TOPIC:

1900 - Kimberley siege day 106 (85%). Ladysmith siege day 88 (73%). Mafeking siege day 108 (49%). French arrives at Cape Town to confer with Lord Roberts.

In Kimberley:

All kinds of rumours in the town to-day.

1st that I have received an ultimatum from Cronje.

2nd that enemy is going to open with a 6 inch gun on the town to-morrow.

3rd that there is to be a general bombardment – commencing to-morrow.

It is wonderful how rumours of this kind get about; many of them are I think started by the enemy’s sympathisers in the town.

The shortness of the forage ration bother me much – I fear that on account of this and the heavy duties, for the mounted troops and transport, that all animals will so go off in condition that they will not be up to hard work when it will probably be required of them immediately on the arrival of the relief column.

It is a sad pity the hay etc consigned to this place was not sent on from Orange River before communications were out. I don’t know how the mistake occurred but it has affected Kimberley very seriously.

I sent the following by search light signal this evening:

“From Kekewich, to Genl Methuen. Jan 28th No 145 with reference my 115 Jan 19th. Notwithstanding numbers compound natives and others left town calculate from latest food returns fifty thousand people still here, consequently have slightly reduced breadstuffs ration which will last until end Febraury. Stop. Can only account for increased numbers by fact information re numbers inhabitants supplied by civil authorities and most reliable sources was incorrect also large number of refugees from SAR and other parts who filtered into town just prior to investment were not taken into account. Stop. Am carefully verifying numbers stop. Grazing here been bad, and forage ration small so fear horses and mules likely to go off in condition.”

“From Kekewich, to Gen Methuen. Jan 28th No 146. Civil population becoming somewhat restless. Have been asked to meet leading merchants to-morrow afternoon. If you have any good news and will send it me in code announcement same at interview may greatly assist me.”

Some 300 natives who went out to-day from Wesselton to the Boer lines were forced back. There appears to be no likelihood of their letting any more leave town.

In Ladysmith:

From my station on Observation Hill I could see a new Boer laager drawn up, about six miles away, at the far end of the Long Valley. Otherwise all remains quiet and unmoved. Three or four distant guns were heard in the afternoon, but that was all.

On the whole the spirit of the garrison was much more cheerful. We began to talk again of possible relief within a week. The heliograph brought a message of thanks from Lord Roberts for our "heroic, splendid defence." Every one felt proud and happy. The words were worth a fresh brigade.

In the morning a consultation was held on the condition of the cavalry horses. At first it was determined to kill three hundred, so as to save food for the rest, but afterwards the orders were to turn them out on the flat beyond the racecourse, and let them survive if they could. The artillery horses must be fed as long as possible. The unfortunate walers of the 19th Hussars will probably be among the first to go. Coming straight from India, they were put to terribly hard work on landing, and have never recovered. Walers cannot do on grass which keeps local horses and even Arabs fat enough. What the average horse is chiefly suffering from now is a kind of influenza, accompanied by a frightful cough. My own talking horse kept trying to lie down to-day, and said he felt languid and queer. When he endeavoured to trot or canter a cough took him fit to break his mother's heart.

In Mafeking:

A quiet day. I rode round the western outposts in the morning and found them considerably augmented in strength. They are now a series of bombproof block-houses, a zig-zag approach runs from the refugee laager up to Fort Ayr. So approach is possible without clanger (which was not so before). A thousand yards to the front of Fort Ayr the new Boer fort is plainly visible, and flies a flag we have not seen before, blue, white, and orange, with a vertical green stripe. It is possible that there may be some political significance attached to this, possibly that our friends, the Transvaalers, by uniting the two Republics, hope to get the Free State Boers to fight their battles further away from their own territory; but, after all, it is pure surmise, for we get but little news of any sort—and of political news none at all. Due south, and about eight hundred yards away from Fort Ayr, a new fort has been constructed, commanding the bed of the Molopo, and garrisoned by Cape Police. It is about on the position of the old look-out post. In the afternoon I rode round the eastern works. A trench now runs from Ellis's corner across the river, past the gun emplacement, past Webster's Kraal, up to and beyond the Nordenfelt position. It is hard to believe with the much stronger position we now have, and the reduced number of Boers, that they will attack again; but, on the other hand, it is harder to believe that they will leave Mafeking without a desperate effort to capture it. In any case, the garrison are confident. On the termination of evening service we sing the National Anthem. I have heard it sung in many places, the most impressive of all at St. Paul's on Jubilee clay; certainly next to that occasion, I think the-singing of it in Mafeking appealed to me most. For the men who -were singing it on Sunday night would be fighting for it on Monday morning. And now, whilst on the subject, and having just read Mr. Kipling's poem, I hope the widows and children of the irregular troops serving out here will not be forgotten when it comes to " pay, pay, pay."

From the diary of William Watson, Ladysmith, January 1900:

Sunday, all quiet so far. The Major, and Colonel Royston, the Commandant of the Natal volunteers, will try and induce Captain Purvis, to make no further inroads on my trees. They very properly think that ten or a dozen wagon loads of firewood, is a fair contribution from a small garden like mine. — I fully expect to hear in a day or two, that Buller has won a great victory. I have remarked that whenever a depressing account has been circulated, something uncommonly cheering, is sure to follow soon after, and perhaps both accounts are only true to a ‘saartian extent’, as the Scotch say. — Before the war, it was said the Boers had much deteriorated as marksmen, and the Tommies had wonderfully improved. They seem to me to be very much as they were nineteen years since, only the numbers in each army have very much increased. In 1881, we had only the Boers to fight. Now, we have the Boers, and great numbers of foreigners, besides Irish and other traitors. — The latest report is, that Buller has re-taken the two hills from which he was driven on Thursday. I was sure we should be told this.

1900 - From the diary of Trooper A J Crosby, Natal Carbineers

Orderlies were in at 5 o’clock to get us ready for Intomba. Was carried to the Ambulance waggon (driven by Moses, attached to the P.W.D. who asked about the Durban folk - Timewells), at 5.30, and had to stay there over an hour for others who were taken in dhoolies. Left Station little after 7 arriving at Intomba half hour later. From the station or siding was taken in a dhoolie to a Bell tent followed by three others, Corp. Tanner of my squad, Napier (Newcastle), and Serg. Laurenson of the Vol. Staff. Doctor visited us at noon. None of us are considered serious cases. We laid on the ground on grass mattresses and blankets. Spent restless night, delirious for a time.

1900 - From the diary of Miss Bella Craw in Ladysmith

The last night of night duty over, I am thankful. Now I have a week before I go on again. I don't mind how hard the work is during the day, as long as I have not the responsibility.

Mama was to have got up today for a little while, but when the doctor came he said her temperature was up a little so would not allow it. I am afraid last night was too much for her. Wilfrid was taken with another attack of malarial fever and she could hear him in the next room and knew how bad he was and could do nothing. It will take her a few days to quite recover I am afraid.

We are still living on rumours. Some say we are to be relieved in a few days and others that Buller is still on the other side of Colenso, so we must make up our minds to just hang out with the best grace we can until he does come.

1900 - From the letters writer by Lt Col Park in Ladysmith

One more knock! Last night news came in that though Sir C. Warren’s force had captured the ridge they had been shelling for three days on 24th, by some unexplained idiocy they let the Boers retake it during the night, and they have now been waiting four days for more heavy shells and more troops. It is a disaster most serious in its consequences. Not only does it indefinitely delay our relief, which otherwise would have taken place yesterday or today, but all the work, with the consequent loss of life and wounds, has to be done a second time, and the Boers are naturally much elated, and have had four days in which to fortify the hill again and collect reinforcements, so that the task will be very difficult.

As regards ourselves, I still hope for relief within the week. If it doesn’t come then, we shall be in a bad way. All bread and flour finishes tomorrow, tea in five days, grain for horses in three days, mealies in about five days, and so on. Twelve eggs were sold by auction last week for 1 pound lls.6d., and four stocks (1 lb) of common tobacco for 5 pounds 10s. Little “Briggs” had a go of colic three nights ago, but I got the farrier of the Field Battery close by to give him a hot drink, and after being walked about for an hour he got all right. “Kaiser” is very fit and quite fat; a diet of mealies and old compressed bhoosa (chopped rice straw) seems to suit him.

We had a most extraordinary sort of small typhoon about ten last night. We had just come back from a small route march, and I had got into bed in my tin dog box when heavy thunder and lighting began quite suddenly and a tearing wind from the West, and in about five minutes the most terrific deluge of hail and rain burst on us with furious wind and most crashing thunder close overhead. It went on for, perhaps, ten minutes, then suddenly stopped; there was a minute’s lull, and then, with another roar, it burst on us again from the east, forcing all our doors open and swamping everything in the huts. In another quarter of an hour it was all over, but the whole place was under water, half the tents and tarpaulins were ripped off the men’s shelters, and everybody was drenched and had to stay so all night.

Luckily there has been a hot sun and fresh wind all today and things have dried nicely, but even now the floor of my hut is very sodden and muddy. Oh, dear! dear! I wish I could get a bit of bright news, or news of you, or something nice like that to cheer me up. All these delays, and rebuffs, and failures are very disheartening, and one has to keep up and make light of it with the men and the youngsters, and it is rather hard work when one is so very heartily sick of it all, and when I have prayed so long and so hard for all to go well and for our relief to come soon.

Rumours perhaps, but, whilst she could not possibly have known for sure, she would not have too much longer to wait!

djb wrote: 1900 - From the diary of Miss Bella Craw in Ladysmith

The last night of night duty over, I am thankful. Now I have a week before I go on again. I don't mind how hard the work is during the day, as long as I have not the responsibility.

Mama was to have got up today for a little while, but when the doctor came he said her temperature was up a little so would not allow it. I am afraid last night was too much for her. Wilfrid was taken with another attack of malarial fever and she could hear him in the next room and knew how bad he was and could do nothing. It will take her a few days to quite recover I am afraid.

We are still living on rumours. Some say we are to be relieved in a few days and others that Buller is still on the other side of Colenso, so we must make up our minds to just hang out with the best grace we can until he does come.