. Besieged by the Boers : a diary of life and events in Kimberly during the siege. lay low to wait fordevelopments. Before long, four waggon-loads of provisions and stores for the Boerscame along, and came right into our menshands before the drivers realised that thescene had changed. There was any amountof stuff there besides these four waggon-loads,making about twelve loads altogether, so ourmen had a fine haul. There was butter,vegetables, grain, mutton, pigs, poultry, andall sorts of things that we had not seen forweeks. Some of the loot was sent up toKimberley at once. I met the processio
. Besieged by the Boers : a diary of life and events in Kimberly during the siege. lay low to wait fordevelopments. Before long, four waggon-loads of provisions and stores for the Boerscame along, and came right into our menshands before the drivers realised that thescene had changed. There was any amountof stuff there besides these four waggon-loads,making about twelve loads altogether, so ourmen had a fine haul. There was butter,vegetables, grain, mutton, pigs, poultry, andall sorts of things that we had not seen forweeks. Some of the loot was sent up toKimberley at once. I met the procession as I was coming into lunch. It was first-rate, and the peopleturned out delighted, hoping that this wasthe beginning of better things. First cameabout twenty horses, then about the samenumber of cattle, and then a big waggonwith a water tank on it, and drawn by six-teen lovely bullocks, so fat that our mouthswatered just from looking at them. On thefront of the waggon stood a man I know ina statuesque attitude, with his rifle grounded,and an I-did-it-though-you-wouldnt-think-. H 1Fle\v Use for S)iamonD*/IDines 195 it-of-me expression on his face. Oh, it wasgreat!—but the effect was rather spoiled byan excited Kaffir who was standing up onthe waggon tilt just behind him, waving ariding-boot in each hand and shouting Look,at Cronjes boots in Dutch. Our people sent out strong reinforcementsto Alexandersfontein, for they knew thatthe Dutch would return presently and wouldhanker after those provisions, and as the placewas on the flat, within easy artillery range ofkopjes on three sides, they expected a prettywarm time—and they got it. Along in theafternoon the Boers returned, and did not taketo the new order of things at all kindly, butcommenced to make things hum, both withrifles and artillery. Fortunately there wasfairly good cover against rifle fire, and, as Ihave said before, the Dutch never could hitanything at which they aimed their lot of lead was wasted and
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