempting  to  escape 
was  dosed,  m  the  very  nick  of  time,  by  a  rapid  dash  back  from 

tTetL'  7i  °^  ^"'"'''-  ^''?/*'"^  '»'"P''='«^  »»•«  enclosu„Tf 
the  Uoers  in  an  iron  ring  of  foes. 

of  rirt^T™*".?"'"  ^n^^f™"""'  "Fxedily  found  out  that  eight 
C«  ..  Z.fr  ""  "mbulance  wagons  were  taken  away  ftSm 
us,  as  wen  as  every  other  available  vehicle  of  any  descriptio" 
to  serve  Roberts's  forces,  who.  without  tents,  on  half  ™£" 

heavily  from,  wounds  and  disease  around  Paaideberir  and 
Jacobsdal.  These  events  had  the  result  of  convertingWfodder 
1T»  J^  T;  ''""'^y  'P'^'-e.  neither  a  field  hospiSHor 
of  Zfi-T      '  ""/  ",?  '7'''="''t'''8  st^ition,  but  which  partook 

Z  ^  r  ^''/'^^  «™y  necessarily  fell  on  Modder  River, 
S«H  ^^!!!^  *,°^°  '^'  ""*"  '°"8  afterwards,  when  Roberts 
^tJ^^^^^S"'"'"',  8°*  *'^"8''  t"  Bloemfontein,  and 
r!!lnnv  ^-^""il""  ^"''"''y  "'mmunication  with  the  Cape 
\n^7'-   ^'''  *««'^»'*  ««  «  "••«'<"■»  post  Modder  shrank 

L"*? '"T.'?f """'  "l "  '"^'°''  ^*"*'°"  t°  "W*  everything 
was  sent  it  became  of  capital  importance,  had  to  adapt  itself 
to  aU  requm>ments,  and  to  expand  and  contract  as  the  flo^s 

th^A  f^"f-  P°"""8  '"  ^"^  "''  *he  means  of  evacuating 
than  down  the  line  were  more  or  less  available 

T.^X  ^"f*"*  °i  P^tie^-tS'  t«>.  *as  not  of  our  own  men  alone. 
Jacobsdal  was  found  m  a  bad  way  with  typhoid  fever  among 

«^^  T"  '?'"''  u  T"  °^  '^'^  ''^""=^'''  ther^  were  some  seven^ 
such,  densely  packed  in  beds,  and  many  seriously  ill,  who  were 
being  attended  to  by  German  doctow  and  ambubncesrfor 

lu  th^"*  ""^.""^  "°  ^"  ^'^'^  *°  '°°''  "^t''  them,  and 
allthese  came  to  form  a  proportion  of  the  invalids  in  the 
Modder  camp  hospitals.  A  medical  officer  who  had  been  on 
duty  m  the  Boer  camp  told  me  that  they  had  no  surgeons  or 
provision  for  the  wounded,  and  that  they  wei«  glad  to  send 
the  injured  m  to  be  treated  by  us.  j  s        "  «:na 

du^^f  iT*"  jP^"^  ^^°^  ^y  'y^'  '"  *••«  Modder  River  camp 
dunng  these  days,  before  Roberts  had  succeeded  in  compelUng 


i^il 


^[  i^  >i 


:.} 


134    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  luirender  of  the  Boen  at  Paardeberg,  and  in  thence 
forcing  his  way  to  Bloemfontein,  I  almoat  despair  of  giving 
an  adequate  account. 

Of  course  every  possible  preparation  was  made  to  cope  with 
Roberts's  sick  and  wounded  ;  the  camps  were  concentrated 
and  rearranged  on  the  north  of  the  river  into  a  great  medical 
city,  in  which  few  of  the  military  were  to  be  seen  beyond  a 
small  garrison  and  the  soldiers  who  were  passing  through. 
But  it  was  reported  that  the  health  of  the  medical  officer  in 
charge  of  the  lines  of  communication  had  broken  down,  and 
that  our  chief.  Colonel  Townsend,  had  been  sent  for  to  assist 
him,  and  this  may  partly  account  for  some  of  the  conditions 
which  ensued.  In  truth,  however,  it  was  evident,  almost 
from  the  very  first,  that  the  then  existing  army  medical 
department  was  unfit  to  meet  the  situation.  It  was  an  obso- 
lete weapon  which  had  been  retained  for  economy  when  it 
ought  to  have  been  modernised  or  replaced,  and  it  now  natur- 
ally proved  unsuited  for  the  services  it  was  called  upon  to 
render. 

The  events  at  Modder,  mtUalU  nuOondu,  bore  out  the 
statements  of  Burdett-Coutts  concerning  the  medical  con- 
ditions he  found  at  Bloemfontein.  I  shall  here  endeavour  to 
describe  the  state  of  matters,  but  of  course  can  tell  only  what 
came  under  my  own  notice,  in  a  limited  portion  of  the  camp  ; 
there  must  have  been  nr  uch  more  of  which  I  had  no  cognisance . 
But  I  was  sometimes,  by  what  I  personally  witnessed,  reminded 
of  the  accounts  which  had  appeared  regarding  the  awful 
conditions  at  Plevna  in  the  Russo-Turkish  War. 

There  was  a  continual  inflow  of  invalids,  fluctuating  but 
steadily  increasing,  and  strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  dispose 
adequately  of  them  by  giving  them  the  care  they  needed, 
before  sending  them  down  country  to  Orange  River  and  Cape 
Town.  The  flow  was  no  small  one.  On  the  20th  of  February 
a  convoy  of  wounded  came  in  from  Klipdrift  and  Jacobsdal, 
350  in  number,  and  to  make  room  for  them  and  othurs  who 
were  following  them  it  was  necessary  to  evacuate  200  sick  by 
a  common  train,  95  of  whom  were  ttom  our  hospital ;  50  went 
to  Onuige  River  and  45  to  De  Aar  ;  while  150  were  going  from 
another  hospital.  An  ambulance  train  was  expected  to  take 
fever  cases  down  country.  Ifany  of  those  who  were  sent  away 
were  cases  requiring  only  a  few  days  of  rest  and  treatment  to 
enable  them  to  resume  duty,  which  was  a  waste  of  men,  time, 
and  trains.  It  was  said  that  ten  patients  of  the  new  arrivals 
had  to  be  put  into  one  tent ;  I  think  this  was  avoided  by 
some  renmingement,  but  I  know  that  there  were  228  in  85  bell 
tents  in  our  hospital  that  night,  i.e.  about  seven  in  each  tent. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


'^^d 


l.VS 


The  patientt  had  all  to  lie  on  the  ground,  there  being  neither 
•tretchers  nor  bedg ;  no  washing  could  be  done  among  them, 
norany  renewal  of  linen.etc. :  all  layand  lived  in  theiruniformg. 
On  one  day  at  this  time  there  were  only  three  medical  offlcem 
to  attend  to  238  patients,  and  one  of  the  three  had  to  leave  for 
(^nge  River  to  accompany  a  sick  train  which  was  being  sent 
off.  Even  thus  early  there  was  nearly  a  breakdown.  The 
night  was  a  cold  one,  and  there  was  some  suffering  from  men 
having  to  sleep,  if  they  could  sleep  at  all,  without  blankets. 

It  would  serve  no  useful  purpose  to  specify  how  many  con- 
voys of  patients  were  brought  into  Modder,  or  give  their  dates, 
even  if  accurate  information  about  them  were  in  my  possession, 
but  they  were  many,  and  after  a  short  respite  they  began  to 
pour  in  from  farther  distance-i,  such  as  Paardeberg,  continually 
by  day  and  night,  in  numbeix  of  some  200  at  a  time.  Thus 
on  the  20th  of  February,  240  were  brought  in  from  Jacobsdal 
and  beyond  in  wagons  drawn  by  oxen,  mostly  open  carts,  and 
so  heavy  was  the  work  for  the  draught  animals  that  forty  of 
the  oxen  died  on  the  way  ;  on  the  28th  1  noted  that  between 
800  and  400  were  brought  in  from  the  same  direction  ;  and 
on  another  occasion  there  were  expected  to  arrive  800  men  and 
40  officers  from  Paaideberg,  and  the  medical  officers  were  at 
their  wits'  end  as  to  how  to  accommodate  them  in  a  field 
hospiUl  intended  for  100,  for  there  were  neither  cooking  pots, 
nor  blankots,  nor  medicines,  nor  dressings,  for  so  many,  nor 
was  there  any  one  to  dispense  the  drugs  and  appliances  which  • 
would  be  required.  These  were  only  some  instances  which 
1  happen  to  have  made  a  note  of,  for  there  was  much  else  to 
be  done,  and  still  the  stream  flowed  on,  and  even  at  night, 
when  the  evenings  were  coming  down,  the  black  silhouettes 
of  the  loaded  teams  kept  drawing  in,  in  what  seemed  a  never- 
ending  procession.  In  one  day  alone  800  men  arrived  at  the 
already  overcrowded  hospitals;  another  day  one  hospital 
had  to  admit  400  and  another  480. 

I  can  only  give  these  as  a  few  of  many  instances  of  what 
our  daily  experiences  were.  On  one  occasion  we  received  a 
sudden  order  to  strike  our  camp  and  move  down  nearer  to 
the  bridge  in  case  of  an  attack,  for  we  had  been  left  out  in  the 
waste  by  the  departure  of  all  the  other  camps.  Accordingly 
tents  were  struck,  carried  over  on  carts,  and  pitched  on  a  spot 
close  to  the  fever  hospital ;  our  patients  were  placed  in  ambu- 
lances and  brought  over,  but  they  were  so  many  that,  though 
we  began  to  remove  at  8  p.m.,  only  half  of  onr  work  w,is  com- 
pleted when  it  became  dark,  and  half  of  the  hospital  was  left 
far  out  on  the  plain.  The  major  and  I  shared  a  tent  which  was 
hastily  put  up  in  the  dark  for  us.    We  had  among  our  sick 


:i: 


•i  i' 


If 


!«;h, 


■r> 


136    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

tv  '  oer  prisoners,  and  in  the  bustle  of  changing  they  were 
left  unguarded  ;  one  of  them  made  his  escape,  but  turned  up 
again  next  morning,  probably  induced  to  do  no  by  hunger. 
Presiently  a  convoy  of  between  three  and  four  hundred  arri*^ 
from  Jacobsdal,  and  on  this  occasion  they  were  transported 
partly  in  ambulance  wagons  belonging  to  the  bearer  companies 
and  pnrtly  in  buck-wngons.  The  lying  cases  with  a  few  sitting 
were  in  the  former,  nnd  from  fourteen  to  fifteen  sitting  cases 
in  each  of  the  latter.  After  being  fed  and  cared  for  as  well  as 
was  possible,  they  were  admitted  and  dressed,  along  with 
80  Boer  wounded  who  required  the  same  attention.  The 
admission  was  runipleted  in  something  over  an  hour,  and  the 
dressing  took  up  the  remainder  of  the  day.  Among  them 
were  one  serious  wound  of  the  abdomen,  and  two  other  similar 
wounds  where  the  symptoms  were  slight  or  absent,  while  one 
patient  had  suppuration  of  the  leg  and  was  in  so  serious  a 
condition  that  I  advised  Cardan's  amputation  of  the  thigh, 
which  was  carried  out.  Most  of  this  convoy,  other  than  the 
Boers,  were  from  the  Argyll  and  Sutherlands,  the  Gordons, 
and  a  Welsh  regiment. 

On  another  occasion  we  got  orders  to  clear  every  one  out  of 
the  field  hospital  so  as  to  be  ready  to  move  on  towards  Kimber- 
ley  in  two  or  three  days,  and  made  every  endeavour  to  do  so, 
but  found  our  efforts  always  baffled.  We  had  to  admit,  for 
instance,  500  fresh  cases  of  sick  and  wounded  after  having 
despatched  two  full  trains.  Elaborate  arrangements  were 
then  made  to  clear  out  next  morning  all  except  about  ISO, 
when  we  were  informed  that  a  convoy  of  70  from  the  Guards 
regiments  was  on  its  way  and  would  arrive  that  day  ;  while 
from  Kimberley  came  a  message  to  say  that  they  were  full 
there  (having  received  their  flnt  convoy  &om  Paardeberg), 
and  asking  us  to  take  over  a  number  from  them ;  so  the  ambu- 
lance trains  we  had  hoped  to  utilise  were  sent  up  there,  and 
our  best  hope  was  that  we  might  get  some  of  our  wounded 
packed  into  them  as  they  passed  down  again,  or  into  some 
other  train  that  chance  might  send  us.  The  railway  was 
becoming  choked  with  the  sick  and  wounded,  every  place  was 
filled  to  overflowing,  and  the  whole  military  movements  were 
threatened  with  paralysis.  At  that  time  we  had  still  many 
fever  cases  who  could  not  be  sent  away,  there  were  56  of  them 
in  hospital  that  night,  and  more  were  being  brought  in  at  our 
last  visit,  while  so  little  care  could  be  exercised  that  one  poor 
fellow  who  was  being  treated  in  a  tent  was  found  wandering 
delirious  on  the  veld,  having  escaped  from  our  field  hospital 
by  crawling  out  at  the  back  during  a  heavy  storm  of  rain  and 
wind.    At  that  particular  time  the  staff,  augmented  by  some 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


137 


civilian  doctors  who  had  been  sent  up  to  help,  consisted  of 
seven,  but  of  these  one  was  constantly  travelling  with  the 
patienU  who  were  being  sent  down  by  ordinary  trains,  while 
another  was  doing  duty  in  the  fever  hospiUl,  so  that  there  were 
really  only  five  to  dress  BOO,  and  many  of  them  were  bad  cases, 
such  as  amputations,  wounds  through  the  body,  wounds 
through  the  thigh-bone  or  spine  or  head. 

1  quote  one  more  instance  of  a  convoy  that  came  in  during 
an  early  morning  and  forenoon.  In  it  I  counted  twenty -Ave 
common  carts  as  against  five  ambulances.  The  patients  in  it 
were  complaining  bitterly  of  the  way  in  which  they  had  been 
jolted  i  three  had  died  on  the  way  and  had  been  buried  where 
they  died,  one  as  it  chanced  at  Jacobsdal.  One  of  them  had 
had  a  wound  of  the  head,  one  a  wound  of  the  abdomen,  and 
the  third  dysentery.  A  fourth,  from  the  Nnval  Brigade,  had 
typhoid,  and  him  1  took  over  to  the  fever  hospital  in  an  almost 
monbund  condition,  and  placed  him  under  the  care  of  the 
physicmn  there. 

It  would  be  hard  to  find  in  any  part  of  the  world  more 
wretched  contrivances  for  carrymg  wounded  men  than  those 
in  which  the  patients  arrived.  Excepting  one  or  two  ambu- 
lances for  the  more  fortunate,  they  were  ox-wagons  of  the  most 
primitive  type,  roughly  painted  with  the  name  of  the  farmer 
who  owned  them,  often  verminous,  only  sometimes  covered, 
or  it  might  be  but  partially  covered,  with  ragged  canvas  or 
tarpaulin  held  up  by  a  stick,  and  on  these  the  wounded  were, 
many  of  them,  exposed  to  the  scorching  sun  and  thunder 
deluges  for  th.ee  days,  provided  only  occasionally  with  a  little 
steaw  on  which  to  lie.  All  sorts  of  wheeled  vehicles,  springless 
of  course,  were  converted  into  ambulance  transport,  drawn 
by  teams  of  mules,  or  more  generally  by  the  long  slow  teams 
of  oxen,  with  black  '  voorloopers  '  leading  them  by  the  head, 
and  black  boys  with  long  whips  Bke  salmon  rods  flogging  and 
urging  them  on  with  harsh  throaty  yells  and  quackings. 
Some  of  the  wagons  were  merely  square  unedged  platforms, 
such  as  might  have  served  to  carry  logs  of  wood,  with  broad 
lumbering  wheels,  and  over  the  veld  these  came  jolting, 
tilting,  and  rocking  like  heaving  ships  in  a  swell.  Some  of 
the  worst  conveyances  had  no  coverings  of  any  sort ;  some- 
tunes  two  wagons  were  lashed  together  and  drawn  by  the 
same  team,  and  aU  were  filled  with  men  who  were  sick,  men 
who  had  dysentery,  men  with  torn  hands  and  limbs,  men  with 
nactured  bones  supported  by  rude  laths  of  splints,  or  with  a 
mere  Imndage  and  no  splint  at  all,  men  shot  through  the  head, 
through  the  chest,  through  the  hip,  or  through  the  shoulders 
and  arms,  men  in  fact  with  every  injury  that  could  be  aggra- 


m 


iff 


i 


138    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

TBtad  by  movement,  and  yet  the»e  poor  lads  were  lying  on  the 
bare  boards,  comparativety  happy  if  they  oossessed  a  blanket, 
some  recumbent,  some  sitting,  most  without  any  covering, 
in  clusters  of  suffering  humanity,  chilled  by  the  night  cold, 
scorched  during  the  day  by  the  sun,  and  drenched  through  by 
the  tremendous  tropical  thunder  rains  that  constantly  fell, 
until  their  clothes  dried  on  them  again,  and  in  this  state, 
night  and  day,  they  rumbled  over  the  rough  dusty  veld, 
ploughed  through  steep  fords,  and  jolted  over  rocks.  When 
at  last  they  came  to  us,  they  had  the  sick,  white,  pinched  faces 
of  those  in  deadly  pain,  some  of  them  with  the  grim  locked 
jaw  of  men  sternly  bearing  the  pain  that  can  be  borne  only 
by  sheer  pluck,  and  some  even  helping  the  others  in  any  poor 
way  they  could.  Nearly  all  were  bra\ ,:  and  uncomplaining. 
Now  it  must  be  remembered  that  these  were  only  the '  slighter ' 
cases  who  had  been  sent  on,  the  severer  were  left  in  Jacobsdal 
or  elsewhere,  where — so  we  were  told— there  were  hardly 
any  blankets,  tents,  or  other  necessaries.  '  SUghter  cases  | 
though  they  were,  some  of  them,  my  notes  say  '  a  great  many,' 
were  really  atrociously  bad  cases,  and  quite  unfit  to  have  been 
so  transported. 

In  one  convoy  nearly  all  the  men  who  crawled  or  were  lifted 
out  of  the  carts  had  been  shot  six  days  before,  and  during 
that  time  had  been  more  or  less  '  en  route,'  or  waiting  to  get 
'  en  route ' ;  their  actual  travelling  time  in  the  wagons  had 
been  three  days  and  three  nights  j  some,  but  certainly  not 
all,  had  had  their  wovmds  dressed  at  Klipdrift,  and  again  by 
the  German  surgeons  at  Jacobsdal.  The  German  n  aterials 
were  good  and  their  dressings  well  done,  but  though  every  one 
along  the  route  had  omitted  nothing  that  it  was  in  his  power 
to  do  for  these  poor  wounded,  their  condition  was  none  the 
less  pitiable.  To  add  to  their  trials,  they  had  but  little  food 
on  the  way. 

Never  to  be  forgotten  by  any  of  those  who  witnessed  them 
were  the  sights  of  these  convoys,  which,  until  it  was  too  dark 
to  see  them,  kept  arriving,  while  the  plain  covered  with  the 
wagons,  oxen,  drivers,  half-naked  patients,  helpers,  and  tents, 
formed  a  weird  sight  under  the  fading  light  of  the  evening 
sky.  The  strain  to  which  the  strong  fat  oxen  had  been  sub- 
jected was  so  great  that  some  of  them,  so  soon  as  they  stopped, 
simply  lay  down  and  died  at  once.  The  only  individuals  of 
the  convoys  not  done  up  by  fatigue  were  the  black  drivers 
and  'voorioopers'  who,  despite  their  toil  over  the  hot  veld, 
sand,  and  mud,  for  days,  seemed  quite  fresh  at  the  end. 
Some  of  the  drivers  were  dandified  by  feathers  in  their  hats 
and  other  bits  of  finery,  but  one  did  not  find  the  heart 


•.i'  M 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


•39 


to  ku^  at  them,  remembering  the  good  work  they  had 
done. 

To  see  our  poor  wounded  fellows  eome  creeping  out  fh>m 
the  carts,  hardly  able  to  do  so,  almost  moved  one  to  tears. 
Some  were  just  able  to  stand,  others  were  dying,  and  some  had 
lost  comrades  who  had  succumbed  during  the  journey  and 
been  buried  by  the  way ;  and  the  state  in  which  some  of  them 
were  baffles  description,  for  their  clothes  had  become  so  foul 
from  their  own  and  their  neighbours'  discharges,  since  the 
convoys  could  not  be  stopped  for  their  necessities,  that  they 
had  nothing  on  but  a  blanket  and  helmet,  having  had  to 
remove  and  throw  away  everything  else.  But  it  ought  to 
be  said  that,  with  rare  exceptions,  their  sufferings  were  most 
patiently  borne.  Occasionally  it  was  difficult  to  remove 
them  f^m  vehicles,  since  some  of  the  worst  wounded  were 
stowed  away  on  a  sort  of  top  shelves  prepared  high  up  in 
the  awning  of  the  cart  by  plaiting  raw  bide  ropes  across 
under  the  leaky  tilt  which  covered  the  back  part  of  the  wagon. 
Of  baggage  they  had  next  to  none,  usually  none,  excepting 
th  <r  rags  and  possibly  a  knapsack.  Once  a  smile  was  forced 
tioi.1  the  bystanders  by  the  appearing  of  a  common  chair, 
which  the  happy  owner  had  somehow  contrived  to  get  carried 
out  to  Paardeberg  and  back,  as  we  conjectured ;  but  such 
relics  of  civilisation,  not  to  mention  luxury,  were  almost 
unique. 

Jacobsdal  seemed  to  be  inexhaustible ;  when  we  were  not 
receiving  from  it  convoys  of  our  own  wounded  and  sick, 
numbers  of  wounded  Boer  prisoners  sent  from  there  kept  us 
employed ;  they  were  poor  downcast  fellows ;  the  older 
grey-headed  men  slouched  about  with  hanging  heads  and 
hands  in  pockets,  and  the  younger  sat  in  their  tent  doors 
discussing  their  woes.  They  were  a  contrast  to  our  own 
wounded,  who  whenever  they  were  able  hopped  about  among 
their  comrades,  glad  of  the  respite  from  their  toils  and  dangers. 

At  whatever  time  the  convoys  arrived,  the  wounded  were 
at  once  attended  to,  refreshed  with  bovril  and  Liebig,  and 
their  wounds  and  ailments  dressed  or  prescribed  for.    Major 

C ,  his  officers,  and  the  men  of  the  R.A.M.C.  were  flying 

from  one  wagon  to  another  the  moment  they  arrived,  render- 
ing every  possible  assistance  and  seeing  that  nothing  was 
omitted  which  care  and  gentleness  could  ensure.  The  slighter 
cases  were  taken  at  once  to  the  tents,  and  the  more  necessitous 
laid  on  the  sand  until  they  could  have  their  turn  in  the  opera- 
tion tent.  Those  unable  to  help  themselves  were  lifted  out 
on  stretchers  by  the  R.A.M.C.  orderlies  and  carried  off  to 
the  hospital  for  treatment  through  numbers  of  sympathising 


1 

l\ 

l' 

?■  J 

■■/ 

■  » 

J  11 


140    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

byitanden  who  had  gtthered  round.  A  few  of  the  mort 
lortunate  or  cUnuint  oases  were  placed  to  »  double-roofed 
Cabul  tent,  and  somehow  or  other  all  were  soon  sheltered 
under  cover  of  buildmgs,  tents,  or  marquees,  thou||h  as  a  rule 
there  were  about  400  where  there  were  only  100  mtended  to 
be  accommodated,  and  it  was  surpriwng  how  rapidly  all  were 
looked  after,  and  how  well  it  was  done  where  there  were  so 
many  ill  and  so  few  to  help  them.  Then  followed  the  bustle 
of  great  cooking  at  the  car-^  fires  to  provide  for  the  wants 
of  the  hundreds  who  had  ...ived  ;  the  butchers  were  cutting 
up  the  carcases ;  the  fires  smoked ;  the  pots  and  kettles 
boiled  ;  and  the  water-carts  were  drawn  up  near  at  hand  to 
supply  the  needs  of  the  kitchens. 

The  sick  and  wounded  Boers  who  were  brought  m  by  the 
convoys  under  escort  received  exactly  the  same  treatmen* 
as  our  own  men,  except  that  sentries  were  placed  over  them  ; 
todeed,  it  was  sometimes  remarked  that  when  Boers  were  sent 
down  country  they  were  commonly  provided  with  hnt-class 
carriages  to  which  to  travel,  or  second-class  at  least,  while 
our  own  fellows  were  allotted  third-class  carriages.  In  some 
other  ways  mdeed  they  came  off  better  than  our  own  soldiors, 
for  on  the  convoys  their  fHends  had  often  provided  them  with 
umbrellas  agatost  the  sun  and  ram,  and  a  comrade  was  even 
allowed  to  travel  with  and  attend  to  them  ;  some  of  them  I 
observed  come  to  from  Jacobsdal  travelling  to  small  light 
buck-wagons  with  mule  teams,  and  well  protected  from  heat 
and  wet  by  white  umbrellas. 

It  was  only  late  in  the  day,  or  it  might  be  late  to  the  night, 
when  all  the  sick  and  wounded  had  been  attended  to,  that  the 
fires  were  made  to  provide  food  for  the  exhausted  medical 
officers  and  give  them  tea. 

As  the  numbers  of  invalids  mcreased  other  hospitals!  were 
sent  up  to  Modder,  and  civilian  doctors  arrived  to  give  their 
aid,  and  a  special  hospiUl  was  established  on  the  \Ial«nd ' 
under  one  of  the  consultants;  but  with  all  these,  thtogs  fell 
far  short  of  the  requirements,  to  various  ways.  Medical 
supplies  were  deficient ;  for  many  days  there  was  no  brandy  ; 
there  was  no  glycerine ;  and  other  thtogs  of  that  sort  were 
not  to  be  had.  When  fresh  stores  wer  sent  up,  they  did  not 
impress  one  with  a  high  optoion  of  thob.  who  had  ordered  and 
supplied  them.  Boxes  which  had  been  ordered  from  private 
firms  had  their  contents  ill-assorted.  One  box  would  contam 
80  pounds  of  glycertoe,  another  only  ztoc  sulphate  and  ttoctiure 
of  ginger,  a  third  only  carbolic  acid  crystals,  a  fourth  Itoen 
squares,  and  so  on.  One  contatoed  only  wanning  pans  1 
There  was  of  course  no  one  whose  function  it  was  to  arrange 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


M» 


Mtd  cle«l  them  out,  make  solutions,  etc  ,  and  it  was  bewildering 
for  the  doctors  to  have  to  wade  about  amongst  and  select  and 
prepare  these  supplies  when  their  hands  were  ahready  overftiU. 
Imagine  such  an  offlocr  coming  hopefully  to  get  something 
particularly  needful,  and  having  to  wait  about  and  open 
boxes  of  80  to  80  pounds,  some  of  which  had  only  methylated 
spirits,  some  only  turpentine,  and  some  only  the  splints  which 
would  have  been  invsliable  ten  days  previously,  but  which 
he  no  longer  required  ;  it  was  very  trying  to  have  this  addi- 
tional labour  thrust  on  him.  The  lives  of  the  medical  officers 
were  full  of  vexations.  A  patient,  for  example,  required  a 
saline  infusion  ;  there  were  no  proper  means  of  preparing  it, 
and  when  at  last  it  was  turned  out  it  was  like  pea-soup,  so 
muddy  that  it  would  have  been  fatal  to  have  used  it.  Another 
patient  with  a  cranial  injury  required  instant  trephining  of 
the  skull ;  it  was  skilfully  done  by  one  of  the  officers,  but 
under  highly  disadvantageous  conditions,  with  a  miserable 
lantern  for  light,  and  with  no  proper  cranium  forcipes,  only 
the  common  bone  forceps  from  the  amputation  case. 

One  would  have  been  very  glad  to  see  the  Red  Cross 
properly  at  work  there,  but  I  only  once  saw  any  representative 
bom  it,  when  a  Dutch-speaking  Africander,  adorned  with  a 
brassard  and  employed  by  the  Red  Cross  Society  and  St. 
John's  Ambulance  Association,  turned  up  and  reported  that 
he  had  brought  up  a  trujk  load  of  food,  clothing,  medical 
comforts,  and  such  like,  all  of  which,  except  clothing,  were 
supposed  to  be  furnished  by  the  army  medical  department. 
'  "hen  he  arrived  it  was  too  late ;  the  worst  was  over.    He 

d  no  transport  of  his  own,  but  was  dependent  on  the  military 

JT  getting  on  and  distributing  his  goods,  and  though  the  good 

man  did  his  best,  I  seriously  think  the  only  service  he  rendered 

us  at  Modder,  at  least  I  heard  of  no  other,  was  to  distribute 

some  pyjama  suits. 

Typhoid  fever  went  on  rapidly  increasing,  and  was  virulent. 
The  mortality  from  it  in  the  camp  amounted  to  twenty-four 
per  hundred  cases,  though  no  doubt  this  great  fatality  was 
due  to  the  milder  cases  having  been  sent  away,  for  every  one 
who  could  bear  the  transport  was  daily  hastened  down 
country  in  hospital  or  other  trains,  in  batches  of  thirty  or 
forty  at  a  time.  Thej  were  usually  mustered  at  ten  a.m., 
when  the  ambulance  wagons  turned  up  to  convey  them  over 
to  the  station.  After  having  been  taken  across  in  these, 
they  had  to  wait  about  until  one  o'clock,  when  the  work  of 
putting  them  into  carriages  began.  This  was  all  right  for 
those  who  were  not  severely  ailing,  as  they  could  creep  under 
the  shade  of  the  trees  and  sheds  about  the  station,  provided 


I.  y 


1^1 


4 


iii 


142    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

it  wcN  dry,  not  too  hot,  and  bee  bx>m  duit  stoniit ;  but  it 
WM  tiylna  for  thoie  upon  the  ■tretchen  who  had  to  tie  bakins 
in  the  anibuUnce  wagonii  all  the  time.  Their  dinner  was  lent 
over  to  them  from  the  oamp,  tinned  beef  and  biicuit,  and 
eventually  all  were  put  into  the  train.  Before  it  moved  off 
each  man  had  food  and  water  and  a  pint  of  milk  lent  with 
him,  and  each  compartment  contained  nix  or  leven  men. 
Bxcept  what  they  carried,  there  wan  commonly  no  water  on 
the  train,  either  tor  lavatory  purposex  or  for  drinking,  beyond 
what  might  be  begged  from  the  engine-driver,  and  not  the 
least  important  function  of  the  doctor  who  accompanied  the 
train  was  to  b^  for  this  supply.  But  it  dkl  sometimes  happen 
that  no  doctor  was  sent  with  them  on  their  k>ng  journey  of 
many  hours,  and  even  of  days. 

The  strain  thrown  on  every  one  by  the  events  cu"  r  h'-ww  days 
was  terrible,  and  affected  both  combatants  and  ncii  combat- 
ants. One  military  officer  whom  I  knew  got  into  such  a  state 
of  excitement,  shouting  out,  though  he  was  as  brave  a  man 
as  any,  that '  00,000  Boers  were  coming  over  the  hill,'  pointing 
and  gesticulating  to  emphasise  '  .s  illusions,  that  he  had  to  be 
sent  down  to  Cape  Town.  A  major  commanding  a  bearer 
company  went  alto(,Hher  r^f!  uis  head  and  became  quite  melan- 
ehoUcTand  I  heard  oi'  1.  <j  other  instances  of  insanity  among 
officers.  This,  as  ha< '  b<ien  forecasted  by  Von  Bkxik,  was  one 
of  the  results  to  be  anticipated  trom  the  fatigues  and  anxieties 
of  the  altered  conditions  of  warfare.  From  the  unexag^erated 
account  given  above  of  what  I  myself  saw,  an  approximately 
accurate  idea  can  be  formed  of  what  had  to  be  endured  l^ 
those  serving  on  the  Modder  River. 


xxxni 

MOHX  ABOUT  MODOER 

It  was  fortunate  for  those  engaged  in  the  gloomy  work  at 
Modder  River  that  we  were  cheered  by  the  progress  of  the 
war  under  the  conduct  of  General  Roberts,  and  that  other 
things  gave  us  variety  and  broke  the  sad  monotony. 

On  the  last  day  of  February  we  heard  that  at  Paardeberg, 
Cronje  and  all  his  forces  had  surrendered,  that  he  had  come 
forth  into  a  square  formed  by  the  Highland  Brigade  and  given 
himself  up.  A  room  in  the  house  at  Modder  called  the '  Hotel,' 
belonging  to  a  Mr.  Glover,  and  which  had  been  Methuen's 
headquarters,  was  forthwith  prepared  for  Cronje  and  another 
for  his  wife,  who  had  been  captured  ak>ng  with  him  and  was 
said  to  be  wounded.    About  noon  of  the  same  day  he  was 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,43 

brought  into  Moddcr  River  in  a  four-wheeled  earriuc  with 
«»*«.  •ccomPMiled  by  hi*  weeping  wife  and  a  youna 
nun.  The  City  of  London  Imperial  Vohinteen  fonned  a 
guard  of  honour  and  received  him  with  a  general  lalute, 
prewnting  armi  while  the  buglca  played.  Much  coniideration 
wa.  »hown  to  him,  and  loitering  in  the  road  oppoiite  hii  room* 
w»i  forbidden,  ao  that  hU  feeling*  might  not  be  hurt  by  any 
diiplay  of  vulgar  curioiity. 

fti*  captured  force.,  8679  in  number,  were  next  brought  in, 
and  confined  in  a  camp  of  tents  enclosed  in  a  fence  of  barbed 
wire,  round  which  armed  (entries  were  placed  a!  .^ost  intervals. 
««"  when  we  visited  them  were  very  jolly,  well  fed,  and 
JWB  chutered  round  the  water-carts  enjoying  themselves. 
We  WW  no  women  and  children  among  them,  though  there 
WMe  laid  to  be  some.   I  undetatood  that  some  more  men  were 
tmnight  in  later,  making  the  total  captuK*  up  to  4400     On 
close  acquaintance  the  captured  Boers  were  not  delightftil ; 
after  what  they  had  gone  through  it  was  perhaps  natural  that 
the  *inell  in  their  camp  *hould  have  been  bad,  but  their  habits 
were  dirty  too  foul  to  be  told  of  here.    They  were  inclined  to 
be  boastful,  and  mdulged  in  taU  Ulk  of  fighting  to  the  last 
and  re«i«ting  at  the  capiul*,  Bk)emfontein  and  Pretoria, 
which  accorded  rather  ill  with  so  large  a  body  of  strong  un- 
wounded  men  surrendering  without  at  least  a  single  desperate 
jOTtie  to  break  through,  as  they  themselves  had  just  done 
Tliey  told  us  many  interesting  things;  one  of  these  1  remember, 
and  it  may  have  been  true,  to  the  effect  that  Cron je  had  always 
round  hun  a  bodyguard  of  six  selected  marksmen,  and  that 
in  the  Magersfontein  Uttle  the  seven  were  at  one  time  cut 
01  and  encireled  by  a  body  of  the  Black  Watch  who  had 
•urpn»ed  them  while  they  were  upon  a  kopje.     The  seven 
gave  thenuelve*  up  for  lost  when  the  HighJanders,  who  had 
not  noticed  them,  departed,  and  they  were  able  to  rejoin  their 
comrades.    When  they  were  surrounded  at  Paardeberg,  they 
•aid,  ea^  man  had  to  dig  a  pit  for  himself  deep  enough  to 
conceal  hun,  and  in  it  they  had  often  to  remain  for  three  days 
on  end,  their  sole  amusements  being  to  smoke  and  read  their 
huge  Bibles.    In  our  prisoners'  camp  they  seemed  generally 
to  be  busied  m  theu-  tents  praying  and  singing  psalms.    They 
WCTe  sent  down  country  as  quickly  as  possible  in  batches  of 
oOO  at  a  time. 

A  few  days  after  Cronje's  capture  we  were  also  gladdened 
by  the  authentic  news  of  the  relief  of  Ladysmith  and  the 
evacuation  of  Colesberg  by  the  Boer  commando  there. 

We  saw  many  phases  of  African  climate,  and  the*e  not 
always  kmd  ones,  at  Modder  River,  and  I  became  convinced 


1^- 


III 


I' 


1  J'- 


144    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

that  though  South  Africa  cannot  rival  the  Soudan  in  the 
matter  of  flies,  it  can  yet  equal  it  in  centipedes,  scorpions, 
and  tarantulas,  and  even  surpass  it  in  wind  storms,  thunder, 
lightning,  and  deluges  of  rain.    Howling  dust  storms  were 
fluent,  during  which  little  could  be  done  but  sit  m  the  tents 
and  await  their  subsidence ;    reading  and  writing  were  out 
of  the  question;    and  clouds  of  locusts  accompanied  the 
storms,  or  intervened,  the  animals  flitting  like  moths  en- 
deavouring to  fly  against  or  sideways  to  the  wind,  but  drifting 
before  it  fifteen  to  th=rty  feet  above  the  ground,  resembli^ 
brownish  snow,  and  casting  their  shadows  on  the  tent  walls 
as  they  passed.    On  the  24th  and  25th  of  February  so  great 
were  the  wind  and  rain  that  four  or  five  of  the  hospital  tents 
and  marquees  were  blown  down,  and  the  patients,  some  of 
them  helpless  and  unable  to  move,  had  to  be  picked  up  out 
of  the  mud  in  the  dark  and  conveyed  into  our  mess  or  other 
tents.    During  these  deluges,  which  continued  all  day  and 
night,  it  became  very  cold,  and  everything  was  wet,  including 
clothing  and  bedding,  while  the  ground  was  saturated.    One 
day  we  had  just  returned  from  dealing  with  a  case  of  secondary 
hemorrhage  from  an  amputation  stump,  where  the  common 
femoral  artery  had  to  be  tied,  and  were  resting  at  sunset, 
when  we  observed  a  thunderstorm  coming  up,  and  after  looking 
to  my  tent  ropes  and  pegs  I  had  returned  to  the  marquee, 
where  we  had  some  food,  and  the  major  and  I  were  at  the  door 
which  faced  the  west  admiring  the  vivid  lightning  as  it  ap- 
proached, when  in  the  space  of  one  second  a  flush  of  hissmg, 
blinding,  and  soaking  rain,  as  solid  as  a  bucketful  of  water, 
dashed  against  us,  and  came  flying  into  the  door,  drenching 
us  instantly.    A  squall  of  wind  accompanied  it,  tearmg  up 
the  whole  of  one  side  of  the  marquee,  which  fluttered  and 
flapped  and  thundered  in  the  gale.    As  we  flew  to  the  poles 
and  clung  to  them  to  prevent  everything  from  going,  we 
looked  through  the  opened  side  to  where  our  camp  was, 
distant  a  few  yards,  but  the  occasional  glimpse  of  a  tent 
through  a  grey  sheet  of  water  and  small  hail  was  all  we  could 
discern.    The  crashing  thunder,  hissing  rain,  and  flapping 
canvas  combined  into  one  common  roar  in  which  each  special 
sound  could  not  be  discriminated,  and  the  lightning  continued 
to  flash  every  second  or  two  in  the  rapidly  darkening  night, 
where  save  for  its  illumination  nothing  at  all  would  have  now 
been  visible.    The  major  heard  a  marquee  near  at  hand  go 
down,  for  he  was  one  of  those  who  missed  nothing,  and  called 
for  volunteers  to  carry  the  officers  who  were  under  it  into 
shelter.    All  who  were  in  our  marquee  followed  him  out  and 
found  a  wetflat  massflapping  on  the  ground  where  the  marquee 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,45 

^  "l!^'  n  ^'  ™«»T^  «>«»  pulled  out  the  wounded  officers 
who^  all  been  in  their  beds,  some  of  them  abnost  nS 
heaped  anythmg  upon  them,  waterproof  or  othTmise  t^t 
wouM  cover  them,  and  bo«  them  on  their  beds  t™gh  tte 
deluge  into  our  half-d^manUed  marquee.  Excepting  mvsSr 
haymg  had  the  foresight  to  throw  on  a  mStoSi  S 
every  one  was  drenched  to  the  skin  in  the  p™  xfwe 
were  oirrymg  over  the  last  bed.  behold  I  hTtfoT  the^mn 
seemed  to  smk  into  the  ground  before  our  eyes '  tents 
shnveUed  and  sank  down  like  tinfoil  melting  to  a  fi^.'a^L 

^fortv  ^*  '^"'*''  ''^«  r  ^*°°^  «ond«.stricto,  thtty 
or  forty  tents  were  gone,  and  in  their  place  were  sodden  Zt 
masses  of  writhing  patients  covered  \riS  Te^  3es    w^t 

S^Z'  1:^  """"^  °iif"*  "^P**-  Naked  men  struffi  oTt 
bhnded  men.   wounded  and   helpless  men.  and  men   with 

^rr^*'!/'^"'/"""*  ""^  8««°«d,  and  an  tosTne  n^,^ 
who  had  been  tied  to  a  tent  pole  shouted  and  sWe^S,  wUk 
down  ever  came  the  torrents  of  solid  water.  From  eV^ 
quarter  there  seemed  to  rise  ftom  out  the  ground  pTn^Tf 

and  the  thundCT  stunned  us  at  rapid  internals  as  it  ci^Jd 
overhead.  Such  a  thunderstorm  I  had  never  i^n^ore 
but  I  was  mimediately  to  see  one  j,  ^,  worse.  -  ' 

We  gathered  our  wits  and  set  to  work.    There  was  no  n^H 
of  lamps,  the  continuous  and  vivid  flashes^r  r  sufficient 

we  w4^  tf  S  °^*7  '''^'"«>  '^^  P""^  ««'«'  ^^ 
we  wished  to  assist,  and  commg  in  the  mud  on  a  shatt^iwl 

and  bandaged  head  or  Umb,  a!  we  groped  for  the  heS 
unfortunate^  Soon  others  came  to  help^  stretchers  w»^ 
got,  wet^  sodden  and  soiled  as  they  were  evemWng  w" 
welcomed  that  would  carry  a  man,  and  we  to  led  till  the  opeT 
tion  and  mess  tents  were  paved  with  patients  like  slates  u^n 
kTuf^-  «^"y  y«tjt»'''''n8  tent  was  filled.  By  the  ttae 
that  all  this  was  fimshed  tne  rain  had  passed  I  hasten.^  f« 
get  my  dry  Norfolk  jacket  and  cap.  peSed  the  maW  to 
aUle  fZ'.K^ •""  wet  c  othi  g  a„d  ^^  „„  ^.^^  ^  ^^^ 
a  little  from  the  now  chilly  night  air.  and  together  we  went 
over  to  the  other  officers'  marquees.  AU  sav?  one  w«e  ftit 
I  found  a  cousm  of  mine  who  had  been  wounded  at  Paarde^ril 
emergmg  m  hu  ^ual  good  humour,  hopping  on  his™  l^f 

^  hi^^  ■".  *'  "^"^^  *°  «»'•'"  **  «»tte™d  art^Tes 
of  his  kit  and  accoutrements  which  were  lying  in  the  mud 
He  was  an  inmate  of  a  marquee  which  had  partly  wSaS 
the  storm,  and  finding  him  so  content  and  pat^tl  hKn 
good-night,  went  to  my  tent,  which  I  foS^d^tuf  ZidS^ 


I'i 


'  '  r 


ft 


/  3 ;.^'  'I 


146    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

turned  out  all  the  dry  clothes  and  stockings  that  I  could  spare, 
and  when  we  had  stripped  and  clothed  the  wet  officers  and 
men,  had  a  bowl  of  Maggi  soup  and  turned  in. 

The  lightning  was  still  playing  about,  rendering  the  sky 
bright  and  the  tents  dark,  and  the  tents  white  and  the  sky 
dark,  alternately,  and  having  looked  once  more  to  my  tent 
pegs  I  lay  watching  these  sights  until  I  fell  asleep.    But  it 
was  not  for  long.    Towards  midnight  I  was  awakened  by  a 
dash  of  thunder-rain  against  the  canvas,  and  fouind  another 
storm  passing  straight  overhead.    The  lightning  had  become 
so  continuous  that  it  was  a  constant  quivering  light,  trans- 
parent through  the  wet  tent  walls,  while  the  wind  roared 
and  tossed  the  tents,  and  the  thimder  overhead  made  the 
ground  shake  and  tremble.    Then  came  a  roar  like  the  sea 
in  full  fury,  and  my  tent  pole  wavered,  bent  over,  and  came 
down  across  my  waist,  pinning  me  to  the  ground  on  my 
stretcher,  and  immediately  I  found  myself  unable  to  move. 
The  only  thing  to  be  done  was  to  lie  still  until  some  one  found 
me,  so  I  lay  with  the  canvas  over  my  face  smothering  me, 
felt  pools  of  water  run  from  it  down  into  my  ears,  down  under 
my  body,  and  up  along  my  feet  and  legs.    The  thunder 
continued  to  shake  eve^hing,  the  lightning  every  instant 
or  oftener  to  pour  out  its  streams  of  Ught,  and  the  canvas 
flapped  horribly  in  the  gale.    It  seemed  as  if  the  last  day 
were  come.    From  the  commotion  I  knew  that  many  other 
tents  were  down,  and  that  in  time  I  should  be  foimd  and 
rescued,  if  I  lay  still,  for  the  '  Professor '  would  be  sure  to 
be  missed.    But  the  time  appeared  to  be  endless,  and  indeed 
it  seemed  as  if  it  were  impossible  for  any  one  to  escape  the 
lightning,  and  I  did  think  that  perhaps  my  own  last  hour  had 
come.    Eventually  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  major  asking  if 
any  one  were  there ;  others  were  with  him ;  and  when  I  replied 
that  a  fragment  of  humanity  still  existed,  the  pole  shook  and 
was  rais«i  from  my  body  to  my  great  relief,  and  the  good 
major  somehow  found  his  way  under  the  canvas  and  struggled 
to  get  the  pole  vertical.    At  first  I  was  unable  to  assist  him, 
but  presently  my  breath  came  back  in  gasps,  I  hauled  on  my 
boots,  the  tent  was  raised  by  our  joint  exertions  and  I  crept 
out.    M^hat  a  sight  met  me !    liie  ground  was  streaming 
fire  upwards  like  hundreds  of  torehes,  at  least  it  seemed  to 
flash  upwards,  and  in  the  dead  of  night,  while  the  rain  cas- 
caded, the   thunder  raved,  and  the  lightning  appeared  to 
escape  from  every  yard  of  ground,  I  beheld  the  ruins  of  our 
canvas  city.    The  scene  was  beyond  description,  and  I  need 
not  dilate  upon  it.    The  major  had  his  tent  blown  down  with 
all  the  othors,  but  he  managed  to  struggle  out  and  assemble 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,47 

«  rejcue  ]^  Soon  men  were  sent  over  from  the  other 
camps,  and  tents  rose  up  and  resumed  shape,  and  hundreds 

joimng  m  the  hammermg  and  assisting  others 

We  put  the  major's  tent  to  rights,  and  then  repeated  the 
a^Z^^t  !!?r!'  '°  «'"*"8  the  injured  and^ck  into 
their  own  restored  tents  or  new  ones  which  were  hastUy  pitched 

^  1^"^'"°"'^  °-^°^-  '"  ^^^  intervals  of  which  we 
f^H  1  I  Tl^"'  "**  ^°^  P'*y'"8  "'°"d  to  their  God, 
and  the  wails  of  the  msane  negro  who,  lashed  to  the  pole,  was 
lying  underneath  his  fallen  tent.  ^ 

Not  till  aien  had  I  time  to  hunt  up  my  cousin.  Lighting 
L^^'J  "•"*  *°-  ^^J^V^'^-  It  lay  like  a  newIpaiiS 
on  a  road  on  a  ramy  day.  and  from  beneath  it  1  CS 
hun  crewlmg  as  cheerful  as  ever,  to  hop  about  on  bis 
somd  foot  and  flsh  up  his  belongings  from  the  mud.  By  the 
light  of  my  lantern  we  retrieved  most  of  them ;  he  Umned 
over  to  my  tent  whither  we  carried  his  things,  and  on  the  SS 
ground  on  one  side  of  It  he  made  his  bed  and  lay  down,  hoping 
doubtless,  as  I  did,  that  we  might  be  able  to  lie  ii  pS^ 
there  imtil  the  mornmg.  From  my  portmanteau  I  produced 
my  last  tr^sured  tm  of  Huntley  and  Pabner's  biscuits  and 
Lf.'!^  J  '=^°~'"*«',  ^nd  .^"^  found  in  the  mud  a 
waterbottle  and  some  lemon  juice,  we  both,  joined  presently 

Bv  ^.Tl°J\r^^  "'•1*  r  '=°»?'J"«1  "  '»™rious  meat 
By  this  tune  the  storm  had  passed  over.    A  kind  quarter- 
mastCT  lent  me  from  somewhere  a  damp  rubber  sheet  and  a 
wet  blanket;    the  former  I  spread  over  my  soaked  bed 
having  mopped  up  with  a  sponge  the  worst  pools  in  it ;  the 
latter  I  wrapped  round  me,  and  after  the  inevitable  smoke 
we  toy  down  and  soon  were  so  sound  asleep  that  we  did  not 
awake  until  the  sun  shone  into  the  tent,  the  flies  began  to 
settle  on  our  heads,  and  a  new  day  had  begun.    Our  ablutions 
were  done  after  a  fashion,  and  like  wet  ■    sps  we  crept  out 
mto  the  sunny  air,  lugged  out  our  water-lodged  clothing  and 
spread  it  out  on  the  tent  walls  and  the  ground  to  dry     Mv 
cousm  found  somewhere  a  dry  pair  of  socks  which  he  save 
me,  for  which  I  was  truly  thankful,  for  all  of  mine  had  been 
given  the  evemng  before  to  the  wet  invalids.    The  major 
mvited  my  cousm  to  mess  with  us  during  his  stay,  and  thouah 
aJun^^iT**  *^''  ***  P"^^"^  °^  company  to  messing  is 
During  the  alarms  and  discomforts  of  the  night  the  be- 
haviour of  the  sick  officers  and  men  was  magnMcent,  with 
the  smgle  exception  of  an  old  Highland  colo^  who  slipped 
at  us  like  a  savage  terrier  dog  whenever  we  offered  to  1^ 


I  m 


lilh 


"■1  I 


;i 


ftiA'L. 


148    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

him,  and  would  let  only  his  servant  touch  him.  As  he  seemed 
to  prefer  lying  all  night  under  the  fallen  marquee,  we  propped 
up  a  part  of  it  with  sticks  and  left  him ;  what  became  of  him 
I  do  not  know,  but  whether  or  not  he  spent  the  night  under 
the  marquee,  which  was  so  wet  and  broken  that  we  could 
not  raise  it  in  the  obscurity,  he  had  gone  into  some  other 
shelter  when  we  went  to  looii  for  him  in  the  morning.  But 
for  the  others  I  was  fllleU  with  an  intense  admiration,  as, 
besides  the  discomforts  I  have  attempted  to  describe,  some  of 
them  were  very  sorely  wounded,  and  to  be  so  served  after 
their  awful  ride  from  Paardeberg  must  have  tested  the  for- 
titude of  the  pluckiest  of  men. 

After  a  beautiful  forenoon,  in  which  we  were  able  to  lunch 
in  the  open  air,  we  had  in  the  afternoon  the  worst  hailstorm 
I  saw  in  South  Africa.  It  began  by  looking  black  over 
Magersfontein,  where  heavy  rain  was  visibly  falling.  We 
looked  to  the  tent  pegs  and  laced  up  the  door  just  as  the  storm 
reached  us.  It  was,  however,  not  a  monstrous  repetition  of 
the  night  before,  but  an  interesting  variation.  There  was 
no  wind,  but  lightning  followed  by  a  trash  of  rain.  The 
north  side  of  the  tent  had  the  appearance  as  if  showers  of 
missiles  were  being  thrown  against  it,  and  from  where  we  stood 
in  its  interior  it  looked  as  if  it  were  everywhere  being  struck 
by  volleys  of  musket  balls,  for  each  spot  which  was  struck 
emitted  a  spurt  of  spray  right  across  the  tent  as  if  it  were  blown 
from  the  mouth  of  a  gun.  My  cousin  peeped  through  a  chink 
of  the  door  anH  called  to  me  to  come  and  look.  The  ground 
was  white  with  hailstones  as  big  as  large  gooseberries,  or  even 
small  potatoes,  and  these  were  the  projectiles  which  bad  been 
battering  on  our  tent.  When  the  shower  began  to  pass  and 
we  could  look  freely  out,  not  a  soul  was  to  be  seen,  only  the 
horses  and  mules  were  kicking  and  lashing  out  as  the  hail 
struck  them  like  whips.  On  examining  the  hailstones,  their 
average  measured  diameter  was  one  inch ;  all  were  much  of 
one  size ;  the  largest  were  Ij  by  Ij  by  1  inch,  and  their 
structure  was  in  layers  like  onions,  the  ice  being  alternately 
opaque  and  translucent ;  they  weighed  on  an  average  over  a 
quarter  of  an  ounce.  When  melted  they  left  on  the  ground 
marks  of  concentric  crusts  resembling  the  section  of  a  corru- 
gated onion. 

These  were  specimens  of  the  weather  at  Modder,  and  no 
doubt  it  was  similar  where  Roberts's  army  was  lying  round 
Paardeberg  or  advancing  eastwards  across  the  Orange  Free 
State. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


'49 


XXXIV 

Trek  to  Kimberlxt 

°~  l^,  T'^y  ,^»  Modder  to  Kimberley  I  gained  experience 
of    trekking,  the  sort  of  travelling  which  prevaUed  in  South 
A&im  in  the  early  days.    On  Saturday  the  10th  of  March 
we  at  last  got  our  final  orders  to  depart  at  4  p.m.,  and  long 
before  that  tune  our  men  commenced  the  loading  of  the  flvl 
buck-wagons  forming  our  transport,  each  of  which  was  capable 
of  carrymg  easily  8000  pounds,  and  if  necessary  even  SoOO. 
Une  of  the  wagons  served  to  carry  the  tents  of  our  field  hos- 
pital, a  second  all  our  medical  and  surgical  stores,  and  the 
remammg  three  the  baggage  of  the  officers  and  men :    the 
iMding  occupied  three  hours,  so  that  we  were  ready  long  before 
the  appointed  time,  and  had  the  usual  additional  delays, 
waitmg  for  three  and  a  half  hours,  before  we  drew  out  of 
Modder^    The  major,  two  officers,  and  myself  accompanied 
one  part  of  the  procession,  and  a  prolonged  dust  storm  which 
enveloped  us  removed  any  lingering  regret  we  might  have 
otherwise  had  at  quitting  the  place  where  we  had  so  long  been 
busied,  where  we  had  lost,  moreover,  by  death  or  sickness, 
already  over  one  third,  nearly  a  half  indeed,  of  our  company. 
Our  last  view  of  the  plain  which,  not  many  weeks  previously 
had  supported  a  populous  canvas  city  of  80,000  inhabitants 
was  over  a  naked,  desolate  expanse  which  showed  only  the 
crosses  of  the  dead  in  the  two  little  cemeteries,  with  the  lumes 
upon  them  aheady  half  obliterated  by  the  weather.    The 
whole  place  was  horrible,  its  river  putrid  and  stinking  from 
the  carcases,  mostly  of  horses,  which  had  been  washed  down 
from   Paardeberg  and   elsewhere,   and   stuck,   bloated   and 
ml  '  °"  *^"y  **°"*'  shallow,  or  foid. 
There  were  mishaps  before  we  reached  the  rendezvous  a 
few  mUes  towards  the  north-east.    A  Scotch  cart,  loaded  at 
the  last  moment  with  odds  and  ends,  and  tacked  on  by  its 
shafts  to— of  course— the  most  heavily  loaded  wagon,  proved 
to  be  of  greater  weight  than  the  oxen  could  draw,  stuck  fast 
in  the  d^p  sand  before  we  had  gone  half  a  mile,  and  had  to 
be  transferred  to  another  wagon  which  was  abeady  half  a 
mUe  ahead.    Next  it  was  found  that  the  water-carts  had  not 
their  mules  inspanned,  and  one  of  these  broke  loose  and  had 
to  be  hunted  for  half  an  hour  over  the  veld  before  it  could  be 
<«ught,  by  which  time  the  other  wagons  were  two  miles  in 
aavanre.    And  there  was  riding  backwards  and  forwards 
and  stoong  language,  and  anxiety  to  our  chief,  before  all  was 


^  Pi 


I; 
I  ■ 


150    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

When  at  last  we  reached  the  rendezvoui,  we  found  we  were 
to  be  part  of  a  train  of  over  forty  wagons,  which  had  to  be 
started  one  by  one,  forming  a  line  along  the  road  we  were  to 
follow.  We  should  have  bad,  in  addition,  an  armed  escort  of 
Ave -and -twenty  of  the  Noithamptons,  who  had  been  detailed 
to  ensure  our  safety,  but  somehow  they  had  gone  astray, 
and  our  sole  protecton;  as  we  marched  through  a  part  of  the 
Free  State  territory  were  the  three  or  four  mounted  transport 
riders  who  accompanied  us. 

Each  wagon  of  the  procession  had  a  pair  of  oxen  yoked  to 
its  pole,  and  in  front  of  them  fourteen  others  attached  in 
pairs  to  a  long  iron  chain  extending  from  the  pole,  the  whole 
being  about  forty  yards  in  length.  Every  wagon  had  two 
drivers,  the  front  one,  the  '  voorlooper,'  guiding  the  oxen  by 
pulling  them  by  the  nose,  the  second,  the  driver  proper,  was 
usually  seated  on  the  box ;  both  were  armed  with  long  bam- 
boos, like  salmon  rods,  furnished  with  long  lashes,  and  heartily 
the  two  discharged  their  function  of  flogging,  and  fearful 
noises  they  made  with  the  cracks  of  the  great  whips,  the 
reports  when  they  struck  the  sides  of  the  animals  being 
like  rifle  shots,  and  with  their  own  harsh  throaty  sounds  of 
'At6mm,'  'Aat,'  'SturM,'  'Gumaal,'  and  so  forth;  at  least 
the  sounds  resembled,  to  my  unfamiliar  ears,  words  like  these. 
The  wagons  started  off,  one  behind  the  other,  forming  a  line 
about  a  mile  long,  and  its  snaky  length  wound  its  way  over 
the  plains,  the  foremost  end  being  visible  from  the  rear  only 
by  the  huge  column  of  dust  it  cast  up,  in  which  r  II  details 
were  lost.  The  transport  riders,  all  of  them  whites  and  good 
horsemen,  galloped  from  end  to  end  and  from  place  to  place 
along  the  sides,  keeping  order  and  preventing  the  line  from 
breaking  into  pieces,  by  stopping  the  front  to  await  the  rear 
or  by  hurrying  the  latter  up.  The  oxen  went  bravely,  about 
as  fast  as  a  man  could  leisurely  walk,  sometimes  going  at 
a  run  for  a  short  space,  but  maintaining  on  the  whole  the 
same  average  speed,  unless  for  momentary  rectifications,  until 
our  first  stopping-place  was  reached.  When,  as  sometimes 
happened,  an  ox  fell  sick,  it  was  simply  detached  and  driven 
along  with  us,  unless  it  were  very  ill,  when  it  was  left  on  the 
veld  to  die  or  feed  itself  well  again,  as  the  case  might  be. 
Having  been  unable  at  Modder  to  procure  a  horse,  I  accom- 
panied the  march  on  foot,  and  as  we  passed  away  towards 
the  north,  by  the  eastern  end  of  Magersfontein,  the  sun  set, 
the  light  faded,  the  plain  grew  dark,  and  the  moon  and  stars 
alone  lit  us  on  our  way. 

We  continued  onwards  in  the  weird  moonlight  until  9  p.m., 
when  we  drew  up  at  a  place[^^lled  Bissett's  farm,  to  rest 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,5, 

^hput  ouUpanning.  and  this  wai  done  as  follows:  the 
leading  wagon  draw  to  one  side  of  the  road,  and  the  next  two 
cMBe  up  on  Its  outer  side,  forming  a  trio  alongside  one  another, 
with  the  oxen  aU  in  their  places  in  the  direction  of  our  advance, 
as  If  pr«)ared  to  start_  three  abreast.  The  three  wagons  which 
toUowed  were  suniUrly  ranked  on  the  other  side  of  the  load  : 
behmd  these  were  arranged  the  rest,  by  threes  and  threes, 
all  symmetncally  and  beautiftilly  done,  so  that  they  could 
easily  start  agam  without  delay  and  in  good  order.  The  oxen 
w«e  not  fed.  but  stood  motionless  and  ghostly  in  the  dark 
quiet  m  their  harness,  and  rested  thus,  one  or  two  of  the  moi^ 
weaned  lymg  down. 

The  farmer  Bissett  was  an  honest  Scot,  who  pronounced 
Cronjes  Mme  as  if  it  were  spelled  '  Kronjee,'  and  he  told  us 
that  Cronje  was  a  half-breed,  and  that  he  used  to  bastinado 
his  troops  with  a  big  whip.  Bissett  said  he  had  sent  word  to 
Methuen  advismg  hun  to  outflank  Magersfontein  instead  of 
attacking  it  frontaUy.  but  that  his  advice  was  not  taken, 
though  he  had  constantly  sent  in  accounts  of  how  the  Boers 
could  be  circumvented.  Roberts,  however,  acted  on  that 
principle.  It  seemed  that  Bissett  had  been  taken  to  Jacobsdal 
on  an  accusafaon  of  having  poisoned  some  of  the  Boers'  horses, 
but  was  let  on  on  giving  a  bribe  of  £40. 

After  the  halt  had  been  properly  organised  the  drivers 
and  those  of  our  men  who  had  climbed  upon  the  wagons  got 
down,  whites  and  blacks  employed  themselves  in  kindUng  little 
llrra.  coffee  pots  were  put  on  and  a  meal  was  made  by  moon- 
l«lit ;  then  pipes  were  lit  and  aU  prepared  to  obtain  some 
sleep.  We  threw  our  coats  over  the  barbed  wire  fence  which 
tliere  hned  the  road,  got  over  it  ourselves,  spread  out  a  blanket 
or  coat  on  the  pound  after  kicking  aside  all  the  stones  we  could 
reel  with  our  feet,  got  something  to  serve  us  as  a  pillow 
wrapped  something  else  round  us,  and  fell  asleep  under  the 
radiant  stars  which,  as  the  night  was  fortunately  a  fine  one 
blaied  steadily  without  a  twinkle,  and  amongst  the  camomile 
scent  of  the  crushed  heathery  herbs  we  rested  until  Bam 
when  the  oxen  began  to  stir  and  the  men  to  move,  and  we 
roused  ourselves  to  continue  our  march.  The  moon  and  Venus 
had  then  set  in  the  west,  but  Jupiter  had  risen  before  the  sun, 
and  a  beautiful  spear  of  the  zodiacal  light  went  up  into  the 
heavens  almost  to  the  zenith,  not  more  than  10  degrees  off 
the  perpendicular,  its  base  resting  on  the  eastern  horizon 
where  the  day  was  shortly  to  break. 

Our  first  march  had  been  for  twelve  miles,  our  second  or 
mormag  one  was  to  be  about  six  more,  and  in  the  same  order 
m  which  they  had  stopped  the  wagons  moved  slowly  off  into 


i.    I'.Jj 


r<  1^ 


11 

:'  tl 


Ijiti, 


I 


152    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  duk,  until  daylight  came  in  at  five,  when  we  halted  at 
Scholse's  Nek  for  the  day  ;  and  thii  time  the  oxen  were  out- 
spanned.  No  longer  on  a  well-marked  road,  we  were  out  on 
the  open  veld,  the  halt  was  to  be  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
day,  and  the  oxen  were  to  be  fed,  therefore  the  arrangements 
differed  tiotn  those  for  a  temporary  halt,  and  were  managed 
in  this  fashion.  The  wagons  were  drawn  up  close  beside  and 
parallel  to  one  another,  like  cigars  in  a  box,  with  the  ox  teams 
in  flront  of  them,  also  parallel.  There  were  three  such  cohimns 
of  twelve  or  thirteen  wagons  in  each.  Then  the  cattle  were 
cast  loose,  the  chains  ttom  the  wagon  poles  stretched  out  on 
the  ground  straight  in  front,  bales  of  hay  were  shaken  out  in 
various  places,  men  lit  fires,  made  breakfast,  and  settled  down 
to  wait  until  the  heat  of  the  day  was  over  and  the  cool  of  the 
evening  had  come.  The  oxen  f&st  greedily  ate  their  own  hay, 
then  tried  to  make  raids  on  that  of  their  neighbours,  which 
the  negroes  prevented  them  from  doing  by  shouts  and  whips, 
and  when  all  they  could  find  was  consumed,  the  beasts  strayed 
away  over  the  veld  to  nibble  at  the  scanty  pasture,  while  the 
men  lay  down  in  some  shade  to  sleep  away  the  day.  I  have 
spent  many  a  bustling  day  which  had  less  real  Interest  in  it 
than  this  one  which  I  passed  underneath  the  buck-wagon, 
sheltered  by  its  shadow  from  the  hot  sun,  at'  I  lay  laiily  watch- 
ing the  naked  kopjes,  the  waterless  plains  around  them  with 
their  few  twigs  of  shrubs  and  scanty  blades  of  herbage,  ai.d 
ever  the  stretches  of  barren  sand  between.  The  dust  and 
smell  of  Modder  were  hardly  out  of  my  nostrils,  and  I  could  not 
help  thinking  what  a  hopeless  country  it  seemed  for  civilised 
man  to  dwell  in.  As  it  chanced,  in  turning  up  my  little  pocket 
Horace,  1  found  his  most  appropriate  description  of  Africa  : 

'  leonum  arid*  nutrix. 
Pone  me  pigris  ubi  nulla  campis 
Arbor  aestiva  recreatur  aura, 
Quod  latus  mundi  nebulae  malusque 

Jupiter  urguet ; 
Pone  iub  cturra  nimium  propinqui 
Solis  in  terra  domibus  negata.' 

Towards  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  an  indefinite  bustle 
began  to  be  perceived  in  the  laager,  negroes  crept  out  from 
beneath  the  wagons,  and  looked  arounU  the  veW.  Then  the 
cattle  were  seen  drifting  nearer  to  us,  coming  spontaneously 
closer,  and,  as  if  they  realised  their  duty,  breaking  up  into  their 
several  herds.  Into  these  the  Kafirs  plunged,  and  by  strokes 
from  lusty  arms  each  soon  separated  his  own  team  of  thirty - 
two  cattle  from  the  great  herd  of  perhaps  1200  or  1800. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


•53 


Eadt  teun  was  then  driven  up  by  iti  two  Kafln  and  TBii|ed 
in  •  line  lacing  one  way,  like  a  company  of  loldien,  beiide  it* 
own  particular  wagon.  A  noote  was  thrown  round  the  bomi 
of  each  of  the  oxen,  and  by  it  they  were  puUed  into  their  places 
in  pairs  along  the  '  trek  tow '  or  chain  ;  a  beam  was  thrown 
across  each  pair  in  ftont  of  the  shoulders  and  made  fast  to 
the  horns  by  a  flgure-of-eu[ht  cord  ;  a  prong  on  each  side  of 
the  neck  and  a  cord  round  the  throat  steadied  all,  and  trota 
this  the  pull  was  obtained.  The  hinder  pair  of  oxen  was 
attached  to  the  wagon  pole,  the  others  were  coupled  up  in 
front  of  them  to  the  chain,  and  all  was  ready.  They  weie 
started  oft  in  the  same  order  as  that  in  which  they  had  stopped, 
and  the  evening  '  trek '  began. 

The  experiences  of  the  preceding  evening  were  repeated  ; 
we  walked  on  in  the  sun,  in  the  sunset,  in  the  dusk,  and  in  the 
dark,  and  the  dusty  line  crawled  on  until  we  were  well-nigh 
sick  of  it.  Every  one  who  could  climbed  on  to  some  wagon 
or  other,  and  I  truly  believe  I  was  the  only  individual  in  the 
whole  train  who  walked  every  step  of  the  way.  Those  driving 
or  riding  eventually  tired  of  doing  so,  and  the  major  and  some 
of  the  others  walked  with  me  for  the  last  four  miles.  We  were 
all  weary  men  when  we  saw  the  foremost  wagons  draw  up,  as 
formerly,  on  the  sides  of  the  road,  and  learned  that  we  had 
arrived  at  Wimbledon,  where  we  were  to  bivouac  for  the  ni^t. 
Already  we  had  guessed  that  we  were  close  to  and  were  circling 
round  the  western  side  of  Kimberley,  for  the  electric  light  on 
the  Bultfontein  mines  guided  us  as  to  the  lie  of  the  town. 
Of  our  escort  we  had  seen  nothing  j  we  subsequently  learned 
that  instead  of  protecting  us  from  the  Boer  raiders  they  had 
taken  a  different  direction  and  a  worse  road,  and  the  only 
evidence  we  had  of  their  existence  was  the  sight  of  their  leader's 
baggage  which  we  carried. 

The  second  night  of  our  bivouacking  was  a  repetition  of  the 
first,  exc^t  that  we  had  no  mosquitoes,  and  did  not  start 
again  until  five  a.m.,  when  we  set  off  as  before.  It  shortly 
became  light,  and  in  the  lessening  dusk  we  passed  Beacons- 
field,  a  suburb  of  Kimberley,  left  its  racecourse  and  mcestand 
on  '-ir  right  hand,  ascended  a  stony  elevation  where  our 
wa,  stuck  by  their  wheels  getting  behind  large  boulders 
and  ying  to  be  prised  over  them  by  iackscrews,  and  reached 
the  high-lying  plateau  of  Newton  Common,  immediately 
outside  the  breastworks  and  sandbag  redoubt  by  which  the 
city  h.id  been  fortified  on  that  side  during  the  siMe.  txmg 
as  it  did  between  the  city  and  the  surrounding  hiUs  heM  by 
the  Boers,  Newton  Common  had  been  the  scene  of  many 
combats  between  the  besiegers  and  defenders,  and  on  it,  a 


*    '] 


m 


ill 


;'fll!ll 


154    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

clear  and  brecsy  xpot,  we  loon  let  up  our  tents,  IneakCMted, 
and  were  rejoined  by  two  of  our  eomndei,  who  had  remained 
to  flniih  some  duties  at  Modder  River,  and  had  oome  on  by 
train. 

XXXV 

ABOVND   KWBXMJtY 

Whsn  our  field  hospital  arrived  in  Kimfaerley,  Mafeking,  a 
town  a  couple  of  hundred  miles  to  the  north,  was  still  invested 
by  the  enemy,  and  the  railwoy  which  connected  the  two  was 
in  their  hands.  Forty  miles  trom  Kimberley  this  line  of  rails 
crossed  the  Vaal  River,  which  divided  the  Orange  Free  State 
trom  the  Transvaal. 

Methuen  may  have  had  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand  men 
under  his  command  in  Kimberley,  while  the  Boers  had  perhaps 
nine  thousand  ranged  along  the  Vaal.  Mrthuen  lost  no  time 
in  commencing  operations  by  moving  out  his  forces  so  as  to 
sweep  ott  all  the  Boers  who  intervened  between  him  and  the 
Vaal,  and  occupied  with  little  or  no  resistance  the  small 
towns  of  Boshof,  forty  miles  to  the  north-east,  Warrenton  on 
the  Vaal,  the  same  distance  due  northwards,  and  Barklay, 
just  across  the  Vaal  twenty-five  miles  to  the  north-west. 
Thus  the  enemy  were  soon  driven  to  occupy  practically  the 
line  of  the  northern  bank  of  the  great  river.  It  was  con- 
jectured by  some  of  us  that  our  function  would  be  in  the  first 
place  to  relieve  Mafeking,  but  as  time  went  on  this  plan,  if  it 
had  ever  been  fixed  upon,  was  altered. 

Although  Roberts,  who  was  now  advancing  on  Bloemfontein, 
was  less  dependent  on  having  to  send  lick  his  sick  and 
wounded  in  our  direction,  and  Modder  had  no  longer  an 
existence  as  a  medical  centre,  yet  there  were  many  invalids  in 
Kimberley,  and  more  were  arriving,  while  there  was  a  con- 
siderable deficiency  in  medical  resources.  Numbers  of  volun- 
teer civilian  surgeons  were  sent  up  with  the  supplies  which 
were  required,  and  stationary  hospitals  were  formed  in  the  city, 
while  the  field  hospitals  were  prepared  as  much  as  possible  for 
mobile  work  in  the  field,  so  as  to  move  forwards  in  the  lightest 
order,  without  any  tents,  with  a  minimum  of  transport,  each 
hospital  being  allowed  only  two  buck-wagons,  and  each  officer 
permitted  to  have  but  8S  pounds  of  baggage.  1  thought 
myself  fortunate  in  bemg  able  to  secure  a  small  patrol  tent, 
and  to  purchase  at  the  cost  of  SM  a  Basuto  pony  and  a  light 
buggy  which  would  carry  myself  and  my  few  belongings, 
before  we  got  our  orders  to  move  on  the  a»th  of  March. 

While  we  were  at  Kimberley  it  was  a  source  of  delight  to 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


155 


•11  of  lu,  after  the  imperftet  nnitetion  of  Modder,  to  hav* 
nippUet  of  water  which  we  oould  drink  without  the  conttant 
thought  that  we  might  be  twallowing  typhoid  death,  that  we 
were  able  to  touch  our  lipt  with  our  bathing  and  washing 
water  in  safety,  and  that  cleansing  our  teeth  was  no  longer 
done  at  the  peril  of  our  lives,  which  was  ever  present  to  all  of 
us  at  Modder ;  and  it  made  us  comparatively  light-hearted 
to  be  fkeed  bom  that  particuUrity  of  the  horrid  valley  of 
death.  Yet  even  in  clean  Kimberley  the  same  maladministra- 
tion as  rendered  Modder  so  pestiferous  sometimes  threatened 
to  reproduce  similar  conditions.  The  slovenliness  with  which 
camp  sanitation  was  attended  to  was  almost  incredible. 
Though  we  arrived  early  on  a  Monday  morning,  with  sixty 
patients,  most  of  whom  were  suffering  ttom  dysentery  or 
diarrhcea,  it  was  Wednesday  evening,  three  days  and  two 
nights  later,  before  any  latrines  were  properly  fitted  up,  while 
for  the  first  twenty-four  hours  there  were  none  at  all,  and  the 
ground  around  was  rapidW  becoming  a  cesspool.  With  an 
undermanned  medical  staff  and  no  special  sanitary  corps,  it 
could  not  weU  be  otherwise,  despite  the  efforts  made  to  provide 
a  remedy,  and  the  temperature,  which  was  8S  degrees  in  the 
shade,  favoured  the  dissemination  of  such  diseases. 

Some  convoys  of  patients,  though  fewer  than  at  Modder, 
were  still  coming  in.  In  one  of  them  there  was  only  one 
medical  man  to  accompany  480  patients  ;  many  of  these  had 
dysentery  so  badly  that  it  was  beyond  their  strength  to  leave 
the  wagons  for  their  necessities  even  had  it  been  possible  to 
stop  the  cimvoys  for  the  purpose,  their  evacuations  had  to 
be  made  over  the  sides  of  the  carts  or  even  when  lying  within 
them ;  the  water  buckets  were  used  as  closets  and  were  fiill 
of  their  soil  when  they  arrived  ;  and  one  of  the  worst  cases 
of  dysentery  had  his  clothing  covered  from  head  to  foot  with 
his  own  defecations.  Disease  was  rampant  everywhere,  and 
probably  the  Medical  Corps  suffered  more  ttom  illness  and 
deaths  than  any  other ;  in  our  own  field  hospital  the  com- 
mandant considered  that  nearly  all  his  men  had  had  distinct 
typhoid  fever,  though  many  of  them  were  slight  cases. 

All  this  was  r  jt  the  fault  of  the  medical  officers  ;  they  were 
most  indignant  and  outspoken  about  such  a  state  of  matters, 
but  what  could  the  overworked  and  undermanned  staff  do 
where  no  sufficient  provision  had  been  made  in  advance  to 
meet  such  conditions  1  I  often  thought  that  my  Portsmouth 
Address  was  as  milk  compared  with  their  condemnatory 
remarks.  One  esteemed  ..nd  most  devoted  officer  expressed 
openly  the  hope  that  a  history  of  the  medical  aspects  of  the 
war  in  all  their  naked  truth  might  some  day  be  published. 


\    ft  j- 


:>         \i 


i 


i\k. 


IS6    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

>nd  lomc  one  meet  with  Mrere  puniihment.  Another,  and 
he  was  pohape  the  ablett  offloer  of  the  R.A.M.C.  whom  I  met, 
called  it  inhuman  to  uie  men  to  flght  our  battla  and  then 
treat  them  thui  when  they  were  aick ;  and  a  third,  who  had 
only  recently  joined  ua,  and  had  not  pemonally  seen  half  of 
what  we  othen  had  witnessed,  waa  itrong  in  hia  condemnation 
of  those  who  had  neglected  the  reforms  that  had  been  urged 
upon  the  War  Office  for  years. 

It  was  impossible  for  me  to  obtain  an  exact  account  of  the 
numbers  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  but  beiides  those  who  were 
in  the  civil  hospital,  perhaps  a  hundred  or  so,  there  were  no 
fewer  than  eight  hospitals  in  the  town  filled  with  them,  the 
Masonic  Hall,  the  Catholic  Charities,  Drill  Hall,  etc.,  each 
containing  50  or  60,  while  one  field  hospital  heki  SOO  and 
another  lOO  enterics,  and  so  on.  I  incline  to  think  that  1100 
or  1800  Would  have  been  the  lowest  total  estimate. 

The  Red  Cross  here  began  to  be  of  some  use.  The  nursing 
sisters  of  the  Public  Schools  Hospital  assured  me  that  it  had 
been  of  much  benefit  to  them  in  providing  clothing  and  such 
like  necessaries  for  the  patients  there,  all  of  whom  were  military 
sick  and  wounded,  and  I  especially  noted  this,  as  up  to  then 
I  had  not  seen  anything  conrrniendable  in  its  work. 

At  Kimberley  other  voluntary  aid  came  in.  An  American 
field  hospital  was  brought  up  country  and  put  together  as 
its  parts  arrived ;  it  was  placed  nominally  under  the  command 
of  an  officer  of  the  R.A.M.C.,  and  wau  very  well  provided, 
though,  owing  tu  the  presence  of  its  donor,  who  used  it  more 
as  a  source  of  comfort  and  adventure  for  himself  than  for  the 
unrestricted  good  of  the  invalids,  it  was  not  of  any  great  utility 
so  long  as  it  was  under  my  observation. 

As  far  as  time  permitted,  I  studied  the  defences  which  had 
protected  Kimberley  during  its  sequestration.  The  entrench- 
ments were  very  shallow  and  open  to  artillery  fire,  and  con- 
trasted badly  with  the  efficiency  of  the  Boer  trenches  beyond 
them.  But  I  have  already  told  of  the  difference  when  describ- 
ing Magersfontein.  The  major  and  I  went  out  to  examine 
Cuter's  Ridge,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  an  action  where 
Captain  Scott  Turner  was  killed.  We  went  to  the  south-west 
over  the  veld,  which  was  there  very  rough,  and  notwith- 
standing that  clouds  of  locusts  were  so  dense  that  it  was 
difficult  for  us  to  see  where  we  were  going,  succeeded  in 

reaching  it  under  the  guidance  of  G ,  who  had  been  one 

of  the  party  from  Kimberley  who  carried  out  the  attack,  had 
gone  back  later  with  some  comrades,  and  during  the  dark 
been  successful  in  recovering  Turner's  body.  Of  the  sixty  who 
formed  the  assaulting  force,  only  fifteen  had  returned  un- 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,57 

wounded.  Whoi  we  reeehed  the  Boer  defence*,  we  found 
them  •  nun  of  loophoied  walk  where  the  farmhouie  had 
•tood,  and  a  lenet  of  trenehei  and  redoubu,  with  a  serai-lunar 
wndbag  emplaoeni«nt  for  a  great  gun.  The  proprietor  Mr 
Carter  was  oh^rfiiUy  trying  to  make  a  habiution  out  of  the 
rum.  of  what  had  been  hu  houie,  and  he  was  good  enoush 
to  acoompaiiy  u.  and  show  us  the  enemy's  fortifications. 
They  were  skUfully  placed  ak>ng  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  facini- 
Kimberiey,  and  commanded  its  outposts  at  a  distance  <rf 
about  aaoo  yards.  The  trenches  were  deep  and  covered  ,n 
front  and  above  by  sheets  of  corrugated  iron  teken  from  Mr 
IMters  farm.  Here  again  one  could  not  but  admit,  the 
Dutch  as  mihtary  engineers :  for  once  more  their  d>  ences 
were  far  luperiw  to  thoee  of  our  own  side  in  their  adui.t^tio.i 
to  modOT  warfare,  especiaUy  as  regards  modem  .irt.Hery 
lire;  indeed,  the  impreesion  one  formed  was  that  if  th.y  Hb  1 
poiMssed  as  much  reiohition  as  engineering  genius,  they  woi  1.1 
have  hpd  a  very  good  chance  had  they  boWly  rushed  Kimb<-r 
ley,  m  spite  of  the  vakur  and  skill  of  Cotonel  Kekewich  and 
Its  brave  defenders  under  his  command. 

We  of  course  all  paid  a  visit  of  inspection  to  '  Long  Cecil  • 
the  only  k>i^[-range  gun  Kimberiey  possessed,  which  was 
constructed  dunng  the  sieoe  by  Mr.  Labram— a  wonderful 
niece  of  work  to  have  been  done  under  the  existing  conditions 
by  a  civilian  engmeer ;  it  stood  before  the  Court  House,  where 
doubtless  it  will  remain  for  many  a  generation  as  a  memento 
of  that  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  city. 

There  were  some  rainy  days  during  our  stay  in  Kimberiey 
and  they  completely  altered  the  appearance  of  the  veld' 
It  buret  mto  gtery.  Short  creeping  grasses  sprang  up 
sparsely  and  it  was  filled  with  flowers,  inconspicuous  but 
beautifiil,  rose-hued  oxalis,  stellaria,  pretty  pink  vetches 
small  white  garlic,  innumerable  composits;  with  yeltow  balls' 
yeUow  daisies  purple  Michaelmas  daisies,  bunches  of  bedstraw! 
ai^  the  duU  funereal  asphodel  which  poisons  the  horses  who 
eat  it.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  walk  over  the  veW,  and  we  had 
to  cross  It  every  time  we  left  our  camp,  for  we  were  a  mile  or 
two  outside  the  city. 

On  the  first  arrival  of  our  unit  the  pavemente  and  streets 
of  Kimberiey  were  crowded  with  men  in  k^iki  uniform 
*X?y  ,*"°P  contemed  one  or  two,  and  the  town  resounded 
with  the  tread  of  mfantry.  the  tramp  and  dust  of  the  cavalry 
were  everywhere,  while  the  rattle  of  the  military  wagons  was 
pMhaps  the  prevailing  note.  The  Club  was  for  ever  clustered 
with  officers  coming,  going,  eating  and  smoking.  But  before 
we  left  our  major  was  ahnost  the  only  nan  in  uniform  to  be 


;.  frl 


k 


"?r, 


m 


' :  ! 


M  i 


158    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

seen  as  he  and  I  walked  through  the  streets ;  in  ten  days' 
time  the  troops  had  nearly  all  departed,  and  the  resulting 
silence  had  become  impressive. 

We  too  struck  our  tents,  packed  our  carts,  and  were  home- 
less wanderers  once  more.  We  went  to  the  hospital  and  said 
farewell  to  those  of  our  unit  who  were  in  the  giasp  of  typhoid. 
They  were  doing  fairly  well  though  not  out  of  danger,  and 
though  it  was  comforting  to  leave  them  in  good  hands,  yet 
I  felt  that  their  poor  wasted  faces  would  ever  remain  in  my 
memory  as  I  saw  them  when  we  said  good-bye,  for  we  were 
unlikely  ever  to  meet  again. 


XXXVl 

'  COUNTEK-SUNSKTS  ' 

1  PEAR  that  I  owe  some  apology  for  the  introduction  of  this 
chapter,  which  refers  to  a  singular  celestial  sunset  appearance 
witnessed  by  myself  and  others  at  Modder  River  and  Kimber- 
ley,  as  well  as  elsewhere  afterwards,  on  a  good  many  occasions. 
It  resembled  somewhat  the  phenomenon  well  known  as  the 
'  Gegenschein,'  but  did  not  correspond  with  anything  I  had 
seen,  or  had  read  of  it.  Once  only  had  I  seen  a  trace  of 
something  faintly  resembling  it  on  a  flat  moor  in  Scotland, 
but  in  no  other  part  of  the  world  had  I  met  with  anything 
like  it,  and  it  struck  me  and  my  comrades  as  being  very  re- 
markable. The  camera  entirely  failed  to  reproduce  it  ii  it 
I  made  several  drawings.  I  may  be  entirely  mistaken,  bui  it 
seems  worthy  of  a  description. 

When  the  sun  had  just  set  in  the  north-west,  there  some- 
times appeared  in  the  south-east,  at  a  point  diametrically 
opposite  to  the  sunset,  an  appearance  as  if  another  sun  were 
rising  there.  There  was  usually  a  concentrated  reddish  glow 
in  the  sky  at  that  point,  and  a  thin  stratum  of  cirrhus  cloud 
8  or  10  degrees  above  the  visible  horizon,  which  on  these 
great  plains  corresponded  with  the  true  horizon,  and  fiom 
the  brightest  point  above  the  cloud  there  spread  upwards 
into  the  sky  a  fan-shaped  series  of  radiating  bands  of  light 
and  shade,  precisely  like  those  one  sees  thrown  into  the  air 
by  the  setting  sun  when  it  shines  through  clouds.  As  we  did 
not  know  at  first  what  those  appearances  were,  we  styled  them 
'  coimter-sunsets.' 

The  first  one  which  was  noticed  was  at  Modder,  on  the  4th 
of  March,  when  the  sun  had  just  set  in  a  clear  sky  in  the  north- 
west, and  Venus  and  the  crescent  moon  were  visible  in  the 
same  direction.    Somewhere  about  half  an  hour  after  sunset 


COINI  KR.SU.NRISE 


''m 

1  :i|i 

r.  ■  >1 

I 


COLNTER-SUNSET 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


*m 


ttaee  bnad  streams  of  soft  white  light  resembling  the  beuns 
ftom  ate  lights  were  seen  radinting  from  a  point  on  the  south- 
eastern honion,  lasting  for  twenty  minutes  or  thereby  and 
then  dMappeanng.  A  sketch  was  made.  One  band  was  10 
or  18  degrees  m  breadth,  radiating  from  about  48°  to  56= 
to  the  north  of  the  vertical ;  the  second  S  degrees  biMd 
radiatmg  between  about  25°  to  80°  N. ;  and  the  third  about 
10  degrees  broad,  radiating  bf  tween  the  vertical  drawn  from 
the  common  meeting-place  of  all  on  the  horizon  and  10 
degrees  to  the  north  of  this.  The  lower  ends  of  the  bands 
sprang  ftom  a  smaU  belt  of  cumulus  or  cirrho -cumulus  cloud 
lymg  some  15  degrees  above  the  horizon,  and  their  upper 
ends  reached  ahnost  to  the  zenith,  ending  in  somewj^t 
rounded  extremities  which,  like  their  sides,  shaded  graduaUy 
away  into  the  blue  sky.  This  observation  was  not  made  so 
carefully  as  those  which  followed. 

The  second  was  seen  at  Kimber>ey  on  the  18th  of  March. 
On  coming  out  of  my  tent  at  a.48  p.m.,  whUe  the  setting  sun 
was  stall  10  degrees  above  the  horizon,  rays  of  light  were  seen 
raaerging  from  a  point  on  the  horizon  exactly  opposite  the  sun 
thew  lower  ends  rising  into  sight  at  a  slight  bank  of  sunlit 
doud,  cumulus  m  type,  situated  10  degrees  above  the  horizon, 
but  the  rays  had  they  been  prolonged  wouW  have  met  at  a 
pomt  at  or  just  below  the  horizon.  The  moon,  a  day  or  two 
past  her  full,  had  not  yet  risen.  The  sky  generaUy  was  dull 
with  cumulus  clouds.  The  appearance  lasted  for  five  minutes. 
,i?  ™y'  Z'^  *^*  "*  number :  No.  1, 10  degrees  broad.  80"  to 
40  N. ;  No.  2,  10  degrees  broad.  10°  to  20°  N. ;  No  8  10 
degrees  broad,  5°  to  15°  S. ;  No.  4.  5  degrees  broad,  26°  to 
80  is. ;  and  No.  5,  5  degrees  broad,  40°  to  46°  S.,  all  the 
measurements  being  taken  from  the  vertical  of  the  point 
of  convergence. 

A  third  very  beautiful  one  was  seen  at  Kimberley  on  the 
Z2nd  Sfarch.  The  sun  had  set  in  a  sky  which  was  cloudless, 
except  for  one  white  cumulus  cloud  far  to  the  south,  and  the 
sunset  showed  no  divergent  rays.  There  was  a  thin  red  haze 
all  round  the  horizon  most  marked  on  the  east  and  west ; 
at  6.2  p.m.  the  phenomenon  appealed,  four  bands  converging 
to  a  spot  on  the  south-eastern  horizon,  where  they  all  met 
As  the  sun  sank  deeper  it  cast  the  convex  shadow  of  the  earth 
on  the  sky  above  the  horizon  for  a  depth  of  10  degrees,  and 
from  the  upper  border  of  this  the  bands  arose,  stretehing  up- 
wards 78  decrees  towards  the  zenith,  and  in  proportions  the 
sun  sank  farther  the  shadow  cut  ofi  the  lower  ends  of  the 
bands.  On  this  occasion  the  bands  had  the  appearance  of 
dark  rays  or  shadows  on  the  glowing  mist,  leaving  it  bright 


i'l 


.4 


1  ^  i  II 


M 


I  : 


tl 


I 
I 


■^ 


ite    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

betwoen  them.  The  meuuies  of  the  bands  were :  No.  1, 10 
degrees  broad,  ilO°  to  aO°  N. ;  No.  2,  15  degrees  broad,  85°  to 
40°  N. ;  No.  8,  5  degrees  broad,  20°  to  i2S°  S. ;  No.  4,  5  degrees 
broad,  40°  to  45°  S.  By  tiie  time  the  phenomenon  had  lasted 
for  ten  minutes,  that  is  at  6.12  p.m.,  the  band  of  the  earth's 
shadow  on  the  horizon  had  climbed  to  IS  degrees,  and  then 
the  whole  faded  quickly  away.  . 

Though  they  were  frequently  watched  for,  the  'counter- 
sunsets  '  were  not  visible  every  night.  They  created  a  good 
deal  of  interest  among  us,  for  they  were  previously  unknown 
to  any  of  us,  and  our  company  mustered  a  goodly  number 
of  seientiflc  men,  most  of  them  accurate  observers.  On  one 
occasion  we  saw  at  sunset  the  unmistakable  convex  shadow 
of  the  earth  thrown  on  the  sky  while  there  were  no  beams 
observable.  Now  and  then  we  saw  them  at  other  places 
than  Modder  and  Kimberley,  but  always  where  there  were 
broad  unlimited  plains. 

It  was  evident  that  on  these  expanses  the  lower  strata  of 
the  atmosphere  were  nearly  always  full  of  dust,  and  when 
the  sun's  rays  fell  tangentially  on  them  at  sunset  the  rays, 
being  practically  parallel,  would  when  made  visible  by  passing 
through  cloud  or  dust  appear  to  one  in  the  middle  of  the  plain 
as  radiat'ng  divergently  &om  the  setting  sun,  and  converging 
behind  the  observer  to  the  opposite  horizon,  just  as  on  a 
straight  part  of  a  railway  the  rails  to  one  standing  in  the 
middle  of  the  straight  part  seem  to  converge  and  meet  towards 
both  ends.  The  rays,  illuminating  the  dusty  atmosphere, 
would  be  most  evident  towards  the  sunset  and  the  horizon 
opposite  it,  as  they  would  be  seen  end  on,  and  least  evident 
overhead  and  sideways  where  they  would  be  seen  across. 
Clouds  at  sunset  would  throw  long  shadows  or  bands  across 
the  dusty  sunht  atmosphere,  these  bands  would  seem  to 
converge  to  a  point  opposite  the  true  sunset,  and  give  rise 
to  the  '  eounter-amset.'  This  seemed  to  be  the  explanation 
of  the  appearance,  and  if  it  were  correct  it  was  evident  that 
there  might  be  '  counter-tunrun  '  as  well. 

That  this  was  really  the  case  I  was  able  to  satisfy  myself 
on  the  80th  of  March,  when  the  conditions  were  favourable. 
Dawn  that  morning  stole  in  between  5.15  and  5.80 ;  it  was 
almost  totally  cloudless,  but  a  faint  dust  and  heat  haze 
overspread  the  plain.  The  horizon  remained  steel-blue  both 
to  north  and  south,  but  the  coming  sun  stained  the  east 
citron-yellow,  and  over  against  it  in  the  west  was  visible  the 
convex  bow-like  shadow  of  the  earth  seen  upon  the  haze, 
and  above  that  shadow  the  unrisen  sun  made  the  haze  glow 
a  fiery  purple  rivalling  the  east  in  brightness.    As  the  sun 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,6, 

tlie  place  in  the  east  where  the  sun  was  about  to  rise  th^ 
were  no  diveiRent  beams  proceeding,  but  pSiv  in^  w^ 

«fnt!^!S?*  ^"^  ''""«•»  t»  'hoot  up  dSXm^ 
pomt  «actly  opposite  to  the  sunrise.    This  wasTs^a!  m 

At  flwt  the  beams  were  faint,  and  three  in  number  then  tW 

the  shadow  of  some  peculiarly  shaped  kopjes  which  ZS 
the  nmme  point  in  the  east,  one  of  »^ch  cal  S  the  Aasvo,^ 
kopje  possessed  a  distinctive  outline  and  a  MoaHar  noM^ 

:^f^'"lL'  "  '*"",^'""  """""'"^  "O  the  wesC  sky  under: 
neath  the  beams.    Above  the  Aasvogel  shadowand  b^«n 

STe^'*  ""*  '^y  "r  *"''«*  a  warm  ^LrNgrTTr 
Mie  appearances  were  best  seen  from  6.48  to^4Xt^„hen 

fell  ^^.  V.  "  '"'";  l''^  ''""  ■"«*  ^i^'n  *»  "bout  8  delr^s 
Mou,  the  homon,  the  beams  faded  and  vanished.    The  kS 

awoke.  The  sue  and  direction  of  the  beams  were  as  foUo^^ 
No  1  was  10  degrees  broad  and  was  directed  betw^n  «° 
and  SO-  southwards  from  a  vertical  dra,^  upwari?  fi^ 
H^"!  o'  convergence  on  the  horizon;  No  8  was  W 
degrees  broad  and  placed  85"  to  «°  N  ■  No  «  T  « 
degrees  broad,  60°  to  65"  N.  •  and  No  ;'  Z,"  «  aJU^ 
bioad,  68°  to  66°  N  Ti,»  i,'  if  Z  .  .  "*  ^  degrees 
theWm.i^nf-  \  ^•'"*   elevation   reached   by 

the  beams  m  this  counter  sunrise  was  75  degrees. 

XXXVII 

KlMBEBUEY  TO  BOSROF 

L^H  °M  ??  Kimberley  the  fmiction  apparently  assigned  to 
lj)rd  Methuen's  column  was  that  of  swiepmg  the  toui^Ies^ 
pbms  of  the  Orange  Free  State  along  the'^solth  sid^  of  the 
Vaal  River,  while  General  Sir  Archibald  Hunter  was  to  do  a 
hke  service  in  the  Transvaal  on  the  north  of  the  r'ver  Thi^ 
^^JZ"a  "  ^""^'5'  °^  P°'"'"''y  '*»  """"ths  over  a  land 

»'h™.W  •  '*  "''■'■^  ^"^  *'  «*t  of  the  world  until  we 
Rnl^  """.JT'  "'*"  •""'^"t  with  the  forces  which  L«l 
Robots  would  be  pushing  up  northwards  from  BWonte?n 
to  Preterm,  ftom  the  Free  State  capital  to  thTt  ofZTran " 
h 


B5^r^^-''ri  iti 


' " '  fi 


i'! 


I62    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

vaal.  Unless  therefore,  in  those  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
which  We  were  to  traverse  over  unbroken  flats,  we  might 
hope  for  the  excitement  of  fighting,  there  promised  to  be  little 
of  interest ;  and  since  it  actually  turned  out  that  there  was 
little  contact  with  the  enemy,  there  will  not  be  much  to  tell 
of  here  beyond  the  occurrences  of  our  own  petty  circle,  and 
the  minor  events  which  broke  the  daily  repeated  monotony. 
Our  first  '  trek '  was  one  of  four  days'  duration  to  Boshof, 
forty  miles  away. 

At  five  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  Monday,  the  tod  of 
April,  my  comrades  and  I  left  Newton  Common  for  the  last 
time,  formed  procession,  and  rode  through  the  city  of  Kim- 
berley  to  the  public  gardens,  where  we  were  to  pass  the  night, 
and  which  we  reached  at  dusk.  There  1  unharnessed  my  pony, 
fed  him  and  haltered  him  to  one  of  the  trees,  pitched  my  small 
tent  in  which  we  placed  our  valuables,  and  went  to  the  Club 
to  dine.  There  were  several  celebrities  in  the  room,  among 
them  Lord  Methuen  and  Colonel  Kekewich,  the  defender  of 
Kimberley  during  the  siege.  We  walked  back  to  the  gardens, 
examined  the  underground  shelter  to  which  the  inlubitants 
were  wont  to  flee  for  shelter  when  the  Boer  artillery  was  play- 
ing, and  turned  in  to  sleep.  It  was  a  hot  night,  but  very 
clear,  and  as  I  looked  out  from  the  tent  the  new  moon  and 
Venus  were  shining  in  the  west ;  in  the  Milky  Way  a  network 
of  the  black  '  coal  sacks '  broke  its  silvery  band  ;  a  breeze 
rustled  at  intervals  through  the  leaves  of  the  eucalyptus  trees, 
and  the  beauty  of  nature  was  exquisite  to  behoki.  But  as 
usual  there  were  drawbacks,  the  horses  snorted  and  neighed, 
my  pony  rustled  with  his  nosebag  at  my  ears,  and  innumerable 
dogs  in  the  town  barked  and  yelped  until  long  after  mid- 
night, so  that  sleep  was  impossible  for  me  or  my  comrades, 
who  lay  in  their  sleeping-bags  round  my  tent.  The  mos- 
quitoes too  were  numerous  and  hungry,  until  I  fell  on  the 
device  of  covering  my  head  except  my  eyes  and  nose  with  a 
knitted  helmet  just  received  by  parcel  post,  tying  a  hand- 
kerchief round  neck  and  chin,  and  tuckijig  my  hands  away, 
when  I  was  able  to  lie  in  comfort  and  safety  and  listen  to  the 
insects  as  they  arrived  one  by  one  with  a  hungry  buzz,  lit 
expecting  to  feed,  and  presently  flew  ofl  disappointed  to  a 
more  promising  subject.  But  the  protection  was  devised 
rather  late,  for  sleep  was  broken,  a  cigar  did  not  mend  matters 
much,  and  shortly  the  bullock  wagons  with  our  baggage  and 
forage  started  off  after  the  usual  chattering  prelude  by  the 
black  boys.  I  was  not  sorry  to  turn  out  at  half-past  four, 
harness  up  nnd  pnck  my  buggy,  get  a  cup  of  coffee  and  start 
off  finally  on  our  first  day's  march. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,63 

of  the  di..o„d^i„«:  and  tt  ^^uf  Uytto^u^ST 

F.eld  Hospital  with  buck-wago"s  and   bagBaae  bi^/h?'!:^ 

:^X  at  d- t^w^l-L^riES 
8un  rose  on  a  glorious  burning  day  and  ZS?^  tt^M  *^ 

whom.  Major  F-_  whn  1     !!^  °'^"  ''"'*°"'  °"e  of 
We  left  Leeuwkop  in  the  afternoon  and  the  re«t  nt  n,-  a 


■I :  m 


'  ^ 


sit 


l.li- 


1: 


164    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

wagons  containing  our  provisions  stuck  fairly  in  the  sand 
and  had  to  be  left  behind  ;  one  belonging  to  the  bearer 
company  broke  its  pole  in  a  deep  rut,  and  a  long  time  elapsed 
before  it  could  be  shortened  and  mended,  and  even  then  it 
broke  again.  The  American  ambulance  had  a  like  mishap. 
But  we  went  on,  leaving  them  behind,  and  rested  every  hour 
to  let  the  tired  cuttle  and  footsore  men  recover  a  little. 
My  small  cart,  which  was  made  of  the  finest  hickory,  came 
through  wonderfully,  and  1  had  only  once  to  stop  to  repair 
the  broken  harness  with  some  rope  I  bn  d  laid  in  in  anticipa- 
tion of  such  a  calamity.  Presently  a  lottery  of  Maxim  guns 
overtook  and  passed  us.  We  struggled  on  all  the  afternoon  ; 
then  the  sun  set  and  it  became  quite  dc  k,  for  the  young  moon 
was  hidden  behind  clouds,  and  still  we  wore  onwards  arattts 
a  plain  which  seemed  as  broad  as  the  ocean,  passing  an  irirt 
of  kopje  at  every  mile  or  two>  bii  soon  the  darkness  kid 
roads,  ruts,  bouklers,  and  kopjes  entirely.  I  expected  my 
tiny  cart  to  become  a  wreck,  so  I  left  the  reins  loose  on  the 
pony's  neck,  who,  knowing  all  the  tricks  of  South  African 
travel,  followed  some  wagon  in  ttont  which  was  invisible  to 
me,  turned  and  twisted  in  marveltous  fashion,  and  kept  me 
from  being  smashed  in  holes  or  on  boulders  and  ant-hills. 
For  what  seemed  to  be  endless  hours  we  stumbled  blindfold 
on,  losing  all  touch  with  one  another,  until  at  last  we  saw, 
ever  so  far  oB  on  the  horizon,  the  gleam  of  bivouac  fires,  and 
eventually  reached  these  as  a  confused  mass  of  carts,  animals, 
and  men.  Unharnessing  among  a  mi\ie  of  mules  kicking 
and  rolling  in  the  dust,  I  set  off  to  find  my  commander,  and 
when  we  had  picketed  the  pony,  wheeleil  the  buggy  round 
ond  set  up  the  little  tent,  we  lit  our  pipes  and  waited  for  our 
supper.  Aks  I  it  was  miles  and  miles  behind  on  the  broken- 
down  wagons.  However,  I  had  some  biscuits  and  cheese  in 
my  haversack,  and  a  bottle  of  chartreuse,  the  reKc  of  a  dinner 
I  had  given  in  Kimberley  to  my  comrades  of  the  Modder ; 
others  of  our  friends  came  up  and  made  their  contributions  ; 
some  one  prowling  about  got  hold  of  a  tin  of  tomato  soup  and 
another  of  cafi  au  lait ;  we  supped  not  so  badly,  and  our 
happy  company  turned  in,  some  under  my  little  shelter, 
others  beneath  the  cart,  or  on  the  ground  round  it.  The 
night  was  not  a  bad  one,  considering  all  things,  the  mos- 
quitoes were  few,  and  contrary  to  Kekewich's  prognostica- 
tions we  were  left  alone  by  the  Boer  snipers ;  while  the  wagons 
which  had  been  delayed  by  their  mishaps  were  so  late  of 
overtaking  us  that  we  had  a  long  sleep  and  did  not  start 
bom  Slobbetts,  as  the  pktce  was  called,  until  half-past  six 
the  next  morning. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,65 

The  omieh  from  Slobbetta  to  Leeuwfontein.  on  the  «th  of 

PMteMjes  bustard  and  other  game  fled  before  our  advanc^ 
^««en  formed  the  most  of  what  was  to  be  seen  ;  but  thf 
W|A  were  somewhat  better ;  we  passed  '  vleis  '  oi  pool.^ 
water  and  marshes,  and  twice  were  surprised  by  apW^S- 

KiS^ri.  t'H*',  *»«*«">  enginw  puffing  quickly  towarS 
Kunbwley  and  dn«gmg  two  or  three  Impty  tiucks.  It 
^  »,4^"«'  *°  find  the  heavy  monster,  Veetoge^sif 
•nd  merrUy  over  ground  which  we  were  toiling  across  with 
Z^wS""^  though  we  did  encounter  one  wh?ch  W  C 
wreclced  and  abancToned  in  a  deep  watercourse.  When  we^t 
^i:^""^"''"'  !*  *'"  *"  ^^^  ^°"""«  ^«  there  found  weSs 

cn.i!L^^.^'".^'i'**"**"'  "*  ««••  "'clock,  and  our 
course  still  held  eastwards  over  other  wild  flaU.  who"onlv 

after  miles  of  monotonous  progress  along  a  load  so  flat  and 
smooth  that  we  hardly  had  tht  excitemfnt  ofTv^g  mte 
and  soft  places,  a  white  line  ahead  shining  on  thedltenl 
ho««.n  m  the  westering  sunshine  attracted  our  attend" 
and  after  another  hour  of  moving  on  we  could  make  out  the 
tops  and  sides  of  houses,  the  outlLs  of  a  square^h-^h  wi^ 

howil'I?  ff  '"*'■    ^^K^"'  ^'^^-    As  we%pproa^^ 
showed  Itself  emerging  above  a  sea  of  green  griss,  whereon 

Cd^ri^r"'"^''  '"^r'f  °^  •»"''•  a%eemtagly'vlS 
Land  of  Goschen,  a  p«iceful  and  truly  Dutch  pastowl  picture, 
a  settlement  of  people  apparently  leading  an  ArcadUn  Ufe 
undisturbed  by  the  wars  around  and  confident  of  beSg  T 
molested  by  the  British  troops  who  were  occupying  their 
S°"h^-  Some  two  or  Uuee  thousand  cattle,  in^hSds  of  a 
hundred  or  two  m  «jch,  were  being  driven  home  for  ^  even 

Z'„nH  /    T  "  I'^u"*."".*  *"  ^  foiRotten  to  behoW  some 
flve-and-twenty  such  herds  in  front  of  their  black  herdsmen 
come  lowmg  homewards  in  the  sunset  and  being  wS  Ci 
the  great  shallow  -  vlei '  or  waterpool  ouUide  the  town 
As  we  neared  it  over  the  sweet-smelling  grass.  Lord  Methuen 

a^d  te'Tn  ""^'j"  "'^^"^'''^  "^«  ^^us'irtTtSit:^" 

and  we  followed  hmi,  halting  outside  at  half-past  five 
Twenty  mmutes  later  orders  came  for  us:  we  tumTto  tl^ 
nght   passed  lie  town  or.  our  left,  circled  round  the^ 

td^^  T  ^'  *""*''  '"*«  °^  **»*  *°'"'  a"d  brought  up  on 
the  grass  where  we  were  to  pass  the  night. 


166    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

In  kU  of  thcM  treki  and  in  the  many  which  were  to  follow 
the  thing  which  perhaps  itruek  me  most  of  all  was  that  in  all 
the  land  there  was  not  a  tingle  cultivated  field.  Natural 
paiture,  and  that  generally  of  a  most  arid  sort,  was  everything ; 
of  agriculture  there  was  none. 


XXXVIII 

BOSHOF 

No  sooner  had  we  deposited  ourselves  on  the  veld  at  Boshof 
than  we  smelled  the  savour  of  the  food  being  coolied  in  the 
other  camps,  and  began  to  long  too  for  our  supper,  but  we 
learned  with  dismay  that  there  wuh  none  for  us  ;  our  wagons 
would  not  arrive  until  the  next  day,  if  even  then.  Thence- 
forward I  never  went  on  trek  without  an  nmmunition  biscuit 
in  ray  pocket,  and  often  it  was  my  only  meal.  On  this  occa- 
sion all  that  we  had  was  such  scraps  as  we  could  find  in  the 
comers  of  our  haversacks,  which  we  divided  among  us. 

During  the  night  which  followed  the  cold  was  so  great  that 
the  major  was  glad  to  creep  under  my  tent  and  lie  abingside 
me  for  warmth.  I  chancol  to  awake  at  dawn,  looked  out, 
and  behold  !  my  pony  was  gone.  He  had  worked  the  hide- 
rope  halter  oft  its  peg,  and  when  I  had  scoured  the  neighbour- 
hood with  my  telescope  in  a  vain  search  for  him  1  had  to  admit 
to  myself  that  he  was  lost.  My  lamentations  awoke  my 
companions,  who  could  only  condole,  especially  when,  after 
hunting  soundly  and  thoroughly  through  camp  and  town, 
inquiring  everywhere  and  encountering  nothing  more  helpful 
than  sympathy  and  politeness,  the  Basuto  was  not  to  be  heard 
of.  I  pictured  myself  stranded  immovable  at  Boshof  while 
the  others  of  the  force  moved  on,  until  relieved  by  the  assur- 
ance of  the  commanders  of  the  hospital  and  bearer  companies 
that  they  would  see  me  provided  with  a  share  of  their  trans- 
port. Two  of  their  officers  got  on  their  horses  and  set  off  to 
search  the  plains,  and  returned  in  a  couple  of  hours  leading 
the  truant — complete  even  to  his  nosebag — who  had  been 
discovered  by  some  of  the  horse  artillerymen  who  had  been 
searching  for  strayed  steeds  of  their  own. 

An  observer  looking  to  the  south  from  Boshof  sees  a  gigantic 
plain,  with  slight  undulations,  all  grass-green  and  unbroken 
till  it  is  lost  in  the  distance,  and  from  a  few  cuttings  made  by 
the  inhabitants  or  the  military  it  was  easily  seen  that  it  con- 
sisted of  a  great  bed  of  dolerite  or  other  impervious  igneous 
rock  with  a  surface  deposit  of  limestone  and  gravel,  in  the 
depressions  of  which,  between  the  dolerite  and  the  limestone. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  v^AR 


167 


the  water  of  the  rainy  scMsuns  collected  it.  sublerraiiei.u.N 
DMliu  Mtd  retervoirg.  Where  Bochof  lay,  the  plain  fell  to 
perhapt  flfty  feet  lower,  over  a  step-liki  ridge  which  extended 
the  whole  way  from  the  easteni  to  aie  western  horin.ii. 
Down  the  northern  sunny  side  of  this  ridge  the  town  of  Boshnf 
Mcmed  to  be  sliding  on  to  the  lower  level,  and  through  the 
village  poured  the  water  from  the  dolcrite  pools  out  of  11  tuniK'l 
in  the  ridge  laboriously  hollowed  out  by  means  of  deep  shnfls 
sunk  through  the  limestone  along  its  track.  The  shaflt,  were 
four  in  number,  in  a  line  running  from  south  to  north,  aiul  in 
their  profound  depths  could  be  seen  the  flow  of  water  thn.iigh 
the  tunnel,  which  emerged  into  «ii  open  cutting  and  ended 
beside  the  village  in  a  large  lake  or  vlei  that  «rved  to  water 
the  cattle  and  horses  and  had  a  smaller  pond  bcNJde  it  where 
the  washing  of  the  villagers  was  cnrried  on.  Away  to  the 
northwards  of  the  ridge  spread  the  lower  plain,  green  and  un- 
broken save  by  a  single  arboured  farmhouse  clusc  at  hand, 
until  the  eye  rested  on  a  flat-topped  hill,  appurently  quite 
near,  but  really  fifty  miles  away,  which  indicated  the  position 
of  the  hamlet  called  '  Fourteen  StreimiN  '  where  the  enem 
lay  in  full  force.  On  the  west  of  Bishof,  whence  wo  had  come, 
the  same  flat  plain  as  on  the  south  VMnished  into  the  distance  ; 
while  eastwards,  broken  only  by  two  steep,  very  stony  kupjes 
just  touching  our  camp,  one  of  vihu-h,  pierced  by  the  Boers 
with  a  deep  cutting  where  they  h;  ,  built  a  magazine  for 
explosives,  from  which  we  gave  it  the  name  .if  M:  ^azine 
Kopje,  served  us  as  a  watch-tower,  the  same  plaui  a|.peared, 
occupied  by  flying  columns  of  the  Boers.  The  Transvaal 
border  came  close  to  us  on  the  noith-enst  and  couM  be  seen, 
though  there  was  no  clear  landmark  indicating  where  it  began. 
To  complete  the  picture  of  the  Boshof  plains,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  add  that  the  lower  level,  that  is,  all  north  of  the 
prime  vertical,  was  dotted  over  with  some  ten  kopjes  which, 
however,  were  relatively  so  small  that  they  seemed  to  be  but 
tiny  mole-hills  projecting  above  the  vast  flat  surface. 

The  village  itself  I  judged  to  have  some  600  inhabitants ;  it 
contained  two  churches,  one  Lutheran,  the  other  '  Dopper ' 
(Covenanting),  a  small  Anglican  chiipel  that  had  been  used 
by  the  Boers  as  a  hospital,  and  for  the  rest  clean  white  or 
red  flat-roofed  houses,  each  standing  Jipart  from  its  neighbours 
in  its  own  fniit  garden,  all  overhung  by  eucalyptus  and  wattle 
trees  resembling  weeping  and  other  willows,  while  rows  of 
lombaidy  poplars  bordered  the  broad  streets.  There  were 
a  church  square  and  a  central  market  square,  now  filled  with 
parks  of  field  artillery,  Maxims,  and  other  guns,  horses, 
tents,  and  all  their  belongings.    From  the  squares  the  streets 


H  i 


MlOOCOrV    >fSOUITI0N   TIST  CHAtT 

(»NSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHAUT  No.  J) 


/APPLIED    IIVVIBE      Inc 

1653  Eort  Main  Slreet 

Rochtitir,   Na-m   Torti         U60B        US* 

(716)   *82  -  0300  -  Pfiont 

(716)   288-5989  -Fa. 


i68    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

ran  out  at  right  angles,  for  the  town  was  laid  out  like  a  chess 
board,  was  itself  ti  nearly  perfect  oblong,  and  all  its  buildings 
stopped  suddenly  in  the  open  veld,  giving  it  the  appearance 
of  a  walled  town,  which  it  virtually  was.  There  was  some- 
thing oriental  in  its  general  appearance.  Its  most  charming 
feature  was  that  down  the  sides  of  many  of  its  streets  there 
flowed  channels  of  running  water,  which  the  citizens  were 
entitled  to  divert  into  their  gardens  every  third  day  to  irrigate 
them.  By  this  water  supply  and  that  from  some  artesian 
wells  Boshof  is  rendered  eminently  fertile,  and  is  in  summer 
time  a  rich  orchard  of  fruits,  such  as  figs,  pomegranates, 
grapes,  peaches,  apricots,  quinces,  etc.,  and  a  garden  of 
vegetables,  melons,  cucumbers,  marrows,  and  so  on. 

But  a  disillusionment  awaited  my  overnight  ideas  of  an 
Arcadian  village,  happy  and  tranquil  among  its  herds  and 
pastures,  when  I  came  to  observe  it  by  the  cold  light  of  day. 
The  supposed  villagers'  herds  were  only  the  trains  of  trans- 
port bullocks  belonging  to  our  forces ;  the  inhabitants  were 
to  a  man  filled  with  the  most  envenomed  hatred  against 
the  British  ;  even  such  Dutch  women  as  had  married  English- 
men were  looked  upon  as  lepers  and  spoken  to  by  no  one ; 
and  round  the  town  swarmed  within  a  few  miles  commandoes 
and  guerilla  bands  waiting  to  cut  ofi  stragglers  or  small  parties 
who  might  safely  be  assailed.  The  women  were  the  most 
irreconcilable,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  show  it.  As  an  example, 
a  ruinous  iron  stove  stood  near  the  schoolhouse  hospital,  and 
the  soldiers  asked  its  proprietors  to  give  or  lend  it  for  the  sick ; 
they  were  represented  by  a  lady,  who  refused  the  request. 
Next  night  our  major  annexed  it.  The  lady,  after  coming 
to  the  hospital  and  abusing  us  all  round  in  pointed  terms, 
broke,  I  beUeve,  her  way  into  Lord  Methuen's  room  where 
he  and  four  of  his  leading  c  fficers  were  in  conference,  shook 
her  fist  in  the  face  of  each  individual,  gave  them  an  address 
of  (eloquent  abuse,  and  frightened  them  all.  One  of  the  bold- 
est, it  was  said,  meekly  asked  if  she  would  not  rather  have 
her  stove  doing  good  to  sick  men  than  uselessly  rusting,  and 
was  answered  that  the  sick  men  might  rot  for  anything  she 
cared,  and  that  he  and  the  other  officers  sitting  there  were 
useless,  and  might  rot  too,  they  ought  to  be  out  on  the  veld 
fighting  like  her  husband  and  nephew  and  not  loafing  there 
in  the  town.  She  departed  with  all  the  honours  of  war,  but 
did  not  get  back  her  stove.  This  happened  some  days  after 
our  arrival. 

Evidently  there  was  a  great  amount  of  spy  work  going  on 
between  Boshof  and  the  enemy,  for  whenever  our  armies 
sustained  anything  like  a  reverse,  even  before  we  heard  of 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ^^ 

foPwSS,Tth?Hi'*"'"*"'  ^"''"""°»  '"»°"8  the  citizens 

^nH  f  M    ^:    ?'  *""  «''™'y  conducted  back  to  the  town 

been  killed  when  fighting  in  the  Boer  ranks ;   K^t  a  W 
^^i  hTk  ^^  "fr^^hments  in  the  tent 'of  an  ^S 

Z^l  7"''  "''  ""^  ''•>«"  't  '""k"!  out  that  there  w«e 

™^nr  ?'"  ^enences  heard  or  saw  a  discou^s 
™  th.l,  -'^u*^  as  freely  admitted  too  that  the  BoerT 
evemtorttttHH^t  "'  S!"*'*™'"'  ^""^  -«"  -'^^tly 

j:srtrd"e^.  "^^^  ^.rr:i^^\r:ti 

^^"^t  ^T^  *••"*  *'™  "^"  "°*  ex^ptions  on  ^^^ 
ades,  but  certamly,  on  ours,  unless  the  episode  of  the  stove 

^T.  ^^Kj  ,1  ^  '^''^  "''«=«^y  toW  of  one  which  occurred 
kmd.    One  of  a  couple  of  Boers  armed  with  Mauser  rifli. 

Bock  who  W  w  u-^^  "u""  "^""'^  '^  ^^'>^'  t"™ed  on  the 
th™  ™°^d  shot  hun,  who  were  two  in  number,  and  kill^ 

us^I«'^J n*^'?''  """^^T  °t*''  ^°"  "»  «  Boshof  towards 
us  were  friendly  enough,  their  storekeepers  reaped  a  ri!^ 


)iv 


i  \ 


170    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

harvest  by  selling  us  the  things  we  stood  in  need  of,  one  of 
them  helping  me  to  obtain  four  croquet  balls  in  order  to 
extemporise  a  game  where  the  other  implements  were  tent 
mallets  and  hoops  made  from  ctirt  tyres :  it  gave  us  a  little 
exercise  and  proved  to  be  a  success.  All  the  same,  these 
men  were  very  astute  in  anything  they  thought  would  assist 
the  war,  and  I  shall  presently  have  to  relate  how  their  com- 
rades were  devising  plans  to  recapture  Boshof.    Meanwhile 

those  within  the  town,  headed  by  their  doctor,  W ,  who 

was  afterwards  deported  to  Cape  Town  for  espionage,  com- 
menced an  agitation  to  have  the  place  of  the  British  camp 
shifted  so  that  it  could  be  shelled  without  endangering  the 
town  itself.  They  objected  to  its  location  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  near  their  water  supply.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
their  own  slaughtering  place  and  even  their  cemetery  were 
close  to  the  source  of  the  water,  while  the  tests  applied  by 
myself  and  others  showed  that  there  was  no  impurity  ex- 
cepting where  they  washed  their  clothes.  Nevertheless  the 
courteous  general  and  his  staff,  after  going  fully  into  the 
subject  and  examining  my  plans  find  sections,  which  showed 
everything  plainly,  were  so  conciliatory  as  to  give  instructions 
to  us  to  shift  our  quarters,  not  out  into  the  wilderness  as 

Dr.  W wished,  but  to  a  spot  near  the  cemetery,  by  no 

means  a  good  place,  but  still  within  the  limits  of  defence. 

In  Boshof  we  were  virtually  in  a  state  of  siege.  Whenever 
a  military  force  is  placed,  as  ours  was,  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile 
country,  it  is  in  many  respects  peculiarly  situated.  It  is 
cut  oft  from  newspapers,  telegrams,  and  letters,  and  informa- 
tion is  with  difficulty  obtainable.  We  knew  nothing  of  what 
was  going  on  beyond  the  reach  of  our  eyes  and  ears  ;  events 
might  be  occurring  far  away  or  even  near  us  of  which  we 
were  unaware  ;  and  we  could  not  judge  of  the  import  of  any 
orders  that  were  given  or  movjs  that  were  being  made. 
Hence  rumours  of  the  most  alarming  kind  were  flying  about, 
most  of  which  proved  to  be  erroneous.  Each  man  lived  in 
a  strained  frame  of  mind,  perforce  content  to  do  his  duty 
in  his  own  sphere  and  leave  all  beyond  it  to  destiny.  We 
were  shut  off  from  the  world,  often  in  days  of  grey  pouring 
rain.  No  one  could  reach  Kimberley  without  the  protection 
of  a  strong  escort,  or  venture  out  to  the  detachments  biv- 
ouacking a  few  miles  off  unless  similarly  guarded.  It  must, 
however,  be  stated  that  our  chivalrous  foes  never  molested 
our  sick  convoys,  which  was  greatly  to  their  honour,  and  it 
was  chiefly  from  those  coming  and  going  in  charge  of  them 
that  we  learned  anything.  Otherwise  we  formed  a  little 
world  of  our  own,  with  its  own  interests,  hopes,  and  fears. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  17, 

aroused  by  volleys  of  rifle  fire  being  loosed  off  from  the 
breasl*rorks  round  us.  Sometimes  all  newspaZ,  were  for 
a  week  or  two  prevented  from  reaching  us,  feTt^ev  mi/ht 
e^emr  -formation  thercontained  ZisT  fhe 

Dort  tolViS^r  "'tMa8«""«  Kopje  where  our  observation 
h?w„  .r^iJ**"  '"**  ^y-  ""*  ''«d  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the 
t^^^i,!"'''^^^  1^?P*  ">>"«  th«  ">«*"  roads  emenj^  bv 
trenches  and  barbed  wire,  and  surrounded  by  canvasTmps 

J^1°"V'''7^  '^"8*'*  *«  •''"'^n  bUnket  tents  of  o^u; 
«v,^l!!l%r1  P"'"'^*';  ""''  "*'"  'n°'«  distant  the  telescope 
™  ^i^K  u'"'^"'  °^  *•>"  ^"^'^  ^ith  their  men  moving  a3 
thefc^t"  ?*""*^  themselves.  CommaXfof 
Hoo^d  InH  ""^  «'^.  towards  the  east  which  led  to 
aoopstad,  and  a  reconnoitring  party  which  went  m.f  in 
that  direction  found  itself  in  .^ntTct  with  two  ^"  es  of  the 
enemy,  numbering  together  some  600  men,  lyingTn  wait  on 
^?;,'t  ft."^'^"  Z'^J^^''  ■""«'  °«'  «"<!  ~"W  6*t  no7ariher 
railed  Zwaartkoppiesfontein,  with  some  cavalry,  who  \rere 

"reqi^r^  andho^e  were  sent  out  to  meet  and  support  him, 
II  required.  He  r.sxt  went  out  with  a  larger  force  whirh 
brvouacked  for  days  out  there,  tentless  in  *the  h^vy  rah. 
the  ^Z'^XT^  '™';  °"*  '"'^  '"'  ^''"^  ^«  wereTrft  to  hold 
Bo^  fl^  ^,  ^/'"R'^^^nn™  shot,  and  dislodged  a  few 
To  secure  our  communications  with  Kimberlev  half  a 
vSr^l^'^'  ^^"*  ^'^^  f™™  Boshof  to  hold  ftankfort 

^n^vT  oT^Hi^^^r  J*"!  ^^^  *°^^'  -"«J  thus  ^fst  the 
convoys   of  different   kmds   which   passed   between    them 

ambu^htThe  '^"*  "f  '""•"  ^^^'^^  "^  «-"  ^"o  Ly  Tn 
ambush  in  the  vanous  farms,  in  numbers  of  from  six  to  «. 

the?;.?''  ^'"'°  ^";?"'^'y  ^^''  »"°"ght  in  wo^of  th^se 
n  as  nriUeTT"^  captured  by  our  scouts  and  Uught 
hirf  J?  I  IV  ^*  ''*'  ^«^  that  some  of  these  skulkers 
S.tercJ^en*:rl^-"°""'''  ""*  "°  ""«  attlcheS  th" 
d^fHSw-lS^aTrono-u^^bleS;.'"'  ""^  ^^'*  *•-*  ^  -- 


..'Tl 


^.•vi 


''I 


M 


'  j 


£l  t     I 


172    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

The  largest  of  the  Boer  commandoes  were  of  only  moderate 
size,  for  they  would  hardly  ever  venture  to  risk  an  open 
fight  in  the  early  days,  though  more  men  were  coming  in  to 
join  them,  and  their  plans  were  growing  more  daiing.  The 
commando  on  the  north  was  eftimated  at  only  800  men, 
entrenched  twelve  miles  away,  and  occupying  a  quarter  of 
a  circle  from  the  north  to  the  east,  extending  from  a  '  vlei ' 
on  the  Warrenton  Road  to  Kalkfontein  and  Prispan  Farms, 
and  along  this  line  shots  were  constantly  being  exchanged 
between  them  and  our  outposts,  but  with  little  effect,  although 
on  one  occasion  we  learned  from  one  of  Reuter's  reports  that 
-*  had  been  heard  '  from  a  good  source  that  the  Boers  pro- 
sed great  indignation  at  the  slimness  of  Lord  Methuen's 
force  engaged  near  Boshof  the  other  day.  The  British  retired 
hurriedly,  and  thus  drew  the  Boers  near  a  place  from  whence 
several  volleys,  doing  much  execution,  were  poured  into  them 
before  they  could  withdraw.'  At  Beck's  Farm,  a  mile  or 
two  out,  sniping  went  on  all  day. 

As  the  time  went  on  the  hostile  forces  grew  much  larger 
and  our  scouts  reported  them  as  daily  hovering  about,  now 
singly,  now  in  fours,  and  even  up  to  2000  men.    Captain 

H ,  with  50  men  and  native  guides,  marked  down  after 

some  difficulty  a  body  of  them  away  on  the  east,  who  fired 
on  his  party,  which  was  too  weak  in  numbers  and  had  to 
withdraw  to  Boshof.  A  laager  of  150  men  and  a  second  with 
a  much  larger  force  were  located  at  a  short  distance  out  from 
us,  and  they  commenced  to  heUograph  to  our  signallers  f^om 
distant  kopjes,  sending  misleading  messages  and  chaffing 
remarks,  such  as  that  we  might  expect  them  .-^t  Boshof 
that  day,  and  inquiring  whether  we  had  whisky  enough 
for  them. 

In  proportion  as  the  numbers  of  the  enemy  grew,  our 
precautions  against  an  onset  increased.  In  every  way  we 
strengthened  ourselves.  When  one  day  I  walked  out  in  the 
afternoon  to  a  lovely  little  group  of  hillocks,  called  the  Green 
Kopjes,  on  the  north-east,  in  a  most  picturesque  little 
amphitheatre  in  the  centre  of  them,  under  the  wooded  slopes 
which  overhung  it,  I  found  a  whole  company  of  men,  instead 
of  a  section,  encamped,  and  new  trenches  being  everywhere 
made  below  as  well  as  on  the  summits,  while  every  defensible 
spot  within  reach  of  my  telescope  showed  our  outposts 
holding  it,  though  it  also  revealed  numerous  commandoes 
of  the  Boers  at  the  farms  of  Brakfontein  and  Prispan  engaged 
in  throwing  up  formidable  entrenchments  on  the  latter  to 
command  the  Hoopstad  road,  which  was  likely  lu  be  the  line 
of  any  farther  advance  of  our  army  in  this  quarter.     Others 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


173 

;L^r^r?^  :''^sii,ns.  T.t  ^.  =^ 

.mpressed  with  the  way  in  which  our  men  «t  oishTw^ 
themselves  on   the  elevations,   so   that  the  enemy  aS 

crept  and  slipped  about  and  constructed  their  defa^Ss 
mostly  dunng  the  hours  of  darkness,  so  that  thev  could  h«^v 
be  seen  although  we  knew  that  thev  were  all  «r^.^?  n  ^ 
tinuing  my  walk,  I  found  that  two^  Trnpal™"  „lare^ 
m  the  north  kopjes,  facing  the  Boers  wTo  There  disnu!^ 
our  command  of  the  road  to  Fourteen  Streams  on  H^Tv  1 
River,  and  had  strongly  fortified  rh^mselv^s  by  brelstwirk 
and  schanzes;  while  Annerley's  Kopie  on  the  w«V 
also  powerfully  defended.  "^^  ''''*  "'"'' 

The  town   itself  became  a  complete  fortress   everv  „»ii 
bemj  loopholed,  even  those  of  the  gardens  tnd  ZfJ-f 
breastworks  being  placed  ac„,ss  evefy  e:St.  and  ^SoubTs 
and  gun  emplacemento  thrown  up  ctose  to  the  w^s      It 
was  put  m  a  condition  to  be  held  securelv  hv  a  « Jin  » 

t^l^rLr  "Crv'^^  -^-necX'n'dVfrhe/ro 
taken  ^  *^"''''''  ?'*«'"*'«"  ^^  safety  was 

l'htfS.st°renti^n"^.''rr";^\"re\r^^^^^^ 

2f^  out.  by  both  sides  whicrwlXer"r;  haCwa 

»|r:rthrj^:;!:„--^^^^^^^ 

out  at  half  an  hoik's  notice  and  went  oif  with  the  Yeomr  r^ 
that  was  in  the  afternoon  j  and  in  the  evenu^  e^s^TJ2.L 
came  on  with  thunder  clouds  and  lightntag  X  ifiS  W 

aesLmTtl.'?^"^'"^'  ^^"^  by  V^i^aJ^uX  S 
thesham.  with  baggage,  provisions  for  two  days,  and  r^r 

C^'7,S!  ""^^"^  .^"*  ^°'  '•'^  south-east,  w"a  l^e 
torce  of  Boers  was  sa  d  to  be  threateninir  Hn«,l,„f     w      ^ 
supplied  with  maps  of  the  coun^'T^t^/^^-  m^ht^n'^f 
return,  but  that  in  that  event  food  would  ^  Int  aft. 

weather  became  worse  and  worse,  the  thunder  and  liXnin^ 
were  menacing  us  fiereely  right  overheaTand  stS^af 
weU  as  m  occasional  wild  gusts  the  rain  and  hail  felTso  th^t 


,11'; 


I  ! 

a-? 


'li 


i 


174    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

no  one  was  sorry  when  at  8.15  orders  ciiiiie  that,  for  a  time 
at  least,  our  departure  was  to  be  delayed. 

It  was  as  disquieting  a  night  as  any  we  passed  at  Boshof. 
The  Boers  at  Warrenton  were  sniping  our  men  all  night 
and  shelling  them  all  day ;  and  a  report  was  spread  that 
General  Kelly  Kenny  in  the  eastern  Free  State  had  lost  a 
whole  regiment  of  the  Guards.  But  a  bright  message  came 
in  that  our  yeomanry  had  surrounded,  close  to  us,  a  commando 
of  the  enemy,  captured,  killed  or  wounded  them  all,  and  that 
a  convoy  of  prisoners  was  on  its  way  to  us,  and  might  arrive 
at  any  moment.  So  we  put  up  our  tents  on  a  spot  at  the  edge 
of  th  '  ill  of  the  plain,  on  nice  clean  grassy  ground,  and  settled 
oursi  es  there.  After  t'-.at  nothing  remained  to  be  done 
but  to  turn  in,  for  tht  s.torm  was  increasing,  the  ground 
beneath  us  was  jumping  wK'never  the  thunder  crashed, 
the  Magazine  Kopje  was  blazing  like  a  lightning  conductor, 
and  the  rain  grew  into  a  furious  deluge  which  penetrated 
our  thin  single  tents,  soaking  everything,  and  across  the  floor 
of  my  tent  there  came  a  river  of  water  pouring  off  the  higher 
ground  and  spreading  until  no  square  inch  remained  which 
did  not  splash.  The  storm  reminded  me  of  those  of  Modder 
River ;  as  I  lay  on  what  served  for  a  bed,  the  spray  coming 
through  the  canvas  poured  down  on  my  face  till  even 
my  helmet  was  soaking,  for  the  wet  came  through  every- 
thing. One  had  just  to  lie  and  become  saturated,  there 
was  no  alternative.  After  a  time  the  rain  softened  the  ground 
where  the  tent  pegs  were  fixed,  the  tent  ropes  became  short- 
ened, and  as  the  wind  strained  them  the  pegs  came  out  as  if 
they  had  been  stuck  into  butter,  and  for  some  hours  we  were 
dripping  objects  in  stockingless  boots,  alternately  going  out 
and  in,  struggling  with  the  pegs,  ropes,  and  canvas,  to  prevent 
the  whole  coming  down,  working  in  the  dark,  groping  for 
the  pegs  and  getting  a  whack  at  them  now  and  then  when 
a  flash  showed  them  up,  or  chancing  a  stroke  when  it  did 
not  do  so.  At  midnight  matters  mitigated  somewhat,  and 
lying  down  in  my  clothes  on  a  litter  of  the  least  wetted  things 
I  tried  to  get  a  nap.  At  one  o'clock  there  came  the  braying, 
jingling,  and  trotting  of  mules,  the  calls  of  the  Kafir  drivers, 
and  the  voices  of  the  officers  yelling  for  our  major  and  cursing 
their  servants  by  all  th>:ir  gods.  Rising  to  offer  my  services, 
I  found  that  only  a  fc  wounded  had  been  brought  in,  and 
had  been  already  well  cared  for,  so  that  nothing  was  required. 
I  returned  to  bed  and  slept  soundly  till  six  o'clock,  when  I 
got  at  my  portmanteau  and  enjoyed  the  first  change  of  cloth- 
ing I  had  had  for  four  days,  and  while  doing  this  the  sounds 
of  the  awakening  camp,  buzzing  as  the  sun's  beams  seemed 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  175 

rtveUW  of  the  buRles.  whose  sounds  were  wet  as  thev  w«* 
I^helH*'^"**'  *'"'  •*'*"  ""'  flJ'«»  them,  and  UkU^g'^ 

x:^  t;'  tr  r:  7"^  ;SchTflr ''  ^'F-^*- 
=tS¥-^^^SHM 

warn,  and  a  pipe  and  breakfast  further  Tmp^vrafCT 
LJ!!,'"*  t°^  '"*'"«^  *°  "»«  narrative  of  the  events  of  iS 

men  which  had  been  sent  out  so  suddenly  had  metwith  a^ 
disposed  of  a  commando  of  Boers  so  satisfartorily  That  the 
targer  expedite,  which  had  been  ordered  out  to  sup^rt  it 
was  not  required  TTiey  had  surrounded  100  Boew^Uled 
their  commander  Villebois  de  JIareuil  and  IS  of  Ws  min 

aTsJ^-^n-oifsin^^rteXrof^lor^^^^^^^^ 

f^T^^ir  °'  '•'«  y--»"andtXr!"LdX':: 

^t  down  by  the  enemy  after  they  had  hung  out  the  wSS 

Captain  M— -  had,  on  the  previous  night,  brought  back 
to  our  camp  al  the  wounded  who  could  be  m^ved,  but  thi« 
of  the  most  senous  cases  still  remained  out,  and  he  was  lo^ 
to  fetch  them  in.  WouM  I  accompanv  him  LT  f  "* 
regaining  them,  when  he  started  inTK  «me  ?  t" 
was  but  one  answer  possible  to  the  invitation  T  would  g^ 
m  two  mmutes,  and  at  nine  o'clock  we  set  off  w°th  two 
ambulance  wagons  an  escort  of  five  of  the  Cape  Mmmt^ 
Police,  and  a  few  bearers,  to  the  farm  of  TweefiTte^ 
some  called  it,  DrifonUm,  the  scenTof  til  £t  Gu^:^' 
by  compass  and  maps  we  struck  out  due  souUi  f^  twS-^ 
miks^  through  herds  of  springbuck  jumping  befow  us  Hke 

tJ^^  ^^  history  of  the  little  battle  had  been  as  follows  • 
the  precedmg  morning,  some  Kafirs  who  lived  i^  a  liWe 
baal  among  the  kopjes  had  ridden  in  to  Boshof  to  re^rt 
th«t  a  commando  of  the  Dutch  had  arrived  there  dSin^C 
night.  On  rece.vmg  the  mformation  the  Cape  Police  at  one^ 
proceeded  out  and  espied  a  di„ve  of  the  Boe?s' hol^s  amon^ 


'i 


.  '1 


nn 


K  i' 


176    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  three-ihouldered  kopjei,  with  a  single  Boer  driving  them 
towards  the  laager  where  the  enemy '  They  shot  the  hone- 
man  and  captured  the  horses,  thv  'ng  the  Boert  of 
their  mobility,  and  sent  in  word  thai  "ley  had  located  the 
commando.  Thereupon  the  Yeomani;  went  out  to  seal 
them  up  until  the  larger  expedition  could  arrive,  for  their 
numbers  were  not  exactly  known.  By  the  time  that  Ixird 
Methurn  had   arrived  with  the  Yeomanry,  some  Maxims, 

and  a  couple  of  field  guns.  Colonel  P ,  an  officer  who  had 

distinguished  himself  in  thedefence  of  Kimberley.had  approxi- 
mately ascertained  the  number  of  men  in  the  commando 
and  n>ade  a  plan  for  their  capture,  which  Methuen  adopted. 
Reaching  the  spot  at  three  in  the  afternoon  the  Yeomar.y 
and  police  formed  a  line  on  the  east  of  the  Boers,  left  their 
horses  behind  the  shelter  of  n  small  but  high  kopje,  and 
"dvanced  in  skirmishing  order,  gradually  throwing  their 
wings  forward  so  as  to  envelop  the  enemy.  When  they  were 
about  a  thousand  yards  distant,  and  the  Boers  had  opened 
fire,  the  ambulances  were  found  to  bfc  in  the  line  of  Are  and  ht  d 
to  be  withdrawn  until  the  t  -oops  had  made  further  progress, 
whei.  they  were  able  to  take  the  cover  of  some  rising  ground 
sufficient  to  shield  them  from  the  rifle  fire,  for  the  Boers  had 
neither  Maxims  nor  field  guns.  At  first  the  British  had  no 
advantage  from  their  own  artillery,  as  the  gunners  unwisely 
delayed  opening  fire  until  they  had  constructed  two  stont 
emplacemeats  for  their  guns  on  either  side  of  the  larger  of 
the  two  sheltering  kopjes,  and  while  I.  was  being  done  an 
active  but  not  very  efficient  exchange  of  shots  was  being 
maintained  between  the  two  forces,  and  to  right  and  left 
the  enveloping  wings  were  drawing  on,  the  police  shielding 
themselves  among  the  three  kopjes  where  the  horses  had  been 
••aptured,  but  the  Yeomanry  on  the  loft  remainiL;  too  much 
exposed  on  the  plain  owing  to  the  gunners'  delay.  When  at 
length  the  artillery  opened  fire,  made  their  '  bmcket '  and 
sent  two  shells  among  the  Boers,  Villebois  recognised  that 
the  gun>,  would  render  his  defeat  certain,  and  gave  ordeis  to 
his  men,  many  of  whom  were  French,  Hollanders,  or  ether 
foreigners,  that  there  was  to  be  no  surrender.  The  next 
shrapnel  burst  beside  him,  killed  him  by  tearing  his  shoulder 
open,  and  wounded  Greyer,  one  of  his  company,  who  after- 
wards recovered.  Meanwhile  the  British  closed  in  arH  sur- 
rounded the  Boer  force  which,  sheltered  in  natural  1  con- 
structed schanzes,  continued  to  fire  on  the  British,  whose 
superior  numbers  and  better  distribution  so  told  on  the  Boers 
that  they  lost  many  of  their  men.  They  still  fought  on, 
however,  until  the  British  had  reached  the  foot  of  the  group 


SOUTI"  AFRICAN  WAR 


It  i»  possible  that  the  muider  of  W*^^'      »    j  ... 

i!S?=!£^tr  *"  -  .„ « 

from  a  wounded  Frenchman  fW  Vk      J^  ^    "'     *  -eamed 
were  so  numerous  oi^n^r  '''''  ^  "°*  '"'"'^  ''^ 

were  tt  ; W  k»i.Mo5«!t  I'^f  iXrd*  '"h"" 

of  rounded  bfod"     I  Z^\u' .^^^"^   '"'^   'n°«ine» 
Boer  had  ]ain  the  keapsTftwenv'^  T^'""  '^'^ 

'•ases  he  had   expei^id    L-T  ti^^        '^"I''  '"P^^  cartridge 

^  ««.  »/t^^1i*e^s'^;"lheX^-^%Tth^^^^^^^^^^ 


I 


ii 


;  f 


.     Il 


178     REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

no  like  thoM  of  the  Belmont  battleilfid  sit  to  make  it  »uper- 
fluous  to  work  out  their  >ngle&  minutely. 

Proceeding  next  to  the  Kafir  kra»l,  1  found  the  Yeomanry 
doctor,  who,  along  with  an  officer  and  »ome  men,  had  remained 
overnight  with  three  severely  wounded.  Leaving  these 
wounded  there  for  the  night  had  saved  the  life  of  at  least  one 
who  had  been  shot  through  the  chest ;  he  was  now  better 
atle  to  bear  the  rough  joimey  which  was  before  him  than 
if  he  had  been  moved  at  once  over  the  rough  roads  amid  the 
torrents  of  rain  and  in  the  dark.  The  wounded  had  been 
far  from  uncomfortable  in  the  kraal,  and  had  been  supplied 
with  milk,  soup,  and  food  cooked  for  them  by  the  Kaflrs. 
The  Kulir  huts  in  which  some  of  them  lay  were  quaint  struc- 
tures ;  they  resembled  ant-heaps  or  upturned  cups  of  red 
clay,  circular,  dome-topped,  and  roofed  with  pieces  of  tm, 
iron,  paper,  wood,  and  branches ;  they  had  little  doorways 
into  which  one  couU  just  creep,  and  windows  barely  large 
enough  to  admit  one's  head.  The  interiors  were  a  surprise, 
they  were  so  nice.  The  floors  measured  about  Ave  feet  by 
six,  were  laid  with  clay  from  ant-heaps  beaten  hard,  and 
near  one  comer  was  a  rounded  fireplace.  The  walls  were  of 
the  same  clay,  with,  in  addition  to  the  windows  mentioned, 
small  recesses  hung  with  tiny  lace  curtains  and  containing 
ornaments  like  a  doll's  house.  The  walls  were  perfectly 
clean,  whitewashed,  with  Bushman  paintings  of  people, 
ornaments,  bars,  and  arabesques  in  blue.  Though  clean, 
comfortable  and  wann,  they  were  hard  to  get  wounded  men 
into  and  out  of,  but  .Is  was  arranged  all  right  and  painlessly. 
Outside  each  hut  was  a  minute  yard  with  a  bamboo  fence,  and 
in  the  middle  of  a  group  of  three  or  four  such  huts  was  a  little 
central  yard  with  a  raised  clay  threshing-floor  bordered  with 
flat  stones  set  on  edge,  leaving  a  small  gateway.  The  whole 
was  reminiscent  of  Lilliput,  or  of  the  houses  children  build 
in  their  play. 

Four  generations  inhabitated  the  huts  ;  the  small  withered 
old  Chingachgook  was  seated  outside  the  door  in  the  sunshine, 
his  paralysed  hands  and  head  shaking,  but  with  a  good  in- 
telligent look  in  his  wrinkled  parchment  face.  Next  came 
his  burly  elder  son,  broad-shouldered,  farmer-like,  and  a 
centaur  when  on  horseback,  with  his  fat  motherly  wife. 
Then  a  youthful  man  and  wife,  rather  good-looking  than 
otherwise,  while  the  black  atoms  who  played  about  their 
knees  completed  as  curious  and  interesting  a  settlement  as 
ever  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  so  closely.  These  were 
the  good  people  who  bad  brought  us  word  of  the  Boer  com- 
mando, and  they  were  now  laughing  and  ftatomising  with  the 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,7, 

ins  them   wi  '   Th,  Kft.  '''"''*'^"' "°  "•«"«•  "da- 

and  had  tobacco  an..  «fffee  uh  1  fS  '"""'f"'  hav-rsacks 
refrc^hcd  and  pre^Vt^h:i^  ':^;':''tr  liJt'iS  S 
tenderly  into  our  ambulances,  and  net  of  f„;  u, '  k  ,  ',"""" 
a  smoother  tr..k  to  which  the  Kiflrgu ided  „»  '"^"^"''T 
of  a  shower  <>    min  and  another  ^r\^  ^i""™  "».     "1  m  spite 

demanded  by  the  oxhfnZ.n'  f  fhe'^irndJ^  "  '"'''^"l 
JoyftiUyback.  while  the  Kafirs  were  wwLed  ov  ««?  ^* 

al^-r  "e*^^e^°Ket  LT  '^'''^-  '"^^""d^r  "v'JS! 
beio.,  dark  Cameron    ^*'°"  °"'  ■""«"'"  '"  °»'  hospital 

CaJt^m^rL^^^^^X  ^f^'h-  P"t  mto  his  tent  when 

an  impressive  sigh^  Te  for^ta^Tfl.r  '"*  '"V'^"''  *"  »«« 
scenes  we  had  bf...  v°sTtfm.T},»?^  '?F  '=°"«='""°n  *<>  the 
as  we  walked  out  r  a  hLndrecul^^ToV  JVTr""'!!*  ""'' 
camp,  and  we  «      drawn  no  i/?i^  ^  •       """  ''°'P't«' 

a  thousand  soldiers,  ^ch  with  hTsV^^I'm'"' °"«  """""^ 
its  muzzle  resting";  t^e  g^und   whUe'hi/^  T'^^^X  ''•"' 

d^i^n^^^-^riit^SBi?^ 

and  poplars  and  blue  gum  trees  Dlant«5  K«i^^  '•"  P""" 

eu'r„^5  ?r£S  v^""""^' "'' 


ill 


r 

-I    1  ;•! 

1      ,i,|:| 

'     '  '  '       II 

!■-■'■       1 

hil 

f 


1'^ 


i8o    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

again  among  the  guarded  men.  The  body  was  lowered  into 
^  grave  and  the  earth  ftUed  in  upon  his  corpse  amid  absolute 
sUe^ce  on  the  part  of  the  whole  army  and  spectators  while 
ttepines  above  them  were  as  if  etched  by  the  blackest 
fune^link  against  the  golden  yellow  patch  fU  'mgenng 
n  the  sky  where  the  sun  had  set  and  against  the  leaden 
Bloom  of  the  rest  of  the  horizon  where  the  thunder  clouds 
weie  again  gathering  and  the  twisted  streams  of  the  lightning 
were  playing.  The  lines  of  soldiers  at  the  sharp  command 
present  J  arms,  and  the  bugles  wailed  out  in  unison  the  im- 
pressive  call  of  '  The  Last  Post.'  the  signal  which  marks  the 
end  of  every  day  and  the  beginning  of  night,  when  »"  "n  the 
^mps  ret^  to^est.  The  scene,  the  hour,  and  all  the  sur- 
roundings fitted  weU  together,  and  formed  a  solemn  endmg 
to  a  valmnt  soldier's  life.  Then  rang  out  Order  Arms,  and 
the  ceremony  was  over. 

The  Yeonmnry,  who  had  in  the  meantime  been  drawn  up 
outside  the  graveyard,  then  buried  their  dead  <»J«?de«  •" 
the  dark  Ix)rd  Methuen  afterwards,  before  we  left  Boshof, 
erected  a  tombstone  of  white  marble  ov-r  ViUebois  s  p»ye 

Papers  found  on  ViUeuois  revealed  plans  by  wtach  three 
bodies  of  Boers  were  to  converge  to  make  a  concerted  mgnt 
attack  upon  us  so  as  to  recover  Boshof.    It  was  pretty  certam 
that  the  rapture  of  his  commando  would  modify  this  design, 
but  as  the  forces  which  were  to  have  taken  part  m  the  onset 
were  led  bv  Boshofians  who  knew  every  house,  tree,  and  stone, 
some  anxiety  remained  lest  it  might  in  some  form  yet  be 
attempted.    Little  information  was  to  be  extracted  from  their 
wounded,  whom  we  doctors  were  attending  in  the  pnvate 
houses  of  the  citizens  who  gladly  gave  them  shelter  beyond 
the  facts  that  when  moving  about  they  appeared  to  have  had 
good  times,  Uving  on  milk,  eggs,  butter,  mutton,  beef,  fowls, 
and  vegetables,  annexing  everythmg  they  pleased,  looting 
and  stripping  the  farms  they  came  across,  and  leavmg  them 
absolutely  tere ;   and  they  complained  of  the  beef  and  bis- 
cuits we  gave  them  for  food,  and  would  not  believe  me  when 
I  told  them  that  nobody  in  our  camps  received  anything  else. 
For  one  who  was  not  in  the  counsels  of  our  general,  it  was 
quite  impossible  to  disentangle  and  range  m  due  ?rder  and 
SnporUn^  the  various  mUitary  events  and  skinnishes  that 
went  on  round  Boshof  whUe  we  were  there,  and  a  few,  perhaps 
rather  disjointed,  notes  of  what  came  under  my  own  observa- 
tion are  aU  that  it  is  possible  for  me  to  give  here 

It  seemed  that  the  scheme  drawn  up  by  Villebois  con- 
tained the  recommendation  that  on  some  nights  our  camp 
should  be  shelled  and  deluged  with  smaU-arm  fire  from  the 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,8, 

pkin  around,  but  that  the  assailants  should  withdraw  befon. 
any  approach  of  the  British,  and  this,  thoughS  addJd 
the  paper  'will  do  more  to  disconcert  the  Enghth  than^f 
the  attack  were  carried  home.'     I  presume  thft  it  vm^  to 

which"fnir''T''  ""^^  ""  '^^  *^'  °"  some  oVthrda!^ 
Th^KK-  "°'^'^u°.'"  ™""°°  ^^«  firing  and  our  Mbj^I 
throbbmg  out  their  missUes  at  odd  times  againrt  theB^ 
E™X^  «>ntjnuing  to  dig  their  trenches  a^  dea^'n^^ 
Expeditions  also  went  out,  hunting  up  andchaSiff  ^v 

tH'T^  ^"^  "^/*^  '^''*»"='^  around.'^so  tha?  taThe  ^^ 
t^lli  "•^s.onally  seemed  to  some  of  us  that  we  were  left 
m  rather  an  mdefensible  condition,  as  when  oXT^inale 
regmient  of  militia  remained  to  protect  both  the  totn^nd 
one  ^fXr'PLS-.-"''''^  "•  ^  "^^  '^'  chance  of  XhiSj 
Zwa«rtln  •  f  T^*°"'  ^tn™ing  on  the  18th  of  April  S 
Zwaartkopjefontem  J    it  had   proceeded  four  miles  bewnd 

flight  some  of  the  Boers  who  were  on  watch  to  ™t  off 

^to^nd  whU-  8"?^y  plains  and  bush,  with  plenty  of 
water,  and  while  we  m  the  town  were  being  drenched  win! 

tolTtrdu^t'^a'lfH  "^^  "•'*'^  ^'^  little,  ju"t  sufficient 
ttoe  Iw  he  ?.^^^*^'  "'«''*  ^^  "°°^  «*  ««•  another 
tn  «:«  i?^u  ^^'  ^  ^^  8°ne  out  to  Magazine  Kopie 

wZlt        u^',"8  ^^I"  *«y  *""  they  came  quite  near  us 

stoppmg  under  the  shelter  of  elevated  grounds  ti  chwk  the 
enemy,  and  agam  moving  forwards  as  opportunity  pret^nted 
but  It  was  «,rdite  powder  that  was  used  as  the  c^™  for  the 

sneus.     While   this   action   was   developing,    the   herdsmen 
otlZt^Z^'^Tf  °"*^  g-'^ere?  t°«ether  thf Ss 

dT^wn^r«nH  With  exceeding  slowness  the  battle 

te  bvXn    f  »,T^""*''  '*  ""^  "^"^  at  the  camp, 
muh,.^  .  """^^  *'^'"*  «>  «1«*  that  both  parties,  by 

mutual  consent  as  it  seemed,  gave  it  up.    Colonel  TownUnd 


fli 


ij  11 


j|1  !  ; 


f 


111 


M. 


182    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

turned  in  to  our  mess-tent,  others  came  later,  and  we  were 
able  to  leam  what  had  really  occurred.  It  appeared  to  have 
been  something  as  follows :  Lord  Methuen  had  on  the 
previous  night  received  intelligence  that  a  considerable 
commando  had  drawn  in  from  the  north  upon  him,  possibly 
from  the  Fourteen  Streams  district,  and  he  had  issued  orders, 
at  the  Zwaartkopjes  where  he  lay,  to  move  back  into  Boshof 
in  the  afternoon.  His  stores  were  packed  into  the  wagons 
and  sent  off  first,  while  the  Yeomanry  and  the  others  of  his 
force  gradually  withdrew  after  them.  No  sooner  was  the 
baggage  train  on  its  way  than  two  field  guns  and  a  pom- 
pom (Vickers-Maxim)  opened  file  from  a  hill  which,  owing 
to  a  report  received  from  some  Kafirs,  had  been  scouted 
over  that  very  morning.  This  fire  did  little  actual  harm, 
but  when  the  infantry  began  to  withdraw  in  their  turn 
from  the  posts  they  were  holding  on  the  hills  and  kopjes, 
and  to  follow  the  convoy,  a  force'  of  2000  or  more  Boers 
swarmed  out,  occupied  the  abandoned  elevations,  and  opened 
a  more  destructive  fire  of  small  arms.  They  wounded  or 
killed  some  of  the  Yeomanry  and  others ;  one  if  not  raore 
of  the  Yeomanry  officers  were  killed  ;  and  some  of  the  killed 
and  wounded  had  to  be  left  where  they  had  fallen,  though 
Methuen  himself  was  present  coolly  and  judiciously  directing 
the  steps  of  the  retreat.  The  Boers  were  eager  to  secure  the 
baggage,  and  continued  to  follow  and  shell  it  as  well  as 
the  troops,  and  one  of  the  R.A.M.C.  officers  almost  lost  his 
wagon  containing  the  surgical  equipment .  The  wagon  was  the 
last  of  the  line  and  twice  broke  its  pole  before  it  was  got  away. 
Our  men  were  gloomy  over  this  and  heads  were  shaken  over 
our  chances ;  only  good  Colonel  Townsend,  with  a  fighter's 
gleam  in  his  Irish  eyes,  protested  that  all  had  been  right 
and  that  it  had  been  '  a  very  pretty  fight.' 

The  strength  and  courpge  of  the  Boers  was  evidently  not 
to  be  under-rated,  and  orders  were  issued  that  night  attacks 
were  to  be  expected,  that  if  these  took  place  all  tents  were 
immediately  to  be  struck  and  left  lying  on  the  ground,  all 
the  patients  conveyed  into  the  town  and  placed  in  the  school- 
house  hospital  or  in  the  Anglican  church,  horses  and  mules 
brought  into  the  Market  Square,  all  lights  to  be  extinguished, 
and  no  speaking  permitted.  That  night,  however,  there  was 
only  a  little  firing  from  the  outposts. 

One  afternoon  a  day  or  two  later  the  Yeomanry  outposts, 
on  a  ridge  to  the  south,  were  attacked,  when  a  squadron  of 
mounted  infantry  rode  out,  and  some  of  us  followed  to  see 
whether  we  could  be  of  any  service.  The  horsemen  opened 
out  into  a  long  line  of  pairs,  went  dancing  out  to  the  ridge 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


183 


bv  thTS^n  f  ^^^  ",°"  *•''  '•'^*-  "^y  ^""^  followed 
ensu^  ^^T  "  ?"^^:  ?^  ambulance  wagons,  but  no  action 
ZaIz:  m  '^'^^^  **?'*'  *'°^'y  *l^"«''  *e  trees,  shrubs, 
and  boulders,  so  as  to  draw  the  enemy's  fire,  but  theThad 

a^d  ZfW  ^  ^^L'^T  '."  ""=  '^'^  ^'*  °"e  -nan  killed 
?„  V.„«^  J^°""u^-  ^*"'*  °"1'"^  w««  again  issued  as 
to  how  to  act  m  the  event  of  a  night  alarm,  as  there  were 
strong  grounds  for  expecting  a  nocturnal  surprise,  and  all 

tent  JJT  ^  ""  P^^??™*,  *°  J^P  "P  ""<•  "^ek  down  our 
tent-poles  at  an  mstant's  notice.  I  rose  several  times 
«pecmUy  at  four  o'ctock,  the  most  likely  hour,  but  the  n^h 
passed  over  peacefully,  and  no  sound  or  disturbance  broke 
the  tamqmllrty  until  our  guns  began  to  speak  after  daybreak 
About  the  latter  half  of  April  matted  were  fairly  Hvelv 
at  Boshof,  for  the  Boers  we^  reluctant  to  abandon  hei^ 
„n^.  occupymg  the  town,  and  Lord  Methuen  was  ever 
on  the  watch  to  checkmate,  or  at  least  read  them  a  lesson 
It  was  known  too  that  the  townsmen,  and  most  of  all  the 
women,  were  communicating  every  possible  piece  of  informa- 
tion regarding  us  so  that  constant  vigilance  was  imperative 
Early  on  the  26th  there  was  some  stir  in  the  camp  whteh 
aroused  me  to  dress  and  go  out.  Cavalry  were  alr^dy  out 
on  the  plam  and  two  batteries  of  artillery  were  presently 
on  their  track  and  drew  up  ready  for  action.  A  la?ge  bjy 
of  infantry  manned  aU  the  trenches  and  kopjes  with  sharp 
shooters.  And  the  ambulances  were  in  readiness  The 
taoops  were  at  flret  mustered  on  the  southern  side  of  the  town 
but  soon  changed  over  to  that  on  the  north.  Nothine  how- 
7Z  ^I^H  °  '*;  !u'  ™'='"y  did  not  advance,  thfforces 
r^  1  "^  *°  *?."■  '*'"P^'  ^"^  *"  tl^mes  resumed  their 

nonnal  appearance.     Possibly  it  had  been  a  false  alarm. 

tK    ^\^*''^  day  there  was  a  real  battle.    Firing  began  at 

Knnt^'*'  ""  .*"  """*'  ""^  ^''^"  I  "'^•'ed  the  Ufagazine 
Kopje  the  events  were  spread  out  before  my  eyes.  Some 
of  our  wagoners  were  out  cutting  wood  on  a  ridge  a  short 
d«t^ce  to  the  south  of  the  camp,  where  there  was  a  «,(S 
f^l  Hw"^"'  '"'1  *H  ^''"  "nexpectedly  advancing  from 
!^  •'■Tf  ^!°"'  "?et  ''rth  the  Cossack  posts  of  the  YeoLnry, 
and  a  brisk  action  ensued.  So  numerous  and  daring  were 
^Uo^°  wl  *'  Yeomanry  had  to  retreat,  and  1  saw  them 
^Uop  back  in  small  groups  or  singly  to  a  watercourse  or 
donga    behmd  them,  where  they  formed  up  and  awaited 

ndge,  the  Irft  end  of  which  was  held   by  our  infantly  as 
far  as  the  Hoopstad  road,  ind  the  action  became  geV^ral! 


!'•  .i»i 


i 


I*, 


i 


m 


;l 


184    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

Infantry  sent  out  to  support  the  Yeomanry  were  placed  in 
skirmishing  order  on  the  plain  behind  where  the  outposts 
had  been,  and  stopped  the  advance  of  the  Boers.  After  this 
there  ensued  a  lull  of  an  hour  or  so,  when  the  enemy,  finding 
they  were  held,  altered  their  tactics  and  endeavoured  to  work 
round  our  left  towards  their  own  headquarters  at  Prispan. 
Here  they  held  two  farms  and  had  posted  their  artillery  at 
Spitzkop  in  the  same  direction,  hoping  doubtless  to  bring  our 
men  within  their  range.  This  necessitated  supports  with  a 
couple  of  guns  being  moved  against  them  so  as  to  hold  a  low 
ridge,  hardly  deserving  the  name  of  a  kopje,  but  when  this 
was  done  the  Boers  withdrew  before  they  could  be  shelled. 
Their  final  manoeuvre  was  an  attempt  from  the  opposite 
direction  to  outflank  the  Yeomanry  who  held  our  right,  and 
a  body  of  them  endeavoured  to  carry  this  out,  but  a  reinforce- 
ment of  cavalry  put  an  end  to  their  hopes  of  succeeding. 
It  was  a  battle  of  manoeuvres,  resembling  a  game  of  chess, 
and  was  entirely  one  of  riflemen  ;  '  neither  side  made  use  of 
artillery,  and  after  the  contest  had  fluctuated  all  day,  it  died 
gradually  out  towards  the  evening.  Strange  to  say,  though 
it  was  estimated  that  16,000  rounds  had  been  fired,  there  were 
no  casualties  on  our  side  ;  not  a  man  or  horse  was  hit ;  but 
regarding  the  Boers'  side  we  knew  nothing.  Lord  Methuen 
had  been  out  early  and  directed  the  fight,  and  when  he  re- 
turned and  the  scouts  came  in,  we  also  came  back,  having 
had  from  various  points  a  clear  view  of  how  near  the  Boers 
were  to  Boshof,  how  enterprising  they  were,  and  how  easily 
they  might  at  any  time  have  shelled  us  had  they  possessed 
one  of  their  long-range  guns. 

By  the  beginning  of  May  the  plans  of  the  Boers  for  captur- 
ing Boshof  had  been  so  baffled  that  they  were  evidently 
preparing  to  give  them  up  as  impracticable.  Even  at  the 
end  of  April  our  scouts  reported  that  some  of  them  had 
moved  off  westwards,  as  if  to  waylay  the  road  to  Kimberley. 
At  this  time  too  our  reconnaissance  columns  ceased  to  find 
them  about  the  neighbourhood  of  the  town,  though  some  of 
ours  went  so  far  and  for  so  long  as  to  have  to  send  back  for 
f-  ,sh  supplies.  They  were  seen  by  us  in  the  town  spread  round 
ji  all  directions,  especially  towards  the  east  and  north, 
whence  their  heliographs  were  signalling  in  to  Boshof  from 
every  bit  of  rising  ground.  ,  „    .    , 

These  were  most  of  the  fights  which  went  on  round  Boshof 
while  I  was  there,  and  after  the  one  last  mentioned  there 
were  no  further  actions,  or  any  fighting  beyond  an  outpost 
or  two  being  shot  at  in  the  mornings. 

I  ought  to  mention  with  gratitude  that  Lord  Methuen 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  ,85 

™'[hr^^°^^?"."i*?'.°^  ''•'P'"8  ""'■'  •«  "'ways  showed 
for     I  ^^    "^^  ^'"'^"^?'  """^  gave  me  whatever  I  oskS 

condition,  but  in  ho„ou?„f  the  eUu  dl„*^^  "o„V"w'S^:^ 

^^lehr^'^  ""**  '^^^^  *•""*  ^  ^""^  look  ekan  by 
candlelight.  The  mess  was  in  a  small  house  oDDosite  tn 
h«  tent  on  the  south  side  of  Church  Square^Tn  tKddle 

wnt  ^!^  '•  "^"Vk*  T'  "'  P'"'''^"'*  «>"  cvening^as  I^ev« 
S  ^rr*  "lu^  ^^'^  ^"'"J"^*  "^ t"^'"*  tents,  the  tefk 
ffirSIverhn     >V  '"'"'''  °^  *""*''•  P^^^e  hospitels. 

SmS^  t^fn.?^  T^'  '"PPjy'  K^™''  the  wounds  of  the 
^S^l.'  '?'^'!:'<^"a'  wounded,  the  Yeomanry,  expanding 
b  li^ets,  shrapnel,  Vickers-Maxim  guns,  the  R  A  MC  T^tht 
vanous  battlefields  of  his  column^  Methuen  wa;  iAteres^' 
LZJIT*'  "'  """I  '''^°  **  ""=«»'«'«  °f  W''  stefl.  and^W 
a?dThf  pomV^XV  *'  ''*'''""*  ^^""^^^  '"»- 
Lord  Methuen  spoke  without  any  reserve  about  his  battles 
M.te«r;  ^"''^'  Modderand  his'being  woundS  tiere  and 
P^tS^  ^S^"-    ?'  "^"j  ^•*"  *°  ^S'**  "Sain,  and  saW  h^  ex 

remember  rightly  this  was  the  Yeoman  referred  to  in  .        uter 
elegmm  fiom  Kimberley  which  stated  that  'a  m.       .r  of 

nl„f?  '^  iu^  ^^'^'  ^''°  t°°''  away  every  vestiee^  of  his 
clothmg  I  have  the  best  authority,'  ^ntinued  the  telewam 
for  saymg  that  the  incident  is  ^ssly  misrepresent'Xhe 
^unH  ^r?-,'^'"'!?*  exceptionaUy  well,  bandaging  his 
The  nnlt  1- *'^!";«  ^^  '="'*  "'  »  "^  ^^  '^e  wound^ed  Umb 
fhe  only  thmg  taken  was  the  wounded  man's  rifle,  and  The 

^t^'7:^^-Z^Tl'  t'  «"*'^''  ambulance'no?  com! 
"ewa^^^^lr  in^^'-  .  ^^  ^^  ""^  °f  *«  monument 
beJ™-^       ^,        Villebois's  grave.    The  conversation  then 

&r!  Ir™^™'  T.f  •  *'*™'"«  °"  »•>«  =««=«*»  of  lyddite  shelU 
V.ckers.Max,m  shells,  and  artillery  &«  in  general,  and  on  tt' 


Mil 


-!^',. 


I, 


lit 


i86    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

difficulty  of  ejecting  the  enemy  from  trenches,  such  as  those  »t 
Faaideberg,  made  in  soft  hollow  ground  as  compared  with  the 
ease  with  which  they  could  be  turned  out  of  the  stony  kopjes. 
Curiously  enough,  none  of  these  experts  knew  whether  there 
were  any  bullets  enclosed  in  the  Vickers-Maxim  shells,  and 
none  of  them  knew  the  weight  of  a  shrapnel  ball.  Methuen 
had  a  high  opinion  of  the  utility  of  nursing  sisters. 

After  enjoying  the  unwonted  treat  of  a  couple  of  beautiful 
Havannah  cigars,  I  took  my  leave.  It  we :,  an  unusual 
experience,  after  a  dinner  party,  to  have  a  soldier  emerge 
from  benea::h  the  shadow  of  trees,  first  present  a  glittering 
bayonet  at  my  stomach,  and  then  hold  the  muzzle  of  a  loaded 
rifle  within  a  yard  or  so  of  my  head,  while  he  told  me  to  halt 
and  give  the  countersign.  However,  I  pacified  the  wanior 
by  telling  him  that  I  was  '  Friend,'  and  that  the  word  was 
'Jacobsdal,'  whereupon  the  unpleasant  objects  were  tpken 
away,  and  I  was  saluted  and  told  to  'Pass,  friend,'  and  I 
went  out  into  the  moonlight  to  the  camp  and  found  all  in 
bed,  though  it  was  not  yet  nine  o'clock. 

liie  only  other  non-professional  interest  I  can  recall  con- 
cerning Boshof  is  that  some  alarmist  got  up  a  report  that 
the  Boers  were  using  poisoned  bullets.  I  believe  it  created 
some  sensation  in  the  home  newspapers.  I  was  questioned 
about  the  matter,  and  the  bullets  and  loaded  cartridges,  of 
which  we  had  plenty,  were  supplied  to  me.  At  a  glance  it 
was  plain  that  tb'?  whole  thing  was  a  mistake.  The  bullet 
and  front  part  of  the  shell  of  the  cartridge  were,  for  lubricating 
the  grooves  of  the  rifle,  dipped  in  fat,  and  after  some  time  the 
fatty  acids  acting  on  the  copper  of  the  shell  produced  a  green 
coating  of  stearate  or  other  salt  of  copper,  which  had  an  alarm- 
ing appearance,  but  would,  owing  to  its  antiseptic  properties, 
have  benefited  rather  than  harmed  a  wound  inflicted  by  the 
bullet,  even  had  the  coating  not  been  thrown  off  by  the  rapid 
revolutions  (2500  to  8600  per  second)  of  the  missile  as  it  passed 
through  the  air.  It  is  probable  enough  that  the  centrifugal 
force  thus  developed  may  purge  the  modem  small-bore 
mantled  bullet  of  all  impurities  and  even  germs,  and  render 
it  aseptic. 

XXXIX 

Conditions  at  Boshof 

Befoke  taking  leave  of  Boshof  I  may  add  a  few  words  re- 
garding the  medical  conditions  there. 

During  the  first  half  of  April  the  climate  was  like  that  of 
the  Isle  of  Skye  at  its  worst.    Endless  blankeU  and  rolls 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


187 


of  h^ped  up  clouds  swept  over  us,  with  no  blink  of  blue  to 
break  their  dullness,  and  each  cloud  did  not  fail  to  besprinkle 
us  with  Its  exudations.  Our  men  went  about  in  heavy  great- 
coats, our  officers  in  cardigan  waistcoats  and  thick  jerseys 
under  the^  tunics,  and  all  were  more  or  less  miserable  from  the 
cold.  Yet  until  the  middle  of  the  month  was  past  I  could 
not  perauade  my  thermometer,  even  during  the  dark  hours 
before  dawn,  to  descend  below  S9  degrees,  and  its  maximum 
durmg  the  day  would  even  be  100-6  degrees.  Had  the  wet  left 
us  and  the  sun  shone  we  should  have  been  pretty  weU  off  but 
as  It  was  the  wet  and  chilliness  kept  up  the  number  of  cases  of 
dysentery  and  diarrhoea.  My  recollection  is  that  it  rained  at 
intervals  aU  night  and  pretty  monotonously  nearly  every  day. 
and  that  we  were  only  occasionally  able  to  dry  ourselves.  One 
evening  I  thought  for  a  moment  that  peace  had  been  declared 
or  some  other  momentous  occurrence  had  Uken  place,  for  the 
whole  camp  broke  suddenly  out  into  loud  and  repeated  cheer- 
ing, but  on  going  out  to  inquire  1  found  it  was  because  the 
compassionate  general  had  ordered  every  man  a  ration  of 
"un  against  the  wet  and  cold. 

The  ridge  dividing  the  higher  from  the  lower  plain  at  Boshof 
and  on  which  our  camp  lay,  was  so  strongly  impregnated  with 
iron  that  I  found,  by  careful  measurement,  that  the  Magazine 
Kopje  which  was  a  part  of  it  deflected  the  compass  25  degrees 
to  the  west  even  at  a  distance  of  800  feet ;  that  the  boulders 
upon  It  deflected  it  when  close  to  them  in  the  same  direction 
for  15  d^rees ;  and  that  even  a  fragment  of  them  of  the  size  of 
a  pea,  when  held  close  to  the  needle,  moved  its  nor  pole  west- 
wards for  T  degrees.  Probably  this  was  the  reaso-  vhy  storms 
of  thunder  and  lightning  were  so  intense  over  our  camp 
At  aii  events,  the  t  jwn  was  notorious  for  its  lightning  storms, 
its  cnurcn  spire  was  twisted  by  them,  and  one  of  its  resident 
medical  men  mformed  me  that  on  an  average  six  of  the  in- 
habitants were  annually  struck  by  lightning.  The  thunder 
clouds  and  lightning  usually  came  on  in  the  afternoon,  played 
around  at  a  distance  on  the  plain,  then  came  over  us,  returnina 
two  or  three  times  after  they  seemed  to  be  over,  and  inflicted 
great  discomforts  on  us.  The  accompanying  hail  drove  wet 
spray  over  everything  in  the  tents  and  soaked  ourselves, 
the  water  on  the  ground  converted  the  surface  into  lakes 
whUe  often  we  had  to  labour  in  vain  in  the  dark  to  convey  it 
away  by  diggmg  trenches  round  them.  The  trenches  filled, 
out  the  water  remained  in  the  tents  notwithstandinc  It 
was  wretched,  and,  it  must  be  added,  even  sometimes  tei^- 
Mg.  Experience  made  us  more  expert  at  protecting  ourselves  • 
we  poised   everything  upon  pillars  of  bricks  stolen  ftom  the 


,FI 


« 


'■H 


j 


is 


188    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

cemetery  walls;  we  moved  to  a  piece  of  slig.  tly  higher 
ground  and  encircled  our  dwellings  with  ditches  over  a  foot 
deep  to  convey  the  water  away,  got  some  tents  which  were 
not  so  old  and  thin,  and  seized  every  available  moment  to 
lug  our  bedding  and  baggage  out  to  dry.  But  our  thoughts 
turned  to  the  poor  lads  on  the  expeditions  about,  who  were 
lying  on  the  veld  not  far  ftrom  us,  who  had  not  even  the 
protection  of  ,.ur  leaking  canvas. 

After  the  middle  of  April  the  rainy  season  seemed  to  be 
over,  and  with  it  the  mosquitoes  disappeared,  and  the  dysen- 
tery and  diarrhoea  diminished.  Even  then,  however,  the 
climate  was  not  one  to  be  praised.  In  one,  and  perhaps  more, 
of  his  wonderful  books.  Rider  Haggard  ( ives  a  description 
of  a  sunrise  in  Africa.  But  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  sun- 
rises he  describes  are  not  African.  In  Boshof  at  all  events 
his  '  rosy-fingered  d..wps  '  did  not  show  themselves.  There 
when  all  was  still  dark,  ere  the  flr^t  peep  of  light  had  come, 
the  eastern  sky  was  of  a  deep  blue-black,  dotted  with  the 
Southern  Cro.ss  and  constellations,  cloven  by  the  zodiacal 
lance-head  of  white  light  tapering  up  from  the  horizon  to 
the  zenith,  so  faint  that  one  doubtoJ  at  times  whether  it 
existed,  yet  clear  and  plain  when  one  looked  again,  fading 
inserMbly  into  the  rest  of  the  sky,  and  paling  the  stars  that 
shone  through  it.  But  this  faded  and  disappeared  for  an 
hour  before  the  white  border  of  light  fringed  the  flat  horizon 
and  showed  that  day  was  about  to  break.  The  white  fringe 
became  brighter  and  changed  into  a  vermilion  of  deep  fiery 
orange  like  the  glow  of  a  metal  plate  growing  red  hot,  and 
above  it  the  stars  went  out  and  the  blue  sky  became  green. 
All  was  usually  cloudless,  no  rosy  rays  were  seen,  and  there 
was  an  angry  tone  that  told  of  an  arid  land  and  a  burning 
day  about  to  break.  That  was  the  usual  appearance  of 
sunrise  in  the  Orange  Free  State ;  anything  like  the  gentle 
rose  tints  of  an  English  or  Scottish  dawn  was  never  visible ; 
sunrise  was  a  hostile,  not  a  kindly  thing.  The  temperatures 
which  had  been  perhaps  70  degrees  at  sunset,  and  had  fa'len 
an  hour  later  to  60  degrees,  and  by  bedtime  to  about  50 
degrees,  where  it  remained  until  morning,  diminished  to  40 
degrees  as  dawn  was  breaking,  again  i-eached  50  d^rees  at 
sunrise,  became  60  degrees  when  the  sun  had  shone  for  an 
hour,  was  95  degrees  at  ten  o'clock,  and  107  degrees  at  noon. 
As  tie  day  was  growing  warmer,  horrible  things  came  out 
to  bask,  whip-snakes  glided  out  from  the  kopjes,  locusts 
rose  as  black  clouds  on  the  horizon  and  flew  overhead  in 
rustling  swarms  like  the  noise  of  a  rushing  river,  or  alighted 
on  the  ground  as  thick  as  autumn  leaves  in  a  beech  forest ; 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


189 


•oorpions  ran  about  catching  the  locuato  in  their  ulawi  and 

^i?""  •  ""* '""thwme  whitish  ant»,  nightmare  ghouls, 

r^l*^^  everywhere  on   the  ground.    ThSe   *ere  man,: 

wii'a  H^U,'""'?*  *'*''  l'""  »|?!l  niPP«"  tJ>»t  hannoni«rf 
with  a  climate  and  a  country  which  grew  odious  to  us  all 
peopkd  by  mhabitants  as  hostile  and  irreconcilable  as  its 
vermm.  We  had  airo  wmged  pests  in  abundance.  Thouah 
the  gentle  mo8<juito  had  gone,  the  house  fly  replaced  him, 

Slill'fT^  "i^i""  T/°°^  "^  <'™'';  crim«>n.headed 
bluebottle  flies  frequently  favoured  us  with  their  attentions, 
and  wasps  swarmed  in  our  tents  and  strove  to  buiM  houses 
m  our  beddmg  We  had  even  to  kill  snakes  in  our  mefs! 
tent.  And  we  had  to  wage  a  warfare  that  knew  no  intAj. 
mission  with  the  other  creeping  creatures  who  at  one  time 
rendered  Pharaoh's  Ufe  hardly  worth  living. 

Life  m  such  conditions  as  these  did  not  conduce  to  health 
either  m  men  or  animjls,  when  everything  in  the  shape  of 
provisions,  sudi,  for  mstance,  as  sugar,  came  to  us  bro^  in 
rolour  from  admixture  with  all  the  aith  blown  into  iv  with 
the  dust  of  the  camping  grounds,  and  when  such  occurrences 
were  to  be  daily  witnessed  as  that  of  the  cooks-^nd  those 

J'h.'J?!?  J^^iIT"*  *°°-««'"ring  their  cooking-pots  with 
the  ^rth  which  lay  under  their  feet  and  washing  them  with 

hM,K,  T  "  ^f-^  "^^  P"'*'"''  *°  save**  themselves 
thetrouble  of  going  ten  paces  to  do  so  in  pure  running  water. 
What  was  termed  by  the  Boers  '  Paard-siekte,'  or  horse- 
sickness,  a  species  of  pneumonia,  ravaged  the  poorly-fed 
and  often  overworked  horses;  it  was  said  that  twenty-flve 
of  the  Yeomanry  horses  died  from  it  in  a  single  day,  and  a 

S  I  r^t^.V^P'^'^J^^i"'-  ^^  *"  °"e  morning  four 
which  had  died  from  it.  There  was  also  a  plant  resembling 
SSk'  °?"«^,*"''P-8«s»  or  'tulp,'  a  species  of  bulbous  lily! 
with  a  double  bulb,  one  above  the  other,  which  grew  to  the 
height  of  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  at  that  season,  and  was 
eaten  by  the  unported  horses,  while  the  native-bred  animals 
^Z-  r°^^  '}''  '*  S"^""*^  8"''*  '!«*  "»ion  and 
Wi^^rpplrfonieL""  "  «°^  """"^  •"""-  ''^  ^"^  ■*  "* 
There  was  altogether  great  need  of  a  special  sanitarv 
corps  for  mdecd  the  camps  were  in  most  respects  in  .i  filthy 

frl?  •  w?"5  '*  ''**  '"*"  "°"'^''"  *■>"*  ">a"y  "f  the  offlcere 
fell  sick,  that  some  regiments  had  more  than  half  of  their 
offices  h«l  up,  and  that  a  special  hospital  had  to  be  arranged 

l^ki^  ^t"  !  u*"^;  °"  ^r°"  ''"^  ^^  '^°^  ^:th  what 
koked  like  typhoid  fever,  and  most  of  the  medical  officers 
were  ailing,  some  havmg  to  be  sent  away  on  that  account- 


I    ! 


m 


H"i 


1  .      (ii 


il 


i\  \\ 


il 


190    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

while  among  the  men,  in  addition  to  other  illncM,  an  epidemic 
of  '  veld  aoieii,'  a  kind  of  infectioui  blistering  of  the  »kin 
which  attacked  every  little  scratch  and  prevented  it  from 
healing,  especially  when  the  abrasions  were  upon  the  hands, 
and  which  was  due  to  a  germ  acting  on  weakened  individuals, 
broke  out  among  them. 

But  of  all  the  scourges  typhoid  was  the  worst.  It  was 
already  among  the  Boers  in  Boshof  when  we  arrived  there, 
we  too  brought  it  from  Kimberley  and  Modder  River  with 
us,  and  it  spread  alarmingly  among  our  troops.  I  had  neittior 
the  time  nor  the  opportunity  of  obtaining  full  inform:  .1..11 
about  it,  but  what  we  all  knew  was  certainly  bad  enough. 
The  cases  of  it  t  hich  the  Boers  had  sent  in  from  Magersfontein 
before  our  occupation  were  numerous  and  severe,  and  mostly 
in  the  later  stages  of  the  disease,  some  arriving  wildly  delirious, 
and  others  with  perforation  of  the  intestine.  We  ourselves 
had  to  open  an  hospital  for  it  in  the  schoolhouse  at  the  comer 
of  the  Market  Square,  cases  came  in  from  the  troops  lying 
out  in  the  veld  as  well  .-.s  from  thoie  in  the  town,  and  it  was 
soon  filled  and  overflowing,  and  of  the  fifty  cases  it  contained 
thirty  were  typhoid.  We  were  sending  away  batches  of  50 
and  60  whenever  we  could,  of  such  as  were  able  to  be  moved, 
but  this  was  not  always  possible  owing  to  the  atrocious 
weather.  By  the  26th  of  April  about  820  had  been  thus  sent 
off  to  Kimberley,  neariy  6  per  cent,  of  our  strength,  though 
Kimberley  itself  was  already  overfilled  both  in  its  civil  and 
military  hospitals ;  yet  we  always  had  more  coming  in  their 
place,  and  ever  80,  68,  and  such  like  numbers  remained,  and 
we  had  even  to  put  some  for  a  time  into  our  operation  tent. 
They  came  pretty  equally  from  all  branches  of  the  service, 
none  was  exempt,  but  perhaps  the  class  most  affected  was  the 
officers'  servants  ;  and  a  large  number  of  the  mess  cooks  took 
it,  although  they  ate  and  drank  the  same  things  as  we  ourselves. 
Before  the  middle  of  the  month  we  had  257  cases  of  the 
disease,  with  a  mortality  of  60,  or  21-8  per  cent. 

More  hospitals  were  established  and  a  good  many  civilian 
doctors  were  brought  up  and  with  few  exceptions  worked 
heartily,  though  one  of  them,  I  regret  to  say,  when  requested 
to  attend  the  Schoolhouse  Hospital  in  an  emergency,  replied 
that  there  were  limits  to  what  a  man  is  willing  to  do,  and 
declined.  This  was  the  one  black  sheep  whom  I  met:  he 
openly  professed  that  he  had  '  come  to  see  what  was  to  be 
seen,'^not  to  do  what  was  to  be  done.  The  devotion  of  all 
the  R.A.M.C.  officers  was  beyond  praise,  and  I  never  admired 
the  major  so  much  as  when  he  was  hard  pressed  with  work 
and  duty ;    he  complied  unhesitatingly  with  the  rp"''  un- 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  191 

NMOMble  dcmandi  if  be  could  bring  help  to  tbow  who  needed 

It ;   he  never  reftiied  to  tdce  over  any  other  mmn'i  work ; 

he  WB»  ahrey.  about  looking  after  ererything  and  every  one's 
comfort ;  he  anticipated  every  requirement ;  he  plunged 
into  the  work  in  the  operation  tent ;  he  was  never  put  but 

by  the  moit  ill-timed  ini*rruption ;  and  when  everything 
lud  been  do  and  attended  to,  he  dropped  back  into  the 
.ilent  reserve  which  was  hi*  Ufuul.  When  matters  were  at 
theu-  worst  our  major  wired  fcr  four  nurses  to  be  sent  up  to 
assist  with  the  typhoid  cases,  and  endeavoured  to  obtain 
lodgings  for  them  in  the  town,  but  the  Dutch,  who  were  loading 
the  few  wounded  prisoners  we  had  in  Boshof  with  every  atten- 
tion, altogether  refused  to  give  house  room  to  the  sisters, 
even  for  payment.  The  sisters  came  up,  however,  and  did 
excellently,  havmg  run  the  risk  of  being  captured  on  tbt" 
"^^'n"'.^*^  '*  "^^  ■*  °"*  *""«  reported  that  they  had 
actually  beei.  taiten  prisoners  between  Kiraberley  and  Itoshof. 

Now  and  then  one  came  across  a  medical  officer  who  held 
the  opinion  that  everything  in  the  army  medical  service  was 
perfection,  but  even  these,  loyal  though  they  were  to  their 
corps,  could  hardly  have  been  quite  blind  to  its  deficiencies 
when  they  saw  the  conditions  in  Boshof.  We  wouW  want 
coverglasses  to  make  blood  flhns,  there  were  none  j  micro- 
scope shdes,  they  did  not  exist ;  a  microscope,  Boshof  did 
not  possess  su«*  a  thing ;  staining  reagents,  such  things 
were  never  heard  of.  Adhesive  plaster  ran  done ;  so  did 
calico  bandages  ;  there  was  gypsum,  but  no  muslin  bandages 
for  applymg  it ;  the  alembroth  bandages  were  of  only  one  sue, 
and  that  was  too  narrow  to  be  of  much  service ;  there  were 
no  abdominal  binders ;  there  was  no  proper  operation  table : 
there  was  hardly  a  parish  doctor  in  all  ScotUnd  who  would 
not  have  been  better  supplied. 

These  and  other  defects  were  not  due  to  any  want  of 
interest  on  the  part  of  Lord  Methuen.  He  and  Lieutenant 
Ij— y  wouH  come  in  during  the  middle  of  our  work,  speak  to 
the  sick  and  wounded,  interest  themselves  in  them,  and  make 
a  round  among  the  wounded  in  the  tents  of  the  field  hospital. 
Others  too  came  and  would  have  supplied  our  deficiencies  had 

tftjy  been  allowed.    Two  oflicers'  wives,  Mrs.  O'B and 

™;  ^TT"'  contrived  somehow  to  make  their  way  through 
to  Boshof,  were  m  possession  of  funds,  and  were  most  anxious 
to  supply  us  with  thinjrs  required  for  the  equipment  of  the 
hospital,  which  were  '  •  jds  down  to  crockery ;  they  in- 
formed themselves  ai  •  .  or  wants,  and  left  along  with  an 
wcorted  convoy  for  Kiu-uerley,  intending  to  get  the  requisites 
R>r  the  village  school  hospital  sent  through  by  a  road-engine 


,  I 


I  I  ' 


19a    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

tr»in.    But  I  don't  think  th«y  mat  •Itowed  to  do  >o.    The 
Red  Cron,  too,  w«»  contpicuoui  by  its  total  •btenoe. 

When  itending  back  our  patients,  we  at  flnt  had  no  alter- 
native but  to  transport  them  in  buck-wagon»  drawn  by  ojwn, 
enUiling  stow  journeys.    In  this  we  were  practically  helpless, 
for  we  possessed  but  three  ambulance  wagons,  canable  of 
carrying  four  lying  cases  in  each,  while  we  had  to  despatch 
a   convoy   arranged   for,  say,  18  cases,  which   rose  before 
departing    to    68    sick   (I   cite    actual    oocurrences),    and 
the    -onditfons  of       :ir  transport  le^,  as  will  readdy^  be 
imagined,  much  t.   je  desired.    Things  irnpioved  somewhat 
in  the  later  days ;   a  better  route,  with  Frankfort  midway 
in  it,  was  presently  established,  so  that  patienta  could  be 
rested,  refreshed,  and  u.et  by  transport  sent  out  from  Kim- 
berley.  and  be  met  by  doctors  and  attendanU  also  commg 
out  from  there.    But  what  couW  any  service,  robbed  of  iU 
proper  vehicles,  do  ?    A  few  ambuknce  cars  did  not  go  far 
when  batches  of  eighty  patients  had  to  be  moved,  and  the 
strain  on  the  line  of  communication  may  b»  vjdged  from  the 
fact  that  ir  three  weeks  we  had  to  send  down  in  the  rudest 
conveyances  between  three  and   four    hundred    s.ck   and 
wounded,  without  the  numbers  rer        .ig  in  Boshof  seeming 
to  diminUh.    The  best  that  was  f        ole  under  the  curcuin- 
stances  was  done,  as  each  R.A.M.C.  01    er  met  with  a  difficulty 
he  rose  to  it  and  overcame  it,  but  the     was,  so  far  as  I  could 
hear,  no  fully  organised  h  Ip  from  the  .aedical  headquarters, 
and  telegraphic  inquiries  failed  to  discover  that  any  special 
officer  of  the  RJlJU.C.  was  in  charge  of  the  lines  of  com- 
munication.   T.  e  military  gave  all  the  assistance  they  could, 
t  d  provided  s  /table  escorts  for  the  convoys  of  patients, 
but,  as  already  suited,  the  Boers  did  not  make  war  upon  our 
sick,  or  molest  in  the  smallest  degree  their  convoys,  so  far 
bs  we  in  Boshof  ever  heard. 

We  had  with  us  in  Boshof  a  field  hospital  suppUed  and 
accompanied  by  a  rich  American.  It  had  a  curious  history, 
but  I  abstain  &om  leaking  any  comment  on  it. 


XL 

Boshof  to  Hoopstad 

When  the  month  of  May  arrived,  and  the  rainy  season  was 
fairly  over,  our  future  planii  began  to  be  the  subject  of  camp 
rumours  and  of  private  whisperings  among  those  who  were 
supposed  to  be  in  cv-  GeneraFs  counsels.  It  had  at  one  time 
been  imagined  that  we  might  be  sent  to  relieve  Mafeking, 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  193 

•nd  thii  ides  died  hud,  but  whether  or  not  this  had  ever 
been  put  of  Lord  RoberU'i  and  Lord  Methufn'i  desiRni, 
it  eame  to  be  pretty  plain  to  those  of  us  who  ponderrd  over 
the  powibilitiet  of  the  future  that  aome  other  deitination 
wai  more  probable.    Brandfort  on  the  Bloemfontein -Pretoria 
Une  had  Jiut  been  captured  by  the  Commnnder-in-Chief,  the 
British  had  forced  the  passage  of  the  Vanl  River  at  Windsor- 
town,  and  an  advance  into  the  Transvaal  was  bound  to  be 
the  next  phase  of  the  war.    By  this  tiir      00,  it  was  seen  that 
the  resistance  of  the  enemy  m  the  Free  State,  and  particu- 
lulf  """"^  "*  **  Boshof,  was  weakening,  so  that  it  created 
little  surprise  when  the  plan  of  our  sweeping  along  the  south 
of  the  Vaal  in  harmony  with  General  Archibald  Hunter's 
similarmarchalong  its  northern  bank  came  to  be  foreshadowed, 
«id  preparations  were  made  for  initiating  it  by  an  advance  on 
Hoopttad,  a  journey  of  four  or  Bve  days,  which  involved 
our  burning  our  boats  behind  us  and  phinging  into  a  region 
dMtitute  of  roads,  railways,  or  other  means  of  communication. 
When  it  was  now  seen  by  us  that  the  town  of  Boshof,  pro- 
vided with  strong  fortifications,  was  to  be  left  with  a  moderate 
force  to  garrison  it,  while  the  others  moved  on,  each  unit 
hoped  and  prayed  that  it  would  not  be  one  of  those  to  be  left 
behind,  but  would  be  among  those  selected  to  go  forward. 
For  by  the  18th  of  May  every  one  knew  that  Hoopstad  was 
where  the  blow  was  to  fall,  and  that  fiom  thence  we  would 
advance  to  join  Roberts's  mair   army  on  the  line  between 
the  capitals  of  the  Free  State  anu  Transvaal. 

The  hum  and  bustle  in  the  camps  grew  loud  and  intense. 
A  large  body  of  lancers  came  in,  the  outer  world  whose  exist- 
ence we  had  almost  forgotten  broke  in  upon  us,  and  our  family 
gatherings,  where  each  knew  his  neighbour,  were  no  more. 
All  day  long  we  could  espy  clouds  of  dust  from  bodies  of  men 
approaching  us  fh>m  several  directions  across  the  veld ;  in 
the  afternoons  tired  horses  and  dusty  hungry  men  with  un- 
known faces  commenced  to  crawl  into  our  camps,  and  reveal 
that  they  were  ofBcers,  medical  and  other,  who  had  ridden 
on  before  the  regiments  or  units  which  were  en  the  way  to 
complete  Lord  Methuen's  Division  to  its  full  strength.  Such 
arrivals  increased  in  frequency,  and  following  them  came  in 
bodies  of  foot,  horsemen,  mule-carts,  buck-wagons,  ox-wagons, 
artillery,  ambulance  wagons,  and  all  the  paraphernalia  of 
war.  Dust  and  tumult  rose  round  and  in  Boshof,  and  by 
nightfall  the  hum  of  voices,  shouts  of  men,  noises  of  mules 
and  cattle,  bugle  caDs,  pattering  of  mallets  driving  tent-pegs, 
and  other  sounds,  made  a  Babel  of  the  quiet  place,  and  canvas 
spires  commenced  to  tower  up  all  around,  ghostly  in  the  dim 


■'  '1 


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;, 


194    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

moonlight  and  the  faint  reflections  of  the  blazing,  smoking 
camp-ftres  which  gleamed  in  all  directions  about  us.  In  came 
the  Munster  Fusiliers,  the  Scottish  Rifles,  a  weak  regiment 
with  a  strong  band,  the  South  Wales  Borderers,  the  4th 
battery  of  Artillery  with  a  couple  of  new  Vickers-Maxim  field 
guns,  and  the  Staffordshire  Militia,  most  of  them  belonging 
to  ova  own  20th  Brigade,  and  forthwith  set  to  work  erect- 
ing their  tents  and  cooking  their  suppers.  Some  had  come 
fhjm  Kimberley,  some  from  Windsortown,  and  others  from 
Warrenton  in  the  north ;  it  was  a  gathering  ol  the  tribes. 

To  these  arrivak  our  small  medical  contingent  endeavoured 
to  show  its  best  face,  and  was  reviewed  by  the  General  and 
Colonel  Townsend.    All  acquitted  themselves  well,  the  gem 

of  the  whole  being  M 's  bearer  company,  which  he  had 

trained  in  a  few  weeks,  out  of  the  unpromising  militiamen 
and  others  who  had  been  given  him,  and  converted  into  a 
capable  and  useful  set  of  ambulance  men  ;  they  did  better 
than  any  one  could  have  believed  possible,  not  only  in  ambu- 
lance and  wagon  drill,  but  in  compressing  arteries,  extemporis- 
ing splints,  and  using  bandages.    One  of  them,  H ,  gained 

renown  by  preparing  a  finger-splint  out  of  an  envelope  and 
pencil  he  had  in  his  pocket. 

All  the  regiments  whom  it  was  intended  to  take  on  the 
expedition  were  paraded  and  underwent  an  inspection  by 
their  medical  officers  as  to  their  fitness  for  the  march,  in  order 
to  ensure,  if  it  might  be,  a  strong  and  enduring  body  of  men. 
Each  man  was  carefully  looked  over  and  rejected  if  he  showed 
signs  of  any  defect  or  weakness  that  might  impair  him,  and 
his  name  was  placed  on  the  roll  if  he  were  satisfactory.  In 
a  force  which  had  to  carry  with  it  the  means  of  existing  and 
fighting  for  perhaps  thirty  days  without  fresh  supplies,  and 
was  to  be  completely  isolated,  the  regulations  of  warfare, 
though  ordinarily  they  are  somewhat  elastic,  were  insisted 
on  with  unusual  stringency.  Each  man,  horse,  mule,  bullock, 
or  other  item  was  counted  in  each  regiment  or  vmit,  and 
each  unit  drew  its  own  rations  for  tMrty  days  from  the 
commissariat  stores,  and  carried  them  with  it,  the  rations 
being  exact  weights  of  biscuit,  tiimed  beef,  a  little  tea,  sugar, 
salt,  and  pepper  for  the  men,  and  oats,  bran,  salt,  and  bales 
of  compressed  hay  for  the  animals. 

There  were  sad  faces  among  the  rejected,  as  those  who  were  so 
happy  as  to  have  been  chosen  set  to  work  on  their  preparations. 
Transport  suddenly  became  the  all-absorbing  topic,  every  one 
looked  over  his  kit  to  see  what  he  could  best  spare  in  order 
to  reduce  his  baggage  to  the  required  weight  of  85  pounds 
for  an  officer,  and  10  pounds  for  a  private,  for  if  anything 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


195 


beyond  this  were  Uken  it  would  be  thrown  out  on  the  veM. 
Blankets  were  sewn  up  into  sleeping-bags,  for  no  tents  were 
to  be  permitted  ;  even  the  medical  contingent  was  allowed 
only  the  operation  tent  and  a  few  others  for  wounded  and  sick. 
When  one  came  to  put  a  pair  of  blankets,  a  change  of  clothing, 
soap  and  a  brush  into  a  package  and  weigh  it,  there  was  little 
to  spare  to  make  up  the  85  pounds,  and  books,  paper,  and 
tobacco  had  to  be  carried  in  very  small  amounts.  My  little 
cart  carrying  my  bag,  rugs,  and  tiny  patrol  tent,  was  an  object 
of  envy.  The  camps  presented  a  new  and  unwonted  aspect, 
with  the  long  rows  of  men  passing  one  by  one  through  the 
operation  tent  for  their  medical  examination,  the  horses 
being  shod,  the  equipment  of  every  kind  looked  to  and 
arranged,  and  the  stores  weighed  and  sorted.  No  dogs 
were  to  be  taken  beyond  the  strictly  regimental  ones,  and 
even  these  had  to  be  certified  by  the  commanding  officer 
and  receive  a  special  pass ;  all  others  were  to  be  destroyed 
at  the  first  halting-place.  Unattached  persons,  like  dogs, 
were  not  on  any  account  to  accompany  the  column,  leave  to 
do  so  was  granted  only  to  Press  correspondents  and  such  as 
could  show  legitimate  business. 

The  number  of  rejections  was  surprisingly  large.  Out 
of  a  batch  of  880  from  one  militia  regiment,  212  were  kept 
back  as  unfit ;  and  of  the  total  of  that  same  regiment  at 
least  827  shared  the  same  fate. 

Unexpectedly  at  half -past  seven  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday, 
tiie  18th  of  May,  the  order  came  for  the  head  of  the  column  to 
depart,  and  all  postal  communication  was  put  a  stop  to. 
Early  next  morning,  almost  before  the  full  moon  had  stt 
and  day  began  to  take  its  place,  those  who  were  going  with 
the  van  were  riding  round  our  tents  bawling  their  farewells, 
as  we  rubbed  our  awaking  eyes.  By  the  time  I  had  washed 
and  sallied  out,  a  long  stream  of  dust  extending  into  the  east 
over  the  plain  towards  the  Spitzkop  Hill  proclaimed  that 
the  foremost  sections  had  really  started  and  were  already 
well  on  their  way.  Methuen's  plans  were  also  now  fully 
revealed;  he  himself  was  to  lead  the  way  to  Hoopsted 
with  one  half  of  the  force,  and  General  Paget  in  command 
of  the  other  half  was  to  follow  immediately  behind.  Instruc- 
tions as  to  the  march  were  given  out ;  starting  every  morning 
at  six,  we  were  to  trek  until  it  became  too  warm  at  nine  or 
ten,  rest  and  feed  the  animals  until  four,  and  then  mareh 
on  till  seven  or  eight.  Cavalry  were  to  scout  in  front  over  a 
breadth  of  three  miles ;  a  mile  in  their  rear  came  the  infantry 
and  ambulance ;  then  followed  the  baggage  wagons  in  lines 
of  three  abreast ;  behind  came  more  infantry  and  ambulance ; 


,    * 


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I 


196    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

with  still  more  infantry  and  cavalry  bringing  up  the  rear.  On 
the  flanks,  1000  yards  distant  to  right  and  left,  there  marched 
bodies  of  infantiy  to  protect  us,  and  outside  them  again  were 
cavalry  scouts.  We  ourselves  were  in  Paget's  column  and 
were  ordered  to  set  ofl  next  morning  at  six,  prepared  to  con- 
tinue trekking  for  twenty-one  days.  ,      ,   , ,      ■ 

Though  the  day  was  dull  and  grey,  with  a  cold  gale  blowmg, 
our  last  tent  was  struck  at  midday,  our  wagons  were  in- 
spanned,  and  everything,  that  could  be  spared  was  packed 

upon  them.    The  Boer  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Mr.  B ,  agam 

turned  up  in  the  afternoon  with  his  camera,  and  was  busy 
ta^ig  snapshots  of  the  preparations,  and  on  this  occasion 
no  one  concerned  himself  to  stop  him  flrom  doing  so.  To- 
wards evening  a  marked  '  counter-sunset '  appeared  in  dense 
stratus  clouds,  lasted  from  4.80  to  5.88,  and  slight  traces 
of  it  endured  even  until  six  o'clock,  long  after  the  sun  'lad 
set ;  its  duration  being  forty -five  minutes,  or  indistinctly 
even  eighty  minutes.  Through  it  rose  the  moon  at  full, 
shining  over  the  now  tentless  expanse  co'  kl  with  cattle, 
horses,  mules,  and  wagons,  and  dotted  wiV  irequent  camp- 
fires  ;  as  it  climbed  up  behind  the  watery  clouds  it  shone 
through  them  as  through  frosted  glass,  its  bleared  disk 
threw  a  halo  around  it,  which  gradually  expanded  like  an 
opening  pupil,  wherein  Jupiter  and  a  hazy  star  or  two  showed 
here  and  there.  The  ominous  appearance  of  the  sky  fascin- 
ated me,  and  many  remarked  it,  auguring  a  bad  night  and 
wet  weather  for  our  mareh  on  the  morrow ;  but  it  was  not 
to  be  so,  as  night  advanced  the  wind  changed  from  the  north 
into  the  south,  the  sky  cleared,  and  a  glorious  though  bitterly 
cold  night  was  followed  by  a  fine  day,  with  half  a  gale  blowing 
at  intervals. 

Punctually  at  the  time  appointed  we  set  out  and  rode 
east  by  south-east  over  very  fair  roads  until  half-past  eight, 
when  we  outspanned  for  the  day  at  Spitzkop.  For  the  first 
five  miles  the  plain  was  fiat,  then  succeeded  wooded  kopjes, 
the  highest  of  which,  called  the  Spitzkop,  was  ahnost  pictur- 
esque, and  at  its  foot  we  halted. 

In  the  afternoon  we  had  by  much  diligence  got  ourselves 
into  apple-pie  order  for  starting  at  four,  as  had  been  appointed, 
but  our  punctuality  was  superfuous,  for  though  the  advanced 
guard  got  off  then,  we  had  to  stand  about  and  sicken  in  the 
sun  long  ere  the  word  to  advance  was  passed  backwards 
through  row  after  row  of  wagons,  and  a  long  time  elap^ 
before  we  got  under  weigh.  When  we  did  so,  we  beheld  for 
a  long  time  nothing  round  us  but  a  sea  of  dust  out  of  which 
emerged   like  masts  of  ships  the  wagoners'  long  bamboo 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


>97 


whips,  and  as  we  made  our  way  through  it  until  it  became 
dark,  all  we  could  discern  was  that  we  were  advancing  to  the 
north-east  at  a  pace  of  about  two  miles  an  hour.  When  the 
moon  rose,  it  gave  us  the  points  of  the  compass,  threw  its 
Ught  over  the  land,  and  revealed  that  we  were  emeiging 
from  a  district  full  of  menacing  kopjes  which  overhung  our 
road,  and  that  when  we  had  got  free  from  their  frowns  we 
entered  on  a  plain  marked  by  but  few  and  distant  examples 
of  these  natural  fortifications.  The  Zwaartkopje,  steep 
and  forbidding,  was  the  last  which  we  passed,  as  it  touched 
the  very  road  we  followed,  and  we  were  well  pleased  to  be 
freed  from  the  dangers  such  spots  might  have  concealed. 
While  we  were  in  the  region  of  the  kopjes  every  care  was 
taken  that  the  disaster  of  Sanna's  Post  should  not  be  repeated 
with  our  force,  all  dangerous  spots  were  occupied  and  handed 
over  from  one  regiment  to  another  until  we  had  passed  out  of 
their  perils.  Half  a  degree  from  the  moon  the  planet  Jupiter 
was  in  conjunction  with  her,  and  was  a  redeeming  sight  in 
the  long,  tedious,  and  dusty  drive,  in  which  our  direction 
lay  for  several  miles  to  the  north-east,  then  turned  eastwards, 
until  finally  about  nine  o'clock  we  saw  to  the  north  of  us 
bivouac  fires  in  a  row  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  right  and 
left,  where  the  colunm  head  had  arrived  and  were  setthng 
for  the  night  at  Mahemsfontein.  But  it  was  half-past  ten, 
and  we  were  ready  to  sink  down  with  fatigue  before  we 
arrived  there.  It  was  midnight  before  I  could  pitch  my  little 
tent  and  crawl  into  it. 

At  half-past  three  m  the  lunming  the  head  of  the  column 
set  off  again,  but  we  were  no-  warned  by  experience  and  were 
able  to  continue  our  rest  until  four,  when  we  packed  and  in- 
spanned  by  the  light  of  Jupiter  and  the  moon  and  set  off 
in  the  cold  darkiiess.  Soon  we  overtook  the  slow  laggard 
ox-transport  and  the  body  of  the  column  ;  the  sun  rose  on  a 
pleasant  bracing  morning,  in  which  we  were  marching  to  the 
north-east,  intending  to  accomplish  fourteen  miles  in  one 
trek ;  but  by  the  time  we  had  covered  eight  the  sun  became 
hot,  oxen  began  to  die  and  wagons  to  stick,  and  a  few  had 
to  be  abandoned  with  all  their  contents.  It  was  evident 
that  we  should  lose  all  that  we  had  if  we  persisted ;  wiser 
counsels  prevailed,  and  we  stayed  our  advance  at  Haarte- 
beestfontein,  in  a  country  park-like  from  scattered  trees, 
where  we  saw  game,  wildebeest,  koraan,  and  other  fauna 
of  the  kind.  All  of  the  farms  we  had  passed  on  the  way  were 
deserted,  windowless,  bare,  gaunt,  and  naked,  with  only 
sometimes  a  few  cattle  and  stock  to  be  seen.  All  the  farm 
people  had  gone,  the  men  to  fight  in  the  ranks  of  our  enemies. 


i 


ii 


M 


198    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

and  the  only  human  beings  were  the  Kafirs.  We  touched 
nothing,  and  any  cattle  we  saw  were  left  to  wander  at  their 
will  or  be  annexed  by  the  Kafirs,  as  generally  happened. 
The  latter  did  not  fear  us,  but  came  over  with  supplies  of 
eggs  and  vegetables,  in  scanty  quantities  however,  for  the 
first  column  had  been  before  us  and  gleaned  the  most  of 
such  provisions.  ,      „    ,.       , 

Sickness  already  began  to  break  out;  the  first  column 
were  sending  back  their  invalids  to  us,  our  own  men  also  fell  ill, 
and  as  we  had  the  means  of  carrying  only  six  in  our  ambu- 
lances, the  outlook  was  an  evil  one  for  whosoever  collapsed. 
I  mentiored  that  the  houses  where  we  might  have  left  them 
were  ruinous  and  uninhabited  ;  we  could  not  send  the  in- 
valids back  to  Boshof  through  a  hostile  country  even  if  we 
had  possessed  the  ambulance  wagons  in  which  to  send  them, 
nor  could  an  escort  be  spared.  The  only  resource,  seeing 
that  our  bearer  companies  had  only  at  the  most  three  ambu- 
lance wagons  instead  of  their  proper  nun>ocr  of  ten,  was  to 
carry  in  these  as  many  as  we  could,  and  place  the  remamder, 
whatever  their  condition,  on  the  buck-wagons  and  ox-wagons 
as  these  became  emptied  by  our  consumption  of  the  stores 

they  carried.  .       ,        .,  j 

When  we  left  Haartebeestfontein  m  the  afternoon  and 

continued  our  forward  way,  it  was  dark  before  the  rear  goc 

started,  and  soon  the  obscurity  was  so  great  that  all  one  could 

see  was  a  long  train  of  wagons  moving  800  or  1000  yards  off 

on  the  right  hand,  parallel  to  ours.    As  it  became  yet  darker, 

and  the  moon  had  not  appeared,  all  knowledge  of  what  was 

going  on  around  soon  became  lost,  the  only  object  I  could 

discern  being  the  back  of  the  wagon  in  front  of  me,  looming 

as  a  black  mass  against  the  sky.    I  followed  its  outline 

closely  as  my  only  guide  and  safeguard,  for  we  were  no  longer 

on  a  road,  but  striking  across  the  veld,  and  whenever  I  saw 

one  side  of  the  wagon  heave  up  I  knew  that  it  was  oyer  an 

ant-hill,  or  when  it  went  down  with  a  crash  I  knew  it  was 

in  a  jackal's  hole,  and  drew  promptly  to  a  side  to  save  my 

slender  wheels  from  being  wrecked.    I  had  several  narrow 

escapes,  especially  from  the  holes,  which  were  from  one  to 

two  feet  deep.    My  luminous  compass  indicated  north-east, 

but  the  stars  told  me  that  we  were  really  bearing  almost  due 

north.    It  seemed  in  the  dark  a  long  solitary  drive,  and  it 

was  eight  o'clock  before  the  moon  rose  and  began  to  show  that 

others  beiJe  myself  were  trekking  along  in  silence.    Against 

its  red  disk  one  saw  the  distant  outline  of  men,  horses,  oxen, 

and  wagons,  minutely  silhouetted,  and  realised  that  the 

oolunm  was  still  in  some  kind  of  order.    The  moon  also  showed 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


199 


the  holes  and  obstacles  in  the  veld,  so  tkut  they  could  be 
aToided,  and  I  was  very  thankfiil  for  its  help.  Presently 
it  revealed  a  file  of  wagons  moving  along  on  the  left,  and  so 
far  we  had  managed  to  preserve  our  order  and  were  marching 
along  in  three  lines,  but  before  our  halting-place  was  reached 
we  got  mixed  up  in  much  confusion. 

Our  halt  was  at  Drifontein,  and  towards  nine  we  perceived 
the  bivouac  fires  there  ;  our  cattle  seemed  to  recognise  their 
significance  as  well  as  we,  and  perhaps  the  road,  which  had 
been  atrocious,  had  mended  a  little,  but  however  it  was  we 
seemed,  contrary  to  the  usual,  to  get  on  faster  after  we  saw 
them  glitter,  and  by  ten  o'clock  we  were  in.  What  a  jumble 
of  our  fine  order  I  Ox-wagons,  mule-wagons,  soldiers,  ambu- 
lances, that  should  have  been  nicely  separate,  were  all  in- 
termingled ;  yet  each  unit  stuck  together  somehow,  or  if 
separated  mostly  dodged  through  the  mass  of  wheels  and 
hoofs  and  got  to  its  own  again ;  fer  my  part  I  stuck  resolutely 
to  the  wagon  before  me  where  I  believed  I  had  seen  my 
portmanteau  deposited.  For  some  unknown  reason,  un 
arriving,  we  found  orders  to  quit  our  usual  post  with  the 
rearguard,  and  to  move  on  to  the  front,  so  we  threaded  our 
darkling  way  among  bivouac  fires,  men,  carts,  mules,  and 
oxen,  until  out  heads  whirled  and  we  despaired  of  its  ending, 
and  finally  settled  down  to  outspan  on  what  seemed  to  us 
in  the  dark  to  be  a  nice  rising  ground  above  and  to  the  west 
of  the  farm  of  Drifontein. 

On  many  accounts  I  felt  glad  to  have  arrived.  Dying 
cattle  had  bestrewn  the  latter  half  of  our  route,  huge  lorries 
were  in  consequence  abandoned  with  all  the  provisions  they 
contained,  carts,  even  stout  Scottish  carts,  with  broken 
wheels,  left  behind,  were  too  vivid  a  reminder  of  the  fate 
that  would  have  been  mine  had  any  similar  mishap  occurred 
to  the  spokes  of  my  buggy  wheels,  which  were  gossamer  in 
comparison  with  these  stout  vehicles.  It  had  been  with 
trembling  that  I  had  nursed  it  from  every  jolt. 

When  morning  came  we  foimd  we  had  been  sleeping  on 
the  garbage  heap  of  the  farm,  where  bones  and  the  remains 
of  slaughtered  animals  were  shot  out,  but  as  all  was  dry  it 
did  not  matter.  The  farm  was  a  large  and  fine  one,  lying 
in  a  hollow  in  the  midst  of  salt  pans  and  vleis  of  sweet  water, 
and  surrounded  with  trees  planted  with  a  good  deal  of  taste, 
far  utility  as  well  as  shelter  and  appearance,  all  differing 
from  the  usual  farmhouses  in  that  quarter.    We  learned  that 

it  belonged  to  an  Englishman  of  the  name  of  R ,  who  had 

N!en  rrested  by  the  Beers  and  removed  to  Bloemfontein 
or  elsewhere,  while  his  wife  and  daughters,  who  still  inhabited 


■■'l\ 


1  ■! 


II  ''i ' 


it '  1 


i 


200    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

it,  were  'n  ignorance  of  his  fate.  Some  time  afterwards  I 
read  in  ..  English  newspaper  that  he  had  returned  from 
captivity  and  appeared  m  Kimberley  with  his  wife,  two 
daughters,  and  a  six-year-old  son,  having  suffered  severe 
privations  at  the  hands  of  some  of  the  Boers.  The  farm  was 
raided  by  a  party  of  the  enemy  under  Captain  Hendrik  Smit ; 

Mr.  R was  in  bed  with  rheumatic  fever,  but  was  made  to 

get  up,  and  was  placed  in  a  cart,  while  his  wife  and  children 
were  compelled  to  walk.  They  started  at  four  in  the  after- 
noon and  walked  twelve  miles,  when  they  halted  for  the  night. 
Next  morning  thty  walked  from  six  to  ten  miles,  when  the 
ladies  were  unable  to  proceed  farther.  Another  cart  was 
commandeered  for  the  family.  Two  days  later  they  arrived 
at  Fetrusburg.  There  they  were  housed  in  a  dirty  room 
with  a  mud  floor,  and  were  given  nothing  to  eat  or  drink 
until  next  day  at  noon,  when  they  received  some  meaUes. 
They  were  in  the  hands  of  the  Boers  for  only  a  fortnight, 

but  during  that  time  Mr.  R became  so  ill  that  he  had  to 

be  attended  by  a  Boer  doctor,  through  whose  influence  the 
family  was  released.  He  was  still,  added  the  newspaper, 
in  ignorance  of  the  fate  of  his  farm  and  belongings. 

The  daylight,  beside  this  pretty  farm,  which  was  by  far 
the  most  desirable  we  had  seen  in  the  Free  State,  revealed 
to  us  a  broad  and  deep  ravine  or  sluit  crossing  our  road  to 
the  north,  and  it  was  the  cause  of  a  long  delay,  for  its  banks 
and  bottom  were  of  deep  soft  sand,  so  that  each  wagon 
required  to  have  an  extra  team  of  sixteen  oxen,  in  addition 
to  its  own,  harnessed  to  it  before  it  could  be  dragged  across, 
and  from  the  depths  of  the  sluit  resounded  a  pandemonium 
of  roars,  wails,  shouts,  and  oaths,  as  down  the  steep  nearer 
bank  dipped  the  long  bulky  black  train,  and  ascended  the 
farther  bank  with  toil,  pain,  and  sweat,  until  it  began  to  reach 
the  firmer  ground  behind  and  disappear  from  sight  across 
the  wavy  veld.  As  we  stopped  there,  wearily  waiting  for 
three  hours,  I  put  the  hobbles  on  my  pony  and  collected  the 
bulbous  plants  which  were  growing  on  the  plain,  some  of 
which  were  beautiful  enough  to  be  cultivated  in  an  .English 
greenhouse.  But  at  last  we  got  oft  and  struck  northwards, 
passing  over  plains,  plains,  and  ever  more  plains,  desolate 
beyond  description,  a  flat  sea  of  land,  bordered  by  the  dome 
of  heaven,  where  even  a  single  low  bush  was  a  relief  to  the 
monotony.  By  eleven  o'clock  we  had  covered  nine  miles, 
for  the  going  was  good,  and  got  among  some  threatening 
kopjes  which  our  troops  had  occupied,  and  where,  beside  a 
little  farm,  there  was  a  small  dam  or  vlei,  which  our  tired 
and  thirsty  horses  &irly  rushed  if  they  were  free  to  do  so. 


/IM 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  mi 

In  pity  to  my  Basuto  1  quitted  the  column  and  drove  him 
towards  it,  disregarding  some  warning  shouts,  and  he  plunged 
nght  into  it  in  his  eagerness  to  quench  his  thirst.    Abut 
He  sank  in  the  deep  mire  around  it,  and,  entangled  by  the 
sinkmg  cart,  floundered,  sank  deeper,  and  horse  and  buggy 
stuck  fest  and  were  going  always  down.    I  jumped  out  and 
with   difficulty    obte-ied    foothold    enough    to   assist    him, 
showed  him  how  beut  to  use  his  strength,  got  him  to  move  a 
little,  then  by  degrees  to  turn  sideways,  and  so  drew  him  and 
the  vehicle  out,  led  hun  round  to  a  less  dangerous  spot  where, 
with  a  little  management,  for  he  was  very  Wghtened,  he  went 
m  far  enough  to  reach  the  water  and  get  a  drink.     I  led  him 
away  to  some  distant  grass,  hobbled  him,  and  let  him  graze. 
It  was  well  I  did  so,  for  at  once  the  orders  came  that  we  were 
to  set  off  again  in  two  hours,  and  no  forage  could  be  given 
to  the  other  horses  who  had  been  haltered  on  the  bare  earth 
by  the  halting-place  of  the  wagons.    The  feed  he  had  so 
obtemed  enabled  him  to  withstand  the  fatigue  which  was 
telling  sorely  on  all  our  transport  animals,  especially  on  the 
oxen,  which  are  dependent  on  the  long  rests  when  they  may 
wander  and  graze.    The  cause  of  our  haste  was  that  Lord 
Methuen,  who  was  one  march  ahead,  was  expecting  a  flght 
and  required  our  help.    For  two  days  the  Boers  had  been 
prowlmg  around  us,  but  in  the  forenoon,  on  our  way,  we  had 
rmde  some  of  them  prisoners,  and  from  them  we  learned  that 
of  the  commandoes  about,  some  were  becoming  so  discouraged 
that  they  were  inclined  to  come  in  and  give  themselves  up, 
and  indeed  that  batches  of  fifty  or  thereby  were  on  their  way 
to  surrender  to  Lord  Methuen's  force.    Notwithstanding,  we 
set  off  once  more  at  one  o'clock,  at  least  the  head  of  the 
column  started  then,  and  good  progress  was  made,  for  the 
going  was  now  good,  the  plains  again  firm,  dry,  and  level, 
with  only  a  few  low  kopjes  far  distant  to  the  right  and  left, 
and  quickly  we  picked  up  the  main  body.    One  or  two 
farmhouses  appeared  in  the  distance,  some  vleis  of  sweet 
water  were  seen  to  the  east  and  west,  and  the  existence  of 
sericulture  was  testified  to  by  fences  of  cactus  plants  on  the 
boundaries  of  &rms,  or  surrounding  a  few  cultivated  fields. 
The  state  of  our  cattle,  however,  was  so  serious  as  to  makp 
It  necessary  to  call  a  halt,  and  we  pulled  up  at  Aaronskiaal 
m  the  early  evening,  to  feed  and  rest  them  a  little,  for  now 
the  orders  were  for  us  to  set  off  again  in  four  hours  and 
march  all  night  with  short  rests,  covering  a  distance  of  twenty 
to  twenty-four  miles  so  as  to  reach  Methuen  and  give  him 
such  help  as  he  might  waiit  in  the  battle  which  was  con- 
fidently anticipated.    However,   a   telegram   was  received 


'    Mil 


Vil 


i     !' 


U!' 


303    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

that  the  commando  in  front  of  Methuen  had  surrendered  to 
him  and  we  might  halt  a  whole  day.    This  was  a  joyful  re- 
prieve :  we  hung  a  lantern  on  n  bBmboo  stick,  guthered  round 
It,  and  had  a  good  supper,  u  glnd  evening,  and  a  quiet  night. 
In  the  morning  we  disdained  to  rise  before  seven,  when  every 
man  seized  a  bucket  or  basin,  gul  »  little  water,  and  retured 
to  the  most  secluded  comer  of  the  spacious  veld,  stripped 
oil  and  shook  his  dusty  clothes,  and  had  a  refreshmg  sponge 
down  before  breakfast.    Luxury  1    Then  came  in  the  news 
tliat  Methuen  had  entered  Hoopstad  without  meeting  any 
resistance,  which  enabled  us.  freed  from  the  expectation  of 
having  to  fight  a  way  through,  to  prepare  ourselves  for  the 
long  waterless  journey  of  fifteen  or  twenty  mUes  that  Uy 
before  us,  and  which  had  to  be  accomplished  before  we  could 
have  more  than  an  hour  or  two  during  which  to  rest  our 
transport  animals.  ab*ady  dreadfully  done  up,  and  who  were 
quite  unable  to  get  up  a  greater  pace  than  two  mU»  an  hour. 
The  farmer  at  Aaronskraal  was  an  old  man,  and  his  lout 
sons  were  in  the  field  against  us,  but  they  came  in  and  made 
their  submission,  and  we  purchased  suppUes  from  them, 
paying  by  cheques  which  could  not  be  cashed  until  the 
termination  of  the  war,  but  were  nevertheless  readily  accepted, 
which  we  considered  a  significant  sign. 

In  the  afternoon  a  procession  of  horsemen  was  observed 
pacing  slowly  towards  us  across  the  plain,  the  foremost 
rider  holding  a  white  flag  conspicuously  before  him  over  his 
horse's  head ;  they  were  a  conunando  of  the  Orange  Free 
Staters  come  to  make  their  peace,  as  they  found,  they  said, 
that  we  were  too  many  for  them.  Their  advances  were  met 
by  the  olive  branch. 

On  other  grounds  than  consideration  for  our  animals  we 
were  glad  of  the  interval  in  which  to  refit.  The  fever  was 
dogging  our  steps  ;  its  power  of  impeding  us  daily  increaswl ! 
and  at  Aaronskraal  we  had  five-and-twenty  men  lying  under 
the  shade  of  our  operation  tent,  nearly  all  typhoids,  and  all 
fallen  dangerously  ill  since  we  had  left  Boshof.  It  was  sad 
indeed,  and  dreadful  for  those  for  whom  no  room  could  be 
found  in  the  ambulances.  They  had  to  be  brought  along 
with  us  in  the  bullock  carts  his,  and  givmg  them  liquid 
food  and  morphia  when  req.  .-d,  was  all  that  could  be  done 
for  them.  It  was  impossible  to  give  them  more  than  one  day 
of  rest,  for  Methuen  was  soon  again  calling  to  us  to  come 
6n  with  all  speed.  We  therefore  put  some  ammunition  bis- 
cuits and  a  morsel  of  biltong  in  our  haversacks,  filled  our 
water-bottles,  upsaddled  and  set  off  in  the  evening.  My 
pony  was  always  a  timid  nervous  creature,  and  had  not 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


»3 


noovercd  from  his  fright  at  the  slough  ;  on  this  oocuion  he 
hjd  not  been  wateied,  and  when  I  drove  him  out  to  one  of 
the  waUnng-pIaces  to  give  him  a  drink  before  the  long  dry 
trek,  he  took  fright  at  h  white  tin  bucket  nnd  cun  glittering 
in  the  twilight,  shied  at  the  cactus  hedges  we  had  t<i  pass 
through,  backed,  turned,  reared,  and  became  so  unmanage- 
able that  he  had  to  be  petted,  soothed,  and  led  through  the 
obstacles  to  the  column.  All  that  march  he  was  nervous 
and  jumpy,  and  without  this  it  was  a  trying  experience 
enough.  It  was  a  misty  starlit  night  when  we  got  on  the  road, 
the  obscuring  dust  of  our  caravan  spread  far  and  near  and 
above  us,  while  the  moon  was  now  waning  and  would  not  rise 
for  many  hours.  If  we  were  reaUy  following  any  road,  it 
ooula  not  be  seen,  but  we  appeared  to  be  proceeding  right 
across  rough  country;  the  ant-hills  and  jackal-holes  called 
for  anxious  navigation,  and  even  when  moonlight  appeared 
at  nme  o  clock  it  helped  little.  Yet  it  was  rather  picturesque 
as  Its  fsmt  light  revealed  that  we  were  passing  through  a 
flat  strath,  wmdinp  our  way  among  trees  across  what  was 
probably  the  dry  upper  reaches  of  a  tributary  of  the  Vaal 
which  takes  its  rise  thereabouta,  the  broad  depression  deep 
with  sand,  very  soft  and  entirely  waterless.  Until  this  stiath 
hod  been  reached  our  course  had  been  a  gradual  ascent,  and 
after  we  had  crossed  it  the  acclivities  became  greater  j  we 
had  to  climb  up  long  lanes  in  the  sand,  necessitating  pro- 
longed rests  for  the  cattle,  and  things  became  greatly  mixed 
The  anunals  grew  exhausted  as  they  laboured  with  silent 
footfiBlls  through  sand  as  deep  and  soft  as  on  a  sea  beach 
above  Wgh-water  mark,  pulling  the  creaking  masses  of  the 
wagons  behind  them,  and  moving  ghost-like  on  the  right  hand 
and  the  left.  As  the  hours  went  on  more  wagons  broke  down 
and  had  to  be  abandoned,  cattle  dropped  in  their  harness 
and  were  left  lying,  fresh  oxen  being  attached  in  their  place  ; 

™S.*i  ^  ^"^  *''*"'  °*^"^  ^°^^  recover  after  a  little, 
nibble  grass,  rise  and  begin  to  graze,  and  survive  in  the  country 
until  some  one  took  possession  of  them.  The  horses  and 
mules  also  became  knocked  up,  some  of  them  were  dead 
beat,  drivers  grew  reckless,  and  when  an  animal  wouU  &U 
the  next  team  would  drive  right  over  it.  This  went  on  unta 
one  o  clock  m  the  morning,  when  the  worst  of  the  ascent  was 
over,  the  ground  became  firmer,  and  we  got  word  to  outspan 
for  a  couple  of  hours.  Such  a  brief  respite  forbade  aU  thought 
of  unshipping  any  rugs,  and  after  having  got  a  little  soup 
and  a  fmgment  of  a  smoke,  we  lay  down  in  our  greatcoate 
•mong  the  wheels  and  had  an  hour  of  repose ;  but  the  ooU 
was  too  great,  indeed  it  was  bitter,  and  we  awoke  shivering, 


' 


.i^ 


i'i 


ii  r 


'l'    . 


'i. 


J04    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

wont  to  the  neuMt  c»mp-flre  and  made  loroe  warm  ooftee, 
:wiw.^.^n5.  General  Methuen.  W.  had  .till  thirteen 
mile,  before  water  could  be  reached,  and  we  had  to  be  off  ra 
rjlarter  of  an  hour.  Down  went  the  coffee,  harness  and 
baggage  rope,  wen-  looked  to,  I  .prano  into  mv  <»rt,  and  in 
^^TCntSterwards  wa«  lo.t  in  the  Sark  c»cle  beyond  the 
liht  of  the  fire.  By  the  dim  light  of  the  moon  we  could  see 
Xt  we  werTmoviAg  onwards  in  three  irregular  lme«,  with 

m?w  Wr:  four,  five,  and  sometime.  .«  wagons  lost  them- 
Sfve.7Jid  UUed  on  to  anything  that  «emed  to  be  movmg 
»nfidenSy  enough  to  be  a  probable  guide     The  overwork 
:^dwL.t  of  watJ  was  telling  ever  more  badly  on  tt^anmia^ 
and  when  the  dawn  came  m  we  could  see  how  deadly  weanea 
?£ey  wS^     The  oxen  walked  atong  dragging  theurlegs,  with 
a  sulky^ression  of  their  mouth',  the'^  Ubour^  re.Dmi- 
tion  siundid  like  beUow.  a.  they  moved  Mongside  of  us, 
iw  Sed  and  riavered  and  long  string,  of  mucus  hung 
dk.^  te)m  their  mouths,  they  snatched  at  ai:y  morsel  of 
!^ as?hey  pushed  along  the  road,  now  and  the"  they  went 
Su^  mad  and  in  spite  of  their  drivers  would  suddenly  make 
2  wrfTto  a  place  wtere  they  seemed  to  think  the  road  would 
Se   *si«,  aSd  wagons  int^rkKJced  «"«  a  "ass  ofheavmg 
backs,  wild  eyes,  and  long  tossmg  pomted  horns.    Then  rwe 
She  wild  cries  of  the  bUcks.  their  long  heavy  lashes  cradted 
1^:  rifles  as  the  weighty  strokes  told  unceasmgly  on  the  sid^ 
and  backs  of  the  poor  brutes,  urgmg  them  °n  J't  »  Wtte 
farther  ere  they  feU  down  to  die  and  were  cut  loose  for  others 
tol^^iS  in.    There  they  were  left  with  their  necks  bleeding 
tm  t^r^pe  harness,  obstructing  the  road,  and  round  them 
and  over  them  went  the  convoy.    Anythmg  to  get  on.    The 
mules  were  the  next  to  give  in,  and  some  of  them  ^o  lay  down 
and  died.    It  was  a  heU  of  cruelty,  which  may  haje  t^" 
n^sary  ;  doubtless  it  was  so,  but  it  wa.  an  awful  thm^to 
seTand  I  in  my  egg-shell  of  a  cart  was  helpless  m  the  midst 
^it     Yet  fearful  Is  was  the  confusion  in  the  centre,  it  was 
»mforttog.  when  the  sun  rose  at  seven,  to  see  the  fiankmg 
3s  to  out  on  our  sides  in  perfect  order  l'~P"gJ'«tch 
^r  the  safety  of  the  mass  from  outward  attack.    But  even 
?he«  tL  men  were  falling  out  tired  and  exhausted,  and  we 
wo^d  pa»  some  of  the  vanguard  lying  with  their  peatcoats 
Tnd  rifles  dead  beat  in  the  middle  of  the  wadway  ''here  they 
SLi  lain  down  unable  to  advance  a  foot  farther.    No  doubt 
She  rearguard  awoke  them  and  brought  tb-m  on.    In  the 
SSHnd  clouds  of  dust  stalked  the  ""w^™JJ.tacl 
drivers,  plying  their  long  waving  whips,  some  of  them  nov 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


ao5 


diwed  up  like  Britith  wldim,  with  helmeti,  grrateoati. 
•nd  even  putteen,  wld  to  them  u  discarded  dren  by  the 
wldien  when  their  new  winter  kit  wai  iuued. 

By  the  morning  light  we  taw  that  the  ground  we  were 
travenmg  m  an  easterly  direction,  in  the  depth  of  a  foot  of 
•andy  soil,  was  a  *ttoneless  plain,  like  a  solid  sea  of  gentle 
wavM,  not  a  kopje  showing  m  any  direction  for  fifteen  miles 
round.  Loose  though  the  sand  was  it  was  covered  with  grass 
and  formed  the  best  pastoral  country  I  hod  observed  in  South 
Africa.  Among  the  grass  were  strange  plants,  long  trails 
of  weepers,  pkints  of  the  cucumber  species,  leaves  of  unknown 
bulbous  plants,  and  plants  with  leaves  resembling  ivv  and 
ground  ivy.  It  was  interesting,  though  perhaps  it  couM 
not  be  called  pretty. 

Shortly  after  nine  in  the  morning  we  had  accomplished  our 
forced  march  of  fifteen  miles,  and  reached  Graspan,  or  Niekerk- 
skuil,  even  the  best  of  us  very  cross  and  tired.  We  were 
glad  to  lie  down.  Each  man  sought  out  a  comer,  got  the 
sottest  thing  he  could  lay  his  hands  on  to  put  under  him, 
and  had  a  few  hours'  sleep ;  whUe  the  wretched  animals, 
released  (torn  their  harness,  spread  over  the  grass,  prevented 
from  straying  too  far  by  their  native  drivers,  whom  nothing 
seemed  to  tire. 

All  too  soon  we  had  to  stir  again,  for  two  companies  were 
gomg  on  with  a  train  of  provisions  for  Lord  Methuen,  and  we 
were  to  accompany  them.  We  hardly  seemed  to  have  shut 
our  eyes  when  the  cattle,  improved  by  the  brief  graze  and  rest, 
were  bemg  driven  in,  the  mules  that  had  employed  their 
freedom  in  trying  to  eat  our  knapsacks,  drinking  up  our 
loapy  washmg  water  in  preference  to  the  clean  which  was 
offered  to  them,  treading  on  our  belongings,  knocking  over 
our  tent,  and  annoying  us  by  playing  other  sly  mule  tricks, 
were  mspanned,  and  we  were  off  with  the  sick  whose  disposal 
was  becoming  a  serious  question.  Our  interval  of  rest  had 
seemed  to  be  short,  but  it  was  really  evening,  on  19th  May, 
when  we  again  rode  forwards  into  the  darkness,  and  the 
succeedmg  night  trek,  except  that  it  was  shorter,  resembled 
those  that  had  gone  before.  For  hours  we  went  on  half 
asleep,  with  fewer  hardships  to  the  animals;  the  black 
quadrangular  blocks  of  wagons,  drawn  by  their  sixteen 
crawhng  objects,  went  gliding  in  spectral  pairs  silently  save 
for  the  creaking  and  the  wagoners'  whips  and  cries,  and  in 
the  deep  sand  ghosts  of  men  in  black  greatcoats  came  and  went 
'"  w   u  j"*  °^  ****  gloom.    But  there  was  little  else  to  note. 

We  had  been  insensibly  ascending  a  plateau  which  shelved 
upwards  towards  the  east,  but  now  we  came  to  its  edge,  and 


im 


r 


ii 


ill 


«,6    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

_, j,__  Mil  in  raadt  Uke  w»t«Toouwet,  deep 

toon  were  going  o"*","Il' "*  "T?!  Xioft  land,  and  nrnt 

*^*  T^1^''o7tS:  a?c2TutediZlids  wm  a  difilcult 

thus  Vrosi-ting  I  <»me^ss  -J„"^'^f,i,^'eSeirens. 
^Ue?  in  a  .hallovr  ^to^t^^^^^^fA^^  »rt^"  Kafir  <J™ 

"1  waTSter'luncheon,  indeed  nearly  three  o'cloclc  befor. 
It  was  a«"  i"Ji  '        u  of  traffic  to  permit  our  party 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


ao7 


to»d  rmn  down  and  up  thew ;  above  the  ford  a  wall  of  Ioom 
•tone.  croMcil  the  river  and  broke  the  force  of  the  cunwit. 

III!!..H  1 T  »^*  '""*  *""  "  ^^"  "'"  °"  "hich  pedettriani. 
could  pick  their  way  acroH.  Fearing  for  the  behaviour  of 
my  pony  on  the  steep  bank.  1  kept  a  tight  rein,  which  wh«  a 
mitUke,  for  the  creature,  better  BcqUHii.ted  than  1  with  African 
ways,  relented  it,  shook  hia  head  and  tugged  until  I  per- 
ceived  that  he  desired  to  be  left  quite  loose.  I  therefore  gVve 
him  hM  own  way.  when  he  at  once  proceeded,  throwing 
himself  back  so  as  to  act  as  a  drag,  to  walk  and  slide  down  the 
incline  look  to  the  water  as  if  he  had  been  used  to  such  work 
all  bis  life,  which  was  probably  the  case,  crossed  without  hesita- 
tion although  the  water  reached  to  his  body  and  even  into 
the  cart,  climbed  with  his  whole  strength  up  the  opposite 
6«ik,  and  fainded  me  cleverly  and  safely  at  the  top      Pi* 

S^  !?""E-'i.'?>>''"°.'*"  "*">'  ""  'he  oxen  and  mules  o, 
the  carts  which  followed,  for  they  did  not  negotiate  the  drift 
weU.  Boundered  about,  required  much  dashing  in  the  water 
and  hishing  by  the  drivers,  and  there  was  gnat  shoutins 
and  excitement  while  many  men  had  to  put  their  shouklen 
to  the  wheels  before  they  couW  be  got  up  the  bank  after 
crossing.  But  nothing  went  seriously  wrong,  and  the  major, 
who  was  nding,  and  I  went  on  and  entered  Hoopstad 


t4l 


Hoopstad 

?„^?r^e„"?u  fJ™"  P*"*  °'  P°""^'>'  ^«"  inhabitants, 
and  for  a  South  African  town  was  rather  picturesque,  perched 
M  It  was  on  the  brink  of  the  plain  which  here  terminated  in 
the  precipitous  bank  of  the  Vet  River.  Bekiw  wound  the 
J.  ^il^'.u^  T  ~""'  "°"'^  •*  '""d  «c«>ss  the  country 
V  I.  J  !3  ,  *'  °^  *"**  growing  on  the  top  of  the  cutting 
It  had  made  for  itself.  The  town  was  level,  and  its  centrS 
piesentod  a  gigantic  new  church  of  yellow  freestone  built 
in  good  Gothic  architecture,  English  in  every  inch  of  its  design 
even  to  the  woodwork  of  its  windows  and  doors.  Round 
tlie  churdi  was  a  grassy  square  enclosed  in  barbed  wire  fencing 
supported  on  rude  posts.  The  houses  and  s"  ets  were  laid 
out  in  regular  quadrangles.  Hoopstad  con%  yjd,  in  spite  of 
Its  regularity,  something  of  the  impression  of  a  German 
townlet  m  a  district  which,  lying  remote  from  railways, 
«^ preserved  its  national  features  unadulterated;  and  in- 
deed most  of  thenames  of  the  shops  and  stores  were  German 
-Hertz,  Cohn,  WerdmUUer,  etc.    The  houses  were  good  and 


! 


tp 


";■ 


Mi 


-I 


208    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

clean  and  had  an  air  of  substantial  prosperity.    A  few, 
S  Appeared  to  be  the  most  modem,  possessed  verandahs 
Ju^nh.8  round  them,  the  others  had  merely  a  big  step  or 
^stoep^  ^circling     them,  constructed  of  stone,  a  yard  in 
br^ad^th  and  half  of  that  in  height,  on  which  were  seated  the 
townspeople   in   their  family  groups,  enjoymg  the  air  and 
.rfifC^  H«.«ed  tidilv  but  without  show,   discussing  no 
douM  the  mTddt  d^-  kha^i-clad  horde  who  had  invaded 
them  ^i^y  sho;ed  no  want  of  confidence  m  us,  they  had 
traW  no  cause,  for  all  of  our  men  were  orderly  and  well 
Shtt  ?nd  ^n  fraternised  with  those  who  were  wilhng 
to  do  so      It  took  no  long  time  to  see  the  town,  for  it  was 
c^mpac?    and  everywhere  round  it  there  was  but  one  step 
SKit  and  the^eld,  and  all  the  exits  were  blocked  by 
Sd  wire  fences  placed  there  by  our  people  for  niilitarj- 
re^^s  ^ere  was  little  to  be  seen  beyond  the  few  houses, 
reX'rch.  two  small  hotels,  the  Landrost's  office,  and  some 
s"r  shops,  which  were  closed  as  it  was  Sunday  ;  but  there 
were  s°y  back  doors  at  which  the  proprietors  were  with  little 
dfflcuty  persuaded  to  sell  to  our  officers  and  others  matches 
provUions"  some  exceedingly  «.arse  tobacco,  and  such  other 
oimnle  thinss  as  were  obtainable.  .   ,      .  ,  j 

Ts  our^y  gathered  in,  the  numbers  of  the  sick  assumed 
alamLgp^i^ons.    We  commenced  the  day  with  seventeen 
undSowch^ge,  but  shoals  poured  in  from  everywhere;  the 
Yortehire  Light  Infantry  sent  us  thirty-two  >»?«.  and  so 
H  went^n  until  by  evening  there  were  somethmg  like  110 
who  were  too  ill  to  proceed  farther;  some  had  on^r  sores  on 
The  f^t  or  such  like  incapacitating  ailments,  but  there  were 
m^nv  who  were  very  seriously  ill  with  typhoid  fever     Large 
Z^meZs  had  to  be   made;    the  Landrost's  judgment- 
SSrto  be  taken  possession  of  (commandeered,  as  we 
S^d  n^w  learned  to  designate  requisitioning) ,    and  as  t^ 
was  not  large  enough,  the  schoolhouse  as  well ;   and  beds 
Tnd  such  like  had  to  be  exacted  from  the  hotels  and  the 
^bSints  ;  stretcher  beds  were  at  once  ordered  to  be  m^e^ 
Slat  a  high  price ;  but  it  was  done  considerately  and  there 
was  nothing  which  was  not  paid  for,  and  well  paid.    For 
rts  si^  the  Landrost's  hall  made  as  good  an  hospital  as  codd 
^ve  W  found  ahnost  anywhere  at  that  tune  ;  .the  school- 
^uL  was  sLuer;  the  former  held  only  thirty  sick,  but  th 
r^n«e  (tot  into  other  places  or  into  tents,  and  somehow  it 
^s   a"^compUshed   before  "ightfaU.     The  comfort  » 
^^  was  wonderful  considering   all  thmgs    the  patients 
^^ut  into  clean  rooms,  had  good  beds,  clean  blankets 
S«n  Wn,  etc..  but  the  medical  and  surgical  supplies  were 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


209 


sadly  deficient ;  there  was  only  one  clinical  ther  nometer,  and 
that  was  a  broken  one,  there  were  few  medicines,  and  so  on. 
Two  women  volunteered  to  assist  with  the  nursing,  a  whole 
clinical  thermometer  was  procured  from  somewhere,  every 
requisite  was,  through  the  energy  of  the  medical  corps,  pro- 
vided in  some  fashion,  and  our  quartermaster,  invaluable 
in  s-i -v.  snergencies,  saw  that  proper  stores  of  food  and  other 
I  cuisites  v.'or.  'eft  with  those  in  charge ;  while  the  civilian 
t  iiotor  remair '  u  behmd  to  deal  with  what  must  have  been 
i.)  i'ght  task. 

I't^r  -  council  of  war  of  the  principal  officers  had  been 
held  in  the  afternoon,  it  was  announced  that  our  next  destina- 
tion was  to  be  Bothaville,  and  that  we  were  to  start  for  it 
in  the  morning.  It  touched  us  deeply  to  have  to  leave  our 
soldiers  and  some  friends  who  were  officers  alone  in  that 
remote  and  far  from  friendly  little  Dutch  town,  &om  which 
no  postal  communication  was  possible,  but  it  was  impractic- 
able to  bring  on  any  of  the  sick. 


XLII 

HooPBTAD  TO  Bothaville 

On  leaving  Hoopstad  we  were  told  that  our  waterless  forced 
marches  were  to  be  at  an  end,  and  that  during  the  next  ten 
days  or  fortnight  we  would  progress  ^y  regular  treks,  up  the 
southern  bank  of  the  Vaal,  sweeping  it  clear  of  all  enemies 
as  we  went,  starting  daily  at  four  in  the  morning,  halting  at 
nine,  resting  until  five,  and  then  continuing  the  march  until 
eight,  when  we  would  bivouac  for  the  night. 

The  nights  had  become  bitterly  cold,  and  the  morning 
treks  were  marked  by  benumbed  fingers  and  toes,  and  general 
crossness  or  at  least  discomposure. 

On  leaving  Hoopstad  we  passed  through  a  country  as  flat 
and  unbroken  as  a  billiard  table  to  the  very  horizon ;  not  a 
kopje  visible  to  suggest  thoughts  of  Boers  lying  in  ambush 
to  pour  in  unexpected  volleys.  The  few  trees  were  so  far 
apart  that  no  bodies  of  men  could  have  found  concealment 
in  them,  even  a  solitary  horseman  would  have  been  at  once 
espied.  The  ground  was  covered  with  reedy  grasses,  growing 
in  tufts,  with  soft  deep  sand  between,  through  which  our 
carts  and  horses  struggled  with  more  labour  than  if  we  had 
been  crossing  a  freshly  ploughed  field  ;  there  was  not  a  stone 
in  it  to  jolt  our  wheek  or  to  throw  at  a  marauding  mule ; 
ant-hills  were  few,  and  only  the  jackal-holes  threatened  the 
integrity  of  my  buggy  wheels. 


Ij 


11:^ 


r 
I'll 


210    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

It  was  now  many  days  since  we  had  a  drop  of  rain,  the  cold 
was  our  chief  enemy,  and  that  was  only  at  night,  but  there  was 
no  time  to  use  the  thermometer,  and  it  was  difficult  even  to 
make  any  notes  in  my  journal.    .      ,     ,       ^        „  .... 

As  we  progressed,  we  foraged  m  the  few  stray  farms  withm 
sight  which  had  not  been  deserted,  but  they  were  at  long 
i^ervals,  and  our  endeavours  to  obtain  bread,  butter,  and 
eeas  were  only  moderately  successful.  One  of  the  farms  I 
went  to  was  flying  a  white  flag  in  token  ol  submission,  or 
to  disarm  enmity.  Poor  folks  1  They  need  not  have  feaied. 
Our  first  morning  halt  was  at  Wegdraai,  in  sight  of  a  loop 
of  the  Vaal,  where  we  obtained  our  first  glimpse  of  the  nver, 
and  beheld  on  the  farther  bank  the  land  of  Krugerdoni, 
which  we  hoped  to  conquer.  There  was  a  great  camel-thorn 
tree  at  our  halting-place,  the  largest  I  had  ^en  in  the  Free 
State,  as  big  as  a  full  grown  sycamore,  and  of  sunilar  outlme. 
We  there  captured  a  batch  of  half  a  dozen  prisoners,  whom 
we  marched  over  to  the  General's  bivouac  to  be  disposed  of. 
Some  of  us  were  about  to  bathe  in  the  Vaal,  but  were  warned 
against  doing  so,  as  it  was  dangerous  from  the  enemy  being 
so  near  •  in  fact  a  rifle  could  easily  have  carried  not  only  to 
the  river,  but  from  the  hostile  bank  even  to  the  place  where 
we  were  having  our  rest.  The  soil  near  the  river  appeared 
to  be  diamondiferous,  being  full  of  rounded  pieces  of  olivine, 
agate,  and  pebble,  such  as  are  characteristic  of  the  nver 
diamond  washings.        .  ,_         i-        f 

We  were  faced  once  more  with  the  ever-urgent  question  of 
the  sick  Although  we  had  seemed  to  have  cleared  out  all 
of  them  at  Hoopstad,  less  than  twenty-four  hours  previously, 
there  were  akeady  half  a  dozen  others  incapacitated,  and  the 
old  question  arose  as  to  what  was  to  be  done  with  them. 
Some  advised  their  being  sent  back  in  bullock-wagons  to 
Hoopstad,  but  there  was  always  the  possibUity  of  them, 
their  wagons,  or  their  escort,  being  captured,  and  it  was  wisely 
decided  to  carry  them  on  with  us,  as  being  less  dangerous. 

Late  in  the  evening  we  observed  great  fires  at  a  place  in 
the  Transvaal  to  the  north-east  of  us ;  their  nature  could  only 

be  conjectured.  ,    .      ,  t  ti.„t 

On  the  morning  of  the  22nd  the  dew  was  so  heavy  that 
everything  was  soaked  through,  and  we  had  to  don  our  wet 
clothing  in  the  chilly  morning.  We  had  been  crossing  a 
peninsula  of  tableland  that  projected  northwards  between 
the  Vet  River  and  a  loop  of  the  Vaal,  but  now  we  were  winding 
along  the  southern  bank  of  the  latter  at  distances  of  ftom 
half  a  mile  to  two  mUes,  and  were  ascending  and  descendi^ 
the  undulations  that  ran  at  right  angles  to  the  nver,  caused 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  an 

by  water  filtering  from  the  higher  ground ;  they  were  all  dry, 
and  only  once  did  we  cross  a  shallow  watercourse.  Occasional 
glimpses  of  the  river  were  obtained,  but  as  it  here  ran  between 
steep  earth  banks  our  view  was  mostly  limited  to  the  masses 
of  bushy  trees  that  crowned  them.  On  the  veld  away  &om 
the  river  a  few  fair-sized  trees  existed,  though  sparsely  as 
stragglers  or  small  groups  of  a  dozen  or  so.  Four  miles  out 
from  Wegdraai  the  column  began  the  ascent  of  a  high  table- 
Iand,perhaps  1000  feet  in  altitude,  and  we  gradually  diverged 
from  the  river ;  the  top  was  reached  after  much  labour  and 
crossed  with  more,  for  it  was  broad  and  everywhere  deep  in 
soft  sand,  and  there  was  no  visible  road.  The  march  was 
uneventful  except  for  our  finding  some  mules  which  had  been 
shot,  a  few  spent  oxen,  and  wa'^ching  one  of  the  Yeomanry 
having  a  long  chase  after  his  horse,  which  had  thrown  him 
and  went  careering  back  towards  Wedgraai  with  saddle  and 
tin  utensils  rattling  under  its  belly.  Presently  we  got  the 
guidance  of  a  telegraph  wire  laid  along  the  ground,  by  which 
the  head  of  the  column  communicated  with  the  rearguard, 
who  in  their  turn  reeled  it  in  as  they  advanced.  The  coarse 
dry  grass  covering  the  veld  here  was  relished  by  our  animals, 
and  we  let  them  graze  as  much  as  possible  as  we  went  along. 

As  we  had  not  set  out  until  the  light  of  the  morning  was 
coming  in,  the  riding  had  been  pleasant  for  a  few  hours,  but 
''•.5  way  began  to  seem  long  as  the  sun  and  dust  rose  higher ; 

'  *ees  or  other  objects  that  might  have  broken  the  monotony 
ihed,  and  we  were  all  very  wearied  when  at  eleven  o'clock 
vfe  came  to  the  descent  from  the  plateau  and  saw  outspread 
below  a  vast  expanse  of  lower  plains,  brown  with  withered 
grass  and  varied  by  only  so  many  trees  as  one  could  count 
on  their  fingers  and  toes.  At  the  farther  edge  of  it,  however, 
we  rejoiced  to  perceive  that  the  advanced  guard  had  arrived 
and  were  lighting  their  fires,  so  we  hasten^  to  descend  and 
got  to  our  breakfasts  at  one  o'clock.  The  place  was  named 
something  like  Jacobsjourdain,  and  the  Dutch  farmer  who 
owned  it  came  storming  out  to  demand  what  our  people 
meant  by  leaving  a  lot  of  cattle,  some  of  them  even  witk  cold*, 
on  his  land  ;  what  was  he  to  do  with  them  ?  He  got  the 
soft  answer  that  he  ought  to  collect  them,  and  would  receive 
»  soverdgn  for  each  one,  when  they  were  sent  for.  Truly 
the  consideration  and  forbearance  of  our  commanders  to  the 
inhabitants  were  everywhere  something  wonderftU. 

During  that  day  the  number  of  our  sick  had  risen  to  ten, 
and  the  uncertainty  as  to  our  destination  increased  the  diffi- 
culty of  knowing  how  to  dispose  of  them.  Our  impression 
was  that  we  were  going  to  seize  one  of  the  fords  of  the  Vaal 


I    I 


'■iU 


iiTggt!y.fnaj'a.«>wii'  t 


•vt 


■  i!  '     t 


m 


aia    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

with  one  of  oxir  divisions,  while  the  other  was  to  make  i  dash 
for  the  Kroonstad-Klerksdorp  railway  and  endeavour  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  bridge  by  which  it  crossed  the  Vaal. 
We  were  soon  to  learn  that  no  such  railway  existed,  ad  that 
though  it  was  marked  on  the  maps  not  a  sod  of  it  had  been 
cut.  When  this  fact  became  known,  it  turned  our  thoughts 
towards  the  town  of  BothaviUe,  where  we  might  possibly 
aet  some  kind  of  accommodation  arranged  for  the  mvalids. 

On  the  28rd  of  May,  after  a  night  rendered  sleepless  by 
mules  breaking  loose  and  trampling  on  us.  we  contmued 
trekking  all  morning  from  long  before  daylight  across  the 
ridges  that  ran  towards  the  Vaal.    It  was  a  hornd  desert 
vaned  oil-    by  a  few  rare  ant-heaps,  tussocks  of  withered 
grass,  dead'  or  dying  oxen,  and  the  living  skeleton  of  a  horse 
of  inconceivable  thirmess,  turned  loose  from  the  column  as 
being  unable  to  move  farther.    The  horiion  was  a  flat  circle 
under  a  grey  and  leaden  sky,  across  the  centre  of  which  our 
caravan  was  strung  out  in  a  line  of  insignificant  blade  and 
brown  dots  ;  and  it  was  a  thing  of  joy.  an  oasis  m  th<i  desert, 
when  we  unexpectedly  found  o«  -selves  on  the  edge  of  a  bea,uti- 
ful  crater,  a  mile  in  diameter,  walled  round  by  ndged  edges 
of  limestone  clifl,  descending  ahnost  perpendicuUrly  to  the 
flat  bottom,  evidently  a  former  lake,  from  the  middle  of  which 
a  wooded  eminence  rose  like  a  hill  fort  from  beside  three  or 
four  ponds  of  water.    Trees  were  scattered  over  the  oottom 
and  fringed  the  sno.. -white  limestone  cliffs  around,  and  we 
aU  hailed  with  delight  this  apparition  of  lovelmess  in  the 
loathsome  desert.    Descending  into  it  by  a  gap  in  the  lune- 
stone  rocks,  we  unharnessed  under  a  large  tree,  lit  our  nres, 
had  our  breakfast,  and  warmed  our  chilled  bodies  and  limbs. 
The  spot  deserved  the  pretty  name  of  Witkraans,  or  White 
Crown,  which  the  Dutch  had  bestowed  upon  it. 

When  breakfast  was  over  and  our  horses  and  cattle  again 
put  in,  we  emerged  from  Witkraans  through  another  gap  in 
its  white  walls,  climbed  up  to  a  park-like  country  with  tree^ 
and  feeding  cattle,  thence  through  a  dense  jungle  of  small 
trees  where  one  could  readUy  believe  that  a  herd  of  elephants 
would  have  harboured  a  few  years  before,  and  had  a  view  ol 
the  river.  But  all  tc^  soon  we  came  once  more  mto  the  homd 
bare  flats  of  the  morning  and  continued  crossing  them  unbl 
we  came  upon  a  large  British  encampment  round  a  general  s 
headquarters,  nestling  cosily  in  a  bend  of  the  Vaal  and 
commanding  the  crossing  known  as  Commando  s  Unit. 
Conceiving  this  to  be  our  destination,  we  quitted  the  south- 
eastern direction  we  had  been  puisuing,  and  struck  out  for  it, 
for  we  were  provided  with  neither  guide  nor  escort,  but  nao 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


313 


hardly  reached  within  a  mile  of  it  when  we  received  orders 
to  go  on  farther,  and  returned  to  our  former  line  of  march, 
towards  where  Methuen  had  his  camp.  The  dullness  of  the 
day  had  ended  in  rain,  but  when  this  ceased  and  the  sun  shone 
out  a  little,  we  found  ourselves  close  to  the  river,  beyond  which 
lay  the  treeless  Transvaal,  with  farmhouses  widely  scattered 
over  it,  peacefully  sending  up  their  afternoon  smoke  into 
the  stiU  heavens,  and  some  fifteen  miles  away,  beyond  un- 
dulating levels,  rose  a  range  of  low  mountains,  not  kopjes, 
perhaps  the  southern  edge  of  the  High  Veld.  We  could  see 
the  small  clouds  of  dust  raised  by  the  mounted  Transyaalers 
who  were  watching  us ;  but  no  hostilities  were  initiated, 
and  we  went  on  our  way  to  Modderspruit,  a  low  deep  swamp 
marked  by  a  line  of  trees  and  a  farmhouse  on  its  farther 
side  where,  on  a  rise  three-q'iarters  of  a  mile  distant.  Lord 
Methuen  had  encamped. 

We  were  not  permitted  to  join  him ;  General  Paget  rode 
out  to  meet  us,  showed  us  where  to  outspan  just  short  of  the 
Mud  Ravine  (Modder  Spruit),  which  we  could  not  pass  till 
morning,  as  several  horses  had  been  engulfed  in  the  swamp 
when  trying  to  cross  it.  We  bivouacked  therefore  on  the 
hither  side,  and  found  the  place  swarming  with  blesbuck, 
which  frequented  it  as  their  drinking  place,  and  in  herds  of 
half  a  dozen  or  more  charged  up  to  and  almost  through  our 
camp  while  we  were  arranging  o;ir  shelters. 

In  the  early  morning  before  the  night  had  disappeared, 
the  wagons  of  stores  began  to  cross  the  spruit,  and  it  was 
picturesque  to  see  them  doing  so  by  lantern  light ;  but  not 
until  daylight  did  our  turn  come  to  follow.  We  slid  down 
the  steep  sides  of  the  muddy  gully  to  where  at  the  bottom  the 
engineers  had  constructed  a  good  crossing  by  laying  earth 
over  branches  placed  on  the  slough,  which  was  thirty  feet 
deep  between  the  banks  and  fifty  broad.  After  we  had 
crossed  we  found  we  were  quite  close  to  the  Vaal  River, 
which  looked  even  beautiful  in  the  morning  sunlight,  one 
to  two  hundred  yards  in  breadth,  its  muddy  waters  flowing 
in  a  gentle  current  between  precipitous  mud  banks  wooded 
with  spiny  trees  which,  only  a  few  paces  away,  ceased  and  gave 
place  to  the  naked  veld.  The  trees  were  mostly  weeping 
varieties. 

When  we  had  proceeded  to  the  rendezvous  of  the  column 
and  seen  it  arranged  with  more  care  than  usual,  our  march 
along  the  south  side  of  the  river  was  continued  over  the 
tiresome  bare  expanses,  the  only  interesting  feature  of  which 
was  that  the  round  ant-heaps,  so  familiar  to  us,  had  dis- 
appeared ;  a  different  species  of  ant  bad  taken  possession  of 


,i' 


h 


!;.f 


I 


;:fl! 


314    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

this  district,  and  constructed  irregular  towers  or  chimneys, 
with  hollows  as  large  as  one's  forearm  extending  up  the  centre 
and  opening  at  the  top.  After  an  easterly  march  of  four  and 
a  half  hours  we  descended  to  another  loop  of  the  Vaal  at 
Zandfontein,  and  amid  spreading  trees  that  covered  a  sandy 
flat  for  a  stone's-throw  from  the  water,  formed  a  nice  bivouac 
in  which  to  rest  until  next  morning.  A  commando  of  Bocts, 
with  two  guns,  was  opposite  to  us  on  the  other  bank,  but 
offered  me  no  molestation  when  I  went  down  alter  luncheon 
to  photograph  the  river,  which  here  was  large  and  imposmg 
for  Africa.  This  was  on  the  2«h  of  May,  Queen  Victoria  s 
birthday,  and  in  the  evening  the  major  mustered  all  his  men 
on  parade  and  called  for  three  cheers  for  Her  Majesty  ;  we 
presently  heard  the  other  camps  lustily  cheering  too,  and  a 
little  later  an  issue  of  rum  was  made  in  which  each  man 
could  drink  the  toast  of  the  day. 

The  ground  at  Zandfontein  was  abundantly  bestrewn  witn 
nests  of  the  trap-door  spider,  with  little  hinged  lids  and  pearly 
linings ;  all  those  we  saw  were  abandoned  and  empty,  the 
occupied  ones  we  failed  to  discover.  . 

The  next,  the  2Sth,  was  the  eleventh  day  of  our  wanderings 
with  no  news  from  the  outer  world,  and  we  hoped  that  other 
eleven  would  find  us  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Johannesbu^, 
on  our  way  to  Pretoria !      Leaving  Zandfontein  in  the  dark, 
we  pressed  on,  but  though  we  used  our  utmost  speed,  we  dirt 
not  now  lose  so  many  cattle  and  mules,  for,  feedmg  on  the 
abundant  dry  veld  grass  here,  which  all  the  animals  loved. 
the>  could  be  driven  along  and  used  again  when  restored  to 
strength.    All  that  day  we  hugged  the  south  bank  of  the  Vaal, 
at  first  over  wooded  levels  which  were  not  devoid  ot  beauty 
after  our  experience  of  the  naked  veW,  and  a  commando 
of  twenty  Boers  with  two  pom-poms  and  a  Maxun  followed 
us  on   the  opposite  bank,  coming  once  down  to  the  river, 
but  we  took  no  notice  of  them,  and  they  on  theur  part  did  not 
interfere  with  us.    At  seven  miles  from  Zandfontein  the  river 
took  a  sudden  bend  and  was  no  longer  enclosed  between 
mud  banks,  but  flowed  through  a  rocky  wooded  gorge  of 
sandstone,   and  there  at  Balkfontein   we  bivouacked  and 
breakfasted.    Sitting  high  upon  the  south  bank   the   nat 
Transvaal  lay  beneath  us  across  the  river,  and  I  could  easily 
have  sent  a  rifle  buUet  into  a  large  red  brick  farmhouse  upon 
the  bank.  .  •] 

At  midday  we  continued  our  progress  for  more  than  a  miie 
Btong  the  bend  of  the  river,  where  it  had  cut  a  way  through 
a  deep  channel  among  irregular  banks,  difis,  and  rodu 
fiaitas&cally  scattered,  foUowed  on  the  other  bank  by  a  few 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


a«5 


of  the  enemy's  scoucs  watching  our  movements.    At  one 
time  a  large  cloud  of  dust  came  streaming  from  the  north 
towards  the  river,  and  this  was  at  first  taJken  for  the  main 
body  of  the  Boers,  but  proved,  as  it  drew  nearer,  to  be  only 
a  herd  of  some  large  antelope,  probably  haartebeest,  a  relief 
to  us,  since  we  had  been  ordered  to  go  ahead  with  the  advance, 
leaving  the  main  body  to  follow  with  the  convoy  of  provisions. 
Presently  we  turned  away  from  the  river  and  ascended  an 
open  grassy  plain,  the  left  or  western  bank  of  the  Valseh 
River,  a  tributary  of  the  Vaal.    On  a  low  heave  of  land 
across  the  Valseh  we  saw  the  treeless  town  of  Bothaville, 
enlivened  out  of  its  normal  deadness  by  the  camp  and  cattle 
of  Lord  Methuen  which  lay  scattered  around  it.    Our  journey 
was  now  towards  the  south-east,  and  after  a  couple  of  miles 
in  that  direction  we  came  upon  General  Paget's  ?amp  and 
expected  to  settle  down  there.     But  no.    Our  sick  were  to 
be  deposited  in  Bothaville,  and  we  had  two  more  miles  of 
execrable  road,  rocky  and  filled  with  holes  and  ruts,  before 
we  came  to  the  foid  over  the  Valseh  which  proved  to  be  the 
worst  'drift'  we  had  yet  encountered.    And  it  was  even 
worse  than  it  looked.    Though  my  pony  behaved  well,  yet 
he  would  at  one  moment  be  only  knee-deep,  and  the  next 
up  to  his  middle,  while  the  cart  followed  suit  and  swayed 
about,  ahnost  capsizing.    Not  only  this,  but  while  the  descent 
to  the  ford  had  been  wisely  guided  obliquely  down  somewhat 
parallel  to  the  stream,  the  ascent  went  straight  up  the  other 
bank  and  was  so  wet  and  slippery  that  a  fall  occurred  which 
damaged   the   cart,    though   fortunately   the   pony   himself 
escaped  injury. 

During  the  day  several  of  the  Boers  in  batches,  some  ol 
them  even  from  the  Transvaal,  came  in  and  surrendered 
their  weapons. 


XLIII 

Bothaville 

Since  leaving  Hoopstad  I  had  been  sickening  with  what 
afterwards  developed  into  typhoid  fever,  inflammation  of 
the  veins  and  absorbents  of  the  leg  set  in,  so  that  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  I  could  get  my  boot  off  and  on,  and  I  had  become 
so  weak  as  to  be  scarcely  able  to  walk,  hftnce  my  notes  became 
few  and  scanty,  and  indeed  many  things  I  hardly  remember 
as  well  us  I  should  wish.  But  the  following  are  my  recollec- 
tions of  the  next  few  days. 
Bothaville,  which  was  incorrectly  placed  on  the  maps,  was 


i 


,11   -H"     J 


I  : 


4> 

If  '. 


I'l, 

m 


3i6    REMINISCENCE  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

a  group  of  thirty  red  brick  or  white  plaster  houK*  with  iron 
loofa,  containing  barely  over  100  inhabitants,  all  told. 
Methuen  was  abeady  encamped  tnere,  and  on  our  entry  we 
were  met  with  the  announcement  that  we  had  gathered  on 
the  way  a  great  number  of  sick,  who  were  being  established 
in  an  overcrowded  small  hospital,  and  thrl.  leaving  them 
there,  we  were  about  to  resume  our  nuj-  ii,  not  for  the 
Transvaal  as  we  had  hoped,  but  for  Kroonstad.  Time 
was  precious,  for  our  loss  in  baggage  animals  had  been 
heavy,  ISO  having  died  or  been  left  on  the  veld,  and  there 
were   yet   many   stages   to   be  got  ov-ir  before  Kroonstad 

WHS  reached.  ,      ,.  ,    .  ■  i 

We  were  in  great  perplexity  as  to  the  disposal  of  our  sick, 
most  of  whom  were  so  ill  as  to  be  unable  to  survive  a  further 
journey  of  several  days  on  the  ox-wagons,  and  would  have 
to  be  left  in  Bothaville  at  all  hazards.  For  them  the  prospects 
were  indeed  gloomy ;  twenty  to  thirty  pints  of  milk  a  day 
was  the  utmost  that  the  little  town  could  furnish,  while  all 
except  a  few  tins  of  our  condensed  milk  had  been  exhausted  ; 
the  other  stores  which  invalids  would  require  had  been  packed 
at  Boshof  with  so  little  method  that,  even  assuming  that  we 
possessed  them,  no  one  knew  where  they  were  to  be  found 
in  the  huge  army  of  vans ;  moreover,  patients  with  typhoid 
could  not  well  survive  on  tinned  beef  and  biscuits,  while  all 
we  could  supply  of  Liebig  and  similar  foods  was  but  a  drop 
in  the  bucket  of  their  requirements.  Few  sheds  of  any 
sort  existed  in  Bothaville.  and  several  of  the  houses  had 
to  be  requisitioned  for  hospitals,  while  the  church  was 
the  only  other  avaiUble  shelter.  There  were  no  beds,  nor 
from  the  absence  of  timber  could  any  be  made,  so  that 
many,  if  not  most,  would  have  to  sleep  on  the  ground, 
a  torture  to  the  bones  of  a  sound  man,  not  to  mention  a 

sick  one.  ,   .      .  ,. 

Our  American  field  hospital  had  not  been  behavmg  well, 
and  was  now  worse  than  ever  ;  the  donor  himself  insisted  on 
occupying  one  of  its  ambulance  wagons  and  its  tortoise  tent, 
though  the  sick  needed  them  sorely  ;  it  had  even  dismissed 
a  patient  seriously  ill  with  jaundice,  and  another  suflermg 
from  a  bad  phlegmonous  foot,  on  the  pretext  that  their  places 
were  required ;  and  these  men  would  have  had  to  return  to 
their  regiments  and  tramp  on  foot  for  many  miles  of  sand 
in  the  burning  sun.  The  comments  passed  on  such  conduct 
were  severe  as  they  deserved  to  be,  but  our  major  rose  as 
usual  to  meet  the  situation,  '  Send  in  all  your  sick  to  me,' 
said  he,  'and  I  shall  see  that  somehow  they  have  vihat 
attention  is  required ;   that  is  what  we  are  here  for,  and 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


217 


it  ahall  be  done.'  It  wm  a  wonder  to  nwny  of  us  that  thii 
good  officer  did  not  receive  mention  in  despatches  or  have 
the  C.B.  conferred  on  him  after  the  war ;  but  he  was  not 
one  who  advertised  himself  or  suffered  others  to  do  it 
for  him. 

While  we  were  at  Bothaville  I  fell  in  with  a  former  pupil, 
Dr.  David  Justice,  who  had  settled  in  practice  in  the  Free 
State.  He  was  able  to  supply  some  delicacies,  such  as  butter 
and  tobacco,  and  otherwise  to  provide  for  some  of  the  wants 
of  the  sick.  His  experiences  during  the  war  had  been  stirring 
ones.  At  its  outbreak  he  bad  been  commanded  to  serve  1.. 
the  Boer  army,  but  refusing  to  fight  against  his  own  country, 
<va»  put  in  charge  of  an  ambulance,  where  those  under  him 
were  all,  or  nearly  all.  Englishmen  similarly  circumstanced. 
Wn^e  the  Russian,  German,  French,  and  Belgian  ambulances 
that  came  to  serve  the  Boers  were  all  placed  very  far  back 
from  the  fighting  line,  he  and  others  such  as  he  were  dealt 
with  otherwise.  All  good  and  suitable  vehicles,  even  shoot- 
ing wagons,  were  seized,  converted  into  ambulance  cars, 
fitted  with  the  very  best  appliances  and  instruments,  and  in 
these  they  were  sent  to  the  front  for  service.  While  in  com- 
mand of  one  of  them.  Justice  was  present  during  the  invest- 
ment of  Ladysmith,  witnessed  the  Spion  Kop  battle,  a  brave 
charge  by  the  Gordons  on  a  hill  held  by  the  Boers,  a  great 
rout  and  destruction  of  Boer  men  and  horses,  and  many 
other  scenes,  his  heart  rising  or  sinking  as  one  or  other  side 
was  victorious.  After  seeing  the  relief  of  Ladysmith  and  the 
nocturnal  withdrawal  of  the  Boers,  he  served  in  the  Free 
State,  and  was  at  Sanna's  Post  and  Thaba'nchu.  After 
Thaba'nchu  the  Boers  fell  back  so  quickly  that  his  ambulance 
fell  behind  and  was  lost,  and  as  his  house  at  Kaalvallei  had 
l>een  looted  he  made  for  Bothaville,  one  of  the  several 
towns  which  were  included  in  his  extensive  practice,  but  being 
warned  by  the  natives  that  the  Transvaal  scouts  were  search- 
ing for  him,  he  left  and  concealed  himself  until  he  heard  that 
the  English  had  arrived.  Our  leaders  were  glad  to  engage 
him  to  assist  in  the  care  of  the  sick  who  had  to  be  left  in 
Bothaville,  and  to  supply  them  with  medicines,  of  which  he 
possessed  a  fine  stock.  I  think  I  was  the  last  friend  from 
Britain  whom  Justice  saw.  He  died  in  Kroonstad  on  the 
8th  of  January  1901. 


I       1 


,' 


t}S<' 


t( 


If 


I!. 

\h 


f 


318    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 


XLIV 

BOTHATIIXX  TO  BLOEMFONTWN 

We  left  BothavUle  for  Kroonstad  on  Saturday  afternoon  the 
2eth  of  May.  Edging  gradually  away  eastwaidi  from  the 
Valsch  River,  we  crossed  bare  grass  plains  as  flat,  unbroken, 
and  unpleasing  as  those  which  had  preceded,  ond  after  ndiiy 
for  three  hours  stayed  for  the  night  at  an  uninteresting  spot 
called  Nieuweiahis  Spruit,  where  my  friends,  Major  C-—, 

and  Messrs.  N ,  P— ,  L ,  andW ;.  a«  of  whom 

I  have  ever  since  gratefully  remembered,  assisted  me  with 
my  cart  and  horse.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  say  which  of 
them  showed  me  most  kindness,  each  in  his  diOerent  way, 
in  these  later  treks,  or  to  name  half  of  what  they  did  for  me 
in  the  way  of  assistance— chair  to  rest  in,  and  the  best  of  the 
food  they  had,  of  which  they  denied  themselves  for  me,  day 
after  day;  I  could  not  have  held  out  otherwise. 

The  roads  beyond  this  were  better,  but  with  the  usual 
want  of  consideration  for  the  sick,  whose  numbers  increased  at 
every  halt,  t;  e  ambulances  and  field  hospitals  were  dnven  over 
the  rough  veld  m  a  line  parallel  to  the  engineer  and  ammuni- 
tion columns,  whUe  they,  to  whon.  it  wouW  have  mattered 
little,  went  along  the  good  road.  Unable  to  endure  this,  1 
forced  my  way  into  the  latter,  and  kept  it  as  much  as  possible, 
untU  we  halted  after  a  three  hours'  journey  in  which  we 
covered  probably  nine  miles,  in  order  to  water  the  <»ttle  and 
horses,  and  have  breakfast,  at  Van  Wieks  Vlei,  and  shortly 
continued  our  course,  nearly  on  the  line  which  ^x'^n 

surveyed  for  the  intended  Klerksdorp  railway,  anJ  v-.-ently 
came  to  cultivated  fields.  Hitherto  what  we  had  seen  ol 
cultivation  in  the  Free  State  had  been  a.  most  but  a  few  acres 
in  extent,  but  now  we  beheld  hundreds  of  acres  covered  with 
ripe  Kaflr  com  in  fields  with  many  groups  of  Kafir  houMs 
and  kraals,  and  through  these  we  rode  for  well  over  a  mile, 
until  the  Valsch  River  again  came  into  sight  on  our  right 
hand,  while  a  single  distant  mountain  hove  its  rounded  top 
over  the  horizon,  telling  that  we  were  not  at  a  great  distance 
from  Kroonstad.  At  midday  an  attractive  group  of  hne 
spreading  trees,  standing  alone  by  a  waterpool  m  the  bottom 
of  a  dip  in  the  ground,  enticed  us  to  stop,  but  those  who  went 
forward  to  inspect  evidently  did  not  approve  of  it.  or  it  did 
not  bear  out  its  promise,  for  we  went  on  tor  a  few  miles  more 
to  another  pool  at  a  farm  called  Roedswal,  or  otherwise 
Sullivan's  Fwm.  where  we  descended  for  the  night,  having 
once  mor    ift  the  grass  veld  and  come  into  Karoo  Desert. 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


ai9 


AtUt  thii  my  reooUection*  beoune  r  .ucwbat  conftucd, 
but  from  some  pencil  jotttniii  made  •■  we  went  along  I  make 
out  that  we  efterwardi  dragged  ouneive*  over  all  kindi  of 
unieen  otetades  so  bad  as  to  smash  my  cart,  which  however 
I  contrived  to  mend.  We  had  got  into  the  habit  of  the  different 
units  setting  out  at  different  times  and  arriving  at  different 
halting-places,  which  was  much  against  the  comfort  of  the  sick. 
Our  own  field  hospital  was  now  provided  with  mule  transport, 
and  headed  the  oohucii  behind  the  advanced  guard,  con- 
sequently we  were  up  before  daylight,  and  got  on  without 
interruption,  arriving  first  at  the  halting-places,  and  even 
travelling  in  the  middle  of  the  day ;  but  the  ox-wagons,  which 
had  now,  in  spite  of  our  having  cleared  out  at  Bothaville  all 
the  invaUds,  again  accumulated  forty -six  sick,  could  not  move 
in  the  heat  of  the  day,  having  to  outspan  early,  come  on  in 
the  evening  or  night  hours,  and  arrive  whenever  their  slow 
p»ce  might  permit.  There  was  no  one  to  provide  these 
sufferers  with  food,  the  want  of  which  for  such  long  perijds 
added  much  to  their  distress,  until  the  major  organised  a 
service  of  cooks  carrying  suitable  food,  and  cooking  it  on  the 
way,  to  accompany  the  sick  convoy. 

Our  last  halting-place  was  at  Doomspruit,  and  on  the  way 
to  it  there  was  a  good  road  which  our  sick  men's  conveyances 
could  quite  well  have  taken.  But  no  I  Their  orders  were  to 
go  straight  across  the  intervening  rough  ground,  and  away 
went  the  ambulance  and  other  wagons,  wit"  whips  cracking, 
men  racing,  and  beasts  running,  till  one  a.  >d  almost  hear 
the  bumps  of  the  hips,  elbows,  and  skulls  of  the  sick  against 
the  sides  and  bottoms  of  the  carts.  It  was  reckless  work, 
as  we  crossed  the  dips  and  rises  of  the  plain  along  the  north 
bonk  of  the  Valsch  River,  which  contained  nasty  crossings 
or  equally  formidable  sluit . 

At  Doomspruit  we  had  another  illustration  of  the  careless 
system  on  which  cur  camps  were  selected.  We  reached  a 
fine  plain  of  rich  grass  land  without  a  rut  on  it  to  jolt  us,  and 
there  we  expected  to  stop,  but  we  had  to  deviate  to  the  left 
across  wheel-wrenching  ruts  two  feet  deep  and  settle  on  ground 
eaten  bare,  trodden  down  and  badly  soiled  by  the  horses  of 
the  first  column.    It  was  really  too  bad. 

I  believe  we  passed  the  Lace  Diamond  Mines  on  our  left 
that  day. 

When  we  awoke  on  the  2»th  it  was  freezing,  and  my 
bedding  and  patrol  tent  were  stiff,  and  while  the  others  went 

on  N and  I  remained  behind  thera  to  raise  a  blaze  at  one 

of  the  cooking  fires,  warm  ourselves,  aitd  thaw  our  belongings 
until  the  sun  rose.    We  found  our  way  to  the  road,  where  we 


I    !:! 


lis 


if 


It. ,11 


'li'r'f 


320    REMIMISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

came  on  •  wagon  loaded  with  Boer  priioneni  under  guard, 
with  a  Cape  cart  tied  behind  it  in  which  wai  leated  a  man 
caUed  Greilin  ;  he  was  suid  to  be  a  Boer  who  had  surrendered, 
given  up  his  armi,  and  •.igned  a  promise  of  allegiance,  only  to 
be  captured  a  few  days  later  in  charge  of  a  party  operatmg 

''More'witche.  of  cultivation  appeared  as  we  approached 
Kroonstad,  which  we  found  to  be  a  vilUge  surroundwl  by 
low  hilli  with  sloping  sides,  and  two  prominent  objects  in  it, 
namely,  a  disproportionally  Urge  churrb  and  a  railway  tram 
steaming  awny  southwards. 

We  brought  in  our  contingent  of  sick,  now  increased  to 
sixty  or  thereby,  and  found  Kroonstod  aUready  groaning 
under  hospitals  in  two  churches,  an  officers'  hospital  in  the 
hotel,  and  a  canvas  field  hospital,  all  of  them  full.  And  no 
provisions.  Milk,  eggs,  bread,  vegetables,  beef,  nmtton,  and 
so  forth,  had  been  swept  clean  awuy  by  the  Boers,  whose 
armies  had  been  there  before  us.  so  that  there  were  only  tmned 
foods  and  biscuits  for  the  sick  and  sound.  Every  article 
■eemed  to  have  gone ;  not  a  pound  of  flour,  or  a  box  of  matches, 
or  a  pinch  of  tobacco,  existed  in  the  place.  I  saw  one  man 
who  had  succeeded  in  making  a  purchase,  but  that  was  of  the 
last  pair  of  drawers,  as  I  learned  both  from  hun  and  the  dis- 
appointed man  who  came  after  him  in  the  hope  of  buying 
something  useful.  ,  ,    ^  ,        ,.1.   i- 

The  reports  we  heard  at  Kroonstad  were  that  down  the  line 
at  Brandfort  they  had  many  sick,  and  that  at  Bloenifontein 
there  were  4000,  who  were  dying  at  the  rate  of  eighteen  to 
twenty  a  day  ;  that  many  of  the  officers  of  the  K.A.M.L. 
were  down  with  typhoid  fever,  and  that  my  friend  Major 
Perry  Marsh,  who  had  been  so  friendly  when  I  v-.itn,  '.is 
hospital  at  De  Aar.  was  dead ;  he  was  a  man  whom  the  service 
could  ill  spare,  one  of  the  cream  of  the  R.A.M.C.  It  was  not 
a  cheerful  welcome  to  Kroonstad. 

Up  to  that  time  I  had  been  keeping  partially  fit,  by  means  of 
Dover's  powder,  bismuth,  chlorodyne.  and  an  array  of  other 
astringents,  but  in  spite  of  all  was  growing  so  weak  that  I 
could  do  little  but  lie  exhausted  on  the  ground  after  our 
inarches  ;  my  leg  would  no  longer  come  out  of  its  boot ;  and 
I  was  perhaps  not  quite  clear  in  the  head.  Therefore  I  decided 
to  follo-v  the  good  advice  of  my  friends  and  try  to  go  down 
to  Cape  Town,  or.  if  I  faUed  in  that,  to  go  to  some  military 
hospital  on  the  line.  I  was  favoured  with  a  compartment 
in  a  hospital  train  which  was  going  part  of  the  way ;  said 
fMCweU  to  my  good  comrades,  and  was  carted  ova  to  the 
station  in  an  ambulance  wagon  and  deposited  under  Dr.  K—  s 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  »ai 

CMC,  amon;  a  goodly  proceMion  of  other  incapables ;  wa» 
laid  down  among  rug«  Hid  dieted,  believing  that  I  had  only 
to  lie  quiet  and  get  well ;  for  we  did  not  know  that  my  diseane 
wai  typhoid,  and  where  «>  muiiy  were  more  seriously  ill  on 
the  marches,  I  had  declined  to  be  pronounced  an  invalid  or 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  clinical  thermometers. 

The  train  puffed  away  from  Kroonstad  late  in  the  evening 
of  the  80th  of  May,  and  I  remember  little  of  the  journey 
beyond  photographing  my  old  friend  the  Modder  River 
where  the  railway  crossed  it  at  Glen,  until  I  went  to  take  a 
sponge  down,  when  I  beheld  in  the  mirror  the  vision  of  it 
gaunt  man,  whose  long  hair,  eyebrows,  and  moustache  hung 
over  a  face  that  seemed  to  be  the  siie  of  a  child's,  and  whose 
great  limbs  showed  only  bones  and  coils  of  wasted  muscles, 
reminiscent  of  the  horses  we  had  left  to  their  fkte  on  the  veW, 
and  the  shock  first  suggested  to  me  that  I  was  seriously  ill. 
When  we  came  to  Bloemfontein,  there  stood  in  the  stati»n 
a  carriage  of  a  train  which  was  to  leave  next  morning  for  Cape 
Town,  and  I  crept  into  it,  dragged  in  my  belonging*,  and  went 
fast  asleep.  There  1  spent  the  day,  still  in  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  start  next  morning  for  Cape  Town. 

But  it  was  to  be  otherwise.  A  bad  night  convinced  me 
that  there  was  no  chance  of  my  getting  farther,  and  I  sent  a 

note  to  Captain  S ,  the  railway  transport  ofRcer,  to  tell 

that  I  was  Ul ;  he  got  Major  T to  see  me,  who  arranged 

with  Colonel  E to  have  me  sent  to  a  military  hospital. 

Presently  an  ambulance  was  procured  and  I  was  carted 
through  the  streets  of  Bloemfontein,  of  which  I  saw  nothing 
beyond  that  known  faces,  of  those  who  had  heard  of  my  plight, 
now  and  then  came  and  looked  into  the  rear  of  the  wagon 
with  a  friendly  word  or  nod.  My  destination  was  the  Upper 
Dames  Institute,  which  had  been  requisitioned  as  a  hospital, 
and  there  gentle  hands  lifted  me  out,  stripped  me  like  a  child, 
and  put  me  to  bed,  with  orders  that  I  was  to  be  kept  re- 
cumbent, be  fed  on  milk,  and  have  suitable  medicines. 


XLV 

Bloemfontein 

The  recollections  of  the  days  that  followed  my  admission 
to  the  hospital  in  Bloemfontein  were  somewhat  confused, 
but  my  habit  of  making  notes  whenever  I  was  able,  enables 
me  to  recall  some  details  regarding  them. 

I  believe  that  unless  there  be  such  complications  as  per- 
foration of  the  intestines,  the  death  from  typhoid  is  not  an 


( 

!      'I 


333    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

unpleasant  one  for  the  patient,  however  appalMng  it  may 
apLar  to  an  onlooker.    In  my  delirium  n^ht  ^d  day  made 
httledifierence  to  me.    In  the  four-bedded  ward  where  they 
first  placed  me  I  lay,  as  it  seemed,  in  » pons**"*  ?*"P°''7'^'* 
excluded  the  existence  of  any  hopes  or  fears.    Mmd  and  body 
seemed  to  be  dual,  and  to  some  extent  separate.    I  was  con- 
scious of  the  body  as  an  inert  tumbled  mass  near  a  door ;  it 
belonsed  to  me,  but  it  was  not  /.    I  was  conscious  that  my 
mentll  self  used  regularly  to  leave  the  body,  always  carrying 
something  soft  and  black,  I  did  not  know  what,  m  my  left 
hand---tiSit  was  invariable— and  wander  away  from  it  under 
orey.  sunless,  moonless,  and  starless  skies,  ever  onwards  to 
I  distant  gleam  on  the  horizon,  solitary  but  not  unhappy, 
and  seeing  other  dark  shades  gliding  silently  by,  until  some- 
thing prcSuced  a  consciousness  that  the  chiUy  mass,  which 
I  then  recalled  was  my  body,  was  beii^  stirred  ^  it  Uy  by 
the  door.    I  was  then  drawn  rapidly  back  to   it,  jomed  it 
with  disgust,  and  it  became  /,  and  was  fed,  spoken  to.  and 
cared  fM.    When  it  was  again  left  I  seemed  to  wander  oB 
as  before   by  the  side  of  a  sUent,  dark,  slowly-njwmg  great 
flood    through   silent  fields  of  asphodel,   knowmg   neither 
light  nor  darkness,  and  though  I  knew  that  death  was  hoven^ 
about,  having  no  thought  of  religion  nor  dread  of  the  end, 
and  roamed  on  beneath  the  murky  skies  apathetic  and  con- 
tented, until  something  again  disturbed  the  body  jhere  >t 
lav  when  I  was  drawn  back  to  it  afresh,  and  entered  it  with 
eveV-growmg  repulsion.     As  the  days  went  on,  or  rather  I 
shouW  say  as  time  passed,  all  I  knew  of  my  sickness  was 
that  the  wanderings  through  the  dun  .f  P^f  •  fi'l"**  ,^^"* 
more  continual  and  more  distant,  until  about  the  end  of  the 
term  of  high  fever  I  was  summoned  back  to  the  huddled  mass 
with  intense  loathing,  and  as  I  drew  near  and  heard  some  one 
sav  '  He  will  live,'  I  remember  finding  the  mass  less  cold  and 
clammy,  and  ever  after  that  the  wanderings  appeared  to  be 
fewer  and   shorter,  the   thing   lying  at  the  door  and   / 
grew  more  together,  and  ceased  to  be  separated  into  two 

entities.  ii.  i. 

In  mv  wanderings  there  was  a  strange  consciousness  that 
T  could  see  through  the  walls  of  the  building,  though  I  was 
aware  that  they  were  there,  and  that  everythmg  was  trans- 
parent to  my  senses.  1  saw  plainly,  for  mstenee,  a  poor 
RA  M  C  surgeon,  of  whose  existence  I  had  not  known,  and 
who"  WM  in  quite  another  part  of  the  hospital,  grow  very  lU 
and  scream  and  die ;  I  saw  them  cover  his  corpse  and  canry 
him  sofUy  out  on  shoeless  feet,  quietly  and  surreptitiously. 
left  we  should  know  that  he  had  died,  and  the  next  night— 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


aa3 


I  thought — ^take  him  away  to  the  cemetery.  Afterwards, 
when  I  toW  these  happenings  to  the  sisters,  they  informed  me 
that  all  this  had  happened  just  as  I  had  fancied.  But  the 
name  of  the  poor  fellow  I  never  knew. 

Towards  the  middle"  of  June,  or  possibly  somewhat  earlier, 
before  I  was  well  conscious,  there  was  a  consultation,  and  one 
eklerly  doctor  shook  his  head  and  said,  so  that  I  could  hear  it, 
'  He  is  nearly  sixty,  he  won't  recover.'  Another  said,  '  He 
will  get  better,'  and  it  confusedly  amused  me,  for  I  knew 
pCTfectly  that  I  should  get  well.  After  this  I  was  taken  to 
another  ward,  where  1  hi^  only  one  companion,  to  convalesce. 
The  goodness  of  the  R.A.M.C.  medical  men  and  the  sisters  was 
simply  unsurpassable.  I  name  here  no  names,  but  they  will 
ever  be  in  my  memory. 

It  may  seem  unkind  and  ungrateful,  after  all  the  care  and 
attention  I  received,  to  say  anything  in  criticism  of  the 
hospital,  but  I  do  so  only  as  a  part  of  my  intention  to  state 
the  complete  truth  of  what  I  saw  of  the  condition  of  the 
army  medical  department  in  those  days.  My  criticisms 
refer  mostly  to  the  men  of  the  R.A.M.C.,  and  not  to  the 
officers,  and  in  the  Dames  Institute  Hospital  I,  as  a 
patient,  had  unparalleled  opportunities  of  forming  correct 
conclusions. 

The  orderlies  there  were  destitute  of  such  training  as  they 
should  have  had  to  fill  the  posts  they  occupied.  They  had 
been  taught  stretcher  drill,  bandaging,  and  perhaps  first  aid, 
but  they  were  unacquainted  with  and  unpractised  in  the 
more  common  and  important  manipulations  for  the  manage- 
ment of  the  sick.  They  knew  next  to  nothing  about  the  ordin- 
ary instruments  in  use  in  the  wards,  and  the  sick  suffered  in 
consequence.  They  had  no  proper  supply  of  disinfectants, 
no  thorough  means  of  using  them  had  they  possessed  them, 
no  Eound  and  intelligent  idea  of  what  ought  to  have  been  done 
with  them,  or  of  the  purification  of  appliance-  hands,  etc., 
the  result  being  that  no  disinfection  was  really  carried  out. 
That  hospital  was  one  of  the  best  managed  I  saw  in  South 
Africa,  yet  in  it  disinfection  was  neither  understood  nor 
practised  in  any  way  that,  however  faintly,  resembled  effi- 
ciency. Although  it  was  capable  of  accommodating,  and  usually 
actually  held,  over  fifty  patients,  the  only  means  the  ward 
oiderlies  had  of  disinfecting  themselves  and  their  hands  was 
a  single  small  enamelled  hand-basin  containing  creoline  and 
water,  placed  on  the  ground  in  the  middle  of  the  verandah, 
where  they  might  or  might  not  use  it  as  they  pleased.  In 
sweeping  out  the  wards,  which  were  saturated  with  the  enteric 
poison,  a  bru^  and  tea-leaves  were  alone  empk>yed,  the  dust 


\m 


I '. 


aa4    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

wised  by  the  brushes  wa.  blown  about  everywhere,  ^  the 
«reeDin«  were  flnaUy  thrown  out  in  the  gajden  near  Uie 
SS£  XdiSrf^nt  was  usrf  to  the  Aoo"  or  oUier 
p^  of  the  wards.  No  system  of  dismfectuig  the  bod^  of 
S^atients  was  practised.  When  a  patient  sP«c>aUy  "sked 
for  it.  a  mackintosh  sheet  under  the  waist  was  us^  to  keep 
the  W  dry  while  the  body  was  being  sponged,  but  this  was 

3ble  unless  the  patient  possessed  some,  which  must  have 
?I^n?«re  event  indeed.  The  result  was  that  on  leaving  the 
hTroitol  the  patient.,  still  covered  with  entenc  poison  and 
KdisinfectS  clothing,  were  put  into  the  t~'»r-'*™«" 
ht  a  hospital  train,  but  was  quite  as  often  an  ordinary  mail 
StSi  Ssaloon  c^rriage^-and  sent  down  «=<"^"t^.  PJ!?",^ 
^compartments  and  disseminating  the  virus  until  th^ 
l^J^  ^Thospital,  hotel,  private  house  or  oaierqv«rt«s 
T^ere  they  might  or  might  not  obtam  baths  m  which  to 

P'^e^X'^get  about  a  little  1  hired  a  carxUge  and 
went  to  visit  Allan  Johnston's  B~ve,  and  m  doin^  so 
obtained  the  only  views  of  Bloemfontem  and  itsviomty 
wUch  I  ever  had.    The  foUcwing  were  the  impressions  I 

"  ti'Sig  to  the  south-west  from  the  town  to  the  cemetery, 
one  s£w  that  they  lay  in  a  basin  among  the  hills.    It  wm  an 
awful-looking  basin  1     A  horizontal  wavy  plain  of  two  or 
tC  mitesleross,  of  bare  deep  earth  whidi  when  dry  was 
sand  but  now  everywhere  mud  up  to  mid-leg.    Upon  the 
slight  elevations  were  the  various  Bntash  encampments,^d 
S^ond  them  on  the  west  the  low  hJU  over  which  General 
F^nch  approached  when  he  captured  the  town  and.  '>y 
defeyinK  to  shell  the  opposite  edge,  miss^  capturmg  Ohm 
pluf&uger  himself  i  sS  at  least  I  was  toW,    The  basm  wa. 
a  repulsive  place  as  1  saw  it,  sterile,  forbiddmg.  as  if  intended 
by  K  for  a  monstrous  ashpit     'BloemfonW  means 
•  Well  of  Flowers.'    The  name  shocked  one,  asif  it  had  been 
cSd  in  horrible  derision.    'Hollow  of  Death"  woiJd 
S^ve  better  fitted  this  saucer  of  mud  and  sand     The  towa 
Uv  on  a  slight  rise  towards  the  eastern  side,  but  too  shght  to 
Kmosl  of  it  out  of  the  mud.  and  between  it  and  the  homd 
pkS  lay  the  cemetery,  the  usual  Duteh  'f^^fl^l"^^ 
and  tr^s,  enclosed  in  ruinous  stone  walls  and  prosperous 
a^  hSges     But.  alas  1    So  plentiful  of  late  had  been  the 
SSnTtf  for  its  ;helter  that  it  1^  been  enlarged  by  the 
^tion  of  fifty  acres  of  a  slope  that  nm  up  southwards  to 
w^  stood  the  old-fashioned  looking  fortress  erected,  but 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR 


MS 


never  defended,  by  the  Free  Staters.  Entering  through  a 
dilapidated  turnstile  and  a  tottering  gate,  I  was  faced  by  an 
expanse  of  recently  turned,  absolutely  bare  earth  covering 
a  low  swell  of  the  ground,  where  the  spade  had  been  recently 
so  busy  that  one's  first  impression  was  that  of  looking  on  a 
surface  mine  where  prospectors  had  been  throwing  up  mounds 
and  forming  pits  in  the  search  for  gold.  Only  here  the 
mounds  were  regular,  lay  in  squares,  row  behind  row,  with 
walks  between  the  squares,  and  the  heart  sickened  to  see  this 
garden  of  the  dead,  planted  with  the  bodies  of  British  heroes. 
Here  was  a  square  of  the  Guards,  there  one  of  another  regiment ; 
here  lay  a  parterre  of  Roman  Catholics,  there  a  bed  of  Non- 
conformists; and  in  the  nearest  comer  of  the  last  was  the 
oblong  heap  of  mould  which  covered  the  ashes  of  poor  Allan 
Johnston.  There  were  rows  upon  rows,  and  squares  upon 
squares  of  such  moimds,  all  of  them  recent,  and  without  a 
blade  of  grass  or  a  single  leaf  to  cover  the  gaunt  stony  gravel. 
Perhaps  a  little  tombstone  or  a  wooden  cross,  a  stray  in  the 
waste,  was  put  up  by  some  comrade  or  friend  to  rescue  the 
remains  underneath  from  -oblivion  ;  here  and  there  a  withered 
flower  was  laid,  or  a  little  firitish  flag  of  the  size  of  one's  palm 
had  been  stuck  into  the  soil  by  some  one  who  had  nothing 
else  to  give,  and  whose  heart  was  perhaps  too  full  to  be  aware 
of  anything  incongruous  in  his  ofiering  of  a  doll's  flag.  It 
was  only  with  dim  eyes  and  constricted  throat  that  one 
could  look  round  this  plantation  of  brave  men  in  that  foreign 
'  Acre  of  God.' 

When  returning  from  the  cemetery  I  obtained  a  view  of 
Bloemfontein  from  its  western  side,  as  also  of  the  eastern  lip 
of  the  hollow  in  which  it  lay.  From  this  direction  it  was  not 
so  unattractive.  The  heights  behind  it  were  well  shaped, 
and  even  handsome,  and  were  dotted  with  the  fortifications 
which  our  armies  had  placed  there,  our  tents,  and  our  signal- 
ling stations,  so  that  where  it  lay  on  the  feet  of  the  hills  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  saucer  of  bare  ground,  Bloemfontein  had 
even  some  claim  to  be  called  picturesque.  It  had  many 
buildings,  public  and  private,  which  were  architecturally 
striking  as  their  fafades  and  roofs  emerged  from  a  sea  of  trees 
which  the  Dutch  had  wisely  planted  thickly  within  the  town  ; 
while  the  slight  rise  of  the  ground  and  the  hilly  outlines 
behind  removed  the  impression  of  flatness  it  would  otherwise 
have  produced,  and  conferred  on  it  a  rich  and  leafy  appeurunce, 
as  seen  from  this  side. 


J; 


;  ;.!l 


il 


i/. 


m. 


226 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 


XLVI 

BWJBMFONTBIN   TO  CaPE  ToWN 

XntL^  f^raU  rm:Hcal  sta«  of  the  hospital  and  many 
glimpse  of  the  «>uthem  part  of  the  Or^^S^^  ^«J   '^^,^ 

across  our  route.     l^Mo  g  ^^    j,  i^^  follows 

msmuated  itsell,  iwistuiB  »»  =        militery  hospital 

and  came  to  Spnngfontem    "o^  ja^st  mu  tary  ^^^.^^^ 

with  rows  o"  ~;'f.  f  ,S  b3  Spri^gfontein.  as  we 
and  ""-^^nt  ^*" '*$^";.  we  found  oursllves  in  a  most 
ffit'^u^^jratt^nort^^^^^^^ 

■'t^'nameCd  t^t  fa-^sl^  the  wTwhere  the  Jway 

j^e  ^vi^?^li -r  rLfpStt^u^wS 

borrowed  from  rt  a  g°W«'^*^?\  tte  rive?  though  a  m««/ 
gorge  severa  ^^ J°,»8  Jalf  the  bottom  the  sL.m  roU«i 
of  pyramidal  mountams.  ana  ai  ae__™ted  bv  rocky  islets, 
^W  twchn^g^"erXdgfwhU  h/d  been 
high  above  "men  imi  u  "     i-d  bv  our  engmeers  so  as 

blown  up  by  the  ^"^l  'X  we  were  uporthe  bridge 

new  in  the  west,  wu"c  stream  was  spanned  by  a 

the  waters  were  grey  ard  dull  *e  stream  wa^^  ^^^ 

white  curving  t^.^^'S^^;Vu^  during  the  restora- 
the  t«-?Pp«'^.^"ttSeTu^  or  five  hundred  feet  above 
tion  of  «*e.^°f*y  f  Se  the  railway  seemed  to  lose  itself 
^  S:^nA^tvas^^rts.a^o,^  which  we  slunk  like  pigmies 
'"  "  'tSTfeet  of  the  Tokening  hills  until,  after  a  few  miles, 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  aaj 

wh«e  I  transferred  myself  into  a  berth  in  a  sleepino  car  that 
went  through  to  Cape  Town.  '•"^ping  car  tnat 

.1,^^  ^  had  the  good  fortune  to  find  as  a  fellow-traveller 
sWmg  my  cubicle  one  of  the  best  and  kindest  comj^IIonJ 
with  whom  I  ever  trave  led.  Colonel  L of  fhrrit,.!? 

It.  where  my  bearer  company  was  attached  to  his  regiment 
and  who  was  on  his  way  down  to  Cape  Town  to  ^S^ 
S^Llf  ^1  i*^"  wounded.  From  what  I  gatherj  fr^ 
himself,  and  learned  more  fully  from  others,  he  had  b^^ 

with  General  Bundle  m  the  east  of  the  Orenge  Free  Statr3 
S^^J^  "^  "^^  ^?T  ^''«°e  «t  Senekal!^'^  S'e^ 
^.^  o^af-on  of  his  being  wounded,  hiTmen  had  b^fn 
ordered  to  attack  a  hUl  whence  artillery  and  rifle  fire  was 
telhng  heavily  on  our  troops,  and  they  were  adv^nclL 
agamst  it  m  open  formation  and  in  a  first  and  sSS 
as  was  usua      Bundle  having  sent  for  him^  thTcolond 

howe  Md  rode  over  to  the  General,  from  whom  he  receiv«l 
mrtructions  to  <Aange  the  direction  of  his  att^^k,  asSm 
was  too  strongly  held  to  be  taken.    On  returning  to  theGuIiSs 

fr^m';h?ir^r"?''",%''*'^/"  ^'^^^  twelve  hunSreSTarf; 

from  the  hill.  Colonel  L found  he  would  have  to  chance 

the  disposition  and  alter  the  second  line,  and  i^e  dow^  rt 
gmng  his  orders,  being  of  course  pelted  by  voUeys  fCTthe 

S°en'.""tf  "V*'"  ^\  ^'^^  "1™'^*  completJSTsSnge! 
ments  when  he  was  shot  through  the  lower  part  of  his  bodv 
but  continued  to  ride  on  and  finished  the  work,  after  S 
^^^  timse  f  from  his  horse,  and  while  doing  so  wasS 
wounded,  this  time  m  the  hand.  Even  then,  while  IvinfS 
such  cover  as  existed,  he  was  still  a  mark  for  the  Svs 
sharpshooters,  one  of  whom  put  a  buUet  through  hirTde 
and  a  non-commissioned  officer,  when  placing  an  arm  round 
him  and  endeavouring  to  assist  him,  had  his  ffreann^n 
m  pieces  by  a  ball  and  was  compelled  to  desis^T  vdd  fire 
came  down  as  he  was  lying  there,  and  he  and  his  woundS^m^ 
M  to  rush  or  be  dragged  through  it.  They  lay  unHl  the 
R.er  firing  had  been  somewhat  suppressed,  after  wS  one 

to  ™^'r°*  «P""=""^  "  "*«*<*"  and  pressed  to  be  allowS 
to  carry  him  off,  a  proposal  which  he  refused  till  the  othLw 
had  been  removed,  and  he  was  assured  that  he  was  the  mort 
«nously  wounded  man  remaining,  aft^r  which  he  subS 
to  be  earned  off  and  attended  to.  """uiiea 

his  left  thigh  still  full  of  masses  of  extravasated  blood,  insisted 


I    j; 


ii 


„8    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

'"J'^'J^W  oSTrown  early  in  the  morning  of  Friday  the 
ing  spring  awakening  °»  ^^e  bdt  °fj°^  g^     j^      „f  t^e 

station. 

XLVII 

RxTUSN  TO  England 

t™  r«*  of  mv  experiences  in  South  AfHca  were  hardly 

^„e^  wit^thfC^.  «d  cWefly  possess  a  merely 

P*  w«'  Srf  by  Sir  William  and  Lady  S into  their 

Jt  TS^l^SSce  of  B House,  where  I  was  spoiled  by 

^K^^^I  LSr^dom  before  received,  met  many 
"jffrS^^"nuX  of  the  most  prominent  personahties 
^tKto^as  we^  «  distinguished  individual,  connected 
^^tS^^v^ent  and  t^war.  whUe  it  wa^  only  my 
r«kn^  tC  obliged  me  to  decline  many  profiered  visrts 

'"Sn^TS^J^df  iTr^fomed  of  the  widespread  dis^tis- 
.  5r  HlfStm  «drt^  with  the  attitude  of  the  army  medical 

?£S^  was  uiSwe  to  verify  *..e  »tatementsjrtth«^ 
i^^  to  be  overwhehning  evidence  that  there  had  been  no 


SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR  3^9 

SdT'Am.^tej?'?',."^'   ^    the-«dmittedly   over- 

t^Uv  .^ Jn  '  "^°"''  f?'  '^  **«"  committed  of  systenS^ 
tS7~^   ?*  and  excludmg  those  who  were  burning  to«?ee 

uWwm^.  »nd  directmg  it  into  p»per  channels.    It  wS 

^k^S  u^"^**  !«>»*«"*.  to  find  the  British  War  Ott^. 
Z^i^  ?S  ^^"^  '^  *"*  questions,  dragging  alono.^S 
b<tod  other  countries,  obstinate.  ignorMlrnL»w°Si^.S? 
jeM^oompIaoent,  and  strangled  in  al^ent  pi^^Z^' 

AJtted  Milner  at  Government  House,  yet  I  received  from  hi,!, 
a  kmd  greeting  through  his  aide-de-4mp,  wTth  memTes^f 
sympatty  for  my  iUness  and  wishes  for  myTpeedy  ^*vU 
and.  a  thmg  Ihighly  valued,  his  thanks  for  my  d^c^e 
out  and  worked  to  serve  the  sick  and  wounded.  ' 


!. 


]' 


M 


MV 


II  i 


ff 


' .  M 


I       .1 


Sjr.tlmiAll^,S7iln^t»Hm.mCl 


PART  THIRD 
SERBIA 


J '  I 


.1 


XLVUI 

FmoM  Emoland  to  Bblobadb 

Whbn  the  Great  War  broke  out  in  August  1»14.  I  offered 
mvicK  to  the  Brmy  medical  department  of  the  War  Office,  to 
serve  anywhere  and  in  any  capacity,  but  beyond  a  courteous 
reply  nothing  came  of  it.  I  have  no  doubt  that  my  age  was 
the  factor  which  excluded  me. 

1  then  volunteered  to  serve  in  the  Southall  Auxiliary  MUitary 
HospiUl,  and  acted  as  the  operating  surgeon  there  during 
the  winter  of  191*-15,  when  I  was  asked  to  go  to  Belgrade  in 
chaige  of  a  hospital  detachment  for  the  British  Naval  Force 

on  the  Danube.  ^  ^l  ,.  ..■       i. 

A  number  of  other  medical  units  went  out  at  that  time  to 
assist  the  Serbians,  and  some  half  a  doien  of  them,  along  with 
mine,  were  crowded  on  board  the  S.S.  Saiduh,  a  small  but 
clean  little  steamer  from  the  Khedivial  Postal  Service.  At 
that  period,  lHarch  1918,  as  a  notorious  submanne  German 
boat,  the  '  U-28,'  was  ravaginp  ".f  shipping  on  the  south 
coast  of  England,  boaU  •  ■'•'  •  -'t  c  sUy  obUinable,  neither 
were  stewards  and  pro'  ■  :on.s,  and  ur  fortnight's  voyage 
direct  to  Salonika, our*  H,th'mR!.,{o<<l  of  ite kind,  ran  woe- 
fully short,  whUe  as  s;  .  '•-  » .  '"'i  'nly  a  few  capable 
hands  and  a  parcel  of  negroes.  Th«  vc.v.»ge  was  by  no  means 
an  ideal  one.  . 

After  leaving  the  Mersey,  a  tmg  »«•  "»  expected 

convoying  war-vessel  which  u  -er  arrived,  we  eventually 
steamed  down  the  eastern  coast  of  Ireland  weU  out  of  the 
supposed  track  of  the  hostUe  submarine,  and  struck  directly 
for  Cape  Finisterre  in  Spain. 

UntU  we  entered  the  Mediterranean,  our  intereste  were 
limited  to  getting  riu  .  ja-sickness  and  seeing  Cape  Samt 
Vincent,  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  and  Gibraltar.  We  did  not 
touch  at  Gib,  but  were  met  there  by  a  naval  launch  and  re- 
ceived oideri  as  to  the  rest  of  the  voyage. 

tn 


'Id 
m 


232    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

We  obtained  only  distant  views  of  Algeria,  Tunis,  and 
Sicily,  and  passed  Cape  Matapan  in  the  night,  but  we  enjoyed 
a  lovely  sail  among  the  Greek  Islands,  along  the  coast  of 
Euboea,  saw  for  the  first  time  the  truncated  snow-dad 
summit  of  Mount  Ossa  and  the  white-pointed  top  of  Pelion, 
appreciating  how  naturally  the  legend  had  arisen  that  the 
former  had  been  piled  on  the  top  of  the  latter  by  the  primeval 
race  of  giant  Centaurs  in  their  eflorts  to  storm  heaven.  We 
barely  glimpsed  the  top  of  Mount  Athos  over  the  intervening 
land  on  our  right,  came  in  sight  of  Mount  Olympus  and  the 
town  of  Salonika,  and  anchored  opposite  to  it  in  the  bay. 
The  coast  of  Thessaly  was  grand,  but  stem  and  gloomy  even 
in  the  bright  sunshine,  and  after  seeing  it  one  seemed  better 
to  understand  the  gloom  of  the  Greek  tragedies,  and  inhale 
something  of  the  spirit  of  Sophocles. 

As  we  looked  at  Salonika  ftom  the  ship— this  was  before  the 
great  fire — we  beheld  spread  out,  fhjm  the  foot  of  a  high, 
bare,  pointed  range  of  hills,  several  miles  of  plain,  sloping 
southwards  to  the  sea,  on  the  margin  of  which  lay  the  city, 
a  shut-in,  walled  town  of  mean  houses  crowded  together  and 
pierced  by  the  many  long  white  candles  of  snowy  minarets, 
each  with  its  extinguisher-like  top ;  while  along  its  quays, 
and  out  by  the  shore  to  the  east,  groves  of  trees  broke  the 
monotony  and  embowered  the  pretty  suburb  that  extended 
coastwise  along  the  sea.  Tramways  ran  along  the  shore, 
and  hundreds  of  small  quaint  antique-looking  boats  and  ships 
lay  by  the  quays  or  were  anchored  in  the  roadstead,  while  the 
ugly  black  mass  of  an  occasional  modem  steamer  seemed  as 
much  out  of  place  in  such  surroundings  as  to  suggest  the 
simile  of  a  coalheaver  in  the  dress  circle  of  a  theatre. 

It  demanded  some  courage  on  the  part  of  nervous  pasengers 
to  go  ashore  from  the  steamer  in  one  of  the  swarms  of  s»Tall 
boats  that  crowded  round  and  struggled  for  fares,  for  the 
boatmen  fought  violently  for  them  ;  he — or  preferably  she- 
was  seized,  torn  about,  shouted  at  in  a  terrifying  fashion, 
and  puUed  from  boat  to  boat  in  the  agitated  waters,  till  the 
only  possible  issue  seemed  to  be  getting  rent  in  pieces. 

We  left  the  Saidieh,  which  was,  I  believe,  torpedoed  on  her 
next  voyage,  and  obtained  quarters  in  the  '  Olympos  Hotel,' 
afterwards  destroyed  in  the  great  fire.  Our  voyage  had 
lasted  for  a  fortnight,  and  we  landed  on  the  15th  of  April. 

It  will  presently  be  seen  that,  from  causes  which  I  shall 
indicate,  it  was  not  my  fortune  to  see  almost  anything  of  the 
campaign  which  was  proceeding  in  Serbia,  and  that  most  of 
what  I  witnessed  was  connected  with  the  medical  arrangements 
of  the  Serbian  armies,  but  an  account  of  tliese,  interspersed 


SERBIA  333 

!ritt^^^.  nusjionaiy.  whose  station  and  fenn  we  vbttrf 
I  iS  *t,  ^^J""^  April,  therefore,  my  comrade  Dr.D «,d 

to  DwSvi   InH  K  ^^^  ^^"^  '""*  *=^*«d  the  bom^dary 


iii 


!■:! 


^  1 


W 


434    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

freshly  turned  graves  and  white  crosses  beside  the  station 
told  of  the  losses  stistained  in  repelling  it. 

After  we  had  passed  thiougb  the  mountains  massed  along 
the  frontier,  our  course  along  the  river  was  a  level  one,  the 
Vardar  winding  and  swirling  among  meadows  of  cultivation, 
prominent  among  which  were  large  fields  of  white  poppies 
cultivated  for  opium.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  the 
fields  again  gave  way  to  moimtains,  and  the  river  was  once 
more  crushed  into  rocky  gorges,  and  broken  up  by  sharp  teeth 
and  pyramids  of  stone,  and  over  the  river,  appearing  from  the 
railway  like  a  cluster  of  swallows'  nests,  were  the  brown, 
irregular,  arched-windowed  houses  of  Keupreuli  (or  Veles), 
piled  one  above  another  in  the  ledges  of  the  rocks  high  up  to 
the  sky-line.  Then  night  fell,  and  on  this  occasion  we  did  not 
see  as  we  passed  them  anything  of  the  beauties  of  Uskub, 
the  old  Serbian  capital,  or  Skoplye  as  the  Serbs  prefer  to  call 
it.  It  was  morning,  and  daylight,  when  we  awoke  to  find 
that  we  were  running  into  Nisch,  the  temporary  capital, 
where  we  struck  the  line  of  the  Orient  Railway. 

It  was  a  memorable  welcome  which  we,  as  members  of 
the  '  Blission  Anglaise,'  received  from  the  Serbians  at  Nisch. 
We  had  intended  to  pile  our  baggage  in  the  station  and  go  off 
to  some  hotel  to  pass  the  time  until  the  evening  in:  in  for 
Belgrade  was  due,  but  consuls  came  and  greetoJ  us,  and 
left  interpreters ;  mighty  men  with  vmiforms  and  sp'.ciidid 
decorations,  even  members  of  the  Serbian  Government, 
ahnost  took  us  in  their  arms  and  refused  to  let  us  look  after 
our  luggage !  we  must  go  and  be  refreshed.  A  special  room  was 
provided  for  us  in  the  town,  and  another  in  the  hospital  with 
sterilised  beds  where  we  might  take  our  siesta ;  we  were  taken 

to  call  on  the  British  Minister,  Mr.  de  G ,  and  carriages 

were  put  at  our  disposal  if  we  had  even  to  go  across  the  muddy 
roads.  We  could  hardly  wash  off  the  dust  aiid  brush  our  hair 
for  kind  people  coming  in  eager  to  do  anything  for  us. 

It  was  particularly  interesting,  at  that  time,  to  visit  Nisch, 
for  a  prominent  Englishman  had  been  creating  great  excite- 
ment by  writing  to  the  British  newspapers  that  typhus  fever 
was  so  rampant  there  that  the  inhabitants  were  dying  of  it 
in  the  streets,  and  that  there  were  not  sufftcient  persons  left 
to  bury  the  dead  ;  he  called  the  city  a  '  Valley  of  the  Shadow 
of  Death.'  We  found  it  indeed  true  that  after  the  then 
recent  disastrous  retreat  of  the  Austrians  before  the  victorious 
Serbians,  a  large  number  of  the  captured  Austrians,  who  had 
been  scourged  by  typhus,  had  been  interned  in  northern 
Serbia,  and  particularly  in  Nisch,  and  that  from  them  the 
disease  had  spread  among  the  peasantry  and  citizens.    But 


SERBIA 


235 


the  infonnation  we  obtoined  &om  the  highest  medical 
auftonbes  showed  that  the  statements  regarfL  the  dS 

sittT.^  ^V'  *'=5'«^""  ^  never  exceeded  forty,  fifty, 
A^L^J^""^^^  "  ^7'  ?"•'  ^^'^  ""«»'«"  includ^ed  the 
th^  An!^^  wounds  and  other  diseases,  and  embraced  both 
the  Austmn  and  Serbian  sick  and  wounded.  We  wen 
informed  that  althe  other  tales  of  the  ravageTof  dLrS 
Serbia  were  equally  exaggerated  "isease  m 

bv^r*  Rii^*v™> '*?'  "^^  ^"^'^^  •««^'*»'  P«»ided  over 
«hlv  ;.^  A^^J^^'^  ''*  '"«"  «<*i^ed  most  hospit- 
dkSrl.  1™'"'^''^"*^  ""^  *°'^  """J  "»«  suiToundUig 
fh-w'  ^^'~™«^  »  »  short  time  a  great  deal  about  ^ 
that  was  gomg  on,  and  the  impression  produced  on  us  was  a 

treated  J  one  of  them  was  sent  to  wait  upon  us,  and  moved 
about  m  perfect  freedom.  In  the  mess-^m  ^here  we  sS 
n^n^ai'^'^L*^"'''''  '^'  ^''"""  Medical  StaS,  tterwe« 
SSTwlt  /rf'",'"'8*?'°' "  P"«""^'  "°t  even  on  his  parol" 
who  was  voluntarily  acting  as  assistant  surgeon:  another  a 
Eto^mian.  was  on  the  same  footing,  a  fugitive  ^m  AusSan 
Serbia,  now  an  officer  m  the  Serbian  army*  two  Russian  ladies 
acting  j»  ward  sisters,  and  several  Austrian  prisoners  of  ™Z 
aU  of  thm  m  concord  and  good  fellowship.  To  ourselve^ 
the  hospitahty  was  more  than  generous ;   we  had  toSS 

from  swallowmg  much  strong,  sweet,  rich  Serbian  red  ^e 
as  well  as  more  than  one  glass  of  cog^c.  ' 

lefflW  ^^  ^'^  ^^^^  surrounding  Nisch-for  we  had 
^Ix^  rXw  ^"""l  ''t  Usfaib-the  broad  Morava  River 
coursed  northwards  to  the  Danube  among  fertile  vaUevs 

oS?e?l"^  Z^^lt'T'  °^  "^'"y-  "PPle'  pear  pU?  a^ 
n^fL*"'*.*"*'^  **  '°^  ^^  ^e'e  covered  with  beech  and 
the^uvf^r-  ^°"^u  *T'"^  "  ^^  »"'"'■<='«>  mount^Si! 
Il^nffl  ^"*'  "**'"  '^•*'*°*  mountains  enclosed  us,  and 
along  the  water-courses  numerous  marshes  gave  joy  to  cohorts 
of  frogs,  whose  noisy  rejoicings  were  «,  l!ud  is  to  r^sou^ 

of?he  fZ"^  °*^"  °°"I'  r"^"y  ^^^8  even  the  s^^d 
of  the  tram  as  we  passed  through  them. 

tu  J„  Peasanfy  wereall  soldiers,  but  few  had  proper  uniforms  • 
mo^  rJT  '^•^*'"«"'»H^le  ™ly  by  their  rifles,  and  we«™he 
most  picturesque  set  of  men  whom  one  could  see  off  the  stage! 

^^S^  ^tr'-TK'*''.  ^'"=^"'^  '"'''  ""'•cental  wo^ten 
?«^^'  "»?°'''"8  the  'samplers'  our  ancestresses  used 
J^nf  ^'>ST°«  "P  J°  *«  "*^'1'«  °*  '•'e  leg,  with  ,  piei  of 
hide  doubled  over  the  foot  for  a  shoe.    The  women  wew 


!'!:. 


1 


■  I  '  ^ 


836    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

span  in  buiW,  active,  hardy,  fit  to  be  the  mothers  of  a  brave 
race  of  mountaineers.  The  country  and  people  could  hardly 
fail  to  remind  a  Scot  of  the  highland  distncts  of  his  own  land. 
All  was  wild  nature  with  a  little  agriculture,  though  there 
were  a  few,  a  very  few,  factories  about  Nisch,  remarkable 
chiefly  for  their  ornamental  architecture,  despite  the  inevit- 
able ugly  tall  chimneys. 


(i!ift 


iM 


XLIX 

Beujkaoe 

Between  the  Greek  frontier  and  Nisch,  in  what  I  suppose 
one  may  call  Serbian  Macedonia,  the  only  language  m  which 
any  of  us  could  communicate  with  the  Serbians,  exceptmg 
with  the  few  who  spoke  English,  was  French,  but  at  and 
beyond  Nisch,  German  was  the  most  useful  tongue. 

In  the  Macedonian  district  the  railway  we  bad  come  by, 
the  only  line  of  communication  from  Serbia  to  the  sea,  a 
soldier  or  two  at  intervals  along  the  rails,  or  guarding  the 
culverts  and  bridges,  were  the  solitary  signs  of  the  war  whit^ 
was  going  on,  but  on  the  Orient  Line,  between  Nisch  and 
Belgrade,  the  whole  country  was  covered  with  the  appurtm- 
ances  of  war.  In  every  carriage  of  the  train  sat  an  armed 
guard  of  sokiiers,  and  tlie  line  wound  its  way,  after  leaving 
the  Morava  River,  through  a  nuurvellous  series  of  cuttmgs, 
tunnels,  embankments,  over  and  through  ranges  of  wild  hiUs 
and  valleys,  where  every  suitable  spot  of  ground  was  occupied 
by  camp  after  camp  of  cavalry,  commissariat,  infantry,  and 
artillery,  and  where  the  hamlets,  houses,  and  people  were 
more  Oriental  in  appearance,  the  dwellings  being  Jmost^l 
provided  in  their  lower  stories  with  arched  colonnaded 
■  k>ggias,'  minute  and  picturesque. 

At  the  station  of  Radoviti,  three  miles  ftom  Belgrade, 
the  passengers  had  to  descend,  the  baggage  going  on  to  the 
next  stopping-place  Topscheider,  somewhat  nearer  to  the 
city.      Thence  we  were  conveyed  by  motor  car  over  the 

roughest  of  roads,  to  present  ourselves  to  Admiral  T , 

and  thence  to  the  building  destined  to  be  our  hospital. 

I  had  never  previously  been  in  Belgrade,  and  was  impressed 
by  it.  At  the  point  where  the  Danube,  coming  fcom  the 
west,  out  of  the  vast  Hungarian  levels,  is  joined  ftom  the 
south  by  the  Save,  also  flowing  through  similar  flats,  thsrt 
heaves  itself  up  at  the  eastern  comer  of  their  junction,  in 
the  embrace  of  the  two  rivers  as  it  were,  a  mountain  on 
which  stands  Belgrade,  k)oking  proudly  down  on  the  flooded 


SERBIA  ,37 

SZ^Jl**-**  '•!*'  "  ""  ^  ""^  '*•  There  the  Anglo- 
French  contingent  weie  sweeping  away  the  enemy's  miies 
and  opposite  them,  on  the  flooded  Hungarian  baXweTthe 
Austrum  arni.«>.    Tothe  west  Belgrad?  overhung  the  lave! 

spanned  it.  over  which  the  Orient  Railway  had  run  and  the 
bw  town  of  Semlin  in  the  enemy's  hands  just^^i^s  the 

S';he^'  ?r"*'  ^»'*i-  '"'^  Serbian  ^battS^U™ 
upon  the  heights  around  and  above  Belgrade,  where  they 
could  reply  to  the  enemy's  guns,  but  on  neither  side  were  thev 
of  heavy  calibre,  and  there  had  been  a  sort  of  tnia  kep^ 
between  the  two  artiUensts,  so  that  for  a  fortnight  there  h^ 
been  no  bombardment  of  the  city. 

rfpS^^'..'"°*""jl."-,f?°^  """y  ™^«d  '>°"ses,  partly 
fol^^  w'?^^/""*  buildings,  and  some  of  the  sticisS^ 
torn  up  by  theformer  cannonades,  but  on  the  whole  the  city 

^  ^^  >  ^  *"  T^^  ""  "^^  ^""^  "^n  anticipated, 
nor  had  it  been  much  damaged  by  the  occupation  by  the 
Austnans  before  they  had  been  driven  out  by  the  lat^  ^bU^ 
successes.  Apart  even  from  its  situation,  the  city  waH  fl^ 
one :  several  modem  streets  had  been  formed  in  its  best 
quarters,    Uid   out   with   broad   pavements,    carriage-waTs 

nm-aiid  beautified  by  gardens  and  fountains.  The 
5^^*f  IT  """''"et-ng  tteir  maricets  as  usual,  arrayed 
m  wonderfully  elaborately  worked  garments,  but  thereW^re 
no  women  of  the  better  classes  to  be  seen,  and  the  men 
with  exception  of  the  officers,  of  whom  we  s^w  ma^y  in  the 
restaurants,  were  of  the  middle  class,  rough,  goS  sOTt  of 
feUows.  friendly  and  helpful  to  us  in  our  ^|l«  wrtho^ 
rudimentary   Serbian,   but   unshaven,   rudely  clSh^  liS 

Srthi^m"         *'  "*"*"*  '"  *•"  *°"'   ^  °'  *°"«*  »nd 

There  were  many  really  fine  buUdings,  indicative  of  pro- 
cess on  modem  hnes,  and  one  of  these,  the  Third  Belimde 

hoq)ital.  Outwardly  it  had  the  appearance  of  a  palace 
^^Zj^"^t  "^  "*  ""^T"'  P^*  *"e  simply  splendid.  It 
tJ^°^1?V"^"  ^^^^  of  several  acres,  and  was  entered  ftt>m 
the  street  by  a  stairway  of  steps  of  noble  width,  flanked  by 
sides  of  pohshed  granite  of  a  bluish-giey  colour.  A  hand^ 
some  doorway  opened  on  a  vestibule  lined  with  coloured 
en^ustic  tiles,  which  was  occupied  by  a  stair  aseendin« 

S^^t'ilt.'^KP''^  °'  blue  Wnite!  giving  a.^^rS 
h^  haU  from  whose  centre  rose  a  great  medial  stair  giving 
off  corridors  to  the  frontage  and  wings,  ite  sides  of  pouZd 


I  ': 


»       '  IB 


.r 


bi  '^ 


238    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

blur  granite  with  white  marble  ^anirters^nd  its  broad 
wide  "teps  were  of  the  same  smoothly  dressed  blue  graTUte. 
From  the  corridors  opened  what  had  been  «]» »-7"»\f  "^ 
ktoratories,  plain,  handsome,  well-lit  rooms  fifteen  f^t  high, 
twenty  broad,  and  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  long,  some  of 
them  conteintag  stores  of  the  most  modem  apphances  for 
the  tS«  of  technical  science.  There  were  exceUent 
uth^mTInd  lavatories.  Externally  the  bujUmg  was 
Grecian  in  character,  and  was  two  stones  m  heigW;  the 
c^Xl  block  had  a  fine  facade  in  the  Connthian  style,  with 
«rved  stone  mouldings  and  pilasters,  and  was  topped  by  a 
weU^esigned  cornice,  which  also  ra,n  round  the  whole  of  the 
wSis.  The  lower  story  was  in  dressed  ashlar  work,  sm- 
mounted  by  a  Grecian  frieze,  whUe  the  upper  story  apP^ 
Sw  brick  covered  with  plaster  and  cement  work  highly 
^nTmentri  round  the  windows  and  in  its^ntral  block  was 
a  very  large  handsome  hall  of  fine  proportions  and  nchly 
orw^ented!      Altogether  it  was  an  ideal  buildmg  for  a 

SS"  bui  though  Surgeon  M of  the  Royal  Navy  had 

Sone  CaVwork  iS  fitting  it  for  our  reception,  yet  it  was  m 
Zfy'^Tys  in  a  foul  state^from  the  Austrians  bavmg  occupied 
it  as  a  barracks  when  they  were  m  possession  of  tbe  towi- 

In  one  of  the  class-rooms  we  three  members  of  the  unit 
enSmp^,  making  our  beds  on  the  floor  -md  «t  to  work 
to  have  every  part  of  the  buildings  cleaned  and  washed  out 
by  Srbian  soldiers,  and  to  plan  its  arrangements  for  receivmg 
our  sta«  and  the  patients  when  they  came.  ,^ 

We  had  some  visits  from  the  professors  who  had  been 
teaching  in  the  Gymnasium,  and  I  cannot  say  that  I  was 
hlehrLpressed  by  their  qualifications,  for  some  of  them 
taew  nrSnguage  beyond  Serbian,  and  it  was  hard  to  see 
^w  m^em'Tcilnce  ^uld  have  been  taught  efficiently  by 
those  who  were  uninstructed  in  German,  French,  EngUsh, 

°'Thfm°iitary  events  which  occurred  whUe  I  was  in  Belgrade 
at  tWs  tine  were  of  minor  magnitude.  We  had  only  Mty 
Brit^h  naval  artillerymen  in  the  country,  but  they  did  their 
S="r^th  their  navaYguns,  aided  ^Y^'^^^J^Zt^I^^ 
ffunners.  They  had  rigged  up  asmallwar  vesselon  the  Danube, 
f^  w^h  it  they  contrived  to  keep  the  Austnans  lively  ; 

™  one  occasion  Major  E ,  who  was  afterwards  killed  on 

Se   F^Swhen  she  blocked    the  port  of  Zeebrugge 
^nt  uTthe  Danube  in  the  dark  of  the  night,  as  he  had  done 
^^  K«  before,  passed  successfuUy  through  the  enemy  s 
m"re-fields  and  defences,  torpedoed  and  »"1^  °»«  °^  ^^^f" 
monitors  which  were  lying  among  some  islands  ten  mUes 


SERBIA  ,35 

up  the  river  above  Semlin,  and  brought  back  his  vessel  and 
crew  through  a  heavy  fire,  without  loSing  a  man  '"'' 

lue  Austrian  guns  were  sometimes  going,  by  night  as  well 
tL^L^'  °V^^,  ^""^-  *•"*  *•'«''  ^  ^*  »  not  dSe^  on 
the  high  winds  which  swept  over  Belgrade,  sailinc  over 
Semlm  and  the  territory  held  by  the  enmy,  drawtaf  th?iJ 

sented  all  the  warfare  which  was  then  going  on.  ^ 


I  .( 

,  M 


m 


Back  to  the  Mediterranean 
b^n^niHI!"*"!?  J  ^^,  ^•'"Pon'rily  to  leave  Belgrade,  having 

moSis  '''""''  *"™"'  °"*'  ^  ""'"'I'sent  for  U 

..^•".I  "as  leaving  Belgrade  the  French  aeroplanes  were 
still  soaring  over  the  Save,  and  the  Austrian  guns  were  shelto^ 
them  unsuccessfully.  On  reaching  Nisch  I  again  mrt  S 
a  cordml  reception,  and  Dr.  Yeilitsch,  the  head  "urg^n 

b^^He*^*  V  ""^  '^  '""*»  "^  ""y  relation  wSCd 
h3^  V  '».=''',  offered  to  receive  the  patient  into  hU 
hospital  Yeraitsch  was  an  able  surgeon,  who  had  re^iv^ 
h^  medical  education  in  Russia,  aid  knew  someT^ 
friends  in  Petrograd  well.     In  the  Nisch  hoIpiteUhere  wal 

tZ^SnU,^'"'\I^'"'^  H'^'  """^  gentLen  an"  21 
tl^  n..^^t  r  ?'  '"*''  ?^"y  "*''"  nationalities,  so  that  in 
S,,f r    i    °'  languages    it  was  a  veritable  '  Mac«oine" 

Sve)  U„d"^r"t^  '  ^  *"'  '*'>^*  °'  seeing  Uskub 
(SKoplye)     Under  the  mommg  sunshine,  in  the  middle  of 

?hr^''f  "7  •  l*^'-  '"P''  """^  ''''""''^"t  ''ate',  a  ««ne  ^ 
the  greatest  richness,  rose  a  high  knoll  covered  with  houses 
and  c^wned  with  a  fortress,  with  white  minarets  ridng 
from  the  town  ;  and  all  around,  at  a  distance  of  a  few  miks 
^  1  iS?f:^  mountains  capped  with  glittering  snlw  ' 
At  the  SerbiMi  frontier  there  was  a  strict  elimination 

^„tW?^^*'''"i^T.''*'™"'^'^^ff<l"aiantinewcreiSSute 
but  1  was  permitted  to  pass  with  the  simple  queries  as  to  '  who  = 

wWch  werl  tSTr  »^'°".rt  u^^'iT'^ '"'°  Greek  ^rZge., 
wmch  were  better  than  the  Serbian  both  in  quality  and  cleln- 

here  r/""^*^  ^J^'  *^'"'"8  at  Salonika.  C  JSi 
there  was  a  quarantane  examination,  but  not  of  a  severe 
nature.    A  medical  officer  simply  struck  a  ma?ch  and  iS 


kJ 


,40    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 
at  u..  and  fonniOine  spray  was  «juirted  into  the  compartment, 
after  which  we  were  fcee  to  proved  into  the  city. 

There  I  found  my  invaliTin  the  Greek  hospital  oUed.  I 
do  not  know  why/the  Hflpital  Fran^»,  ^THll  of  »* 
two  English  doctors,  a  Greek  medico,  and  the  ""O'e*  ?'  "^ 
un?t  hSLng  about  like  benevolent  bees- nearly  all  of  them 
contriving  to  have  a  finger  in  the  pie  of  good  deeds  ;  white 
Se  menSf  the  unit,  each  in  his  different  way,  strove  to  show 
thtiT^  will ;  they  were  like  a  set  of  sisters  and  brothers 
It  waf^  touching.  aU  was  so  spontaneously  done,  and 
L«  wUh^ne  «.uld  have  formed  for  the  invalid  was  already 
:;S^  »S  J—  had  filled  the  room  with  b^ufful 
flowera  and  roses,  and  the  Amencan  missionary.  Dr.  H— -, 
aSd  toi  wife,  sent  offers  to  do  anything  they  couM,  and  to 
suDTily  fresh  milk  and  eggs  to  the  patient.  t^„j«„ 

?t  beo^  advisable  to  have  the  patient  taken  to  London 
for  atSnc^^.  and  there  ensued  a  long  detay  in  Salonika 
SforeihU  "uld  be  arranged  for.    The  telegraph  Imes  and 
^bte"  had  Sen  requisitioned  by  the  authorities  connert^ 
wtth  the  war,  and  this  made  the  question  of  finance  one  of 
much  dSty     The  Banque  Nationate  de  Grice  would  not 
S^^cL  aS^  mon4  withoiTt  being  "-thorised  by  a  »Wegam 
S,m  London,  while  the  telegram  to  there,  ^h'«h  I  ^ed  m 
7^A  for  which  I  oaid  as  much  as  89  drachmai  95  lepta,  at  the 
S^' offlc^  wi^ever  sent  off  and  it  was  on^  aft«^u^ 
Hdav  that  I  was  enabled,  by  the  kindness  of  Hr.  W-— -.  the 
ffih^nU  to  obtain  a  sum  of  gold  from  a  merchant  m 
f«hanfle  for  my  cheque  on  Messrs.  Barclay  and  Co.     It 
wTstXioSi  coUection  of  gold  coin  which  I  received,  Fren^, 
wasacuTOiM       „  ^^      "    ^i   Turkish  pieces  were  there; 
^ir;e«  »  o/^  l^^theXy  of^he  Ar^Napotec^^ 
!^d  some  were  Egyptian  with  Arabic  charactos.    Wh«i 
Sf  SctirwafXmpleted  I  esteemed  myse  f  fortimate 
to  hS^fwld  in  my  belt ;  without  it  we  could  not  have 
ScSrf  froT^lonika.  and  there  business  matters  were  m 
S^Smort  confusion,  and  consequently  the  war  prices  wer* 

^Xft^rtime  we  were  in  tb<  onth  of  May,  and  the  heat 
was  g^t.  &lonika  stank  Uk  sewer  and  the  vane^ot 
Tt^nch^was  surprising:  each  b,  se,  not  to  ™f '"'If^i 
!l™.)i  t«  nosse^  ita  own  peculiar  odour,  and  the  HOpital 
^'SSis  wrr^hf  m^t  <Sorifen>us  quarter  of  the  town. 
^toJ  evin  its  operation  theatre  offended  one^  nostrils. 

Yrt  w7«  it  not  for  man  and  his  dirty  ways.  Satomka  might 
be  a  olS  The  inner  bay  of  the  Gulf,  ten  miles  across 
^allS^ns,  is  beautiful,  and  the  town  lie.  finely  on  its 


SERBIA 


I  ,- 


341 


iMWtten  shore,  but  the  place  waa  insutferably  dirty,  and  the 
ahabltanU,  accustomed  untU  the  other  day  to  TurkUh  wavs 

S^ J^  • '  ^'^  If^'"^  '^^»*-  There  were  compensations 
tothe  du-greeafile.  Mount  Olympus  was  one  of  thele  It 
«ta»cted  even  by  lU  ehisiveness.  In  the  earliest  morning, 
before  almost  any  one  was  awake,  its  snowy  ridge  appeareS 
^th.  roll  of  cloud,  half-way  down  the  sid«  and  th^e'^i 
i«j;^l.iV*'.u  •*« '°«n«>"  the  innumerable  summits,  a 
flttmg  «at  for  the  gods,  gathered  cumuli  of  clouds  round  Uie 
top,  and  permitted  only  ghmpses  of  some  of  the  peaks  to 

wifw°i  •  u  T""""  '«"'"  '**  '^^  appeared/tinged 
Witt  pale  pmk  as  the  sun  set;    but  always  Tits  ^eTor 

O^^^^*'  '*'  ^*"  *^  horizontal  rolls  of  d?iu 
«rt^f~  ^^"^  every  eye  J  it  is  fiiscinating  to  watch  it. 
»tter  rare  appearances,  for  often  it  U  not  visible  for  many 

.^fJi  ♦w;i.-^  ""?  **'°P**^  *°  "^ke  its  ascent,  but  wm 
aMured  t^t  thu  wa.  mipossible,  since,  apart  from  the  dirtan  " 
It  wa.  said  that  the  inhabitants  who  woQ  be  met  witlM?e« 
dangoou.  and  could  not  be  trusted  to  abstain  from  atta<iS^ 
traveUtts.  I  had  not  even  tte  consolation  of  gettinTi 
suMewftil  photograph  of  the  gtorious  giant.  * 

ti^^t^JS^i^^ '?}  ^^'^-  When  I  was  formerly 
there  in  the  middle  of  Apnl  winter  had  not  lost  ite  grip,  and 
the  only  flowers  to  be  seen  were  the  graceful,  scented  white 
wUd  ms,  but  m  May,  a  week  or  two  later,  there  was  profusion 
l^^J;  ""T'  ?^»nthemums,  and  many  otter  blossoms, 
^Itivated  and  wild.  The  vines  were  in  flower  and  leaf,  and 
tte  foluige  of  the  trees  was  fuU,  even  the  horse -che;tnut 
candles  were  ateiost  fully  out.  But  tte  beauty  was  evan- 
escent :  sprmg,  which  laste  for  months  in  Scotland,  took  but  a 
few  days  to  complete  ite  evolution  in  Salonika. 

Regular  direct  communication  with  the  outeide  world  was 
atoost  entuelv  cut  off.  A  chance  steamer  for  Malta  was  the 
best  ejQt  which  could  be  hoped  for,  and  even  that  was  to  take 
a  roundabout  course.  ^^ 


LI 

^LOMtKA  TO  Malta 

^X*  """•^•wd  ourselves  fortunate  to  find  a  means  of  escape 
^er  a  kmg  detentfon,  during  which  we  had  to  And  that 
-.-•oniSa  *-s=  But  always  bade  in  tte  sunshine.  After  a 
few  days  of  heat,  so  sweltering  that  one  could  not  sleep  well 
at  night,  we  had  days  of  thunderstorms  when  the  wind 


(     H 


■  r 


34a    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

.wept  over  us  from  the  northwert,  Olympui  hid  Wmietf 
behind  an  impenetrable  veil  of  miit.  heavy  rain  and  oold 
set  in  so  that  we  had  to  hurry  back  into  thick  clothing  and 
sat  about  with  cold  feet ;  but  they  brought  the  comfort  of 
quiet  sleep  and  freedom  from  the  mosquito.  ,^        . 

On  the  tenth  of  May  the  Messageries  boat  Mnumd  turned 
up  in  the  bay.  and  the  Greek  authorities  gave  permuamn 
for  the  invalid  to  proceed  direct  on  board  from  the  quay  m 
front  of  the  hotel,  in  place  of  having  to  undergo  the  fiitigue 
of  being  conveyed  by  the  usual  circuitous  and  inconvenient 
rouah  streets  and  customs  house  stoirs.  and  the  VMse  proved 
to  be  the  acme  of  comfort,  so  we  thankfiiUy  booked  our 
passages  to  Malta,  where  we  could  cateh  one  of  the  India 
liners:  The  Mououl,  a  boat  of  some  TOOO  tons  burden, 
was  exquisitely  clean  and  sweet,  with  the  most  attentive  of 
stewards,  spacious  state  rooms,  and  fine  baths. 

On  our  last  day  Olympus  emerged  ttom  his  veil  of  cloud, 
though  in  a  gloomy  mood ;  but  just  as  evenmg  fell  he  show«i 
a  line  of  silver  snow  edging  one  of  his  peaks.    We  had  the 
stalest  of  seas  as  we  proceeded  down  the  Gulf,  «id  next 
morning  at  sunrise  we  were  entering  the  harbour  of  Mudros 
in  the  island  of  Lemnos.  then  occupied  by  the  British  as  a 
naval  base.    The  harbour  was  a  spacious  one,  with  hills 
everywhere  enclosing  it,  the  water  occupying  the  crater  of 
a  great  volcano,  with  recesses  in  which  were  anchored  numben 
of  warships ;   but  into  the  inner  sanctuary  which  contamed 
these  we  were  not  permitted  to  make  our  way,  having  to 
content  ourselves  with  anchoring  outside  the  line  of  buoys 
and  nets  which  protected  our  valuable  fleet  agamst  the  inroads 
of  submarines.    There  we  were  visited  by  British  and  French 
torpedo-boats  inquiring  into  our  business,  and  directing  us 
as  to  what  we  were  to  do.    Our  call  at  Mudros  appeared  to 
be  chiefly  concerned  with  the  mails,  and  during  our  long 
detention  in  awaiting  them  we  were  able  to  take  photographs 
and  sketches  of  what  lay  before  our  eyes.    Except  for  the 
evidences  of  war,  the  bare  and  treeless  Uland  was  devoid  of 
interest.    Much  of  it  seemed  to  be  composed  of  sedunentarj 
rock  with  basalt  overlying  it. 

Next  morning  we  were  in  the  harbour  of  Pireus,  havmg 
passed  several  cruisers  and  men-of-war,  and  had  views  of 
numberless  bare  and  conical  Greek  islands  before  night  came 
on  Years  previously,  when  traveUers  in  Greece  were  few, 
I  had  traveUed  through  Attica,  landing  at  the  Pirseus,  which 
was  then  a  smaU  port  with  a  limited  trade  m  figs,  sponges, 
and  small  wares ;  and  we  had  landed  on  the  opcm  beach  on 
which  a  small  wooden  sentry-box  served  for  the  customs 


SERBIA 


''M 


Ui 


which  weriying  WtJ  or7S^rrBdi.i:r^°"'"-  °PP«»'t« 
them  th.  chig&g  aU?ttf'hLrK"".iT/ 
w«  contmuou..    On  thi.  occasion  IdM  nT^Uit'llJ^// 

InT"^  ^'"«*  •^  "'*"'^  »'""*  '""t  I  h«i  sailid  about  G~o, 

wrecked  on  that  iron-bound  headland     He  w^  fk!'^^  i 
survivor  of  the  crew,  and  in  <mIi7,X  fnr  h^^^  r      ""^^ 

mil«i  away  f,t,m  any  habitation,  hts^Uttd^^\i      ""' 
produce  and  on  contributions  from  p^J^T^^  which  wl^!: 

SL^ti.":ri:.°LT^;.-4vEip  a?i^^^^^^^ 
d^ud^  o»tlr^-t  t^ot,\-:t  ^-^-^^ 

whether  we  had  seen  any  warships-  an(^  ar^h,  f^,I!!f    ^ 

shght  touch  m  ,t  of  the  Highland  Ring.  wMrothe«  It 
round  and  chanted  a  monotonous  sonrLl  d  r~  IHrf  -i 
anythu^  but  exhilarating;  and,  when^ih^'welried^f'tt^'^ 
to  mdulge  ma  game  which  they  appear^  y^XH^^^' 
■ie  essence  of  which  was  violently  slam^  <^  oOk«'  fi2: 
and  guessing  who  had  given  the  strokS^^  ^** 


I.  ; 


i     } 


y  1 


344 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 


Ln 

Malta 

To  enUr  the  htfbour  or  Valetta  at  sunria*  u  an  experienoe 
that  itamp»  itaelf  deep  in  the  memory.    It  ii,  in  its  way,  one 
of  the  moit  wonderful  sighU  in  the  world.    From  thc^^narrow 
entrance  the  harbour  spread*  out  like  a  hand  with  many 
flnoers  and  thumbs,  into  endless  teoesses  which  at  our  visit 
wMe  packed  with  vesseb  of  all  kinds,  sitiall  craft,  grey  gun- 
boaUrmenH>f-war,  and  hundreds  of  tiny  boaU  that  poured 
out  in  a  flood  to  fetch  ofl  the  passengers.  High  oTerhead,  on 
all  sides,  hung  aroaded  buildings  asoendmg  the  precipitous 
slopes  of  theharbouT  m  tiers  and  rows ;  huge  palaces  occu- 
pied every  foot  of  the  flat-topped  plateaux  above  ;   beneath 
stairway*  quays  ran  round  the  water's  edge,  and  along  the 
skyline  were  interminable  ramparts  pierced  for  guns,  doubtless 
now  useleM,  but  evidences  of  the  time,  care,  labour,  and  cost 
which  had  been  expended  for  ages  in  heaping  up  these  fortifica- 
tions so  lavishly  that  scarce  a  single  yard  of  the  circumference 
of  the  main  harbour  was  not  a  frowning  Ui*  of  casemates 
and  emplacements  for  hundreds  on  hundreds  of  cannon. 

Malta  is  an  island  which  many  dislike  on  account  of  its 
heat,  dust,  glare,  and  flies,  and  it  must  be  conceded  that 
they  are  tr^ng.    But  it  has  many  recommendations,  and 
especially  to  any  one  who  is  interested  in  antiquity.    It 
aivrathe  visitor  the  impression  of  being  enormously  old. 
Man  seems  to  have  been  digging  and  excavating  in  it  for 
thousands  of  years,  until  it  is  quite  honeycombed.    It  re- 
minds one  of  an  ant-heap  where  the  ants  are  babiM,  women, 
and  men  with  skins  of  the  colour  of  a  Cochm-Chma  hen  s 
ess     A  great  part  of  the  interior  of  the  island  consists  either 
ofteiraces  buUt  up  laboriously  in  order  that  somethmg  may 
be  grown  on  soU  collected  on  bare  patches  of  probably  ooralhne 
limestone  rock,  or  of  quarries  whence  the  soft  stone  has  been 
sawn  out  in  incredible  quantities  to  construct  thehouses,  towers, 
churches,  walk  that  elbow  each  other  all  over  the  island,  and 
villaaes  and  towns  which  are  so  numerous  as  apparently  to 
runmto  one  another  ;  moisture  coUects  in  the  depth  of  these 
quarries,  and  in  them  are  formed  small  kitchen  gardeiis 
where  onions,  potatoes,  and  the  like  flourish  and  meet  with 
a  ready  market.    Contrasting  with  the  green  colour  m  these 
sunken  hollows,  anything  which  is  grown  on  the  surface  level, 
such  as  grain  crops  and  trees,  looks  withered  and  dry,  and  is 
always  covered  with  a  powdering  of  dust. 
The  town  of  Valetta  and  the  suburbs  around  it  are  crawlmg 


and 


SERBIA  ,^5 

».  till  the  .kvlB,*  ,.  Hi^^,       .h  ^^,,  '^j    "ton 

yt  and  covered  wayi 

■ille  above,  gardcni 

.-aiumi,  marguerites, 

mpt  to  the  aieent  of 


— J       7,.,    7    "*  ■"  """e*  on  tei 
nadef,  till  the  skyline  i.  fringed 
marvellously  beautiftjl.    Stiai-'^ 
Invite  one  to  descend  and 
glowing  with  the  rich  colou 
""■nai,  broom,  boi    h:  villiai 
the  higher  parts. 

Uvedintheinfan<^ofhir,;cl!^'    "  "'"'=''  ?"»"»*«*.»  man 

The  men  of  the  islands  go  about  in  oicturMfln.  r.^   »i. 

r°S!?/"  '"  ''!?=•'  «='o-k'  with  their  h^i:?,'^v::e5^?;  tt 

an  hour  and  a  half  across  the  iuthem  parto'  ,be  i^^nS 
we  found  >t  on  the  top  of  a  low  emine^  ?^e"o  V  '!« 
of  Krendi  where  it  overlooks  the  sea  on  ^^/^mt '-  v  j!?! 
shore.  There  it  formed  an  unposing  .  ■  jeit  t"  V  tT^ 
»ky.  The  most  ancient  a,  d  most  st?iVi;.  pa,:  *,i  u  *^ 
a  group  of  five  standing  stones  or  menhii-.  Iv  "^r  wh  ',  S 
unhewn  slabs  eleven  to  twelve  feet  hig^  w„  p  •  -  "  '..^J 
to  edge,  and  between  two  ..f  them  wns  i  >  ,v   i  " 

with  its  long  axis  vertical,  through  Xh!  a  \  ■■;'*;;:;^" 
bearmg  of  nine  and  three  quarter  dent^th^  i       i  ***^ 

strfiTin'ti.t'''-^  ^"p  of  Sn^rfi^h  .;^n"h^': 
^trti;rb:s?i°i?"bSrrjTe*;;^?r^^^^^^^^ 

rac*  of  nature-wo^hippe^  whosL\e^'lte  is  „„k"own 

•^~  ?.«""*  **°"«''  •>"▼«  come  to  be  designated  by  ftudenU 
Ha^  Si^'  ^:  ,*''^"*'i^  ^^•-    ^^  five*2:ento"o 

tr^eSrchS:; ::.  aKrL'^^cStit^^^ 

and   CaUemish  in   Scotland,   ^I^^  Tveb'u5'"ik' 


'11 


■  t 


•  'i  \ 
III 


mi 


M[ 

'ill 

I'l'^i; 


346    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

England,  and  the  menhirs  of  Camus  «nd  others  in  Brittany 
and  Normandy. 

Around  and  between  the  menhirs  was  a  mass  of  more  recent, 
though  ftiU  enormously  old,  constructions  of  dressed  stone, 
the  work  of  a  Neolithic  people.    None  of  them  exceeded  six 
feetinheight.    They  were  a  maze  of  ceUular  structures,  courts, 
chamben,  passages,  doorways,  steps,  recesses,  dolmen-like 
oioups,  baetyU,  stone  tables.,  stone  pillars  of  cyhndncal  or 
Miuare  shape,  and  the  whole  place  was  full  of  circular,  oval, 
JSd  quadrangular  perforations,  direct  and  oblique,  some  of 
which  serred  as  doorways ;  as  weU  as  of  cup-markings,  cups, 
and  basins,  on  the  walls  and  floors.    The  walls  were  ma 
style  of  masonry  which  was  used,  though  not  necessanly 
onginated  by  or  confined  to,  the  early  Celtic  races  of  Europe, 
being  formed  of  fairly  large  sUbs  placed  edge  to  edge  m 
somewhat  parallel  rows  and  the  intervening  spice  fflled  m 
with  shapeless  rubble  so  as  to  form  walls,  and  the  slabs  were 
beautifully  dressed  and  squared,  and  on  many  parts  dehcately 
ornamented  with  tiny  markings  like  the  cells  of  a  honeycomb, 
or  even  like  the  papillae  patterned  on  the  skin  of  the  human 
finger  tips.    This  ornamentation  reminded  one  a  Uttle  of 
the  wavy  ornamentation  of  the  interior  of  the  Gavr  Inis 
tumulus  in  Brittany.    All  the  dressing  and  ornamentation 
si^emed  to  have  been  done  with  roughly  pointed  stone  unple- 
ments.    On  th.   fop  of  the  slab  walls  were  courses  of  stones 
which  were  ai  •  .rt  certainly  a  yet  later  form  of  masonry, 
for  they  were  arranged  in  well-laid  courses,  with  the  centre 
of  each  block  placed  over  the  interval  between  the  two 
underlying  blocks,  a  style  of  building  which  bespoke  a  con- 
siderable advance  in  the  mason's  art ;  and  in  some  instances 
the  blocks  were  so  dressed  that  their  curves  corresponded 
with  the  circular  shape  of  the  cells  which  they  completed 
above.    There  was  no  sign  of  these  buildings  havmg  ever 
had  any  roofing,  unless  of  light  and  perishable  materiaU. 

To  sum  up,  Hagiar  Kim,  as  I  interpreted  it,  showed,  firtt, 
the  five  unhewn  menhirs  of  PaleoUthic  and  Megalithic  maxi ; 
second,  the  pinaxic  slab  walls  of  an  occupation  by  a  Neolithic 
race  ;  and  third,  the  additions  to  the  tops  of  the  walls,  with 
possible  temporary  roofing,  by  a  yet  more  rerent  race  who  had 
attained  <-onsiderable  advances  in  the  masonic  art. 

The  evidences  of  successive  occupations,  such  as  can  also 
be  traced  in  Stennis,  CaUemish,  and  Stonehenge,  were  to  me 
most  interesting,  as  the  authorities  I  had  consulted  had  not 
prepared  me  to  find  them. 

So  much  of  the  time  I  eouW  spare  was  spent  at  Hagiar  Kim 
that  I  had  no  opportunity  of  visiting  Unaidra,  which  Ues  not 


SERBIA 


247 


S^J*r*"*'  ^  ^.  ~"^  *  """^  "«t  «~»  to  the  island  of 

Valetta  Muwum,  and  the  writings  of  Professor  Zammit.  its 
dBtrnguished  curator  and  other  authors,  as  also  fh,m  des^p! 

nriH?i.«  fj"^  ^^P*"-  ''")  ^  ™  afterwards  by  naval  and 
mJitary  friends  who  vis.ted  them,  I  conclude  thkt  they  con- 
Un,  ^o  teuly  Meplithic  menhirs,  and  so  far  as  I  can  d^c^er 
Hl^  Kim  IS  the  only  place  where  specimens  of  these  exist 
m  the  Malta  group  of  islands. 

wiS  ^1?  V^  *•**  ?i^«!J"  °^  «newing  my  acquamtance 
with  iKjrd  Methuen,  the  Governor  of  the  blanS,  my  old 
commander  m  the  South  African  War 


Malta  to  London 
Ik  ftese  last  years  so  many  have  had  the  experience  of 
^IT^  ^Zl^"^  ■•?  ""-tM".  that  it  would  be  out  of  place 
to  descnbe  the  incidents  of  the  voyage  from  Malta  to  London 

Wf  -C^'k  ?i  ^^"^.  ?'"'"'■  She  was  a  rickety  old 
tw!L^  .  ~"'^  "°*  "t^^'y  8«*  "P  »  8^ter  speed  than 
twelve  knots,  and  was  therefore  a  comfortable  i^rk  for  a 

»^d'^T  m"^-  ^'  ^  "  ■"^"«  °^  «"  ""rts  of  weather" 
and  in  the  Mediterranean  some  memorable  sunsets,  with  the 
western  sky  all  blood,  and  the  sea  in  the  foreground  red,  shot 
with  peat  stops  of  green  and  deepest  steel  blue.  We  were 
directed  to  keep  a  course  atong  the  southern  side  of  the 
SMiterxanean,  until  we  reached  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar, 
where  we  learned,  from  a  British  gunboat  which  stopped  us 
to  give  orders  for  our  future  course,  that  Italy  had  joiJIS  in 
tr7«J'"  *.^^  '!^'  °^  *'''  ^"tente.  We  were  insticted  to 
keep  fifty  miles  to  the  west  of  the  usual  course,  and  hence 

nX  fK  I!^'.  ^!"  ""^  ^  """"^  "PP^^'te  to  the  SciUy 
Istands,  the  ship  s  head  was  turned  eastwards,  and  the  fullest 

^J^l'I^  .?"*  ""u*", «°  "P  ^^^  Channel.  All  lights  were 
S!S^^  u       '  the  portholes  were  curtained  up,  and  the  steamer 

fl^f  K  *  ""^  *,*""«  "P  *"  ^•^""^J  ^^  ""ch  velocity 
that  her  upper  works  groaned  and  shrieked  as  if  they  were 

^Jlt^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^  '^^'''^  *'«'^  them  in  position.  It  was 
nearly  full  moon  so  that,  although  a  collision  had  to  be  risked, 
there  was  very  little  fear  of  its  occurrence,  and  an  easterly 
haze  on  the  horizon  favoured  our  conceahnent  without  im- 
peding a  pretty  clear  outlook  for  a  couple  of  miles  around. 
-Kif  ^^"l^  T  '»'««' °"^lves  off  Dover,  and  saw  the  great 
white  hghts  of  the  lighthouses  on  the  Enghsh  coast,  but  all 


.1 


ili 


iMi     ■■ 


in: 


348    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

waa  dark  on  the  south  where  France  lay.  Opposite  Dunkirk 
the  big  guns  were  booming,  and  we  entered  a  crowd  of  mine- 
sweepers at  work,  gunboatu,  torpedo-boats,  cruisers,  and 
merchantmen.  ,  ^,    , ,     . 

When  passing  up  the  Thames  we  witnessed  the  blowing-up 
of  the  Prineeu  Irene  in  the  Medway,  and  as  the  exptos"]" 
raised  a  great  baUoon  of  smoke,  becoming  a  column  tmged 
with  fire  in  its  centre,  reaching  a  height  of  several  hundrea 
feet  before  spreading  out  into  the  form  of  a  giant  tree,  we 
obtained  a  photograph  of  it.  .  „        ,  .  ^  .u- 

It  was  afternoon  on  the  STth  of  May  when  we  reached  the 
Tilbury  Docks. 

LIV 

Tbbouoh  Unpleasant  Italy 

Aftee  having  my  patient  satisfactorily  attended  to  in  London, 
I  had  a  strange  journey  back  to  Belgrade.  Both  the  nursing 
sister  and  I  who  had  had  charge  of  the  invalid  all  the  way 
from  Salonika  were  anxious  to  return  to  Serbia  as  quickly 
as  possible,  and  from  inquiry  made  at  Cook's  office  there 
apMared  to  be  every  probability  of  making  a  rapid  journey 
through  Italy  to  Brindisi,  and  thence  by  the  usual  steamer 
to  Greece  ;  so  it  was  unfortunately  decided  to  try  that  route, 
as  it  promised  to  save  many  days,  or  even  weeks  of  time. 
It  did  not  occur  to  any  of  our  advisers  in  London,  and  certamly 
not  to  me,  that  since  Italy  had  declared  war  on  the  Central 
Powers,  all  the  usual  arrangements  of  railway  and  steamer 
lines  would  be  altered,  and  that  most  of  the  Itahan  ports 
would  be  closed.  We  were  destined  to  have  the  misfortune 
of  finding  this  out  when  it  was  too  late. 

On  arnving  at  the  Gare  de  Lyon  in  Pans,  we  discovered 
that  our  Cook's  ticket  to  Brindisi  via  the  Mont  Cenis  Tunnel 
would  involve  the  delay  of  a  day  in  Turin ;  Cook  s  agent 
advised  us  to  go  by  the  Simplon  Tunnel  to  Milan  if  we  wished 
to  be  sure  of  catching  the  Brindisi  mail  boat,  and  by  doing 
this  he  had  no  doubt  of  our  at  once  finding  the  connection 
across  to  Greece.  The  route  by  which  we  settl^  to  go  1«1 
therefore,  it  will  be  observed,  through  neutral  Switzerland, 
and  the  result  was  that  when  I  stepped  out  of  the  tram  at 
the  Swiss  frontier  I  was  arrested  as  being  in  Bntish  uniform 
and  told  I  was  liable  to  be  interned.  But  among  the  sensible 
Switzers  red  tape  does  not  reign  absolute,  and  after  my 
destination  had  been  explained,  my  medical  character  attested, 
and  telephonic  communications  exchanged  between  the 
frontier  and  headquarters,  I  was  permitted  to  continue  my 


SERBIA  a^ 

journey,  though  I  had  to  remain  inoonspicuous  in  the  sleepins 
^'  ?^  "y  exterior  as  civilian  as  might  be,  until  we 

tua  pMsed  Bneg  and  gone  through  the  tunnel  into  Italy. 

Havmg  thus  escaped,  like  a  bird  from  the  fowler's  snare 
1  prepwed  to  enjoy  the  run  down  the  Italian  valleys.  But 
Italy  was.  as  we  soon  discovered,  taking  the  war  right  seriously. 
Every  carnage  was  searched  for  Swin  newspapers,  whose 

n!ili;if"ii'2j°  ^*"'y  '""  P^^^i*^-  and,  as  under  military 
orfers  all  the  compartmer:t^  had  to  keep  their  blinds  closed 

W  Vln)ir  f"^'  T  r^'^'^ly  .by  sun^ptitijus  peeps  that  one 
^ffn  J.  ^^  H'"'  M"88»™-    At  that  time  too  British 

unifoms  were  to  all  appearance  unknown  in  Italy:  mine 
created  a  sensation,  and  a  far  from  pleasant  one,  and  it  eot 

£r  K  l^'/'^  u*  *'  ^  ''^"*  '°  *''*  refreshment  rooms  to 
fetch  food  for  the  sister  and  myself.  Moreover,  all  the 
reeding  arrangements  which  used  to  make  the  Brindisi  route 

^m?hL''w'".,"'*y''"'=f-  ^""^  ^°°^  •""•  t°  *>e  obtained 
somehow,  but  whenever  1  emerged  to  obtain  something  to 
Mt  ^ups  of  people  came  staring  after  me.  Most  of  them 
were  friendly  enough,  but  on  the  trains,  which  were  crowded 
with  soldiers,  the  spy  mania  raged,  and  several  times  I  was 
accusal  or  suspected,  and  had  to  produce  my  papers  to  satisfy 
the  officers  who  were  fetched  along  to  interview  me.  At  one 
station  I  was  fonnally  arrested  by  the  bersaglieri,  who  were 
dischargmg  the  functions  of  the  gendarmes  or  carabinieri 
and  taken  to  the  guard-room.  There,  however,  the  officer  in 
command  was  most  courteous,  and  after  having  seen  my 
papCTs  was  politeness  itself,  saluted  and  shook  hands,  and 

SZJIwT"''^'*^*''.'  ™"*^^  ^"'""l  i"to  hat-touching 
friendly  fellows.  My  impression  is  that  this  occurred  at 
Bolopa  where  there  was  a  delay  of  three  hours,  during 
which  the  attention  I  aroused  on  the  crowded  pUtform  and 
restaurant  was  such  as  I  should  gladly  have  dispensed  with, 
out  bad  to  submit  to. 

When  it  became  quite  dark  all  the  stations,  as  well  as  the 
irlT"""  °!u  f  "'^g'^-  were  lit  only  by  the  dimmest  of  blue 
^ri!*'  ^  ^  ^l^"l^  ""'  °"*  °^  *=  question,  and  this  along 
w^th  other  drawbacks  caused  the  journey  to  be  tedious  and 
trymg  Beyond  Bologna  much  of  the  South  Railway  runs 
will  ^^P'^fands  of  the  Adriatic,  parts  of  it  being  strongly 
fortified,  and  there  the  lighting  was  maintained  darker  tl^ii 
elsewhere,  the  stations  being  in  absolute  obscurity  except 

InH  H*"^-^"?',  ^^^^  ""^^^  ^y  ^«""  °P»q"e  coverings 
and  dif^smg  below  only  a  faint  illumination  through  venr 
much  obscured  dark-green  glass.    One  was  impressed  with 


'     'i  I: 


' 


250    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  oare,  even  to  the  minutest  detail,  which  characteriied 
Italy's  entrance  into  the  war.  That  there  was  need  for  it  all 
was  evident  from  the  fact  that  parts  of  the  line  had  alrwdy 
been  bombarded  from  the  sea  by  Austrian  monitors,  which 
I  saw  had  laid  some  of  the  buildings  by  the  line  in  ruins,  on 
the  1st  of  June,  at  a  pUce  called  Sinigaglia. 

Ban  was  in  a  state  of  great  excitement  from  some  cause 
which  I  could  not  discover,  and  when  it  became  known  thoe 
that  I  was  a  British  ofBcer,  a  lady  and  her  Uttle  boy  msuted 
on  kissing  my  hand,  ofiSoers  came  and  shook  hands,  and  all 
waved  to  me,  while  many  saluUtions  were  shouted  as  the  tram 
moved  off  for  Brindisi.  »,  .  j-  • 

We  had  a  most  unpleasant  reception  at  Brmdisi.  Up  to 
tlwn  we  had  continually  received  assurances  that  the  boats 
were  still  running  from  that  port  to  Greece,  but  when  I  pro- 
ceeded to  the  police  ofBce  in  the  station,  I  found  that  all  the 
steamers  had  been  discontinued,  that  we  were  to  all  appear- 
ance at  an  impasse,  and  must  return  to  London.    The  person 

in  authority,  Signor  A ,  the  prefect  or  whatever  else  he 

may  have  been,  was  a  most  uncivil  person ;  he  kept  us  waitmg 
until  he  had  disposed  of  all  the  others,  among  whom  wctb 
a  body  of  recruits  whose  papers  he  went  over  and  verified, 
and  only  then  did  he  see  fit  to  acknowledge  our  presence. 
After  abruptly  telling  me  that  we  would  get  no  help  m  pro- 
secuting our  journey,  and  snubbing  one  of  his  officers  who 
suggested  that  there  were  ways  of  passing  on,  he  proceeded 
to  pick  holes  in  my  passport,  endeavouring  to  make  capital  of 
the  discrepancy  between  the  date  of  its  original  issue  and  the 
existing  date,  and  plainly  betrayed  a  desire  to  make  out  that 
we  were  German  or  Austrian  spies,  though  he  must  have 
been  perfectly  well  aware  that  we  were  British.  This  fellow 
was  the  only  Italian  from  whom  we  received  actual  rudeness, 
and  it  is  right  to  add  that  an  Italian  officer  in  uniform  who 
was  present  did  his  best  to  mitigate  his  discourtesy. 

Brindisi  was  in  utter  blackness.  Every  window  was 
hermetically  sealed  from  showing  light,  and  the  streets  had 
to  be  groped  through  in  the  feeble  starlight.  But  we  found 
a  hotel  close  to  the  station,  ahnost  the  only  one  not  convert«i 
to  military  purposes,  knocked  up  the  inhabitants  at  mid- 
night, and  secured  some  vile  rooms  insufferable  from  heat, 
flies,  and  mosquitoes,  and  in  the  morning  called  on  the 
British  Consul.  At  first  he  knew  of  nothing  that  we  could  do 
but  return  to  England,  but  this  I  was  determined  if  possible 
not  to  do,  and  on  further  inquiries  it  emerged  that  a  former 

British  Consul  of  the  place,  Mr.  C ,  had  a  connection  with 

a  Greek  oil  boat  trading  in  the  Mediterranean  which  was 


SERBIA  J -I 

•xpeet^to  touch  next  day  at  GaUipoli,  a  unaU  leaDort  on 
theextreme  tip  of  the  heel  of  Italy  ^^       '^ 

The  harljour  of  Brindisi  was  given  up  to  the  war  Thr^ 
^ge  rrondads  w«e  lyii«  ii,  it.  and  notfces  w^  put"  u7^ 
the  port  was  cloMd  and  mined,  while  anti-aircraft  giZ  were 
busy  pracUsmg  and  bursting  their  shells  ovCThiT     T^ 

raaeiy,  while  the  poUce  contemptuously  sent  me  a  verbal 
X^I.'T*''  ""•  ^"ke<P«'  that  I  had  Tp,  to  the  S 
office ;  I  took  no  notice  of  this,  with  the  resultihat  pwSv 
my  passports  were  returned  to  me  through  the  ConsTwSh 
at^d^o'^olr^^•/*'"7•"""'^"thatal^S„d:^^ 

wmcn  1  learned  that  immediately  before  Italy's  declaration 
of  war  a  penon  calBng  himself  J ,  whidb  name  I  was 

drlj^ln""  ^  PTP""  '^^  ""^  by  him,  had  ^^ne  ab^ut 
dressed  m  semi-uniform,  and  he  and  a  female  comMntoniad 
»  Jt^a.  sarf,  cheated  several  people  in  Italy'^XfTi^of 

When  we  left  Brindisi  at  four  o'clock  on  the  su«»«lin» 
mornmg  it  was  with  the  full  expectati^t^t  m  a  fe^^ 

v^'°"cfe^oMtaIv^  h'^''  '^t'  °°  *^'  deckof  a  neu3 
vessel.  Clear  of  Italy  and  its  maddening  suspicions  and  snv 

sSktar^.'"'' ""\  '  •^  ^t7wea^"LKtffi 
sleep  in  fear  that  we  might  miss  the  early  start,  and  the  hours 

a^  ^rdfn '%'"  ^^<'  r«l">toe.,  »unttag?he  miS 
a^vS  rri^"^?"  "l^™5tely.  But  at  last  the  hoS 
amved,  I  packed  and  earned  down  my  baggage,  paid  the 
^'n1t°c^^^'  to  the  '  d^ndance '  where  ttfs^  ^ 
been  accommodated,  and  got  oureelves  and  our  beloniri^ 
mto  the  tram,  not  however  without  being  stopp^T^ 
sentry  whom  we  had  some  difficulty  in  passfaB 
Cunosi^  and  suspicion  were  rampant  on  our  way  across 

^k^Z^-  P'"°"\>^  <"!  P-^f  the  corridor  t^S 
talked  and  cross-questioned,  armed  soldiers  came  demanding 
our  passports  at  their  own  wUl,  and  we  madeT  mueh^nT 

T^tfJ  r"^  *'J?.^  '""'^  ^''"'^  »^^«  been  a"l''„S 
"Igpt  out  at  any  of  the  stoppages. 

ti^T  "-^  ""'^hed  GaUipoli  ^e  were  in  the  happy  expeeta- 
^^  fln^"«  '*",;«^°"  ^"^  the  Epir«  which  weS- 
ri^uW  T  """''"r* '"  ^^^  ^y'  ''"t  the  news  met  us  that 
It  wouU  not  arrive  for  a  couole  of  hours.    I  therefore  after 

^'i^'  t'tr  "*  "^^  f  •*  ^  *^  '  I°"ike  Atmo;j;i:'en 
reiraiei,  to  place  ourselves  beyond  suspicion  oroceeded 
with  an  escort  of  sokliew  and  foUow«i  byth^rabbTe^the 
town,  to  the  quarters  of  the  Commissary  of  PolLe  to  ai^« 


^1 


\i 


J 

'ii 

i 

1 

ill 

{'')  1 

L'l  IIp 

m 

tP 

a52    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

OUT  preienoe  and  ayoid  another  arrest,  and  found  he  had 
lying  before  him  a  telegram  of  some  twenty  lines  concemmg 
us.  He  was  perfectly  courteous,  took  down  the  particulars 
demanded  by  his  duty,  and  dismissed  us  after  a  brief  visit. 

A  wire  which  I  presented  at  the  telegraph  offtce  for  trans- 
mission to  the  Olympos  Hotel  at  Salonika  to  meet  the  boat 
and  reserve  rooms  was  refused  point-blank. 

While  wiiting  for  the  steamer  I  explored  the  place.  Ualli- 
poh  has  a  fine  large  bay,  in  the  bottom  of  which  the  town  bes 
on  a  rocky  island,  surrounded  by  narrow  reaches  of  the  sea, 
and  united  to  the  mainland  by  a  handsome  bridge,  aooss 
which  the  road  ftom  the  station  runs.  At  the  town  end  of 
tht  bridge  rise  the  towering  btaok  bastions  of  an  old  Italian 
fortress,  and  under  its  shadow  are  the  crowded  mass  of  narrow 
lanes  and  medieval  buUdings  constituting  the  town,  a  jumble 
of  alleys,  stairways,  comers,  covered  passages,  recesses,  towers, 
and  roofs,  like  a  small  Valetta. 

At  ten  in  the  forenoon  we  gazed  hopefuUy  out  to  sea,  round 
the  point  to  the  south  where  the  smoke  of  the  coming  steamer 
was,  we  were  confidently  assured,  every  instant  expected  to 
appear.  But  minutes  passed,  hours  passed,  and  at  length 
it  dawned  upon  us  that  it  might  not  arrive  until  night,  and 
finally,  when  night  came,  we  despairingly  realised  that  it 
might  not  arrive  at  aU.  Our  straits  were  becoming  desperate  ; 
for  there  was  only  one  miserable,  dirty  hotel  in  Gallipoli— a 
less  desirable  one  could  not  be  conceived— and  the  proposal 
I  made  that  we  should  sleep  on  the  floor  of  the  steamer 
company's  office  was  negatived.     But  by  the  good  offices  ot 

Mr  and  the  clerks  of  the  Ionian  line  I  got  m  touch  with 

one  of  the  boatmen  I  had  been  talking  to,  Salvadore  Cavallere, 
a  rough  but  kindly  soul,  who  undertook  to  do  somethmg  for 
me  and  thesisterwassimilarlyattendedto,Idonotknowhow. 
Seizing  a  brush,  comb,  and  toothbrush,  I  set  off  to  get  some 
food  and  a  ptce  to  spend  the  night  in,  though  without  any 
expectation  of  being  able  to  sleep  in  such  dirty-lookmg  sur- 
romidings.  Cavallere  guided  me  first  to  a  little  unpretentious 
restaurant,  where  we  had  a  decent  dinner,  chiefly  of  red 
mullet,  and  then  took  me  up  steep  narrow  covered  lanes, 
through  courtyards,  and  up  broken  flights  of  steps,  to  the 
house  of  his  brother-in-law.  A  marvel  1  A  clean  bedroom, 
with  clean  linen,  plenty  of  towels,  plenty  of  cold  water,  and 
conveniences  al)  astounding  in  such  a  place.  Never  had  there 
been  a  better  investment  than  I  had  made  when  early  m  the 
morning  of  that  day  I  had  chanced  to  gain  the  good-will  of 
CavaUere  by  presenting  him  with  a  couple  of  pipefuls  ot 
English  tobacco:    this  had  procured   me  these  desirable 


SERBIA 


»53 


quarters.  I  made  friends  with  the  brother-in-Uw  and  hi* 
swarm  of  httle  children,  and  with  the  old  mother  with  white 
hair  who  must  m  her  youth  have  been  a  most  beautiftil 
ojeature,  and  mdecd  was  so  still,  with  her  angel-like  face. 
Theu:  house  had  evidently  long  ago  been  some  sort  of  palace  ; 
Its  entrance  was  like  that  of  a  fortress,  its  rooms,  thrown 
together  m  every  direction  and  at  many  levels,  like  boxes 
tumbled  out  of  a  cart ;  each  room  with  many  windows  and 
many  doors  leading  to  mysterious  places,  openings  to  stairs 
leading  up  and  down,  and  recesses  leading  into  other  rooms 
and  passages,  like  the  Castle  of  Udolpho.  But  all  as  cleaa 
as  a  new  pin.  No  suspicion  of  the  presence  of  a  bun,  nor 
even  of  a  flea. 

We  dreamed  of  walking  on  board  the  steamer  in  the  mominc. 
But  It  was  a  sad  delusion.    Even  the  excellent  and  unexpected 
good  night's  rest  did  not  suffice  to  fortify  one  to  take  philoso- 
phieaUy  the  news  with  which  my  host  greeted  me  on  opening 
my  door  m  the  morning,  that  the  boat  had  not  come— wm 
not  coming  at  all.    Were  we  ever  to  get  out  of  the  horrible 
country?       Making  a   hasty   breakfast,    I   hurried    to   the 
steamer  office  and  found  that  it  was  too  true.    At  midnight 
word  had  been  received  that  the  Epiros  was  not  coming  to 
GalUpoh,  but  was  to  touch  at  Cotrone  instead,  and  that  we 
should  have  to  hurry  round  to  that  port  if  we  wished  to  catch 
It.    It  was  disgusting  to  contemplate  returning  to  the  hateful 
Brmdisi,  receiving  perhaps  move  official  insolence,  and  to 
crawl  m  dow  Italian  local  railways  for  fifty  miles,  stopping 
at  every  httle  station  for  five,  or  ten  minutes,  or  very  commonly 
for  half  an  hour ;  to  have  to  change  carriages  and  shift  baggage 
amid  rapacious  porters,  and  everywhere  have  the  unpleasing 
traffic  with  the  police  once  more.    Moreover,  my  stock  of 
money  was — not  ebbing,  but — streaming  away,  and  I  was 
almost  at  the  last  of  the  stock  of  French  Louis  d'ors  which  I 
had  provided  for  the  journey.    Also  there  was  the  sister  to 
be  thought  of.     She  had  throughout  behaved  splendidly,  as 
an  English  lady  does,  but  she  was  getting  knocked  up  by 
the  perpetual  travelling,  want  of  sleep,  and    mosquitoes. 
And  I  was  myself  in  a  somewhat  similar  condition.     If  she 
(or  I)  were  to  fall  ill  I     I  could  not  have  left  her  without  money 
enough  to  carry  her  through,  or  to  enable  her  to  go  back  to 
England  and  find  another  route  to  Serbia.    My  purse  was 
growing  too  lean  for  all  this. 

It  was  a  fix,  but  the  situation  had  to  be  faced.  I  decided 
to  risk  going  to  Cotrone ;  went  to  the  Chief  of  the  Police  and 
asked  him  to  wiie  to  Cotrone  that  we  were  coming  there,  so 
as  to  obviate  trouble,  for  it  was  reported  that  the  Duke  of 


I 


:>'■%  I'l! 


:i,l 


li 


aj4    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 
•  had  hitt  been  arrested  there  M  a  tpf-    W*  Ttfdui 


M 


our  bag!  in  the  steamer  office,  said  a  gratatftil  forewell  to  the 
kind  young  men  there,  had  another  meal  of  the  debcioui 
red  mullet,  at  the  Ristoratoria  Vittoria,  and  departed  ftom 
Gallipoli  a  little  after  midday. 

It  took  us  thirteen  hours  to  oo  round  the  instep  of  Italy 
from  Gallipoli  to  Cotrone,  which  is  situated  on  the  ball  of 
the  great  toe,  in  Calabria,  and  they  were  hours  of  fresh 
exhibitions  of  the  spy  waBia  fitom  staring,  jostling  crowds, 
most  of  whom  w«»  iMibed  to  be  rude,  though  there  were 
some  who  became  ^uiite  fhitemal  when  they  realised  that  we 
were  allies  horn  Ei«h>nd.  The  carriages  being  corridor,  and 
no  order  kept  in  Ac  trains,  every  one  who  chose  got  into  the 
first-class  c»rm(?e  or  came  into  it  out  of  the  others,  and  most 
of  the  trav«>tters  were  soldiers  whom  the  spectators  at  the 
stations  oheend  mightily. 

I  was  inteitsted,  on  the  way  between  OaUipoh  and  Lecce 
to  oberave  that  the  country  showed  a  good  many  farm  buiW- 
inos  which  were  repUcas  on  a  small  scale  of  the  prehistoric 
'Nuraghe'  of  Sardinia,  beehive  structures  of  uneemented 
stones,  with  a  ledge  halt-way  up,  consisting  of  a  lower  trun- 
cated cone  with  a  small  cone  resting  on  it,  a  single  doorway 
on  the  ground  level,  and  no  windows.  Some  of  them  seoned 
to  be  implement  sheds  or  stores,  but  others  were  inhabited. 
The  persistence  there  of  this  primeval  Mediterranean  type 
was  remarkable.  .       j     u 

At  Brindisi,  where  trains  had  to  be  changed,  and  where 
the  officials  now  knew  me,  there  was  a  repetition  of  the 
former  incivility,  but  after  passing  it  the  disagreeables  were 
confined  to  a  tedious  dark  night  journey,  which  we  made 
along  with  two  reticent  Englishmen  who  were  in  a  fix  sunilar 
to  ours,  and  who  appeared  to  be  groping  a  way  through  to 
Roumania  or  Russia  via  Greece. 

It  was  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Friday  the  11th  before 
we  got  to  Cotrone,  and  we  had  to  hunt  for  a  cart  from  some- 
where, pile  our  baggage  on  it,  and  walk  for  a  mile  or  two  along 
a  road  deep  in  white  dust,  in  the  starlight,  before  we  airived 
at  the  Hotel  Pitagora,  where  we  found  the  padrone  awake 
and  expecting  us.  Pythagoras  is  said  to  have  lived  in  Cotrone. 
and  what  purports  to  have  been  his  house  is  still  shown  on 
the  western  side  of  its  bay. 

The  information  we  received  from  the  mnkeeper  was  bad  ; 
the  EpiriM  had  been  there  but  had  left  again,  and  we  were 
once  more  stranded,  though  there  was  an  uncertam  chance 
of  another  boat  passing  the  next  day.  The  hotel,  however, 
was  really  a  very  good  one ;    it  was  clean,  the  cuisme  was 


SERBIA 


»5S 


SS^^        ooBvenieaM.  wew  fairly  up  to  <Ute ;  but  th« 
S*™*  :*•  .«MlM»ui  and  unlMiJthy ;  bin  .Min  the  .tten- 

JS.  J.f  1±°!!:.""^  2"  *•>•  •*»««»  "d  even  in  tlic  hotel 
mpectabhr  dre»ed  mhabrtant.  did  the  «une,  .fthoi^h  I 

.  J^^^i^*^  CaUteijn  mountwn.  which  encircle  the  town 
we  no  longer  haunted  by  brigand.,  and  I  wa.  invited  to 
Sf^  ?  ^X  ""^"B  them  m  pursuit  of  bear  and  fallow  deer, 
r.^  \i.'"''  *J!  ^f**"'  *'*••  «8™*'  ••  a  boat  was  possibly 
expected  on  the  Saturday.  But  a  visit  to  the  flnrS 
d«c^«rf  no  boat ;  the  stoppage  of  all  telegnuns  by  iTbto 
left  t  uncertain  whether  it  would  come  at  aufand  it  warnot 
unt.1  Swday  afternoon  that  the  smaU  waiter  came  to  ?he 
room  where  I  was  sitting  in  despair,  and  made  thrweltom! 

^!^:rl:  ^°"  "  '"F"  *  •"'vato.'  {rZ 

mmutes  the  baggage  was  packej.  the  bill  was  paid  in  ten 
more,  and  ma  <art  and  omnibus  we  and  our  poss^ions  were 
tianqjorted  to  the  quay,  hardly  able  to  believe  that  even^ 
somethang  would  not  turn  up  to  disappoint  us,  and  sna^ 
away  our  promised  freedom.  The  MykaU.  Hyi^  SheS 
fl«g,  Uy  a  ^long  distent  on  the  water;  we  pifed  our  aoS, 
on  the  wharf,  and  wondered  if  the  officers  and  soIdKho 
lurked  suspiaously  round  would  not  after  all  interpose  some 

oSLfTA*"  •'i^""^"  ""  "^'P^""-  However.T.LX 
officer  of  hjgh  rank  came  presently  along ;  I  addressed  mysetf 
to  hun.  and  by  his  good  offices  we  settled  matters  up,  paid  the 

n^i?  «  "^J- "  "l^  P^"'^'  '•"*  °"^  t*^*"  «t°  a  boat! 
pulled  off,  and  m  a  ftew  mmutes  vere  standing  on  Greek  pUnks 
to  which  in  gratitude  I  almost  took  off  my  hat.  and  w™ 
ft*e  from  hateful  Italy  We  got  each  a  good  c^bSTto  ou«eN^ 
a  cup-three  cups-of  good  tea,  a  deck  chair,  and  a  dai  tv 
dinner  under  an  awning  on  deck,  olives,  pickles,  bx,i.  „.d 
r^  K     J  u  ?°V'  '^"Y*^  *•»•'» '    Then  fblkiwed  a  cau 

f^^"!''"''*.  **'"  PW'fc*""-  B .  the  final  belts  and 

siien  blasts,  and  we  were  off. 

In  the  cool  of  the  evening  we  swung  eastwards  into  tbo 
gk)aming  saw  the  orange  of  the  west  darken  over  the  rugged 
hills  of  Calabna  the  lightless  coast  of  Italy  fMe  andl~ 
appear  m  the  darkness,  and  could  hardly  realise  our  happiness 
to  have  seen  the  last  of  it  and  the  troubles  we  had  undSgone 
tnere.    To  have  cast  the  burden  of  care,  to  filly  undreu  tot 

M^u"^'"  "'«*'*'  *°  ^""^  »  '^°  'P^nae  <l'>wn.  and  lie  in 
a  berth  at  sea  once  more,  over  the  pulsings  of  the  engines  I 


I  I 


1, 1 1 ' 


i  ' 


V* 


id 


I:;! 


3S6    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

—it  WM  good.  What  though  »ome  new  specimen  of  marine 
mosquito  bit  my  fingers  and  dosed  up  my  left  eye ;  the 
creature  was  welcome  to  it.  and  I  slept  untU  eight  o  clock 
the  next  morning. 

LV 

Thx  Levant 

Although  we  had  left  behind  the  disagreeable  things  of 
Italy,  and  the  delays  there,  we  found  that  we  should  still  have 
to  spend  some  time  saUmg  about  Greece  before  arriving  at 
Salonika.  We  made  the  best,  however,  of  this  additional  loss 
of  time,  and  though  nothing  of  great  moment  occurred,  we 
saw  a  good  many  places  whose  names  were  famihar,  bu  which 
otherwise  we  should  never  have  had  an  opportunity  of  visiting, 
and  the  voyage,  with  a  few  exceptions,  sped  pleasantly 

enough  along.  ...  ^      j  *         u  _i 

On  the  morning  after  leaving  Italy  we  anchored  for  a  short 
time  at  Santi  Quaranto  on  the  Albanian  coast,  afterwards 
used  at  a  base  by  the  Italian  forces.  It  was  a  mere  dot  of 
a  place,  surrounded  by  medieval  walls,  then  utterly  rumous 
and  much  too  big  for  the  shrunken  size  of  the  modem  town, 
which  lay  minutely  in  a  cup  of  hills  with  its  battered  houses 
below  and  ruinous  Turkish  forts  on  the  heights  above, 
evidences  of  the  recent  wars  between  the  Balkan  States. 

Corfu  was  the  next  place  to  be  reached,  and  there,  by  the 
advice  of  the  captain  of  the  MykaU,  I  got  mto  ordinary 
traveller's  clothing,  so  as  to  diminish  the  probability  of 
being  captured  should  we  meet  with  an  Austrian  submarme 
or  other  vessel.  Greece  was  of  course  at  that  time  neutral, 
and  our  boat,  belonging  to  the  Hellenic  Steamship  Company, 
would  have  been  exempt,  as  would  ite  neutral  passengers, 
but  it  might  have  been  otherwise  with  myself. 

It  was  interesting  to  a  North  Briton  to  decipher  on  the 
steamer  ite  owner's  name,  painted  in  large  Greek  <»pital 
letters, '  TZON  MAKDOVALL  BAKBOVR,'  John  Jlacdowall 
Barbour,  who  has  his  office  in  the  Pirwis,  where  I  had  re- 
peatedly seen  his  firm's  name,  and  interviewed  his  clerks, 
all  of  them  Greeks,  and  not  one  among  them  understanding 

English. 

After  a  detention  of  six  hours  in  Corfu  harbour,  we  arrived 
next  morning  at  Patras,  remained  there  a  couple  of  hours, 
and  sailed  along  the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  watching  the  mountains 
of  the  Morea,  high,  even  yet  snow-clad,  pointed,  in  massive 
crowded  groups,  and  well  wooded,  the  bulwarks  of  a  hidden 
land.    On  this  occasion  Mount  Parnassus,  at  the  end  of  the 


SERBIA 


57 


on  board  of  the  Daphne,  which  l^aftKr's  ^» 
wat  an  annoyance,  and  involved   a   great  lea    of  frn-Aj 

".d  that  meanwhneZL  :^„:1<^''o™,^Krf  ?"r^^ 

a  sliceof  bread,  a  morXf  Lt  ov^S"he^"anT 't*'' 
of  water,  we  had  tu  satisfy  our  anp^e  ■?^.'  I"  "  *""?" 
the  harbour  was  gay  with  bLun/Kwct  o^tht  r"*.'" 
elect  ons,  but  when  night  came  I  my^Twaf  ,^hf„"'"w 

were  overflowing,  so  that  we  we«  Z^l^f  T\'}^^'  ^°^^ 
in  starting  and'moreover"?  rafthen  te  tetl'a^^^S'th'J 

a7vS^^.;ran'?;o]?r«ber''ge^i?-^^^^^^ 
at  &Uo„ika  which  s^So^^^^^XZ^r^^^:: 

ont^^r»sns!crrrKi^i-^^^ 

jodo.  ^atone  could  have  sho'?  Zl^Z  t^^^^^'^^l 

Son^'treLCrsid?  wlcl  lJ^Tai«~'°n? 
^'^f^"'^.""*,  ^"^  ^''   fertikvali:;'    ^tween'^'hi  k 


IMOIOCOPV    RiSOlUTION   TEST   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


^  >tPPLtED    IM/OE       Ini 

jK  (653   Eait   Main   StrMt 

Kb  flocht»l«r,  Nn  roili        14609      US* 

'-S  (716)  *82  -  0300  -  Phone 

^B  (716)  286- 5969 -Fa> 


1^  'i 


258    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

down,  and  we  saw  but  few  ships,  one  of  which  was  a  French 
armed  patrol  steamer  which  came  up  as  if  to  pounce  upon 
us,  but  soon  tailed  off  satisfied  with  our  appearance.  In 
the  middle  of  the  eastern  side  of  the  island  we  halted  at  the 
town  of  Chios  (Scio),  lying  in  a  lovely  bay  of  calm  sunny 
water,  with  a  belt  of  gieen  fertility  behind  it,  and  a  mile 
or  so  inland,  in  contrast,  was  the  bumt-up  range  of  moun- 
tains we  had  seen  from  the  western  side.  The  town  itself 
was  a  pretty  picture,  and  &om  the  water  looked  clean  and 
prosperous,  with  a  good  roadstead  enclosed  in  two  break- 
waters, within  which  were  lying  two  steamers  and  half  a  dozen 
ships.  Two  imposing  windmUls  were  pointed  out  as  serving 
to  pump  up  the  water  supply  of  the  town  from  some  wells 
near  the  shore.  Chios  had  a  Grecian  look  about  it ;  only 
one  minaret  was  visible,  and,  with  its  maritime  foreground, 
and  good  quays  round  the  harbour,  had  a  faint  resemblance 
to  Cape  Town  on  a  minute  scale.  The  ship  was  speedily 
invaded  by  pedlars  of  Chian  turpentine,  used  as  chewing 
gum  by  ladies,  and  other  local  sweetmeats  which  were  curious 
and  interesting. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  our  course  was  along  the 
dry  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  in  the  rough  seas  which  characterise 
the  gulfs  of  Chardonlik  and  Adramytium ;  there  our  vessel 
was  spied  at  by  the  periscope  of  a  submarine  whose  nationality 
we  had  not  the  means  of  discovering ;  and  in  the  evening 
we  anchored  in  the  harbour  of  Mitylene,  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  island  of  the  same  name.  It  had,  though  Turkish, 
the  same  peculiar  prosperous  appearance  as  most  of  the 
towns  on  the  Greek  islands.  Its  general  aspect  was  not  unlike 
Corfu,  the  island  being  well  wooded,  well  cultivated,  and  fertile, 
hilly  inland,  and  along  the  coast  indented  with  mnnerous 
bays.  The  harbour  was  in  a  bustle  of  busy  trade,  we  our- 
selves had  much  discharging  and  loading  of  the  ship,  while 
an  English  torpedo-boat  lay  with  a  watching  eye  on  every- 
thing that  was  going  on. 

As  we  sailed  northwards  in  the  night  after  leaving  Mitylene 
we  were  stopped  by  a  British  cruiser  which  made  inquiries 
regarding  our  cargo  and  the  nationality  of  the  passengers, 
but  did  not  otherwise  interfere  with  us.  It  gave  us  orders, 
however,  to  direct  our  course  along  the  western  side  of  the 
island  of  Lemnos — ^thus  still  further  delaying  us — ^because 
the  floating  mines  on  the  eastern  side  were  dangerous. 

Next  morning  the  outline  of  Mount  Athos,  fifty  miles  away, 
detached  itself  through  the  haze ;  we  drew  up  towards  it. 
and  coasted  along  the  west  of  the  island  of  Phasos,  dry  but 
fertile,  mountainous  in  outline,  with  one  or  two  small  towns 


SERBIA 
bi^  Z  ^i^^.^^^:^  on,,  st«teh  Of  ^, 

A/s„Tfe'^VoiSii?:„^'^or 

mto  the  sea,  crowned  with  Tm^^JJf^^  "^^^  projecting 
m  crenellated  bastions  with  T  W  "H''^''  ""'*  ^"''"^^d 
with  the  interior  of  thi  knd  T^  "I""'""*  connecting  it 
the  slopes  of  the  coast  and  r^f  J  v.  w"""*""?  *''^'"  '«y  «l^'"g 
brook  flowing  past  it    «^!^^  refreshed  us  with  the  sight  of  f 

There  in  I^vaCw  'unWre^V^T"  r'^^""  ''^^^  by 
and  Mitylene,  and  took  on  ^^d^^rint  ""T  ^'°"'  ^^ios 
tobacco.  This  part  of  the  B^tk,nV  •  ","'"*'*''  "^  ''"'es  of 
species  of  tobacco  which  k^^ZTT-^  ^°^'  ^^'^  finest 
ported,  mostly,  w^  "to W  to '^/^  ""t"  '"'.'"^  '^"'^  «" 
factored  into  the  so-called  E^Han&tT^"  "*  "^  """•"■ 
g;^;s=ltrgl^-£^^^^^^^^  np  the 


LVI 

Serbian  Hospitals 

rt  had  been  created  Its  pu™o^L*5'^'="°"''^°^^l>ich 
pat-ents  belonging  to  the  Bnfflrrcif  f„  ^L\  *T?*  t^e 
't  had  prescribed  for  about  «!vpn  1,  j  i^^c! ''"*  ^oug*" 
patients,  all  of  them  onfy  sLhtTailto»  JTl  f'^'^l  ""t" 
occupying  its  wards.  '"Bn^X  aumg.  it  had  no  British 

of  these  were  doS?  r^^nfe^t woV'^^r '  ^^^ '■  «»"« 
officials  of  the  vervhirfi^tn^,  .J  'f^  ''^"  staffed  by 
there  were  othl^  W^SL  j^t  "  """^  u^"""fi'=ations  ;  but 
able  could  not  be  C™^tere  r„t  M^"''  ^''^°'"- 
^uch  as  cannot  be  written  ^wranT?L'''2j'^"«  ^"""dals 
were  of  a  kind  that  ought  never  to  hav^  ^  "^"'^^  °^  «"»«' 


Il'l'li; 


260    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

bringing  the  name  of  Britain  into  disrepute.  The  comments 
to  which  I  had  to  Ibten  concerning  them  in  some  of  the  caffa 
in  the  country  were  most  unpleasant,  and  I  fear  they  were 

mostly  true.  .     •^.   ..u    o    i.- 

I  was,  on  the  other  hand,  much  pleased  with  the  Serbian 
hospitals  proper,  and  formed  a  high  opinion  of  their  medical 
military  officers.  The  buildings  which  I  saw  used  as  hos- 
pitals were  extremely  suitable ;  the  wards  well  kept ;  and  the 
operative  work  equal  to  that  in  any  other  civilised  country. 
A  very  large  proportion  of  the  patients  on  the  surgical  side 
were  suflering  from  frost  gangrene  as  the  result  of  tyvhus 
fever.  It  was  exceedingly  common  in  those  who  had  suflered 
from  the  fever,  and  all  degrees  of  it,  from  minor  congelations 
to  mortification  of  considerable  portions  of  the  extremities, 
were  to  be  met  with.  Conservative  treatment,  with  avo'd- 
ance  of  premature  operation,  was  the  most  successful  method, 
and  was  the  one  generally  practised. 

As  is  commonly  the  practice  in  many  contmentol  hospitals, 
the  dressings  were  not  changed  in  the  wards,  but  the  patients 
were  brought,  on  stretchers  when  necessary,  into  the  large 
dressing  hall,  where  a  numerous  stafl  of  skilful  and  humane 
surgeons  awaited  them,  aided  by  a  body  of  efficient  nursing 
sisters,  and  there,  with  abundance  of  the  best  and  most 
modem  materials,  and  with  every  other  appliance,  the  dress- 
ings were  removed,  the  injuries  attended  to,  and  when  fresh 
dressings  had  been  applied  the  patients  were  reconveyed  to 
their  wards.  Open  air  for  the  patients  played  a  large  part 
in  their  r^me.  I  had  an  opportunity  in  many  instances 
of  privately  conversing  with  several  of  these  sufferers,  some 
of  whom  were  men  of  position,  such  as  university  professors, 
and  their  appreciation  of  the  care  which  was  bestowed  upon 
them  and  the  skill  and  humanity  of  their  attendants  stiU 
further  enhanced  the  high  estimate  I  had  formed  of  the  Serbian 
Army  Medical  Department. 

I  left  Serbia  before  the  Great  Retreat  began,  and  hence 
missed  that  experience. 


PART    FOURTH 
ITALY 

LVII 
The  First  Bsitish  Ambulance  Unit  foe  Italy 

w™and^Zf?r**'".''"r^  """^it''"  connected  with  the 
flS^ish  W  mSs^  obtain  permission  to  serve  in  the 

'me  Of  nuhtary  operations  on  any  of  the  fighting  feonte. 


k 


ii  I 


l") 


262    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

The  Ambulance  Department  was  uni.er  Mr.  G.  M.  Trevelyan, 
and  Lid  a  large  fleet  of  ambulance  and  other  cars,  with  en- 
gineering and  other  workshops  for  repairing  and  maintaining 
them.  The  hospital  department  was  in  charge  of  Dr.  G.  S. 
Brock,  a  well-known  physician  from  Rome.  Mr.  Trevelyan 
wus  styled  the  '  Commandante,'  and  Dr.  Brock  the '  Direttore.' 
It  is  rather  important  to  note  that  it  was  Mr.  Trevelyan  who 
was  in  official  command  of  the  whole,  and  was  responsible 
for  all  decisions  affecting  the  management  and  policy  of  the 
combined  unit. 

The  hospital  possessed  good  wards,  some  indeed  excellent, 
others  extemporised  out  "*  granary  and  annexes,  and  these 
latter  were  less  good,  '  very  well  adapted,  considering 
their  unavoidable  defects  of  construction.  The  pharmacy 
was  run  by  an  Italian  pharmacist  officer.  There  was  a  good 
X-ray  installation,  which  at  the  time  of  my  arrival  was 
inadequately  housed,  but  later  on  I  had  a  special  building 
constructed  for  it. 

The  Villa  Trento  Hospital  was  situated  at  ten  minutes' 
walking  distance  from  the  foot-hills  of  the  Alps,  on  the  level 
plain  beneath  them,  amid  gardens  and  grounds  laid  out  in 
Italian  style,  with  many  beautiful  and  rare  trees,  but  was 
swampy  and  cut  up  by  sluggish  watercourses  and  ditches, 
so  that  it  was  not  in  a  salubrious  locality.  It  possessed, 
however,  a  good  water  supply,  recently  introduced,  from  an 
aqueduct  that  descended  from  the  hills  ;  though  this  was  not 
always  to  be  relied  on  or  sufficient,  and  had  to  be  supplemented 
by  pumped-up  subsoil  water,  the  consequence  being  that 
dysenteric  and  intestinal  troubles  were  somewhat  rife,  par- 
ticularly among  new-comers,  who  all  suffered  until  they  had 
become  acclimatised. 

The  unit  consisted  of  some  fifty  members,  about  a  fourth 
of  whom  were  women,  and  besides  these  there  was  a  large 
staff  of  Italian  orderlies,  washerwomtn,  cooks,  and  general 
servants.  The  members,  who  were  almost  all  young  and 
British,  did  the  responsible  work,  driving  and  cleaning  the 
cars,  doing  repairs,  carrying  on  the  office  work,  and  only 
one  or  two  of  the  men  were  occupied  in  connection  with  the 
wards.  Most  of  the  men  were  gentlemen  of  education,  who 
for  one  cause  or  another,  such  as  medical  rejection,  Quakerism, 
conscientious  objections,  and  the  like,  had  been  exempted 
from  military  service  at  home.  One  or  two  were  over  the 
military  age,  others  were  of  Colonial  birth,  and  there  was  a 
Belgian  student  of  medicine  who  had  been  wounded  in  the  wMr 
in  Flanders.  The  unit  had  been  at  first  largely  recruited  from 
the  Quaker  persuasion,  and  the  fine  clement  which  this  hiiii 


f  I 


ITALY 


--63 


introduced  pervaded  the  whole,  so  that  it  embraced  a  picked 
Bet  of  active,   fearless,   dean-minded,   bright   feUows    with 

stt^^  'ln7'  "  P"^'""  *°  •"^^  "^  O"'  Thfwom  rofflcTaL 
^wLi  S^^"""'"  r"  "  well-trained,  well-educated,  well 
behaved  body,  nearly  all  of  whom  wer.  ladies  of  staSn  and 
culture  whose  conduct  entitled  one  to  be  p^ud  of  them  and 
the  nation  to  which  they  belonged. 

In  the  hospital  I  found  every  one  busy,  ooine  about  his  or 
her  work  and  making  duty  the  sole  objw^  There  lere  of 
course  «>metimes  incompatibles  among  them,  but  t^e^  were 
weU  and  firmly  handled  by  Dr.  Breck  and  Jfr.  Trevef^n 

No  horses  or  mules  were  kept;  all  transport  was  done  bv 
motor  ambulances  or  cars,  and,  from  the  hard  work  Lse 
ms    mtT"'   '""*.*'•'  ''°*  '"'»  ^*"ted  in   September 

From  the  nearest  of  the  foot-hills,  behind  the  hosoital 
the  present  and  recent  battle-fields  we^  to  be  seen  spS  o^t 
byThm^'burtL'iL'  town  of  Goritzia  being  howerhiddcu 
Dy  a  nm,  but  the  raountams  and  the  trenches  upon  them 
for  possession  of  which  the  contest  was  then  beiSg  wae^' 
l'^J'?'''\"°"°'''  '^^  caterpillar-like  captTve  ins  for 
observation  hung  m  a  chain  romid  a  third  of  the  circumference 
extendmg  from  north-east  t»  south;  and  everywhere  were 
fc^ss  'treXn  TtK°'  "V™^  '"^  niilitaryTorks!  wwS 
Wtween  Udme  and  Gontzia.  poured  eternally  trains  of  miUtarv 
wagons,  ambu  ances,  bodies  of  horse  and  foot,  greaTgun^ 
^d  brXf  labourers  going  forwards  to  make  new  S 
and  bridges,  and  repair  old  ones.    The  road-makine  was 

well-s^ed,  hard,  macadamised  roads,  which  they  conceal  J 

iXf^K  '"T^  '  T^  ^y  ""*"»'  '"^''  natu™7eWat1^nt 
o?^s  t  tW  ""'  °^«*ead  screens  of  brushwood  and  mat 
tivH^f;^     M»nv"  ^"1™""'"°°^  *«"t  fo"vard  in  compara- 
of  th?  4^;,-        L!?f  ^^^  ""^^  "^'^  ^*'"  w'thin  easy  range 
™ft  „  "•  '"*'"^'^'  ""''  ""^^'y  "^^^  night  their  air- 

craft were  commg  over  and  dropping  strings  of  bombs  on 

On  the  day  of  my  amval  there  was  a  heavy  bombardment 
going  on  for  some  90°  round  us,  from  Az.  nTsO"  K,  to  Az  S 
16    E.,  and  at  rightfall  two  aeroplanes  dropped  a  series  of 

Sdi^Lnl^'™"'*"^*''P"*"*^''"^'°^»"-<»*M^^^^^^ 
home,  and  settled  down  to  work.    I  gradually  nJde  the 


K 


■I   I 
I*  'i 


* 


264    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

acquaintance  of  the  leading  medical  and  other  military  Italian 
officers,  and  found  them  most  friendly ;  they  proved  me 
with  a  pass  enabling  me  to  go  everywhere  within  the  zone  of 
war,  a  privilege  of  which  I  availed  myself  to  the  utmost 
possil  le  extent,  so  as  to  familiarise  myself  with  everything 
concerning  the  medical  arrangements,  and  incidentally  with 
much  else  that  was  of  interest. 

The  relations  between  the  British  and  Italians  were  marked 
by  sincere  cordiality ;  the  heads  of  departments  were  generous 
in  conceding  every  facility  asked  from  them,  and  a  constant 
interchange  of  visits  and  courtesies  went  on  with  always  in- 
creasing appreciation  on  both  sides.  There  was  a  certain 
amount  of  hospitality  exercise  >y  the  ladies  whn  presided 
over  the  household  departmen.  and  Italian  offlccT^:..  both 
medical  and  military,  were  constantly  dropping  in,  fiven 
without  invitation,  to  luncheon  or  dinner  or  to  spend  an  hcur 
or  two  in  the  evening ;  and  to  such  Italians  as  had  not  travelled 
in  Britain  or  the  United  States,  it  was  soon  perceptible  that 
the  way  in  which  our  young  men  and  women  hved  in  the  same 
buildings,  and  engaged  in  the  same  work,  in  unrestricted 
intercourse,  like  a  family  of  brothers  and  sisters,  and  without 
a  single  breath  of  scandal,  was  a  new  experience,  and  an  object 
lesson  which  they  were  not  likely  ever  to  forget.  The  part 
played  by  the  unit  in  cementing  the  mutual  relations  of 
friendship  and  respect  was  one  of  its  most  important  functions, 
affecting  as  it  did  both  the  upper  and  lower  classes  of  our 
allies.  Of  the  influence  of  the  hospital  section  of  the  unit, 
and  of  its  purely  professional  side,  on  the  soldiery  of  the 
Italians,  I  may  have  to  say  something  later. 

We  had,  at  different  times,  two  most  admirable  Italian 

medical  officers  attached  to  our  imit.  Major  de  L and 

Captain  V ,  both  of  whom  gained  the  esteem  of  all  who 

knew  them. 

Lvm 

GoBiTziA  (Austrian  G6bz) 

It  was  not  long  before  I  had  an  oriportunity  of  using  my  free 
pass — ^which  as  a  matter  of  fact  was  seldom  asked  for,  since 
the  British  uniform  was  itself  a  passport  everywhere  in 
Northern  Italy — in  order  to  visit  Goritzia,  and  s<  e  the  work 
which  the  ambulance  section  of  our  unit  was  uoing  there. 
I  may  mention  that,  when  the  city  was  captured  by  the 
Italians,  uurs  were  the  first  ambulances  to  enter,  and  they 
obtained  high  credit  from  the  Italian  staff  for  having  done  so. 
One  day  in  September,  after  operations  and  ward  visit  were 


ITALY 


a6s 


The  last  three  of  theJ»™^  ?"?*  °'  *•»*  ^"'^  Rj^"- 

after  its  Srthquak?'  '^   """'""'  '''^*  ^  '^'^  "  ^^^ 

much  reply  **''  *""'  *•«  Austnans  were  making 

west  and  north  byTSi^  ^JLd  W  i^  71^  ''"""'^  ''"  **"= 
Podannt  PM™      u        *'    ,   P'  oog-oacked  range  cal  ed  the 

entrenehmeX^erfes    and^^M  ""^  ""*"  "  '"''y^*^  "^ 
t^e  rCS  r"  ^"^'^  '  <^^^^^ 

shock  Xh.^^-  "  °"!  s  ears  were  almost   burst  by  the 


I,T 


Mi; 


a66    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

of  wooden  beami,  and  both  to  right  and  left  a  hand-rail 
facilitated  the  asce  >  in  the  darkness.  At  intervals  a  unall 
wooden  hatch  in  t  „e  ruof  admitted  a  feeble  light  into  these 
couloin,  which  were  iibuut  Ave  feet  bruad  and  seven  high, 
and  which  possessed  at  very  long  intervals  lateral  exits 
giving  on  to  the  mountain  side.  There  were  many  such 
stairways  and  tunnels,  all  of  which  osrendcd  the  hill  to  the 
residences  of  the  soldiers  defending  the  trenches  that  crowned 
the  top  and  the  gun  eniijlacements  which  also  studded  the 
crest.  In  addition  to  these  underground  passages  there  were 
also  well-graded  open  roads,  along  which  led  great  electric 
cables  and  telegraph  and  telephone  wires,  running  obliquely 
up  the  hill  and  defended  by  entanglements  of  barbed  wire 
so  well  placed  that  it  was  a  matter  of  difficulty,  half  destroyed 
as  they  v/ere,  to  force  a  way  through  them.  The  upper  end 
of  the  tunnels  brought  us  to  three  or  four  burrow-like  apart- 
ments, one  of  them  containing  beiths  like  a  steeping  car; 
another  was  an  electricity  r'xjm  with  switch-board  and  trans- 
former for  the  currents  v/hicn  had  been  sent  up  from  Goritiia 
by  the  great  cables ;  and  a  third  was  the  mess-room  with  a 
table  for  meals,  and  three  stout  metol  pots,  eight  by  thirty 
inches  in  size,  in  which  food  was  cooked  by  electricity.  There 
was  electric  lighting  everywhere  in  the  apartments,  and  along 
the  tunnels  were  many  notice  boords  with  directions,  especi- 
ally '  Zur  Kiiche,'  affixed  at  the  needful  places.  All  these 
labyrinthine  defences  had  been  left  untouched  since  they 
came  into  the  hand;:  of  the  Italians. 

Between  the  ridge  and  Goritzir.  ran  .ne  Isonzo  River,  which 
came  pouring  down  through  the  Alps  in  a  series  of  gorges 
deep  and  narrow,  leaving  room  beside  it  only  for  a  single 
slender  road  and  the  railway  from  Klagenfurt,  which  latter 
had  to  twist  over  bridges  and  through  tunnels  to  find  a 
precarious  way ;  and  at  the  place  where  the  river  escaped 
on  the  opening  plain  the  "-raall  town  of  Goritzia  was  built. 
Before  the  war  it  must  have  been  a  very  pretty  townlet, 
with  its  old-woiH  castle  upon  a  rock  in  its  centre,  and  beneath 
it  groups  of  houses  ind  squares  with  trees  and  public  gardens, 
forming  a  lovely  summer  resort,  and  a  spot  where  retired 
Austrian  officers  and  others  lovpd  to  take  up  their  abode. 
But  as  I  saw  it,  it  was  crumbling  under  shell  fire  ;  hardly  a 
house  was  undamaged,  and  many  were  in  ruins ;  one  or 
two  tiny  shops  were  open  for  petty  trade,  with  their  iron  blinds 
drawn  down ;  and  the  names  upon  the  signboards  above 
were  all  Slav  or  Slovene.  Not  a  single  woman  or  child  was 
visible  in  the  streets.  The  intensity  of  the  bombardment 
it  had  imdergone  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  rot  one  street 


1:1  i 


ITALY 


ttn 


Ump  was  left  unbti.t  or  unbroken,  while  the  ho  -se.  were  .11 

^w  .i.  I^  "'""''  *•""  "'■"  ">■'"«  hurtling  through  the  aS 
? h1^  >  «"'r  "'"^  "^"""f  "'"1  ""^hi"!.  but  u?  th"  tinT,; 
wa«  con  mg  apparently  fron,  the  summits  of  S.in  Ma™. 
San  Damele,  San  Gabriele.  und  perhaps  from  Mo.^e  Santo  a 
range  of  mountains  higher  tha,  yC^hur's  Seat,  which  overt  u'n^ 
the  town  at  a  d.stanc-e  of  a  mile  or  two,  like  a  pack  of  "oTv« 

^^^  ^  **  vomitmg  cannon  shot.  The  town  and  girdens 
around  it  were  a  network  of  trenches,  wire  entanglimenU 
and  emplacements  for  machine  gnns,  with  frequent^Lmates 
or  concealments  for  the  greater  guns.  "^"""^  casemates 

Hud  It  :.ot  been  for  the  noise  of  the  firing,  my  first  impression 
of  Gor.tz,a  would  have  been  that  I  was  l^king^n  aloTand 
^rTV^Z'u"^'^'  '«'"««'  ""P'y  ""d  abandoned,  s^^ 
fn  o,L  A  .If*  K^  "TL  ^*  '='*''*"''"  °"«  "  feeling  o?^^ 
m  our  Allies  when  it  became  apparent  that  there  had  Wn 
no  lootmg  o:  breaking  into  the  Kses,  as  was  b=7ng7onV!n 
»tswruS''Ti**^''''=^r"''"^-''"'^  '»•"*  the*i„S 

The  bridges  over  the  Isonzo  had  all  been  destrov<>H    h„t 

::^elfZ^^.'"''"V;^  P""*--  or  trese7hth.'rn' 
^nVf     f!    u   "L«  carefully  screened  from  the  enemy,  were 

fromTLl'"^  ^""^""^  "'■  ^'''"'y'"  "y  '"^  Austr^n^S: 

wh^'  Tch^^T,  department  haa  two  stations  in  the  town. 
Where  a  cheerful  and  courageous  company  of  some  fifteen 
drivers  were  assembled,  and  where  by  dky  or  n  ghtThev  were 

wo* d^'fCtVe*:.' ""  ^^^"^  ^  «°  °"*  anf  pickVt^" 
hn.^;  1  /?  '  dressing  stations  and  convey  them  to  the 
aSlmn.   '  'T  /'l'^  ^"^  themselves,  as  time  went  o„ 

but  I^n  nnfr..  i'tt'*''"'  ^^^y  •»"'<*  "^^^  fo""d  shelter 
but  I  do  not  think  they  ever  troubled  to  use  it,  and  I  never 

Wn  """i'f  }^  ^^^"'-  «='''"  «hen  the  builoi^g  which  hTd 
been  assigned  to  them  in  the  middle  of  the  town  by  the  Italians 
and  m  which  they  lived  ,  d  slept,  was  later  shattered  by 
ni!hf  'k*°u  t""''  °^  ^^"  """"^"^  "•'verely  wounded.  iT one 
n^ht  which  I, pe..it  there  I  counted  the  fr^uency^  he  firin/ 

^ttT^  ^'  'Y"^  ^'"=  ""'y  °"''  twc^and  three  seS 
between  -ch  explosion,  on  rare  occasions  nine  seconds,  a^ 

IfV^    kT  -^ '"tr"'  °^  ^^-*^n  secoids,  ever^-  one 


' 


I'"" 

I*  I 


i 


a«8    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 


LIX 

The  Isonzo  Rivcb  Bakbim 

At  the  time  of  my  joining  the  Italian  AmbuUnee,  the  following 
wa«  the  pofition  of  the  campaign.  Italy  wai  the  only  one 
of  the  Entente  Power*  who  had  lucceeded  in  getting  foot 
acTou  the  borden  of  the  Central  Powen,  with  exception  of 
a  small  part  of  Alnce  which  had  been  captured  by  the  French 
under  General  Joltre  at  the  outbreak  of  hostilitiet ;  and 
Goritsia  wai  the  only  city  of  capital  importance  which  had 
been  taken  firom  the  enemy. 

Italy  wa«  by  fierce  fighting  overrunning  the  Austrian 
provinces  of  Gdrz  and  Gradisca  which  beloi^ed  to  Austria, 
and  of  which  Goritzia  (Gdrz)  was  the  chief  town  ;  and  the 
Italian  nation  and  armies  were  much  elated  by  the 
feat  which  had  gained  for  them  a  part  of  the  hitherto  Un- 
redeemed Italy  (Italia  Irredenta).  It  was  an  important 
thing  to  have  done,  particularly  at  a  time  when  things  were 
going  rather  unhupefully  for  the  Entente  Allies,  and  in  a 
region,  as  I  shall  presently  show,  which  was  one  of  the  most 
difficult  for  an  assailant. 

Having  progressed  so  far,  however,  Italy  was  faced  by 
almost  insurmountable  obstacles.  On  their  left,  and  in  front, 
extended  the  high,  snow-clad  Camlc  and  Julian  Alps,  prac- 
tically unscalable,  pierced  only  by  the  railway  coming 
tluough  a  narrow  portal  from  Klagenfurt  in  Austrian  Car- 
inthia ;  and  where  the  mountains  terminate  near  the  Adriatic, 
on  the  right  of  thi  Italian  front,  there  lay  the  d^'^cult  region 
of  the  Carso,  a  sterile  undulating  plateau,  ian~iy  inhabited, 
waterless,  almost  roadless,  pieced  by  numberless  caverns 
and  '  doline,'  which  offered  the  defenders  immense  advantages. 
Beyond  the  Carso,  however,  were  the  coveted  province  of 
Istria  and  the  city  of  Triest;,  almost  purely  Italian,  and 
acknowledged  parts  of  Italia  Irredenta,  and  all  the  aspirations 
of  the  army  and  nation  were  turned  to  the  conquest  of  these. 
The  most  hopeful  line  of  further  advance  therefore  lay  over 
the  Carso,  extending  from  south  of  Goritzia,  beyond  the 
Isonzo  River.  Moreover,  the  upper  part  of  the  enemy's 
position,  corrcbponding  with  the  ravine  of  the  Isonzo  and 
running  along  the  foot  of  the  Alpine  range,  was  far  more 
difficult  to  assail  than  the  portion  south  of  Goritzia,  which 
is  only  hilly,  not  mountainous.  The  expectation  that  they 
could  capture  Trieste  and  relieve  their  fellow-countrymen 
from  the  Austrian  yoke  was  a  bait  which  was  irresistible, 
and  Italy  was  bracing  itself  for  the  endeavour. 


ITALY 


169 


r£=SS-«:-:~,ajT 

UHT  of  these  ««ds  was  wondell.  ^ut  t'inSuit^S 


•  ■:' 


ih- 


III 


if; 

li 

It; 


rjo    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

avoid  their  having  the  sharpest  turns  at  every  few  paces ; 
and  to  meet,  pass,  or  overtake  another  wheeled  conveyance 
at  such  places  was  an  interesting  experience.  Imagine 
having  to  turn  on  a  swiftly  moving  motor  car  round  such  a 
comer,  beyond  which  nothing  but  the  sky  and  an  abyss 
was  visible,  and  coming  suddenly  on  another  motor,  likely 
a  great  baggage  car,  charging  in  the  reverse  direction,  and 
having  to  take  the  outer  side  on  a  road  some  fifteen  feet 
only  in  breadth,  with  but  a  foot  to  spare  between  the  wheels 
and  the  precipice,  and  this  too  at  a  turn  of  much  less  than 
half  a  right  angle.  Such  wbs  the  territory  the  Italians  had 
wrested  from  Austria,  and  were  then  holding  on  the  Isonzo 
above  Goritzia,  and  this  was  the  character  of  the  Italian 
front  through  which  my  journey  of  inspection  lay.  These, 
moreover,  were  the  sort  of  roads  along  which  our  drivers 
had  had  to  bring  the  wounded  back,  and  on  which,  though 
the  enemy  did  not  usually  single  out  the  cars  for  their  aim, 
yet  there  were  occasions  where  they  deliberately  shelled 
our  ambulances  upon  them,  while  they  were  transporting 
the  wounded.    Of  this  there  was  no  manner  of  doubt. 

To  follow  the  upper  course  of  the  Isonzo  through  these 
hills  we  left  Goritzia  in  an  exceptionally  suitable  car,  for  it 
was  not  every  one  that  would  have  been  capable  of  sur- 
mounting the  roads,  with  Mr.  John  A ,  a  driver  who  had 

no  nerves,  or  it  would  be  better  to  say,  whose  nerves  were 
under  perfect  control,  on  a  morning  which  could  not  be 
termed  fine,  for  the  clouds  overhead  were  in  many  strata, 
but  which  yet  promised  to  develop  into  a  fairly  dry  day 
without  much  wind  beyond  a  cold  breeze  blowing  oft  the 
snow  on  the  Alps  to  the  north,  and  with  just  that  amount 
of  haze  in  the  atmosphere  which  shows  off  the  mountain 
distances  so  well.  Matters  that  morning  were  quiet  in 
Goritzia,  for  while  one  or  two  of  the  Austrian  guns  were 
speaking  out,  there  were  but  stray  replies  from  the  Italian 
side. 

As  we  crossed  the  river  on  one  of  the  frail  bridges,  it  was 
impossible  to  avoid  being  struck  by  the  aspect  of  the  Podgora 
Ridge  abeady  mentioned,  which  lay  as  a  mass  of  fortifica- 
tions opposite  the  city  on  the  western  bank,  dominating 
the  crossings  and  commanding  every  foot  of  the  town.  It 
recalled  the  position  of  the  Janiculum  at  Rome,  inasmuch 
as  it  was  the  bulwark  of  Goritzia,  and  after  it  had  been  taken 
by  the  Italians,  nothing  could  have  saved  the  town.  Its 
capture  was  an  affair  of  the  utmost  bravery,  since  it  bristled 
with  artillery  and  riflemen  in  concealed  batteries  and  trenches, 
while  the  Italians  were  in  the  open  and  their  artillery  was  not 


ITALY 


*7i 


As  we  rounded  the  north-eastern  end  of  the  ridge  towairfs 
OslaviB,  the  fierceness  of  the  strumle  was  ^aJ^^ 
there  being  no  house  left  which  ^f tot TrruM^.'^aTle^ 

ZtZ  ^"^  r'Vt"-'*'^'  "^^  «>««=  '"'^  not  a  sbgleTr^ 
but  was  broken  ofi  by  the  artillerv  fiiv  fr«.«  "  >"igie  tree 

the  one  hand  and  Sa^  FIorr„S7he^ea^q"a&?  th^ 
Italians  at  that  time,  on  the  other     San  r]nr^^^vZ. 

pbteau  whereon  it  lies;  there  for  a  long  time  X  Cli»n! 
advancmg  towards  the  Podgora  were  held  T  check  The 
carimge  dunng  the  fighting  there  had  been  gre^t,  l„d  to  Jke 
matters  worse  cholera  broke  out.    Our  ambulan.^  wJ^nZ^! 

Tl^^'  ^'*""'   '^'  '=''°'«'»  Patien"    in   t^ir  'S 

^J^^  '^t  ""^  sometimes  even  fell  dead  as  thev 

succeeded  m  gaming  a  place  in  them.    Into  oneTf  oV^l 

mne  men  entered  and  were  driven  off,  but  when  th^y  a"  JvJ^ 

oLl^n'  ardritet^LTlJ^runrhn  "^l"^^ 
a^up  of  eighteen  S^.?d^'iLTct^rwKr 
had  been  overlooked.  He  was  only  a  younc  bov  bi.f  nf  h!=  ^ 
initiative  he  tackled  the  situationVand  byS^  LulZ" 

All  of  these  and  similar  transactions  were  carried  out  uX^ 
heavy  fire;  and  the  Italians  gave  the  detacSient  a  S 
of  honour  m  recognition  of  its  work  •  it  was  h»i,1  t^  7.       u 

^^r^Tf  I""'''  '*'  -^^  **  --  eveZa'Sfg^erL"': 
Commandant,  who  was  present  through  it  aU 

o^SvL"  ^'"^P'ace  we  meandered  downwards  into  vallevs 
and  then  agam  ascended  to  Quisca,  which  at  an  ^li^  S 
of  the  same  struggle  had  been  the  station  of  one  ofW  ambS 
lance  sections.  Quisca  lies  on  the  western  slope  of  tte^"; 
ndge  which  overhangs  the  right  bank  of  the  IsX  and  S 
tself  somewhat  sheltered  from  the  Austrian  art ilSy' when 
the  fight  was  going  on.  had  the  drawback  that  thel^undS 
could  be  conveyed  away  from  it  only  by  an  exnosed  rn«H 
runnmg  north-westwanls,  which  was  perfectV^bfe  ^ 
the  Austrian  batteries,  and  Mr.  Y— 1-  who  h^H  ll.  • 
meT  "i  ''"'^'^-  "-^''^'--"^  at  the'  tTme,  ^eLtS  t" 
Zy7X''"^  *°  "*r  '^'  *'=™'*  '^''"-  lookingTv^  the 
valley  at  his  <«rs  as  they  passed  along  the  road  above  for 
the  distance  of  about  half  a  mile,  an  easy  mark  foTthI 
Austrian  gunners,  who  followed  each  car  with  hXe^Tos  ve 


372    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

shells.  Wonderful  to  say,  they  all  came  through  the  storm 
in  safety. 

To  get  a  better  idea  of  the  positions  which  the  two  com- 
batants were  occupyin<;,  we  Uft  the  car  a  little  beyond 
Quisca  and  climbed  the  ridge,  so  as  to  look  down  on  the 
Austrian  positions,  the  aquamarine  coloured  Isonzo  flowing 
in  front  of  them,  and  the  Italian  lines  on  its  hither  side. 
The  Monte  Sabotino,  whose  name  had  been  in  every  mouth 
at  a  certain  stage  of  the  struggle,  lay  before  us  to  the  south, 
and  was  an  impressive  sight.  It  lay  on  the  western  bank  of 
the  river,  shaped  like  a  great  wave  advancing  &om  Italy 
and  breaking  on  the  bank  of  the  stream,  for  towards  Italy, 
where  it  was  seamed  by  lines  of  trenches,  it  rose  in  a  gradual 
bare  slope  which  the  Italian  troops  bad  had  to  storm,  and 
on  the  other  side  was  so  steeply  scarped  as  to  be  precipitous, 
even  overhanging  shell-like  as  it  descended  to  the  river. 
Its  capture  was  costly  in  lives,  but  once  its  slope  had  been 
stormed  the  rest  was  easy,  and  it  now  formed  a  valuable 
position  &om  which  to  reply  to  the  artillery  of  the  enemy. 

For  the  rest  of  the  way  we  held  a  course  along  the  ridge, 
and,  looking  backwards  on  the  confusion  of  hills  and  valleys 
which  I  have  endeavoured  to  describe,  it  required  no  special 
military  knowledge  to  realise  what  a  difficult  country  it  was 
trom  which  to  have  driven  the  Austrians,  as  almost  every 
mile  of  it  was  a  natural,  nearly  impregnable  fortress  had 
it  been  properly  prepared  and  defended.  It  gave  one  a 
full  sense  of  the  bravery  of  the  Italian  soldiers,  and  the 
marvellous  feat  they  had  performed  in  overrunning  that 
contorted  territory.  Our  route  plunged  us  into  a  vortex 
of  tortuous  roads,  ridges,  valleys,  and  corrugations,  along 
ways  and  tracks  with  steep  gradients,  overhanging  almost 
precipitous  slopes,  with  hairpin  turns  and  '  Devil's  elbows ' 
in  abundance,  and  always  on  our  right  hand  stood  the  ranges 
of  great  guns,  one  at  about  every  hundred  yards,  covered 
by  turf-roofed  sheds  to  conceal  them  from  the  Austrian 
batteries  and  aircraft,  though  easily  visible  &om  the  rear 
where  we  were  passing  them.  Behind  and  among  the  guns 
were  interminable  trenches,  and  wire  entanglements  forty 
or  fifty  yards  in  breadth,  with  covered  ways  leading  towards 
them  from  our  road,  approached  often  by  covered  stairways. 
Everything  possible  had  been  done  to  render  these  defences 
invisible  from  above  and  trom  the  front. 

The  men  who  manned  the  batteries  and  trenches  on  the 
crest  of  the  ridge  lived  among  the  clifis  and  precipices,  some 
in  burrows  holk>wed  out  like  sand-martins'  nests  in  the  soft 
rock,  and  some  in  wooden  structiires  resembling  bird  cages 


ITALY 


273 


ladders  or  stairs.  PeeoL^V^ \h  ^^  7^^"^  '*°«'«n 
towards  Austria  Zi^vZVt?  '^8'  °^  **"=  "'^K*  here 
little  town  of  Tohnl^n  %^J^'°*  "'  °"  *•>«  ">'«'  the 
Austrian.  "'"°'    ''''"*    ''"^    "«"    held    by   the 

ele^dol^rlt'trJrtw'^/^ir^  *°  ■''""y"  higher 
the  Alps,  a^  we  ZsLi  W^h  "'^  ^^""=1  *"  ^l^'  north  into 
count.?;p"„e^tK  t^e  «^-?*'°"°f  *"'*'  "*°  "  ""''«» 
of  mist  which  had  for  some  ^nn»  ^^  "'*°  "  '^*"^"'  ^*'»t«'n 

in  a^ey  ^Unl^S,   b^  ^''*'  °,°,  '^"°">-'t  '"^t  itsTlf 

^.iuM  ^A^  ?c*  ^.£r^  ;c-i 


I  r 


(^ 


i 


274    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

Luico,  and  another,   a   little  farther  off,   our  destination, 
Caporetto. 

Now  began  the  descent.  With  every  brake  hard  on, 
down  mile  after  mile  of  a  most  winding  road,  so  steep  that 
we  had  the  sensation  of  diving,  while  the  Italian  Alpini 
regiments  who  passed  us  going  up,  carrying  their  batteries 
of  mountain  guns  in  pieces  on  their  backs,  seemed  to  be  a 
picturesque  feather-plumed  group  floating  upwards  past  us 
as  in  an  elevator.  We  had  our  mishaps — ^burst  a  tyre  at  one 
nasty  place,  and  at  another  the  car  skidded  backwards  with 
us  at  an  uncommonly  sharp  turn  and  fortunately  ran  us 
into  a  bank  in  ^^afety,  but  we  had  all  to  jump  out,  prop  the 
wheels  with  stones,  and  set  our  shoulders  to  the  body  till 
we  had  got  it  to  resume  a  position  of  safety  in  the  right 
direction. 

We  eventually  reached  the  bottom  where,  as  in  all  these 
Alpine  valleys,  the  ground  was  flat,  passed  through  the  un- 
interesting hamlet  of  Luico,  and  a  turn  in  the  narrow  den 
farther  on  brought  us  to  Caporetto. 

We  had  thus  been  along  the  whole  of  the  Austro-Italian 
front  north  ofGoritzia,  as  far  as  there  was  any,  or  the  possibility 
of  any,  activity  eventuating,  and  our  whole  course  had  been 
in  wlmt  formerly  was  Austrian  territory.  The  chief  impres- 
sion which  one  carried  away  was  that  the  whole  of  that  part 
of  the  line  of  the  Isonzo  was  now  so  strongly  fortified  by 
nature  aud  art  that  it  would  be  a  hard  task  indeed  for 
Austria  to  reconquer  it  by  a  frontal  attack. 

Caporetto  was  one  of  the  most  charming  Alpine  villages 
I  had  ever  seen,  and  recalled  the  pictures  of  Innsbruck  in 
the  Tirol.  On  its  western  side  the  Isonzo  came  boiling  out 
of  a  chink  in  the  Alps  into  a  flat -bottomed  pit  perhaps  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  broad,  and  on  the  flat  Caporetto  was  built, 
its  crowded  houses  and  winding  streetlets  speaking  of  want 
of  space  to  expand.  As  one  looked  up,  the  mountains  were 
seen  towering  above  it  on  all  sides ;  to  the  south  that  one 
which  we  had  just  crossed  reared  its  rounded  head  3000  feet 
into  the  air,  and  on  the  north  the  Monte  Nero  (Slavonic, 
Monte  Km),  7500  feet  high,  had  its  snow-white  top  almost 
concealed  by  an  upper  layer  of  cloud,  while  on  the  other 
sides  lower  hills  overhung  the  town  so  near  that  a  land- 
sUp  from  them  would  have  buried  the  whole  place,  and 
one  instinctively  thought  of  the  likelihood  of  such  a 
fetaUty. 

We  were  received  ac  our  ambulance  station  by  Messrs. 

R T ,  and  O ,  the  two  men  in  charge,  who  thawed 

and  fed  us  and  told  about  the  nature  of  their  work.    They 


ITALY 


975 


'5 

and  fonned  the  ktmoSe/ette  o^e  Tl  ""-"8  "bout 
^vage   scenery.    Yet   I  adml  ^hlv'  °i*  ****  '"1°^  such 

«>ad  by  which  w7were  to  rehi^  rr'v??"^"'^''*^* 
tYitwasagoodand^syone        *°  ''^  ^'''»  ^rento,  and 

the^so^thi'S;"?.^^  cZXTo  r""^^',"'^?!'  '^"-l**  to 
the  Isonzo  may  onTe  Ce  Sl^  ^^''f^^t'-  °°*"  ^^^  «='=" 
had  been  elevat^ 'or  blocked  tt  «  '*'  ''^'^  *«  '»"«* 
another  river  nam^  th-.  m  !?•'  .     <=anyon  now  catches 

our  road  k!^'  "^^  a  fcwlir"'  "^^'^^^  '»"'"'  "^  "^ich 
glen,  its  naLw  strh,  of  WtoS  a?n,o  t  ^*  y^e  entered  the 
the  steep  slopins  Xs  „nwT.^°'*.u""''^'"«  "^'"een 
clothed  them  When  f;  S^^^°?.t  '"*''  ^^  "'•^s  that 
of  thrcanZ.'  a^the^^  *»u  ^""i^'ne  AH^  the  who^e 
along  the  C  o/tht  s^e^U  ^f""  '^"^^  "  ""^^  '"'y 
as  there  is  not  room  fo^Un  Kttem  ^ v  T*^  '»"''• 
than  200  yards  across     ThP  ^„     ^^  '''"**  '«  °°t  more 

^'Kei^*  -  9<^^  a„T?;^^r  rhat*s:id^^^  °^ 

eve''^  tdrw^rrbv'ir"t"^«  '•-''Sily  hid 
Cividar^From  th^  onwLS^  we  Z"  T  "^"^  *'«'"8h 

blindfold,  all  lights  ^ingforbidde?.^  k  *^P^  "•"  ""y 
main  road  between  ^>,J?  j  ttJ?  **  *^"'  "«  struek  the 
with  me^  h^B^r  nSlf^r'*  ™"«='  ^«  fowd  ^  choked 
slow  and  ofteTikt^^ot^"''  uT''^'  «*  *^t  P^-gress  was 
collision.  Mterrupted.    But  all  passed  off  without  a 

front  was  enorCst  fortifl^    tt^^^'  "i"'"  ^"^  ^»»«' 

which  it  appeared  no  v^  f J^*' ftr S!">'=^ '*°°^  tJ«'"8h 
so  turn  the  whole  ItalianTosS?^  r  .  '^  *^  Penetrate  and 
this  proved  to  b^  tKak  part  of  tX7  •","*'  """"^"^ 
which  an  energetic  anJmpid  tl^st^n  t^'"'"i"^''  "^"8'' 
trians  deprived  Italv  of  th^  J,^  r  ".  *¥  P"*  °^  *h«  Aus- 
quests,  aSd  drove  rtWkwlh"  "^  '*'  ^^'^^  '^"8''t  «»n- 


376    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

but  I  have  often  wondered  since  whether  Gineral  Cadoma, 
in  the  desire  to  push  on  south  of  Goritzia  so  as  to  capture 
Trieste,  did  not  overlook  the  weakness  of  the  Caporetto 
position,  towards  which  it  was  comparatively  easy  for  the 
enemy,  holding  a  good  railway  approach  to  it,  to  convey 
quickly  and  unexp^edly  a  strong  attacking  force. 


lr!i 


III 

I 

'11 


I 


LX 

The  Italian  Base  Hospitals 

I  VISITED  a  good  nimiber  of  the  base  and  other  hospitals  in 
the  Italian  war  zone,  and  a  few  sketches  of  their  condition 
may  be  acceptable  to  medical  readers. 

The  largest  was  the  *  Ospedale  Contumaciale '  at  Udine. 
The  term  '  splendid '  was  the  best  to  apply  to  this  fine  in- 
stitution, adapted  from  a  great  cavalry  bcuTOcks  through  the 
energy  of  General  Santucci,  the  principal  medical  officer  of 
the  6th  Italian  Army  Corps,  and  those  under  him.  It  was 
perfectly  clean,  very  spacious,  and  had  accommodation  for 
over  2000  patients.  The  walls,  roofs,  and  floors  were  white 
as  snow,  and  the  bedding  and  ward  furnishings  were  admir- 
able. Electric  lighting  was  everywhere.  The  radiography 
department  was  of  the  finest ;  there  was  shown  me  a  new 
and  most  ingenious  localisation  apparatus  on  an  entirely 
new  principle  by  Signor  Baese,  a  Milanese  engineer. 

Another  hospital  not  far  distant,  designated  'No.  0.22,' 
had  been  converted  from  a  villa  residence  not  unlike  our 
Villa  Trento,  and  was  under  the  charge  of  Dr.  Camera,  who 
advocated  an  efficient  and  very  radical  treatment  for  gas 
gangrene.  The  hospital  was  of  course  not  to  be  compared 
with  the  '  Contumaciale,'  but  was  very  good  in  its  way, 
with  two  sisters,  luale  nurses,  and  a  staff  of  efficient  surgeons 
and  physicians.  The  baths  would  have  been  considered 
defective  on  an  English  standard,  but  they  met  the  more 
modest  needs  of  tLe  Italian  soldiers. 

On  another  occttsion  I  accompanied  Major  Andreini  to 
see  his  extemporised  '  Ospedale,  No.  228,'  which  had  been 
formed  out  of  a  villa  at  Premariaco,  about  an  hour's  drive 
to  the  north  of  the  Villa  Trento,  and  was  received  most 
courteously  by  his  officers,  who  showed  me  over  everything, 
down  to  the  smallest  details.  Though  inferior  to  a  specially 
constructed  hospital,  it  was  nevertheless  very  good  and 
practical,  even  to  the  provision  of  a  store  of  tents  in  case 
expansion  or  removal  were  necessary.  All  essentials  had 
been  foreseen  and  provided,  and  every  possible  drawback 


ITALY 


277 


never  smokeJIn  fhTh  -i^'    ^I'°  '''^  °®~"  »  command 

nificent  work     Ti  ».o  .         •  ^^       showed  us  some  mag- 
head   chls"    and  Vw         P""^'  ''"'P**"'  ^°'  '°j™es  to  the 

town,  'No    O  TO^i^d^*  """*''"  ^?'P'^^  •"  the  same 

question  to  ae^^'urieo^V^^riM  C"  "C^* 
mortalitvas  1000/  ;„?kj  '".'^g*  01  «,  and    he  gave  his 

62%  inTho^'^JeS'^itrotS''  ''P*"*'^'  °"'  ''«''-* 

whttdTernli^ed^'upX^Te  fc^ed^^ "  t^^' 
which  I  «nH  „  t^^^A?  j'  ilntish  Red  Cross  Society. 

for  show  than  anythfag  ell^^,' i,«    ''u*'  ^^^  ^P."'"'* 


278    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

annexes  and  through  every  corner  of  the  eitablishmsnt. 
Its  kernel  was  a  smell  school  building,  with  additional 
wooden  barracks,  and  a  group  of  canvas  tents,  in  a  small 
village  destitute  of  almost  any  resources,  and  its  title  was 
'Ospedale  di  Campo,  No.  216.'  There  were  two  sisters 
employed  in  it,  both  belonging  to  the  Italian  Red  Cross, 
of  whom  one  was  Signorina  Italia  Garibaldi,  daughter  of 
Ricciotto  Garibaldi,  and  granddaughter  of  Giuseppe  Gari- 
baldi, the  Liberator  of  Italy.  Signorina  Garibaldi  was  a 
fitting  coadjutor  to  the  energetic  medical  officers.  She  and 
her  comrade  managed  the  nursing  of  the  800  patients  it 
contained  in  a  way  that  words  are  inadequate  to  express, 
and  many  of  their  patients  were  bad  surgical  cases.  It  was 
most  touching.  In  the  wards  these  iwo  women  bad  only 
two — I  think  that  later  th-.-y  obtained  six — basins  in  which  to 
wash  those  multitudes,  and  they  were  asking  as  a  favour 
for  some  more.  There  were  no  bathrooms  ;  only  the  usual 
Italian  closets,  which  however  were  clean  and  kept  as  well 
as  wa!>  possible.  The  patients  in  the  wards  were  sleeping 
on  stray:  stuffed  into  mattress  bags,  and  there  were  no  pillows 
beyond  those  which  they  had  themselves  extemporised. 
Beyond  the  beds  there  was  almost  nothing  in  the  wards, 
only  a  long  central  table,  with  one  large  Florence  oil-flask 
which  supplied  the  drinking  water  fir  all.  Each  patient 
had  one  metal  cup  which  served  him  for  everything — for 
food,  for  drink,  etc.  There  were  no  invalid  appliances 
except  the  temperature  charts,  which  hung  on  the  walls 
and  were  well  kept.  The  wards  in  short  were  bare  except 
for  the  charts,  beds,  table,  an^'  Florence  flask,  and  what  else 
the  patients  brought  with  them  from  the  field.  For  the  whole 
there  were  four  copper  bed-pans.  One  found  it  difficult  to 
draw  even  a  feeble  mental  picture  of  what  these  two  ladies 
had  to  do  in  the  way  of  attending  to  so  many  sick  and  wounded 
men  with  such  inadequate  means,  but  somehow — God  knows 
how — ^they  did  it  well.  They  had  none  to  relieve  them,  no 
night  nurses,  only  male  orderlies,  and  they  themselves  had 
to  sleep  in  a  place  some  hundreds  of  yards  distant,  and  to 
get  their  meals  in  a  shabby  little  eating  booth  near  at  hand. 
Those  who  know  the  ways  of  male  orderlies  can  perhaps 
imagine  the  tasks  which  the  two  ladies  had  to  discharge. 
In  common  with  all  Italian  Red  Cross  Sisters,  the  two  ladies 
had  to  be  clothed  entirely  in  white,  even  to  their  shoes  and 
stockings ;  in  these  they  had  to  wade  through  the  wet  and  mud 
when  it  rained,  and  neither  the  rain  nor  the  mud  on  the 
Venetian  plains  is  a  thing  to  be  made  light  of.  The  cooking 
for  the  hospital  was  carried  out  in  what  had  been,  and  in 


ITALY 


lir 


»7V 


•ppearance  still  was,  a  blacksmith's  smithy,  in  two  m  Br«f 

S^J'^erT*'^'"  the  food  and  whici;' l"^  h//i,''~i 
camea  over  to  the  wards  e  ghty  yaids  awav  »K.»  fK- 
food  was  Udled  out  into  the  S,ldU' cups^^he^  w"s  no 
poMibility  of  invalid  foods  or  special  diet.  The  ^k  slen? 
^smjthy  under  the  benchWh  ser;ed  for Tkit^S^ 
dlT^An  T.V   °Pf^*'°°  «»™  "«»  "  »»re  closet,  ^ell  lirby 

5!.i  rt.  ^«'*  common  basin,  ^ssibly  two,  a  common 
o^for  ''\''"^'  «"y  ««ri'i«'J;°'  instruments,  and  aTa"«r 
?he  fnLr*r*u''  ''"'  '* """'  '""""J  ''"«<=""  to  w^rk  them  wkh 
the  spmt  which  was  supplied.    The  ,t«ck  of  ether  for  an^- 

wWch  Z"  TJ^'l-  ^  i'""''  ^  •'"^^  mentioned  all  the  th"^ 
which  they  had  at  my  first  visit,  and  where  I  have  not  namS 
an^hmg  ,t  may  be  held  as  having  been  abs^^  Yet  "S 
good  work  was  bemg  done  in  that  hospital  by  these  pTd 
Z^  K  .    !!!!"!"  '"*•'  *•">  "'*'"'*  °f  applUn,is.     I  w^at 

t^  Utt^r"^!-*^","  ~">P?»i°"  •'nd  admiration,  buTLfn 
the  latter  feehng  replaced  all  else,  particularly  when  I  mm- 

s'hr  ji^t':''''*^  '''•"=•>  •»" »-"  «*«i  "p  'xpTn'sLVx 

I  must  mention  one  more  of  the  ordinary  base  hosoitaU 

vS;:'l?.Z*f  w*^""  '^^^''^  througHur  handsT^he 
h.™  tH  i'"  f^  '^•'°^  treatment  seemed  to  me  to 
hrve  been  conducted  with  much  skill  and  hP.jtlihood,  and  on 

^  /o6"^"f'^"-  ^  ^°""i  ?"y  '»'"''  ^«""  »  hospital  s"yl^ 
li^^;jj.       ?**!'«=»' /nd  that  the  surgeon  there  was  Captain 

at  Home.    I  telegraphed  to  him  and  found  that  he  was  still 

7^  ,*""'  ?"''  '■""''^  '^«=1<»"'«  "^  visit  frSm  me  I 
accordingly  spent  most  of  the  27th  of  February  with  him 

??.e  f  :"""*  ,"jr '^  ^'~"'  *''«  -hole  of  his  wo^and  system: 
The  ^sence  of  them  was  as  follows  :  Immediately  a  woundS 
man  was  admitted,  his  wounds  were  laid  open  by  lonffitudinTl 
mcjsions  s«  to  ten  inches  in  length  (JbridJJ^.^^Z. 

and  all  that  was  infected  or  crushed  clipped  away  by  scissoK 
Wrr''  ^'"«  '^'^P""^  "S''*  througg^the  limb  to'^a^S; 

^^^,^  "w"°P?u"8  ,"."  *'  "PP"^'*'  «id«-  Only  sound 
stouctures  bemg  thus  left,  the  great  wounds  were  plugged 
w^th  gauze  soaked  m  eusol,  left  unsecured  by  sutures  fnd 
widely  open    and  the  part  supported  by  pkster  of  Paris 

ffi'  wtu  tVr  ^"-l,.^- ,t»«  tost  few^  ,^ys  the  wound 
looked  well  and  the  patient's  temperature  fell     But  the 

JhwS.Ttb^^*"  '"^  "  ''°™' *°  '-•^  «t  A^ut  t£e 
third  day  the  enormous  wounds  in  the  broken  flaccid  limb 


' 


a8o    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

were  retracted  by  large  steel  koolu  whoM  iharp  poinU  were 
dug  into  the  living  fleih,  the  plugi  were  drawn  out,  the  iciHon 
again  uied  to  clip  off  all  luipicMUi  parti,  the  phigi  of  etuol 
gauie  again  drawn  through  and  packed  in,  no  drain*  being 
Uied  and  no  lutureg  to  narrow  the  openings,  and  'he  denuded 
neui  and  muscles  left  to  protrude  and  consolidate  into  great 
cicatrices,  which  might  perhaps  much  impair  the  subsequent 
functions  of  the  limb.  These  dressings  were  done  without 
the  use  of  an  anesthetic,  but  I  must  add  that  they  did  not 
seem  to  cause  the  patients  much  pain,  or  were  at  any  rate 
most  uncomplainingly  supported.  The  after  management  of 
Captain  Baggio's  cases  which  came  into  the  ViU  Trento 
gave  us  much  trouble;  and,  owing  to  the  great  siie  and  the 
situation  of  the  debridement  openings,  and  the  flaccidity 
of  the  limbs  at  the  site  of  ftecture,  their  evacuation  to  other 
hospitels  down  country  was  attended  in  the  graver  cases 
with  extreme  difBcukies.  I  rather  think  that  we  obtained 
equally  good  if  not  better  results  witU  more  conservative 
measures,  while  the  patients  were  spared  much  suffering 
and  the  functions  of  the  limbs  rather  better  conserved.  But 
Bagpo's  surgery  was  certainly  brilliant,  and  was  generally 
speakmg  the  type  ol  the  surgery  of  the  younger  ItalUn 
operators. 

At  the  risk  of  beiug  tedious  I  shall  add  a  word  or  two 
about  the  hospitals  for  special  cases  in  the  Italian  war  mne. 
So  far  as  care  and  foresight  could  provide  special  fomiu  of 
toeatment,  luly  had  done  well  by  its  soldiers.  The '  Ospcdale 
Marco  Volpe'  in  Udine,  for  instance,  wac  an  institution 
5"*"«ly  fo'  ii  .'iries  to  the  jaws,  under  Major  Pema  and  Dr. 
Webb,  an  American  dental  surgeon  ftom  Rome,  and  had  at 
least  severtl  hundred  beds.  Some  very  good  work  was  being 
done  there  in  restoring  and  replacing  defects  of  the  jaws, 
but  from  the  absence  of  women  nurses  the  mouths  of  the 
patients  and  the  appliances  employed  to  flx  the  jaws  were 
in  a  state  of  uncleanness  which  contrasted  badly  with 
similar  cases  which  I  saw  treated  in  our  British  hospitals  at 
home. 

I^  the  '  No.  4  •  Italian  Red  Cross  Hospital  in  Manzano, 
CapUm  Pipemo,  an  eminent  dentist  from  Rome,  who  among 
other  qualifications  had  studied  his  science  in  the  United 
States,  had  a  small  out-patient  clinic  for  attention  to  the 
dentistry  of  such  soldiers  as  were  able  to  walk,  and  verv  fine 
work  was  being  done  there,  quite  equal  to  high-class  'work 
at  home ;  and  in  Caporetto  too  I  found  a  surprisingly  good 
dental  station  for  the  troops  in  the  front  lines.  In  these 
dental  duucs  there  was  almost  no  extraction  done;  all  treat- 


ITALY 


a8i 


iriyCtJ:°  """""  "«•  terth  unl«.  thqr  w«  .b«. 

Hi.^i?!L^*'"^  ^y  ^•**^  P'tatod  initruetiont  wen 
iittabuted  among  tlw  loldien  «.  to  how  to  p.*ct21  IdJ 

From  the  above  ihort  outlines  it  will  he  ■««.  »k.»  u 

.mpoMible  to  form  other  thUS  .  v;S"wJh^i,S^*  of  ThJ 

been  conceived,  and  there  wa.  a  marked  aSenc-ofThe^ 
Upe  and    circumlocution  which  clinTT  'Sy   I  ouihS 

IriS  .^  "'LT"**  ""t^*"  '="^)  to  oJrown  Wr  Sffl^ 
wth  lu  „  obatinacy  j    thu  waa  pouibhr  due  to  the  fcct 

W  w,3.:l'i"  "^i*'  mcdiiTXr.  of  the  ItaSS 
Army  were  drawn  bom  the  ranks  of  the  civil  nractitinn^^ 

♦K°°L""'*  ^*'**'''  '^  *•»•<=•'  I  Jwve  already  aUuded    w.. 

JtelilS^°»  r "«  "'•  ~'"P'*«"*  women  Su^"^i:v:^ 
Italian,  man  an-i  woman,  to  whom  I  gpoke  of  this  subWt 

me^t^^f  wo^en'"*'""'*'^"''  '"  Italy^SaSlVthe^^SS: 
ment  ol  women  nurses,  and  even  wnHcw/l  *i..*  _»    C  ' 

the  wtperiMce  ^med  in  the  war  may  induce  altera^M  • 

rr'sr^"s:s^'i„^Tei^:s]^^,^^^^ 

pomt  of  the  service  as  I  saw  it  ^^^  ~„  tliiii.  T 
options  among  the  nursing  sist^,  ^'^^^^^t^  j^" 

c™«H  tw.  J^-    ■    ~  °'  "'"'^  ^^°«=  influence  had  pro- 

roiS^^«n^K  ^"  J  "'^*'">''  *''=  case  of  one  poor  feUow- 
coimtryman  who  had  received  extensive  bums  lying  in  one 

^.S^it^^  i'T*^^  "°'*^''  ^^^  ««*'  """onB  others,  ^f  one 
such  attendant  who  was  unable  properly  to  dress  his  twmT,!. 
m,unes  or  to  give  him  the  att^tS^  V  1^  ^^^^.S^ 


,>: 


383    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

•nd  of  another,  wounded  and  amputated,  lying  in  a  imall 
ward  abng  with  two  other  wounded  men,  with  no  one  to 
■Donge  and  clean  him,  no  oomforti  about  him,  paMing  a  miier- 
able  night  disturbed  by  the  moaning  of  hit  neighbour!,  one 
of  whom  had  ain  lott  a  limb  and  been  otherwiie  wuunded, 
in  deadly  pain  himtclf,  and  with  the  eternal  roar  of  the  heavy 
artillery  which  wai  craahing  on  every  tide  and  only  a  few 
yatdtaway.  I  could  multiply  intUncet.  Yet  thii  wae  in  very 
good  Italian  hotpitalt,  where  the  beds  were  comparatively 
good,  with  spring  mattreese*,  and  no  vermin,  where  tne  offldala 
were  of  the  very  highest  class.  It  went  to  the  heart  of  one 
accustomed  to  the  comforts  with  which  our  women  nurses 
can  surround  the  injured  under  almost  any  circumstances, 
to  note  the  deficiencies  which  their  absence  occasioned  under 
conditions  such  as  those. 

There  was  one  cheerful  th..ig  about  mo*  ,t  the  Italian 
'  <ase  hospitals,  namely,  their  whiteness.    Whenever  a  building 

id  to  be  converted  into  a  temporary  hospital,  the  ceilings, 
walls,  and  floors  were  covered  with  white  paint  ind  white- 
wasu,  which  gave  an  appearance  of  purity  to  the  eye,  even 
though  it  might  leave  things  little  altered  in  reality. 

I  shall  have  something  to  say  afterwards  concerning  the 
dressing  stations  and  Lazarettos  of  the  fighting  tines. 


lifil 


LXI 

The  Wtnteb  Campaion  or  19ie-l7 

The  events  which  happened  in  Italy  during  the  year  I  was 
there  are  historical,  but  I  do  not  profess  to  give  an  accurate 
histoTinal  account  of  them — merely  a  series  of  recollections, 
an  atti  inpt  to  set  forth  general  impressions.  In  or^er  that 
these  may  be  intellig.ble,  I  must  repeat  to  some  extent  what 
I  have  already  said  as  to  the  general  situation  during  the  late 
autumn  and  winter  months. 

After  Italy  had  swept  Ai  stria  back  as  r  as  the  line  of 
the  Isonzo,  and  gained  possession  of  the  town  of  Goritzia 
with  a  -ouple  of  miles  on  every  side  of  it,  the  barriers  to 
farther  advance  remained  most  formidable.  Beyond  the 
Isonzo  Austria  held  the  (almost)  inexpugnable  barrier  of  the 
Julian  Alps,  which  extended  firom  the  north  down  behind 
Goritzia  as  a  series  of  heights  of  which  the  most  important 
were  Monte  Kuk  (Cucco),  the  Vodice,  Monte  Santo,  San 
Gabriele,  and  San  Marco,  the  last  four  of  which,  averaging 
perhaps  2000  feet  in  height,  overhung  the  city  at  a  distance 
of  two  miles,  and  Goritzia  could  not  be  safe  or  ttte  from  bom- 


ITALY 


m 


huinmA  until  at  leut  thcM  four  bud  been  eaptured.    That 
WM  one  of  the  heavy  UU.  which  hy  before  the  .rniie.  of 

tJ^  *«»«xl  P^  ot  the  problem  they  had  to  deal  with  wai 
.  »'^u?^  *^?'^  *!"  "'°"'  """therly  «pur>  of  the  Alpi, 
?h.  AI«^L*?k"^  .'*"  ,^S2"-  "hich  intervened  betwJS 
il^iS^  K  the  Ita  i«n»  were  flxed.  The  Cano  i.  well 
•r^^  ^  n"  f""""  *"*"  '"  '*»•  following  temii!- 
Laltoplano  Canico  .  .  *  noto  come  un  vasto  pianoro 
•aiioio,  perfettamente  arido.  wtto  da  buche  e  (iveme, 
qua  e  It  ncoperto  da  fltte  boacaRlie  tutte  lenia  nome  j  pove^ 

Bli  abiUnti.     In  addition  to  these  natural  diiadvantage!.. 

entrenchment.,  and  riddled  with  faitnesiet  in   the  shape 

of  cave,  and  'dohne*  which  had  long  and  carefully  been 

converted  into  hidden  strongholds  and  concealed  fortification.. 

In  the  autumn  of  IBie  vast  preparations  were  being  made 

-h-!'^r?"'""&'«""/*u*''^"*  P'*"*'-  There  were  many  day. 
when  the  surface  of  the  Und  was  entirely  hidden  by  trail., 
maMe.,  and  thigment.  of  mist  from  the  Alp.,  which  them- 
selve.  were  concealed  by  slabs  and  Ubies  of  cloud  and  piled- 
up  heap,  of  white  vapour  descending  on  the  low-_r  ground 
airf  keepmg  all  things  soaking,  when  rain  storms  beginning 
without  warning  ended  m  heavy  dadies  of  water  and  si^denly 
pass^  over;  but  whenever  «  rtray  glimpK  of  sunshini 
br.  e  through,  it  revealed  the  whole  country,  bom  Udine 
to  the  IsoMo,  converted  into  a  great  camp,  wherein  flve-and- 
twenty  soldiers  were  met  with  for  one  civilian  man,  woman, 
or  child,  and  studded  with  huge  dep.rts  of  fodder  and  oD-r 
stores,  with  rows  on  rows  of  magazines  of  provis-ons  and 
material,  of  the  army  service  corps,  and  lines  in  endless 
T™^  u^l^  ""?,  picketed  horses,   while   behind   each 

eminence  which  eou'd  be  hidden  ftom  the  enemy  were  the 
groups  of  tent,  of  the  vedettes  with  picturesque  Uttle  patrol 
shelters  peeping  through  the  brushwood,  and  in  all  available 
spots  the  wooden  and  other  barracks  of  the  soWicrs 
.  u  ^  it  popularly  supposed  to  be  a  land  of  sunny  skies, 
where  the  flower  of  the  orange  blows,  and  fireflies  dance 
through  the  myrtle  boughs,'  but  in  that  part  where  the  cam- 
paign was  going  on  it  surpassed  in  cold,  rain,  fog,  and  mud 
anything  that  ig  uinial  in  the  so-called  sunless  England, 
and  the  weather  m  which  the  Italians  had  to  press  their 
struggle  with  Auctra  was  simply  atrocious.  Amid  snow, 
deluges  of  ram,  thunder  and  lightning,  the  sufferings  of  their 


i 


I] 


284    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMP^^IGNS 

troops  were  great,  inducing  pneiunonias,  frost-bites,  gangrene 
of  the  feet,  and  every  species  of  discomfort.  Yet  they  still 
continued  pressing  the  enemy  whenever  it  was  possible. 
The  elements,  however,  seemed  to  be  against  them,  for  they 
had  no  sooner  planned  and  entered  upon  an  advance,  than 
the  tempestuous  days  and  nights  frustrated  and  put  an  end 
to  their  efforts.  Their  artillery  would  blaze  up,  the  small 
arms  rattle,  the  ambulances  be  busy  bringing  us  the  wounded 
into  the  wards  whence  we  had  been  instructed  to  evacuate 
all  possible  cases  so  as  to  leave  room  for  the  anticipated  losses, 
but  the  elements  were  usually  too  much  antagonistic,  and 
the  attacks  had  to  fade  out  and  die  away  for  the  time.  Only 
the  determination  to  conquer  held  doggedly  out.  Bombard- 
ment was  commenced  nearly  every  day,  but  generally  had 
to  be  broken  off  for  the  mist,  discontinued  for  a  time,  and  the 
troops  drawn  back,  considerable  losses  being  sustained  in 
doing  so.  Again  the  mist  would  perhaps  clear  and  the  guns 
would  speak  out  furiously.  I  counted  the  number  of  cannon 
shots,  on  an  average  4820  per  hour,  many  being  from  such 
heavy  artillery  as  to  make  our  house  shake.  I  filled  a  tumbler 
with  water,  placed  it  on  a  chair,  threw  the  electric  light  on 
its  surface,  and  watched  every  heavy  gun's  discharge  shake 
the  water  and  cause  it  to  quiver,  and  of  such  shots  I  counted 
840  in  the  hour,  while  the  smaller  guns  failed  to  agitate  the 
surface.  Hours  of  such  bombardment  were  followed  by  the 
infantry  attack,  but  always  again  the  mist  seemed  to  come 
down  so  dense  that  objects  a  hundred  yards  off  were  in- 
visible, and  the  fight  collapsed.  The  wounded  came  streaming 
back  into  the  hospitals;  in  batches  up  to  800,  Austrian 
prisoners  were  henled  along  the  roads ;  and  the  Italian 
losses  were  admittedly  heavy.  They  sometimes  lost  a  couple 
of  brigades,  say  6000  men,  at  a  time.  The  territory  gained 
was  then  consolidated,  and  a  fresh  opportunity  awaited. 

The  spectacle  of  the  bombardments  was  magnificent  at 
night.  In  the  foreground  the  camions  dashed  along  the 
roads ;  and  beyond,  the  horizon  on  the  crests  of  the  hills 
was  lit  up  by  the  sparkle  of  the  exploding  shells  which  threw 
up  fountains  of  earth  and  rocks  h^h  into  the  air  ;  the  more 
prolonged  glitter  of  the  star-shells  and  the  searchlights, 
which  at  one  time  looked  like  a  rising  moon,  at  another 
showed  as  a  broad  band  of  illumination,  white  as  an  aurora 
borealis  or  tinted  like  the  early  streaks  of  a  summer's  dawn  ; 
the  sky  fringing  the  hills  steadily  glowing  with  the  flashes  of 
the  lesser  guns,  too  rapid  to  be  counted,  but  so  clear  that  the 
belts  of  leafless  trees  stood  distinct  against  them  now  per- 
fectly plain,  now  fading  somewhat.    When  the  greater  guns 


ITALY 


28s 


rS;<,*''w?^'"'  '?'^"8  "P  '*«  *»>«  effects  of  summer 
I^Mnmg,  but  the  regularity  and  rhythm  neoativ«1  tH^i^ 

tatsr^^i^T  The  lig^t  from  Swr^'^^l^s 

i^i  A    .^  ^^^^^  °f  the  night  one's  watch  ^^ImI 
and  the  hour  could  atoiost  be  read,  and  whm  th^Jlw 

7^  ^^r  *^  't^:T'^  for  fortT  del«?s  uj  into  X* 

a^  the^^^sh^teCrpie'^  ^ZVt^.  X'^ 

tne  front  of  the  houses  and  the  window  panes  caused  ever^ 
thmg  to  quiver  as  .f  they  had  been  strudk  by  h^Tv  ZVL 
Byron's  expression, '  As  if  the  clouds  its  echoes  w^Wrr,!!?; 
suggested  itself,  for  indeed  the  clouds  musT^^ve^vtSd 
the  echoes  smce  each  great  gun  made,  not  a  ^h"r  ^^ 
as  when  one  is  close  to  it.but  a  long  roar  which  co^  be  J^S 
to  last  for  two  or  even  three  belts  of  the  puk^     Th^^^ 

^d\ttrr.piU"'*^  ""='*''"^"*  '^'  *^  ''^^^ 

t"S  Cbs'"'•,''"^^  "^^  °^  prison'^r^me  d^gS 
itolL  T»   K      "*.  *'''  ""'^''  "'^^y^  '^e"  treated.  for^"f 

^^e  c'^^crsesi  o«r;r  foi^^^r^hirhr 

ald°Li!  """*%,""'  ^y  ^"^  "'«»•*  "'""tless  wago^S^s  S 
and  carts,  as  well  as  convoys  of  forage  on  mule-back  or  dmv^ 
with  huge  casks  of  wine,  crowded  the  roar^ith  sup^i^f^r 
Td  the  W^n""^  "r '*'^"''  ^<"  *«= «""««-  and  rTflemen 

•J,  n^r.,  ,,  ^'^^  *^^  prisoners  were  well  treated.  I  never 
saw  any  harshness  or  trace  of  cruelty  on  the  oart  of  thp  ™«^ 

to  t%r  "'•*'!!  '"P""^"'  ^  <^-^  many  of  Pfaom  ApearS 

thri|tl^^^et-rtKt.r„  oLts  rv^ri-- 

of  bi^gmg  or  undue  elation.  We  all  quickly  le^ed  ?^ 
respect  the  Italians,  both  officers  and  men  tL  aHhtu^h 
they  were  well  aware  of  the  formidable  undSkiM  thit 
lay  before  them,   showed   themselves   calmly  rS^^f,  a  °d 


i:i 


I 


i 


386    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

quietly  and  steadily  made  ready  to  deal  ever  heavier 
blows. 

As  there  were  days  and  weeks  of  heavy  engagements 
which  did  not  seem  to  lead  to  much,  and  then  intervals  of 
quiet  when  nothing  could  be  done ;  so  there  were  periods 
of  much  surgery  and  crowded  wards  alternating  with  times 
when  they  were  almost  empty  and  our  patients  were  reduced 
in  number  from  a  hundred  or  two  to  ten  or  twelve. 

In  this  fashion  the  winter  months  passed  over.  During 
them  the  strategy  of  Cadoma's  armies  was  to  push  chiefly 
by  way  of  the  Carso  towards  the  coveted  Trieste,  attacking 
with  vast  expenditure  of  ammunition,  gaining  ground  and 
consolidating  themselves  on  it,  and  after  these  fierce  spells 
of  bombardment  and  onset,  resting  and  preparing  for  a 
suitable  moment  for  the  culminating  offensive  which  was 
always  expected  and  talked  of  and  as  constantly  deferred, 
though  not  abandoned,  while  from  the  orders  which  were 
issued  that  none  of  the  Italian  staff  was  to  have  holidays 
or  leave,  it  was  evident  that  tic  storm  was  expected  moment- 
arily to  break. 

But  whether  matters  had  the  appearance  of  being  stagnant 
or  the  reverse,  no  one  could  possibly  mistake  that  Italy  was 
preparing  always  more  strenuously,  converting  her  factories 
into  mimition  works,  and  utilising  all  her  resources  to  the 
utmost  and  in  the  best  and  most  economical  way  ;  looking 
sedulously  after  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  her  armies, 
even  to  providing  them  with  occupations  and  relaxations, 
and  interesting  their  hours  of  rest  by  open-air  concerts  and 
the  like,  and  especially  by  preparing  new  roads  for  the  strain 
about  to  come,  and  repairing  the  wear  and  tear  the  old  ones 
had  imdergone.  The  manner  in  which  the  roads  were  planned, 
laid  down  anew,  widened  and  graded  and  kept  in  the  finest 
Older,  was  the  admiration  of  all  who  visited  the  zone  of  war. 
No  time  was  wasted,  nothing  was  overlooked,  nothing  left 
undone,  and  none  of  us  who  were  in  Italy  that  year  failed  to 
acquire  a  respect  for  our  Allies  of  the  Italian  Peninsula. 

At  one  time,  about  the  beginning  of  November,  we  thought 
that  this  great  off ensive  which  was  being  prepared  for  had  come . 
They  had  piled  up  power  of  all  kinds,  men  and  munitions, 
behind  the  lines  they  had  laboriously  won  with  so  much 
bravery  in  the  Austrian  territory,  and  the  accumulation 
had  gone  on  steadily  and  persistently  all  along  the  Isonzo 
River  and  round  Goritzia,  till  at  length  it  burst  on  the 
Austrian  lines  and  overwhelmed  them  in  a  hurricane  of 
shell-fiie,  in  masses  tremendous  and  unceasing,  that  pounded 
the  strongest  fortifications  on  the  rocky  exposed  Carso  into 


ITALY 


287 


LXII 

Oim  iTauAN  Patients 
It  wUl  be  evident  that  these  nreat  tntlte.    .«a  h. 

e  wments  continually  going  ^L  ^"u's  the  f^  ,  '^Z 
gangrenes,  trench  feet,  and  diseases  occurring  amon^  soirfi,« 

terTir'*"!  *"'"''  *»  P'-^''  outsMe  t~^ote  for' 
D^enL^  ■"*?*  °'  r™*"'''  ^'''^^^  &»M  the  army  C^r 
^tients  were  of  all  classes,  from  privates  to  office™  of  hiah 

mto  Bntish  ways  ;  our  women  nurses  were  hugel/a^precl^tej 


i  'I 


:4I 


1    lit 


m 


388    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

by  them,  and  theirs  was  an  influence  which  will  have  left  a 
lasting  impression  and  may  result  in  helping  to  modify  the 
practice  of  nursing  in  the  Italian  Military  Hospitals  of  the 
future.  To  bring  about  such  a  result  as  this  was  the  great 
object  which  our  principal  medical  officer  had  set  before  him- 
self in  instituting  the  hospital  part  of  our  unit,  while  all  of 
us  who  served  under  him  earnestly  shared  his  anticipations 
and  hopes  and  loyally  did  our  best  to  further  his  views. 

One  thing  was  very  plain,  namely,  that  those  officers  of 
high  rank  in  the  Italian  Army  who  visited  or  officially  inspected 
us  greatly  approved  of  and  admired  our  system  of  woman 
nursing,  and  many  favoiuttble  comments  were  made  and 
written  concerning  us,  by  every  one  who  knew  anything  of 
hospitals  and  the  management  of  sick  and  wounded.  A 
book  was  kept  in  which  visitors  and  inspectors  entered  their 
remarks  and  criticisms ;  it  gave  eloquent  testimony  to  the 
good  work  we  were  doing,  and  it  is  a  subject  of  very  great 
regret  that  this  mass  of  appreciative  verdicts  was  afterwards 
lost  in  the  debacle  which  ensued  on  the  great  Austrian  advance 
in  November  1917. 

So  high  did  our  reputation  stand  that  persons  unconnected 
with  the  army,  even  those  in  high  positions,  chose  to  avail 
themselves  of  our  services,  and  openly  expressed  their  grati- 
tude and  appreciation.  It  even  came  in  time  to  be  a  not 
unusual  thing  for  injured  men  and  officers  to  be  brought  or 
sent  to  us  by  the  Italian  army  medical  officers  belonging  to 
other  hospitals  for  consultation  or  treatment  in  difficult 
and  obscure  cases,  and  the  results  were  pleasing  to  both 
sides. 

The  Italian  soldiers  were  a  fine  class  of  men,  strong,  well 
made,  and  mature,  mostly  of  the  age  of  twenty-flve  to  thirty- 
five,  and  they  made  admirable  patients.  Their  manners 
were  better  than  those  of  a  similar  class  in  our  own  country, 
and  their  docility  and  patient  endurance  commanded  our 
respect.  At  all  times  they  were  grateful  and  appreciative, 
and  one  felt  that  under  the  roughest  externals  most  of  the  men 
were  of  lovable  character  and  attractive  dispositions.  The 
Italian  peasant  soldier  is  innately  a  gentleman. 

Of  the  officers — ^and  we  had  many  of  them  as  patients — I 
cannot  write  too  highly.  Their  courtesy  was  a  thing  to  be 
admired,  and  tmder  their  external  polish  thire  also  lay  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  true  gentlemen. 

Most  of  the  wounds  we  haJ  to  treat  were  from  shell  and 
grenades,  and  multiple  and  dangerous  many  of  them  were ; 
the  minority  were  fiim  shrapnel  and  rifle  bullets  ;  and  there 
was  not  a  single  case  of  bayonet  wound  among  those  which 


ITALY 


389 


came  under  my  own  personal  observaUon.  But  there  was 
aJso  much  disease,  typhoid  fever,  dysentery,  abdominal 
troubles,  rheumatism,  and  so  forth.         '  ■"  "' 

There  were  some  curious  names  among  the  Italian  soldiers  : 
Napoleone.  Marco  Polo,  Ferrara,  and  Orlando  had  a  historical 
Kiund ;  some  smacked  of  literature,  as  Naso,  Caracco,  and 
ralestnni  j  others  of  natural  objects,  as  Cannone,  Palafitto, 
Ucata,  Persico,  and  Pozzo ;  there  were  names  that  sounded 
S!?  •  n".ff'^°"''  "'  P»P*'  Angelantonio,  Mirandolo, 
Pnncigalh,  jUlegrmi,  Fratepietro,  Cerini,  and  Magogo;  while 
°"J2  ?"*^^  "•***  "^^^  *  Germanic  surname,  MuUeri 

Mahngermg  was  not  unknown  among  the  privates,  thoueh 
It  was  rare.     It  could  not  be  said  that  they  whined,  but 
certamly  m  not  a  few  instances  they  made  much  of  their 
slight  pams  and  discomforts  when  they  came  {torn  the  field 
into  hospital ;   perhaps  unconsciously  the  poor  fellows  were 
glad  to  make  themselves  out  unfit  to  return  to  the  fleht 
More  childlike  than  our  men,  there  were  fewer  among  them' 
of  the  ftitish  type,  eager  and  unafraid  to  go  back  to  serve. 
JUiunently  brave  in  action  when  well  led  and  confident  in 
tfiett  commanders,  their  courage  was  of  a  different  kind— 
not  so  spontaneous  and  exuberant  as  that  of  the  British 
in  the  matter  of  maUngering  there  seemed  to  be  a  species  of 
treemasonry  ;   they  possessed  a  knowledge  of  various  plants 
such  as  the  Spurges  (Euphorbias),  of  which  they  applied  or 
injected  the  juices  so  as  to  cause  inflammation  and  disease 
in  additior  to  this,  they  probably  had  other  plans  for  pro- 
ducmg  artificial  illness.    Several  times,  when  I  had  to  take 

charge  of  the  medical  wards  in  the  absence  of  Dr   B a 

number  of  mysterious  ilhiesses  broke  out  in  such  a  fashion 
that  I  had  to  suspect  some  deception  of  the  kind,  and  the 
unexpected  patience  with  which  they  submitted  unmurmur- 
mgly  to  strong  and  unpleasant  treatment  rather  confirmed 
the  suspicion.    In  the  case  of  the  surgical  diseases  the  con- 
fessions which  the  cappellano  managed  to  extract  completed 
the  proof,  but  I  never  quite  fathomed  the  means  used  or  its 
mode  of  application.    In  the  Italian  army  such  simulation 
IS,  I  believe,  punished  with  a  few  years  of  penal  senritude 
though  It  IS  deferred  until  the  termination  of  the  war. 
•    ^"^  °^  *^  convoys  of  cars  bringing  our  patients  arrived 
m  the  dark  hours.    This  was  to  spare  the  patients  from  the 
shellmg  and  bombing  by  aircraft.     It  was  hard  upon  the 
drivers,  especially  when  there  was  no  moon,  and  the  darkness 
ahnost  pitch-like,  for  no  lights  were  permitted  on  the  roads  • 
and  under  these  conditions  the  eyes  lost  the  power  of  dis- 
cnmmating  distances  and  avoiding  obstacles,  as  the  aecom- 


m 

j  ■ 


n 


hM 


390    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

modating  muscles  of  the  eyes  hod  no  standard  by  which  to 
judge,  everything  appea'.ing  equally  indistinct  and  equally 
distant.  The  polarisation,  moreover,  of  such  light  as  passed 
through  the  glass  of  the  wind -screens  increased  the  obscurity, 
and  the  strain  of  endeavouring  to  avoid  collisions  told  on  the 
nerves,  and  led  to  big  smashes  or  Ting.  Even  by  day  the 
ambulance  driver's  work  was  sometimes  no  light  one ;  they 
had  to  bring  their  freights  of  wounded,  during  the  winter 
months,  through  veils  of  fine  driving  snow  which  penetrated 
every  cranny  and  article  of  clothing  and  powdered  every 
surface,  over  expanses  of  sncwy  roads  and  fields,  with  bending 
trees  bowing  before  the  violence  of  the  hurricane,  which 
would  last  sometimes  for  twelve  hours  at  a  stretch  and 
scourged  all  living  things  from  the  open  into  shelter.  Those 
were  days  when  up  in  the  Alps  the  conditic!;s  were  far  worse 
than  down  in  the  plains ;  when  the  soldiers,  clad  in  white 
cloaks  so  as  to  be  less  conspicuous,  were  living  and  fighting 
in  snow  which  in  some  places  was  thirty  metres  deep  or  more, 
where  they  had  to  abandon  their  buried  fortifications,  dig 
tunnels  and  trenches  and  gun  emplacements  in  the  surface 
of  the  hardening  snow,  which  sometimes  overwhelmed  them 
in  avalanches,  or  froze  them  to  death,  and  furnished  us  with 
relays  of  sufferers  from  frost  gangrene  resulting  in  loss  of  a 
portion  of  a  limb. 

It  was  a  not  unconunon  event  for  us,  in  pursuance  of  orders, 
to  have  to  evacuate  the  patients  in  our  wards  until  perhaps 
only  three  I'memovable  cases  remained,  and  in  a  couple  of 
days  later  two  or  three  hundred  would  be  sent  in,  so  that  all 
our  beds  were  again  filled  with  privates  and  officers,  and  the 
sheds  and  outside  shelters,  spread  with  mattresses  filed  with 
wheat  straw,  were  employed  for  the  lighter  cases.  Even  our 
men's  barracks  were  requisitioned,  while  such  as  could  walk 
and  go  farther  were  given  rest  and  refteshment  on  tables 
and  trestles  under  some  cover  or  under  the  trees  if  the  hour 
and  weather  made  such  a  resource  possible,  till  they  were  able 
to  proceed  to  their  destination.  Regulations  were  thrown 
aside  for  the  time  under  such  circumstances. 

Whenever  the  three  whistles  that  signalled  the  arrival  of 
a  convoy  of  wounded  soundr^d  through  the  hospital,  every 
man  and  woman  who  was  on  duty  rushed  to  his  place ;  down- 
stairs came  the  orderly  officer  of  the  day,  a  duty  which  we 
alternately  took ;  the  patients  allotted  to  our  hospital  were 
sifted  out,  their  papers  and  injuries  verified,  and  their  des- 
tined wards  signified.  Each  patient  was  borne  into  the 
warmed  hall,  the  nurses  clustend  round  him,  his  soiled  and 
torn  clothing  was  gently  removed  and  clean  warm   linen 


ITALY  „, 

W  ~?.l!^.'"'*"i"*?'.-  ^.  "••  "™«J  tato  «  comfortable 
w^;hh.i^     •i'^'^lf*'"*'  *°  counteract  the  shock  from 

^f  hU  h^^'°"  ,°'  !i""-*«t^""»  serum-if  there  weri  dSubt 
of  his  having  already  received  it  at  the  dressing  station- 
and  It  waa  repeated  at  the  end  of  the  week.    After  »me  hours 

»^'^  ''".""i"  "^'^  examined,  the  dressings  removed  and 
renewed,  and  the  proper  treatment  decided  upon.  After 
his  case  had  been  recorded,  he  was  in  all  save  Vxceptional 
instances  brought  to  the  radiography  toon  <,  and^thn^t 

anydelaytheconditionofbonesaKreignbodiesasceSiineS 
It  was  a  good  thmg  to  see  the  collapsed  men  blossom  int<; 
new  life  and  spmts  under  the  cares  thev  received 

Asaruleourpatientswerebathedandsponged;  anddressed 
daily,  or  twice,  or  even  three  times  a  d^.  When  naU^ 
as  sometimes  happened,  came  to  the  Villa  TWo  &^ 
Itahan  hospital,  an  event  that  even  befeU  some  of  our  o^ 
countrymen,  they  compared  the  comfort  of  such  attendance 
as  our  nurses  surrounded  them  with,  with  that  of  the  other 

evZ^iji^"  *•"•"  rT**"  "^"^  8""'"'"y  ""ended  to 

eveiy  third  day,  owing  to  the  want  of  capable  women  nurses 

One  must  wedit  our  orderUes,  stretcher-bearers,  and  nurses 

i"  theV^lK*^''  °'/Ji"  "*  '""^  "^^P^'°"  °^  *^«  "°"^"S 
r.    if     t1  ■     J^v'  ^"^  *'  ''"y  ">  '''''*  they  handled  them 

^\^Z-        ^''    '"/''L.^'  **"y  """"^  »"y  manifestation 
of  suflermg  or  even  fretfulness  among  the  brave  fellows  who 
were  admitted,  it  might  have  been  a  flrst-aid^SiSas  an 
exhibition  to  the  public.    All  was  so  tenderly  donTthlt  iS 
%JJ^    a'^  i^f,  "Jt'T'^'^s  °"e  <»"M  waUc  through  the 
7h^Jr^  ^"^.t"  ^'^  ^^y  ''°"»''«'  "^leeP  with  every 
^Oitrml^r.'"''  ""'  ''"^'^«  "'"■^«»  -  *'  --t 
Owing  to  the  anti-tetanic  injections,  ^hich  in  the  Italian 
army  were  compulsory    we  had  only  one  case  of  lockjaw 
that  I  can  recall,  and  so  beneficial  were  they  found  to  be  that 
an  injection  was  made  as  a  preliminary  to  every  operation 
un^r  the  mstructions  of  the  Italian  military  mSical  TuZ'- 

..^Z^^^  the  Villa  Trento  also  an  out-patient  department 
wh«^  unattached  soldiers,  and  indeed  all  who  hadTcIaim 
^Ji-  ?  m  '  "*"  "^"^y  ^"  ''"^  prescribed  for  by  the  Italian 
medical  officers  attached  to  us,  under  the  supervision  of  our 

SSrXt.'"^""    Oneoftheseofflcerswasanaccom- 


t     ill 


^i^ 


393    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

LXIII 

Thx  Suma*  Omvtm  or  1917 

DuBiNO  the  winter  of  lOie-17  matters  on  the  Italian  front 
dragged  somewhat  during  the  perpetual  mist,  rain,  cold,  and 
sticky  mud.  But  towards  the  end  of  February  the  evanescent 
Italian  spring  began  to  show  itself,  and  our  hopes  rose  with 
its  advent.  A  few  snowdrops  appeared  by  the  banks  of  the 
muddy  streams,  followed  in  quick  succession  by  purple  and 
white  crocuses,  green  hellebores,  and  primroses,  which  passed, 
all  except  the  primroses,  in  so  fleeting  a  procession  that  they 
were  seen  one  week  and  gone  the  next  in  their  rapid  and 
unsatisfactory  sequence.  There  is  no  abiding  satisfaction 
in  an  Italian  spring ;  it  hurries  so. 

About  the  same  time,  after  periods  of  long  silence,  during 
which  millions  of  shells  were  being  daily  sent  forwards,  and 
great  preparations  made,  the  guns  began  to  bark  once  more 
at  intervals,  and  a  detachment  from  the  myriads  of  cannon 
on  the  British  front  in  France,  consisting,  it  was  said,  of  forty 
heavy  pieces  and  British  gunners,  made  their  appearance, 
all  in  anticipation  of  a  fierce  attack  upon  the  Carso.  But  for 
a  long  time,  during  which  we  waited  alternately  hoping 
and  being  disappointed,  both  sides  faced  one  another,  strUung 
small  blows,  and  sparring  rather  than  fighting  went  on. 
The  mud  dried  and  returned,  and  when  April  came  we  got 
rather  despondent  amid  snowstorms  and  hurricanes  of  wind. 
The  hills  of  the  Carso  were  whitened  with  snow,  and  the  Alps 
were  permanently  and  entirely  covered  with  it.  Military 
operations  seemed  hardly  possible,  but  every  chance  was 
taken ;  the  guns  sometimes  boomeid  out,  and  rose  at  night 
into  a  perfect  inferno,  but  the  actions  were  short-lived ; 
though  occasionally  reaching  an  intensity  of  7620  ^hots  from 
the  great  artillery  per  hour,  they  died  down  towards  ten  at 
night.    The  end  of  that  month  found  us  still  despondent. 

When  May  came  in  the  activity  behind  the  front  became 
positively  delirious.  It  was  hardly  possible  to  sleep  of  nights 
for  the  passage  of  troops  in  the  dark,  the  rattling  and  whist- 
ling of  despatch  riders  on  their  motor  bicycles,  the  flapping 
of  the  caterpillar  cars,  the  grinding  of  armoured  turrets 
and  gun  carriages,  the  hooting  and  shrilling  of  the  lorries 
carrying  the  heavy  artillery  shells,  the  sirens  of  the  auto- 
mobiles, the  whistling  oi  the  railway  trains,  and  the  tread  of 
the  mule  convoys,  carts,  and  feet  of  the  soldiers,  while  their 
raucous  voices  were  mixed  all  night  long  with  the  whirring 
of  the  aeroplanes  and  the  explosions  of  the  bombs  which 


ITALY 


»93 


lll7,  dwppniB.    The  army  w.i  awakening  from  iu 

letharKr;  mtmuttion  reached  us  that  great  evenU  w<m 
»on  hkely  to  take  pUce.  and  our  commJSdant  wS  da^SJ 
about  amongst  his  stations  like  a  lightning  flash.    We  wm 

thing  with  the  forces  which  were  humming  all  around  us  • 
In^  Th-  Z"Z  '^•*"  ""*  •»»«<*«"'•  '""ting  only  for  the  word 
o^r  their  nU^"»'  Z"'  tPP'^n^'y  '""B^ing  at  us,  sendin,^ 
^^r  i^-^  "J"  ^"'^  ^""^  '*""d  »»  '"d  kill  a  few  me* 
M  Ti.?~  '  n*  *°  '"'"/  °»-  ''^«*  "  *e  days  slipped  away 
of  h^ZT^\^^,  °'  ^<f^^^  ""^  *-^'  rattling  offof  a  to 
rt.„*  'T'  if"  J*"^  forenoon  about  the  luncheon  hour,  and 
then  a  drop  back  m  the  afternoon  for  a  sort  of  siesta,  a,  if 
en«^es  were  exhausted.  There  seemed  to  be  something 
Z^'h.^/^L"";^"  *"',"?  <l"««t'on«l  their  neighbours  if  aU 
h»TJ^S  iLr'*''  G«"«™l«"mo  Cadoma,  whom  none  of  us 
had  seen  looking  after  things  in  this  quarter. 

"^Uo^set  seriously  to  work,  and  oft  and  on  continued  and 
th^^K  i'  '*?"  ."P°°  *'«'  Austrians  for  days,  keeping 
the  most  part  cut  ott  the  view  of  everything,  but  even  bv  dav- 

about  the  trenches  m  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Monte  Santo 
in  ft  II  °"^  ""i^  the  operations  on  the  less  elevated  Carso 
m  full  energy,  but  the  Italians  had  found  it  necessary™ 
f!^Z  ^,  T"«;heir  left  flank  of  the  Carso  advanST^u" 
mSL      ?^1f'^''«'  the  perilous  business  of  stomping  the 

wSr?H.f'''"'''L'"^"!"'  ^"*^'  """l  ^  commenced 
with  a  detemiined  attack  on  the  Monte  Santo.  We  soon 
discovered  this  from  the  streams  of  wounded  who^mH 
^n^  i""^^  ""*•'  every  one  of  our  beds  was  full.  Shell 
and  buUet  wounds  almost  exclusively  ;  not  at  close  grips  as 
«t  (iv A' *l  u  °  "'^u'' '"  ""*  "°"''"8  a  convoy  would  cSmVin  ; 
t^JJ'  i  ""fu*"*^ '  "*  *•*<* "  *•'•"'  ••  «"<J  the  day  brought 
Lw^  ^iT  =  1^7  S'^P"^  *••«  «=«?*"«  of  the  top  of  the 
"y  th^enem  """^  ■"  '^^  *"'  '*"'  ™*''  *°  ^  ~""P'«J 

commJX'^  ''^'''''*  *''**  **  ^*"*  °*'""^'  ""*  »*  J^^t 
fij^^-  "*°"*^£^"tP'   *'"'  '^'Rhest  of   the  hiUs  dominating 

&tb^tin„^n,,"i  '''^?-  *^'  "^y-  "8M  opposite  Monte 
1^  Th,^'ntS  'VT.  "  ^'«  *'°8  *°  '^v^  got  ^ssession  of 
rLJi  "  ,'""//'   *'•'  "'"*•'  °f  it,  called   Monte  San 

Gabrwle,  a  couple  of  hundred  feet  lower,  and  only  two  and  a 


"I  I 


394    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

half  miles  (torn  the  city,  had  been  atonned  >t  the  lame  time, 
but  the  Bssault  was  unsuccessful.  It  was  hoped,  however, 
that  the  superior  elevation  of  Monte  Santo  wouUl  enable  it 
to  command  the  latter  when  once  the  guns  had  been  estab- 
lished on  it. 

As  it  proved,  however,  this  was  not  all  the  success.  In 
the  afternoon  news  came  in  that  Monte  Kuk  (Cucco),  another 
8000  feet  mountain  six  and  a  half  miles  up  the  river,  and  which 
practically  dominated  its  middle  reaches  and  the  Temova 
plateau  behind  it,  had  fallen  into  our  hands.  The  casualties 
were  stated  as  having  been  quite  moderate,  a  thing  which 
seemed  almost  incredible  to  one  who  bad  seen  the  entrench- 
ments on  those  heights. 

Oiu*  jubilations  were  somewhat  premature,  however,  for 
indeed  the  capture  of  Monte  Santo  was  not  completed  until 
three  months  later,  so  enormously  strong  were  its  defences, 
and  so  bravely  was  it  held.  The  taking  of  Monte  Kuk,  how- 
ever, proved  to  be  of  great  importance  and  enabled  a  con- 
siderable extent  of  territory  farther  up  tiie  river  to  be  overrun. 

It  was  a  titanic  struggle  which  went  on  along  the  Isonzo 
and  on  the  Carso  day  after  day,  and  one  beyond  my  powers 
to  describe,  even  had  I  fully  witnessed  it.  There  was  a 
correspondent  to  the  Italian  Corriere  delta  Sera,  Luigi  Barzini, 
whose  pen  described  in  the  columns  of  that  newspaper  in 
the  most  lively  manner  the  scenes  which  occurred,  and  so 
well  did  his  sketches  portray  the  wild  contest  between  the  two 
contending  nations  that  they  would  well  repay  translation 
by  some  one. 

Nignt  and  day  the  advance  went  on  to  the  north  of  Goritzia 
in  the  Isonzo  defile,  where  the  Kuk,  Vodice,  and  Monte  Santo 
overhung  the  valley  and  river  the  Italians  had  to  cross,  and 
also  on  the  east  of  the  town  and  on  the  Carso  south  of  it. 
Again  and  again  our  allies,  slow  as  we  had  sometimes  thought 
them,  performed  wonders  of  bravery,  and  so  well  had  they 
foreseen  and  prepared  everything  that  they  were  able  to  dash 
forward  at  obstacles  that  seemed  insuperable,  against  heavy 
odds  and  vast  preparations,  to  scale  the  Austrian  heights, 
capture  positions  and  peaks  one  after  another,  take  prisoners 
in  batches  of  12,000  at  a  time,  and  daily  appear  to  be  resist- 
lessly  going  on  in  one  direction  or  another,  but  especially 
on  the  Carso,  towards  the  coveted  Trieste.  It  was  a  sur- 
passing triumph,  and  they  were  right  generous  in  acknowledg- 
mg  the  assistance  that  had  been  rendered  by  the  2000  British 
and  their  forty  howii.  ■«.  We  never  thought  more  of  the 
Italians  than  in  their  hour  of  triumph. 

As  the  Austrians  fell  back  nearly  everywhere,  though  not 


ITALY 


»95 


SS^l^^i.  drtemuned  retuUnoe,  they  did  not  f.il  to 
better  wone  than  ever  the  city  of  Goritiia,  hudly  •  rood  of 
ground  ..caping  their  .hell,  .'nd  .hrapnel.  One  of  olHin 
while  di«!h«rgmg  It.  ambubnce  duty  wa.  de.troyed,  for- 
tunately  with  no  injury  to  our  men,  and  the  garden  of  our 

^"bS"  '"         *°*"  ""''"*'  '  """^'y  '"PP'y  °'  •^*"» 
Such  effort,  could  not  be  long  sustained,  and  won  on  both 
side,  there  were  indications  that  ammunition  for  the  bis 
guns  had  to  be  conserved,  so  that  there  ensued  periods  of 
wmpwative  quiet,  alternating  with  other,  of  activity,  and 
these  went  on  for  the  first  half  of  the  summer,  during  which 
Austrian  ampjanes  showed  considerable  enterprise,  particu- 
^1»    Ji*    ;J"  ^'^^^  the  pUces  about,  and  destroying, 
among  other  things,  a  fine  muwum  of  antiquities  at  Cividale. 
We  assumed  that  a  cause-and  there  may  have  been  others 
-of  the  sUckening  off  of  the  May  offensive,  which  had  at 
first  proir.;sed  to  overwhehn  the  Austrian.,  was  the  difficulty 
of  maintammg  the  immense  supplies  of  ammunition  for  the 
great    guns    which    its    tactics    involved.     Vet    strenuous 
efTorts  were  being  made  to  push  on,  and  the  advance  was 
contmued.  partly  m  the  riainsitz«  Plateau  behind  the  Monte 
si  r  K    y    u  .""f"'  sti^nely  against  Monte  Santo  and 
San  Gabnele,  but  most  of  all  in  the  Carso  in  the  direction  of 
ineste.    All  the  same,  to  an  onlooker  it  was  evident  that, 
m  spite  of  many  spurts,  the  strength  of  the  propulsion  was 
dymg   out   notwithstandmg   the  desperate   valour  of  the 
assaultmg  soldiers,  and  the  conclusion  was  that  there  was  a 
want  m  the  supplies  to  the  artillery.    Gradually  '  September 
activities   began  to  be  spoken  of,  and  the  probabilities  settled 
down  to  some  great  preparation  being  made  for  striking  a 
crownmg  blow  towards  that  time.    More  gigantic  prepara- 
tions  than  ever  were  seen  to  be  going  on  week  after  week, 
more  mtense  accumulations  of  men  and  munitions  became 
visible,  the  whole  Und  was  an  ant-hill  of  military  energy, 
and  there  was  hardly  a  field  which  did  not  contain  crowds 
or  mfentry,  horses,  encampments,  huts,  stores,  and  guns. 
And  the  war  correspondents,  those  sure  precursors  of  events 
began  to  drop  from  the  skies  into  our  Villa  to  be  fed  and 

refreshed,  the  gmnt  M-C .  Mr.  H ,  and  even  ladies 

of  the  same  calling,  enlivened  us  by  their  presence,  their 
hmts  pf  thmgs  about  to  happen,  and  tales  of  what  was  being 
done  m  the  United  States  and  elsewhere  to  help  on  the  war 
fleets  of  aeroplanes,  in  such  numbers  as  we  had  not  hitherto 
seen,  began  to  appear  on  our  side,  great  aerodromes  and  vast 
hangars  for  larger  aircraft  were  put  up,  and  as  our  Villa  lay 


M 


296    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 


the: 


!  and  the  ( 


I  they  wiled 


directly  i 

over  ui  at  all  hour* ;  thoie  going  into  aotion  dying  high,  with 
■  gentle  miuioal  hum,  glittering  like  (Urcr  diurafliet  when 
the  lun  fell  on  their  poUihed  sur&oe*,  floating  In  oompaniea 
maiettically  high  above  the  clouds  till  they  dwindled  m  liae 
and  diiappeared  at  they  reached  the  fight ;  thoee  returning 
fipom  it  flying  lower,  showing  the  green,  white,  and  red  Italian 
colours  on  the  wings  and  body,  and  passing  overhead  with  a 
deep  groaning  wavering  purr  as  if  in  agony  to  get  home  for 
further  supplies  of  Aiel  and  ammunition.  By  August  these 
aerial  monsters  became  so  numerous  that  their  noise  was  so 
loud  and  constant  as  to  interfere  with  the  proper  stetho- 
scopic  examinations  of  our  patients'  chests  and  the  dick  of 
the  telephone  probes  when  exploring  for  bullets.  Their 
clamour  was  constant,  and  so  loud  as  to  resemble  somewhat 
the  deep  bass  notes  of  a  great  organ  ;  it  filled  the  land  with 
its  wailmg  quivering  roars,  disputing  for  pre-eminence  with 
the  sounds  of  the  passing  motors  and  motor-tiansport 
machines.  The  country  indeed  revcberated  with  the  sounds 
of  war,  and  the  great  guns  punctiuted  the  seconds  with  their 
reports.  Day  after  day  this  went  on  in  the  hot  August  days, 
while  we,  stripped  to  shirt  and  trousers,  continued  our  work 
among  the  wounded,  soothing  the  shell-shattered  forms, 
arranging  ease  to  the  broken  limbs,  and  anxiously  watching 
the  joints  which  had  been  perforated  by  rifle  bullets  or  firag- 
ments  of  shell,  for  evil  symptoms  to  arise.  It  was  warm 
and  anxious  work  in  the  middle  and  end  of  that  month,  but 
a  joy  to  be  able  to  do  so  great  things  for  those  who:n  *':•  war 
had  mutilated  and  lacerated. 

Report  said  that  the  enemy  was  burning  their  stores  on 
the  Bainsitza  and  Temova  Plateaux,  and  falling  back,  and 
this  was  corroborated  by  the  news  that  some  of  their  Red 
Cross  nurses,  whom  they  had  not  found  time  to  withdraw, 
had  fallen  into  our  hands.  But  for  this  I  cannot  vouch, 
and  I  never  learned  whether  it  were  true  or  not. 

On  the  29th  of  August  the  noise  of  immense  guns,  of  a 
calibre  we  had  never  before  heard,  broke  out.  One  might 
have  thought  the  sounds  due  to  explosions  of  ammunition 
magazines,  but  this  supposition  was  negatived  by  their 
rhythmical  regularity.  Alter  lasting  for  about  an  hour  there 
was  added  to  them  a  prolonged,  though  not  very  severe, 
thunderstorm  which  continued  without  intermission  until 
the  next  morning.  It  was  accompanied  by  a  fairly  heavy 
rainfiall  which,  as  the  weather  was  not  cold,  was  a  godsend 
to  the  troops  lying  out  on  the  tablelands,  and  especially  to 
the  wounded  there,  as  it  provided  them  with  some  water. 


ITALY 


»97 


Many  of  the  poor  fallowi  had  bMB  tnoMd  wouixlaii  far 

pound  Md  the  abMnce  of  ro«b.    Our  cMt  could  tod  OMMble 

totet  aod  boulden,  up  which  •  t,.r  oouU  be  taken  only  by 
tremendou.  efforU,  but  down  which  it  was  not  praetioabfe 

work  thercjcollected  the  wounded  in  wme  protects  hollow 
aoo  yards  from  the  fighting  line,  lifted  them  on  board  and 
conveyed  them  along  the  top  of  the  UblcUnd.  a.  fJrS^ibte 
They  wm  then  tomrferre/ to  .tretcher.  and  carri«l  ^^„i 
down  the  nde  of  the  mountain,  until  they  reached  a  place 

^^^o:;^.."*^  ""•  ■"•'  "y  "*»»'  «=-"«•  *—  oVS 

fnS  '''?™''y  r"  •"«**'»•'  by  the  lUlian.  in  armnging 
for  food  and  water  bemg  Uken  up  to  the  troopi  on  the  heK 

M  th'/  r^^fl^::!^  ""''  '"^^  mM?ellou.ly  to^^ 
fnLmt  "^'««"'t'e?-thfir    engmeers.  for  instance,  rapidly 

vaUey,  and  at  once  settmg  about  making  passable  roads, 
ine  actions  at  this  time  continued  unbroken  for  seveni 

The  appearances  at  night,  when  one  had  leisure  to  attend 
™i^Vr"'  ""^""Bettable.    From  the  Carsc  n„  the  south- 

this  str^tP^'f  *"*■"/"*  "^f"  «°^«  °"'  »"^  the  whole  of 

this  stretch  of  country  formed  a  wall  of  hUls,  humped  and 

tT,  ^-U'  /■.  f  h""""!.  black  against  the  light^  sky. 
nie  moon  at  its  full  shone  brightly  over  the  whole,  and  in 
the  now  cooler  night  the  hazy  mists  were  filling  up  the  valleys 
throwing  every  eminence  into  dark  relief.  Few  fixed  Ii«hts 
1!^  w  *?" '  """^  "  '*"  ^'"hle  appeared  to  be  signaUing 
posts,  but  It  was  remarkable  how  r^Sdy  the  ItalialTu^ 
light  signals  by  night  or  heliography  by  day :    irutead^ 

otherr^l  r^<'  °'  **"?"•  «°^--e^l  a  f^tHl^^  the 
other  wars  1  had  seen,  no  signaUing  at  all  was  visible  during 
the  day,  wWe  at  night  the  occasional  and  rather  rare  appear- 

fh,^  y.  •■'  I?  °'  f '^"  ^^^^  ^"^  ''"  that  caught  the  eyVas 
they  showed  up  for  a  few  seconds.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
hills  on  the  honzon  were  brilliant  with  the  starred  red  flashes 
of  the  burstmg  shells,  and  the  flames  of  the  guns  illumina^ 


I!  I      > 


298    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  skyline  over  a  complete  quarter  of  the  view,  particularly 
over  San  Gabriele. 

Still  the  contest  went  on.  Ten  days  passed,  twenty-four  days 
passed,  and  there  was  no  sign  of  its  coming  to  an  end .  By  that 
time  the  expenditure  of  ammunition  must  have  been  enormous. 
I  tried  to  form  an  estimate  of  it,  but  it  was  probably  quite  an 
erroneous  one.  I  reckoned  that  on  the  Carso  aloTte  the  heavy 
artillery — that  is,  the  great  guns  whose  explosions  could  be 
counted  above  the  rolling  of  the  smaller  pieces — were  on  the 
11th  of  September  firing  night  and  day  at  the  rate  of  48  shots 
per  minute,  which  would  amoimt  to  1,486,000  in  the  24 
days.  It  was  probably  an  under-esti.iiate.  Moreover,  it 
took  no  account  of  the  smaller  pieces,  nor  did  it  include  the 
battle  going  on  round  Goritzia  and  on  the  middle  Isonzo. 
The  surprise  at  the  stores  of  ammunution  which  must  have 
been  accumulated  was  followed  by  marvelling  how  long  it 
would  last  without  one  side  or  the  other  becoming  exhausted. 

So  strenuously  were  they  engaged,  on  our  side  at  least, 
tnat  we  could  get  few  accounts  of  how  the  fight  was  succeeding ; 
nobody  came  to  tell  us ;  only  the  woimded,  who  were  being 
brought  in  in  large  numbers,  could  say  anything,  and  their 
statements  were  usually  limited  to  telling  that  they  were 
wounded  on  such  a  day  and  hour,  and  at  such  a  place.  As 
a  rule  they  did  not  even  know  what  caused  their  wounds, 
whether  rifle  shot,  machine  gun,  shell,  grenade,  or  flying 
fhigments  of  rock. 

I  was  not  sorry  to  have  the  opportunity  of  seeing  what 
modem  war  was  like.  It  was  all  very  different  from  my 
former  experiences.  Up  to  that  time  there  had  been  no  harder 
fighting  anywhere  than  that  going  on  at  the  Italian  fhint, 
and  its  intensity  seemed  almost  incredible.  It  was  a  war  of 
desperadoes.  Hourly  the  mountains,  honeycombed  by  the 
Austrian  fortified  recesses,  were  being  pulverised  by  the 
enormous  showers  of  explosives  hurled  upon  them.  Hourly 
the  Italians  were  pressing  on.  Amid  huge  losses  on  both  sides 
they  poured  into  the  dens  where  the  enemy  were  still  con- 
cealed, and  there,  man  to  man,  they  drove  them  out  or  killed 
them,  or  were  killed  themselves.  Foot  by  foot  and  yard  by 
yard  the  ground  was  in  this  manner  being  won,  and  from  the 
Isonzo  to  the  sea  it  never  ceased  for  an  instant. 

The  Austrians  were  no  less  resolute  ;  their  bravest  picked 
regiments  of  Hungarians,  Croats,  etc.,  were  hurled  in  counter- 
attacks upon  the  pits,  galleries,  and  trenches  which  had 
been  won  by  our  side,  and  with  the  most  desperate  valour 
they  strove  to  retake  their  lost  positions. 

Few  troops  in  the  world  could  have  done  what  Italy  was 


ITALY 


a99 


^»™!  77'"  ^^"^  *'''  impossible.  They  were  gaming  a 
name  equal  to  any  before  won,  and  their  valour  was  matched 
by  their  chivalrous  kindness  to  the  captured  and  wounded 
fK.Ai,*"""^-  ^^^y  ""*  """^  ™°r«  proving  to  the  world 
Sly^m^"  """^^  '"''  ''"'^'  P"°P'''  "''°'"  ""'  ™""°*  *°° 

th^^L"']  *r-  ^^"""^  ^^^  '"'^*'**y  °^  'he  Italians.  In 
the  midst  of  theu-  great  ach-vements  I  did  not  hear  a  boast, 
nor  a  word  of  se^-app-:.,raiior>  or  self -laudation.    Neither 

t W  iZ^LT? It "''"'^r  ^ "  *'"''*  "*  "'"'■'  e^^'  t''°"«h  they  knew 
that  the  rest  of  the  worl.l  ^":,s  looking  m  and  admiring.    Their 

S^nF^^r  r?""*?*  Y''"'  P"^^  t '«  appreciations  in  the 
*^nch,  English,  and  oth..  pubi.^tions,  but  their  own  com- 

fiSw  T^^J^^u^  ^''*  ^'°'"  ''■•«ggi"g;  they  were  digni- 
fiedly  pleased  to  be  appreciated,  and  that  was  all.  These 
observations  were  not  mine  alone;  the  British,  Americans, 
and  others  who  visited  the  zone  of  war  noticed  and  admired 
the  same  thmgs,  and  all  admitted  that  those  only  who  had 
fX  ™i.r";f  ^  where  the  victories  were  being  gained  could 
fully  value  the  valour  the  victors  had  displayed. 

To  most  It  was  something  of  a  revelation  to  find  feats  of 
arms  bemg  done  daily  here  which  fully  paralleled  those  of 
the  heroes  of  Manchuria  and  Port  Arthur. 


If 


LXIV 

Italian  Dressing  Stations 

^""^1?^  "i"^  i^J^^y  ^  ^'^  "  8ood  many  opportunities, 
m  the  intervals  of  duty  at  the  Villa  Trento,  ofTsiting  the 

un&i?h*.^\™r.1  °^  """'  """^  observing  the  conditions 
under  which  the  battles  went  on  and  the  maiTner  in  which  the 
Italian  surgeons  dealt  with  the  wounded.  I  now  propose  to 
describe  some  of  those  visits  and  what  I  saw 

There  was  one  occasion  on  which  we  had  cleared  out  so 
many  of  those  patients  who  were  considered  able  to  be  evacu- 
w»*r,^'"'  fl°  }^^^  *••"*  ^^^  °""»^''  °f  ^'^^  "nder  my  care 
Zit^„"''T^  *™'u"f  ^  ^^  *••'  opportunity  to  nm  over  to 
Gorrtzia.    The  sun  had  set  before  we  left  the  hospital,  so  the 

ihh?  \T  T'^'  '"  ^^^  ^'^^^'  *1'°"8'»  "°t  in  the  dark,  for 
^i^^^^K  f^^.'^'f  °^"cast  the  moon  gave  sufficient  light 
behmd  the  clouds  for  us  to  see  our  way.  Lights  were  of 
course  not  permitted  lest  they  should  draw  the  Austrian  Arc 
When  we  arnved  at  Mosso  village  it  was  as  dark  as  it  was  going 
to  be  all  night,  and  it  was  surprising  to  notice  how  the  flashes 
from  the  cannon  not  only  lit  up,  as  if  they  had  been  lightning. 


m 


300    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  distant  hills  they  were  playing  upon,  the  Austrian  artillery 
beyond  the  horizon  bringing  out  marvellously  the  perspective 
of  each  mountain  and  peak,  but  also  illuminated  the  ghost-like 
ruins  of  the  villages  of  Mosso,  Lucinico,  and  Podgora  as  we 
passed  through  them.  All  round,  as  we  neared  the  city, 
across  the  Isonzo  towards  the  south  and  eastwards  in  front 
of  us,  the  star  shells,  rising  like  rosy  rockets,  changed  into  the 
brilliant  white  magnesium  light,  climbed  upwwls,  making 
all  beneath  visible,  curved  over,  and  fell  downwards,  dropping 
a  trail  of  red  sparks  as  they  came  towards  the  ground.  The 
batteries  at  the  foot  of  the  Podgora  Ridge  on  the  left  of  our 
road  were  firing  over  oui  heads  across  the  river,  and  were 
deafening,  but  hardly  more  so  than  those  across  the  river,  or 
even  than  the  Austrian  guns,  still  more  distant  in  our  front, 
from  San  Marco,  and  beyond  Goritzia,  for  their  muzzles, 
being  directed  towards  us,  gave  us  the  full  benefit  of  their 
noise.  The  tumult  was  immense.  The  ceaseless  march  of 
bodies  of  infantry,  the  convoys  of  stores,  and  especially  on 
this  occasion  the  trains  of  ambulances,  were  like  an  ever- 
fiowing  river,  as  we  wound  our  way  through  and  past  them, 
crossed  the  Isonzo  by  the  lower  bridge  on  which  alone  the 
forward  traffic  was  permitted,  and  drew  up  at  the  gate  of 
our  first  ambulance  station  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town, 
just  in  time  for  dinner.  But  there  was  no  time  to  dine,  for 
I  met  George  B going  out  in  his  car  to  post  his  ambu- 
lances for  the  night,  and  the  chance  of  accompanying  him  was 
too  fortunate  to  be  missed.  I  jumped  into  his  car,  and  we 
sped  away  in  the  dark  along  the  south  road  which  runs  parallel 
to  the  left  bank  of  the  river.  There  the  press  was  not  so  dense. 
Bows  of  soldiers  sitting  along  the  roads,  under  the  shelter 
of  walls  and  hedges,  waiting  the  orders  to  attack,  horses, 
pioneers,  and  tmgainly  tower-like  armoured  motor-cars, 
impeded  us  somewhat,  as  did  also  the  ammunition  carts  and 
provision  lorries,  which,  more  italiano,  were  usually  on  the 
wrong,  or  left  hand,  side  of  the  road. 

The  roaring  of  the  artillery,  much  of  which  came  from  the 
fields  which  we  were  ;>assing,  and  the  duller  thud  of  the 
bursting  shells,  became  continuous,  while  an  occasional 
bullet  would  sing  past,  and  it  was  strange  to  reflect  how  small 
a  loss  of  life  such  an  enormous  amount  of  firing  caused. 
But  the  din  was  deafening,  and  when  we  reached  Savogna 
dressing  station  we  were  in  the  middle  of  it.  The  star  shells, 
which  rose  on  every  side  except  behind,  went  straight  over- 
head high  into  the  air,  and  for  the  moment  made  objects 
almost  as  bright  as  by  day,  and  they  flew  upwards  every  few 
seconds. 


ITALY  3„, 

good   operation   table,   an   abundant   store  of  nnti  t  I 
irh^rl^'*'""'^'^  "'  medicines"^  tab kidl™  'aSl« 

^5^/a\-orKtel-^t  tlf  d^norC- 

:s^trH"--^'^^^ 

forw«^h^  had  a  good  operation  table.    The  sup^y  of  wate; 
OBve  Deen  otherwise  at  so  exposed  a  station   where  th,.  ^!. 
cupation  was  accidental  and  tempore^,  and  whfres^r^r 
Umes  the  pressure  of  work  was  so  ^tThat  theT^oXd" 


I 


30a    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

to  do  several  emergency  operations  in  such  haste  that  he  had 
to  dispense  with  the  use  or  aneesthetics. 

When  I  had  said  adieu  to  my  Italian  confrire  and  he  had 
accepted  the  gift  of  a  good  cigar,  we  returned  to  Goritzia 
by  a  short  cut  through  a  series  of  deserted  villages  and  southern 
suburbs  of  the  town.  I  cannot  now  remember  whether  the 
sky  had  cleared  as  we  rode  back,  or  whether  it  wis  the  star 
shells  that  lit  up  the  houses  which  we  passed,  but  I  recollect 
being  struck  by  the  way  in  which  those  houses  which  had 
been  abandoned  in  the  enemy's  flight  had  been  spared  by  the 
entering  Italians.  They  were  simply  closed  and  sealed  up, 
hardly  a  window  was  broken,  and  any  damage  that  was  done 
was  the  unavoidable  result  of  the  cannonade  during  the 
actions.  I  may  mention  too  that  this  care  of  enemy's  pro- 
perty was  the  same  everywhere  in  tfce  war  so  far  as  I  saw. 
There  was  no  looting  by  the  Italians ;  even  the  ruined 
factories  blown  down  by  shells  showed  all  the  machinery 
untouched  excepting  for  the  artillery  damage  and  that  caused 
by  exposure  to  the  elements.  Nothing  was  carried  away. 
In  the  houses  also  which  I  entered  the  furniture  of  the  former 
inmates  which  they  had  not  had  time  to  carry  off,  and  which 
was  often  piled  up  ready  to  have  been  removed,  some  of  it 
being  valuable,  was  always  left  intact,  and  never  were  there 
any  signs  of  wanton  damage.  The  ornamental  gardens  of 
the  residences  were  as  perfect  as  when  they  had  been  left, 
statues  and  fountains  were  uninjured,  and  in  the  case  of  the 
poor,  their  houses,  huts,  buildings,  petty  industries,  and  pos- 
sessions were  never  interfered  with  except  for  vilid  military 
reasons.  A  house  in  Goritzia  where  I  spent  the  night  was  an 
instance  of  the  same.  It  had  been  occupied  in  flats,  aban- 
doned, taken  possession  of  by  the  Italians,  and  handed  over 
to  our  unit  to  be  used  as  one  of  their  ambulance  stations. 
All  its  furniture  was  left  in  good  condition,  some  articles  were 
used  and  transported  as  convenient,  but  no  damage  was  done, 
and  everything  was  respected.  Some  of  the  articles  were 
valuable,  such  as  the  piano  and  larger  objects.    The  flat 

where  my  bed  was  had  been  the  habitation  of  a  Madame  C , 

wife  of  a  music  teacher,  and  it  remained  as  she  had  left  it, 
with  her  litt'e  pictures,  small  trinkets,  books  of  devotion, 
private  letters,  a  few  pieces  of  women's  finery,  and  her  little 
child's  crib,  standing  as  when  she  went  away.  It  was  all  an 
astonishing  contrast  to  what  was  reported  of  the  behaviour 
of  the  Germans  in  Belgium  and  France. 

All  through  the  night  the  cannon  thundered,  and  the  shells, 
each  with  its  own  peculiar  sound,  flew  overhead,  often  in 
salvos,  but  more  usually  in  independent  firing,  but  they  did 


ITALY 


303 


not  interfere  with  my  having  a  good  night's  rest.  Every  one 
was  not  so  fortunate ;  for  later  on  a  shdl  shattered  the  hou^ 
at  a  rc<  m  where  one  of  our  drivers  was  sleeping,  and  he  su^ 
tamed  a  compound  frncture  of  the  thigh  and  imW  to  the 
knee  jomt,  which,  though  he  made  a%onderfT%c^veS 
was  long  m  bemg  cured,  and  rendered  him  permanen%^^  J' 


!i 


LXV 

More  Itauan  Dbessino  Stations 
Another  region  which  I  visited  was  the  middle  Isonzo  at 
the  tm,e  when  the  advance  on  the  Monte  Kuk  and  the 
Bamsitza  Plateau  behmd  it  was  going  on.  My  fhend  Dr! 
a——  lent  rae  his  excellent  camera  and  a  supply  of  fihns 
.^nd  armed  with  these  I  set  off  with  the  design  of  e=^mS 
as  many  as  possible  of  the  dressing  stations  along  tt^rivef 

fn/    fi.  ' J"""y  minutes  to  get  out  of  the  plain  and 

wWh^""™!^*?^  ■""''''  of  valleys,  ridges,  and  inequalities 
which  rose  speedily  into  ranges  of  hills  and  cliffs,  alternating 
with  deep  gorges,  whiJi  became  more  and  more  acceXai^ 

side  of  the  Isonzo  glen.  If  I  could  have  had  half  a  dozen 
cameras,  all  day  in  which  to  use  them,  and  could  havettS 
thecar  at  will  and  avoided  the  searching  eyes  of  theLrSri 
who  were  namg  m  pairs  at  every  few  hundred  yards  to  watch 
that  no  strangers  or  suspicious  persons  got  through  and  that 
nothmg  was  done  m  contravention  of  military  rSie,  I  couM 
have  placed  on  the  sensitised  collodion  a  graphic  ^cort  of 
the  mass  of  encampments,  shelter  tents,  patrol  tents,  wZlen 
huts,  barracks,  Imes  of  picketed  horses  and  mules,  h^ps 
of  forage  and  other  stores,  convoys  of  firewood,  food  and 
mumtions    men  advancing  to  the  fighting  lines,  gigant"c 

r^oL  "^Z/"""  ^*'^^°'  consumption  in  tne  bftteries! 
trendies,  and  dug-outs,  and  other  constructions  for  offence 
or  protection  which  l^d  to  be  lined  by  troops  day  and  nigh? 
The  most  prominent  features  on  the  roads,  and  by  a  long  way 
the  ughest,  were  the  sf.ings  of  motor  lorries-here  M 
camions-each    transporting    several    tons'    weight,    wS 

nn^„P.l'P^*"*J'y  "*.*  "i*!*  •"■  °^e^t«ken  spinning  furiously 
along  the  roads,  and  raising  choking  clouds  of  dust  which 
hung  about  and  powdered  the  wayside  trees,  vines,  shrubs 

fifteen  yards  on  either  side.  These  motor  vehicles  form  a 
vulgar  but  most  essential  phase  of  modem  warfare.    It  was 


304    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

a  restful  contrast  to  turn  one's  eyes  to  the  clifls  and  reefs  of 
rock  to  right  and  left,  and  mark  hivr  their  reverse  sides— 
those  that  were  turned  away  from  the  missiles,  observation 
posts,  and  aeroplanes  of  the  enemy — on  every  eminence, 
were  lined  with  attractive  rows  of  little  tents,  or  booths, 
concealed  in  the  brushwood.  Each  small  peak  had  its  tiny 
shelter  or  excavation  hidden  beneath  it,  each  clifflet  its  nice 
little  stairs,  steps,  or  ladder,  leading  up  to  it,  and  every 
possible  nook  and  comer  contained  some  comfortable  little 
bivouac,  bell  tent,  or  arbour,  so  cool  and  homelike  that  one 
would  have  been  enchanted  to  explore  them  and  take  up  one's 
abode  there  in  the  warm  summer  days.  Jolly  little  paths 
led  up  or  down  to  them,  the  very  sight  of  which  was  enough 
to  make  one  long  to  stop  and  follow  them  to  the  gypsy  dwell- 
ings they  led  to.  It  would  have  been  some  compensation  for 
the  inability  to  get  them  into  the  camera  under  the  carabinieri's 
eyes. 

By  extraordinary  windings,  twists,  bends,  and  heavy 
upward  ^wlients,  none  other  being  possible  in  that  rugged 
land,  we  groaned  our  ascending  way  towards  a  ruined  and 
abandoned  campanile  and  church  that  stood  on  the  skyline, 
a  spot  to  which  I  hod  before  gone  in  order  to  get  a  stolen  peep 
of  the  Isonzo  gorge  and  the  Austrian  lines,  when  the  valley  was 
still  in  Teutonic  hands.  The  churches  in  Friuli,  being  by  pre- 
ference built  on  the  highest  available  points,  were  often  used 
as  observation  posts  by  the  side  which  held  them,  and  were 
therefore  shelled,  destroyed,  and  abandoned,  though  the 
campanili  frequently  escaped  wonderfully.  It  was  a  long  and 
heavy  climb  to  reach  the  height  where  the  church  stood. 
From  where  we  commenced  to  ascend,  though  the  distance 
was  really  short,  there  were  such  endless  serpentine  turns  of 
the  road  that  out  would  almost  have  thought  the  way  had 
been  planned  in  an  endeavour  not  to  reach  the  church  at  all ; 
the  road  darted  to  right  and  left,  dodged  behind  hillocks  and 
hills,  peeped  round  sly  comers,  sneaked  round  cones,  hid 
itself  away  again,  and  seemed  in  an  agony  to  keep  out  of  sight 
of  the  church.  Eventually  we  found  ourselves  skimming 
along  just  below  the  church,  and  suddenly  came  out  upon  the 
crest,  when  there  lay  before  us,  right  opposite,  the  Monte  Kuk, 
the  Vodice  peak,  and  the  plateau  of  Temova,  where  the  struggle 
was  going  on,  and  we  looked  down  the  precipices  of  the 
Monte  Sabotino  overhanging  the  lucent  strip  of  »;reen  water 
at  the  bottom  of  the  narrow  defile,  and  were  gazing  on  the 
Isonzo.    We  had  reached  the  battle-field. 

But  here,  if  we  could  see,  we  were  also  visible.  For  some 
time  the  crack  of  shrapnel   shells  exploding  had  been  a 


ITALY 


305 


r^rW  *"  ■«;  the  litUe  patches  of  black  smoke  in  the  skv 
above  ug,  ard  the  .howering  down  of  their  deadly  little  balk 

o^h^Oirstir^rr'r^  *".'"  ■»«'"''  ^we  e"ct^^' 

vaLv  w!  i^  S^'J"**''  "'^.'""t  °"  to  descend  into  the 
valley.  We  wound  down  roads  all  carefully  screened  with 
mau  of  reeds  and  branches  of  trees,  slidi^^oKely  down 
the  slopmg  sides  of  the  gorge,  and  twistin7thena7almost 
parallel  to  the  nver  which  flowed  beneath,  8™?!^  Xi 
degrees  and  many  turns  to  the  lower  levels  The  Austrkn 
guns  from  the  top  of  Monte  Santo,  which  was  at  tl^t  tine  sUl" 
heW  by  the  enemy,  and  from  the  Temova  Plateau,  commanded 
the  fa«s  we  were  n.nning  along,  and  though  these^  h^  f^ 
a  considerable  time  been  held  by  the  ItalL  the^emy 
^H  K  *^^,""8ts  to  a  yard  and  kept  searching  the  S 
aad  heights  with  their  artiUery  in  ho^  of  doin£,femaK  to 
the  roads  and  the  traffic  along  the^or  to  catch  a  c&n« 
detachment  or  individual  in  the  wo^s  that  s^reen^?^ 
ways  and  positions  ftom  their  direct  observation 

but  ItM^vlf"""  "L**!.*  f^'l"''"'*  '''  P^'^P^  not  accurate, 
side  ,^^  V  h'""  *^"*  *•"'  P°"'  *•"*  we  Lne  to  a  rough 
^Zf^^  ?  "«  ^'°"8  ™=  '""«*"  °f  ^  8""y;  and  with 
k^l^  "**  ?""  '*r^8  ^-  ^ guided  his^r^to 

^..  j!!f  1^  '■''^  *  ^^  °n  *•>«  cU«  side,  and  in  another 
hundred  yards  rushed  down  a  jumble  of  loose  ston«^?ij^ 
round  a  corner,  to  a  shelf  overhanging  a  gTe^  Mow  'a^^^ 
found  ourselves  m  a  little  cluster  of  ^oodln  buUdiT^  adh«' 
ing  like  swallows'  nests  to  a  hollow  in  the  rock^ind  thL 
was  Visnjevik  one  of  our  temporary  ambu  wtTstetioi^ 
It  was  manned  by  three  of  our  unit,  a  couple  of  iS 
sodiers,  and  had  three  or  four  cars  ready  when  4C  for  W 
telephone  to  be  employed  in  bearing  back  The  w^"?edfroi^ 

tll^"^  "^^-I^  ^^"rT  *°  «""«  °f  tl'^  numerous  field  hospitek 
behmd  the  ndge.  On  the  reverse  side  of  the  ridgeTverv 
buildmg   of   any    size    had    been    converted    into' a   S 

traTreiot°e^  Tlf''  *"  ^'^"J^^ikr  departed  by  the  rough 

d^t^Thf  m«J  '""I"'  T*'  """^  ^commenced  the 
aescent.     ine   road   was   long,  but   well    amAni    off„,ji„ 
mteresting   peeps    through   L    scr^n     ^  SmSf 
aquamanne-coloured    Isonzo    rushing    through  Lvprecf 
pices  and  gi^n  banks,  and  of  the  fuined^  vmag^f  Pava 

Ts  we„TsTl^*h  •^""''^  "'  *^  ^^"^  '^^  a'sharp  tu™!    ' 
as  well  as  a  good  bridge  connecting  the  two  banks   while 

.bove  them  rose  the  steep  Plava  Hill  gained  by  thTl  Jiins 

early  m  the  war.  and  the  possession  of  which  on  the  eaJtem 


m: 


306    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

bank  alone  enabled  them  to  maintain  their  fooJng  in  the 
village. 

From  Plava  the  road  to  Goritzia,  still  disputed  by  the  two 
armies,  ran  close  and  parallel  to  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river, 
and  as  there  was  not  space  iii  the  gorge  for  both  road  and 
railway,  the  latter  bored  a  way  down  the  western  bank  by 
a  series  of  cuttings  and  long  tunnels  through  the  precipitous 
sides  of  the  Monte  Sabotino. 

A  rough  glen,  scooped  out  by  a  mountain  stream,  comes  out 
of  the  west  to  join  the  Isonzo  gorge  at  Plava,  and  is  crossed 
by  the  five  or  six  arches  of  the  railway  bridge,  and  when  we 
had  turned  up  under  <^he  bridge  we  came  to  another  of  our 
ambulance  posts,  the  Plava  out-station.  It  lay  open  to 
the  Austrian  gunners,  who  did  not  spare  it ;  on  the  previous 
evening  they  bad  made  unusually  good  practice,  and  one  of 
their  shells  landed  within  a  stone-throw  of  the  station,  and 
sent  a  rock  into  one  of  our  tents.  The  station  contained  a 
wooden  shed  and  a  few  tents  with  three  or  four  ambulance  cars, 
was  under  the  charge  of  two  of  our  officers,  and  they  were  at 
the  service  of  the  Italians  when  demanded.  It  was  a  dangerous 
little  settlement.  Shrapnel  was  cracking  and  pufBng  over 
it  while  we  were  there,  and  though  our  men  worked  and  messed 
in  the  shed  and  tents  by  day,  they  retreated  at  night  into  a 
cave  in  the  limestone  cliff  which  impended  over  the  northern 
side.    After  inspecting  the  station  we  set  off  to  cross  the  river. 

Across  the  Plava  Bridge,  a  mile  or  two  down  stream,  was  the 
farthest  outpost  of  the  Italians,  at  a  place  called  Zagomila  or 
Dolganiva,  under  the  shadow  of  the  rocky  Vodice  and  Monte 
Kuk,  on  the  road  above  the  stream.  So  vertically  did  the 
mountains  rise  there  that  there  was  room  alongside  the  road 
only  for  a  line  of  sheds,  each  about  three  feet  in  depth,  to  serve 
as  stores  and  shelters  for  the  Italian  troops.  The  place  was 
densely  crowded  with  men,  animals,  and  cars,  so  as  to  impede 
our  passing.  But  the  engineers  had  made  the  road  good,  and 
it  presented  otherwise  no  difficulties.  At  the  end  of  the  pass- 
able road  we  found  the  dressing  station,  and  were  welcomed 
by  Captain  Germina,  with  whom  I  spent  some  time.  His 
station  was  simply  a  '  lean  to '  of  wood  and  blanches,  five 
feet  deep,  placed  against  the  side  of  the  rock,  which  was 
slightly  hollowed  out  for  the  purpose.  But  it  was  in  excellent 
working  order,  with  an  operation  table  and  all  manner  of 
splints  and  dressings,  and  fit  for  doing  first-class  work. 

From  Captain  Germina  I  obtained  samples  of  the  Italian 
field  dressings.  He  told  me  his  men  were  careful  to  preserve 
their  dressings  in  the  small  pocket  of  their  tunics,  and  did  not 
destroy  them  or  convert  the  pocket  into  receptacles   for 


ITALY 


307 


tobacco  and  matche.  a.  our  loklien.  do.  or  used  to  do.  He 
had  known  them  skUfuUy  employ  them  on  one  another  when 
they  were  wounded. 

„r^*  "T  '".''"'y  exchangitg  information  that  we  neither 
saw  nor  heard  even  the  shells  that  were  dropping  into  the 
river  not  many  yards  distent  and  raising  display"  of  water 
columns,  and  were  told  of  them  only  when  we  rame  ouTand 
had  completed  our  visit  by  photographing  the  station. 
„.i;l^?*  ^  u  •  ^"'^'"8  station  at  Zagomila  there  was  an 
aenal  (telepheric)  railway.  Two  strands  of  wire  rope  led  down 
from  Ae  hejghts  of  the  Vodice  to  the  bottom  of  The  vaSI^ 
and  along  these  high  air  Imes  aU  sorte  of  materials  were  sent 
up  to  those  above,  and  the  wounded  cases  which  could  not 
otherwise  be  brough-  down  were  sent  into  the  vaUey.    The 

«^nMn  r  K»  "'"•  *"  P'"~5  *^  "**«?  ^°'  ^'^en  stretchers, 
except  m  slighter  injuries,  and  any  other  means  of  transport 
offered  great  difficulties,  but  the  telepheric  was  not  foundto 
i>e  a  success,  and  was  used  for  patients  as  little  as  possible 
smce  men  under  the  shock  of  having  been  wounded  had  not 
the  nerve  for  Wring  the  voyage  of  a  mile  or  so  suspended 
many  hundred  feet  high  up  in  the  air.  'penoea 

When  returning  from  the  dressing  station  I  also  visited 
what  was  surely  the  strangest  field  hospital  in  the  world 
about  a  mile  to  the  south  of  Plava.  There  the  cliffs  of  friable 
hmestone  on  the  roadside  had  b«!n  driUed  by  an  electric  (?) 
dnU,  or  scooped  out,  until  a  cave  six  or  seven  feet  broad  and 
forty  or  fifty  in  length  was  formed,  so  as  to  run  parallel  to 
the  roadway  ;  it  was  lined  with  bunks  like  those  in  a  steamer's 
cabms,  in  tiers  about  ten  feet  high  along  one  side ;  it  was 
lit  by  acetylene,  and  in  cold  weather  warmed  by  hot-water 
pipes.  One  chamber  served  for  an  operation  theatre,  and  the 
drill  was  at  work  preparing  a  larger  and  better  one.  It  was 
quite  dry  and  comforta  le.  I  believe  that  later  on,  when  the 
Austnans  had  been  driven  so  far  back  that  they  were  un- 
able to  shell  the  Isonzo  valley,  the  railway  tunnels  were  lit 
heated,  and  converted  mto  field  hospitals,  but  these  I  did  not 


LXVI 

The  Carso 

The  Carao  was  the  scene  of  some  of  the  severest  flffhtinj? 
dunng  the  summer  months  of  1017.  We  in  Friuli  were 
witnesses  to  the  fierce  determination  of  the  Italians  to  hew 
their  way  across  it  and  liberate  Trieste,  and  how  their  in.sistent 
eflorts  were  opposed  by  the  equally  strong  resolution  of  the 


308    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

Austrianf  to  withstand  them.  Day  by  day  tht  fcporti  came 
back  to  ui  of  the  enormous  difflculties  which  were  being 
met  with,  of  the  tremendous  defences  piled  up  in  that  hopeless 
region,  and  how  the  persistence  of  our  allies  was  overcoming 
them  inch  by  inch  and  hour  by  hour.  A  great  deal  of  our 
attentbn  was  directed  towards  the  conditions  of  the  Carsic 
tableland,  and  we  were  naturally  desirous  of  seeing  for 
ourselves  the  territory  which  was  being  won  by  such  a  pro- 
fusion of  bloodshed,  and  why  the  armies  which  could  capture 
the  heights  of  Monte  Kuk  and  the  Vodice  were  able  to  make 
only  such  slow  advances  on  that  fur  less  elevated  plateau. 
I  therefore  considered  myself  very  fortunate  in  being  able 
to  make  more  than  one  visit  to  these  battle-fields. 

My  first  expedition  was  to  the  northern  half,  where  our 
recently  arrived  British  artillery  was  fighting  side  by  side 
with  their  Italian  comrades. 

Where  the  Julian  Alps  sink  down  and  cease  to  be  mountains, 
on  the  south-east  of  Goritzia,  their  termination  is  marked 
by  a  deep  valley  in  which  the  Frigido  (Vipacco)  River  comes 
irom  the  east  to  flow  into  the  Isonzo ;  and  on  the  south  of 
that  valley,  where  the  northern  half  of  the  Carso  begins,  a 
barrier  of  hills  runs  across  the  plain  and  is  pierced  by  a  long 
glen  called  the  Vallone,  containing  the  only  road  into  the 
southern  half  of  the  Carso.  To  penc'rate  this  range  of  hills 
the  Italians  had  1  <'ain  possession  of  the  Vallone,  and  this 
entailed  a  prolon^<.J  series  of  ^nguinary  actions,  conductea 
with  great  bravery  and  eventually  attended  with  success. 

One  day  when  work  permitted  1  went  over  in  the  forenoon 
to  see  the  northern  part  of  the  plateau.  We  started  after 
breakfast  at  eight  o'clock,  and  went  down  to  the  lower 
Isonzo  by  Cormons  and  Mariano  to  Gradisca,  to  meet  one 
of  the  British  artillery  ofiBcers  who  was  to  accompany  us, 
but,  finding  he  had  already  left  for  his  guns,  we  followed, 
crossing  the  Isonzo  by  a  wooden  bridge  near  Farra,  and 
gained  the  left  bank.  On  the  hither  side  of  the  bridge  almost 
every  yard  was  filled  with  the  military,  their  tents,  stores, 
horses,  and  corveyances ;  it  was  a  never-ending  camp,  and 
notwithstanding  the  attempts  which  were  being  made  at 
concealment  by  branches  of  trees  and  other  devices,  it  could 
only  have  been  at  night  that  hostile  aviotors  could  have 
failed  to  discover  what  was  going  on.  But  once  the  Isonzo 
was  crossed,  we  were  seemingly  in  another  set  of  conditions. 
There  were,  it  is  true,  soldiers  passing  along  the  roads  now  and 
again,  and  the  carabinieri  were  watching  at  every  five 
hundred  yards,  while  at  each  fork  or  crossing  there  were 
pickets  of  men,  and  steel  helmets  were  the  only  headdresses. 


ITALY 


3P9 


Yet  otherwi,e  the  country,  to  miperflcial  observiition,  wu  . 

hill  tracks  and  lanes,  the  lilent  abandoned  ruins  of  houKs. 
chnteBux,  and  buildings  were  still  and  motionless ;  and  it 
required  a  penetrating  inspection  to  discover  that  every 
shelter,  every  thicket,  w.is  crowded  with  implemenU  of  wa7 
nmre  »  than  on  the  other  bank,  only  he^e  they  were  so 
artfully  concealed  that  nothing  would  have  been  detected 
obsenTeilT       '"'*'""«  'y™  ^^  cameras  of  the  aeroplane 

V.tiln'  P'"*"* 'h^"8h  Rubbia.  at  the  norther  end  of  the 
Vallone.  where  the  broken  bridge  of  the  Trieste  railway  hun. 

«^f.r^?'  k"  "fu  •  r,P«""*d  the  Frigido  and  followed  it. 
course  to  where  the  Italians  cea!>ed  to  hoU  the  mastery  and 
the  Austnans  came  in  It  was  all  a  land  of  medium-sixed 
hills  two  to  five  hundred  feet  high,  with  narrow  valleys 
»k  T":  "'""JS  which  the  tracks,  well  watered  to  neutralise 
the  dust  which  might  have  betrayed  movements,  twisted 

un^^/T'^;,J^^  ^r  '°  ""  ""  occasional  British 
uniform  and  slouched  Boer  hat.  mingled  with  the  blue-grey 
Italian  coats,  and  tiom  them  we  obtained  our  direction. 

on  f^m  the  fairly  good  main  road  there  presently  branched 
a  wheelbarrow  track,  running  in  the  bottom  of  a  naii«w  ravine 

If!!"^!'"*  f  ^1"°"^  •"'"'  ^y  »  8««t  ploughshare,  almost 
straight  up  to  the  top  of  a  three  hundred  feet  high  bare  hill, 
and  a  third  of  the  way  along  the  furrow  was  the  British 
(Sapnisca)  howitzer  battery.  900  yards  from  the  Austrian 
defences  There  were  no  nicely  constructed  walls,  parapets, 
and  embrasures  The  eye  only  saw  some  small  irreiula; 
deepish  quarry-holes  cut  in  the  eastern  bank  of  the  nwrow 
revinp  .hapeless  as  those  from  which  road  ballast  is  extracted 
■•-en  of  the  holes  lay  a  British  howitzer,  so  artfuUy 
arronged  that  just  sufficient  of  its  muzzle  protruded  to  enable 
It  to  be  freely  worked,  and  all  the  shining  metal  pc  ts  were 
either  covered  with  natural-looking  greenery  or  dark  canvas 

hiln^°l,  '".rt^",""*  ^l  f""=  """position.  The  gunners, 
helped  by  the  Italians,  had  managed  to  pick  out  for  them- 
selves, in  the  limestone  rock  which  walled  the  ravine,  a  small 
kitchen,  sleepmg  closets,  and  a  chart-room,  while  a  heap 
ol  sand  bags,  looking  like  a  wagon-load  of  grain  sacks,  covered 
a  small  dug-out  and,  I  think,  a  small  magazine. 

The  country  about  the  Vallone  reminded  one  of  the  West- 
inorland  hills,  and  seemed  as  peaceful.  Though  we  were 
close  to  them,  there  were  no  enemies  to  be  seen ;  it  appeared 
a  difficult  country  to  be  fighting  in.  and  one  of  the  difflSes 
was  that  there  was  nothing  visible  to  fight  with.    The  only 


310    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

object  that  we  law  from  the  bkttcry  t'j»t  wm  not  the  work 
of  nature  wai  a  church  ipire  half  a  mil :  or  more  away.  That 
wai  the  only  mark  for  the  gum. 

But  it  wai  not  used  as  a  Urget.  In  the  small  chart-room 
which  had  been  formed  close  to  the  battery  stood  a  table  on 
which  was  sprenL  a  Inrge-scale  map ;  a  pin  stuck  in  it  repre- 
sented the  exact  position  of  the  guns ;  on  the  pin  was  pivoted 
a  strip  of  transparent  celluloid  giving  the  direction  in  angles 
(the  Italians  graduate  the  circle  in  1000°  in  place  of  the  British 
8«0°)  on  a  ten-inch  circle  on  the  map,  by  which  the  gun  is 
laid  ;  the  strip  was  ruled  with  the  distances  ;  while  a  separate 
table  indicated  the  allowances  to  be  made  for  variations  in 
temperature,  barometric  pressure  of  the  nir,  and  direction 
and  force  of  the  wind.  The  gunnery  was  all  done  from  the 
map  and  the  church  spire.  When  it  was  wished  to  hit  any 
mark,  as  it  was  invisible  from  the  battery,  which  was  so  deeply 
sunk  that  the  gun  had  to  be  elevated  for  18°  to  clear  the  ground 
in  front  of  it,  the  angle  of  the  mark  from  the  spire  was  worked 
out  on  the  map,  the  distance  ascertained  from  the  celluloid, 
and  the  sights  of  the  gun  laid  on  the  spire,  while  the  barrel  was 
shifted  to  the  required  angle,  and  therefore  pointed  to  the 
true  mark  when  the  shot  was  fired.  The  gunner  never  saw 
his  mark,  but  an  observer  on  the  hill  behind  telephoned 
down  to  him  the  result  of  his  aim  and  the  desired  correction. 
It  was  by  this  sort  of  work  that  the  howitzers  pulverised  the 
enemy's  trenches  and  defences,  and  when  this  had  been 
done  the  infantry  charged  on  them  and  completed  the 
business. 

We  returned  from  the  northern  Carso  by  Sagrado,  a  charm- 
ing town  where  the  Isonzo,  more  beautiful  than  ever,  had 
entirely  shaken  off  its  connection  with  the  hills,  and  wound 
and  forked  and  reunited  its  blue  streams  and  arms  among 
beds  of  snowy  stones  and  white  islets,  on  its  last  journey  to 
the  Adriatic  Sea. 

On  another  occasion  I  went  to  visit  the  southern  Carso, 
to  see  its  condition  and,  among  other  things.  And  out  what 
the  '  doline  '  were.  We  had  been  intrigued  as  to  what  these 
mysterious  hiding  places  in  the  Carso  were. 

That  the  doline  were  hollows  in  the  plateau,  some  of  them 
having  caves  below  them,  every  one  was  aware,  but  how  they 
came  to  be  there  and  to  be  such  a  feature  of  the  southern 
Carso,  was  a  matter  on  which  no  one  could  throw  any  light. 
I  welcomed  the  opportunity  of  adding  to  my  information, 
by  seeing  the  nature  of  the  diffl'^ilties  in  campaigning  on  so 
famous  a  region  and  solving  the  puzzle  of  the  doline. 
After  having  seen  my  patients,  who  were  then  reduced 


ITALY 


311 


to  four  or  fire,  dretMd  and  doing  weU,  we  ict  off  in  the  morning 
on  a  line  windleu  day,  though  very  hot  even  at  that  early 
hour.  On  the  way  through  San  Urenio,  aeroM  a  new  bridge 
which  wai  being  oonitructed  over  the  lioi  zo  below  itn 
junction  with  the  Frigido,  all  the  villagei  we  passed  through 
were  lunply  knocked  into  pieces,  and  mere  shattered  frag- 
menti  of  rooflew  walls  remained.  We  followed  the  rond 
along  the  Vallone  to  near  its  end,  and  then  turned  somewhat 
westwards  so  at  to  cross  the  lower  Carso  tableland  until  we 
«me  to  the  heaps  of  stone  marking  where  the  villase  of 
Dobeido  had  stood. 

This  part  of  the  Carso  has  some  resemblance  to  the  island 
I  J  I'A*"  P"*"?*  '*  ">'«'"*  "''"er  be  likened  to  the  table- 
land  of  Dartmoor.  It  was  a  series  of  low  undulations  not  to 
be  thought  of  as  hills,  with  faint  broad  depressions  between 
them,  forming  a  dry  plain,  with  never  a  stream  even  of  the 
tiniest,  where  grey  stones  and  ridges  of  rock  bestrewed  it, 
covered  with  an  inch  or  two  of  mould  or  quite  bare,  which 
could  give  pasture  only  to  goats  and  sheep,  though  these 
would  have  thriven  well  enough  upon  it.  In  this  respect  its 
surface  reminded  me  of  the  Aran  IsUnds  ofl  the  coast  of 
Galway.  The  whole  southern  Carso  was  a  bed  of  limestone, 
stratified  nearly  horiaintally,  but  with  a  slight  dip  from  north 
to  south,  made  up  of  water-rounded  stones  without  ice 
strw,  cemented  by  a  matrix  of  lime  whose  crystalline  struc- 
ture was  arranged  in  agate-like  layers  between  the  strata  us 
the  lune  had  been  deposited  fiom  solution.  On  the  surface 
crevices  grew  numbers  of  pretty  little  flowers,  but  in  contrast 
to  their  beauty  one  was  impressed  with  the  knowledge  that 
It  was  dreadful  ground  to  fight  upon,  for  even  the  smallest 
projectiles  when  striking  must  have  shattered  off  numberless 
fragments  to  form  secondary  projectiles,  adding  much  to 
theu'  devastating  effects,  especially  in  the  case  of  exploding 
sh.  :b  t'enches  in  such  a  region  were  difficult  to  make; 
they  had  to  be  drilled  or  blasted,  involving  great  expenditure 
of  time  and  labour.  Hence  as  the  Italians  advanced  they 
had  mostly  formed  loop-holed  walls  of  stone  or,  where  practic- 
able, made  use  of  sand  bags,  to  protect  themselves  and  main- 
tain the  territory  they  had  gained,  firom  the  enemy's  showers 
of  missiles  emanating  from  the  elaborately  excavated  trenches, 
covered  ways,  and  fortified  doline  which  they  had  had  abundant 
time  to  construct. 

That  the  victory  had  been  hardly  won  was  evidenced  by 
the  countless  graves,  where  friend  and  foe  were  alike  buried, 
though  in  separate  compartments,  with  distinct  sorts  of  head- 
crosses  ;  all  these  cemeteries  were  neatly  kept,  and  were  met 


ti 


1  ■' '  f'h 


■J 
1 


312    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

with  in  every  ^.pace  where  graves  could  be  dug  in  the  ground, 
along  the  road  leading  through  the  Vallone. 

Beyond  Doberdo  we  found  the  headquarters  of  the  British, 
in  a,  dolina  which  had  also  been  occupied  by  the  Austrians. 
From  that  point  we  had  a  good  view  of  the  Italian  lines  at 
Jamiano,  on  the  famous  hill  No.  208,  where  so  much  blood 
had  been  poured  out,  and  of  the  Hermada  Hill  which  stood 
as  the  chief  remaining  obstacle  to  the  advance  on  Trieste ; 
it  was  still  in  Austrian  hands,  as  was  shown  by  the  shelling 
going  on  around  it,  and  by  a  stray  bullet  which  would  sing  past. 

After  having  grasped  fully  the  nature  of  the  military 
operation,  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  doline,  and  made  a 
careful  examination,  along  with  photographs,  of  several  of 
these  structures.  Dolina  is  not  a  word  which  appears  in  any 
of  my  Italian  dictionaries,  and  its  meaning  and  derivation 
I  cannot  even  guess  at.  They  may  be  described  as  punch- 
bowl-shaped depressions  in  the  level  of  the  general  plain. 
They  were  circular,  varied  from  a  quarter  of  an  acre  to  an 
acre  in  extent,  or  even  more ;  were  sometimes  shallow  and 
shaped  like  a  saucer,  in  other  instances  larger  and  resembled 
an  inverted  cone  or  funnel,  their  bottoms  showing  a  level 
meadow-like  floor,  at  a  depth  of  perhaps  fifty  to  a  hundred 
feet,  and  very  commonly  there  existed  irregular  caverns 
or  grottos  underneath  their  depths.  They  were  thickly 
dotted  over  the  southern  Carso. 

Doline  formed  magnificent  retreats  and  fastnesses  for  the 
Austrian  defenders ;  they  possessed  step-like  sides  and  margins, 
which  were  natural  trenches  and  gun  emplacements  which 
did  not  appear  above  the  level  of  the  plain ;  and  large  bodies 
of  troops  could  be  concealed  invisibly  to  those  approaching, 
and  well  sheltered  from  hostile  fire,  especially  when  shell- 
proof  hollows  were  excavated  under  their  edges,  but  they 
were  suitable  for  riflemen,  machine  guns,  and  cannon  with 
little  or  even  no  preparation.  In  the  caverns  which  lay 
beneath  some  of  them,  which  were  enlarged  and  shaped  for 
the  purpose,  there  had  been  formed  store-rooms,  dwelling- 
rooms,  and  other  chambers,  Ut  sometimes  by  electric  light 
and  Aimished  with  various  conveniences  and  luxuries.  Down 
the  steep  sides  of  the  doline  had  been  formed  stairways  and 
sloping  roads  which  furnished  convenient  accesses  for  infantry, 
horsemen,  and  even  guns  and  wheeled  vehicles.  The  signs 
of  their  having  been  occupied  during  long  periods  of  comfort- 
able non-disturbance  were  plainly  to  be  read  in  the  elaborate 
cement  montmients  and  inscriptions  with  which  some  of  the 
doline  were  provided,  giving  the  designations  of  the  corps 
and  the  dates  when  they  had  occupied  them. 


ITALY 


3«3 


finl  ^"°r  ^"y/"®""'*  to  >*ad  the  riddle  of  their  forma- 
«^;ifl^!i£"T  '^'"8  ^-rtually  a  level  pkin  of  horizontally 
steatifled  lunestone  with  no  streams  or  water-channels,  the 
^1^^^**^^^  y  deposits  on  it  by  tremendous  thunderstorms 
collects  in  every  dip  and  depression  and  forms  pools.  The 
water  sinks  mto  the  porous  rock,  and  dissolves  the  limestone 
as  It  filters  through  it  mto  the  depths.  Every  fresh  rainfaU 
makes  the  pool  somewhat  larger  and  deeped  and  wTn  i 
Has  sunk  mto  the  ground  leaves  a  greater  hoUow,  capable  of 
conteming  more,  so  that  the  solvent  action  beneath  is  acceler' 
ated,  and  a  ftinnel  results,  mto  the  apex  of  which  rush  torrents 

subterranean  channels  and  caverns  in  the  soluble  rock.  The 
doline  take  theu-  origin,  as  may  be  seen  in  many  places, 
^sha  low  depressions  where  herbage  and  bushes  gii,w  more 
tteely  than  elsewhere,  usuaUy  circular  and  shaped  like  a  dew 
pond,  a  few  feet  deeper  in  the  centi«  than  at  the  edoes.  As 
nfrtfT  *''?,d«P/es?ion  deepens  into  bowls  and  funnels, 
on  the  steep  sides  of  which  are  the  step-like  edges  of  the  strata 

™r'Si°"j'''T  T^"^  *'  «'*»^*  "*«"''  °f  having  been 
gradually  dissolved  by  water  action.     The  grottos  l^neath 

n»if  f  t^T  '*°^L-  P*"*  "^"^  numerous  doline  about  the 
part  of  the  Carao  which  we  visited,  and  all  of  them  confirmed 
^m^l7  *''"1  ongm-indeed  no  other  supposition 
^n^J  5  '"°'"*"*  ?°'''"^-  "^^  P""^^  demaiXagesi 
IthT^  ^T^  "K'^^t  ^"^^  ^'^  "«  «<l"i«^  t°  produce 
!«mi^ff  "^f^:  F"''*'™^*''  °'"'  "f  t»>^  "JoKne  which  I 
exammed  we  found  the  grotto,  into  which  it  was  necessary 
to  descend  by  windmg  passages,  on  planks  and  steps  roughly 

^mf.  •"  T'''  ^  "  ^'^^  °'  ^^^y  °'  *°'*y  fcetf  when  we 
came  to  a  chamber  of  about  ten  yards  across  and  eight  feet 
m  height,  with  damp,  rough,  irregular,  water-worn  walls 
contammg  quite  a  pure  air  a  good  many  degrees  lower  in 
traiperature  than  on  the  surface.  Several  of  the  doline  had 
been  converted  by  the  AustrL:ns  into  vegetable  gardens,  pot 
herbs  havmg  been  cultivated  in  their  level  bottoms 


■  i 


LXVII 

A  Field  Hospital  in  the  Carnic  Alps 

The  Camic  Alps  bound  the  northern  side  of  the  Friuli  plains 

framimg  a  bamer  between  Italy  and  Austria,  and  I  made  an 

ei^Jdition  to  see  how  matters  were  conducted  there 

1  cLf^A*^"?."  "^  ^^  ^^  <»**'ed  ™°"n<l  rising  out  of  the 
labyrmth  of  dmgy  streets  that  form  the  quaint  old  town  of 


( 


314    REMINISCENr^  S  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

Udine,  his  eye  may  range  to  the  north  for  eight  or  ten  miles 
over  the  plains  as  flat  and  unrelieved  as  a  billiard  table. 
Beyond  them,  without  warning  or  intermediary,  rise  the  Alps, 
forming  a  wall  of  precipices  emerging  fenceiike  out  of  ti»e 
ground.  From  a  few  rifts  in  the  wall  rivers  rush  out  on  the 
plains,  emerging  so  suddenly  that  one  mile  they  are  swirling 
in  deep  wild  savage  gorges,  and  in  the  next  mile  meandering 
quietly  through  a  stagnant  plain.  Our  route  into  the  Camic 
Alps  lay  up  one  of  these  rivers,  the  Tagliamento  (or  Cutting), 
whose  name  exactly  describes  its  character  among  the  hills 
before  it  has  been  converted  to  placidity  in  the  plains  below. 
The  place  of  its  escape  is  at  the  town  of  Gemona,  a  curious 
old  city  jammed  between  a  spire  of  rock  on  the  west  and  a 
hump  on  the  east  which  remind  one  of  the  eye  teeth  of  a 
dog.  Gemona  has  of  course,  in  common  with  so  many 
Italian  towns,  a  bastioned  hillock  in  its  centre  crowned  with 
a  fortress  and  tower,  the  usual  high  square  featureless  tower 
with  windows  near  the  top,  the  only  possible  purpose  of  which 
could  have  been  outlook  over  the  country. 

There  was  a  church  in  Gemona  which  was  like  most  of  the 
Friulian  churches  in  being  a  mixture  of  the  beautiful  and 
the  ludicrous :  the  intricate  rose  windows  with  interplated 
muUions,  the  most  exquisite  and  delicate  imaginable ;  the 
comic  stone  figure,  twenty  feet  high,  of  Saint  Christopher 
hokling  in  his  left  hand  the  infant  Jesus  and  in  his  right  a 
stone  olive  tree,  built  into  the  wall  on  the  west  of  the  door- 
way ;  the  ugly  quaint  sculptures  of  the  Magi,  and  the  hideous 
images  of  the  Trinity  carved  in  stone  above  the  doorways. 
The  church  is  said  to  date  from  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
surely  it  must  have  been  some  outer  barbarian  who  made  the 
sculptures,  while  some  Italian  inspired  poet  made  the  rose 
windows. 

Above  Gemona  we  ascended  the  glen  down  which  boiled 
the  Tagliamento,  where  there  was  room  for  our  road,  a  small 
railway,  and  a  few  little  farms  and  vineyards.  The  rocks 
which  lined  it  rose  sheer  from  the  margins  of  the  fields  ;  the 
cleft  in  the  mountains  deepened  as  we  went  along,  and  the 
bounding  clifis  grew  more  precipitous  and  became  tipped 
with  snow,  until,  five  miles  farther  up,  the  river,  as  it  came 
in  from  the  west  by  a  sudden  right-angled  turn,  occupied 
the  whole  bottom  of  the  valley  with  its  bed,  a  huge  stony 
expanse,  the  moraine  of  a  retreating  glacier  of  former 
days. 

Before  we  turned  to  strike  up  the  river  bend  we  passed 
a  tovely  little  group  of  villas  and  cottages,  evidently  forming 
a  favourite  summer  resort,  called  I  think  Vensone,  clean 


ITALY 


315 


and  tidy,  in  contrast  with  some  other  old  dark  nanow- 
streeted  and  verminous-looking  villages  which  lay  near  at 
hand.  But  the  war  had  scared  the  visitors  away,  all  the 
houses  stood  empty  and  solitary,  and  the  little  railway  had 
ceased  to  run.  Following  now  the  road,  which  led  for  eight 
miles  across  the  scree  that  had  been  brought  down  from  the 
cliffs  and  deposited  at  the  edge  of  the  stream,  we  came  to  the 
mountain  town  of  Tolmezzo,  where  there  was  one  of  the  British 

Red  Cross  ambulance  stations  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  S , 

who  I  think  had  been  an  artist  in  Rome,  and,  like  seveiai 
others  who  were  under  his  orders  in  Tolmezzo,  had  gratuit- 
ously given  his  services  to  the  sick  and  wounded  in  that  wild 
region.  After  a  visit  to  his  station  we  continued  onwards 
tiU  we  reached  a  tributary  of  the  Talgiamento,  the  Degano 
River,  which  descends  from  the  boundary  where  Italy  and 
Austria  join  in  the  snow.  The  scenery  became  more  en- 
trancing than  ever,  to  right  and  left  were  precipices,  with 
great  triangular  fans  of  white  scree  descending  from  them, 
and  at  mtervals  fertile  little  farms  filling  the  bottoms  of  the 
glens,  with  small  fields  of  maize,  vines,  and  abundant  wabiut 
trees.  Up  along  the  Degano  River  the  track  climbed  past 
minute  hamlets  and  busy  water-mills,  until  wt  arrived  at 
our  destination,  Comegliano,  where  there  was  the  field 
hospital  we  had  come  to  see.  It  was  a  small  summer  house 
gifted  by  an  English-Italian  lady  in  Rome,  and  was  under 
the  charge  of  Lieutenant  Dr.  Giovanni  Giglio.  In  a  region 
where  there  was  nothing  but  hills,  probably  not  a  quarter 
of  an  acre  of  perfectly  level  ground  anywhere,  the  little 
hospital  was  perched  up  on  a  mound  of  its  own,  looking  down 
on  a  winding  country  road  with  which  it  communicated  by 
rustic  stairs,  and  in  its  turn  looked  down  upon  by  fhiwning 
mountains  on  every  side,  in  a  land  of  trees  and  pines  and 
resinous  scents,  with  alpine  flowers  waving  in  fresh  alpine 
breezes. 

Internally  it  was  a  fine  little  hospital  for  its  size,  furnished 
with  all  requiremente,  everything  within  and  without  repose- 
ful, and  in  short  a  model  of  what  such  an  Alpine  lazaretto 
ought  to  be. 

The  patients  were  mostly  medical,  for  there  was  not  a  great 
deal  of  fighting  going  on  in  that  quarter.  One  had  indeed 
only  to  look  rovmd  to  see  that  warfare  on  an  extensive  scale 
was  next  door  to  an  impossibility  in  such  a  coimtry,  for  it 
was  a  chaos  of  pointed  eminences,  the  lowest  of  which  were 
wooded  spires  of  rock,  above  which  towered  other  spires  and 
bare  ridges,  and  over  them  again  were  tie  snows  of  the  Atos, 
the  highest  summit  being  Mount  Crostis,  over  7000  feet  in 


i  i 


3i6    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

height,  a  saw-edge  of  white  excepting  the  darker  tracks  of 
the  ice  roads  by  which  men  and  munitions  were  sent  up 
to  the  fortifications  of  Crostis  and  the  giants  about  him. 
On  heights  like  these  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  attend  to 
wounded  men ;  usually  enough,  no  transport  in  the  ordinary 
acceptation  of  the  term  was  possible ;  the  wounded  had  to  be 
carried  down  declivities  in  any  rude  fashion  that  was  possible, 
being  slid  if  need  were,  or  lowered  by  ropes  down  precipices, 
and  carried  by  hand  to  the  bottoms  of  the  valleys,  where 
ordinary  transport  was  obtainable. 

Here  and  there  the  Austrian  lines  were  visible  behind  the 
Italian  ones,  but  the  fighting  was  for  the  time  a  stalemate, 
since  neither  side  could  do  more  than  hold  its  own  sets  of 
defences. 

When  we  had  seen  all  that  we  wished  at  Comegliano,  we 
turned  away  to  the  east  among  the  lower  Alps,  over  the 
eastern  rim  of  the  Degano  valley,  up  and  down  extraordinary 
winding  ways  among  alpine  recesses  with  their  little  churches, 
until  we  were  on  the  watershed,  when  we  found  a  place 
where  there  was  something  distantly  resembling  a  level, 
and  stopped  for  luncheon,  propping  the  car's  wheels  with 
stoi' :«,  near  a  swampy  hollow  filled  with  the  most  exquisite 
flo\v^rs  in  rich  profusion.  The  ground  was  a  carpet  of  butter- 
cup:,, cotton  grass,  campion,  lychnis,  globe  flowers,  sweet- 
williams,  columbines,  pinks,  violet-coloured  campanulas, 
orchis,  purple  stacbys,  and  geraniums.  Presently  we  went 
on  over  a  series  of  spurs,  and  dropped  down,  by  ways  so  steep 
that  the  brakes  became  over-heated  and  had  to  be  cooled 
by  douches  of  water  before  we  could  venture  to  proceed, 
ir  to  the  valley  of  the  But  River,  crossed  it  at  the  Suttrio 
Bridge,  and  returned  to  Tolmezzo. 

On  the  way  back  from  Tolmezzo  to  Udine,  we  varied  our 
route  by  cutting  off  the  angle  of  the  Tagliamento,  going  by 
the  mountain  lake  Cavazzo,  resembling  the  upper  end  of 
Loch  Lomond,  with  a  strong  fort  on  a  mountain  situated 
like  the  Ben,  and  it  may  l^  worth  noting  that  the  Lake 
Cavazzo  fort,  when  the  Austrians  afterwards  overran  this 
part  of  Italy,  was  the  site  of  a  memorable  defence  by  the  men 
of  the  86th  (?)  Division,  who  for  twelve  days  successfully 
withstood  the  overwhelming  forces  who  sturounded  them. 
It  was  the  one  bright  spot  in  the  Italian  retreat. 


ITALY 


LXVIII 


3>7 


LiPE  IK  ouE  Unit 
Amowo  the  forty  or  fifty  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  fn™-u 
our  unit  the«  were  many  talente.    M^  Sdid  scfef 

tllT/  ^  «>*fts  and  sciences,  and  the  Villa  T^nSw^ 
the  headquarters  and  rendezvous  of  all.  In  less  busv  timt! 
and  on  special  occasions,  therefore,  we  were  nof  ^ifr^ 
amusements  and  relaxations.  ThLe  w^al^  ~,'''?°"* 
services  regularly  conducted  on  Sun^Jthoie  <,f  us*^h„' 

act  representing  members  and  V.A  D  •TLl^^l'l,  ■  ■ 
admission  to  the  unit  by  bribed ";  fte  Ih^n^  „f^"""« 

»^;  the  second  taking^ffthej^LnaritLoXUmS 
ofRcials,  sparmg  not  even  the  Commandant:  theS  w« 
a  really  pathetic  act  wherein,  sirty  suppo J  yj^UiteT 
the  war  was  finished  and  only  four  grev-hea^    H^^-Jt  ' 

put  them  to  bed  and  managed  them  like  infentT  TheS 
was  entirely  written,  composed,  and  st^ed  by  ind^^^k 
of  the  unit,  and  was  remarkably  clever  maiviauals 

New  Year's  evening  was  celebrated  by  a  dress  ball  in  th. 
t^™^ '"?"''''  ^^^'^^^"Tri^ngly  wondLfuT^  tS^L  „lre 
turned  out,  cowboys.  Chinamen,  Indians  a  ladv  3  ™^1 
man  in  Highland  costume,  and  iu.ny  othei,  hJ'^Wcl.  one  of 
our  most  esteemed  ladies,  in  simnle  pv*nm„  .J^  f 

by  h^^c^ftilness  MiWs".  '^S^'  tnTh^ fcf  cS^ 

for  those  confined  to  Wa"d  a'^iCpTo^sle  ^fTh"^' 
having  constructed  a  very' attractive^ry',  ^^nveS 
a  gmaU  room  into  a  representation  of  the  N;ti4ntH 
khem,  where  the  three  Magi  were  offering  their  gaftTthe 
Virgin  and  mfant  Saviour  in  the  stable,  wgile  on  Sis  a^^d 


3i8    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

the  shepherds  were  guarding  their  flocks  and  gazing  on  the 
Star  in  the  East,  ft  was  astonishing  how  t^y  succeeded 
in  finding  the  materials  for  all  the  dressed  figures,  hilb,  grass, 
trees,  sheep,  and  other  accessories. 

Lastly,  when  weather  permitted,  there  were  some  garden 
parties  given  by  the  lady  housekeepers  in  the  grounds  of  the 
Villa,  where,  when  they  were  not  riined  by  rain,  we  for- 
gathered with  Italian  friends  and  members  of  other  British 
services,  and  cultivated  good-fellowship.  They  were  most 
beneficial  from  an  international  point  of  view. 

To  tell  the  truth,  we  had  need  of  these  alleviations.  I  am 
not  an  admirer  of  the  climate  of  northern  Italy,  or  indeed 
of  any  part,  from  Sicily  to  the  Alps.  Friuli  at  any  rate  is 
incomparably  worse  in  point  of  climate  than  Britain,  and  has 
far  more  dbcomforts.  It  is  emblematic  of  the  district  that 
most  of  the  peasants  constantly  carry  huge  black  umbrellas 
such  as  at  home  one  sees  only  as  coverings  of  market  stalls. 

In  the  early  winter  there  were  some  brilliant  days,  but 
as  midwinter  approached  the  weather  became  anytlung  but 
exhilarating  ;  morning  after  morning  rose  on  a  desolate  flat 
landscape  loaded  down  by  heavy  grey  skies,  and  over  it  swept 
eternally  misty  veils  of  rain  which  dripped  and  dripped  and 
dripped.  The  mist  concealed  the  hills  and  mountains, 
which  otherwise  would  have  given  variety  to  the  eye  and 
imagination,  and  shut  out  the  hope  that  these  would  have 
inspired,  so  that  one  felt,  despite  oneself,  the  depressing 
sensation  that  the  dull  wet  was  to  be  eternal.  People  moped, 
tended  to  be  rather  firetful  with  their  neighbours,  had  a 
somewhat  resentful  feeling  at  any  attempts  to  be  cheerful, 
little  peculiarities  of  others  grew  annoying,  and  even  tobacco 
brought  but  a  momentary  solace.  One  had  to  keep  a  tight 
rein  to  avoid  thinking  and  saying  nasty  things,  and  preferred 
to  get  into  a  lonely  comer  to  brood  over  recollections  of  warm 
rooms,  with  sea-coal  fires,  nice  old  friends,  libraries,  and  home 
comforts.  Our  only  fuel  was  wet  logs,  whicn  would  hardly 
be  persuaded  to  bum,  and  in  spite  of  the  stoves  we  introduced 
into  rooms  where  no  such  provision  had  been  contemplated, 
it  was  miserably  cold  in  the  winter  months.  The  world 
seemed  to  be  sinking  into  a  lethargy ;  even  the  guns  ceased 
their  thunder,  and  one  wondered  irritably.  Why?  It  was 
hopeless  to  don  waterproofs  and  walk  ;  the  clay  was  every- 
where so  tenacious,  even  in  the  grass  of  the  fields  and  vine- 
yards, that  the  feet  at  once  got  clogged,  and  slipped,  while 
to  climb  a  slight  slope  was  a  slithering  process  that  was  apt 
to  land  one  on  hands  and  knees.  Daylight  came  in  about 
eight  o'clock  and  departed  about  four,  and  the  artificial  lights 


ITALY 


319 


were  preferable  to  the  giey-buided  skies  whose  only  relief 
war  a  russet  edge  of  funereal  colour  along  the  horizon  at 
sunnse  and  sunset.  The  cold  deepened  as  the  winter  solstice 
amroached.  snow  fell,  avalanches  occurred  in  the  mountains 
"r^^*  "*•  *°°  °"  °"'  occasion  buried  near  Tobnezzo  a  barrack 
of  Italian  soldiers,  killing  leo  of  them.  Between  the  solstice 
and  the  New  Year  there  was  little  to  be  seen  beyond  the 
creepmg  mist,  so  dense  as  to  produce  a  most  unnatural  silence : 
tne  land  was  still.' 

Towards  the  middle  of  January,  after  a  short  interval  of 
dry,  cold,  and  frosty  days,  it  feU  back  again  into  the  dark 
diMnal  days  we  had  had  in  December— it  was  perpetually 
wet.    There  is  more  fine  weather  in  England  durina  the 
wmter,  and  less  rainfaU,  than  in  Friuli.    Even  as  r^ards 
!»cottond,  which  is  to  some  a  byword  for  iu  climate,   I 
should  be  highly  surprised  if  the  rainfaU  on  ite  maligned 
east  coast  exceeded  the  faU  we  experienced  in  Italy.    Tot^s 
the  end  of  January  the  mists  cleared  off,  the  glorious  white 
range  of  the  Alps  on  the  north  became  visible,  the  Belds 
about  us  became  white  with  untrodden  snow,  and  the  bitter 
north  wmd,  the  'Bora,'  blew  over  them— blew  also  over  the 
hard  Itozen  roads  and  carried  the  dust  from  the  traffic  over 
the  hedges,  trees,  and  fields  on  the  southern  sides,  raakine 
a  broad  nbbon  of  grey  dust  along  all  the  lines  of  communi- 
cation.   The  Bora  dried  up  the  sources  of  the  rivers,  the 
stoeams  shrank  to  nothing,  and  we  drove  across  them  instead 
of  going  by  the  bridges.    For  weeks  the  snow,  frost,  and  wind 
were  of  the  most  biting  kind,  gales  blew  over  the  plains 
sweepmg  the  dust  from  their  cheerless  surfaces  and  carryinil 
It  before  it,  driving  nearly  every  one  to  shelter,  and  almost 
arrestmg  the  war  traffic  on  the  roads. 

As  the  iron  frost  continued,  our  water  pipes  became  frozen 
except  where  they  were  kept  thawed  by  paraffin  stoves 
sanitary  arrangements  were  for  days  partly  suspended,  and 
baths  were  entirely  so.  Nearly  every  one  became  more  or 
less  111,  even  our  strongest-looking  men  suffered,  and  thoush 
on  the  last  day  of  January  the  bitter,  intensely  cold  gale 
had  faUen,  and  a  yellow  sun  was  struggling  to  cheer  us  with 
some  heat  through  the  fog  and  high  clouds,  and  the  winter 
was  domg  its  feeble  best  to  part  from  us  with  a  wan  smile 
yet  no  one  felt  any  confidence  in  the  success  of  its  efforts' 
Some  were  senously  ill,  and  the  unspoken  question  read  on 
most  faces  was,  '  Who  will  next  go  down  ill  ?  ' 

Well  on  towards  the  middle  of  February  the  hiUs  ard  valleys 
lay  bare  and  brown,  as  if  burnt ;  the  brooks  were  frozen  over 
and  sohd,  there  was  no  sign  of  spring,  but  a  piercing  half 


3ao    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

gale  blew  down  from  the  mounUini  and  chilled  out  hand*, 
eart,  and  bones,  and  almost  blistered  our  &oes  as  we  moved 
about. 

The  second  week  in  March  was  reached  before  we  got  the 
nice  spring  mornings,  with  their  long  blinks  of  sunshine,  as 
the  sun  peeped  at  us  from  behind  small  floating  cumulus 
clouds  and  wandered  into  big  spaces  in  the  blue  sky.  The 
tiniest  of  brown  buds,  with  a  &int  dot  of  green  at  their  points, 
began  to  show  on  the  vines,  hawthorns,  hazels,  and  roses, 
though  all  the  other  trees  and  shrubs  were  lazy  and  could 
not  be  said  to  move.  Purple  and  white  crocuses  were  now 
evenly  scattered  over  the  ground,  like  the  stars  of  the  Milky 
Way  as  seen  through  a  telescope ;  they  were  in  ali  ihe  coppices 
with  stray  ones  .n  the  waste  grounds,  and  shy  groups  of 
creamy  primroses  snuggled  away  in  half-hidden  nooks  and 
hollows,  and  were  so  charming  that  it  was  hard  to  tear  oneself 
away  from  them.  As  the  days  advanced  the  air  became 
warm,  the  south-west  wind  had  no  bitterness,  and  those  of 
our  nurses  who  were  off  duty  hastened  out  to  gather  the 
flowers  into  baskets  and  boxes,  and  lie  in  sun-baths  >  -^  the 
greening  fields  below  the  rows  of  vine  stems. 

These  joys  did  not  last.  April  saw  a  return  of  the  cold, 
so  that  we  might  have  imagmed  ourselves  back  again  in 
January,  for  there  was  generally  a  wet  fog,  with  billows  of 
mist  and  cloud  rolling  up  overhead  from  t*e  Adriatic,  borne 
by  the  south-west  wind  j  it  constantly  rained,  sometimes 
a  thunderstorm  came  over  with  heavy  showers,  and  the  days 
varied  between  gales,  hail,  wet,  i>ad  now  and  then  a  transient 
half-hour  of  feeble  sunshine.  As  late  as  the  32nd  of  April 
it  snowed  now  and  then. 

Punctually  on  the  first  of  May  the  E^rth  Spirit  awoke,  and 
everything  burst  into  leaf  and  even  flower.  The  most  pofect 
weather  was  in  the  middle  of  May,  when  it  suddenly  became 
warm,  with  an  occasional  cloud  coming  down  from  the  north- 
west and  bringing  a  slight  shower  to  lay  the  dust  and  temper 
the  glare.  The  vineyards  were  then  in  full  leaf,  with  tiny 
fish-roe-like  clusters  of  grapes  commencing  to  be  visible, 
and  fresh  varieties  of  blossoms  appearing  every  day ;  vetches 
predominated,  and  elegant  spirseas  shook  their  snowy  balls 
among  the  grass  and  herbs.  Alas  that  one  should  have  to 
tell  it:  scorpions  began  to  make  themselves  impleasant, 
tarantulas  swept  like  shadows  across  the  walls  of  our  roonu, 
and  the  shrill  mosquito's  pipe  began  to  sound. 

June  brought  thunderstorms,  ijod  these  became  very  violent 
in  July,  with  a  moist  heat  that  was  enervating.  The  rain 
was  often  cataractous,  flooding  the  country,  submerging  the 


ITALY 


321 


low-lying  roads,  and  even  holding  up  traffic  The  h«t  r 
for  instance,  ^i^^^VngT^^'C^'^'ty^:  °"^^' 
exe^djt.  and  we  th^w'operouKS.'^ti'^r  tr, 
the^wLlTch~Ss"/;LVrhe'°„^X^^^^^^ 

Hjlrunlr^^derKt*'^?  SsK'i  ^  -« 
better  situation  should  be  brouaht  E   »nH      T  *^  " 

granted  respite  from  work  »^^  w-f^  had  frequently  to  be 
Solidays  in^R^mrCapri  Mita^  Zm  ^J"  ^^^^  '^"^ 
most  salutary  and  satiffakf^  mWsu^e  mV1^«1-  " 
complete  restoration  to  health  Xvirth^L'^  resultmg  m 
we«  invalided  home  to  Engft  a^rSi::n«?ie?t  'Z 

Jl^^itlfbett^ta^tlheX"  tLtLX-^''^'". 
the  cars  escaped  without  bemg  st4fc  by  shel^o^^hr'  "! 
and  some  of  the  men  themselves  were  st^ck     L^yif'''"^'' 

'u^'wor/s*^^  tt;^t  'T'^  ^^^-  ^-  -= 

thigh,  aS  L.'^er%'1a^:riy"es'i^^^^^ 


333 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 


LXIX 

Thx  Coixafsk  or  thk  Hospital 
I  BAD  some  hesiUtion  as  to  whether  1  should  try  to  tell  whjt 
1  know  about  the  collapse  of  the  hospital  department  of  the 
unit,  since  much  of  it  was  learned  only  from  hearsay,  gathered 
in  franment«  at  different  times,  and  must  therefore  be  given 
in  a  rath  confused  order.  But  as  some  day  it  may  have 
a  hUtorical  value,  I  have  resolved  to  set  down,  m  conclusion, 
what  I  saw  and  ascertained  regarding  it.  ... 

After  I  had  completed  more  than  a  year  of  service,  missmg 
only  three  days  trom  illness  or  any  other  cau^,  I  obtamed 
six  weeks'  leave  from  the  unit  on  purpose  to  reoxuit  my  strength 
before  returning  to  implement  my  promise  u>  serve  untU  the 
«)nclusion  of  the  war.  I  left  it  on  the  17th  of  September 
1917,  and  returned  to  Scotland.  My  leave  had  almost  ex- 
pired when  I  heard  that  the  Austrians  had  made  their  sudden 
victorious  sweep  through  Friuli,  recapturing  Gontzia,  dnvmg 
the  Italian  armies  before  them,  pushing  forward  through 
Udine,  and  were  still  advancing  westwards  in  the  direction 
of  Venetia.  Business  prevented  my  immediate  return  to 
Italy,  and  it  was  the  evening  of  the  2nd  November  before  1 
was  free  to  leave  Aberdeen  to  rejoin. 

After  having  hurried  through  to  France  with  the  utmost 
oossible  speed  by  Southampton  and  Havre,  I  was  waitmg  in 
the  lounge  of  the  St.  James's  Hotel  in  Pans,  when  there 
poured  into  it  a  crowd  of  refugees  from  the  unit,  along  w'h 
another  straggler  whom  they  had  picked  up  on  the  \    >. 

They  were  headed  and  shepherded  by  Mr.  D -.one  oi    or 

Irish  members  who  had  obtained  leave  from  a  Goveri-.ent 
post  in  Dublin  to  act  as  an  ambulance  dnver  m  our  Gont^ 
detachment,  and  were  now  on  their  way  home  to  England. 
They  had  no  baggage,  not  even  handbags  or  retjculesj  they 
stood  there  just  in  the  clothes  they  wore,  save  that  one  of 
the  ladies  carried  in  a  basket  her  favourite  fatten  which  she 
had  brought  away.  Among  Inem  was  Mr.  S——.  whose 
thigh  had  been  amputated  two  months  before,  and  who  had 
been  promoted  from  ?d  to  crutches  since  last  we  had  met ; 
he  h^  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  the  two  Italian  medals 
'  For  Vatour '  which  had  been  conferred  upon  hun— they 
had  been  in  his  baggage  and  had  to  be  abandoned. 

Miss  W described  their  experiences  to  me.    On  the 

advance  of  the  Austrians  at  Caporetto,  a  couple  of  days 
before  the  unit  flnaUy  left  the  Villa  Trento.  oidors  had  bera 
received  to  prepare  for  evacuating  the  place.    They  killed 


ITALY 


333 


^^t^   JI^^^J'^'^  *•'?'  ^  •*•»  ««^  fo'  their 
wtoto  food,  but  failed  to  otch  and  saeriflce  thS  peaoodc 

B«rt  i«uly  uid  pMked  m  the  corridor.,  and  every  patient  W. 

oe«»  done  than  fiesh  initructions  came  to  admit  other 

to^d  on  the  following  day  sent  on,  as  none  were  very  «v«» 

STfi  ^1  ^  .P"?''''y  "^"y  thou«nd  .ick  and  wounded 
h^to  be  left  in  the  hospkal.  in  Udine  when  the  Austriaw 

2r^„!J T  !r?  ''^"*  ^*»'"'"  s'lrgeons  having  renmined 
wwS.   I  „t'''!:i  patients    „  Udine,  but  later  informati^ 

to  ^ve  b^S^  '^•'  w"  '*  '~'*  «<««Jin8'y  unlikely 
TO  nave  been  true.    Miss  W cent  nued  :— As  no  further 

£'vo"^V°i'?'  7l!\'^'  Commandant  at  last  wenTto 
wS^TS;  H^ffl^H  "*'  ''""^"frten,  found  the  heads  absent, 
l^e  th^  difficulty  procured  from  a  subordinate  an  orfer  to 
a^V K\^^-  ""u  "t*  "^'  °  "'"^  m  the  morning  they  left 
the  hospital  stores  behind  and  carried  o«  in  cars  sud,  bJtnm 
M  was  available  along  with  the  inmates.  Thirty  orTrt^ 
^^trf""^'l':r'"^  *°  ^"^'  *^  Udine.  but  on  thta 
WW  t.ie  roads  with  refugees  and  country  people  in  iriin  and 

^t'^'^  ^t^'^  '^'  ^'y  soils'^  V^^tte 
MtUtery  and  troops  fhim  getting  through.  The  retreatine 
tafcnt^r  consequently  threw  away  thei?  rifles  and  wSuv« 
m^ed  them,  and  rushed  on  in  complete  disorder.  The 
Sf!l'V?t!l^";u'""'":.*'~'P''  Pe»»ntry,  women,  and  children 
ttus  dhoked  the  road  and  there  were  no  officers  to  regulate 
tte  soMiers,  nor  carabmieri  to  direct  the  traffic,  or  oi^r  the 
peopleto  move  aside  and  let  the  quick  cars  and  ^t  guns  get 
h^r.^  \*^u  ^r"^"  ?•"=  "''"*»^  »cramblrfintoet^ 
t^ZZ  A  *°  ^^^  ""I'  ''^^  *•»««  "8«m  «  they  thought  rt 
d?e^L^  "dT'tage,  and  the  confusion  pew  alway  mo« 
«~~  ;i.  ■"  f"'  2?='"  "««'  "  «»8er  to  obtain  '  a  lift ' 
to  ^^ir^^^i-  ^"I^^  matters  worse,  it  commenced 
I^i^f  t^''^'"''^  '•"=  "^*  '»^*'  "'<'  m  the  crowding 
th^Hi?  I.  ^A"**  •'""^  =*™'°"^  ''«"t  over  the  s.des  into 

theditches,  and  the  stoies  and  baggage  in  them  were  lost. 

the^n„-'H.^Sr'*  '.'''P°^iH^  to  get  the  unit's  cars  forwud, 
ttey  ana  the  belongings  of  the  members  had  also  to  be  aban' 

n^w  1!.  ^  ?^y  °'  """"  from  the  Villa  could  save 
r?^'^^°'"'  *''*  '^^^  they  were  wearing ;  Miss  W— - 
hjd  about  ftlOin  her  baggage,  ihich  of  couisl  ;he^v«  saw 
agam,  and  most  of  the  others  were  in  a  like  plight.    Even  on 


394     REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

foot  the  progms  wm  nlow ;  they  had  only  their  thin  •!»«»  with 
which  to  walk  in  the  mud.  and  they  were  drenched  to  the 
ikin  ijefore  they  reached  any  sort  of  shelter. 

They  made  for  Conegliano  (t),  a  small  town  m  firont  of  them, 
to  which  the  Direttore  of  the  hospital  had  gone  forward  the 
day  before  with  a  few  articles  of  furniture  to  secure  quaitert. 
This  had  been  before  the  greatness  of  the  rout  had  been  taWy 
realised,  and  though  he  atUmpted  to  return  to  help  the  othm 
he  found  this  was  impossible  flrom  the  blocking  of  the  roads. 
The  fiigitives  went  on,  sometimes  in  a  car,  but  for  the  most 
part  on  foot,  until  they  came  to  the  bridge  o--r  the  Taglia- 
imnto  River,  which  it  took  them  just  four  hoa.oi  to  cross,  and 
it  was  still  a  good  many  miles  short  of  Pordenone,  where  it 
had  been  agreed  that  they  shouVi  ftiid  a  rendeivous.  »Vn«n 
they  had  eventually  succeeded  ii.  g';tting  across,  by  the  help 
of  Cotonel  H of  the  British  ArtiUer)-,  they  finally  aban- 
doned the  last  of  their  cars,  and  walked  on  for  eight  or  ten 
miles,  soaked  and  covered  with  mud.    No  shelter  oouW  be 

found  at  Pon?   lone  (T  Conegliano)  until  Colonel  H went 

to  the  authorities  and  insisted  on  their  havmg  a  biUet,  which 
eribled  Visa  to  secure  them  an  empty  fireless  room  where 
twtH'  i'  the  ladies  slept  all  night,  wet  and  cold,  on  the  floor. 
Ti.e  men  drivers,  who  stuck  as  far  as  possible  to  their  cars, 
and  either  slept  in  them  or  took  refuge  in  some  other  <»r» 
when  they  lost  their  own  or  had  them  disabled,  found  no  other 
refuge  They  had  no  food,  but  got  a  few  biscuits  from  the 
Italian  soldiers,  and  were  thankful  for  them.  They  had 
many  adventures.  Cars  got  overturned  and  had  to  be  left, 
and,  after  their  contents  had  been  looted  by  the  passera+y, 
they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Auslrians  or  were  otherwise 
lost.  A  few  of  the  cars  were  saved,  added  my  informantf, 
but  nany  were  seen  no  more.  . 

The  women  refugees  of  the  unit  at  Conegliano  were  picked 
up,  and  proceeded  by  car  or  railway  to  Mantua.  The  tram 
services  were  disorganised,  and  progress  was  sometimes  made 
at  the  rate  of  a  kilometre  in  the  hour. 

Before  the  Paris  group  left  Mantua,  all  the  members  had 
been  accounted  for  and  were  in  safety.  They  themselves 
had  been  dismissed  under  an  engagement  to  wait  for  ten  days 
previous  to  re-engaging  themselves  elsewhere,  in  case  of  the 
hospital  being  reorganised,  which  they  all  ardently  hoped 
would  be  effected.  . .     u 

I  presently  received  other  accounts,  which  agreed  in  show- 
ing the  extraordinary  condition  of  matters  during  theretr^t- 
The  railway  station  at  Udine  and  the  square  in  ftont  of  it 
had  been  nearly  impassable  from  crowds  of  people  of  all  ages. 


ITALY 


3»5 


««^mg  .^1  «,rU  of  belongtiig.,  who  wen  in  •  sUte  of  great 

Ammunition  store,  were  being  blown  up  round  the  dty,  »ii 

KnT  "^'*  ""*    *•"  ^"•'^"*  ""'^^ 

tion  that  General  H—- .  m  command  of  the  BritUh  ArtiUer 
I^in^Mi;^"^  helpful  to  every  one,  and  had  succeeded    n 
whiu^.S"  r    «"■?»' .'^vmg'.leverly  got  them  loaded  on  tr»i..., 
r^^Ji   CommiMioner,  from  whom  much  might  have  been 

never  Dcen  seen. 

Ai  to  the  Villa  Trento,  some  of  my  comrades  gave  the 
following  additional  details.  A  few  bids  and  bedLg  had 
been  brought  away,  having  been  sent  to  the  new  uJality 
r..'^  W"  proposed  to  reassemble ;  but  these  were  few,  and 
nearly  everything  had  been  abandoned.  This  wa.  not  from 
want  of  organiMtion  in  the  hospital  department,  but  it  had 
no  transport  of  its  own,  and,  moreover,  the  instructions  of 
the  Italian  authorities  were  that  the  Villa  Hospital  was  to  be 
the  last  one  to  leave.  During  the  night  of  their  departure 
many  weary  officers  and  men  kept  dropping  in,  so  feotsore 
that  they  could  go  no  farther;  they  coujd  not  be  admitted. 
_"»!.  /!!!i'"°7*^  *°  "'*  '"  *''"  entrance  hall,  and  supplied 
J^  Li^f -u  ""J?  "^T""  "^"^  "^^^  **»em  eventually 
to  crawl  farther  Our  detachment  in  Goritzia  was  imported 
to  have  done  well ;  its  cars  there  took  out  of  the  city  the  last 
of  the  wounded  who  were  fit  to  be  moved,  and  were  indeed 
the  last  occupied  cars  to  cross  the  Isonzo  bridges,  one  of  « !  .-h 
had  already  been  demolished  by  the  Austrian  '  .ir^  U 
OontMa  the  bombardment  wai  the  heaviest  t  i  '  iiad  t' • 
experienced.  Also  the  British  military  hosr  >(  a)  V.r.a 
near  t>radisca  had  made  a  safe  retreat  with  ,-  •  t«^r  of 

men  and  nurses. 

Only  one  camera  had  been  saved  by  the  contingent  f    :n 
I  met  in  Pans,  but  they  understood  that  the  radiogra 
photographer  had   saved   his   fine  collection   of  neg..-.,es. 
and  another  rjember  had  preserved  the  most  of  his. 

there  had  been  some  cases  of  illness  among  the  men  of 
the  unit. 

I  may  add  one  or  two  other  curious  experiences.  Mr. 
ti  V"A  ,*'*  of  our  drivers,  was  able  to  •  "-  to  his  car 
through  the  debacle  although  he  had  to  pa;„  three  days 
and  night,  without  rest  or  food,  and  eventually  brought  it 

safejy  through.    Another,  Mr.  C ,  found  his  ioad  blocked 

by  ten  baggage  wagons  which  had  been  deserted  by  their 


326    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

drivers;  he  dismounted,  drove  the  leading  one  for  some 
400  yards  till  he  found  a  suitable  place,  tumbled  it  into  a 
ditch  there,  dealt  in  similar  manner  with  all  the  others,  and 
was  enabled  himself  to  proceed.  A  third  tale  of  resource- 
fulness was  that  a  heavy  Italian  tractor  for  dragging  the 
great  guns  had  been  left  obstructing  the  road,  when  one  of 
our  men  proceeded  to  it,  studied  its  mechanism  until  he 
understood  it,  set  it  in  motion  and  succeeded  in  running  it 
ott  the  road  into  the  ditch. 

Having  exchanged  good  wishes  with  my  friends  in  Paris 
I  went  on,  and,  when  travelling  down  from  Modane  to  Turin, 

fell  in  with  Colonel  H of  the  British  ArtUlery  in  Italy, 

whom  I  had  known  on  the  Carso.  He  had  been  informed 
that  for  two  days  before  the  debacle  it  was  well  known  to 
the  Italians  that  there  was  a  concentration  of  troops  by 
the  enemy  on  the  upper  Isonzo.  When  the  advance  began 
100,000  of  the  Italians,  seduced  by  agitators  among  them- 
selves, threw  down  their  weapons,  shouting '  The  war  is  over,* 
in  the  expectation  that  their  doing  so  would  at  once  put  an 
end  to  it,  and  were  promptly  taken  prisoners  by  the  enemy. 

In  Turin  a  former  member  of  the  unit,  then  serving  under 
the  British  Red  Cross,  gave  me  information  which  decided 
me  to  go  to  Milan,  where  he  believed  I  should  find  some 
others  of  our  people.  Prom  him  I  picked  up  a  few  more 
details,  but  could  hear  nothing  of  our  Commandant. 

On  arriving  in  Milan  I  came  across  some  others  of  the 
dispersed  fragments,  some  in  broken  health,  and  received 
a  telegram  announcing  that  the  kernel  of  the  imit,  along 
with  the  Commandant,  was  in  Castelbelforte,  a  village  not 
for  from  Mantua. 

I  also  learned  that  all  the  papers  and  registers  of  the 
hospital  had  been  lost,  with  all  the  case  records  except  those 
of  my  own  patients  which  I  had  myself  preserved. 
To  Mantua  I  accordingly  proceeded,  and  was  met  at  the 

station  by  my  friend  Mr.  Y ,  with  his  car,  which  had 

escaped  capture  or  damage,  as  it  was  undergoing  repairs  at 
the  moment  of  the  retreat. 

At  Castelbelforte  I  obtained  some  further  particulars  of 
the  catastrophe  to  the  Italian  forces.  The  enemy's  aeroplanes 
had,  it  seemed,  so  complete  a  mastery  over  the  Italians  that 
the  confusion  in  the  retreat  and  the  terror  inspired  were  so 
great  as  to  have  broken  all  bonds  of  discipline,  and  of  this 

many  instances  were  given  me.    Mr.  T himself  had  seen, 

he  told  me,  the  intoxicated  Itelian  soldiery  breaking  the  shops 
as  he  was  passing  through  Udine.  No  one  whom  I  asked 
seemed  to  have  any  doubt  of  the  truth  of  the  reports  that  the 


ITALY 


327 


and  Army  had  behaved  very  badly,  and  that  such  of  them  as 
remained  had  been  sent  back  out  of  the  fighting  line.  It 
was  even  current  that  three  of  the  generals  had  been  con- 
demned and  shot  for  treason. 

The  remnants  of  the  unit,  now  transferred  to  the  8rd  Army, 
were  scattered  about  the  village,  where  they  were  in  a  pretty 
destitute  state,  especially  in  the  matter  of  clothing.  Some 
were  reduced  to  purchasing  new  shirts  at  the  price  of  £l 
each,  and  none  of  them  had  a  change  of  clothing.  Practically 
everything  had  gone  in  the  retreat ;  even  a  car-load  of  pro- 
visions, which  the  thoughtful  Mr.  P had  loaded  up  and 

brought  off  to  supply  the  men  on  the  route,  had  to  be  aban- 
doned in  the  crush ;  when  he  returned  next  day  to  seek  for 
it,  he  found  all  the  provisions  gone,  and  the  car  too,  I  think, 
could  not  be  retrieved. 

I  believe  I  am  stating  a  fiact  in  saying  that  when  I  found 
my  comrades  they  did  not  possess  a  single  scrap  of  literature, 
not  even  an  old  newspaper;  fortunately  I  had  brought 
with  me  a  box  of  novels  for  them,  which  I  had  succeeded 
in  getting  through.  It  was  a  godsend  to  them ;  they  were 
starving  for  something  to  read  in  the  long  dark  winter 
evenings,  and  they  flew  on  the  box  before  I  had  even  seen  it 
arrive,  haled  it  off  to  the  common  room,  opened  and  distri- 
buted its  contents,  and  next  morning  I  received  a  messago 
of  grateful  thanks,  which  I  sent  on  to  the  friend  in  Aberdeen 
who  had  contributed  half  the  books  as  a  gift  to  the  unit. 

Of  the  forty-four  cars  which  had  left  on  the  night  of 
the  withdrawal,  only  twenty-two  remained,  and  these  were 
mostly  in  a  bad  state.  The  mechanics  were  busy  repairing 
them  on  the  threshing-floor  of  a  farm  outside  the  village. 
I  counted  thirteen  ambulances  among  them,  the  rest  being 
touring  cars  or  lorries,  more  or  less  wrecked.  I  believe 
that  oi.e  or  perhaps  two  more  were  afterwards  salvaged 
from  the  roads,  towed  away,  and  sent  to  be  re-made. 

There  were  five  of  our  people  sick  in  Castelbelforte,  with 

no  medical  attendant  except  Lieutenant  V who  spoke  no 

Einglish,  and  who  indeed  was  soon  sent  off  on  some  duty. 
There  were  no  medical  or  surgical  requisites  in  the  place, 
no  commode,  no  bed-pan  for  the  sick,  no  enenu,  no  chloro- 
form, no  hypodermic  syringe,  no  scalpel  or  bistoury,  not 
even  a  dressing  forceps,  and  no  one  could  inform  me  about 
what  hospitals  there  were  in  or  near  Mantua  to  which  any 
serious  case  might  be  sent. 

I  went  to  Mantua  to  procure  a  few  disinfectents  and  bed 
requisites,  and  a  few  packets  of  invalid  food  for  those  who 
required  it,  for  in  the  village  there  was  none  but  coarse  food. 


328    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

Mantua  lay  beautiful  on  the  two  great  lakes  fbnned  by  tiie 
expansion  of  the  Uincio  River,  on  whose  side  the  city,  its 
spires,  domes,  bastions,  and  crenellntions,  rose  out  of  the 
waters,  with  its  ancient  long  Maria  Theresa  causeway  and 
drawbridge  forming  a  picturesque  approach ;  a  town  filled 
with  quaint  arcades  and  good  shops,  and  streets  crowded 
with  dense  bodies  of  men  in  dark  cloaks  and  hats,  with  many 
British  officers  and  men  moving  about  among  them.  It  was 
then  the  headquarters  of  the  armies,  and  all  the  warlike 
operations  of  the  Italian,  French,  and  British  forces,  gathering 
along  the  Fiave  River  from  the  Adriatic  to  the  mountains 
of  the  Trentino,  were  being  directed  from  there,  in  prepara- 
tion for  another  great  struggle. 

From  Mantua  to  Castelbelforte  was  a  sodden,  rice-growing 
plain,  full  of  malaria  and  mosquitoes,  alternately  soaking 
in  rainfall  or  iron-bound  in  bitter  frost;  and  when  in  the 
latter  condition  the  trees  and  shrubs  were  crusted  with  rime 
as  if  made  of  white  sugar,  with  at  night  an  arctic  sky  glittering 
with  stars,  and  before  the  windless  dawn  a  sharply  drawn 
zodiacal  light  extending  from  the  horizon  to  the  constella- 
tion of  Leo. 

City  and  country  were  in  disquietude.  The  people  were 
in  a  state  of  profound  discouragement  at  the  rapid  and 
successful  invasion  of  the  Friuli  province.  Yet  they  were 
beginning  to  pluck  up  a  little  heart  at  seeing  the  Allied  troops 
pouring  in  to  their  aid,  and  the  many  military  camps  with 
thousands  of  men  collecting  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mantua. 
They  could  see,  however,  that  in  the  army  all  was  not  as  it 
should  have  been.  A  body  of  troops  were  being  brought 
to  the  town  to  be  reorganised,  and,  on  arriving  too  late  at 
night  to  be  admitted,  were  encamped  across  the  bridge  near 
the  8rd  British  Red  Cross  Unit,  who  sheltered  as  many  of 
them  as  possible ;  but  it  was  a  night  of  intense  frost,  and  the 
remainder  broke  into  the  houses,  destroying  them  to  provide 
themselves  with  firewood,  and  looting  &om  the  inhabitants 
around,  while  their  officers  seemed  a£raid  or  unable  to  control 
them.  These  and  similar  occurrences  kept  up  the  alarm  of 
the  peasantry,  and  a  stream  of  refugees  poured  out  to  the 
west,  passing  through  Castelbelforte  with  colunms  of  carts 
bearing  their  poor  belongings,  mostly  clothes,  straw,  bags  of 
rubbish,  and  stray  bits  of  machinery.  The  host  in  one  of  the 
houses  where  we  were  billeted  told  me  that  he  himself,  one 
of  the  principal  inhabitants,  had  all  his  possessions  packed  in 
readiness  to  flee  if  the  Austrians  advanced  any  farther. 

The  Italian  hospitals,  too,  were  in  many  cases  pieparing 
for  withdrawal,  and  it  is  haidly  to  be  wondered  at  tliat  in 


ITALY 


329 


them  atoo  there  ahouH  have  been  a  certain  amount  of  dis- 
oiganisation.  The  staff  were  unable  to  attend  properly  to 
the  uck;  suppbes  were  deficient;  pUlows  and  cleaiT Unen 
WW!  non-existent;  and  the  patients  were  lying  with  laroe 
bed-sores  where  tiie  bones  projected,  unattended  to  in  any- 
tlung  like  pr^r  fashion.  Food  was  scanty,  and  the  patients 
when  It  was  brouffht  fought  as  to  who  should  get  a  part  of  it. 
In  one  hospital  four  patients  went  insane  from  the  neglect 
they  expmenced.  In  some  military  hospitals  the  dirty 
condition  m  which  the  patienta  were  kept  was  repubive. 
Uunng  the  absence  of  nurses  and  attendants  the  most  ordinary 
sick-room  cares  were  neglected.  The  patients  had  to  take 
their  own  medicmes,  or  to  give  them  to  each  other,  and  to 
administer  to  one  another  the  subcutaneous  and  other  injec- 
tions, where  theoretically  it  should  have  faUen  to  the  nurses 

^.fVl  '^*^«="»"'  "nd  f«"inB  them  to  the  Piantoni 
<male  attendants). 

*t^*  ..^T  "*  '','*f'«ie  shock  to  me  to  find  that  the  report 
that  the  hospital  department  of  the  unit  was  to  be  disbaiSed 
was  unquestionably  true.  I  could  hardly  credit  this  when 
so  many  of  our  own  members  and  other  British  were  liable 
to  be  taken  senously  ill,  at  experience  had  proved  and  even 
ther.^hoaed,  and  that  in  the  known  stete  of  the  Italian  hos- 
pitals such  a  step  should  for  a  moment  have  been  contem- 
plated_  Not  Imvmg  been  present  at  the  time  I  was  not  taken 
mto  the  confidence  of  those  with  whom  the  decision  had 
rested,  and  I  could  only  conclude  that  those  who  were  re- 
qwnsible  were  unable  to  appreciate  the  splendid  work  that 
had  been  done  by  the  hospital,  and  the  great  benefit  its 
contmuance  would  have  conferred  on  the  armies  of  both 
nations. 

-kS*  wf  l*""*.  ^J^"*  °^y  ^"^  "^n.  the  decision  to 
abolish  the  hospital  s.'jions  seemed  so  deplorable  that  I 
ventured  to  suggest  that,  at  least  as  a  small  movable  hospital. 
It  should  be  conserved  m  order  to  accommodate  the  unit 
members  and  others  of  British  nationality  who  might  require 

!^..^-  ~Mu"'^'  J"  "**«»^  <»  »i"^-  I  could  not  with 
equanimity  thmk  of  any  one  of  those  admirable  individuals 
whom  I  knew  and  valued  as  members  of  the  unit,  ladies  as 
well  as  gentlemen,  persons  who  at  home  would  in  ilbiess  have 
benefited  by  the  best  nursing  and  professional  attendance, 
being  seat  to  one  of  the  hospitals  of  the  country,  above  all  in 
their  then  condition  of  disorganisation.  My  proposal  was 
to  oontmue  a  small  weU-equipped  hospital  with  proper  staff 
^™n  ^**''  ™^18  ■*  ?«  required,  but  my  suggestion  was  not 
given  the  consideration  it  deserved. 


330    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

An  illustration  of  the  necessity  for  such  a  hospital  chanced 
to  occur  at  that  very  time.  One  of  the  drivers  was  seized 
with  an  attack  of  obstruction  of  the  bowels.  On  his  symptoma 
growing  urgent,  inquiry  elicited  that  the  only  resource  was 
to  motor  him  to  a  hospital  in  Cremona,  fifty  or  sixty  miles 
away.  Fortunately  for  the  patient  the  symptoms  subsided 
tmder  treatment,  but  for  some  days  they  caused  me  no  little 
anxiety. 

Seeing  that  the  decbion  to  abolish  the  hospital  was  not  to 
be  recalled,  I  offered  myself  to  the  British  Red  Cross  Com- 
missioner, but  my  services  were  not  accepted. 

I  remained  at  Castelbelforte  until  the  sick  whom  I  found 
there  on  my  arrival  were  otherwise  provided  for,  and  left 
Bfantua  tor  England  on  the  17th  November  1917. 


F">PR1MIER0 


mKiyS-KYK.    VIKW   Ul-  THE   IT.M 


1-  Tllli   ITALIAN   ISONZO   KKONT 


INDEX 


AARONSKRAAL,  301. 

Al>erd«en  Ambaluice  Auoctation,  a. 

Aeroplanes,  205. 

African  Hospitals  Inquiry,  ii< 

Agriculture,  Africwi.  166. 

Ambulance,  i. 

Ambulance,  American,  156. 

insufficient,  133,  137. 

■  Driven,  strain  on,  321. 

driving,  difficulties  of,  29a 

Ambulances,  6a. 

American  Hospital,  163,  164,  192. 

Andreini,  Major,  276. 

Annerley*s  Kopje,  173. 

Antooist,  Dr.,  98. 

Arab  scbool,  4. 

Archbishop  of  Cape  Town,  1 10. 

Armoured  train,  81. 

Armstrong,  Lieut.,  66. 

Army  Medical  Service,  23,  44. 

Arrival  of  convoys  of  wounded.  290 

Arundel,  92. 

Athos,  Mount,  232,  258,  359. 

Australian  troops,  29,  38. 

Austrian  lines  on  the  Alps,  316. 


Basse,  Signor,  276. 
Baggage  for  march,  195. 
Baggia,  Captain,  279. 
Bainsitia  Plateau,  259,  tot. 
Balfour,  A.  J.,  115. 
Balkfontein,  214. 
Balloon,  military,  34. 
Baratrion-MorgaflT,  Prince,  177. 
Bamett,  Dr.,  12,  40. 
Barriti^on  Kennett,  Mr.,  la. 
Bai^ni,  Luigi,  294. 
Bastianelli,  Professor,  377. 
Beaconsfield,  153. 
Bearer  Company  review,  194. 
Beattie,  Dr.  J.  F.,  3. 
Belgrade,  231,  336,  359. 
Belgrade  Hospital  237. 
htflmont,  63. 

battle  of,  64. 

BisM^t'tf  Fan.:,  15a 
Bipck,  Dr.  Sinclair.  lor 
—  Week,  5a 


Blesbuck,  313. 
Block,  Johann  von,  109. 
Bloemfontein,  221,  334. 
Boer  Chivalry.  169. 

Enmity.  168. 

Humanity,  183. 

Boers,  captive,  143. 

medical  concJitions,  iji. 

Bologna,  349. 
Bora,  the,  319. 
Boshof,  165,  166. 

climate,  186. 

Bothaville,  209,  215. 

Bowlty,  Mr.,  97. 

Brand  fort,  330. 

Brindisi,  350. 

British  Medical  Atsociation,  49. 

Red  Cross  Society,  113. 

Brock,  Dr.  G.  S.,  362,  363  and/oj««,. 
Buller,  General,  49. 
Buschmannshoek,  83. 
But  River,  316. 


Cadorna,  Gkseral,  376. 
I  Cairo,  Citadel,  4. 
'  Camera,  Dr.,  376. 
;  Campaign,  winter,  1916-17,  283, 

—  summer.  1917,  393. 
I  Cann.wade,  267,  284. 
j  Cantlie,  Dr.  James,  3. 
;  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  5a 

— ---Society,  VV*»- 
j  Cape  Police,  \f\ 
;  Cape  T»mn,  $3. 

Ca^teUo,  274,  283. 

t^arnjc  Alps,  26^. 

~  VV\d  hospital  in,  313. 

I  Cwt  Ktti  and  abandoned,  327. 

Carso,  265,  283,  287,  307.  311. 

fighting,  298. 

Cnittt's  Kif^e,  156. 

Costelbelforte.  326. 

Cataicnia,  transport,  loa 

CaliSc.  collapse  of  iraiiiipurl,  201-4. 

Cavajuo,  Lake,  316. 

Cemetery  at  Modd»  River,  119. 

Cerigo,  243. 

Chesharn,  Lord,  173. 

Chios,  357. 

sn 


33a    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 


€hriitiMi  It  Villm  Trcnto,  J17. 

Church**  in  Kriuli,  304. 

Cividalt,  Mumm,  193. 

Civilian  doctors,  190. 

CUuenumt  SAnatorium,  97. 

Climate  of  Friuli.  383.  318. 

<!olctberg,  91,  91. 

ColUpw  of  luMpiul,  J». 

Co'.nwndo'f  Drift,  312. 

r^mus  (Milton's),  J17. 

ContunMciftlc  llonpital,  376. 

Convoyi    of    patientt,    bud   eonditiont, 

Convcm  of  tick  und  wounded,  134. 

Corinth.  Isthmiu,  257- 

ComeBliuo,  315. 

Conespwulmti,  359. 

Carritr*  tkUm  Stra,  394. 

Cotronc,  354. 

Counter- Sunriie,  169. 

Counter- Sunsets,  159.  169. 

Coutta,  Mr.  Buidett-,  113. 

Coutts,  Mb}ot, /ojf I  w. 

Cradock,  91. 

Cremona,  330. 

Cronjc.  General.  134,  143,  and/ofjiw. 

Crostts,  Mount,  315. 


V 


,  IIS- 


Daily  Mail t  no,  1 14, 

Dotty  Ntwst  iia 

Dames  Institute,  Bloemfontein,  333. 

Danube,  336. 

Dawn  in  Orange  Free  State,  188. 

De  Aar,  ^9. 

Deficiencies  at  Boshof,  191. 

Degano  River,  315. 

Destitution  of  unit,  337. 

Disbandment  of  Hospital,  339. 

Disease  among  BrittHt),  319,  331. 

in  Friuli,  289. 

Disinfection,  223. 

Diiornnisation    after    Italian    Retreat, 

Djevjelyi,  233. 
Doberdo,  3:3. 
Dolganiva,  306. 
Doline,  310,  313. 
Doomspruit,  319. 
Douglas,  General, 
Dress  Ball,  317. 
Drifoatein,  175,  199. 
Duke,  Dr.,  98. 
Dunant,  Henri,  i. 
Duplenis,  J.  D.,  9a 
Dwingfonteint  90. 


East  London,  74. 
Egyptian  War,  3. 


'73- 


Engagements  round  Boshof,   177,   it(i, 

1S3,  183. 
Englishman,  treatment  by  Boers,  199. 
Entrenchments,  Austrian,  363. 
Evatt,  Surgeon-Major,  3. 
Expandiim  bullets,  63,  177* 

F 

Farms,  South  African,  3ia 

Farra,  308. 

Fint  British  Ambulance  Unit  for  Italy, 

361. 
Fleming,  Surgeon-Major,  37. 
ForcaticrW'alkcT,  General,  53. 
F*ostcr,  Sir  Walter.  1  lO. 
F'ourteen  streanm,  167,  173. 
Frankfort,  171. 
Frigido  (Vipacco)  River,  308. 


GALLtroLi  (Italy),  351. 

Gangts,  S.S..  4,  6. 

Garden  parties,  318. 

Garibaldi,  Signorina  Italia,  378. 

Gatacre,  General,  78,  79. 

Gemona.  314. 

Geneva  Convention,  i. 

Germina.  Captain.  306. 

Giglio,  Lieutenant,  315. 

Gill.  Dr.  David.  107. 

Glen,  331. 

Good  Hope  Society,  lis. 

Gontzia,  26 1,  264,  %nA  fassim, 

Gradisca,  277. 

Graham,  Sir  Gerald,  3. 

Grant,  Bey,  Dr.,  3. 

Greek  Volunteers.  343. 

Green  Kopjes,  172. 

Gr^gio,  Captain,  277. 

Grenfetl,  Francis,  51,  57,  69,  76.   77. 

87.88. 
Groote  Schuur,  97,  98. 
Gunnery,  310. 


Haartebkkstfontbin,  197. 

Hagiar  Kim,  245. 

HaHstorm,  148. 

Hasheen,  ir 

Hermada  Hill.  313. 

Hoopstad,  207,  309. 

Hospital,   First   Divisional  Field,    117, 

IJ8. 
Hospitals  at  Kimberley,  156. 

Italian,  276. 

Howitzers,  British,  394. 
Hunter,  Sir  Archibald,  161.  193. 


Insanity,  142. 

Inspection  for  a  march,  194* 


INDEX 


Invaljdi,  coodilionft  of,  134. 
Iron  Gfttn  (Vardar  Kivcr).  jij. 
ulsnd  llcwpiul  it  Modder.  140. 
Isonio  River.  366,  and /trim. 
lUlian  character,  aH^. 

!>remnK  Sutioni,  299,  303. 

■■■■'■  Modetty,  390. 

Red  CtoM  Shrteni,  178,  381. 

Italiana  n^  paticmH,  2S7. 


[ACOHOAI..  ia»,  133, 

fMoUjourdsin,  311. 

fohnion,  Allan,  95,  334. 

^oultert,  139. 

ulian  Alps,  368.  383,  308. 

up»t«r,  197. 

UMicc,  Dr.  David,  aiy. 


Kakir  hcHiset  and  fields,  3ib 

kraal,  178,  306. 

Kalkfontein,  173. 

Karoo  Desert.  57. 

Kavallu,  359. 

Kekewich,  Colonel.  157,  163,  163 

w?'Le?r"*''  ^'««™''  ^'  72.  174- 
Khaf  ( El),  9. 

Khor  at  Tamat,  37. 

KiDiberley,  <i,  130. 

cnnditions  in,  157. 

trek  to,  149. 

Kitchener,  Lord,  108,  117. 

Klagenfurt,  268. 

Kleinfontein,  89. 

Kterksdorp  Railway,  ai8. 

Klipltraat,  90. 

Kominitza,  333. 

Koodoesbei^,  las. 

Knx>nstad,  316,  32a 

Kuk,  Monte,  373  ;  capture  of,  394. 


Lace  Dianiond  Mines,  319. 

L«ng,  Colonel  Tyrie,  51,  57,  95. 

I-Angeberg,  133. 

LarudoH7)e,  Lord    110. 

Lawson,  Dr.  Robert,  3. 

Leeuwfontein,  165. 

Leeuwkop,  163. 

I^hniannsdrift,  S9. 

Lemnos,  343. 

Levant,  256. 

Lightning  storms,  145,  146. '187. 

Lc^n,  Mr.,  Matjesfontein.  57,  m. 

Looting,  absence  of,  303. 

Lord  Mayor's  Refugee  Fund,  99. 

M 
M'Clurb,  Rev.  J.  J.,  no. 
Macdonald,  General  Hector,  131. 


355 


Macedonia,  336. 

Macptfor.  Dr.  Alewindvr.  3. 

MackemitandCo,,  109. 

M'Neill'i  /ari»Ki,  jfi.  31,  30 

M-RMint  Kopje,  167,  17,.  ,7. 

M«(ter,foniein.  136.  139,  and  Aim*. 

MoKi,  the,  317. 

Mafcnctic  deflection.  187. 

Mabcm»fontein,  197 

Maica,  Cape,  343. 

Mahncerinx,  389. 

Malta,  344, 

Mantua,  334,  338. 

March,  order  of,  195. 

Marco  Voipe  llospit.-il.  380. 

Matjctfontein,  57. 

May  Day  in  Italy,  330. 

Medal  Utr  Valour,  333. 

Medical  ofRcers' criticism!),  lec. 

Medilemuiean.  347. 

Melhuen,  I^(,  61.   165.  iSo.  i8<,  lai 

Methuen's  Column.  116. 
MixieaM,  b.)i,,  jo. 
Milner,  Sir  Alfred.  107,  339 
Mincio  Rirer,  338. 
Mitylenc.  358. 
Modder  River,  56. 

camp,  61. 

impurities,  149. 

Modderspruit.  213. 

Mohammed  Achmet,  3. 

Molteno'i  Hotel,  Tarkastad.  89. 

Montgomery,  84.  ' 

Montgomery's  Scouts,  84. 

Morava  River,  335,  336. 

>foTca,  356, 

Mount  Nelson  Hotel,  106. 

Mudrot.  343. 

Muller,  Mr..  Cradock,  93. 

N 
Naauw»rt,  93. 
Names  of  Italian  soldiers,  389. 
Natiomil  Aid  Society,  3,  «,  a\ 
Nattiaone  River,  275. 
Nero,  Monte,  374. 
Newton  Common,  i  e  1 
Niekerkskuil.  205. 
Niethling,  Dr.,  96. 
Nieuwejahn  Spruit,  218. 
Nisch,  334. 
Norval's  Pont,  336. 
Noto,  Major,  377. 
Nuraghe,  354. 
Nurses,  British,  388. 


Olvmpus,  Mount,  341,  242 
Orange  River,  59,  1 16.  226. 
Orient  Line,  236. 


334    REMINISCENCES  OF  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 


OtkvU,  171. 
Otmu  Digna,  30. 
OiH,  Moufit,  ajx. 


pAARnSBBRG,  I39. 

/W/  AMI  Cmuiit^  HI,  115. 

PanuuMut,  Mount.  356. 

Fdion,  Mount,  333. 

Perry  Manh,  Major,  68,  330. 

PhaKM  Iftland,  358. 

Piave,  375. 

Pitcher,  Colonel,  60,  65,  67. 

Pipemo,  Captain,  380. 

Pirseui,  343.  357. 

Plaini  of  Orange  Free  State,  3ii,  3i3. 

Plava,  303,  305,  306. 

Plevna,  134. 

Pdioncd  bullcti,  186. 

I*(»dcnonc,  334. 

Port  EUiabeth.  71. 

Portland  Hotpiul,  97. 

I'ortsmouth  Addieu,  43. 

PrcMpio,  3i7> 

PretoriuK,  General,  99. 

Princ«st  Irttu^  ■.■.,  384. 

Primtts  ef  IVaitt,  hotpiUl  ihip,  99. 

Priioncra,  Dutch,  100. 

Priioneri  of  Italiani,  185. 

Pritpan,  172. 

Podgora  Kidge,  365,  370. 

Pythagorai,  354. 


QUAKKRS,  363. 

Queen  Victoria,  49. 
QueenstowQ,  77,  87. 
Qtutmttmm  Frti  Prtss,  87. 
Quika,  371. 


Radovitz,  336. 
Rainstorma,  145,  146. 
Ralph,  Julian,  110,  114.  115- 
Ro)ral  Army  Medical  Corpa,  55,  193. 
Red  Cross,  3. 

Depot,  96. 

Society,  141. 

Red  Sea,  7. 

Refugees,  II3. 

Refugees  Committee,  99. 

Refugees  from  Ho«(Hta)  Unit,  333. 

Rhodes,  Cecil,  130,  131. 

Reid,  Sir  George,  39. 

Rejection  of  unfit,  195. 

Rensburg,  93. 

Retreat  horn  Villa  Trento,  333. 

Retreat,  incidenU  of,  324,  335,  336. 

Roadmaking,  Italian,  336,  369,  386. 


Robben  liUnd,  103. 

Robartih  Lord,  56,  II7,  liO,aiid/«ij/iW. 

Rocdewal,  3 18. 

Ruhljia,  309. 

S 

Sabotino.  Mount,  374,  304. 

Sagrado,  310. 

S^diik,  %.%,,  131-3. 

St.  Andrew's  Ambulance  AssoctatioB,  a. 

Salonika,  33,  340. 

San  Floriano,  371. 

San  Giovanni  di  Maniano,  361. 

Sftnilation  at  Boihof,  189. 

Sanitation  at  Newton  Common,  155, 

Santi  (^Aranta,  356. 

Santo,  Monte,  capture  of,  363, 

Santucci,  General,  376. 

Sapninca  Howitzer  Battery,  309. 

Save  River,  336. 

Savoxna,  loo. 

Serbian  ifoipitaU,  359. 

Serbian  People,  335. 

Shepherd,  Surgeon-Major  Peter,  S. 

Khiel,  Colonel,  101. 

Sickness,  3ii,  316,  330. 

Sickness,  hcnies,  189. 

Sickness  on  march,  198,  303,  3o8. 

Sinigaglia,  35a 

Siisison,  Captain,  116. 

Skodo  Vacca.  Hospital,  371. 

Slobbetts,  164. 

Smith,  Mr.  Wm.,  advocate, Abefd«eB«  a. 

Smyrna,  357. 

SolomcH),  Sir  Richard,  53. 

Spiders,  trap-door,  314. 

SsHitskop,  1^7. 

Springfontein,  336. 

Springtime  in  Italy,  39a. 

Stamfordham,  Lord  (Sir  Arthur  B^gc), 

49- 
Sterkstrom,  77. 
Stokes,  Sir  William,  95. 
Stores,  defective,  14a 
Storms,  144. 
Strumnitza,  33^. 
Summer  offensive  of  1917,  393. 
Suakin,  9,  40. 
Sun,  4. 

Sunday  services,  317. 
Supplies,  deficiency,  135. 
Supplies  to  advanced  posts,  397. 
Surrender  of  Boers,  303. 
Suttrio  Bridge,  316. 
Suva  Planina,  335. 
Switierland,  348. 


Taoliambnto  Rivu,  314. 
Tamai,  30,  «,  35. 
Tarkastad,  88. 
Telepheric  Railway,  307. 


INDEX 


Tmpnuan  tt  VtuM,  lU. 
ToliMno,  315. 
Tolnjno,  tfj. 
Top«hei<l«r,  lj6. 
Towiumd,    GmanJ    Sii    E, 

ftmim. 
TnliH,  luiuijr,  141, 
Tnuwpoct,  SI. 
Tiuiipon  of  wouiKlnl,  397, 
Traiuvul.  aij, 
Tnumulm,  113,  114. 
Tnvdyu,   Mi.   G«org«  M., 

fmiim. 
Trinu,  jM. 
TVtfmH,  1.1.,  75,  ^ 
Twtflfmtcin,  175. 
Tyldm,  Jj. 
Typhoid  f em,  liS. 

at  Boihof,  190.19a. 

••iMtioBt  in,  m. 


Udini,  161,  taifuslm. 
Unihiiroiiiid  Fierd  Hoipiul,  wi. 
Uikub,  J34. 


Vaal  Rivu,  173,  ao9,  an. 

VllMU,  144. 

Vallone,  163,  308. 

VaiKh  Rivw,  jij  ai«  aio. 

V«n  Wieki  Vlei,  ait. 

VdUone,  314. 

Veimin  in  Onnge  Fret  Sute,  lU. 

Vet  Kivei,  lai,  aia 

Vni»  Tiaito,  a6l  nifuim. 


33S 


61    u4 


a6a,  uid 


Villthato da  Munil,  17],  j}*.,. 
VlMiJavili,  ,05.  '   ' 

Viiaai,  Dr.,  101. 
Vodica,  IMoaiM,  jol,  107. 
Volamaiy  Aid,  191. 
Vrytnig  IMacaaa,  69. 


W 

Waooni,  and  diitt.      j 

Wabn'at  Davia,  Hon.  M 

73- 

Wagdraai,  yiQ. 

iy*t/mi'i...r  '/oMit/e,  no,  114,  i|f, 
Whit.  Hub.  mcMMoJ,  177 
Wilion,  Surgcon-Ganciml,  9j. 

Sui^r-oQ. Major,  la. 

WimWed'Mi,  1^3. 

Win  cf  Can  pslgn  o(  I9161;.  l(a. 

^^  kniiii,  in. 

Wou-i.lfc  Mi. 

W\nln;i,,',  .\o.  I  Ifuan'tnl,  tjf. 

Wyii.iham.   M,.,  1  in. 


>JI.    '. 
5«.  «9.  JO, 


Vbo»ianrv,  I*  J,  176. 
VetaitKii,  hi.,  735,  t^t) 


Zaoomila,  306. 
Zandfontein,  ai4. 
Zodiacal  Light,  8,  151.  i«3,  318. 
Zwaartliople,  197. 
Zwaaitliopteifontein,  171,  18a. 
Zwaankopjei  Mountaini,  aa6. 


PHawd  la  Oreal  Brilaia  !>,  T.  u«l  *.  CowTAiia,  Piian,.  1,  HU  Mrtuj 
u  ika  UiaWf  b  UUnnii,  Pio.