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diff --git a/41432.txt b/41432.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 28dd9e0..0000000 --- a/41432.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3157 +0,0 @@ - THE TALE OF A FIELD HOSPITAL - - - - -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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: The Tale of a Field Hospital -Author: Frederick Treves -Release Date: November 21, 2012 [EBook #41432] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALE OF A FIELD HOSPITAL -*** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - -[Illustration: Cover] - - - - -[Illustration: Portrait of Frederick Treves] - - - - - THE TALE OF A - FIELD HOSPITAL - - - BY - SIR FREDERICK TREVES, BART. - G.C.V.O., C.B., LL.D. - - Late Consulting Surgeon with H.M. Troops in South Africa, - Serjeant-Surgeon to H.M. the King, Author of "The - Other Side of the Lantern," etc. - - - - NEW EDITION - - - - _WITH PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR_ - - CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD - London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne - 1912 - - - - - First Published _October_ 1900 - _Reprinted November and December_ 1900 - _February and August_ 1901 - New Edition, _November_ 1911 - - - - - Preface to New Edition - -The South African War, of which this Tale is told, is already near to be -forgotten, although there are many to whom it still remains the most -tragic memory of their lives. - -War is ever the same: an arena, aglare with pomp and pageant, for the -display of that most elemental and most savage of human passions, the -lust to kill, as well as a dumb torture place where are put to the test -man's fortitude and his capacity for the endurance of pain. - -This brief narrative is concerned not with shouting hosts in defiant -array, but with the moaning and distorted forms of men who have been -"scorched by the flames of war." It deals with the grey hours after the -great, world-echoing display is over, with the night that ends the -gladiator's show, when the arena is occupied only by the maimed, the -dying and the dead. - -It is admitted that in the South African War the medical needs of the -Army were efficiently and promptly supplied. This account serves to -show of what kind is the work of the Red Cross in the field. It may -serve further to bring home to the reader the appalling condition of the -wounded in war when--as in the present campaign in the Near East--the -provision for the care of the sick is utterly inadequate, if not -actually lacking. - -FREDERICK TREVES. - -THATCHED HOUSE LODGE, - RICHMOND PARK, SURREY. -_November_, 1912. - - - - - Preface to the First Edition - -In this little book some account is given of a field hospital which -followed for three months the Ladysmith Relief Column, from the time, in -fact, that that column left Frere until it entered the long-beleaguered -town. The fragmentary record is based upon notes written day by day on -the spot. Some of the incidents related have been already recounted in -a series of letters published in the _British Medical Journal_, and -certain fragments of those letters are reproduced in these pages, or -have been amplified under circumstances of greater leisure. - -The account, such as it is, is true. - -It may be that the story is a little sombre, and possibly on occasions -gruesome; but war, as viewed from the standpoint of a field hospital, -presents little that is cheery. - -It appears that some interest might attach to an account of the manner -in which our wounded faced their troubles, and of the way in which they -fared, and under the influence of that impression this imperfect sketch -has been written. - - - - - CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER - - 1. The Field Hospital - 2. Frere Camp - 3. The Hospital Dog - 4. The Morning of Colenso - 5. The Hospital under the Ridge - 6. Inside an Operation-Tent - 7. The Surgeons of the Field Hospitals - 8. A Professional Visit by Rail - 9. The Hospital Train at Colenso - 10. The Nurses at Chieveley - 11. Some Traits in the Men - 12. The Sign of the Wooden Cross - 13. The Men with the Spades - 14. The Marching - 15. Spearman's Farm - 16. The Hospital at Spearman's - 17. The Two White Lights - 18. After Spion Kop - 19. The Story of the Restless Man - 20. "Did We Win?" - 21. The Fighting Spirit - 22. The Body-Snatchers - 23. Seeing Them Off - 24. A Funeral at Spearman's - 25. Absent-Mindedness - 26. At Chieveley Again - 27. A Journey to Ladysmith - 28. A Straggler - 29. How a Surgeon Won the Victoria Cross - 30. "SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI" - - - - - THE TALE OF - A FIELD HOSPITAL - - - - I - - THE FIELD HOSPITAL - - -The Field Hospital, of which some account is given in these pages, was -known as "No. 4 Stationary Field Hospital." The term "stationary" is -hardly appropriate, since the Hospital moved with the column, and, until -at least the relief of Ladysmith, it followed the Headquarters' camp. -The term, however, serves to distinguish "No. 4" from the smaller field -hospitals which were attached to the various brigades, and which were -much more mobile and more restless. - -At the commencement of the campaign the capacity of the Hospital was -comparatively small. The officers in charge were Major Kirkpatrick, -Major Mallins, and Lieutenant Simson, all of the Royal Army Medical -Corps. These able officers--and none could have been more -efficient--were, I regret to say, all invalided as the campaign -progressed. - -Before the move was made to Spearman's Farm the Hospital was enlarged, -and the staff was increased by the addition of eight civil surgeons. It -is sad to report that of these two died in the camp and others were -invalided. No men could have worked better together than did the army -surgeons and their civilian colleagues. - -The greatest capacity of the Hospital was reached after the battle of -Spion Kop, when we had in our tents about 800 wounded. - -Some account of the nurses who accompanied the Hospital is given in a -section which follows. - -The Hospital was well equipped, and the supplies were ample. We carried -with us a large number of iron bedsteads complete with mattresses, -blankets, and sheets. These were all presented to the Hospital by Mr. -Acutt, a generous merchant at Durban. It is needless to say that they -proved an inexpressible boon, and even when the Hospital had to trust -only to ox transport, all the bedsteads went with it. - -The ladies of the colony, moreover, worked without ceasing to supply the -wounded with comforts, and "No. 4" had reason to be grateful for their -well-organised kindness. - -The precise number of patients who were treated in the Hospital is no -doubt recorded in the proper quarter, but some idea of the work -accomplished may be gained from the fact that practically all the -wounded in the Natal campaign--from the battle of Colenso to the relief -of Ladysmith--passed through No. 4 Stationary Field Hospital. The -exceptions were represented by the few cases sent down direct by train -or ambulance from the smaller field hospitals. - - - - - II - - FRERE CAMP - - -It was from Frere Camp that the army under General Buller started for -the Tugela River, and the Hospital pitched its tents in that camp on the -evening of Monday, December 11th, 1899. We went up from -Pietermaritzburg by train. The contents were soon emptied out on the -line, some little way outside Frere Station, and close to the railway -the Hospital was put up. That night we all slept under canvas--many for -the first time--and all were well pleased that we had at last arrived at -the front. - -Frere is merely a station on the line of rail which traverses Natal, and -as it consists only of some three or four houses and a few trees it can -hardly be dignified by the name of hamlet. Frere is simply a speck--a -corrugated iron oasis--on the vast undulating plains of the veldt. -These plains roll away to the horizon, and are broken only by kopjes and -dongas and the everlasting ant-hills. - -On the way towards Ladysmith are a few kopjes of large size, from any -one of which the line of the Tugela can be seen, with the hills beyond, -occupied by the Boer entrenchments, and over them again the hills which -dominate Ladysmith. On the way towards Estcourt winds a brown road, -along which an endless train of ox-wagons rumble and are lost in the -wilderness of the camp. - -The river which is reputed to "run" through Frere has long since ceased -to run. The water is retained by certain dams, and the pools thus -formed are uninviting. The water is the colour of pea-soup, and when in -a glass is semi-opaque and of a faint brownish colour. The facetious -soldier, as he drinks it, calls it "khaki and water." - -In the lowest pool, immediately above the iron railway bridge which has -been blown up by the Boers, Tommy Atkins bathes with gusto in what is -seemingly a light-coloured mud. Here also he washes his socks and his -shirts. - -The centre of the camp is the railway station, and that of Frere is the -smallest and most unpretending that any hamlet could pretend to. It is, -however, crowded out of all reason, and its platform of hard earth is -covered with boxes and baggage and sacks and saddles in as much disorder -as if they had been thrown in panic from a burning train. Between the -little goods shed and the little booking-office are several stands of -rifles. A sentry, proud apparently in his covering of dust, is parading -one end of the platform, while at the other end a motley crowd of -perspiring soldiers are filling water-bottles at the tank which supplies -the engine. In the waiting-room a tumbled mass of men are asleep on the -floor, while on a bench in front of it two men-of-war's men are -discussing an English paper six weeks old. - -Outside the station are ramparts of provision boxes and cases of -ammunition, and iron water cisterns and mealie bags, and to the -fragments of a railing which surrounds the station horses, of all kinds -and in all stages of weariness, are tied. - -A ragged time-table on the wall, dealing with the train service to -Pretoria, and with the precise hour of the arrival of the trains there, -seems but a sorry jest. The stationmaster's house has been looted, and -the little garden in front of it has been trampled out of being, save -for two or three red geraniums which still bloom amidst the dirt. This -house is, for the time, the general's headquarters, and before it waves -the Union Jack. - -When we reached the camp it was stated that 30,000 men were under -canvas. A camp of this size must of necessity present an endless scene -of bustle and movement. Nothing seemed at rest but the interminable -array of white tents and the rows of baggage wagons. Cavalry would be -moving in one direction and infantry in another. Here a mounted patrol -would be riding out or a couple of scouts coming in. There would be a -long line of Kaffirs carrying bales and boxes to a temporary depot, and -here a troop of eager horses hurrying to the river to drink. Gallopers -would be seen in all directions, and everywhere would be struggling -teams of oxen or of mules enveloped in clouds of dust and urged on by -sweating men and strange oaths, and by the shrill yells of the Kaffir -drivers, whose dust-dried throats gave out noises like the shrieks of -parrots. - -There was no shade of any kind, and the camp during the day lay dry, -dusty, parched and restless under a blazing sun, but at night there was -a cool wind and cheery camp fires, and a darkness which blotted out the -dusty roads, the dried-up river, the dismal piles of stores, and the -general picture of a camp in a desert of baked earth. - -Every night a search-light was at work sending dispatches to Ladysmith, -and almost every morning could be heard the Boer guns thundering over -that unhappy place. - -The British soldier looked very smart in his khaki suit when embarking -at Southampton, but at Frere he showed the effects of wear, and his -tunic, his belt, his pouches, his boots and his face, had all toned down -to one uniform tint of dirt colour. He was of the earth earthy. He was -unshaven. His clothes had that abject look of want of "fit" that is -common to clothes which have been slept in, which have been more than -once soaked through, and which have more than once dried upon the body -of the owner. - - - - - III - - THE HOSPITAL DOG - - -Prominent among the _personnel_ of the Hospital should be placed -"Durban," the Hospital dog. He was a brindled bull terrier of -exceptional physique and intelligence, and the story about him was that -he was a refugee dog who had attached himself to "No. 4" at Durban, and -that for want of a better name he had been called after that pleasant -town. - -He had a great love of adventure, and fell into the life of a moving -camp with gusto. His good temper and his placid appreciation of a -practical joke were among his many excellent qualities. When the -orderlies were paraded on the platform of Pietermaritzburg Station, -previous to their being entrained for Frere, "Durban" took his place in -the ranks with no little dignity. - -The orderlies were devoted to him and he to them, and I have no doubt -that, pampered and humoured in every canine whim, he is with the -Hospital still. - -"Durban" had had a special collar made for him on which was emblazoned -the red cross and the name of his company. Just before starting for -Chieveley his particular master made him a pair of putties, in which his -fore legs were enveloped. He was uncommonly pleased with these -embarrassing articles of clothing, and was never tired of going round -the camp to show them to his many admirers. At Spearman's he was -provided with a travelling kit, consisting of a waterproof cape with two -minute panniers on either side, marked with the red cross, and furnished -with unappreciated surgical dressings. This exquisite outfit was with -difficulty secured in position, and in the early stages of a march was -sure to be found dangling beneath "Durban's" ample chest. - -His passion for bathing was only equalled by his passion for catching -flies, and when we reached the Lesser Tugela he would join party after -party on their way to the river, and would bathe as long and as often as -he found anyone to bathe with. - -He was useful, too, as a watch-dog, and performed no mean services in -connection with the commissariat department. Some sheep were given to -the Hospital, and for a day or two it was a problem as to how advantage -could be taken of this important supply of food. The sheep, when wanted -for the kitchen, could not be caught, and could not be shot, and so -"Durban" was appealed to in the difficulty. Accompanied by the cook, on -certain mornings "Durban" made his way to the little flock out on the -veldt, and never failed to pull down a sheep. He followed the cook and -the sheep back to the camp with the air of one who deserved well of his -country. - - - - - IV - - THE MORNING OF COLENSO - - -At daybreak on the morning of December 15th the Field Hospital was -already astir. While it was yet dark the silence of the camp was broken -in upon by the rousing of the orderlies, by much slapping upon the sides -of silent tents, by much stumbling over darkened tent ropes, and by -sudden calls of "Get up, you chaps," "Tumble out," "Chuck yourselves -about." "Why don't you wake a man up?" cries out one peevish voice -among the recently roused. "Why don't you make a noise?" says another -in sleepy tones. "Is the whole camp afire and is the Boers on us, or is -this your idea of calling a gentleman?" mutters a sarcastic man, as he -puts his head out of the fly of his tent. - -In a few minutes everyone in the camp is on the move, for there is -little needed to complete a toilet beyond the tightening of a belt and -the pulling on of a pair of boots. All are in the best of spirits, and -the collecting together of goods and chattels and the preparing of a -hurried breakfast proceed amidst infinite chatter and many camp -pleasantries. We are at last on the move. We are the last to go. This -is the day of the long expected battle, and we are to push on to the -front. The real fighting is to begin, and there is not a man who is not -possessed by the conviction that the Boers will to-day be swept from the -Tugela--if they have not already fled--and that General Buller will have -a "walk over." - -One cannot but be reminded, many times since, that the advance to -Ladysmith was always spoken of as a "walk over." - -Moreover, everyone is glad to leave Frere--dreary, sweltering Frere. -Since the column left it has become a waste of desolation; the very -grass has been already worn away, and there is nothing but an expanse of -bald earth, scarred with the landmarks of a camp that was, glistening -with empty meat and biscuit tins which flash in the sun, and dotted over -with a rabble of debris. The picturesque cavalry camp, with its rows of -restless horses, is now only indicated by more or less formal lines of -dirtier dirt. The avenues and squares of white tents are gone, and in -their place is a khaki waste covered with the most melancholy of refuse. - -At the outskirts of great towns there is usually, in a place or two, a -desert plot of land marked off by disreputable relics of a fence and -trodden into barren earth by innumerable untidy feet. If such a plot be -diversified with occasional ash heaps, with derelict straw, and with -empty tins and bottomless pots and pans, it will represent in miniature -the great camp of Frere after the column had moved to the river. - -Frere was indeed no longer Frere. It had become suddenly quiet, and the -depressed garrison left behind were almost too listless to watch, with -suitable jealousy, our preparations for departure. - -On this particular morning the sun rose gloriously. Out of the gloom -there emerged rapidly the grey heights of the far-off Drachenbergs, and -as the light of the dawn fell full upon them, their ashen precipices and -pinnacles became rose-coloured and luminous; and the terraces of green -which marked the foot of each line of barren cliff seemed so near and so -strangely lit that many a man, busy in the work of striking camp, -stopped to gaze on these enchanted mountains. The whole range, however, -looks chilled and barren--as barren, as solitary, as unearthly as the -mountains of the moon. - -Before the peaks of the Drachenbergs were well alight the boom of our -great guns sounded with startling clearness, and it was evident that the -prelude for the battle had begun. - -In due course a train of goods wagons backed down to the side of the -hospital. The tents and countless panniers, boxes, sacks, and -miscellaneous chattels of the hospital were packed upon the trucks. Our -instructions were to proceed by train to Colenso, and to there unload -and camp. There was apparently no doubt but that the village by the -Tugela would immediately be in our hands. Early rumours reached us, -indeed, that the Boers had fled, and that no living thing was to be seen -on the heights beyond the river. These rumours were soon to be -discredited by the incessant roar of cannon, and later by the barking of -the "pom-pom" and the minor patter of rifle firing. - -Four nurses were to go with the train: the two who had accompanied me -from London, Miss McCaul and Miss Tarr, and two army sisters from -Netley, Sister Sammut and Sister Martin. - -While the train was being loaded the nurses waited at the hotel or -store. The hotel, a little unpretending bungalow, represented one of -the three or four dwellings which made up the settlement of Frere. It -was kept by Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, to whose hospitality we were, on this -and other occasions, much indebted. Mr. Wilson and his family were -excellent representatives of the many sturdy and loyal colonists who are -to be found throughout Natal. When the Boers approached Frere they were -compelled to fly to the south, and when they returned to what had once -been a home, they found such a wreck of a house as only Boers can -effect. Everything had been looted that could be looted, and what could -not be removed had been ruthlessly broken up. Even the books in the -ample book-case had been torn to pieces. The empty rooms were filled -with filth and wreckage, and nothing had escaped the obscene hands of -these malicious marauders. Every cupboard had been torn open and, if -possible, torn down; every drawer had been rifled of its contents; and -on the floor, among fragments of broken chairs and crockery and -discarded articles of clothing, would be found a photograph of a child, -trampled out of recognition, or some small keepsake which had little -value but its associations. The Boers, indeed, do not stop at mere -looting, but mark their visits by fiendish malice and by a savage -mischievousness which would not be unworthy of an escaped baboon. - -The train carrying the hospital and its possessions moved on to Frere -Station, where it took up the equipment of officers and men. There was -a passenger carriage with one compartment in which were accommodated the -nurses and three others. The officers, sergeants, and orderlies rode on -the piles of baggage which filled the open trucks. - -The day was blazing hot, and thirst proportionate. The heat oppressed -one with the sense of something that had weight. Any breeze that moved -was heavy with heat. - -At last we started for the actual front, full of expectancy and in the -best of spirits. The distance to Chieveley is about seven miles across -the veldt, across the trestle bridge, and past the wreck of the armoured -train. The train moved up the incline to Chieveley very slowly, and as -we approached the higher ground it struck us all that the incessant -artillery and rifle firing, and the constantly repeated crack of the -"pom-pom," were hardly consistent with the much-emphasised "walk-over." - -Outside Chieveley Station, the station of which we were to see so much -later on, the crawling train stopped, and a galloper came up with a -message requesting me to go down to the battlefield at once. At the same -time, Major Brazier-Creagh, who was in charge of the hospital train, and -who was always as near the front as he could get, came up and told us -that things were going badly at Colenso, that we had lost several guns, -and that the wounded were coming in in scores. - - - - - V - - THE HOSPITAL UNDER THE RIDGE - - -My wagon and mules were already at Chieveley when the train reached that -place, and I was able to start for the scene of action without a -moment's delay. - -From Chieveley the grass-covered veldt slopes evenly to the Tugela and -to Colenso village, which lies upon its southern bank. This slope, some -few miles from Chieveley, is broken by a long ridge, upon which the 4.7 -naval guns were placed. From this ridge the whole battlefield could be -viewed. - -Under the shelter of the ridge, and close to the great guns, four little -field hospitals were pitched, and here I made my first acquaintance with -the circumstances of war. Each field hospital would be represented by a -small central marquee, which formed an operating and dressing station, -and a number of bell tents around it, which would accommodate in all -about one hundred patients. - -When I arrived the ambulances were already coming in--the dreary -ambulances, each one with a load of suffering, misery, and death! Each -wagon was drawn by ten mules and driven by a Kaffir, and over the dusty -hood of each the red cross flag waved in the shimmering heat. They came -along slowly, rocking and groaning over the uneven veldt like staggering -men, and each drew up at one or other of the little hospitals under the -ridge. Every ambulance carried a certain number of wounded men who were -well enough to sit up, and a smaller number who were lying on -stretchers--the "sitting up" and "lying down" cases, as they were -respectively called. Those who could move themselves were soon helped -down from the wagon by willing hands, while the stretchers were taken -out by relays of trained bearers. - -What a spectacle it was! These were the very khaki-clad soldiers who -had, not so long ago, left Waterloo, spick and span, amid a hurricane of -cheers, and now they were coming back to camp silent and listless, and -scarcely recognisable as men. They were burnt a brown red by the sun, -their faces were covered with dust and sweat, and were in many cases -blistered by the heat; their hands were begrimed; some were without -tunics, and the blue army shirts they wore were stiff with blood. Some -had helmets and some were bare-headed. All seemed dazed, weary, and -depressed. - -Their wounds were of all kinds, and many had been shot in more places -than one. Here was a man nursing a shattered arm in the blood-stained -rags of a torn-up sleeve. There was another with his head bandaged up -and his face painted with black streaks of dried blood, holding a -crushed helmet beneath his arm like a collapsible opera hat. - -Some still gripped their rifles or dragged their bandoliers along as -they limped to the tents. Many were wandering about aimlessly. All -were parched with thirst, for the heat was extreme. Here a man with a -bandaged, bootless foot would be hopping along with the aid of his gun, -while another with his eyes covered up would be clinging to the tunic of -a comrade who could see his way to the tents. One or two of those who -were lying on the ground were vomiting, while near by a poor fellow, who -had been shot through the lung, was coughing up blood. - -All around the operation-marquee men were sitting and lying on the -ground, waiting for their turn at the surgeon's hands; while here would -be a great heap of dusty rifles, and there a pile of discarded -accoutrements, tunics and boots, and elsewhere a medley of boxes, -panniers, canteen tins, cooking pots, and miscellaneous baggage. A few -helmets were lying about which had probably dropped off the stretchers, -or had been removed from the dead, for some of them were blood-stained -and crushed out of shape, or riddled with holes. - -The saddest cases among the wounded were those on the stretchers, and -the stretchers were lying on the ground everywhere, and on each was a -soldier who had been "hard hit." Some of those on the stretchers were -already dead, and some kindly hand had drawn a jacket over the poor, -dust-stained face. One or two were delirious, and had rolled off their -stretchers on to the ground; others were strangely silent, and at most -were trying to shade their eyes from the blinding sun. One man, who was -paralysed below the waist from a shot in the spine, was repeatedly -raising up his head in order to look with persisting wonder and -curiosity at limbs which he could not move and in which he could not -feel. Here and there groups of dusty men, who had been but slightly -wounded, were sitting on the ground together, too tired and too -depressed even to talk, or at most muttering a word or two now and then -in a whisper. - -Overworked orderlies were busy everywhere. Some were heating water or -soup over the camp fires; others were hurrying round to each wounded man -with water and bread. The majority were occupied in helping the injured -to the tents or were concerned in attempting to relieve those who seemed -in most distress. - -The surgeons in their shirt-sleeves were working for their lives. Some -were busy in the operation-marquee, while others were going from man to -man among the crowd upon the ground, giving morphia, adjusting limbs, -and hurrying each of the wounded into the shelter of a tent with as much -speed as possible. Yet, although the whole ground seemed covered with -stricken men, the dismal ambulances were still crawling in, and far over -the veldt the red cross flag of other wagons could be seen moving slowly -up to the naval ridge. - -Would this procession of wagons never end! - -Besides the ambulances there was the Volunteer Bearer Company, organised -by Colonel Gallwey, C.B. The men of this Company were now tramping in -in a long, melancholy line made up of little groups of six slowly moving -figures carrying a stretcher between them, and on each stretcher was a -khaki mass that rocked as the stretcher rocked, and that represented a -British soldier badly wounded, possibly dying, possibly dead. - -Above the hubbub of the swarming hospitals was still to be heard the -boom of the accursed guns. - -In the rear the whistle and puff of a train at Chieveley sounded -curiously out of place, and about the outskirts of the hospital some -outspanned oxen were grazing as unconcernedly as if they were wandering -in a meadow in England. Over all was the blazing sun and the blinding -sky. - -Late in the afternoon a thunderstorm passed overhead, and when the rain -came down the wounded, who were lying on the grass, were covered over -with the waterproof ground-sheets which were used in the tents. This -did little to mitigate the grimness of the occasion. There was, indeed, -something very uncanny in the covered-up figures, in the array of -tarpaulins glistening with rain, and beneath which some of the wounded -lay motionless, while others moved uneasily. - -No pen, however, can fitly describe this scene at the foot of the ridge. -Here was a picture of the horrors of war, and however accustomed an -onlooker may have been to the scenes among which a surgeon moves, few -could have wished other than that the circumstances of this day would be -blotted out of all memory. I could not fail to be reminded over and -over again of the remark made by many who were leaving England when I -left to the effect that they hoped they would reach the Cape "in time -for the fun." Well, we _were_ in time, but if this was "fun" it was -humour of a kind too ghastly for contemplation. - -If of this dismal scene there was much to be forgotten, there was at -least one feature which can never be forgot, and that was the heroism -with which the soldier met his "ill luck." The best and the worst of a -man, so far as courage and unselfishness are concerned, come out when he -is hard hit, and without doubt each one of the wounded at Colenso "took -his licking like a man." Bravery in the heat and tumult of battle is -grand enough, but here in the dip behind the gun hill, and within the -unromantic lines of a field hospital, was a display of grim pluck, which -showed itself only in tightened faces, clenched teeth, and firmly knit -fingers. Among the stricken crowd who had reached the shelter of the -hospital there was many a groan, but never a word of complaint, never a -sign of whining, nor a token of fear. Some were a little disposed to -curse, and a few to be jocular, but they all faced what had to be like -men. - -They were not only uncomplaining and unselfish, but grateful and -reasonable. There was no grumbling (no "grousing," as Tommy calls it), -no carping criticism. As one man said, pointing to the over-worked -surgeons in the operation-tent, "They will do the best they can for the -blooming lot of us, and that's good enough for me." - - - - - VI - - INSIDE AN OPERATION-TENT - - -There were four operation-marquees pitched under the naval ridge on the -day of Colenso, one connected with each of the field hospitals. There -is little about these marquees or about the work done in the shadow of -them that is of other than professional interest. They were crowded, -and overcrowded, on December 15th, and the surgeons who worked in them -worked until they were almost too tired to stand. Every preparation had -been completed hours before the first wounded man arrived, and the -equipment of each hospital was ample and excellent. To my thinking, a -great surgical emergency, great beyond any expectation, was never more -ably met than was this on the day of the first battle. - -The marquee is small. It accommodates the operation-table in the centre -between the two poles, while along the sides are ranged the field -panniers which serve as tables for instruments and dressings. - -It is needless to say that the operation-tent is very unlike an -operating theatre in a London hospital, but then the open veldt is very -unlike the Metropolis. The floor of the tent is much-trodden grass, -and, indeed, much-stained grass, for what drips upon it cannot be wiped -up. There are no bright brass water-taps, but there is a brave display -of buckets and tin basins. Water is precious, more precious than any -other necessity, for every drop has to be brought by train from Frere. - -There is little room in the tent for others than the surgeon, his -assistant, the anaesthetist, and a couple of orderlies. The surgeon is -in his shirtsleeves, and his dress is probably completed by riding -breeches and a helmet. The trim nurses, with their white caps and -aprons, who form the gentlest element in the hospital theatre, are -replaced by orderlies, men with burnt sienna complexions and unshaven -chins, who are clad in the unpicturesque army shirt, in shorts, putties, -and the inevitable helmet or "squasher" hat. They are, however, strong -in the matter of belts, which vary from a leather strap or piece of -string to an elaborate girdle, worked, no doubt, by the hands of some -cherished maiden. From the belt will probably be hanging a big knife or -a tin-opener, in place of the nurse's chatelaine, and from the breeches -pocket may be projecting the bowl of a pipe. The orderly in a field -hospital--who is for the most part a "good sort"--look's a little like -one of the _dramatis personae_ of Bret Harte's tales, and is a curious -substitute for the immaculate dresser and the dainty nurse. - -Still, appearances do not count for much, and the officers and men of -the Royal Army Medical Corps did as sterling good work on December 15th -as any body of men could do, and they were certainly not hampered by the -lack of a precise professional garb. - -The wounded are brought into the marquee one by one. Not all are cases -for operation, but all have to be examined, and an examination is more -easily carried out on a table than on a stretcher or the bare ground. -Moreover, to make the examination painless, an anaesthetic is usually -required. I wonder how much chloroform and morphia were used on that -day, and on the night and day that followed! The drugs would fill one -scale of a balance in the other scale of which would be found the dull -weight of pain they were destined to obliterate. The horrors of war are -to some small extent to be measured by the lists of the wounded and the -dead, but a more graphic representation would be provided by the hideous -total of the drops of chloroform and the grains of morphia which have -come from the surgeon's store. - -The flies of the operation-marquee are wide open, for the heat is -intense, and access must be easy. As it is, there is much mopping of -brows and many "pulls" of dirty lukewarm water from precious -water-bottles. Unhappily the scenes within the shadow of the canvas -cannot be quite hidden from those who are lying in the sun outside -waiting their turn. As one man after another is carried in there is -sure to be some comrade on the ground who will call out as the stretcher -goes by: "Keep yer chivey up, Joe"; "Don't be down on your luck"; "They -will do you a treat"; "Good luck to yer, old cock, you won't feel -nothing." - -One instance of the limited capacity of the marquee I may be pardoned -for recounting. The amputation of a leg was in progress when the -pressure of work was at its height. Beneath the table at the time of -the operation was the prostrate figure of a man. He had been shot -through the face. His big moustache was clotted with blood, his -features were obliterated by dust and blood, his eyes were shut, and his -head generally was enveloped in bandages. I thought he was dead, and -that in the hurry of events he was merely awaiting removal. The limb -after amputation was unfortunately dropped upon this apparently -inanimate figure when, to my horror, the head was raised and the eyes -were opened to ascertain the nature of the falling body. This poor -fellow was attended to as soon as the table was free. I was glad to see -him some weeks after in the Assembly Hotel at Pietermaritzburg hearty -and well. He was a gallant officer in a Natal regiment, and when I -recalled this gruesome incident to him, he owned that, feeble as he was -at the time, it gave him a "shake up." - - - - - VII - - THE SURGEONS OF THE FIELD HOSPITALS - - -Among the many officers of the R.A.M.C. I must confess that my strongest -sympathies are with those who are in charge of the little field -hospitals. These handy hospitals have their own transport, and move -with the various brigades or divisions. The officers who command them -have little comfort, little rest, the least luxurious mess, and the -hardest of work. They bear the brunt of the campaign so far as the -medical and surgical needs of the Army are concerned. They must be -always ready, always at hand, prepared to be full of patients one day -and empty the next; and those whose lives are spent with them can -certainly claim that they have "no abiding city." - -The officers in charge of these hospitals are picked men, but as sound -experience is necessary they are often men who are no longer young, and -who may claim that they have already had their share of roughing it. -They are, perhaps, more than any others, the most exposed to criticism. -If anything goes wrong at the front a large proportion of the blame -falls upon them, and if all goes well their names appear in no roll of -honour. - -No surgeon who saw these men could be other than proud that he belonged -to the same profession as they did. Of their work at Colenso, at -Spearman's Farm, and before Pieters I can only say that it was, to my -thinking, a credit to the medical department of any army. - - - - - VIII - - A PROFESSIONAL VISIT BY RAIL - - -After a busy afternoon among the field hospitals under the naval ridge, -I returned in the evening to Chieveley, in the hope, now that the bulk -of the work was over, of getting something to eat. I had not been at -Chieveley long when an orderly arrived with a letter to tell me that -Lieutenant Roberts had been brought in wounded, and to ask me to go back -to the naval hill at once. It was now dark, and I had at that time no -horse. However, the hospital train was standing in the station, and to -the fertile brain of Major Brazier-Creagh, who was in charge of the -train, it occurred that we might detach the engine and go down on it to -the ridge, since the field hospitals were close to the railway. - -There was the difficulty, however, that the line was a single line, and -a water train had already steamed down to the ridge, and was expected -back at any moment. It was the simple problem of an engine on the one -hand, and of a train on the other, proceeding in different directions at -night on a single line of rail. - -The case being urgent, the engine was detached and we started. Major -Brazier-Creagh and Captain Symonds came with me. It so happened that we -went tender first. The railway line appeared to us to go up and down -with many undulations, and at the top of each rise we expected to meet -the water train. Fortunately the moon was coming up, and the blackness -which oppressed us was fading a little. We proceeded slowly, with much -whistling and considerable waving of a red lamp. At last there was made -out the dim outline of the water train coming towards us at a fair -speed. We stopped, and there were redoubled efforts in the direction of -whistling, lamp waving, and shouting. These exhibitions had an -immediate effect upon the water train, which, after some hysterical -whistling, stopped and backed promptly out of sight. The driver told us -afterwards that he thought a whole train was coming down upon him at -full speed, and that he might well have backed down into Colenso. - -We got out some way above the ridge and walked on to the field hospital -I had so lately left. The gallant officer I came to see was comfortably -bestowed in a tent, was quite free from pain and anxiety, and was -disposed to sleep. From a surgical point of view the case was hopeless, -and had been hopeless from the first, and no idea of an operation could -be entertained. Our examination and our discussion of the case with -Major Hamilton, R.A.M.C., under whose care the patient was, occupied -some time, and the engine had long since gone back to Chieveley. There -was nothing to be done but to sleep on the ground in the open, and this -we proceeded to do, lying down on the grass outside the tent we had just -visited. There was no hardship in this, as it was a splendid night, and -the full moon had risen and had flooded the whole country with a -spectral light. - -As if by magic the restless, hurrying, motley crowd of the earlier day -had vanished. A cool breeze and pleasant shadows had replaced the heat -and the glare of the sun; a gentle silence had blotted out the noise and -the turmoil; and of the scene of the afternoon there was nothing left -but the white tents gleaming in the moon, the open veldt, and the shadow -of the ridge. - - - - - IX - - THE HOSPITAL TRAIN AT COLENSO - - -The battle of Colenso was fought on Friday, December 15th, and on -Saturday, the 16th, an armistice was declared for the burying of the -dead. Very early on Saturday morning, while it was yet moonlight, the -hospital train backed down from Chieveley and came to a stand as near -the field hospitals as possible. As soon as it was daylight (and at -this time of the summer the sun rose before five) the loading of the -train commenced. - -The filling up of a hospital train is no easy business, and affords a -somewhat depressing sight. - -The worst cases are dealt with first, and a long line of stretchers soon -began to pour from the hospital tents to the railway. The stretchers -are put down on the railroad close to the wheels of the train. On this -particular morning it so happened that the carriages threw a shadow on -the side of the line towards the hospital, so that the stretchers, if -near the metals, were in the shade. - -Many of the wounded had had no sleep, and many were developing some -degree of fever. A few had become delirious, and were difficult to -control. With the stretcher parties would come a certain number of such -of the wounded as could walk, and very soon a not inconsiderable crowd -was gathered in the shade of the train. - -But what a crowd! The same sunburnt men with blistered faces, but now -even a more motley gathering than filled the field hospitals the day -before--a gathering made piteously picturesque by khaki rags, blue -bandages, casual splints, arm slings, eye bandages, slit-up trousers, -and dressings of all kinds. Here they came crowding to the train, some -limping, some hopping, some helped along between two stronger comrades, -some staggering on alone. A man with a damaged arm assisting a man with -a bullet through his leg. A man stopping on the way to be sick, cheered -up by another with a bandaged eye. - -An untidy, sorrowful crowd, with unbuttoned tunics and slovenly legs, -with unlaced boots, with blood on their khaki jackets and on their blue -shirts and on their stiffening dressings. The gentle hand of the nurse -had not as yet busied itself with this unkempt and unwashed throng. -There had been no time for washing nor for changing of garments, and if -the surgeon has had to cut the coat and the shirt into rags, the wearer -must wear the rags or nothing; and as for washing, it is a sin to wash -when water is priceless. - -The greater number of those who come to the railway line are carried -there on stretchers, but all who are well enough to take any interest in -the journey are eager not to miss a place in the train. - -The business of getting the "lying down" cases into the carriages is -considerable, and everybody lends a hand, the surgeons being the most -active of any. The berths in the train are placed one above the other, -and the room for manipulating stretchers is small. The equipment of the -train was very complete, and every luxury was at hand, from hot soup to -iced "lemon-squash," and even to champagne. Many generous ladies in the -Colony had seen that the train should want for nothing, and Major -Brazier-Creagh took as much pride in his travelling hospital as if he -had built it himself. - -Innumerable instances came under my notice of the unselfishness of the -soldier, and of his solicitude for his friends in distress. It was by -the side of this hospital train that occurred an episode I have recorded -elsewhere, and which may well be described again. An orderly was -bringing some water to a wounded man lying on the ground near me. He -was shot through the abdomen, and he could hardly speak owing to the -dryness of his mouth, but he said: "Take it to my pal first, he is worse -hit than me." This generous lad died next morning, but his pal got -through and is doing well. - -Another poor fellow, who was much troubled with vomiting, and who was -indeed dying, said, as he was being hoisted into the train, "Put me in -the lower berth, because I keep throwing up." How many people troubled -merely with sea-sickness would be as thoughtful as he was? He died not -long before we reached Chieveley. - -Lieutenant Roberts, whom I had visited at intervals, went up by this -train, and was placed in No. 4 Field Hospital at Chieveley. Here a -bedstead, with a comfortable mattress and white sheets, was waiting -ready for him. - -As the train moved off it was sad to note that a few who had been -brought down to the rail in the hope of a place being found for them, -had to be left behind, and had to be carried back to the tents to await -some other means of transport. - - - - - X - - THE NURSES AT CHIEVELEY - - -The train which brought up No. 4 Field Hospital from Frere was stopped, -as I have already said, at Chieveley. The tents and baggage were thrown -out, and with as much haste as possible the hospital was pitched on the -open ground, close to the station. Before, however, more than a few -tents could be put up the wounded began to arrive. They came in all -Friday evening, and all Saturday, and all Saturday evening. The field -hospitals by the naval hill had soon been filled, and all cases that -could be sent on to Chieveley were sent there, while as many as could go -at once to the base were taken down by the hospital train. - -Saturday was a day of truce, but at sundown on Saturday not only had all -the wounded to be cleared out from the field hospitals, but those -hospitals themselves had to move, as, with the renewal of hostilities, -they would be in a place of danger. Chieveley was therefore soon filled -to overflowing. - -There were three army surgeons with "No. 4" whose names I have already -mentioned. They were reinforced by a small field hospital under the -charge of Major Baird and Captain Begbie. - -Some of the wounded came up by train, and some by ambulances or by -wagons, but a very large proportion, a proportion which included nearly -all the serious cases, were carried up on stretchers by hand. No mode -of transport is more comfortable than this, or is less fatiguing to the -patient, and the splendid organisation of volunteer bearers and of -coolie carriers enabled this means of bringing up the wounded to be very -largely made use of. Certainly the stretcher-bearers were the means of -saving lives, and of sparing those they carried an infinite amount of -pain. - -As seen at night, the procession up to Chieveley was doleful and -mysterious. The long line of silent men moving in clusters, each -cluster with a stretcher and a body in its midst. Stealing slowly and -cautiously over the veldt in the moonlight, they all made for the two -white lights which swung over the hospital by the station. - -The coolies carried their stretchers shoulder high, so that the body of -the man they bore was lit fitfully by the moon as they passed along with -absolutely noiseless feet. The coolies themselves added no little to -the uncanny spectacle, for in the shadow beneath the stretcher stalked a -double row of thin bare legs, and by the poles of the stretcher were the -white or coloured turbans that these men affect; while here and there a -sleek black head glistened in the light. - -There was but one house at Chieveley--the stationmaster's house. It had -been effectually looted after the Boer fashion, but it would have done -well as a resting-place for the four nurses who came up with the -hospital. The house, however, had been taken possession of, and the -nurses had to contemplate either a night in the open or in the -waiting-room at the station. As this latter room had been used as a -stable by the Boers, it was not in much request. It served, however, as -a place for the depositing of personal baggage and for the preparing of -such food as it was possible to prepare--chiefly, indeed, for the making -of tea. - -The question of where to sleep was soon solved by the necessities of the -position. These ill-housed women, as a matter of fact, were hard at -work all Friday, all Saturday, and all Saturday night. They seemed -oblivious to fatigue, to hunger, or to any need for sleep. Considering -that the heat was intense, that the thirst which attended it was -distressing and incessant, that water was scarce, and that the work in -hand was heavy and trying, it was wonderful that they came out of it all -so little the worse in the end. - -Their ministrations to the wounded were invaluable and beyond all -praise. They did a service during those distressful days which none but -nurses could have rendered, and they set to all at Chieveley an example -of unselfishness, self-sacrifice, and indefatigable devotion to duty. -They brought to many of the wounded and the dying that comfort which men -are little able to evolve, or are uncouth in bestowing, and which -belongs especially to the tender, undefined and undefinable -ministrations of women. - -The English soldier is as sensible of attention and as appreciative of -sympathy and kindness as any other man who is at the mercy of -circumstances, and I can well believe that there are many soldiers--some -of them now in England, crippled for life--who will long keep green the -memory of the sisters at Chieveley. - -Some weeks after Colenso I was at Pietermaritzburg, and was looking up -in the hospital wards certain cases which had been attended to in "No. -4." Among them was a paralysed man to whom one of the nurses had been -very kind at Chieveley. I found him comfortably bestowed, but he was -possessed of a handkerchief the extreme dirtiness of which led me to -suggest that, as he was now in a centre of luxury, he should ask for a -clean one. To which he replied, "I am not going to give this one up; I -am afraid of losing it. The sister who looked after me at Chieveley -gave it to me, and here is her name in the corner." - -As the truce was over on Saturday, and as the Boers might assume the -aggressive and shell Chieveley and its helpless colony, the order was -given to break up the hospital and get all the wounded away by train, -and to retire with the tents and equipment to Frere. This was done on -Sunday morning. - -As soon as the wounded had left--and it was no light matter getting them -away--it was thought desirable that the women should be at once got out -of danger, and so they were bundled down to Frere with little ceremony -in a mule wagon. As they had no hospital to go to (for "No. 4" did not -arrive until the small hours of the following morning) they took refuge -in the hotel at Frere. They had some food with them, albeit it was not -of a kind to attract the fastidious, and the four of them slept on the -floor of a looted and empty room, which even the kindly heart of Mrs. -Wilson could not render other than a dreary resting place. This was -their only "night in" in three days. - -I had, I am bound to confess, the advantage of them in the matter of -ventilation, for I slept in a wagon. - - - - - XI - - SOME TRAITS IN THE MEN - - -As I have already said, the wounded took their turn of "hard luck" like -men. A few were sullen, a few relieved their feelings by fluent but -meaningless profanity, in which the Boers were cursed with as much -thoroughness as was the Jackdaw of Rheims. The majority were silent or -said little. The tendency of most of the men was to make the least of -their wounds, and some of those who were the worst hit were the most -cheery. They were, with scarcely an exception, unselfish, and were -singularly patient, considering that the exercise of patience is not a -marked quality in men. - -They ministered to one another's wants with a tender solicitude which -was not marred by the occasional uncouthness of its method. There was a -wide-spread belief that tobacco was a panacea for all ills, and any man -who had the wherewithal to smoke shared the small luxury with his mates. -If there was only one pipe in a tent it was kept circulating. One would -see a man on one stretcher trying to arrange a pillow for a comrade on -the next: the pillow in question being commonly made out of a squashed -helmet with a boot inside it. The man in any tent who was the least -disabled was never so well pleased as when he was given something to do -for those who were under the same canvas with him. With a pannikin and -a spoon he would feed those who could not feed themselves, until they -were glad to be rid of the attention; or he would readjust a dressing, -or cut off a boot, or get the dried blood from an exposed surface with a -never-wearying anxiety. - -With few exceptions the men were honestly anxious "not to give trouble." -It was an article of faith with them to "take their turn," and no man -would try to make out that his case gave him a claim for attention over -his fellows. Indeed, on the occasion of a visit, the occupants of a -tent were eager with one voice to point out what they considered to be -the worst case, and to claim for it the earliest notice. The men of a -tent were, in the kindliest way, a little proud of having a "real bad" -case in their midst. When the curtain of a tent is up the occupants -whose heads are nearest to the tent ropes can easily converse with those -who are similarly placed in the adjoining tent. Thus I heard one man on -the ground, whose head was nearly in the open, call out to another head -just in view on the floor of the next tent: "We've a real hot 'un in -along with us; he's got 'it through the lungs and the liver both, and -the doctor has been in to him three times." To which the other head -replied: "That's nothing to a bloke in here. He's been off his chump -all night; his language has been a fair treat, and he's had four fits. -We've had a night, I don't think!" - -Another article of faith with the soldier takes the form of a grim -stoicism under pain. Some of the wounded endured the examination of -their wounds with Spartan pluck. They seemed to consider it above all -things essential that they should not cry out "until they were obliged." -One enormous Irishman with a shattered thigh yelled out in agony as he -was being lifted upon the operating table to be examined. The pain was -evidently terrible and excuse enough for any degree of exclamation. But -he apologised quaintly and profusely for the noise he made, urging as an -excuse that "he had never been in a hospital before." He expressed his -regret much as a man would do who had wandered into a church with his -hat on and who excused himself on the ground that he had never been in a -church before. - -Every patient took a lively interest in his own case, and especially in -the removal of any bullet which may have lodged in any part of him. One -ruddy youngster, a Devonshire lad, had had a shrapnel bullet through his -leg, and the bullet could be felt, on the side opposite to the point of -entry, under the unbroken skin. He begged that it should be taken out -without chloroform, as he wanted to see it come out and to keep it and -take it home. He sat up with his back against the tent pole during the -operation, and watched the cutting out of the lead without a murmur. No -doubt this Boer missile will find a place in a corner cupboard in some -cottage among the delectable villages of Devon, and will be for long the -wonder and admiration of devoted women folk. - -Among other traits, one notices that the soldier clings with great -pertinacity to his few possessions, and especially to his boots. When -the haversack has been lost, and when the tunic has been cut up to make -its removal more easy, or left behind because it is too blood-stained, -there is little remaining in which the owner may bestow his goods unless -it be in his boots. There was one poor man I remember at Spearman's, -who was in great distress because, just as he was being sent down to the -base, he had lost his solitary boot. He said it contained a puttie, a -tin of jam, two shillings in money, and a bullet that had been taken out -of him. These are no mean possessions. - -The puttie also is not lightly discarded. If not used as a gaiter it is -useful for many other purposes, and especially is it considered well to -wind it round the abdomen as a cholera belt, for the soldier has great -faith in anything in the way of a belt. - -When the men were bathing together in hundreds at Springfield, there was -an opportunity of seeing such variety in the matter of abdominal belts -as could never have been dreamed of. Some of these favoured garments -were mere shreds and rags, and were worn probably in order to keep faith -with some good soul at home who had made her boy promise he would never -leave off his belt. Other binders were undoubtedly home-made, and the -work of anxious mothers and wives who believed in red flannel and plenty -of it. Some of the belts were knitted, and were made to be pulled on, -but they had shrunk so much from repeated wettings, and had become so -infantile in their proportions that the owner of the garment had to get -at least one comrade to help him pull it over his hips. When it was at -last in place it quite constricted the body, and justified the comment -of one bather, who exclaimed to his belted but otherwise naked friend: -"Well, ye've got a waist on ya, if nothink else!" - - - - - XII - - THE SIGN OF THE WOODEN CROSS - - -After Colenso, No. 4 Stationary Field Hospital returned to the same -quarters at Frere, and at Frere we remained until January 13th, 1900, -nearly a month. The wounded who fell on the unhappy 15th of December had -been satisfactorily disposed of, thanks to the admirable arrangements -made by the Principal Medical Officer, Colonel Gallwey, C.B. Not a -single wounded man was left out on the field on the night of the battle. -On that particular Friday every man had been attended to before -midnight, and on the following Sunday all the wounded who had fallen on -the 15th were comfortably housed in one or other of the hospitals at the -base. - -Our tents, although emptied of the wounded, soon began to be filled up -with cases of sickness, and especially with cases of dysentery. Those -who presented the slightest form of the disease could be sent down to -the base, but when the type was severe the patient did better with as -little movement as possible. Those, therefore, who remained in our -lines presented a large proportion of examples of serious illness. - -Provisions were ample, medical necessities abundant, and the ladies of -the Colony were infinitely kind in forwarding to Frere comforts of all -sorts. Our tents were by no means filled, and yet, in spite of what may -be considered favourable circumstances, there were a good many deaths. - -Deaths mean the need for burial, and a little burying ground was marked -off in the rear of the hospital, close to the railway line. As weeks -went by the little enclosure needed enlargement, and so the engineers -came and fenced it round afresh with a wire paling, and gave it a fit -aspect of formality. The names of the dead were indicated on tablets of -wood, and now and then the comrades of a man, or the survivors of the -tent he died in, would erect over the mound a wooden cross. - -These crosses were made usually out of provision boxes, or perhaps from -a whisky case, and many were very admirably finished and very cleverly -carved, and many were curious of design. They represented long hours -spent in tedious hacking at a tough slab of wood with a pocket-knife, -and, after that, infinite patience in the cutting out of the letters of -the dead chum's name. Finish would be given to the lettering by means -of a tin-opener. - -These crosses will be found all over the land of the war. Few of them -will long survive the wind and the rain and the blistering sun, and the -hand of the Kaffir who is lacking of fuel. So long, however, as they -dot the solitary veldt they will be symbols of the tenderest spirit of -good comradeship, of the kindly heart of men who are supposed to be -little imbued with sentiment, and of that loyal affection for his friend -which is not among the least of the qualities of the British soldier. - -Here and there some elaborate monuments with some promise of permanency -have been erected. There is one, for example, in which the inscription -is fashioned out of empty cartridge cases stuck into cement. There is -another carved with some art out of stone. - -I think, however, that those sleep best who lie beneath the wooden cross -fashioned with labour and some occasional dimness of eye by the -pocket-knife of an old "pal." - - - - - XIII - - THE MEN WITH THE SPADES - - -The graves at Frere were dug by our own men, or rather by a small -fatigue party from a regiment near by. Nearly every morning they came, -the men with the spades. There were six of them, with a corporal, and -they came up jauntily, with their spades on their shoulders and with -pipes in their mouths. They were in their shirt-sleeves, and there was -much display of belt and of unbuttoned neck. Their helmets were apt to -be stuck on their heads in informal attitudes. They were inexpressibly -untidy, and they made in their march a loose, shambling suggestion of a -procession. - -They came past my tent about breakfast time, and every morning I -wondered whether the men with the spades would come, since, when they -came, I knew that a death had taken place in the night, and wondered who -it was. - -As in some way symbols of death, as elements in the last services to be -rendered to the dead, the men with the spades filled me with great -curiosity. They came up cheerily, and when they reached the outskirts of -the hospital the corporal would call out to any orderly he saw: "Well, -nipper, how many have we got to dig to-day?" - -When they had finished they went by my tent on their way back to camp: -still the same untidy, shambling lot; still, as a rule, smoking, and -still with the appearance of being infectiously cheerful. - -I know well enough, however, that there was little cheeriness among -these men with the spades. They were dull enough in their inmost -hearts. The soldier is much impressed by a burying and by the -formalities which surround the dead. And as he knows he must not "give -way" he is prone to cover his easily stirred feelings by an attempt at a -"devil-may-care" attitude, and by an assumption of rollicking -indifference. It is, however, a poorly executed pretence, and it needed -no exceptional acumen to see that in reality no small shadow of -unhappiness followed the little shuffling procession, in spite of their -pipes and their jauntily posed helmets and their laboured jokes. - -If a soldier's grave is to be dug by sympathising hands, let it be dug -by the hands of these very men with the spades. - - - - - XIV - - THE MARCHING - - -On Friday, January 12th, Sir Redvers Buller left Frere, and on the -following day we took our second departure from that place. The -movement was to be to Springfield, some eighteen miles across the veldt. -No. 4 Field Hospital was now to leave the railway and trust to transport -by oxen and mules. The hospital was equipped to accommodate a minimum of -three hundred beds, and was made up of sixty tents and ten marquees. -The rank and file of the R.A.M.C. numbered eighty-eight non-commissioned -officers and men; the staff was represented by three army surgeons, nine -civil surgeons, the two army sisters who had worked at Colenso, and my -remaining nurse, Miss McCaul. The other nurse, Miss Tarr, who came out -with me, was at Maritzburg, desperately ill with dysentery. She nearly -lost her life, and was scarcely convalescent when the time came for us -to return to England. Her unexpected recovery was largely due to the -skill of the doctor who looked after her (Dr. Rochfort Brown, of the -Assembly Hospital), and to the extraordinary kindness of a lady who was -waiting at Pietermaritzburg to join her husband, then locked up with his -regiment in Ladysmith. - -The three nurses kept with the hospital, and did as good work at -Spearman's Farm, after Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz, and at Chieveley, -after Pieters, as they did on the occasion of Colenso. They had no easy -time, for from the day we began at Frere until the lull after Ladysmith -we pitched the hospital no less than six times; viz., twice at Frere, -twice at Chieveley, once at Spearman's, and once at Springfield. - -Our train was composed of sixteen ox wagons, each with sixteen oxen, so -that the number of oxen employed was over 260. There were besides five -ambulances, each drawn by ten mules. The transport provided me -consisted of a small covered wagon, a Scotch cart, sixteen mules, a -conductor on horseback, four Kaffir "boys," a groom, and my own horse -and manservant. - -On the occasion of our leaving Frere on January 13, we were roused at 3 -A.M., while it was yet quite dark, and while the Southern Cross was -still ablaze in the sky. All the tents were struck by the ungenial hour -of 4 A.M. Packing up and the circumstances of removal were conducted -with difficulty and no little confusion. The ox teams were lying about, -and only a precarious light was furnished by the lanterns we carried. -It required no exceptional carelessness to allow a wanderer in the camp -to fall, in the course of a few minutes, over a prostrate ox, a -rolled-up tent, a pannier, a pile of cooking-pots, or a derelict saddle. -When the dawn came an agreeable sense of order was restored, and we -started on the march at 5 A.M. - -There was a splendid sunrise, and the day proved a glorious one, -although it was painfully hot. The road was a mere track across the -veldt, which had been worn smooth in some places and cut into ruts in -others by the hundreds of wagons and the great array of guns which had -already passed over it. - -"No. 4" formed a long convoy by the time the last wagon had rumbled out -of Frere. The pace was very slow, for the ox moves with ponderous -lethargy. The surgeons rode by the side of the train, the sergeants and -the orderlies walked as they listed, and the nurses rode in ambulances, -to the great shaking of their bodies. With us were a hundred coolies, -who were attached to the hospital for camp work. They were a dismal -crowd as they stalked along, with their thin, bare legs and their -picturesque tatters of clothing, with all their earthly possessions in -bundles on their heads, and with apparently a vow of funereal silence in -their hearts. - -The heat soon became intense, and the march blank and monotonous. There -was ever the same shadeless veldt, the same unending brown road, -relieved by nothing but an occasional dead horse or mule; the same -creeping, creaking, wallowing wagons, the never-absent perspiring -Kaffirs, the everlasting cloud of dust, and over all the blazing sun -that neither hat nor helmet could provide shelter from. - -At 7.30 A.M. we reached a spot on the veldt known as Pretorius' Farm. -It was marked by what was called, with reckless imagery, a stream, but -which was represented by a wide and squalid gutter filled with stagnant -water which would have done no discredit to that of the lower Thames. -Here we outspanned, and here we breakfasted. - -These breakfasts under the dome of heaven are not to be looked back upon -with rapture. Picnicking is an excellent relaxation in England, but a -picnic without shade, without cooling drinks, without pasties and salads -and jellies and pies, without white tablecloths and bright knives, -without even shelter from incessant dust, lacks much. Tinned provisions -are, no doubt, excellent and nourishing, but oh, the weariness of them! -And oh, the squalor of the single tin mug, which never loses the taste -of what it last had in it! And oh, the meanness of the one tin plate -which does duty for every meal, and every phase of it! Perhaps of all -unappetising adjuncts to a breakfast the tin of preserved milk, which -has been opened two days and is already becoming disgustingly familiar, -is the most aggressive. The hot climate and the indefatigable ant and -the fly do little to make the items of a meal attractive. - -What does not rapidly decompose promptly dries up. On one occasion a -roasted fowl was brought up reverently to Frere in a tin box, but when -it came to be eaten it had dried into a sort of _papier mache_ roast -fowl, and was like the viands which are thrown at the police at -pantomimes. We brought many varieties of preserved food with us, and of -much of it the question could not fail to arise as to whether it had -ever been worth preserving. - -Many had experience, too, of the inventive art of the shopkeeper, as -shown in the evolution of canteens and pocket table knives. The -canteen, when unstrapped, tends to fall into a hundred parts, and can -never be put together again. It is a prominent or generic feature of -most canteens that the kettle should look as little like a kettle as -possible, and that everything should pack into a frying-pan. The pocket -picnicking knife contains a knife, a fork, a spoon, and a corkscrew. -The fork runs into everything and prevents the knife from being carried -in the pocket. The spoon and fork are jointed for more convenient -stowing, and at crises in a meal they are apt to bend weakly in the -middle and then to incontinently shut up. - -The outspanning and the inspanning at Pretorius' Farm occupied over two -hours, and then the march was resumed. A better country was reached as -we neared the river, and it was a pleasant sight to see the tumbling -stream of the Lesser Tugela, and to find in one valley the pretence of a -garden and a house among trees. This was at Springfield, which place we -reached at 2.30 P.M. The march of some eighteen miles had therefore -been effected in two treks. - -At Springfield the camping ground was the least dreary of any the -hospital had experience of, and the proximity of the Lesser Tugela made -bathing possible. - -After a few days at Springfield we moved on to Spearman's Farm, where we -camped by the hill called Mount Alice. - -The return from Spearman's after Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz was even more -monotonous than the going forth. The first journey was to Springfield, -which was reached at sundown, and where we bivouacked for the night. -Springfield was left at dawn, and the next night was spent in a bivouac -at Frere. On the following day, before the sun was well up, we took the -last stage of the march and reached Chieveley. Here all enjoyed once -more the luxury of having tents overhead, for during the crawling -journey over the veldt we slept in wagons, on wagons, or under wagons. - - - - - XV - - SPEARMAN'S FARM - - -In a lonely valley under the mimosa-covered heights which dominate the -Great Tugela is the lonely homestead of Spearman's Farm. Those who -built it and made a home in it could have had little thought that it -would one day figure in the annals of history. The farmhouse and the -farm buildings and the garden were enclosed by a rough stone wall, and -upon this solitary homestead the hand of the Boer had fallen heavily. -The house had been looted, and what was breakable in it had been broken. -The garden had been trampled out of recognition, the gates were gone, -the agricultural implements had been wantonly destroyed, and the -unpretending road which led to the farm was marked by the wheels of -heavy guns. The house was small and of one story, and was possessed of -the unblushing ugliness which corrugated iron alone can provide. The -door swung open, and any could enter who would, and through the broken -windows there was nothing to be seen but indiscriminate wreckage. There -was about the little house and its cluster of outbuildings a suggestion -of the Old Country, and it wanted but a rick or so, and a pond with -white ducks to complete a picture of a small English farm. The garden -had evidently been the subject of solicitous care, and was on that -account all the more desolate, and what delight it ever had had been -trampled out of it by countless hoofs or obliterated by the rattling -passage over it of a battery or so of artillery. - -At the back of the farm, and at the foot of a green kopje, was a quaint -little burial ground--little because it held but two graves, and quaint -because these were surmounted by unexpected stone memorials of a type to -be associated with a suburban English cemetery. These monuments were -fitly carved, and were distinctly the product of no mean town, and they -were to the memory respectively of George Spearman and of Susan -Spearman. For some undefinable reason these finished memorials, so -formal and so hackneyed in their design, appeared inappropriate and even -unworthy of the dignity of the lonely graves at the foot of the kopje. -Some more rugged emblem, free from artificiality and from any suggestion -of the crowded haunts of men, would have covered more fittingly the last -resting-place of these two pioneers. A few trees, almost the only trees -within sight, shaded the little graveyard, and the trees and the -monuments were enclosed by a very solid iron railing. It was in the -shadow of this oasis that the dead from our hospital were buried. - - - - - XVI - - THE HOSPITAL AT SPEARMAN'S - - -The hospital reached Spearman's on January 16th, and was pitched at the -foot of the hill, upon the summit of which the naval gun was firing. We -were, therefore, close to those scenes of fighting which were to occupy -the next few weeks, and too close for comfort to the great 4.7 gun, the -repeated booming of which often became a trouble to those who were lying -ill in the hospital. - -The heights that dominated the southern bank of the Tugela were very -steep on the side that faced the river, but on the side that looked -towards Spearman's the ground sloped gradually down into a wide plain -which, like other stretches of veldt, was dotted with kopjes and slashed -with dongas. Anyone who mounted the hill at the back of the hospital -would come by easy steps to an abrupt ridge, beyond which opened a -boundless panorama. - -In the valley below this crest was the winding Tugela, and just across -the dip rose the solemn ridge of Spion Kop. Far away in the distance -were the purple hills which overshadowed Ladysmith. If the crest were -followed to the right the ground rose until at last the summit of the -naval hill was reached, and here were the "handy men" and their big gun. -From this high eminence a splendid view was obtained of the country we -desired once more to possess. The Tugela glistened in the sun like a -band of silver, and over the plain and in and out among the kopjes and -round the dongas the brown road wound to Ladysmith. The road was -deserted, and the few homesteads which came into view showed no signs of -life. At the foot of the hill was Potgieter's Drift, while above the -ford was a splashing rapid, and below was the pont which our men had -seized with such daring. - -The face of the hill towards the river was covered with mimosa trees and -with cactus bushes and aloes, and this unexpected wealth of green almost -hid the red and grey boulders which clung to the hill-side. Among the -rocks were many strange flowers, many unfamiliar plants, and creeping -things innumerable. This was a favourite haunt of the chameleon, and I -believe it was here that the hospital chameleon was captured. - -The quiet of the place, when the guns had ceased, was absolute, and was -only broken by the murmur of the numerous doves which occupied the -mimosa woods. The whole place seemed a paradise of peace, and there was -nothing to suggest that there were some thousands of grimy men beyond -the river who were busy with the implements of death. On looking -closely one could see brown lines along many of the hillsides, and these -said lines were trenches, and before the hubbub began men in their -shirt-sleeves could be seen working about them with pickaxes and -shovels. - -I should imagine that few modern battles have been viewed by the casual -onlooker at such near proximity and with such completeness in detail as -were the engagements of Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz, when viewed from the -high ground above our hospital. - -The hospital, though now more than twenty-five miles from the railway, -was very well supplied with almost every necessity and with the amplest -stores of food. Bread was not to be obtained, or only on occasion, when -it would be brought up by an ambulance on its return from Frere. We had -with us, however, our flocks and herds, and were thus able to supply the -sick and wounded with fresh milk, and the whole hospital with occasional -fresh meat. We were a little short of water, and fuel was not over -abundant. As a result the washing of clothes, towels and sheets -presented the same type of problem as is furnished by the making of -bricks without straw. The aspect of a flannel shirt that has been -washed by a Kaffir on the remote veldt leaves on the mind the impression -that the labour of the man has been in vain. - -Our stay at Spearman's was extended to three weeks, and we dealt with -over a thousand wounded during that period, and I am sure that all those -who came within our lines would acknowledge that at "No. 4" they found -an unexpected degree of comfort and were in every way well "done for." - -On the Sunday after our arrival the wounded began to come in. Thirteen -only came from the division posted at Potgieter's Drift, the rest came -from Sir Charles Warren's column. Increasing numbers of wounded came in -every day in batches of from fifty to one hundred and fifty. They were -all attended to, and were sent on to Frere as soon as possible. All the -serious cases, however, were kept in the hospital. - - - - - XVII - - THE TWO WHITE LIGHTS - - -Many of the wounded who were brought in between the 18th and the 24th of -January came in after sundown. The largest number arrived on the night -of Monday, the 22nd. It was a very dark night. The outline of the -tents and marquees was shadowy and faint. The camp was but the ghost of -a camp. Here and there a feeble light would be shining through the fly -of a marquee, and here and there an orderly, picking his way among the -tent ropes by the aid of a lantern, would light up a row or two in the -little canvas town. In the front of the camp was the flagstaff, high up -upon which were suspended the two white lights which marked the -situation of the hospital. These lamps only sufficed to illumine a few -of the tents in the first line. The flaps of these tents were probably -secured and the occupants asleep. - -It was a weary journey to the hospital, and one can imagine with what -eagerness the tired, hungry, aching wounded would look ahead for the two -white lights. Rocking in pain on a crawling ox wagon, or jolted in the -rigid fabric of an ambulance, the way must have seemed unending. -Tumbling along in the dark, with no sound but the creaking of the wagon -and the incessant moans of the shapeless, huddled figures who were lying -in the cart, the journey might well have been one never to be forgotten. -How many a time a tired head must have been lifted up from the straw to -see if there were yet any sign of the two white lights. Would the -journey never end, and the pain never cease? and was the broken limb to -be wrenched every time the blundering wagon pitched and rolled? And why -had the man who had talked so much ceased to speak--and indeed to -breathe? Would they drive through the dark for eternity? and would they -never come in view of the two white lights? - -It was a miserable sight to see these belated wagons come in, and they -would often rumble in all night. They emerged one by one out of the -darkness and drew up in the open space between the two central lines of -tents, and between the few uplifted lanterns held by the sergeants and -the men on duty. After they had deposited their load they moved away -and vanished again into the night. - -Some of the wounded in the wagons were sitting up, but the majority were -lying on the straw with which the wagon would be littered. Some were -asleep and some were dead; and by the light of the lanterns the wagon -seemed full of khaki-coloured bundles, vague in outline and much stained -with blood, with here and there an upraised bandage, and here and there -a wandering hand, or a leg in crude splints, or a bare knee. And round -about all a medley of rifles, boots, haversacks, helmets, cartridge -pouches and tin canteens. - -What the journey must have been to many I could gather from an incident -of one of these dreary nights. A wagon had reached the hospital lines -and was waiting to be unloaded. A man with a shattered arm in a sling -was sitting up, and at his feet a comrade was lying who had been very -hard hit, and who had evidently become weaker and less conscious as the -wagon had rolled along. The apparently sleeping man moved, and, lifting -his head to look at his pal, who was sitting above him, asked wearily, -for probably the fiftieth time, "Don't you see nothing yet, Bill, of the -two white lights?" - - - - - XVIII - - AFTER SPION KOP - - -On Wednesday, January 24th, came the terrible affair of Spion Kop. On -the previous day some hint of what was expected was foreshadowed in the -order that an additional hundred bell tents were to be erected in No. 4 -Field Hospital. These tents were obtained from a brigade who were -bivouacking, and were all pitched by Wednesday afternoon. They -represented accommodation for an additional number of five hundred -wounded, and it was, therefore, evident that an important engagement was -at hand. - -On Thursday the wounded came pouring in, and they came in the whole day -and until late at night, until the hospital was full. The number -admitted on that day was nearly six hundred. Those who were deposited -in the bell tents had to lie on stretchers. All were provided with -blankets. In spite of the immense number of the wounded, they were all -got under shelter by Thursday night, and had had their more serious -injuries attended to, and were made as comfortable as circumstances -would admit. Some of the staff went round with water and food, and -others with morphia, while a third party made it their business to see -that every man was bestowed as comfortably as extemporised pillows or -change of posture could make him. The pillows were represented by -helmets, or by the happy combination of helmet and boot, or by -haversacks or rolled-up tunics. - -The volunteer ambulance corps and the coolie bearers did excellent -service. The larger number of the wounded were on the top of Spion Kop. -The path down was about two miles, was steep, and in places very -difficult. The carriage of the wounded down the hill had all to be by -hand. From the foot of the hill to the hospital the carriage was by -ambulance wagons and in some cases by bearers. All the stretchers had -hoods. There was no doubt that the wounded suffered much on account of -the tedious transport, but it was rendered as little distressing as -possible. - -The surgeons who went after the wounded on the top of the hill told us -that the sight of the dead and injured was terrible in the extreme, the -wounds having been mostly from shell and shrapnel; some men had been -blown almost to pieces. The weather on Wednesday was warm, but was not -to be compared with the intense heat on the day of the battle of -Colenso. The temperature was that of a hot summer's day in England. -Thursday was fortunately cloudy and much cooler. - -As to the wounded, there was the usual proportion of minor injuries, but -on the whole the wounds were much more severe than those received at -Colenso. This is explained by the large number of wounds from shell and -shrapnel. The men, however, were much exhausted by the hardships they -had undergone. In many instances they had not had their clothes off for -a week or ten days. They had slept in the open without great-coats, and -had been reduced to the minimum in the matter of rations. The nights -were cold, and there was on nearly every night a heavy dew. Fortunately -there was little or no rain. The want of sleep and the long waiting upon -the hill had told upon them severely. There is no doubt also that the -incessant shell fire must have proved a terrible strain. Some of the -men, although wounded, were found asleep upon their stretchers when -brought in. Many were absolutely exhausted and worn out independently -of their wounds. - -In spite of all their hardships the wounded men behaved splendidly, as -they always have done. They never complained. They were quite touching -in their unselfishness and in their anxiety "not to give trouble"; but -it was evident enough that they were much depressed at the reverse. - -The shell wounds were the most terrible and the most difficult to treat. -One man had most of his face shot away, including both eyes. Another -had the forearm shot off and two fearful wounds of each thigh dividing -the anterior muscles to the bone. In one case a shrapnel had opened a -main artery in the forearm, and the man came down safely with a -tourniquet on his brachial artery composed of a plug of cake tobacco and -the tape of a puttie. I cannot help thinking that this ingenious -tourniquet was the work of one of the "handy men." - - - - - XIX - - THE STORY OF THE RESTLESS MAN - - -The following incident may serve to illustrate the often-expressed -unselfishness of the soldier, and his anxiety to do what he can for a -comrade in trouble. - -Among the wounded who came down from Spion Kop was a private, a native -of Lancashire, who had been shot in the thigh. The thigh-bone was -broken, and the fracture had been much disturbed by the journey to the -hospital. The man was given a bedstead in one of the marquees; the limb -was adjusted temporarily, and he was told to keep very quiet and not to -move off his back. Next morning, however, he was found lying upon his -face, with his limb out of position and his splints, as he himself -confessed, "all anyhow." He was remonstrated with, but excused himself -by saying, "But you see, doctor, I am such a restless man." - -The limb was more elaborately adjusted, and everything was left in -excellent position. Next morning, however, the restless man was found -lying on the floor of the marquee, and in his bed was a man who had been -shot through the chest. The marquee was crowded and the number of beds -were few, and those who could not be accommodated on beds had to lie on -stretchers on the ground. The man who was shot in the chest had come in -in the night, and had been placed on the only available stretcher. The -restless man proceeded to explain that the newcomer seemed worse off -than he was, and that he thought the man would be easier on the bed, so -he had induced the orderlies to effect the change. The man who was shot -in the chest died suddenly, and in due course the restless man was back -in his own bed once more. - -It was not, however, for long, for on another morning visit the -Lancashire lad was found on the floor again, and again beamed forth an -explanation that one of the wounded on the ground, who had come in late, -seemed to be very bad, and so he had changed over. The present occupant -of the bed was in a few days moved down to the base, and the restless -man was in his own bed again. But not many days elapsed before he -discovered among the fresh arrivals an old chum, who longed to lie on a -bed, and thus the good-hearted North-countryman found himself once more -on the floor. - -The moving of a man with a broken thigh from a bed to the ground and -back again means not only such disordering of splints and bandages, but -much pain to the patient and no little danger to the damaged limb. So -this generous lad was talked to seriously, and with a faintly veiled -sternness was forbidden to give up his bed again on any pretence. In -the little attempt he made to excuse himself he returned once more to -his original joke and said, with a broad grin: "But you see, doctor, I -am such a restless man." - - - - - XX - - "DID WE WIN?" - - -One instance of the indomitable pluck of the British soldier deserves -special notice. A private in the King's Royal Rifles, of the name of -Goodman, was brought from Spion Kop to No. 4 Field Hospital in an -ambulance with many others. He was in a lamentable plight when he -arrived. He had been lying on the hill all night. He had not had his -clothes off for six days. Rations had been scanty, and he had been -sleeping in the open since he left the camp. He had been struck in the -face by a fragment of shell, which had carried away his right eye, the -right upper jaw, the corresponding part of the cheek and mouth, and had -left a hideous cavity, at the bottom of which his tongue was exposed. -The rest of his face was streaked with blood, which was now dried and -black--so black that it looked as if tar had been poured on his head and -had streamed down his cheek and neck. Eight hours had been occupied on -the journey to the hospital, and eight hours is considered to be long -even for a railway journey in a Pullman car. - -He was unable to speak, and as soon as he was settled in a tent he made -signs that he wanted to write. A little memorandum book and a pencil -were handed to him, and it was supposed that his inquiry would be as to -whether he would die--what chance he had? Could he have something to -drink? Could anything be done for his pain? After going through the -form of wetting his pencil at what had once been a mouth, he simply -wrote: "Did we win?" No one had the heart to tell him the truth. - -His memorandum-book--which is in my possession--was used by him while he -remained speechless in the hospital, and certain of the notes he made in -it, and which are here appended, speak for themselves: - -"Water." - -"I haven't done bleeding yet." - -"I've got it this time. I think my right eye is gone, and I can hardly -swallow." - -"There are no teeth in front." - -"It aches a lot." - -"I'm lying the wrong way for my wound." - -"I found the trenches." - -"I've had all the officers over to see me." - -"He is pleased, the doctor." - -"Did my haversack come with me? If it did, there is some tobacco in it. -You can give it to them that smoke." - -Poor Goodman, he had no mouth to smoke with himself. I am glad to say -he reached England, is in good health, and is as cheery as ever. - - - - - XXI - - THE FIGHTING SPIRIT - - -The circumstances under which men enlist in the Army are, no doubt, -varied enough. But not a few find their place under the colours in -obedience to that fighting spirit which has for centuries been strong in -the hearts of the islanders from Great Britain and Ireland. That spirit -has anyhow carried the colours over the world. - -Among the wounded there are many who, to use an expression common on the -soldiers' lips, "were fed up with the war": they had had enough of it. -There were others who were eager to be at it again, who felt that they -had a score to wipe off; and even among the desperately hurt there would -be here and there a man keen for revenge, and full of a passionate -desire "to have another go at 'em." These men, ill as they often were, -would describe with a savage delight, and in savage language, the part -they had played in the battle out of which they had been finally dragged -on a stretcher. A little success, a victory however small, did much to -lessen the torment of a wound and to gild the contemplation of a life -henceforth to be spent as a cripple. One gallant lad had been paralysed -by a Mauser at short range, and had little prospect of other than -permanent lameness. He had been in the assault on Vaal Krantz, had -escaped without hurt until just towards the end, and was shot as his -victorious company were rushing the last trench. After he had been -examined, and while he was still lying on his stretcher, I could not -avoid the remark, "This is a bad business." To which he replied, "Yes, -but we took the bally trench." - -To many and many of the dying the last sound of which they were -conscious must have belonged to the clamour of war, and it was well for -those who heard, or fancied they heard, above the roar of guns the shout -of victory. One officer, dying in the hospital at Spearman's, had his -last moments made happy by the sound of battle. He had sunk into a -state of drowsiness, and was becoming gradually unconscious. Every now -and then the boom of the 4.7 gun, firing from the hill above us, would -rattle through the tents, and with each shot a smile would come over his -face, and he would mutter with great satisfaction, "They are getting it -now." He repeated these words many times, and they were, indeed, the -last he uttered. Things were evidently going better with the army in -his dream than they were at that moment with the real regiments by the -river. - -Some most vivid suggestions of what may pass through the soldier's mind -during the actual circumstances of war were afforded by the utterances -of more or less unconscious men when passing under the influence of -chloroform in the operation-tent. Before they fell into the state of -sleep, it was evident that the drug, with its subtle intoxicating power, -brought back to the fading sense some flash of a scene which may have -been real, but which was rendered lurid, spectral, and terrifying by the -action of the poison. Under this condition incoherent words of command -would be uttered in rapid tones, full of an agony of eagerness and -haste; and cries for help would be yelled forth in what seemed to be a -maniacal frenzy. Many of the actual utterances that escaped these -unconscious lips, and gave glimpses of a phantom war as seen through the -vapor of chloroform, were too fragmentary to be remembered, but two at -least were muttered with such an emphasis of horror that I took note of -them. - -One of the wounded from Spion Kop had evidently engraved upon his mind -the hideous scene of slaughter which the trenches on that hill -presented. As he was being anaesthetised it was apparent that in his -dream he was back again in the trenches, and was once more among his -dead and mangled comrades. The vision of one wounded man especially -haunted him and fascinated him, and at last he screamed out: "There goes -that bloke again whose leg was shot away; blimy, if he ain't crawling -now!" - -Another poor fellow had before his eye the spectre of an awful kopje. -His fragmentary utterances made vivid the unearthly land he was -traversing. All who stood by could picture the ghostly kopje, and could -almost share in his anguish when he yelled: "There they are on the hill! -For God's sake, shoot! Why don't we shoot?" - - - - - XXII - - THE BODY-SNATCHERS - - -Early in the campaign Colonel Gallwey, the P.M.O., organised a volunteer -ambulance corps. Two thousand bearers were wanted, and in a few days two -thousand were enrolled. Their duties were to carry the wounded off the -field, to transport serious cases from the advanced hospitals or -dressing stations to the stationary field hospital, and thence, if need -be, to the railway. There were to be twelve on a stretcher. - -This corps contained examples of all sorts and conditions of -men--labourers, mechanics, "gentlemen," dock loafers, seamen, dentists, -a chemist or two, a lawyer or two, tram drivers, clerks, miners, and -shop assistants. Many were refugees from the Transvaal, and the -majority had been thrown out of work of some kind or another by the war. -A chance of getting employment had, no doubt, induced many to enlist, -while probably the greater number were attracted by a spirit of -adventure, by a desire to get to the front and to see something of the -pomp and circumstance of war. - -They formed a strange company when they mustered at Pietermaritzburg--a -section of a street crowd in their everyday clothes, or in such clothes -as were selected for roughing it. There was immense variety in the -matter of hats. Belts were a feature. The flannel shirt, which was -practically _de rigueur_, was replaced in an instance or two by a -jersey. Collars were not worn; neckties were optional. There was no -fixed fashion in the matter of boots; they varied from canvas shoes, -worthy of a dandy at the seaside, to top boots fit for a buccaneer. - -As to the men themselves, they were of all ages, heights, shapes, and -sizes--the men of a crowd. Some were sunburned, and some were pale. -Some were indifferent, but most were eager. Some were disposed to -assume a serious military bearing, while others appeared to regard the -venture as a silly joke of which they were beginning to be a little -ashamed. - -There is no doubt that the corps was in appearance not impressive. They -were wild and shabby looking, disordered, unsymmetrical, and bizarre. -They were scoffed at; and acquired the not unkindly meant title of the -"body-snatchers." Later on the exuberant invention of the soldier -dignified them by the titles of the "catch-'em-alive-oh's" or the -"pick-me-ups." - -It is needless to say that a good number of unsuitable and undesirable -men had found their way into the ranks. These were gradually weeded -out, and under the discreet command of Major Wright the corps improved -day by day, until the time Spearman's was reached they formed a very -efficient, reliable, and handy body of men. They did splendid service, -and one which was keenly appreciated. They were the means of saving many -lives and an infinite amount of pain. Their longest tramp, of which I -had knowledge, was from Spearman's to Frere, a distance of twenty-five -miles. They showed the usual British indifference under fire, and went -without hesitancy wherever they were led. Unfortunately it happened that -many of the worthy "body-snatchers" were wounded, and not a few of them -were killed. - -In the early days of their career the "catch-'em-alive-oh's" fell upon -bad times. They knew little of camp life, and less of the art of -getting the most out of it. They had no organisation among themselves, -and many were incompetent to shift alone. They began as a mob, and they -tried to live as a mob, and the result was that about the time of -Colenso they had little comfort but that which is said by the moralist -to be derived from labour. In their camp after the battle they had time -to settle down. They entered the camp a thriftless crowd, and came out -of it a company of handy men. - -They were popular with the soldiers. They had the gift of tongues of a -kind, and could compete with most in the matter of lurid language. -Their incessant hunger and indiscriminate thirst were a matter for -admiration. They were good-hearted, and, although they looked wild, -they meant well. Many a wounded man has been rocked to sleep on their -stretchers, and on more than one dying ear the last sound that fell was -the tramp of their untidy feet. - - - - - XXIII - - SEEING THEM OFF - - -On the afternoon of Thursday, February 8th, the news came to the -hospital at Spearman's that the army was once more to retire, and signs -were already abroad to show that the retreat had commenced. At the same -time an order arrived to the effect that all the wounded were to be -moved at sunrise on the following day to Frere. Our stay at -Spearman's--extended now to three weeks--had therefore come to an end. - -Among those left in the hospital were 150 patients whose condition was -more or less serious. They had been kept under care as long as possible -in order to avoid or postpone the danger of the long journey to the -base. It was determined that these 150 men should be carried down to -Frere on stretchers and by hand. And this was done, and well done, by -the much-ridiculed corps of "body-snatchers." - -It was no light undertaking, for the distance was twenty-five miles, and -the road was dusty and not of the best. Every step had to be tramped -under a glaring sun, and the heat of that day was great. Allowing twelve -men to a stretcher, 1,800 men would be required. This number was -forthcoming at sunrise, and they accomplished the march in the day, -reaching Frere at sundown. This was a splendid piece of work. - -It is not hard to surmise what would have happened to many of those who -were the most ill if their journey to Frere had been by the ox-wagon, or -by the still less easy ambulance. As it was, the whole convoy went down -with comfort, and only one man died on the way, and he had indeed just -reached his journey's end when his life ebbed away. - -Long before sunrise on the morning of the departure from Spearman's the -hospital was astir; and while it was yet dark lights could be seen in -most of the tents, and lanterns carried by orderlies or coolies were -moving here and there among the grey lines. The two white lights which -hung from the flag-pole in front of the hospital were still shining. By -the time the shadows had vanished and the light of the dawn fell upon -"No. 4," it was in a state of untidy turmoil. Everyone was on the alert -to "see them off." - -In the marquees the last dressings were being carried out by -candle-light. Clothes were being got together; helpless men were being -dressed; blankets were being rolled up, and such comforts as the -hospital could provide were being packed for the wounded to take with -them on their journey. Cherished possessions were being dragged out from -under pillows, to be safely disposed in a haversack or a boot. The grey -light fell upon orderlies in their shirt sleeves bustling from tent to -tent; upon piles of provision cases and of forage which were being -turned out; upon heaps of stretchers; upon the rolled-up kit of the Army -Medical Corps men; upon melancholy coolies who had been up all night, -and were still crawling about, and were still in their night attire. -This night outfit would consist, probably, of a turban, a mealie sack -round the neck, and a decayed army mackintosh on the body; or of a -turban, a frock-coat, which might at one time have graced Bond Street, -and bare legs. Here and there in the indistinct light would be seen the -white apron and trim dress of a nurse, who still carried the lantern she -had had with her since the small hours of the morning. All were anxious -to be up in time to "see them off." - -In due course, and even yet before the sun could be seen, the Volunteer -Ambulance Corps began to form up outside the camp. They were nearly two -thousand strong, and they were a wild-looking company. There was, -however, more uniformity in their clothing now, because they had been -supplied with khaki tunics, and with occasional khaki trousers. Some -wore putties, some gaiters, and some had tucked their trousers inside -their socks. A few had cut their trousers off about the knee and were -distinguished by bare legs. A gaiter on one leg and a puttie on the -other was not considered to be in any way _demode_. Their hats were -still very varied, but many had possessed themselves of helmets which -had been picked up on the field. Uniformity and smartness could, -however, not be expected if one man wore a helmet and the next a -tam-o'-shanter, the third a bowler hat, and the fourth a "squasher" or a -headpiece of his own designing. They had red-cross brassards on their -left arms, but these had become merely fluttering bits of colouring. - -This weird corps carried their possessions with them, and it was evident -that in transporting their impedimenta they had appreciated the value of -the division of labour. Many had military water-bottles, which they had -probably picked up. Others carried their water in glass bottles, which -dangled from their waists. Hanging about their bodies by strings or -straps would be various useful domestic articles. Attached to one man -would be a bundle of firewood, to another a saucepan, to a third a -kettle and a lantern. Here a man would have in the place of a -sabre-tache a biscuit tin suspended by a cord, or a hatchet and a -tin-opener, or a spare pair of boots, which swung bravely as he marched. -A popular _vade mecum_ was an empty jam tin (much blackened by the smoke -of the camp fire) with a wire handle, and evidence that it represented a -cooking-pot. Belts, knives, sticks, overcoats, rolled-up mackintoshes, -and a general tint of sunburn and dirt completed the uniform of this -strange company. - -Before they entered the camp the wounded had been brought out on -stretchers. The stretchers were placed on the grass, side by side, in -long rows which extended across the breadth of the hospital. The men -lying on them were not pleasant to look at. They formed a melancholy -array of "bad cases." Each man was covered by a brown blanket, and -within the hood of the stretcher were his special belongings, his boots -and his haversack, and, with them, such delicacies for the journey as a -pot of jam, a chunk of bread, some biscuits, a lump of tinned meat in a -newspaper, and bottles (mostly with paper corks) containing water or -milk or tea. Those on the stretchers presented bandaged legs and -bandaged arms, splints of all kinds, covered-up eyes and bound-up heads, -and the general paraphernalia of an accident ward. Some of the faces -were very pinched and pale, for pain and loss of blood and exhaustion -had caused the sunburn to fade away. - -The light of the dawn fell upon this woe-begone line, and dazzled the -eyes of many with the unaccustomed glare. Those who were not too ill -were in excellent spirits, for this was the first step on the journey -homewards. Such were excited, garrulous and jocular, and busy with -pipes and tobacco. A few were already weary, and had on their lips the -oft-repeated expression that "they were fed up with the war." Many a -head was lifted out of the hood to see if any old chum could be -recognised along the line, and from those would come such exclamations -as: "Why are you here, Tom?" "Where have you been hit?" "Ain't this a -real beanfeast?" "Thought you were stiff." "We're on the blooming move -at last." - -Many of the men on the stretchers were delirious, and some were almost -unmanageable. One poor fellow was babbling about the harvest and the -time they were having. He was evidently in his dream once more among -the cornfields of England, and among plenteous beer. Another shook the -canvas hood of his stretcher and declared with vehemence that he "would -not go in any bally sailing boat, he was going in a steamer, and the -colonel would never let his men go in a rotten sailing ship." Whereupon -he affirmed that "he was going to chuck it," and proceeded to effect his -purpose by rolling off his stretcher. - -When the Volunteer Ambulance Corps marched along the line of stretchers -they were the subject of much chaff, and many comments such as these -burst forth: "You're being paraded before the General. So buck up!" -"Pull up yer socks." "You with the kettle! Do you take yourself for a -gipsy van?" "We ain't buying no hardware to-day--go home." "You know -there's a Government handicap on this job, and half a crown to the man -who gets in first, so you had better hurry my stretcher along." And so -on; in the dialect of London, of Dublin, of Lancashire, and of Devon, -with infinite variety and with apparent good spirits. - -There were many anxious cases among this crowd on the stretchers. One, -for example, was an Irishman named Kelly, a private in the Lancashire -Fusiliers. He was as plucky a soldier as the plucky soil of Ireland has -ever produced. His right arm had been smashed on Spion Kop. He had -been on the hill two nights; and when the darkness fell had spent his -time in crawling about on the ground, holding the sleeve of his -shattered arm between his teeth, dragging his rifle with his left hand, -and searching the bodies of the dead for any water that may have been -left in their water-bottles. He had lost an incredible amount of blood, -and when he reached the hospital it was necessary to amputate the whole -upper limb, including the shoulder-blade and the collar-bone. He went -through this ordeal with infinite courage and with irrepressible good -humour. He had been the strong man of his regiment and a great boxer, -and, as he casually said, "He should miss his arm." - -Kelly's spirits were never damped, and he joked on all topics whenever -he had the strength to joke. He was a little difficult to manage, but -was as docile as a lamb in the hands of the Sister who looked after him, -and for whom he had a deep veneration. Nothing in the ordinary way -upset this gallant Irishman, but just before the convoy started he did -for once break down. Two bottles of English beer had found their way -into the camp as a precious gift. Kelly was promised these bottles to -take with him on his journey. In due course they were deposited in the -hood of his stretcher. When his eyes fell upon the delectable vision of -English beer he could stand no more, and Kelly wept. - -I little thought when I saw Kelly off at Spearman's that the next time I -should say good-bye to him would be in a hansom cab in Pall Mall; but so -it was. - -When all was ready the stretchers were lifted off the ground in order, -and the bearers filed out of the camp and on to the dusty track. The -morning was like that of a summer's day in England, and we watched the -long convoy creep along the road until it was nearly out of sight. The -perfect quiet of their departure was only broken by the oft-repeated -boom of the naval gun on the hill. - - - - - XXIV - - A FUNERAL AT SPEARMAN'S - - -There were many deaths at Spearman's, and the burying ground was under -the shadow of the clump of trees which stood at the back of Spearman's -Farm, and of which burying place I have already spoken. Those who died -were carried away to the mortuary-tent, and there each body was sewn up -by the coolies in the brown army blanket or in a sheet. The sewing was -after the manner of the sewing up of a package. The brown blanket, -however, formed but a poor covering at the last, and it made little -mystery of what it shrouded. Beneath its tightly drawn folds there was -shadowed something that was still a man, for was there not the clear -outline of head and chin and shoulders and feet? When the body was -ready it was brought out of the tent, placed upon a stretcher, and -carried to the grave. Over the bodies of the officers was thrown the -Union Jack, but the bodies of the soldiers were covered only by the -brown blanket or the sheet. - -There was one funeral which I have in mind, on the occasion of which -eight were buried--eight who had been struck down on Spion Kop--four -non-commissioned officers and four men. - -The funeral party drew up near to the mortuary-tent, and halted there in -precise military formation. There was the firing party, who went first, -with inverted rifles; then came the bearers, and then a small company -from the regiments of the dead. - -Some little way off stood a cluster of men who had come, in a shy, -apologetic sort of way, to see the last of their pals. They seemed to -think that their presence near by the formal procession was an -intrusion, and they huddled together, some ten of them, at a distance. -From their attitudes one inferred that they did not wish to be -considered as taking part in the funeral. They were pretending to be -merely onlookers. They were restless, and disposed to shuffle their -feet, or they kicked the earth up absently with the toes of their boots. - -Some of the ten kept their eyes fixed upon the mortuary-tent, to watch -the bodies come out. As each of the blanket-covered objects was brought -from the tent into the sunlight there were murmured comments from this -small knot of untidy men--these men who did not want to look like -mourners, but who were mourners indeed. "That's surely Ginger," says -one of the number, pointing to the body last brought out. "No, that -ain't Ginger," says his companion. "Ginger never had a chest on him -like that. That's more like Jimmy Evans. Jimmy held hisself like that -often." - -So they talked, and they kept up fairly well this pretence at a casual -conversation. But some could not trust themselves to speak, and these -kept their backs to the tent and kicked at the earth absently. Those who -took part in the apparent nonchalant talk had a struggle, I think, to -keep their voices from breaking and their eyes from becoming dim. The -"things" they were bringing out of the tent, done up in blankets, had -once been men who had, perhaps, enlisted with them, who probably hailed -from the same town in the Old Country, and who were the subjects of many -memories. - -When all the bodies were ready and the stretchers in line, the -procession started, and marched slowly and silently round the kopje and -along the glade that led to the trees by Spearman's Farm. - -But for the tents of a far-off camp the veldt was a desert. There was -scarcely a human being in sight. There was none of the pomp of a -soldier's burial; no funeral march; no awed crowd; no tolling of bells; -no group of weeping women in black clothes; no coffin borne on a -gun-carriage and distinguished by the helmet and accoutrements of the -dead. There were only the eight bundles in the brown blankets on the -eight stretchers. And some little way in the rear were the slouching -company of the ten, who did not want to be regarded as mourners, and -who, with occasional "sniffing," and perhaps a surreptitious wiping of -eyes with a shirt cuff, were shuffling along with a poor affectation of -indifference. - -In due course the last resting-place is reached, and here are eight -separate graves in a line, and at the head of them stands the chaplain. -He has on a college cap, a white surplice, riding breeches and putties. -He reads the service with the utmost impressiveness. The men who form -the firing party and the escort are ranged round the place of burial in -precise military lines, and, in spite of the blazing sun, every head is -bared. The words of the chaplain alone break the silence, although now -and then there comes across the plain the boom of the naval gun. And -here, under the dazzling sky of Africa, and at the foot of a kopje on -the veldt, the eight dead are laid in the ground. - -There are no onlookers except myself and the little group of ten. They -stand in a cluster at a respectful distance. Their heads are bare, and -more than one man has hidden his face in his helmet, while others have -turned their heads away so that their mates shall not see their eyes. -Their pretence at indifference and at having been drawn to the funeral -by mere curiosity is now of the very slenderest. - -As the graves are being filled up the funeral party marches back to the -camp with a brisk step. The slovenly ten, who are not taking the part of -mourners, scatter. They wander off in twos and threes, and they have -become curiously silent. Some have dragged out pipes from their -pockets, and are filling them absently. One is whistling an incoherent -fragment of a tune. They look towards the horizon, and perhaps see -nothing but the barren veldt, or perhaps they see a familiar village in -England, and within a cottage in the small street the figure of a woman -with her face buried in her hands. - - - - - XXV - - ABSENT-MINDEDNESS - - -My small experience of the British soldier in the field leads me to -think that he does not altogether deserve the title of the -"absent-minded." The average soldier has, I think, the most anxious -regard for his belongings, and although that anxiety may have been -obscured or even dissipated by the boisterous incidents which attend an -embarkation for the Cape, still when he reaches camp his mind is much -occupied with recollections of the people at home, and with concern for -their well-being. - -Among the wounded were always those whose first anxiety was as to the -effect the news of their injuries would have upon mothers, sweethearts, -or wives. And many a message of consolation was confided to the -sympathising ears of the Sisters, and many a letter of assurance was -laboriously written by those who had the strength to write. - -In the matter of letters the soldier takes profound interest. He writes -whenever he has the chance, and makes a great deal of fuss about the -performance. To most of those in camp the posting of a letter home is an -event, and so precious is the pencilled epistle that the writer will -hesitate before he commits it to the casual sack which is tied up to the -fly of the post office tent, and which appears scarcely formal or -official enough to receive the dirt-stained dispatch. For such -dispatches, nothing less pretentious than a post office building or an -iron letter-box seem fitting. - -Many a time have I seen a letter dropped into the sack with such an -expression of insecurity, and such evident feeling of hopelessness as to -its safe conduct, that the writer of the same has appeared to regret -that he had parted with it. A post office official in his shirt -sleeves, with a pipe in his mouth and a helmet on the back of his head, -seems hardly to be responsible enough for the occasion; and if the -letter-writer would venture to express a hope that his elaborately -directed letter "would be all right," the post office deity is apt to -regard this concern with flippancy. "There's the sack! Chuck the -blooming thing in. It won't break," was about all the comfort he would -get. - -The receipt of letters from home also was attended with an eagerness -which was hardly fitting in an absent-minded man. The sergeant with the -bundle of letters would read out the names on the envelopes in a -military voice, ferociously and without feeling, and each man who got a -missive grabbed it and marched off with it with the alacrity of a dog -who has got a bone. If he could find the shelter of a wagon where the -letter could be read unobserved it was well. - -The letters dictated to the Sisters in the hospital were apt to be a -little formal. It seemed to be thought proper that expression should be -curbed, and that the sensibilities of the Sister should be in no way -shocked by the revelation of a love passage. One dying man, who was -dictating a letter to his mother, thought he would like to send with it -a last message to "his girl," and in answer to the Sister's inquiry as -to what she should write, modestly said, "Give her my kind regards." - -There need have been no precise decorum in the wording of these last -hopeless utterances, for if the sender of the letter "sniffed" a little -as he dictated the message, the Sisters cried over them. - -When a wounded man came to be stripped it was common to find some -precious keepsake or some secret package hung about his neck, and to -which he clung with the earnestness of a worshipper to his fetish. One -man particularly was much more anxious about a locket that hung on his -hairy chest than he was about his wound. He seemed to think that so -long as the cheap little trinket was not lost his life mattered little. -In the operation tent he was reluctant to take chloroform until a solemn -promise had been given that no harm should befall his locket, and that -it should not be removed from his neck, I am afraid that the history of -the locket ends here, for the loyal man died. - -Among the wounded brought in one day from Potgieter's Drift was a man of -scanty clothing, who held something in his closed hand. He had kept -this treasure in his hand for some eight hours. He showed it to the -Sister. It was a ring. In explanation he said, "My girl gave me this -ring, and when I was hit I made up my mind that the Boers should never -get it, so I have kept it in my fist, ready to swallow it if I was taken -before our stretchers could reach me." - - - - - XXVI - - AT CHIEVELEY AGAIN - - -On Sunday, February 11th, No. 4 Field Hospital once more reached -Chieveley, after the tedious march from Spearman's of which mention has -been made. The hospital was pitched near the station, and not far from -the spot it had occupied on the day of the battle of Colenso. Chieveley -is represented only by a railway station and a station-master's house. -There are, however, many eucalyptus trees about these buildings, and the -spot is shady. The ground stands high, and miles of undulating country -are open to view. There are a Kaffir kraal or two in sight, and many -mimosa groves, and beyond them all the line of the river. Chieveley, -therefore, as a camp was well esteemed. - -The sojourn at Chieveley began with that terrible fourteen days of -incessant fighting which ended in the taking of Pieters and the relief -of Ladysmith. Every day at sunrise the guns began, and it was not until -sunset that they ceased. Any who looked up from their work in the camp, -and turned their eyes towards Umbulwana, would seldom fail to see the -flash of a lyddite shell on the far-off ridges, or, clear against the -blue sky, the white puff of cloud from a shrapnel. Every day the -wounded came in, mostly towards evening. Fortunately their numbers were -few. - -The days had again become very hot and very trying. It was weather -which the soldier is apt to describe, in the vivid language of his kind, -as weather "when a man should have his body in a pool and his head in a -public-house!" - -Standing in the station at Chieveley was commonly to be seen the -armoured train. Whatever iron plates could do to make a structure -indestructible had been done; but to such beauty as a railway train may -possess nothing had thereby been added. The sailors had, however, been -busy with the engine of the train. The engineers had given it the -outline of a square gasometer, but the "handy man" had covered the -disfigured machine with ropes as with a garment. From the top of the -funnel a veil of closely placed ropes trailed to the ground. A like -panoply of ropes covered the body of the engine, and its wheels, and its -cylinders, and its every detail. The officers called this production -the "Russian poodle," but the soldiers gave it the name of "Hairy Mary"; -and this name clung to it. - -During the movement to Spearman's, Chieveley had been carefully -fortified. A space round the station had been marked off by a very deep -wire entanglement. Trenches had been dug, and some sort of a fort -thrown up. There were entrenchments about the stationmaster's mild -little house, and before the windows were erected iron plates with -loopholes such as were used on the trucks of the armoured train. -Similar iron plates formed a barricade along the modest veranda, and the -result of it all was that the small unobtrusive house was made to look -fierce and truculent. The few bare rooms were used by the Headquarters -Staff, and the rough tables and stools were littered with all sorts of -war-like paraphernalia. Among these insignia of battle, murder, and -sudden death were two strange objects which had been left behind by the -looting Boers, and which seemed out of place. One was a stuffed jay, -and the other a dressmaker's lay-figure or "bust." The bird was stuck -upon the wreck of the mantelpiece, and stared amiably and foolishly from -its perch. The "bust" was life-size, and suggested the torso of a black -woman, with a little polished knob for a head. It may have at one time -graced the salon of a Parisian dressmaker. It was, however, now no -longer used to show off dresses, trimmings and flounces, for a helmet -surmounted the graceful chest, and belts, carrying pistols and swords, -hung from the fine shoulders or clung to the delicate waist. - - - - - XXVII - - A JOURNEY TO LADYSMITH - - -General Buller reached Ladysmith on March 1st, and on Friday, March 2nd, -I had the good fortune to enter the town. The journey was not -accomplished without difficulty. It was necessary to follow the road -the army had taken, as the main road was not known to be free from the -enemy, and, moreover, the bridge leading to it had been blown up. The -distance from Chieveley to Ladysmith by the route taken was between -twenty-three and twenty-four miles. I took my covered cart (called in -the camp the "'bus"), with ten mules and two Kaffir "boys." A man rode -in front to pick out the road. With me came my remaining nurse, Miss -McCaul, and Mr. Day, an army chaplain. We took provisions, water, and -forage for two days. - -We left Chieveley at 6.30 a.m., and the first part of the journey was -across the battlefield of Colenso. The road then became very rough, ran -over ridges and down into dongas, over boulders and deep into ruts, so -that the mules would now be at a fair trot and now dragged to a -standstill. At last we reached the hill commanding the pontoon bridge -over the Tugela. At the top of this precipitous height was the mighty -convoy of ox-wagons with food for Ladysmith. The wagons could be counted -by hundreds and the cattle by thousands. The hubbub could not be -surpassed. The lowing of the oxen, the shrieking of the Kaffir "boys," -the bellowed orders of the convoy conductors, the groaning of colliding -wagons, made a compound of sound worthy of the occasion. Among the -rabble would be seen ambulance wagons, water carts, isolated gun -carriages and ammunition wagons, bread carts, mounted officers hurrying -through, weary pickets returning to camp, and a few "Tommies" tramping -along with a cheery indifference to the restless, struggling crowd. - -The actual road above the pontoon was the very steepest declivity I have -ever seen negotiated by structures on wheels. The 'bus (empty of all -occupants) slid unsteadily down the incline, rocking like a ship in a -troubled sea, and the mules had to put on their best pace to keep clear -of the onrushing wheels. - -The river at the point of crossing is extremely picturesque. The steep -rugged banks are rendered beautiful by mimosa and cactus, and below the -pontoons the torrent breaks into foaming rapids, while up-stream is the -celebrated waterfall of the Tugela. From the river the road wound on to -the foot of Umbulwana. It ran across plains and down into valleys, and -over spruits and across boulders, and through mimosa groves and over -dusty wastes. A river at the foot of the great hill was forded, and as -the mules were nearly carried off their feet, and the wagon was flooded -with the stream, we were glad to land on the opposite bank. - -The Boer camps through which the road led showed every evidence of a -hurried departure. The cooking pots were still on the camp fires; the -rude shelters under which our hardy enemy had lived were still intact. -The ground was strewed with refuse, with the remains of the last meal, -with discarded articles of clothing, with empty bottles and barrels, -with fragments of chairs and tables, with empty flour sacks, and, above -all, with the straw, which is a feature of a Boer settlement. There -were no tents. The shelters were made of boughs, of beams of wood from -adjacent farms, of iron railings, of barbed wire, of plates of -corrugated iron, of casual patches of canvas, and of old sacks. In some -of the trenches the shelters were more elaborate, and varied from an -almost shot-proof retreat to a simple tent, made out of two raw cow -skins stretched over bamboos. - -These wild camps, amid a still wilder country, suggested the -conventional "brigand's retreat." The only evidences of a gentler mood -were provided by a discarded concertina and by a letter I picked up on -the roadside. The letter was from a Boer wife at the home farm to her -husband in the trenches. As we passed along the road we met with many -evidences of a hurried flight. The dead horses were very numerous; and -left by the roadside, with traces cut, were carts, light spider-carts, -water carts, wagons, and such cumbrous impedimenta as wheelbarrows and a -smith's forge. One wagon had fallen headlong into a donga in the dark, -and was an utter wreck. - -At last, on mounting the summit of a little ridge, we saw before us a -wide green plain of waving grass, and beyond the plain and under the -shelter of purple hills lay the unhappy town of Ladysmith. Ladysmith -looks very pretty at the distance--a cluster of white and red roofs -dotted about among trees, and surmounted by the white tower of the Town -Hall. - -The military camps were placed at various points about the town. The -first of these camps was that of the gallant King's Royal Rifles. They -had made some sort of home for themselves on the side of a barren and -stony hill. They had, of course, no tents, but had fashioned fantastic -shelters out of stone and wood and wire. They had even burrowed into -the ground, and had returned to the type of habitation common to -primeval man. Among the huts and burrows were many paths worn smooth by -the restless tread of weary feet. The path the most worn of all was -that which led to the water tanks. - -The men themselves were piteous to see. They were thin and hollow-eyed, -and had about them an air of utter lassitude and weariness. Some were -greatly emaciated, nearly all were pale, nearly all were silent. They -had exhausted every topic of conversation, it would seem, and were too -feeble to discuss even their relief. - -Ladysmith was reached at 2.30 P.M., and the food convoy did not arrive -until late the same evening, so we had the sad opportunity of seeing -Ladysmith still unrelieved--unrelieved so far as the misery of hunger -was concerned. I had no food at my disposal, but I had, fortunately, a -good quantity of tobacco, which was doled out in pipefuls so long as the -supply lasted. It would have taken many pounds, however, to satisfy the -eager, wasted, trembling hands which were thrust forward on the chance -of getting a fragment of the weed. - -The town is composed almost entirely of single-storey houses built of -corrugated iron, with occasional walls of brick or cement. In the -suburbs of the town these houses are made as villa-like as possible by -means of verandahs and flower gardens and creepers. The main street of -the town, however, has no pretensions to beauty, and is merely a broad -road with corrugated iron shops on either side. - -On walking into "Starvation City," one's first impression was that of -the utter emptiness of the place. Most of the villas were unoccupied, -were closed up, and, indeed, barricaded. The gardens were neglected, -and everything had run wild. The impression of desolation was -accentuated by an occasional house with a hole in its roof or its wall -due to a Boer shell. All the people we met were pallid and hollow-eyed, -and many were wasted. All were silent, listless, and depressed. There -were no evidences of rejoicing, no signs of interest or animation, and, -indeed, as I have just said, Ladysmith was still unrelieved. Nearly -every shop was closed or even barricaded. Sign-boards showed that here -was a coach builder, and there a grocer. The chemist's shop appeared to -be empty of everything except the coloured water in the large bottles in -the window. Such shops as were open were dark and desolate. - -There were many grim evidences of better days. Thus one restaurant -presented, among other cheery signs, the announcement of "Meals at all -hours." Another establishment was gay with placards of "Ice creams." -Notices of groceries of all kinds for sale made radiant a shop which was -empty of everything but a table and some rough chairs. - -Such was the aspect of the weary town. Streets empty of all but a few -tired and listless men, stores without goods, shops without customers, a -railway station without passengers, a post office without letters, -stamps, or post cards. No words, indeed, can fully describe this city -of desolation, this little colony of the almost hopeless, this poor, -battered, worn-out, hungry town of Ladysmith, with a bright summer sun -making mockery of its dismal streets. - -The wretchedness of the place was not mitigated by the horrible smells -which greeted one at every corner, nor by the miserable, dirty river -which crawled slimily through the place. - -We left the town about 5 P.M., and met on our way back the long convoy -of wagons with food. It was dark when we reached the river by -Umbulwana; and as it was dangerous, and, indeed, impossible to cross the -drift except in daylight, we outspanned by the river bank and made a -pretence of sleeping. - -When yet it was dark on the following morning the mules were put in, and -with the earliest streak of dawn we crossed the river and made for -Colenso. The wagons were still toiling onwards towards Ladysmith. - -The road, as I have said, was very rough, and the poor cart, which had -served me well for three months, began to show signs of giving out. It -broke down at last, one of the wheels coming to pieces. We were then -some seven miles from Colenso, and the vehicle was beyond all repair. -So it was left by the roadside among other wreckage, a forlorn relic of -what was once a smart "'bus." Our very scanty luggage was packed upon -the mules' backs, our remaining food was distributed among the -passers-by, and we proceeded to walk to Colenso. From Colenso we -travelled to Chieveley by a casual goods train, sitting on the floor of -an open truck, as there was no guard's van. We reached Chieveley on -Saturday at 1 P.M., tired and dirty. - - - - - XXVIII - - A STRAGGLER - - -The photograph which is appended to this paragraph was taken during the -course of our journey to Ladysmith. The scene is on the north bank of -the Great Tugela below the waterfall, and close to the pontoon bridge by -which the troops had crossed on their victorious march. Sitting in the -sun on a pile of timbers, which the engineers have left, is a typical -straggler. His company has moved on to Pieters, and he has fallen out -somehow and somewhere on the march, and is following the lost column as -best he can. - -The day is hot, and his jacket is thrown across his shoulders. A small -cloud of flies buzz over him. He is tired, dirty, thirsty, and hungry. -Fever has taken hold of him, and he is--as he would say--feeling "a bit -thick." He is sitting by the river bank to await the first wagon across -the pontoon on which a conductor will give him a lift. In the meantime -some good Samaritan is getting him a drink of water from the stream. - - - - - XXIX - - HOW A SURGEON WON THE VICTORIA CROSS - - -On December 15th was fought the battle of Colenso, on the morning of a -brilliant summer's day. At dawn the men had marched out eagerly and in -keen spirits, and with a swing of the shoulders which told of a certain -victory. Before sundown they were beaten back, more than a thousand -dead and wounded were lying on the field, the hospital tents were -crammed to overflowing, and the wagons, which were prepared to move -forwards, were moving back. - -The small hamlet of Colenso, battered, empty, and woe-begone, stands on -the south bank of the river, and clings about the railway as a homely, -unpretending little settlement made up of a few corrugated iron cottages -on either side of a single street. - -It looks almost like a toy village, and its prim formality is tempered -by a friendly growth of cactus, aloes, and mimosa, by a few trees and by -many gardens. Behind Colenso is the veldt, which here extends -southwards as a vast undulating plain to Chieveley, Frere, and Estcourt. -Between Chieveley and the river the veldt is smooth, and is broken only -by ant-hills, by a few Kaffir kraals, and by the precise line of the -railway. The plain is green, but it is not the luxuriant green of -England, and in the early morning and about the time of the setting sun, -tints of yellow and brown and pink spread over the wold and render the -place strangely beautiful. - -During the glare of noonday the veldt gives simply a blinding sense of -scorched and faded green and its monotony and its boundlessness, and the -utter lack of shade and variation, make the expanse dreary as a desert. - -Beyond the village the brown torrent of the great Tugela tears seawards -between high banks and under broken bridges, and among the _debris_ of -pitiless ruin. Across the river are the bare, stony, trench-lined -kopjes and hills held for so many long weeks by the Boers. About the -foot of these bastion-like ridges is the squalor of a neglected camp, -and on all sides are rifle pits and trenches and stone shelters and -hidden holes. Man seems on this river bank to have gone back to the -savagery of the cave dweller, and to be once more crawling on the earth. -Beyond these low hills are the grey heights of Umbulwana towering over -Ladysmith. - -It was to the right of Colenso that the battle raged fiercest on -December 15th, 1899. It was here that Colonel Long's batteries of field -artillery were surprised by the enemy and were abandoned after a hideous -sacrifice of horses and men. It was here that Lieutenant Roberts -received his fatal wound, and it was here that Babtie won the Victoria -Cross. - -The batteries were moving towards the river with the usual British -unconcern, and in the quiet of a summer's morning. Suddenly there was -poured upon them from the shelter of a mimosa wood such a torrent of -lead that in a few moments there was scarcely a horse or a man standing. -The men faced the wood as only the British soldier can face death. The -gallant attempts made to save the guns led only to further loss of life. -Colonel Long had been shot down, some fifty horses had been sacrificed, -and the scanty ranks of the English were thinning rapidly. Still the cry -went up, "Hold fast to the guns!" and when the last forlorn hope had -been attempted and had failed, the green veldt was littered with the -wounded, the dying, and the dead. - -Near by the guns was a donga, and into this many of the wounded had -crawled. The galloper who took up the news of the disaster reported the -need of help for the injured. To this call Major Babtie, R.A.M.C., at -once responded as a volunteer. His duty did not take him to the -battlefield. He rode down to this Inferno. He might as well have -ridden before a row of targets during the smartest moment of rifle -practice. Three times was his horse shot under him before he reached -the donga. Here, in the face of a galling fire, he dragged the wounded -into shelter, and a little later he ventured out under a rain of lead to -bring in Lieutenant Roberts, who was lying in the open desperately -wounded. - -For some seven hours Babtie kept by the wounded in the shallow donga, no -one daring to lift a head above the edge of the dip. He alone had a -water-bottle, and he doled out what water he had in a 60-minim measuring -glass. He was also able to relieve pain by morphine, and when not -otherwise occupied he sheltered poor Roberts's face from the scorching -sun by holding above it a letter he chanced to have in his pocket. It -was not until darkness was setting in that it was possible to venture -from the scant shelter the donga provided. - -The scene of this heroic act was a level stretch of green veldt lying -between the river and a brown road which led with many desultory turns -to Hlangwani. To the left were the village and gardens of Colenso, and -to the right the grove of mimosa trees in which the Boer force was -hidden. Beyond the river rose the enemy's entrenchments and the grim -ridge of Grobler's Kloof. - -The last time I passed over this spot was on the day after our cavalry -had reached Ladysmith. It was on a day of peace. The sky was cloudless -and no breath of air stirred along the grass. The bodies of the horses -belonging to the lost guns were lying in a long line across the veldt. -Their bones were as white as are the bones of museum skeletons, for the -vultures and the ants had done their work thoroughly. The hides were -still drawn over the bleaching bones, and round the necks of these -ill-fated beasts were still the collars and the harness by which they -had dragged the guns into action. There was an absolute stillness over -the whole scene. To the left a train was being shunted at Colenso -station with leisurely persistence, for the day was hot and the sun -dazzling. To the right were the mimosa groves, glorious with yellow -blossom, in the shadows of which the Boers had hidden. It was strange -that it was from these dainty woods that the hellish fire had poured -forth which laid low so many gallant English lads, for on this quiet day -the trees were busy with complaining doves. - -By the banks of the donga, which had been for a whole summer's day a -valley of the shadow of death, a Kaffir was crooning over a concertina, -from which came a lazy, dirge-like music. - -The railway engine, the doves, and the rapt Kaffir were the sole moving -objects in this garden of peace, and in the blue distance was the ridge -of Grobler's Kloof, no longer belching fire and shell, but standing out -delicately against the tender sky. - -No brave deed had ever a gentler setting. - - - - - XXX - - "SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI." - - -"The Glory of the World," as the soldier sees it, can be understood by -most of us. There is the glory of having served his Queen and his -country, and of having done his duty like a man. There is, probably, -the glorious memory of some great charge and of the storming of some -stubborn trench. And there is the home-coming, made glorious by the -ringing of bells and the waving of flags, by a march through familiar -streets and through shouting and cheering crowds, with the rattle of -drums and fifes, with hurrahs and yells of welcome for the regiment he -loves so well. A home-coming like this is worth many days of hardship, -many a Spion Kop, and many a dull week in a hospital tent. But it does -not fall to the lot of all. - -I remember at Chieveley one morning before breakfast watching a solitary -man approach the hospital lines. He was as melancholy an object as ever -a war has produced. He was a soldier who had fought at Colenso, at Vaal -Krantz, and before Pieters, and he was now staggering towards the -hospital, a ragged, broken-down, khaki-coloured spectre of a man. He -dragged his rifle along with him; his belt was gone; his helmet was -poised at the back of his head; his frowsy tunic was thrown over his -shoulders; he was literally black with flies. His clothes had not been -off for many days, and he had missed the ambulance, he said, and had -walked to the hospital. - -How far he had come he could not tell, nor could anyone gather how he -had fared or where he had slept. All that was evident was that he was -wet with dew and had spent the night in the open. He knew that for -vague hours he had been making his way, with ever faltering steps and -failing eyes, towards the red cross flag on the crest of the hill. And -now he had reached it. As to why he had come: "Well! he had a touch of -the dysentery," he said, "and was about played out." - -Poor lad! this was a sorry home-coming at the last. A squalid ending of -a march; staggering in alone, a shuffling wreck, without a single -comrade, with no fifes and drums, no cheering crowd, and no proud -adoration of mother or wife. He was helped to a bell tent and put to -bed on a stretcher, and on the stretcher he died; and this was the end -of his soldiering. _Sic transit gloria mundi_! - - - - - PRINTED BY - CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE - LONDON, E.C. - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALE OF A FIELD HOSPITAL *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41432 - -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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