tch yourself--and out here on the
warpath one occasionally does--say it's your arm, you need not trouble
to take your tunic off; you simply put your hand through the nearest
hole or rent, and there you are; if it's your leg you do the same, and
thus a lot of trouble is saved.

COMMANDEERING BY ORDER.

NEAR THE RACECOURSE,
PRETORIA.
_Friday, August 31st, 1900._

We arrived here on Tuesday last (28th), and since then have been camped
almost on the very spot where we were in June, and are expecting every
moment to receive further marching orders. These we should undoubtedly
have got long ere now, if we had only obtained remounts, which are very
scarce. General Mahon has gone on to Balmoral with the I.L.H., Lumsden's
Horse, and other corps with horses, and this morning Colonel Pilcher
paraded us, New Zealanders, Queenslanders and I.Y., and bade us
good-bye. He has been connected with the Colonials from the beginning of
the campaign, and took the Zealanders into their first fight. I am
feeling awfully fagged to-day, so hope you will, in reading this letter,
make allowance for extenuating circumstances. If you only knew, I think
you do, what these letters mean, the self-denied slumbers and washes,
_fatigues shirked_, books and papers unread, and other little treats
which comrades have indulged in when the rare and short opportunities
have occurred--you would forgive much. On Tuesday (August 21st) we had
five Sussex men and three Somerset in the ranks of our troop of the
Composite Squadron of Yeomanry, the rest being either in the ambulances
or leading done (not "dun") horses with the waggons. In this district we
came across numerous Kaffir villages, from which we drew mealies and
handed in acknowledgments for the same payable in Pretoria. Reference to
these papers reminds me that some of the Colonials in commandeering
horses from peaceful Boer farmers have given them extraordinary
documents to hand in to the authorities at Pretoria. For instance, one
paper would contain the statement that Major Nevercomeback had obtained
a roan mare from Mr. Viljoen Botha, for which he agreed to pay him L20,
others of which I have heard and since forgotten were intensely amusing.
On Wednesday (the 22nd) I had to do a footslog, owing to my horse giving
out. Later I shot him, but I have made a special reference to th