d the
fire, every now and again adding wood to the flames, and others, again,
picking mites out of the biltong with a pocket-knife.

A shower had not much effect upon us. We were accustomed to letting our
clothes dry on our bodies. Nature is very kind to people who are day and
night in the open air. If the sun did not shine soon after a shower, we
made a very deplorable appearance in our dripping clothes. But we never
grumbled. We were generally cheerful, unless we were exhausted from
fatigue.

We suffered most on those long nights when, for some reason or other, we
could not sleep, for many of the burghers were troubled with fears for
their dear ones. Often, after a long ride, we were too tired to prepare
a meal, but simply flung ourselves against our saddles and slept before
we had time to let our thoughts wander. But if the enemy were not at our
heels, we often passed the long nights in sleeplessness, gazing up at
the stars with the most bitter feelings in our hearts. No wonder that
many a burgher grew gray. We were often kept awake by the tethered
horses stumbling among the groups. Sometimes a man would jump up and
strike at them till all the others awoke, too, and then there was great
hilarity in the quiet of the night.

Sometimes a constant rain cast a shadow over the sunny Hoogeveld and
made our lives sombre and almost unbearable. Then our tattered garments
could not dry on our bodies, and everything about us was wet and dirty.
Even in dry weather fuel was almost unattainable, for the treeless
Hoogeveld had been almost exhausted by the many large commandos which
had visited the 'uitspan' places. In wet weather it was almost an
impossibility to make a fire.

Whoever had an ailment passed unpleasant nights then; each night meant a
nail in his coffin. Even the constant rain the burghers bore cheerfully,
and many a joke was passed along during an interval in the downpour. But
in the morning, as we dragged our weary limbs out of our mud-baths,
shivering from cold, we did not venture to put the conventional
question, 'Did you sleep well?' to each other.

The spirit among the burghers was very different from what it had been.
No swearing was heard, and quarrelling was exceptional. Thefts, too,
were seldom committed. We called ourselves 'sifted'; traitors and
thieves had gone over to the stronger party. I do not believe that any
European army would have kept its moral tone so high under such
demoralizing circumstan