fun and sport. If
anybody, in a sermon or in a speech, try to impress on him the
seriousness of the situation, pointing out how our ancestors have
suffered and how we have to follow in their steps, our hero of
yesterday, the jolly lad who was laughing boisterously and joking a
minute ago, is seen to melt, and the tears start in his eyes. I am now
referring to the true Afrikander. Of course, there are many calling
themselves Afrikanders who during this War have proved themselves to
be the scum of the nation. I wish to keep them distinguished from the
true, from the noble men belonging to this nationality of whom I shall
be proud as long as I live, no matter what the result of the War may
be.

Our laagers were not in a very satisfactory position, more as regards
our safety than the question of health, sickness being expected to
make itself felt only later in the year.

We therefore decided to "trek" another 10 miles, to the east of
Witpoort, through Korfsnek, to the Steenkampsbergen, in order to pitch
or camp at Windhoek. Windhoek (wind-corner) was an appropriate name,
the breezes blowing there at times with unrelenting fury.

Here we celebrated Christmas of 1900, but we sorely missed the many
presents our friends and lady acquaintances sent us from Johannesburg
on the previous festival, and which had made last year's Christmas on
the Tugela such a success.

No flour, sugar or coffee, no spirits or cigars to brighten up our
festive board. This sort of thing belonged to the luxuries which had
long ceased to come our way, and we had to look pleasant on
mealie-porridge and meat, varied by meat and mealie-porridge.

Yet many groups of burghers were seen to be amusing themselves at all
sorts of games; or you found a pastor leading divine service and
exhorting the burghers. Thus we kept our second Christmas in the
field.

About this time the commandos from the Lydenburg district (where we
now were) as well as those from the northern part of Middelburg, were
placed under my command, and I was occupied for several days in
reorganising the new arrivals. The fact of the railway being almost
incessantly in the hands of the enemy, and the road from Machadodorp
to Lydenburg also blocked by them (the latter being occupied in
several places by large or small garrisons) compelled us to place a
great number of outposts to guard against continual attacks and to
report whenever some of the columns, which were always moving about,