ble to act as a sort of
support to the officer commanding than to be actually in command myself.
This plan turned out quite successful.

A finer lot of sports I shall probably never travel with again. Among
them we had men of all classes--judges' sons, doctors' sons, squatters'
sons, bootmakers' sons, butchers' sons, all happy together, and all more
than ready for their job. Amongst our South Australian lot was one Jack
Morant. He was not an Australian born, but had come out from the old
country a few years before, and had an uncle at a place called Renmark,
up the River Murray, where the Chaffey brothers, the irrigation experts
from California, had established a fruit colony and had induced several
retired officers from the old country to settle. Amongst these was
Lieut.-Colonel Morant, Jack's uncle. The latter had been promoted to the
rank of corporal, and had been christened by his comrades "Corporal
Buller," from the somewhat extraordinary likeness he bore to General Sir
Redvers. I will tell you more about Jack Morant and his unfortunate end
later on. Those of you who read the _Sydney Bulletin_ in the days before
the South African War may remember several typical Australian poems that
appeared in that clever journal over the name of "The Breaker." "The
Breaker" was Jack Morant.

CHAPTER XI

WITH LORD ROBERTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

It was on February 25, 1900, that the _Surrey_ anchored in Cape Town Bay.
As soon as the usual formalities were completed I was taken off in a
special launch, and on landing proceeded to report myself to General
Forestier Walker, at the time G.O.C. Lines of Communication.

Lord Roberts, who had superseded General Sir Redvers Buller as
Commander-in-Chief, was, I think, at that very date hammering Cronje at
Paardeberg. On the voyage over in the _Surrey_ I had prepared a scheme to
submit to Lord Roberts for the organization and employment of the
numerous mounted contingents that had been offered by Australia and New
Zealand. We little thought then that over 16,000 officers and men and
horses would land in South Africa from Australia alone before the end of
the war. General Forestier Walker, after talking over with me the details
of the scheme, thought that it would fit in with Lord Roberts' future
plans, as confidentially known to him, and he at once telegraphed to the
Commander-in-Chief, notifying him of my arrival, as well as of the fact
that I had an important proposition to put bef