The names of several other applicants are still before His Excellency, and I hope to advise you soon of their having received commissions also. At the same time I do not expect any of these will leave the corps until its disbandment. Young Maurice Clifford has been taken on by General Ian Hamilton as orderly, and is also likely to receive a commission, as well as Leslie Williams, son of the late popular Gwatkin Williams. Captain Rutherfoord, Lieutenant Crane, and Sergeant Macnamara have been offered commissions in the Transvaal Mounted Police, and will probably remain in this country, as I believe will a good many others. Captain Stevenson is likely to obtain an important veterinary appointment out here, and Dr. (Captain) Powell is also in the running for a high medical post should he prefer this to returning to India. All the above, added to the continued requisitions for men of my corps for various offices, point to the esteem in which they are held by the authorities apart from their fighting qualities. In fact, were it not for strong remonstrances on my part to official requests, I should be in a fair way to lose a big percentage of my men before the work for which they came out has been completed. In my previous letter I mentioned the sad plight to which our horses had been reduced, and that at the time of writing I doubted my ability to place ninety mounted men in the field fit for a two-days’ march. You will now be pleased to hear that in this respect things have improved, and that I can now mount 180 officers and men on fairly serviceable animals, few, however, remaining of our original Indian chargers. In this connection I may also mention that out of sixty Argentine remounts received at Kroonstad, only one is alive. Now comes the important question of finance. I have been spending various sums on comforts for the men, the largest item being 50_l._ for a much-needed supply of tobacco. The men are very badly in want of clothes, especially breeches, tunics, and boots. I have indented on the Government Stores at Bloemfontein for a complete outfit, and hope to receive it shortly. This, of course, will be issued to us gratis. Nothing in the shape of clothing can be got for money. I am enclosing a statement showing roughly the financial position of the corps. From this you will see that, provided the war is not prolonged beyond our present anticipations, there will be an ample balance left to admit of the payments estimated for in Calcutta. [Illustration: _Photo: Johnston & Hoffmann_ SERGEANT ERNEST DAWSON ] CHAPTER XIV _ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS—BOER SCOUTING—A RECONNAISSANCE TO CROCODILE RIVER—FAREWELL TO COLONEL ROSS_