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A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN 
 DAMARALAND 
 
What the Natal Carbineers look like at Gibeon— sentry 
 
 OUTSIDE the hospital. 
 
A DOCTOR'S DIARY 
 IN DAMARALAND 
 
 BY 
 
 DR. H. F. B. WALKER 
 
 LATF. CAPTAIN K.A.M.C. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 LONDON 
 
 EDWARD ARNOLD 
 
 1917 
 

 ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
 
 I WISH to express my thanks to those who have 
 given me photographs — namely, Major Pershouse, 
 Captain Osier, Captain Bosman, and Staff-Sergeant 
 Smiles. 
 
 H. F. B. WALKER. 
 
a- 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTBR PAOl 
 
 T. CAPE TOWN - - • - - 1 
 
 II. TO WALFISCH BAY - - - - - 11 
 
 III. SWAKUPMUND - - - - - - 25 
 
 IV. THE TREK - - - - - - 56 
 
 V. OTJIMBINGWE - - - - - - 77 
 
 VI. THE TREK FROM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK - 107 
 
 VII. WINDHUK ..---. 130 
 
 Vm. TO OTJIHANQWE - - - . . Igl 
 
 IX. WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT - - - 176 
 
 X. LUDERITZBUCHT - - - . X98 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 WHAT THE NATAL CARBINKKKS LOOKED LIKE AT 
 
 6IBE0N . . - - - FrmUispiece 
 GERBIAN CAMEL C50RPS - - - facing jioge 5? 
 
 TRANSPORTING WOUNDED TO KARIBIB - - „ 102 
 
 SURRENDER OF WINDHUK - - ., 132 
 
 NATIVE IX)CATI0N, WINDHUK - - - „ 144 
 C50L0NEL FRANKE, IN COMMAND OF THE GERMAN 
 
 FORCES ----- .1 176 
 
 SCENERY NEAR LUDERITZBUCHT - - - „ 194 
 
 LUDERITZBUCHT - - - - - „ 198 
 
 Vll 
 
A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN 
 DAM ARAL AND 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 CAPE TOWN 
 
 Like thousands of loyal South Africans, I offered 
 my services to the Government when the rebellion 
 broke out, but for several months I heard nothing. 
 During the last week in January, 1915, I received a 
 wire from the Director of Medical Services, saying 
 that, if I were still willing to serve, I must report in 
 Cape Town to the Senior Medical Officer not later 
 than February 1. This was rather short notice, see- 
 ing that three out of the six days would be taken up 
 in getting to Cape Town. However, feeling that I 
 must be required to fill some important gap in General 
 Botha's armies, I " mobilized " \vithin the time speci- 
 fied, and arrived in Cape Town the last night of 
 January. 
 
 Fehrvxiry 1. — Nine a.m. seems to me a reasonable 
 hour in war-time to begin the day's work, so I 
 approach the Castle at that hour to report myself. 
 A very new-looking soldier in very new-looking khaki 
 stands at the gate. He salutes like a clockwork doll. 
 Being still a civilian and inexperienced in taking 
 salutes, I feel rather flattered thereby, until I reflect 
 
 1 
 
2 A;i30i3tpE:S'PIABy..IN DAMAEALAND 
 
 that perhaps he is only practising. At last he relaxes. 
 Sentry-like, he can give no information, but he can 
 call the sergeant, and he leaves his post to summon 
 this dignitary. I am directed across the courtyard 
 to the medical quarters, where a sick-parade is going 
 on. A lot of young soldiers in various degrees of 
 undress are waiting outside the doctor's door. They 
 all look bright and well. A sudden silence falls upon 
 them as a vision in khaki and red passes quickly and 
 enters the door, tripping over its spurs as it does so. 
 A moment's interval, and a corporal appears at the 
 door and calls '' Private Smith !" Private Smith's 
 face instantly takes on that look of settled suffering 
 so characteristic of habitues of a sick-parade, and he 
 enters the doctor's room to receive a pill or potion, 
 looking the picture of misery. At the second or 
 third attempt I succeed in attracting the corporal's 
 attention. The S.M.O. does not arrive before ten 
 o'clock. 
 
 A little after this hour I return, and am shown into 
 the great man's office. A Lieutenant-Colonel and 
 several Majors, all humble practitioners in civil life, 
 seem to have nothing to do or are leisurely driving a 
 pen. The S.M.O. himself is at the telephone. Some 
 important business transacted, he turns to me. " Yes, 
 I think the D.M.S. wrote to me about you "; and he 
 looks through some papers. " No, there is no men- 
 tion as to the disposal of an officer of your name; but 
 I will send you over to the A.D.M.S. of the Northern 
 Force, and if he has nothing for you to do, I will try 
 to find you something at Wynberg." 
 
CAPE TOWN 3 
 
 Feeling hurt, slighted, belittled, insignificant, I 
 slink ofi to the A.D.M.S., who officiates in another 
 building. As I enter his office, a red Scotchman 
 emerges, brandishing his income-tax returns. " Look 
 yu herre," he was saying — " look yu herre ! See 
 what I've given up to be slighted like this !" Inside, 
 a military-looking old Major with a very raucous 
 voice is explaining to the A.D.M.S. that he, and he 
 alone, is fitted for a certain billet, and that billet he 
 means to have. 
 
 The A.D.M.S. turns to me (we had met in civil life). 
 " Hullo ! you here ? Come to help push the cart ? 
 What would you like to do ?" 
 
 I try to stanmier out that I am willing to serve in 
 any capacity. He seemed surprised, and said: 
 " Your middle-aged practitioner is simply impossible. 
 They all want to be Colonels or Majors, and are 
 hufied at the slightest thing." Then he told me that, 
 owing to illness of an officer, there was a vacancy 
 in the M.B.F.A. I accepted with alacrity. Any- 
 thing to avoid playing at soldiers at the base, where 
 I hear medical officers are falling over each other. 
 But I left the office with misgivings. Was it possible 
 that I had made sacrifices — perhaps comparable to 
 those of the red Scotchman — to take part in Gilbertian 
 comedy ? 
 
 The medical training camp is at Wynberg on a 
 sandy flat known as Young's Fields, an ideal place 
 for a camp in the summer, free from flies and dust. 
 Several other Mounted Brigade Field Ambulances 
 are in training here. To-day happens to be pay- 
 
4 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 day. Each man receives a sovereign for the month, 
 non-coms a little more. The rest of the pay, 
 £3 10s. or so, is allotted to wife or mother, and not 
 touched by the men. A pound a week certain and 
 no husband must be a godsend to many a poor 
 woman. 
 
 With little enough to do, a nice clean tent, a 
 personal servant, a good horse, and the whole Cape 
 Peninsula at my disposal, the first stage of the cam- 
 paign promises to be pleasant enough. 
 
 February 10. — Our medical service is being organized 
 on practically the same lines as that of the Imperial 
 Army. Each brigade of troops, numbering in the 
 case of the mounted brigades between 2,000 and 
 3,000 men, is to have its own medical personnel, 
 equipment, and ambulance. In the first place there 
 are regimental medical officers, one to each 500 
 men. The duties of this officer, assisted by trained 
 orderlies, are the health and sanitation of the troops. 
 In case of fighting he is to establish a dressing-station 
 or first-aid post in rear of the firing line, and then to 
 hand over the collection and care of the wounded to 
 the Mounted Brigade Field Ambulance. To assist 
 in the collection of wounded before the ambulance 
 can take over, each fighting unit is to have a few men 
 known as *' regimental stretcher-bearers." 
 
 The field ambulance is organized on the following 
 plan. To begin with, it is really two complete 
 ambulances, each capable of acting independently. 
 It is cut up in this way to correspond with the brigade, 
 which consists of two wings — " right " and " left " 
 
CAPE TOWN 6 
 
 they are called, and are really distinct and complete 
 fighting units. Each section of an ambulance is 
 therefore attached to a wing of the brigade, and 
 follows it into action. A section of the ambulance 
 has two subdivisions. One, called the " bearer 
 division," goes out to collect wounded and render 
 first aid, taking over the dressing-stations from the 
 regimental medical officers. The other subdivision 
 remains behind, and is equipped to form a field 
 hospital. If there are more wounded than can be 
 accommodated in the ambulance waggons, or if 
 emergency operations have to be performed, the tent 
 subdivision pitches its tents and establishes a field 
 hospital. A bearer division is under the charge of a 
 medical officer, and consists of mounted orderlies and 
 stretcher-bearers, about fifteen men in all. It has 
 three ambulance waggons and a motor ambulance. 
 The tent subdivision has also a medical officer and 
 the same number of men trained as nurses. 
 
 Now, it is not in the plan that a field hospital 
 remain in charge of wounded for many hours, because 
 it must follow the movements of the troops to which it 
 is attached. It must therefore be evacuated at once. 
 In the plan as we have it there is a missing link here, 
 for we have no transport, no personnel, to convey 
 wounded from the field hospital to the base hospital, 
 and we can see it sticking out that our field ambu- 
 lances will have to do this duty, and we shall thus 
 become detached from, and out of communication 
 with, our brigades. Another weak point, too, is the 
 fact that the officer in command of the whole medical 
 
6 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 service to a brigade is not on the stafi of the Colonel 
 commanding the brigade, but is in charge of one of 
 the tent subdivisions of the ambulance far in the 
 rear, and out of touch with the movements of the 
 troops. Further, we have no signallers, unless a 
 couple of men carrying flags come under this category, 
 who, of course, cannot be other than useless under 
 the conditions in which we are likely to act. If 
 movements are at all rapid, there can be no doubt 
 that the ambulances will get left behind, get lost, and 
 not be there when wanted. And, to make matters 
 worse, it is not to be expected that irregular forces, 
 like the Burghers, badly staffed, will always remember 
 to give the ambulances timely warning of their 
 intentions. 
 
 February 12. — It will be remembered that the 
 rebellion last year delayed the preparations for the 
 invasion of German West. But now, this being over, 
 and General Botha having taken command, prepara- 
 tions for the campaign are being hurried forward. 
 Four distinct columns are to operate against the 
 country. General Mackenzie has his base at Luder- 
 itzbucht, the southern of the two German ports. He 
 is held up at Aus, on the edge of the desert, and 
 further advance towards Keetmanshoop is not prac- 
 ticable at present from the Luderitzbucht side. This 
 army is known as the Central Force. Along the drifts 
 of the Orange River from Upington towards the west 
 is a diffuse force under Colonel Van der Venter, 
 known as the Southern Force. Their objective is 
 also Keetmanshoop. The Eastern Force, under 
 
CAPE TOWN 7 
 
 Colonel Berrange, is concentrating at Vryburg. They 
 have to cross the desert through Kuruman to Eiet- 
 fontein to reach the German border, 300 miles of 
 sand. Keetmanshoop is also their goal, so that these 
 three forces may be said to mutually support each 
 other. If the Germans concentrate against any one 
 of these forces, then their flank and rear will be 
 menaced by the other two. 
 
 What, then, is the significance of a small force of 
 infantry collected at Swakupmund, the Germans' 
 other port. They are the nucleus of General Botha's 
 Northern Force. There are collecting at Kimberley, 
 Potchefstroom, and I think Bloemfontein, four large 
 brigades of Mounted Burghers, a total of close on 
 12,000 men. These are to be shipped to Swakup- 
 mund, or rather to Walfisch, quite near, when ready. 
 Colonel Britz commands the 1st Brigade, Colonel 
 Alberts the 2nd, Colonel Myburg the 3rd, and Colonel 
 Marnie Botha the 5th Brigades, who are Free Staters 
 and all volunteers. The 4th Brigade belongs to the 
 Southern Force under Colonel Van der Venter. 
 
 Now, mounted men mean movement, and we 
 foresee a rush from Swakupmund to Karibib, 
 Okahandya, and Windhuk, which, if it can be done 
 suddenly and unexpectedly, may result in General 
 Botha's catching the Germans between the Northern 
 Force on the one side and the Central, Southern, and 
 Eastern Forces on the other. As far as one can 
 gather, the Northern Force will be about 20,000 
 strong, the other three together amounting to a like 
 number. 
 
8 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 February 14. — A good deal of time is taken up in 
 lecturing to the men on first aid, hygiene, and so on. 
 Some of our men are very expert, having had long 
 experience in bandaging and ambulance work. The 
 stretcher drill is also very good, and you can teach 
 them nothing in the way of lifting and carrying 
 wounded. In the we have ten or twelve Ger- 
 mans. They come from a German colony in the 
 neighbourhood of King William's Town. They will 
 no doubt be very useful as interpreters, and as far 
 as one can judge their sympathies are with their 
 adopted country. 
 
 February 16. — A little to the east of our lines 
 a large camp is being erected for the Burghers. 
 Kitchens, shower-baths, and sanitary accommoda- 
 tion, are being built of wood and iron on a very 
 lavish and extensive scale. Horse-lines are being 
 made by pegging long thick ropes to the ground at 
 intervals. We calculated that this one camp was 
 prepared to receive 4,000 men and a like number of 
 horses. 
 
 February 18. — The 3rd Mounted Brigade have 
 arrived in camp here. Their tents, horses, and 
 transport, seem to fill the whole plain. They are 
 men chiefly from Northern and Eastern Transvaal 
 and Northern Natal. There are a good many men of 
 British descent among them, but these are mostly 
 Africanderized and regard the Taal as their mother- 
 tongue. They are of all ages — some mere lads, others 
 are grandfathers no doubt; but on the whole they are 
 a likely-looking lot of men well above average size, 
 
CAPE TOWN 9 
 
 and inured to camp life and hardship. The oldest 
 among them fought at Majuba, and most of them 
 remember the Tugela. One boyish-looking Burgher 
 told me he was at Spion Kop, aged eleven. Being so 
 young, he was left behind with the horses. A shell 
 burst near and killed the horse he was on, and several 
 others. Consequently he says he is rather nervous 
 about the big guns, but is not afraid of rifle-fire. 
 
 They are dressed in khaki shirts and breeches, 
 leggings, a soft felt hat with pugaree. A feather or a 
 piece of coloured cloth on the hat alone distinguishes 
 the commandoes. There is nothing uniform about 
 them, for the Government have bought up all the 
 makes and shades of shirts, breeches, leggings, and 
 hats, that they could lay their hands on. Many of 
 the men wear a coloured handkerchief about the neck, 
 which, with the shirt collar loose, is useful and com- 
 fortable, if not very military -looking. Bandoliers are 
 carried over each shoulder, and under the opposite 
 arm. They hold 120 cartridges, but the latter are 
 not arranged in clips. The rifle, for which they have 
 a cover, is carried in a bucket attached to the saddle. 
 They have no bayonets. An overcoat, a large water- 
 bottle, a mess-tin, a haversack, and one blanket, 
 constitute their equipment. Each man has brought 
 his own horse and saddle. Consequently, the horses, 
 if useful, are a very miscellaneous lot as regards 
 colour and size. 
 
 Most of the officers, however, look very Anglicized 
 in khaki drill tunics and breeches, irreproachable 
 leggings, boots, and spurs, with helmet and Sam 
 
10 A DOCTOE'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 Browne belt complete. They are thus easily dis- 
 tinguished from their men, which is not a very wise 
 arrangement for men going on active service. 
 
 February 27. — The Governor-General reviewed 
 Myburg's brigade this afternoon. We were drawn 
 up in squadrons. The whole thing was very im- 
 pressive, and the march-past, which had been re- 
 hearsed in the morning, was very well done. The 
 jBne marching of the ambulance men and their military 
 appearance seemed to receive special recognition. 
 
 March 4. — The powers that be have at the eleventh 
 hour ordered a medical examination of the Burghers. 
 For the last two days several of us have been engaged 
 in this work. As we had no instructions to go upon, 
 we just threw out a few who on account of defect or 
 decrepitude were obviously unfitted to undertake the 
 rigours of a desert campaign. On the whole these 
 men from the Northern Transvaal are a well-set-up 
 lot. We passed several tough old boys well into the 
 sixties. 
 
 Just before starting this work, somebody told us 
 the yarn that a man with a wooden leg had been 
 accepted somewhere or other; but, although we did 
 them at the rate of something like a hundred an hour, 
 I don't think a man with this defect escaped us. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 TO WALFISCH BAY 
 
 March 9. —Punctually at noon the M.B.F.A. 
 
 arrived at the docks. Three or four troopships were 
 filling up with the 3rd Mounted Brigade and their 
 effects. Our ship is one captured on the west coast 
 early in the war. She is very high in the water, and 
 has main, upper, promenade, and hurricane decks, 
 and a bridge. She looks as if she would topple over 
 the moment she is released from the quay. There is 
 plenty of accommodation for the officers, but the men 
 are crowded together in every available part of the 
 ship. 
 
 The holds are crowded with rough plank bunks as 
 close as they can get them, strange housing for the 
 Burghers, who are accustomed to the illimitable 
 veldt. It is very peculiar to see a German ship 
 crowded with Dutch Africanders going to fight the 
 battles of the British Empire against the Germans 
 themselves, and no doubt one that would evoke 
 characteristic utterances from the Kaiser, could he 
 be privileged to see it. By three o'clock everybody 
 seemed to have got on board somehow, and the other 
 transports departed, a Clan liner so crowded with 
 our horses that they could not swing their tails, and 
 
 11 
 
12 A DOCTOR'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 another ship with the right wing of the brigade. 
 Kind women had dispensed tea and coSee all round; 
 Smuts, Merriman, and other visitors, had gone on 
 shore, and we seemed ready to start. A cold mist 
 came up, and the friends and visitors melted away. 
 Somebody said we were waiting for some parts 
 belonging to an aeroplane. At 7 p.m. our ship left 
 the docks, steamed into the bay, and anchored in 
 a fog. 
 
 March 10. — A good many men were rather wild last 
 night as the effect of excitement. It appears that 
 we are delayed owing to a shortage of stokers, who 
 are expected at any moment. We hear it is quite 
 a problem to find crews for these transports, the 
 demand all over the world being very great for men 
 with nautical knowledge. After breakfast we noticed 
 a steam-launch approaching, and everybody thought 
 it must be the stokers. However, when it got nearer 
 we saw only a policeman and a woman who was 
 standing upon the stern gesticulating wildly, to her 
 imminent peril. Naturally, I thought she was on 
 the tracks of an erring husband, but it turned out 
 she was after a little Boy Scout who thought he would 
 like to go to the war. He, when he found the game 
 was up, quietly slipped down a rope into the launch, 
 and took his seat beside his mother in a most com- 
 placent manner. She, too, as soon as she had got 
 him, quieted down and took no further notice of him. 
 I had seen the youngster knocking about the ship 
 with a soldier. He had a shallow, shifty pale blue 
 eye which suggested a doubtful career. 
 
TO WALFISCH BAY 13 
 
 At 3 p.m. we left the bay, one or two very 
 unprofessional-looking stokers having arrived, and 
 several men from among the troops having also 
 volunteered for the work. 
 
 March 11. — We are now well at sea, and many of 
 our noisy landsmen are suffering from a reaction. 
 The Captain and the P.M.O., however, are doing 
 their best, and fatigues are being established, in 
 units where discipline prevails, to clean up the ship. 
 
 In the evening we had an impromptu concert, of 
 which an electrically driven pianola was the basis. 
 A sergeant who in private life is a circus clown held 
 the boards most of the evening with some rather 
 risky recitations. 
 
 March 12. — It is cold this morning, and a thick mist 
 hangs over the sea. The buzzer is going off every 
 minute as a warning to other ships. At 8 a.m. we 
 were 410 knots from Cape Town — that is, we are 
 averaging 10 knots an hour. When I went to have 
 a look at the log, there were two Burghers leaning over 
 the stern and arguing as to how the ship maintained 
 her course in the dark or in a fog out of sight of land. 
 The one man thought that the slender rope towing 
 astern kept the ship in her course. The other looked 
 at this for a while, and then, noticing on the smooth 
 ocean the track of the ship, said: *' Kijk hier, on 
 kerel ! Daar's die pad " (Look there, my boy ! 
 There's the path). 
 
 March 13. — We are off Walfisch Bay now. Another 
 fog is on. Indeed, they say there is always fog on 
 this coast at this season of the year. In consequence 
 
14 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 of the fog we are going very slowly, and sounding 
 every few minutes. About noon it lifted, and we 
 caught a glimpse of a low sandy bank, and on the 
 farther side of it smooth water where a few ships were 
 anchored. 
 
 Walfisch Bay opens toward the north. It is pro- 
 tected from the Atlantic on the west by a long sandy 
 bank four or five miles long, which runs out to Pelican 
 Point, where there is a lighthouse. At the southern 
 extremity of the bay is Walfisch itself, very incon- 
 spicuous, a few tents and small buildings marking the 
 spot. Two or three miles north is a collection of 
 eight or nine reddish buildings, which we are told is 
 a whaling-station rented by a Norwegian firm; but 
 when the war broke out the fishermen fled ofi to 
 Norway or some equally safe place, leaving everything 
 behind. Eastward is the mainland, a low and arid 
 coast rising here and there into rounded sand-hills. 
 Along the coast close to the shore we can see a train 
 steaming north to Swakupmund. Five or six 
 steamers are anchored in the bay. 
 
 A portion of our men went ashore this afternoon. 
 Quite a lot of tugs and lighters seem to be available. 
 
 March 14. — Yesterday, talking to an officer who 
 seemed very retiring and quiet, I made somewhat of 
 a faux j)as. I noticed he wore a black badge on his 
 collar, with a leaf in gold thread. To lead the con- 
 versation into what I hoped would be an interesting 
 channel, I said: " I see you belong to the aviation 
 corps." He replied that he did not, and looked at 
 me very hard. At lunch I pointed him out to a 
 
TO WALFISCH BAY 15 
 
 friend, saying I thought he was an aviator. " That, 
 my dear fellow," I was told, " is the chaplain to the 
 left wing !" 
 
 This morning we disembarked. After an early 
 breakfast all the officers came ashore in a tug — the 
 Stork, of East London, by the way. Our Burgher 
 friends were in the best of spirits, relieved, I think, 
 to see terra firma again, however bleak it might 
 appear. They sat there in the tug spinning yarns 
 as only Dutchmen can. We were dumped down on 
 the sand, this hot Sunday morning, without food or 
 orders, and with nothing but our blankets. 
 
 Apart from man's handiwork, which is very scanty, 
 there is nothing but sand and water to be seen at 
 Walfisch. To the south and west are sand-flats and 
 lagoons. To the east and north there are sand-hills, 
 rising, in some places, in tiers to hills of considerable 
 height. The surface of the ground looks as smooth 
 as it would if covered by a heavy fall of snow, only 
 instead of the snow you have loose yellowish-grey 
 sand. Spoors, too, resemble those made in the snow, 
 and the tracks of waggons can be seen over the sand- 
 hills for miles and miles. Mirage distorts everything, 
 buildings, hills, and especially men and horses, looking 
 much taller than they are. Horses, particularly, 
 often look very grotesque in the distance, with an 
 ordinary sized body on very spindly legs about 
 10 feet long. 
 
 Buildings there are none, unless one included a few 
 wood and iron shanties in that category. One of 
 these places, distinguished only by a small belfry. 
 
16 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 does duty as a church for Anglicans, Romans, 
 Wesleyans, and Dutch Reformed. There are one or 
 two stores, and another place calls itself an hotel. 
 All are in a shocking state of repair, iron rusting, 
 wood rotting, and what little paint they may have 
 had at one time now desquamating freely. When 
 one thinks of our poor friends and neighbours with 
 their fine town of Swakupmund on the open Atlantic, 
 where with luck they can land every third day or so, 
 it does seem as if Britannia had been playing dog in 
 the manger with this splendid harbour, where only 
 two or three ships a year call under normal circum- 
 stances. The white population is said to have been 
 thirty-nine at one time, but I think this must be an 
 exaggeration. One man, a store-keeper named Green, 
 has done very well here trading in the Hinterland 
 with Hottentots. He is quite a patriot, and in season 
 and out of season he has emphasized the importance 
 and splendid position of Walfisch, which is the only 
 decent harbour on the whole coast. 
 
 Of course, it is all hubbub here now, for it is the 
 one and only base for the whole Northern Force. 
 Twenty-one thousand men and as many horses and 
 mules have to be fed. This means that 500 tons of 
 food, etc., have to be landed daily if a reserve is to be 
 built up. Besides food, even water has to be brought 
 from Cape Town in ships, to say nothing of loco- 
 motives, rails, sleepers, waggons, and a thousand and 
 one things necessary to maintain an army in the 
 field. Although Walfisch affords such good anchor- 
 age, the surrounding shore is so low that only little 
 
TO WALFISCH BAY 17 
 
 bits of sand-bank here and there are not covered by 
 the sea at high-tide. In order to provide space for 
 camps and storage of material, it has been necessary 
 to build an extensive sea-wall to keep the water ofE 
 the flats. Piles have been driven into the sand, to 
 which boards are fastened to the height of 4 or 5 feet, 
 and the whole is backed by piling up sand behind. 
 Dykes, too, are cut in all directions to drain off the 
 water. So far these arrangements have not been very 
 satisfactory, and here and there there are large 
 stagnant lakes of sea-water, in which our war-material 
 soaks continuously, or periodically. 
 
 The camps, too, are below the level of high-tide, 
 and are consequently very damp. We have been 
 given a spot for ours which w^as previously occupied 
 by horses, and is much contaminated; so that, where 
 a tent is erected over this warm, wet, manure-sodden 
 sand, the effluvium in that tent is not very pleasant. 
 The flies, too, are numerous as the sea-sand, and are 
 very energetic and voracious. The days are hot and 
 windy, the nights are cold and damp. The water is 
 bad, and there is not much of it. For the animals it 
 is mixed with a certain percentage of salt water. Our 
 food is contaminated with dust, dirt, and flies, so 
 that altogether Walfisch cannot be described as a 
 salubrious spot just now. 
 
 There is great difficulty in getting the material 
 ashore, owing to very inadequate pier accommodation. 
 The smaller things, such as boxes of food and perish- 
 ables, are landed at a small jetty in tugs and barges, 
 and stored on a little ridge of sand which is, fortu- 
 
 2 
 
18 A DOCTOR'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 nately, a little drier. The animals and heavy material 
 are brought from the ships on rafts. A tug tows the 
 rafts inshore as far as it can, then about fifty or sixty 
 natives pull the rafts in until they ground. Through 
 the shallow water the smaller things are carried, and 
 the larger, such as rails, are towed through the water 
 by means of a rope attached to a winch on the shore. 
 About 3,000 natives are engaged in this work at two 
 shillings a day and their rations. Gangs are working 
 night and day, Sundays included, and their sonorous 
 chanting as they pull on the ropes never ceases. 
 
 A very conspicuous structure in Walfisch is the 
 Condenser, a row of boilers and four tall iron chimneys. 
 It comes from America, and the man in charge says 
 it is supposed to supply 80,000 gallons a day but is 
 only doing half this amount. Similar plants else- 
 where are also doing very badly. This condensed 
 water is most insipid. The water is conveyed to the 
 various camps in a large barrel d la garden roller, 
 much being lost in transit and also when attempts are 
 made to get it out of the barrel. 
 
 The camp is so malodorous and damp that the 
 O.C. and I decided to take up our quarters for the 
 night in some empty railway trucks standing near. 
 We have chosen one with high sides and a little 
 straw in it, which, besides being dry, affords some 
 shelter from the cold, damp sea-breeze which comes 
 up after sunset. 
 
 March 15. — This morning I explored the sand-flats 
 towards the south-west; they extend for many miles, 
 and every now and then there is a lagoon. Evidently 
 
TO WALFISCH BAY 19 
 
 the sea is gradually receding here, and sand-hills can 
 be seen in the making from the earliest stages. The 
 wind and tide collect a little debris in one place. 
 This debris consists of dry seaweed, dead birds, etc. 
 A little sand is washed up around this nucleus. Every 
 wind and tide adds to this little mound, which 
 by-and-by becomes quite big. After a while a little 
 coarse vegetation appears, and the growth and per- 
 manence of this embryo sand-hill is assured. These 
 various stages in the growth of a sand-hill are so 
 obvious on the flats here that there can be no doubt 
 as to how they are formed. 
 
 Above the level of the water and among the sand- 
 hills two species of beetles are to be found in great 
 numbers. One is a greenish-bronze colour, and is 
 about half an inch long. It runs in a quick, jerky 
 way, and finally escapes by flying. The other is 
 black and rather smaller. It is very timid, and runs 
 with incredible quickness when approached, swaying 
 from side to side as an ostrich does. These beetles 
 are very conspicuous objects on the dunes, especially 
 the black one, and they exhibit wonderful nimbleness 
 and agility in negotiating the little irregularities in 
 the sand. 
 
 Two kinds of birds were noticeable — a small 
 wader and a pale salmon-coloured flamingo. The 
 latter is a very beautiful bird about 3 feet high, and 
 frequents the lagoons in small flocks of twenty or 
 thirty. 
 
 Out on these flats there are ten or twelve block- 
 houses protecting the camp. These blockhouses are 
 
20 A DOCTOE'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 small round huts constructed of sand-bags and sur- 
 rounded by wire entanglements, and in the inter- 
 vening spaces between them there is a wire fence. 
 They are joined up by telephone to each other and 
 to headquarters. The Durban Light Infantry are 
 the garrison at present, and they have outposts on 
 the neighbouring hills, with maxims; there is also a 
 high-angle gun to ward off attacks of aircraft. If 
 the Germans attacked and held Walfisch now for a 
 week, the Northern Force in the neighbourhood of 
 Swakupmund would be in a very precarious position; 
 for it is living from hand to mouth, and has no 
 reserve provisions for man or animal. The croakers 
 in the transport and commissariat departments say 
 that the arrival of the troops at Walfisch was prema- 
 ture, and that they should have been allowed six 
 weeks or so to establish depots. 
 
 March 16. — During the night I heard considerable 
 disturbance and the sound of moving water. Looking 
 out of my truck as soon as it was light, I saw that a 
 considerable portion of the camp was under water. 
 During the night the tide had broken in, and the 
 truck we were in had become an island. We hastily 
 waded out to arrange platforms out of sleepers to 
 protect our goods. Several units were less fortunate 
 than our men. Their tents were flooded out, and their 
 belongings were floating about. Men were to be seen 
 on every side digging feverishly and throwing up 
 banks to keep out the water, in most cases rather 
 unsuccessfully, for the Atlantic laughed at their 
 efforts. This inroad of water will make Walfisch a 
 
TO WALFISCH BAY 21 
 
 woTse camp than ever; and the sooner the brigade, 
 which is now all here, is moved on to Swakupmund, 
 the better. 
 
 March 17. — General Botha was here to-day. He 
 came down from Swakupmund on a motor trolly. 
 We hear his reason for coming was to buck the 
 Quartermaster-General's department up a bit, in 
 which case a move may be expected very shortly. 
 
 March 18. — Early this morning a messenger came 
 over from Swakupmund. We asked him what sort 
 of place it was. " Oh, fine place ! Everybody lives 
 in 'ouses and 'as 'lee trie light." A contrast to 
 Walfisch in two respects, at any rate. 
 
 A gale is raging to-day, and in all directions tents 
 are flapping about in clouds of dust, for it is quite 
 impossible to make the pegs hold in the loose sand, 
 and men are spending all their time vainly endeavour- 
 ing to hammer them in. The arrival of a few 
 prisoners was the only diversion we had this day. 
 Eight coloured men and three Bantus had sur- 
 rendered voluntarily about forty miles to the south- 
 east. The former were dressed in khaki, very neat 
 in appearance, and clean-looking, active, intelligent 
 fellows. They had with them a very heavy two- 
 wheeled cart drawn by ten oxen in good condition. 
 They were armed with Mausers, but are reported to 
 have said that they would not fight against us, 
 however much ammunition they were given, and 
 that there were many more of the same opinion. 
 This is good news, for we have heard frequently 
 that the Germans have armed the Bastards, and 
 
22 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 that in guerrilla warfare they are very formidable, 
 being excellent shots and knowing the country so 
 well. 
 
 Our transport has arrived: 168 white mules, twelve 
 spans of twelve each for the ambulance waggons and 
 general service waggons, and four spans of six each 
 for the water-carts and Scotch carts. Besides we 
 have two motor ambulances, both having a Hup- 
 mobile chassis. 
 
 March 19.— To-day the M.B.F.A. was ordered 
 
 to move on to Swakupmund. The transport and the 
 mounted men went by road, or rather along the 
 seashore, for there is no road. The rest of the brigade 
 went by train. Preferring to ride, I accompanied 
 the mounted men. For the first six miles or so the 
 shore is quite sandy and easy-going. Here the water 
 in the bay is very smooth. Afterwards the shore 
 becomes more rocky, and, being no longer under the 
 shelter of Pelican Point, the full majesty of the 
 Atlantic can be observed, great billows rolling in and 
 breaking on the rocks. The authorities have erected 
 many beacons along the shore, and every thousand 
 yards or so near the railway there is a blockhouse. 
 The line is laid along the shore practically the whole 
 way, and in some places it is built upon sand-bags. 
 Consequently, at many spots it is at the mercy of a 
 tide a little higher than the average, and almost 
 every day at some point or other it is washed away. 
 The line cannot be laid farther inland, for there is 
 only a narrow strip of firm ground between the sea 
 and the shifting sand-hills, which extend all the way 
 
TO WALFISCH BAY 23 
 
 from Walfisch to Swakupmund. For the present the 
 D.E.O.R.* guard the line. 
 
 Life in the blockhouses is terribly dull, they say, 
 as there is nothing to do except to bathe and fish and 
 wait for the train which brings water and food. The 
 men look very well, and are tanned the colour of the 
 aborigines, spending the bulk of their time in shirts 
 and knickers, and often not even in these. At one 
 blockhouse I saw two young soldiers engaged in a 
 violent altercation over a young penguin. The man 
 who was holding it wouldn't let it go, because he was 
 certain it would fly away; whereas the other man 
 was game to bet him anything that it couldn't. 
 
 We reached Swakupmund a little after noon. It 
 is said to be twenty-two miles from Walfisch along 
 the coast, and a very heavy twenty-two miles it is. 
 Waggons generally take more than one day to do it, 
 partly because of the heavy going, partly because of 
 the tides and travelling at night being prohibited. 
 
 To suddenly come upon a city in the howling 
 wilderness causes rather a strange sensation, and is 
 the sort of thing one only expects in a fairy tale. 
 Without any warning, when rounding a little bend, 
 there suddenly sprang into view a conglomeration of 
 unnatural-looking buildings standing on a sand-hill 
 some 30 or 40 feet above the sea. It seemed to be a 
 city of towers and turrets — white towers, pink towers, 
 blue towers, little towers, big towers, church towers, 
 and lighthouse towers. A few soldiers plough their 
 way through the sandy streets; otherwise it is a city 
 * Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles, a Cape Town regiment. 
 
24: A DOCTOE'S DIAKY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 of the dead. There is not a civilian, a tame animal 
 or bird, in the place. Windows are boarded up, and 
 the blinds are down. Only a few buildings are occupied 
 by various headquarters. The inhabitants left in a 
 hurry at the beginning of the war, taking much of 
 their belongings with them, and destroying water- 
 tanks, surf-boats, cranes, and other useful things 
 before they left. From August until about Christmas 
 the place was empty; then a small force of Union 
 troops occupied it. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 SWAKUPMUND 
 
 Nothing but sheer necessity would ever make any- 
 body build a town in such a god-forsaken spot as 
 this. As the name implies, the place is situated at 
 the mouth of the Swakup. It is on the north bank, 
 the south bank being British territory. Recently 
 this river had been in flood, and had washed away 
 the railway, which crosses it on trestles. This is a 
 very unusual occurrence, for this river had been dry 
 for fifteen years. Nevertheless, although the river 
 is practically always dry, it is the only reliable source 
 of water all through the desert in this region. At 
 Swakupmund a plentiful supply is obtained from the 
 river-bed by pumping, but it is very " brak " and 
 nauseous. It also contains a large percentage of 
 Epsom salts. It is really horrible water to drink, 
 and strong cofiee is the only thing which covers the 
 taste of it. Tea made from it is vile and *' mineral " 
 waters are not much better. I suppose the Germans 
 made beer from it, for there are several breweries in 
 the place. 
 
 There is not the slightest shelter for vessels here, 
 and even the anchorage is not good. An attempt 
 on a large scale has been made to build a harbour 
 
 25 
 
26 A DOCTOR'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 by making an enclosure with walls, but it has been 
 a costly failure; for it silted up immediately, and 
 has been abandoned. There is a large wooden pier 
 about 300 yards long, and close to it is a fine iron 
 one in process of construction. The Germans made 
 some attempts to destroy these piers, but a few 
 rounds from a British cruiser drove the would-be 
 dynamiters away. But at the best landing at 
 Swakupmund is a doubtful business, for the sea is 
 always rough, and it often happened that passengers 
 could not disembark for several days, and that 
 merchandise was lost. The Woermann Linie had ten 
 or a dozen lighters specially constructed for this coast, 
 but they blew the bottoms out of them before evacuat- 
 ing the place, rendering them utterly useless and 
 beyond repair. 
 
 It is dijfficult to give an impression of this town. 
 It is very un-English, big, and pretentious. I should 
 say it is the whitest and largest of white elephants 
 extant. The German spirit in it seems to say to us : 
 *' You British have taken all the titbits of the earth; 
 but for all that, and in spite of you, we will have 
 colonies, even if we have to make them out of 
 nothing." I am sure the Kaiser said to his colony 
 manufacturer : " Build me a port and harbour in 
 Sud-west Afrika. Make it complete with customs, 
 barracks, and railways. Make a town for 5,000 of 
 my people. Take these 50,000,000 marks. Apply to 
 the Imperial Chancellor when you require more." 
 Result: Imperial Swakupmund. 
 
 There is plenty of room here for such schemes, with 
 
SWAKUPMUND 27 
 
 the endless desert to fall back upon when the sand- 
 bank is filled with fine buildings, wide streets, squares, 
 promenades, and monuments of Imperial achieve- 
 ments in the Hinterland. What high pressure in the 
 Teutonic boiler, what energy craving for outlet, with 
 the British fleet and British repressive policy sitting 
 on the safety-valve ! Little wonder that something 
 has had to burst somewhere ! The streets are 
 arranged at right angles, and are very wide ; but they 
 are useless for trafl&c, consisting of the deepest and 
 loosest sand imaginable. The Germans must have 
 quickly realized this, for in all the principal streets 
 they have constructed side-walks of wood, raised well 
 above the sand, and are said to have brushed them 
 every day. Now the sand, since they are neglected, 
 is rapidly covering them. There are miles and miles 
 of this paving, and the Burghers are finding it very 
 good firewood. Down the middle of each street runs 
 a two-foot gauge railway laid on metal sleepers, on 
 which all the wheeled traffic must have moved; for 
 there is no evidence that there were any waggons or 
 carts, and the most powerful motor in the world 
 would not be able to move a yard in this sand. 
 
 There is a great sameness and tameness about the 
 streets, and with the exception of Post Street, which 
 is at the north end of the town, running down to the 
 sea, they do not merit description. At the top of 
 Post Street stands the fine new Lutheran Church, 
 and it contains one or two other fine buildings, 
 notably the new school, the Antonius Hospital, the 
 post-office, and the public buildings. Near the sea is 
 
28 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 a little promenade leading round to the lighthouse, 
 and just above this is a diminutive ornamental 
 garden, where, as the result of much labour, a few 
 sickly shrubs maintain a precarious existence. In 
 this garden is the only really nice thing in Swakup- 
 mund, a monument erected to the marines who fell 
 in the Herero War. On a great rough block of 
 granite are two figures in bronze, weathered to a 
 bluish colour. A marine, hatless, and with a bandage 
 round his head, stands with fixed bayonet awaiting 
 death, and protecting to the last a helpless comrade 
 at his feet. The inscription on the table below reads 
 as follows: " Mit Gott fiir Kaiser und Reich, kampften 
 Angehorige des Marine Expeditionkorps in folgenden 
 Gefechten . . ."* The names of the battles are 
 given, also the names of the fallen, numbering ninety- 
 five. 
 
 Before taking a photograph of a large and im- 
 pressive-looking building, I asked a soldier standing 
 near what building it was. '* The D.L.I.,t sir." 
 " Yes; but before we came here what was it ?" "I 
 don't know, sir. It is the headquarters of the D.L.I." 
 It turned out to be the railway-station. So much for 
 the curiosity of the man in the ranks. 
 
 The camp of the Transvaal Irish is really a quaint 
 sight. It occupies a hollow space in the middle of 
 the town. As the men had no tents, they have used 
 aU sorts of material taken from the stores. A hut 
 
 * " With God for Kaiser and Empire, Members of the Marine 
 Expeditionary Corps fought in the following fights . . ." 
 t The Durban Light Infantry. 
 
SWAKUPMUND 29 
 
 is made as follows : A framework of wood, cubical in 
 shape, and about 7 feet high, is covered with any 
 material which comes to hand, rolls of cretonne, 
 print suiting, etc. This material is just nailed to 
 the roof, and the ends hang down at the sides and 
 back like curtains. The huts are crammed with 
 furniture. I saw a large double bed in one, and a 
 whole bedroom suite. Most have chairs, tables, 
 looking-glasses, and often large clocks. The huts 
 are all different colours, white, pink, green, and 
 blue, predominating. It looks more like an Oriental 
 bazaar than the quarters of His Majesty's soldiers. 
 
 March 20. — There are three lines of advance from 
 Swakupmund into the interior. The one to the north 
 is along the Otavi railway, through Ebony and 
 Usakos. In the middle there is the old railway 
 through Jackals water to Karibib. The third line is 
 along the Swakup River. North and south of these 
 lines the country is impassable for large numbers of 
 troops, as there are neither roads nor water. And 
 not only is the country waterless desert, but in many 
 places there are mountains so steep, rough, and 
 intricate, that any idea of finding a way through is 
 out of the question. 
 
 Of these three routes, the one along the Swakup 
 must be chosen for a rapid advance; for there is a 
 more or less defined road, sometimes in the river-bed, 
 but more often a few miles to one side of it. All 
 along the river there are water-holes; and even a 
 few miles from here, in the bed of the river, there is 
 a certain amount of grazing for animals. If advances 
 
30 A DOCTOK'S DIAKY IN DAMAKALAND 
 
 along the railways are attempted, the Germans will, 
 of course, render them unpracticable as such; and 
 any advance along them must be slow, and the 
 positions consolidated at every step. Both these 
 railways are only two-foot gauge, and the northern 
 is the one more generally used. At present we are 
 pushing on a wide-gauge railway along the upper line, 
 and our outposts are now as far as Eossing. 
 
 Until a few days ago the Germans have been coming 
 down to the very gates of Swakupmund almost every 
 day, and there have been frequent little engagements. 
 No attempt has been made to drive them back 
 hitherto, and everything points to the conclusion that 
 the General wishes to entice them down here as much 
 as possible. It seems, however, that they are aware 
 that we have a considerable force here now, for they 
 are consolidating and fortifying a position at Jackals- 
 water. Three days ago Botha with two mounted 
 brigades (the first and second) left Swakupmund by 
 the river route to attack this position. The 3rd 
 Brigade (ours) has been advanced from Walfisch, and 
 the 5th is expected any time. We have heard that 
 these two brigades are intended for the rush upon 
 Windhuk, and, although it is only rumour, we already 
 feel that we are destined for something great. 
 
 The two infantry brigades are holding the line from 
 Walfisch to Kossing, also the water-holes Nonidas, 
 Goanikoutis, and Heiguinchab, along the Swakup. 
 The I.L.H. are at Nonidas patrolling the line up 
 towards Rossing, and along the Khan River. This 
 river on the map looks a promising line of advance; 
 
SWAKUPMUND 31 
 
 but in reality it has no military value, for the country 
 on either side is impassable, and advancing up the 
 sandy river-bed with high vertical banks would be 
 courting disaster. 
 
 March 21. — To-day we went to church parade in 
 a desolate sandy square in front of the Hotel Ger- 
 mania. About 800 men were drawn up on three sides 
 of a square, harmonium and parson in the centre. It 
 was an Anglican service attended only by the English- 
 speaking men, for the Burghers have their own 
 ministers and services. It was very impressive when 
 a prayer for '* our brethren now engaged in battle " 
 was given out, especially as it was the first intimation 
 we had that fighting was in progress. During the 
 day various rumours of the fighting came through, 
 stories of rapid advance and prisoners taken. 
 
 March 22. — To-day I was sent out with two motor 
 ambulances and four ambulance waggons to bring 
 in wounded from Nonidas, about ten miles east from 
 Swakupmund, along the river. Fighting had been in 
 progress during the two previous days in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Riet, sixty miles farther on. The 
 message said there were sixteen wounded men, and 
 that they were expected at Nonidas about noon. 
 
 For two miles out of Swakupmund there is a high 
 plateau where the sand is too heavy for motors, so 
 they have to be towed out to a spot called Martin 
 Luther, which consists of two derelict traction- 
 engines, two tents, and a few extemporized shelters 
 occupied by motor cyclists engaged as despatch riders 
 between here and the front. From thence the road 
 
32 A DOCTOE'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 is well defined and quite hard, a thin layer of coarse 
 flinty gravel or broken-up limestone overlying the 
 rocks. To the south are the sand-dunes of Walfisch, 
 to the north undulating hills, and away to the east 
 there is a high mountain range, the Ha-Noas Berg. 
 There is not a sign of vegetation except along the 
 river-bed, to which the road runs roughly parallel. 
 Nonidas is the spot where the road crosses over to 
 the south bank of the river, and there is plenty of 
 water, much superior to that of Swakupmund. The 
 epicures are known to ride out to this camp to get 
 a decent cup of tea, and anybody in Swakupmund 
 who says he has a little " Nonidas water " is generally 
 much sought after. 
 
 As we arrived we saw everybody running away to 
 the left, towards a cloud of dust. Someone said it 
 was German prisoners, and I hurried up to have a 
 look. A detachment of the Rand Rifles was escorting 
 200 German prisoners to rail-head. Big burly fellows 
 they were, marching slowly in rank, with their heads 
 down, looking very dejected, dusty, and tired. They 
 wear a long slouched hat of grey turned up on the 
 right with a black rosette (centre red), stamped out 
 of tin. Their khaki cord tunics and breeches are very 
 nice, neat, and of good material; but the top-boots 
 they wear give them a rather clumsy appearance — 
 at any rate when they are marching on foot. 
 
 We moved over the river to where the Motor 
 Transport Corps had a depot, and outspanned our 
 waggons on a gentle rise. After a while sixteen 
 wounded arrived in charge of a sergeant. It was a 
 
SWAKUPMUND 33 
 
 most exhausted-looking procession that came in. The 
 sergeant, his men, and the drivers of the four waggons 
 were besmeared with a paste of dust and sweat. 
 The waggons — of the type known as " general ser- 
 vice," rather lighter than the ordinary farm waggon, 
 and without tents — came on at a crawl, only a mule 
 pulling here and there in spite of the liberal use of 
 the whip. With every jolt of the wheels somebody 
 groaned. For two days and nights the wounded 
 had been exposed to the heat, cold, wind, and dust, 
 with little water and less food, previous to which 
 they had had forty-eight hours of trekking under 
 most trying conditions, and the excitement of a fight 
 thrown in. 
 
 We lifted them out of the waggons and arranged 
 a bandage here and there. Only one or two of the 
 wounds were very severe, but several of the men were 
 in high fever due to the wounds going wrong. Two 
 of the worst cases had died on the way in. They were 
 all very hungry and thirsty, and were very grateful 
 for the tea and bread we were able to give them. One 
 was bound to admit that with the first strain, not a 
 very great one at that, the medical transport had 
 broken down; or rather, I should say, it was brought 
 home to us that we were without adequate transport 
 for dealing with wounded in warfare of this nature. 
 The sergeant told me that a much larger number 
 of wounded might be expected down soon. So we 
 got this lot oS to Swakupmund as quickly as 
 possible, and instructed the waggons and motors to 
 come out again immediately. 
 
 3 
 
34 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 I gleaned a little disjointed information about the 
 fight. The Burghers seem to have been most gallant 
 at one point, and made a frontal attack without the 
 aid of artillery; one of the commandoes was on the 
 point of surrendering, but Britz and the guns had 
 saved them. Subsequently the German rear-guard 
 of 200 had been captured. 
 
 Save in the river-bed, where there is a little grass 
 and scrub, there is nothing to see at Nonidas except 
 an ocean of sand and rock ; and soon after it is up the 
 sun beats down in a merciless stinging way, so that all 
 thoughts other than finding shelter from it are driven 
 from the mind. At noon even the very flies, which 
 abound, seem scorched. 
 
 The officer in charge of the motor transport kindly 
 offered me the hospitality of his tent and mess. And 
 here I waited all day for wounded who did not come. 
 Just as we were sitting down to supper, a company 
 of the Rand Rifles turned up. They had been march- 
 ing all day with prisoners, and were now on their 
 way back to a water-hole, twenty miles farther on, 
 where they were stationed. They hoped to get 
 motor lorries here to convey them to their destina- 
 tion, but none were starting until the morning. Their 
 Captain, an old sport, called for volunteers to foot- 
 slog it. One grizzled warrior only stepped out of the 
 ranks. However, after they had had a little refresh- 
 ment and rest, eighteen were found willing to proceed. 
 Their officers behaved with childish glee when they 
 saw the little loaf of bread I produced, for they had 
 not tasted any for three weeks. After supper the 
 
SWAKUPMUND 35 
 
 Captain started off with the stalwart eighteen. I 
 remember he said it was his birthday, so I gave him 
 two tablets of *' Oxo " to commemorate the event 
 and cheer him through the long night-march before 
 him. 
 
 It was a hot, stuffy night, and, although we were 
 half a mile from the river-bed, mosquitoes were very 
 bad. I had visions of malaria, which occurs in 
 these parts a little, but when I had satisfied myself 
 that they were the harmless Culex I went off to 
 sleep. 
 
 March 23. — Our ambulance spent the day hanging 
 about at Nonidas waiting for wounded, of whom we 
 saw not a trace. I learnt a few details about trans- 
 port and its difficulties from an officer in charge of 
 eleven motor lorries, and whose base is here. These 
 motor lorries are most serviceable, but, unfortunately, 
 the condition of the roads limits their sphere of utility 
 greatly. For although the general surface of the 
 roads in these parts is hard if rough, and practicable 
 for motors, sandy stretches or wide sluits occur 
 every now and then, through which they are not able 
 to go. Along this route, for instance, to get supplies 
 up to the advanced base at Husab, the following 
 procedure has to be gone through. Our new wide- 
 gauge railway brings them to rail-head three miles 
 from here; from rail-head to this depot mule waggons 
 are employed, because it is too sandy for the motors 
 across the bed of the Swakup. From here to a point 
 called " 42 Kilo " the lorries are able to work, but 
 there another patch of sand intervenes, and mule 
 
36 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 transport is again requisitioned to complete the 
 journey. 
 
 At the present time these eleven lorries are trans- 
 porting everything for a force of 7,000 men over a 
 distance of eighteen miles, and it means 500,000 
 pounds weight of stufi every week. As the lorries 
 carry 6,000 pounds, each lorry has to make the 
 journey eight or nine times a week. Some of the 
 stronger ones are doing it twice a day. To drive a 
 motor lorry eighty miles through a blazing desert in 
 one day is a feat much greater than it may appear, 
 but to continue to do so day after day and week after 
 week, as these drivers are doing, without complaining, 
 without kudos or reward, is a great test. While we 
 were talking this over, one of the drivers came into 
 the tent. He was filthy beyond description with 
 grease, sand, and sweat, and his modest request was 
 that he might be allowed to have to-morrow off to 
 " clean himself up a bit," as he had had no oppor- 
 tunity to do so for a fortnight ! 
 
 March 24. — The sick and wounded whom we were 
 waiting for turned up at dawn, about sixty in all, 
 including twenty of the enemy. Although they had 
 been hit on the 20th or 21st, and had undergone 
 considerable privation, none of the wounded, with 
 the exception of one German, were doing very badly. 
 More than anything else they were suffering from 
 hunger and thirst, and they put away tea and bread 
 as fast as we could supply them. The prisoners were 
 subdued and obedient. From them and from our 
 men we learnt a little of the doings of the last few 
 
SWAKUPMUND 37 
 
 days. The Germans said that most of their troops 
 had gone down to Aus to meet Mackenzie. The 
 Germans held a very strong position along a ridge 
 which they had fortified, and had guns in position. 
 Two of our commandoes failed to carry out flanking 
 movements, and Botha ordered a frontal attack 
 partly because provisions and water were low and he 
 could not delay. Albert's men were in a tight corner 
 until relieved by artillery and Britz's advance. One 
 battery of Germans was entirely destroyed — men, 
 mules, and guns — by our artillery. In another place 
 about a hundred of our horses were killed by maxim 
 fire. They had been left in a kloof while the Burghers 
 lined a neighbouring kopje. The Germans stalked 
 them with a machine gun, stampeding the horses of 
 a whole commando, and killing about a third of them. 
 After their horses had gone, the Germans expected 
 the men on the kopje would surrender; but they 
 continued to hold the ridge until relieved. 
 
 Sunday and Monday our men followed up, occupy- 
 ing Jackalswater and Salem, the Germans offering 
 little resistance, and retiring north after burning a 
 lot of stores. Further advance for the present is not 
 possible, owing to our long communications and the 
 difficulty of getting up supplies. Infantry have been 
 sent up to hold the positions won, and the tired 
 Burghers are travelling back to Nonidas and Swakup- 
 mund. The Germans admit that they were very 
 much surprised. They say they never expected such 
 fighting, the Burghers riding at them in all directions, 
 lying upon their horses' necks. Our losses were 
 
38 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 thirteen killed, thirty-eight wounded, and forty-three 
 missing, mostly from Albert's brigade. I asked a 
 German prisoner, " What about Maritz ?" " Yes, he 
 is at Windhuk." " You have not shot him, then ?" 
 '" No; we are leaving that for you." 
 
 A Dutchman among the prisoners said to one of 
 his compatriots: "My wife and children are at 
 Karibib. When you go there, you must look after 
 them. But keep to the ridges; the road and river 
 are mined the whole way." 
 
 March 25. — At a dinner of medicoes to-night we 
 discussed the periodic descent of soles and other fish 
 in a stupefied condition to Walfisch Bay. Every 
 year just at Christmas a very large number of fish, 
 chiefly soles, are found floating in the bay, dead or 
 dying. There is no doubt that this windfall of fish 
 happened this year, for a well-known surgeon in 
 Cape Town told me that when he went down to bathe 
 one morning they were so plentiful that he filled his 
 pyjamas with them, though he did not relate how he 
 got back to camp. It is difficult to explain this 
 phenomenon. People talk glibly of " volcanic action" 
 and " sulphurous smell." But such agencies might 
 be expected to operate at other times besides Christ- 
 mas. It is much more probable that the fish are 
 stupefied by gases resulting from vegetable decom- 
 position; for, walking about in the lagoons here, one 
 noticed in some places that bubbles in great quantity 
 were escaping to the surface, and that the dirty black 
 mud had distinctly the odour of sewage. 
 
 March 26. — Our camp is really becoming very un- 
 
SWAKUPMUND 39 
 
 pleasant and insanitary. The men are much too 
 crowded. This, combined with the dust, number of 
 horses and mules, want of cleanliness on the part of 
 the Burghers, and the prevalence of flies, is a grave 
 menace to the health of the troops. Almost every- 
 body who comes to Swakupmund suffers more or less 
 from dysentery for a while, due partly to the laxative 
 properties of the water. But there is a good deal 
 more in it than that, and there seems to be little 
 doubt that the men's food is being contaminated by 
 dust and flies; for the illness our men are suffering 
 from is in many cases severe and accompanied by 
 fever in many ways resembling typhoid. 
 
 To give some sort of idea of the circumstances 
 under which the men are living, I might describe 
 
 the camp occupied by the M.B.F.A. It is on 
 
 a small patch of manure-polluted sand. To the north, 
 20 yards from the tents, is a railway embankment 
 20 feet high. On the same level, immediately beyond, 
 is a dusty road up and down which horses and vehicles 
 go the whole day long. To the east, 30 yards from 
 the tents, are our horses and mules, 200 in number, 
 as well as the latrines for the brigade. Beyond the 
 horse lines in this direction are camps similar to ours. 
 To the south, 40 yards away, are washing-places and 
 grease-pits, a road along which 3,000 men and horses 
 are continually moving to and fro. Immediately 
 beyond this is the camp of the 3rd Brigade, and for 
 about eighteen hours out of the twenty-four a strong 
 wind blows from this direction. On the west, within 
 5 yards of our kitchens, are the transport lines for 
 
40 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 the 3rd Brigade, with hundreds of mules and natives. 
 Thus we are surrounded on all sides by things any 
 one of which is sufficient to condemn a camp. 
 
 In the town, Colonels and Majors of the medical 
 and sanitary stafi are falling over each other, and, 
 in spite of our protests and entreaties, it seems to 
 be nobody's business; for our camp is not even visited 
 by those whose duty it is to attend to these matters. 
 Nearly a quarter of our men parade sick every day, 
 and, although the illnesses are not severe, the general 
 health and moral will rapidly deteriorate if we stay 
 here the month or so we expect to do. It is not very 
 good for men to sit the greater part of the day and 
 all the night in non-dustproof tents endeavouring to 
 keep the flies ofi themselves and out of their 
 food. 
 
 This evening we had a little diversion in the shape 
 of a fire, a large store in one of the main streets 
 making a fine blaze. The only explanation forth- 
 coming to account for this outbreak was that it 
 belonged to a firm of the name of Hertzog. 
 
 March 26. — The Burghers are a very peculiar 
 army, wanting in discipline in camp, yet full of dash, 
 energy, and endurance, in the field. I doubt whether 
 any other troops would have made the sudden dash 
 on Jackalswater and Riet as they did. 
 
 March 27. — I have learnt from a stafi officer the 
 real nature of the action at Jackalswater — how it 
 succeeded, and where in part it failed. The Germans, 
 about a thousand strong, occupied very good positions 
 at Pforte, Jackalswater, and Riet, at the angles of 
 
SWAKUPMUND 
 
 41 
 
 an equilateral triangle nine or ten miles apart. 
 Jackalswater, at the apex between the other two 
 places, is connected to them by railway, and was 
 their line of retreat. The position at Kiet was par- 
 ticularly strong. The German right rested on the 
 
 ^y^gb Bntz'march^^^^^^^^ 
 
 march 
 
 FIGHT AT PFORTE, JACKALSWATER AND RIE1\ 
 
 Gj, Germans at Pforte, captured. 
 
 G2, Germans at Jackalswater, escaped. 
 
 G3, Germans near Riet, escaped. 
 
 W^i, Water near Husab. 
 
 W^, Water at Riet, partly destroyed by Germans. 
 
 PF3, Water at Salem. 
 
 Swakup River, their fire enfilading its bed; the left 
 was protected by a very steep mountain, Langer 
 Heinrich, the foot-hills of which they had occupied 
 and fortified. Between the river and the mountain, 
 an open space 800 yards long rendered a frontal 
 attack very difficult. The Germans expected General 
 
42 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 Botha to attack at one or other of these points. His 
 idea was to attack and outflank all three simultane- 
 ously, so that reinforcements could not reach one 
 point from either of the other two. With this object 
 in view, he concentrated the 1st Brigade (Britz), the 
 2nd Brigade (Albert's), and the Transvaal Horse 
 Artillery, 6,000 men in all, at Husab, about twenty- 
 five miles from the German positions, on Friday, 
 the 19th. This was done quickly and secretly, the 
 bulk of the men only leaving Swakupmund on the 
 evening of the 18th. 
 
 On the night of the 19th the left wing of Albert's 
 brigade (Collins) was sent round the north of the 
 Pforteberg to cut the line above Jackalswater, and 
 also to attack the place at dawn. It meant a night 
 march of some forty or fifty miles through most 
 difficult and puzzling country, and the guide may be 
 pardoned for bringing them on to the line on the 
 wrong side of Jackalswater, between that place and 
 Pforte. Collins attacked Jackalswater, but was, of 
 course, between two German positions. The right 
 wing of Albert's brigade attacked Pforte as instructed, 
 and the Germans, here between the two wings of the 
 brigade, surrendered during the day. Britz's brigade 
 was detailed to attack the position at Riet, and here 
 also the flanking movement was not carried out. In 
 fact, it was a complete failure, for Bezuidenhout's 
 commando never got round the mountain Langer 
 Heinrich vid Tinkas at all. It is not clear why this 
 flanking movement was not carried out, because an 
 officer who was there said there was a road, and that 
 
SWAKUPMUND 4S 
 
 his sergeant went along it right down to Salem; but 
 instead of doing so this commando returned to Husab 
 and the river early in the afternoon. In consequence 
 of these flanking movements not being carried out, 
 the Germans at Kiet and at Jackalswater were able 
 to escape, which they did during the afternoon. 
 
 A German artilleryman taken prisoner in the recent 
 fight paid a glowing tribute to the manner in which 
 his battery was stalked. They were on an eminence, 
 and he had just trained his gun on some horsemen 
 advancing on his right front. " Don't fire there," 
 said his officer. " Shoot at these men in our left 
 rear." While he was turning the gun round they 
 were shot at by riflemen on their right rear, and the 
 officer was slightly wounded. " What shall I do ?" 
 said the gunner. " Wait a moment," replied the 
 officer. " I will be all right, and will direct your 
 fire." Just as he spoke a shell fell on them, as if 
 from the clouds. It decapitated the wounded officer 
 and killed the mules. Another and another shell, 
 and the gunner was the only living thing left in the 
 vicinity. " I then crawled under the gun and took 
 out my rifle. The battery never fired a shot," he 
 concluded. 
 
 I have had conversations with a number of boys 
 (most of them were little more) who took part in the 
 fight and were wounded. In one bright little ward 
 at the Antonius Hospital are three youths who were 
 severely wounded. They are on the highroad to 
 recovery, and are very cheerful and happy. They do 
 not seem to realize in the slightest what they have 
 
44 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 gone through or what they have been doing ; for they 
 relate their experiences of killing and being killed in 
 a flippant, cheerful manner that is rather terrible. 
 One with the eyes of a cherub, and another child 
 whose downy beard may or may not have experienced 
 the razor, were with CoUins in the attack upon Jackals- 
 water. Early in the afternoon they found themselves 
 on a small kopje with but little shelter, only 300 yards 
 from some Germans who were sheltering in railway 
 waggons and in one or two small houses. 
 
 Said the Child: " We could not see the Germans 
 very weU, but whenever we saw a little smoke our 
 fellows let rip at it. They had a little black dog 
 which stood in front and wagged his tail, but we did 
 not shoot at it." " Men kept crawling up behind 
 us," interrupted the Cherub, " and firing off their 
 rifles close to our heads, at anything they could see. 
 It made my head ache. Somebody put his rifle 
 very near my ear. * Don't shoot,' I said; ' there is 
 nothing to aim at.' ' I'll let them have it through 
 the windows, anyhow,' he said; and he put a bullet 
 through each of the four windows of the little house. 
 
 Just then M hit a German, under a truck, in 
 
 the leg. He got up and limped off to get behind a 
 big stone. We didn't shoot at him while he was 
 
 going; I don't know why. M looked out to see 
 
 where the man was, and I saw the pith fly out at the 
 back of his helmet. I thought he was shot through 
 the helmet, but he sank down dead without a sound. 
 The German looked out, and I shot him. I know he 
 was dead because he threw up his arms." '' But the 
 
SWAKUPMUND 45 
 
 worst was," said the Child, " when we had to clear. 
 We got on our horses, and bullets were falling all 
 round. My arm was so painful I had to hold it with 
 my other hand, and put the reins in my teeth. Twice 
 my horse stumbled, but we got away. We came to 
 a Scotch cart, and were put in, the Cherub and I. 
 We lost our way all Sunday and till Monday. We 
 had plenty of food, but no water. We tried to eat 
 biscuits, but they came out of our mouths like 
 powder. I shan't forget that drive ! But I'm 
 going back if the guv'ner lets me." 
 
 March 28. — I took a snap of the house occupied 
 by General Botha, a large place north of the jetty. 
 The General's underclothing was drying in the yard, 
 and his fowls were in the same place, acting up to 
 their great responsibilities, with a cow or two as well 
 standing about. We hear he has to be very careful 
 about food, on account of health ; hence the milk and 
 eggs. We were all very depressed a little while ago 
 when we heard of his ill-health. *' Who else would 
 be able to keep this heterogeneous crowd up to the 
 scratch ?" was in everybody's mind. One hears 
 many tales of his skill, humour, and kindness. There 
 has been a good deal of feeling in certain regiments, 
 caused by their not being employed in the recent 
 fighting — a feeling which was quite unjustifiable, I 
 should say. The Colonel of a certain mounted 
 regiment was taking leave of the General. " Good- 
 bye, sir; I hope you won't forget the regiment next 
 time." Botha replied: "No, next time Briton and 
 Boer shall bleed in the same field." 
 
46 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 March 31. — To-day the whole brigade was reviewed 
 on the flat to the east of the town by the Commander- 
 in-Chief. Thirty squadrons of well-equipped horse- 
 men made a gallant show. Our position was on the 
 extreme left of the line. At 10.30 the General, on a 
 white charger, appeared with a small staff. He 
 passed us, looking well and bronzed, with a " Good- 
 morning, Major !" He then went and stood under 
 the Union Jack, this man of the Tugela, and his 
 friends and old enemies marched past, we with the 
 ambulance coming last. We felt rather idiotic, for 
 our motors stuck in the sand under the General's 
 very nose, where we tried not to see them. Three 
 cheers for the General closed the proceedings. His 
 only advice to the men was to look after their horses. 
 Men with horses in poor condition were a menace to 
 themselves and to him. To our O.C. he simply said: 
 " How are your mules ?" Everything now depends 
 on the energy of the transport to form other bases, 
 the fighting units being in grand condition and high 
 spirits. Four mounted brigades, 2,500 to 3,000 men 
 each ; two infantry brigades, 2,000 men each ; besides 
 a few units like the I.L.H., artillery, etc. — about 
 16,000 men altogether. 
 
 Afril 2. — During the night we had a very heavy 
 thunderstorm — at least, tremendous thunder and 
 lightning with a few points of rain. This is most 
 unusual for Swakupmund. They say you might be 
 here thirty years and never see another. So far we 
 have not had a hot day on the coast. The highest 
 the thermometer has been in my tent is 23° C, and 
 
SWAKUPMUND 47 
 
 the lowest 15°. The prevailing wind at this time of 
 the year is south-west, and, judging from the direc- 
 tion of the sand-hills, it must be the prevailing one at 
 all times. A typical twenty-four hours here is — 
 Six a.m. a cold mist, almost a drizzle. By 10 a.m. 
 this has gradually cleared away, especially if a light 
 breeze rises from the east. Then until three or four 
 in the afternoon the day is bright and warm. Then 
 a cool sea-breeze begins to blow, bringing up the mist 
 which one can generally see during the day as a thick 
 bank on the western horizon. This mist rarely 
 extends inland more than five or six miles. 
 
 I visited the sand-dunes. This particular lot ex- 
 tend from Walfisch to the Swakup. Inland, at vary- 
 ing distances of several miles, they gradually merge 
 into the desert. Imagine a hard gravelly sub- 
 stratum covered with a layer of fine sand 20 feet 
 deep. By the action of the continual south-west 
 wind this layer of sand is by degrees blown into 
 irregular banks until the gravelly substratum is 
 exposed, forming little intervening plains varying 
 from a few feet up to many hundred yards in extent. 
 The irregular banks are naturally raised hke waves 
 in lines running roughly at right angles to the direc- 
 tion of the wind — that is, their long axis is north-east. 
 On the windward side the banks make an angle of 
 40 degrees with the horizontal, but on the lee side 
 the sand is piled up at the highest angle at which it 
 can stand, and this is, roughly, 60 degrees. The top 
 edge of the banks is very well defined, and when the 
 wind is strong it blows the sand away from the edge. 
 
48 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 whirling it about and giving one the idea of a miniature 
 volcano in eruption, the sand always falling down on 
 the lee side. Consequently, each dune must be 
 slowly but surely travelling in a north-easterly direc- 
 tion. The sand on the lee side is smooth and loose, 
 and it is very difficult to climb a dune on this side, 
 both on account of the steepness and also because the 
 sand comes tumbling down when the attempt is 
 made. But on the windward side the surface is 
 hard and firm, horses' hoofs making but little im- 
 pression. On very close inspection you can generally 
 see the surface sand slowly creeping up this side 
 when it is blowing. The wind also causes the surface 
 to be " ribbed," as is often seen on the seashore as 
 the result of the waves. The wind soon obliterates 
 footprints here, and the stillness and desolation are 
 not to be described. A few bleached bones of sea- 
 birds here and there are the only signs of inhabitants, 
 and, as one saw no sign of living birds, I presume 
 they only come here to die in peace and alone. 
 
 April 4. — We explored the bed of the Swakup 
 to-day for several miles from its mouth. At first it is 
 very wide — say half a mile or so — and there are only 
 a few bushes in it. The river had been down recently, 
 and had deposited a lot of shining mica-mud which 
 had dried and cracked into laminated plates, giving 
 the bed an odd crinkled appearance. Several miles 
 farther up there is grass in the river, and a few pools 
 of water, which, however, is too salt for the horses to 
 drink. Hereabouts the bed of the river is more 
 constricted and has high banks. On the right there 
 
SWAKUPMUND 49 
 
 is a beautiful reef of white marble scintillating in the 
 bright sun, while the left is composed of loose sand- 
 stone. 
 
 Higher up is a farm-hotel known as the Egg Farm. 
 It was a resort of pleasure-seeking Swakupmunders, 
 and much in vogue for honeymoons. It is, however, 
 only a third-rate country inn, and it had been 
 practically destroyed, including a fine skittle-alley. 
 We were much interested in the garden. Lilliputian 
 beds planted with cabbages, etc., had been laid out 
 with most elaborate care. Great pains had been 
 taken to irrigate it, tiny concrete canals leading the 
 water on, each bed having a little wooden sluice-gate. 
 Cabbages must have been worth their weight in gold 
 in Swakupmund to warrant such expenditure and 
 labour on them. 
 
 Aj)nl 7. — The Burghers are becoming restive, sitting 
 among the dust and flies doing nothing, and getting 
 not very good reports concerning farming operations 
 at home. But to-day the General addressed the 
 assembled brigade in a very masterful and tactful 
 speech, and everybody seemed to go away pleased. 
 Men who came scowling cheered, and went away 
 smiling. Thus a few tactful words smoothed over 
 what might have been a very awkward situation 
 if roughly handled. 
 
 Afril 9. — We hear the Rehoboth Bastard Hotten- 
 tots are favourably disposed towards us, and have 
 ofiered help which the General has wisely declined. 
 He has further warned them that German women and 
 children are especially to be respected. Their chief 
 
 i 
 
50 A DOCTOE'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 Van Wyk has replied that it will be difficult to restrain 
 his men, as the Germans had herded their women and 
 children and shot them down during *' rebellions." 
 
 April 10. — I went down to Walfisch by train on a 
 little business. Very great improvement had taken 
 place, and everything was being done in a much 
 more systematic manner. The railway accommoda- 
 tion had been much increased, and there were new 
 facilities for discharging vessels. A large aviation 
 shed is in course of construction. It is shaped like 
 the letter E, and is 90 yards long and 30 yards wide. 
 The officer in charge hoped to be ready to begin 
 operations at the end of the month. They were 
 equipped with the very latest biplanes, but he feared 
 their use would be limited in this difficult country. 
 The bush would hamper observation, and alighting 
 in positions unprepared would be fraught with danger. 
 The absence of roads, too, would make it difficult for 
 their motor-cars to follow up with supplies, and to 
 effect repairs when necessary. Dropping bombs 
 where you wanted to, he said, was most difficult, and 
 greatly a matter of luck. 
 
 April 11. — The train was timed to leave Walfisch 
 at 6 a.m. It was pitch black at that time, cold, and 
 raining. We stumbled about among all sorts of 
 obstacles, looking for the train. Finally I ran up 
 against a man carrying a lamp in an aimless sort of 
 way, and asked him where the train for Swakupmund 
 was. He replied rather snappily: *' Can't you see 
 I'm the guard and I'm looking for it myself ?" At 
 Jast we found some loaded trucks, and, arguing that 
 
SWAKUPMUND 51 
 
 these would probably belong to the train, we climbed 
 into one in which there was a motor-car with the 
 tent up. Here we were comfortably out of the wind 
 and rain. It was a strange experience, bumping along 
 the coast in the pale grey dawn seated in a motpr-car 
 on a goods-train. 
 
 April 17. — While we have been idle the transport 
 and engineers have been busy. The wide-gauge 
 railway is being pushed rapidly up towards Karibib, 
 and the narrow-gauge from Eossing towards Riet 
 nears completion. Lately many men have volun- 
 teered for this work, including some medicals who 
 are working like navvies. The Burghers are also 
 employed unloading lighters and putting the bales 
 of lucerne, etc., into railway trucks, but they prefer 
 to sit on the pier dangling their legs and fishing. 
 Gangs of men are also employed tearing up the 
 narrow-gauge railway in the town to be used on the 
 Riet line. We are short of everything for this light 
 railway, not only rails, but rolling stock, and par- 
 ticularly engines, only having two of the latter, I 
 believe, and no chance of getting more. A Herero 
 and his wife came to-day. They say all the German 
 women and children have left the farms, and are 
 flocking into the towns, particularly Windhuk. Very 
 few troops are left at Windhuk, and they don't think 
 the Germans will defend it. The Deutschers are 
 " plenty frightened," " cannot sleep at night," etc. 
 But we put little faith in what they say, because we 
 know very well that a Bantu will always tell you 
 what he thinks you would like to hear. 
 
52 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 Our scouts tell us tlie Germans are concentrating 
 along a front from Karibib to Tsaobis. They know 
 we have over 30,000 men, but they say we are not 
 to be feared, for our men are only " dissipated farmers 
 and swineful fat-bellies." The Burghers certainly 
 treated the prisoners with scant ceremony. They 
 were not long, either, in finding out that a German's 
 water-bottle generally contained rum. In fact, there 
 is very little doubt that a lot of the courage of our 
 present enemies is of the variety known as " Dutch." 
 
 April 22. — There are several Ovampos working in 
 the camp. They belong to a wild Bantu tribe in- 
 habiting the Portuguese border, and have not been 
 subdued by the Germans. Our authorities are alive 
 to the fact that these men, who have offered their 
 services as drivers, may be German spies, although 
 they profess to have a great hatred for them. These 
 Ovampos have a peculiar custom of extracting the 
 central incisor teeth top and bottom. The lateral 
 incisors are then filed to a point, which gives them 
 a very uncanny and ferocious expression. 
 
 To-day we have received definite orders to move 
 out from Swakupmund on the 26th. This is very 
 good news, for the place and delay have got on a 
 good many nerves. Sand has blown into the wheels 
 of the army, with resulting friction, and there has 
 been a good deal of petty quarrelling, in which the 
 medical service has figured largely. 
 
 April 23. — One of our recreations is to visit the 
 well-kept cemetery and read the inscriptions on the 
 graves. All people seem to die young in Swakup- 
 
SWAKUPMUND 53 
 
 mund. Very many young men in the twenties are 
 lying here, the victims of enteric and malaria. Babies 
 seem to have no chance at all. Most of them die 
 within the first few months from intestinal complaints, 
 I hear. Walking about in this depressing place, I 
 met a very disconsolate-looking Burgher. I thought 
 perhaps he was looking for the last resting-place of 
 a near and dear friend. I started a sympathetic 
 conversation. He was very depressed, rather wild- 
 looking, and said he could not sleep. He was per- 
 fectly certain he would shortly be killed by a mine. 
 He had seen much fighting, but the idea of mines 
 was terrifying to him, and he considered it a very 
 unfair and unsportsmanlike way of fighting. I tried 
 to cheer him by telling him of our latest idea for 
 saving the men from these explosions — namely, 
 driving a large flock of goats in front of the advancing 
 troops. He replied he knew about it, and had seen 
 the goats. He thought it might have worked, but 
 the natives had discovered the duties of these animals, 
 and none of them at any price would undertake the 
 work of driving the goats forward. So that the plan 
 would have to be abandoned. 
 
 Beyond the European cemetery is what is said to 
 be the native burial-place. Rows and rows of little 
 heaps of sand occupy about a thousand yards of 
 desert. Some of these heaps have rude little crosses 
 of sticks placed on them. It was very puzzling to 
 explain why so many natives were buried near 
 Swakupmund, in a place that was not even enclosed. 
 I decided to ask permission to open one or two of 
 
54 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 these graves, for it seemed possible that, if I did not 
 find a fine specimen of a bushman skull, I might 
 discover valuables that Swakupmunders had placed 
 underground for safety's sake. Unfortunately, we 
 w re moved out of Swakupmund before I could get 
 leave to do this. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE TREK 
 
 Afril 26. — This morning we left our fetid camp, 
 our destination Husab, 59 kilometres from Swakup- 
 mund. The orders we received were to go out to 
 Nonidas, and from there proceed with the artillery 
 and their escort. We could see that a general move 
 was on. The 3rd and 5th Brigades had struck camp 
 at dawn, and were engaged in making great fires to 
 burn their rubbish. Transport and guns were all 
 moving out on the Nonidas road. A feeling of 
 excitement and of great things impending seemed to 
 be reflected from every face. Oh, the relief to breathe 
 fresh air and have something to do ! At Nonidas 
 we outspanned to allow the heat of the day to pass, 
 and we were a little disconcerted to see no sign of 
 guns or escort. News has come through that the 
 Germans are attacking our extreme left, the infantry 
 on the line at a place called Trekkoppi. A glance at 
 the map will show that this is a very strategic move, 
 for if they succeed in pushing us in here they might 
 threaten our railway to Riet, or even cut our lines 
 of communication with Swakupmund. We are glad 
 to hear that the 2nd Kimberleys are there, a regiment 
 of old veterans, also the Rhodesians and the I.L.H. 
 
 55 
 
58 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 on. During the night we passed them twice, and 
 they passed us three times. As far as we could judge 
 in the moonlight, the greater part of the country over 
 which we were passing was a large plateau, and the 
 Burghers, riding over a wide front, could not be 
 avoided when we lay down to rest a little. It was 
 like two men locked in an embrace rolling over and 
 over each other. Once I awoke to see tremendous 
 horses, as they appeared in the dust, prancing over 
 me. When we off-saddled the second time, we made 
 little kraals with our saddles to avoid being ridden 
 over by commandoes coming on behind. It was very 
 cold, and the night was fine; but a great pall of dust 
 hung over everything like a cloud, often obscuring 
 even the moon. 
 
 The bivouacs of the Burghers are very impressive. 
 In the distance you would see a black patch on the 
 sand, absolutely still and silent. This patch resolves 
 itself into an orderly arrangement of men, saddles, 
 and horses, perhaps arranged in long lines, each man 
 lying with a horse and saddle at his head. Some- 
 times the horses are tied in circles of twenty or so, 
 heads inwards, and the men sleep round. At other 
 times the men would just dismount for a few minutes, 
 and were leaning against their horses, quiet, motion- 
 less, and observant. Not a horse neighed or stirred, 
 and on a dark night you might pass within 10 yards 
 of a commando without realizing that they were there. 
 
 April 27. — About 8 a.m. we arrived at Husab. The 
 Burghers had all passed us during the night for the 
 last time, and the ambulance was rumbling along 
 
THE TREK 59 
 
 sedately on a great flat plain, conscious that we were 
 more or less up to time. With dramatic suddenness 
 we came upon a yawning chasm, as if the earth had 
 opened at our feet. This was Husab, just a volcanic 
 fissure about 100 yards wide. Down the centre ran 
 a narrow path, the sides studded with little spitz- 
 kopjes, irregular ledges of rock, and caves, all below 
 the general level of the desert. Here our friends the 
 Burghers were resting. Men and horses were crowded 
 up the slopes of the little kops like chamois. The 
 efiect of mirage greatly elongated the figures, the 
 rocks, and everything. The chasm seemed to be 
 filled with bright pink smoke, due to the sunrise 
 upon the dust. Attenuated little fires crackled here 
 and there, men as slender as telegraph-poles 
 crowding round. It was as if one had come upon 
 some distorted, demented dwellers of the nether 
 regions. 
 
 There is nothing at Husab beyond rocks and sand, 
 no shelter, and the water is three or four miles away 
 in the river-bed. Consequently, all the animals had 
 to be taken this extra distance for a drink. Without 
 resting, I went on ahead of the brigade to Riet, the 
 next stage, taking the motor ambulances with me. 
 The same primitive mountains continue on the left, 
 and on the right is a dreary plain, the Tinkas Flats, 
 marked on the map as a game reserve — I suppose to 
 impress the Deutschers at home; for there never was, 
 and never will be, any game on the Tinkas Flats, nor 
 a blade of grass for them to eat, either. The road 
 was hot and dusty, and the motors had all their work 
 
60 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 cut out to get through. The road here was dotted 
 with dead horses, but, except for an occasional motor- 
 cyclist, we did not see a living thing, being well 
 ahead of all troops now. The endurance and skill of 
 these motor-cyclist despatch-riders is truly wonderful. 
 Freezing nights and broiling days do not deter them. 
 In the bad places, to get through, they run the engine 
 and also push with their feet upon the ground, zig- 
 zagging along at all angles with the vertical. How 
 they maintain their equilibrium is a marvel. At 
 Nabus the road enters the bed of the Swakup. Here 
 I saw one or two acacias, the first trees of any kind 
 we had come across in the country. The position 
 the Germans had chosen to defend was very strong. 
 To the south they had a great red granite mountain, 
 Langer Heinrich; to the north the river-bed and a 
 jumbled mass of rocks beyond. In front of the 
 position a wide sandy slope extended for half a mile. 
 They evacuated this place because their right at 
 Jackalswater was turned. 
 
 Riet is a water-hole and a collection of fine trees 
 in the bed of the river. There is but a single building, 
 and this is only a tin shanty, now being used by us 
 as a base hospital. The trees are quite a feature, 
 and are a species of acacia known locally as the 
 " anna." It grows as large as an oak, and the pods, 
 the size of that of the broad bean, are used as food 
 for animals. The river-bed here must be nearly a 
 mile wide, the great trees giving it a park-like ap- 
 pearance; but the dust and heat are very trying, for 
 the sand in the river-bed is of a light consistency, like 
 
THE TREK 61 
 
 flour, and the rocks on either side of the river, swelter- 
 ing in the sun, seem to focus the heat rays in the 
 river-bed. It was two o'clock when our motors 
 pulled up at Riet, and the padre, who was with me, 
 decided that nothing short of a bath would restore 
 him to the normal. We voiced this modest request 
 at the hospital, but the best they could do was a 
 small bucket. Padre, however, espied a foot-spray 
 pump, and at once hit upon the brilliant idea of using 
 this in lieu of a bath. So we took the bucket and 
 pump to the well and sprayed each other until we 
 were clean and cool. Here I formed the mental 
 resolution that, were I ever responsible for the health 
 of a body of men where water was scarce, a spray 
 pump with a fine nozzle should be a sine qica non. 
 
 Last night the enemy came down to attack Riet; 
 but it was a very half-hearted affair, for on their way 
 they had accidentally exploded one of their own 
 mines, which had damped their enthusiasm con- 
 siderably. Another attack is expected to-night, and 
 the garrison, the Rand Rifles, hope to cover them- 
 selves with glory. Nobody here except padre and I 
 seem to know there will be 6,000 Burghers here before 
 dawn to-morrow. But no doubt the Germans are 
 aware of this, and are making themselves scarce. 
 So that I think our gallant infantry will draw a 
 blank among the cold rocks to-night. 
 
 It puzzles me why a Burgher force has a sanitary 
 service at aU. The Burghers certainly like to have 
 doctors when they go into action, but they expect 
 nothing elaborate. Just a bandage when hit, a little 
 
62 A DOCTOK'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 something out of a flask, and the assurance that they 
 cannot possibly recover, satisfies. But that assurance 
 must come from a real doctor, and they shout loudly 
 until he comes; a Red Cross orderly suffices not. 
 Transport of wounded, hospitals and operations are 
 things that do not worry the average Boer General. 
 If he has a docile Africander doctor with the com- 
 mando it is enough for him; and for this kind of 
 business his idea is not very far wrong, where mobility 
 is everything. The reason why this Northern Force 
 is such a medley is not far to seek. The fighting 
 leaders have Africander ideas, and the administrative 
 leaders have European ideas. The two at present 
 are no more miscible than oil and water. 
 
 April 28. — The 3rd and 5th Brigades arrived at 
 Riet early this morning. The bulk of them did not 
 stay long, but watered their horses and moved on 
 towards Salem. Later in the day the brigade trains 
 came in, and our ambulance. After struggling 
 through the sand for two days and nights men and 
 animals were somewhat exhausted. Moreover nobody 
 had had more than snatches of sleep, and we were in 
 hopes that at least twenty-four hours' respite would 
 be given us. But at 4 p.m. the order came to move 
 on again to Salem. It was now gradually being 
 borne in upon us that we were engaged in a neck or 
 nothing rush, our objective Otjimbingwe, or even 
 Windhuk, enemy permitting. Further, it was obvi- 
 ous that the transport would be out of it, for the 
 heavy mule waggons could not be expected to live 
 at this pace. At Swakupmund before leaving we 
 
THE TEEK 6S 
 
 had reduced our kit to an absolute minimum. Here 
 again it was obvious that more things must be left 
 behind, and we modified our ideas of what the absolute 
 minimum was. 
 
 From Riet to Salem the river runs in a gorge with 
 precipitous mountains on either side, and to get there 
 at all is a matter of keeping in the river-bed, which 
 is very sandy and loose. It was as much as the 
 mules could do to pull the waggons through, and in 
 addition the motor ambulances had to be towed. It 
 took the transport four hours to do this stage of 
 seven miles. Troops and transport trekking up the 
 river gave it the appearance of a busy thoroughfare, 
 although, instead of buildings on either side, we had 
 the glorious anna-trees, and beyond the gold, the red 
 and purple mountains. German graves were dotted 
 here and there, generally indicated by a white cross 
 and placed on a little hill. Against the skyline these 
 crosses were very conspicuous, standing up like ghosts 
 with outstretched arms pointing to man's brutal 
 handiwork. 
 
 It was just getting dusk when we came upon a 
 commando, off-saddled on one side of the river. 
 Suddenly several men ran out from the group with 
 their rifles ready, and we heard the bolts click as 
 they crept stealthily forward. " A lion ! a lion !" 
 
 passed from mouth to mouth. " Only a old 
 
 rock !" a laughing corporal predicted. And so it 
 turned out, but we had had our thrill. 
 
 By the time we got to Salem it was almost dark. 
 Several thousand men were trying to water as many 
 
64 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 horses at a long row of troughs. Pandemonium 
 reigned; you could not see an inch for dust, nor hear 
 yourself speak. In a trice I lost my bearings and all 
 sight of my own corps. A lot of loose wire lay on the 
 ground, horses were floundering and falling, men 
 calling and cursing. As soon as I could extricate 
 myself from this seething mass, I made towards 
 some little bivouac fires on the mountain-side. 
 Fortunately, the same idea occurred to most of our 
 men, and by degrees, more by good luck than good 
 management, we all got together again. Dry wood 
 being plentiful, we lit fires on the mountain-side, 
 and made hot drinks. The garrison, a company 
 of the Rand Rifles, were camping in caves and so 
 on. Their fires and ours looked like so many little 
 infernos. 
 
 I was sitting apart, boiling a little water and waiting 
 for my confreres, when the sergeant in charge of a 
 picket came up and started a conversation. With 
 very little encouragement, he began to talk about his 
 family in Cape Town, and produced photographs of 
 his children. He told me how he had saved a par- 
 ticularly delicate one sufiering from diphtheria, after 
 the doctors had despaired, his method being the 
 application of recently killed and opened kittens to 
 the throat. I think he said they must be black 
 kittens. He continued in this strain to glorify him- 
 self, to the disparagement of my noble profession, 
 until I offered him a cigarette, and as I held a match 
 for him he was able to see that he was addressing an 
 officer of the medical corps, when he suddenly re- 
 
THE TREK 66 
 
 membered that his corporal was not very reliable, 
 and German scouts were prowling about. 
 
 We entertained to supper two officers of the trans- 
 port. They had been engaged in most tough and 
 exhausting work getting waggons up from the coast. 
 They assured us it would take nine days to get 
 provisions up to Karibib or Otjimbingwe, and they 
 disclaimed any further responsibility of feeding the 
 troops. For the immediate future we must " live on 
 the land." One of these officers was the D.A.Q.M.G. 
 of our brigade. He said Karibib was our immediate 
 objective. The 1st and 2nd Brigades, under Britz, 
 were marching on this place. The 3rd and 5th 
 Brigades, under Myburg, had for their immediate 
 objective Otjimbingwe. Once there, the Germans 
 would be in doubt as to whether Karibib or Windhuk 
 was aimed at. If the Germans concentrated against 
 Britz, we, the 3rd and 5th, were to slip into Karibib 
 from behind ; if, on the other hand, they concentrated 
 against us at Tsaobis or Otjimbingwe, Britz might 
 take Karibib without fighting. In the event of 
 Karibib being captured and our receiving little 
 check, we were to spread out on the railway from 
 Karibib to Okahandya, and threaten Windhuk from 
 the north, not from the west. If we got hold of 
 the line from Karibib to Okahandya, then the German 
 forces would be cut in two. Those in the south 
 would be between Botha's army and Mackenzie's, 
 Berrange's, and Van der Venter's, who were all 
 concentrating on Keetmanshoop. The Germans 
 in the north, if they did not ofEer battle, would 
 
 6 
 
66 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 retire to Omaruru, possibly to Otavi and Groot- 
 fontein. 
 
 At 11 p.m. we received orders to move on to 
 Tsaobis, forty odd miles of river-bed and desert. 
 There was no water between here and Tsaobis, and 
 no doubt the Germans would destroy the wells or 
 poison the water at this latter place. Ambushes 
 and mines were highly probable. The troops had 
 moved on towards Tsaobis at 6 p.m. The Germans 
 were expected to defend it, so the ambulances must 
 move up without delay. The base hospital from 
 Riet had to-day been advanced to Salem. 
 
 It was now Wednesday night. Nobody had 
 rested since Sunday. We had traversed eighty miles 
 of desert, much of it on foot, every step an efiort. 
 In an exhausted condition we were called upon to do 
 another forty miles to Tsaobis, possibly another sixty 
 to Otjimbingwe. It did not need much reflection to 
 realize that defeat or delay at either of these places 
 would reduce us to a very critical state from thirst 
 and fatigue, possibly from hunger, too. 
 
 Here our O.C. decided to push on with th ambu- 
 lances, leaving the heavy transport behind to give 
 the mules twenty-four hours' rest. As the road still 
 ran in the river-bed, it was necessary to employ some 
 of our mules to drag the motors through the sand 
 until the road emerged from the river. We set off 
 at midnight. The river was full of holes and gullies, 
 and had it not been moonlight our waggons would 
 very soon have come to grief. As it was, it took us 
 all our time to get them along, and after an hour's 
 
THE TREK 67 
 
 hard work the two miles of river-bed were accom- 
 plished and a fairly decent road seemed to lie before 
 us. We were quite without a guide, and had nothing 
 but the spoor of the colunm to direct us. Scouts had 
 told us that after leaving the river-bed the road was 
 quite practicable for motors. So we sent back the 
 teams of mules we had used for the motors so far. 
 The cars started ofi, and the rest of the ambulance 
 followed. We had not gone more than a mile when 
 we could hear that the motors in front were in diffi- 
 culties, and we very soon came up with them in the 
 river, again up to their axles in sand. Those of us who 
 had the energy pushed them for three hours through 
 the sand, finally emerging from the river again at 
 5 a.m. We were utterly done, neither man nor mule 
 equal to another step. Referring to the map, I found 
 that we had averaged a mile an hour since we left 
 Salem. Two hours' rest were allowed. It was 
 freezing hard, and the rocks we were on were like ice. 
 In the confusion at Salem my orderly had mislaid 
 my blankets, and I was much too cold to sleep at 
 all, so sat drumming my feet on a rock, moodily 
 contemplating the joys of a campaign without 
 blankets. 
 
 April 29. — We had trekked so badly during the 
 night that even our short rest had to be curtailed, 
 and before dawn, without refreshment, we pushed on. 
 A stifi climb brought us out of the gorge on to the 
 high veldt, where grass and a few trees began to 
 appear. The grass was perfectly white from the 
 frosts, and, until it became light, was invisible. The 
 
68 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 trees were all stunted acacias, just one here and there. 
 To our right were the great granite mountains, bare, 
 cold, and desolate. An undulating plain lay before 
 us, as far as the eye could reach. On the horizon, 
 perhaps fifteen miles away, we could see a cloud of 
 dust rising up to the sky, no doubt caused by the tail 
 end of the two brigades in front of us. We pushed on 
 with all eagerness, well knowing that every moment 
 it was getting hotter and hotter. At eleven we 
 stopped a little while for refreshment, the sun being 
 so hot that we were glad to have the shade of the 
 waggons. We turned our horses and mules loose for 
 them to graze. No doubt the animals would con- 
 sider the word " graze " rather too euphemistic in 
 this connection; for the grass, such as it was, needed 
 careful looking for. 
 
 An " indaba " was held. Here we were, still thirty 
 miles from Tsaobis, and our brigade, for all we knew, 
 might by now be heavily engaged. Two officers were 
 sent on in the motor ambulances, with orders to get 
 to Tsaobis as soon as possible, to return and report 
 to the rest of the ambulance if necessary. The O.C. 
 and I with the mounted men were to push on as fast 
 as we could. The dismounted men and the ambu- 
 lance waggons were to do the same. This meant 
 breaking up our unit most horribly, for our heavier 
 transport was already twenty-four hours behind. It 
 practically came to each mian and each waggon 
 making for Tsaobis as best he or it could. We had not 
 gone very far when a man stood up and stopped us 
 at the entrance to a drift across a small river; he 
 
THE TREK 69 
 
 pointed out a mine area, and showed us how to avoid 
 it. By making a detour we all passed safely over. 
 After we had gone on a little way, it occurred to me 
 that sooner or later a man left at a lonely drift to 
 warn troops and convoys would either go to sleep, 
 move on, or in some way or other fail to warn people 
 of the danger. So I returned with the intention of 
 putting up notices. Just as I got back to the drift, 
 I was horrified to see an ambulance waggon making 
 straight for the mined area, the leading mules being 
 about where the contacts were supposed to be. It 
 was tricky work getting the waggon ofi. The few 
 brief moments seemed like an eternity. Past, present, 
 and future were blotted out; my feet seemed to be 
 the only things that mattered, and it was as if they 
 were quite detached from me, and a long way away. 
 ** Look where you put your feet ! Look where you 
 put your feet !" rang in my ears to the exclusion of 
 every other sound. How strange to put my foot 
 down next time, and not to see it, not to see anything, 
 now or ever ! 
 
 We made some danger-signals with red bandanas 
 from the necks of two orderlies, and long splints from 
 the ambulance waggons. Then we rolled big stones 
 into the drift on both sides, scrawled notices, and put 
 them up. Never shall I forget the trials of this noon 
 and afternoon; the sun blistered even the sand. 
 Being now far behind, I travelled on alone several 
 miles. Nothing but sand, rocks, dust, intolerable 
 heat, thirst, and fatigue. I overtook a vet. and a 
 scout travelling together. They seemed more woe- 
 
70 A DOCTOE'S DIAKY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 begone than I. We pursued the endless track 
 together. I asked the vet. how long horses would be 
 able to endure these conditions without water. He 
 thought three days, mules not so long. We began to 
 see signs that the troops in front of us were in trouble. 
 Dead horses lay in the road, sometimes with a brown 
 patch beside them, showing how their agonies had 
 been terminated. Men had discarded their rations, 
 their blankets, their mess-tins, in the mad rush. 
 These things were to be seen in the road, and par- 
 ticularly at spots where they had bivouacked; every- 
 thing a soldier uses might be seen, except rifles and 
 water-bottles. 
 
 We passed an old Burgher escorting a young man 
 who from excitement and fatigue had gone off his 
 head; both they and their horses seemed in extremis. 
 Without interest or notice of their surroundings, they 
 were mechanically crawling along, the old man some 
 20 yards in front of the youth, whose wild and haggard 
 aspect proclaimed his unhappy condition. I sug- 
 gested to the old man that he should remove the 
 lunatic's rifle, but he said it was not necessary, and 
 it kept the youth quiet to think he was pursuing an 
 enemy. I felt a little nervous that he might take 
 me for the enemy in question, but he sat there 
 clutching his rifle like an automaton without ap- 
 pearing to see us. Late in the afternoon I overtook 
 the men of the ambulance struggling along, and we 
 rested awhile under the shade of a bank. The men 
 showed great restraint in not drinking the water out 
 of their water-bottles, and every man seemed to 
 
THE TKEK 71 
 
 realize that he might be ten times more thirsty 
 to-morrow. Blankets, haversacks, and tins of bully 
 beef were strewn in the road more and more thickly 
 the farther we went. I picked up a large twelve- 
 pound tin of beef and fastened it to my saddle, but 
 I could not persuade others to do the same. Salt 
 beef without water seemed too great a mockery. The 
 argument that they might be hungry to-night rather 
 than thirsty did not seem to appeal to them. Under 
 great privation men seem very soon to disregard the 
 future or the making of plans concerning it; present 
 miseries are all-absorbing. It is a dangerous con- 
 dition to arrive at, and is speedily followed by the 
 " let us lie down and die " state of mind if the cir- 
 cumstances do not improve. 
 
 Towards evening we began to overtake bodies of 
 men trekking after the troops, engineers, ammunition 
 carts, and so on. All were silent, and the animals 
 looked ready to drop. At sunset we overtook our 
 motor-cars at Franke's Well. We had encouraged 
 ourselves with the expectation of finding water here, 
 but the stones we threw in fell down with a dry, 
 dry thud, and, looking down, one could see the well 
 had been partially filled in with rocks. The men in the 
 motor-cars told us that Tsaobis had been occupied 
 by our troops, but whether there was water there or 
 not they could not say. The motorists had had a 
 most gruelling day, frequently having had to push 
 the cars, and when we came up they were engaged 
 in pulling one of the cars up a steep hill with 
 a rope. 
 
72 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 When the sun went down we felt much happier, 
 less thirsty, and more capable of effort. The un- 
 wisdom of trekking during the day was made most 
 clear to us, but in this case, in our endeavour to keep 
 up with the troops, we were bound to go day and 
 night. Soon we saw camp fires blinking in the 
 distance, but they never seemed to get any nearer, 
 and it was nine o'clock before we rode into Tsaobis. 
 There was only a single building here, a police barrack, 
 looming large and white in the moonlight and dust. 
 Men and horses were moving about like ghosts in all 
 directions, but mostly towards the sound of a pump 
 that we could hear going. 
 
 No music to my ears will ever resemble the rhythmic 
 squeak of that little hand pump. But, alas ! the 
 sudden revulsion of feeling akin to dismay to find it 
 dry! "Where's water? Where's water?" every- 
 body was asking. " There's a dam five miles away 
 with plenty in," somebody said. " No, that dam is 
 dry; I been there," said another. " It isn't; houses 
 could swim in it half an hour ago." And so on. We 
 heard that some people were digging for water in the 
 river and getting a little. Like a man who has seen 
 another fail to get his pennyworth out of an automatic 
 machine, I tried the pump handle. Not a drop came. 
 Stones fell down with even a drier thud than at 
 Franke's. One of our men climbed down and re- 
 ported it dry. I noticed a little water in a cement 
 trough under the pump, and I scooped out a billy- 
 tin-ful. It looked like strong chocolate in the moon- 
 light. I strained it through a towel. It then looked 
 
THE TREK 73 
 
 like strong coffee. We decided not to drink it. My 
 old horse " Joffre " sucked it up, tin and all almost, 
 and swallowed it in one frantic gulp. I then took 
 a sponge and mopped up another tinful muddier than 
 the first. I offered this to our sergeant-major's horse, 
 and was almost trampled by the other horses in my 
 efforts to do so. We decided to try the river. We 
 climbed over some rocks and a dead horse or two to 
 get into the river-bed. Men and horses — the latter 
 at least half frantic — were struggling, slipping, and 
 thrusting, in their endeavours to do the same. By 
 going farther down the river-bed I found a hole 
 already dug, 6 feet deep, the moonlight reflected at 
 the bottom. I jumped down the sides, falling in as 
 I tried to get to the water. By scooping away with 
 my mess-tin I managed to hand up to the O.C. enough 
 water to give ten of our horses about a gallon each. 
 Then at dawn we desisted and lay down, our thirst 
 slaked a little with water that appealed to the palate 
 rather than to sight. 
 
 The Germans had managed to slip out of Tsaobis 
 before our men got round them. As to their numbers 
 I could gather nothing definite, but it is probable 
 that there were not more than a hundred. The com- 
 mandants had intended to remain at Tsaobis until 
 to-morrow, but General Botha came up and ordered 
 an immediate advance to Otjimbingwe. This was a 
 very fine effort, and the tired troops moved out at 
 3 a.m. I was glad when they went, for some of 
 their hungry horses were on the opposite side of 
 the wall against which I was lying, and to hear them 
 
74 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IIS DAMARALAND 
 
 chewing at sticks and tree-trunks was not very 
 cheerful. 
 
 April 30. — I suppose Tsaobis owes its existence to 
 the fact of having a little water under normal con- 
 ditions, for beyond this it has nothing to recommend 
 it. The police camp and a pump are on the bank 
 of a small river surrounded by a few decrepit-looking 
 trees. Opposite the camp are three regular little 
 spitzkopjes which give the place a quaint appearance. 
 The greater part of the day was spent by us in getting 
 water out of the river-bed. Hundreds of men were 
 engaged in the same way, digging holes in the sand 
 5 or 6 feet deep, and then waiting for a little muddy 
 water to collect at the bottom. Fortunately, the 
 ambulance had spades, but many poor fellows were 
 digging the sand with meat-tins, billy-tins, or even 
 their hands. At times there was a good deal of 
 competition for the best situations, but on the whole 
 the thirsty men exercised much self-restraint. I had 
 found a good hole the night before, a long way up the 
 river and among some secluded rocks. So I went 
 there again, but was disappointed to see the tousled 
 head of a Burgher pop out of it, and so had to begin 
 operations anew. By working all morning we 
 managed to get sufficient water for our needs, and, 
 by allowing it to settle for an hour or so, really decent 
 drinking water was obtained. We treated some 
 with alum, which quickly made it quite clear and 
 limpid, although it detracted considerably from its 
 palatableness. 
 
 There was no grazing for animals in the vicinity, 
 
THE TREK 75 
 
 and there were many hungry men, too. An officer 
 in charge of the rear-guard came to us saying they 
 were literally starving. After a little consideration 
 I gave him the big tin of bully I had picked up, but 
 we could spare nothing else. I said he had better 
 open the tin before leaving. Great was the tension 
 until it was discovered that the meat was fresh. 
 During the day we fed several stragglers who seemed 
 to be on the verge of collapse. In an outhouse, too, 
 we found some men who were not well enough to 
 proceed. We collected water, food, and bedding, for 
 them, and left them to their fate. 
 
 Our transport turned up during the afternoon. 
 One mule had to be shot. The condition of these 
 animals made us set to work to lighten the waggons 
 still further, and much useful kit and equipment was 
 left behind here, including one of our operating- 
 tables, tents for hospital, and much bedding. The 
 Colonel in charge of our brigade had gone ofi, leaving 
 us only the vague instructions " to follow the spoor 
 of the ammunition carts.'' Hardly liking to act upon 
 such orders, we managed to get into communication 
 with the Chief of Staff, who ordered us on to Otjim- 
 bingwe at sunset. 
 
 As soon as it was cooling and the animals had 
 rested a little, we moved out on the Otjimbingwe 
 road. This trek was almost enjoyable, although we 
 walked the greater part of the night, our horses being 
 so done up. From various distant hills we could see 
 the Germans signalling with lamps to one another, 
 and occasionally a rocket went up. General Botha 
 
76 A DOCTOR'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 with his body-guard was trekking immediately in 
 front of us. He had six splendid mules in a Cape 
 cart, and of course we did not expect to overtake 
 him. 
 
 About 11 p.m. we halted in a nice open place 
 among some acacias, where there was plenty of grass 
 and firewood. We made a fire and enjoyed some 
 chocolate, turning the horses loose. I gathered a 
 big bundle of grass as well for my horse, and gave 
 him a handful of mealies, the last he was likely to 
 have for some while. We got a few hours' rest by 
 a big fire, the night being as cold as the day had 
 been hot. By 4 a.m. we were trekking again, stiff, 
 tired, hungry and thirsty, and cold. However, we 
 were cheered to see the country improving at every 
 step, and as we neared Otjimbingwe saw indubitable 
 signs of cattle and plenty of grass. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 OTJIMBINGWE 
 
 May 1. — Otjimbingwe, the old capital, is just a 
 straggling village on the right bank of the Swakup. 
 A Noah's ark church much in evidence, a store, an 
 hotel, a windmill, a police camp, and a few houses, 
 all looking bright and clean in the morning sun, 
 constitute the place. The sight of the windmill 
 actually at work, and horses grazing, cheered us 
 greatly. So we stopped outside the town, cleaned 
 ourselves up a bit, and marched on to the market 
 square in review order. Lots of troops were camping 
 about, but, as they were busy cooking fresh meat, 
 they took very little notice of our imposing entry. 
 
 Not knowing where to go or what to do, we halted 
 on the square. The General's ubiquitous Cape cart 
 with its six splendid mules was standing near. The 
 animals had done as much as we had, and probably 
 much more, during the night, yet they looked as 
 fresh as paint. '' All a matter of feeding," observed 
 our somewhat jaded conductor. Two or three bat- 
 teries of field artillery were packed on the square. 
 Their business-like appearance gave one a feeling of 
 security, but I caught the eye of a gunner, and it 
 seemed to say, " You gentlemen of the ambulance 
 
 77 
 
78 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 are a little bit late, aren't you ?" And so we were, for 
 the doctor of the 3rd Brigade, coming up, told us 
 there had been an action yesterday, and we were to 
 take over the hotel converted for the time being into 
 a hospital. The police barrack, next to the hotel, 
 was also a hospital for the 5th Brigade; and our dis- 
 appointment at not being in at the finish was miti- 
 gated a little by seeing on the barrack stoep the 
 O.C. of a rival ambulance, his waggons and men still 
 far behind, and, although he seemed otherwise 
 engaged, he saw us all right. Seven wounded, four 
 of our men and three of the enemy, were in the hotel 
 in beds or on stretchers. Everybody had been too 
 utterly exhausted to do much for them. The place 
 was in an indescribable state of filth; the Germans 
 must have used the rooms as stables, and the wounded 
 were stiU in their dirty, torn, and blood-stained 
 uniforms. A tired orderly was sweeping aimlessly, 
 and two German soldiers with very conspicuous Red 
 Cross brassards were pretending to take temperatures. 
 There was nothing for it but to set to work im- 
 mediately to try to get the place into order. Beds, 
 sheets, and furniture, were commandeered, and by 
 three o'clock we had a respectable hospital of three 
 small wards and an operating-room in working order, 
 and the wounds, which were all of a severe nature, 
 cleaned up and dressed. The whole ambulance worked 
 with a will to accomplish this, and one felt very proud 
 of the men, who, fatigued as they were, did their 
 work manfully. 
 We were soon to learn that we had others to deal 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 79 
 
 with besides the wounded. As soon as it became 
 known that a hospital was in existence, all sorts of 
 stragglers worried us — men slightly sick, men without 
 horses, men without food, men without heart. The 
 resources of the hotel were commandeered for the 
 hospital, practically only meat, fowls, and milk. 
 Hungry men were to be seen in all directions, leading 
 what animals they might to the slaughter; but I 
 think the authorities soon got these matters in hand, 
 stopping individual buying or looting, and rationing 
 meat in a systematic manner. Goodness knows we 
 were tired enough this night, but rest was only to be 
 intermittent, for, in spite of liberal supplies of 
 morphia, there was much groaning and restlessness 
 among the wounded. A guard, too, turned up to 
 arrest our most assiduous, urbane, and obliging 
 German orderlies, for it had transpired that they 
 were wolves in sheep's clothing, one being a notorious 
 mine-layer. They were unceremoniously routed out, 
 and went off without protest, but were brazen enough 
 to attempt to get away with the dressings, instru- 
 ments, and drugs, the enemy had left. 
 
 May 2. — During the night two of our wounded 
 died, both hopeless cases shot through the body. I 
 am afraid that the Anglican padre attached to our 
 brigade was disappointed that the deceased were 
 members of the Dutch Reformed Church. During 
 the trek he had but little opportunity of practising 
 his avocation, for we were never long enough in one 
 place for him to organize services. True, a native 
 driver had been killed by a waggon on the way up. 
 
80 A DOCTOE'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 and the holding of a burial service over this poor 
 unfortunate had encouraged our padre a little; for 
 to-day he set about and arranged to have church in 
 the afternoon; but it was not to be, for word went 
 round that the brigade was to move on again at 
 3 p.m. Poor padre ! I fear he will never come up 
 with his congregation again; both he and his horse 
 seem not a little discouraged. 
 
 This Sunday was another day of great exertion for 
 the ambulance. Half the men were to move on, and 
 half remain with the hospital; so there was much 
 sorting, packing, and arranging to be done. Here, 
 as at Tsaobis, a lot of equipment had to be left 
 behind, and we who were remaining benefited, but 
 the best horses and mules were to go on. 
 
 Water had been the problem on the march; now 
 for us it is to be food. The place supplies water, 
 meat, a little milk, and scanty grazing for the animals. 
 We have three days' rations, and have about sixty 
 mouths to fill in all. We expect relief in a week, but 
 everything is so precarious and uncertain. The 
 brigade trains may overlook us, and pass in the night, 
 or the rations may be wanted more urgently ahead. 
 The horses and mules, if not the men, will certainly 
 have to live on the land. 
 
 I gathered a few scrappy details about the fight. 
 Otjimbingwe is in the middle of a square, and at the 
 four corners are Tsaobis, Karibib, Okahandya, and 
 Windhuk; but a glance at the map will show that it 
 is nearer to Tsaobis than the other places. When 
 the 3rd and 5th Brigades arrived at this latter place, 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 81 
 
 the Germans at Otjimbingwe signalled to Karibib 
 for help. Karibib replied that, as they themselves 
 were also threatened with an attack, Otjimbingwe 
 must be evacuated. The Germans here never ex- 
 pected that our men would be able to attack them on 
 Friday morning; but our men by a very fine effort 
 pushed on during the night, and at dawn had partly 
 surrounded the place, and would have done so com- 
 pletely had orders been carried out. The attack was 
 quite a surprise. An officer of ours blowing his 
 whistle prematurely is said to have betrayed our 
 presence. The Germans, less than a hundred in 
 number, tried the various exits, but, being fired upon 
 from several directions, finally broke up into small 
 parties. One party, with great gallantry, charged 
 direct at a dismounted commando at a distance of 
 50 yards, fired a volley, and literally escaped through 
 our men. I hear they mostly got away towards 
 Windhuk, dragging two field guns with them, one 
 party of fourteen only being captured. 
 
 It is quite likely that, if our junior officers had 
 remained in the positions assigned to them, all the 
 Germans would have been taken; but troop leaders 
 were constantly trying to better their positions, and 
 consequently there was much overlapping. A fat 
 old German " Colonel " was under fire at 300 yards 
 for a long time, but he seemed quite unperturbed. 
 Finally he mounted his horse and rode slowly away. 
 This sounds strange, but the explanation of such 
 shortcomings is easily found, for the men had been 
 tried up to the limits of human endurance. " There 
 
 6 
 
82 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 was not a sane man amongst us," was the comment 
 of one officer. Men were to be seen asleep in the 
 saddle or on the road, indifferent to the danger of 
 passing guns and ammunition waggons. One poor 
 tired wretch attempted to shoot himself. Many had 
 peculiar illusions, one of which was so common that 
 it is worthy of mention. It took the form of large 
 and beautiful buildings, often grouped together so as 
 almost to form towns. I experienced the same thing 
 in a minor degree, and think it was due to a tired, 
 overwrought brain mistaking the images of blurred 
 trees in the dusty moonlight for houses. So sure 
 were these seers of visions about what they saw, so 
 irritable and ready to argue about it, that it was 
 wisest not to contradict them. Even two days after 
 the fight, so jumpy and nervous were sentries, seeing 
 Germans everywhere, that wise people kept at home 
 after dusk. 
 
 May 3. — The feeding of our patients and our men 
 exercises our wits day and night. The Major bargains 
 every evening with the hotel-keeper and his wife, and 
 the latter is very keen. They are to supply the 
 hospital as far as they can, and are to get a signed 
 requisition form from us each day for things supplied. 
 In addition they are to let us have 60 pounds of meat 
 a day for the men. These people are very subdued 
 and anxious to please. The old man particularly 
 seems to be in a constant state of nerves, and stands 
 before you hat in hand in a very pathetic manner. 
 They have a married daughter with them, who has 
 two little children, a girl of six and a boy younger, 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 88 
 
 funny little square heads and not a bit shy. Their 
 father is either a prisoner or still fighting. The 
 numbers of our troops passing through yesterday 
 quite overwhelmed them all; they stood at the door 
 awhile watching the troops passing, and then, unable 
 to hide their despair any longer, went inside. The 
 two brigades with their guns and ammunition waggons 
 took nearly all the afternoon to pass. Occasionally 
 one would see a Burgher with a sheep or goat upon his 
 saddle, and one man passed struggling with a live 
 goat, his horse consequently very restive. They all 
 looked rested and cheerful again, and the horses were 
 wonderful. 
 
 Last evening, at supper, the Major, after two or 
 three inefiectual trials, ventured the mild protest 
 that the tea was not very nice, that it tasted like 
 pepper. I said, " Impossible !" and took a fair 
 drink. It was a terribly pungent concoction, and it 
 came upon me like a flash that I had in the dark 
 given the boy tobacco instead of tea. Apart from 
 the burning sensation we experienced in the throat, 
 the loss of two teaspoonfuls of condensed milk was 
 distressing. Then I remembered that I had mixed 
 some of this supposed tea with our stock of tea, and 
 the depression which followed was not wholly at- 
 tributable to the effects of nicotine. I waited until 
 to-day before looking at our tea supply, and there, 
 sure enough, was the tea and tobacco mixed. We 
 now spend our spare time trying to pick the tobacco 
 out with a pair of surgical forceps. 
 
 The Major is always nosing round for food and 
 
84 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 interviewing the few inhabitants left. In the middle 
 of a conversation he will suddenly say, " I wonder 
 if I could get any eggs !" I reply, " Considering the 
 nervous strain under which the fowls of this locality 
 must be living, I should think not." However, 
 to-day he managed to get three at a tickey each. 
 We decided to give one to the querulous Lieutenant 
 wounded in the foot, and two, one being broken, to 
 a patient old Burgher with a ghastly wound in the 
 groin. " I have got a little butter," he will say, but 
 how many kilogrammes I can't say. 
 
 May 4. — To-day the 2nd Brigade arrived. They 
 have had a terribly hard journey from Riet, practically 
 up the bed of the Swakup the whole way. They 
 certainly had better water that way than we had, 
 but the going was very hard, and mines worried them 
 considerably. Three men were killed by them. In 
 one instance two men were blown to pieces, and a 
 third is said to have been found at the top of a high 
 tree, with not a scratch on him. Another mine blew 
 up a water-cart and its driver on the ground over 
 which an artillery column had already passed. 
 
 May 5. — To-day the ambulance attached to the 
 5th Brigade moved away from the police barrack, 
 leaving only their motors behind, having no petrol 
 for them. Of course they asked us to take over their 
 patients, which we did, though not with a very good 
 grace, as they were leaving no rations for them. 
 Judging from their weary and dejected appearance, 
 I don't think they were taking very much with them, 
 either; but they made no complaints, and did not 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 85 
 
 ask us to help them, for it seems to be an unwritten 
 law that each unit bears its privations silently and 
 alone. Indeed, when you 'ask an oflB.cer of another 
 corps to a meal, his distaste for food and lack of 
 appetite is positively alarming. 
 
 As soon as they had gone, we swooped down upon 
 the barrack like a lot of vultures, going through 
 everything; but we found only drugs, dressings, 
 bedding, etc. No food, of course, the carcass of a 
 sheep that I had admired so much on a previous visit 
 having disappeared to the last bone. The building 
 is a large rambling place, and has terraced gardens, 
 pretty and well arranged, with palms and trees, 
 stretching down to the river. In these gardens our 
 cook found the remains of some cabbages, just outside 
 leaves and roots, but very acceptable. In the yard 
 were two maxims left by the Germans. They were 
 large things with limbers, and not mounted on tripods 
 as ours are. Everybody who passed by helped him- 
 self to some of the cartridges or a movable part, so 
 that before long, as weapons, they had ceased to 
 exist. 
 
 The 2nd Brigade are a great worry to us, for their 
 weaklings, their sick, and their lazy, try to get some 
 or any benefit from the hospital. The Major is most 
 polite to them : nothing would give him more pleasure 
 than to take their sick in — but they must have at 
 least four days' rations. As they have not four 
 minutes' rations, the plan is very effectual. A burly 
 quartermaster-sergeant, who was reaUy ill, said he 
 would rather die on the veldt than starve in hospital. 
 
86 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 Him we took in, on learning his occupation, and fed 
 him on the fat of the land thinking of future benefits. 
 We hoped we had seen the last of this brigade when 
 they moved on this evening to a place called Uitdraai, 
 where the grazing and water were said to be better. 
 
 May 6. — I went down to the town to-day. The 
 place is deserted, for the only people of ours there are 
 a sergeant and three men of Engineers. I went 
 through the large store. This store, which had been 
 of considerable size, belonged to a rich old man who 
 lived on the premises with his married sons and 
 daughters. Behind the store were the dwelling- 
 quarters, and, judging from the amount of clothing, 
 furniture, beds, toys, and utensils, scattered about, 
 a large number of people must have lived there. 
 I was told the old man had fourteen children and 
 numberless grandchildren, but, hearing the " English " 
 would send all women and children to Cape Town, 
 the whole clan had cleared off to Grootfontein. 
 
 A very polite old German, who was only on a visit 
 from Europe, and unable to return on account of the 
 war, came to the hospital in the afternoon. He said 
 he had lost everything while away from the house, 
 even his return ticket home. It comforted him little 
 to learn that a return ticket to Europe by the Woer- 
 mann Line was not likely to be available for some 
 time to come. 
 
 An old Rhenish missioner is a daily visitor at the 
 hospital. He has a most venerable appearance, and 
 is most courteous and mild. In fact, the behaviour 
 and manner of all the old German people I have seen 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 87 
 
 leaves nothing to be desired, and I have heard one 
 of them say that he did not know what modern 
 Germany and Germans were coming to. The aggres- 
 sive, bumptious manner so general among the younger 
 men seems to be a growth of the present generation. 
 
 When the 2nd Brigade turned up a few days ago, 
 they were so short of everything that there was no 
 keeping them out of the houses, though there is little 
 enough here; for no supplies have come in since the 
 war began, nine months ago, and the German soldiers 
 had also removed all they could. It seems to me 
 that it will be necessary to feed not only our own 
 troops, but also what Germans remain here, to say 
 nothing of the natives. 
 
 For a whole week we have had no news from any- 
 where, for no people are passing up at all now, and 
 to-day our last communication with the outside world 
 was severed, a branch of the Field Telegraph Service 
 having packed up their wireless apparatus and 
 departed, like the rest, northward. 
 
 The 2nd Brigade are still only seven miles away. 
 They are out of touch with headquarters, and don't 
 seem to know where to go. One of their officers 
 was here to-day looking for cattle. He seemed quite 
 worn out, and said the brigade was without food. 
 The Major let him have five of the ten oxen he had 
 commandeered. 
 
 We, too, are feeling the pinch a little, and, as our 
 unit are mostly boys with healthy appetites, it is 
 hard to get them to exercise restraint. Some of them 
 have small private supplies of food. We would like 
 
88 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 to call these in, but fear such action would lead to 
 further depression or panic. We cannot understand 
 why the transport has failed us so utterly, and are 
 haunted with the idea that possibly supplies are being 
 forwarded by another route. 
 
 May 7. — Our horses and mules look very poor. 
 We have nothing to give them, and the grazing near 
 the town is very thin, one may say " tramped out." 
 In these parts stock depend upon two things chiefly 
 for food: a fine feathery grass, each plant growing 
 separately, the stalks of which are very brittle; the 
 other food is a low bush with bright yellow leaves 
 and a blue flower. The tops of this bush are very 
 succulent, and some horses prefer it to the grass. 
 Low thorn-trees are fairly numerous, but not thick 
 enough to make riding irksome. In every direction 
 within a radius of three miles of the town everything 
 is eaten down. I don't think our horses are entirely 
 responsible for this, because lately, on account of the 
 war and the unsettled temper of the natives, many 
 German farmers have brought their stock into town 
 for safety. 
 
 This evening we received a little news of what was 
 going on outside Otjimbingwe. We were sitting on 
 the stoep after supper, discussing the eternal food 
 question, when two men loomed up out of the dark- 
 ness, and asked unceremoniously for something to 
 eat. They were very much exhausted, and said they 
 had tasted nothing for forty-eight hours, and that 
 they were trying to make their way to Karibib to 
 join their corps of signallers. They brought the news 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 89 
 
 that General Britz had occupied Karibib without 
 resistance, and that the 5th Brigade had cut the line 
 at Wilhelmstaal, a station on the line between Karibib 
 and Windhuk; and, what was particularly pleasing 
 to us, they said the 2nd Brigade had now moved on 
 towards Groot Barmen and Okahandya. 
 
 This 2nd Brigade (Albert's) had been a constant 
 source of anxiety to us, for they were rapidly depleting 
 the town of stock, men coming in at all times to look 
 for cattle, sheep, or goats. After hearing all this good 
 news, we fed the signallers to the best of our ability. 
 In fact, had the news been otherwise I think we 
 would have fed them all the same, they were such 
 fine fellows, full of grit, and regarding their privations 
 lightly. As soon as they had finished their meagre 
 supper, and with a biscuit each in their haversacks, 
 they started off in the direction of Karibib, forty 
 miles away, with nothing but the stars and their 
 instinct to guide them. 
 
 May 8. — The wounded are all improving, and are 
 beginning to take a little interest in things outside 
 their own particular miseries. But their accounts of 
 the recent fighting are contradictory and indefinite. 
 It seems fairly clear, however, that only the Pieters- 
 burg commando and the B.B.S. took up the positions 
 assigned to them. All the killed and wounded 
 belonged to the Pietersburg commando. In fact, the 
 wounded officer states that they all belonged to his 
 troop, and he says that only from their side, a ridge 
 to the north-west of the village, was the attack made. 
 The Germans admit that they were taken completely 
 
90 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 by surprise, most of them being in bed when the 
 fighting began. They say they waited with machine 
 guns for us along the Tsaobis road until 3 a.m., and 
 then returned to sleep; but, as usual. Brother Boer 
 did not come along the road, but made the wide 
 encircling movement his heart loveth, which, as I 
 have said, was only partially successful. 
 
 Another of the German wounded declared that he 
 was shot at a distance of 5 yards after he had put his 
 hands up; but the man who shot him, and was him- 
 self wounded, said it was not the case. Among the 
 German wounded is a nervous, aesthetic-looking clerk. 
 His story is that he was taken from his office in 
 Swakupmund, and a rifle put into his hands. He 
 knew nothing about soldiering, and before he had 
 fired a shot a bullet through the leg terminated his 
 military career. From what he said, I gathered that 
 the attitude of the regulars to the reservists was not 
 too cordial, and mutual recriminations were rife. 
 
 I feel that to-day our spirits have reached a very 
 low ebb, and, to cap all, eleven of our mules are 
 missing to-night. These animals are taken out each 
 day to feed, but as the bush is rather thick, grazing 
 scanty, the drivers lazy, and I fear disaffected on 
 account of their privations, it is not surprising that 
 the mules go astray. Hitherto they have always 
 been found, but to-day the drivers come in early in 
 a very surly mood and report the disaster. I can 
 feel that mutiny is in the air. These drivers are 
 mostly Cape boys with a sprinkling of Kaffirs, and 
 are intelligent and capable. They are engaged by 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 91 
 
 the Government for a fixed period, generally six 
 months, and it is forbidden to officers in charge to 
 administer corporal punishment. Consequently, to 
 enforce obedience among them is not always easy, 
 and to-night one of them flatly refused to kill a sheep. 
 The conductor in charge laid violent hands upon him, 
 and I, having first removed the ofiender's knife, 
 stepped round the corner not to witness a very 
 necessary breach of regulations. Afterwards, with a 
 little persuasion from the O.C., the man slaughtered 
 the sheep, and the incident had a very salutary effect 
 upon all the boys. 
 
 Biscuits and coffee are now at an end, so that 
 henceforth the men will have to live almost entirely 
 on meat until we are relieved. Fortunately, there is 
 a little rock salt on one of the waggons, and only 
 those who have lived any length of time on meat 
 only, without salt, can appreciate the value of this 
 find. 
 
 During the campaign men lived for many days 
 entirely upon fresh meat, in some instances as long 
 as three weeks. All the men I saw who had lived 
 so were emaciated and weak, shortness of breath and 
 extreme lassitude being the chief complaints. One 
 man declared that they became too weak to kill the 
 sheep, so they used to wait for the sheep to pass, and 
 then shoot them. We who have salt and the cabbage 
 leaves aforesaid generally boil together the meat, 
 salt, and cabbage, drink the fluid as soup, and eat the 
 residual mush as joint. Soup without salt or 
 vegetables leaves a full-empty feeling almost worse 
 
92 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 than hunger. The men who are continually moving 
 often have to eat the meat quite fresh. I have seen 
 the still quivering muscle being grilled on skewers of 
 wood, with a resulting indigestible mass, charred 
 outside and raw inside. A much better plan, which 
 is adopted when possible, is to cut the meat into 
 ribbons and partially dry it in the sun. So treated it 
 remains fresh in the men's haversacks for several 
 days, especially if it has been salted a little. This 
 meat is much nicer than the fresh meat, and causes 
 less indigestion and discomfort. 
 
 May 9. — This morning I was up before it was 
 light, and went ofE to look for grazing and the lost 
 mules. Arguing that the boys and what men could 
 be spared from camp would search for them where they 
 had been lost, I decided to break new ground, and 
 made for the mountains in the direction of Karibib. 
 After going six or eight miles I found quite good 
 grass and plenty of the succulent yellow bush, and 
 I also saw one of the large conical ant-heaps which, 
 although not very common, are a feature of these 
 parts. These heaps are nearly always built round 
 a thorn-tree, so that the trunk of the tree is hidden 
 and the branches of the tree stick out on all sides. 
 What can be seen of the tree looks green and flourish- 
 ing, and usually the apex of the ant-heap exceeds 
 the tree in height. They may be as high as 15 or 
 20 feet, having a diameter of 10 or 12 feet at the 
 base. They are composed of a very hard grey sub- 
 stance which looks like a mica mud. They are 
 inhabited by a little black ant, though I always found 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 93 
 
 the larger ones deserted, monuments rather than 
 dwellings. 
 
 This little ant is also a great road-builder. The 
 roads they make are concave furrows in the sand 
 about an inch wide. From one of the smaller heaps 
 I traced one a distance of over 100 yards. It ap- 
 peared to go straight to some destination, skirting 
 obstacles often, but always resuming the original 
 direction. Numerous branches were given off from 
 the main road, generally at an angle of about 20 
 degrees. The ants were to be seen going along, some 
 in one direction, some in the other, but never hesitat- 
 ing, turning round, or leaving the road. One felt 
 sure they must have a General Botha directing and 
 encouraging them in their efforts to cross their 
 miniature desert. 
 
 Quite unexpectedly I came upon three white mules 
 grazing quietly in a little hollow. I thought they 
 would make ofi when they realized my evil designs; 
 but, the halters and chains of servitude being still 
 about their necks, they just looked up, as much as 
 to say, *' Why didn't you find us before ?" and 
 walked sedately back to camp in single file. That 
 they were not our own did not detract from the 
 pleasure of the find; for it transpired that they 
 belonged to another ambulance which had moved on 
 nearly a week ago. So that these mules, which looked 
 in very good condition, must have been in the bush 
 all the time without water; for the only water any- 
 where about is the well in the Swakup River, from 
 which water has to be pumped. 
 
94 A DOCTOE'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 The question as to how wild animals obtain water 
 in many parts of this country is very puzzling; for 
 one finds such creatures as buck, baboons, and birds, 
 in areas where standing water is to be found only 
 during rainy periods, and then only for a short time, 
 for it usually sinks into the porous sandy ground 
 very quickly. Occasionally one finds small pools in 
 the river-beds, but they are few and far between. 
 The atmosphere is so dry that, although the nights 
 are often cold, the fall of dew is very slight, so that 
 this source of moisture can hardly be considered. The 
 only explanation as regards herbivora seems to be 
 that the food they eat contains suiB&cient water for 
 their needs. As to how the carnivora, such as 
 leopards and jackals, manage I can offer no solution 
 at all. I have seen a jackal looking sleek and well 
 thirty miles or more from the nearest known water, 
 and that was in a deep well. Why he was there at 
 all in the desert I could not imagine, for nothing 
 living was to be seen except a very occasional lizard 
 or beetle. 
 
 May 10. — A few Germans here, now that the troops 
 have passed, are beginning to pop their heads out, 
 and one is not a little surprised to see several able- 
 bodied men among them. No doubt their uniforms 
 are snugly hidden away somewhere, for here, as 
 elsewhere, the conscience of the Hun is very elastic. 
 He is soldier to-day. Red Cross man to-morrow, 
 civilian and spy combined the next, whichever serves 
 his purpose best. On more than one occasion I have 
 been asked to release German wounded because they 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 96 
 
 were " civilians." " Surely," said the German matron 
 of a hospital, with affected surprise, when a batch 
 of convalescent wounded prisoners was being sent 
 down, " you're not going to send this man and 
 that man with the prisoners ? They are only poor 
 civilians." 
 
 It was galling, too, to see the large herds of cattle 
 and flocks of sheep appearing as if by magic, which 
 had been hidden away in the mountains when the 
 danger threatened. When our troops had asked for 
 meat, the owners of all these animals had declared 
 they had only a few old cows and goats. Now they 
 have not only the effrontery to bring in their stock, 
 but to ask in a most importunate manner for police 
 protection and compensation. They declare they 
 are in danger of attack from " wild " natives living 
 between here and Windhuk, and make claims for 
 large quantities of stock which they say we or the 
 natives have taken. No doubt the natives have 
 made use of their opportunities, for they are now to 
 be seen with small quantities of stock about their 
 dwellings, whereas under German rule they were 
 practically debarred from the ownership of cattle or 
 sheep. A well-to-do farmer, who had entertained 
 General Botha in his town-house during his stay here, 
 sent the following letter to us, with the request that 
 it might be forwarded to the officer commanding 
 troops at a little place, Potmini, twenty miles away, 
 on the Swakup River, and where his farm was 
 situated. 
 
 " The order of General Botha is— to protect every 
 
96 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 private property, to do not kill any angora goat, 
 wool sheeps, or other animal of Potmini, and to do 
 not prevent the animals of Mr. C. [himself], who 
 presently is at Otjimbingwe, do his work on this 
 place. On the 30th of April at Otjimbingwe the 
 General has had the kindness to promise me that my 
 private property at Potmini shall be protected. I 
 afterwards heard from officers that perhaps before the 
 General come to Potmini plenty of my catties already 
 were slaughtered. Directly after taking of Otjim- 
 bingwe I have offered all my catties to General 
 Myburg, because at the first the soldiers had no 
 victuals enough. I only have invited not to consume 
 my last cows, Australian wool sheeps, and the three 
 hundred best angora goats there with I can breed 
 again. Beautiful angora goats, merinos, and os- 
 triches, are very scarce in this country, and must be 
 imported again from South Africa. I beg the General 
 to engage that the slaughtered animals be compen- 
 sated, and the rest of the animals can return again 
 from Potmini to the little water Hasis in the next 
 neighbouring, where in this bad year is a little more 
 food. I should be very grateful if the General would 
 permit me to go myself with a patrol to Potmini to pre- 
 vent more loss of catties, date palms and other trees, 
 
 by the going away of my Damaras. Mr. C ." 
 
 He was allowed to send a native girl over to Potmini 
 with this epistle, and we took the opportunity of 
 sending a message as well, informing the officer in 
 charge of the precarious state of the hospital. She 
 returned in two days with the report that all the 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 97 
 
 stock had disappeared from the farm. *' I am a poor 
 
 man !" waUed Mr. C . " What shall I do now V 
 
 What he did was to sit down and write a long rig- 
 marole to the Minister of Defence putting in a claim 
 of £1,600 for alleged losses. As for us, we received 
 the laconic note: '* There are no troops at Potmini. 
 Have informed Swakupmund of jour position !" For 
 any help Swakupmund can send us, he might as well 
 have informed Timbuktu. 
 
 To-day some enemy subjects were found in posses- 
 sion of two shot-guns and two sporting Mausers, 
 although all firearms were supposed to have been 
 handed in when the place was taken. We are very 
 anxious to get hold of a shot-gun, or even a rifle, so 
 that we may vary our menu a little. Boiled mutton 
 and cabbage stalks are getting a little monotonous, 
 and the latter are showing signs of coming to an end. 
 
 To-night the welcome news is circulated that a 
 brigade train is three miles away; but our joy is 
 tempered with apprehension, for, not belonging to our 
 brigade, they may be unwilling or unable to give us 
 anything. It seems very curious and difficult to 
 realize that we strong and healthy men are suddenly 
 shut ofi from the common necessaries of life and all 
 communication with the outside world. So far we 
 have joked about being hungry, but the Major leaves 
 no stone unturned in his efforts to keep the place 
 going. Yesterday he exchanged a sheep for 18 pounds 
 of mealie-meal and 5 pounds of rice. To-day he has 
 been negotiating for a little milk for the men, but 
 without success, for it would mean the patients and 
 
 7 
 
98 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 children going short. So far the wounded have 
 lacked nothing, but the preparing and carrying in of 
 their savoury meals must be a considerable strain 
 upon our hungry orderlies. 
 
 May 11. — The brigade train of the 2nd Brigade 
 has arrived. The Major, through the good offices of 
 our patient the quartermaster-sergeant, managed to 
 get two sacks of mealie-meal and a box of biscuits 
 out of them, and this has heartened our boys more 
 than a great victory would have done, although it 
 only means one biscuit each a day and a little mealie- 
 meal porridge. The inhabitants made attempts to 
 buy rice, cofiee, sugar, and mealie-meal; but, of 
 course, they could not have any, for twenty half- 
 loaded waggons seemed to be little enough for the 
 2,500 starving men waiting for them. It is to be 
 hoped that this transport will come up with their 
 brigade, for nobody here can tell them in which 
 direction the troops have moved. We also heard 
 with some concern that our own supplies have been 
 diverted from this route, and are being sent direct 
 to Karibib; but the certain knowledge that General 
 Britz has occupied this place more than compensates 
 us for this bad news. 
 
 The brigade train had experienced a most gruelling 
 time dragging the waggons up the sandy bed of the 
 Swakup for nearly a hundred miles. Whoever is to 
 blame for failures in the Q.M.G.'s department, it is 
 certainly not the men who are in charge of the 
 waggons or motor-lorries. One and all have worked 
 like heroes, day and night, with little expectation of 
 
OTJIMBING'W'E'" ' " '''' '''' "'' '^ 
 
 kudos or reward. If I were a sculptor, I would design a 
 great monument of men and animals of the transport, 
 with a mule chafed and scarred at the top, and put it 
 in front of the Government Buildings in Windhuk. 
 
 May 12. — It is becoming abundantly clear that we 
 cannot maintain a hospital here much longer unless 
 we get stores. We would very much like an ex- 
 planation from the army medical staff as to why we 
 are left here to live or die, without orders or assist- 
 ance. If we had sufficient petrol, we would risk 
 mines and chance of capture, and motor our patients 
 over to Karibib; but without petrol and oil our four 
 motor ambulances stand there useless, grim witnesses 
 of their own limitations. However, by putting what 
 little petrol and oil remains in all the cars into one, 
 the driver " thinks " he will be able to do the forty 
 miles between here and Karibib; and, the Major 
 taking his courage in both hands, they set off on 
 what no doubt is a perilous journey : for the road is 
 said to be mined, and as yet no vehicles have been 
 that way. All day long I hear explosions, and see 
 bits of Major, mechanic, and motor, flying skywards 
 in my imagination. It is nine at night before we 
 see, with feelings of great relief, the lights of the 
 returning car, and presently hear it grinding its way 
 through the river-bed and so home. *' Nobody knows 
 anything about anything," is aU I can get out of the 
 tired Major. However, they got some rations and 
 promises of more. General Botha, they say, has 
 formally entered Windhuk to-day without resistance. 
 
 While the Major was away I interviewed the 
 
iOOA'l^biDTOJrS'WARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 garrison commandant, a sergeant of Engineers, in 
 charge of a squad of three disaffected privates, the 
 sole protectors of the town. He said they were put 
 here to grind mealies; but as there were none to grind, 
 as the supply of food was finished, and as his horses 
 were daily becoming weaker, it was his intention to 
 evacuate the town. 
 
 The idea of being without protection is very 
 alarming to the German inhabitants. Already they 
 declare that their native servants have refused to 
 work; and if they are left alone, they expect that 
 the *' semi- wild " natives who live in the mountains 
 to the east, and who exist upon game and roots, will 
 raid them. Here, as elsewhere, the German farmer 
 and villager are living in constant dread of natives, 
 both Hottentot and Herero ; and if an evil conscience 
 makes people afraid, they have every reason to be so. 
 Before the Herero rebellion in 1904, Otjimbingwe 
 seems to have been a centre of these people. The 
 town itself suffered in the rebellion, buildings being 
 fired and a few people killed. The brother of our 
 present landlord was killed outside his own door, 
 and his house gutted, as photographs in the possession 
 of the family show. But the Germans here are 
 reticent as to what has become of the natives in these 
 parts; for although a large Herero reserve is shown 
 on the map, none are to be seen except a few herds 
 and servant-girls, all very subdued and tame, and 
 given to the singing of German hymns. Ugly rumour 
 has it that most of them were driven into the desert 
 to die of hunger or thirst. 
 
otjimbinOwe' ''' ''''"'ioi 
 
 The climate here at this time of the year is on the 
 whole pleasant. The atmosphere is very dry, and 
 all the time we have been here I have seen neither 
 cloud nor dew. Just before dawn each day a north- 
 east wind begins to blow with great regularity. It 
 gets stronger towards afternoon, and ceases at sun- 
 set. The days, especially the afternoons, are hot, 
 the thermometer in the shade generally registering 
 over 100°. As soon as the sun goes down it becomes 
 chilly, and before dawn the temperature may be 
 down to freezing-point; so that there is a diurnal 
 variation of 70°, which is, I should think, rather 
 exceptional. 
 
 Moon and stars are very bright in these parts, and 
 both the Great Bear and the Southern Cross are 
 visible. For the sunrises and sunsets alone the 
 country is worth a visit. So still is the atmosphere 
 at these times that one can often distinguish all the 
 spectral colours, from the violet at the zenith to the 
 red on the horizon. 
 
 To-day I explored the bed of the Omusemu River, 
 which joins the right bank of the Swakup at Otjim- 
 bingwe, cutting the town into two parts. As this 
 so-called river is typical of a great number of water- 
 courses in Damaraland, I will describe it briefly. 
 The first thing one notices is the absence of surface 
 water. Only very occasionally do these rivers come 
 down, and then only for a short while. Two factors 
 are responsible for this — the porous nature of the 
 soil, and the comparatively slight rainfall; but they 
 all have steady streams of underground water, often 
 
iiB2'Ai)OCT6R^S bl'ARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 very abundant and good, and this at no very great 
 depth, generally anything from 10 to 50 feet. The 
 Omusemu varies in width from 200 to 600 yards; 
 indeed, in many places its limits are very indefinite, 
 so low are the banks. 
 
 But the most striking thing about it is the luxuriant 
 vegetation. Away from the river there are only a 
 few stunted thorn-trees and a little sparse grass. 
 As soon as you get to the bank of the river this is 
 all changed. Gigantic acacias larger than the biggest 
 oak, and of the same spreading habit, which denotes 
 strength of limb, fringe the banks at intervals, or 
 grow, in family groups and sometimes singly, in the 
 bed of the river. Thorn-trees of smaller varieties 
 abound on the numerous islands, and there is very 
 thick undergrowth in places. Several varieties of 
 grass grow freely and to a considerable height. All 
 this goes to create a very beautiful and park-like 
 appearance. Viewed from a distant hill, a river 
 like this is a very conspicuous feature of the land- 
 scape, a broad belt of verdure winding through a 
 comparative desert, to be lost to sight in the distant 
 mountains. 
 
 May 16. — A Cape cart arrived from Karibib 
 to-day, bringing some stores and petrol. We also 
 received orders to evacuate our hospital to Karibib, 
 and to proceed to Windhuk via Groot Barmen 
 without delay. With a little squeezing it would be 
 possible to get all the wounded into the four cars, 
 including the prisoners, one or two of whom were 
 now almost well. As we had no escort, there was a 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 103 
 
 possibility of the prisoners trying to escape, especially 
 as they were never tired of telling us how they were 
 looking forward to their visit to Cape Town. To 
 prevent this contingency, orders were issued that 
 they were to go clothed in pyjamas and overcoats, 
 boots and water-bottles being withheld. 
 
 May 17. — We were up at five this morning, and 
 had all the wounded dressed and fed by seven. To 
 stow them comfortably for a long and rough motor 
 journey was not very easy, especially as three of them 
 had leg wounds and were unable to sit up. However, 
 by propping them up with pillows and bags, and by 
 suspending the splints from the frames of the cars 
 with bandages, we got them all arranged to their 
 satisfaction. Just before starting, each man received 
 a good dose of morphia, including the Germans who 
 we suspected might attempt to escape. All were in 
 the best of spirits; even the man who had done 
 nothing but whine and complain for the last three 
 weeks seemed to be buoyed up with hope. In spite 
 of the morphia, and in spite of the fact that we only 
 travelled at the rate of ten miles an hour, the journey 
 left something to be desired from a wounded man's 
 point of view. The cars were much too heavily laden, 
 the road very rough and uneven. Consequently, the 
 frames of the cars came down with a bang on the 
 axles every few yards with great regularity, which 
 was followed with equal regularity by a chorus of 
 groans. It was almost humorous the way the poor 
 beggars sat with a rigid, fixed expression, anticipating 
 every bump, and occasionally, I thought, emitting 
 
104 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 the groan before the jolt occurred. For the first ten 
 miles or so the road ran north along the bank of the 
 Omusemu, when it crossed a loop of the river where, 
 in a beautiful little dell, a deep well is situated, with 
 its sides protected by masonry, and operated by 
 means of a windlass, chain, and bucket. Turning 
 westward through a poort, we came into fine upland 
 country with plenty of grass, and near to Karibib 
 passed a large farm enclosed with a wire fence, 
 belonging to a wealthy Jew engaged extensively in 
 horse-breeding. 
 
 Karibib itself is not an interesting place. Standing 
 almost on the edge of the desert, it is very nearly 
 devoid of trees. A high wind was blowing, and this 
 combined with the movements of numerous troops 
 and waggons caused the place to be almost obscured 
 in a great cloud of dust, through which one could 
 make out a few roofs, and a great mountain on the 
 farther side. This place is important for its railway 
 workshops. Here the two-foot gauge railway from 
 Swakupmund ends, and a three-foot-six gauge rail- 
 way begins the line for Windhuk, Keetmanshoop, 
 and Luderitzbucht. With their usual thoroughness 
 and attention to detail, our sanguine foes had con- 
 structed a large wire cage with sidings into it from 
 both railways, wherein they hoped to, and possibly 
 did, exhibit any of the Union forces who were un- 
 fortunate enough to fall into their hands. " Nothing 
 I have seen during the whole campaign," said an 
 officer, " has given me so much pleasure as seeing 
 the ungodly Huns in their own pit ; and if I had only 
 
OTJIMBINGWE 105 
 
 had my camera with me the day I saw them in it, 
 my cup of joy would have been full." 
 
 We took our patients straight to the hospital. 
 Though the medical authorities knew four days ago 
 that we were coming, the officer in charge of the 
 hospital had not been informed; consequently our 
 arrival was quite unexpected. Still, the hospital 
 authorities did their best, though the patients had 
 not the nice beds they had with us, and the rooms 
 were small and unsuitable. The accommodation, too, 
 was quite inadequate for a large base hospital, and 
 all but the most severe cases had to be content with 
 shake-downs in a large shed adjoining. A general 
 order had appeared forbidding commandeering even 
 for the hospital, and as a result many of our sick and 
 wounded had to lie on the ground, although there 
 were plenty of beds in the town. In fact, not only 
 here, but everywhere, the General was most careful 
 to protect the interests and property of the in- 
 habitants. I had occasion to visit headquarters, for 
 the Rhenish missioner at Otjimbingwe had asked me 
 to take a letter to the General explaining the pre- 
 carious condition of the inhabitants, who were on the 
 verge of starvation and expecting native raids. The 
 Chief of Staff was most sympathetic, but explained 
 that at present it was quite impossible to police 
 occupied towns. But, with regard to feeding German 
 civilians, arrangements were being made, and he 
 gave me ten days' rations for such people as I could 
 assure him were badly in need of them. And this, 
 too, at a time when the troops in Karibib, General 
 
106 A DOCTOE'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 Britz's brigade and an infantry brigade, were on half- 
 rations, if that, and we ourselves could only obtain 
 half -rations for our trek to Windhuk. I think it can 
 safely be said that General Botha's soldiers went short 
 of food without a murmur, in order that the wives 
 and children of men who were in arms against them 
 might be fed. 
 
 The general military situation with regard to the 
 Northern Army is now as follows: The infantry are 
 along the line from Walfisch to Karibib, and the 
 Burghers are spread out like a fan, also along the 
 line, but in a semicircle almost from Karibib to 
 Windhuk, the left wing of the 3rd Brigade at the 
 latter place, under Colonel Mentz, being engaged in 
 capturing or dispersing the remains of the enemy 
 east of the line. The Burghers are occupying their 
 time in reorganizing, which means, chiefly, trying to 
 get their horses into better condition preparatory to 
 making another rush. The Germans are watching us 
 in a line parallel to ours, but some distance north, 
 Omaruru being, perhaps, their headquarters and 
 point of concentration. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE TREK FROM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 
 
 May 18. — Windhuk lies almost due east of Otjim- 
 bingwe, but there is no direct road connecting the 
 two places, because a large waterless, irregular 
 plateau known as the Komas Highlands intervenes. 
 This region, which constitutes the watershed for the 
 greater part of the whole country, must be skirted 
 either to the north or south. The Burghers had 
 taken the northern route, partly on account of the 
 better water-supply, and partly to avoid having an 
 extensive waterless and difficult region between them- 
 selves and their base, but chiefly in order that the 
 wing marching on Windhuk should not lose touch 
 with the rest of the army. 
 
 Now we were free to move on to Windhuk, and our 
 orders, too, were to take the northern route and not 
 to delay. Journeys in this country are dominated 
 almost entirely by the water-supply, and the treks 
 must be so arranged that the water-holes are reached 
 at reasonable intervals. Further, trekking must be 
 done at night, for two reasons : first, because the days 
 even in the winter may be unpleasantly hot; and, 
 secondly, because the horses and mules must graze in 
 the daytime, so that they can be watched. In our 
 
 107 
 
108 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 particular case we are faced with additional diffi- 
 culties. Our animals being in very low condition, 
 they are not in a fit state to make long treks. We 
 have no food at all for the mules, and only 1 pound 
 of mealies a day for each horse for five days. For 
 the men, too, we have only food for five days. But, 
 worst of all, we have no knowledge of the country 
 through which we have to pass, and do not know 
 where the water and grazing may be. Without a 
 guide, we shall have to rely entirely upon the map, 
 which is quite unreliable with regard to the water- 
 holes, or, rather, with regard to the water in the 
 water-holes. At dawn to-day we are ready to leave 
 the place where we have spent three anxious and 
 strenuous weeks, weeks that have seemed to us like 
 eternities. The inhabitants seem to be sorry that 
 the ambulance is leaving, and express their gratitude 
 for the little we have done for them by making us 
 gifts of foodstuffs, which we know they can very ill 
 afford to do. 
 
 Soon B section of the Mounted Brigade Field 
 
 Ambulance is on the road again, three ambulance 
 waggons, three general service waggons, and a water- 
 cart bringing up the rear. Men without horses walk 
 to save the mules ; men with horses walk to spare the 
 horses. The road is very heavy, the wheels clinging 
 to the sand with a grinding noise. Two or three 
 hungry German dogs follow us, hoping thereby to 
 prolong a miserable existence. The dust rises and 
 hangs in the air, and as soon as the sun is up it 
 becomes unpleasantly hot. The dust of many parts 
 
FEOM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 109 
 
 of this country is quite a feature, being often very 
 light and powdery. This is due to the fact that it is 
 composed very largely of mica. A moving column 
 will raise a dust that ascends like steam or smoke, 
 and remains in the air a considerable time. Troops 
 or herds of animals are easily localized in the daytime 
 by the dust they create, which is often visible for 
 many miles, so that surprising an enemy during the 
 daytime is generally out of the question. 
 
 During our stay at Otjimbingwe we had collected 
 a good many stray horses, most of them in a most 
 wretched condition, left behind because of their use- 
 lessness. Our orderlies would appropriate these 
 animals, and make attempts to improve them, and 
 also to acquire old and discarded saddles and bridles. 
 Amongst our men were a good many from the towns, 
 with no knowledge of horses and little of horseman- 
 ship. These were the very ones who had made such 
 efiorts to convert themselves into mounted men, and 
 on leaving we were not a little surprised to see several 
 of these gentry booted and spurred and mounted on 
 these sorry nags. But before many miles were done 
 they were all on foot again, the effort of propelling 
 these animals, combined with lack of skill, proving 
 more irksome than walking. 
 
 We continued to advance along the road parallel 
 to the Swakup for an hour or two until we reached 
 a spot called Uitdraai, where it was our intention to 
 pass the day and wait until the evening before begin- 
 ning the real trekking. We had been told that there 
 were both water and grazing here. There was a little 
 
110 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 water in the river, but no grass was to be seen; for 
 the 2nd Brigade had been here nearly a week, and 
 had eaten up everything. The place, too, was a 
 regular Golgotha, the bones and other remains of 
 slaughtered animals lying about in great profusion. 
 Dead horses and mules there were, too, in abundance. 
 We spent the day under the trees, as far as possible 
 from the unsavoury camp of Albert's men, and at 
 five in the evening we spanned in, the order being to 
 trek until 10 p.m. This evening the travelling was 
 very heavy, for the road leaving the river on the 
 right rose higher and higher; the surface, too, left 
 much to be desired, sandy patches alternating with 
 rocks and boulders. With every step the country 
 improved, and at ten o'clock everybody was quite 
 ready for a little rest. The night was very cold and 
 frosty, but with the aid of large fires and hot coffee 
 we managed to keep fairly warm, and would have 
 been quite happy but for the thought that at 2 a.m. 
 we must be up and off. Of all the abominations one 
 has to undergo in this country, I think nothing is so 
 trying as getting up for the early morning trek. 
 Cold and stiff, you rise more fatigued than when you 
 lay down. With difficulty you mount a tired horse, 
 and with greater difficulty still you make constant 
 efforts to keep awake. In fact, I think it much the 
 best plan to walk as much as possible at this time — 
 at least, until you are thoroughly warmed and 
 roused. 
 
 May 19. — About dawn the road ceased to ascend, 
 ftnd we began to cross a series of beautiful river-beds 
 
FROM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 111 
 
 running into the Swakup from the north. Here the 
 country is like a park; grass is plentiful, especially 
 in the beds of some of the streams, and the thorn- 
 trees are numerous and large. In the hopes of finding 
 water, I rode up or down several of these river-beds 
 for a mile or so, but in vain, for not a sign of water 
 was to be seen. It was now about twenty-four hours 
 since the animals had had a decent drink, and, 
 although the sun was beginning to get hot, there was 
 nothing for it but to push on to the water. To 
 crown all, about breakfast-time the dissel-boom of 
 the water-cart broke off short going down a steep hill. 
 Our conductor, in despair, wanted to leave it behind, 
 but of course the Major would not hear of this, and 
 after considerable delay we managed to fix the water- 
 cart on behind the last general service waggon. 
 
 My horse being better than most, I pushed on alone 
 to Klein Barmen to search for the water. At noon I 
 came to the spot, just a drift in a river, with two 
 derelict buildings, but no sign of water or grazing. 
 Hunting down the river-bed, I came upon a well of 
 large dimensions, but it was filled in with rocks and 
 the winding apparatus broken. Coming back to the 
 drift, I saw two small notices, one in German, 
 '* Neither grazing nor water here," and the other in 
 Dutch, *' I hear there is water and grazing three 
 miles farther; I am trekking on." Cursing the mock- 
 ing German, and blessing the Dutchman for his 
 message of hope, I off-saddled my now exhausted 
 horse, sat down under a tree, and waited for the 
 ambulance. It was 2 p.m. before they arrived, the 
 
112 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 mules looking ready to drop. I pointed to the 
 notices. The conductor, after reading, said: '' I must 
 span out; I cannot go another step." Nothing for 
 the animals, not even sufficient shade; they were 
 just tied to the waggons. We made a little porridge 
 and cofiee, the first food we had tasted this day; 
 but looking at the mules and horses, and thinking 
 that we were probably going to try to urge them on 
 another fifteen or twenty miles to Groot Barmen, 
 made one too utterly wretched to have any desire 
 for food or drink. Most pitiful is it, throughout 
 these trying marches, to witness the endurance, 
 patience, and sufferings, of the animals. A mule will 
 pull gamely until it drops to rise no more and a 
 merciful bullet puts an end to its career. One would 
 see them trying to nibble bushes as they went along, 
 or swaying out of the course to get at a little grass 
 by the roadside. Our great difficulty was that we 
 rarely found grazing and water in the same place; 
 for the troops preceding us had always eaten up the 
 grass near the water, or, the water being near the 
 homesteads of the farmers, the stock on the farms 
 had done so. Often we would find good grazing, and 
 the mules would be too thirsty to eat, or we dared not 
 stop until we came to water. Then, when we arrived 
 at the water, no grazing was to be found near. 
 Attempts were made to gather grass as we went 
 along, but the quantity obtained in the time at our 
 disposal was never more than a few mouthfuls. Let 
 no man lay flattering unction to his soul for his share 
 in this war, but rather give the full meed of praise 
 
FROM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 113 
 
 to the gallant beasts whose bones will whiten the 
 sands of German West for many a long day. 
 
 Encouraged a little by the rest, but more by the 
 Dutchman's message, we moved on again at 3 p.m. 
 We struggled on three miles, four miles, five miles, 
 in the heat and dust, without sign of water. The 
 conductor, able to stand the strain no longer, and 
 probably not wishing to see his animals give in 
 altogether, came up and asked me to ride ahead with 
 him to see if we could find water. In our anxiety 
 we forced our horses into a gallop. Mine felt so weak 
 under me that I thought he would never gallop again. 
 Mounting a rise we saw a roof, then several, then some 
 large farm buildings, and as we descended we saw a 
 large cement dam full of water glittering in the sun, 
 wherein several men were leisurely bathing and 
 washing their clothes. 
 
 For the moment I think, if I had had a revolver, I 
 would have fired upon those men, for they seemed to 
 be fouling, with their filthy shirts, the water we 
 wished to drink. But, as a matter of fact, there was 
 water in abundance, and they were only washing in 
 the place appointed for the purpose, for somebody 
 had made arrangements for both drinking and wash- 
 ing. I turned my horse to a drinking-trough. He 
 seemed to hesitate. I jumped down to taste it; it 
 was quite hot. Later I made a careful examination 
 of the spring. It came bubbling out of the soil at 
 a single spot, whence it was led by furrows and pipes 
 to drinking-troughs and the large tank. The water 
 came out of the ground at a temperature of 49° C, 
 
 8 
 
114 A DOCTOE'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 and I could not maintain my hand in it at this spot, 
 although grass was growing up to the edge of this 
 spring and algae were there in plenty. I noticed also 
 a water-beetle or two. The water was quite odour- 
 less, colourless, and tasteless. I was told it is radio- 
 active. A three-inch pipe carried the overflow away. 
 It is in reality a little spa, and a shed at hand had 
 two cement plunge baths in it, with the water laid 
 on. We camped under some massive white granite 
 rocks on the bank of the Swakup, within a hundred 
 yards of the spring. The wide bed of the river, with 
 vegetation down to its edge, the glistening rocks, and 
 the distant mountains, all tinted a peach colour 
 peculiar to African sunsets, made a serene and 
 beautiful picture. 
 
 We had hardly outspanned when a commando rode 
 up from the Windhuk road. They watered their 
 horses expeditiously, and moved on at once by the 
 road we had come. A dusty staff officer galloped up 
 to our camp and saluted the Major. '' The Colonel 
 says you are to follow the wing immediately to 
 Okasisi." Okasisi, fifty miles to the north-west ! 
 Excuses rushed to the Major's lips: the mules, the 
 horses, the men, his orders. More to the point, he 
 finally asked, " What brigade is this ?" " Colonel 
 Collins' left wing of Colonel Albert's brigade, sir," 
 replied the staff officer. '' But I am the ambulance 
 attached to Colonel Mentz's brigade," said the Major 
 in a tone of relief I have never heard equalled. " In 
 that case I have nothing more to say," replied the 
 staff officer, putting spurs to his horse. 
 
FKOM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 115 
 
 Thinking it rather strange that the troops were 
 passing through in the direction away from the 
 capital, I hailed a passing officer, and gleaned from 
 him the following somewhat disconcerting informa- 
 tion, that only a few of the Northern Army were now 
 at Windhuk, and that a concentration was taking 
 place towards Karibib. What troops were still in 
 Windhuk he thought might belong to our brigade. 
 He said that they had captured a German ambulance 
 complete with nine wounded prisoners; about 300 
 Germans were still watching General Mackenzie's 
 troops in the region of Gibeon, not knowing that 
 Windhuk was lost, and Colonel Mentz was en- 
 gaged in rounding them up; all fighting south of 
 the Karibib-Windhuk line was now over, the German 
 forces having retreated towards Grootfontein and 
 the Waterberg. When asked how the Burghers had 
 been faring, he said that at times they had been very 
 much reduced from want of food ; they had been in 
 the saddle every day for twenty-five days, and often 
 they had covered as much as fifty miles in twenty- 
 four hours. Since he left Swakupmund he had 
 received seventeen biscuits only, no coffee, tea, or 
 sugar, and only very occasionally a little mealie-meal, 
 so that they had lived almost entirely upon meat. 
 
 Our daily allowance of biscuits is six per man, so 
 that these men had been, not on half or quarter, but 
 on ** tenth " rations, and, as a matter of fact, they 
 had been out of touch with all supplies for twenty -one 
 days. They had still a trek of forty or fifty miles to 
 the line at Okasisi, and there was no reason to believe 
 
116 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 that they would get much when they arrived there. 
 Both they and their horses appeared to have plenty 
 of vim. They were cheerful and keen, although the 
 less said about their clothing and toilet, the better. 
 
 The ambulance was now in a regular quandary. 
 Orders were to proceed to Windhuk; but all troops, 
 we were told, were now making for Karibib, pre- 
 paratory, no doubt, to making a new rush northward 
 along the line. The Major was for obeying orders, 
 no doubt a good soldierly precept. I, on the other 
 hand, counselled remaining where we were until we 
 could get fresh orders, arguing that since we had 
 received orders the whole military situation might 
 have changed. But we were very soon to discover 
 that staying here was out of the question, for there 
 was not a blade of grass for the animals to eat within 
 four miles, and there was nothing for it but to move 
 on first thing in the morning to Groot Barmen, where 
 there was, so we were informed, both grazing and 
 water, also a telephone-station. 
 
 May 20. — This morning I interviewed the manager 
 of the neighbouring farm, a blond and communicative 
 Hun mounted upon a mule. He was taking the 
 imminent change of Government in a very philo- 
 sophical if not cheerful way, and prognosticated a 
 speedy conclusion to the campaign. He said the 
 war would last another five months, and then he 
 dismissed an unpleasant topic with a shrug of the 
 shoulders. This large farm, Klein Barmen, belongs 
 to the German Farming Company, which was really 
 Liebig's, but went under a German name in this 
 
FROM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 117 
 
 country, London capital being at the bottom of the 
 enterprise. At present they were milking 200 cows, 
 making butter and cheese which they sold to the 
 military. Altogether there were on the place 4,000 
 head of cattle, and when the number reached 50,000 
 or 60,000 it was their intention to start Liebig fac- 
 tories. Labour was a great problem with him, 
 especially, of course, since our arrival in the country. 
 The natives, he said, are very '* low-class," and only 
 work if compelled. " For disobedience we give them 
 twenty-five sjamboks, and then they are all right for 
 another six months. It's like medicine,'' he added 
 with a laugh. '' We don't flog them ourselves, but 
 just send them to the police with a note, saying, 
 * Kindly give bearer twenty-five lashes,' which is 
 done without inquiry. Every native capable of 
 working is registered, and wears a brass label with a 
 number on, and the name of the town near which he 
 dwells. When we require labourers, we simply ask 
 the police to send them, and the natives have to come 
 whether they want to or not." 
 
 The Germans must have had very large numbers of 
 men and women so registered, for I subsequently 
 bought a good many labels from natives, bearing 
 numbers such as *' Karibib Pass 8,376 " and " Omaruru 
 Pass 11,347." The natives themselves parted most 
 willingly with these passes, as if they regarded them 
 as badges of servitude, as indeed they are. 
 
 It seemed rather strange to see a man so well dressed 
 as this manager, and controlling such large interests, 
 riding a mule, so I asked him why he was doing so. 
 
118 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 " Because I have no horse," was his trite reply. 
 Horse sickness being very common from here north- 
 ward, very few horses were to be had, and they were 
 very expensive. In fact, people often rode oxen, and 
 recently he had sold 400 " good riding oxen " to the 
 soldiers of the Kaiser. Land, he said, was cheap, 
 the Government selling good farms at 50 pfennigs 
 per hectare. 
 
 Lizards are very plentiful in these parts. One 
 small, very agile variety I noticed first in the desert 
 between Salem and Tsaobis. The body is the colour 
 of the sand, and the long tail a vivid transparent 
 salmon colour. When disturbed it makes for cover 
 like a streak of flame. Another very beautiful variety 
 is found on the sunny rocks. The largest I saw was 
 about 10 inches long, including the tail. The body is 
 rather more squat than a lizard's generally is — half- 
 way between a lizard's and a frog's. The head and 
 neck are marked like a tiger's, but of lemon, yellow, 
 and black. It holds its head well up, and looks 
 about in a very perky way. It has scarlet epaulettes, 
 and the body is grey marked with white. Its power 
 of holding on is phenomenal, and I saw one running 
 up and down the smooth cement side of a house, 
 just to show what it could do. 
 
 Immediately after breakfast I was despatched to 
 Groot Barmen, a distance of ten miles, in order to 
 select a site for the camp, and to try to get into 
 telephonic communication with headquarters. This 
 short journey to Groot Barmen is along the Swakup 
 River, which the road crosses several times. The 
 
FKOM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 119 
 
 white sandy river-bed, the great trees and mountains, 
 combined to make it very picturesque. Mica here is 
 very abundant, large flakes glistening in the sun like 
 diamonds. Sedimentary rocks, not noticed nearer 
 the coast, were in evidence on account of the strata 
 being twisted and bent in a most marked manner. 
 In one place a layer of sandstone could be seen 
 following the ups and downs of the mountains with 
 great regularity. 
 
 Groot Barmen consists of a farm, a deserted police- 
 station, and a ruined Roman Catholic mission. At 
 the farm there was a telephone, and we were able to 
 talk to Okahandya. There is a hot spring here, too, 
 the water being hotter than at Klein Barmen. " You 
 can cook an egg in it,'' they say. On the farm was 
 a young Dutchman who hastened to tell us that he 
 was a " British subject." Subsequently it transpired 
 that the farm belonged to a German who had fled 
 north, and that he had got the " British subject " 
 in at the outbreak of hostilities, thereby, no doubt, 
 hoping to protect his property. He possessed 300 
 milking cows, a thousand oxen, and several thousand 
 sheep, all in very good condition. We were able to 
 buy butter, cheese, and milk, in abundance, and our 
 hungry orderlies were soon to be seen Uterally filling 
 themselves with milk at threepence a litre. The 
 police-station, or rather barracks, stands on a little 
 hill with a very good view of the surrounding country. 
 It has the appearance of having been out of use for 
 years. 
 
 At a distance of about half a mile it is surrounded 
 
120 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 by four or five small buildings, which were no doubt 
 blockhouses employed to guard against a surprise 
 from the Hereros during the rebellion. The pre- 
 cautions had not saved the mission-station, which 
 had been set on fire one night. Whether the holy 
 fathers escaped or not I did not learn. "We camped 
 near these ruins under some giant acacias and date- 
 palms. The church, of simple Norman architecture, 
 is almost intact, only the roof, windows, and doors, 
 having disappeared, a wooden ceiling, panelled, and 
 supported by wooden pillars, being quite in a good 
 state of preservation. The only article of furniture 
 in the church was what I took to be the pulpit, but 
 on closer inspection, it turned out to be a Berlin 
 lucerne press. Two rude confessionals built of mud 
 and stones, and whitewashed, stand at the west door. 
 The adjoining monastery showed signs of having 
 been burnt, charred ends of the bamboo and fern 
 thatched roofs and ceilings being visible. The build- 
 ing was large and rambling, suggestive of both poverty 
 and toil, which no doubt the missionaries gladly 
 endured until they were driven out by their own 
 flock, to return no more. Bats innumerable in- 
 habited the rafters, hanging in clusters like grapes, 
 and I captured one with ease. They were of a small 
 mouse-coloured variety, with tiny deep-set eyes, 
 quite unlike those possessed by nocturnal animals 
 generally. The ears, on the other hand, were very 
 large and funnel-shaped, pointing forward. From 
 this it would seem highly probable that bats rely 
 chiefly or solely upon their sense of hearing for 
 
FROM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 121 
 
 capturing insects at dusk, and, as their food consists 
 only of the mosquito class, it seems all the more 
 likely that this is the case. The sudden changes of 
 direction these animals make in their flight lend 
 support to this view, for they often alter their course 
 at an angle which, judging from the position of their 
 eyes, cannot possibly be in their line of vision. 
 
 May 21. — We stayed over at Groot Barmen the 
 whole of this day in order to feed the mules and to 
 give them a chance of recovering from recent exer- 
 tions. Fortunately, there was an acre or two of 
 ground round the spring, fenced ofE, so that we were 
 able to leave them to feed during the night. The 
 two nights we were here were exceedingly cold, the 
 thermometer registering 4 degrees below zero Centi- 
 grade. 
 
 Four signallers belonging to the 2nd Brigade visited 
 our camp. Both they and their horses appeared very 
 worn. They told us that the road to Windhuk was 
 very rough and difficult in parts, but with regard to 
 grazing and water we would have no difficulty. 
 Their whole brigade was on the way to Okasisi to 
 reorganize, and the one wing under Colonel Baden- 
 horst would pass here either to-day or to-morrow. 
 We gave these men a few biscuits and a little cofiee. 
 They seemed hardly able to believe their eyes, and 
 their delight and gratitude were quite touching. 
 Later we had to send out an ambulance five or six 
 miles to bring in a sick man belonging to this brigade, 
 as they had no waggons or ambulance of their own 
 with them. What the poor fellow must have suffered 
 
122 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 trekking from Windhuk, with his disabilities, I can 
 hardly bear to think. 
 
 May 22. — Before we left, part of the 2nd Brigade 
 turned up, and one of their scouts recognized a horse 
 among ours which he said was his. It was a fine grey 
 in good condition, but, as it bore the German Govern- 
 ment's brand, we could not very well understand how 
 it could be the legal property of a scout of Albert's 
 brigade, and said so. The trooper rode angrily away, 
 saying he would bring witnesses to prove his claim. 
 He returned bringing witnesses who no doubt swore 
 false witness; but the Major was obdurate, and the 
 man retired this time threatening us with his officer. 
 He returned with his officer flus the Colonel of the 
 brigade. We meanwhile, fearing violent seizure of 
 the animal, hid it away. But the diplomatic Colonel 
 soon wheedled the horse out of us. "Of course," he 
 said, " my scout has no title to the horse; but scouts 
 are scouts, and they cannot scout without horses, 
 and my brigade is now very short of horses." " In 
 that case," replied the Major, " I will surrender the 
 animal, although I am very short of horses, too." 
 Thus ended an incident which promised to be un- 
 pleasant, for the Colonel told the scout to thank the 
 Major for " giving " him the horse, which the latter 
 did with a good grace. Later I saw our man who 
 had lost the horse consoling himself with a fine 
 brindled bulldog, which he said the scout had given 
 him for the horse. This remarkable dog had trekked 
 from Swakupmund to Windhuk and back to Groot 
 Barmen with the brigade. He became much attached 
 
FROM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 123 
 
 to the Major, following us all the way to Windhuk, 
 where he unfortunately disappeared. 
 
 I had an opportunity of watching the Burghers' 
 behaviour while they were at this farm. They 
 arrived in a famished condition, and, with the excep- 
 tion of helping themselves to a few pumpkins, they 
 paid for everything they took. It spoke well for the 
 docility and restraint of these men to see them asking 
 the price of butter and cheese, and paying without 
 cavil the somewhat exorbitant sums demanded. By 
 four in the afternoon it was cool enough to make 
 a start. The pleasure of travelling was much inter- 
 fered with by the number of dead horses on the road. 
 One saw dead animals as early in the trek as Riet, 
 and they became increasingly frequent, until now one 
 might be seen every few hundred yards. The corpses 
 nearly always lay in the road, pointing to the con- 
 clusion that they had been ridden until they dropped. 
 
 We trekked this night to Davisdrohe, and most of 
 the way the road was in the actual bed of the river, 
 high mountains on either side making it impossible 
 for a road to be constructed on either bank. In 
 places it was only with great difficulty that the 
 mules were able to pull the waggons through, for the 
 river-bed here is composed of loose shingle inter- 
 spersed with boulders and rocks. But, however the 
 river punished us, nobody was ever heard to grumble 
 about it. In or near the river there was always a 
 road, there was always water for the digging, if not 
 wells or springs, and there was always some grazing, 
 even at Swakupmund. Had there been no Swakup 
 
124 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 River, the advance of the Northern Army could never 
 have been made; the water problem alone would 
 have baffled it. At Swakupmund, Nonidas, Husab, 
 Riet, Salem, and Otjimbingwe, the river and the river 
 only had supplied us with water. Even after we 
 had passed the desert we drew our water from the 
 same source, for Klein Barmen, Groot Barmen, and 
 all the water-holes up to Windhuk, are on the river- 
 bank. At Tsaobis only did we rely upon other water, 
 and this failed long before the requirements of the 
 army were satisfied. The inexhaustible supply of pure 
 water gushing out of the rock in a waterless waste, 
 as at Riet or Salem, is as much a miracle as when 
 Moses smote upon the rock in Horeb. 
 
 It is interesting to notice how the composition of 
 the bed of the river changes gradually as one ascends 
 from the mouth towards the source. At Swakup- 
 mund it consists of a fine impalpable mica mud which, 
 when it dries, breaks up into laminated plates with 
 curled-up edges and of considerable hardness. At 
 Otjimbingwe the material in the bed is sand like that 
 of the seashore; not a stone or pebble is to be seen 
 in it. This gradually changes into a coarse gritty 
 sand, and at Davisdrohe, as I have said, the bed is 
 of shingle. Higher up still, boulders and stones 
 predominate. One may conclude that a large stone 
 starting at Windhuk is in the course of ages gradually 
 ground down to powder in its passage to the coast. 
 We get a faint glimpse of what geological time means 
 when we are told that previous to this season the 
 river had not been in flood for about fifteen years. 
 
FROM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 125 
 
 At Davisdrohe we were obliged to camp in the bed 
 of the river, so broken or precipitous were the banks. 
 It was very cold there, camping on low-lying ground, 
 and whenever possible it is much better to choose 
 an elevated spot to camp on during winter nights. 
 Throughout the campaign cold nights were the rule, 
 and many of the men were very ill supplied with 
 blankets and coats. On some of the treks they were 
 only permitted to carry one blanket or a greatcoat 
 on their saddles. The infantry particularly suffered 
 in this respect, and had not the supply of dry 
 wood to make fires with been most plentiful, I am 
 sure men would have died from exposure and 
 cold. 
 
 May 23. — Not finding any water at Davisdrohe, it 
 was necessary to make an early start, and we spanned 
 in at 5 a.m., a heavy frost lying on the ground. 
 During the night the mules had stampeded, and, 
 although the drivers had searched for them all night, 
 two were still missing. At 11 a.m. we came to the 
 farm Otjiseva, where there was a good supply of 
 water pumped up from the river by a gin into a 
 cement tank. 
 
 The farmer here, who looked more like a Berlin 
 clerk, did not receive us with enthusiasm. He told 
 us most emphatically that this was a very bad place 
 to outspan, and that good grazing was to be found 
 at a spot three miles farther on. Disregarding his 
 advice, I searched about, and found very tolerable 
 grass near-by, much to his disgust, I fancy; so we 
 outspanned near his house, and borrowed some of 
 
126 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 his neatly chopped firewood. The lady of the house, 
 popping her head out of the kitchen door, said to her 
 husband in German, " Are there some more of those 
 things here ? I thought we had seen the last of 
 them." Unfortunately for her, a sergeant near-by 
 understood her remark, and on the spur of the 
 moment could think of no better relief to his feelings 
 than pirouetting his horse on her flower-garden until 
 he felt cooler. After this our host and his spouse 
 went inside, and we did not see them again. We left 
 this inhospitable place in the afternoon, passing 
 through rich pastureland along by the river. There 
 were several empty dilapidated houses near the road, 
 and on close inspection one could see that some 
 while back they had been destroyed by fire, in all 
 probability the work of the Hereros during the 
 rebellion. The dust here was worse than any we had 
 encountered. It was as light as flour, and lay on the 
 road a foot thick. The drivers could neither see nor 
 hear the waggon immediately in front of them, so 
 that collisions were frequent, and the mules were 
 constantly leaving the road. 
 
 It is quite impossible to do justice to the beauty of 
 the country we passed through this night. The road 
 and river were winding up a narrow gorge, frequently 
 crossing each other. Giant acacias fringed the snow- 
 white bed of the river, and extended to the green- 
 sward beyond. White rocks shone like silver in the 
 river or on the mountain-sides, which towered high 
 above everything. Down below on the road a slowly 
 moving cloud of dust represented our cavalcade. 
 
FROM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 127 
 
 All this, illuminated by a most brilliant moon, has 
 left an indelible impression in my memory. 
 
 It is wonderful how soon man adapts himself to 
 his surroundings. When we arrived at Walfisch we 
 found walking in the sand most irksome; at Swakup- 
 mund we gradually got used to it, though one generally 
 arranged one's peregrinations so that maximum use 
 could be made of the wood pavement and the sleepers 
 of the railway. Now we can walk for hours in the 
 heavy sand with little fatigue. Many men have 
 adopted unconsciously a shortened step and a high 
 vertical lift of the foot. It may be inelegant and like 
 a goose-step, but it is efficient and to be recom- 
 mended. It seems especially to minimize that 
 fatiguing backslide which is experienced when walking 
 in sand in the ordinary way. 
 
 We found a nice wooded rise with an open space 
 for the waggons to outspan on near Ongosi, and soon 
 had a dozen fires going worthy of Guy Fawkes. 
 Seven hours' fast, and most of it spent in walking in 
 the sand uphiU, made the despised clinkers with jam 
 and butter most acceptable. 
 
 May 24. — The last stage to Windhuk was entered 
 on with great enthusiasm by all, though the formal 
 occupation had taken place nearly a fortnight ago. 
 For five months the word Windhuk had been con- 
 tinually on our lips, and pessimists in Cape Town 
 had told us that we would lose a third of our number 
 in the attempt to take the place, that we would be 
 ambushed in the narrow defiles, and that finally big 
 guns would have to be faced and trenches stormed. 
 
128 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 North of Windhuk are beautiful undulating high- 
 lands, rising higher and higher until within two or 
 three miles of the town. The country here is well 
 wooded with thorn-trees, and grass is plentiful, now 
 bleached by the winter frosts. About here a few 
 fences are to be seen, separating the farms, but, 
 compared to what we have in the colony, of very 
 inferior construction. 
 
 Windhuk lies in a basin on the top of the water- 
 shed of the whole country. To the west the land 
 gradually slopes down to the sea, to the south to the 
 Orange River, to the east to the Kalahari, and to the 
 north towards the Kuneni River. It is the pinnacle 
 of the country as well as of our hopes and ambitions. 
 An irregular ridge runs across the basin from north 
 to south. On the eastern side of this ridge is the 
 hamlet of Klein Windhuk, and on the western side 
 Groot Windhuk. The Windhuker Swakup winds 
 through the valley on the eastern side, its source 
 being in the Aus Mountains, which form the southern 
 boundary of the basin. This range of mountains, 
 the highest in German South-West, rises to nearly 
 9,000 feet, and is the most conspicuous feature in 
 the landscape for fifty miles in every direction. On 
 the west of the town is a conical hill, the Kaiser 
 Wilhelm Berg, beyond which are the Komas High- 
 lands, stretching away to the western horizon. 
 Finally, to the north are the undulating hills through 
 which we had approached. 
 
 The whole landscape had a dappled appearance 
 due to the green thorn-trees scattered freely amongst 
 
FROM OTJIMBINGWE TO WINDHUK 129 
 
 the white grass and sand. The inevitable columns 
 of dust were rising at several points, and the sombre 
 aspect of things was only relieved by the bright red 
 roofs and white walls of the houses. But what 
 riveted the attention above everything else were 
 seven slender black towers standing together in the 
 plain west of the town. Five of these towers are 
 400 feet high, the other two being a little shorter. 
 They belong to the renowned wireless station, or, 
 as the Germans call it, the " Telefunken." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 WINDHUK 
 
 The first building, or, rather, block of buildings, we 
 came to was flying the Red Cross. We congratulated 
 ourselves on coming to such a fine hospital. It was 
 only the native hospital, however, and still under 
 German control. A smiling caretaker directed us to 
 the military hospital. Not understanding him, but 
 seeing another Red Cross in the centre of the town, 
 we made for that. This was a large building near a 
 church, and in a third building, which looked like a 
 school, we could hear children at a singing class. 
 A nun came to the door. This, she said, was the 
 Catholic Hospital for Women and Children; but again 
 we could not follow her directions, only gathering 
 that the hospital was a long way o£E. Away to the 
 west, on a hill well out of the town, there was another 
 large building with a flag flying, and with the help of 
 glasses we made out the Geneva Cross again. We 
 charged at this hill like Burghers at a kopje. The 
 building appeared to be a large private house, and a 
 very neat nurse aU in white gave us to understand 
 that the soldiers were not here, as it was the Elizabeth 
 Maternity and Nursing Home. 
 
 Utterly routed we again descended to the town, 
 
 130 
 
WINDHUK 181 
 
 and for awhile wandered aimlessly about. Women 
 and children there were in the streets in plenty, and 
 not a few men, some of whom wore semi-military 
 khaki; but they were all obviously Huns. At last 
 we met a single ragged-looking man, carrying rifle 
 and bandolier, and we assailed him with the Dutch 
 and English languages simultaneously. He thought 
 the hospital was away to the south end of the town, 
 and directed us up a steep hill, at the top of which 
 was a new stone church of the modified Noah's Ark 
 type, taller than it was long, with a very high-pitched 
 roof and a slender spire, a gilt clock-face reminding 
 us that half-past three was well past our breakfast- 
 time. A little beyond this church is the Feste, a 
 sort of old fort with a splendid equestrian statue in 
 front of it; and here we had the first and only proof 
 that we were masters of the place — namely, a cheap 
 little Union Jack about the size of a handkerchief, 
 which was fluttering at the end of a sort of clothes- 
 prop. 
 
 The military hospital is at the south end of the 
 town, and a new wing was in course of construction 
 for fever patients. The German contractor was 
 working away at this as usual — so convinced are they 
 that the occupation of the place is only temporary. 
 There is very little of modern construction about the 
 hospital; the administrative block, built round a 
 quadrangle in which are some small coniferous trees, 
 seems to have been an old barracks. The two build- 
 ings used for the reception of patients are cold, dark, 
 and cheerless, but the two operating theatres are 
 
132 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 quite new, and have every modern convenience, and 
 there is a fine X-ray installation. Behind are several 
 large buildings for stores and laboratories. There 
 are good arrangements for sterilizing bedding, etc., 
 and, what seems a little unusual to us, a large 
 aerated-water plant. 
 
 We had heard there were vast stores of medical 
 requirements here, but the things we found were not 
 very useful. It seems that when the Germans 
 decided not to defend the capital, the military re- 
 moved all medical equipment likely to be useful to 
 them; and after the soldiers had gone, civilians were 
 allowed to come and take away anything they liked. 
 Even after we had taken over, German ladies were 
 in the habit of visiting the stores with baskets, and 
 they always seemed to resent being told that every- 
 thing in the hospital now belonged to His Majesty 
 King George. Among the things in the pharmacy 
 store were large quantities of hypodermic medica- 
 ments manufactured in Lisbon. These, the Germans 
 said, had been captured at Naulella from the Portu- 
 guese, whom they claimed to have utterly defeated 
 there. 
 
 We found nice quarters in the dispenser's house, 
 within the hospital grounds; and having removed 
 most of his mural decorations, which to us seemed 
 a little depraved, we proceeded to make ourselves 
 comfortable therein. 
 
 May 25. — To-day our section of the ambulance 
 took over the charge of the hospital. Although the 
 wards, beds, and patients, were very clean, the 
 
WINDHUK 133 
 
 sanitation and general arrangements had been much 
 neglected of late. A German matron is in charge with 
 four German nurses. These are assisted by a few 
 ladies belonging to the Eed Cross Society. We find 
 the trained nurses very capable and self-reliant, for 
 it seems that much more is left to them by the doctors 
 than is the case with us. One nurse told me that 
 she was in the habit of doing minor operations, and 
 that she gave all the anaesthetics. When we had 
 occasion to do an operation on a German to-day, this 
 same nurse kept a careful watch upon the doctor 
 giving the chloroform, feeling the patient's pulse and 
 examining his eyes; but she subsided into her proper 
 sphere when the administrator said to her in a loud 
 voice, *' I suppose you think that, not having suc- 
 ceeded in killing a German in battle, I am trying to 
 do so on the operating-table ?" After this she never 
 questioned our ability to administer anaesthetics, 
 although she seemed to be a little apprehensive at 
 times. 
 
 Until to-day a German doctor had been in charge 
 of the German wounded and sick, about eighty in 
 number. Fortunately for us, he has quarrelled with 
 the matron, and has refused to continue to attend 
 unless she is discharged. As the Major considered 
 her the more useful of the two, he has been allowed 
 to depart, and is now, we hear, spending his time 
 accusing us and her of neglect of duty. Later in the 
 day a petition comes in almost demanding the dis- 
 charge of the matron and reinstatement of the 
 doctor. We reply by running up the Union Jack 
 
134 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 and having sentries posted round the hospital. 
 There are a good many German soldiers in the 
 hospital sufiering from typhoid, and they tell us it 
 has been very prevalent among them, also that their 
 inoculation against the disease has been a failure. 
 Up till now, on the other hand, the disease has been 
 practically non-existent in our army, and among the 
 inoculated men no case has occurred. This result is 
 a striking testimony to the efficacy of inoculation, for 
 our men at Swakupmund and elsewhere often lived 
 for weeks together under most insanitary conditions. 
 The German wounded, some forty in number, are 
 now under my care. It seems they nearly all re- 
 ceived their wounds in a battle they had with the 
 Bastards near Rehoboth on May 8. The Germans 
 claim to have defeated these people, but admit 
 having lost a good many men. The Bastards, 
 although for the most part armed with rifles of 1871 
 pattern, seem to have done some very good shooting, 
 one man under cover killing five Germans by shooting 
 them through the head, while another rendered a 
 machine gun useless. The wounds of the Germans 
 also point to accurate marksmanship. Three men 
 have superficial wounds in the back received when 
 lying on their faces, while in the act of raising them- 
 selves a little to alter their positions. Another was 
 shot through the right hand, as he rolled over a little, 
 the better to open the bolt of his rifle. Apart from 
 their wounds, these men are in very good condition, 
 and do not look at all like men who have been en- 
 gaged in arduous guerrilla warfare. Their uniforms, 
 
WINDHUK 135 
 
 boots, and hats, are quite new, clean, and untorn. 
 Herein is found a cue to their ill-success in this 
 campaign; for, unless they were compelled to do so, 
 they did not leave the railways or roads, and never 
 moved without ample transport and food. When- 
 ever they attacked us, they came down the line or 
 along the road. They prepared fortified positions, 
 and built light railways up to them, and whenever 
 we captured them they had transport and food and 
 drink in abundance. General Botha's men had quite 
 different ideas about fighting. They trekked without 
 transport and without sufficient food or clothing; 
 they crossed deserts and mountains irrespective of 
 roads; and the last thing they thought of was to 
 make a frontal attack or fight when the Germans 
 expected them to. 
 
 I cannot say that I am very much impressed with 
 the German methods of treating wounds in this 
 hospital. The healing strength of nature has been 
 given very little scope, the surgeon apparently taking 
 full responsibility. The wounds are plugged to over- 
 flowing with gauze and various chemicals in what 
 appears to the uninitiated an indiscriminate manner. 
 To say the least of it, the patients themselves are 
 very uncomfortable with these dressings on, for under 
 our simpler methods the complaints of pain and dis- 
 comfort were immediately fewer. 
 
 The German soldier at home may be a stoic, but 
 he certainly is not one here, and the way he endures 
 his hurts does not impress one. I found him nervous 
 and excitable, taking a morbid interest in his wound 
 
136 A DOCTOE'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 and in the minutise of treatment. For the most part 
 he sleeps very badly, and demands and expects to 
 get an hypnotic for the asking. He knows the names 
 of these, and prefers veronal or chloral. He is quite 
 familiar, too, with the hypodermic syringe, and both 
 the patients and the nurses in charge were surprised 
 when I ordered that morphia was not to be given 
 without my consent. I talked the matter over with 
 the matron, and she readily admitted that life in the 
 colonies did not improve the physical and moral fibre 
 of the men. She admired the way our wounded 
 behaved, and especially the nonchalant manner in 
 which they came up for anaesthetic and operation. 
 
 I think it is not very far from the truth to say that 
 the Germans here have lived in a constant state of 
 dread and apprehension of the various native in- 
 habitants, and this, together with every form of self- 
 indulgence imaginable, has sapped their virility and 
 confidence. '' Poor man !" a nurse would say when 
 a certain individual put up a very poor show during 
 the dressing of his wound; *' he is very nervous; 
 he has been two years in the Kameruns, and has had 
 fever." One felt like replying: " Maybe; but he eats 
 too much and drinks far too much; he indulges in 
 tobacco, and possibly drugs; his licentiousness is 
 unequalled; and no doubt the dying agonies of the 
 natives he has witnessed worry him a bit, too." 
 
 I believe the Germans here are heavy drinkers, 
 although I must say that since I have been in Wind- 
 huk I have never seen one the worse for liquor. But 
 there is very conclusive indirect evidence to show 
 
WINDHUK 137 
 
 that they drink a lot. A small place like Swakup- 
 mund had over thirty hotels and beershops. 
 Breweries and distilleries abound; I don't think it 
 is an exaggeration to say that it would not be safe 
 to walk anywhere in the country with bare feet, 
 because you would cut yourself with broken glass. 
 On the mountain-tops, in the desert or bush, you 
 find bottles; you see buildings and walls made of 
 bottles and mud; garden paths and beds are orna- 
 mented with them; and where German troops have 
 camped you see regular pyramids of them. When- 
 ever we captured their convoys we found quantities 
 of liquor, chiefly rum of good quality. 
 
 May 28. — There has been a good deal of talk about 
 mines since we have been here. To delay our ad- 
 vance, the Germans relied almost entirely upon this 
 mode of fighting. On the line of advance to Karibib, 
 in the bed of the Swakup, and along the road from 
 Riet to Otjimbingwe, dynamite was placed in great 
 quantity. Not only were these mines put in places 
 where we were likely to go, such as drifts in river- 
 beds, or near wells, but the Huns also laid traps for 
 us. A favourite ruse was to put a mine in a river- 
 bed, and then near it to put up a notice, such as 
 " Wasser 3 kilos." In these places we never found 
 the water, but generally the mine. Another trick 
 was to place a stick of dynamite above a house door, 
 so that when the door was opened an explosion 
 occurred. As soon as our men discovered this kind 
 of practical joke, everybody was to be seen entering 
 houses by the windows. 
 
138 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 The number of mines the Germans laid was very 
 great. In one place alone between seventy and 
 eighty were taken out. At Tsaobis we slept within 
 a few yards of a large one which was subsequently 
 accidentally exploded by a native. It was cunningly 
 placed between the well and the river, and hundreds 
 of people must have walked over it. By putting 
 down so many the enemy defeated their own object, 
 for our men became very quick at finding and avoiding 
 the places where they were. Later on, too, when so 
 many failed to explode or did so little damage, we 
 became more or less indifferent about them. In all 
 only nine men lost their lives in this way, which was 
 due in great measure to two causes, the first being 
 the straggling, scattered way in which our troops 
 moved, so that very few were near when a mine did 
 explode; and, secondly, for some inexplicable reason, 
 the mines generally failed to explode at all, or only 
 exploded after nearly everybody had passed, as in 
 the case already mentioned, where an artillery column 
 passed over safely, and the harmless water-cart and 
 its driver, following far behind, were blown up. 
 
 As far as I know, the well at Riet was the only 
 place where the Germans might have done us real 
 damage by mines. There after the fight, and when 
 the Germans had evacuated the place, hundreds of 
 men and horses crowded down to the water in spite 
 of warnings. Had the large mine there gone off, 
 200 or 300 Burghers must have gone into the air, 
 which would have had a most deterrent effect upon 
 them; for it was their first experience of mines, 
 
WINDHUK 139 
 
 which, until they became familiar with them, they 
 held in great awe. As it was, they regarded the 
 incident as a very good omen and evidence of Divine 
 intervention, a point of view their astute leaders 
 made the most of. As a matter of fact, somebody 
 favouring our cause had tampered with the wires, 
 unbeknown to a German who was vainly endeavour- 
 ing to explode the mine when discovered; as, of course, 
 the Burgher leaders very well knew, but they wisely 
 allowed their men to think otherwise. 
 
 The Germans employed both contact and observa- 
 tion mines, using the latter only at very important 
 points where they hoped to do great execution. I 
 only heard of observation mines at two places, Riet 
 being one; the other was the narrow neck of beach 
 between the sand-dunes and the sea just south of 
 Swakupmund, the only way our troops could approach 
 the town from Waliisch. Contact mines were ar- 
 ranged in various ingenious ways, the commonest 
 being exploded by connecting an innocent-looking 
 peg or stump to a detonator consisting of sulphuric 
 acid and a mixture of chlorate of potash and picric 
 acid. These chemicals were in separate glass phials, 
 and when the peg was touched the phials were broken 
 and the resulting explosion fired the dynamite 
 beneath. Another kind consisted of a small wooden 
 box with a hinged lid, which was buried in the sand, 
 with the lid propped open a little bit. As soon as 
 any weight was placed on the sand-covered lid, the 
 box closed and an electrical contact was made which 
 fired the dynamite. 
 
140 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMAEALAND 
 
 If anything, I think the mines encouraged our men 
 to fight rather than the reverse. They considered 
 it a very unsportsmanlike way of fighting. On one 
 occasion in the Swakup, when the troops were very 
 much done up and discouraged, a mine exploded, 
 destroying the eyesight of one man and partially 
 that of another. The effect on the troops was magical ; 
 every man forgot his fatigue and thought only of 
 revenge. From the German point of view, too, the 
 indiscriminate scattering of dynamite about could 
 only be considered foolish; for it had no military 
 significance, and only irritated their enemies. On 
 one or two occasions our troops were made so angry 
 by these pinpricks that they were with difficulty 
 restrained from putting Germans to death who 
 happened to be in their hands at the moment. 
 
 May 30. — The Germans were very wise when they 
 made a capital at Windhuk. Perhaps I should have 
 said " manufactured " a capital, for the town at once 
 gives one the idea of having been placed here in a 
 new and complete state, and not to have grown, as 
 towns are generally expected to do. Of course, what 
 primarily brought them here is the water-supply, 
 which seems to be inexhaustible. Wherever a bore- 
 hole is put down, there water seems to be, and, 
 besides these, the hot water gushes out of the rocks 
 in several places, just as at Barmen. At one of these 
 springs is a bathing and washing house where a hot 
 bath can be had for the asking. Then the site is 
 splendid; for although there are mountains on every 
 side, the outlook is not in any way restricted by them, 
 
WINDHUK 141 
 
 and, as the bulk of the buildings are on the irregular 
 slopes of a well-wooded hill, there has been no diffi- 
 culty in making the place very picturesque. The 
 streets run north and south, more or less parallel to 
 the hill and at different levels, and the broken nature 
 of the ground has prevented the place taking on that 
 rectangular arrangement which spoils so many 
 colonial towns. 
 
 The main street, known hitherto as the Kaiser- 
 Wilhelm-Strasse, is just at the foot of the hill. In it 
 are nearly all the shops, stores, and hotels, as well 
 as the bank and post-office. This street alone is 
 well paved, all the others being still in a very rough 
 and stony condition. Below the Kaiser- Wilhelm- 
 Strasse are what one might call the '' slums," and at 
 its lower or northern end it opens out into a sort of 
 square where the station, gymnasium, and gaol are 
 situated. I had occasion to visit this latter place 
 several times. Outside it is not so bad, surrounded 
 as it is with an attempt at a garden and pepper-trees, 
 but inside a more dismal, dark, cold, forbidding place 
 it is difficult to imagine. The gaoler told me that, 
 when he took over, the place literally swarmed with 
 bugs, and that it would be the refinement of cruelty 
 to put prisoners in many of the cells. Yet it was here 
 that many British subjects, military and civilian, 
 were confined for many weeks. 
 
 The Grovernor's palace, the public buildings, and 
 the residences of Government officials and the well- 
 to-do, are all built on the side of the hill. The palace 
 is not much of a place, but it has beautiful gardens 
 
142 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 in which palms predominate, and is surrounded by 
 trees. The houses in this part of the town are very 
 nice, often perched on high rocks with winding paths 
 leading up to them, and terraced gardens below. 
 What strikes one about them is that no two houses 
 are alike. Some of them have very fantastic shapes, 
 especially as regards the roofs. 
 
 For a long time before Windhuk became the capital, 
 it was a Rhenish mission-station, and the buildings 
 belonging to this period can easily be distinguished 
 from the more modern ones; for, instead of being 
 plastered and of ornate design, they are built of plain 
 red brick, and are of simple and severe pattern. 
 
 When Windhuk surrendered, not many able-bodied 
 men were in the place ; but there were a great number 
 of women and children, mostly belonging to the poorer 
 classes, who had come in from distant parts when 
 the Union troops approached, or who feared to re- 
 main on the farms after their men-folk had left. 
 Altogether there were about 3,000 young children in 
 the place besides grown-ups, and the bulk of them 
 were very badly off for provisions, and had to be fed 
 by the Union Government. We were told that only 
 those civilians who could provide themselves with 
 three months' rations were allowed to retire north to 
 Otavi and Grootfontein, which explains why so many 
 people were left at Windhuk. 
 
 The shops are open from ten to twelve and from 
 four to six, but, with the exception of the butchers, 
 very little trade is going on, for the shopkeepers have 
 little to sell and the people but little to spend. A 
 
WINDHUK 14S 
 
 certain amount of trade is being done with the 
 military at very exorbitant rates, the Provost-Marshal 
 not having fixed any tariff. The inhabitants pretend 
 to go about their ordinary avocations as if we were 
 not here. They dress up in the afternoons, and 
 parade the streets or drive about in their cumbersome 
 spiders. Men are to be seen in the beer-gardens 
 making shift with one mug of beer, the supply of 
 which is very low on account of the shortage of grain. 
 One cannot help but admire the way they brazen it out. 
 The fact that they have been in a state of siege for 
 ten months, the fact that we have taken their capital 
 without a blow, and that their troops are scattering 
 and fleeing before us, does not depress them ; for they 
 know that their Emperor's troops are on the way to 
 relieve them. Meanwhile they kill us with looks or 
 ignore us altogether, except a few dashing ladies 
 whose duty it is to glean what information they can 
 from our oJSicers. In consequence of this sort of 
 thing I hear, though how true it may be I do not 
 know, that a general order has been issued forbid- 
 ding all social intercourse with enemy subjects. 
 
 I am very much impressed by the German colonial 
 woman. In spite of her somewhat flat feet, loose, 
 rotund figure, and cold blue eye, she is a very fine 
 animal, full-blooded, active, and self-reliant. In the 
 absence of the men, many farmers' wives and daughters 
 are managing estates, riding about among the natives, 
 protected only by their own rifle or revolver, acting 
 hostess and spy with a sang-froid which compels 
 admiration. Her father, husband, brothers, and 
 
144 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 sons, are fugitives or prisoners, her larder and purse 
 almost empty ; but pride and determination alone are 
 written on her countenance. She rears a goodly 
 number of white-haired, sturdy little square-heads 
 whom she will give to the Emperor without qualm or 
 regret. Fortunately for us and for civilization, her 
 mate is rarely her equal. Past middle life, he is 
 debauched-looking, flabby, and dyspnceic; a Land- 
 sturm raised in Windhuk would be very small beer. 
 
 May 31. — To-day I visited the native location, 
 situated on a rounded hill a little distance west of 
 the town, where there are said to be about 10,000 
 natives, mostly Hereros with a sprinkling of Hotten- 
 tots. The place is laid out in a very orderly manner. 
 The streets all radiate from the summit of the hill, 
 where there are benches, an ornamental pond, and a 
 flag-pole, the sides of each street being lined with tins 
 painted white, in each of which there is a tree, either 
 a pepper or a eucalyptus. At present these trees 
 are only small, but when they grow the place will 
 be quite imposing. But the huts themselves are 
 the most miserable habitations imaginable. In his 
 natural state the Herero builds a circular hut about 
 10 feet in diameter, with a rounded roof, the whole 
 thing having the shape of the upper end of an egg. 
 These huts are normally built of long sticks bent 
 over to form the roof, the intervening spaces being 
 filled in with mud, and the roof thatched. Beaver-like, 
 the Hereros have tried here to keep to this design, 
 but, not having the necessary materials, they have 
 attempted to make the huts with any material that 
 
WINDHUK 145 
 
 came to hand, such as roofing iron, petrol tins 
 flattened out, bits of plank and sacking. The effect 
 is very bizarre, and to most of these dwellings wind 
 and rain must find a ready entrance. 
 
 For the most part the people are well dressed and 
 clean-looking. The women are much more comely 
 than Bantus usually are, and have very peculiar and 
 distinctive figures. They are tall and thin; at least, 
 viewed from the front or back they look very thin, due 
 to a narrowness across the shoulders, which approaches 
 deformity. They make up from before backwards 
 what they lack from side to side; thus, their figures 
 give you the idea of having been compressed 
 laterally. The dress they affect accentuates these 
 peculiarities, for they wear their waists just under 
 their armpits, and they fold a handkerchief, or duh, 
 the shape of an ordinary flowerpot, and wear it on 
 the head. 
 
 Of the various peoples in the country, the Germans 
 can only claim to have subdued the Hereros, who 
 seem to be a very docile and peace-loving race. What 
 are left of them the Germans have reduced to a state 
 of slavery by a very simple and efficient means. They 
 do not allow the Hereros to own cattle or land except 
 under conditions which make it next to impossible. 
 In order to live, therefore, these people must work, 
 their pay being about 10 marks a month; and this 
 they must spend at the German storekeeper's, the 
 only place where food is to be obtained. There is 
 no doubt whatever that the Germans have treated 
 these people systematically with the greatest cruelty. 
 
 10 
 
146 A DOCTOR'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 Their lives are of little account; since we have been 
 in Windhuk several bodies of murdered natives have 
 been exhumed and their murderers brought to justice. 
 One man readily admitted shooting a native. " But 
 why make such a fuss about it ?" he queried. 
 
 I have several times seen the shackles used by the 
 Germans; they are very heavy, and remind one of 
 those used in the Middle Ages. A common practice 
 was to chain five prisoners together — legs, arms, and 
 necks — in such a manner that if one wanted to move 
 it disturbed the others. I have also seen photo- 
 graphs of executions and floggings, all very barbarous. 
 Natives are generally hanged to trees with their arms 
 free, so that they linger a long time, preventing sufio- 
 cation by holding on to the reins with their hands. 
 Around may be seen a group of German soldiers 
 apparently enjoying the proceedings. On one occa- 
 sion our troops found some bodies hanging from a 
 branch by means of barbed wire round the necks. 
 Bodies, too, were found fastened together in graves, 
 with every indication of having been buried alive. 
 German soldiers and others had regular harems of 
 Herero women, who, when they happened to have a 
 child, were given a few goats and cut adrift. 
 
 An attempt was made by societies in Germany to 
 prevent the obvious evil of colonizing the country 
 with " Eurafricans," and large numbers of German 
 girls have been sent out, ostensibly as barmaids, tele- 
 phone clerks, and typists, but their fate is often little 
 better than that of their African sisters. It is quite 
 a common thing to find at the farms, not a frau, but 
 
WINDHUK 14T 
 
 a fraulein, living with the farmer. Her position, of 
 course, is quite insecure, but the custom seems to 
 receive social recognition, and nobody thinks any the 
 worse of her. 
 
 June 1. — We have started an out-patient depart- 
 ment at the hospital for the troops. Several units 
 are here without medical officers, and in other cases 
 the regimental doctors are engaged in chasing about 
 the country doing post-mortems and attending ex- 
 humations of murdered natives. Every morning at 
 nine the Burghers flock to the sick parade in great 
 numbers. About 10 per cent, have toothache, 20 per 
 cent, a skin complaint which we call veldt sores, an- 
 other 20 per cent, have intestinal complaints resulting 
 from improper food, and the remaining 50 per cent, 
 are malingerers or attend for a little diversion. 
 
 The unwisdom of allowing men with slight defects 
 to go on active service is now very apparent, for men 
 who are desirous of getting home use these defects as 
 a means to that end, and, although they may be 
 suffering no inconvenience, we have to believe them. 
 One ingenuous man wanted to get a sick discharge in 
 order that he might, so he said, go to Europe to fight. 
 Among the men who attend are many fine old back- 
 veldters, who nearly all fought against us in the 
 Great War, as they call the Boer War. Most of them 
 have wounds to show; one has eleven, with two 
 British bullets still in him; yet he is now willing to 
 extend the British Empire since General Botha is 
 doing so. These men will stand rifle-fire all day at 
 1,000 yards or so, but they are nervous about the big 
 
148 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 guns, and don't quite like the machine guns since the 
 experiences at Jackalswater. Many of them are now 
 armed with Mausers, which they prefer to the Lee- 
 Enfield. They think it inflicts a more deadly wound, 
 and this is the view the Germans hold, too. A few 
 days ago a German officer attempted to blow up the 
 line, but was shot and captured. The first thing he 
 said, when taken, was, *' Was I shot with one of our 
 rifles or one of yours ?" On being told he was shot 
 with a German rifle, he replied, '* I am done for, then." 
 One thing I have certainly noticed with regard to the 
 Mauser bullets is that, if they meet with resistance, 
 such as buttons or bones, they are very easily stripped 
 of their nickel casing, and the lead, spreading or break- 
 ing up, makes a very large wound ; sometimes, indeed, 
 there are several exit wounds. 
 
 The Burghers never look like fighting men when 
 ofi their horses, but now they look less like soldiers 
 than ever. Much of their original clothing has been 
 worn out, and the necessary substitutions have not 
 always a military cut. Quite a number of men are 
 entirely clothed in German uniforms, which may lead 
 to complications if fighting should occur. A few days 
 ago a motor-driver lost his life because he was wear- 
 ing a German hat. He approached the farm of a 
 Bastard, who, mistaking him for a German, shot him 
 dead. The Rehoboth Bastards were much upset by 
 this incident, and offered to shoot the man who had 
 made the mistake, or hand him over to us for justice, 
 so anxious are they to conciliate General Botha's 
 armies. 
 
WINDHUK 149 
 
 The Germans about here are now broken up into 
 small parties, which our men may be said to hunt. 
 The present object of the enemy is to harass us by 
 interfering with the train service between here and 
 Karibib. Every few days they succeed in doing 
 damage to the line; but it can only be slight, for the 
 daily service of trains is rarely interfered with. We 
 hear they nearly succeeded in blowing up the big 
 suspension-bridge at Okahandya, a very fine efEort, 
 seeing that an infantry regiment was detailed to pro- 
 tect the bridge. 
 
 Six men of Hunt's scouts captured twenty-four 
 Germans the other night. It was very dark, and the 
 scouts heard some waggons lumbering along the road, 
 so they lined up in the bush close to where the waggons 
 were to pass. The unsuspecting Huns were riding on 
 the waggons, some being asleep, and were quite taken 
 by surprise when our men appeared suddenly out 
 of the bush. Pointing their rifles at the reposing 
 foe, with a " Come down out of that !" the thing 
 was accomplished. Having no bayonets, the scouts 
 mounted guard with the weapons of the prisoners, 
 whom they put in a cattle kraal for safety's sake until 
 the morning. The prisoners' disgust was extreme, 
 next morning, when they saw how few their captors 
 were, and they were inclined to be truculent; but a 
 few prods with their own bayonets quickly rendered 
 them docile. 
 
 June 4. — The army is now " reorganizing " — that 
 is, resting and getting fit for another dash northward. 
 The headquarters of the various brigades extend from 
 
150 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 Karibib to Windhuk along the line; General Britz's 
 brigade form the left wing. They are to advance 
 left of the line towards Elosha Pan, and have perhaps 
 the longest and most difficult march. Their horses 
 have been sent down the line so that they can be more 
 easily fed from Swakupmund. A large number of 
 infantry are concentrating at Karibib: the Rhode- 
 sians and 2nd Kimberleys of Trekkoppi fame, also the 
 1st Durban Light Infantry. General Bere's brigade 
 has been brought round from Luderitzbucht, con- 
 sisting of the Pretoria Regiment, the Transvaal 
 Scottish, and the Wit Rifles. General Lukin's bri- 
 gade of the South African Mounted Rifles have also 
 joined the Northern Army, and are at or near Karibib. 
 The Free Staters, under Marnie Botha, have their 
 headquarters at Johann-Albrechtshohe. The right 
 wing of our brigade, the 3rd, is at Wilhelmstaal under 
 Colonel Jordaan; Colonel Albert's brigade, the 2nd, 
 is at Okasisi. The Rand Rifles are at Okahandya, 
 and we, the left wing of the 3rd Brigade, under Colonel 
 Mentz, are at Windhuk, although the bulk of it is to 
 go to Okahandya to take part in the advance. It 
 will therefore appear that, if Grootfontein be the 
 objective, General Britz, on the left, will have to go 
 farther than anyone else. We at Windhuk will not 
 get very far, I fear, but remain behind in case the 
 Germans break back. Nominally, Colonel Mentz 's 
 troops remain the garrison of Windhuk, but they may 
 be relieved by General Mackenzie's Natal Mounted 
 regiments, who are advancing north along the line 
 from Gibeon, and whose scouts have already entered 
 Rehoboth. 
 
WINDHUK 161 
 
 Some of Colonel Berrange's Eastern Army who 
 have trekked across the Kalahari from Vryburg 
 through Rietfontein are also on the way up through 
 Keetmanshoop. General Van der Venter's Southern 
 Army turned back at Keetmanshoop, and have been 
 disbanded with the exception of the heavy artillery 
 under (Jolonel Devine, who are very slowly coming up 
 this way from Upington. Practically speaking, our 
 front can now be said to extend from Karibib to 
 Okahandya, a distance of about sixty miles. I can- 
 not say now how many troops are taking part in the 
 final advance, for the Burgher brigades are being very 
 much reduced, men being allowed to return home on 
 very trivial grounds. We of the left wing (3rd 
 Brigade) were about 1,400 strong at Wynberg; now 
 I don't suppose we have more than 500 effectives. 
 I don't think any of the mounted brigades exceed 
 1,000 strong, and the infantry 500 to 600 in a 
 regiment, which would give a total of about 9,000 
 men. 
 
 A good many officers, too, some of high rank, 
 have been given their conge. Some, we are told, 
 are burning to take part in the political campaign. 
 There is, of course, a strong political vein run- 
 ning through the whole Burgher army. To some 
 extent this is unavoidable, owing to the commando 
 system. Naturally, the Grovernment appoint a man 
 as commandant in a district who is one of their sup- 
 porters, and who is more trustworthy than the 
 Parliamentary representive ? Either the comman- 
 dant has become M.L.A. or the M.L.A. has become 
 commandant. 
 
152 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 In some cases this arrangement has worked quite 
 well. Young men who proved themselves in the 
 Boer War, and subsequently entered Parliament, have 
 in not a few cases proved themselves good leaders 
 now; but in other cases, I regret to say, men have 
 been put into high positions purely because of their 
 political status or command of votes. Even in the 
 medical corps there are several members of Parlia- 
 ment, all holding the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In 
 fact, I never heard of an M.L.A. holding a lower rank 
 than Major. We have yet to acquire that altruistic 
 spirit which compels men of note to shoulder the rifle 
 as the French senators are doing. In a scratch army 
 like ours, soon to be disbanded, these soldier politi- 
 cians can do little harm; but, unfortunately, the 
 political element has been allowed to enter our perma- 
 nent defence force. Beyers, the first Commandant- 
 General, was a man belonging to a political party, and 
 when the crisis arrived he abused his military position, 
 with the disastrous results so well known. If recent 
 happenings do not teach us that our defence force 
 must be kept free from political bias, then many use- 
 ful lives have been lost in vain. 
 
 The medical service is also undergoing reorganiza- 
 tion, for it is now abundantly clear to the authorities 
 that the field ambulances are not sufficiently mobile 
 for this kind of warfare. Medical officers are to have 
 more horses, and a greater number of the orderlies 
 are to be mounted and attached directly to the com- 
 mandoes. Most important of all, the O.C. of the 
 medical unit is to be attached to the Brigadier's staff, 
 
WINDHUK 153 
 
 instead of being with the tent subdivision of the 
 ambulance, which is always in the rear. In this way 
 it is hoped the ambulance will be kept in touch with 
 the troops and get early advice of their movements. 
 On the way up we generally had to fend for ourselves, 
 and were left without escort or even orders. Or we 
 would receive a belated order, such as this: " Follow 
 the spoor of the ammunition waggons." We were 
 always forgotten until a few men were hurt, and then 
 there was considerable outcry if we were not on the 
 spot. But this lack of cohesion is evident all through, 
 and is due to one cause, and one cause only — namely, 
 a dearth of properly trained staff officers. 
 
 I wish to goodness they would " reorganize " the 
 ambulance waggons, which are of bad construction 
 and worse design, being much too light and furnished 
 with bad springs. Moreover each one only holds two 
 severe cases, and it seems to be a great waste of 
 energy for twelve mules to be engaged in transporting 
 two wounded men. Even when one feels well and 
 strong it is pain and grief to ride in these ambulances, 
 and an officer suffering from severe lumbago, who 
 was invalided down from Riet after the battle, told 
 me that he preferred to walk rather than ride in them. 
 Never shall I forget the agonized expressions of some 
 German wounded whom I brought in from the Riet 
 affair. Time was pressing, we made the mules trot 
 a good deal, and the waggons bumped horribly. 
 When these men write their memoirs, they won't for- 
 get to mention their experiences of the ambulance 
 waggons of the South African Medical Corps. 
 
154 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 June 6. — Away to the south-east runs a very im- 
 pressive and inviting range of mountains, known as 
 the Auas, culminating in a point known as the Moltke- 
 blick, to which the maps give an elevation of 8,141 
 feet. Together with an Africander colleague, I rode 
 out to-day to make a preliminary survey of this range 
 with a view to climbing it on a future occasion. The 
 road passes east over a ridge into the peaceful hamlet 
 of Klein Windhuk, where the chief means of liveli- 
 hood seems to be vine-growing. The soil is very full 
 of lime, and the grape seems to do very well. Good 
 local wine is to be had at a convent here, although the 
 worthy Sisters tell you that selling to the military is 
 *' verboten." But in this as well as other matters 
 here we do not respect the German " verboten," for 
 everything is forbidden to everybody everywhere. 
 You see this vile word on every public building, in 
 streets and parks, on mountain-tops and in the bush. 
 If the Prussian system withholds most of the things 
 worth living for from its own adherents, what will it 
 be like for us when " the day " arrives ? 
 
 Riding through this little village, where the younger 
 Germans were attending Sunday-school and the older 
 ones drinking beer, we arrived among the foot-hills 
 of the Auas Mountains. It would have been the 
 usual quiet Sunday afternoon but for the continuous 
 reports of guns and rifles in the valleys around. It 
 was as if an infantry battle were in progress, but in 
 reality it was only Burghers shooting guinea-fowl and 
 any other game that was not entirely scared away. 
 Guinea-fowl literally swarm in these parts, and one 
 
WINDHUK 155 
 
 sees whole acres of ground along the watercourses 
 scratched up by them, and resembling the surface of 
 the ordinary circumscribed fowl-run. 
 
 We climbed a neighbouring hill which goes by the 
 name of the Kudu Berg. The view from the top was 
 very extensive, except towards the south, where the 
 Auas Mountains towered above everything. One 
 could not help noticing the arrangement of all the 
 mountains within sight, which were on a very defi- 
 nite plan. The mountains hereabout are composed 
 largely of a mica-sandstone, or, rather, what geolo- 
 gists call a mica-schist, with a good deal of intru- 
 sive granite. The strata forming the mountains have 
 all been tilted in one direction, and all at the same 
 angle. The angle the strata make with the horizontal 
 is something between 15 and 20 degrees, and the dip 
 is towards the north-west. The ascent of any moun- 
 tain here from the north is easy; you climb at an 
 angle of 20 degrees or so, but without fail, as soon as 
 you are on the crest, you encounter a precipitous 
 jagged descent of 70 or 80 degrees towards the south. 
 The whole thing gives one the impression of a gigantic 
 incoming tide suddenly solidified. The great and 
 small waves all have the same shape and direction, 
 the gradual rise to the crest and then the sudden fall. 
 
 As I have said, there is a good deal of granite 
 scattered about among the sandstone, which, being 
 the harder, resists to a much greater extent the soften- 
 ing efiects of the weather, so that the final result is 
 that not only the mountains and the valleys, but also 
 the streets of Windhuk, are covered with loose hard 
 
156 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 pebbles of granite, which make walking and riding 
 very tedious. 
 
 On the way home we called at the farm of an 
 Italian living in rather a poor way. At first he was 
 not inclined to be very communicative. He was 
 under the impression that things were going very 
 badly with the Allies in Europe, and that we were 
 about to be bundled out of German West. The 
 Germans had told him that London was in flames, 
 Calais and Warsaw taken, and that England, Russia, 
 and France, were kaput, a word we hear frequently 
 on German lips, and equivalent to utterly destroyed 
 flus damned. We assured him that none of these 
 things were so, and then he came down on our side 
 of the fence without reserve. " The Germans call us 
 Italians ' dirty pigs ' now," he said, spitting on the 
 ground with great emphasis, " and will crush us under 
 foot like beetles; but we will show them!" and he 
 destroyed several imaginary Germans in a very 
 quixotic manner. 
 
 To turn the conversation into a quieter channel, 
 I asked him if an urchin standing by eating a tomato, 
 and whose colour and hair suggested Bantu blood 
 diluted with a paler mixture, belonged to him. " Yes, 
 but my two sons at home are soldats fighting for Italy 
 now." " Your wife is dead, of course?" "Oh no, 
 she is in Italy, too." And then, with a laugh, he told 
 us he had also a wife in Brazil, one in Buenos Ayres, 
 two in Cape Town, one in Okahandya; ''and this 
 one," pointing to a Herero woman standing by, hold- 
 ing a squalling brat. '' The Herero is the best of the 
 
WINDHUK 157 
 
 lot," concluded this polygamous father of thirty-three 
 children. " Hadn't we better be going ?" gasped 
 the astonished and faithful Africander. 
 
 June 10. — Every morning at nine the able-bodied 
 Windhukers turn up at the Feste for roll-call, and 
 this morning all were there as usual. The Provost- 
 Marshal called out the names of fifty-five prominent 
 citizens, asking them to step forward. " Gentlemen, 
 the train for Cape Town leaves at eleven. You have 
 two hours to prepare yourselves." What a shock ! 
 Protestations, remonstrations, all in vain. One, a 
 medical, pleaded a weak heart. " You, a doctor," 
 replied the inexorable Provost, " ought to know that 
 heart disease does better at the coast." Another 
 pleaded: '' I live at Klein Windhuk, and have only 
 this thin overmantle." " We will lend you some 
 blankets," was all the satisfaction he got. 
 
 They were all at the station at eleven, their women 
 folk seeing them off, a special guard of fifty soldiers 
 and a Maxim looking on. An account of each man's 
 offence went down, too, most being guilty of attempt- 
 ing to communicate with the enemy. On the whole 
 it was a very well-managed affair, reminiscent of the 
 Grovernment's seizure of the strike leaders. 
 
 Standing about Windhuk Station are a lot of derelict 
 locomotives; but there are some besides which are 
 quite in good condition, but we cannot work them 
 because the Germans have removed some of the 
 essential parts and hidden them. Some genius hit on 
 the following plan to recover the parts: German 
 engineers were offered a pound a day if they would 
 
158 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 work the engines. Money being scarce, the lost parts 
 were soon forthcoming, and the engines put into 
 working order, when the services of the would-be 
 drivers were dispensed with. 
 
 June 12. — Our military politicians are employing 
 their best endeavours to find out what share the 
 Germans took in the rebellion; for it will obviously 
 be a powerful weapon in the hands of the Govern- 
 ment if it can be proved that the rebel leaders were 
 in league with the Germans. Judging from what 
 leaks out, there seems to be little doubt that Beyers 
 was plotting with the Kaiser as early as 1913. The 
 Kaiser sent wireless messages to Beyers after the war 
 broke out, which were conveyed to him through 
 Maritz and a certain De Wet who was resident in the 
 country. When matters seemed ripe, Dr. Seitz went 
 down to Warmbad to discuss things with Beyers, but 
 the latter did not turn up owing to the shooting of 
 Delarey. A German in Windhuk who is in the know 
 admitted that a certain well-known Africander was 
 to have been President of the new republic, but " now 
 we are in the mud he knows nothing about it." Un- 
 fortunately for truth, the wireless tapes at the Tele- 
 funken relating to these transactions are not forth- 
 coming, although those interested have used every 
 effort to find them. 
 
 There is every reason to believe that the Union 
 Government knew well enough about Beyers' little 
 game; but the evidence against him was too in- 
 definite, and his seizure would, no doubt, have pre- 
 cipitated the rebellion. 
 
WINDHUK 159 
 
 Now, although the Germans fostered the rebellion, 
 there does not seem to be very much evidence point- 
 ing to their having made preparations for invasion of 
 the Union. There are people who say that the Herero 
 Rebellion was a very much overrated afiair, that the 
 Germans kept it going so that they might introduce 
 large quantities of stores and munitions into the 
 country without exciting suspicion. The country is 
 certainly very well stocked with war material; be- 
 sides what we have found, the Germans have destroyed 
 a lot, and probably hidden a lot more. In Windhuk, 
 for instance, there was a tremendous quantity of 
 horseshoes, sufl&cient to shoe all the horses in South 
 Africa for four years, as one man put it. 
 
 Speaking generally, the roads in the country are 
 very poor, often mere tracks following the lines of 
 least resistance. But there is one road running east 
 and west through Windhuk which, from the excellence 
 of its construction, at once made us think that it had 
 been made for a special purpose. It is very wide, and 
 could accommodate four vehicles abreast; embank- 
 ments and cuttings have been freely used, and the 
 surface is well metalled. From Windhuk it runs east 
 through Seeis out towards Gobabis, near the Bechu- 
 analand border, and westward it passes through 
 Hensis towards Otjimbingwe. Of course, there is no 
 reason why the Germans should not make good roads, 
 but this one neither links up important places nor 
 taps populous districts, and the conclusion which 
 comes naturally to the mind is that the Germans had 
 the idea of using it as a military route for the invasion 
 
160 A DOCTOK'S DIARY IN DAMAEALAND 
 
 of the Union. When the Germans were questioned 
 as to what this road was for, the reason given was not 
 very satisfactory. They said that when Herr Dern- 
 burg visited the country he expressed a desire to go 
 in the direction of Gobabis, so they had the road put 
 in order for him ! 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 TO OTJIHANGWE 
 
 June 17. — There is much tedium in war; but it is 
 like holding lottery tickets: the suspended hope of 
 excitement or reward prevents ennui. To-day I got 
 a little change which was very welcome after three 
 weeks attending to a lot of wounds which do not seem 
 to get very much better. News came in that there 
 had been fighting at a distant outpost, and, there 
 being no regimental doctors available for the duty, 
 I was deputed to go. 
 
 Nobody seemed to know where the place was, what 
 the name of it was, or what had been the nature of 
 the fighting. Besides our own motor ambulance, the 
 O.C. motor transport kindly put a large 35 h.p. 
 Chalmers at our disposal, and came himself, bringing 
 with him a greasy little bantam driver whom they 
 called Chipp. " It's seventy miles," says Chipp. " I 
 can do it in three and a half hours." " I can't do it 
 at all: my radiator pipe is leaking," puts in the some- 
 what pessimistic driver of the ambulance. However, 
 with the liberal use of hospital plaster and string the 
 leak is stayed. At noon we are ready to start, with a 
 good supply of rations and plenty of petrol. The 
 Chalmers looks very business-like, all bonnet and box- 
 
 161 n 
 
162 A DOCTOE'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 seat, the body being replaced by a crude wooden seat 
 with a large sort of tray behind. Knowing the weak- 
 nesses of the ambulance well, I chose the box-seat of 
 the Chalmers, between O.C. and Chipp, the pessimistic 
 driver and our tried Sergeant-Ma j or following in the 
 ambulance. " We ought to have had the Red Cross 
 on this car," says the O.C. as we pass over the hill 
 into Klein Windhuk. " Hadn't we better keep close 
 to the ambulance ?" is the best I can suggest. For 
 the first dozen miles or so our way lay along the main- 
 road which runs through Windhuk towards Gobabis, 
 near our border in latitude 22° S. 
 
 This road is different to any I have seen in this 
 country. It looks like a road with a purpose, making 
 for its destination regardless of obstacles. Such a 
 road the Romans might have made. It is quite new; 
 in fact, it does not appear to be finished. The O.C. 
 voiced my thought when he said: "The Germans 
 were making this road to invade the Union by." 
 One was glad to leave it at Kapp and turn to the left, 
 so as to get away from such an outward and visible 
 sign of German purpose and design. So far we had 
 skirted the northern slopes of the Auas Mountains, 
 but here the range comes to a sudden end with a 
 rugged peak called Auas Ende, and a fine plain opens 
 out, stretching east as far as one can see. At the foot 
 of the mountain here is a farm known as Swartz- 
 Klip, where the Germans killed a lot of Hereros, and 
 lost a few men themselves, as the graves show. 
 
 Skirting some kopjes to the left, we soon made 
 Neudamm, which is a Government farm with a beau- 
 
TO OTJIHANGWE 163 
 
 tiful natural dam among the rocks, orchards, and 
 some substantial farm buildings. Here we picked up 
 our Burgher guide, who had ridden in after the fight to 
 telephone for us. He looked very fagged, and well 
 he might, for he had been two nights and a day in 
 the saddle, with no sleep, little food, and the excite- 
 ment of a fight thrown in. Even he did not know 
 the name of the place we were going to, but said it 
 was 120 kilometres. They all talk of kilometres in 
 these parts; the word " mile " is not used. I, who 
 have not learnt to think in the Metric System, trans- 
 lated this into seventy-two miles, but our speedo- 
 meter subsequently showed that this was the distance 
 from Windhuk. 
 
 We now entered the real upland bush country, 
 flat, with spitzkopjes standing up here and there, the 
 grass, bleached by the winter sun and frosts, standing 
 knee-high. The country is well wooded with acacias, 
 nearly all of the wachteinbilje variety. It is an ideal 
 part for stock, especially cattle, and is full of game, 
 such as buck of various kinds (especially kudu), 
 zebra, guinea-fowl, partridge, ostriches, together 
 with such carnivora as leopards and jackals. About 
 4 p.m. we came to a large farm, Mecklenburg, where 
 a very big dam is being constructed. The two occu- 
 pants spoke English well. I asked one his nationality. 
 He prevaricated : '' I am a British subject." " Where 
 were you born?" "In Cape Town," he replied. 
 " I came here in August to manage this farm, and 
 have not heard from home since." It might be 
 coincidence, but this was the third " British subject " 
 
164 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 I had found managing a farm for a German owner 
 within a short while. The advantage of this arrange- 
 ment to the farmer is obvious under present con- 
 ditions. 
 
 The roads about here are really good, for the sur- 
 face of the country is flat and the soil gravelly and 
 porous. Pointed kopjes stick up here and there on 
 the horizon; we were practically above the mountains. 
 At sunset we came to another farm, Ongono Gotjari, 
 a very bare-looking place where most of the Pieters- 
 burg commando were. Our destination was still 
 eleven miles farther on, and we covered this in less 
 than half an hour, so good was the road. 
 
 The commandant met me with, "I'm very glad to 
 see you, doctor. They killed two of my men yester- 
 day, and wounded three." His eyes looked tired, 
 anxious, and angry, and a state of restlessness and 
 worry seemed to pervade the whole place. I went 
 straight to the badly wounded man. His white face 
 was all I could see in the dark, stuffy little room. 
 Shot through the stomach, and a leg shattered, his 
 case was hopeless; but he was patient and reasonable, 
 though obviously dying. As he was lying in an utter 
 state of discomfort and filth, we tried to make him 
 a little more comfortable. Another man was shot 
 through the neck from side to side. How the bullet 
 had avoided his spine was a mystery. He was fussy 
 and restless, more frightened than hurt. Speaking 
 generally, the majority of wounded men seem to be 
 in a peculiar psychological state, apart from the 
 shock and collapse, which I can only describe as 
 
TO OTJIHANGWE 165 
 
 hysterical. This applies particularly to men who are 
 shot quite unexpectedly, as, for example, those who 
 are ambushed or shot accidentally. It was pathetic 
 to see how gently and unremittingly their comrades 
 tended the wounded. Nothing was too much trouble. 
 Yet they, poor fellows ! were played out with fatigue 
 and anxiety. One old man refused to leave the dying 
 boy. They were neighbours at home, he said, and 
 the lad always asked for him if he went out. Our 
 sporting guide, as if he had not already done enough, 
 must needs also hang about and do his bit of the 
 nursing. 
 
 As a sleeping-place the farmhouse was very un- 
 inviting, and I preferred to brave the elements, 
 bivouacking with my men under the lee of the motor- 
 car. The night was terribly cold, and this, combined 
 with getting up at intervals to attend the wounded, 
 put sleep out of the question. It was with relief and 
 hope that I saw the morning star appear in the east 
 about 6 a.m. I remembered it was the centenary of 
 Waterloo, and the thought of what our forefathers 
 did on that day warmed my benumbed limbs a little. 
 Our blankets were frozen stiff ; the water in our water- 
 bottles and a little milk we had were also congealed. 
 
 June 18. — During to-day I heard various accounts 
 of the little fight, and how our men had been out- 
 witted by the enemy. 
 
 A certain Lieutenant of the Pietersburg commando 
 with his troops had visited the farm a few days pre- 
 viously, and had been received and kindly treated by 
 the farmer. He made arrangements to come again 
 
166 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 on the 15th and take over some mealies from the 
 farmer. A German officer with a patrol was known 
 to be scouting in the neighbourhood. On or before 
 the 15th he sends a telephone message to the Pieters- 
 burg commandant, asking him to send patrols to 
 Gobabis to protect German women and children from 
 the natives. Our commandant feels he cannot refuse 
 this request, which turns out to be a ruse to get him 
 out of the way. While the bulk of the commando 
 are on this wild-goose chase, the Germans double 
 back to Otjihangwe, as this farm is called, to ambush 
 the mealie-seeking Lieutenant. 
 
 The Lieutenant, however, having been told by some 
 natives that four German soldiers are now at the 
 farm, approaches with caution. He divides his troop 
 into two parties. Twelve men under a sergeant he 
 lines up in the river-bed, quite close to the farm, and 
 he himself with the remaining twelve takes cover 
 behind a large cattle kraal on the opposite side of the 
 farm. For some inexplicable reason, and contrary 
 to orders, the sergeant instructs his party to rush 
 the farm buildings. This they do without taking 
 any cover, and, running into the farmyard, they are 
 met with rifle-fire from the five separate buildings 
 which constitute the farm, and which are so arranged 
 that our men could get but little cover by hiding 
 behind the walls. Two men were shot dead immedi- 
 ately, and three wounded, including the sergeant, 
 who had rushed up to one of the minor buildings and 
 rather madly emptied his revolver through a window. 
 The remainder of the troop withdraw, taking what 
 
TO OTJIHANGWE 167 
 
 cover they could, leaving their dead and wounded in 
 the yard. 
 
 It seems the Germans were partly taken by sur- 
 prise themselves, for the farm ofiers very little facility 
 for observing an approaching foe, and, besides this, 
 a warning from a woman who was on the lookout at 
 the neighbouring farm miscarried, a native girl to 
 whom she had given a note telling the Germans of 
 our approach, falling into our hands. Had the 
 Germans been advised of the approach, they would 
 in all probability have shot the whole troop down, 
 for they had loopholed the walls and doors, and their 
 rifles commanded the position in all directions. 
 
 As soon as the Burghers had retired, the Germans, 
 about twelve in number, evacuated the place, and 
 joined their main body towards the north. Before 
 they left they had time to ill-treat the wounded, for 
 the man who was shot through the neck told me that, 
 as they lay in the yard, the Germans came out and 
 kicked them. He was compelled to get up, and was 
 bundled in a brutal manner into an outhouse. On 
 the other hand, the farmer and a woman on the place 
 did what they could, burying the dead and dressing 
 the wounds. The woman was particularly assiduous 
 in her attentions. Rather too much so, I was in- 
 clined to think, for no doubt they had taken part in 
 the ambush, and as likely as not the farmer had 
 shared in the shooting, for I found his sporting 
 Mauser still loaded with soft-nosed bullets, with every 
 evidence of having been recently discharged. 
 
 After the Germans had left Otjihangwe, this farmer 
 
168 A DOCTOK'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 went over to the Pietersburg headquarters, which 
 were now at Ongono, eleven miles away, and told the 
 commandant that the Germans had left, and that he 
 needed help to attend the wounded. Fearing another 
 ambush, the commandant moved all his men up to 
 Otjihangwe, and when they were near the farm the 
 Adjutant made the farmer walk in front, covering 
 him with a revolver, and promising him instant death 
 if a shot were fired from the house. This farmer and 
 his assistant were put under guard. I never saw two 
 men in a more abject state of fear. They expected 
 summary execution, but it speaks well for the re- 
 straint of our men that they were sent down to 
 Windhuk instead of being shot. 
 
 There is a feeling of great insecurity in this place. 
 An attack is expected at any moment, as we are only 
 about twenty miles from a large body of Germans, 
 and no communications can be established with any 
 of our troops either by helio or patrol. Consequently 
 everybody is a little " jumpy," especially at nights. 
 The second night even the animals seemed restive, 
 and a large number of cattle in a neighbouring kraal 
 stampeded, and would have been over us, but for the 
 friendly shelter of the motor-car. The horses too 
 were uneasy, dogs barked the whole night, and the 
 very fowls were afiected with nerves. Challenges 
 were frequent, and once " Who goes there ?" was 
 followed by a peal of laughter. A sentry had chal- 
 lenged a riderless horse wandering about. 
 
 June 19. — During the night the wounded boy died, 
 and as soon as he was buried the commandant decided 
 
TO OTJIHANGWE 169 
 
 to evacuate the farm, as it offered no facilities for 
 defence. He still felt very angry, and wanted to 
 destroy the farm. I tried to dissuade him, with what 
 success I don't know,* for we left directly after break- 
 fast. The women and three little children who had 
 been at the place through all this trying time were 
 sent ofE to Windhuk in a waggon. 
 
 Although the farm was a rather dilapidated and 
 poor-looking place, it was very well stocked with 
 household goods and personal effects, for your German 
 colonial is very fond of comfort and likes good things. 
 There was enough clothing in the farm to stock a 
 shop, enough cutlery and plate for an hotel. In the 
 dirty little kitchen, the thought of which spoilt one's 
 appetite, there were between forty and fifty aluminium 
 pots and pans. 
 
 Serviettes, towels, and handkerchiefs, tied neatly 
 in bundles and marked, filled whole cupboards. For 
 three small children there was enough clothing for 
 thirty, and the same applied to toys. There was so 
 much clothing at the farm that most of the men were 
 able to supplement their scanty wardrobes, and some, 
 notably my guide, were entirely re-equipped in 
 German khaki, of better quality than fit. My con- 
 science allowed me to take all the sheets and bed linen 
 I could carry, for our hospital at Windhuk was not 
 too well supplied with these commodities. In one of 
 the outbuildings we found a great quantity of maize 
 and dried beans, but there was no sugar, tea, or coffee, 
 or any of those foodstuffs which the country has to 
 * The farm was destroyed. 
 
170 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 import. Indeed, the shortage of food, other than 
 what the country supplies — which is not much be- 
 sides meat — is being acutely felt everywhere. 
 
 June 25. — We are now getting patients from the 
 south, General Mackenzie's force having reached 
 Rehoboth, sixty miles south of Windhuk. The rail- 
 way is now open running south, but delays and break- 
 downs are so frequent that the journey from Rehoboth 
 sometimes takes several days. As the nights are 
 very cold now and food scarce, the sick have a very 
 rough time on the road. One man left Rehoboth 
 with erysipelas, but when he reached hospital it was 
 all over. They are sending them up to us in batches 
 of thirty or forty every day. The men have no severe 
 illnesses, but are suffering woefully from privation, 
 many of them being utterly exhausted in body and 
 mind. Most of them are suffering from dysentery, 
 and their hands and arms are covered with scabby 
 sores. 
 
 Both men and horses have reached the limits of 
 endurance, and latterly they have only been trekking 
 five or six miles a day. Men tell me that they are 
 incapable of the slightest exertion, becoming breath- 
 less after a short walk, and that they hadn't energy 
 left to catch sheep and kill them, but would wait for 
 a sheep to pass, and then shoot it. Ever since the 
 end of March they have had no regular supply of 
 rations, and for the last month they have existed on 
 meat alone, often not even getting salt. Pathetic 
 tales are told of their privations. One officers' mess 
 had a little flour in a bag which they used most 
 
TO OTJIHANGWE 171 
 
 sparingly. This precious bag was in charge of the 
 quartermaster-sergeant, with instructions that he was 
 not to let it out of his sight. The care of this bag was 
 a great anxiety to him, especially at nights, when he 
 was in the habit of using it as a pillow. One morning, 
 however, he found the bulk of his flour gone, although 
 he was still lying on the bag. Some hungry trooper 
 had cut a hole in it, and scooped most of the flour out 
 without waking him. One man was seen searching 
 among some refuse in a cellar. He wished to keep 
 his discovery a secret, because he had found a few 
 little wizened potatoes not fit for pigs. Many seemed 
 to feel the lack of tobacco almost as much as that of 
 food. One ingenious man told me he was fortunate 
 enough to find a tin of tobacco extract, used for dip- 
 ping animals. Lucerne hay, soaked in this and dried, 
 made, he said, a very good smoke. Others, less 
 fortunate, had to be content with dried leaves. 
 
 The horses died from sheer starvation in scores, 
 and many went suddenly blind, which, my informant 
 said, was due to the same cause. 
 
 June 27. — I have already mentioned the range of 
 mountains, the highest in the country and running in 
 a north-east and south-west direction, about ten miles 
 to the south of Windhuk. Every night I have 
 watched the sun set on these proud and fierce-looking 
 peaks, and every night I have registered a mental 
 vow to hold my head for a few brief moments higher 
 than they. I had met nobody in Windhuk who had 
 made the ascent, nor anybody who advised it. The 
 matron of the hospital said an officer had once climbed 
 
172 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 it, and taken two days, but he had said he would not 
 do it again for 10,000 marks. 
 
 To-day Colonel K and I decided to make the 
 
 attempt. Our plan was to ride as far as possible, 
 and then have a shot at the Moltkeblick. Unfortun- 
 ately, we were rather late in starting, and we rode and 
 rode over thorn-clad foot-hills without apparently 
 getting any nearer. It was half-past one before we 
 reached a point where it was too steep and rocky for 
 the horses to go farther. 
 
 The northern approach to the Moltkeblick is 
 through a magnificent gorge about three-quarters of 
 a mile wide. On either side of the gorge, and quite 
 detached from the mountain, is a mighty cone-shaped 
 peak, both of them being nearly as high as the Moltke- 
 blick itself. They stand before the entrance like 
 giant sentinels, silent and everlasting. Our hearts 
 sank when we saw the distance still to go, but we de- 
 cided to climb for two hours, and then, if not at the 
 top, to turn back. Skirting the right side of the 
 gorge, the Colonel led off at a brisk pace over level 
 but very rough ground, and I instinctively felt that 
 this was to be a race for the honour of being the first 
 Britisher to climb the highest mountain in '* British " 
 South- West Africa. We crossed over to the left side 
 of the gorge to follow a ridge running up to the sum- 
 mit, the Colonel leading easily. 
 
 And now the climb began. The mountain is 
 covered with large stones of granite and sandstone 
 which are very angular. They are loose and slip 
 easily, and between them are tufts of grass and small 
 
TO OTJIHANGWE 173 
 
 mimosas. Consequently every step is grief, and 
 every other one pain. The Colonel zigzagged along 
 at a killing pace, and, in order not to lose heart 
 entirely, I soon ceased to look at him. About half- 
 way up I stopped, on the point of throwing up the 
 sponge; but I was much encouraged to see that my 
 rival, too, was in difficulties, for he frequently stopped 
 and turned round, ostensibly to admire the view, but 
 in reality, I think, to get a little breath. Soon we 
 were level. Near the summit we were confronted 
 with 100 feet or so of almost vertical rock, and the 
 Colonel edged away to the left, where it was less steep. 
 I regretted my temerity halfway up this steep bit. 
 Fortunately, however, the grass was firmly rooted, 
 and I dragged myself to the summit and looked round. 
 No Colonel in sight, and the beacon only a few yards 
 away. Jumping to my feet, I hurried up to it. In 
 less than half a minute the Colonel was there too. 
 '' God save the King !" gasped I. *' Johnnie Walker 
 first as usual," was his disappointed retort. 
 
 The outlook from the top of the Moltkeblick is 
 simply sublime. This great ridge of broken sand- 
 stone runs east and west like the teeth of a saw. On 
 the north it is accessible, but on the south, at the 
 point where we were, it seemed a sheer drop of, I 
 suppose, 2,000 feet, the rugged ends of the strata 
 protruding a little like giant steps. To the south 
 and east blue mountains bounded the horizon, what 
 was apparently a great plain lying between, but no 
 doubt containing hills of considerable height, indis- 
 tinguishable at so great a distance. The white river- 
 
174 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 beds, fringed with green, could be seen meandering 
 south or east as far as the eye could reach. North- 
 ward the valley of the Swakup could be made out 
 cutting its way through endless mountains; while a 
 little to the west Windhuk was represented by a few 
 white dots, the Telefunken station still visible; but 
 man's handiwork now seemed insignificant, its great 
 pillars resembling a little clump of black pins. West- 
 ward the mountains tailed ofi into the Komas High- 
 lands, stretching toward the desert and the ocean 
 like a sea of hills. 
 
 Following the usual custom, we had to think of 
 something to leave at the summit. The most appro- 
 priate thing we could produce was a George V. 1912 
 shilling. Him we placed in a broken German beer 
 bottle, and hid at the base of the metal beacon to 
 watch over as much of the Empire as can be seen 
 from any one point. 
 
 July 3. — To-day there is official news that General 
 Botha's troops have occupied Otavi, Marnie Botha's 
 brigade and the S.A.M.R., to whom the I.L.H. are 
 attached, being the troops engaged in the movement. 
 Only a few Germans were captured, we are told; the 
 others have retired north into the " fly belt." War 
 breeds rumour even more than peace. One day we 
 hear Franke has shot himself, the next that he has 
 accepted our terms, the third that he is under re- 
 straint, suffering from delirium tremens; but the 
 Germans aver that he has done none of these things. 
 '* Franke is a brave man " is their only comment. 
 A junior staff-officer told us the following: The 
 
TO OTJIHANGWE 175 
 
 Germans have squared it with the Portuguese and 
 retired into Angola; they will wait until our troops 
 leave, and then take the country again. When told 
 that this must involve Portugal with England, he 
 glibly replied: "Oh! but we do things differently 
 out here." 
 
 Yesterday and to-day the town has been crowded 
 with men of the Central Force. They are nearly all 
 British, and come from Natal. They are to go back 
 immediately via Luderitzbucht, and are a little dis- 
 appointed, after weeks of trekking under the hardest 
 conditions imaginable, that they are not to have a 
 share in the final drive. Many of them hint that the 
 Burghers are being favoured, but they have no real 
 cause for dissatisfaction or complaint. Even if their 
 services were required further, neither men nor horses 
 are in a condition to undertake another long trek. 
 They have borne the burden and heat of the day, and 
 everybody knows they have played their part as well 
 as it could be played. An old German soldier who 
 fought at Gibeon said they were the bravest and 
 worst-equipped soldiers in the world, and that he 
 would sooner meet other troops once a day than meet 
 once a year the men who chased him at Gibeon. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 
 
 July 13. — All last week rumours of peace, or rather 
 
 of German surrender, were floating in the air, and 
 
 now these rumours have merged into established fact. 
 
 Seitz, Franke and Co., have surrendered. It seems 
 
 that Franke, who met General Botha at Otavi, was 
 
 quite unaware that he was totally surrounded when he 
 
 went out to ask General Botha for an armistice. The 
 
 General said he was quite willing to grant one, but he 
 
 could not very well inform his wings about it, as they 
 
 were far distant. Franke smiled in an incredulous 
 
 manner, but he was soon to learn that he was shut in 
 
 north-west and north-east as well as south. General 
 
 Britz being on one side of him and General Myburg 
 
 on the other. They had no option but to surrender. 
 
 True to British traditions. General Botha has given 
 
 them very good terms. The regular soldiers, about 
 
 3,000 in number, are to be interned, and the reservists, 
 
 mostly farmers, are to be allowed to return to their 
 
 homes, and trading facilities are to be granted to 
 
 them. 
 
 The cessation of hostilities is, of course, the signal 
 for a general exodus, almost a sauve qui peut, the 
 Major and I having found substitutes among the fore- 
 
 176 
 
WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 177 
 
 most; and we are leaving for home to-day by train 
 to Luderitzbucht, or possibly, if the line is open, we 
 may go all the way to Cape Town by train through 
 Upington. 
 
 A train leaves for the south each day now. It con- 
 sists of a few ramshackle trucks, and possibly a van 
 or two, generally drawn by a very unreliable German 
 engine. A few days previously the Major, hoping 
 for a quid fro quo, had given a sergeant of the Rail- 
 way regiment some bedding which he was greatly in 
 need of; but the best the sergeant could do for us was 
 a capacious van, a sort of cross between a prison and 
 a cattle truck, which we were to share with several 
 other officers. At 3 p.m., just six hours late, we 
 steamed leisurely out of the station, followed only by 
 a few envious eyes. 
 
 Groing south the railway has to climb a pass in the 
 Auas Mountains. Railway and road, for the most 
 part side by side, follow a most tortuous course be- 
 tween precipitous mountains until the top is reached, 
 7,000 feet up. Some day, when the roads are good, 
 the railway reliable, and hotels and hydros are dotted 
 about, the luxurious sightseer will come and spoil the 
 primitive grandeur of this wonderful gorge. In the 
 meantime let those who love Nature in her rugged- 
 ness hasten to Windhuk and walk or ride over the 
 mountains to Rehoboth, the centre of the Bastard 
 country, standing amidst waving grass and sharp 
 kopjes. These Bastards, or, as they proudly call 
 themselves, the Bastard Nation, have a history 
 worthy of investigation and record. Some time dur- 
 
 12 
 
178 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 ing the nineteenth century, long before the German 
 occupation, some Dutchmen and Scotchmen trekked 
 across the Kalahari into this rich pastoral country, 
 and, finding it very good, settled here. Many of them 
 were men of good stock, Van Wyks and MacNabs. 
 They built houses, framed laws, and finally took to 
 themselves wives from among the neighbouring 
 Hottentots. Instead of degenerating, as such people 
 generally do, they have done much to maintain Euro- 
 pean ideals and customs. They have a law-book 
 written in Dutch. The early entries in this book are 
 in High Dutch, but the language used has been 
 gradually simplified in subsequent entries, until the 
 later ones have come to closely resemble the Taal. 
 They have some very quaint laws with regard to 
 property. A man has a right to demand his neigh- 
 bour's oxen, plough, or anything that he may require; 
 but there is a fixed tariff for the loan of such things, 
 which must be adhered to. If a magistrate makes a 
 decision in court, and the existing laws do not cover 
 it, then the decision is added to the statute-book as 
 law. 
 
 These people do not encourage intermarriage with 
 the native races, but they are open to receive white 
 men on the following terms: A probationary period 
 of six months' residence is insisted upon; if the would- 
 be colonist acquits himself creditably during this 
 period, he is allowed to remain, on condition that he 
 marries a Bastard girl. In this way they have 
 reduced the percentage of African blood in their 
 veins, and in Europe, where people are less critical in 
 
WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 179 
 
 this matter, most of them would pass for Europeans. 
 Some of the older men have very large possessions, or, 
 rather, had until the recent trouble with the Germans. 
 They are keen on education, and one hears of girls 
 going to finishing schools in Europe, presumably in 
 Germany, and they have returned with pianos and 
 other signs of Kultur. The men occupy their time 
 with pastoral pursuits and hunting. Each man 
 carries a rifle, often of a modern pattern, and from all 
 accounts they are marvellous marksmen. They have 
 maintained their independence with great adroitness, 
 and even the Germans have left them alone, or, rather, 
 have only attempted their absorption by peaceful 
 measures. 
 
 Whenever feuds or wars have been on, they have 
 thrown in their lot with the stronger side. They 
 assisted the Hottentots against the Hereros ; they 
 helped the Germans against both the Hottentots and 
 the Hereros. Finally, they refused to fight against 
 their compatriots from the Union. This led to mis- 
 understandings between them and the Germans, until 
 at last they came to blows. The Germans sent down 
 a punitive expedition from Windhuk, but the Bastards 
 more than held their own in a fight on May 8, near 
 Kehoboth. They claim to have killed 140 Germans 
 in this engagement, but, although this is an exaggera- 
 tion, the number of German wounded in Windhuk 
 hospital who admit that they were wounded in this 
 fight shows that the Germans did not have it all their 
 own way. After this reverse the Huns, as usual, 
 destroyed everything they could lay their hands on, 
 
180 A DOCTOE'S DIAEY IN DAMAEALAND 
 
 burning and shooting in all directions. An old Bas- 
 tard chief said they destroyed all his cattle and 
 waggons, and killed his children and grandchildren 
 before his eyes. The Central Force on their trek up 
 to Windhuk found ample evidence of these doings, 
 such as the charred remains of waggons and effects, 
 whole spans of oxen still in the yoke lying dead, to 
 say nothing of women and children suffering from 
 bullet wounds. 
 
 During the afternoon the engine was frequently in 
 difficulties, and short stops were made to effect 
 repairs to the injectors. Sleep on the floor of a 
 bumping, thumping van was fitful and unrefreshing, 
 and, besides, it was terribly cold. How the poor 
 men in the open trucks managed, huddled together in 
 little groups to keep warm, I cannot imagine. Day- 
 light found us at Marienthal, a distance of only 
 150 miles from Windhuk, our magnificent German 
 engine having dragged us at the rate of ten miles 
 an hour. 
 
 July 14. — At Marienthal the country is flat, un- 
 interesting, and rather barren. To the east, at some 
 distance from the line, is a structure, interesting 
 geologically, known as the Kalk Eand. This ridge 
 runs parallel with the line from below Eeboboth for 
 a distance of 100 miles or more. The face is vertical, 
 and beyond is a level plateau, which, of course, being 
 several miles away, cannot be seen from the line. 
 The ridge does not vary in height ; I should judge it 
 to be about 200 feet. To the west of it is an abso- 
 lutely level plain through which the railway runs. 
 
WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 181 
 
 This plain is a veritable sea of granite pebbles sparsely- 
 covered with a little scrub. 
 
 Away to the west, and running a southerly course, 
 is the Great Fish River. The direction of the river 
 is roughly north and south, and it finally enters the 
 Orange River about sixty miles from the sea. Un- 
 like most of the rivers in the country, it generally 
 has water in it, not running, but as large pools. The 
 banks are lined with large trees, which in contrast to 
 the arid plain form a very agreeable feature in the 
 landscape. 
 
 After some delay the train moved on again, but at 
 Orab, the next siding, we came to a final standstill, 
 the engine being affected with incurable valvular 
 disease. We were soon given to understand that we 
 should have to wait here and chance our luck, hoping 
 that an engine or train might turn up from somewhere. 
 On the receipt of this news everybody bundled out 
 on to the veldt, and those of us who had the where- 
 withal began culinary operations. In the next van 
 to us were a number of Hottentots going to Keet- 
 manshoop. There were so many of them — men, 
 women, and children — that, had we not seen them 
 emerge, we could not have believed that so many 
 individuals and so much material could have been 
 crowded into so small a space. The adult women of 
 the party set to work with great expedition to pre- 
 pare a meal. They made a diminutive fire of tiny 
 twigs ; so small was it that it might have lain on the 
 palm of a hand. Over this they placed a large cauldron 
 of mealie pap. The women then sat in a circle round 
 
182 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 the fire, and fed it so dexterously with little sticks 
 that it burnt in a continuous flame like a spirit-lamp. 
 Their pot was boiling as soon as our kettle, although 
 we had a fire ten times the size and much less water 
 to boil. 
 
 The porridge, when cooked, was served out in 
 various receptacles — pots, pans, pan lids, meat-tins, 
 cups, or saucers. They had several spoons, but they 
 seemed to prefer to eat with their fingers, which they 
 did in a rapid and complete manner. A little lady 
 aged about two had her share in a pan lid, and the 
 deft way she conveyed the hot porridge to her mouth 
 was little short of conjuring. Whether a morsel 
 stuck to her fingers, palm, wrist, or knuckles, it was 
 unerringly carried to her mouth, and her tongue 
 seemed to have the mobility of a chameleon's. In 
 about twenty seconds she was finished, and her platter 
 was handed in. They had an old patriarch with 
 them who was too decrepit to walk or stand. He 
 was provided with a chair, and ate a good meal with 
 a spoon. He desired to wash it down with some milk 
 from an immense calabash, but he was roughly choked 
 off by word and look from an old hag who could only 
 have been his wife, so connubial were her words and 
 gestures. He relapsed into that futile muttering 
 which even younger husbands are wont to resort to. 
 His pitiable state greatly exercised the Major's tender 
 heart until I suggested that she probably had her 
 reasons and knew what was best for him. Feed- 
 ing finished, the women alone smoked, using a pipe 
 which looked like a large cigar-holder, and which had 
 
WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 183 
 
 to be held vertically to prevent the tobacco falling 
 out. They had only two of these instruments, one of 
 wood and one of tin, and these were passed from 
 mouth to mouth until all the ladies had had a few 
 whiffs. To get the smoke through seemed to require 
 great suctorial effort, and, judging from the saliva- 
 tion induced, the fumes were fairly pungent. 
 
 Smoking over, the ladies proceeded to wash up and 
 to titivate. One washed her face in a cup of water 
 by scooping, or, rather, throwing the water up with 
 the tips of her fingers, without losing a drop. She 
 then arranged her hair and duk, just as *' my lady " 
 does. Subsequently a little coffee was made, and 
 the old man aforesaid was again doomed to disappoint- 
 ment, rolling his bleary eyes and mumbling as before, 
 this time at his wife's relentless back, for she only put 
 the lid firmly on the coffee-pot and removed it out of 
 harm's way. 
 
 About noon a train arrived from the south, and the 
 engine ran up close to ours on the same line in an 
 inquiring sort of way. At first the driver of this 
 train did not wish to help us. His boiler was dry, 
 his something-or-other entirely inefficient. But he 
 finally succumbed to the shrill pleadings of our driver, 
 and agreed to take our engine only back to Marienthal, 
 if he could pull it so far; and the plan was that our 
 own driver was to come back at 7 p.m. with the 
 engine repaired. 
 
 We spent the afternoon getting the sleep we did 
 not get during the previous night. True to his word, 
 the driver turned up before seven. As he passed us 
 
184 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 on the siding, he shouted, " I have only half an 
 engine," and proceeded to ruthlessly turn out the 
 occupants of the hindmost trucks. We, fortunately 
 being near the engine, were left undisturbed. We 
 started off at seven, and were making good time, 
 congratulating ourselves that this driver was a man 
 better than his word. '* Dinner " was just over, and 
 we were sitting on boxes round a large leather trunk 
 which constituted the table, and drinking a liqueur 
 of our own concoction, when, without any warning, 
 all the movable things in the van seemed to race 
 forward on their own account in three successive and 
 rapid jerky bumps. One officer with his back to the 
 engine outpaced his seat, coming in contact with the 
 floor in a very undignified manner, and proceeded 
 to attempt to jerk himself forward, while in a sitting 
 posture, through the closed door at the end of the van. 
 He was closely followed by the things off the table — 
 in fact, the contents of the coffee-pot finally overtook 
 him. Nevertheless, with great presence of mind, he 
 continued to hold a valuable wine-glass overhead 
 after the fashion of Truth holding her lamp; the 
 liqueur, however, mingled with the coffee grounds 
 upon his nether garments. Then the train stopped 
 and people ran to and fro shouting. We jumped out 
 to the tune of " Engine's off the line; nobody's hurt," 
 and stumbled forward in the darkness. 
 
 The engine was clean off the line towards the left, 
 standing at a perilous angle on a small embankment. 
 It appeared to be one mass of steam and flame, for 
 the firemen were already drawing the fires and throw- 
 
WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 185 
 
 ing the flaming coal and wood off in a very reckless 
 manner. Hissing steam was emerging from all the 
 usual and several unusual exits. The mangled re- 
 mains of two oxen, the cause of the disaster, lay close 
 to the line, bits of skin, flesh, and bone, were scattered 
 about, and the intestines of one ox lay under our 
 coach, the seventh in the line. The driver had 
 gallantly stuck to his post, applied the brakes, and 
 shut off steam. One of the firemen had jumped at 
 the last moment, when he thought the engine was 
 going to turn over, and he was the only man hurt. 
 The driver said he had run bang into a whole herd of 
 cattle. A search was made for the wounded, but 
 none were found. The engine had dragged the three 
 leading coaches off the line with it, and in the middle 
 of the train two vans were also derailed. The one 
 containing two soldiers was lying on its side. It 
 seemed a bit of a mechanical puzzle why two of the 
 middle coaches had turned over ; but it appeared that 
 the vacuum brake did not act beyond this point, so 
 that, when the brake was applied suddenly, the train 
 naturally buckled between the stopping front half 
 and the oncoming back half. 
 
 Before one could properly take in the situation, our 
 friends the Hottentots were busy at the mangled 
 carcasses, cutting off meat, as if a railway accident 
 were the most natural thing in the world. They lit 
 fires, and, joined by other natives, started a regular 
 orgie. The ingestion of large quantities of meat often 
 seems to have a most stimulating effect upon the 
 brain, and these people soon became garrulous and 
 
188 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 departing on its southward journey. Not until 7 p.m. 
 did we again make an attempt to get on, this time with 
 a S.A.R. engine provided with a cow-catcher. We 
 went along intermittently, and woke up to find our- 
 selves, not at Keetmanshoop, but only at Gibeon. 
 Shortage of water, we were told, was the cause of the 
 delay this time. 
 
 July 16. — It was just light when we arrived at 
 Gibeon. The same Kalk Rand was to the east, the 
 same sea of pebbles, the same dreary outlook, as at 
 Marienthal. Near the station are the graves of the 
 Natal Light Horse and the 2nd Imperial Light Horse 
 who were killed on the line three miles to the north 
 on April 27. There are about thirty graves in a single 
 line, each with a little white wooden cross at its head. 
 The name of each fallen soldier and his regiment are 
 painted on the crosses in black letters. It all looked 
 very simple, quiet, and pathetic, standing in the 
 lonely desert. Major Watt and two other officers lie 
 here. The Major was found shot through the head, 
 neck, and chest, still grasping his revolver. The cir- 
 cumstances which led up to the fight I have learnt 
 from various sources, and I may as well put them 
 down here. 
 
 For many months the Central Force had been 
 unable to dislodge the Germans from their strong 
 position at Aus, which is situated at the edge of the 
 desert on the Luderitz line. At the end of March, 
 with Berrange from the east and Van der Venter 
 from the south threatening Keetmanshoop, the 
 German position at Aus became untenable. Further, 
 
WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 189 
 
 by this time General Botha with the Northern Force 
 had seized Riet, and was threatening Karibib and 
 Windhuk. If the Germans remained longer at Aus, 
 they were in danger of being caught between all four 
 forces. Aus was therefore evacuated, and the Ger- 
 mans had left it a week before General Mackenzie's 
 scouts discovered the fact. The Central Army then 
 moved up and occupied the place, with orders, so I 
 believe, to remain there. They, however, with their 
 mounted men moved on rapidly through Kuibis, 
 Bethany, Beersheba, and along the Fish River, with 
 the idea of cutting the Germans off at Gibeon. 
 
 The Germans had retired slowly to Keetmanshoop, 
 destroying the line behind them, and were now en- 
 gaged in blowing up the bridges, etc., between Keet- 
 manshoop and Gibeon. It is said that Sir George 
 Farrar, who was Assistant-Quartermaster-General to 
 the force, was greatly opposed to this advance, hold- 
 ing that the troops could not possibly be fed. He was, 
 however, overruled. About April 24 or 25 our scouts 
 tapped the telephone line near Gibeon, and over- 
 heard a conversation between some Germans. They 
 learnt that the Germans were well aware of Mac- 
 kenzie's advance, but also that the Germans did not 
 think it necessary to evacuate Gibeon yet. 
 
 It was therefore decided to cut the line north of 
 Gibeon, and attempt to capture the Germans in the 
 place, who were supposed to be 600 or 700 strong. 
 Colonel Royston, of the N.L.H., was ordered to place 
 his regiment across the line to prevent the Germans 
 from escaping north. Our people blew up the line on 
 
190 A DOCTOR'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 the evening of the 27th, and this put the Germans on 
 the alert. For some unexplained reason the N.L.H. 
 were lined up, not across, but along the line, and quite 
 unexpectedly they were enfiladed by two machine 
 guns which the Germans had in a culvert. Disorder 
 prevailed in the darkness, men making frantic efforts 
 to dig themselves in with the butt ends of their rifles ; 
 but, no supports arriving, the bulk of the regiment 
 laid down their arms. Here the Germans made their 
 mistake, for, instead of making off with their prisoners 
 towards the north, they remained, thinking they had 
 captured our whole force. However, they were sur- 
 prised to find themselves vigorously attacked. The 
 Natal men chased them next morning, releasing the 
 prisoners of the N.L.H. , and also capturing a good 
 many Germans. Unfortunately, in this action the 
 captured N.L.H. were fired upon by our men, and 
 several were wounded. 
 
 The Germans who were captured here declared that 
 they would not have believed that men could ride so 
 hard and fire so quickly as ours did, and they were 
 sure the firing had been done without dismounting. 
 I was told that some of our troopers got right in 
 among the fleeing Germans, that two at least of the 
 enemy lost their lives owing to inferior horsemanship ; 
 for when told to '' hands up " they were not able to 
 do so, as they were hanging on to reins and rifle to 
 keep their seats, and were consequently shot with 
 revolvers. A certain small pugilist was also said to 
 have unhorsed two burly Germans with his fists. 
 
 The trek from Aus to Gibeon was a wonderful feat 
 
WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 191 
 
 of pluck and endurance on the part of the men and 
 horses, for over 200 miles of practically desert country 
 had been traversed without transport. Roads there 
 were next to none, and the men had hoped to live on 
 the country ; but there was little to live on save a few 
 sheep and cattle, and dry scanty grass for the horses. 
 Men and horses were utterly exhausted when they 
 fought this fight, and they were yet to have two 
 months of privation and exposure before they reached 
 Windhuk. We of the Northern Force received most 
 of the kudos for this campaign, but our sufferings 
 never approached those of the Central Force, nor even, 
 I believe, those of the Eastern or Southern forces who 
 advanced to Keetmanshoop. 
 
 Among the passengers was a young Englishman 
 who had been a political prisoner in the hands of the 
 Germans. He told a pitiable tale of ill-usage, solitary 
 confinement to gaol, and semi-starvation. One could 
 see by his look that the iron had entered into his soul. 
 He also told me that General Botha's attack at Riet 
 was a great surprise to Franke, who that day was being 
 entertained at a public luncheon in Windhuk, and 
 that none of the stafi were nearer the scene of action 
 than Karibib. The bulk of the German supplies 
 were at that time at Karibib; and had the Northern 
 Force then pushed on, they would easily have cap- 
 tured the place and all it contained. After the reverse 
 at Riet, the Germans were feverishly engaged for 
 some days removing numerous supplies of all sorts 
 farther north by rail. 
 
 The country between Gibeon and Keetmanshoop 
 
192 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 is on the whole barren and uninteresting. Conspicu- 
 ous on the plain to the west is a high flat-topped 
 mountain, the Great Bruckkaros, which is visible both 
 from Gibeon and also from the hills above Keetmans- 
 hoop. Journeying all day, we never seemed able to 
 get away from the thing. About Tses, opposite the 
 mountain, the Kalk Rand dies out, and is replaced 
 by broken hills, which nearer Keetmanshoop are of 
 an ironstone formation, kopjes being built up of great 
 red boulders, which are often so arranged as to 
 resemble ruined buildings on a giant scale. 
 
 Keetmanshoop itself is a clean little place sur- 
 rounded by ironstone hills very bare of vegetation. 
 Its only claim to existence is that the Germans saw 
 fit to establish large railway workshops here, and no 
 doubt it will continue to be a railway centre, especially 
 since it has been linked up with the colony via Up- 
 ington. Here we decided to return to Cape Town 
 via Luderitzbucht, and not to attempt the very un- 
 certain overland route. 
 
 July 17. — We travelled well during the night — that 
 is to say, we jogged along intermittently at a little 
 over ten miles an hour, and dawn found us at Scha- 
 kalskuppe. A white frost lay on the ground, and it 
 was terribly cold. Very few trees were to be seen, and 
 very little growth of any kind. Sand, rocks, flat- 
 topped kopjes looking like slag-heaps in the early 
 dawn, all very desolate, surrounded us. Hereabouts 
 the Germans had destroyed the line very thoroughly, 
 for broken rails lay along the track in great profusion. 
 Apart from the railway there was little sign of man 
 
WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 193 
 
 or his handiwork. Here and there we saw heaps of 
 bottles, sometimes large, sometimes small, where a 
 German camp had been. Or, again, a collection of 
 tins marked a spot where our men had rested and fed. 
 Here, at any rate, beef had triumphed over beer. 
 
 Both from a scenic and strategic point of view Aus 
 has a very fine position. It is placed in a gap in an 
 inaccessible range of mountains running north and 
 south. Advancing from Luderitz, you are bound to 
 go over Aus Nek, for to the north and south of it is 
 the interminable and waterless wilderness. There is 
 quite a little town here, for there is water, and the 
 place is a regular oasis. From here towards the coast 
 there had been a very unseasonable fall of rain, and 
 the young green grass and the white rocks glistening 
 in the morning sun made a gallant show. From Aus 
 the line winds down an ever-widening S-shaped 
 funnel. Precipitous granite rocks bound this funnel 
 on either side, and its floor is just sand, neither stick 
 nor stone for men to take cover behind. Our advance 
 from Garub could only take place into this winding, 
 ever-narrowing funnel, in full view of the enemy. 
 Further, the Germans reconnoitred our position every 
 day by means of an armoured train or aeroplane. 
 
 Looking up towards Aus the view is sublime, and 
 at the very apex of the funnel, where the mountains 
 come together, is a great rock, the " Aus Needle," 
 standing like a sentinel. It was here that De Meuillon, 
 a reckless scout and a man known all over South 
 Africa for his bravery, met his death. Several ac- 
 counts of his last adventure are current, and I will 
 
 13 
 
194 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 merely give the story of his death as told to us by the 
 Germans. 
 
 Between Garub and Aus, near the entrance to the 
 funnel, a party of six German soldiers were engaged 
 in destroying the line, when they noticed some horse- 
 men advancing from Chankaib. They immediately 
 hid in a trench they had dug near by, and the horse- 
 men came on unsuspectingly. At close range the 
 Germans fired a volley. De Meuillon fell at once, 
 mortally wounded. Two natives were shot dead 
 and three others were taken prisoners, while three 
 white men escaped. De Meuillon died soon after, 
 and they buried him on the northern side of the 
 funnel and hanged the natives on a tree close to the 
 grave. And here the grave and corpses were found 
 when the advance to Aus was subsequently made. 
 
 There is hardly anything at Garub now to show 
 that it had once been a large camp — just a few tin 
 shanties, a tent or two, and a pumping plant. The 
 places where the stacks of forage had been are now, 
 after the rain, beautifully green little lawns of stunted 
 oats. A handful of natives gather up the debris, and 
 when they have finished no sign of the camp will be 
 left. 
 
 The desert now has a tinge of green, as if it had 
 received a very thin coat of paint of that colour, which 
 gives it a charm not to be described. A beautiful 
 little heliotrope flower is growing, too, in great pro- 
 fusion, and I even saw a few birds. 
 
 Near Chankaib is an extinct volcano, and a little 
 nearer the coast a pale grey lava enters largely into 
 
WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 195 
 
 the composition of the desert. At Rotkuppe, and 
 thereafter, although there had been plenty of rain, 
 there was no sign of vegetation. As we approached 
 the coast the country became more and more wild 
 and weird. About Grassplatz it is utter chaos. 
 Tumbled rocks of all shapes and at all angles inter- 
 mix with the sand blown up from the coast. Moun- 
 tains, hills, valleys, precipices, escarpments, gorges, 
 ravines, fissures, without arrangement or order, fill 
 in the whole landscape. The rocks are a dull grey, 
 unearthly colour ; even the sky looks grey and sombre. 
 One feels here as if the end of the world were coming 
 or had already come. 
 
 How the railway finds its way through this tangled 
 mass is a mystery. It is nothing but curve and 
 gradient, and you cannot see 20 yards ahead. It is 
 here that they have such difficulty in keeping the line 
 clear of sand, and to prevent it from blowing about 
 somebody has hit on the novel idea of covering sand- 
 hills near the line with canvas. One sees whole acres of 
 dunes treated in this way, long strips of canvas several 
 yards wide being sewn together, stretched tightly 
 over the sand, and pegged down at intervals. Large 
 gangs of natives are also engaged in constantly 
 shovelling away the sand into small trucks run on 
 light rails up to the line. It all seems a hopeless task, 
 for the sand seems to come on in endless avalanches 
 as fast as it is removed. 
 
 Kolmanskop, where the diamonds are, is a dreary 
 waste of sand and rock. The diamondiferous gravel 
 is collected into little heaps arranged in long regular 
 
196 A DOCTOR'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 lines waiting to be sifted. All this work is now at a 
 standstill. The German Grovernment had recently 
 put down a lot of machinery here for working the 
 mines, which is worked by electricity generated at 
 the power-station in Luderitzbucht. There are a 
 good many houses and offices for the workers, all well 
 built and of large size ; but it seems very incongruous 
 to see human habitations in such a place, and I cannot 
 imagine sane men living here even for the sake of 
 getting rich. 
 
 The diamonds from this area are, generally speaking, 
 small and of inferior quality, but they seem to be very 
 numerous. I told a resident of Luderitz that I had 
 heard of a soldier in a certain blockhouse having 
 collected a pickle-bottleful of diamonds. " That's 
 nothing," he retorted; "if he'd been energetic, he 
 might have got a petrol-tinful." I hear, too, that 
 attempts are being made in a systematic manner to 
 get unregistered diamonds from Kimberley passed 
 through as having come from Kolmanskop, but the 
 difference between the diamonds from the two places 
 ought to make the detection of such little tricks 
 easy. 
 
 It is five in the afternoon by the time we get to 
 Luderitz. Everybody is exhausted and disinclined 
 for further effort. Our batman heaved our belong- 
 ings on to the platform, where they constituted a 
 respectable-looking mountain. For a while we sat 
 and looked at it, and finally decided that some efforts 
 must be made to find food and shelter, as it was cold 
 and windy and getting dark. We set out to look 
 
WINDHUK TO LUDERITZBUCHT 197 
 
 for a place where we might lodge, but found the 
 various places full. 
 
 At last a Good Samaritan appears in the shape of a 
 sergeant mechanic known to me, and he shows us an 
 empty house, of which, having put to flight many 
 feline tenants, we take possession. There is some dif- 
 ficulty in getting water, for, although water is laid on 
 to the houses, it all has to be condensed ; consequently 
 the supply is very limited, and the authorities cut it 
 ofi at once from empty houses. However, we finally 
 got a jugful from a shop still open. Furniture there 
 was none in the house worth considering, but with 
 the help of a few broken-down old bedsteads and our 
 blankets we should have had a comfortable night if 
 the cats had not made determined efEorts at short 
 intervals to recover the position. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 LUDERITZBUCHT 
 
 July 18. — I don't suppose there is a more desolate, 
 dreary, God-forsaken site for a town in the whole 
 world than this, and nobody except extreme optimists 
 like the Germans would ever have dreamed of trying 
 to establish one here. There is not a drop of fresh 
 water anywhere near, nor a plant nor tree of any 
 description except seaweed. There is not even a 
 flat space where buildings can be erected, and many 
 are perched on pinnacles or in fissures in the rocks. 
 Its only natural advantages are the sun, sea, rocks, 
 sand, and wind. The town is at the foot of a great 
 tumbled mass of volcanic rock which juts northward 
 into the sea, and this mass is obviously continued in 
 three islands with small shallow channels between 
 them. In this way a bay is produced. Dias, who 
 visited the place, but did not stay, called it Angra 
 dos Hheos — the Bay of Islets. Later it was renamed 
 Angra Pequena — Little Bay. Finally the Germans 
 changed the name to Luderitzbucht, after an ex- 
 plorer of theirs, Luderitz by name. All the rocks 
 about are of the dull grey colour of pumice, and every- 
 thing, including sea and sky, seems to reflect the 
 same leaden hue. 
 
 198 
 

LUDERITZBUCHT 199 
 
 The island nearest the town is now joined to the 
 mainland by a causeway about 170 yards long, which 
 the Germans built in 1907. The reasons for this 
 causeway are two. In the first place it improves the 
 harbour, and in the second it joins the island to the 
 mainland. While an island it belonged to the Union, 
 as all the other islands do along the coast; but when 
 they joined it up to the mainland the German sophists 
 argued that it was part of the mainland, and accord- 
 ingly began to build upon it, erecting a fine hospital 
 there and a lighthouse. Appropriately enough they 
 named it Halfisch Insel — i.e., Shark Island. One 
 can hardly blame the Germans for jumping this 
 island, for it is one of the few places where a road 
 could be constructed so that the inhabitants of Lu- 
 deritzbucht might stretch their legs a little. It is 
 upon this island that the Germans are said to have 
 marooned a number of refractory Hottentots, where 
 they might choose from among the following deaths — 
 hunger, thirst, drowning, sharks, or a bullet. 
 
 The streets are sandy and rough, but are not to be 
 compared with those of Swakupmund in this respect. 
 Little railway lines run in all the streets, and in some 
 places into private yards. The foreshore is utterly 
 spoilt by base mercantile constructions — wharfs, 
 yards, stores, fences, and sidings — all begrimed with 
 coal-dust. There are four or five broken-down little 
 jetties running out a few yards into the bay, but 
 nothing in the way of a pier or landing-stage com- 
 parable to that at Swakupmund. The bulk of the 
 buildings are substantial and well built, with granite 
 
200 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 foundations. Cement, bricks, and reinforced con- 
 crete, have been freely used. Most of the houses are 
 of two stories. The bank, the Woermann Linie 
 offices, the railway-station, and the hospital, are all 
 good buildings, but there are a great many shanties 
 and makeshifts. The house we are living in is a most 
 inconvenient structure. There are seven rooms in 
 parallel opening on to a stoep. There is nothing 
 resembling a passage or a hall, and all the windows 
 and doors look the one way. In front — that is, on 
 the side where the doors and windows are — is a small 
 yard surrounded by high walls and outhouses, so that 
 both ventilation and view are not of the best. 
 
 The town was full of petty craftsmen living under 
 conditions similar to those which their ancestors must 
 have enjoyed in the Middle Ages. You find watch- 
 makers, tinkers, dyers, cleaners, and sweet-makers 
 carrying on a diminutive business in a small dark 
 building which also serves as a dwelling-place for the 
 artisan and his family. Next door to us a small iron- 
 monger and tinker must have plied his trade. In 
 front he had a little shop; behind was his dwelling 
 and workshop, which was really one room divided 
 into four, two bedrooms at the back with no light or 
 ventilation except when the door was open. These 
 bedrooms opened into the living-room-workshop, 
 and ofE this room, to one side, was the kitchen, size 
 8 by 4 feet, as dark as night, with a modern cooking 
 range at the far end. Imagine what it must have 
 been like on a hot summer's evening, the thermometer 
 at 110°, with Mr. Tinker tinkering in the parlour, and 
 
LUDERITZBUCHT 201 
 
 poor Mrs. Tinker frying the evening meal in the 
 kitchen, and several little Tinkers rebreathing the 
 foul air in the fusty bedrooms, to say nothing of the 
 guests who no doubt were often there, judging from 
 the number of wineglasses and other utensils, in the 
 cupboard, for drinking and eating. 
 
 Indeed, Luderitz seemed to have relapsed into a 
 state of medieval feudalism. Above were the great 
 castles, not of Baron this or that, but of the haughty 
 Woermann Shipping Company and Diamond Com- 
 pany, while below in their wretched hovels cowered 
 Mr. Tinker and his equally submerged confreres. 
 
 Not only have the Germans a lot of wretched 
 dwelling-houses in their towns, but altogether I was- 
 surprised to see how little attention was paid to sani- 
 tation. In Windhuk when we arrived there were 
 epidemics of typhoid and diphtheria, yet no pre- 
 cautions had been taken to limit their spreading. 
 We appointed a medical officer for the town, but he 
 could get no help from the municipal authorities or 
 from the local doctors. The sanitary condition of 
 the hospital was distinctly bad when we took it over, 
 and the gaol was also in a dirty state. A sanitary 
 officer remarked to me that the Grermans are clean in 
 front and dirty behind, and this certainly applies to 
 their dwellings and shops. A butcher's shop, for 
 instance, would be scrupulously tidy, but his back- 
 yard would be the very reverse, skins, offal, and other 
 filth, lying about. I remember going to inspect the 
 back premises of one of the crack hotels in Windhuk, 
 and finding a cesspool and a well side by side, the 
 
202 A DOCTOE'S DIAKY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 fusion of the contents being facilitated by other 
 means as well as mere proximity. 
 
 July 24. — You can see all there is to be seen in 
 Luderitz in twenty-four hours, or less. From the 
 barren land we have turned our attention to the 
 apparently equally barren sea, and for the last few 
 days some of our party have been trying their luck 
 at fishing, with very indifierent success. Seaweed is 
 easily caught, and besides this the Major has bagged 
 a few dogfish and young sharks. Crayfish are very 
 numerous and large all along this coast. They are very 
 voracious and easily caught on a bait tied to the end 
 of a string. Curiously enough, although so plentiful 
 on the west coast of Africa, they are not found on 
 either the south or east coast. 
 
 July 26. — We have now been ten days in Luderitz, 
 waiting for a boat, and I think we have exhausted its 
 pleasures. With the town deserted, it is most dreary 
 here, and, like those of marooned sailors, our eyes are 
 ever on the horizon. To-day we expected our boat to 
 arrive. Another boat is in, but, as it is bound for 
 Swakupmund, we regard it with impatience and loath- 
 ing. For several days a tall thin man in white 
 trousers, a black coat, and long-footed German boots 
 has attracted my attention. To-day he spoke to 
 me in unmistakable English while I was scanning 
 the bay for the boat. "You are going home?" 
 he said. "Yes," I replied; "I have been out six 
 months." His tired eyes searched my face, and I 
 <}0uld see his form was spare and his gestures languid. 
 " I Have been a prisoner eleven months, and they 
 
LUDERITZBUCHT 203 
 
 are brutes !" he almost hissed. " I had been engaged 
 in business in Luderitz for eight years. At the begin- 
 ning of the war I was taken to Windhuk. There I 
 had three months' solitary confinement, with half an 
 hour's exercise twice a day in the prison yard. Food 
 was scarce and the place overrun with bugs. When 
 they moved us north, we were kept in a large kraal, 
 and given very little and bad food. Two days before 
 we were released the officer in charge said he could 
 not take us with him, as he had neither food nor 
 transport for us. Next morning there was not a 
 Oerman on the job. Fortunately for us, the Burghers 
 turned up next day." " What are you going to do ?" 
 I queried. " I don't know," he said; " my place here 
 has been looted, and there is no chance of getting 
 my money out of the German Bank." 
 
 He also said that, when the Germans saw how 
 things were likely to go, the Governor took all the 
 available money and paid it out to the soldiers, giving 
 three and six months' pay in advance. He then 
 issued notes on his own responsibility, which, of course, 
 nobody, not even the German Government, would 
 honour. Seitz also advised the people to bring all 
 their savings to him, and he credited them in Berlin 
 by wireless. That is how the German settler pre- 
 vented his savings from falling into the hands of the 
 rapacious " English." A good many of them already 
 xealize that they were somewhat ill-advised in this 
 matter. 
 
 War passes like a scorching brand over the land, 
 and one is apt to forget the singed and squirming 
 
204 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 creatures left in its wake. The chief sufferers are, 
 naturally, the weak — women, children, and the aged. 
 In Windhuk several thousand women and children 
 were left behind. Many of the women were young, 
 earning a living as typists, teachers, telephonists, and 
 barmaids. Their means of livelihood suddenly cut 
 off, and the wages due to them in many cases unpaid, 
 their position has become desperate. Not a few 
 poor girls have been driven into misfortune, and some 
 have sold themselves for soldiers' rations. 
 
 Of course, lots of people, especially farmers who 
 deserted their homes for the towns, have lost all their 
 belongings — stock, furniture, and clothes — ^and they 
 have been hard pressed to obtain sufficient food, al- 
 though the Grovernment have been dispensing rations 
 freely. Without work and assets, the prospects of the 
 German community in the near future are gloomy 
 indeed. All this suffering has come to a people who 
 have only experienced the irreducible minimum of 
 the evils of war. Its real horrors have been spared 
 them. The behaviour of our armies towards them 
 has been most exemplary, and everything has been 
 done that could be done both by the authorities and 
 by individuals to mitigate the sufferings of the civil 
 population. The inhabitants of Luderitz are now 
 flocking back to empty houses and empty shops, and 
 the so-called " reservists " are in great evidence. 
 They don't look a bit conquered, are rather jaunty, 
 and not a little impudent. Many wiseacres are 
 shaking their heads and prognosticating " trouble." 
 
 The German nature is bitter and unrelenting. To 
 
LUDERITZBUCHT 205 
 
 show mercy is not in their creed. The German nurses 
 who stayed on at Windhuk, mainly to take care of 
 their own wounded, were quite ostracized by their 
 compatriots, and were almost afraid to leave the 
 hospital. Even the matron's children came in for 
 abuse. " Your mother is ' English,' and we won't 
 play with you," said their former companions. I 
 heard of a case of two women who tried to make the 
 lot of some prisoners a little easier, and when our 
 hungry troops arrived sold them some little things. 
 One of them was a wife of three months' standing; 
 her husband threatened her life, and finally gave her 
 a revolver, telling her to go out and shoot an English- 
 man and then herself, as it was the only course left 
 to her. These women dared not leave the house, and 
 had to seek our protection. 
 
 One feels one is at grips with a madman, a mad- 
 man stimulated by egoism and hate. It is most un- 
 canny living among them. So sure are they of their 
 superiority, their omnipotence, their Divine right 
 almost, that onejis at times almost persuaded and 
 doubts one's own sanity. To-day groups of their 
 ex-soldiers parade the streets of Luderitz. " You 
 scum !" " You filth !" flashes from their eyes. 
 Comic enough this, behind the iron cage of defeat, 
 terribly tragic were the circumstances otherwise. 
 Intelligence without wisdom, strength without re- 
 straint, purpose without pity, egoism naked and un- 
 abashed — these are the forces civilization is up against. 
 It is the subconscious realization of this cardinal 
 danger which, as nothing ^else, has united the white, 
 
206 A DOCTOR'S DIAEY IN DAMARALAND 
 
 the yellow, and the black, to destroy the ogre in their 
 midst. 
 
 July 29. — Our boat has come, and we are to embark 
 to-day at noon; two or three hundred men of all 
 ranks, regiments, and callings, somewhat disparag- 
 ingly known as '' details." There are besides 700 or 
 800 natives and a lot of horses, mules, and donkeys. 
 For the last day or two, while the boat has been in 
 the bay, we have behaved very like people unused 
 to travelling, constantly running down to find out 
 when the boat sails, to look if she has sailed, or to 
 make arrangements for our kit. But the embarka- 
 tion authorities know their work now, and every- 
 thing is done in order: officers to embark at 
 noon, men at ten; servants and luggage went yester- 
 day. 11.30 finds us on the jetty, which is high. 
 The tide is out, so it is a big drop into the waiting, 
 wobbling barge below. One by one we brave it, and 
 punctually a tug takes us out to the ship, followed by 
 the feeble cheers of twenty men or so there to see us 
 off and wish themselves off too, no doubt. 
 
 Getting out of the barge is ten times worse than 
 getting into it. The lowest rung of the gangway 
 towers above us. The barge sways up and down, to 
 and fro. A stalwart sergeant-major comes down the 
 gangway to help us up. An officer whispers in my 
 ear : " If you fall between the barge and ship, dive 
 at once." '' Take your chances, gentlemen !" shouts 
 the sergeant-major to the hesitating group below, as 
 the barge swings up within reach. My turn comes 
 too soon. My left hand seizes the ladder, the sergeant 
 
LUDERITZBUCHT 207 
 
 seizes my right; we pull simultaneously. For a 
 sickening moment I am suspended in space, and 
 then I am awaked to consciousness by my shins^ 
 scraping on the ladder. 
 
 I shall not dilate on the pleasures of the trip to 
 Cape Town, for they were discounted by several cir- 
 cumstances. The boat was slow, high in the water, 
 and the decks crowded with superstructures for men 
 and animals ; the weather was cold and windy. Above 
 all, we were all thinking of home, and the appearance 
 of Table Mountain on the horizon was the thing we 
 lived for. When it did appear, we watched it grow 
 into form from a shadowy ghost. The greenness of 
 Robbin Island was almost painful to eyes inured to 
 sand and rock. About three girls were on the quay 
 to meet us — that is, some of us. We were only 
 details, the Cinderellas left behind to do the washing 
 up, and a civic or other reception would have been out 
 of place for such. And no doubt Cape Town was 
 not a little tired of welcoming khaki. War had not 
 scared the noble city. The same undersized, anaemic 
 seminuts were in the streets ; the same pleasure- 
 seeking girls, bedecked a little difEerently, perhaps; 
 the same intolerable hoot and clang of motor convey- 
 ances; the same tempting shops: all were there as 
 when we left. And, thank goodness, above the 
 turmoil, din, and smoke, the same glorious mountain 
 raised its scornful head. 
 
PRINTED BV 
 
 SILLING AND SONS, LIHITBD, 
 
 OUILPFORD, ENGLANDi 
 
Telegrams : "Scholarly, London." 41 and 43 Maddox Street, 
 
 Telephone : 1883 Mayfair. Bond Street, London, W. 
 
 Partners: (f- f' ^^^°^^- March, 1^)17 . 
 
 \A. L. MuMM. 
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's 
 
 SPRING 
 
 ANNOUNCEMENTS, 191 7. 
 
 FRENCH WINDOWS. 
 
 By JOHN AYSCOUGH, 
 
 Author of "Marotz," "San Cblestino," «tc 
 
 Crown Svo. 5s. net. 
 
 In the literature of the war a large space has already been 
 occupied by reflections on its spiritual influence and effects, but 
 for the most part the subject has been handled in abstract and 
 generalized terms. In the present series of sketches John 
 Ayscough has presented the aspect of the war dramatically, 
 and embodied it in a number of individual concrete instances. 
 His creed and calling gave him special opportunities for gettifig 
 into touch with men of all sorts and conditions, but only a man 
 with his rare endowment of sympathy and insight could have 
 turned them to account as he has done. From what has been 
 said it follows naturally that he is not concerned directly with 
 actual war scenes and episodes, though incidentally he gives us 
 some illuminating glimpses of life under war conditions. Most 
 of his stories are in form reports of his conversations with 
 French and British soldiers, as a rule originating in trifling 
 accidents, and conducted in every variety of setting. But each 
 conversation is, in fact, a portrait and a history. Our author 
 appears to be equally at home with both nationalities. The scenes 
 in which our own people figure have a beauty and truth which 
 all of us can recognize and enjoy, while to most English readers 
 the presentment of the soul of the French soldier-peasant will 
 be a revelation. 
 
 LONDON : EDWARD ARNOLD, 41 & 43 MADDOX STREET, W. 
 
PRINTED BV 
 
 SILLING AND SONS, LIMITSD, 
 
 OUILPFORD, ENGLANDj 
 
Telegrams : "Scholarly, London." 41 and 43 Maddox Street, 
 
 Telephone : 1883 Mayfair. Bond Street, London, W. 
 
 Partners: If- f' ^^~°^^- March, 1^17, 
 
 \h. L. MUMM. 
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold's 
 
 SPRING 
 
 ANNOUNCEMENTS, 191 7. 
 
 FRENCH WINDOWS. 
 
 By JOHN AYSCOUGH, 
 
 Author of "Marotz," "San Cblbstino," btc. 
 
 Crown 8vo. 5s. net. 
 
 In the literature of the war a large space has already been 
 occupied by reflections on its spiritual influence and effects, but 
 for the most part the subject has been handled in abstract and 
 generalized terms. In the present series of sketches John 
 Ayscough has presented the aspect of the war dramatically, 
 and embodied it in a number of individual concrete instances. 
 His creed and calling gave him special opportunities for getting 
 into touch with men of all sorts and conditions, but only a man 
 with his rare endowment of sympathy and insight could have 
 turned them to account as he has done. From what has been 
 said it follows naturally that he is not concerned directly with 
 actual war scenes and episodes, though incidentally he gives us 
 some illuminating glimpses of life under war conditions. Most 
 of his stories are in form reports of his conversations with 
 French and British soldiers, as a rule originating in trifling 
 accidents, and conducted in every variety of setting. But each 
 conversation is, in fact, a portrait and a history. Our author 
 appears to be equally at home with both nationalities. The scenes 
 in which our own people figure have a beauty and truth which 
 all of us can recognize and enjoy, while to most English readers 
 the presentment of the soul of the French soldier-peasant will 
 be a revelation. 
 
 LONDON : EDWARD ARNOLD, 41 & 43 MADDOX STREET, W. 
 
2 Mr. Edward Arnold's Spring Announcements, 
 
 A DOCTOR'S DIARY IN 
 DAMARALAND. 
 
 By Dr. H. F. B. WALKER. 
 With Illustrations, Demy 8vo, 7s. 6d. net. 
 
 Early in 1915 Dr. Walker offered his services to General 
 Botha, and was appointed to one of the Mounted Brigade Field 
 Ambulances. He sailed from Cape Town on March nth, and 
 after a short stay at Walfisch Bay, arrived on the 22nd at 
 Swakupmund, where he spent five disagreeable but instructive 
 weeks. He then started inland, and struggled through with his 
 unit, or so much of it as could be got along, to the old capital, 
 Otjimbingwe. There for some time he conducted a hospital, 
 under grave difficulties, complicated by serious apprehension with 
 regard to the continuance of the food -supply. Finally he was taken 
 on to Windhuk, and at the close of the war returned by a not 
 uneventful railway journey to Luderitzbucht. Dr. Walker is a 
 practised observer, and possesses in an unusual degree the power of 
 recording graphically the results of his observations. Wherever he 
 goes he notes with unflagging attention the character of the fauna 
 and flora of the country, and its salient geological and physio- 
 graphical features. The latter, indeed, were forced upon his notice, 
 especially during the really terrible journey to Otjimbingwe, in an 
 extremely drastic fashion, and we venture to assert that his 
 portrayal of the extraordinary and fantastic region then 
 traversed possesses a vividness which no record of an ordinary 
 trek in peace time could approach. 
 
 But this by no means exhausts the range of his interests. Upon 
 the solid foundations of physical geography he gradually builds 
 up for the reader a vivid and convincing picture of the German 
 colonists, their lives, and their relations with the natives, and of 
 German colonial methods in general. Further, though it was his 
 painful r61e to be always toiling a long way in the rear of his brigade 
 (the Boers' motto was ** To h — 1 with transport and ambulance ! 
 Let's ride "), he managed in one way and another to pick up a 
 pretty clear idea of the progress of the war. Here again his 
 powers of observation stood him in good stead. The character 
 of the fighting was determined in the main, as it always is, by 
 geographical conditions, and his firm grasp of these makes his 
 book a particularly satisfactory introduction to the story of a 
 campaign which must surely be unique in military annals. 
 
Mr, Edward Arnold's Spring Announcements. 3 
 
 A RUSSIAN GENTLEMAN. 
 
 By SERGE AKSAKOFF. 
 Translated from the Russian by J. D. DUFF, 
 
 Fkllow of Trinity College, Camuridgb. 
 
 Demy %vo. ys. 6d. net. 
 
 Mr. J. D. Duff, whose translation of Aksakoffs " Years of 
 Childhood " was issued last year, has now ready another volume 
 of Aksakoffs Memoirs. This book was called by its author 
 ** Family History," but the translation will be called " A Russian 
 Gentleman." It contains the history of the author's grandfather, 
 and ends on the day when Aksakoff himself was born. Thus the 
 whole narrative is derived, not from personal experience, but from 
 tradition. Yet this seems to make little difference to Aksakoff, who 
 describes the courtship and marriage of his parents as minutely as 
 if he had been present. This is Aksakoffs most famous book ; and 
 the portrait of his grandfather, Stepan Mihailovitch, the most for- 
 midable and most lovable of men, is the finest in his whole gallery. 
 The minute account of Russian life in the days of the Empress 
 Catherine is priceless to the historian ; and the dramatic skill and 
 human interest of the narrative have fascinated Russian readers 
 for sixty years past. 
 
 Aksakoff wrote one other volume of Memoirs — his " Recollec- 
 tions " of school and college. This also has been translated ; and it 
 is hoped that the translation may be published at no long interval. 
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 YEARS OF CHILDHOOD. 
 
 By SERGE AKSAKOFF. 
 
 Translated from the Russian by J. D. DUFF. 
 
 Demy 8vo. los. 6d. net. 
 
 " ' Years of Childhood ' becomes the more fascinating the more one reads 
 and thinks about it. Aksakoff read a new and ecstatic meaning into things 
 which are banal and tame to most men and women, and the eager eye of his 
 mind scanned deep into the lives and loves of the people round about him." — 
 Morning Post. 
 
 " A charming Russian book. At this time when so many translations from 
 the Russian are appearing, well advised and ill advised, it is good to be able 
 to put the hand on one superlatively good book. Here is a refreshment for 
 tired eyes and tired souls. It is put into beautiful English." — Country Life. 
 
4 Mr. Edward Arnold* s Spring Announcements, 
 
 THE ITALIAN ORDERS OF 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 H practical Booft tor tbe xnse ot Brcbitecte and 
 Crattsmen^ 
 
 By CHARLES GOURLAY, B.Sc. (Glasgow Univ.), 
 
 Professor of Architecture and Building in the Royal Technical College, Glasgow. 
 
 With 32 plates. Demy ^to. 6s. net. 
 
 While this work appeals to all who desire an aquaintance with 
 the Italian Orders of Architecture exhibited in their most generally 
 useful form, it has been more directly prepared to aid architectural 
 students who require to know the Orders so thoroughly as to be 
 masters of them both as Orders and in their application, for the 
 decorative part of modern architecture is largely based upon 
 them. The work will also serve as a reference book by archi- 
 tects when designing, by quantity surveyors, furniture designers, 
 and building craftsmen. The plates have been specially designed 
 and drawn in a decided manner to show clearly the detail of all 
 the mouldings and such parts as are generally of an obscure 
 nature. The preparation of this book has extended over many 
 years, and is the outcome of the author's long experience of 
 teaching and of his frequent visits to Italy, France, and Greece. 
 
 THE ROYAL MAIL TO IRELAND. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE 
 POST BETWEEN LONDON AND IRELAND THROUGH HOLY- 
 HEAD, AND THE USE OF THE LINE OF COMMUNICATION 
 BY TRAVELLERS. 
 
 By EDWARD WATSON. 
 
 With illustrations. Demy ^vo. 
 
 This book will fill a distinct place in all libraries of the social 
 history of the British Isles, in that for the first time it presents a 
 reliable account, based on State papers and other official docu- 
 ments, of the postal connection with Ireland which has been kept 
 up for the last three hundred and fifty years. Mr. Watson 
 having been for a long time past intimately acquainted with all 
 the circumstances relating to the Holyhead mail service, supple- 
 ments the particulars relating to the more modern part of the 
 book by facts regarding which he has personal knowledge. 
 
 Anyone who is in the habit of using this route will be interested 
 to read of the conditions under which passengers formerly 
 travelled, and will no doubt feel grateful to those who have in the 
 past been instrumental in improving the service. 
 
 There are some interesting illustrations from old engravings 
 ^nd portraits, 
 
Mr. Edward Arnold's Spring Announcements, 5 
 
 NEW NOVELS 
 
 Mr. Edward Arnold intends in future to make Fiction 
 a more prom^inent feature of his Catalogue^ and is 
 arranging to publish some first-rate navels by popular 
 writers. Among those ready for imm^ediate publication 
 are the following : 
 
 A MARRIAGE HAS BEEN 
 ARRANGED. 
 
 By RACHEL SWETE MACNAMARA, 
 
 Author of " The Fringe of the Desert," '• Drifting Waters," "Thb Awakbning," etc. 
 
 Crown 8w. Cloth. 6s. 
 
 In Miss Macnamara's previous novels, ** The Fringe of the 
 Desert " and " Drifting Waters," which achieved both distinction 
 and success, the scenes were overlaid with the romantic glamour 
 of Egypt But it is to a critique of another of her books, " The 
 Awakening," that the genesis of "A Marriage has been Arranged" 
 is due: "Toye Tempest is an admirable creation. One really 
 does not know whether she is a wicked little devil or not. There 
 are extraordinary possibilities in her. She excites our unalloyed 
 curiosity." Although in no sense a sequel to '* The Awakening,'* 
 the principal character in Miss Macnamara's new novel is the 
 impish, uncomfortably attractive Toye, It sets forth the story of 
 the great adventure of her life — how she won her heart's desire, 
 and the complications that ensued, and how, having won it, her 
 curious character develops in unexpected directions. The scene 
 is laid almost entirely in England — the England of yesterday. 
 There is a strong love element running through the book, which 
 is stimulating and attractive. 
 
 THE WANE OF UXENDEN. 
 
 By MARGARET LEGGE, 
 
 Author of "The Rebellion of Esther," etc 
 
 Crown Svo, Cloth, 6s. 
 
 In previous novels by this author, among which perhaps " The 
 Rebellion of Esther " found most admirers, she has attempted to 
 study the many gradual changes and the transitional condition of 
 
6 Mr. Edward Arnold's Spring Announcements. 
 
 the life of to-day, and in " The Wane of Uxenden " is delineated 
 the decline from former prosperity of one of those old English 
 county families whose history is so closely interwoven with the 
 history and the character of the English nation. 
 
 After a tragic break in the circumstances of her own life, 
 Hermione Cheadle, a twentieth-century woman journalist, goes 
 back to stay at Uxenden with those friends amongst whom she 
 passed the happiest days of her childhood. She finds the lovely 
 old home almost in ruins, the family prosperity gone, but with 
 their prejudices surviving as strongly as ever, and the family are 
 awaiting, without taking any steps to avert, the impending ruin 
 and break-up of the estate with the same quiet, unflinching spirit 
 that has built up their character through many generations. A 
 pleasant and life-like picture of family life at Uxenden gives the 
 setting wherein Hermione moves among these kindly and old- 
 fashioned people, where her beauty and charm of character 
 inspire love and disinterested rivalry. 
 
 In striking contrast with this restful country conservatism, 
 Hermione, in the course of her activities in London, is brought 
 into contact with a phase of unhealthy spiritualistic charlatanism 
 to which certain of her friends have succumbed, and is successful 
 in rescuing a relative from its enervating seduction, and in exposing 
 the prime mover and his dupes in a striking and realistic manner. 
 
 FETTERS ON THE FEET. 
 
 By Mrs. FRED REYNOLDS, 
 
 Author of "A Quaker's Wooing," etc., etc 
 
 Crown Svo, Cloth. 6s. 
 
 In "A Quaker's Wooing" — probably one of the best-known 
 novels by this author — she drew a picturesque and vivid picture of 
 Quaker life as it was a hundred years ago. In her latest work, 
 " Fetters on the Feet," the frame of the picture is modern, and 
 only occasional glimpses appear in the background. 
 
 The principal character, Margaret Grenfield, had been brought 
 up by Quaker relatives, and the story opens amid Quaker sur- 
 roundings and sentiments ; but she is not really of them, as her 
 father had been a soldier and had died fighting, and had con- 
 sequently been disowned by the rest of the family. So long as her 
 home is with her relatives, who are really very fond of her, and 
 kind in their own strict, undemonstrative way, she falls in fairly 
 naturally with the dull, drab household of Chevin Lodge, and the 
 endless round of guilds, societies, lectures, and missions ; but to 
 escape from the quaintly declared admiration of her cousin, she 
 finds a thorough change, both mental and atmospheric, as com- 
 
Mr. Edward A mold's Spring A nnouncements. 7 
 
 pan ion to a wealthy middle-aged lady living amid the wind-swept 
 Yorkshire moors. 
 
 The complications that here ensue owing to the charm she 
 exercises over various people with whom she is thrown, are made 
 the more interesting from the contrasts offered by the remains of 
 her Quaker instincts that still linger from her early upbringing, 
 and the moral reasoning that seems inseparable from these con- 
 trasts is touched in with a light and deft hand. 
 
 JOHN PARAMOR'S PURPOSE. 
 
 By ELLEN ADA SMITH. 
 Crown Svo, 6s. 
 
 John Paramor, as a small boy of nine or ten, had already 
 formed very practical views of life; he had already discovered 
 that money is power, and at that early age he determined to 
 grasp it. His father and mother and sister lived in a suburb, 
 and John felt that that was no permanent place for him. His 
 father had a first cousin married to a lady of title, and nourished 
 a jealous hatred of him, of his charm, of his prosperity, and 
 of his charming wife, who periodically pays the suburban cousins 
 formal visits, but formal only by reason of this small-minded 
 jealousy, which has no place in her own heart. 
 
 The development of John Paramor, stiff, unbending, 
 methodical, unswerving in the pursuit of money to the stifling 
 of every finer emotion, forms the motive of this story, in contrast 
 with the open generosity of feeling and kindliness of his 
 cousins, which in the end opens the door to his better nature. 
 The fine poetic justice by which John Paramor in the complete 
 fulfilment of his aims which embrace the utter ruin of his 
 cousins, is by them utterly ruined in his own self-esteem and 
 his purpose broken down, is told in a manner which interests 
 and compels thought. 
 
 THE MASSAREEN AFFAIR. 
 
 By R. K. WEEKES. 
 
 Crown Svo, 6s. 
 
 An unhappy marriage for Anthony Massareen ; a cousin, 
 Claudia, fond of him and his two children ; an elopement on the 
 understanding that they live together as brother and sister — these 
 are the elements of the Massareen affair ; its developments involve 
 the fortunes of a second group of persons, the family of a country 
 clergyman. The father is a grim figure, orthodox and very 
 
S Mr, Edward Arnold's Spring Announceme^its, 
 
 uncompromising, but withal very human himself, and saved from 
 fanaticism by an intense interest in human nature, however 
 manifested, provided it is genuine, in other people. A daughter, 
 as uncompromising in her own way as he, will be regarded by 
 many readers as the heroine, and the methods by which she won 
 her airman and stung into life his dormant nobility of soul, as 
 providing the main interest, of the book. 
 
 The other characters are alive and entertaining, they are like- 
 able and by no means **unco' guid," and throughout the story the 
 aeroplane plays a leading part, and appears as naturally as a train 
 or motor-car. 
 
 THE SPRING SONG. 
 
 By FORREST REID, 
 
 AvTNOK or " At the Door of the Gatb," " The Gentle Lover," etc. 
 
 One Volume, Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 "This is really a very unusual story that Mr. Forrest Reid has written. 
 His pen takes a path of its own ; the reader regards it doubtfully at the outset, 
 so different is it from known roads and methods, the recognized conventions. 
 But, the first suspicions being overcome, an interest develops strongly, it 
 increases, and we move on to a climax that is full of excitement. Nothing 
 save the book itself can indicate its peculiar atmosphere and its real merit." 
 — Daily Teltgraph. 
 
 •' Mr. Reid has hitherto written for an audience of quality only, but his new 
 book, 'The Spring Song,' should bring him something near the popular suc- 
 cess of Mr. Kenneth Graham. Not since ' The Golden Age ' and ' Dream 
 Days' has any English writer written with such knowledge, insight, and 
 absence of sentimental delusion of a family of children as Mr. Reid displays 
 in this delightful tale." — Westminster Gazette. 
 
 " Mr. Reid has taken a definite step upward in novel-craft with the publi- 
 cation of ' A Spring Song.' Here is certainly a piece of work that should be 
 noted, for it has imagination, originality, humour, and last, but not least, 
 a very human wistfulness of outlook. 'The Spring Song' will surely lighten 
 many grey hearts in these troublesome times." — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 "A very exquisite book, written with rare charm and great art." — Manchester 
 Guardian. 
 
 "That the field of child life, far from being barren, offers a rich harvest to 
 the true artist is proved by the success of Mr. Forrest Reid's latest book. It 
 is the freshest and most alluring story he has yet given us, deliciously simple 
 with the simplicity that springs not from artlessness but from cunning crafts- 
 manship."— Nof^A^yn Whig. 
 
 THE MOTOR-CAR: What It Is and How to 
 
 Drive It. By T. O. A. Lawton and Prof. Harvey Gibson. 
 Limp cloth, is. net. 
 
 Written by a novice and an expert, this book is designed for readers who 
 approach the subject in a state of complete ignorance ; accordingly nothing 
 is taken for granted. 
 
Mr. Edward Arnold's Spring Announcements. g 
 
 Arnold's Two Shilling Edition of 
 Popular Fiction. 
 
 This series has been started with the object of making known to 
 a more extended public some of the most successful novels pub- 
 lished in recent years. The names of George A. Birmingham, 
 Dorothea Conyers, and Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick, need no introduction 
 to novel readers, and the following examples of their work are 
 now issued in a popular form, with specially designed coloured 
 wrappers. 
 
 THE SEETHING POT. By George A. Birmingham, 
 
 author of ** Spanish Gold," etc. Cloth. 2S. net. 
 
 '* A very brilliant and detached study of Ireland of yesterday and to-day." 
 — Spectator. 
 
 "An absorbingly interesting book." — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 " The novel should be read by everyone who recognizes in politics an affair 
 not merely of statistics, but of passionate preoccupation."— Afornfw^ Post. 
 
 THE BOY, SOME HORSES, AND A GIRL. 
 
 By Dorothea Conyers, author of " Peter's Pedigree," etc. 
 Cloth. 2S. net. 
 
 "This is the best story of Irish Life which we have read since 'The 
 Adventures of an Irish R.M.' Indeed, it runs that masterpiece very close, 
 if it does not equal it. From first to last the spirit and humour of it never 
 flags. If anyone can read it without laughing, we are sorry for them. The 
 story is admirably written, and deserves wide popularity." — Irish Times. 
 
 " Full of graphic description, racy dialogue, and the joie de vivre." — 
 spectator. 
 
 " Full of humour, true, ready, ajid spontaneous." — St. James's Gazette. 
 
 CYNTHIA'S WAY. By Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick, author 
 
 of "The Beryl Stones," "The Lantern Bearers," etc. 
 
 Cloth. 2s. net. 
 
 " The book is full of humour, and of what, for want of a better word, we 
 
 must call • local colour.' Every page is thoroughly enjoyable, and one lays 
 
 it down with a deep feeling of gratitude to the author." — Guardian. 
 
 "No one who has lived in Germany can afford to miss Mrs. Sidgwick's 
 novel * Cynthia's Way.' Mrs. Sidgwick is one of the very few writers of the 
 
 E resent day who can look at Continental life with a thoroughly British eye, 
 ut, at the same time, with a thoroughly understanding heart." — The Sketch. 
 
 GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY. 
 
 By Dr. Montague Rhodes James, Provost of King's 
 College, Cambridge. Cloth. 2S. net. 
 " We do not hesitate to say that these are among the best ghost stories we 
 have ever read; they rank with that greatest of all ghost stories, Lord 
 Lytton's ' The Haunted and the Haunters.' The author has certainly 
 succeeded in making his readers feel * pleasantly uncomfortable, ' if he has 
 not gone beyond it. We read the book with pleasure in such daylight as is 
 afforded by a November afternoon in London, but we turned from it with a 
 shiver at ii p.m." — Guardian. 
 
10 Mr. Edward Arnold's Spring Announcements, 
 
 IRew anb IRecent Mar SBoofta. 
 
 New and Cheaper Edition. 
 
 A SURGEON IN KHAKI. 
 
 By the late A. A. MARTIN, M.D., F.R.C.S. Eng. 
 With Illustrations, Cloth. 2s. 6d. net. 
 
 Dr. Martin was a New Zealander who had served in the 
 South African War, and being in England when the present 
 war broke out he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps, and 
 was with his Field Ambulance at the Battle of the Marne and 
 for some months after both in France and Flanders. This book 
 describes his experiences, and it has been found so much to the 
 taste of the public that it has already been reprinted five times 
 in its more expensive form. Subsequently, after a visit home, 
 Dr. Martin returned to the front, and was killed on the Somme 
 while attending to wounded in the front trenches. 
 
 ** A superlatively interesting book." — Graphic. 
 
 ** A book full of life and human feeling. ' A Surgeon in Khaki ' will 
 certainly live as a first-class description of a portion of the great war." — Field. 
 
 "A book of extraordinary interest. There are many stories, grave and gay, 
 in this book, which should be widely read. It is quite a remarkable book and 
 gives a wonderful vision of what war is." — Birmingham Daily Post. 
 
 LIGHT AND SHADE IN WAR. By Captain 
 Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent with the New 
 Zealand Forces, and Noel Ross. With Illustrations. Third 
 Impression. 5s. net. 
 
 •' The * big push,' Fricourt and La Boiselle, a visit to the battle cruisers 
 of the *cat squadron,' and several chapters that are delightful fantasies of 
 bubbling humour, all come in this olla-podrida book. It is full of Anzac 
 virility, full of Anzac buoyancy, and surcharged with that devil-may-care 
 humour that has so astounded us jaded peoples of an older world." — Daily 
 Mail. 
 
 VERDUN TO THE VOSGES. impressions of the 
 War on the Fortress Frontier of France. By Gerald 
 Campbell, Special Correspondent of The Times in the East 
 of France. With Illustrations and Maps. los. 6d. net. 
 
 Second Impression. 
 
 ** A deeply impressive, well-informed book. Mr. Campbell's book will well 
 repay careful and patient study. It penetrates beneath the surface of the 
 fighting. ' ' — Daily Telegraph. 
 
 A FRENCH MOTHER IN WAR TIME. 
 
 By Madame E. Drumont. Translated by Miss G. Bevir, 
 3s. 6d. net. 
 
Mr. Edward Arnold's Spring Announcements, ii 
 
 IFlew anb IRecent Mar :Boo\{Q'-Continued. 
 A SURGEON IN BELGIUM. By H. s. Souttar, 
 
 F.R.C.S., Late Surgeon-in-Chief of the Belgian Field 
 Hospital. Illustrated. Popular Edition, paper cover. 2S. 
 net ; cloth, 2s. 6d. net. 
 
 EYE-WITNESS'S NARRATIVE OF THE 
 
 WAR. From the Marne to Neuve Chapelle, September, 
 1914 — March, 1915. Paper, is. net; cloth, 2s. net. 
 
 A YEAR AGO. Being the concluding portion of " Eye- 
 Witness's Narrative of the War," from March to July, 1915. 
 By Col. E. D. Swinton, R.E., D.S.O., and Capt.the Earl 
 Percy. Paper, 2s. net ; cloth, 2s. 6d. net. 
 
 Scientific Morfta* 
 
 AN INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL 
 SCHOOL WORK. 
 
 By MARION F. BRIDIE, L.L.A., 
 
 Assistant Superintendent of Si-ecial Schools, Birmingham. 
 
 Crown Svo. Cloth, s^. 6d. net. 
 
 This is an attempt to provide a simple non-medical book 
 written from a purely educational point of view for those 
 engaged in the teaching of mentally defective children. This 
 is a subject that has hitherto been developed almost entirely by 
 means of conferences and verbal intercourse, and it is anticipated 
 that the information gained by the author from visits to Germany 
 and the United States, as well as to many towns in England and 
 Scotland, has enabled her to write a book that fills a gap and 
 will be of considerable service to teachers. 
 
 MALINGERING 
 
 AND FEIGNED SICKNESS. 
 By Sir JOHN COLLIE, M.D., J.P., 
 
 Mbdical Examiner, London County Council ; Chief Medical Officer, Metropolitan 
 
 Water Board; Consulting Medical Examiner to the Shipping Federation; 
 
 Medical Examiner to the Sun Insurance Office, Central Insurance 
 
 Company, London, Liverpool, and Globe Insurance Company, etc. 
 
 New Edition, revised and greatly enlarged, 
 
 " This is a valuable book. It systematically describes how to examine each 
 part of the body, and discusses the chief morbid conditions simulated by 
 malingerers, with the best means of testing the genuineness of the case or 
 detecting fraud."— TA^ Times. 
 
12 Mr. Edward Arnold's Spring Announcements, 
 
 ARBOREAL MAN. 
 
 By F. WOOD JONES, M.B., D.Sc, 
 
 Professor of Anatomy in the University of London (London School or 
 Medicine for Women). 
 
 With 8 1 Illustrations. Demy Svo, 8s. 6d. net. 
 
 "... Professor Wood Jones has added much new information as the 
 result of his own investigations, and has presented the whole argument with 
 all the lucidity and brilliance of the conspicuously successful teacher he has 
 proved himself to be." — Nature. 
 
 " 'Arboreal Man ' " is not only first-hand, it is first-rate. Those who are 
 familiar with current anatomical literature recognize that Professor Wood 
 Jones has earned for himself a place in the very front rank of British 
 anatomists. His new book will enhance that reputation and secure for 
 itself a permanent place on the select bookshelf of all who seek to unravel the 
 problem of how man has come by his present estate in body and in mind." 
 — British Medical Journal. 
 
 THE MIGRATIONS OF FISH. 
 
 By ALEXANDER MEEK, M.Sc, 
 
 Professor of Biology, Armstrong College, in the Univhrsity of Durham, 
 AND Director of the Dove Marine Laboratory, Cullercoats. 
 
 With numerous Illustrations. Demy ^vo. i6s. net. 
 
 " A scholarly and exhaustive work. ' The Migrations of Fish' is amine 
 of information, and will be of the greatest use to all who are engaged in 
 researches into the marine food -supply of the nation." — Times. 
 
 " Replete with valuable facts in regard to the natural history of fishes 
 in the widest sense." — Morning Post. 
 
 "An exceptionally interesting book." — Field. 
 
 *' The best summary of the geographical distribution of the group that has 
 yet been attempted. A book that will be consulted by all workers in economic 
 marine biology." — Journal of Zoological Research. 
 
 THE SOUL AND ITS STORY. 
 
 By NORMAN PEARSON, 
 
 ^ Author of " Some Problems of Existence," etc. 
 
 One Volume. Demy Svo. Cloth, los. 6d. net. 
 
 ••It is refreshing and comforting to turn from the terrible daily struggle of 
 life with death, which now obsesses our imaginations, to this calm and lofty 
 speculation on the nature and prerogatives of the human soul, which will, in 
 the author's firm conviction, outlast its earthly vestment and live on in higher 
 and more perfect surroundings." — Irish Times. 
 
 '• • The Soul and its Story ' is a great subject for a book, and Mr. Norman 
 Pearson has risen to the greatness of it. He has come at the right time. Our 
 old ideas of the psychology of the Bible, and most other psychology as well, 
 have had to be rawiically modified or abandoned altogether ; and we have been 
 looking for some authoritative guide to newer and more scientific conceptions." 
 — Expository Times. 
 
 LONDON : EDWARD ARNOLD, 41 & 43 MADDOX STREET, W. 
 
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