A commandant is appointed, and given command of one, two, or more veldtcornetcies, depending upon circumstances. Each veldtcornet divides up his men into corporalships of twenty-five men, and over each corporalship he appoints a corporal. The commandant general (commander-in-chief), who is elected by the whole people, appoints a vecht-general (fighting general), who commands one, two or more commandancies, also depending upon circumstances. Assistant commandant-generals are appointed by the chief, to assist him in various districts; these, of course, hold command over the vecht-generals. In time of peace there is but one general, and that is the commandant-general, who is also a member of the President's staff, called the Executive Council. In time of war all the other generals are appointed as they are required. At the beginning of the war, there existed what you might call a Commissary and Quartermaster Department. These Departments load the trains with rations and clothing, and ship them to the front for the supply of the burghers. Each veldtcornet, on their arrival, sends his wagons, and gets all they can haul without requisition. The corporal in charge simply signs a receipt for what he gets. On the wagons arriving at the camp, the burghers go and help themselves to what they want. This never causes any trouble, for the burghers are always ready to divide up with each other whatever food or clothing they may have. I mention these two departments, because it is the first time in Boer history that they ever existed. They continued to exist for about ten months and then disappeared, and it is my opinion that all were better off; for then we had to come down to straight mealie pap (corn meal mush), and fresh beef. Commissary Departments kill more soldiers than are killed by bullets. When living on nothing but "mealie pap" and fresh meat, all are healthy, strong, energetic and full of fight. The Boer war has proved this; for during the last two years of the war we had nothing else to eat, and we lost but one man from sickness; and did the hardest work and best fighting, and in the end, when the general surrender came, the world had never seen 24,000 stronger, healthier and more dashing patriots than those who laid down their faithful rifles to save their women and children from extinction. I now arrive at the point when the rapidity with which telegrams were passing back and forth on the telegraph lines was such, that the iron poles were fairly melting to the ground, and when President Kruger was finally convinced that war could not by any possibility be averted, and that the so-called great Christian nation, his foe, was bent on spilling the blood of thousands of innocent people, in order to satiate its thirst for gold.