ry offence, and to attach to every
company and squadron the most rapid and efficient means for boiling
it--for filtering alone is useless. An incessant trouble it would be,
but it would have saved a division for the army. It is heartrending
for the medical man who has emerged from a hospital full of water-born
pestilence to see a regimental watercart being filled, without protest,
at some polluted wayside pool. With precautions and with inoculation all
those lives might have been saved. The fever died down with the advance
of the troops and the coming of the colder weather.

To return to the military operations: these, although they were
stagnant so far as the main army was concerned, were exceedingly and
inconveniently active in other quarters. Three small actions, two of
which were disastrous to our arms, and one successful defence marked the
period of the pause at Bloemfontein.

To the north of the town, some twelve miles distant lies the ubiquitous
Modder River, which is crossed by a railway bridge at a place named
Glen. The saving of the bridge was of considerable importance, and might
by the universal testimony of the farmers of that district have been
effected any time within the first few days of our occupation. We
appear, however, to have imperfectly appreciated how great was the
demoralisation of the Boers. In a week or so they took heart, returned,
and blew up the bridge. Roving parties of the enemy, composed mainly of
the redoubtable Johannesburg police, reappeared even to the south of the
river. Young Lygon was killed, and Colonels Crabbe and Codrington with
Captain Trotter, all of the Guards, were severely wounded by such a
body, whom they gallantly but injudiciously attempted to arrest when
armed only with revolvers.

These wandering patrols who kept the country unsettled, and harassed
the farmers who had taken advantage of Lord Roberts's proclamation, were
found to have their centre at a point some six miles to the north of
Glen, named Karee. At Karee a formidable line of hills cut the British
advance, and these had been occupied by a strong body of the enemy
with guns. Lord Roberts determined to drive them off, and on March 28th
Tucker's 7th Division, consisting of Chermside's brigade (Lincolns,
Norfolks, Hampshires, and Scottish Borderers), and Wavell's brigade
(Cheshires, East Lancashires, North Staffords, and South Wales
Borderers), were assembled at Glen. The artillery consisted of the
veteran 18