Diary and letters relating to the service of Stanley Spencer Reid, 1900-1901 - Part 4

20
wish it, for time does
not allow one to write
much. Many of the fellows
Have just finished laying
the horse lines; they are
made of rails & are a
fearful weight, taking 13
men all their time to
carry one. But it is
done; as you know I
have an aversion to
manual labour & don't
care for such jobs.
However not much hard
work comes my way & I
have a pretty free hand
so that the fellows wonder
that I am not into more
hot water. One night
21
we had to camp in a
horrible place, so I sneaked
off to a farm &
slept there like a prince
& nothing was said next
day. While four days ago
through my own fault I
got separated from my
horse & got lost as far as
my contingent was concerned,
however after a day & a
half wandering I found
them all right & my horse
as well, Nothing said here
either. Talking about present
day warfare it is very plain
that the object is to incapacitate
& not kill; the
bullets used are very small!
 

22
& make a very small
puncture, & many men are
shot right through the
body & yet recover while
with the big Martini-Henry
he would have been killed.
Beside the Mausers the
Boers use big bullets & they
make a terrible hole;
while some of them use
soft-nosed bullets which
expand on impact & make
a fearful mess. These w.
the dum-dums are not
considered eligible; & the
British won't use them.
We came across every kind
of bullet; the dum-dums
are hollowed out so that
23
when striking an object
the flattens out & tear
a fearful hole, so that
they serve the same
purpose as the softnosed
bullet one on an exaggerated
scale. Dinner is
on the way to readiness
as my cooking something
extra; for just now
there is no bread but
merely biscuits. This
letter is longer than I
thought it would be, for
they have left me alone
more than usual. My
huge felt hat is a great
 

24
comfort to me, & I hope
a helmet never touches my
head again. What must
people have done in the
early days when there
was no postage
communication between
distant parts? I am
always wondering how
everything is in Australia
& what has happened.
Now I must go & make
some coffee & bread to go
with our dinner which
will probably consist
of a stew. Adieu just now
my dears.
25
Once more a few lines. There
is one thing at any rate
which the Dutch can make
well - & that is coffee. When
we are out scouting we
always call at every farm
near at hand for a cup of
coffee, or at Kaffir Kraals
for milk; & as we o9ften go
through the day without
food such diet is not to
be despised. A few of
the Canadians stopped for
an hour or two to-day
here; but we never wish 
to see them again or
march with them; they
are the biggest thieves in
 

26
creation, & have got a
very bad name indeed.
We are evidently here for
some time, as permanent
horse lines have been
laid down. Does this
pencil rub out by the
time it reaches you? I
hope not, for then my
efforts w^d be ineffective
as well as ineffectual.
The paper I know is rather
shabby, but it is a convenient
method, & keeps
the paper to some extent
clean. They have
allowed us to loafe a
lot to-day hence the
27
length of my epistle.
Many of the fellows are
washing to-day, & their
clothes badly need it, if
they don't fall to pieces
in the process. Water is
very scarce just here.
& it is a matter of difficulty
to get enough for our
coffee & tea. But for meat
we have abundance, as
yesterday we brought in
a mob of sheep, & there
is no stint. Now my
dears I must bring
this letter to a conclusion;
may you all be
in the best of health
 

28
& soon I hope to be
with you again. May
God bless you all. Give
my love to the boys
& the kids & with heaps
to yourselves
I am
yr loving son
Stanley.
P.S. Please ask Mrs Lyall
to forward this on to
Ethel in China.
S.S.R.
N.B.
Please Return
when read
 

1
Rhenoster River
1/7/1900
My dearest Mother & Father
Again there seems a
chance of the departure
of a mail shortly, & in order
to make sure of it my
intention is to begin at once.
We are still camped between
the Rhenoster River &
Honing Sprint, upon the
railway & for the last
week really have been
having an east time of
it; but it is not at all
exciting work. I am
expecting that soon we
shall receive orders
for home. As very little
 

2
seems doing at the front.
Nearly every horse is
knocked up now, & mine
is very bad this morning,
so that means unless they
send up remounts we
will be practically useless.
We have had several
little brushes with the
Boers during the last 10
days. About a week ago
my lieutenant & myself
were riding along the line
back to camp when we
saw 9 men ride slowly
away at right angles to
the line. The officer
looked at them thro'
his glasses & took them
3
for some of our own men.
After going a little way
two of them detached themselves
& came towards me,
(I was about 400 yards
nearer them than the lieutenant);
I dismounted
& levelled my rifle but
did nor fire not knowing
who they were;
they went back again,
dismounted & fired; the
bullets whistled past
me; I dismounted &
returned the compliment.
Then they rode away & I
followed to try &
find out where their
laager was, but with
 

4
no success. The officer
returned to camp & sent
out 4 men to try & find
me, dead or alive. Of
course I was very
much alive & got back
into camp at about 8
p.m. It was an exciting
gallop I had. We are
still feeding excellently
& our frying pan & billies
may be seen in use 3
times a day. The other
day I shot a springbok
so venison has
been added to our
larder; while yesterday
when out, I &
another shot 5 wild
5
duck & bought a [[?]]
& fowl. At present I
am one of the guards
over the horses as
they feed; my pipe &
a billy of tea are by
my side as I lie prone
on the veldt. The
nights now are particularly
cold with hard
frosts, & one is glad to
obtain all the bags
& blankets he can
lay his hands on.
Pay-day comes to-morrow
& most of the fellows
will be very glad of it.
I generally manage
to keep a little in hand
 

6
so don't look forward
with such interest to
its arrival. As I told
you in my last letter
the Boers have been
engaging themselves by
tearing up the newly
mended railway, &
Lord Roberts has
issued a Proclamation
saying that all farms
in the close vicinity
of any such destructive
action shall be burnt
to the ground; it
seems a very harsh
measure, but is I
think quite necessary.
7
The smoke from
such farms has been
visible all round
during the last 3 or 4
days. You know the
Boers come in to camp
& get [[a pass?]] at headquarters
& at the
same time sneak
round tearing up
the lines & generally
making themselves
nuisances. Lord
Roberts is a wonderfully
lenient man & has
given the Boers every
concession. Didn't
tell you that my weight
had [[?]] from
 

8
10 stone 12 lbs to 12 stone
2 lbs; I fancy I did &
only mention it again
to show you that soldiering
agrees w. my constitution.
Out on the veldt
here one sees mobs of
hundreds of spring
& other kinds of bok;
in fact it w^d be an
ideal place for a
few weeks shooting.
Permission has come
from the [[N.A.?]] Gov^t
granting men the right
to stay in S^th Africa
if they choose, & a
great many will do so.
9
Still no mail from
Australia, although
we heard that one for
the 11^th Division had
come through to Pretoria;
if such be the
case there will probably
be some for us
& they ought to arrive
in a day or two. We
never see a paper here
& know little or nothing of the
war in general. Yesterday
one of the fellows got
hold of a Bloemfontein
paper & got a good
deal of news from
it. We have nick-