Toward noon we crossed the broad, well-made caravan road which comes from the coast station of Pangani, and runs far west into the interior. Soon after crossing this road we climbed into low hill country, and camped at Ssangeni, a native village west of Handeni—some houses of which were now visible, about eight miles distant, at the foot of an isolated, prominent, cone-shaped kopje. To-day’s meagre rations, sugar (no tea), 1 lb. meat, and biscuits. _Sunday, 18th June._—Lay all day in position occupied last night. South African troops went out from the column in the early morning under operation orders. Recent information as to the enemy’s strength estimates that the force opposed to us, in the Handeni neighbourhood, is twelve companies of infantry, two 4·1 naval guns, and fourteen maxim machine-guns. [Sidenote: HANDENI NEIGHBOURHOOD] _19th June._—In camp. To-day the news reached us that Handeni had been occupied by General Sheppard’s column, and also that the South Africans operating from our column had engaged the enemy near here yesterday, and inflicted some casualties, but the enemy would not long stand their ground, and fought their familiar bush-covering retreating fight. To-day, from the native habitations, some food was collected by our hungry troops. My orderly obtained some welcome delicacies in the following strange manner: he bartered an old shirt for two chickens, an under-vest for seven eggs, and an old football sweater for six vegetable-marrows. Money held little inducement to the natives here; they were in great need of clothing, and it was apparel they sought. They say that sugar and clothes are finished in the German camps. [Illustration: GERMAN PAPER RUPEE.] Crude, locally minted brass coins and printed paper one-rupee notes were plentiful among the natives, here and elsewhere. Those they have received from the Germans since war began in payment for food collected, by native consent or by force. If the war failed for the German this very doubtful currency would be unredeemable and valueless, and so the ignorant natives were warned that it was poor, if not totally false, this wealth which they held. On the 20th and 21st of June we remained at Ssangeni. In the evening of the 20th advanced South African troops engaged the enemy ahead, and heavy conflict ensued, and lasted some two or three hours. Later, one of the returned wounded reported that the South African casualties were 15 killed and 75 wounded, and that the enemy had had some 200 casualties, but none of this information was authentic, though it was sufficient to show that a sharp encounter had taken place.