Feeding the Two Armies
[Illustration: U. S. Officer providing for feeding the poor.]
The most important work of an army is that of the commissary
department, which is the one division of labor that receives the least
credit and no glory. An army might get along without its engineer
corps, or its signal service; it could at least march without guns; but
it cannot move a foot without its full supply of food.
A few days before Santiago fell, General Shafter wired the War
Department that he thought it likely he would be compelled to withdraw.
The despatch was made public in the press; to withdraw meant a retreat,
and instantly a wave of indignation arose against General Shafter. He
was blamed for being weak; he was blamed for allowing himself to be
drawn into a trap; he was blamed for everything that the criticising
public could think of in their resentment. That the American army
should retreat was maddening to the people, for they could see no
reason for such action, except the power of the enemy against them. It
was not the enemy, however, that threatened to drive the Fifth Army
Corps back, nor was it the weakness of the commanding general--it was
a rain storm. The columns had pushed forward toward Santiago as fast
as possible, and so long as the line of communication between the
front and the base of supplies at Siboney was open all went well. But
suddenly it rained, and then all was different. The road was eight
miles of swimming mud, flanked by impossible jungle; a wheel could not
turn in it, and the pack animals could flounder through it but slowly.
Hence the supply of rations at the front began to dwindle away, and
General Shafter decided that he must move his army toward the food
supply, as the food supply could not move toward the army.
Lord Roberts was confronted by the same difficulty in South Africa,
and he met it in a masterly manner. The army supply corps that handles
the commissary department has been a marvel of efficiency. The work
of supplying the British army in the field in South Africa has been
done much better than the same work was done by the American force at
Tampa or in Cuba; and had it not been for the brilliant management
of Colonel (later General) John F. Weston, who was in command at the
base of supplies, General Shafter would certainly have been compelled
to withdraw from the positions that had been won after hard-fought
battles. Colonel Weston ignored all forms of the regular routine; his
one object was to feed the men on the fighting line, and feed them he
did.
One day I heard one of his officers complaining that he could not
get some of his papers receipted, showing a delivery of rations to a
certain brigade, and Weston answered, in a characteristic manner, “Damn
the receipts! You give rations to anybody who wants them, and after
it’s all over I’ll receipt for the whole bunch; and if the government
doesn’t like it the government can have me--but the men won’t go
hungry.”
Every time I had an opportunity of going to the supply depot I secured
all the tobacco I could buy to give to the men at the front. It was an
article worth more than its weight in gold, and there was no greater
pleasure than to have the chance of making some of the men happy. There
was a regulation against allowing one person to purchase more than a
pound of tobacco at one time. I asked permission of Colonel Weston
to be allowed to buy more; but he was loth to sell it to me until I
explained that I did not use it myself, but wanted it for the men.
After my explanation he would not sell it at all, but gave me all I
could carry. During this time the government held his receipt for all
this tobacco, and it really was equivalent to so much money. Colonel
Weston’s contempt for governmental red tape saved hundreds of lives in
the Santiago campaign; and instead of asking for an accounting for the
lack of receipts, the Washington government made him the head of the
subsistence department, where he has done the best work in rationing
our army at home and in our island possessions that has ever been known.
Before the change in the head of the commissary department was made,
things were not so well done. We cannot do better than to look toward
England for some valuable points in the conduct of this department,
especially in the matter of army supplies for the warmer or tropical
countries. They have had more experience than we in feeding their
forces on foreign service, and consequently they have brought the
business to a state that borders on perfection. In strategy, fighting,
and the movement of troops they have been found lacking; but one of the
things they have done well is the feeding of their men.
It is a colossal business to supply over 200,000 healthy men, with
field and mountain appetites, when they are 7,000 miles away from
home, and where there is an active enemy seeking to destroy their
communications. It would be a great task to feed that number of men
at home, where there is no difficulty in transportation; but when a
month’s time must be occupied for the delivery of the food stuffs, the
problem becomes most serious.
[Illustration: Camp of a transport train in General French’s supply
column.]
The quartermaster’s department of the British army has to provide the
rations for the men and forage for the animals; besides this, it is
called upon to furnish the transportation of the food stuffs, as well
as of the army itself. The paymaster’s work is also included in this
department. After the quartermaster’s department has put the supplies
on the ground, it falls to the lot of the Army Service Corps to deliver
it to the various commands in the field.
The Army Service Corps is one of the features of the British army which
American authorities would do well to study. It is an armed and drilled
commissary corps, of about 4,000 officers and men, which handles the
entire work of that branch; but it is a fighting corps as well, when
occasion requires. This last feature is of great value, in that it does
away with the necessity of a detachment of men being drawn off as a
special guard for every wagon or two. The Army Service Corps acts as
its own convoy where only an ordinary one is required. When on home
duty, it presents a spirited appearance, with a military aspect fully
equal to that of the artillery. Its wagons and mounts are of the same
type as those of the artillery, and its general equipment is similar.
This corps is one of the few departments that has done well its entire
duty during the South African campaign. The reason is obvious--there
was no theory regarding the appetite of a robust soldier; it was a
solemn fact, just as evident at Aldershot or on Salisbury Plain as
in the field. It has been just as real in Egypt or India during the
past years of peace as at the present moment at the Cape. The British
soldier ate as heartily when he was fighting fanatic dervishes as when
he fights the Boer; consequently that department was not compelled
on the field to test antiquated methods or to experiment with new
theories, only to find them wrong.
The system that England works upon is the establishment of a base of
supplies at home, situated at Woolwich, where the government supply
depot was established for the especial purpose of meeting the demand
of an emergency in case of war. At this depot supplies have been kept
ready for shipment to the front at a moment’s notice. They are all
packed in cases, the heaviest of which weigh one hundred pounds, while
the majority weigh from thirty to eighty pounds. These cases are of
convenient size for rapid transportation in the field, and they are so
packed that it is not necessary to open them until they are issued to
the consumers.
Cape Town was made the secondary, or field base, where all supplies are
shipped as fast as they can be loaded on ships; and it is necessary
to keep an extra supply of rations and forage sufficient for the
consumption of every man and animal on the field for three months,
at least, and as much more as it is possible to accumulate above the
amount used. Should this reserve stock be called upon, the men would be
put on shorter rations until it was an assured fact that the delay in
the arrival of fresh supplies was overcome.
The reserve stock consists of 5,000 tons of canned beef, 5,000 tons of
white flour, 5,000 tons of hard bread, 90 tons of coffee, 50 tons of
tea, 780 tons of sugar, 150 tons of salt, 10 tons of pepper, 1,500
tons of jam, 500,000 gallons of rum, 40,000 tons of oats, 40,000
tons of corn and bran, 40,000 tons of hay. None of this may be used
unless it is absolutely necessary and all other supplies fail. Besides
this supply at the Cape, an intermediate depot was established at de
Aar junction, which is about half way to Pretoria; others were at
Bloemfontein and Johannesburg, and the last one was established at
Pretoria.
My first idea when looking through these supply stations was of the
huge part America played in the South African war. One might well
imagine he was in the commissary department of the United States army,
as nearly all the supplies bear the mark of American production. While
I was at the German army manœuvres I observed the same thing--American
farmers were keeping the German army alive; and my first sight of
anything that pertained to war in the South African struggle was a
great pile of cases of the familiar Chicago canned beef, such as we
used in Cuba, on the wharf at Baira, in Portuguese South Africa. I
think the English army could be trailed from Cape Town to Middleburg by
empty cans of what they call “bully beef,” each one with the Chicago or
Kansas City label.
“I didn’t know America was so large,” said an officer to me one day,
“until I saw so much tinned meat down here.”
That same “tinned meat” from Chicago will do more to command the
respect of every European nation towards the United States than all the
battleships we can float. They have realized what it would mean to
attempt to feed an army without the assistance of America.
[Illustration: A base of supplies at de Aar Junction.]
Many shiploads of supplies came directly from American ports to the
Cape, not only of food stuffs, but also of horses, mules, and cattle.
It involves more to supply the animals of an army than to feed the
men themselves, for the quantity that is used by a mule, horse, or
ox is much greater than that required by a man. Each horse has to be
given twelve pounds of hay, twelve pounds of oats, and a pound of bran
every day. The mules receive ten pounds of oats, six pounds of hay,
and one pound of bran. The oxen are usually turned out to graze, and
find sufficient food in the veldt grass; when that is not abundant,
they receive about eight pounds of hay, but no grain. A large amount
of “mealies,” as American corn is called, is used in lieu of oats or
other grain, although in many cases the horses will not eat it, being
unaccustomed to it. It is always best to feed the animals on the
product of the country from which they come, if possible, as they do
not understand and will not eat strange grain. The native pony which
I rode in South Africa would not touch the plentiful oats, although at
one time he was without proper forage for several days.
The use of spirituous liquors has been established in the British army
many years, and the issuance is still carried on in the same manner
that it was years ago. I do not think there is as much tobacco used
in the British army as in ours, although I have nothing but personal
observation to judge by in the supposition; but the Britisher wants
his “grog” in the army quite the same as in the navy. The issue is
about half a gill of rum per day. The quality used is of the very best
known, and it comes from a stock bought by the government in Jamaica
about forty years ago. The last of that old supply is now being used.
The use of liquor as a part of the ration in the British army is
almost as old as the army itself, and although it has been fought by
the prohibitionists for several years, it still continues. There is
not enough issued to cause any intoxication, and the use of the amount
which the men receive undoubtedly works effectively against drinking
to excess. A man naturally wants what he cannot have, and if he is
denied the use of liquor he immediately craves it, and to satisfy that
craving he takes too much. While in the field or at Cape Town I saw but
one soldier under the influence of liquor; this occurred in Pretoria
on the day of the formal occupation; he had celebrated the event too
enthusiastically.
There has been a great outcry in the United States against the army
“canteen” as having a bad influence over the soldier. If the people who
rail at this establishment will look at it in a proper light they will
see that instead of increasing drunkenness it has a direct tendency
to decrease it. Some men drink to excess whenever they get a chance,
and such men always will do this, for alcoholism is a disease, and its
victims will always find the opportunity to get drink. Others are quite
satisfied with a single drink; but they want that one, and they will
have it. If they cannot find it at the post they will go where they can
obtain it, and that means in some saloon, where the temptation to take
more is far greater than at their own canteen. Not only is the desire
less in the post canteen, but should a man become intoxicated in the
least degree no more would be served him; while if he were in a public
house he might keep on drinking as long as he could stand up against
the bar, or as long as his money held out.
In the British army the use of large quantities of jam is supposed to
prevent, to a degree, the craving for liquor, and consequently it is
issued to the men regularly. Tea is also a part of the British ration
that is never used in the American army, as our men do not want it. The
American soldier laughs when he hears of British troops in the field
being served with afternoon tea; but its use is so universal in the
British Empire that the men crave it as our men crave coffee.
The British soldier in the field is better fed than the American, and
he has more variety; but to obtain that variety of food costs time, and
in consequence the troops move much slower than ours do.
The rations of the South African army were in marked contrast to those
of the Fifth Army Corps during the Santiago campaign. We got bacon,
hard bread, and coffee, and very seldom anything else. Occasionally
tomatoes in cans were issued to us, and sometimes sugar; but the three
staple articles just mentioned were all we were sure of, and all we
wanted. The volunteers suffered somewhat, because they did not know how
to cook these simple rations so as to make them acceptable; but the
regular, who had lived on them many times in the West, was satisfied
and asked nothing more. The tomatoes were issued in gallon cans, and
naturally were exceedingly difficult to carry if the regiment was
moving rapidly.
I recall that on the day when the battle of Guasimas opened, General
McKibbin’s brigade was encamped near Siboney, and we were ordered to
go into action on General Young’s right, as it was known the enemy
was in front of us in force, and it looked as though a general battle
would ensue. The brigade was ordered on the road just as some rations
had been issued, and in the issue were these large cans of tomatoes.
The men could not carry them, and so were compelled to abandon them. I
waited until the regiments had moved out, and then watched a crowd of
Cuban “soldiers” gathering up the cans, as well as a lot of blankets
that some of the men had thrown away. I allowed the Cubans to gather
a goodly lot, and then ordered them to carry the stuff on the march
forward, and later in the day, when the regiments had halted, our men
got their rations back. It is almost useless to issue food in large
packages to men on the march, for they cannot possibly carry them, and
the food is wasted. It is not the custom of our commissary department
to do this, but for that Cuban campaign the government bought all the
food supplies that could be found, regardless of the covering.
The further task of putting rations on the firing line, or at the
extreme front, is a prodigious difficulty. The railroad is used as far
as possible, and then wagons and pack animals are brought into play.
In South Africa the transportation was exceedingly crude. All sorts of
wagons and carts were brought into service; everything that rolled on
wheels was promptly commandeered. Ox-wagons, buckboards, Cape carts,
grocery wagons, and even private carriages were a part of the long line
of vehicles. The ox-carts and great trek-wagons were chiefly used for
commissary supplies, but they were so heavy as to be unsuitable for
the work. An ox-cart was drawn by a span of sixteen or twenty animals,
while the army wagon was drawn by ten mules. This was almost twice
the number necessary, and the superfluous stock greatly delayed the
operations, for it could not carry much more than its own feed. Those
mules were much smaller than our big army mules, but six would have
been ample for any ordinary load. When more are used, there is a great
amount of energy lost. Pack-mules were almost unknown, and they are
never used in South Africa as they are always used in the army of the
United States. One of our trains of forty mules can carry much more
than forty mules can pull, and with far greater ease. The pack-train,
moreover, can go anywhere, over any sort of roads or treks, even into
the firing line itself, with rations or ammunition; while a wagon must
have a good road or it will be compelled to turn back.
In our trains the mules are not bridled, but are taught to follow
the lead of a “bell-horse,” an animal with a bell around its neck,
and either led or ridden by one of the packers. Wherever that bell
goes, the other mules will follow, regardless of obstructions or
anything else. In my judgment, nothing can compare with the pack-mule
for transportation in the field. Wagons are useful as long as there
are good, hard roads to follow; but enemies have an unpleasant way
of going away from the roads into hills and mountains, or across
trackless plains, and there is where the mule is not merely valuable,
but absolutely essential. These pack animals can keep up, not only with
the infantry, but also with fast-moving bodies of mounted troops. The
“packers” of the American army are civilian _attachés_, but they are
a very essential part of the force. They are nearly all men from the
West, and are generally of the cow-puncher stamp, afraid of nothing,
not even of work. These packers did some of the most heroic work
during the Santiago campaign, although they never got any credit for
it, and are seldom mentioned in despatches. They are to the army what
the stokers are to the navy--the very means of life; yet bound to go
on doing that hard, undistinguished work, with no applause from the
great unthinking public. They are never seen in parades and reviews,
yet to them belongs a great portion of the credit for these displays.
The packers of the army are accustomed to go into the very firing line
to deliver ammunition. It is indeed a memorable sight to witness these
men in action, and to watch their indifference to the danger that is
singing about their heads. Very picturesque are these Western packers,
with their happy abandon and their oblivion to worry. They wear no
uniform, they have no regiment to be proud of; they are just plain,
good-natured, hard-working civilians of the great West. The only arms
they carry are their own Colts, just as they carried them in New Mexico
or Montana.
One day, when the fighting was at its height in front of Santiago, a
pack-train came up to the line with a welcome supply of rations and
ammunition; and after the boxes had been dumped on the ground, and the
men were prying the lids off with their bayonets, one of the packers
strolled up to the trenches and drawled, “I ain’t had a crack at a
greaser since I left the reservation, so here goes.” He stepped out on
the embankment, in full view of the enemy, and emptied his six-shooter
towards the little low city in front of us. As the Spanish trenches
at this point were fully a quarter of a mile away, his pistol did not
produce a panic among them, but he enjoyed his prank.
[Illustration: An improvised commissariat cart in South Africa.]
“Well, I reckon I must have got four out o’ that six,” he remarked, as
he began to reload.
“You’d better come down out of that, or one of the other two will get
you,” called a soldier.
“Get me!” he said contemptuously; “I never see a greaser yet that could
hit a bunch o’ steers in a corral.”
He was becoming the target of the entire Spanish line, and drawing
their fire; so an officer ordered him to get down, and told him at the
same time that if he wanted to shoot he might borrow a rifle.
“No,” he replied; “I ain’t got no time to monkey ‘round here, for I got
to get some grub up, or you-all don’t eat.” And off he went, telling
the other packers how he had “done up half a dozen greasers.”
If the British army had had a goodly number of Kentucky mules, the big
sixteen-hands sort, instead of the little donkey wagons they did have,
they would have saved several months of their campaigning. One of those
big mules can carry all day as heavy a load as he can stand under; then
if you remove the pack-saddle and let him have a roll, he is fresh
enough to keep going all night. Not only are they equal to heavy loads
and long hours, but they can go longer than a horse without forage.
The British army has an emergency ration that is said to be very useful
in case of extreme need. Each man and officer carries one in his
haversack, and the men are not allowed to open them, except by order
of an officer, or in case of absolute need when no officer is near.
This emergency ration consists of a tin can, shaped something like a
pocket-book, five inches long, two and a half inches wide, and an inch
and a half thick. It is divided into two compartments, one containing
four ounces of concentrated beef, known as pemmican. The whole weighs
about twelve ounces, and the label on the case informs the soldier
that the ration is calculated to maintain strength for thirty-six hours
if eaten in small quantities at a time. I never ate one of them, but I
have heard some of those who have say that they could eat half a dozen
of them and still feel empty. They do not satisfy hunger, but merely
sustain strength.
Another ration, prepared by a firm in England, consists of a species
of stew of beef, potatoes, carrots, and gravy; it makes an exceedingly
good dinner, one can being sufficient for two men for one meal. It may
be heated easily in the can in a few moments, as it is already cooked,
and it could, if occasion demanded, be eaten cold. General Weston has
been sending a similar ration to the soldiers in the Philippines, put
up in convenient shape, with rounded corners to the can so that it may
be carried in the pocket.
In many respects the usual rations of the British and American armies
are very similar, but the latter army uses much more bacon than the
former, which uses much more fresh beef.
The British military authorities always study out a ration for a
particular campaign, and then issue it according to the different
climates and zones. Major Louis L. Seamen, who has seen a great deal
of military service in every part of the world, has devoted much study
to this subject, and he claims that there is nothing more important in
army subsistence than this adapting the ration to the temperature.
The ration adopted for the campaign in South Africa is:
1 lb. canned meat.
4 oz. bacon, as a change from meat.
2 oz. cheese.
1 lb. hardtack instead of 1-1/4 lb. bread.
1 oz. chocolate instead of tea or coffee.
1/2 oz. coffee, 1/4 oz. tea.
3 oz. sugar, 1/2 oz. salt, 1/3 oz. pepper.
1/64 gal. rum, 4 oz. jam, three times each week.
2 oz. condensed pea soup.
2 oz. rice instead of 1 oz. dried vegetables.
1 oz. dried vegetables.
1 oz. lime juice.
1 lb. fresh meat.
1-1/4 lb. bread.
The ration of the United States army is:
20 oz. fresh beef or mutton.
12 oz. pork or bacon.
22 oz. salt meat, when no fresh meat is issued.
14 oz. dried fish, when no fresh meat is issued.
18 oz. pickled or fresh fish instead of fresh meat.
18 oz. soft bread, or
18 oz. hard bread, or
20 oz. corn meal.
16/25 oz. baking powder, when necessary in field to bake bread.
2/25 oz. beans or peas, or 1-3/5 oz. rice or hominy.
16 oz. potatoes, or 12-4/5 oz. potatoes and 3-1/5 oz. onions; or
11/15 oz. potatoes and 4-4/5 oz. canned tomatoes; or
16 oz. fresh vegetables.
1-3/5 oz. coffee, green; or 1-7/25 oz. coffee, roasted; or
8/25 oz. tea.
2-2/5 oz. sugar, or 16/25 gill molasses or cane syrup.
8/25 gill vinegar.
16/25 oz. salt.
1/25 oz. (black) pepper.
16/25 oz. soap.
6/25 oz. candles, when oil is not furnished.
The American army also has what is called a travel ration, issued on
any transportation where it is impossible to cook more than coffee. It
is also often used on quick marches, as it is a short but sufficient
allowance. It consists of:
1 lb. hard bread.
3/4 lb. canned beef.
1/3 lb. baked beans or tomatoes (canned).
1/8 lb. coffee.
1/15 lb. sugar.
It was this ration that we used throughout the Santiago campaign, save
that most of the time we had bacon, instead of canned beef, and we very
seldom got the beans or tomatoes. I found it adequate for the entire
time, even with all the hard work we went through. No one found fault
with it, except some of the volunteers, and they were dissatisfied with
the ration because they did not understand how to use it to advantage.
A regular soldier can make about fourteen distinct dishes with that
ration, each one very palatable.
There was considerable trouble over the complaints raised by the
volunteers, and it developed into the “meat scandal” that has furnished
jests for the comic papers ever since; but these difficulties are bound
to appear in every campaign. I did see some meat in Cuba that was not
fit to eat; but, on the whole, the meat supply was very good when one
considers the haste in which it was purchased and the climate where it
was used.
England has had her difficulties in the same form, but her people do
not make such an outcry as was raised in our newspapers. Early in the
South African war the troop-ship _Arawa_ sailed from Southampton,
and before she got to sea it was discovered that her cargo of meat
was spoiled. She put back, and the entire lot, amounting to fifteen
thousand pounds of English and colonial beef and mutton, was dumped
out on the dock--a “very unwholesome mess.” The mutton was green,
and in a bad condition; as soon as the port health officer saw it he
ordered it to be taken to sea and dumped, which was promptly done. Had
this occurred in America during the Spanish war the newspapers would
probably have demanded the instant removal of a few officials. In
England, however, the only comment in the papers was that “the incident
was the one topic of conversation at the docks yesterday, and military
men were highly indignant about it.”
Before closing the subject of rations it is necessary to speak of the
commissary department of the Boer forces, if I may use this phrase
regarding a department that does not exist. Among the Boers each man is
his own supply corps, finding his rations wherever he can, and in what
quantity he can. It is marvelous what a small amount these burghers
can subsist upon while carrying on active operations. During an action
near Pretoria I was lying on top of a kopje, watching the advance of
the British forces, while they kept up a heavy shell fire. About one
o’clock I felt hungry, so I opened my haversack and took out a loaf
of bread and a piece of beef weighing perhaps a couple of pounds.
Near me was an old, white-bearded Boer, who must have been at least
seventy-five. After I had been eating for a few moments I noticed that
he had no haversack, and so asked him if he would not have a bit of the
bread.
“Have you plenty?” he asked before accepting.
I said that I had, so he took the loaf and broke off a very small
piece, handing the remaining portion back. I told him that he might
keep it all, and also gave him some meat. As soon as he had assured
himself that I had more, he called to a couple of boys near by, and
they came over, accompanied by other boys. He divided the loaf and
meat, and it served for the full day’s rations for five fighting men.
“I had some bread yesterday,” said the old man, half apologetically,
“but I have not had time to get any to-day.”
“Will you have a drink?” I inquired, as I unslung my canteen.
“Water?” he queried, as though afraid I was going to offer him
something stronger.
The British people at home have taken comfort in assuming that, as no
supplies can get to the Boers, the war will be brought to a speedy end.
Deluded people! So long as there is a trek-ox and a sack of mealies
in the Transvaal the Boers will be sufficiently supplied to carry
on the war. They carry no store wagons, they issue no rations; but
occasionally an ox is slaughtered, and each man hangs up a piece of the
beef until it is dried. He sticks that into his pocket, with some bread
made of corn, if he cannot get better, and he is perfectly content.
I asked General de la Rey where he expected to get his supplies after
he left Pretoria, and he remarked quietly, as if without humorous
intention, “Oh, the English are bringing in enough for both armies.”
[Illustration: A soldier with three months’ provisions.]
He had warrant, too; for I know of many cases where, as the supplies of
a command were getting low, they went out and captured a wagon-train or
a supply-train on the railroad, and replenished their larders. General
de Wet has kept his commands for many months in rations, clothing, and
other necessaries of war from the supplies of the enemy.
When the Boers went into a town, they never commandeered anything
without paying cash for it, and in this matter they were far too
lenient. I was sitting in the Transvaal Hotel in Pretoria one evening
when a command of about forty men rode up. The commandant came into
the office and asked the proprietor if he would give the men a meal;
they had been marching since early morning without anything to eat. The
man in charge (the proprietor, being an Englishman, had fled at the
beginning of the war) asked if they could pay for the entertainment.
The officer replied that they did not have enough money to pay the
regular price, but that he would give all they had and would pay the
rest later. The hotel man told him roughly that he was not running his
place for fun, and that he could not feed the soldiers unless paid in
advance. The commandant walked slowly out and told his burghers what
had been said, and they wheeled their horses about and continued their
march through the town, supperless. I do not believe there is another
people on earth that would have done the same thing, and allowed that
money-grasping hotel man to go on serving meals to men who were too
cowardly to fight for their country, or to foreigners who had deserted
their cause, but who happened to have enough money to satisfy his
exorbitant demands.
Many of the burghers went out of Pretoria on the last days with
scarcely enough to keep them alive, simply because they had no money,
and they would not take by force even a portion of the stores piled
high in every shop. The forbearance of these simple people was almost
past belief.