every
day, or the men become ineffective, and the hospitals filled.

At the beginning of November, 1899, Ladysmith, containing over 20,000
souls, with 9,800 horses and mules, and 2,500 oxen and a few hundred
sheep, was cut off from the outer world, and nothing in the way of
supplies was brought in for 119 days, except a few cattle which our
guides looted at night from the besieging enemy. The problem was how to
utilise the food supplies which were in the place, and those who had the
misfortune (or, as some say, the good fortune) to go through that trying
period will say that the problem was very satisfactorily solved in spite
of the enormous difficulties the Army Service Corps had to contend with.

The two senior officers of that corps--Colonel E.W. D. Ward, C.B., and
Lieut.-Colonel Stoneman--recognising the possibility of a siege, and
also that a big margin is everything in army administration, had caused
enormous quantities of supplies to be sent up from the base to
Ladysmith. The articles were not even tallied or counted as received, in
spite of the remonstrances of the consignors; but by means of Kaffir
labourers, working night and day, the trucks were off-loaded as fast as
possible, and again sent down the line to bring up more food.

STORES AT THE BEGINNING.

The quantities of the various articles in hand at the beginning of
November were as follows:--

lbs.
Flour 979,996
Preserved Meat 173,792
Biscuits 142,510
Tea 23,167
Coffee 9,483
Sugar 267,699
Salt 38,741
Maize 3,965,400
Bran 923,948
Oats 1,270,570
Hay, &c. 1,864,223

and a large amount of medical comforts, such as spirits, wines,
arrowroot, sago, beef tea, &c.

In addition to the above we had rice, _ghi_, _goor_, _atta_, &c., for
the natives of the Indian contingent. (_Ghi_ is clarified butter;
_goor_, unrefined sugar; _atta_ is whole meal.)

At the beginning of the siege the scale of rations was as follows:--

Bread, 1-1/4 lb, or biscuit, 1 lb.
Meat (fresh), 1-1/4 lb., or preserved meat, 1 lb.
{ Coffee, 1 oz.,
{ or
{ Tea, 1/2 oz.
Sugar, 3 oz.
Salt, 1/2 oz.
Pepper, 1/36 oz.
{ Vegetables