shed in the disastrous attack on the Magersfontein
trenches. The whole line north of this point was patrolled by colonial
volunteers, amongst whom I noticed especially the Duke of Edinburgh's
Rifles, with gay ribbons round their "smasher" hats. Nothing could be
less exciting or interesting than their monotonous routine of work. We
continually came across a little band of, say, twenty or thirty men and
a couple of officers stationed near some culvert or bridge. Their tents
were pitched on a bit of stony ground, with not a trace of vegetation
near it, and here they stayed for months together, half dead from the
boredom of their existence. Nevertheless such work was quite essential
to the success of the campaign, for the attitude of the Dutch colonists
up-country has been throughout the war an uncertain factor, and if these
long lines of communication had been left unprotected it is more than
likely that our "Tommies'" supplies would not have arrived at the front
with unfailing regularity. As it was, shots were occasionally fired at
the trains, and at one spot we passed a curious incident occurred in
this connection. A patrol suddenly came across a colonist who had
climbed up a telegraph post and was busily engaged in cutting the wires.
"Crack" went a Lee-Metford and the rebel, shot like a sitting bird,
dropped from his perch to the ground. On another occasion we heard a
dull explosion not unlike the boom of a heavy gun, and found a little
later that a culvert had been blown up a few miles ahead of us not far
from Graspan. In short, I do not think that the British public fully
realised the danger threatened by any serious and extensive revolt of
the Dutch colonists. Had the farmers in that vast triangle bounded by
the railway, the coast and the Orange River thrown off their allegiance,
it would have taken many more than 15,000 colonial volunteers to prevent
their mobile commandos from swooping down here and there along this long
line of railway, and utterly destroying our western line of
communication as well as menacing Lord Methuen's forces in the rear.
Whatever may be said or thought of some of Mr. Schreiner's actions, it
is held, and justly held, by level-headed people of both parties at the
Cape, that the continuance in office of the Dutch ministry has
contributed more than anything else to preserve the colony from the
peril of an internal rebellion. For this we cannot be too thankful!

Signs of animal life in the Karr