Two Years on Trek: Being Some Account of the Royal Sussex Regiment in South Africa — John Shaqi
Two Years on Trek: Being Some Account of the Royal Sussex Regiment in South AfricaDu Moulin, Louis Eugène
History
Two Years on Trek: Being Some Account of the Royal Sussex Regiment in South Africa
Du Moulin, Louis Eugène
Great Britain. Army. Royal Sussex Regiment; South African War, 1899-1902 -- Regimental histories -- Great Britain
Our engineers were soon on the spot, and at the end of a few days
(certainly under a week) had found and repaired the old deviation which
was in use before the bridge was built, had made a low bridge of
sleepers over the drift, and had trains running without any more
trouble. These old deviations exist at every river where there is now a
bridge, and were made years ago when the line was building; so that all
our engineers had to do when a bridge was blown up, as they were at
Glen, Vet River, and many other places, was to find the deviation, clear
out the weeds, lay the rails, and repair the line where it required it;
and trains were running again in, probably, a day or two. One great
drawback, however, was the want of engines and rolling stock, as the
Boers had removed all they could take away up country, and we could not
get nearly enough engines and wagons from the Cape railways to satisfy
our requirements.
There were a few supplies left in the town, and a wagon load was bought
for the regimental canteen, most of the contents, milk, jam, tobacco,
matches, sugar and eatables generally, being sold out the same
afternoon. The Staff Officer for Supplies had been round the town before
our canteen people got in, and had collared nearly all the tea and
sugar; but we managed to get a good quantity. After having been on
three-quarter rations for the best part of a fortnight, our men were
quite ready to buy any amount of foodstuffs, especially tea and sugar.
Two days did we halt here and enjoy our well earned rest, but on the
15th of May we were off again on the road to Lindley--and such a road!
Even now, after many months, one remembers as in a nightmare that cursed
road to Lindley, with its ever recurring drifts and its messages--"The
General wishes you to send a company to the drift to assist the
baggage," or to repair the road, or to pull wagons out of the mud. The
drifts were the steepest and the worst that we experienced in perhaps
all our trekking. The full distance to Lindley was about 48 miles, but,
the first march being only a short one, we made the last two average
over 15 miles each, both of which had more than their proper allowance
of drifts.
It might be as well at this stage of the proceedings to describe what a
bad drift looks like to an unprejudiced and impartial mind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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