-convoy comes in, now expected from Kroonstadt. We are
fifty-four miles, across mountains, from Harrismith on the east, and
seventy or eighty from Kroonstadt on the west. All supplies from the
latter must come by ox-waggons over dozens of bad drifts, with raiding
Boers about, and it is easy to see how an army might be starved before
it knew it. We are very short now, I believe. It seems De Wet is ten
miles off in the mountains, being watched by Broadwood's cavalry, and
as soon as we can move I expect we shall go for him. Grazing in the
afternoon. Williams and I played picquet, lying by our horses. This is
always rather a precarious amusement, as the horses have a way of
starting off suddenly to seek "pastures new," and you look up and find
them gone, and have to climb rocks and view them out. We tie them all
four close together, but there is generally one predominant partner
who personally conducts the rest. In the evening we baked cakes of our
mealy flour, adding Mellin's Food, mixed herbs, vanilla, and fat, and
fried it in a fatty dish. It was very good, and was followed by meat
fried in mealy crumbs, and later on, some mealy porridge and Mellin
mixed. We tried Mellin alone first, but it seemed thin. We read the
directions carefully, and used the proportions laid down for infants
_over_ three months. I dare say it would have been all right had we
been four months old, but being rather more mature, it seemed
unsubstantial. Its main advantage is its sweetness. In this hungry
life, one misses sugar more than anything.

_July 13._--Reveille 6.30, and grooming, while the infantry chaps sat
up in their beds and watched us sarcastically. At nine,
harness-cleaning for drivers, and grazing for gunners, but I have got
a gunner who dislikes bare-back riding to do my harness while I graze.
I am writing on the veldt; warm sunny day, pale blue sky--very
pale.--Back to finish harness-cleaning. We always "grouse" at this
occupation, as I believe all drivers do on active service. We don't
polish steel, but there is a wonderful lot of hard work in rubbing
dubbin into all the leather. It is absolutely necessary to keep it
supple, especially such parts as the collar, girths, stirrup-leathers,
reins, etc. Grazing again all the afternoon. The horses have been on
half rations of oats since we came here, so I suppose it is necessary.
I was sitting writing by my horses, when a cart rattled by. Some one
shouted, "Anything to sell?" It stopped,