26. No jam, 1/2 lb. mealie meal, 1-1/2 lb. meat, nothing else. I paid a shopkeeper at Piet Retief 2_s._ 6_d._ for a quarter-handful of salt. Brigade Orders. 27.2.01. By General French: 'O.C. units will take steps to let the troops know how highly their spirits and bearing under the privations they are suffering from bad weather and short rations are appreciated by the Lieutenant-General Commanding.' 27.2.01. Burnt mealie cobs issued for coffee. Telegram from Lord Kitchener to General French, Piet Retief, 28.2.01:--'Explain to the troops under your command my admiration of the excellent work they have performed, and the difficulties they have overcome.' 8.3.01. Full rations, first issue since 14.2.01. To show that the troops, besides suffering from frightful bad weather (constant rain for a month), had to work hard, the following results are shown. General Orders. The following results of our operations since 27.1.01, is published for officers and men:-- _Boers_, killed, wounded, and captured, 393; surrendered, 353. Total accounted for, 746. _Cannon_ taken, excluding a maxim, 4. _Rifles_, 606. _Ammunition_, 161,630. _Horses and mules_, 6504. _Trek oxen_, 362. _Other cattle_, 20,986. _Sheep_, 158,130. _Waggons and carts_, 1604. _Mealies and oat hay_, over 4,000,000 lbs. H. BURKE, LT. Colonel Hicks now set every one to work improving the various posts round Krugersdorp, setting a fine example to all by the interest he took in the work, and showing his thoroughness by the attention he devoted to even the most trivial details. He also took infinite pains to make Christmas as pleasant as he could for every one. The regiment was, of course, very much split up in the various forts and fortified houses, but headquarters still remained till the end of the year in our old camping-ground. On the very last day of the year an escort of forty men returning to Krugersdorp had a near shave of being cut off; they lost four men captured, and would assuredly have lost more but for the prompt action of Major English, who went out from Kilmarnock with twenty men to help them in. So ended 1900. It had been a hard year for every one, but one and all had done their best, and no sign of failing spirits was visible anywhere. It was difficult to see anything like an end to the campaign, however, for the process of attrition, which now seemed the sole solution, was necessarily a slow one, and considerably interfered with by the various 'regrettable incidents' that occurred from time to time in the huge theatre of the war. These not only assisted our indomitable foes with extra supplies of clothing, arms, ammunition, &c., but also had the effect of keeping up their _morale_. On January 4th, 1901, the 400 men under Major Bird passed through on their way to Elandsfontein, but nobody knew about the move in time to go up to the station and see them.