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
In a prominent position behind Lord Roberts, and surrounded by a mass
of scaffolding, was a pedestal, where work had been carried on to erect
a statue of the President of the Transvaal Republic. That pedestal,
destined to remain unfilled, stood there, a monument of disappointed
ambition.
Down Church Street we went for half a mile, swung off to the right, and
returned by a parallel road to our camping ground, passing the Electric
Lighting Company's tall chimney, where the enterprising mechanics had,
with much danger and trouble, hoisted the British flag at the summit,
and stood at their gate cheering us as we went by; one of the few marks
of enthusiasm with which we were greeted.
The square in the centre of the town contains the most important
buildings, the Town Hall and the Raadzaal being large and lofty modern
erections; a large hotel, three banks and several minor buildings
complete the list. In Church Street are numerous splendid shops, which
then showed signs of trouble, most of them being blocked up with
corrugated iron, which, in compliment to the troops, as heralding the
approach of safety, the owners were commencing to remove as we went by.
The rest of the town, which is well laid out, with broad streets running
at right angles and planted with trees, consists of smaller shops and
native stores, or of private residences--many of the latter built in the
Indian style, with broad verandahs and large compounds, well planted and
laid out. Further out to the west of the town are the suburban
residences of the wealthier townspeople, in great contrast to the
humble-looking dwelling of the President, which we passed on our way
before we entered the square. Mrs. Kruger was still residing in the, to
her, now lonely house, upon which an officer's guard had been mounted to
ensure proper respect being paid to the old lady Cleanliness was not a
great point of the housekeeping, as may be understood from the fact that
the sergeant of the guard was compelled to go and buy a bottle of
Keating's Powder and some other disinfectant, the whole of which he had
to sprinkle in the room allotted to the men as a guardroom, before it
could be lived in.
We only stayed a day and a half in Pretoria, as on the 6th of June we
were sent by half battalions to Irene, about 12 miles off, the first
party moving at three o'clock in the afternoon and the others some hours
later. The road winds for the first few miles, through a pass in the
hills, in and out among dusty rocks, and then opens out on to the usual
interminable veldt. Irene cannot be seen until the traveller is close
upon it, as it lies in a fold of the ground; but it is not much worth
seeing, anyhow, consisting merely of the railway station buildings, and
some cement works. There is, however, a very successful irrigation farm
in the neighbourhood.
Captain Maguire joined us here from England, looking very cheery, and
full of keenness and eagerness to see some of the show before it was all
over.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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