Next day was the well-remembered Ospruit fight, and the carts had a narrow escape then. The enemy got their range, and the pom-poms played round them for some time, a few of the shells landing between the carts; but the drivers were just as easy as ever, and when ordered to retire did it in excellent style, smoking and passing jokes as the shells followed them up. Private Lowther, who was on stretcher-bearer’s duty that day, will not forget what he called a cool order. When the drivers were getting out of range one of their hats was blown off, and Lowther, being on foot, was ordered to pick it up. He looked twice, but went back and got it. Shells were a bit thick, but he remembered he was a soldier. The day after the fight we had to send a cart out to bring in Major Showers. Corporal Cullen and Private Arthurton went with it on duty, Cullen corporal in charge, Arthurton the driver. After finding the Major’s body, they were joined by some Boers, who assisted to put the Major in the cart, had a friendly chat with them, passed cigarettes and tobacco round, and Cullen said when he came back to camp that there were very few Boers among them, nearly all English-speaking and of a very respectable class. They had very little to say regarding the fight the previous day, but said they were sorry our Colonel was killed. They had found some papers in the pockets of young Lumsden, whom they took to be the Colonel.

We had most trouble with our carts and animals when night marching. The ponies were excellent for draught purposes; the Cape mules did not last nearly as well. If properly fed the ponies would have worked throughout our stay in Africa; but they were often days without anything but what they could pick when we got an hour’s halt. On one occasion which I remember well they were thirty-six hours under harness without food of any kind, and only watered once. People might say, Why not oftener? Water was not procurable.

Another thing that came against us was the cunning Kaffir. He could walk around at night, take the best of our animals, and have them disfigured in such a way that nobody could recognise them the following morning. We put up with this for a long time, until our stock of spare mules ran short, and then we had to carry out the same tricks as the remainder by doing unto others as they had done to us. We were able to take to Pretoria every one of the carts with which we left Bloemfontein. When we got there, everything, of course, was the worse for wear, but complete in every other respect. If anything ever frightened our Transport drivers it was the word ‘drift.’ You should have seen their worried looks when they heard that there was a drift ahead; but they braved everything, thinking that Pretoria would finish all. But to our surprise when we got there we found out that the show was only then starting. We had a little rest after the surrender, being sent to a station ten miles off called Irene. While there the Transport kept the horses of the corps well fed on oat-hay, which we brought from all the farms within ten miles of the place. We remained at Irene until August 1, and then got attached to a brigade going after De Wet in the Rustenburg direction. We were on this march for twenty-eight days without rest, which was the cause of killing all our Indian ponies except twelve. The whole of that month’s march was a dead pull for the Transport—some days it was up to the ankle in sand, while next it was just the same in black sticky earth. We were not the only lot that suffered; every unit experienced just the same. It took us all our time to get our carts back to Pretoria. At the end of August we were only a day in Pretoria before being ordered off again on the march to Barberton. Things had to be got ready as quickly as possible, and off we went on September 1 for another long trek. When starting on this march we had to leave twelve of our carts in Pretoria, and as many men of the corps had come down we reduced our Transport. During the whole of this period we had very little time for carrying out repairs to carts and harness. The saddles began to give out in the leather, as they had not been repaired since we left Calcutta except a stitch here and there. During our stay in Africa we never had an animal suffer from sore back. This, we think, was due to the excellent way in which the saddles were stuffed before leaving Calcutta. Although newly received from the Ordnance Department, they did not satisfy the Commissariat and Transport Sergeant-Major, who had them stuffed to his own liking.

On the march to Barberton and back we had very bad weather, which completely destroyed our gear, and, arriving at Pretoria for the third time, we thought of getting it thoroughly repaired. We had done our best, and, in fact, had all the saddles restuffed and lined in a very short time, when orders were received for the corps to be disbanded.

The number of animals with which we left India was—Ponies, 100; mules, 5; total, 105. The five mules lasted throughout, but only eight ponies lived to see the finish. Two of these, driven by Private Arthurton, seemed to be in better condition at the finish than when they left Calcutta. He took great care of his animals. Two others were in charge of Driver Estabrooke. As he intended remaining in South Africa, the Colonel presented him with his pair.

The whole of the carts and gear were handed over to the Ordnance, Pretoria, before our departure, with three hearty cheers from Lumsden’s muleteers.

APPENDIX XII
TOPICAL SONG

BY J. HENRY, TROOPER IN LUMSDEN’S HORSE

I

The long campaign is over,