Blue Shirt and Khaki: A Comparison

by James F. J. Archibald

The ration adopted for the campaign in South Africa is:

1 lb. canned meat.
4 oz. bacon, as a change from meat.
2 oz. cheese.
1 lb. hardtack instead of 1-1/4 lb. bread.
1 oz. chocolate instead of tea or coffee.
1/2 oz. coffee, 1/4 oz. tea.
3 oz. sugar, 1/2 oz. salt, 1/3 oz. pepper.
1/64 gal. rum, 4 oz. jam, three times each week.
2 oz. condensed pea soup.
2 oz. rice instead of 1 oz. dried vegetables.
1 oz. dried vegetables.
1 oz. lime juice.
1 lb. fresh meat.
1-1/4 lb. bread.

The ration of the United States army is:

20 oz. fresh beef or mutton.
12 oz. pork or bacon.
22 oz. salt meat, when no fresh meat is issued.
14 oz. dried fish, when no fresh meat is issued.
18 oz. pickled or fresh fish instead of fresh meat.
18 oz. soft bread, or
18 oz. hard bread, or
20 oz. corn meal.
16/25 oz. baking powder, when necessary in field to bake bread.
2/25 oz. beans or peas, or 1-3/5 oz. rice or hominy.
16 oz. potatoes, or 12-4/5 oz. potatoes and 3-1/5 oz. onions; or
11/15 oz. potatoes and 4-4/5 oz. canned tomatoes; or
16 oz. fresh vegetables.
1-3/5 oz. coffee, green; or 1-7/25 oz. coffee, roasted; or
8/25 oz. tea.
2-2/5 oz. sugar, or 16/25 gill molasses or cane syrup.
8/25 gill vinegar.
16/25 oz. salt.
1/25 oz. (black) pepper.
16/25 oz. soap.
6/25 oz. candles, when oil is not furnished.

The American army also has what is called a travel ration, issued on any transportation where it is impossible to cook more than coffee. It is also often used on quick marches, as it is a short but sufficient allowance. It consists of:

1 lb. hard bread.
3/4 lb. canned beef.
1/3 lb. baked beans or tomatoes (canned).
1/8 lb. coffee.
1/15 lb. sugar.

It was this ration that we used throughout the Santiago campaign, save that most of the time we had bacon, instead of canned beef, and we very seldom got the beans or tomatoes. I found it adequate for the entire time, even with all the hard work we went through. No one found fault with it, except some of the volunteers, and they were dissatisfied with the ration because they did not understand how to use it to advantage. A regular soldier can make about fourteen distinct dishes with that ration, each one very palatable.

There was considerable trouble over the complaints raised by the volunteers, and it developed into the “meat scandal” that has furnished jests for the comic papers ever since; but these difficulties are bound to appear in every campaign. I did see some meat in Cuba that was not fit to eat; but, on the whole, the meat supply was very good when one considers the haste in which it was purchased and the climate where it was used.

England has had her difficulties in the same form, but her people do not make such an outcry as was raised in our newspapers. Early in the South African war the troop-ship Arawa sailed from Southampton, and before she got to sea it was discovered that her cargo of meat was spoiled. She put back, and the entire lot, amounting to fifteen thousand pounds of English and colonial beef and mutton, was dumped out on the dock—a “very unwholesome mess.” The mutton was green, and in a bad condition; as soon as the port health officer saw it he ordered it to be taken to sea and dumped, which was promptly done. Had this occurred in America during the Spanish war the newspapers would probably have demanded the instant removal of a few officials. In England, however, the only comment in the papers was that “the incident was the one topic of conversation at the docks yesterday, and military men were highly indignant about it.”

Before closing the subject of rations it is necessary to speak of the commissary department of the Boer forces, if I may use this phrase regarding a department that does not exist. Among the Boers each man is his own supply corps, finding his rations wherever he can, and in what quantity he can. It is marvelous what a small amount these burghers can subsist upon while carrying on active operations. During an action near Pretoria I was lying on top of a kopje, watching the advance of the British forces, while they kept up a heavy shell fire. About one o’clock I felt hungry, so I opened my haversack and took out a loaf of bread and a piece of beef weighing perhaps a couple of pounds. Near me was an old, white-bearded Boer, who must have been at least seventy-five. After I had been eating for a few moments I noticed that he had no haversack, and so asked him if he would not have a bit of the bread.