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diff --git a/old/14466.txt b/old/14466.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3b8c551 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14466.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7563 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of South African Memories, by Lady Sarah Wilson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: South African Memories + Social, Warlike & Sporting From Diaries Written At The Time + +Author: Lady Sarah Wilson + +Release Date: December 25, 2004 [EBook #14466] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICAN MEMORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + +SOUTH AFRICAN MEMORIES + +SOCIAL, WARLIKE & SPORTING + +FROM DIARIES WRITTEN AT THE TIME + +BY + +LADY SARAH WILSON + + LONDON + EDWARD ARNOLD + 1909 + + + + +DEDICATION + + + TO THE MEMORY OF MY + BELOVED SISTER, + GEORGIANA, COUNTESS HOWE, + TO WHOSE EFFORTS AND UNCEASING + LABOURS IN CONNECTION WITH THE YEOMANRY HOSPITALS, + DURING THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA, THE EARLY + BREAKDOWN OF HER HEALTH, AND + SUBSEQUENT DEATH, WERE + UNDOUBTEDLY DUE, + THIS BOOK, + CONTAINING RECOLLECTIONS OF THAT + GREAT AND MYSTERIOUS LAND, THE GRAVE + OF SO MANY BRAVE ENGLISHMEN, IS AFFECTIONATELY + DEDICATED + + + + +PREFACE + + +Everything of interest that has happened to me in life chances to have +been in connection with South Africa. In that land, where some of my +happiest days have been spent, I have also experienced long periods of +intense excitement and anxiety; there I have made acquaintance with all +the charm of the veldt, in the vast country north of the great Zambesi +River, hearing the roar of the lions at night, and following their +"spoor" by day; and last, but not least, I have there made some very +good friends. Only a few years ago, when peacefully spending a few weeks +at Assouan in Egypt, I was nearly drowned by the capsizing of a boat in +the Nile; again the spirit of the vast continent (on this occasion far +away to the north) seemed to watch over me. For all these reasons I +venture to claim the indulgence of the public and the kindness of my +friends, for these recollections of days in South Africa, in which shade +and sunshine have been strangely mingled, and which to me have never +been dull. To sum up, I have always found that life is what you make it, +and have often proved the truth of the saying, "Adventures to the +adventurous." + +I am indebted to Colonel Vyvyan for statistics respecting the Mafeking +Relief Fund; and to Miss A. Fielding, secretary to the late Countess +Howe, for a resume of the work of the Yeomanry Hospital during the Boer +War. + + S.I.W. + + THE STUD HOUSE, + HAMPTON COURT. + _September, 1909_. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + I. FIRST VOYAGE TO SOUTH AFRICA--CAPE TOWN + + II. KIMBERLEY AND THE JAMESON RAID + + III. THE IMMEDIATE RESULTS OF THE RAID--THE RAIDERS THEMSELVES + + IV. JOHANNESBURG AND PRETORIA IN 1896 + + V. THREE YEARS AFTER--LORD MILNER AT CAPE TOWN BEFORE THE WAR--MR. + CECIL RHODES AT GROOT SCHUURR--OTHER INTERESTING PERSONAGES + + VI. PREPARATIONS FOR WAR--MAFEKING, AND DEPARTURE THEREFROM + + VII. IN A REBELLIOUS COLONY--VISIT TO VRYBURG DURING THE + BOER OCCUPATION--I PASS OFF AS A DUTCHMAN'S SISTER + + VIII. BETRAYED BY A PIGEON--THE BOERS COME AT LAST + + IX. HOW I WAS MADE A PRISONER--IN A BOER LAAGER + + X. EXCHANGED FOR A HORSE-THIEF--BACK TO MAFEKING + AFTER TWO MONTHS' WANDERINGS + + XI. LIFE IN A BESIEGED TOWN + + XII. LIFE IN A BESIEGED TOWN _(continued)_ + + XIII. ELOFF'S DETERMINED ATTACK ON + MAFEKING, AND THE RELIEF OF THE TOWN + + XIV. ACROSS THE TRANSVAAL TO PRETORIA DURING THE WAR + + XV. PRETORIA AND JOHANNESBURG UNDER LORD ROBERTS AND MILITARY LAW + + XVI. MY RETURN TO CIVILIZATION ONCE MORE--THE + MAFEKING FUND--LETTERS FROM THE KING AND QUEEN + + XVII. THE WORK OF LADY GEORGIANA CURZON, LADY CHESHAM, AND THE + YEOMANRY HOSPITAL, DURING THE WAR--THIRD VOYAGE TO THE CAPE, 1902 + + XVIII. FOURTH VOYAGE TO THE CAPE--THE VICTORIA + FALLS AND SIX WEEKS NORTH OF THE ZAMBESI + + APPENDIX I. MAFEKING RELIEF FUND + + APPENDIX II. IMPERIAL YEOMANRY HOSPITALS, 1900-1902 + + + + +CHAPTER I + + FIRST VOYAGE TO SOUTH AFRICA--CAPE TOWN. + + "Oh that mine adversary had written a book!"--JOB xxxi. 35. + + +The above words, written by one of the greatest philosophers of olden +time, have often impressed me, and I have frequently quoted them when +asked why I did not write an account of the interesting travels and +adventures I have had in my life. It has therefore required a great deal +of courage to take up my pen and record a few recollections of South +Africa. I felt that, were they ever to be written at all, it must be +before the rapidly passing years diminish the interest in that land, +which in the past has been the object of such engrossing attention; and +that at the present time, when the impending Federation of South Africa +has at length crowned the hopes of those patriots who have laboured +patiently and hopefully to bring about this great result, it might be +appropriate to recall those days when Englishmen, who had made South +Africa their home, had much to contend with, even before the fierce +struggle to keep "the flag flying" in the years of 1899-1902. + +During that period, which commenced after the disaster at Majuba Hill, +"equal rights" were a golden dream which only the most optimistic ever +hoped to see realized. From then onwards, as old colonists have so often +told me, the Boers brought up the younger generation in the belief that +the "Roinek"[1] was a coward, and in consequence their arrogance in the +country districts became wellnigh intolerable, while at the Cape the +Bond party grew so strong it bid fair to elbow out the English +altogether. Now, while the country is still young, the fair prospect +opens out of Briton and Boer living in amity and peace together, and +mutually supplying, in the government of their vast inheritance, such +elements as are wanting in the character of each. + +My first visit to South Africa was a short one, and took place at the +end of 1895. During the foregoing summer everyone's attention had been +directed to the Transvaal, and more especially towards the Rand, by +reason of the unprecedented and, as it turned out, totally unwarranted +rise in the gold-mining shares of that district; in this boom, people +both at home and in Johannesburg madly gambled, and large fortunes were +quickly made by those who had foresight enough not to hold on too long. +For already the political horizon was darkening, and the wrongs of the +"Uitlanders," real and apparent as they were, became a parrot-cry, which +waxed and waned, but never died away, till the ultimatum of President +Kruger, in October, 1899, brought matters to a climax. + +We sailed from Southampton in December, 1895, in the _Tantallon Castle_, +then one of the most modern and up-to-date of the Castle liners. The +ship was crowded to its utmost capacity, and among the passengers, as I +afterwards learned, were many deeply concerned in the plotting which was +known to be going on at Johannesburg, either to extort concessions from +President Kruger, or, failing this, to remove him altogether. I knew +very little about all this then, but before I had been many days on +board it was not difficult to discover that much mystery filled the air, +and I was greatly excited at arriving in South Africa in such stirring +times. There is no such place for getting to know people well as on a +sea-voyage of eighteen days. Somehow the sea inspires confidence, and +one knows that information imparted cannot, anyway, be posted off by the +same day's mail. So those who were helping to pull the strings of this +ill-fated rebellion talked pretty freely of their hopes and fears during +the long, dark tropical evenings. + +I became familiar with their grievances--their unfair taxation; no +education for their children except in Dutch; no representation in +Parliament--and this in a population in which, at that time, the +English and Afrikanders at Johannesburg and in the surrounding districts +outnumbered the Dutch in the proportion of about 6 to 1. They laid +stress on the fact that neither the Boers nor their children were, or +desired to become, miners, and, further, that for the enormous sums +spent on developing and working the mines no proper security existed. I +must admit it was the fiery-headed followers who talked the +loudest--those who had nothing to lose and much to gain. The financiers, +while directing and encouraging their zeal, seemed almost with the same +hand to wish to put on the brake and damp their martial ardour. In any +case, all were so eloquent that by the time our voyage was ended I felt +as great a rebel against "Oom Paul" and his Government as any one of +them. + +Before leaving the _Tantallon Castle_, however, I must pass in review +some of those whose home it had been with ourselves for the best part of +three weeks. First I remember the late Mr. Alfred Beit, interesting as +the man who had made the most colossal fortune of all the South African +magnates, and who was then already said to be the most generous of +philanthropists and the kindest of friends; this reputation he fully +sustained in the subsequent years of his life and in the generous +disposition of his vast wealth. I have often been told that Mr. Cecil +Rhodes owed the inspiration of some of his colossal ideas to his friend +Mr. Beit, and when it came to financing the same, the latter was always +ready to assist in carrying out projects to extend and consolidate the +Empire. In these latter years, and since his comparatively early death, +I have heard those who still bear the brunt of the battle lament his +loss, and remark, when a railway was to be built or a new part of the +country opened up, how much more expeditiously it would be done were Mr. +Beit still alive. + +Other names that occur to me are Mr. Abe Bailey, well known in racing +circles to-day, and then reputed a millionaire, the foundation of whose +fortune consisted in a ten-pound note borrowed from a friend. Mr. Wools +Sampson,[2] who subsequently so greatly distinguished himself at +Ladysmith, where he was dangerously wounded, had an individuality all +his own; he had seen every side of life as a soldier of fortune, +attached to different regiments, during all the fighting in South Africa +of the preceding years. He was then a mining expert, associated with +Mr. Bailey in Lydenburg, but his heart evidently lay in fighting and in +pursuing the different kinds of wild animals that make their home on the +African veldt. Dr. Rutherford Harris, then the Secretary of the +Chartered Company; Mr. Henry Milner, an old friend; Mr. Geoffrey Glyn +and Mr. F. Guest, are others whom I specially remember; besides many +more, some of whom have joined the vast majority, and others whom I have +altogether lost sight of, but who helped to make the voyage a very +pleasant one. + +We landed at Cape Town shortly before Christmas Day. As I have since +learnt by the experience of many voyages, it is nearly always at dawn +that a liner is brought alongside the quay at the conclusion of a long +voyage; in consequence, sleep is almost out of the question the last +night at sea, owing to the noisy manipulations of the mail-bags and +luggage. However, one is always so glad to get on shore that it is of +very little import, and on this occasion we were all anxious to glean +the latest news after being cut off from the world for so many days. The +papers contained gloomy accounts of the markets. "King Slump" still held +his sway, and things abroad looked very unsettled; so most of our +friends appeared, when we met later, with very long faces. After +breakfast, leaving our luggage to the tender mercies of some officious +agent, who professed to see it "through the Customs," we took a hansom +and drove to the Grand Hotel, _en route_ to the hotel, in the suburb of +Newlands, where we had taken rooms. My first impressions of Cape Town +certainly were not prepossessing, and well I remember them, even after +all these years. The dust was blowing in clouds, stirred up by the +"south-easter" one hears so much about--an icy blast which appears to +come straight from the South Pole, and which often makes its appearance +in the height of summer, which season it then was. The hansom, of the +oldest-fashioned type, shook and jolted beyond belief, and threatened +every moment to fall to pieces. The streets from the docks to the town +were unfinished, untidy, and vilely paved, and I remember comparing them +very unfavourably with Melbourne or Sydney. However, I soon modified my +somewhat hasty judgment. We had seen the town's worst aspects, and later +I noticed some attractive-looking shops; the imposing Houses of +Parliament, in their enclosed grounds, standing out sharply defined +against the hazy background of Table Mountain; and the Standard Bank and +Railway-station, which would hold their own in any city. At the same +time, as a place of residence in the summer months, I can well +understand Cape Town being wellnigh deserted. Those who can boast of +even the most moderate means have their residences in the attractive +suburbs of Rondebosch, Newlands, or Wynberg, and innumerable are the +pretty little villas and gardens one sees in these vicinities. There the +country is beautifully wooded, thick arching avenues of oak extending +for miles, interspersed with tracts of Scotch firs and pines, the latter +exhaling a delicious perfume under the sun's powerful rays. Everywhere +green foliage and abundant vegetation, which, combined with the setting +of the bluest sky that can be imagined, make the drives round Cape Town +some of the most beautiful in the world. At Newlands, the Governor's +summer residence, a pretty but unpretentious abode, Sir Hercules and +Lady Robinson then dispensed generous hospitality, only regretting their +house was too small to accommodate visitors, besides their married +daughters. We stayed at the Vineyard Hotel in the immediate +neighbourhood--a funny old-fashioned hostelry, standing in its own +grounds, and not in the least like an hotel as we understand the word. +There whole families seemed to reside for months, and very comfortable +it was, if somewhat primitive, appearing to keep itself far apart from +the rush of modern improvements, and allowing the world to go by it +unheeded. Only half a mile away, at Rondebosch, was situated then, as +now, on the lower slopes of Table Mountain, the princely domain of the +late Mr. Cecil Rhodes. At the moment of which I write the house itself +was only approaching completion, and I must now record a few +particulars of our introduction to this great Englishman and his +world-famed home. We drove to Groot Schuurr, or "Great Barn," one +afternoon with Mr. Beit. The house is approached by a long avenue of +enormously high Scotch firs, which almost meet aloft, and remind one of +the nave of some mighty cathedral, such is the subdued effect produced +by the sunlight even on the brightest summer day. A slight rise in the +road, a serpentine sweep, and the house itself comes into view, white, +low, and rambling, with many gables and a thatched roof. The right wing +was then hidden by scaffolding, and workmen were also busy putting in a +new front-door, of which more anon; for a tall, burly gentleman in a +homely costume of flannels and a slouch hat emerged from the unfinished +room, where he would seem to have been directing the workmen, and we +were introduced to Cecil John Rhodes, the Prime Minister of Cape Colony. + +I looked at the man, of whom I had heard so much, with a great deal of +curiosity. Shy and diffident with strangers, his manner even somewhat +abrupt, one could not fail to be impressed with the expression of power, +resolution, and kindness, on the rugged countenance, and with the keen, +piercing glance of the blue eyes, which seemed to read one through in an +instant. He greeted us, as he did every newcomer, most warmly, and +under his guidance we passed into the completed portion of the house, +the rooms of which were not only most comfortable, but also perfect in +every detail as regards the model he wished to copy--viz., a Dutch house +of 200 years ago, even down to the massive door aforementioned, which he +had just purchased for L200 from a colonial family mansion, and which +seemed to afford him immense pleasure. As a first fleeting memory of the +interior of Groot Schuurr, I call to mind Dutch armoires, all +incontestably old and of lovely designs, Dutch chests, inlaid +high-backed chairs, costly Oriental rugs, and everywhere teak +panelling--the whole producing a vision of perfect taste and old-world +repose. It was then Mr. Rhodes's intention to have no electric light, or +even lamps, and burn nothing but tallow candles, so as to keep up the +illusion of antiquity; but whether he would have adhered to this +determination it is impossible to say, as the house we saw was burnt to +the ground later on, and is now rebuilt on exactly the same lines, but +with electric light, every modern comfort, and lovely old red tiles to +replace the quaint thatched roof. + +Passing through the rooms, we came to the wide verandah, or stoep, on +the other or eastern side. This ran the whole length of the edifice, and +was used as a delightful lounge, being provided with luxurious settees +and armchairs. From here Mr. Rhodes pointed out the view he loved so +well, and which comes vividly to my mind to-day. In front three terraces +rise immediately beyond the gravel courtyard, which is enclosed on three +sides by the stoep. These, bright with flowers, lead to a great grass +plateau, on which some more splendid specimens of Scotch firs rear their +lofty heads; while behind, covered with trees and vegetation, its +brilliant green veiled by misty heat, Table Mountain forms a glorious +background, in striking contrast to the cobalt of the heavens. To the +right of the terraces is a glade, entirely covered with vivid blue +hydrangeas in full bloom, giving the appearance of a tract of azure +ground. Lower down the hillside, in little valleys, amidst oak and other +English forest trees, a carpet is formed of cannas of many hues, +interspersed with masses of gleaming white arum lilies, which grow here +wild in very great profusion. + +Our time was too short on this occasion to see any portion of Mr. +Rhodes's estate or the animals--antelope of many kinds, wildebeestes, +elands, and zebras--which roamed through his woods. We lunched with him +two days later on Christmas Eve, and then the weather was so hot that we +only lazily enjoyed the shade and breezes on the stoep. Well do I +remember on that occasion how preoccupied was our host, and how +incessantly the talk turned to Johannesburg and the raging discontent +there. In truth, Mr. Rhodes's position was then a very difficult one: he +was Prime Minister of Cape Colony, and therefore officially neutral; but +in his heart he remained the keen champion of the oppressed Uitlanders, +having nominated his brother, Frank Rhodes, to be one of the leaders of +the Reform Committee at Johannesburg. No wonder he was graver than was +his wont, with many complications overshadowing him, as one afterwards +so fully realized. His kindness as a host, however, suffered no +diminution, and I remember how warmly he pressed us to stay with him +when we returned from the north, though he did add, "My plans are a +little unsettled." This suggested visit, however, was never paid; Mr. +Rhodes a few weeks afterwards was starting for England, to, as he termed +it, "face the music." I shall have occasion to describe him in his home, +and the life at Groot Schuurr, more fully later on, when I passed many +happy and never-to-be-forgotten weeks beneath his hospitable roof. As +years went on, his kindness to both friends and political foes grew +almost proverbial, but even in 1895 Groot Schuurr, barely finished, was +already known to be one of the pleasantest places near Cape Town--a +meeting-place for all the men of the colony either on their way to and +from England, or on the occasion of their flying visits to the capital. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Red neck, or Englishman. + +[2] Now Sir A. Wools Sampson, K.C.B. + + + + +CHAPTER II + + KIMBERLEY AND THE JAMESON RAID + + "Ex Africa semper aliquid novi." + +In the last week of the old year we started on our journey to Kimberley, +then a matter of thirty-six hours. The whole of one day we dawdled over +the Great Karroo in pelting rain and mist, which reminded one of +Scotland. This sandy desert was at that season covered with brown scrub, +for it was yet too early for the rains to have made it green, and the +only signs of life were a few ostriches, wild white goats, and, very +rarely, a waggon piled with wood, drawn along the sandy road by ten or +twelve donkeys. As to vegetation, there were huge clumps of +mimosa-bushes, just shedding their yellow blossoms, through which the +branches showed up with their long white thorns, giving them a weird and +withered appearance. It must indeed have required great courage on +behalf of the old Voor-trekker Boers, when they and their families left +Cape Colony, at the time of the Great Trek, in long lines of +white-tented waggons, to have penetrated through that dreary-waste in +search of the promised land, of green veldt and running streams, which +they had heard of, as lying away to the north, and eventually found in +the Transvaal. I have been told that President Kruger was on this +historical trek, a Voor-looper, or little boy who guides the leading +oxen. + +Round Kimberley the country presented a very different appearance, and +here we saw the real veldt covered with short grass, just beginning to +get burnt up by the summer's heat. Our host, Mr. J. B. Currey, a name +well known in Diamond-Field circles, met us at the station. This is a +good old South African custom, and always seems to me to be the acme of +welcoming hospitality, and the climax to the kindness of inviting people +to stay, merely on the recommendation of friends--quite a common +occurrence in the colonies, and one which, I think, is never +sufficiently appreciated, the entertainers themselves thinking it so +natural a proceeding. + +Kimberley itself and the diamond industry have both been so often and so +well described that I shall beware of saying much of either, and I will +only note a few things I remarked about this town, once humming with +speculation, business, and movement, but now the essence of a sleepy +respectability and visible prosperity. For the uninitiated it is better +to state that the cause of this change was the gradual amalgamation of +the diamond-mines and conflicting interests, which was absolutely +necessary to limit the output of diamonds. As a result the stranger soon +perceives that the whole community revolves on one axis, and is centred, +so to speak, in one authority. "De Beers" is the moving spirit, the +generous employer, and the universal benefactor. At that time there were +7,000 men employed in the mines, white and black, the skilled mechanics +receiving as much as L6 a week. Evidence of the generosity of this +company was seen in the model village built for the white workmen; in +the orchard containing 7,000 fruit-trees, then one of Mr. Rhodes's +favourite hobbies; and in the stud-farm for improving the breed of +horses in South Africa. If I asked the profession of any of the smart +young men who frequented the house where we were staying, for games of +croquet, it amused me always to receive the same answer, "He is +something in De Beers." The town itself boasts of many commodious public +buildings, a great number of churches of all denominations, an excellent +and well-known club; but whatever the edifice, the roofing is always +corrugated iron, imported, I was told, from Wolverhampton. This roofing, +indeed, prevails over the whole of new South Africa; and although it +appears a very unsuitable protection from the burning rays of the +African sun, no doubt its comparative cheapness and the quickness of its +erection are the reasons why this style was introduced, and has been +adhered to. By dint of superhuman efforts, in spite of locust-plagues, +drought, and heavy thunderstorms, the inhabitants have contrived to +surround their little one-storied villas with gardens bright with +flowers, many creepers of vivid hues covering all the trellis-work of +the verandahs. + +The interest of Kimberley, however, soon paled and waned as the +all-engrossing events of the Uitlander rebellion in Johannesburg rapidly +succeeded each other. One sultry evening our host brought us news of +tangible trouble on the Rand: some ladies who were about to leave for +that locality had received wires to defer their departure. Instantly, I +recollect, my thoughts flew back to the _Tantallon Castle_ and the dark +words we had heard whispered, so it was not as much of a surprise to me +as to the residents at Kimberley; to them it came as a perfect +bombshell, so well had the secret been kept. The next day the text of +the Manifesto, issued by Mr. Leonard, a lawyer, in the name of the +Uitlanders, to protest against their grievances, appeared in all the +morning papers, and its eloquent language aroused the greatest +enthusiasm in the town. Thus was the gauntlet thrown down with a +vengeance, and an ominous chord was struck by the statement, also in the +papers, that Mr. Leonard had immediately left for Cape Town, "lest he +should be arrested." It must be remembered that any barrister, English +or Afrikander, holding an official position in the Transvaal, had at +that time to take the oath of allegiance to the Boer Government before +being free to practise his calling. The explanation of the exceedingly +acute feeling at Kimberley in those anxious days lay in the fact that +nearly everyone had relations or friends in the Golden City. Our hosts +themselves had two sons pursuing their professions there, and, of +course, in the event of trouble with England, these young men would have +been commandeered to fight for the Boer Government they served. One +possibility, however, I noticed, was never entertained--viz., that, if +fighting occurred, the English community might get the worst of it. Such +a contingency was literally laughed to scorn. "The Boers were unprepared +and lazy; they took weeks to mobilize; they had given up shooting game, +hence their marksmen had deteriorated; and 200 men ought to be able to +take possession of Johannesburg and Kruger into the bargain." This was +what one heard on all sides, and in view of more recent events it is +rather significant; but I remember then the thought flashed across my +mind that these possible foes were the sons of the men who had +annihilated us at Majuba and Laing's Nek, and I wondered whether another +black page were going to be added to the country's history. + +The next day, December 29, Kruger was reported in the papers to be +listening to reason; but this hopeful news was short-lived, for on +Monday, the 30th--as usual, a fiercely hot day--we received the +astounding intelligence that Dr. Jameson, administrator of Mashonaland +and Matabeleland, had entered the Transvaal at the head of the Chartered +Company's Police, 600 strong, with several Maxim and Gardner guns. No +upheaval of Nature could have created greater amazement, combined with a +good deal of admiration and some dismay, than this sensational news. The +dismay, indeed, increased as the facts were more fully examined. Nearly +all the officers of the corps held Imperial commissions, and one heard +perfect strangers asking each other how these officers could justify +their action of entering a friendly territory, armed to the teeth; while +the fact of Dr. Jameson himself being at their head heightened the +intense interest. I did not know that gentleman then, but I must say he +occupied in the hearts of the people at Kimberley, and, indeed, of the +whole country, quite a unique position. + +It was in the diamond-fields he had worked as a young doctor, usurping +gradually almost the entire medical practice by his great skill as well +as by his charm of manner. Then, as Mr. Rhodes's nominee, he had +dramatically abandoned medicine and surgery, and had gone to the great +unknown Northern Territory almost at a moment's notice. He had obtained +concessions from the black tyrant, Lobengula, when all other emissaries +had failed; backwards and forwards many times across the vast stretch of +country between Bulawayo and Kimberley he had carried on negotiations +which had finally culminated, five years previously, in his leading a +column of 500 hardy pioneers to the promising country of Mashonaland, +which up to that time had lain in darkness under the cruel rule of the +dusky monarch. During three strenuous years Dr. Jameson, with no +military or legal education, had laboured to establish the nucleus of a +civilized government in that remote country; and during the first part +of that period the nearest point of civilization, from whence they could +derive their supplies, was Kimberley, a thousand miles away, across a +practically trackless country. Added to this difficulty, the +administrator found himself confronted with the wants and rights of the +different mining communities into which the pioneers had gradually split +themselves up, and which were being daily augmented by the arrival of +"wasters" and others, who had begun to filter in as the country was +written about, and its great mining and agricultural possibilities +enlarged upon. Finally, goaded thereto and justified therein by +Lobengula's continued cruelties, his raids on the defenceless Mashonas, +and his threats to the English, Dr. Jameson had led another expedition +against the King himself in his stronghold of Bulawayo. On that occasion +sharp fighting ensued, but he at length brought peace, and the dawning +of a new era to a vast native population in the country, which, with +Mashonaland, was to be known as Rhodesia. In fact, up to then his luck +had been almost supernatural and his achievements simply colossal. Added +to all this was his capacity for attaching people to himself, and his +absolutely fearless disposition; so it is easy to understand that +Kimberley hardly dared breathe during the next momentous days, when the +fate of "the Doctor," as he was universally called, and of his men, who +were nearly all locally known, was in suspense. + +During many an evening of that eventful week we used to sit out after +dinner under the rays of a glorious full moon, in the most perfect +climatic conditions, and hear heated discussions of the pros and cons of +this occurrence, which savoured more of medieval times than of our own. +The moon all the while looked down so calmly, and the Southern Cross +stood out clear and bright. One wondered what they might not have told +us of scenes being enacted on the mysterious veldt, not 300 miles away. +It was not till Saturday, January 4, that we knew what had happened, and +any hopes we had entertained that the freebooters had either joined +forces with their friends in Johannesburg, or else had made good their +escape, were dashed to the ground as the fulness of the catastrophe +became known. For hours, however, the aghast Kimberleyites refused to +believe that Dr. Jameson and his entire corps had been taken prisoners, +having been hopelessly outnumbered and outmanoeuvred after several +hours' fighting at Krugersdorp; and, when doubt was no longer possible, +loud and deep were the execrations levelled at the Johannesburgers, who, +it was strenuously reiterated, had invited the Raiders to come to their +succour, and who, when the pinch came, never even left the town to go to +their assistance. If the real history of the Raid is ever written, when +the march of time renders such a thing possible, it will be interesting +reading; but, as matters stand now, it is better to say as little as +possible of such a deplorable fiasco, wherein the only points which +stood out clearly appeared to be that Englishmen were as brave, and +perhaps also as foolhardy, as ever; that President Kruger, while +pretending to shut his eyes, had known exactly all that was going +forward; that the Boers had lost nothing of their old skill in shooting +and ambushing, while the rapid rising and massing of their despised +forces was as remarkable in its way as Jameson's forced march. + +It was said at the time that the proclamation issued by the Government +at home, repudiating the rebels, was the factor which prevented the +Johannesburgers from joining forces with the Raiders when they arrived +at Krugersdorp, as no doubt had been arranged, and that this step of the +Home Government had, curiously enough, not been foreseen by the +organizers of this deeply-laid plot. There is no doubt that there were +two forces at work in Johannesburg, as, indeed, I had surmised during +our voyage out: the one comprising the financiers, which strove to +attain its ends by manifesto and public meeting, with the hint of +sterner measures to follow; and the other impatient of delay, and thus +impelled to seek the help of those who undoubtedly became freebooters +the moment they crossed the Transvaal border. Certainly Dr. Jameson's +reported words seemed to echo with reproach and disappointment--the +reproach of a man who has been deceived; but whatever his feelings were +at that moment of despair, when his lucky star seemed at length to have +deserted him with a vengeance, I happen to know he never bore any +lasting grudge against his Johannesburg friends, and that he remained on +terms of perfect friendship even with the five members of the Reform +Committee, with whom all the negotiations had gone forward. These +included Colonel Frank Rhodes,[3] always one of his favourite +companions. + +As an instance of how acute was the feeling suddenly roused respecting +Englishmen, I remember that Mr. Harry Lawson, who was staying in the +same house as ourselves, and had decided to leave for Johannesburg as +special correspondent to his father's paper, the _Daily Telegraph_, was +actually obliged to travel under a foreign name; and even then, if my +memory serves me right, he did not succeed in reaching the Rand. In the +meantime, as the daily papers received fuller details, harrowing +accounts came to hand of the exodus from Johannesburg of men, women, and +children travelling twenty in a compartment meant for eight, while +others, not so fortunate, had to put up with cattle-trucks. The Boers +were said to have shown themselves humane and magnanimous. Mr. +Chamberlain, the papers wrote, was strengthening the hands of the +President, to avert civil war, which must have been dangerously near; +but the most important man of the moment in South Africa was grudgingly +admitted to be "Oom Paul." His personal influence alone, it was stated, +had restrained his wild bands of armed burghers, with which the land was +simply bristling, and he was then in close confabulation with Her +Majesty's High Commissioner, Sir Hercules Robinson, whom he had summoned +to Pretoria to deal with such refractory Englishmen. The journals also +took advantage of the occasion to bid Kruger remember this was the +opportunity to show himself forgiving, and to strengthen his corrupt +Government, thereby earning the gratitude of those Afrikanders, for +whom, indeed, he was not expected to have any affection, but to whom he +was indebted for the present flourishing financial state of his +republic, which, it was called to mind, was next door to bankrupt when +England declared its independence in 1884. If such articles were +translated and read out to that wily old President, as he sipped his +coffee on his stoep, with his bland and inscrutable smile, it must have +added zest to his evening pipe. I read in Mr. Seymour Fort's "Life of +Dr. Jameson" that the Raid cost the Chartered Company L75,000 worth of +material, most of which passed into the hands of the Boer Government, +while the confiscated arms at Johannesburg amounted to several thousand +rifles and a great deal of ammunition. Respecting the guns taken from +Jameson's force, curiously enough, we surmised during the siege of +Mafeking, four years later, that some of these were being used against +us. Their shells fired into the town, many of which did not explode, and +of which I possess a specimen, were the old seven-pound studded M.L. +type, with the Woolwich mark on them. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[3] Died at Groot Schuurr in September, 1905. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + THE IMMEDIATE RESULTS OF THE RAID--THE RAIDERS THEMSELVES + + "The fly sat on the axle-tree of the chariot-wheel, and + said, 'What a dust do I raise!'"--AEsop. + + +Oom Paul was in the proud position of this fly in the weeks immediately +following the Raid, as well as during many years to come. When we +returned to Cape Town early in January, 1896, we found everything in a +turmoil. Mr. Rhodes had resigned the premiership and had left for +Kimberley, where he had met with a most enthusiastic reception, and Mr. +Beit had been left in possession at Groot Schuurr. The latter gentleman +appeared quite crushed at the turn events had taken--not so much on +account of his own business affairs, which must have been in a critical +state, as in regard to the fate of Mr. Lionel Philips, his partner; this +gentleman, as well as the other four members of the Reform Committee,[4] +and a few lesser lights besides, had all been arrested during the past +week at Johannesburg, and charged with high treason. Even at Cape Town, +Captain Bettelheim and Mr. S. Joel, who had left the Transvaal, had one +forenoon been requested to accompany some mysterious gentleman, and, +very much to their surprise, had found themselves lodged in Her +Majesty's gaol before lunch. This occurrence came as a bombshell to the +Cape Town community, it having been assumed that there was no +extradition for political offences. Johannesburg was known to be +disarming almost unconditionally "in consequence of a personal appeal +from the Governor," and another telegram informed the world that the men +in so doing were broken-hearted, but were making the sacrifice in order +to save Dr. Jameson's life. Some unkind friends remarked that their +grief must have been tempered with relief, in ridding themselves of the +weapons that they had talked so much about, and yet did not use when the +time for action came. However, the ways of Providence are wonderful, and +this inglorious finale was probably the means of averting a terrible +civil war. Sir Hercules Robinson was still at Pretoria, conferring with +the President, who, it was opined, was playing with him, as nothing +either regarding the fate of Dr. Jameson and his officers, or of the +political prisoners, had been settled. It was even rumoured that there +was a serious hitch in the negotiations, and that Lord Salisbury had +presented an ultimatum to the effect that, unless the President ratified +the Convention of 1884, and ceased intriguing with Germany, war with +England would ensue. This story was never confirmed, and I think the +wish was father to the thought. I remember, during those eventful days, +attending with Mrs. Harry Lawson a garden-party at Newlands, given by +Lady Robinson, who was quite a remarkable personality, and an old friend +and admirer of the ex-Prime Minister's. The gardens showed to their +greatest advantage in the brilliant sunshine, and an excellent band +played charming tunes under the trees; but everyone was so +preoccupied--and no one more than the hostess--that it was rather a +depressing entertainment. + +At last events began to shape themselves. We learnt that the Governor +had left Pretoria on January 15, and that the military prisoners, +including most of the troopers, were to be sent home to England +immediately, for the leaders to stand their trial. The same morning I +heard privately that Mr. Rhodes meant to leave by that very evening's +mail-steamer for England, to face the inquiry which would certainly +ensue, and, if possible, to save the Charter of that Company with which +he had so indissolubly connected himself, and which was, so to speak, +his favourite child. I remember everyone thought then that this Charter +would surely be confiscated, on account of the illegal proceedings of +its forces. + +The fact of Mr. Rhodes's departure was kept a profound secret, as he +wished to avoid any demonstration. The mail-steamer was the even then +antiquated _Moor_ of the Union Line, and she was lying a quarter of a +mile away from the docks, awaiting her mail-bags and her important +passengers. Besides Mrs. Harry Lawson and ourselves, Mr. Rhodes, Mr. +Beit, and Dr. Rutherford Harris, the two latter of whom were also going +to England, embarked quite unnoticed on a small launch, ostensibly to +make a tour of the harbour, which as a matter of fact we did, whilst +waiting for the belated mail. An object of interest was the chartered P. +and O. transport _Victoria_, which had only the day before arrived from +Bombay, with the Lancashire Regiment, 1,000 strong, on board, having +been suddenly stopped here on her way home, pessimists at once declaring +the reason to be possible trouble with Germany. A very noble appearance +she presented that afternoon, with her lower decks and portholes simply +swarming with red-coats, who appeared to take a deep interest in our +movements. At last we boarded the mail-steamer, and then I had the +chance of a few words with the travellers, and of judging how past +events had affected them. Mr. Beit looked ill and worried; Mr. Rhodes, +on the other hand, seemed to be in robust health, and as calm as the +proverbial cucumber. I had an interesting talk to him before we left the +ship; he said frankly that, for the first time in his life, during six +nights of the late crisis he had not been able to sleep, and that he had +been worried to death. + +"Now," he added, "I have thought the whole matter out, I have decided +what is best to be done, so I am all right again, and I do not consider +at forty-three that my career is ended." + +"I am quite sure it is not, Mr. Rhodes," was my reply; "and, what is +more, I have a small bet with Mr. Lawson that in a year's time you will +be in office again, or, if not absolutely in office, as great a factor +in South African politics as you have been up to now." + +He thought a minute, and then said: + +"It will take ten years; better cancel your bet."[5] was careful not to +ask him any questions which might be embarrassing for him to answer, but +he volunteered that the objects of his visit to England were, first, to +do the best he could for his friends at Johannesburg, including his +brother Frank, who were now political prisoners, practically at the +mercy of the Boers, unless the Imperial Government bestirred itself on +their behalf; and, secondly, to save his Charter, if by any means it +could be saved. This doubt seemed to haunt him. "My argument is," I +remember he said, "they may take away the Charter or leave it, but there +is one fact that no man can alter--viz., that a vast and valuable +territory has been opened up by that Company in about half the time, and +at about a quarter the cost, which the Imperial Government would have +required for a like task; so that whether, in consequence of one bad +blunder, and partly in order to snub me, Cecil Rhodes, the Company is to +cease, or whether it is allowed to go on with its work, its achievements +and their results must and will speak for themselves." With reference to +the political prisoners, I recollect he repeated more than once: + +"You see, I stand in so much stronger a position than they do, in that I +am not encumbered with wife and children; so I am resolved to strain +every nerve on their behalf." About six o'clock the last bell rang, and, +cutting short our conversation, I hurriedly wished him good-bye and good +luck, and from the deck of our little steamer we watched the big ship +pass out into the night. + +We had now been a month in South Africa, and had seen very little of the +country, and it appeared that we had chosen a very unfavourable moment +for our visit. We were determined, however, not to return home without +seeing the Transvaal, peaceful or the reverse. The question was, how to +get there. By train one had to allow three days and four nights, and, +since the rebellion, to put up with insults into the bargain at the +frontier, where luggage and even wearing apparel were subjected to a +minute search, involving sometimes a delay of five hours. Our projected +departure by sea via Natal was postponed indefinitely, by the +non-arrival of the incoming mail-steamer from England, the old _Roslin +Castle_, which was living up to her reputation of breaking down, by +being days overdue, so that it was impossible to say when she would be +able to leave for Durban. Under these circumstances Sir Hercules +Robinson proved a friend in need; and, having admonished us to secrecy, +he told us that the P. and O. _Victoria_, the troopship we had noticed +in the harbour, was under orders to leave at once for Durban to pick up +Dr. Jameson and the other Raiders at that port; and convey them to +England; therefore, as we only wanted to go as far as Durban, he would +manage, by permission of the Admiral at Cape Town, to get us passages on +board this ship. Of course we were delighted, and early next morning we +embarked. It was the first time I had ever been on a troopship, and +every moment was of interest. As spick and span as a man-of-war, with +her wide, roomy decks, it was difficult to imagine there were 2,000 +souls on board the _Victoria_, and only in the morning, when the +regiment paraded, appearing like ants from below, and stretching in +unbroken lines all down both sides of the ship, did one realize how +large was the floating population, and how strict must be the discipline +necessary to keep so many men healthy, contented, and efficient. There +were a few other civilians going home on leave, but we were the only +so-called "indulgence passengers." The time passed all too quickly, the +monotonous hours of all shipboard life, between the six-thirty dinner +and bedtime, being whiled away by listening to an excellent military +band. + +We were told to be dressed and ready to disembark by 6 a.m. on the +morning we were due at Durban, as the Admiral had given stringent +instructions not to delay there any longer than was necessary. I was +therefore horrified, on awaking at five o'clock, to find the engines had +already stopped, and, on looking out of the porthole, to see a large +tender approaching from the shore, apparently full of people. I +scrambled into my clothes, but long before I was dressed the tug was +alongside, or as nearly alongside as the heavy swell and consequent deep +rolls of our ship would allow. Durban boasts of no harbour for large +ships. These have to lie outside the bar, and a smooth sea being the +exception on this part of the coast, disembarking is in consequence +almost always effected in a sort of basket cage, worked by a crane, and +holding three or four people. When I got on deck, the prisoners were +still on the tender, being mercilessly rolled about, and they must +indeed have been glad when, at six o'clock, the signal to disembark was +given. + +I shall never forget that striking and melancholy scene. The dull grey +morning, of which the dawn had scarcely broken; the huge rollers of the +leaden sea, which were lifting our mighty ship as if she had been but a +cockleshell; and the tiny steamer, at a safe distance, her deck crowded +with sunburnt men, many of whose faces were familiar to us, and who were +picturesquely attired, for the most part, in the very same clothes they +had worn on their ill-fated march--flannel shirts, khaki breeches, high +boots, and the large felt hats of the Bechuanaland Border Police, which +they were wearing probably for the last time. As soon as they came on +board we were able to have a few hasty words with those we knew, and +their faces seem to pass in front of me as I write: Sir John Willoughby +and Captain C. Villiers, both in the Royal Horse Guards, apparently +nonchalant and without a care in the world; Colonel Harry White--alas! +dead--and his brother Bobby, who were as fit as possible and as cheery +as ever, but inclined to be mutinous with their unwilling gaolers; Major +Stracey,[6] Scots Guards, with his genial and courtly manners, +apparently still dazed at finding himself a prisoner and amongst rebels; +Mr. Cyril Foley, one of the few civilians, and Mr. Harold Grenfell,[7] +1st Life Guards, like boys who expect a good scolding when they get +home; and last, but not least, Dr. Jameson, to whom we were introduced. +"What will they do with us?" was the universal question, and on this +point we could give them no information; but it can be imagined they +were enchanted to see some friendly faces after a fortnight's +incarceration in a Boer prison, during the first part of which time they +daily expected to be led out and shot. I remember asking Dr. Jameson +what I think must have been a very embarrassing question, although he +did not seem to resent it. It was whether an express messenger from +Johannesburg, telling him not to start, as the town was not unanimous +and the movement not ripe, had reached him the day before he left +Mafeking. He gave no direct answer, but remarked: "I received so many +messages from day to day, now telling me to come, then to delay +starting, that I thought it best to make up their minds for them, before +the Boers had time to get together." + +We were soon hurried on shore, as Mr. Beresford,[8] the 7th Hussars, who +had brought the prisoners on board, had to return to the town to make +some necessary purchases for them, in the way of clothes, for they +possessed nothing but what they stood up in. + +We left Durban immediately by train for Pietermaritzburg, where we were +the guests of Sir Walter and Lady Hely Hutchinson, at Government House, +a very small but picturesque residence where Lady Hely Hutchinson +received us most kindly in the absence of her husband, who was in the +Transvaal, superintending the departure of the remaining prisoners. Here +we seemed to have left warlike conditions behind us, for the town was +agog with the excitement of a cricket-match, between Lord Hawke's eleven +and a Natal fifteen. On the cricket-field we met again two of our +_Tantallon Castle_ fellow-passengers, Mr. Guest and Mr. H. Milner, who +had come down from Johannesburg with the cricketers. We were interested +to compare notes and to hear Mr. Milner's adventures, which really made +us smile, though they could hardly have been a laughing matter to him at +the time. He told us that, after twice visiting Captain C. Coventry, who +was wounded in the Raid, at the Krugersdorp Hospital without +molestation, on the third occasion, when returning by train to +Johannesburg, he was roughly pulled out of his carriage at ten o'clock +at night, and told that, since he had no passport, he was to be +arrested on the charge of being a spy. In vain did he tell them that +only at the last station his passport had been demanded in such +peremptory terms that he had been forced to give it up. They either +would not or could not understand him. In consequence the poor man +tasted the delights of a Boer gaol for a whole night, and, worst +indignity of all, had for companions two criminals and a crowd of dirty +Kaffirs. The following morning, he said, his best friend would not have +known him, so swollen and distorted was his face from the visitations of +the inseparable little companions of the Kaffir native. He was liberated +on bail next day, and finally set free, with a scanty apology of +mistaken identity. At any other time such an insult to an Englishman +would have made some stir; as it was, everyone was so harassed that he +was hardly pitied. + +The Governor returned two days before our departure, and we had a gay +time, between entertainments for the cricketers and festivities given by +the 7th Hussars. Feeling in Durban, with regard to the Raiders, was then +running high, and for hours did a vast crowd wait at the station merely +in order to give the troopers of the Chartered Forces some hearty +cheers, albeit they passed at midnight in special trains without +stopping. Very loyal, too, were these colonists, and no German would +have had a pleasant time of it there just then, with the Kaiser's famous +telegram to Kruger fresh in everyone's memory. + +From Pietermaritzburg to Johannesburg the railway journey was a very +interesting one. North of Newcastle we saw a station bearing the name of +Ingogo; later on the train wound round the base of Majuba Hill, and when +that was felt behind it plunged into a long rocky tunnel which pierces +the grassy slope on which the tragedy of Laing's Nek was enacted--all +names, alas! too well known in the annals of our disasters. After +leaving the Majuba district, we came to the Transvaal frontier, where we +had been told we might meet with scanty courtesy. However, we had no +disagreeable experiences, and then the train emerged on the endless +rolling green plains which extend right up to and beyond the mining +district of the Rand. + +Now and then one perceived a trek waggon and oxen with a Boer and his +family, either preceded or followed by a herd of cattle, winding their +slow way along the dusty red track they call road. At the stations +wild-looking Kaffir women, half naked and anything but attractive in +appearance, came and stared at the train and its passengers. It is in +this desolate country that Johannesburg, the Golden City, sprang up, as +it were, like a fungus, almost in a night. Nine years previously the +Rand--since the theatre of so much excitement and disappointment--the +source of a great part of the wealth of London at the present day, was +as innocent of buildings and as peaceful in appearance as those lonely +plains over which we had travelled. As we approached Johannesburg, +little white landmarks like milestones made their appearance, and these, +we were told, were new claims pegged out. The thought suggested itself +that this part of South Africa is in some respects a wicked country, +with, it would almost seem, a blight resting on it: sickness, to both +man and beast, is always stalking round; drought is a constant scourge +to agriculture; the locust plagues ruin those crops and fruit that +hailstones and scarcity of water have spared; and all the while men vie +with and tread upon one another in their rush and eagerness after the +gold which the land keeps hidden. Small wonder this district has proved +such a whirlpool of evil influences, where everyone is always striving +for himself, and where disillusions and bitter experiences have caused +each man to distrust his neighbour. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[4] Colonel Frank Rhodes, Mr. G. Farrar, Mr. Hammond, and Mr. C. +Leonard. + +[5] Mr. Rhodes died in the spring of 1902. + +[6] Now Colonel Stracey Clitheroe. + +[7] Now Colonel Grenfell, 3rd Dragoon Guards. + +[8] Now Major Beresford. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + JOHANNESBURG AND PRETORIA IN 1896 + + "Little white mice of chance, + Coats of wool and corduroy pants, + Gold and wine, women and sin, + I'll give to you, if you let me in + To the glittering house of chance." + _American Dice Incantation_. + + +At Johannesburg we were the guests of Mr. Abe Bailey at Clewer Lodge. +Our host, however, was unfortunately absent, "detained" in the precincts +of the gaol at Pretoria, although allowed out on bail. In the same house +he had entertained in 1891 my brother Randolph[9] and his friend Captain +G. Williams, Royal Horse Guards, on their way to Mashonaland. One of my +first visitors was another fellow-traveller of theirs, Mr. H.C. Perkins, +the celebrated American mining expert. This gentleman was a great friend +of Randolph's, and he spoke most touchingly of his great attachment to +the latter, and of his grief at his death. For five years Mr. and Mrs. +Perkins had lived in Johannesburg, where they both enjoyed universal +respect, and their approaching departure, to settle once more in +America, was deplored by all. Considered to be the highest mining expert +of the day, Mr. Perkins had seen the rise of the Rand since its infancy, +and he had been shrewd enough to keep out of the late agitation and its +disturbances. Under his guidance we saw the sights of the towns: the +far-famed Rand Club; the Market Square, crammed, almost for the first +time since the so-called "revolution," with trek-waggons and their Boer +drivers; the much-talked-of "Gold-fields" offices, barred and +barricaded, which had been the headquarters of the Reform Committee; the +Standard Bank, where the smuggled arms had been kept; and finally the +Exchange and the street enclosed by iron chains, where the stock markets +were principally carried on. We were also shown the interior of the +Stock Exchange itself, though we were warned that it was scarcely worth +a visit at that time of depression. We heard the "call of the shares," +which operation only took twenty minutes, against nearly two hours +during the time of the recent boom. Instead of the listless, +bored-looking individuals below us, who only assumed a little excitement +when the revolving, clock-like machine denoted any popular share, we +were told that a few months ago every available space had been crowded +by excited buyers and sellers--some without hats, others in their +shirt-sleeves, almost knocking one another over in their desire to do +business. Those must indeed have been palmy days, when the money so +lightly made was correspondingly lightly spent; when champagne replaced +the usual whisky-split at the Rand Club, and on all sides was to be +heard the old and well-known formula, "Here's luck," as the successful +speculator toasted an old friend or a newcomer. + +However, to return to Johannesburg as we found it, after the 1895 boom. +Even then it seemed to me that for the first time in South Africa I saw +life. Cape Town, with its pathetic dullness and palpable efforts to keep +up a show of business; Kimberley, with its deadly respectability--both +paled in interest beside their younger sister, so light-hearted, +reckless, and enterprising. Before long, in spite of gloomy reflections +on the evils of gold-seeking, I fell under the fascination of what was +then a wonderful town, especially wonderful from its youth. The +ever-moving crowds which thronged the streets, every man of which +appeared to be full of important business and in a desperate hurry, +reminded one of the City in London. Smart carriages with well-dressed +ladies drove rapidly past, the shops were cunningly arranged with +tempting wares, and all this bustle and traffic was restored in little +over a week. A fortnight previously a revolution was impending and a +siege was looming ahead. Business had been at a complete standstill, +the shops and houses barred and barricaded, and many of the inhabitants +were taking a hurried departure; while bitterness, discord, and racial +feeling were rampant. Now, after a few days, that cosmopolitan and +rapidly changing population appeared to have buried their differences, +and the uninitiated would never have guessed the town had passed, and +was, indeed, still passing, through troublous times. Mr. Perkins, +however, was pessimistic, and told us appearances were misleading. He +rightly foresaw many lean years for those interested in the immediate +future of the Rand, though even he, perhaps, hardly realized how lean +those would become. Since those days much water has flown under the +bridge, and the trade of the town, not to speak of the mining industry, +has gone from bad to worse. Recently Federation, the dream of many a +statesman connected with South Africa, has opened a new vista of +political peace and prosperity to its chastened citizens. Many of these, +in affluent circumstances in 1896, have since gone under financially; +but some of the original inhabitants still remain to show in the future +that they have learned wisdom from their past troubles, brought on +principally by their mad haste to get rich too quickly. + +During our stay at Johannesburg we made an expedition to Pretoria in +order to see our host and other friends, who were still on bail there, +awaiting their trial, and also to visit the seat of the Boer Government. +By these remarkable State railways the short journey of thirty-two miles +occupied three hours. We passed one very large Boer laager, or military +camp, on the line, which looked imposing enough in the bright sunlight, +with its shining array of white-tarpaulin-covered waggons; companies of +mounted burghers, armed to the teeth, and sitting their ragged but +well-bred ponies as if glued to the saddle, were to be seen galloping to +and fro. Although the teeth of the enemy had been drawn for the present, +the Boers were evidently determined to keep up a martial display. As +Pretoria was approached the country became very pretty: low hills and +many trees, including lovely weeping-willows, appeared on the landscape, +and away towards the horizon was situated many a snug little farm; +running streams caught the rays of the sun, and really rich herbage +supplied the pasture for herds of fat cattle. The town itself did not +prove specially interesting. An imposing space called Church Square was +pointed out to us with great pride by the Dutch gentleman who kindly did +cicerone. There we saw the little primitive "dopper" church where the +President always worshipped, overshadowed and dwarfed by the magnificent +Houses of Parliament, built since the Transvaal acquired riches, and by +the no less grand Government Offices. As we were standing before the +latter, after the fashion of tourists, our guide suddenly became very +excited, and told us we were really in good luck, for the President was +just about to leave his office on his return home for his midday meal. +In a few minutes the old gentleman emerged, guarded by four armed +burghers, and passed rapidly into his carriage. We took a good look at +this remarkable personage. Stout in figure, with a venerable white +beard, in a somewhat worn frock-coat and a rusty old black silk hat, +President Kruger did not look the stern dictator of his little kingdom +which in truth he was. Our Dutch friend told us Oom Paul was in the +habit of commencing work at 5 a.m., and that he transacted business, +either at his house or in the Government Offices, with short +intermissions, until 5 p.m. Simply worshipped by his burghers, he was on +a small scale, and in his ignorant fashion, a man of iron like Bismarck, +notably in his strong will and in the way in which he imposed the same +on his countrymen. The extent of his personal influence could be gauged +when one considered that his mere orders had restrained his +undisciplined soldier-burghers, who, irritated by being called away from +their peaceful existences, maddened by the loss of some of their number +who fell in the fighting, and elated by their easy victory, were +thirsting to shoot down the leaders of the Raid, as they stood, in the +market-square at Krugersdorp. The state of the Boer Government at that +time added to the President's difficulties. He was hampered by the +narrowest--minded Volksraad (Parliament) imaginable, who resented tooth +and nail even the most necessary concessions to the Uitlanders; he was +surrounded by corrupt officials, most of whom were said to be implicated +in the late rebellion; he was the head of a community which was known to +be split up into several sections, owing to acute religious disputes; +and yet he contrived, at seventy-one years of age, to outwit the 60,000 +Uitlanders at Johannesburg, and to present his rotten republic as a +model of all that was excellent and high-minded to the world at large. +At the same time he compelled his burghers to forget their own +differences, as they hurled defiance at the common foe. It seems to be a +truism that it requires a Boer to rule a Boer; and in some ways the +mantle of President Kruger would appear to have descended in our days +upon General Louis Botha. According to all accounts, his will is now law +to the ignorant back Veldt Boers, although his guiding principles savour +more of the big stick than of the spoon-feeding system. Undoubtedly +loyal to England, he bids fair in the future to help found a nation, +based upon the union of British and Boer, inheriting their traditions, +cultivating their ideals, and pursuing their common ends. + +But this Utopia seemed far away in 1896, and it was, alas! destined that +many lives should be laid down, and much treasure expended, before its +advent. For the moment lamentations were rife in Johannesburg, and at +many a dinner-party unprofitable discussions raged as to what would have +happened had Dr. Jameson entered the city. On this point no one could +agree. Some people said the town could have been starved out in a few +days, and the water-supply cut off immediately; others asserted that the +Boers were in reality overawed by Dr. Jameson's name and prestige, and +would have been glad to make terms. The practical spirits opined that +the only thing which would have saved the inhabitants in any case was +the tame ending which actually came about--namely, the High +Commissioner's intervention coupled with President Kruger's moderation +and wisdom in allowing England to punish her own irregular soldiers. The +more one heard of the whole affair, the more it seemed to resemble a +scene out of a comic opera. The only people at Johannesburg who had +derived any advantage from the confusion were several hitherto unknown +military commanders, who had proudly acquired the title of Colonel, and +had promptly named a body of horse after themselves. During the days +before the final fiasco these leaders used to make short detours round +the town in full regimentals, and finally fill up the time by being +photographed in groups. Mercifully, as it turned out, they were not +ready for active service when Dr. Jameson was reported at Krugersdorp. + +We made an excursion to the so-called battle-field before leaving for the +South. We started in a covered waggonette with no springs to speak of, +drawn by six mules, and a pair of horses as leaders. Two Kaffirs acted +as charioteers, and kept up an incessant jabber in Dutch. The one who +held the reins looked good-natured enough, but the other, whose duty it +was to wield the enormously long whip, had a most diabolical cast of +countenance, in which cruelty and doggedness were both clearly depicted. +We found his face a true indication of his character before the end of +the day. Bumping gaily along, we soon left the well-built houses behind, +and after passing the Malay quarter of the town, remarkable by reason of +the quaint houses these blacks make out of paraffin tins, flattened out +and nailed together with wonderful neatness, we emerged on the open +veldt. Of course the road was of the roughest description, and sometimes +we had to hold on with all our might to avoid the concussion of our +heads with the wooden roof. In spite of this, as soon as the Kaffirs +saw an open space before them, the huge whip was cracked, and away went +our team at full gallop, seemingly quite out of control, the driver +leaning back in his seat with a contented grin, while his colleague +manipulated the unwieldy whip. The tract ran parallel to the Rand for +some distance, and we got a splendid view of Johannesburg and the row of +chimney-shafts that so clearly define the reef. + +On passing Langlaate village, we were stopped by a party of Boers, who +had off-saddled by the side of the road. As they were fully armed and +their appearance was not prepossessing, we expected to be ordered to +alight while our conveyance was being searched. However, our fears were +unfounded, and they were most polite. The driver muttered something in +Dutch, whereupon the leader came to the door, and said in broken +English: "Peeck neeck--I see all right." I am sorry to say one of the +gentlemen of our party muttered "Brute" in an audible whisper; but, +then, he had undergone a short, but a very unpleasant term of +imprisonment, with no sort of excuse, at the instance of a Boer +_Veldtcornet_, so no wonder he had vowed eternal vengeance. Luckily, +this officer did not hear, or else did not understand, the ejaculation, +so after a civil interchange of good-days we drove on. + +After about three hours we reached a shallow ford over a wide stream, +and our driver informed us that this was our destination. Leaving the +carriage, we walked up to some rocks overlooking the stream, which +seemed an inviting place for luncheon; but we were quickly driven away, +as thereon were lying seven or eight carcasses of dead horses and mules. +Curiously enough, the vultures, or "aas-vogels," had left the skins on +these poor beasts, for I remember noticing how their coats glistened in +the sunshine. This sight was not very conducive to a good appetite, and +a little farther on we saw another pathetic spectacle: a very deep +trench, made in the past by some gold-prospector, had been filled in +with rocky boulders, and was covered with withered ferns. Here lay those +who had fallen of the Chartered Company's Forces. No doubt by now the +space is enclosed as a tiny part of God's acre, but at that time the +rough stones in the deep grave, and the faded flowers, seemed to enhance +the dreariness of the scene.[10] As to the locality of the final +encounter and surrender of the Raiders, there was not much to interest +any but military men. Standing on the top of the eminence before alluded +to, one could see the Boer position and the sore strait of their foes. +Whether the column had come purposely towards this drift, as being the +only possible ford for many miles, or whether they had been guided +thereto by a treacherous guide, no one knew. One thing was certain: +destruction or surrender must have stared them in the face. The kopjes +on the farther side of the stream were bristling with Boers, and away on +the veldt beyond was drawn up the Staats artillery. And then one +realized a most awful blunder of the Reform Committee, from their point +of view. The Boer forces, arriving hereabouts in hot haste, from a rapid +mobilization, had been almost entirely without ammunition. We were told +on good authority that each burgher had but six rounds, and that the +field-guns were without any shells at all. During the night the +necessary supply was brought by rail from Pretoria, actually right +through Johannesburg. Either by accident or mature reflection on the +part of the conspirators in that city, this train was allowed to pass to +its destination unmolested. It proved to be one of those small +happenings that completely alter the course of events. If the burghers +had not stopped the Raiders there, nothing could have prevented them +from entering Johannesburg, for after another three miles the +long-sought-for chimneys--the overhanging cloud of smoke--would have +come into view. The very stars in their courses seemed to have fought +for the Boers, and justified President Kruger's belief that his people +were specially under the protection of Providence.[11] Neither will +anyone ever determine the number of Boers killed at Krugersdorp. One +_Veldtcornet_ inserted in all the papers that he defied anyone to prove +that more than four burghers were shot, and of these two were killed +accidentally by their own rifles. Residents on the spot, however, +averred that many more fell; but I think the point was not disputed in +view of President Kruger's famous claim for "moral and intellectual +damages," which was then already beginning to be mooted. + +The lengthening shadows at last reminded us that we had to return to +town for a dinner-party given in our honour. It usually takes some time +to catch a team of six mules and two horses turned out to graze on the +veldt; it is endless, however, when they are as frightened of their +drivers as ours appeared to be. At length they were collected and we +made a start, and then our adventures began. First the leader, a white +horse, jibbed. Off jumped the Kaffir coachman, and commenced hammering +the poor brute unmercifully over head, ears, and body, with what they +called in Africa the _shambok_.[12] In consequence the team suddenly +started off, but the long whip, left on the carriage roof, slipped down, +and was broken in two by the wheel passing over it. Anyone who has +driven behind mules knows how absolutely powerless the Jehu is without a +long whip; so here we were face to face with a real misfortune: +increasing darkness, jibbing leaders, no whip, and fifteen sandy miles +to traverse before dinner-time. With every sort of ejaculation and yell, +and a perfect rain of blows with the _shambok_ from the Kaffir still on +foot, we lurched forward at a gallop, escaping by a hair's-breadth +another gold-prospector's trench. But the same leader jibbed again after +another mile. I must admit he was a most irritating brute, whose +obstinacy had been increased by the cruelty of the driver. It was now +decided to put him in the "wheel," where he would be obliged to do his +work. We crawled on again till our white friend literally threw himself +down. I have related this incident to show how cruel Kaffirs can be, for +now the rage of the evil-looking driver burst forth. He not only +hammered the prostrate horse to any extent, but then made the rest of +the team pull on, so as to drag him along on his side. Of course this +could not be allowed, and Major ---- jumped out and commanded him to +desist, take out the useless horse, and tie him behind. At first the +Kaffir was very mutinous, and it was only when a stick was laid +threateningly across his back that he sulkily complied, looking the +while as if he would like to murder the man he was forced to obey. One +hears so much nowadays of the black population having equal rights with +the white inhabitants, that it is well to remember how ferociously their +lack of civilization occasionally comes out. Doubtless there are cruel +men both white and black, but for downright brutality the nigger is hard +to beat, and it is also quite certain that whom the latter does not fear +he will not love. I have personally experienced great devotion and most +attentive service on the part of natives, and they are deserving of the +kindest and most considerate treatment; but it has often made me +indignant to hear people, who have had little or no experience of living +in the midst of a native population, prate of the rights of our "black +brothers," and argue as if the latter thought, judged, amused +themselves, or, in short, behaved, as the white men do, who have the +advantage of hundreds of years of culture. + +The day following our drive to Krugersdorp we left for Cape Town and +England. We made the voyage on the old _Roslin Castle_. Always a slow +boat, she had on this occasion, in sporting parlance, a "wing down," +having broken a piston-rod on her way out from England, when we had +vainly awaited her at Cape Town, and I think it was nearly three weeks +before we landed at Plymouth. Again Randolph's African journey was +brought back to my recollection. The captain of the _Roslin Castle_, +Travers by name, had commanded the _Scot_, which brought his party home +from Mashonaland, and he had very agreeable recollections of many an +interesting conversation and of quiet rubbers of whist. + +Numerous and exciting events had been crowded into the past six weeks, +and in spite of revolutions and strife we had found our South African +visit a very pleasant one. A curious thing about that continent is: you +may dislike it or fall under its charm, but in any case it nearly always +calls you back. It certainly did in my case; and while recalling the +people we had met and the information we had acquired it was impossible +not to think a little of the Boers themselves, their characteristics and +their failings. At Johannesburg I had been specially struck by men, who +knew them from long experience, telling me how fully they appreciated +the good points of the burghers--for instance, their bravery, their love +of their country, and their simple, unquestioning, if unattractive +faith, which savoured of that of the old Puritans. Against these +attributes their pig-headedness, narrow-mindedness, laziness, and +slovenliness had to be admitted. All these defects militated against +their living in harmony with a large, increasing, and up-to-date +community like the Johannesburg Uitlanders. Still, one could not forget +that the Transvaal was their country, ceded to them by the English +nation. They left Cape Colony years ago, to escape our laws, which they +considered unjust. It is certain we should never have followed them into +the Transvaal but for the sudden discovery of the gold industry; it is +equally true they had not the power or the wish to develop this for +themselves, and yet without it they were a bankrupt nation. There is no +doubt that the men who made the most mischief, and who for years +embarrassed the President, were the "Hollanders," or officials sent out +from the mother-country of the Dutch. They looked on the Transvaal only +as a means for getting rich. Hence the fearful state of bribery and +corruption among them, from the highest official downwards. But this +very bribery and corruption were sometimes exceedingly convenient, and I +remember well, when I revisited Johannesburg in 1902, at the conclusion +of the war, hearing people inveigh against the hard bargains driven by +the English Government; they even went so far as to sigh again for the +good old days of Kruger's rule. Now all is changed once more, after +another turn of the kaleidoscope of time, and yet it is well to remember +that such things have indeed been. + + + + + +CHAPTER V + + THREE YEARS AFTER--LORD MILNER AT CAPE TOWN BEFORE THE + WAR--MR. CECIL RHODES AT GROOT SCHUURR--OTHER INTERESTING + PERSONAGES + + "There are many echoes in the world, but few voices." + GOETHE. + + +On May 6, 1899, we sailed from Southampton on the S.S. _Norman_. We +purposed to spend a few months in Rhodesia, but such is the frailty of +human plans that eventually we stayed in South Africa for one year and +three months. + +Dr. Jameson was our fellow-passenger to Cape Town, and with him we +travelled up to Bulawayo, and passed five weeks there as the guests of +Major Maurice Heaney.[13] Part of this time we spent on the veldt, far +from civilization, sleeping in tents, and using riding ponies and mule +waggons as transport. I can recommend this life as a splendid cure for +any who are run down or overworked. The climate of Rhodesia in the month +of June is perfection; rain is unknown, except as the accompaniment of +occasional thunderstorms; and it is never too hot to be pleasant. Game +was even then practically non-existent in Matabeleland, but our object +was to inspect the mines of Major Heaney's various companies. The +country was pretty and well wooded, and we crossed many river-beds, +amongst them the wide Umzingwani. This stream is a mighty torrent during +the rains, but, like many others in South Africa, it becomes perfectly +dry during the winter season, a peculiarity of the continent, which +caused a disappointed man to write that South Africa produced "birds +without song, flowers without smell, and rivers without water." + +While camped on the banks of this vanished river, we used to hear lions +roaring as evening fell, and could distinguish their soft pads in the +dry sand next morning; but they were so shy that we never caught a +glimpse of one, nor could they be tempted into any ambush. + +During these weeks the abortive Bloemfontein Conference had been holding +its useless sessions; the political world seemed so unsettled, and war +appeared so exceedingly likely, that we decided to return to Cape Town, +especially as Mr. Rhodes, who was expected out from England almost +immediately, had cabled asking us to stay at Groot Schuurr, where we +arrived early in July. A few days afterwards I had a ticket given me to +witness the opening of the Legislative Council, or Upper House, by Sir +Alfred Milner. It was an imposing ceremony, and carried out with great +solemnity. The centre of the fine hall was filled with ladies--in fact, +on first arriving, it gave one the idea of a ladies' parliament; but in +a few minutes the members filed in, shortly before the state entry of +His Excellency the Governor. Then, for the first time, I saw the man of +the hour; dignified without being stiff, and looking every inch his +part, he went through his role to perfection. The speech was, as usual, +utterly devoid of interest, and, contrary to the hope of excited +partisans, Transvaal affairs were studiously avoided. A few days later +we went to Government House to be introduced to Sir Alfred; he at once +impressed a stranger as a man of intense strength of mind and purpose, +underlying a somewhat delicate physique, which was at that time, +perhaps, enhanced by a decidedly worn and worried expression of +countenance. Later on I had many conversations with Mr. Rhodes about the +Governor. He used to say--and no one was better qualified to judge--that +Sir Alfred Milner was one of the strongest men he had ever met. "In the +business I am constantly having to transact with him, connected with the +Chartered Company," he remarked, "I find him, his mind once made up, +unmovable--so much so that we tacitly agree to drop at once any subject +that we do not agree on, for nothing could be gained by discussing it. I +allow he makes his decisions slowly, but once made they are +irrevocable." + +Mr. Rhodes used also to say he admired beyond words Sir Alfred's +behaviour and the line he adopted in that most difficult crisis before +the war. "He assumes," said his appreciator, "an attitude of perfect +frankness with all parties; he denies himself to no one who may give him +any information or throw fresh light on the situation; to all he +expresses his views, and repeats his unalterable opinions of what is +required." + +Other people told me how true these words were, and how ingeniously and +yet ingenuously Sir Alfred Milner contrived to treat a unique position. +Standing alone, the central isolated figure, surrounded by a young and +inexperienced staff, his political advisers men for whom he could have +but little sympathy, and whose opinions he knew to be in reality +diametrically opposed to his and to the present policy at home, the +Governor steered clear of intrigue and personal quarrels by his +intensely straightforward and able conduct. He was in the habit of +almost daily seeing Mr. Rhodes, financiers from Johannesburg, military +men thirsting for war, who were commencing to arrive from England, as +well as his Cabinet Ministers. To these latter he probably volunteered +information about the other interviews he had had, thereby disarming +their criticisms. + +From one great man I must pass to another. A few days after our arrival +at Groot Schuurr, Mr. Rhodes and Sir Charles Metcalfe arrived from +England. Incidentally I may mention the former's marvellous reception, +and the fact that nearly five miles of road between Cape Town and Groot +Schuurr were decorated with flags and triumphal arches, while the day +was observed as a general holiday. This had happened to him in a minor +degree so often before that it did not arouse much comment. The same +evening we attended a monster meeting at the Drill Hall, where thousands +of faces were turned simultaneously towards the platform to welcome back +their distinguished citizen. The cheering went on for ten minutes, and +was again and again renewed, till the enthusiasm brought a lump to many +throats, and certainly deeply affected the central figure of the +evening. This meeting, at which no less than a hundred addresses were +presented from every part of Africa--from the far-off Zambesi to the +fruit-growing district of the Paarl, almost entirely populated by +Dutch--even this great demonstration that one great man was capable of +inspiring quickly faded from my memory in view of the insight which +three weeks as his guest gave me of the many sides of his life, +occupations, and character. The extraordinary strength of will and +tenacity of purpose, points always insisted on in connection with him, +seemed on nearer acquaintance to be merely but a small part of a +marvellous whole. + +It often used to occur to me, when with Mr. Rhodes, how desirable it +would be to induce our sons and young men in general to imitate some of +the characteristics which were the motive power of his life, and +therefore of his success. I noticed especially the wonderful power of +concentration of thought he possessed, and which he applied to any +subject, no matter how trivial. The variety and scope of his many +projects did not lessen his interest in any one of them. At that time he +was building four railways in Rhodesia, which country was also pinning +its faith to him for its development, its prosperity, and, indeed, its +_modus vivendi_. Apart from this, Cape politics, although he then held +no official position, were occupying a great deal of his time and +thoughts in view of future Federation. It was, therefore, marvellous to +see him putting his whole mind to such matters as his prize poultry and +beasts at the home farm, to the disposing of the same in what he termed +"my country," or to the arranging of his priceless collection of +glass--even to the question of a domicile for the baby lioness lately +presented to him. Again, one moment he might be talking of De Beers +business, involving huge sums of money, the next discussing the progress +of his thirty fruit-farms in the Drakenstein district, where he had no +fewer than 100,000 fruit-trees; another time his horse-breeding +establishment at Kimberley was engaging his attention, or, nearer home, +the road-making and improvements at Groot Schuurr, where he even knew +the wages paid to the 200 Cape boys he was then employing. Mr. Rhodes +was always in favour of doing things on a large scale, made easy, +certainly, by his millionaire's purse. Sometimes a gardener or bailiff +would ask for two or three dozen rose or fruit trees. "There is no use," +he would exclaim impatiently, "in two dozen of anything. My good man, +you should count in hundreds and thousands, not dozens. That is the only +way to produce any effect or to make any profit." Another of his +theories was that people who dwelt in or near towns never had sufficient +fresh air. During one of our morning rides I remember his stopping a +telegraph-boy, and asking him where he lived. When the lad had told him, +he said: "I suppose there are no windows in your cottage; you had better +go to Rhodesia, where you will find space, and where you won't get +cramped ideas." Then he rode on, leaving the boy staring at him with +open eyes. An attractive attribute was his love of his early +associations, his father especially being often the theme of his +conversation. He used freely to express his admiration for the type the +latter represented, now almost extinct, of the old-fashioned country +clergyman-squire. He held with tenacity to the traditions of his +childhood in having always a cold supper on Sunday evenings, instead of +the usual elaborate dinner, also in having the cloth removed for +dessert, to display the mahogany, of which, alas! few of our tables are +now made. With stupidity, or anything thereto approaching, he was apt to +be impatient; neither could he stand young men who affected indifference +to, or boredom with, the events and sights of the day. I often used to +think, however, he frightened people, and that they did not show to +their best advantage, nor was their intelligence at its brightest when +talking with him. I now refer especially to those in his employ. + +To his opponents in the political world he was generous when discussing +them in private, however bitter and stinging his remarks were in public. +I remember one evening, on Mr. Merriman's name being mentioned, how Mr. +Rhodes dilated for some time on his charms as a friend and as a +colleague; he told me I should certainly take an opportunity of making +his acquaintance. "I am so fond of Merriman," he added; "he is one of +the most cultivated of men and the most charming of companions that I +know. We shall come together again some day." And this of the man who +was supposed then to hate Cecil John Rhodes with such a deadly hatred +that he, an Englishman born, was said to have been persuaded to Dutch +sympathies by his vindictive feelings against one great +fellow-countryman. Before leaving the subject of Mr. Rhodes, I must note +his intense kindness of heart and genuine hospitality. Groot Schuurr was +a rendezvous for people of all classes, denominations, and politics; +they were all welcome, and they certainly all came. From morn till eve +they passed in and out, very often to proffer a request, or, again, +simply to pay their respects and have the pleasure of a few minutes' +chat. After his morning ride, Mr. Rhodes, if nothing called him to town, +usually walked about his beautiful house, the doors and windows of which +stood open to admit the brilliant sunshine and to enable him to enjoy +glimpses of his beloved Table Mountain, or the brilliant colours of the +salvia and plumbago planted in beds above the stoep. I often call to +mind that tall figure, probably in the same costume in which he had +ridden--white flannel trousers and tweed coat--his hair rather rough, +from a habit he had of passing his hand through it when talking or +thinking. He would wander through the rooms, enjoying the pleasure of +looking at his many beautiful pieces of furniture and curiosities of +all sorts, nearly all of which had a history. Occasionally shifting a +piece of rare old glass or blue Delft china, he would the while talk to +anyone who chanced to come in, greeting heartily his old friends, and +remembering every detail of their circumstances, opinions, and conduct. +Concerning the latter, he did not fail to remind them of any failings he +had taken note of. Those who were frauds, incompetent, or lazy, he never +spared, and often such conversations were a source of much amusement to +me. On the other hand, those who had been true to him, and had not +veered round with the tide of public opinion after 1896, were ever +remembered and rewarded. It was remarkable to note the various Dutch +members of the Assembly who dropped in, sometimes stealthily in the +early morning hours, or, like Nicodemus, by night. One such gentleman +came to breakfast one day, bringing as a gift two curious antique pipes +and a pouch of Boer tobacco. The pipes were awarded a place in a glass +cabinet, and the giver most heartily thanked; he finally departed, well +pleased with himself. Now comes a curious trait in the man's character. +Before leaving he whispered to a friend the request that the fact of his +visit should not be mentioned in Cape Town circles. This request was +naturally repeated at once to Mr. Rhodes, much to the latter's +amusement. As ill-luck would have it, the cautious gentleman left his +umbrella behind, with his name in full on the handle; this remained a +prominent object on the hall table till, when evening fell, a trusted +emissary came to recover it. + +I often used to visit the House of Assembly or Lower House during that +session, and it was instructive to note the faces of the Opposition when +Rhodesia and its undoubted progress were subjects of discussion, and +especially when Mr. Rhodes was on his feet, claiming the undivided +attention of the House. It was not his eloquence that kept people so +attentive, for no one could call him eloquent; it was the singularly +expressive voice, the (at times) persuasive manner, and, above all, the +interesting things his big ideas gave him to say, that preserved that +complete silence. But, as I said before, the faces of his then +antagonists--albeit quondam friends--hardly disguised their thoughts +sufficiently. They were forced to consider the country of the man they +feared--the country to which he had given his name--as a factor in their +colony; they had to admit it to their financial calculations, and all +the time they would fain have crushed the great pioneer under their +feet. They had, indeed, hoped to see him humbled and abashed after his +one fatal mistake, instead of which he had gone calmly on his way--a +Colossus indeed--with the set purpose, as a guiding star ever before his +eyes, to retrieve the error which they had fondly imagined would have +delivered him into their hands. Truly an impressive and curious study +was that House of Assembly in the session of 1899. + +The number of people, more or less interesting, whom we met at Groot +Schuurr, seemed to pass as actors on a stage, sometimes almost too +rapidly to distinguish or individualize. But one or two stand out +specially in my recollection. Among them, a type of a fine old +gentleman, was Colonel Schermbrucker. A German by birth, and over +seventy years of age, he had served originally in the Papal Guard, and +had accompanied Pio Nono on the occasion of his famous flight from Rome. +Somewhere in the fifties, at the time of the arrival of the German +Legion, he had settled at the Cape, and had been a figure in politics +ever since. His opinions were distinctly English and progressive, but it +was more as an almost extinct type of the courtly old gentleman that he +impressed me. His extreme activity for his years, his old-world manners, +and his bright intelligence, were combinations one does not often meet, +and would have made him an interesting figure in any assembly or +country. Another day came Judge Coetzee, erstwhile Kruger's confidant +and right hand, but then of a very different way of thinking to his old +master. His remark on the warlike situation was as follows: "Kruger is +only a white Kaffir chief, and as such respects force, and force only. +Send sufficient soldiers, and there will be no fighting." This was also +Mr. Rhodes's view, but, as it turned out, both were wrong. In the +meantime the sands were running out, and the troops were almost on the +water, and yet the old man remained obdurate. + +Outside the hospitable haven of Groot Schuurr I one day met Mr. Merriman +at lunch as the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Solomon.[14] Considerably +above the average height, with a slight stoop and grey hair, Mr. +Merriman was a man whose appearance from the first claimed interest. It +was a few days after his Budget speech, which, from various innovations, +had aroused a storm of criticism, as Budgets are wont to do. Whatever +his private feelings were about the English, to me the Finance Minister +was very pleasant and friendly. We talked of fruit-farming, in which he +takes a great interest, of England, and even of his Budget, and never +did he show any excitement or irritation till someone happened to +mention the word "Imperialist." Then he burst out with, "That word and +'Empire' have been so done to death by every wretched little Jew +stockbroker in this country that I am fairly sick of them." "But surely +you are not a Little Englander, Mr. Merriman," I said, "or a follower +of Mr. Labouchere?" To this he gave an evasive reply, and the topic +dropped. I must relate another incident of our sojourn at Cape Town. +Introduced by Mr. Rhodes's architect, Mr. Baker, we went one day to see +a Mrs. Koopman, then a well-known personage in Cape Town Dutch society, +but who, I believe, is now dead. Her collection of Delft china was +supposed to be very remarkable. She lived in a quaint old house with +diamond-paned windows, in one of the back streets, the whole edifice +looking as if it had not been touched for a hundred years. Mrs. Koopman +was an elderly lady, most suitably dressed in black, with a widow's cap, +and she greeted us very kindly and showed us all her treasured +possessions. I was disappointed in the contents of the rooms, which were +certainly mixed, some very beautiful things rubbing shoulders with +modern specimens of clumsy early Victorian furniture. A room at the back +was given up to the Delft china, but even this was spoilt by ordinary +yellow arabesque wall-paper, on which were hung the rare plates and +dishes, and by some gaudy window curtains, evidently recently added. The +collection itself, made by Mrs. Koopman at very moderate prices, before +experts bought up all the Dutch relics, was then supposed to be of great +value. Our hostess conversed in good English with a foreign accent, and +was evidently a person of much intelligence and culture. She had been, +and still was, a factor in Cape politics, formerly as a great admirer of +Mr. Rhodes, but after 1896 as one of his bitterest opponents, who used +all her considerable influence--her house being a meeting-place for the +Bond party--against him and his schemes. We had, in fact, been told she +held a sort of political salon, though hardly in the same way we think +of it in England as connected with Lady Palmerston, her guests being +entirely confined to one party--viz., the Dutch. This accounted for a +blunder on my part. Having heard that Mrs. Koopman had been greatly +perturbed by the young Queen of Holland's representations to President +Kruger in favour of the Uitlanders, and seeing many photographs of this +charming-looking girl in the room, I thought I should be right in +alluding to her as "your little Queen." "She is not my Queen," was the +indignant reply; "Queen Victoria is my Queen." And then, quickly turning +to Mr. Baker, she continued: "What have you been telling Lady Sarah to +make her think I am not loyal?" Of course I had to disclaim and +apologize, but, in view of her well-known political opinions and +sympathies, I could not help thinking her extreme indignation a little +unnecessary. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[9] Lord Randolph Churchill died in January, 1895. + +[10] The soldiers' graves in South Africa have since then been carefully +tended by the Loyal Women's Guild. + +[11] The President's favourite psalm was said to be the 144th, which he +always believed was written to apply specially to the Boers. + +[12] Short whip. + +[13] Major Heaney is an American, and was one of the pioneers who +accompanied Dr. Jameson to Mashonaland in 1891. + +[14] Mr. Richard Solomon, then Attorney-General, now Sir Richard +Solomon. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + PREPARATIONS FOR WAR--MAFEKING, AND DEPARTURE THEREFROM + + "War seldom enters, but where wealth allures." + DRYDEN. + + +In August we left Cape Town, and I went to Bulawayo, where I spent two +months. Gordon[15] had been appointed A.D.C. to Colonel Baden-Powell, +and during this time was with his chief on the western borders. The +latter was engaged in raising two regiments of irregular horse, which +were later known as the Protectorate Regiments, and were recruited +principally from the district between Mafeking and Bulawayo. At the +latter town was also another English lady, Mrs. Godley, whose husband +was second in command of one of these regiments. It can easily be +imagined that there was little else discussed then but warlike subjects, +and these were two dreary and anxious months. We had little reliable +news; the local newspapers had no special cables, and only published +rumours that were current in the town. Mr. Rochfort Maguire, who was +then staying with Mr. Rhodes at Cape Town, used frequently to telegraph +us news from there. One day he would report President Kruger was +climbing down; the next, that he had once more hardened his heart. And +so this modern Pharaoh kept us all on tenterhooks. The drilling and +exercising of the newly recruited troops were the excitements of the +day. Soon Colonel Plumer[16] arrived, and assumed command of one of the +regiments, which was encamped on the racecourse just outside the town; +the other regiment had its headquarters at Mafeking. Colonel +Baden-Powell and his Staff used to dash up and down between the two +towns. Nearly all the business men in Bulawayo enlisted, and amongst the +officers were some experienced soldiers, who had seen all the +Matabeleland fighting, and some of whom had even participated in the +Raid. Others who used to drop in for a game of bridge were Lord Timmy +Paulet,[17] Mr. Geoffrey Glyn, and Dr. Jameson. To while away the time, +I took a course of ambulance lessons, learning how to bandage by +experiments on the lanky arms and legs of a little black boy. We also +made expeditions to the various mining districts. I was always struck +with the hospitality shown us in these out-of-the-way localities, and +with the cosiness of the houses belonging to the married mine-managers. +Only Kaffirs were available as servants, but, in spite of this, an +excellent repast was always produced, and the dwellings were full of +their home treasures. Prints of the present King and Queen abounded, and +among the portraits of beautiful Englishwomen, either photographs or +merely reproductions cut out of an illustrated newspaper, I found those +of Lady de Grey,[18] Georgiana, Lady Dudley, and Mrs. Langtry,[19] most +frequently adorning the walls of those lonely homes. + +At last, at the end of September, a wire informed us that hostilities +were expected to begin in Natal the following week, and I left for +Mafeking, intending to proceed to Cape Town and home. On arrival at +Mafeking everyone told us an attack on the town was imminent, and we +found the inhabitants in a state of serious alarm. However, +Baden-Powell's advent reassured them, and preparations for war proceeded +apace; the townspeople flocked in to be enrolled in the town guard, +spending the days in being drilled; the soldiers were busy throwing up +such fortifications as were possible under the circumstances. On October +3 the armoured train arrived from the South, and took its first trip on +the rails, which had been hastily flung down round the circumference of +the town. This train proved afterwards to be absolutely useless when the +Boers brought up their artillery. Night alarms occurred frequently; +bells would ring, and the inhabitants, who mostly slept in their +clothes, had to rush to their various stations. I must admit that these +nocturnal incidents were somewhat unpleasant. Still war was not +declared, and the large body of Boers, rumoured as awaiting the signal +to advance on Mafeking, gave no sign of approaching any nearer. + +We were, indeed, as jolly as the proverbial sandboys during those few +days in Mafeking before the war commenced. If Colonel Baden-Powell had +forebodings, he kept them to himself. Next to him in importance came +Lord Edward Cecil, Grenadier Guards, C.S.O. I have often heard it said +that if Lord Edward had been a member of any other family but that of +the gifted Cecils he would have been marked as a genius, and that if he +had not been a soldier he would surely have been a politician of note. +Then there was Major Hanbury Tracy, Royal Horse Guards, who occupied the +position of Director of Military Intelligence. This officer was always +devising some amusing if wild-cat schemes, which were to annihilate or +checkmate the Boers, and prove eventually the source of fame to himself. +Mr. Ronald Moncrieff,[20] an extra A.D.C., was, as usual, not blest +with a superabundance of this world's goods, but had an unending supply +of animal spirits, and he was looking forward to a siege as a means of +economizing. Another of our circle was Major Hamilton Gould Adams,[21] +Resident Commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, who commanded +the town guard, representing the civil as opposed to the military +interests. In contrast to the usual practice, these departments worked +perfectly smoothly together at Mafeking. + +Colonel Baden-Powell did not look on my presence with great favour, +neither did he order me to leave, and I had a sort of presentiment that +I might be useful, considering that there were but three trained nurses +in the Victoria Hospital to minister to the needs of the whole garrison. +Therefore, though I talked of going South every day by one of the +overcrowded trains to Cape Town, in which the Government was offering +free tickets to any who wished to avail themselves of the opportunity, I +secretly hoped to be allowed to remain. We had taken a tiny cottage in +the town, and we had all our meals at Dixon's Hotel, where the food was +weird, but where certainly no depression of spirits reigned. I even +bought a white pony, called Dop,[22] from a Johannesburg polo-player, +and this pony, one of the best I have ever ridden, had later on some +curious experiences. One day Dr. Jameson arrived on his way to Rhodesia, +but he was hustled away with more haste than courtesy by General +Baden-Powell, who bluntly told him that if he meant to stay in the town +a battery of artillery would be required to defend it; and of +field-guns, in spite of urgent representations, not one had reached us +from Cape Town. We used to ride morning and evening on the flat country +which surrounds Mafeking, where no tree or hill obscures the view for +miles; and one then realized what a tiny place the seat of government of +the Bechuanaland Protectorate really was, a mere speck of corrugated +iron roofs on the brown expanse of the burnt-up veldt, far away from +everywhere. I think it was this very isolation that created the interest +in the siege at home, and one of the reasons why the Boers were so +anxious to reduce it was that this town was practically the jumping-off +place for the Jameson Raid. So passed the days till October 13, and then +the sword, which had been suspended by a hair, suddenly fell. + +On that day Major Gould Adams received a wire from the High Commissioner +at Cape Town to the effect that the South African Republic had sent an +ultimatum to Her Majesty's Government, in which it demanded the removal +of all troops from the Transvaal borders, fixing five o'clock the +following evening as a limit for their withdrawal. I had delayed my +departure too long; it was extremely doubtful whether another train +would be allowed to pass South, and, even when started, it would stand a +great chance of being wrecked by the Boers tearing up the rails. Under +these circumstances I was allotted comparatively safe quarters at the +house of Mr. Benjamin Weil, of the firm of the well-known South African +merchants. His residence stood in the centre of the little town, +adjacent to the railway-station. At that time bomb-proof underground +shelters, with which Mafeking afterwards abounded, had not been thought +of, or time had not sufficed for their construction. On all sides one +heard reproaches levelled at the Cape Government, and especially at +General Sir William Butler, until lately commanding the troops in Cape +Colony, for having so long withheld the modest reinforcements which had +been persistently asked for, and, above all, the very necessary +artillery. + +At that date the Mafeking garrison consisted of about seven or eight +hundred trained troops. The artillery, under Major Panzera, comprised +four old muzzle-loading seven-pounder guns with a short range, a +one-pound Hotchkiss, one Nordenfeldt, and about seven ^{.}303 Maxims--in +fact, no large modern pieces whatever. The town guard, hastily +enrolled, amounted to 441 defenders, among whom nationalities were +curiously mixed, as the following table shows: + + British 378 + Germans 4 + Americans 4 + Russians 6 + Dutch 27 + Norwegians 5 + Swedes 2 + Arabs and Indians 15 + ____ + + Total 441[23] + +This force did not appear sufficiently strong to resist the three or +four thousand Boers, with field-guns, who were advancing to its attack +under one of their best Generals--namely Cronje--but everyone remained +wonderfully calm, and the townspeople rose to the occasion in a most +creditable manner. + +Very late that same evening, just as I was going to bed, I received a +message from Colonel Baden-Powell, through one of his Staff, to say he +had just been informed, on trustworthy authority, that no less than +8,000 burghers composed the force likely to arrive on the morrow, that +it was probable they would rush the town, and that the garrison would be +obliged to fight its way out. He concluded by begging me to leave at +once by road for the nearest point of safety. Naturally I had to obey. I +shall never forget that night: it was cold and gusty after a hot day, +with frequent clouds obscuring the moon, as we walked round to Major +Gould Adams's house to secure a Cape cart and some Government mules, in +order that I might depart at dawn. At first I was ordered to Kanya, a +mission-station some seventy miles away, an oasis in the Kalahari +Desert. This plan gave rise to a paragraph which I afterwards saw in +some of the daily papers, that I had left Mafeking under the escort of a +missionary, and some cheery spirit made a sketch of my supposed +departure as reproduced here. Later on, however, it was thought +provisions might run short in that secluded spot, so I was told to +proceed to Setlagoli, a tiny store, or hotel as we should call it, with +a shop attached, thirty-five miles south in Bechuanaland, on the main +road to Kimberley, from which quarter eventually succour was expected. +My few preparations completed, I simply had to sit down and wait for +daybreak, sleep being entirely out of the question. In the night the +wind increased, and howled mournfully round the house. At four o'clock, +when day was about to break, I was ready to start, and some farewells +had to be said. These were calm, but not cheerful, for it was my firm +belief that, in all human probability, I should never see the familiar +faces again, knowing well they would sell their lives dearly. + +It was reported amongst my friends at home that, in order to escape +from Mafeking, my maid and myself had ridden 200 miles. One newspaper +extract was sent me which said, concerning this fictitious ride, that it +"was all very well for Lady Sarah, who doubtless was accustomed to +violent exercise, but we commiserate her poor maid." Their pity was +wasted, for the departure of my German maid Metelka and myself took +place prosaically in that most vile of all vehicles, a Cape cart. Six +fine mules were harnessed to our conveyance, and our two small +portmanteaus were strapped on behind. The Jehu was a Cape boy, and, to +complete the cortege, my white pony Dop brought up the rear, ridden by a +Zulu called Vellum. This boy, formerly Dr. Jameson's servant, remained +my faithful attendant during the siege; beneath his dusky skin beat a +heart of gold, and to him I could safely have confided uncounted +treasures. As the daylight increased so did the wind in violence; it was +blowing a perfect gale, and the dust and sand were blinding. We +outspanned for breakfast twelve miles out, at the farm of a presumably +loyal Dutchman; then on again, the wind by now having become a +hurricane, aggravated by the intensely hot rays of a scorching sun. I +have never experienced such a miserable drive, and I almost began to +understand the feelings of people who commit suicide. However, the long +day wore to a close, and at length we reached Setlagoli store and +hotel, kept by a nice old Scotch couple, Mr. and Mrs. Fraser. The latter +was most kind, and showed us two nice clean rooms. Here, anyway, I +trusted to find a haven of rest. This hope was of short duration, for +Sergeant Matthews, in charge of the Mounted Police depot, soon came and +told me natives reported several hundred Boers at Kraipann, only ten +miles away. He said they were lying in wait for the second armoured +train, which was expected to pass to Mafeking that very night, carrying +the howitzers so badly needed there, and some lyddite shells. The +sergeant opined the Boers would probably come on here if victorious, and +loot the store, and he added that such marauding bands were more to be +feared than the disciplined ones under Cronje. He even suggested my +leaving by moonlight that very night. The driver, however, was unwilling +to move, and we were all so exhausted that I decided to risk it and +remain, the faithful sergeant promising to send scouts out and warn us +should the enemy be approaching. I was fully determined that, having +left Mafeking, where I might have been of use, I would run no risks of +capture or impertinence from the burghers, who would also certainly +commandeer our cart, pony, and mules. + +Then followed another endless night; the moon set at 1 a.m., and +occasionally I was roused by the loud and continuous barking of the +farm dogs. At four o'clock Vellum's dusky countenance peered into the +room, which opened on to the stoep, as do nearly all the apartments of +these hotels, to ask if the mules should be inspanned, for these natives +were all in wholesale dread of the Boers. Hearing all was quiet, I told +him to wait till the sergeant appeared. About an hour later I opened my +door to have a look at the weather: the wind had dropped completely, the +sky was cloudless, and a faint tinge of pink on the distant horizon +denoted where the east lay. I was about to shut it again and dress, when +a dull booming noise arrested my attention, then almost froze the blood +in my veins. There was no mistaking the firing of big guns at no very +great distance. + +We are accustomed to such a sound when salutes are fired or on a +field-day, but I assure those who have not had a like experience, that +to hear the same in actual warfare, and to know that each detonation is +dealing death and destruction to human beings and property, sends a +shiver down the back akin to that produced by icy cold water. I counted +four or five; then there it was again and again and again, till +altogether I reckoned twenty shots, followed by impressive silence once +more, so intense in the quiet peace of the morning landscape. On the +farm, however, there was stir and bustle enough: alarmed natives +gathered in a group, weird figures with blankets round their +shoulders--for the air was exceedingly cold--all looking with straining +eyes in the direction of Kraipann, from where the firing evidently came. +I soon joined the people, white and back, in front of the store, and +before long a mounted Kaffir rode wildly up, and proceeded, with many +gesticulations, to impart information in his own tongue. His story took +some time, but at last a farmer turned round and told me the engagement +had been with the armoured train, as we anticipated, and that the latter +had "fallen down" (as the Kaffir expressed it) owing to the rails being +pulled up. What had been the fate of its occupants he did not know, as +he had left in terror when the big gun opened fire. Curiously enough, as +I afterwards learnt, these shots were the first fired during the war. + +Remembering the sergeant's warning, I decided to start at once for +Mosita, twenty-five miles farther away from the border, leaving Vellum +to bring on any further intelligence when the sergeant, who had been +away all night watching the Boers, returned. We now traversed a fine +open grassy country, very desolate, with no human habitation. The only +signs of life were various fine "pows"[24] stalking sedately along, or +"korans," starting up with their curious chuckle rather like the note +of a pheasant, or a covey of guinea-fowl scurrying across the road and +losing themselves in the waving grass. Meanwhile the driver kept up an +incessant conversation with the mules, and I found myself listening to +his varying epithets with stupefied curiosity. During that four hours' +drive we only met two natives and one huge herd of cattle, which were +being driven by mounted Kaffirs, armed with rifles, to Mosita, our +destination, where it was hoped they would be out of the way of +marauding Boers. At last we reached the native stadt of Mosita, where +our appearance created great excitement. Crowds of swarthy men and +youths rushed out to question our driver as to news. The latter waxed +eloquent in words and gestures, imitating even the noise of the big gun, +which seemed to produce great enthusiasm among these simple folk. Their +ruling passion, I afterwards found, was hatred and fear of the Boers, +and their dearest wish to possess guns and ammunition to join the +English in driving them back and to defend their cattle. In the distance +we could see the glimmering blue waters of a huge dam, beyond which was +the farm and homestead of a loyal colonial farmer named Keeley, whose +hospitality I had been told to seek. Close by were the barracks, with +seven or eight occupants, the same sort of depot as at Setlagoli. I +asked to see Mrs. Keeley, and boldly announced we had come to beg for a +few nights' lodging. We were most warmly received and made welcome. The +kindness of the Keeleys is a bright spot in my recollections of those +dark weeks. Mrs. Keeley herself was in a dreadful state of anxiety, as +she had that very day received a letter from her husband in Mafeking, +whither he had proceeded on business, to say he found he must remain and +help defend the town; his assistance was urgently needed there in +obtaining information respecting the Boers from the natives, whose +language he talked like his own. She had five small children, and was +shortly expecting an addition to her family, so at last I had found +someone who was more to be pitied than myself. She, on the other hand, +told me our arrival was a godsend to her, as it took her thoughts off +her troubles. + +Affairs in the neighbourhood seemed in a strange confusion. Mr. Keeley +was actually the _Veldtcornet_ of the district, an office which in times +of peace corresponded to that of a magistrate. In reality he was shut up +in Mafeking, siding against the Dutch. The surrounding country was +peopled entirely, if sparsely, by Dutch farmers and natives, the former +of whom at first and before our reverses professed sympathy with the +English; but no wonder the poor wife looked to the future with dread, +fearful lest British disasters would be followed by Boer reprisals. + +Towards sunset Vellum appeared with a note from Sergeant Matthews. It +ran as follows: + +"The armoured train captured; its fifteen occupants all killed.[25] +Boers opened fire on the train with field artillery." + +In our isolation these words sank into our souls like lead, and were +intensified by the fact that we had that very morning been so near the +scene of the tragedy--"reverse" I would not allow it to be called, for +fifteen men had tried conclusions with 400 Boers, and had been merely +hopelessly outnumbered. The latter had, however, scored an initial +success, and the intelligence cast a gloom, even where all was blackest +night. Vellum brought a few more verbal details, to the effect that +Sergeant Matthews had actually succeeded in stopping the armoured train +after pursuing it on horseback for some way, expecting every moment to +be taken for a Boer and fired on. He asked to speak to the officer in +charge, and a young man put his head over the truck. Matthews then told +him that several hundred Boers were awaiting the train, strongly +entrenched, and that the metals were up for about three-quarters of a +mile. "Is that all?" was the answer; then, turning to the engine-driver, +"Go straight ahead." Here was a conspicuous instance of English +foolhardy pluck. + +The evening was a lovely one. I took a walk along the road by which we +had come in the morning, and was soothed by the peaceful serenity of the +surrounding country. + +It seemed to be impossible that men were killing each other only a few +short miles away. The herd of cattle we had passed came into view, and +caught sight of the water in the dam. It was curious to see the whole +herd, some five or six hundred beasts, break into a clumsy canter, and, +with a bellowing noise, dash helter-skelter to the water--big oxen with +huge branching horns, meek-eyed cows, young bullocks, and tiny calves, +all joining in the rush for a welcome drink after a long hot day on the +veldt. + +The last news that came in that evening was that all the wires were cut +north and south of Mafeking, and the telegraphists fled, as their lives +had been threatened. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[15] Captain Gordon Wilson, Royal Horse Guards, now Lieutenant-Colonel +Wilson, M.V.O. + +[16] Now Major-General Sir Herbert Plumer, K.C.B. + +[17] Now Marquis of Winchester. + +[18] Now Marchioness of Ripon. + +[19] Now Lady de Bathe. + +[20] Died in Africa, 1909. + +[21] Now Sir Hamilton Gould Adams, Governor of the Orange River Colony. + +[22] Dutch for a peculiar kind of cheap brandy very popular with the +Boers. + +[23] This return was given me by Major Gould Adams. + +[24] African wild-turkeys. + +[25] This was incorrect. The officer in charge and two others were +severely wounded, the driver and stoker killed by the explosion of the +boiler. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + IN A REBELLIOUS COLONY--VISIT TO VRYBURG DURING THE BOER + OCCUPATION--I PASS OFF AS A DUTCHMAN'S SISTER + + "The days are so long, and there are so many of them." + DU MAURIER. + + +During the weeks I remained at Mosita, the only book I had to read was +"Trilby," which I perused many times, and the lament of the heroine in +the line quoted above seemed to re-echo my sentiments. For days and days +we were absolutely without news. It is impossible after a lapse of time +to realize exactly what that short sentence really means. I must ask my +readers to remember that we talked and thought of one topic only; we +looked incessantly in the one direction by which messengers might come. +Our nerves were so strained that, did we but see one of the natives +running across the yard, or hear them conversing in louder tones than +usual, we at once thought there must be news, and jumped up from any +occupation with which we were trying to beguile the time, only to sink +back on our chairs again disappointed. As for knowing what was passing +in the world, one might as well have been in another planet. We saw no +papers, and there was not much prospect of obtaining any. Before the war +we had all talked lightly of wires being cut and railway-lines pulled +up, but, in truth, I do not think anyone realized what these two +calamities really meant. My only comfort was the reflection that, no +matter how hard they were fighting in Mafeking, they could not be +suffering the terrible boredom that we were enduring. To such an extent +in this monotony did I lose the count of time, that I had to look in the +almanack to be able to say, in Biblical language, "The evening and the +morning were the sixth day." + +At length one evening, when we were sitting on the stoep after supper, +we descried a rider approaching on a very tired horse. Rushing to the +gate, we were handed letters from Mafeking. It can be imagined how we +devoured them. They told of three determined attacks on the town on the +third day after I had left, all successfully repulsed, and of a +bombardment on the following Monday. The latter had been somewhat of a +farce, and had done no damage, except to one or two buildings which, by +an irony of fate, included the Dutch church and hotel and the convent. +The shells were of such poor quality that they were incapable of any +explosive force whatever.[26] After nine hours' bombardment, although +some narrow escapes were recorded, the only casualties were one chicken +killed and one dog wounded. An emissary from Commandant Snyman had then +come solemnly into the town under a flag of truce, to demand an +unconditional surrender "to avoid further bloodshed." Colonel +Baden-Powell politely replied that, as far as he was concerned, +operations had not begun. The messenger was given refreshment at Dixon's +Hotel, where lunch was laid out as usual. This had astonished him +considerably, as presumably he had expected to find but few survivors. +He was then sent about his business. Gordon, who imagined me at +Setlagoli, concluded his letter by saying the Colonel had informed +General Cronje of my presence at Mrs. Fraser's, and begged him to leave +me unmolested. This news, which had come by a _Daily Mail_ +correspondent, on his way South to send off cables, was satisfactory as +far as it went, and we at once despatched a trusty old nigger called +Boaz with a tiny note, folded microscopically in an old cartridge-case, +to give the garrison news of the surrounding country. This old man +proved a reliable and successful messenger. On many occasions he +penetrated the cordon into the beleaguered town, and during the first +two months he was practically the sole means they had of receiving +news. His task was of course a risky one, and we used to pay him L3 each +way, but he never failed us. + +Now commenced a fresh period of anxious waiting, and during this time I +had leisure and opportunity to study the characteristics of these Boer +farmers and their wives, and to learn what a curious race they are. Mrs. +Keeley told me a great deal of their ideas, habits, and ways, in which +low cunning is combined with extreme curiosity and naive simplicity. +Many of the fathers and sons in the neighbourhood had slunk off to fight +across the border, sending meanwhile their wives and daughters to call +on Mrs. Keeley and condole with her in what they termed "her trouble," +and to ascertain at the same time all the circumstances of the farm and +domestic circle. A curious thing happened one day. Directly after +breakfast an old shandrydan drove up with a typical Dutch family as +occupants. Mrs. Keeley, busy with household matters, pulled a long face, +knowing what was before her. No questions as to being at home, +disengaged, or follies of that sort, were asked; the horses were +solemnly outspanned and allowed to roam; the family party had come to +spend the day. Seated gravely in the dining-room, they were refreshed by +coffee and cold meat. Mrs. Keeley remarked to me privately that the best +thing to do was to put quantities of food before them and then leave +them; and, beyond a few passing words as she went in and out of the +room, I did not make out that they went in for entertaining each other. +So they sat for hours, saying nothing, doing nothing. When Mrs. Keeley +wanted me to have lunch, she asked them to remove to the stoep, and in +this request they seemed to find nothing strange. Finally, about five +o'clock they went away, much to the relief of their hostess; not, +however, before the latter had shrewdly guessed the real object of their +visit, which was to find out about myself. Report had reached them that +Mafeking was in the hands of the Dutch, that the only survivor of the +garrison had escaped in woman's clothes, had been wandering on the veldt +for days, and had finally been taken in here. "Ach!" said the old +_vrow_, "I would be afraid to meet him. Is he really here?" This remark +she made to Mrs. Keeley's brother, who could hardly conceal his +amusement, but, to reassure her, displayed the cart and mules by which I +had come. If in England we had heard of the arrival of a "unicorn" in an +aeroplane, we should not have shown more anxiety or taken more trouble +to hear about the strange creature than did they concerning myself. +Their curiosity did not end here. What was Mr. Keeley doing in Mafeking? +Was he fighting for the English? How many head of cattle had they on +the farm? And so on _ad libitum_. Mrs. Keeley, however, knew her friends +well, and was quite capable of dealing with them, so they probably spent +an unprofitable day. + +On another occasion an English farmer named Leipner looked in, and gave +us some information about Vryburg. This town was absolutely undefended, +and was occupied by the Boers without a shot being fired. The ceremony +of the hoisting of the _Vierkleur_[27] had been attended by the whole +countryside, and had taken place with much psalm-singing and praying, +interlarded with bragging and boasting. He told me also that some of the +rumours current in the town, and firmly credited, reported that Oom Paul +had annexed Bechuanaland, that he was then about to take Cape Colony, +after which he would allow no troops to land, and the "Roineks" would +have been pushed into the sea. His next step would be to take England. +Mr. Leipner assured me the more ignorant Boers had not an idea where +England was situated, nor did they know that a great ocean rolled +between it and this continent. In fact, they gloried in their want of +knowledge, and were insulted if they received a letter in any tongue but +their own. He related one tale to illustrate their ignorance: An old +burgher and his _vrow_ were sitting at home one Sunday afternoon. +Seeing the "predicant"[28] coming, the old man hastily opened his Bible +and began to read at random. The clergyman came in, and, looking over +his shoulder, said: "Ah! I see you are reading in the Holy Book--the +death of Christ." "Alle machter!" said the old lady. "Is He dead indeed? +You see, Jan" (to her husband) "you never will buy a newspaper, so we +never know what goes on in the world." Mr. Leipner said this story loses +in being told in English instead of in the original Dutch. He reiterated +they did not wish for education for themselves or for their children. If +the young people can read and write, they are considered very good +scholars. This gentleman also expressed great satisfaction at Sir Alfred +Milner and Mr. Chamberlain being at the head of affairs, which he said +was the only thing that gave the colonials confidence. Even now, so many +feared England would give way again in the end. I assured him of this +there was no possibility, and then he said: "The Transvaal has been a +bad place for Englishmen to live these many years; but if Great Britain +fails us again, we must be off, for then it will be impossible." I was +given to understand that the Boers exhibited great curiosity as to who +Mr. Chamberlain was, and that they firmly believed he had made money in +Rand mining shares and gold companies; others fancied he was identical +with the maker of Chamberlain's Cough Syrup, which is advertised +everywhere in the colony. + +Early in November we had a great surprise. Mr. Keeley himself turned up +from Mafeking, having been given leave from the town guard to look after +his wife and farm. He had to ride for his life to escape the Boers, who +were drawing much closer to the town, and the news he brought was not +altogether reassuring. True, he stated that the garrison were in +splendid spirits, and that they no longer troubled themselves about the +daily bombardments, as dug-out shelters had been constructed. The young +men, he said, vied with each other in begging for permission to join +scouting-parties at night, to pepper the Boers, often, as a result, +having a brush with the enemy and several casualties. All the same, they +would return at a gallop, laughing and joking. There had been, however, +several very severe fights, notably one on Canon Kopje, where two very +able officers and many men had been killed. In such a small garrison +this loss was a serious one, and the death-roll was growing apace, for, +besides the frequent attacks, the rifle fire in the streets was becoming +very unpleasant. Intelligence was also to hand of the Boers bringing up +one of the Pretoria siege guns, capable of firing a 94-pound shell. This +was to be dragged across the Transvaal at a snail's pace by a team of +twenty oxen, so secure were they against any interruption from the +South. Against these depressing items, he gave intelligence of an +incident that had greatly alarmed the Boers. It seemed that, to get rid +of two trucks of dynamite standing in the railway-station, which were +considered a danger, the same had been sent off to a siding some eight +miles north. The engine-driver unhitched them and made good his escape. +The Boers, thinking the trucks full of soldiers, immediately commenced +bombarding them, till they exploded with terrific force. This chance +affair gave the Boers the idea that Mafeking was full of dynamite, and +later, when I was in the laager, they told me one of the reasons why +they had never pressed an attack home was that they knew the whole town +was mined. Mr. Keeley also told us of a tragedy that had greatly +disturbed the little circle of defenders. The very evening that the +victims of the Canon Kopje fight were laid to rest, Lieutenant +Murchison,[29] of the Protectorate Regiment, had, in consequence of a +dispute, shot dead with his revolver at Dixon's Hotel the +war-correspondent of the London _Daily Chronicle_, a Mr. Parslow. I +afterwards learnt that the court-martial which sat on the former had +fourteen sessions in consequence of its only being able to deliberate +for half an hour at a time in the evening, when the firing was +practically over. The prisoner was ably defended by a Dutch lawyer named +De Koch, and, owing to his having done good service during the siege, +was strongly recommended to mercy, although sentenced to be shot. The +most satisfactory points we gleaned were the splendid behaviour of the +townspeople, and the fine stand made by the natives when the Boers +attacked their stadt, adjacent to the town. The number of Boer +field-guns Mr. Keeley stated to be nine, of the newest type, besides the +monster expected from Pretoria. He also said more expert gunners and +better ammunition had arrived. As to his own position, Mr. Keeley was by +no means sure that either his life or his property were safe, but he +relied on his influence with his neighbours, which was considerable, and +he thought he would be able to keep them quiet and on their farms. + +One night, just as my maid was going to bed, she suddenly saw, in the +bright moonlight, a tall figure step out of the shadow of the fir-trees. +For an instant a marauding Boer--a daily bugbear for weeks--flashed +across her mind, but the next moment she recognized Sergeant Matthews +from Setlagoli. He had ridden over post-haste to tell us the Boers were +swarming there, and that he and his men had evacuated the barracks. He +also warned us the same commando was coming here on the morrow, and +advised that all the cattle on the farm should be driven to a place of +safety. This information did not conduce to a peaceful night, but, +anyway, it gave one something to think of besides Mafeking. I buried a +small jewel-case and my despatch-box in the garden, and then we went +calmly to bed to await these unwelcome visitors. Mr. Keeley had +fortunately left the day before on a business visit to a neighbouring +farmer, for his presence would rather have contributed to our danger +than to our safety. When we awoke all was peaceful, and there was every +indication of a piping hot day. Mrs. Keeley was very calm and sensible, +and did not anticipate any rudeness. We decided to receive the burghers +civilly and offer them coffee, trusting that the exodus of all the +cattle would not rouse their ire. Our elaborate preparations were +wasted, for the Boers did not come. The weary hours dragged on, the sun +crawled across the steely blue heavens, and finally sank, almost +grudgingly, it seemed, into the west, leaving the coast clear for the +glorious full moon; the stars came out one by one; the goats and kids +came wandering back to the homestead with loud bleatings; and presently +everything seemed to sleep--everything except our strained nerves and +aching eyes, which had looked all day for Boers, and above all for news, +and had looked in vain. + +We still continued to have alarms. One day we saw a horseman wrapped in +a long cloak up to his chin, surmounted by a huge slouch hat, ride into +the yard. Mrs. Keeley exclaimed it was certainly a Boer, and that he had +no doubt come to arrest Mr. Keeley. I was positive the unknown was an +Englishman, but she was so shrewd that I really believed her, and kept +out of sight as she directed, while she sent her brother to question +him. It turned out that the rider was the same _Daily Mail_ +correspondent who had cut his way out of Mafeking in order to send his +cables, and that he was now on his way back to the besieged town. The +growth of a two weeks' beard had given him such an unkempt appearance as +to make even sharp Mrs. Keeley mistake him for a Boer. He had had an +interesting if risky ride, which he appeared to have accomplished with +energy and dash, if perhaps with some imprudence.[30] + +It was the continued dearth of news, not only concerning Mafeking, but +also of what was going on in the rest of South Africa, that made me at +length endeavour to get news from Vryburg. As a first step I lent Dop to +a young Dutchman named Brevel, who was anxious to go to that township to +sell some fat cattle. This youth, who belonged to a respectable Boer +family--of course heart and soul against the English--was overwhelmed +with gratitude for the loan of the horse, and in consequence I stood +high in their good graces. They little knew it was for my sake, not +theirs, that they had my pony. By this messenger we sent letters for the +English mail, and a note to the magistrate, begging him to forward us +newspapers and any reliable intelligence. I also enclosed a cheque to be +cashed, for I was running short of English gold wherewith to pay our +nigger letter-carriers. I must confess I hardly expected to find anyone +confiding enough to part with bullion, but Mr. Brevel duly returned in a +few days with the money, and said they were very pleased to get rid of +gold in exchange for a cheque on a London bank. + +He also, however, brought back our letters, which had been refused at +the post-office, as they would take no letters except with Transvaal +stamps, and for ours, of course, we had used those of Cape Colony. + +The magistrate wrote me a miserable letter, saying his office had been +seized by the Boers, who held a daily Kriegsraad there, and that he had +received a safe-conduct to depart. The striking part of the +communication was that a line had been put through "On H.M. Service" on +the top of the official envelope. I was really glad to find the young +man had done no good with his own business, having failed to dispose of +any of his cattle. He, a Dutchman, had returned with the feeling that no +property was safe for the moment, and much alarmed by the irresponsible +talk of those burghers who had nothing to lose and everything to gain by +this period of confusion and upheaval. He also greatly disturbed Mr. +Keeley by saying they meant to wreak vengeance on any who had fought for +the English, and by warning him that a commando would surely pass his +way. Further news which this young man proceeded to relate in his awful +jargon was that Oom Paul and all his grandchildren and nephews had gone +to Bulawayo; from there he meant to commence a triumphal march +southward; that Kimberley had capitulated; and that Joubert and his army +had taken possession of Ladysmith. To all this Mrs. Keeley had to listen +with polite attention. Luckily, I did not understand the import of what +he said till he had taken himself off, with an unusually deep bow of +thanks to myself. The only comfort we derived was the reflection that +these lies were too audacious to be aught but inventions made up to +clinch the wavering and timid spirits. + +No matter how miserable people in England were then, they will never +realize fully what it meant to pass those black months in the midst of a +Dutch population; one felt oneself indeed alone amongst foes. Smarting +under irritation and annoyance, I decided to go myself to Vryburg--Dutch +town though it had become--and see if I could not ascertain the truth of +these various reports, which I feared might filter into Mafeking and +depress the garrison. Mr. Keeley did not disapprove of my trip, as he +was as anxious as myself to know how the land lay, and he arranged that +Mrs. Keeley's brother, Mr. Coleman, should drive me there in a trap and +pair of ponies. For the benefit of the gossips, I stated as an +ostensible reason for my visit that I had toothache. I was much excited +at the prospect of visiting the Boer headquarters in that part of the +country, and seeing with my own eyes the Transvaal flag flying in the +town of a British colony. Therefore I thought nothing of undertaking a +sixty miles' drive in broiling heat and along a villainous road. The +drive itself was utterly uneventful. We passed several Dutch farmhouses, +many of them untenanted, owing to the so-called loyal colonial owners +having flocked to the Transvaal flag at Vryburg. All these houses, +distinguished by their slovenly and miserable appearance, were built of +rough brick or mud, with tiny windows apparently added as an +afterthought, in any position, regardless of symmetry. Towards sundown +we arrived at a roadside store, where we were kindly entertained for the +night by the proprietors, a respectable Jewish couple. + +About five miles from Vryburg a party of thirty horsemen appeared on the +brow of the hill; these were the first Boers I had seen mounted, in +fighting array, and I made sure they would ride up and ask our business; +but apparently we were not interesting enough in appearance, for they +circled away in another direction. The road now descended into a sort of +basin or hollow, wherein lay the snug little town of Vryburg, with its +neat houses and waving trees, and beyond it we could see the white tents +of the Boer laager. A young Dutchman had recently described Vryburg to +me as a town which looked as if it had gone for a walk and got lost, and +as we drove up to it I remembered his words, and saw that his simile was +rather an apt one. There seemed no reason, beyond its site in a +sheltered basin, why Vryburg should have been chosen for the capital of +British Bechuanaland. The railway was at least a mile away on the east, +and so hidden was the town that, till you were close on it, you could +barely see the roofs of the houses. Then suddenly the carriage drove +into the main street, which boasted of some quite respectable shops. The +first thing that attracted our notice was the Court House, almost hidden +in trees, through which glimmered the folds of the gaudy Dutch standard. +Before the court were armed Boers, apparently sentries, whilst others +were passing in and out or lounging outside. Another group were busy +poring over a notice affixed on a tree, which we were told was the +latest war news: + + WAR NEWS + + LATEST REPORTS + + _Price 3d._ + + VRYBURG, OCT. 31, 1899 + + MAFEKING SPEECHLESS WITH TERROR + + KIMBERLEY TREMBLES + + 40 ENGLISH SOLDIERS DESERT TO JOIN OUR RANKS + + It appears by telegram received this morning that the Burghers + started firing on Mafeking with the big cannon. The town is on + fire and is full of smoke. + + The British troops in Natal met the Burghers at Elandslaagte. + The battle-field was kept by the Burghers under General + Prinsloo. Two were killed, four wounded. + +We drove down the street, and pulled up at the Central Hotel, where I +got capital rooms and was most civilly received by the manager, an +Englishman. The latter, however, could hardly conceal his surprise at my +visit at this moment. He at once advised me not to mention my name, or +show myself too much, as that very day a new Landrost had arrived to +take charge of the town, and strict regulations respecting the coming +and going of the inhabitants and visitors were being made. He then gave +me some splendid news of the Natal border, the first intelligence of the +victories of Dundee, Elandslaagte, and Glencoe. To hear of those alone +was worth the long drive, and he also showed me the Dutch reports of +these same engagements, which really made one smile. On every occasion +victory had remained with the burghers, while the English dead and +prisoners varied in numbers from 500 to 1,300, according to the mood of +the composer of the despatch. The greatest losses the burghers had +sustained up to then in any one engagement were two killed and three +wounded. The spoils of war taken by the Dutch were of extraordinary +value, and apparently they had but to show themselves for every camp to +be evacuated. They were kind enough to translate these wonderful +despatches into a sort of primitive English, of which printed slips +could be bought for threepence. The hotel manager said if they did not +invent these lies and cook the real account the burghers would desert +_en masse_. So afraid were their leaders of news filtering in from +English sources that all messengers were closely watched and searched. +In the afternoon I drove up to the little hospital to see three of the +occupants of the ill-fated armoured train. They were all convalescent, +and said they were being very kindly treated in every way, but that the +Boer doctoring was of the roughest description, the surgeon's only +assistant being a chemist-boy, and trained nurses were replaced by a few +well-meaning but clumsy Dutch girls, while chloroform or sedatives were +quite unknown. + +It was grievous to hear of all the Government military provisions, +police and private properties, being carted off by the "powers that be," +and not a little annoying for the inhabitants to have to put all their +stores at the disposal of the burghers, who had been literally clothed +from head to foot since their arrival. The owners only received a +"brief" or note of credit on the Transvaal Government at Pretoria, to be +paid after the war. For fear of exciting curiosity, I did not walk about +much, but observed from the windows of my sitting-room the mounted +burghers patrolling the town, sometimes at a foot's pace, more often at +a smart canter. I felt I never wished to see another Boer. I admitted to +myself they sat their horses well and that their rifle seemed a familiar +friend, but when you have seen one you have seen them all. I never could +have imagined so many men absolutely alike: all had long straggling +beards, old felt hats, shabby clothes, and some evil-looking +countenances. Most of those I saw were men of from forty to fifty years +of age, but there were also a few sickly-looking youths, who certainly +did not look bold warriors. These had not arrived at the dignity of a +beard, but, instead, cultivated feeble whiskers. + +After I had seen and heard all I could, came the question of getting +away. The manager told me the Landrost had now forbidden any of the +residents to leave the town, and that he did not think I could get a +pass. However, my Dutch friend was equal to the occasion; he applied for +leave to return to his farm with his sister, having only come in for +provisions. After a long hesitation it was given him, and we decided to +set out at daybreak, fearful lest the permission might be retracted, as +it certainly would have been had my identity and his deception been +discovered, and we should both have been ignominiously lodged in a Boer +gaol. As the sun was rising we left Vryburg. On the outskirts of the +town we were made to halt by eight or ten Boers whose duty it was to +examine the passes of travellers. It can be imagined how my heart beat +as I was made to descend from the cart. I was wearing a shabby old +ulster which had been lent me at the hotel for this purpose; round a +battered sailor hat I had wound a woollen shawl, which with the help of +a veil almost completely concealed my identity. It had been arranged +that Mr. Coleman should tell them I was suffering from toothache and +swollen face. The ordeal of questioning my supposed brother and +examining our passports took some minutes--the longest I have ever +experienced. He contrived to satisfy these inquisitors, and with a +feeling of relief we bundled into the cart again and started on our long +drive to Mosita. On that occasion we accomplished the sixty miles in one +day, so afraid were we of being pursued. + +On my return to Mosita I at once despatched old Boaz to Mafeking, giving +them the intelligence of the victories in Natal. This proved to be the +first news that reached them from the more important theatre of the war. +Our life now became uneventful once more. One day an old Irish lady, +wife of a neighbouring farmer, dropped in for a chat. She was a nice old +woman, as true as steel, and terribly worried by these dreadful times. +She had a married daughter in the Transvaal, and a brother also, whose +sons, as well as daughters' husbands, would, she sorely feared, be +commandeered to fight, in which case they might unknowingly be shooting +their own relations over the border. It was the same tale of misery, +anxiety, and wretchedness, everywhere, and the war was but a few weeks +old. The population in that colony, whether Dutch or English, were so +closely mixed together--their real interests so parallel--that it +resolved itself locally into a veritable civil war. It was all the more +dreadful that these poor farmers, after having lost all their cattle by +rinderpest, had just succeeded in getting together fresh herds, and were +hoping for renewed prosperity. Then came the almost certain chance of +their beasts being raided, of their stores being looted, and of their +women and children having to seek shelter to avoid rough treatment and +incivility. Often during the long evenings, especially when I was +suffering from depression of spirits, I used to argue with Mr. Keeley +about the war and whether it was necessary. It seemed to me then we were +not justified in letting loose such a millstream of wretchedness and of +destruction, and that the alleged wrongs of a large white +population--who, in spite of everything, seemed to prosper and grow rich +apace--scarcely justified the sufferings of thousands of innocent +individuals. Mr. Keeley was a typical old colonist, one who knew the +Boers and their character well, and I merely quote what he said, as no +doubt it was, and is, the opinion of many other such men. He opined that +this struggle was bound to come, declaring that all the thinking men of +the country had foreseen it. The intolerance of the Boers, their +arrogance, their ignorance, on which they prided themselves, all +proclaimed them as unfit to rule over white or black people. Of late +years had crept in an element of treachery and disloyalty, emanating +from their jealousy of the English, which by degrees was bound to +permeate the whole country, spreading southward to Cape Colony itself, +till the idea of "Africa for the Dutch, and the English in the sea," +would have been a war-cry that might have dazzled hundreds of to-day's +so-called loyal colonists. He even asserted that those at the head of +affairs in England had shown great perspicacity and a clear insight into +the future. If at the Bloemfontein Conference, or after, Kruger had +given the five years' franchise, and the dispute had been patched up for +the moment, it would have been the greatest misfortune that could have +happened. The intriguing in the colony, the reckless expenditure of the +Transvaal Secret Service money, the bribery and corruption of the most +corrupt Government of modern times, would have gone on as before, and +things would soon have been as bad as ever. Mr. Keeley was positive that +it was jealousy that had engendered this race hatred one heard so much +about; even the well-to-do Dutch knew the English were superior to them +in knowledge and enterprise. At the same time any English invention was +looked upon with awe and interest; they were wont to copy us in many +respects, and if a Dutch girl had the chance of marrying an Englishman, +old or young, poor or rich, she did not wait to be asked a second time. +There is no doubt the women were a powerful factor in Boerland. Even a +Britisher married to a Dutchwoman seemed at once to consider her people +as his people, and the Transvaal as his fatherland. These women were +certainly the most bitter against the English; they urged their husbands +in the district to go and join the commandoes, and their language was +cruel and bloodthirsty. + + * * * * * + +Towards the middle of November I decided that I could not remain in my +present quarters much longer. My presence was attracting unwelcome +attention to my kind host and hostess, albeit they would not admit it. +From the report that I was a man dressed as a woman, the rumour had now +changed to the effect that I was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, +sent specially out by Her Majesty to inform her of the proceedings of +her rebellious subjects. Another person had heard I was the wife of the +General who was giving the Boers so much trouble at Mafeking. I +determined, therefore, to return to Mrs. Fraser's hotel, which was +always a stage nearer Mafeking, whither I was anxious to return +eventually. As a matter of fact, there was no alternative resting-place. +It was impossible to pass south to Kimberley, to the west lay the +Kalahari Desert, and to the east the Transvaal. With many grateful +thanks to the Keeleys, I rode off one morning, with Vellum in +attendance, to Setlagoli, which I had left a month before. We thought it +prudent to make sure there were no Boers about before bringing the +Government mules and cart. Therefore I arranged for my maid to follow in +this vehicle if she heard nothing to the contrary within twenty-four +hours. Mrs. Fraser was delighted to see me, and reported the Boers all +departed after a temporary occupation, so there I settled down for +another period of weary waiting. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[26] The Boers used better ammunition later. + +[27] Boer national flag. + +[28] Clergyman. + +[29] Mr. Murchison was shut up in the gaol awaiting Lord Roberts's +confirmation of his sentence. When Eloff succeeded in entering Mafeking +many months later, the former was liberated with the other prisoners, +and given a rifle to fire on the Boers, which he did with much effect. I +believe he was afterwards taken to a gaol in the Isle of Wight, but I do +not know if his life-sentence is still in force. + +[30] This gentleman on a later occasion again attempted to leave +Mafeking on horseback, and was taken prisoner by the Boers and sent to +Pretoria, leaving the _Daily Mail_ without a correspondent in Mafeking. +At the request of that paper I then undertook to send them cables about +the siege. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + BETRAYED BY A PIGEON--THE BOERS COME AT LAST + + "For a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which + has wings shall tell the matter."--ECCLES. x. 20. + + +The day after my arrival at Setlagoli some natives came in with +apparently well-authenticated news of an English victory near Vryburg. +They also asserted that the line was already being relaid to Maribogo, +and that the railway servants had returned to that station. I drove over +at once to prove the truth of their statements; of course, I found they +were all false, except the fact of the station-master having returned to +the barricaded and desolate station. I discovered him sitting +disconsolately at the door of his ruined house, gloomily perusing +"Nicholas Nickleby." On returning home, I was delighted to find +interesting letters from Mr. and Mrs. Rochfort Maguire, who were shut up +in Kimberley, as was also Mr. Rhodes. The latter had despatched them by +a boy, ordered to continue his journey to Mafeking with other missives +and also with some colonial newspapers. These latter, only about a +fortnight old, we fairly spelled through before sending them on. They +were already so mutilated by constant unfolding that in parts they were +scarcely decipherable, but none the less very precious. Two days later +arrived a representative of Reuter's Agency, whom I shall call Mr. P. He +had come by rail and horseback straight from Cape Town and he was also +under orders to proceed to Mafeking; but his horses were so done up that +he decided to give them a few days' rest. I took advantage of his escort +to carry out a long-cherished desire to see the wreck of the armoured +train at Kraipann. Accompanied by a boy to show us the way, we started +after an early lunch. As it was a Sunday, there was not much fear of our +meeting any Boers, as the latter were always engaged that day in +psalm-singing and devotions. We cantered gaily along, passing many +Kaffir huts, outside of which were grouped wondering natives, in their +Sunday best. These kept up a lively conversation with our guide as long +as we remained within earshot. I was always impressed with the +freemasonry that existed in that country among the blacks. Everywhere +they found acquaintances, and very often relations. They used to tell me +that such and such a man was their wife's cousin or their aunt's +brother. Moreover, as long as you were accompanied by a native, you +were always sure of certain information concerning the whereabouts of +the Boers; but to these latter they would lie with stupid, solemn faces. +When we neared Kraipann, we came to a region of rocks and kopjes, truly +a God-forsaken country. Leaving our horses in the native stadt, we +proceeded on foot to the scene of the disaster. There was not much to +see, after all--merely a pilot armoured engine, firmly embedded its +whole length in the gravel. Next to this, an ordinary locomotive, still +on the rails, riddled on one side with bullets, and on the other +displaying a gaping aperture into the boiler, which told its own tale. +Then came an armoured truck--H.M.'s _Mosquito_--that I had seen leaving +Mafeking so trim and smart, but now battered with shot; and lastly +another truck, which had been carrying the guns. This had been pushed +back into a culvert, and presented a dilapidated appearance, with its +front wheels in the air. The whole spectacle was forlorn and eerie. All +the time I gave cursory glances right and left, to make sure no Boers +were prowling about, and I should not have been surprised to have seen +an unkempt head bob up and ask us our business. But all remained as +silent as the grave. Swarms of locusts were alone in possession, and +under the engine and carriages the earth was a dark brown moving mass, +with the stream of these jumping, creeping things. I had soon gratified +my curiosity, and persuaded my companion, who was busy photographing, +also to leave this desolate spot. + +The Boers continued to ride roughshod over the land, commandeering oxen +and cattle, putting up to public auction such Government properties as +they had seized at the different railway-stations, and employing +hundreds of Kaffirs to tear up the railway-line. Our enemies were +perfectly secure in the knowledge that no help could come for months, +and the greater number believed it would never come at all, and that the +"Roineks" were being cut to pieces in the South. They openly stated +there would be no more railway traffic, but that in future trade and +transit would be carried on by transport riding--_i.e._, by ox-waggon, +their favourite amusement and occupation. In the meantime the cry of the +loyal colonists went up from all sides: "How much longer can it last?" + +After a few days Mr. P. duly returned from Mafeking, having had a risky +but successful trip in and out of the town. He reported it all well, and +that the inhabitants were leading a mole existence, owing to the +constant shelling. The Boers evidently preferred dropping in shells at a +safe distance to risking their lives by a storming attack. With great +pride Mr. P. showed me a basket of carrier pigeons, by which he assured +me I could now communicate swiftly and safely with the garrison. He was +even kind enough to send off one at once on a trial trip, with a short +note signed with his name, informing Colonel Baden-Powell that I was at +Setlagoli, and that I would be able to forward any letters or +information they might wish to send. I had never had any experience of +such birds, and was delighted to think how much quicker they would +travel than old Boaz. When the pigeon was released, however, I must +confess it was rather disturbing to note that it did not seem at all +sure of the direction it should take, circling round at least twenty +times in the air. However, Mr. P. assured me this was their usual habit, +and that this particular bird knew its business, having taken several +prizes; so, as it eventually disappeared, I thought no more about it. +The next day Mr. P. left for Cape Town, and passed out of our ken, but +we were soon to be reminded of him in an unpleasant fashion. + +On going into the dining-room to lunch one day, I saw little Mr.----, a +kinsman of Mrs. Fraser's, and particularly short of stature, with an axe +in hand, in the act of taking up the boards in a corner of the room, +revealing as he did so a sort of shallow cellar, with no light or +ventilation. Watching the operation was another man, an Englishman, the +dispossessed manager of a local store, who had sought a temporary +lodging at the hotel, and was a big, strong individual, over 6 feet in +height. I inquired in amazement, of this strangely assorted pair, what +they were trying to do. "We are going to hide, Lady Sarah," chirped the +former. "The Boers are on the premises." So saying, he was about to +descend into the cavity, and evidently expected the companionship of his +tall friend. When I pointed out to them that they would probably +suffocate in this modern Black Hole of Calcutta, the little man +proceeded to dance round the room, still shouldering his axe, jibbering +the while: "I will not go to fight; I am an American. I will not be put +in the front rank to be shot by the English, or made to dig trenches." +The whole scene was so comic that I sat down and laughed, and the climax +was reached when the cock-sparrow, who had always talked so big of what +he was going to do and to say to the Boers, crawled under the old grand +piano in the farther corner of the big room. I was forced to tell him +that no American or Englishman could be found in such an ignominious +position, should the house be searched, and I even assured the little +gentleman that I did not think it was the least likely his services +would be wanted. The other man, whose position was more risky, I advised +to lie down on the sofa and feign illness; and I really believe anxiety +and worry had so preyed on him that he was as ill as he looked. When +calm had been restored, I sat down to lunch, Mrs. Fraser coming in at +intervals to report what our visitors were doing at the store. They had +demanded coffee and many tins of salmon and sardines. Of these +delicacies they seemed particularly fond, eating the latter with their +fingers, after which they drank the oil, mixed for choice with golden +syrup. After their repast they fitted themselves out in clothes and +luxuries, such as silver watches and chains, white silk +pocket-handkerchiefs, cigarettes, saddles, and even harness, taking +altogether goods to the amount of about L50. This amusement finished, +they proceeded to practise shooting, setting up bottles at a distance of +about 50 yards. We followed all their doings from behind the green +Venetian blinds, kept down on account of the heat. Up to this time none +of them had come up to the house, for which we had reason to be +grateful, as the "dop" they had found, and quickly finished, was +beginning to affect their demeanour and spirits, particularly of the one +named Dietrich, who appeared to be the boss of the party. At last the +immediate reason for their visit filtered out. This slightly intoxicated +gentleman inquired of Mr. Fraser where they could find a man named Mr. +P. and the English lady of whom he had written. The old gentleman, who +could be more than common deaf when he chose, affected utter vacancy at +the mention of these individuals, merely stating that he knew a man of +the name of P. fifteen years ago. Then the whole story was told. They +had captured our pigeon, with its tell-tale note. This confiding bird +had flown straight to the laager, had perched on the General's house, +where it had been shot by this same Dietrich, and we owed the present +visit to the information supplied therein by Mr. P., Dietrich informing +us he attributed this occurrence to the Almighty working for the Boers. +They stated they were now awaiting the arrival of the _Veldtcornet_ and +of Mr. Lamb, a neighbouring farmer, whom they had sent for, and they +proceeded to make their preparations to spend the night. After supper we +were relieved to hear Mr. Lamb's cheerful voice, as he rode up in the +dark with the jovial Dietrich, who had ridden out to meet him, and who, +it appeared, was an old friend of his. I must say the pleasure of +meeting was more on the Dutchman's side than on the Englishman's. By +this time the former was quite intoxicated, and Mr. Lamb cleverly +managed to get him to his room, and after having, as he thought, +disposed of him, he came and joined us on the stoep. There we freely +discussed our visitors, and were having a cheery conversation, when I +suddenly looked up, and round the corner of the verandah saw the +unsteady form of a typical Boer--slouch hat, bandolier, and rifle, +complete--staggering towards us, truly a weird apparition. The rising +moon shining on the rifle-barrel made it glitter like silver. I confess +I disappeared round the corner to my room with more haste than dignity. +To Boers by daytime, when sober, I had by now become accustomed, but at +night, after liberal doses of "dop," armed with a loaded rifle, I +preferred their room to their company. Luckily, Mr. Lamb was equal to +the occasion, and persuaded Dietrich to return to his quarters, in spite +of his assurance that he (Dietrich) "was the man who watched, and who +did not sleep." With the morning arrived nine or ten more, including the +newly-appointed _Veldtcornet_, by name De Koker, who had been lately +convicted of sheep-stealing. After a long idle morning and more +refreshments, they all adjourned to the living-room, where, with much +difficulty, one of them stumbled through the reading of a printed +proclamation, which enacted that "This country now being part of the +Transvaal, the residents must within seven days leave their homes or +enrol themselves as burghers." Nothing was mentioned about fighting, so +all there complied with what was required--namely, to sign their names +on a blank sheet of paper. By evening all had left for Mosita, as Mr. P. +had also mentioned Mr. Keeley's name in his unlucky note. Three, +however, remained to keep a watch on myself, and one of these, I +regretted to observe, was the jovially-inclined Dietrich. It can be +imagined that our irritation with Mr. P. was great for having so +foolishly mentioned names and places, and still more with the idiotic +bird, the real origin of a very unpleasant two days. I reflected that, +if these were the tricks carrier-pigeons were wont to play, I greatly +preferred the old nigger as a letter-carrier in wartime. + +We were not to wait long for more developments. Next day at dusk arrived +a large cavalcade, which included Mr. Keeley, a prisoner. He went on +with his escort at daybreak, leaving us full of sympathy for his poor +wife. I sent by his bodyguard, under the command of another Dietrich, +brother to the drunkard, who seemed a decent sort of man, a letter to +General Snyman, begging for a pass into Mafeking to rejoin my husband. +Mr. Keeley told me their Intelligence Department was very perfect, as +they had been aware of every one of my movements since I left Mafeking, +and even of my rides during the last fortnight. He also told me General +Cronje and a great number of Boers had left Mafeking and trekked South. +This encouraged me in my belief that it would be better for me to be in +that beleaguered town than to submit to the possible insults of Boer +sentinels at Setlagoli. + +The next day was Sunday, and in the morning returned the energetic +Veldtcornet De Koker. He had heard of my letter to Snyman, and, wishing +to be important, had come to offer me a pass to the laager for a +personal interview with the General, assuring me the latter was always +very polite to ladies. He even wished to escort me there that very day. +However, I had no mind to act hastily, so I made an excuse of the mules +being away--also that I did not like to travel on a Sunday. This latter +reason he fully appreciated, and arranged with me to come to his house +the following day, for which purpose he left me a permit, vilely +scrawled in Dutch. I mentally reserved to myself the decision as to +keeping the rendezvous. We sat down to breakfast together, although, as +he could speak no English and I could speak no Dutch, the conversation +was nil. He was pleased with the cigarette I offered him, and observed +me with some curiosity, probably never having seen anything approaching +an English lady previously. Before he left, I complained, through an +interpreter, of the insobriety of my self-constituted sentinel Dietrich, +remarking it was quite impossible I could stand such a man dogging my +footsteps much longer. He promised to report the matter, and insisted on +shaking hands with great cordiality. + +It was fortunate I had not accompanied De Koker, for that very evening +back came Mr. Keeley, who had luckily succeeded in satisfying the +suspicions of General Snyman, and who had received a permit to reside on +his farm during the war. He brought me a letter in Dutch from the same +authority, refusing, "owing to the disturbed state of the country," to +give me a pass to Mafeking, and requesting me to remain where I was, +under the "surveillance of his burghers." It was exactly the +surveillance of one of his said burghers I wished to avoid; but there +seemed no possibility of getting rid of Dietrich, who evidently +preferred his comfortable quarters at the hotel to roughing it in the +laager. I was exceedingly disappointed, and also somewhat indignant with +Mr. Keeley, who firmly believed, and was much cast down by, some +telegrams he had read out in the laager, relating the utter defeat of +15,000 English at the Modder River;[31] 1,500 Boers, he stated, had +surrounded this force, of which they had killed 2,000. I stoutly refused +to credit it till I had seen it in an English despatch. But all this was +enough to subdue the bravest spirit; we had received practically nothing +but Dutch information during the last six weeks, telling of their +successes and English disasters; we had seen nobody but our enemies. +Even if one did not allow oneself to believe their tales, there was +always a sort of uncomfortable feeling that these must contain some +element of truth. Fortunately, however, I was reading an account of the +Franco-German War in 1870, and there I found that the same system of +inventing successes was carried on by the French press right up to, and +even after, the Emperor's capitulation at Sedan. So it was comforting to +think that, if it had been necessary to keep up the spirits of paid and +regular soldiers, it must be a thousand times more essential for the +Transvaal authorities to do so, as regards their unpaid mixed army, who +had no encouragement to fight but knowledge of successes and hopes of +future loot. All the same, it was a great trial of patience. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[31] This news must have been a garbled account of the fighting with +Lord Methuen's column. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + HOW I WAS MADE A PRISONER--IN A BOER LAAGER + + "Ah, there, Piet! be'ind 'is stony kop, + With 'is Boer bread an' biltong, an' 'is flask of awful dop; + 'Is mauser for amusement an' 'is pony for retreat, + I've known a lot o' fellers shoot a dam' sight worse than + Piet."--KIPLING. + + +Provisions at Setlagoli and in the surrounding districts were now fast +running out, and Mrs. Fraser announced to me one morning she had only +full allowance of meal for another week. In that colony no meal meant no +bread, and it was, in fact, the most important factor in the housewife's +mind when thinking of supplies. While on this subject, I must remark +what very excellent bread is that made by the Dutch; no matter how poor +or dilapidated the farmhouses, large loaves of beautiful, slightly +browned bread are always in evidence, baked by the mother or daughters. +The non-existence of the railway was beginning to cause much distress, +Dutch and English suffering alike. In fact, if it had not been for the +locusts, unusually numerous that year, and always a favourite food with +the natives, these latter would also have been starving. As every mouth +to feed was a consideration, I determined to see if I could personally +induce the Boer General to pass me into Mafeking. Under Mrs. Fraser's +charge I left my maid, as I did not wish to expose her to any hardships +in the laager; and to her I gave the custody of my pony Dop, to whom I +had become much attached. After detaining me a prisoner, the Boers +returned to Setlagoli specially to secure this animal; they had heard +the natives speak of her in terms of high appreciation, and describe her +as "not a horse, but lightning." Metelka, with much spirit, declared the +pony to be her property, having been given her, she said, in lieu of +wages. She further stated she was a German subject, and that if her +horse were not returned in three days she should write to the Kaiser. +All this was repeated to General Snyman by the awestruck _Veldtcornet_. +After a week spent with the Boers, Dop arrived back at Setlagoli, +carefully led, as if she were a sacred beast, and bringing a humble +letter of apology from the Commandant. + +But I am anticipating, and must return to my solitary drive to the +laager, accompanied only by Vellum and another black boy. I took the +precaution of despatching a nigger with a note to Mafeking, telling +Colonel Baden-Powell of my plan, and that, having heard a Dutch woman +called Mrs. Delpoort, in Mafeking, wished to join her friends in the +Transvaal, I intended asking General Snyman to exchange me for her. The +distance we had to drive was forty-five miles, along villainous sandy +roads and under a burning African sun. We outspanned for the second time +at the house of De Koker, who had been the first to advise me to visit +the laager. His dwelling was situated close to the railway-line, or, +rather, to where the railway-line had been. Here there was a great stir +and bustle; men were hurrying in and out, nearly all armed; horses were +tethered before the door; and, on hearing my cart drive up, the +_Veldtcornet_ himself came out to meet me, and gravely invited me to +descend. I now saw the interior of a typical Dutch house, with the +family at home. The _vrow_ came forward with hand outstretched in the +awkward Boer fashion. The Dutch do not shake hands; they simply extend a +wooden member, which you clasp, and the greeting is over. I had to go +through this performance in perfect silence with about seven or eight +children of various ages, a grown-up daughter, and eight or ten men, +most of whom followed us into the poky little room which appeared to +serve as a living-room for the whole family. Although past ten o'clock, +the remains of breakfast were still on the table, and were not +appetizing to look at. We sat down on chairs placed in a circle, the +whole party commencing to chatter volubly, and scarcely a word being +intelligible to me. Presently the _vrow_ brought me a cup of coffee in a +cracked cup and saucer. Not wishing to give offence, I tried to swallow +it; the coffee was not bad, if one could only have dissociated it from +that dreadful breakfast-table. I then produced some cigarettes, and +offered them to the male element. They were enchanted, laid aside their +pipes, and conversed with more animation than ever; but it was only +occasionally that I caught a word I could understand; the sentence "twee +tozen Engelman dood"[32] recurred with distressing frequency, and +enabled me to grasp their conversation was entirely about the war. I +meanwhile studied the room and its furniture, which was of the poorest +description; the chairs mostly lacked legs or backs, and the floor was +of mud, which perhaps was just as well, as they all spat on it in the +intervals of talk, and emptied on to it the remains of whatever they +were drinking. After a short time a black girl came in with a basin of +water, with which she proceeded to plentifully sprinkle the floor, +utterly disregarding our dresses and feet. Seeing all the women tuck +their feet under their knees, I followed their example, until this +improvised water-cart had finished its work. The grown-up daughter had a +baby in her arms, as uncared for as the other children, all of whom +looked as if soap and water never came their way. The men were fine, +strong-looking individuals, and all were very affable to me, or meant to +be so, if I could but have understood them. Finally four or five more +women came into this tiny overcrowded room, evidently visitors. This was +the finishing stroke, and I decided that, rested or not, the mules must +be inspanned, that I might leave this depressing house. One of the young +burghers brought me the pass to General Snyman, the caligraphy of which +he was evidently very proud of; and having taken leave of all the ladies +and men in the same peculiar stiff manner as that in which I had greeted +them, I drove off, devoutly thankful to be so far on my journey. About +four in the afternoon we came to a rise, and, looking over it, saw the +white roofs of Mafeking lying about five miles away in the glaring +sunlight. Then we arrived at the spot where General Cronje's laager had +been before he trekked South, marked by the grass being worn away for +nearly a square mile, by broken-down waggons, and by sundry aas-vogels +(the scavengers of South Africa) hovering over carcasses of horses or +cattle. Mafeking was now only three miles distant, and, seeing not a +solitary soul on the flat grass plains, I felt very much tempted to +drive in to the native stadt; but the black boys resolutely declined to +attempt it, as they feared being shot, and they assured me that many +Boer sharpshooters lay hidden in the scrub. Thinking discretion the +better part of valour, I regretfully turned away from Mafeking by the +road leading up an incline to the laager, still several miles distant. +The cart was suddenly brought to a standstill by almost driving into a +Boer outpost, crouched under a ruined wall, from which point of vantage +they were firing with their rifles at the advance trenches of the town. +The officer in charge of this party told me I must stay here till +sundown, when he and his men would accompany me to headquarters, as he +averred the road I was now pursuing was not safe from the Mafeking +gun-range. I therefore waited their good pleasure for an hour, during +which time the firing from all round the town went on in a desultory +sort of way, occasionally followed by a boom from a large Boer gun, and +the short, sharp, hammering noise from the enemy's one-pounder Maxim. +The sun was almost down when the burgher in charge gave the signal to +bring up their horses, and in a few minutes we were under way. This time +I was attended by a bodyguard of about eighteen or twenty burghers, and +we went along, much to my annoyance, at a funereal pace. On our way we +met the relieving guard coming out to take the place just evacuated by +my escort. When seen riding thus more or less in ranks, a Boer squadron, +composed of picked men for outpost duty, presented really a formidable +appearance. The men were mostly of middle age, all with the inevitable +grizzly beard, and their rifles, gripped familiarly, were resting on the +saddle-bow; nearly all had two bandoliers apiece, which gave them the +appearance of being armed to the teeth--a more determined-looking band +cannot be imagined. The horses of these burghers were well bred and in +good condition, and, although their clothes were threadbare, they seemed +cheerful enough, smoking their pipes and cracking their jokes. + +When we at last drew up at headquarters, I was fairly startled to find +what an excitement my appearance created, about two or three hundred +Boers swarming up from all over the laager, and surrounding the cart. +The General was then accommodated in a deserted farmhouse, and from this +building at last issued his secretary, a gentleman who spoke English +perfectly, and to whom I handed my letter requesting an interview. After +an interminable wait among the gaping crowd, the aforementioned +gentleman returned, and informed me I could see the General at once. He +literally had to make a way for me from the cart to the house, but I +must admit the burghers were very civil, nearly all of them taking off +their hats as I passed through them. Once inside the house, I found +myself in a low, dark room, and in the farthest corner, seated on a +bench, were two old gentlemen, with extra long beards, who were +introduced to me as General Snyman and Commandant Botha.[33] I was at +once struck by the anything but affable expression of their +countenances. They motioned to me to take a chair; someone handed me a +bowl with a brown mixture--presumably coffee--which I found very +embarrassing to hold during our conversation. This was carried on +through the secretary, and the General got more and more out of temper +as he discovered what my request was. I informed him I had come at the +suggestion of his _Veldtcornet_; that all my relations were in England, +except my husband, who was in Mafeking; that there was no meal in the +colony where I had been living; and that I was prepared to ask Colonel +Baden-Powell to exchange me for a Dutch lady whom I heard wished to +leave, if he (General Snyman) would accept the exchange. He promptly and +with much decision refused. Then it occurred to me this old gentleman +meant to keep me as a prisoner of war, and my heart sank into my shoes. +The only concession I could obtain was that he would consider my case, +and in the meantime he ordered that I should be accommodated in the +field hospital. Accompanied by the secretary, and leaving the staring +crowd behind, I drove off to a little house, about half a mile away, +where we found our destination. I was shown into a tiny room, smelling +strongly of disinfectants, which from the large centre-table I at once +recognized as the operating-room, and here I was told I could sleep. I +was too tired to care much. There was no bed, only a broken-down sofa, +and in the corner a dilapidated washstand; the walls and windows were +riddled with bullets, denoting where the young burghers had been amusing +themselves with rifle practice. The secretary then informed me that they +had to search my luggage, which operation lasted fully half an hour, +although I had but one small portmanteau and a dressing-case. The latter +two Dutch nurses were told off to look through, which, I am bound to +say, they did most unwillingly, remarking to me they had not +contemplated searching people's luggage as part of their already onerous +duties. I had even to undress, in order that they might reassure the +officials I had no documents on my person. Meanwhile the men examined my +correspondence and papers almost microscopically. Needless to say, they +found nothing. They had barely finished their researches, when a +messenger came from the General to say, if Colonel Baden-Powell would +exchange me for a Dutchman imprisoned in Mafeking, a certain Petrus +Viljoen, he would consent to my going in. I found, on inquiry, that this +man had been imprisoned for theft several months before the war, and I +told them plainly it was manifestly unfair to exchange a man and a +criminal for a woman; further, that I could not even ask Colonel +Baden-Powell officially to do such a thing, and could only mention it, +as an impossible condition, in a letter to my husband, if they chose to +send it in. To this they agreed, so I indited the following letter, +couched in terms which the secretary might peruse: + + + "_December 2, 1899._ + + "MY DEAR GORDON, + + "I am at the laager. General Snyman will not give me a pass + unless Colonel Baden-Powell will exchange me for a Mr. Petrus + Viljoen. I am sure this is impossible, so I do not ask him + formally. I am in a great fix, as they have very little meal + left at Setlagoli or the surrounding places. I am very kindly + looked after here." + +I then went to sleep in my strange surroundings, with small hope of any +success from my application to Mafeking. The next day, Sunday, was +observed by both parties as a day of rest. About seven one of the nurses +brought me a cup of coffee, and then I proceeded to dress as best I +might. So clearly did that horrid little room imprint itself on my +memory that I seem to see it as I write. The dusty bare boards, cracked +and loose in places, had no pretence to any acquaintance with a +scrubbing-brush, and very little with a broom. A rickety old chest of +drawers stood in one corner, presumably filled with hospital +necessaries, from the very strong smell of drugs emanating from it, and +from the fact that the nurses would bustle in and rummage for some +desired article, giving glimpses of the confusion inside. On the top of +the drawers were arranged a multitude of medicine-bottles, half full and +half empty, cracked and whole. The broken old washstand had been of +valuable service during the night, as with it I barricaded the door, +innocent of any lock or key. When I was dressed, I walked out on to the +tiny stoep, surrounded by a high paling. My attention was at once +attracted to a woman in a flood of tears, and presently the cause of her +weeping was explained, as an elderly man came round the corner of the +house with both his hands roughly tied up with bandages covered with +blood--a sight which caused the young woman to sob with renewed vigour. +After a little talk with the man, who, in spite of his injuries, seemed +perfectly well, the latter went away, and I entered into conversation +with the weeping female, whom I found to speak good English, and to be +the daughter of the wounded warrior, Hoffman by name and German by +birth. They were Transvaal subjects, and her father had been among the +first of the burghers to turn out when hostilities threatened. She then +proceeded to tell me that she and her mother and a numerous collection +of young brothers and sisters had trekked in from their home in the +Transvaal to spend the Sunday in the laager with their father. On their +arrival early that morning, they learnt, to their horror, that he had +been wounded, or, rather, injured, late the night before, as the +mutilated state of his hands arose from a shell exploding in the +high-velocity Krupp gun just as he was loading it. She told me her +father was one of the most valued artillerymen on the Boer side, and +that he was also an adept in the art of making fireworks, his last +triumph in this line having been at Mafeking on the occasion of the +celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Fully appreciating the +value of his services, the Transvaal authorities had from the +commencement given him the most arduous tasks, and always, she +indignantly added, in the forefront of the battle. As regarded the +present accident, she said her father had repeatedly told the +authorities these particular shells were not safe to handle. Apparently +the safety-bolt was missing from all of them, making them when loaded as +brittle as an eggshell. This young lady and her mother were certainly +very anti-Boer in their sympathies, though terribly afraid of allowing +their feelings to be known. All that day and the next they spent in the +laager, looking after the injured _pere de famille_, whom, by the way, I +got quite friendly with, but who, I think, was rather relieved to see +his family depart. I rather regretted them, as Miss Hoffman used to +bring me a lot of gossip overheard in the laager, where she assured me +public opinion was running very strongly against me, and that all were +of opinion the General should certainly not allow me to join my friends +in Mafeking. + +The morning dragged on. It was a hot, gusty day, and I found the shelter +of my poky little room the most comfortable resting-place, although +instead of a chair I had but a wooden case to sit on. About eleven I saw +a clerical gentleman arriving, who I rightly concluded was the parson +coming to conduct the service. Presently the strangest of noises I have +ever heard arose from the back-premises of the tiny house. It is +difficult to conceive anything so grotesque as some Dutch singing is. +Imagine a doleful wail of many voices, shrill treble and deep bass, all +on one note, now swelling in volume, now almost dying away, sung with a +certain metre, and presumably with soul-stirring words, but with no +attempt to keep together or any pretensions to an air of any kind, and +you will have an idea of a Dutch chant or hymn. This noise--for it +cannot be called a harmony--might equally well be produced by a howling +party of dogs and cats. Then followed long prayers--for only the +parson's voice could be heard--then more dirges, after which it was +over, and all trooped away, apparently much edified. One of the nurses +brought me some lunch and spread it on the rickety table, with a dirty +napkin as a tablecloth. As regards the food, which these young ladies +told me they took it in turn to cook, it was very fair; only one day we +got no meat and no meal; the other days they gave me eggs, very good +beef, splendid potatoes, and bread in any quantity. Besides this, I was +able to buy delicious fruit, both figs and apricots. As beverages there +were tea and coffee, the latter, of course, being the Transvaal national +drink--that is to say, when "dop" cannot be had. Beer is almost unknown, +except the imported kinds of Bass and Schlitz, for what is known as +"Kaffir beer" is a filthy decoction. About midday I received a formal +reply from Gordon, as follows: + + + "MAFEKING," _December 3, 1899._ + + "MY DEAR SARAH, + + "I am delighted to hear you are being well treated, but very + sorry to have to tell you that Colonel Baden-Powell finds it + impossible to hand over Petrus Viljoen in exchange for you, as + he was convicted of horse-stealing before the war. I fail to + see in what way it can benefit your captors to keep you a + prisoner. Luckily for them, it is not the custom of the + English to make prisoners of war of women. + + "GORDON WILSON." + +Of course I was grievously disappointed, but at the same time I had +really expected no other answer, as I informed Mr. Brink (the General's +second secretary), who had brought me the letter. He was gravely +apologetic, and informed me the General and Commandant were holding a +Kriegsraad early on the following morning, when my case would receive +their full consideration. In the afternoon we had the excitement of +seeing the Pretoria coach drive up to the laager with much horn-blowing +and whip-cracking. Later some newspapers were brought across, and I was +able actually to peruse a Transvaal paper only two days old. The +General's other secretary, who presented them to me, made some +astounding statements, which he said had just come up on official +wires--namely, that England and Russia would be at war before that very +week was out, in what locality he did not know; and that Germany had +suddenly increased her fleet by many ships, spending thereon +L10,000,000. To this I ventured to remark that the building of those +ships would take four or five years, which would make it almost too late +to assist the Transvaal in the present war. I also reminded him casually +that Germany's Emperor and Empress were, according to their own papers, +then paying a visit to Queen Victoria, which did not look as if that +country was exactly unfriendly to England. To this he had nothing to +reply, and I saw that this imperial visit was a sore subject with my +entertainers. For this reason I made a point of referring to it on every +possible occasion. As I was eating my solitary supper, Mr. Brink +appeared with a letter from Colonel Baden-Powell as follows: + + + "_December 5, 1899._ + + "DEAR LADY SARAH, + + "I am so distressed about you. You must have been having an + awful time of it, and I can't help feeling very much to blame; + but I had hoped to save you the unpleasantness of the siege. + + "However, I trust now that your troubles are nearly over at + last, and that General Snyman will pass you in here. + + "We are all very well, and really rather enjoying it all. + + "I wrote last night asking for you to be exchanged for Mrs. + Delpoort, but had no answer, so have written again to-day, and + sincerely hope it will be all right. + + "Hope you are well, in spite of your troubles. + + "Yours sincerely, + + "R. BADEN-POWELL." + + +I then learnt from another letter that Mrs. Delpoort, who had originally +expressed the wish to leave Mafeking, where she was residing with many +other friends in the women's laager, had changed her mind, or her +relatives did not encourage her to leave the shelter of the town; for +the Staff had experienced some difficulty in persuading her to agree to +the exchange, even if General Snyman allowed the same. I asked if an +answer had been returned to the Colonel's letter, and Mr. Brink replied +in the negative. Very indignant, I said that I did not mean to be kept +in my present wretched quarters indefinitely, and that, if no exchange +could be effected, I would request a pass to return to Setlagoli, and +risk the scarcity of food. He looked rather confused, and said somewhat +timidly that no doubt the General would allow me to go to Pretoria, +where I should find "pleasant ladies' society." Seeing my look of angry +surprise, he hastily added that he only wished he had a house of his own +to place at my disposal. I saw it was no use venting my annoyance on +this young man, who was civility itself, so I merely remarked I had no +intention of visiting their capital, and that the present was certainly +not a time for an English lady to travel alone in the Transvaal. To this +he gushingly agreed, but added that, of course, the General would give +me a proper escort. These words were quite enough to denote which way +the wind was blowing. I would not for an instant admit they had a right +to detain me or to send me to any place against my will, having come +there voluntarily, merely to ask the General a favour. I was therefore +conveniently blind and deaf, and, begging my amiable young friend to +submit Colonel Baden-Powell's suggestion to the Kriegsraad on the +following morning, and to apprise me of the result, I wished him +good-night, and went to bed once more on the wretched sofa, in anything +but a hopeful frame of mind. However, as is so often the case, my +spirits revived in the morning, and, on considering the situation, I +could not see what object the Transvaal authorities could have in +detaining me a prisoner. I was certainly very much in the way of the +hospital arrangements, and I fully made up my mind to refuse absolutely +to go to Pretoria, unless they took me by force. I also determined to +leave them no peace at the headquarters till they gave me a definite +reply. The day dragged on; the flies simply swarmed in my poky little +room. Never have I seen anything like the plague of these insects, but +the nurses assured me that at the laager itself they were far worse, +attracted, doubtless, by the cattle, horses, and food-stuffs. At length +I received a letter in an enormous official envelope, saying General +Snyman had wired to Pretoria about me, and expected an answer every +minute, which reply should be immediately communicated to me. By my own +free will I had put myself completely in their power. This did not +prevent me, however, from speaking my mind freely on what I termed "the +extraordinary treatment I was receiving," to both of the secretaries, to +the nurses, and to the patients. The latter, being men, were very +sympathizing; the nurses, though kind and attentive, were not quite so +friendly, and seemed somewhat suspicious of my business. Neither of +these, I ascertained, had gone through any previous training, but had +volunteered their services, as they thought it "would be a lark." +Whether their expectations were realized was doubtful, as they told me +they were worked off their legs; that they had to cook, wash their +clothes, and clean out the wretched little rooms, besides looking after +the patients. In addition to these two girls there was a "lady doctor," +the first of her species I had ever come across, and with whom I was not +favourably impressed. Very untidy in her appearance, her head covered +with curls, her costume composed of the remnants of showy finery, this +lady had been a handsome woman, but her personality, combined with a +very discontented expression of countenance, did not exactly form one's +idea of a substitute for the skilful, kind, and cheerful hospital doctor +that we know at home. In fact, she looked singularly out of place, which +I remarked to several people, partly from the irritation I felt on +hearing her addressed as "Doctor." No doubt these remarks were repeated +to her, and this accounted for her black looks. + +I must not omit a few words about the patients and visitors of the +hospital, with all of whom I was most friendly. One and all were +exceedingly civil, and I never encountered any rudeness whatever. Even +the burghers of no importance, poorly clad, out at elbow, and of starved +appearance, who came to the hospital for advice and medicines, all alike +made me a rough salutation, evidently the best they were acquainted +with. Those of more standing nearly always commenced to chat in very +good English; in fact, I think a great many came up with the purpose of +observing the captured _rara avis_, an Englishwoman. We did not actually +discuss the progress of the war and what led to it, sticking more to +generalities. One hope was universally expressed, that it would soon be +over, and this I heartily re-echoed. I told one of them I thought they +had been foolish to destroy all the railway-line, as it had left their +own people so terribly short of food; to this he replied that such minor +matters could not be helped, that they must all suffer alike and help +each other; also that they were well aware that they were taking on a +very great Power, and that every nerve must be strained if they could +hope for success. So another day and night passed. I continued to send +down letters without end to headquarters; but it was always the same +answer: they were waiting for the reply from Pretoria. One afternoon we +had a very heavy thunderstorm and deluges of rain, the heaviest I had +seen in South Africa; the water trickled into my room, and dripped +drearily on the floor for hours; outside, the stream between the +hospital and laager became a roaring torrent. No one came near us that +afternoon, and I really think communication was not possible. Later it +cleared and the flood abated; a lively bombardment was then commenced, +on the assumption, probably, that the Mafeking trenches were filled +with water and uninhabitable. It was trying to the nerves to sit and +listen to the six or seven guns all belching forth their missiles of +death on the gallant little town, which was so plainly seen from my +windows, and which seemed to lie so unprotected on the veldt. Just as I +had barricaded my door and gone to rest on my sofa about nine o'clock, +the big siege gun suddenly boomed out its tremendous discharge, causing +the whole house to shake and everything in the room to jingle. It seemed +a cruel proceeding, to fire on a partially sleeping town, but I did not +know then how accustomed the inhabitants were to this evening gun, and +how they took their precautions accordingly. + +I must say I disliked the nights at the hospital exceedingly. It was +insufferably hot and stuffy in the little room, and the window, only +about 2 feet above the ground, had to be left open. The sentries, about +six in number--doubled, as I understood, on my account--lay and lounged +on the stoep outside. Instead of feeling them anything of a protection, +I should have been much happier without them. It must be recollected +that these burghers were very undisciplined and independent of +authority, only a semblance of which appeared to be exercised over them. +They included some of a very low type, and it appeared to be left to +themselves to choose which post they would patronize. It was remarked to +me they preferred the hospital, as it was sheltered, and that the same +men had latterly come there every night. Their behaviour during their +watch was very unconventional. They came on duty about 6 p.m., and made +themselves thoroughly comfortable on the stoep with mackintoshes and +blankets. Their rifles were propped up in one corner, and the bandoliers +thrown on the ground. There were a couple of hammocks for the patients' +use, and in these two of them passed the night. Before retiring to rest, +they produced their pipes and foul-smelling Boer tobacco, proceeding to +light up just under my windows, meanwhile talking their unmusical +language with great volubility. At length, about ten, they appeared to +slumber, and a chorus of snoring arose, which generally sent me to +sleep, to be awakened two or three hours later by renewed conversations, +which now and then died away into hoarse whispers. I always imagined +they were discussing myself, and devising some scheme to step over the +low sill into my room on the chance of finding any loot. I complained +one day to the nurses of the fact that their extreme loquacity really +prevented my sleeping, and, as she told me that the patients suffered in +the same way, I advised her to speak to the sentinels and ask them to be +more quiet. She told me afterwards she had done so, and that they said +they had been insulted, and would probably not come again. We both +laughed, and agreed it would not matter much if this calamity occurred. + +The next day I was still put off, when I requested to know what had been +decided about my fate. I was getting desperate, and had serious thoughts +of taking "French leave," risking Boer sentries and outposts, and +walking into Mafeking at night; but it was the fear of being fired on +from our own trenches that deterred me. Fortunately, however, assistance +was at hand. On the afternoon of the fifth day that I had spent at the +laager, a fine-looking burgher rode up to the hospital, and I heard him +conversing in very good English. Presently, after staring at me for some +time, he came up and said he had known Randolph Churchill, who, he +heard, was my brother, and that he should so like to have a little talk. +He then informed me his name was Spencer Drake, to which I said: "Your +name and your conversation would make me think you are an Englishman, +Mr. Drake." "So I am," was his reply. "I was born in Norfolk. My father +and grandfather before me were in Her Majesty's Navy, and we are +descended from the old commander of Queen Elizabeth's time." To this I +observed that I was sorry to see him in the Boer camp amongst the +Queen's enemies. He looked rather sheepish, but replied: "Our family +settled in Natal many years ago, and I have ever since been a Transvaal +burgher. I owe everything I possess to the South African Republic, and +of course I fight for its cause; besides which, we colonials were very +badly treated and thrown over by the English Government in 1881, and +since then I have ceased to think of England as my country." As he +seemed well disposed toward me, I did not annoy him by continuing the +discussion, and he went on to inform me that he was the General's +Adjutant, and had been away on business, therefore had only just heard +that I was in the laager, and he had come at once to see if he could be +of any service. I took the opportunity of telling him what I thought of +the way in which they were treating me, pointing out the wretched +accommodation I had, and the fact that they had not even supplied me +with a bed. He was very sympathetic, and expressed much sorrow at my +discomforts, promising to speak to the General immediately, though +without holding out much hope of success, as he told me the latter was +sometimes very difficult to manage. After a little more talk, during +which I made friends with his horse, described by him as a wonderful +beast, he rode off, and I was full of renewed hope. A little later the +young secretary came up again to see me. To supplement my messages +through Mr. Drake, I requested this young man to tell the General that I +could see they were taking a cowardly advantage of me because I was a +woman, and that they would never have detained a man under similar +circumstances. In fact, I was on every occasion so importunate that I am +quite sure the General's Staff only prayed for the moment that I should +depart. That afternoon I had a long talk to two old German soldiers, +then burghers, who were both characters in their way. Hoffman, before +alluded to, had been a gunner in the Franco-German War, and was full of +information about the artillery of that day and this; while the other +had been through the Crimea, and had taken part in the charge of the +Light Brigade, then going on to India to assist in repressing the +Mutiny. He had evidently never liked the service into which he had been +decoyed by the press-gang, and had probably been somewhat of a _mauvais +sujet_, for he told me the authorities were glad enough to give him his +discharge when the regiment returned to England. He had married and +settled in the Transvaal, making a moderate fortune, only to be ruined +by a lawsuit being given against him, entirely, he naively admitted, +because the Judge was a friend of the other side. In spite of this he +remained a most warm partisan of the corrupt Boer Government, and at +sixty-seven he had gladly turned out to fight the country whose uniform +he had once worn. Whenever I found we were approaching dangerous ground, +I used quickly to change the conversation, which perhaps was wise, as I +was but one in a mighty host. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[32] Two thousand Englishmen dead. + +[33] Not to be confounded with General Louis Botha. + + + + +CHAPTER X + + EXCHANGED FOR A HORSE-THIEF--BACK TO MAFEKING AFTER TWO + MONTHS' WANDERINGS + + "Hail, fellow! well met!"--SWIFT. + +Next morning I was awakened at 6 a.m. by Mr. Drake knocking at my door, +and telling me I was to be ready in half an hour, as Colonel +Baden-Powell had consented to exchange me for Petrus Viljoen. This +exchange had placed our Commanding Officer in an awkward position. The +prisoner was, as I stated before, a criminal, and under the jurisdiction +of the civil authorities, who would not take upon themselves the +responsibility of giving him up. Under these circumstances Lord Edward +Cecil had come forward and represented to Colonel Baden-Powell that it +was unseemly for an Englishwoman to be left in the hands of the Boers, +and transported to Pretoria by the rough coach, exposed to possible +insults and to certain discomforts. He even declared himself prepared to +take any consequent blame on his shoulders, and, being the Prime +Minister's son, his words had great weight. As a matter of fact, Petrus +Viljoen was anything but a fighting man, and could be of very little +service to our enemies. The burghers had told me his presence was so +persistently desired from the fact of the republic having private scores +to settle with him. In any case, he was very reluctant to leave Mafeking +and the safety of the prison, which fact had influenced Colonel +Baden-Powell in finally agreeing to the exchange. + +As may be imagined, I could hardly believe my good fortune, and I lost +no time in scrambling into my clothes while the cart was being +inspanned. A vexatious delay occurred from the intractability of the +mules, which persistently refused to allow themselves to be caught. The +exchange of prisoners had to be effected before 8 a.m., when the truce +would be over, and I shall never forget how I execrated those stubborn +animals, as the precious minutes slipped by, fearful lest my captors +would change their minds and impose fresh conditions. However, at length +all was ready, and, escorted by some artillery officers, I drove to +headquarters, where I was requested to descend in order to have another +interview with the General. Again an inquisitive crowd watched my +movements, but civilly made way for me to pass into the little room +where General Snyman was holding a sort of levee. The latter asked me a +few purposeless questions. I gravely expressed a hope that his eyes +were better (he had been suffering from inflamed sight); then he rose +and held out his hand, which I could not ignore, and without further +delay we were off. About 2,000 yards from Mafeking I noticed the enemy's +advanced trenches, with some surprise at their proximity to the town; +and here we met the other party with a white flag escorting Mr. Viljoen, +who looked foolish, dejected, and anything but pleased to see his +friends. He was forthwith given over to their care, the mules were +whipped up, and at a gallop we rattled into the main street. From the +first redoubt Colonel Baden-Powell and Lord Edward Cecil ran out to +greet me, and the men in the trench gave three ringing English cheers, +which were good to hear; but no time had to be lost in getting under +cover, and I drove straight to Mr. Wiel's house, and had hardly reached +it when "Creechy" (a Dutch pet-name which had been given to the big +siege gun) sent a parting salute, and her shell whizzed defiantly over +our heads. + +Then commenced a more or less underground existence, which continued for +five and a half months; but, surrounded by friends, it was to me a +perfect heaven after so many weeks passed amidst foes. I had much to +hear, and it took some time to realize all the changes in the little +town since I had left. First and foremost, the town guard were coming +splendidly out of their long-protracted ordeal. Divided into three +watches, they passed the night at the different redoubts, behind each of +which was a bomb-proof shelter. Those of the second watch were ready to +reinforce the men on duty, while the third were only to turn out if +summoned by the alarm-bell. All the defences had, indeed, been brought +to a wonderful pitch of perfection by the C.O. First there was a network +of rifle-pits, which gave the Boers no peace day or night, and from +which on one side or the other an almost incessant sniping went on. +These were supplemented by dynamite mines, the fame of which had +frightened the Boers more than anything else, all connected with +Headquarter Staff Office by electric wires. In addition there was +barbed-wire fencing round the larger earthworks, and massive barricades +of waggons and sandbags across the principal streets. All this looked +very simple once erected and in working order, but it was the outcome of +infinite thought and ever-working vigilance. Then there was a complete +system of telephones, connecting all the redoubts and the hospital with +the Staff Office, thereby saving the lives of galloping orderlies, +besides gaining their services as defenders in a garrison so small that +each unit was an important factor. Last, but certainly not least, were +the bomb-proof shelters, which black labour had constructed under +clever supervision all over the town, till at that time, in case of +heavy shelling, nearly every inhabitant could be out of harm's way. What +struck me most forcibly was that, in carrying out these achievements, +Colonel Baden-Powell had been lucky enough to find instruments, in the +way of experienced men, ready to his hand. One officer was proficient in +bomb-proofs, the postmaster thoroughly understood telephones, while +another official had proved himself an expert in laying mines. The area +to be defended had a perimeter of six miles; but, in view of the +smallness of the garrison and the overwhelming number of the Boers, it +was fortunate the authorities had been bold and adventurous enough to +extend the trenches over this wide space, instead of following the old +South African idea of going into laager in the market-square, which had +been the first suggestion. The town was probably saved by being able to +present so wide a target for the Boer artillery, and although we were +then, and for the next few weeks, cut off from all communication with +the outer world, even by nigger letter-carriers, and in spite of bullets +rattling and whizzing through the market-square and down the +side-streets, the Boer outposts were gradually being pushed away by our +riflemen in their invisible pits. While on this subject, I must mention +that a day spent in those trenches was anything but an agreeable one. +Parties of six men and an officer occupied them daily before dawn, and +remained there eighteen hours, as any attempt to leave would have meant +a hail of bullets from the enemy, distant only about 600 yards. They +were dug deep enough to require very little earthwork for protection; +hence they were more or less invisible by the enemy in their larger +trenches. These latter were constantly subjected to the annoyance of +bullets coming, apparently, from the ground, and, though other foes +might have acted differently in like circumstances, the Boers did not +care for the job of advancing across the open to dislodge the hidden +enemy. + +In a very few days a new bomb-proof shelter had been constructed for me, +and to inaugurate it I gave an underground dinner with six guests. This +bomb-proof was indeed a triumph in its line, and I must describe it. +About 18 by 15 feet, and 8 feet high, it was reached by a flight of +twelve wooden steps, at the top of which was a door that gave it the +privacy of a room. It was lighted besides by three horizontal apertures, +which resembled the very large portholes of a sailing-ship, and this +illusion was increased by the wooden flaps that could be closed at will. +The roof was composed of two lots of steel rails placed one above the +other, and on these were sheets of corrugated iron and a huge tarpaulin +to keep out the rain. Above, again, were 9 feet of solid earth, while +rows upon rows of sandbags were piled outside the entrance to guard +against splinters and stray bullets. The weighty roof was supported, as +an additional precaution, on the inside by three stout wooden posts, +which, together with the rather dim light, most apparent when descending +from the brilliant sunshine outside, gave the bomb-proof the appearance +of a ship's cabin; in fact, one of my visitors remarked it much reminded +him of the well-known print of the _Victory's_ cockpit when Nelson lay +a-dying. The interior panelling was painted white. One wall was entirely +covered with an enormous Union Jack, and the other was decorated with +native weapons, crowned by a trophy of that very war--namely, the only +Mauser carbine then taken from the Boers. To complete the up-to-date +nature of this protected dwelling, a telephone was installed, through +the medium of which I could in a second communicate with the Staff +Headquarters, and have due notice given me of "Creechy's" movements. In +this shelter it was certainly no hardship to spend those hot days, and +it was known to be the coolest place in town at that hot season of the +year. + +On Sundays we were able, thanks to the religious proclivities of the +Boers, to end our mole existence for twenty-four hours, and walk and +live like Christians. To almost the end of the siege this truce was +scrupulously observed on both sides, and from early dawn to late at +night the whole population thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The relieved +expression on the faces of all could not fail to be apparent to even a +casual observer. Pale women and children emerged from their laager, put +on their finery, sunned themselves, and did their shopping. The black +ladies went in a body to the veldt to collect firewood with all their +natural gaiety and light-heartedness, which not even shell-fire and +numerous casualties amongst themselves seemed seriously to disturb. +Those of us who had horses and carriages at our disposal rode and drove +anywhere within our lines in perfect safety. The first Sunday I was in +Mafeking I was up and on my pony by 6 a.m., unwilling to lose a moment +of the precious day. We rode all round our defences, and inspected Canon +Kopje, the scene of the most determined attack the Boers had made, the +repulse of which, at the beginning of the siege, undoubtedly saved the +town. From there we looked through the telescope at "Creechy," whose +every movement could be watched from this point of vantage, and whose +wickedly shining barrel was on the "day of rest" modestly pointed to the +ground. Returning, we rode through the native stadt, quite the most +picturesque part of Mafeking, where the trim, thatched, beaver-shaped +huts, surrounded by mud walls, enclosing the little gardens and some +really good-sized trees, appeared to have suffered but little damage +from the bombardment, in spite of the Boers having specially directed +their fire against the inhabitants (the Baralongs), who were old +opponents of theirs. These natives were only armed by the authorities +when the invaders specially selected them for their artillery fire and +made raids on their cattle. The variety and sizes of these arms were +really laughable. Some niggers had old-fashioned Sniders, others +elephant guns, and the remainder weapons with enormously long barrels, +which looked as if they dated back to Waterloo. To their owners, +however, the maker or the epoch of the weapon mattered little. They were +proud men, and stalked gravely along the streets with their precious +rifles, evidently feeling such a sense of security as they had never +experienced before. + +On the Sunday I alluded to, after our ride we attended morning service, +held as usual in the neat little church, which, with the exception of a +few gashes in the ceiling rafters, caused by fragments of shell, had up +to date escaped serious injury. The Dutch Church, on the other hand, +curiously enough, was almost demolished by shell-fire at the beginning +of the siege. We then drove up to the hospital, where Miss Hill, the +plucky and youthful-looking matron, received us and showed us round. +This girl--for she was little more--had been the life and prop of the +place for the past two months, during which time the resources of the +little hospital had been taxed almost past belief. Where twenty was the +usual number of patients, there were actually sixty-four on the occasion +of my first visit. The staff was composed of only a matron and three +trained nurses. In addition to their anxieties for the patients, who +were being so frequently brought in with the most terrible injuries, +these nurses underwent considerable risks from the bombardment, which, +no doubt from accident, had been all along directed to the vicinity of +the hospital and convent, which lay close together. The latter had +temporarily been abandoned by the nuns, who were living in an adjacent +bomb-proof, and the former had not escaped without having a shell +through one of the wards, at the very time a serious operation was +taking place. By a miraculous dispensation no patient was injured, but a +woman, who had been previously wounded by a Mauser bullet while in the +laager, died of fright. + +The afternoon was taken up by a sort of gymkhana, when a happy holiday +crowd assembled to see the tilting at the ring, the lemon-cutting, and +the tug-of-war. At this entertainment Colonel Baden-Powell was +thoroughly in his element, chatting to everyone and dispensing tea from +a travelling waggon. In the evening I dined at Dixon's with our old +party, and, really, the two months that had elapsed since I was at that +same table had effected but little change in the surroundings and in the +fare, which at that early stage of the siege was as plentiful as ever, +even the stock of Schweppes' soda-water appearing inexhaustible. Besides +this luxury, we had beautiful fresh tomatoes and young cabbages. The +meat had resolved itself into beef, and beef only, but eggs helped out +the menu, and the only non-existent delicacy was "fresh butter." This +commodity existed in tins, but I must confess the sultry weather had +anticipated the kitchen, in that it usually appeared in a melted state. + +The most formidable weapon of the Boers was, naturally, the big siege +Creusot gun. The very first day I arrived in Mafeking "Creechy" +discharged a shell that killed a trooper of the Protectorate Regiment, +who happened to be standing up in the stables singing a song, whilst +four or five others were seated on the ground. The latter were +uninjured, but the dead man was absolutely blown to bits, and one of his +legs was found in the roof. A few days after two more shells landed in +the market-square, one going through the right window of the chemist's +shop, the other demolishing the left-hand one. Some of the staff were +actually in the shop when the second shell came through the window, and +were covered with dust, broken bits of glass, and shattered wood, but +all providentially escaped unhurt. Others were not so fortunate, for a +nigger in the market-square was literally cut in half, and a white man +100 yards away had his leg torn off. Again, in Mr. Wiel's store a shell +burst while the building was full of people, without injuring anyone; +but one of the splinters carried an account-book from the counter and +deposited it in the roof on its outward passage. Indeed, not a day +passed but one heard of marvellously narrow escapes. + +As the heat increased, the shelling grew certainly slacker, and, after +an hour or two spent in exchanging greetings in the early morning, both +besieged and besiegers seemed to slumber during the sultry noonday +hours. About four they appeared to rouse themselves, and often my +telephone would then ring up with the message: "The gun is loaded, and +pointed at the town." Almost simultaneously a panting little bell, not +much louder than a London muffin-bell, but heard distinctly all over the +town in the clear atmosphere, would give tongue, and luckless folk who +were promenading the streets had about three seconds to seek shelter, +the alarm being sounded as the flash was seen by the look-out. One +afternoon they gave us three shots in six minutes, but, of course, this +rapid firing was much safer for the inhabitants than a stray shot after +a long interval, as people remained below-ground expecting a repetition +of that never-to-be-forgotten crashing explosion, followed by the +sickening noise of the splinters tearing through the air, sometimes just +over one's head, like the crack of a very long whip, manipulated by a +master-hand. The smallest piece of one of these fragments was sufficient +to kill a man, and scarcely anyone wounded with a shell ever seemed to +survive, the wounds being nearly always terribly severe, and their +poison occasioning gangrene to set in. There were many comic as well as +tragic incidents connected with the shells of the big gun. A monkey +belonging to the post-office, who generally spent the day on the top of +a pole to which he was chained, would, on hearing the alarm-bell, +rapidly descend from his perch, and, in imitation of the human beings +whom he saw taking shelter, quickly pop under a large empty biscuit-tin. +Dogs also played a great part in the siege. One, belonging to the +Base-Commandant, was wounded no less than three times; a rough Irish +terrier accompanied the Protectorate Regiment in all its engagements; +and a third amused itself by running after the small Maxim shells, +barking loudly, and trying to retrieve pieces. On the other hand, the +Resident Commissioner's dog was a prudent animal, and whenever she heard +the alarm-bell, she would leave even her dinner half eaten, and bolt +down her master's bomb-proof. On one occasion I remember being amused at +seeing a nigger, working on the opposite side of the road, hold up a +spade over his head like an umbrella as the missile came flashing by, +while a fellow-workman crawled under a large tarpaulin that was +stretched on the ground. These natives always displayed the most +astonishing sang-froid. One day we saw a funny scene on the occasion of +a Kaffir wedding, when the bridegroom was most correctly attired in +morning-dress and an old top-hat. Over his frock-coat he wore his +bandolier, and carried a rifle on his shoulder; the bride, swathed in a +long white veil from head to foot, walked by his side, and was followed +by two young ladies in festive array, while the procession was brought +up by more niggers, armed, like the bridegroom, to the teeth. The party +solemnly paraded the streets for fully half an hour, in no wise +disconcerted by a pretty lively shelling and the ring of the Mausers on +the corrugated iron roofs. + +Quite as disagreeable as "Creechy," although less noisy, was the enemy's +1-pound Maxim. A very loud hammering, quickly repeated, and almost +simultaneously a whirring in the air, followed by four quick explosions, +and then we knew this poisonous devil was at work. The shells were +little gems in their way, and when they did not burst, which was often +the case, were tremendously in request as souvenirs. Not much larger +than an ordinary pepper-caster, when polished up and varnished they made +really charming ornaments, and the natives were quick to learn that they +commanded a good price, for after a shower had fallen there was a +helter-skelter amongst the black boys for any unexploded specimens. One +evening we had a consignment into the road just outside my bomb-proof, +attracted by a herd of mules going to water. Immediately the small +piccaninny driving these animals scampered off, returning in triumph +with one of these prizes, which he brought me still so hot that I could +not hold it. It used often to strike me how comic these scenes at +Mafeking would have been to any aeronaut hovering over the town of an +evening, especially when the shelling had been heavy. Towards sundown +the occupants of the various bomb-proofs used to emerge and sit on the +steps or the sandbags of their shelters, conversing with their +neighbours and discussing the day's damage. All of a sudden the bell +would tinkle, and down would go all the heads, just as one has often +seen rabbits on a summer evening disappear into their holes at the +report of a gun. In a few minutes, when the explosion was over, they +would bob up again, to see if any harm had been done by the last +missile. Then night would gradually fall on the scene, sometimes made +almost as light as day by a glorious African moon, concerning which I +shall always maintain that in no other country is that orb of such +brightness, size, and splendour. The half-hour between sundown and +moonrise, or twilight and inky blackness, as the case happened to be, +according to the season or the weather, was about the pleasantest time +in the whole day. As a rule it was a peaceful interval as regards +shelling. Herds of mules were driven along the dusty streets to be +watered; cattle and goats returned from the veldt, where they had been +grazing in close proximity to the town, as far as possible out of sight; +foot-passengers, amongst them many women, scurried along the side-walks +closely skirting the houses. Then, when daylight had completely faded, +all took shelter, to wait for the really vicious night-gun, which was +usually fired between eight and nine with varying regularity, as our +enemies, no doubt, wished to torment the inhabitants by not allowing +them to know when it was safe for them to seek their homes and their +beds. There was a general feeling of relief when "Creechy" had boomed +her bloodthirsty "Good-night." Only once during the whole siege was she +fired in the small hours of the morning, and that was on Dingaan's Day +(December 16), when she terrified the sleeping town by beginning her +day's work at 2.30 a.m., followed by a regular bombardment from all the +other guns in chorus, to celebrate the anniversary of the great Boer +victory over the Zulus many years ago. Frequent, however, were the +volleys from the trenches that suddenly broke the tranquillity of the +early night, and startling were they in their apparent nearness till one +got accustomed to them. At first I thought the enemy must be firing in +the streets, so loud were the reports, owing to the atmosphere and the +wind setting in a particular direction. The cause of these volleys was +more difficult to discover, and, as our men never replied, it seemed +somewhat of a waste of ammunition. Their original cause was a sortie +early in the siege, when Captain Fitzclarence made a night attack with +the bayonet on their trenches. Ever afterwards an animal moving on the +veldt, a tree or bush stirred by the wind, an unusual light in the town, +was sufficient for volley after volley to be poured at imaginary foes. +By nine o'clock these excitements were usually over, and half an hour +afterwards nearly every soul not on duty was asleep, secure in the +feeling that for every one who reposed two were on watch; while, as +regards Colonel Baden-Powell, he was always prowling about, and the +natives revived his old Matabele nickname of "the man that walks by +night." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + LIFE IN A BESIEGED TOWN + + "There is a reaper whose name is Death."--LONGFELLOW. + + +We celebrated Christmas Day, 1899, by a festive luncheon-party to which +Colonel Baden-Powell and all his Staff were invited. By a strange and +fortunate coincidence, a turkey had been overlooked by Mr. Weil when the +Government commandeered all live-stock and food-stuffs at the +commencement of the siege, and, in spite of the grilling heat, we +completed our Christmas dinner by a real English plum-pudding. In the +afternoon a tea and Christmas-tree for the Dutch and English children +had been organized by some officers of the Protectorate Regiment. +Amongst those who contributed to the amusement of these poor little +white-faced things, on whom the close quarters they were obliged to keep +was beginning to tell, none worked harder than Captain Ronald Vernon. I +remember returning to my quarters, after the festivity, with this +officer, and his telling me, in strict confidence, with eager +anticipation, of a sortie that was to be made on the morrow, with the +object of obtaining possession of the Boer gun at Game Tree Fort, the +fire from which had lately been very disastrous to life and property in +the town. He was fated in this very action to meet his death, and +afterwards I vividly recalled our conversation, and reflected how +bitterly disappointed he would have been had anything occurred to +prevent his taking part in it. The next day, Boxing Day, I shall ever +remember as being, figuratively speaking, as black and dismal as night. +I was roused at 4.30 a.m. by loud cannonading. Remembering Captain +Vernon's words, I telephoned to Headquarters to ask if the Colonel and +Staff were there. They had all left at 2.30 a.m., so I knew the +projected action was in progress. At five o'clock the firing was +continuous, and the boom of our wretched little guns was mingled with +the rattle of Boer musketry. Every moment it grew lighter--a beautiful +morning, cool and bright, with a gentle breeze. + +In Mr. Wiel's service was a waiter named Mitchell, a Cockney to the +backbone, and a great character in his way. What had brought him to +South Africa, or how he came to be in Mafeking, I never discovered; but +he was a cheerful individual, absolutely fearless of shells and bullets. +That morning I began to get very anxious, and Mitchell was also +pessimistic. He mounted to the roof to watch the progress of the fight, +and ran down from time to time with anything but reassuring pieces of +intelligence, asking me at intervals, when the firing was specially +fierce: "Are you scared, lady?" At length he reported that our men were +falling back, and that the ambulances could now be seen at work. With +marvellous courage and coolness, the soldiers had advanced absolutely to +under the walls of the Boer fort, and had found the latter 8 feet high, +with three tiers of loopholes. There it was that three +officers--Captains Vernon, Paton, and Sandford--were shot down, Captain +Fitzclarence having been previously wounded in the leg, and left on the +veldt calling to his men not to mind him, but to go on, which order they +carried out, nothing daunted by the hail of bullets and the loss of +their officers. Thanks to the marvellous information the Boers +constantly received during the siege, no doubt from the numerous Dutch +spies which were known to be in the town, Game Tree Fort had been +mysteriously strengthened in the night; and, what was still more +significant, the gun had not only been removed, but General Snyman and +Commandment Botha were both on the scene with reinforcements shortly +after our attack commenced, although the Boer Headquarter camp was fully +three miles away. Without scaling-ladders, it was impossible to mount +the walls of the fort. Our soldiers sullenly turned and walked slowly +away, the idea of running or getting under shelter never even occurring +to them. Had the Boers then had the determination required to come out +of their fort and pursue the retiring men, it is possible very few would +have returned alive; but, marvellous to relate, and most providentially +as we were concerned, no sooner did they observe our men falling back +than they ceased firing, as if relief at their departure was coupled +with the fear of aggravating the foes and causing a fresh attack. The +Boers were exceedingly kind in picking up our dead and wounded, which +were immediately brought in by the armoured train, and which, alas! +mounted up to a disastrous total in the tiny community which formed our +garrison. No less than twenty-five men were killed, including three +officers; and some twenty or thirty were wounded, most of them severely. +The Boers told the ambulance officers they were staggered at our men's +pluck, and the Commandant especially appreciated the gallantry required +for such an attack, knowing full well how difficult it would have been +to induce the burghers to make a similar attempt. About 10 a.m. a rush +of people to the station denoted the arrival of the armoured train and +its sad burden, and then a melancholy procession of stretchers commenced +from the railway, which was just opposite my bomb-proof, to the +hospital. The rest of the day seemed to pass like a sad dream, and I +could hardly realize in particular the death of Captain Vernon, who had +been but a few short hours before so full of health, spirits, and +confidence. + +Recognizing what a press of work there would be at the hospital, I +walked up there in the afternoon, and asked to be made useful. No doubt +out of good feeling, the Boers did not shell at all that day till late +evening, but at the hospital all was sad perturbation. There had only +been time to attend to the worst cases, and the poor nurses were just +sitting down to snatch a hasty meal. The matron asked me if I would +undertake the management of a convalescent home that had to be organized +to make more room for the new patients. Of course I consented, and by +evening we were busy installing sixteen patients in the railway +servants' institute, near the station. To look after the inmates were +myself, four other ladies, and one partly professional nurse. We +arranged that the latter should attend every day, and the four ladies +each take a day in turn, while I undertook to be there constantly to +order eatables and superintend the housekeeping. On the first evening, +when beds, crockery, kitchen utensils, and food, all arrived in a medley +from the universal provider, Wiel, great confusion reigned; and when it +was at its height, just as the hospital waggon was driving up with the +patients, "Creechy" sent off one of her projectiles, which burst with a +deafening explosion about a hundred yards beyond the improvised +hospital, having absolutely whizzed over the approaching ambulance +vehicles. The patients took it most calmly, and were in no way +disconcerted. By Herculean efforts the four ladies and myself got the +place shipshape, and all was finished when the daylight failed. As I ran +back to my quarters, the bugle-call of the "Last Post," several times +repeated, sounded clear in the still atmosphere of a calm and beautiful +evening, and I knew the last farewells were being said to the brave men +who had gone to their long rest. Of course Mafeking's losses on that +black Boxing Day were infinitesimal compared to those attending the +terrible struggles going on in other parts of the country; but, then, it +must be remembered that not only was our garrison a very small one, but +also that, when people are shut up together for months in a beleaguered +town--a handful of English men and women surrounded by enemies, with +even spies in their midst--the feeling of comradeship and friendship is +tremendously strengthened. Every individual was universally known, and +therefore all the town felt they had lost their own friends, and mourned +them as such. + +From that date for three weeks I went daily to the convalescent home. +The short journey there was not totally without risk, as the enemy, +having heard of the foundry where primitive shells were being +manufactured, and which was situated immediately on the road I had to +take, persistently sent their missiles in this direction, and I had some +exciting walks to and fro, very often alone, but sometimes accompanied +by any chance visitor. One morning Major Tracy and I had just got across +the railway-line, when we heard the loading bell, and immediately there +was a _sauve qui pent_ among all the niggers round us, who had been but +a moment before lolling, sleeping, and joking, in their usual fashion. +Without losing our dignity by joining in the stampede, we put our best +foot forward, and scurried along the line till we came to some large +coal-sheds, where my companion made me crawl under a very low arch, he +mounting guard outside. In this strange position I remained while the +shell came crashing over us, a bad shot, and continued its course away +into the veldt. Another evening the same officer was escorting me to the +institute, and, as all had been very quiet that afternoon, we had not +taken the precaution of keeping behind the railway buildings, as was my +usual custom. We were in the middle of an open space, when suddenly an +outburst of volleys from the Boer trenches came as an unpleasant +surprise, and the next moment bullets were falling behind us and even +in front of us, their sharp ring echoing on the tin roofs. On this +occasion, as the volleys continued with unabated vigour, I took to my +heels with a view to seeking shelter; but Major Tracy could not be moved +out of a walk, calling out to me I should probably run into a bullet +whilst trying to avoid it. My one idea being to get through the zone of +fire, I paid no attention to his remonstrances, and soon reached a safe +place. The Boers only learnt these detestable volleys from our troops, +and carried them out indifferently well; but the possibility of their +occurrence, in addition to the projectiles from "Creechy," added greatly +to the excitement of an evening stroll, and we had many such episodes +when walking abroad after the heat of the day. + +In January, Gordon was laid up by a very sharp attack of peritonitis, +and was in bed for over a week in my bomb-proof, no other place being +safe for an invalid, and the hospital full to overflowing. When he began +to mend, I unfortunately caught a chill, and a very bad quinsy sore +throat supervened. I managed, however, to go about as usual, but one +afternoon, when I was feeling wretchedly ill, our hospital attendant +came rushing in to say that a shell had almost demolished the +convalescent home, and that, in fact, only the walls were standing. The +patients mercifully had escaped, owing to their all being in the +bomb-proof, but they had to be moved in a great hurry, and were +accommodated in the convent. For weeks past this building had not been +shot at, and it was therefore considered a safe place for them, as it +was hoped the Boer gunners had learned to respect the hospital, its near +neighbour. Owing to the rains having then begun, and being occasionally +very heavy, the bomb-proofs were becoming unhealthy. My throat was daily +getting worse, and the doctor decided that Gordon and myself had better +also be removed to the convent, hoping that being above-ground might +help recovery in both our cases. There was heavy shelling going on that +afternoon, and the drive to our new quarters, on the most exposed and +extreme edge of the town, was attended with some excitement. I could +scarcely swallow, and Gordon was so weak he could hardly walk even the +short distance we had to compass on foot. However, we arrived in safety, +and were soon made comfortable in this strange haven of rest. + +As I have before written, the convent in Mafeking was from the +commencement of the bombardment picked out by the enemy as a target, and +during the first week it was hit by certainly ten or twelve projectiles, +and reduced more or less to a ruined state. At no time can the building +have laid claims to the picturesque or the beautiful, but it had one +peculiarity--namely, that of being the only two-storied building in +Mafeking, and of standing out, a gaunt red structure, in front of the +hospital, and absolutely the last building on the north-east side of the +town. It was certainly a landmark for miles, and, but for its sacred +origin and the charitable calling of its occupants, would have been a +fair mark for the enemy's cannon. Very melancholy was the appearance it +presented, with large gaping apertures in its walls, with its shattered +doors and broken windows; whilst surrounding it was what had been a +promising garden, but had then become a mere jungle of weeds and thorns. +The back of the edifice comprised below several large living-rooms, over +them a row of tiny cubicles, and was practically undamaged. The eighteen +convalescent patients had been comfortably installed on the +ground-floor, and we had two tiny rooms above. This accommodation was +considered to be practically safe from shells, in spite of the big gun +having been shifted a few days previously, and it being almost in a line +with the convent. On the upper floor of the eastern side a large room, +absolutely riddled with shot and shell, was formerly occupied as a +dormitory by the children of the convent school. It was now put to a +novel use as a temporary barracks, a watch being always on duty there, +and a telescope installed at the window. Since the nuns left to take up +their abode in a bomb-proof shelter, a Maxim had been placed at one of +the windows, which commanded all the surrounding country; but it was +discreetly covered over, and the window-blind kept closely drawn to +avert suspicion, as it was only to be used in case of real emergency. To +reach our cubicles there was but a single staircase, which led past this +room allotted to the soldiers--a fact which left an unsatisfactory +impression on my mind, for it was apparent that, were the convent aimed +at, to reach terra-firma we should have to go straight in the direction +of shells or bullets. However, the authorities opined it was all right; +so, feeling very ill, I was only too glad to crawl to bed. Just as the +sun was setting, the soldiers on watch came tearing down the wooden +passage, making an awful clatter, and calling out: "The gun is pointed +on the convent!" As they spoke, the shell went off, clean over our +heads, burying itself in a cloud of dust close to a herd of cattle half +a mile distant. This did not reassure me, but we hoped it was a chance +shot, which might not occur again, and that it had been provoked by the +cattle grazing so temptingly within range. I must say there was +something very weird and eerie in those long nights spent at the +convent. At first my throat was too painful to enable me to sleep, and +endless did those dreary hours seem. We had supper usually before seven, +in order to take advantage of the fading daylight, for lights were on no +account to be shown at any of the windows, being almost certain to +attract rifle-fire. By eight we were in total darkness, except for the +dim little paraffin hand-lamp the Sisters kindly lent me, which, for +precaution's sake, had to be placed on the floor. Extraordinary noises +emanated from those long uncarpeted passages, echoing backwards and +forwards, in the ceiling, till they seemed to pertain to the world of +spirits. The snoring of the men on the relief guard was like the groans +of a dying man, the tread of those on duty like the march of a mighty +army. Then would come intense stillness, suddenly broken by a volley +from the enemy sounding appallingly near--in reality about a mile +off--and provoked, doubtless, by some very innocent cause. Many of these +volleys were often fired during the night, sometimes for ten minutes +together, at other times singly, at intervals; anon the boom of a cannon +would vary the entertainment. Occasionally, when unable to sleep, I +would creep down the pitch-dark corridor to a room overlooking the +sleeping town and the veldt, the latter so still and mysterious in the +moonlight, and, peeping through a large jagged hole in the wall caused +by a shell, I marvelled to think of the proximity of our foes in this +peaceful landscape. At length would come the impatiently-longed-for dawn +about 4 a.m.; then the garrison would appear, as it were, to wake up, +although the greater part had probably spent the night faithfully +watching. Long lines of sentries in their drab khaki would pass the +convent on their homeward journey, walking single file in the deep +trench connecting the town with the outposts, and which formed a +practically safe passage from shell and rifle fire. Very quickly did the +day burst on the scene, and a very short time we had to enjoy those +cool, still morning hours or the more delightful twilight; the sun +seemed impatient to get under way and burn up everything. Of course we +had wet mornings and wet days, but, perhaps fortunately, the rains that +year were fairly moderate, though plentiful enough to have turned the +yellow veldt of the previous autumn into really beautiful long green +grass, on which the half-starved cattle were then thriving and waxing +fat. The view from our tiny bedrooms was very pretty, and the coming and +going of every sort of person in connection with the convalescent +hospital downstairs made the days lively enough, and compensated for the +dreariness of the nights. The splendid air blowing straight from the +free north and from the Kalahari Desert on the west worked wonders in +the way of restoring us to health, and I began to talk of moving back to +my old quarters. I must confess I was never quite comfortable about the +shells, which seemed so constantly to narrowly miss the building, +although the look-out men always maintained they were aiming at some +other object. One morning I was still in bed, when a stampede of many +feet down the passage warned me our sentinels had had a warning. Quickly +opening my door, I could not help laughing at seeing the foremost man +running down the corridor towards our rooms with the precious Maxim gun, +enveloped in its coat of canvas, in his arms as if it were a baby. +"They're on us this time," he called out; then came a terrific explosion +and a crash of some projectile against the outer walls and doors. The +shell had fallen about 40 feet short of the convent, on the edge of the +deserted garden. Many explanations were given to account for this shot, +none of which seemed to me to be very lucid, and I secretly determined +to clear out as soon as the doctor would permit. The very next day we +had the narrowest escape of our lives that it is possible to imagine. +There had been very little shelling, and I had taken my first outing in +the shape of a rickshaw drive during the afternoon. The sun was +setting, and our little supper-table was already laid at the end of the +corridor into which our rooms opened, close to the window beside which +we used to sit. Major Gould Adams had just dropped in, as he often did, +to pay a little visit before going off to his night duties as Commandant +of the Town Guard, and our repast was in consequence delayed--a +circumstance which certainly helped to save our lives. We were chatting +peacefully, when suddenly I recollect hearing the big gun's well-known +report, and was just going to remark, "How near that sounds!" when a +terrifying din immediately above our heads stopped all power of +conversation, or even of thought, and the next instant I was aware that +masses of falling brick and masonry were pushing me out of my chair, and +that heavy substances were falling on my head; then all was darkness and +suffocating dust. I remember distinctly putting my hands clasped above +my head to shelter it, and then my feeling of relief when, in another +instant or two, the bricks ceased to fall. The intense stillness of my +companions next dawned upon me, and a sickening dread supervened, that +one of them must surely be killed. Major Gould Adams was the first to +call out that he was all right; the other had been so suffocated by +gravel and brickdust that it was several moments before he could speak. +In a few minutes dusty forms and terrified faces appeared through the +gloom, as dense as the thickest London yellow fog, expecting to find +three mutilated corpses. Imagine their amazement at seeing three human +beings, in colour more like Red Indians than any other species, emerge +from the ruins and try to shake themselves free from the all-pervading +dust. The great thing was to get out of the place, as another shell +might follow, the enemy having seen, from the falling masonry, how +efficacious the last had been. So, feeling somewhat dazed, but really +not alarmed, as the whole thing had been too quick for fear, I groped my +way downstairs. Outside we were surrounded by more frightened people, +whom we quickly reassured. The woman cook, who had been sitting in her +bomb-proof, was quite sure _she_ had been struck, and was calling loudly +for brandy; while the rest of us got some soda-water to wash out our +throats--a necessary precaution as far as I was concerned, as mine had +only the day previously been lanced for quinsy. By degrees the cloud of +dust subsided, and then in the fading light we saw what an extraordinary +escape we had had. The shell had entered the front wall of the convent, +travelled between the iron roof and the ceiling of the rooms, till it +reached a wall about 4 feet from where we were sitting. Against this it +had exploded, making a huge hole in the outside wall and in the other +which separated our passage from a little private chapel. In this chapel +it had also demolished all the sacred images. It was not, however, till +next day, when we returned to examine the scene of the explosion, that +we realized how narrowly we had escaped death or terrible injuries. +Three people had been occupying an area of not more than 5 feet square; +between us was a tiny card-table laid with our supper, and on this the +principal quantity of the masonry had fallen--certainly 2 tons of red +brick and mortar--shattering it to atoms. If our chairs had been drawn +up to the table, we should probably have been buried beneath this mass. +But our most sensational discovery was the fact that two enormous pieces +of shell, weighing certainly 15 pounds each, were found touching the +legs of my chair, and the smallest tap from one of these would have +prevented our ever seeing another sunrise. Needless to say, we left our +ruined quarters that evening, and I reposed more peacefully in my +bomb-proof than I had done for many nights past. The air at the convent +had accomplished its healing work. We were both practically recovered, +and we had had a hairbreadth escape; but I was firmly convinced that an +underground chamber is preferable to a two-storied mansion when a 6-inch +100-pound shell gun, at a distance of two miles, is bombarding the town +you happen to be residing in. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII + + LIFE IN A BESIEGED TOWN (_continued_) + + "And so we sat tight."--_Despatch from Mafeking to War + Office._ + + +February came and went without producing very much change in our +circumstances, and yet, somehow, there was a difference observable as +the weeks passed. People looked graver; a tired expression was to be +noted on many hitherto jovial countenances; the children were paler and +more pinched. Apart from the constant dangers of shells and stray +bullets, and the knowledge that, when we were taking leave of any friend +for a few hours, it might be the last farewell on earth--apart from +these facts, which constituted a constant wear and tear of mind, the +impossibility of making any adequate reply to our enemy's bombardment +gradually preyed on the garrison. By degrees, also, our extreme +isolation seemed to come home to us, and not a few opined that relief +would probably never come, and that Mafeking would needs have to be +sacrificed for the greater cause of England's final triumph. Since +Christmas black "runners" had contrived to pass out of the town with +cables, bringing us on their return scrappy news and very ancient +newspapers. For instance, I notice in my diary that at the end of March +we were enchanted to read a _Weekly Times_ of January 5. On another +occasion the Boers vacated some trenches, which were immediately +occupied by our troops, who there found some Transvaal papers of a +fairly recent date, and actually a copy of the _Sketch_. I shall never +forget how delighted we were with the latter, and the amusement derived +therefrom compensated us a little for the accounts in the Boer papers of +General Buller's reverses on the Tugela. About the middle of February I +was enchanted to receive a letter from Mr. Rhodes, in Kimberley, which I +reproduce. + + [Transcription of letter: + + "Kimberly "Jan 12 / 1900 + + "DEAR LADY SARAH, + + "Just a line to say I often think of you[.] I wonder do you + play bridge, it takes your mind off hospitals, burials and + shells. A change seems coming with Buller crossing the Tulega. + Jameson should have stopped at Bulawayo and relieved you from + North. He can do no good shut up in Ladysmith[.] I am doing a + little good here as I make De Beers purse pay for things + military cannot sanction[.] We have just made and fired a 4 + inch gun, it is a success. + + "Yrs (.).Rhodes] + +This characteristic epistle seemed a link with the outer world, and to +denote we were not forgotten, even by those in a somewhat similar plight +to ourselves. + +The natives and their splendid loyalty were always a source of interest. +Formed into a "cattle guard," under a white man named Mackenzie, the +young bloods did excellent service, and were a great annoyance to the +Boers by making daring sorties in order to secure some of the latter's +fat cattle. This particular force proudly styled itself "Mackenzie's +Black Watch." There were many different natives in Mafeking. Besides +the Baralongs before alluded to, we had also the Fingos, a very superior +race, and 500 natives belonging to different tribes, who hailed from +Johannesburg, and who had been forcibly driven into the town by Cronje +before the siege commenced. These latter were the ones to suffer most +from hunger, in spite of Government relief and the fact that they had +plenty of money; for they had done most of the trench-work, and had been +well paid. The reason was that they were strangers to the other natives, +who had their own gardens to supplement their food allowance, and blacks +are strangely unkind and hard to each other, and remain quite unmoved if +a (to them) unknown man dies of starvation, although he be of their own +colour. + +The native stadt covered altogether an area of at least a square mile, +and was full of surprises in the shape of pretty peeps and rural +scenery. Little naked children used to play on the grass, pausing to +stare open-eyed at the passer-by, and men and women sat contentedly +gossiping in front of their huts. The whole gave an impression of +prosperity, of waving trees, green herbage, and running water, and was +totally different to the usual African landscape. To ride or drive +through it on a Sunday was quite a rest, when there was no risk of one's +illusions being dispelled by abominable shells, whose many visible +traces on the sward, in the shape of deep pear-shaped pits, were all the +same in evidence. + +Standing in a commanding position among the thatched houses of the +picturesque native stadt was the Mission Church, of quaint shape, and +built of red brick, the foundation of which had been laid by Sir Charles +Warren in 1884. One Sunday afternoon we attended service in this +edifice, and were immensely struck with the devotion of the enormous +congregation of men and women, who all followed the service attentively +in their books. The singing was most fervent, but the sermon a little +tedious, as the clergyman preached in English, and his discourse had to +be divided into short sentences, with a long pause between each, to +enable the black interpreter at his side to translate what he said to +his listeners, who simply hung on his words. + +All the natives objected most strongly to partaking of horse soup, +supplied by the kitchens, started by the C.O., as they declared it gave +them the same sickness from which the horses in Africa suffered, and +also that it caused their heads to swell. The authorities were therefore +compelled to devise some new food, and the resourceful genius of a +Scotchman introduced a porridge called "sowens" to the Colonel's notice. +This nutriment, said to be well known in the North of Scotland, was +composed of the meal which still remained in the oat-husks after they +had been ground for bread and discarded as useless. It was slightly +sour, but very wholesome, and enormously popular with the white and the +black population, especially with the latter, who preferred it to any +other food. + +I must now mention the important item of supplies and how they were eked +out. The provisions sent to Mafeking by the Cape Government before the +war were only sufficient to feed 400 men for a little over a fortnight. +At that time a statement was made, to reassure the inhabitants, that the +Cape Ministry held themselves personally responsible for the security of +the railway in the colony. Providentially, the firm of Weil and Company +had sent vast stores to their depot in the town on their own initiative. +This firm certainly did not lose financially by their foresight, but it +is a fact that Mafeking without this supply could have made no +resistance whatever. There were 9,000 human beings to feed, of which +7,000 were natives and 2,000 white people. It can therefore be imagined +that the task of the D.A.A.G. was not a light one. Up to April the town +consumed 4,099 tons of food-stuffs; 12,256 tons of oats, fodder, meal, +and flour; and 930 tons of fuel; making a total of 17,285 tons. Of +matches, the supply of which was soon exhausted, 35,400 boxes were +used, and to take their place tiny paraffin lamps were supplied to all, +which burnt night and day. Fortunately, the supply of liquid fuel was +very large, and it would have taken the place of coal if the siege had +been indefinitely prolonged. Among miscellaneous articles which were +luckily to be obtained at Weil's stores were 2 tons of gunpowder and +other ammunition, 132 rifles, insulated fuses, and electric dynamos for +discharging mines, etc. + +About a month after the siege started, the C.O. placed an embargo on all +food-stuffs, and the distribution of rations commenced. From then onward +special days were allowed for the sale of luxuries, but always in +strictly limited quantities. At first the rations consisted of 1-1/4 +pounds of meat and 1-1/4 pounds of bread, besides tea, coffee, sugar, +and rice. As time went on these were reduced, and towards the end of +March we only had 6 ounces of what was called bread and 1 pound of fresh +meat, when any was killed; otherwise we had to be content with bully +beef. As to the "staff of life," it became by degrees abominable and +full of foreign substances, which were apt to bring on fits of choking. +In spite of this drawback, there was never a crumb left, and it was +remarkable how little the 6 ounces seemed to represent, especially to a +hungry man in that keen atmosphere. + +One day it was discovered there was little, if any, gold left of the +L8,000 in specie that was lodged at the Standard Bank at the beginning +of the siege. This sum the Boers had at one time considered was as good +as in their pockets. It was believed the greater portion had since been +absorbed by the natives, who were in the habit of burying the money they +received as wages. In this quandary, Colonel Baden-Powell designed a +paper one-pound note, which was photographed on to thick paper of a +bluish tint, and made such an attractive picture that the Government +must have scored by many of them never being redeemed. + +It was not till Ash Wednesday, which fell that year on the last day of +February, that we got our first good news from a London cable, dated ten +days earlier. It told us Kimberley was relieved, that Colesberg was in +our hands, and many other satisfactory items besides. What was even of +greater importance was a message from Her Majesty Queen Victoria to +Colonel Baden-Powell and his garrison, applauding what they had done, +and bidding them to hope on and wait patiently for relief, which would +surely come. This message gave especial pleasure from its being couched +in the first person, when, as was universally remarked, the task of +sending such congratulations might so easily have been relegated to one +of Her Majesty's Ministers. I really think that no one except a +shipwrecked mariner, cast away on a desert island, and suddenly +perceiving a friendly sail, could have followed our feelings of delight +on that occasion. We walked about thinking we must be dreaming, and +finding it difficult to believe that we were in such close contact with +home and friends. In less than ten minutes posters were out, and eager +groups were busy at the street-corners, discussing the news, scrappy +indeed, and terribly deficient in all details, but how welcome, after +all the vague native rumours we had had to distract us during the past +weeks! We were content then to wait any length of time, and our lives +varied very little as the weeks slipped by. The bombardment was resumed +with vigour, and the old monster gun cruised right round the town and +boomed destruction at us from no less than five different points of +vantage. When the shelling was very heavy, we used to say to ourselves, +"What a good thing they are using up their ammunition!" when again for a +few days it was slack, we were convinced our foes had had bad news. What +matter if our next information was that the Boers had been seen throwing +up their hats and giving vent to other visible expressions of delight: +we had passed a few peaceful hours. + +Many casualties continued to take place; some were fatal and tragic, but +many and providential were the escapes recorded. Among the former, one +poor man was blown to bits while sitting eating his breakfast; but the +same day, when a shell landed in or near a house adjacent to my +bomb-proof, it merely took a cage containing a canary with it through +the window, while another fragment went into a dwelling across the +street, and made mince-meat of a sewing-machine and a new dress on which +a young lady had been busily engaged. She had risen from her pleasant +occupation but three minutes before. The coolness of the inhabitants, of +both sexes, was a source of constant surprise and admiration to me, and +women must always be proud to think that the wives and daughters of the +garrison were just as conspicuous by their pluck as the defenders +themselves. Often of a hot afternoon, when I was sitting in my +bomb-proof, from inclination as well as from prudence--for it was a far +cooler resort than the stuffy iron-roofed houses--while women and +children were walking about quite unconcernedly outside, I used to hear +the warning bell ring, followed by so much scuffling, screaming, and +giggling, in which were mingled jokes and loud laughter from the men, +that it made me smile as I listened; then, after the explosion, they +would emerge from any improvised shelter and go gaily on their way, and +the clang of the blacksmith's anvil, close at hand, would be resumed +almost before the noise had ceased and the dust had subsided. One day a +lady was wheeling her two babies in a mail-cart up and down the wide +road, while the Boers were busily shelling a distant part of the +defences. The children clapped their hands when they heard the peculiar +siren and whistle of the quick-firing Krupp shells, followed by dull +thuds, as they buried themselves in the ground. On my suggesting to her +that it was not a very favourable time to air the children, she agreed, +and said that her husband had just told her to go home, which she +proceeded leisurely to do. Another morning the cattle near the convent +were being energetically shelled, and later I happened to see the Mother +Superior, and commiserated with her in having been in such a hot corner. +"Ah, shure!" said the plucky Irish lady, "the shells were dhroppin' all +round here; but they were only nine-pounders, and we don't take any +notice of them at all." No words can describe the cheerful, patient +behaviour of those devoted Sisters through the siege. They bore +uncomplainingly all the hardships and discomforts of a flooded +bomb-proof shelter, finally returning to their ruined home with any +temporary makeshifts to keep out the rain; and whereas, from overwork +and depression of spirits, some folks were at times a little difficult +to please, not a word of complaint during all those months ever came +from the ladies of the convent. They certainly gave an example of +practical religion, pluck, charity, and devotion. + +And so the moons waxed and waned, and Mafeking patiently waited, and, +luckily, had every confidence in the resource and ability of Colonel +Baden-Powell. An old cannon had been discovered, half buried in the +native stadt, which was polished up and named "The Lord Nelson," from +the fact of its antiquity. For this gun solid cannon-balls were +manufactured, and finally fired off at the nearest Boer trenches; and +the first of these to go bounding along the ground certainly surprised +and startled our foes, which was proved by their quickly moving a part +of their laager. In addition a rough gun, called "The Wolf," was +actually constructed in Mafeking, which fired an 18-pound shell 4,000 +yards. To this feat our men were incited by hearing of the magnificent +weapon which had been cast by the talented workmen of Kimberley in the +De Beers workshops. In spite of there being nothing but the roughest +materials to work with, shells were also made, and some Boer projectiles +which arrived in the town without exploding were collected, melted down, +and hurled once more at our enemy. Truly, there is no such schoolmaster +as necessity. + +On Sundays we continued to put away from us the cares and worries of the +week, and the Church services of the various denominations were +crowded, after an hour devoted to very necessary shopping. During the +whole siege the Sunday afternoon sports on the parade-ground were a most +popular institution; when it was wet, amusing concerts were given +instead at the Masonic Hall. On these occasions Colonel Baden-Powell was +the leading spirit, as well as one of the principal artistes, anon +appearing in an impromptu sketch as "Signor Paderewski," or, again, as a +coster, and holding the hall entranced or convulsed with laughter. He +was able to assume very various roles with "Fregoli-like" rapidity; for +one evening, soon after the audience had dispersed, suddenly there was +an alarm of a night attack. Firing commenced all round the town, which +was a most unusual occurrence for a Sunday night. In an instant the man +who had been masquerading as a buffoon was again the commanding officer, +stern and alert. The tramp of many feet was heard in the streets, which +proved to be the reserve squadron of the Protectorate Regiment, summoned +in haste to headquarters. A Maxim arrived, as by magic, from somewhere +else, the town guard were ordered to their places, and an A.D.C. was +sent to the hall, where a little dance for the poor overworked hospital +nurses was in full swing, abruptly to break up this pleasant gathering. +It only remained for our defenders to wish the Boers would come on, +instead of which the attack ended in smoke, after two hours' furious +volleying, and by midnight all was quiet again. + +During the latter part of this tedious time Colonel Plumer and his +gallant men were but thirty miles away, having encompassed a vast +stretch of dreary desert from distant Bulawayo. This force had been +"under the stars" since the previous August, and had braved hardships of +heat, fever districts, and flooded rivers, added to many a brush with +the enemy. These trusty friends were only too anxious to come to our +assistance, but a river rolled between--a river composed of deep +fortified trenches, of modern artillery, and of first-rate marksmen with +many Mausers. One day Colonel Plumer sent in an intrepid scout to +consult with Colonel Baden-Powell. This gentleman had a supreme contempt +for bullets, and certainly did not know the meaning of the word "fear," +but the bursting shells produced a disagreeable impression on him. "Does +it always go on like that?" he asked, when he heard the vicious hammer +of the enemy's Maxim. "Yes," somebody gloomily answered, "it always goes +on like that, till at length we pretend to like it, and that we should +feel dull if it were silent." + +Although the soldiers in Mafeking were disposed to grumble at the small +part they seemed to be playing in the great tussle in which England was +engaged, the authorities were satisfied that for so small a town to have +kept occupied during the first critical month of the war 10,000--and at +later stages never less than 2,000--Boers, was in itself no small +achievement. We women always had lots to do. When the hospital work was +slack there were many Union Jacks to be made--a most intricate and +tiresome occupation--and these were distributed among the various forts. +We even had a competition in trimming hats, and a prize was given to the +best specimen as selected by a competent committee. In the evenings we +never failed to receive the Mafeking evening paper, and were able to +puzzle our heads over its excellent acrostics, besides frequently +indulging in a pleasant game of cards. + +In the meantime food was certainly becoming very short, and on April 3 I +cabled to my sister in London as follows: "Breakfast to-day, horse +sausages; lunch, minced mule, curried locusts. All well." Occasionally I +used to be allowed a tiny white roll for breakfast, but it had to last +for dinner too. Mr. Weil bought the last remaining turkey for L5, with +the intention of giving a feast on Her Majesty's birthday, and the +precious bird had to be kept under a Chubb's lock and key till it was +killed. No dogs or cats were safe, as the Basutos stole them all for +food. But all the while we were well aware our situation might have +been far worse. The rains were over, the climate was glorious, fever was +fast diminishing, and, in spite of experiencing extreme boredom, we knew +that the end of the long lane was surely coming. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + ELOFF'S DETERMINED ATTACK ON MAFEKING, AND THE RELIEF OF THE + TOWN--THE MAFEKING FUND + + "War, war is still the cry--war even to the knife!"--BYRON. + + +"The Boers are in the stadt!" Such was the ominous message that was +quickly passed round from mouth to mouth on Saturday morning, May 12, +1900, as day was breaking. One had to be well acquainted with the +labyrinth of rocks, trees, huts, and cover generally, of the locality +aforementioned, all within a stone's-throw of our dwelling, to realize +the dread import of these words. + +All the previous week things had been much as usual: inferior food, and +very little of it; divine weather; "bridge" in the afternoons; and one +day exactly like another. Since the departure of the big gun during the +previous month, we had left our bomb-proofs and lived above-ground. In +the early hours of the morning alluded to came the real event we had +been expecting ever since the beginning of the siege--namely, a Boer +attack under cover of darkness. The moon had just set, and it was +pitch-dark. A fierce fusillade first began from the east, and when I +opened the door on to the stoep the din was terrific, while swish, +swish, came the bullets just beyond the canvas blinds, nailed to the +edge of the verandah to keep off the sun. Now and then the boom of a +small gun varied the noise, but the rifles never ceased for an instant. +To this awe-inspiring tune I dressed, by the light of a carefully shaded +candle, to avoid giving any mark for our foes. The firing never abated, +and I had a sort of idea that any moment a Dutchman would look in at the +door, for one could not tell from what side the real attack might be. In +various stages of deshabille people were running round the house seeking +for rifles, fowling-pieces, and even sticks, as weapons of defence. +Meanwhile the gloom was still unbroken, but for the starlight, and it +was very cold. The Cockney waiter, who was such a fund of amusement to +me, had dashed off with his rifle to his redoubt, taking the keys of the +house in his pocket, so no one could get into the dining-room to have +coffee, except through the kitchen window. The two hours of darkness +that had to elapse were the longest I have ever spent. Hurried footsteps +passed to and fro, dark lanterns flashed for an instant, intensifying +the blackness, and all of a sudden the sound I had been waiting for +added to the weird horror of the situation, an alarm bugle, winding out +its tale, clear and true to the farthest byways and the most remote +shanties, followed by our tocsin, the deep-toned Roman Catholic Church +bell, which was the signal that a general attack was in progress. We +caught dim glimpses of the town guard going to their appointed places in +the most orderly manner, and I remember thinking that where there was no +panic there could be but little danger. An officer of this guard came +down the road and told us all his men had turned out without exception, +including an old fellow of seventy, and stone-deaf, who had been roused +by the rifle-fire, and one minus several fingers recently blown off by a +shell. I went out to the front of the house facing the stadt, and +therefore sheltered from the hail of bullets coming from the east; and +just as we were noticing that objects could be discerned on the road, +that before were invisible, forked tongues of lurid light shot up into +the sky in the direction where, snug and low by the Malopo River, lay +the natives' habitations. Even then one did not realize what was +burning, and someone said: "What a big grass fire! It must have +commenced yesterday." At the same moment faint cries, unmistakable for +Kaffir ejaculations, were borne to us by the breeze, along with the +smell of burning thatch and wood, and the dread sentence with which I +commenced this chapter seemed to grow in volume, till to one's excited +fancy it became a sort of chant, to which the yells of the blacks, the +unceasing rattle of musketry, formed an unholy accompaniment. "Hark, +what is that?" was a universal exclamation from the few folk, mostly +women, standing in front of Mr. Weil's house, as a curious hoarse cheer +arose--not in the stadt, half a mile away, but nearer, close by, only +the other side of the station, where was situated the B.S.A.P. fort, the +headquarters of the officer commanding the Protectorate Regiment. This +so-called fort was in reality an obsolete old work of the time of Sir +Charles Warren's 1884 expedition, and was but slightly fortified. + +The Boers, after setting fire to the stadt, had rushed it, surprising +the occupants; and the horrible noise of their cheering arose again and +again. Then a terrific fusillade broke out from this new direction, +rendering the roadway a place of the greatest danger. My quarters were +evidently getting too hot, and I knew that Weil's house and store would +be the first objective of the Boers. I bethought me even novices might +be useful in the hospital, so I decided to proceed there in one way or +another. Although the rifle-fire was slackening towards the east, from +the fort, on the west it was continuing unabated; and the way to the +hospital lay through the most open part of the town. Calling to our +soldier servant of the Royal Horse Guards to accompany me, I snatched up +a few things of value and started off. "You will be shot, to a +certainty," said Mr. Weil. But it was no use waiting, as one could not +tell what would happen next. The bullets were fortunately flying high; +all the same, we had twice to stop under a wall and wait for a lull +before proceeding. Then I saw a native boy fall in front of me, and at +the same moment I stumbled and fell heavily, the servant thinking I was +hit; and all the while we could hear frightened cries continuing to +emanate from the flaming stadt. + +The day had fully broken, and never had the roads appeared so white and +wide, the sheltering houses so few and far between. At length we reached +the hospital trench, and the last 500 yards of the journey were +accomplished in perfect safety. My dangerous experiences ended for the +rest of that dreadful day, which I spent in the haven of those walls, +sheltering so much suffering, and that were, alas! by evening crammed to +their fullest capacity. It was a gruesome sight seeing the wounded +brought in, and the blood-stained stretchers carried away empty, when +the occupants had been deposited in the operating-room. Sometimes an +ambulance waggon would arrive with four or five inmates; at others we +descried a stretcher-party moving cautiously across the +recreation-ground towards us with a melancholy load. It is easy to +imagine our feelings of dread and anxiety as we scanned the features of +the new arrivals, never knowing who might be the next. During the +morning three wounded Boers were brought in--the first prisoners +Mafeking could claim; then a native with his arm shattered to the +shoulder. All were skilfully and carefully attended to by the army +surgeon and his staff in a marvellously short space of time, and +comfortably installed in bed. But the Boers begged not to have sheets, +as they had never seen such things before. Among the English casualties, +one case was a very sad one. A young man, named Hazelrigg, of an old +Leicestershire family, was badly shot in the region of the heart when +taking a message to the B.S.A.P. fort, not knowing the Boers were in +possession. Smart and good-looking, he had only just been promoted to +the post of orderly from being a private in the Cape Police, into which +corps he had previously enlisted, having failed in his army examination. +When brought to the hospital, Hazelrigg had nearly bled to death, and +was dreadfully weak, his case being evidently hopeless. I sat with him +several hours, putting eau-de-Cologne on his head and brushing away the +flies. In the evening, just before he passed into unconsciousness, he +repeated more than once: "Tell the Colonel, Lady Sarah, I did my best +to give the message, but they got me first." He died at dawn. + +All through the weary hours of that perfect summer's day the rifles +never ceased firing. Sometimes a regular fusillade for ten minutes or +so; then, as if tired out, sinking down to a few single shots, while the +siren-like whistle and sharp explosion of the shells from the +high-velocity gun continued intermittently, and added to the dangers of +the streets. So the hours dragged on. All the time the wildest rumours +pervaded the air. Now the Boers had possession of the whole stadt; +again, as soon as night fell, large reinforcements were to force their +way in. Of course we knew the Colonel was all the while maturing his +plans to rid the town of the unbidden guests, but what these were no one +could tell. About 8 p.m., when we were in the depth of despair, we got +an official message to say that the Boers in the stadt had been +surrounded and taken prisoners, and also that the fort had surrendered +to Colonel Hore, who, with some of his officers, had been all day in the +curious position of captives in their own barracks. Of course our +delight and thankfulness knew no bounds. In spite of the dead and dying +patients, those who were slightly wounded or convalescent gave a feeble +cheer, which was a pathetic sound. We further heard that the prisoners, +in number about a hundred, including Commandant Eloff, their leader, +were then being marched through the town to the Masonic Hall, followed +by a large crowd of jeering and delighted natives. Two of the nurses and +myself ran over to look at them, and I never saw a more motley crew. In +the dim light of a few oil-lamps they represented many nationalities, +the greater part laughing, joking, and even singing, the burghers +holding themselves somewhat aloof, but the whole community giving one +the idea of a body of men who knew they had got out of a tight place, +and were devoutly thankful still to have whole skins. Eloff and three +principal officers were accommodated at Mr. Weil's house, having +previously dined with the Colonel and Staff. At 6 a.m. Sunday morning we +were awakened by three shells bursting close by, one after the other. I +believe no one was more frightened than Eloff; but he told us that it +was a preconcerted signal, and that, if they had been in possession of +the town, they were to have answered by rifle-fire, when the Boers would +have marched in. These proved to be the last shells that were fired into +Mafeking. + +The same morning at breakfast I sat opposite to Commandant Eloff, who +was the President's grandson, and had on my right a most polite French +officer, who could not speak a word of English, Dutch, or German, so it +was difficult to understand how he made himself understood by his then +companions-in-arms. In strong contrast to this affable and courteous +gentleman was Eloff, of whom we had heard so much as a promising +Transvaal General. A typical Boer of the modern school, with curiously +unkempt hair literally standing on end, light sandy whiskers, and a +small moustache, he was wearing a sullen and dejected expression on his +by no means stupid, but discontented and unprepossessing, face. This +scion of the Kruger family did not scruple to air his grievances or +disclose his plans with regard to the struggle of the previous day. That +he was brilliantly assisted by the French and German freelances was as +surely demonstrated as the fact of his having been left more or less in +the lurch by his countrymen when they saw that to get into Mafeking was +one thing, but to stay there or get out of it again was quite a +different matter. In a few words he told us, in fairly good English, how +it had been posted up in the laager, "We leave for Mafeking to-night: we +will breakfast at Dixon's Hotel to-morrow morning"; how he had sent back +to instruct Reuter's agent to cable the news that Mafeking had been +taken as soon as the fort was in their hands; how he had left his camp +with 400 volunteers, and how, when he had counted them by the light of +the blazing stadt, only 240 remained; moreover, that the 500 additional +men who were to push in when the fort was taken absolutely failed +him.[34] He was also betrayed in that the arranged forward movement all +round the town, which was to have taken place simultaneously with his +attack, was never made. The burghers instead contented themselves by +merely firing senseless volleys from their trenches, which constituted +all the assistance he actually received. This, and much more, he told us +with bitter emphasis, while the French officer conversed unconcernedly +in the intervals of his discourse about the African climate, the +weather, and the Paris Exhibition; finally observing with heart-felt +emphasis that he wished himself back once more in "La Belle France," +which he had only left two short months ago. The Dutchman, not +understanding what he was saying, kept on the thread of his story, +interrupting him without any compunction. It was one of the most curious +meals at which I have ever assisted. That afternoon these officers were +removed to safer quarters in gaol while a house was being prepared for +their reception. + +As after-events proved, Eloff's attack was the + +Boers' last card, which they had played when they heard of the +approaching relief column under Colonel Mahon,[35] and of his intention +to join hands with Colonel Plumer, coming from the North. After lunch, +two days later, we saw clouds of dust to the south, and, from +information to hand, we knew it must be our relievers. The whole of +Mafeking spent hours on the roofs of the houses. In the meantime the +Boers were very uneasy, with many horsemen coming and going, but the +laagers were not being shifted. In the late afternoon a desultory action +commenced, which to us was desperately exciting. We could see little but +shells bursting and columns of dust. One thing was certain: the Boers +were not running away, although the Colonel declared that our troops had +gained possession of the position the Boers had held, the latter having +fallen a little farther back. As the sun set came a helio-message: +"Diamond Fields Horse.--All well. Good-night." We went to dinner at +seven, and just as we were sitting down I heard some feeble cheers. +Thinking something must have happened, I ran to the market-square, and, +seeing a dusty khaki-clad figure whose appearance was unfamiliar to me, +I touched him on the shoulder, and said: "Has anyone come in?" "We have +come in," he answered--"Major Karri-Davis and eight men of the Imperial +Light Horse." Then I saw that officer himself, and he told us that, +profiting by an hour's dusk, they had ridden straight in before the moon +rose, and that they were now sending back two troopers to tell the +column the way was clear. Their having thus pushed on at once was a +lucky inspiration, for, had they waited for daylight, they would +probably have had a hard fight, even if they had got in at all. This +plucky column of 1,100 men had marched nearly 300 miles in twelve days, +absolutely confounding the Boers by their rapidity. + +We heard weeks afterwards how that same day of the relief of Mafeking +was celebrated in London with jubilation past belief, everyone going mad +with delight. The original event in the town itself was a very tame if +impressive affair--merely a score or so of people, singing "Rule, +Britannia," surrounding eight or nine dust-begrimed figures, each +holding a tired and jaded horse, and a few women on the outskirts of the +circle with tears of joy in their eyes. Needless to say, no one thought +of sleep that night. At 3.30 a.m. someone came and fetched me in a +pony-cart, and we drove out to the polo-ground, where, by brilliant +moonlight, we saw the column come into camp. Strings and strings of +waggons were soon drawn up; next to them black masses, which were the +guns; and beyond these, men, lying down anywhere, dead-tired, beside +their horses. The rest of the night I spent at the hospital, where they +were bringing in those wounded in the action of the previous afternoon. +At eight o'clock we were having breakfast with Colonel Mahon, Prince +Alexander of Teck, Sir John Willoughby, and Colonel Frank Rhodes, as +additional guests. We had not seen a strange face for eight months, and +could do nothing but stare at them, and I think each one of us felt as +if he or she were in a dream. Our friends told of their wonderful march, +and how they had encamped one night at Setlagoli, where they had been +taken care of by Mrs. Fraser and Metelka, who had spent the night in +cooking for the officers, which fact had specially delighted Colonel +Rhodes, who told me my maid was a "charming creature." But this pleasant +conversation was interrupted by a message, saying that, as the Boer +laagers were as intact as yesterday, the artillery were going to bombard +them at once. Those of us who had leisure repaired at once to the +convent, and from there the sight that followed was worth waiting all +these many months to see. First came the splendid batteries of the Royal +Horse Artillery trotting into action, all the gunners bronzed and +bearded. They were followed by the Canadian Artillery, who had joined +Colonel Plumer's force, and who were that day horsed with mules out of +the Bulawayo coach. These were galloping, and, considering the distance +all had come, both horses and mules looked wonderfully fit and well. +Most of the former, with the appearance of short-tailed English hunters, +were stepping gaily out. The Imperial Light Horse and the Diamond Fields +Horse, the latter distinguished by feathers in their felt hats, brought +up the procession. Everybody cheered, and not a few were deeply +affected. Personally, ever since, when I see galloping artillery, that +momentous morning is brought back to my mind, and I feel a choking +sensation in my throat. + +About a quarter of a mile from town the guns unlimbered, and we could +not help feeling satisfaction at watching the shells exploding in the +laager--that laager we had watched for so many months, and had never +been able to touch. The Boers had evidently never expected the column to +be in the town, or they would have cleared off. We had a last glimpse of +the tarpaulined waggons, and then the dust hid further developments from +sight. After about thirty minutes the artillery ceased firing, and as +the atmosphere cleared we saw the laager was a desert. Waggons, horses, +and cattle, all had vanished. + +After their exertions of the past fortnight, Colonel Mahon did not +consider it wise to pursue the retreating Boers; but later in the +afternoon I went out with others in a cart to where the laager had +been--the first time since December that I had driven beyond our lines. +I had the new experience of seeing a "loot" in progress. First we met +two soldiers driving a cow; then some more with bulged-out pockets full +of live fowls; natives were staggering under huge loads of food-stuffs, +and eating even as they walked. I was also interested in going into the +very room where General Snyman had treated me so scurvily, and where +everything was in terrible confusion: the floor was littered with +rifles, ammunition, food-stuffs of all sorts, clothes, and letters. Among +the latter some interesting telegrams were found, including one from the +President, of a date three days previously, informing Snyman that things +were most critical, and that the enemy had occupied Kroonstadt. We were +just going on to the hospital, where I had spent those weary days of +imprisonment, when an officer galloped up and begged me to return to +Mafeking, as some skirmishing was going to commence. It turned out that +500 Boers had stopped just over the ridge to cover their retreating +waggons, but they made no stand, and by evening were miles away. + +On Friday, May 18, the whole garrison turned out to attend a +thanksgiving service in an open space close to the cemetery. They were +drawn up in a three-sided square, which looked pathetically small. +After the service Colonel Baden-Powell walked round and said a few words +to each corps; then three volleys were fired over the graves of fallen +comrades, and the "Last Post" was played by the buglers, followed by the +National Anthem, in which all joined. It was a simple ceremony, but a +very touching one. The same afternoon Colonel Plumer's force was +inspected by the Colonel, prior to their departure for the North to +repair the railway-line from Bulawayo. They were striking-looking men in +their campaigning kit, having been in the field since last August. Some +wore shabby khaki jackets and trousers, others flannel shirts and long +boots or putties. However attired, they were eager once more for the +fray, and, moreover, looked fit for any emergency. + +The next few days were a period of intense excitement, and we were +constantly stumbling against friends who had formed part of the relief +column, but of whose presence we were totally unaware. Letters began to +arrive in bulky batches, and one morning I received no less than 100, +some of which bore the date of September of the year before. My time was +divided between eagerly devouring these missives from home, sending and +answering cables (a telegraph-line to the nearest telephone-office had +been installed), and helping to organize a new hospital in the +school-house, to accommodate the sick and wounded belonging to Colonel +Mahon's force. All the while my thoughts were occupied by my return to +England and by the question of the surest route to Cape Town. The +railway to the South could not be relaid for weeks, and, as an +alternative, my eyes turned longingly towards the Transvaal and +Pretoria. It must be remembered that we shared the general opinion that, +once Lord Roberts had reached the latter town, the war would be +practically over. How wrong we all were after-events were to prove, but +at the end of May, 1900, it appeared to many that to drive the 200 miles +to Pretoria would be very little longer, and much more interesting, than +to trek to Kimberley, with Cape Town as the destination. Mrs. Godley (to +whom I have before alluded) had arrived at Mafeking from Bulawayo, and +we agreed to make the attempt, especially as the Boers in the +intervening country were reported to be giving up their arms and +returning to their farms. In the meantime it had been decided that +Colonel Plumer should occupy Zeerust in the Transvaal, twenty-eight +miles from the border, while Colonel Baden-Powell and his force pushed +on to Rustenburg. On May 28 Colonel Mahon and the relief column all +departed to rejoin General Hunter in or near Lichtenburg, and Mafeking +was left with a small garrison to look after the sick and wounded. This +town, so long a theatre of excitement to itself and of interest to the +world at large, then resumed by degrees the sleepy, even tenor of its +ways, which had been so rudely disturbed eight months before. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[34] Later on, when I was at Zeerust, I met a telegraph clerk who had +then been in the employ of the Boers, and he told me how indignant all +were with General Snyman for deserting Eloff on that occasion. When one +of the _Veldtcornets_ went and begged his permission to collect +volunteers as reinforcements, all the General did was to scratch his +head and murmur in Dutch, "Morro is nocher dag" (To-morrow is another +day). + +[35] Now Major-General Mahon. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + ACROSS THE TRANSVAAL TO PRETORIA DURING THE WAR + + "There never was a good war or a bad peace."--BENJAMIN + FRANKLIN. + + +On Sunday morning, June 4, we packed into a Cape cart, with four siege +horses in fair condition, and started to drive to Zeerust. It was a +glorious day of blue skies and bright sun, with just enough breeze to +prevent the noonday from being too hot. As we left Mafeking and its +outworks behind, I had a curious feeling of regret and of gratitude to +the gallant little town and its stout citizens: to the former for having +been a haven in the midst of fierce storms during all these months; to +the latter for their stout arms and their brave hearts, which had warded +off the outbursts of the same tempests, whose clouds had hung dark and +lowering on our horizon since the previous October. We also experienced +a wonderful feeling of relief and freedom at being able to drive at will +over the very roads which we had seen covered by Boer waggons, +burghers, and guns, and, needless to say, we marked with interest the +lines of their forts, so terribly near our little town. We noted the +farmhouse lately the headquarters of General Snyman, standing naked and +alone. Formerly surrounded by a flourishing orchard and a carefully +tended garden, it was now the picture of desolation. The ground was +trampled by many feet of men and horses; straw, forage, packing-cases, +and rubbish of all kinds, were strewn about, and absolutely hid the soil +from view. Away on the hill beyond I spied the tiny house and hospital +where I had spent six weary nights and days; and between these two +buildings a patch of bare ground nearly half a mile square, +indescribably filthy, had been the site of the white-hooded waggons and +ragged tents of the laager itself. The road was of no interest, merely +rolling veldt with a very few scattered farmhouses, apparently deserted; +but one noticed that rough attempts had been made in the way of +irrigation, and that, as one approached the Transvaal, pools of water +were frequently to be seen. + +A shallow ditch was pointed out to us by the driver, as the boundary +between Her Majesty's colony and the South African Republic, and after +another eight or ten miles we saw a few white roofs and trees, which +proved to be Otto's Hoep, in the Malmani Gold District, from which +locality great things had been hoped in bygone days, before the Rand +was ever thought of. At the tiny hotel we found several officers and men +of the Imperial Light Horse, who, warned by a telephone message from +Mafeking, had ordered us an excellent hot lunch. The proprietor, of +German origin, could do nothing but stare at us while we were eating the +meal, apparently amazed at finding his house reopened after so many +months of inactivity, and that people were actually prepared to pay for +what they had. We soon pushed on again, and just after leaving the hotel +a sharp turn brought us to a really wide river, close to where the +Imperial Light Horse were encamped. Our driver turned the horses' heads +towards it, and without any misgivings we plunged in. The water grew +deeper and deeper, and our thoughts flew to our portmanteaus, tied on +behind, which were practically submerged. Just then the leaders took it +into their heads they preferred not to go any farther, and forthwith +turned round and faced us. The black coachman, however, did not lose his +head, but pulled the wheelers round also, and we soon found ourselves +again on the same bank from which we had started. Had it not been for a +kind trooper of the Imperial Light Horse, our chances of getting across +would have been nil. This friend in need mounted a loose horse, and +succeeded in coaxing and dragging our recalcitrant leaders, and forcing +them to face the rushing stream. Once again our portmanteaus had a cold +bath, but this time we made a successful crossing, and went gaily on our +way. The road was now much improved and the country exceedingly pretty. +Many snug little houses, sheltered by rows of cypress, tall eucalyptus +and huge orange-trees laden with yellow fruit, their gardens intersected +by running brooks, appeared on all sides; while in the distance rose a +range of blue hills, at the foot of which we could perceive the roofs of +Zeerust. + +As the sun was almost sinking, clouds of dust arose on the road in +front, denoting a large body of men or waggons moving. A few weeks--nay, +days--ago these would have been a burgher commando; now we knew they +were our friends, and presently we met Major Weston Jarvis and his +dust-begrimed squadron of the Rhodesian Regiment, followed by a large +number of transport waggons, driven cattle, and donkeys. This living +testimony that war was still present in the land only disturbed the +peaceful evening landscape till the long line of dust had disappeared; +then all was stillness and beauty once more. The young moon came out, +the stars twinkled in the dark blue heavens, and suddenly, below the dim +range of hills, shone first one light and then another; while away to +the left, on higher ground, camp-fires, softened by a halo of white +smoke, came into view. The scene was very picturesque. No cloud +obscured the star-bespangled sky or the crescent of the Queen of the +Night. Still far away, the lights of the little town were a beacon to +guide us. The noise and cries of the camp were carried to us on the +gentlest of night breezes, and, to complete the calm beauty of the +surroundings, the deep, slow chime of a church-bell struck our ears. + +We had reached our destination, and were in a few minutes driving +through the quiet little street, pulling up in front of the Central +Hotel, kept by a colonial Englishman and his wife. The former had been +commandeered twice during the war, but he hastened to assure us that, +though he had been at the laager, and even in the trenches before +Mafeking, he had never let off his rifle, and had given it up with great +pleasure to the English only the day before. This old-fashioned hostelry +was very comfortable and commodious, with excellent cooking, but it was +not till the next day that we realized how pretty was the town of +Zeerust, and how charmingly situated. The houses, standing back from the +wide road, were surrounded by neat little gardens and rows of cypresses. +Looking down the main street, in either direction, were purple, +tree-covered hills. A stream wound its way across one end of the +highway, and teams of sleepy fat oxen with bells completed the illusion +that we had suddenly been transported into a town of Northern Italy or +of the Lower Engadine. However, other circumstances contributed to give +it an air of depression and sadness. On the stoeps of the houses were +gathered groups of Dutch women and girls, many of them in deep mourning, +and all looking very miserable, gazing at us with unfriendly eyes. +Fine-looking but shabbily-clad men were to be met carrying their rifles +and bandoliers to the Landrost's late office, now occupied by Colonel +Plumer and his Staff. Sometimes they were leading a rough-coated, +ill-fed pony, in many cases their one ewe lamb, which might or might not +be required for Her Majesty's troops. They walked slowly and dejectedly, +though some took off their hats and gave one a rough "Good-day." Most of +them had their eyes on the ground and a look of mute despair. Others, +again, looked quite jolly and friendly, calling out a cheery greeting, +for all at that time thought the war was really over. I was told that +what caused them surprise and despair was the fact of their animals +being required by the English: "requisitioned" was the term used when +the owner was on his farm, which meant that he would receive payment for +the property, and was given a receipt to that effect; "confiscated," +when the burgher was found absent, which signified he was still on +commando. Even in the former case he gave up his property sadly and +reluctantly, amid the tears and groans of his wife and children, for, +judging by the ways of his own Government, they never expected the paper +receipt would produce any recognition. Many of the cases of these poor +burghers seemed indeed very hard, for it must be remembered that during +the past months of the war all their things had been used by their own +Government for the patriotic cause, and what still remained to them was +then being appropriated by the English. All along they had been misled +and misinformed, for none of their leaders ever hinted there could be +but one end to the war--namely, the decisive success of the Transvaal +Republic. It made it easy to realize the enormous difficulties that were +connected with what was airily talked of as the "pacification of the +country," and that those English officers who laboured then, and for +many months afterwards, at this task had just as colossal and arduous an +undertaking as the soldiers under Lord Roberts, who had gloriously cut +their way to Johannesburg and Pretoria. Someone said to me in Zeerust: +"When the English have reached Pretoria their difficulties will only +begin." In the heyday of our Relief, and with news of English victories +constantly coming to hand, I thought this gentleman a pessimist; but the +subsequent history of the war, and the many weary months following the +conclusion of peace, proved there was much truth in the above statement. + +Two days later we heard that Lord Roberts had made his formal entry into +Pretoria on June 5, but our journey thither did not proceed as smoothly +as we had hoped. We chartered a Cape cart and an excellent pair of grey +horses, and made our first attempt to reach Pretoria via the lead-mines, +the same route taken by Dr. Jameson and the Raiders. Here we received a +check in the shape of a letter from General Baden-Powell requesting us +not to proceed, as he had received information that Lord Roberts's line +of communication had been temporarily interrupted. The weather had +turned exceedingly wet and cold, like an English March or late autumn, +and after two days of inactivity in a damp and gloomy Dutch farmhouse we +were perforce obliged to return to our original starting-point, Zeerust. +A few days later we heard that Colonel Baden-Powell had occupied +Rustenburg, and that the country between there and Pretoria +was clear; so we decided to make a fresh start, and this time to take +the northern and more mountainous route. We drove through a very pretty +country, with many trees and groves of splendid oranges, and we crossed +highly cultivated valleys, with numerous farms dotted about. All those +we met described themselves as delighted at what they termed the close +of the war, and gave us a rough salutation as we went on our way, after +a friendly chat. Presently we passed an open trolley with a huge +red-cross flag flying, but which appeared to contain nothing but private +luggage, and was followed by a man, evidently a doctor, driving a +one-horse buggy, and wearing an enormous red-cross badge on his hat. At +midday we outspanned to rest the horses and eat our lunch, and in the +afternoon we crossed the great Marico River, where was situated a +deserted and ruined hotel and store. The road then became so bad that +the pace of our horses scarcely reached five miles an hour, and to +obtain shelter we had to reach Eland's River before it became quite +dark. A very steep hill had to be climbed, which took us over the +shoulder of the chain of hills, and rumbling slowly down the other side, +with groaning brake and stumbling steeds, we met a typical Dutch family, +evidently trekking back from the laager in a heavy ox waggon. The +sad-looking mother, with three or four children in ragged clothes, was +sitting inside; the father and the eldest boy were walking beside the +oxen. Their apparent misery was depressing, added to which the day, +which all along had been cold and dismal, now began to close in, and, +what was worse, rain began to fall, which soon grew to be a regular +downpour. At last we could hardly see our grey horses, and every moment +I expected we should drive into one of the many pitfalls in the shape of +big black holes with which the roads in this part of the Transvaal +abounded, and a near acquaintance with any one of these would certainly +have upset the cart. At last we saw twinkling lights, but we first had +to plunge down another river-bed and ascend a precipitous incline up the +opposite bank. Our horses were by now very tired, and for one moment it +seemed to hang in the balance whether we should roll back into the water +or gain the top. The good animals, however, responded to the whip, +plunged forward, and finally pulled up at a house dimly outlined in the +gloom. In response to our call, a dripping sentry peered out, and told +us it was, as we hoped, Wolhuter's store, and that he would call the +proprietor. Many minutes elapsed, during which intense stillness +prevailed, seeming to emphasize how desolate a spot we had reached, and +broken only by the splash of the heavy rain. Then the door opened, and a +man appeared to be coming at last, only to disappear again in order to +fetch coat and umbrella. Eventually it turned out the owner of the house +was a miller, by birth a German, and this gentleman very kindly gave us +a night's hospitality. He certainly had not expected visitors, and it +took some time to allay his suspicions as to who we were and what was +our business. Accustomed to the universal hospitality in South Africa, +I was somewhat surprised at the hesitation he showed in asking us into +his house, and when we were admitted he claimed indulgence for any +shortcomings by saying his children were ill. We assured him we should +give no trouble, and we were so wet and cold that any roof and shelter +were a godsend. Just as I was going to bed, my maid came and told me +that, from a conversation she had had with the Kaffir girl, who seemed +to be the only domestic, she gathered that two children were suffering +from an infectious disease, which, in the absence of any medical man, +they had diagnosed as smallpox. To proceed on our journey was out of the +question, but it may be imagined that we left next morning at the very +earliest hour possible. + +This very district round Eland's River was later the scene of much +fighting, and it was there a few months afterwards that De la Rey +surrounded an English force, who were only rescued in the nick of time +by the arrival of Lord Kitchener. At the date of our visit, however, all +was peaceful, and, but for a few burghers riding in haste to surrender +their arms, not a trace of the enemy was to be seen. + +The next day we reached Rustenburg, where we stayed the night, and +learnt that General Baden-Powell and his Staff had left there for +Pretoria, to confer with Lord Roberts. Our gallant grey horses were +standing the strain well, and the worst roads as well as the most +mountainous country were then behind us; so, without delay, we continued +on the morrow, spending the third night at a storekeeper's house at +Sterkstrom. Towards the evening of the fourth day after leaving Zeerust, +we entered a long wide valley, and by degrees overtook vehicles of many +lands, wearied pedestrians, and horsemen--in fact, the inevitable +stragglers denoting the vicinity of a vast army. The valley was enclosed +by moderately high hills, and from their summits we watched helio +messages passing to and fro during all that beautiful afternoon, while +we slowly accomplished the last, but seemingly endless, miles of our +tedious drive. At 5 p.m. we crawled into the suburbs of the Boer +capital, having driven 135 miles with the same horses. The description +of Pretoria under British occupation, and the friends we met there, I +must leave to another chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + + PRETORIA AND JOHANNESBURG UNDER LORD ROBERTS AND MILITARY LAW + + "With malice to none ... with firmness in the right, as + God gives us to see the right, let us finish the work we are + in."--ABRAHAM LINCOLN. + + +At Pretoria Mrs. Godley and I found accommodation, not without some +difficulty, at the Grand Hotel. Turned for the moment into a sort of +huge barrack, this was crowded to its utmost capacity. The polite +manager, in his endeavour to find us suitable rooms, conducted us all +over the spacious building, and at last, struck by a bright thought, +threw open the door of an apartment which he said would be free in a few +hours, as the gentleman occupying it was packing up his belongings +preparatory to his departure. Great was my surprise at discovering in +the khaki-clad figure, thus unceremoniously disturbed in the occupation +of stowing away papers, clothes, and campaigning kit generally, no less +a personage than my nephew, Winston Churchill, who had experienced such +thrilling adventures during the war, the accounts of which had reached +us even in far-away Mafeking. The proprietor was equally amazed to see +me warmly greet the owner of the rooms he proposed to allot us, and, +although Winston postponed his departure for another twenty-four hours, +he gladly gave up part of his suite for our use, and everything was +satisfactorily arranged. + +Good-looking figures in khaki swarmed all over the hotel, and friends +turned up every minute--bearded pards, at whom one had to look twice +before recognizing old acquaintances. No less than a hundred officers +were dining that night in the large restaurant. Between the newly +liberated prisoners and those who had taken part in the victorious march +of Lord Roberts's army one heard surprised greetings such as these: +"Hallo, old chap! where were you caught?" or a late-comer would arrive +with the remark: "There has been firing along the outposts all day. I +suppose the beggars have come back." (I was relieved to hear the +outposts were twelve miles out.) The whole scene was like an act in a +Drury Lane drama, and we strangers seemed to be the appreciative +audience. Accustomed as we were to a very limited circle, it appeared to +us as if all the inhabitants of England had been transported to +Pretoria. + +Early next day we drove out to see the departure of General +Baden-Powell[36] and his Staff, who had been most warmly received by +Lord Roberts, and who, after receiving his orders, were leaving to +rejoin their men at Rustenburg. As an additional mark of favour, the +Commander-in-Chief and his retinue gave the defender of Mafeking a +special send-off, riding with him and his officers some distance out of +the town. This procession was quite an imposing sight, and was preceded +by a company of turbaned Indians. Presently, riding alongside of General +Baden-Powell, on a small, well-bred Arab, came the hero of a thousand +fights, the man who at an advanced age, and already crowned with so many +laurels, had, in spite of a crushing bereavement, stepped forward to +help his country in the hour of need. We were delighted when this man of +the moment stopped to speak to us. He certainly seemed surprised at the +apparition of two ladies, and observed that we were very daring, and the +first of our sex to come in. I shall, however, never forget how kindly +he spoke nor the inexpressible sadness of his face. I told him how quiet +everything appeared to be along the road we had taken, and how civil +were all the Boers we had met. At this he turned to the guest whose +departure he was speeding, and said, with a grave smile, "That is +thanks to you, General." And then the cortege rode on. On reflection, I +decided, rather from what Lord Roberts had left unsaid than from his +actual words, that if we had asked leave to travel home via Pretoria, it +would have been refused. + +The rest of that day and the next we spent in seeing the town under its +new auspices, and it certainly presented far more to interest a visitor +than on the occasion of my last visit in 1896. In a suburb known as +Sunny Side was situated Lord Roberts's headquarters, at a house known as +the Residency. Close by was a charming villa inhabited for the nonce by +General Brabazon, Lord Dudley, Mr. John Ward, and Captain W. Bagot. The +surroundings of these dwellings were exceedingly pretty, with shady +trees, many streams, and a background of high hills crowned by forts, +which latter were just visible to the naked eye. From Sunny Side we were +conducted over some of these fortifications: there was Schantz's Kop +Fort, of very recent construction, and looking to the uninitiated of +tremendous strength, with roomy bomb-proof shelters. Here a corner of +one of the massive entrance pillars had been sharply severed off by a +British lyddite shell. Later we inspected Kapper Kop Fort, the highest +of all, where two British howitzer guns, firing a 280-pound shell, had +found a resting-place. Surrounded by a moat with a drawbridge, the view +from this fort was magnificent. The Boers were in the act of making a +double-wire entanglement round it, and had evidently meant to offer +there a stubborn resistance, when more prudent counsels prevailed, and +they had left their work half finished, and decamped, carrying off all +their ammunition. In the town itself General French and his Staff had +established themselves at the Netherlands Club, from which resort the +members had been politely ejected. + +To outward appearances, civil as well as military business was being +transacted in Pretoria with perfect smoothness, in spite of the +proximity of the enemy. The yeomanry were acting as police both there +and in Johannesburg. The gaol, of which we had a glimpse, was crowded +with 240 prisoners, but was under the competent direction of the usual +English under-official, who had been in the service of the Transvaal, +and who had quietly stepped into the shoes of his chief, a Dutchman, +when the latter bolted with Kruger. This prison was where the Raiders +and the Reformers had been in durance vile, and the gallows were pointed +out to us with the remark that, during the last ten years, they had only +been once used, their victim being an Englishman. A Dutchman, who had +been condemned to death during the same period for killing his wife, had +been reprieved. + +In the same way the Natal Bank and the Transvaal National Bank were +being supervised by their permanent officials, men who had been at their +posts during the war, and who, although under some suspicions, had not +been removed. At the latter bank the manager told us how President +Kruger had sent his Attorney-General to fetch the gold in coins and bar +just before he left for Delagoa Bay, and how it was taken away on a +trolley. The astute President actually cheated his people of this +bullion, as he had already forced them to accept paper tokens for the +gold, which he then acquired and removed. We also saw the Raad +Saals--especially interesting from being exactly as they were left after +the last session on May 7--Kruger's private room, and the Council +Chamber. These latter were fine apartments, recently upholstered by +Maple, and littered with papers, showing every evidence of the hurried +departure of their occupants. Finally, specially conducted by Winston, +we inspected the so-called "Bird-cage," where all the English officers +had been imprisoned, and the "Staat Model" School, from where our +cicerone had made his escape. These quarters must have been a +particularly disagreeable and inadequate residence. + +After a day in Pretoria we realized that, in spite of the shops being +open and the hotels doing a roaring trade, notwithstanding the +marvellous organization visible on all sides, events were not +altogether satisfactory; and one noted that the faces of those behind +the scenes were grave and serious. Louis Botha, it was evident, was +anything but a defeated foe. This gentleman had actually been in the +capital when the English entered, and he was then only sixteen miles +away. During the previous week a severe action had been fought with him +at Diamond Hill, where the English casualties had been very heavy. The +accounts of this engagement, as then related, had a touch of +originality. The Commander-in-Chief and Staff went out in a special +train, sending their horses by road, which reminded one forcibly of a +day's hunting; cab-drivers in the town asked pedestrians if they would +like to drive out and see the fight. The real affair, however, was grim +earnest, and many were the gallant men who lost their lives on that +occasion. All the while De Wet was enjoying himself to the south by +constantly interrupting the traffic on the railway. No wonder the +Generals were careworn, and it was a relief to meet Lord Stanley,[37] +A.D.C. to Lord Roberts, with a smiling face, who, with his unfailing +spirits, must have been an invaluable companion to his chief during +those trying weeks. One specially sad feature was the enormous number of +sick in addition to wounded soldiers. + +Of the former, at that time, there were over 1,500, and the +recollection of the large numbers buried at Bloemfontein was still green +in everyone's memory. The origin of all the sickness, principally +enteric, was undoubtedly due to the Paardeberg water in the first +instance, and then to that used at Bloemfontein; for Pretoria was +perfectly healthy--the climate cool, if rainy, and the water-supply +everything that could be desired. As additional accommodation for these +patients, the magnificent and recently finished Law Courts had been +arranged to hold seven or eight hundred beds. Superintended by Sir +William Thompson, this improvised establishment was attended to by the +personnel of the Irish hospital, and Mr. Guinness was there himself, +organizing their work and doing excellent service. + +One evening we were most hospitably entertained to dinner by Lord +Stanley, Captain Fortescue, the Duke of Westminster, and Winston. As it +may be imagined, we heard many interesting details of the past stages of +the war. Winston, even at that early stage of his career, and although +he had been but a short time, comparatively, with Lord Roberts's force, +had contrived therein to acquire influence and authority. The "bosses," +doubtless, disapproved of his free utterances, but he was nevertheless +most amusing to listen to, and a general favourite. The next day we saw +him and the Duke of Westminster off on their way South, and having +fixed my own departure for the following Monday, and seen most of the +sights, I determined to avail myself of an invitation Captain Laycock, +A.D.C. to General French, had given me, and go to the Netherlands Club +in order to peruse the goodly supply of newspapers and periodicals of +which they were the proud possessors. It was a cold, windy afternoon, +and, finding the front-door locked and no bell visible, I went to one of +the long French windows at the side of the house, through which I could +see a cozy fire glimmering. Perceiving a gentleman sitting in front of +the inviting blaze, I knocked sharply to gain admittance. On nearer +inspection this gentleman proved to be asleep, and it was some minutes +before he got up and revealed himself as a middle-aged man, strongly +built, with slightly grey hair. For some unknown reason I imagined him +to be a Major in a cavalry regiment, no doubt attached to the Staff, and +when, after rubbing his eyes, he at length opened the window, I +apologized perfunctorily for having disturbed him, adding that I was +acting on Captain Laycock's suggestion in coming there. In my heart I +hoped he would leave me to the undisturbed perusal of the literature +which I saw on a large centre table. He showed, however, no signs of +taking his departure, and made himself so agreeable that I was perforce +obliged to continue the conversation he commenced. I told him of the +Mafeking siege, giving him my opinion of the Boers as opponents and of +their peculiarities as we had experienced them; also of how, in the west +and north, the enemy seemed to have practically disappeared. Presently, +by way of politeness, I asked him in what part of the country, and under +which General, he had been fighting. He answered evasively that he had +been knocking about, under several commanders, pretty well all over the +place, which reply left me more mystified than ever. Soon Captain +Laycock came in, and after a little more talk, during which I could see +that he and my new acquaintance were on the best of terms, the latter +went out, expressing a hope I should stay to tea, which I thought +exceedingly kind of him, but scarcely necessary, as I was Captain +Laycock's guest. When he had gone, I questioned the latter as to the +identity of his friend, and was horrified to learn that it was General +French himself whom I had so unceremoniously disturbed, and to whom I +had volunteered information. When the General returned with some more of +his Staff, including Lord Brooke, Colonel Douglas Haig,[38] Mr. Brinsley +Fitzgerald, and Mr. Brinton, 2nd Life Guards,[39] I was profuse in my +apologies, which he promptly cut short by asking me to make the tea, and +we had a most cheery meal, interspersed with a good deal of chaff, one +of his friends remarking to me that it was probably the only occasion +during the last six months in South Africa that General French had been +caught asleep. + +The following day, Sunday, we attended a very impressive military +service, at which Lord Roberts and his Staff, in full uniform, were +present, and at the conclusion the whole congregation sang the National +Anthem with the organ accompaniment. The volume of sound, together with +the well-loved tune, was one not soon to be forgotten. + +In the evening I had a visit from a stranger, who announced himself to +be Mr. Barnes, correspondent to the _Daily Mail_. This gentleman handed +me a letter from my sister, Lady Georgiana Curzon, dated Christmas Day +of the previous year, which had at last reached me under peculiar +circumstances. It appeared that, when my resourceful sister heard I had +been taken prisoner by the Boers, she decided the best way of +communicating with me would be through the President of the South +African Republic, via Delagoa Bay. She had therefore written him a +letter as follows: + + "_Christmas Day, 1899._ + + "Lady Georgiana Curzon presents her compliments to His Honour + President Kruger, and would be very much obliged if he would + give orders that the enclosed letter should be forwarded to + her sister, Lady Sarah Wilson, who, according to the latest + reports, has been taken prisoner by General Snyman." + +In this letter was enclosed the one now handed to me by Mr. Barnes. The +President, in the novel experience of receiving a letter from an English +lady, had sent for the American Consul, and had handed him both epistles +without a remark of any kind, beyond asking him to deal with them. Thus +the missive finally reached its destination. This visitor had hardly +departed when another was announced in the person of a Dr. Scholtz, +whom, with his wife, I had met at Groot Schuurr as Mr. Rhodes's friends. +This gentleman, who is since dead, had always seemed to me somewhat of +an enigmatical personage. German by origin, he combined strong +sympathies with the Boers and fervent Imperialism, and I was therefore +always a little doubtful as to his real sentiments. He came very kindly +on this occasion to pay a friendly call, but also to inform me that he +was playing a prominent part in the abortive peace negotiations which at +that stage of the war were being freely talked about. Whether he had +acted on his own initiative, or whether he had actually been employed by +the authorities, he did not state; but he seemed to be full of +importance, and proud of the fact that he had spent two hours only a few +days before on a kopje in conference with Louis Botha, while the same +kopje was being energetically shelled by the English. He gave me, +indeed, to understand that the successful issue of the interview had +depended entirely on the amount the English Government was prepared to +pay, and that another L2,000,000 would have ended the war then and +there. He probably did not enjoy the full confidence of either side, and +I never verified the truth of his statements, which were as strange and +mysterious as the man himself, whom, as events turned out, I never saw +again. + +It had been difficult to reach Pretoria, but the departure therefrom was +attended by many formalities, and I had to provide myself, amongst other +permits, with a railway pass, which ran as follows: + + + RAILWAY PASSES. + + The bearer, Lady Sarah. Wilson (and maid) is permitted to + travel at her own expense from Pretoria to Cape Town via the + Vaal River. + + O.S. NUGENT, + Major, Provost Marshal + (For Major-General, Military + Governor of Pretoria). + + To R.S.O. + Pretoria + _June 25, 1900._ + + +Everything being then pronounced in order, I said good-bye to Mrs. +Godley, who was returning by road to Zeerust and Mafeking, and, +accompanied by Captain Seymour Fortescue, who had a few days' leave, and +by Major Bobby White, I left on June 25 for Johannesburg. The train was +painfully slow, and rarely attained a speed of more than five or six +miles an hour. At Elandsfontein the engine gave out entirely, and a long +delay ensued while another was being procured. At all the stations were +small camps and pickets of bronzed and bearded soldiers, and on the +platforms could be seen many officers newly arrived from England, +distinguished by their brand-new uniforms, nearly all carrying the +inevitable Kodak. At length we arrived at Johannesburg as the daylight +was fading, and found excellent accommodation at Heath's Hotel. In the +"Golden City," as at Pretoria, the shops were open, and seemed +wonderfully well supplied, butter and cigarettes being the only items +that were lacking. I remember lunching the next day at a grill-room, +called Frascati's, underground, where the cuisine was first-rate, and +which was crowded with civilians of many nationalities, soldiers not +being in such prominence as at Pretoria. The afternoon we devoted to +seeing some of the principal mines, including the Ferreira Deep, which +had been worked by the Transvaal Government for the last eight months. +For this purpose they had engaged capable managers from France and +Germany, and therefore the machinery was in no way damaged. At a +dinner-party the same evening, given by Mr. A. Goldmann, we met a German +gentleman who gave an amusing account of the way in which some of the +city financiers had dashed off to the small banks a few days before Lord +Roberts's entry, when the report was rife that Kruger was going to +seize all the gold at Johannesburg as well as that at Pretoria. They +were soon seen emerging with bags of sovereigns on their backs, which +they first carried to the National Bank, but which, on second thoughts, +they reclaimed again, finally confiding their treasure to the Banque de +la France. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[36] Colonel Baden-Powell had been promoted to the rank of +Major-General. + +[37] Now Earl of Derby. + +[38] Now Major-General Haig. + +[39] Now Major Brinton. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + + MY RETURN TO CIVILIZATION ONCE MORE--THE MAFEKING + FUND--LETTERS FROM THE KING AND QUEEN + + "Let us admit it fairly, + As business people should, + We have had no end of a lesson: + It will do us no end of good." + KIPLING. + + +On June 27 I left Johannesburg under the escort of Major Bobby White, +who had kindly promised to see me safely as far as Cape Town. We +travelled in a shabby third-class carriage, the only one on the train, +which was merely composed of open trucks. Our first long delay was at +Elandsfontein, practically still in the Rand District. There the officer +in charge came up with the pleasing intelligence that the train we were +to join had broken down, and would certainly be four hours late; so we +had to get through a very weary wait at this most unattractive little +township, whose only interesting features were the distant chimneys and +unsightly shafts of the Simmer and Jack and the Rose Deep Mines, and far +away, on the horizon, the little white house, amid a grove of trees, +which had been Lord Roberts's headquarters barely a month ago, and from +which he had sent the summons to Johannesburg to surrender. All around, +indeed, was the scene of recent fighting, and various polite transport +officers tried to while away the tedium of our enforced delay by +pointing out various faint ridges, and explaining that _there_ the +Gordons had made their splendid charge, or, again, that farther back +General French had encountered such a stubborn resistance, and so on, +_ad libitum_. In response I gazed with enthusiastic interest, but the +flat, hideous country, which guards its deeply buried treasure so +closely, seemed so alike in every direction, and the operations of the +victorious army covered so wide an area, that it was difficult to make a +brain picture of that rapid succession of feats of arms. At the station +itself the "Tommys" buzzed about like bees, and the officers were having +tea or dinner, or both combined, in the refreshment-room. One overheard +scraps of conversation, from a subaltern to his superior officer: "A +capital bag to-day, sir. Forty Mausers and ten thousand rounds of +ammunition." Then someone else remarked that a railway-train from the +South passed yesterday, riddled with bullets, and recounted the +marvellous escape its occupants had had, which was not encouraging in +view of our intended journey over the same route. A young man in +uniform presently entered with a limp, and, in answer to inquiries, said +his wounded leg was doing famously, adding that the bullet had taken +exactly the same course as the one did not six weeks ago--only then it +had affected the other knee; "so I knew how to treat it, and I am off to +the Yeomanry Hospital, if they will have me. I only left there a +fortnight ago, and, by Jove! it was like leaving Paradise!" Another +arrival came along saying the Boers had received a proper punishing for +their last depredations on the railway, when De Wet had brought off his +crowning _coup_ by destroying the mail-bags. But this gentleman had +hardly finished his tale when a decided stir was observable, and we +heard a wire was to hand saying the same De Wet was again on the move, +and that a strong force of men and guns were to leave for the scene of +action by our train to-night. At this juncture, seeing there was no +prospect of any immediate departure, I installed myself comfortably with +a book in the waiting-room, and was so absorbed that I did not even +notice the arrival of a train from Heidelberg, till the door opened, and +my nephew, the Duke of Marlborough, looked in, and we exchanged a +surprised greeting, being totally unaware of each other's whereabouts. +Except for meeting Winston in Pretoria, I had not seen the face of one +of my relations for more than a year, but so many surprising things +happen in wartime that we did not evince any great astonishment at this +strange and unexpected meeting. In answer to my inquiries as to what +brought him there, he told me he was returning to Pretoria with his +temporarily incapacitated chief, General Ian Hamilton, who was suffering +from a broken collar-bone, incurred by a fall from his horse. Expecting +to find the General in a smart ambulance carriage, it was somewhat of a +shock to be guided to a very dilapidated old cattle-truck, with open +sides and a floor covered with hay. I peeped in, and extended on a rough +couch in the farther corner, I perceived the successful General, whose +name was in everybody's mouth. In spite of his unlucky accident, he was +full of life and spirits, and we had quite a long conversation. I have +since often told him how interesting was his appearance, and he, in +reply, has assured me how much he was impressed by a blue bird's-eye +cotton dress I was wearing, the like of which he had not seen since he +left England, many months before. His train soon rumbled on, and then we +had a snug little dinner in the ladies' waiting-room that the +Station-Commandant, a gallant and hospitable Major, had made gay with +trophies, photographs, and coloured pictures out of various journals. +From a deep recess under his bed he produced an excellent bottle of +claret, and the rest of the dinner was supplied from the restaurant. + +The short African winter's day had faded into a blue and luminous night, +resplendent with stars, and still our belated train tarried. However, +the situation was improved, for later advices stated that the Boers had +cleared off from the vicinity of the railway-line, and that we should +surely leave before midnight. All these rumours certainly added to the +excitement of a railway-journey, and it occurred to me how tame in +comparison would be the ordinary departure of the "Flying Scotsman," or +any other of the same tribe that nightly leave the great London termini. + +At length, with many a puff and agonized groan from the poor little +undersized engine, we departed into the dim, mysterious night, which +hourly became more chill, and which promised a sharp frost before +morning. As we crawled out of the station, our kind military friends +saluted, and wished us, a little ironically, a pleasant journey. When I +was about to seek repose, Major White looked in, and said: "Sleep with +your head away from the window, in case of a stray shot"; and then I +turned down the light, and was soon in the land of dreams. + +The much-dreaded night passed quite quietly, and in the morning the +carriage windows were thickly coated with several degrees of frost. The +engines of the Netherlands Railway, always small and weak, were at that +time so dirty from neglect and overpressure during the war, that their +pace was but a slow crawl, and uphill they almost died away to nothing. +However, fortunately, going south meant going downhill, and we made good +progress over the flat uninteresting country, which, in view of recent +events, proved worthy of careful attention. Already melancholy landmarks +of the march of the great army lay on each side of the line in the shape +of carcasses of horses, mules, and oxen. Wolvehoek was the first stop. +Here blue-nosed soldiers descended from the railway-carriages in varied +and weird costumes, making a rush with their billies[40] for hot water, +wherewith to cook their morning coffee, cheerily laughing and cracking +their jokes, while shivering natives in blankets and tattered overcoats +waited hungrily about for a job or scraps of food. After leaving +Wolvehoek, we entered on Commandant De Wet's hunting-ground and the +scene of his recent exploits. There, at almost every culvert, at every +ganger's house, were pickets of soldiers, all gathered round a crackling +fire at that chill morning hour; and at every one of these posts freshly +constructed works of sandbags and deep trenches were in evidence to +denote that their sentry work was no play, but grim earnest. + +We next crossed the Rhenoster Spruit, and passed the then famous +Rhenoster position, so formidable even to the unskilled eye, and where +my military friends told me the Boers would have given much trouble, had +it not been for the two outspread wings of the Commander-in-Chief's +army. A little farther on, the deviation line and the railway-bridge +were pointed out as one of the many triumphs of engineering skill to be +seen and marvelled at on that recently restored line. The achievements +of these lion-hearted engineers could not fail to impress themselves +even on a civilian. Many amongst them were volunteers, who had +previously occupied brilliant positions in the great mining community in +Johannesburg, and whose brains were the pride of a circle where +intellectual achievements and persevering resource commanded at once the +greatest respect and the highest remuneration. Some of these latter had +family ties besides their considerable positions, but they gladly +hastened to place their valuable services at the disposal of their +Queen, and, in conjunction with the regular Royal Engineers, were +destined to find glory, and in many cases death, at their perilous work. +The task of the engineers is probably scarcely realized by people who +have not seen actual warfare. We do not read so frequently of their +doings as of those of their gallant colleagues on foot or on horse; but +soldiers know that neither the genius of the Generals nor the +intrepidity of the men could avail without them; and as the scouts are +called the eyes, so might the engineers, both regular and volunteer, be +termed the hands and feet, of an advancing force. The host sweeps on, +and the workers are left with pickaxe and shovel, rifles close at hand, +to work at their laborious task loyally and patiently, while deeds of +courage and daring are being done and applauded not many miles away from +them. This particular Rhenoster bridge was destroyed and rebuilt no less +than three times up to the date of which I write, and the third time was +only ten days previously, when Christian De Wet had also worked havoc +among the mail-bags, the only cruel thing attributed to that commander, +respected both by friends and foes. The sad, dumb testimony of this +lamented misfortune was to be seen in the shape of thousands of +mutilated envelopes and torn letters which covered the rails and the +ground beyond--letters which would have brought joy to many a lonely +heart at the front. It was really heart-breaking to behold this +melancholy remnant of 1,500 mail-bags, and, a little farther on, to see +three skeleton trucks charred by fire, which told how the warm clothing +destined for the troops perished when De Wet and his burghers had taken +all they needed. Many yarns were related to me about the chivalry of +this farmer-General, especially respecting the mail-bags, and how he +said that his burghers should not make fun of the English officers' +letters, and therefore that he burnt them with his own hands. Another +anecdote was remarkable--namely, that of an officer searching sadly +among the heap of debris for some eagerly expected letter, and who came +across an uninjured envelope directed to himself, containing his +bank-book from Messrs. Cox and Sons, absolutely intact and untouched. It +can only be conjectured whether he would as soon have known it in ashes. + +On arriving in the vicinity of Kroonstadt, the most risky part of the +journey was over, and then a wonderfully novel scene unfolded itself as +we crawled over a rise from the desolate, barren country we had been +traversing, and a tented city lay in front of us. Anyway, such was its +appearance at a first glance, for white tents stretched far away east +and west, and appeared to swamp into insignificance the unpretentious +houses, and even a fairly imposing church-spire which lay in the +background. I had never seen anything like this vast army depot, and +examined everything with the greatest attention and interest. Huge +mountains of forage covered by tarpaulin sheets were the first things to +catch my eye; then piles upon piles of wooden cases were pointed out as +"rations"--that mysterious term which implies so much and may mean so +little; again, there was a hillock of wicker-covered bottles with +handles which puzzled me, and which were explained as "cordials" of some +kind. Powerful traction-engines, at rest and in motion, next came into +sight, and weird objects that looked like life-boats mounted on trucks, +but which proved to be pontoons--strange articles to perceive at a +railway-station. Then we passed a vast concourse of red-cross tents of +every description, proclaiming a hospital. As far as outward appearances +went, it looked most beautifully arranged in symmetrically laid-out +streets, while many of the marquees had their sides thrown back, and +showed the patients within, either in bed or sitting about and enjoying +the breeze and the rays of a sun never too hot at that time of year. +"How happy and comfortable they look!" was my remark as we left them +behind. Someone who knew Kroonstadt said: "Yes, they are all right; but +the Scotch Hospital is the one to see if you are staying long +enough--spring-beds, writing-tables, and every luxury." I was sorry time +admitted of no visit to this establishment or to the magnificent +Yeomanry Hospital at Deelfontein, farther south, to which I shall have +occasion to allude in a later chapter. This last establishment was, even +at that early stage of the war, a household word among the soldiers at +the front, a dearly longed-for Mecca amongst the sick and wounded. + +Our train had come to an abrupt standstill, and, on looking out, the +line appeared so hopelessly blocked that the only way of reaching the +station and lunch appeared to be on foot. We walked, therefore, upwards +of half a mile, undergoing many perils from shunting engines, trains +undecided whether to go on or to go back, and general confusion. It +certainly did not look as if our train could be extricated for hours, +but it proved there was method in this apparent muddle, and we suffered +no delay worth speaking of. The station was densely packed with Staff +officers and soldiers. Presently someone elbowed a way through the crowd +to make way for the General, just arrived from Bloemfontein. A momentary +interest was roused as an elderly, soldierly gentleman, with white hair +and a slight figure, passed out of sight into one of the officials' +rooms, and then we joined the throng trying to get food in the overtaxed +refreshment-room. We had some interesting conversation with the officer +in command of the station, and learnt how the Kroonstadt garrison were +even then living in the midst of daily alarms from De Wet or his +followers; added to these excitements, there was a colossal amount of +work to be got through in the way of supplying Pretoria with food, by a +line liable to be interrupted, and in coping with the task of receiving +and unloading remounts, which were arriving from the South in large +numbers. I saw some of these poor animals packed nine in a truck, +marvellously quiet, and unmindful of strange sights and sounds, and of +being hurled against each other when the locomotive jerked on or came to +a stop. They were in good condition, but their eyes were sad and their +tails were woefully rubbed. After seeing Kroonstadt Railway-station, I +realized that the work of a Staff officer on the lines of communication +was no sinecure. + +Marvellous to relate, in the early afternoon we found our train in the +station, and, climbing into our carriage once more, we proceeded on our +road without delay, congratulating ourselves on our good fortune in not +being held up at Kroonstadt, as had been the fate of many travellers +going south. Immediately south of Kroonstadt we crossed the Vaal River, +with its fine high-level bridge reduced to atoms by dynamite. This had +given the engineers another opportunity to display their skill by a +clever deviation of a couple of miles in length, winding down almost to +the water-level, and then serenely effecting the crossing by a little +wooden bridge, from which its ruined predecessor was visible about a +quarter of a mile up the stream. Darkness and approaching night then hid +the landscape. That evening we were told we need have no fears, for we +were practically out of the dangerous zone. We dined comfortably in our +compartment, and I heard many more reminiscences of the advance from two +travelling companions who had taken part in it. Suddenly in the next +compartment a party of Canadian officers commenced singing part-songs +with real musical talent. We relapsed into silence as we heard the +"Swanee River" sung more effectively than I have ever heard it before or +since, and it reminded me that we, too, were going home. Presently we +found ourselves joining in the chorus of that most touching melody, +"Going back to Dixie," greatly to the delight of our sociable and +talented neighbours. Daylight next morning brought us to Bloemfontein +and civilization, and what impressed me most was the fact of daily +newspapers being sold at a bookstall, which sight I had not seen for +many months. On arriving at Cape Town, I was most hospitably entertained +at Groot Schuurr by Colonel Frank Rhodes, in the absence of his brother. +This mansion had been a convalescent home for many officers ever since +the war began. There I passed a busy ten days in seeing heaps of +friends, and I had several interviews with Sir Alfred Milner, to whom +events of the siege and relief of Mafeking were of specially deep +interest. I gave him as a memento a small Mauser bullet mounted as a +scarf-pin, and before leaving for England I received from him the +following letter: + + "GOVERNMENT HOUSE, + "CAPE TOWN, + "_November 7, 1900._ + + "DEAR LADY SARAH, + +"How very kind of you to think of giving me that interesting relic of +Mafeking! It will indeed revive memories of anxiety, as well as of the +intensest feeling of relief and thankfulness that I have ever +experienced. + +"Hoping we shall meet again when 'distress and strain are over,' + + "I am, + "Yours very sincerely, + "ALFRED MILNER." + +Much of my time was also occupied in corresponding with Mafeking about +the distribution of the fund which was being energetically collected in +London by my sister, Lady Georgiana Curzon. Many weeks before we were +relieved I had written to Lady Georgiana, then hard at work with the +organization of the Yeomanry Hospital, suggesting to her to start a +relief fund for the inhabitants of Mafeking. It had all along seemed to +me that these latter deserved some substantial recognition and +compensation beyond what they could expect from the Government, for +damage done to their homes and their shops, and for the utter stagnation +of the trade in the town during the siege. The nurses, the nuns and +their convent, were also worthy objects for charity. This latter +residence, but lately built, and including a nicely decorated chapel +with many sacred images, had been, as I have said, practically +destroyed; and the Sisters had borne their part most nobly, in nursing +the sick and wounded, while many were suffering in health from the +privations they had undergone. In response to my appeal, Lady Georgiana +inserted the following letter in the _Times_ just before the news of the +Relief reached England: + + "20, CURZON STREET, W., + "_May 11._ + + "SIR, + + "I venture to address an appeal to the people of the United + Kingdom, through the columns of your paper, on behalf of the + inhabitants of Mafeking. Nothing but absolute knowledge of + their sufferings prompts me to thus inaugurate another fund, + and one which must come in addition to the numerous + subscriptions already started in connection with the South + African War. I admit the generous philanthropy of our country + has been evinced to a degree that is almost inconceivable, and + I hesitate even now in making this fresh appeal, but can only + plead as an excuse the heartrending accounts of the sufferings + of Mafeking that I have received from my sister, Lady Sarah + Wilson. + + "The last mail from South Africa brought me a letter from her, + dated March 3. In it she implores me to take active measures to + bring before the generous British public the destitute + condition of the nuns, refugees, and civilians generally, in + Mafeking. She writes with authority, having witnessed their + sufferings herself, and, indeed, having shared equally with + them the anxieties and privations of this prolonged siege. Her + letter describes the absolute ruin of all the small + tradespeople, whose homes are in many cases demolished. The + compensation they will receive for damaged goods will be + totally inadequate to cover their loss. Years must pass ere + their trade can be restored to the proportions of a livelihood. + Meanwhile starvation in the immediate future lies before them. + The unfortunate Sisters in the convent have for weeks hardly + had a roof over their heads, the Boer shells having more or + less destroyed their home. In consequence, their belongings + left intact by shot or shell have been ruined by rain. The + destruction of their small and humble properties, in addition + to their discomfort, has added to their misery; and yet no + complaining word has passed their lips, but they have + throughout cheerfully and willingly assisted the hospital + nurses in their duties, always having smiles and encouraging + words for the sick and wounded. + + "Sitting at home in our comfortable houses, it is hard to + realize the actual sufferings of these besieged inhabitants of + Mafeking. My letter tells me that for months they have not + slept in their beds, and although no opposition to the Boer + forces in the first instance would have saved their town, their + properties, and in many cases their lives, yet they one and all + bravely and nobly 'buckled to,' and stood by that gallant + commander, Baden-Powell. Loyalty was their cry, and freedom and + justice their household gods. Have not their courage and + endurance thrilled the whole world? I feel I need not ask + forgiveness for issuing yet this one more appeal. It comes + last, but is it least? A handful of soldiers, nearly all + colonials, under a man who must now rank as a great and tried + commander, have for six months repelled the Boer attacks. Could + this small force have for one moment been a match for the + well-equipped besiegers if the inhabitants had not fought for + and with the garrison? Some worked and fought in actual + trenches; others demonstrated by patient endurance their cool + and courageous determination never to give in. Would it not be + a graceful recognition of their courage if, on that glorious + day, which we hope may not be far distant, when the relief of + Mafeking is flashed across thousands of miles to the 'heart of + the Empire,' we could cable back our congratulations on their + freedom, and inform Mafeking that a large sum of money is ready + to be placed by this country for the relief of distress amongst + the Sisters, refugees, and suffering civilians of the town? + + "I feel I shall not ask in vain, but that our congratulations + to Mafeking will take most material form by generous admirers + in the United Kingdom. + + "Subscriptions will be received by Messrs. Hoare and Co., + bankers, Fleet Street, E.C. + + "I remain, + "Your obedient servant, + "GEORGIANA CURZON." + +The fund had reached unhoped-for proportions. In our most optimistic +moments we did not expect to collect more than two or three thousand +pounds, but subscriptions had poured in from the very commencement, and +the grand amount of L29,267 was finally the total contributed. This sum +was ably administered by Colonel Vyvyan of the Buffs, who had been +Base-Commandant of Mafeking during the siege. He was assisted by a +committee, and the principal items allocated by these gentlemen were as +follows: + + + L + Widows and orphans 6,536 + Refugees 4,630 + Town relief 3,741 + Seaside fund 2,900 + Churches, convent, schools, etc. 2,900 + Wounded men 2,245 + Small tradesmen 1,765 + Hospital staff, nuns, etc. 1,115 + Colonel Plumer's Rhodesian column, etc. 1,000 + +Lady Georgiana Curzon's eloquent appeal proved to be the salvation of +many a family in Mafeking. + +The popularity of the fund was enormously helped by the interest of the +then Prince and Princess of Wales, now our King and Queen, in the town +and in the assistance of the same. This interest was evinced by the +following letters, given to me later by my sister: + + "TREASURER'S HOUSE, + "YORK + "_June 20, 1900._ + + MY DEAR LADY GEORGIE. + + "The Princess and I thank you very much for sending your + sister's letters for us to read. They are most interesting, and + admirably written. She has certainly gone through experiences + which ought to last her a lifetime! If the papers are correct + in stating that you start on Saturday for Madeira to meet her, + let me wish you _bon voyage_. + + "Ever yours very sincerely, + "(Signed) ALBERT EDWARD." + +The Princess of Wales had already written as follows: + + "MY DEAR GEORGIE, + + "I saw in yesterday's _Times_ your touching appeal for poor, + unfortunate, forsaken Mafeking, in which I have taken the + liveliest interest during all these months of patient and brave + endurance. I have therefore great pleasure in enclosing L100 + for the benefit of the poor nuns and other inhabitants. I hope + very soon, however, they will be relieved, and I trust poor + sister Sarah will be none the worse for all she has gone + through during her forced captivity. Many thanks for sending me + that beautifully drawn-up report of your Yeomanry Hospital. How + well you have explained everything! Hoping to meet soon, + + "Yours affectionately, + "(Signed) ALEXANDRA."[41] + +Some fourteen months after my return home a _Gazette_ appeared with the +awards gained during the early part of the war, and great was my delight +to find I had been selected for the coveted distinction of the Royal Red +Cross. The King had previously nominated Lady Georgiana Curzon and +myself to be Ladies of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, +which entitles its members to wear a very effective enamel locket on a +black bow; but, next to the Red Cross, the medal which I prize most +highly is the same which the soldiers received for service in South +Africa, with the well-known blue and orange striped ribbon. This medal +was given to the professional nurses who were in South Africa, but I +think I was, with one other exception, the only amateur to receive it, +and very unworthy I felt myself when I went to St. James's Palace with +all the gallant and skilful sisterhood of army nurses to share with them +the great honour of receiving the same from His Majesty in person. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[40] Small kettles. + +[41] I am allowed to reproduce the foregoing letters by the gracious +permission of Their Majesties the King and Queen. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + + THE WORK OF LADY GEORGIANA CURZON, LADY CHESHAM, AND THE + YEOMANRY HOSPITAL, DURING THE WAR--THIRD VOYAGE TO THE CAPE, + 1902 + + "Fight the good fight." + + +On the pages of history is recorded in golden letters the name and deeds +of Florence Nightingale, who, as the pioneer of scientific hospital +nursing, did so much to mitigate the horrors of war. Her example was +nobly followed half a century later by two other English ladies, who, +although they had not to encounter the desperate odds connected with +ignorance and old-fashioned ideas which Miss Nightingale successfully +combated, did marvellous service by displaying what private enterprise +can do in a national emergency--an emergency with which, in its +suddenness, gravity, and scope, no Government could have hoped to deal +successfully. I must go back to the winter of 1899 to call their great +work to mind. War had already been waging some weeks in South Africa +when the Government's proclamation was issued calling for volunteers +from the yeomanry for active service at the front, and the lightning +response that came to this appeal from all quarters and from all grades +was the silver lining shining brightly through the black clouds that +hovered over the British Empire during that dread winter. Thus the +loyalty of the men of Britain was proven, and among the women who +yearned to be up and doing were Lady Georgiana Curzon and Lady Chesham. +Not theirs was the sentiment that "men must work and women must weep"; +to them it seemed but right that they should take their share of the +nation's burden, and, as they could not fight, they could, and did, +work. + +Filled with pity for all who were so gallantly fighting at the seat of +war, it was the yeomen--called suddenly from peaceful pursuits to serve +their country in her day of distress--who claimed their deepest +sympathies, and, with the object of establishing a hospital for this +force at the front, Lady Georgiana Curzon and Lady Chesham, on December +29, 1899, appealed to the British public for subscriptions. The result +far exceeded their expectations, and every post brought generous +donations in cash and in kind. Even the children contributed eagerly to +the Yeomen's Fund, and one poor woman gave a shilling towards the cost +of providing a bed in the hospital, "in case her son might have to lie +on it." The Queen--then Princess of Wales--allowed herself to be +nominated President; the present Princess of Wales and the Duchess of +Connaught gave their names as Vice-Presidents of the Imperial Yeomanry +Hospitals. The working committee was composed of the following: Adeline, +Duchess of Bedford, the Duchess of Marlborough, the Countesses of Essex +and Dudley, the Ladies Chesham and Tweedmouth, Mesdames S. Neumann, A.G. +Lucas, Blencowe Cookson, Julius Wernher (now Lady Wernher), and Madame +von Andre. Amongst the gentlemen who gave valuable assistance, the most +prominent were: Viscount Curzon, M.P. (now Lord Howe), Hon. Secretary; +Mr. Ludwig Neumann, Hon. Treasurer; General Eaton (now Lord +Cheylesmore); and Mr. Oliver Williams. + +Lady Georgiana Curzon was a born leader, and it was but natural that the +capable ladies aforementioned appointed her as their chairman. +Passionately devoted to sport though she was, she willingly forsook her +beloved hunting-field, leaving a stable full of hunters idle at Melton +Mowbray, for the committee-room and the writing-table. The scheme was +one fraught with difficulties great and numerous, and not the least +amongst them was the "red tape" that had to be cut; but Lady Georgiana +Curzon took up the good cause with enthusiasm and ability, and she and +her colleagues worked to such purpose that, on March 17, 1900, a base +hospital containing over 500 beds (which number was subsequently +increased to 1,000), fully equipped, left our shores. So useful did +these institutions prove themselves, that as time went on, and the evils +of war spread to other parts of South Africa, the committee were asked +to inaugurate other hospitals, and, the funds at their disposal allowing +of acquiescence, they established branches at Mackenzie's Farm, Maitland +Camp, Eastwood, Elandsfontein, and Pretoria, besides a small +convalescent home for officers at Johannesburg. Thus in a few months a +field-hospital and bearer company (the first ever formed by civilians), +several base hospitals, and a convalescent home, were organized by the +Imperial Yeomanry Hospitals Committee, who frequently met, with Lady +Georgiana Curzon presiding, to discuss ways and means of satisfactorily +working those establishments so many thousands of miles away. + +The Hospital Commissioners who visited Deelfontein in November, 1900, +said it was one of the best-managed hospitals in Africa. A similar +opinion was expressed by Colonel A.G. Lucas, M.V.O., when he visited it +in the autumn, and this gentleman also reported most favourably on the +section at Mackenzie's Farm. Through Colonel Kilkelly, Lord Kitchener +sent a message to the committee early in 1901, expressing his +admiration of the Pretoria Hospital. In this branch Lady Roberts showed +much interest, and, with her customary kindness, rendered it every +assistance in her power. At a time when military hospitals were being +weighed in the balance, and in some instances found wanting, the praise +bestowed on the Yeomanry Institutions was worthy of note. From first to +last the various staffs numbered over 1,400 persons, and more than +20,000 patients were treated in the Yeomanry Hospitals whilst they were +under the management of Lady Georgiana Curzon and her committee. +Although sick and wounded from every force under the British flag in +South Africa were taken in, and many Boers as well, a sufficient number +of beds was always available for the immediate admittance of patients +from the force for which the hospitals were originally created. The +subscriptions received for this great national work totalled over +L145,300, in addition to a subsidy of L3,000 from the Government for +prolonging the maintenance of the field-hospital and bearer company from +January 1 to March 31, 1901. The interest on deposits alone amounted to +over L1,635, and when, with the cessation of hostilities, there was, +happily, no further need for these institutions, the buildings, etc., +were sold for L24,051. The balance which the committee ultimately had in +hand from this splendid total of over L174,000 was devoted to the +maintenance of a school which had since been established at Perivale +Alperton, for the benefit of the daughters of yeomen who were killed or +disabled during the war. + +There has been ample testimony of the excellent way in which this +admirable scheme was created and carried out. Numerous letters, touching +in their expressions of gratitude, were received from men of all ranks +whose sufferings were alleviated in the Yeomanry Hospitals; newspapers +commented upon it at the time, but it is only those who were behind the +scenes that can tell what arduous work it entailed, and of how +unflinchingly it was faced by the chairman of the committee. Constant +interviews with War Office officials, with doctors, with nurses; the +hundreds of letters that had to be written daily; the questions, +necessary and unnecessary, that had to be answered; the estimates that +had to be examined, would have proved a nightmare to anyone not +possessed of the keenest intellect combined with the strongest will. It +involved close and unremitting attention from morning till night, and +this not for one week, but for many months; and yet no detail was ever +momentarily shirked by one who loved an outdoor life. Lady Georgiana +realized to the full the responsibilities of having this vast sum of +money entrusted to her by the British public, and not wisely, but too +well, did she devote herself to discharging it. + +Her services to the country were as zealous as they were invaluable. By +her quick grasp of the details of administration, by the marvellous tact +and skill she exercised, and by the energy she threw into her +undertaking, every difficulty was mastered. At this present time many +hundreds of men, who were ten years ago facing a desperate foe, can +reflect gratefully, if sadly, that they owe their lives to the generous +and unselfish efforts of a brave woman who is no longer with us; for, +after all, Lady Georgiana Curzon was human, and had to pay the price of +all she did. Her great exertions seriously told upon her health, as was +only to be expected, and long before the conclusion of her strenuous +labours she felt their effects, although she ignored them. Lady Chesham +was no less energetic a worker, and had as an additional anxiety the +fact of her husband and son[42] being both at the front. It was +imperative that one of these two ladies, who were responsible for +starting the fund, should personally superintend the erection and the +opening of the large base hospital at Deelfontein, and as Lady Georgiana +Curzon had made herself almost indispensable in London by her adroitness +in managing already sorely harassed War Office officials, and in +keeping her committee unanimous and contented, it was decided that Lady +Chesham should proceed to the scene of the war. My sister gladly gave up +this stirring role for the more prosaic, but equally important, work in +London, and when I returned home, in July, 1900, I found her still +completely absorbed by her self-imposed task. Already her health was +failing, and overtaxed nature was having its revenge. During the next +two years, in spite of repeated warnings and advice, she gave herself no +rest, but all the while she cherished the wish to pay a visit to that +continent which had been the theatre of her great enterprise. At length, +in August, 1902, in the week following the coronation of Their +Majesties, we sailed together for Cape Town, a sea-voyage having been +recommended to her in view of her refusal to try any of the foreign +health-resorts, which might have effected a cure. By the death of her +father-in-law, my sister was then Lady Howe, but it will be with her old +name of Lady Georgiana Curzon or "Lady Georgie"--as she was known to her +intimates--that the task she achieved will ever be associated. + +More than seven years had elapsed since my first visit, and nearly +twenty-six months from the time I had left South Africa in the July +following the termination of the Mafeking siege, when I found myself +back in the old familiar haunts. Groot Schuurr had never looked more +lovely than on the sunny September morning when we arrived there from +the mail-steamer, after a tedious and annoying delay in disembarking of +several hours, connected with permits under martial law. This delay was +rendered more aggravating by the fact that, on the very day of our +arrival,[43] the same law ceased to exist, and that our ship was the +last to have to submit to the ordeal. Many and sad were the changes that +had come to pass in the two years, and nowhere did they seem more +evident than when one crossed the threshold of Mr. Rhodes's home. The +central figure, so often referred to in the foregoing pages, was no +more, and one soon perceived that the void left by that giant spirit, so +inseparably connected with vast enterprises, could never be filled. This +was not merely apparent in the silent, echoing house, on the slopes of +the mountain he loved so well, in the circle of devoted friends and +adherents, who seemed left like sheep without a shepherd, but also in +the political arena, in the future prospects of that extensive Northern +Territory which he had practically discovered and opened up. It seemed +as if Providence had been very hard in allowing one individual to +acquire such vast influence, and to be possessed of so much genius, and +then not to permit the half-done task to be accomplished. + +That this must also have been Mr. Rhodes's reflection was proved by the +pathetic words he so often repeated during his last illness: "So little +done, so much to do." + +Groot Schuurr was outwardly the same as in the old days, and kept up in +the way one knew that the great man would have wished. We went for the +same rides he used to take. The view was as glorious as ever, the +animals were flourishing and increasing in numbers, the old lions gazed +placidly down from their roomy cage on a ledge of Table Mountain, the +peacocks screamed and plumed themselves, and the herd of zebras grazed +in picturesque glades. Nothing was changed there to outward appearances, +and one had to go farther afield to see evidences of the dismay caused +by the pillar being abruptly broken off. Cape Town itself, I soon noted, +was altered by the war almost beyond recognition. From the dull and +uninteresting seaport town I remembered it when we came there in 1895, +it seemed, seven years later, one of the busiest cities imaginable, with +the most enormous street traffic. The pavements were thronged, the shops +were crowded, and numerous were the smart, khaki-clad figures, bronzed +and bearded, that were to be seen on all sides. The Mount Nelson Hotel, +which had been opened just before the war, was crowded with them--some +very youthful, who had early acquired manhood and selfreliance in a +foreign land; others grey-headed, with rows of medal ribbons, dimmed in +colour from exposure to all weathers, whose names were strangely +familiar as recording heroic achievements. + +At that time Sir Gordon Sprigg, of the Progressive Party, was in power +and Prime Minister; but he was only kept in office by the Bond, who made +the Ministers more or less ridiculous in the eyes of the country by +causing them to dance like puppets at their bidding. It was in the House +of Assembly--where he was a whale amongst minnows--that the void was so +acutely felt surrounding the vacant seat so long occupied by Mr. Rhodes, +and it was not an encouraging sight, for those of his supporters who +tried to carry on his traditions, to gaze on the sparsely filled ranks +of the Progressive Party, and then at the crowded seats of the Bond on +the other side. + +We were told, by people who had met the Boer Generals on their recent +visit to the colony, that these latter were not in the least cast down +by the result of the war; that they simply meant to bide their time and +win in the Council Chamber what they had lost on the battle-field; that +the oft-reiterated sentence, "South Africa for the Dutch," was by no +means an extinct volcano or a parrot-cry of the past. It was evident +that political feeling was, in any case, running very high; it almost +stopped social intercourse, it divided families. To be a member of the +Loyal Women's League was sufficient to be ostracized in any Dutch +village, the Boers pretending that the name outraged their feelings, and +that distinctions between loyal and disloyal were invidious. +Federation--Mr. Rhodes's great ideal--which has since come rapidly and +triumphantly to be an accomplished fact, was then temporarily relegated +to the background; the Bond, apparently, had not made up their minds to +declare for it, but they were hard at work in their old shrewd way, +obtaining influence by getting their own men appointed to vacancies at +the post-office and in the railway departments, while the Loyalists +appeared to be having almost as bad a time as in the old days before the +war. At the present moment, in spite of all the good-will borne to the +new Union of South Africa by great and small in all lands where the +British flag flies, it is well to remember, without harbouring any +grudge, certain incidents of the past. A thorough knowledge of the +people which are to be assimilated with British colonists is absolutely +necessary, that all may in the end respect, as well as like, each other. + +From Cape Town, where my sister transacted a great deal of business +connected with the winding-up of the Yeomanry Hospital, we went to +Bloemfontein, and were the guests at Government House of my old Mafeking +friend, Sir Hamilton Gould Adams, promoted to the important post of +Governor of the Orange River Colony. From that town we drove across to +Kimberley, taking two days to accomplish this somewhat tedious journey. +We stayed one night with a German farmer, who had surrendered to the +English when Bloemfontein was occupied by Lord Roberts, and his case was +typical of many similar awkward predicaments which occurred frequently +during the ups and downs of the war. When Lord Roberts's army swept on +from Bloemfontein, the Boers in a measure swept back, and our host was +for months persecuted by his own people, finally made a prisoner, and +was within an ace of being shot; in fact, it was only the peace that +saved his life. + +Next day we made our noonday halt at Poplar Grove, the scene of one of +Lord Roberts's fights, and farther on we passed Koodoos Rand Drift, +where General French had cut off Cronje and forced him back on +Paardeberg. All along these roads it was very melancholy to see the +ruined farms, some with the impoverished owner in possession, others +still standing empty. A Boer farmhouse is not at any time the +counterpart of the snug dwelling we know in England, but it was +heartbreaking to see these homes as they were at the conclusion of the +war, when, in nearly every instance, the roof, window-frames, and doors, +were things of the past. When a waggon could be espied standing near +the door, and a few lean oxen grazing at hand, it was a sign that the +owner had returned home, and, on closer inspection, a whole family of +children would probably be discovered sheltered by a tin lean-to fixed +to the side of the house, or huddled in a tent pitched close by. They +all seemed wonderfully patient, but looked despairing and miserable. At +one of these houses we spoke to the daughter of such a family who was +able to converse in English. She told us her father had died during the +war, that two of her brothers had fought for the English, and had +returned with khaki uniforms and nothing else, but that the third had +thrown in his lot with the Boers, and had come back the proud possessor +of four horses. + +At Kimberley we had motors placed at our disposal by Mr. Gardner +Williams, manager of the De Beers Company, and were amused to hear how +excited the Kaffirs had been at the first automobile to appear in the +Diamond City, and how they had thrown themselves down to peer underneath +in order to discover the horse. These motors, however, were not of much +use on the veldt, and we soon found Kimberley very dull, and decided to +make a flying tour through Rhodesia to Beira, taking a steamer at that +port for Delagoa Bay, on our road to Johannesburg. Our first +halting-place was at Mafeking, where we arrived one bitterly cold, +blowy morning at 6 a.m. I do not think I ever realized, during all those +months of the siege, what a glaring little spot it was. When I returned +there two years later: the dust was flying in clouds, the sun was +blinding, and accentuated the absence of any shade. + +Six hours spent there were more than sufficient, and it was astounding +to think of the many months that it had been our home. It has often been +said, I reflected, that it is the people you consort with, not the place +you live at, that constitute an agreeable existence; and of the former +all I could find to say was, "Where are they gone, the old familiar +faces?" Beyond the Mayor of the town, who called to reiterate warm +thanks for the Mafeking Fund, and a nigger coachman who used to take me +out for Sunday drives, I failed to perceive one face I knew in the town +during the siege; but at the convent we received the warmest welcome +from the Mother Superior and the nuns. This community appeared to be in +quite affluent circumstances: the building was restored, the chapel +rebuilt and plentifully decorated with new images; there was a full +complement of day-boarders, who were energetically practising on several +pianos, and many new Sisters had made their appearance; upstairs, the +room where was located the Maxim gun was filled by thirty snowwhite +beds. It was quite refreshing to find one circle who had recovered from +their hardships, and who, if anything, were rather more prosperous than +before the war. We paid a flying visit to the little cemetery, which was +beautifully kept, and where many fairly recent graves were in evidence, +chiefly due to enteric fever after the siege. There we particularly +noted a very fine marble cross, erected to the memory of Captain Ronald +Vernon; and as we were admiring this monument we met an old Kimberley +acquaintance in the person of Mrs. Currey, who had been our hostess at +the time of the Jameson Raid. Her husband had since died, and this lady +was travelling round that part of Africa representing the Loyal Women's +League, who did such splendid work in marking out and tending the +soldiers' graves. + +At Mafeking we picked up the Rhodesian _train de luxe_, and travelled in +the greatest comfort to Bulawayo, and on to Salisbury. At that town we +met a party, comprising, amongst others, Dr. Jameson and the late Mr. +Alfred Beit, who were making a tour of inspection connected with +satisfying the many wants of the Rhodesian settlers. These pioneers were +beginning to feel the loss of the great man to whom they had turned for +everything. His faithful lieutenants were doing their best to replace +him, and the role of the first-named, apparently, was to make the +necessary speeches, that of the latter to write the equally important +cheques. + +With these gentlemen we continued our journey to Beira, stopping at a +few places of interest on the way. The country between Salisbury and +Beira is flat and marshy, and was, till the advent of the railway, a +veritable Zoological Garden as regards game of all sorts. The climate is +deadly for man and beast, and mortality was high during the construction +of the Beira Railway, which connected Rhodesia with an eastern outlet on +the sea. Among uninteresting towns, I think Beira should be placed high +on the list; the streets are so deep in sand that carriages are out of +the question, and the only means of transport is by small trucks on +narrow rails. As may be imagined, we did not linger there, but went at +once on board the German steamer, which duly landed us at Lorenzo +Marques forty-eight hours later, after an exceedingly rough voyage. + +The following day was Sunday, and having been told there was a service +at the English Church at 9.30 a.m., we duly went there at that hour, +only to find the church apparently deserted, and not a movement or sound +emanating therefrom. However, on peeping in at one of the windows, we +discovered a clergyman most gorgeously apparelled in green and gold, +preparing to discourse to a congregation of two persons! Evidently the +residents found the climate too oppressively hot for church that Sunday +morning. + +In the afternoon we were able to see some portions of that wonderful +harbour, of worldwide reputation. Literally translated, the local name +for the same means the "English River," and it is virtually an arm of +the sea, stretching inland like a deep bay, in which three separate +good-sized streams find an outlet. Some few miles up these rivers, we +were told, grand shooting was still to be had, the game including +hippopotami, rhinoceroses, and buffalo, which roam through +fever-stricken swamps of tropical vegetation. The glories of the vast +harbour of Delagoa Bay can better be imagined than described. In the +words of a resident, "It would hold the navies of the world," and some +years back it might have been purchased for L12,000. With the war just +over, people were beginning to realize how trade and development would +be facilitated if this great seaport belonged to the British Empire. A +"United Africa" was already looming in the distance, and it required but +little imagination on the part of the traveller, calling to mind the +short rail journey connecting it with the mining centres of the +Transvaal, to determine what a thriving, busy place Lorenzo Marques +would then become. During the day the temperature was tropical, but by +evening the atmosphere freshened, and was almost invigorating as the +fierce sun sank to rest and its place was taken by a full moon. From our +hotel, standing high on the cliff above the bay, the view was then like +fairyland: an ugly old coal-hulk, a somewhat antiquated Portuguese +gunboat, and even the diminutive and unpleasant German steamer which had +brought us from Beira, all were tinged with silver and enveloped in +romance, to which they could certainly lay no claim in reality. + +Early in the morning of the next day we left for Johannesburg. The line +proved most interesting, especially after passing the almost historical +British frontier town, Koomati Poort. It winds like a serpent round the +mountains, skirting precipices, and giving one occasional peeps of +lovely fertile valleys. During a greater part of the way the Crocodile +River follows its sinuous course in close proximity to the railway, +while above tower rocky boulders. To describe their height and +character, I can only say that the steepest Scotch mountains we are +familiar with fade into insignificance beside those barren, +awe-inspiring ranges, and one was forced to wonder how the English +soldiers--not to speak of heavy artillery--could have safely negotiated +those narrow and precipitous passes. For the best part of twelve hours +our train slowly traversed this wild and magnificent scenery, and +evening brought us to Waterfall Onder, where, at the station +restaurant, kept by a Frenchman, we had a most excellent dinner, with a +cup of coffee that had a flavour of the Paris boulevards. This +stopping-place was adjacent to Noitgedacht, whose name recalled the +unpleasant association of having been the home, for many weary weeks, of +English prisoners, and traces of high wire palings which had been their +enclosure were still to be seen. From Waterfall Onder the train puffed +up a stupendous hill, the gradient being one foot in twenty, and to +assist its progress a cogwheel engine was attached behind. In this +fashion a two-thousand-feet rise was negotiated, the bright moonlight +enhancing the beauty of the sudden and rocky ascent by increasing the +mystery of the vast depths below. We then found ourselves at Waterfall +Boven, in a perfectly cool atmosphere, and also, as regards the +landscape, in a completely different country, which latter fact we only +fully appreciated with the morning light, as we drew near to Pretoria. +The stranger landing at Delagoa Bay, and travelling through those bleak +and barren mountains, might well ask himself the reason of the late +prolonged and costly war; but as he approaches the Rand, and suddenly +sees the rows and rows of mining shafts and chimneys, which are the +visible signs of the hidden wealth, the veil is lifted and the recent +events of history are explained. At that time, owing to the war, there +were no signs of agriculture, and in many districts there appeared to be +absolute desolation. + +At Johannesburg we stayed at Sunnyside, as the guests of Lord Milner. +This residence is small and unpretentious, but exceedingly comfortable, +and has the advantage of commanding wide views over the surrounding +country. Our host was then engrossed in his difficult task of satisfying +the wants and desires of many communities and nationalities, whose +countless differences of opinion seemed wellnigh irreconcilable. During +our stay the visit of the Right Hon. J. Chamberlain was announced as +likely to take place during the next few months, and the advent of this +distinguished Colonial Minister was a subject of great satisfaction to +the harassed High Commissioner. As at Cape Town, his staff was composed +of charming men, but all young and with no administrative experience. +Among its members were included Colonel W. Lambton, who was Military +Secretary; Captain Henley and Lord Brooke, A.D.C.'s; and Mr. Walrond. + +The Golden City itself was, to all outward appearances, as thriving as +ever, with its busy population, its crowded and excellent shops, and its +general evidences of opulence, which appeared to overbalance--or, in any +case, wish to conceal--any existing poverty or distress. Among many +friends we met was a French lady, formerly the Marquise d'Herve, but +who had married, as her second husband, Comte Jacque de Waru. This +enterprising couple were busy developing some mining claims which had +been acquired on their behalf by some relatives during the war. In spite +of having been deserted at Cape Town by all the servants they had +brought from Paris, this clever lady, nothing daunted, had replaced them +by blacks, and one night she and her husband offered us, at the small +tin-roofed house where they were residing, a sumptuous dinner which was +worthy of the best traditions of Parisian hospitality. Notwithstanding +the fact of her having no maid, and that she had herself superintended +most of the cooking of the dinner, our hostess was charmingly attired in +the latest Paris fashion, with elaborately dressed hair, and the +pleasant company she had collected, combined with an excellent cuisine, +helped to make the entertainment quite one of the pleasantest we enjoyed +during our stay. Among the guests was General "Bully" Oliphant, who had +just been recalled to England to take up an important appointment, much +to the regret of his Johannesburg friends, with whom he had made himself +exceedingly popular; and the witty conversation of this gentleman kept +the whole dinner-table convulsed with laughing, to such an extent that +his colleague-in-arms, our quondam Mafeking commander, General +Baden-Powell, who was also of the party, was reduced to mere silent +appreciation. This impromptu feast, given under difficulties which +almost amounted to siege conditions, was again an evidence of the +versatility and inherent hospitality of the French nation, and the +memory of that pleasant evening lingers vividly in my recollections. + +The duration of our two months' holiday was rapidly approaching its +close. My sister was recalled to England by social and other duties, and +was so much better in health that we were deluded into thinking the +wonderful air and bracing climate had effected a complete cure. After a +short but very interesting visit to the Natal battle-fields, whither we +were escorted by General Burn-Murdoch and Captain Henry Guest, we +journeyed to Cape Town, and, regretfully turning our backs on warmth and +sunshine, we landed once more in England on a dreary December day. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[42] Lieutenant the Hon. C.W.H. Cavendish, 17th Lancers, was killed at +Diamond Hill, June 11, 1900. + +[43] Peace had been declared in the previous June. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + + FOURTH VOYAGE TO THE CAPE--THE VICTORIA FALLS AND SIX WEEKS + NORTH OF THE ZAMBESI[44] + + "We propose now to go on and cross the Zambesi just below + the Victoria Falls. I should like to have the spray of the + water over the carriages."--_Letter from the Right Hon. C.J. + Rhodes to E.S. Grogan, Esq., September 7, 1900._[45] + + +These words came to my mind as I sat under the verandah of one of the +newly thatched huts which formed the camp of the Native Commissioner at +Livingstone, Victoria Falls, on a glorious morning early in July, 1903, +gazing at one of the fairest landscapes to be seen on God's earth. I was +ostensibly occupied with my mail home, but the paper lay in all its +virgin whiteness before me, while my eyes feasted on the marvellous +panorama stretching away to the south, east, and west. My heart sank as +I realized how difficult--nay, impossible--it would be for anyone with +only a very limited vocabulary and very moderate powers of description +to convey to those far away even a limited idea of this glorious +vision--of these vivid colourings intensified by the lonely grandeur of +the whole scene and the absence of human habitations. + +"Constitution Hill," as the aforesaid camp had been christened, was +situated on high ground, four miles to the north of the then drift of +the Zambesi River, which, again, was several miles above the actual +falls themselves. With the advent of the railway and of the magnificent +bridge now spanning the mighty river, that drift has actually fallen +into disuse, but at the time of our visit it was the scene of much +activity, and quite a nest of stores, houses, and huts, had sprung up +near the rough landing-stage on the north side. As transport, not only +for individuals and for every ounce of food required by the vast country +stretching away to the north, but also for the huge and valuable +machinery, boilers, boats in sections, etc., destined for the various +mining companies, the only means of maintaining communication with the +struggling but promising new colony were one very rickety steam-launch +and one large rowing-boat, beside a few canoes and native dug-outs. A +fine steam-barge, which would greatly have facilitated the passage of +all kinds of merchandise, had most disastrously slipped its moorings +during one stormy night of last wet season, and had not since been +seen, the presumption being that the relentless stream had carried it to +the mighty cataract, which, like a huge ogre, had engulfed it for all +time. But this disaster had not caused anything like consternation among +the small community to whom it meant so much, and the thought occurred +to one how remarkable are the qualities of dogged perseverance, calm +disregard of drawbacks and of any difficult task before them, which +makes Englishmen so marvellously successful as pioneers or colonists. +The precious barge for which they had waited many weary months had +disappeared, and there was nothing more to be said. Such means as +remained were made the most of. + +Owing to this calamity, however, the stores on the north bank were +wellnigh run out of their usual stock, but I was amazed to find such +luxuries of life as eau de Cologne, scented soaps, ladies' boots and +shoes, and brightly coloured skirts. Leaving the small river +township--the embryo Livingstone--we followed a very sandy road uphill +till we reached the summit of Constitution Hill, already mentioned. +There our buggy and two small, well-bred ponies swept into a +smartly-kept compound surrounded by a palisade, the feature of the +square being a flagstaff from which the Union Jack was proudly +fluttering. As a site for a residence Constitution Hill could not well +be surpassed, and many a millionaire would cheerfully have given his +thousands to obtain such a view as that which met our eyes from the +humble huts, and held me enthralled during the whole of my stay. It must +be remembered we had been travelling, since leaving the rail-head, +eighty miles north of Bulawayo, through a thickly wooded and mountainous +country where any extensive views were rare. Even when nearing the +Zambesi, with the roar of the Falls in one's ears, so little opening-up +had hitherto been done that only an occasional peep of coming glories +was vouchsafed us; hence the first glimpse of a vast stretch of country +was all the more striking. I must ask my readers to imagine the bluest +of blue skies; an expanse of waving grass of a golden hue, resembling an +English cornfield towards the harvest time, stretching away till it is +lost in far-distant tropical vegetation of intense green, which green +clearly marks the course of the winding Zambesi; again, amid this +emerald verdure, patches of turquoise water, wide, smooth, unruffled, +matching the heavens in its hue, are to be seen--no touch of man's hand +in the shape of houses or chimneys to mar the effect of Nature and +Nature's colouring. If you follow with your eyes this calm, reposeful +river, now hiding itself beneath its protecting banks with their wealth +of branching trees, tall cocoanut palms, and luxuriant undergrowth, now +emerging like a huge blue serpent encrusted with diamonds, so brightly +does the clear water sparkle in the sun, you note that it finally loses +itself in a heavy, impenetrable mass of green forest. And now for a few +moments the newcomer is puzzled to account for a dense white cloud, +arisen apparently from nowhere, which is resting where the forest is +thickest and most verdant, now larger, then smaller, anon denser or more +filmy, but never changing its place, never disappearing, while the +distant thunder, to which you had almost got accustomed, strikes upon +your ear and gives the explanation you are seeking. + +Yes, that white cloud has been there for centuries, and will be there +while the world lasts, in spite of trains, bridges, etc. It marks the +Victoria Falls, and is a landmark for many miles round. How amazed must +the great Livingstone and his intrepid followers have been to see this +first sign of their grand discovery after their weary march through a +country of dense forests and sandy wastes, the natural features of which +could not in the least have suggested such marvels as exist in the +stupendous river and the water-power to which it gives birth! When +mentioning that great explorer--whose name in this district, after a +lapse of nearly fifty years, remains a household word among the natives, +handed down from father to son--it is a curious fact, and one that +should prove a lesson to many travellers from the old world as well as +from the new, that only on one tree is he believed to have cut his +initials in Africa, and that tree stands on the island in the centre of +the Zambesi, the island that bears his name, and that absolutely +overhangs and stems the centre of the awe-inspiring cataract. + +I must now try in a few words to give a short account of what we saw at +the Victoria Falls in July, 1903, when the breath of civilization had +scarcely touched them. To-day they are easy of access, and the changes +that have been wrought have come so swiftly that, no doubt, recent +visitors will scarcely recognize the localities of which I write. I must +first ask such to be lenient with me, and to follow me down the sandy +road leading from the Constitution Hill Compound to the Controller's +Camp on the bank of the river, about two miles nearer the Falls. There +were to be seen a collection of huts and offices, where the Controller +conducted his important business of food-purveyor to the community, and +a Government inspector of cattle had equally arduous duties to perform. +I must mention that, owing to disease in the south, cattle were then not +allowed to cross the Zambesi, and horses and dogs had to be disinfected +before they were permitted to leave the south bank. Their troubles were +not even then over, as they had to be swum across the river, and, owing +to its enormous width, the poor horses were apt to become exhausted +halfway over, and had to be towed the rest of the way, their heads being +kept out of the water--an operation attended with a certain amount of +risk. It followed that very few horses were crossed over at all, and +that these animals in North-Western Rhodesia were at a premium. + +From the Controller's Camp I had another opportunity to admire the river +itself, just as wonderful in its way as the Falls, and I remember +thinking of the delights that might be derived from boating, sailing, or +steaming, on its vast surface. Since that day the enterprising +inhabitants have actually held regattas on the mighty stream, in which +some of the best-known men in the annals of rowing in England have taken +part. But seven years ago our river trip was attended with mild +excitements; the small skiff, carrying our party of six, was an +excessively leaky canoe, which had to be incessantly baled out to keep +it afloat, and wherein, notwithstanding our efforts, a deep pool of +water accumulated, necessitating our sitting with feet tucked under us +in Oriental fashion. Hence I cannot say we realized to the full the +enjoyments of boating as we know it at home in far less beautiful +surroundings, or as others know it there at the present time. + +The principal features that struck me were, first, the colossal width +of the river. As we gazed across the translucent surface, reflecting as +in a looking-glass the fringe of trees along the edge, the first +impression was that your eyes actually perceived the opposite bank; but +we were undeceived by one of the residents, who observed that was only +an island, and that there were several such between us and the north +side. Secondly, we marvelled at the clearness of the water, reflecting +the blueness above; and, thirdly, at the rich vegetation and the intense +green of the overhanging foliage, where the graceful and so rarely seen +palms of the Borassus tribe were growing to an immense height. All was +enhanced by the most intense solitude, which seemed to accentuate the +fact that this scene of Nature was indeed as God left it. These +reflections were made as we floated on in our rickety canoe to a creek, +where we landed to walk to the actual Falls. A new path had just been +cut in the wooded part of the north bank, and we were almost the first +visitors to profit by it. Formerly the enterprising sight-seers had to +push their way through the scrubby undergrowth, but we followed a smooth +track for two miles, the roar of the cataract getting louder and louder, +with only occasional peeps of the river, which was fast losing its calm +repose and degenerating into restless rapids hurrying on to their +bourne. Now and then a buck would dance across our path, pause +affrighted for an instant at the unusual sight of man, and bound away +again into the thickness beyond; and once three fine wart-hogs almost +stumbled into our party, only to gallop away again like greyhounds, +before the rifles, which were carried by the black boys behind, could be +made use of. + +At last we emerged suddenly, without any warning, on the northern +extremity of the cataract, which at this point measures over a mile from +bank to bank, but of which only about a quarter of that distance is +visible, owing to the blinding spray. It is wellnigh impossible to +describe a scene of such wonder, such wildness. It is awe-inspiring, +almost terrible in its force and majesty, and the accompanying din +prevents speech from being heard. Standing on a point flush with the +river before it makes its headlong leap, we gazed first on the swirling +water losing itself in snowy spray, which beat relentlessly on face and +clothes, while the great volume was nosily disappearing to unknown and +terrifying depths. The sight-seer tries to look across, to strain his +eyes and to see beyond that white mist which obscures everything; but it +is an impossible task, and he can but guess the width of the Falls, +slightly horseshoe in shape, from the green trees which seem so far away +on the opposite bank, and are only caught sight of now and then as the +wind causes the spray to lift. At the same time his attention is fixed +by a new wonder, the much-talked-of rainbow. Never varying, never +changing, that perfect-shaped arc is surely more typical of eternity +there than anywhere else. Its perfection of colours seems to be +reflected again and yet again in the roaring torrent, and to be also an +emblem of peace where all is turmoil. We were hurried away to remove our +wet rainproof coats and to dry our hats and faces in the brilliant +sunshine. It seemed as if the Falls guard their beauties jealously, and +do not allow the spectator to gaze on them without paying the price of +being saturated by their spray. For the next two hours we were taken +from one point of vantage to the other, and yet felt we had not seen +half of even what is known as the north side. We were shown the barely +commenced path leading right away down to the edge of the foaming, +boiling gorge, which is to be known as "The Lovers' Walk," and from its +steepness it occurred to me that these same lovers will require to +possess some amount of endurance. We examined from afar the precipitous +Neck jutting right out opposite the main cataract, its sides running +sheer down to unfathomable depths of water, which has caused this rocky +formation to be called "The Knife's Edge," and along which, up to the +date of our visit, only two men had ventured. We saw the actual site +for the existing railway-bridge, which site had only been finally +selected a few days before by two of the party who were with us.[46] The +travellers over this great work now see all we saw on that long morning, +and a great deal more besides, while the carriage windows are soused by +the all-pervading spray, thus carrying out one of Mr. Rhodes's cherished +sentiments. Finally--musing at the marvellous and confusing twists and +turns of the river, changing in character and appearance so as to be +wellnigh unrecognizable--we walked on a hundred yards, and came upon a +deep, deep gorge, rocky, barren, and repelling, at the bottom of which, +sluggish and dirty in colour, a grey stream was winding its way, not a +hundred yards wide, but of unfathomable depths; and this represented the +Zambesi _after_ it has taken its great leap, when, bereft of all life +and beauty, it verily looks tired out. This gorge continues for forty +miles, and so desolate is the surrounding country, that not only is it +uninhabited by man, but even game cannot live there. The shadows were +lengthening and the day was approaching its close. Early on the morrow +we were to leave for the northern hunting grounds. We regained our canoe, +and paddled away to our temporary camp. + +Again we were delighted with the calm beauty of that river scene, and +found it difficult to decide when it was most beautiful--whether the +morning light best gilded its glories or whether the evening lent +additional calm. We passed island after island in bewildering +succession. Away towards the drift three huge black masses were +splashing in the water, which we easily made out to be hippopotami +taking their evening bath, and as we glided along a sleepy crocodile +slipped back into the water from a muddy eminence where it had been +basking in the sun. Then our canoe ran into a creek where leaves and +ferns grew in delightful confusion, and we landed in soft marshy ground +just as the sun was sinking like a red ball into the river, and giving +way to the sovereignty of a glorious full moon, which soon tinged +everything with a silver light, making glades of palms look delightfully +romantic. + +Civilization has since found its way to Livingstone. Engines are +whistling and trains are rumbling where then the only tracks were made +by the huge hippos and the shy buck, but they can never efface the +grandeur of the river in its size and calmness; the incomparable +magnificence of the cataract itself; the rainbow, which one cannot see +without retaining a lasting impression of its beauty; and, lastly, that +cloud of white spray, seemingly a sentinel to watch over the strength +and might of the huge river, for so many ages undiscovered. + +Many who knew the Falls in their pristine solitude have gladly welcomed +there the advent of twentieth-century developments, of sign-posts, of +advertisements, of seats, of daily posts and papers; but others, some of +the older pioneers, still, perchance, give a passing sigh for the days +when they paddled about the river in a leaky canoe, and letters and +telegrams were not events of everyday occurrence. + +In spite of the railway constructed since our visit, few people, +comparatively, have been to North-Western Rhodesia, and yet it is a +country of over 400,000 square miles. It was in October, 1897, that the +then administrator of the country,[47] with five policemen, crossed the +Zambesi and declared the territory to be under the protection of Her +Late Gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria. For many years previously the +natives, who are not of a particularly warlike disposition, had been +decimated, and the country laid waste, by the fierce Matabele, who were +in the habit of making periodical raids into this fair land, and of +killing the old men and the young warriors, who made but a slight +resistance; of annexing the attractive ladies as wives and the fat +cattle as prized booty, and then of retreating again south of the mighty +river without fear of reprisals. For this reason there was, in 1903, a +very meagre population for many hundreds of miles north of the Zambesi +in this direction; and of cattle, for which there is pasture in +abundance, there was hardly one to be seen. One has to travel much +farther north and west to find the densely populated valleys, whose +inhabitants own Lewanika, Chief of the Barotse, as their ruler, who look +to the great white British King as their protector, and to the Chartered +Company as the immediate purveyor of their wants. + +Of these natives the chief tribes are, first, the Barotse themselves, +who are the most numerous, and who inhabit the low-lying country along +the Zambesi Valley north of Sesheke, and up to Lia-Lui, their capital. + +The second in importance are the Mushukulumbwe, which, translated +literally, means "naked people." This designation was given them as a +reproach by their friends, as the male element wear no clothes; and +should they possess a blanket, they would only throw it round their +shoulders whilst standing still or sitting down. When remonstrated with +by the well-meaning missionaries on the absence of any attire, they are +wont to reply: "Are we women or children, that we should fear the cold? +Our fathers needed no clothes, nor do we." They are keen hunters and +trackers, essentially a warlike people, tall and good-looking, while the +women also are of more than average height, and gracefully made. What +the men lack in clothes they make up for in their head-dress, which has +been so often illustrated, and which is sometimes 5 feet in height. It +is the result of much care and trouble, and the cause of great pride to +the wearer. Ruled over by a number of small chiefs, they mostly own +Lewanika as their paramount chief, and to him they pay tribute. They are +withal a curious, wild kind of people, but are now becoming less afraid +of, and in consequence less hostile to, the white man, the first of +whose race they saw in 1888, when Mr. Selous[48] penetrated into their +country, and very nearly lost his life at their hands. Now they are +well-disposed, and it is safe to travel through their land with a +comparatively small escort. + +Thirdly, the Batokas. These are, and always have been, a servile race. +They are lazy in disposition, for the most part of unprepossessing +appearance, and their country has the Kafue River on the east, and the +Zambesi on the south, as natural boundaries. As carriers they do fairly +well, and, while also owning Lewanika's authority, they are well aware +of the fact that this chief only rules in virtue of the support of the +"Great King" in a far-off land, whom they often hear of, but can never +hope to see. + +In consequence of having lived for so many generations in terror of +being raided by their more bellicose neighbours, all these tribes +acclaimed with joy the advent of their English protectors, and their +demeanour is strikingly expressive of gratitude and respect. This is +evinced by their native greeting, which consists of sitting down and +clapping their hands together in a slow rhythm whenever a white man +passes. Sometimes a traveller hears this clapping proceeding out of the +immensely high and thick grass which encloses the road, and he is by +this sound alone made aware of the presence of a human being. Their food +consists entirely of grain, which they greatly prefer to meat, even when +this is offered to them. They boil this grain, which resembles millet or +canary seed, into a sort of porridge, which they eat with the greatest +gusto, and one meal a day seems to suffice them. + +And now to describe the fatherland of these natives, just emerging as it +is from darkness and strife to prosperity, peace, and, quite possibly, +riches beyond the dreams of avarice, but in any case riches, +sufficiently proved to enable it to take its place ere long among the +treasure-producing territories of God's earth. Once north of the +Zambesi, and with the thunder of those magnificent Falls still ringing +in one's ears, two things were evident even to the most casual +traveller--viz., the changed aspect of the country and of its +inhabitants. Of the latter and of their quaint greeting I have already +spoken. And as regards the road itself and the surrounding landscape +there is a still greater change. Instead of a track of deep sand blocked +with huge stones or by veritable chasms of soft, crumbling earth, one +finds there good roads, while numerous streams of clear running water +constantly intersect the highway. In England it is difficult to realize +the inestimable boon this plentiful supply of water is to the traveller +and his beasts, who are thereby saved the very serious necessity of +frequently having to push on, weary and thirsty, another stretch of +eight or ten miles, simply because of the oft-heard cry, "No water." The +scenery itself is fair and restful to the eye; there are no huge +mountains, no precipitous dongas, yet an ever-changing kaleidoscope +which prevents any monotony. Now the road winds for several miles +through woods and some small trees; again, these are left behind, and +the traveller emerges on plains of yellow waving grass (so high as to +hide both horse and rider), resembling from afar an English +barleyfield, and broken up by clumps of symmetrically arranged trees. +In these clumps the tropical euphorbia sends up its long and graceful +shoots, reminding one of Gargantuan candelabra, and the huge "baobab," +of unwieldy bulk, seems to stand as the sentinel stretching out its bare +arms to protect those who shelter beneath. These trees are the great +feature of the country, owing to the enormous size they attain, and to +the fact that, being the slowest-growing trees known, their ages can +only be reckoned by thousands of years. Except these kings of the +forest, the trees indigenous to the land are somewhat dwarfed, but cacti +of all kinds flourish, clinging to and hanging from the branches of the +mahogany and of the "m'pani" trees, looking now and then for all the +world like long green snakes. The "m'hoba-hoba" bush, with its enormous +leaves, much loved by the elephant, forms patches of vivid green summer +and winter. This shrub is supposed to have been introduced by the +Phoenicians, when these wonderful people were occupied with their +mineral workings in this land, the remains of which are to be seen in +many places. In the grass itself, and round the edge of these groups so +artistically assorted by the hand of Nature, lies slyly hidden the +"wait-a-bit" bush,[49] according to the literal translation from the +Dutch, whose thorny entanglements no one can gauge unless fairly +caught. + +During July and August, which is mid-winter, the grass plains are set on +fire, in parts purposely, but sometimes accidentally. They are usually +left intact near the road, for transport oxen find plenty of pasture in +the coarse high grass which no other animal will touch; but the seeker +after game will burn miles and miles of this grass when it is +sufficiently dry at the roots. It has acted as a sheltering mantle for +its four-footed population for many months, and now the "hunters' moon" +is fairly risen and the buck must beware. Therefore, if one leaves the +road for two or three miles to the right or left, vast black plains are +discovered, on which only about a fortnight after burning a very vivid +green, and, it is said, a very sweet, grass springs up, which game of +all sorts greatly love. Here they graze in herds morning and evening, +and here probably they meet their death--but of this more anon. It took +our party ten days to reach Kalomo,[50] then the capital of +North-Western Rhodesia. This included a six days' halt in quest of game +on a rocky kopje eight miles off the road--a veritable Spion Kop, rising +from a flat country and commanding views for miles round. + +As regards travelling, I can only say it was very comfortable as we did +it. Riding ourselves, our baggage (divided into loads each weighing +about 30 pounds) was carried by natives, who generally preceded us out +of camp. The day's journey was divided as follows: Up before the sun, +and dressing by the uncertain light of a candle lantern. It was cold +enough to render no dawdling possible, and one hurried one's toilet in +order to get to the already brightly burning fire and steaming hot +coffee. The sun would just then be showing its red head in the far east, +and already the camp was in commotion; tents were being struck, bedding +rolled up, while a certain amount of scrambling would be going on +amongst the cunning blacks, each wishing to possess himself of the +lightest load. To prevent shirking, one or two of the native police who +accompanied us watched the proceeding with lynx-like eyes, and, amid +much arguing, chattering, and apparent confusion, a long line of +carriers would emerge like a black snake from the camping-ground into an +orderly string--quaint figures, some of them wrapped in gaudy blankets, +and even then shivering in the keen morning air; some with their load on +their heads, others carrying it on long sticks, all with the inevitable +native vessel, fashioned from a gourd, containing their daily ration of +grain. As a supplement to these carriers, we were also accompanied by +the (in Africa) familiar "Scotch cart." In other words, this is a strong +cart on two wheels, drawn by bullocks, and its usual pace is about two +and a half miles an hour. It apparently possesses the delightful +qualification of being able to travel on any road, no matter how rough, +without breaking down or turning over; in fact, when travelling by road +in Africa, it facilitates matters as much as the employment of a +charwoman oils the wheels in an English household, and it is therefore +as much to be recommended. + +We ride for an hour or so with coats tightly buttoned up, blue noses, +and frozen fingers--for the hoar-frost still lingers on the ground--but +the air is delightfully exhilarating, and we know that we shall not have +to complain of the cold long. By degrees the sun makes itself felt, and +we discard first one wrap and then another, till by ten o'clock even +light overcoats are not required. And now it is time to "off-saddle" and +breakfast. The carriers straggle in more or less in the order they left, +but they gladly "dump" down their loads, and before many minutes the +fire is burning and the breakfast frizzling. After breakfast comes the +midday rest of two or three hours, beguiled by some ancient newspapers +or some dust-begrimed book. It is remarkable that, when far away from +home, the date of a newspaper is of little import, while none are voted +dull, and one finds oneself reading the most obscure publications, and +vaguely wondering how or why they reached this distant land. At two +o'clock marching orders come again. This is the hot trek, but there is +generally a cool breeze to temper the fierce rays of the winter's sun; +and when that sun gets low down on to the horizon, and becomes a crimson +ball, tingeing the world with its rosy hue, we look about for our +evening resting-place. During our journey to Kalomo, as well as on our +southward route a month later, we enjoyed the light of a glorious moon, +whose assistance to the traveller cannot be exaggerated when the short +twilight is remembered. By the moon we frequently made our camp, by the +moon we dined. Those were never-to-be-forgotten evenings, spent on that +lonely veldt all bathed in silver light. We also had excitements--much +lions' spoor on the roads by day, many scares of lions round the camps +by night, when the danger is that the horses may be taken while the camp +is asleep. Every evening our animals were put into a "skerm," or high +palisade, constructed of branches by the ubiquitous carriers with +marvellous rapidity. + +One dark night before the moon had risen, just as we had finished dinner +and were sitting round the fire listening to thrilling stories of sport +and adventure, a terrific noise suddenly disturbed our peaceful +circle--a noise which proceeded from a dark mass of thick bush not 200 +yards away, and recalled one's childish recollections of "feeding-time" +at the Zoo. Not one, but five or six lions, might have been thus near to +us from the volume of growls and snarls, varied by short deep grunts, +which broke the intense stillness of the night in this weird fashion. +Each man rushed for his rifle, but it was too dark to shoot, and +gradually the noise died away. The natives opined it was a slight +difference of opinion between some wolves and a lion, which animals, +curiously enough, very often hunt in company, the lion doing the +killing, and the wolf prowling along behind and picking up the scraps. +It was but an incident, but it served as an uncanny reminder of the many +eyes of the animal world, which, though unseen, are often watching +travellers in these solitudes. Another night, when we were encamped in +the very heart of a rumoured "lion country," ourselves and our beasts +securely protected by an unusually high and thick "skerm," we were, to +our regret, left undisturbed; but the aforementioned Scotch cart, which +rumbled away from the sleeping camp about midnight, had a series of +adventures with _Leo felis_. Sniffing the fat oxen, no less than three +lions followed the waggon all night, charging close up at times, and +finally causing the oxen to stampede, in consequence of which, instead +of finding the precious vehicle, containing grain for carriers and +forage for horses, at the next outspan, we did not come up with it till +evening, nearly thirty miles farther on, when we learnt the adventures +it had had. + +The truth regarding lion-shooting in these parts is, that the animals +are exceedingly difficult to locate, and the finding of them is a matter +of pure luck. The traveller may, of course, meet a lion on the road by +broad daylight; but many experienced hunters, who count their slain +lions by the dozen, will tell you they were years in the country before +they ever saw the kings of beasts, and these are men who do not belittle +the danger incurred in hunting them. One old hunter is supposed to have +said to an enthusiastic newcomer, who had heard of a lion in the +vicinity, and immediately asked the old stager if he were going after +it: "I have not lost any lions, therefore I am not looking for any"; +but, all the same, to kill one or more fine specimens will ever remain +the summit of the ambition of the hunter, and unquestionably the spice +of danger is one of the attractions. + +At the time of which I write the township of Kalomo consisted of about +twenty white people, including the Administrator, his secretary and +staff; the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or Accountant, who controlled +the purse; a doctor, whose time was fairly well taken up; an aspiring +light of the legal profession, who made and interpreted the laws; and, +finally, the gallant Colonel and officers of the North-Western Rhodesia +Native Police, a smart body of 380 natives, officered by eleven or +twelve Englishmen. To Colonel Colin Harding, C.M.G., was due the credit +of recruiting and drilling this smart corps, and it was difficult to +believe that these soldierly-looking men, very spruce in their dark blue +tunics and caps, from which depend enormous red tassels, were only a +short time ago idling away their days in uninviting native kraals. + +I was much impressed in a Kalomo house with the small details of a +carefully arranged dinner-table, adorned with flowers and snowy linen; +the cooking was entirely done by black boys, and of these the "Chinde" +boys from the Portuguese settlements are much sought after, and cannot +be excelled as cooks or servants, so thoroughly do the Portuguese +understand the training of natives. The staple meat was buck of all +kinds; sheep were wellnigh unknown, oxen were scarce and their meat +tough; but no one need grumble at a diet of buck, wild-pig, koran,[51] +guinea-fowl, and occasionally wild-duck. As regards other necessities of +life, transport difficulties were enormous; every ounce of food besides +meat, and including precious liquids, had then to be dragged over +nearly 250 miles of indifferent roads; and not only groceries, but +furniture, roofs of houses, clothes--all had to be ordered six to eight +months before they were required, and even then disappointments occurred +in the way of waggons breaking down, of delays at the rail-head and at +the crossing of the river. To us who are accustomed to the daily calls +of the butcher, the baker, and the grocer, the foresight which had to be +exercised is difficult to realize, and with the best management in the +world great philosophy was required to put up with the minor wants. + +As to the climate of North-Western Rhodesia in the dry season--which +lasts from April or May to November, or even later--it is ideal. Never +too hot to prevent travelling or doing business in the heat of the day, +it is cold enough morning and evening to make fur coats by no means +superfluous; rain is unknown, and of wind there is just enough to be +pleasant, although now and then, especially towards sunset or before +dawn, a very strong breeze springs up from a cloudless horizon, lasts +about thirty minutes, making the trees bend and tents flap and rattle, +and then dies away again as suddenly as it has come. Sometimes, in the +early morning, this breeze is of an icy coldness, and might be blowing +straight from the South Pole. During the dry season the traveller should +not contract fever, unless he happens to have the germs in his system, +and in this case he may have been immune the whole wet season, and then +the first cold weather brings out the disease and lays him low. + +I must now devote a few words to the veldt and to its animal life as we +learnt to know it during some delightful weeks spent in camp eight miles +from the township, where game was then still abundant. There we lived in +comfortable tents, and our dining-room was built of grass held in place +by substantial sticks. The delight of those days is fresh in my memory. +Up and on our horses at dawn, we would wander over this open country, +intersected with tracks of forest. The great charm was the uncertainty +of the species of game we might discover. It might be a huge eland, or +an agile pig, or a herd of beautiful zebra. Now and then a certain +amount of stalking was required, and on one occasion a long ride round +brought us to the edge of a wood, from whence we viewed at twenty yards +a procession of wildebeeste--those animals of almost mythical +appearance, with their heads like horses and their bodies like +cattle--roan antelope, and haartebeeste; but as a rule, the game having +been so little shot at, with an ordinary amount of care the hunter can +ride to within shooting distance of the animal he would fain lay low. +Should they take fright and be off, we found to gallop after them was +not much use, owing to the roughness of the veldt and the smallness of +the ponies. Occasionally we had to pursue a wounded animal, and one day +we had an exciting chase after a wildebeeste, the most difficult of all +bucks to kill, as their vitality, unless absolutely shot through the +heart, is marvellous. When we at last overtook and finished off the poor +creature, we had out-distanced all our "boys," and it became necessary +for my fellow-sportsman to ride off and look for them (as the meat had +to be cut up and carried into camp), and for me to remain behind to keep +the aas-vogels from devouring the carcass. These huge birds and useful +scavengers, repulsive as they are to look at, always appear from space +whenever a buck is dead, and five minutes suffices for a party of them +to be busily employed, while a quarter of an hour later nothing is left +but the bones. Therefore I was left alone with the dead wildebeeste and +with the circling aas-vogels for upwards of two hours, and I realized, +as I had never done before, the intense loneliness of the veldt, and +something of what the horror must be of being lost on it. Even residents +have to dread this danger. + +At that season the veldt boasted of few flowers, but birds were +plentiful, especially the large ones I have mentioned as forming a +valuable addition to the daily menu, and flocks of guinea-fowl, which +run along the ground making a peculiar chuckling noise, rarely flying, +but very quick at disappearing in the long grass. The quaint +secretary-bird was often to be seen stalking majestically along, +solitary and grotesque, with its high marching action. Then the +honey-birds must not be forgotten. They give voice to their peculiar +note as soon as they see a human being, whom they seem to implore to +follow them; and if they succeed in attracting attention, they fly from +tree to tree reiterating their call, till they lead the man whose +assistance they have sought to the spot where the honey is hidden, but +which they cannot reach unaided. As a rule, it is the natives who take +the trouble to obey their call and turn it to account. + +The weeks slipped by all too quickly, and it was soon time to bid +farewell to Kalomo and its game-haunted flats, over which the iron horse +now winds its prosaic course on its way to the dim, mysterious North, +bringing noise and bustle in its train. In consequence the hunter and +the animal-lover have to travel farther on, but there will always be +room for all on that vast continent. + +No matter what paths of life it may be the fortune of my readers to +tread, let me recommend those wearied with social bustle and the empty +amenities of present-day existence to pass a few weeks in the +comparative solitude of several pleasant companions "under the stars" +in North-Western Rhodesia, where they can still catch a glimpse of the +elusive zebras, with coats shining in the sun like burnished steel, and +hear the persistent call of the honey-bird. At night the roar of lions +may now and then cause them to turn in their sleep, and in their dreams +they may have visions of the animals that have charmed them during the +day--the stately eland, the graceful roan and sable antelopes, the +ungainly wildebeeste, and the funny old wart-hog, trotting along with +high action and tail erect. Besides gaining health and experiencing the +keenest enjoyment, they will know some of the pleasures vouchsafed to +those of their countrymen whose fate it is to live, and sometimes to +die, in far-off climes--men who have helped to make England famous, and +are now, step by step, building up our mighty Empire. Curious are the +lives these men, and many like them, lead, cut off as it were from the +bustling, throbbing world. A handful of white men, surrounded by +thousands of blacks, with calm complacency they proceed, first to +impress on the natives the importance, the might, and the justice, of +the great Empire which they represent in their various capacities; then +to establish beyond question their own dignity and wisdom; and finally +to make themselves as comfortable, and their surroundings as attractive +and homelike, as possible, with such means as they can command. They +are to be seen superintending a court of justice, looked up to and +trusted by the natives, who have quickly found out that the "boss" is +just, firm, and that he will not believe a falsehood. The blacks have +their native names for all these officials, most of them showing great +discernment, and some of quite an affectionate nature. + +The Commissioners, whose work is entirely among the native population, +requiring the greatest tact and patience, besides a perfect knowledge of +the language, lead, perhaps, the most arduous, as well as the most +lonely, existences. Most of the year is occupied in making tours of +inspection through their vast districts; they live continually in the +open, in constant contact with Nature, and for weeks together they never +see a white man. Almost unattended, they move fearlessly in little-known +places, among an uncivilized if friendly people, and to some extent they +have their lives in their hands. And yet they do not regard their +solitary existence as anything to occasion surprise or admiration; they +realize the importance of their mission, and wet seasons, bad attacks of +fever, and impaired health, do not quench their energy or their keenness +for the great work of development. It is true, indeed, that one and all +live in anticipation of the biennial holiday, of the seven months spent +"at home," and that all events in their lives are dated from those +precious days in England; and then, when the time comes to return to +duty, they probably depart without a murmur, and very few, if any, would +exchange a life in an office, or that of any ordinary profession in +England, for the one, untrammelled and free, they lead in the wilds of +Africa. As distractions in this life which they love, they can only look +to the weekly mail and the goodly supply of illustrated papers from +home, the attentive perusal of which has made them almost as conversant +as the veriest Cockney with all the people of note and the fair women of +the time, besides giving them an intimate knowledge of passing events. +As hosts they are perfection, and all they have is at their guests' +disposal. Their incentive to the great work for ever going on, not only +in their district, but in so many far-away localities where the Union +Jack flies, is the knowledge that the dark clouds of oppression, +plunder, and crime, are, in consequence of their efforts, rolling away +as mists disappear before the rising sun. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[44] Some parts of this chapter appeared in the Christmas number of the +_Pall Mall Magazine_, 1903, and in the _Bulawayo Chronicle_ of the same +date. + +[45] Introduction to Mr. Grogan's work, "From the Cape to Cairo." + +[46] Sir Charles Metcalfe, Bart., consulting engineer of the Chartered +Company, and Mr. G. Pauling, contractor for the same company. + +[47] R.T. Coryndon, Esq. + +[48] "Life and Adventures in South-East Africa," by F.C. Selous. + +[49] _Wacht-een-bietze._ + +[50] The seat of government has since been transferred to Livingstone, +on the Zambesi. + +[51] A kind of pheasant. + + + + +APPENDIX I + +MAFEKING RELIEF FUND + + +_Distribution Committee_. + +LIEUTENANT-COLONEL C.B. VYVYAN, Commandant of Mafeking. + +MR. C.G. BELL, Resident Magistrate. + +MR. A.H. FREND, Mayor. + + + Total amount made available for distribution L29,267 + + Of which the Committee allotted to: L + Widows and orphans 6,536 + Refugees 4,630 + Town relief 3,741 + Seaside Fund 2,900 + Churches, convent, schools, etc. 2,900 + Wounded men 2,245 + Small tradesmen 1,765 + Hospital staff, nuns, etc. 1,115 + Colonel Plumer's Rhodesian Column, etc. 1,000 + ------- + L26,832 + +_June_ 6, 1909. + +The "Rainy Day Fund," formed from the balance of the Relief Fund, still +exists, and though the amount now in it is small, it is sufficient to +enable the Trustees (Mayor of Mafeking and Civil Commissioner) to make +occasional grants in cases of distress among those who suffered during +the siege, or who have fallen on evil days since. + +MAFEKING FUND, 1900. + + L + Collected by Lady Georgiana Curzon 24,000 + Collected by Colonel Baden-Powell's school comrades + at Charterhouse (in addition to gifts in kind) 1,150 + Collected by Lady Snagge (L643) and _Birmingham + Argus_ (L350) for sending nurses, women, and children, + to seaside 993 + The following sent over L100 each: + Conservative Club, Liverpool. + Melbourne Club. + Luton. + Mr. Butler, of Wellington, New Zealand. + Tunbridge Wells Imperial Association. + Right Hon. C.J. Rhodes. + Swansea, Wales. + Salisbury, Mashonaland. + Mr. J. Garlick, of Cape Town. + Mayor of Brighton. + Raleigh Club, London. + Ilfracombe. + Mr. William Nicol. + Sent by Lord Mayor of London from Mansion House + Fund 200 + +Mr. Leonard Rayne, theatrical impresario, of South Africa, inaugurated +the "Rayney Day Fund," with a view to ultimate calls for relief by +members of the garrison in years to come. + + + + +APPENDIX II + +IMPERIAL YEOMANRY HOSPITALS, 1900-1902. + + +December 29, appeal signed by Lady Georgiana Curzon and Lady Chesham +sent from Blenheim Palace. + +_President_: THE QUEEN. + +_Vice-Presidents_: THE PRINCESS OF WALES and DUCHESS OF CONNAUGHT. + +_Chairman of Committee_: COUNTESS HOWE. + +_Vice-Chairmen of Committee_: COUNTESS OF WARWICK and VISCOUNTESS +VALENTIA. + +_Hon. Secretary_: EARL HOWE. + +_Treasurer_: LUDWIG NEUMANN, ESQ. + +_Military Adviser_: MAJOR-GENERAL LORD CHEYLESMORE. + +_Hon. Civilian Director and Treasurer in South Africa_: J.G. HAMILTON, +ESQ. + + L s. d. + Subscriptions received between issue of first + appeal and issue of interim report in April, + 1900, L127,000. During the whole time the + subscriptions (including the first) totalled 145,325 15 7 + + Sale of base hospital realized 15,000 0 0 + + Government subsidy for prolonging maintenance + of field-hospital and bearer company, + January 1 to March 31, 1901 3,000 0 0 + + Sale of Elandsfontein Hospital 9,051 9 6 + + Bankers' interest to December 31, 1901 1,635 12 9 + --------------- + L174,012 17 10 + +From first to last, various staffs numbered over 1,400 persons, and +20,000 patients received medical aid in the different Yeomanry +Hospitals. + +When the staff returned to England, medals were presented to them at +Devonshire House by the Queen. + + +DEELFONTEIN BASE HOSPITAL: Opened March 5, 1900; closed March 31, 1901. +Originally with 500 beds, subsequently increased to 1,000 beds. 6,093 +in-patients, including 351 officers, were treated there. + + +MACKENZIE'S FARM, MAITLAND CAMP, BASE HOSPITAL: Opened August 2, 1900; +closed March 31, 1901. Originally with 100 beds, subsequently increased +to 150. 1,066 patients treated. + + +EASTWOOD, PRETORIA, BASE HOSPITAL: Opened August 18, 1900; closed +September 30, 1901. Originally with 400 beds, subsequently increased to +564 beds. 5,227 in-patients, including 466 officers, and 1,095 +out-patients, treated. + + +ELANDSFONTEIN BASE HOSPITAL: Opened June 29, 1901; closed December 19, +1901. Originally with 50 beds, subsequently increased to 138 beds. 823 +in-patients, including 27 officers, and 900 out-patients, treated. + + +CHESHAM CONVALESCENT HOME AT JOHANNESBURG (for Officers only): Opened +March 1, 1901; closed October 10, 1901. 8 beds. 79 patients received. + + +FIELD-HOSPITAL AND BEARER COMPANY, with 100 beds, left England in March, +1900; opened at the seat of war in South Africa on April 12, 1900; +closed April 1, 1901, having remained three months longer than was +originally arranged for. Subsidy of L3,000 received from Government for +this purpose. + +IMPERIAL YEOMANRY HOSPITALS. + + _General Committee:_ + Ninety ladies, whose names are given in the first volume + of the Imperial Yeomanry Hospitals Report. + + + _General Working Committee:_ + Lady Georgiana Curzon (Chairman). + Adeline, Duchess of Bedford. + The Duchess of Marlborough. + The Countess of Dudley. + The Countess of Essex. + The Ladies Tweedmouth and Chesham (went to Deelfontein + in early days of Imperial Yeomanry Hospitals). + Mrs. S. Neumann. + Mrs. A.G. Lucas. + Mrs. Blencowe Cookson. + Mrs. Julius Wernher (now Lady Wernher). + Madame von Andre. + + + _Finance Committee:_ + Viscount Curzon, M.P. (now Earl Howe). + Mr. Ludwig Neumann. + Adeline, Duchess of Bedford. + Lady Chesham. + Lady Georgiana Curzon. + + + _Press Committee:_ + The Countess of Dudley. + The Countess of Essex. + Madame von Andre. + The Duchess of Marlborough. + Lady Georgiana Curzon. + + + _Transport Committee:_ + Lady Tweedmouth. } + Mrs. Julius Wernher. } Assisted by Major Haggard + Mrs. S. Neumann. } and General Eaton. + Mrs. A.G. Lucas. } + Lady Georgiana Curzon. } + + _Gifts and Purchase Committee:_ + The Countess of Essex. } + Lady Tweedmouth. } Assisted by General + Mrs. A. G. Lucas. } Eaton, Colonel Sloggett + Mrs. S. Neumann. } and Mr. Fripp, and + Lady Georgiana Curzon. } Mr. Oliver Williams. + + + _Medical, Nursing, and General Staffs Committee:_ + The Duchess of Marlborough. } + Adeline, Duchess of Bedford. } Assisted by General + The Countess of Warwick. } Eaton, Colonel Sloggett + Lady Chesham. } and Mr. A. Downing + Madame von Andre. } Fripp. + Lady Georgiana Curzon. } + +The chief workers in Ireland were: The Countess of Longford, Lady +Annette La Touche, and Mrs. Pirrie; but they were only on the General +Committee, not on any of the subcommittees. + + +THE END + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's South African Memories, by Lady Sarah Wilson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICAN MEMORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 14466.txt or 14466.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/4/6/14466/ + +Produced by Steven Gibbs and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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