1900 - Kimberley siege day 98 (79%). Ladysmith siege day 80 (67%). Mafeking siege day 100 (46%). Second New Zealand contingent sails for South Africa.
In Kimberley:
Captain Tysons soup kitchen is a great success; he turns out most excellent soup, and yesterday about 3000 pints of it were sold. It is distressing, we are so very short of vegetables, and the inhabitants of Wesselton, who are mostly disaffected are there can be little doubt purposefully neglecting their gardens. If they continue to do so I shall take them over. I have caused them to be continued accordingly.
There is another case of scurvy reported today in the Town Guard. I wish very much I had sufficient lime juice to give the garrison a ration of it daily. Surgeon O’Gorman RAMC is now making Kaffir Beer out of Kaffir corn, and it is supposed to have good antiscorbutic qualities. However the supply of Kaffir corn is limited, and I shall only be able in consequence to issue a very limited ration of Kaffir beer.
This morning the enemy opened with a cordite gun from Carter’s ridge on the half company of the Town Guard (K) occupying an advanced position near St Augustines mine. They fired 6 shells in all and they were well directed. We had no casualties.
Real good news to-day saying that the Tugela had been crossed in two places by our troops.
I wish much we could get some news of Ladysmith. It is supposed here by the inhabitants that we have had bad news from there, and are keeping it a secret. I have several times asked for news but none is sent; possibly it is thought that we are getting newspapers through, but none have reached us for a week.
The relief column balloon was up a few times early this morning. Late in the evening a shell from Wimbledon ridge fell near Beaconsfield Town Hall. This must be about 9000 yards. I much hope we shall have an opportunity shortly of having a smack at this gun with the new De Beers 28 pounder.
I sent the following by search light this evening:
“From Int KB to Int MD. Jan 20th No 119 Code as in your E 82 of yesterday. New key word intended by me was dictionary code for name you use. Until change again necessary all Kimberley messages succeeding numbers will be coded as in your E 82 of yesterday.”
“From Kekewich to Genl Methuen. Jan 20th No 120. yours G 196 my food and forage will last to end February provided have no bad luck such as loss by fires. Stop. My supply stores already separated for safety. Stop. As previously reported supply of beef is very short and of inferior quality, can only supplement it with small ration of indifferent horse flesh. Stop. Owing to bad grazing horses, cows are very lean. Stop. Art ammunition in hand eighteen hundred and thirty shrapnel seven hundred thirty ring shell for twelve guns. Stop. Supply manufactured by De Beers more than meets present expenditure. Stop. SAA in hand one million and quarter rounds portion same not government manufacture and slightly defective. Stop. Ammunition should also last until end February unless enemy suddenly adopts very active policy, and makes determined attacks on Kimberley.”
With reference to the above as regards artillery ammunition Lt Colonel Chamier RA writes to me: “I think they may get confused if we say the De Beers cartridges are not quite up to the mark. They are good enough for firing at long ranges as long as we have not our men near the enemy, but as I have only issued them to our guns of position this would be unnecessary. The 580 cartridges for case shot could be drawn on for these occasions if they arise.”
I have found it absolutely necessary for service efficiency in some cases to sanction extra establishments to those given in the printed “Memorandum re the formation of the Town Guard.” In some cases additional officers, NCO’s and clerks have been found requisite as the duties would not have been efficiently performed without them – the question of remuneration to Medical men who have so kindly assisted in the field and elsewhere and often at great personal risk, will I expect come forward for settlement hereafter.
I have to-day arranged for the Remount Committee to buy a few mules to replace the losses in the RA 1/LN Lan Regt transport. I have had to replace much clothing and equipment – worn out and damaged and which has not lasted the prescribed periods. It is most difficult now to get any good material and of the same pattern, and by the time we are relived that no two men in any corps will be dressed alike. The boots are in particularly bad condition.
I have arranged for repairs to tents to be made as quickly as possible; some of them are in very bad condition.
I am afraid the bills for printing of forms, notices, and for proclamations in the newspapers, etc will e very high. There has evidently been a ring amongst the printers to keep up the prices. I wish much I could have arranged to manage to carry on without all this printing, but under all the circumstances it was impossible.
In Ladysmith:
Again I was on Observation Hill two or three times in the day. It is impossible to keep away from it long. The rumble of the British guns was loud but intermittent, but the Boer camps remain where they were. With us the bombardment continued pretty steadily. After a silence of two days "Puffing Billy," of Bulwan, threw one shell into the town and six among the Devons. His usual answer to the report that he has worn himself out or been carried away. Whilst he was firing I tried to get sight of a small mocking bird, which has learnt to imitate the warning whistle of the sentries. In the Gordons the Hindoo, Purriboo Singh, from Benares, stands on a huge heap of sacks under an umbrella all day and screams when he sees the big gun flash. But in the other camps, as I have mentioned, a sentry gives warning by blowing a whistle. The mocking bird now sounds that whistle at all times of the day, and what is even more perplexing, he is learning to imitate the scream and buzzle of the shell through the air. He may learn the explosion next. I mention this peculiar fact for the benefit of future ornithologists, who might otherwise be puzzled at his form of song.
Another interesting event in natural history occurred a short time ago up the Port road. A Bulwan shell, missing the top of Convent Hill, lobbed over and burst at random with its usual din and circumstance. People rushed up to see what damage it had done, but they only found two little dead birds—one with a tiny hole in her breast, the other with an eye knocked out. Ninety-six pounds of iron, brass, and melinite, hurled four miles through the air, at unknown cost, just to deal a true-lovers' death to two sparrows, five of which are sold for one farthing!
In Mafeking:
The two sides when at trench work happened on each other at night in the vicinity of Fort Ayr, and we drove them back. A very effective day's shelling.