TROOPERS' LETTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 179, 30 July 1900, Page 4

TROOPERS' LETTERS.

A NEW ZEALANDER TROOPER AT

BEIRA

Mr H. Canavan writing to Mr Me Cabe from JBeira, South Africa: —

We have now been here three weeks, and I have been finding out ail I can. Wages here are very good. Nigger drivers get from £25 to £30 a mouth, and clerks from £30 to .£4s' per month. There is no'white labour outside owing to the heat',, and no one does anything irom 11 till 3 in the aiternoon for the same reason. Weal). have black boys. They do all the work there is. The blacks are here in thousands, and they will do anything for a bit of food. You never see a horse in harness here, and it is only occasionally a well-to-do person passes ridmgi Although the place is comparatively small there are some, twenty estiibl.shments which can be called uothihgless. than drinking and gambling hells. It costs from £8 toi. £10 per month for board. We expect to go to the front every day. * We are heartily sick of, seeing, nothing. There are six of us trucking horses...every day. We 'can lose the Australians at it. The bosa of the Chartered " Co. here says we •are the best lot he has seen with horses. There are 3000 horses, here, and there are more coming every day. We send from 300 to 400 to the front, Jl must say they are a very poor lot; they come from America, and I'would not give my little black horse for a ship-load of them, he was never better than he is noV. The New South Wales, Victorians, and Queenslaudeis are all here. There are troopships coming here every day. There is soinu move on, but you. probably hear moie at home than we here, for they let us know nothing. We have seen several men from.the front, and they give us. great tales about what you •; go through. One fellow here had ; been1 wounded five times. He was quite a. here amongst us. The poor fellow had no clothes only what. he stood up in, and they were in rags. He had been at the relief of Ludysmith. He said when they relieved it the soldiers were that.weak they could not stand up to salute. I believe this is not an exaggeration, as 1 have seen of them. You could^ not help pitying the poor fel-' lows, all big men with the frame left. They looked as if a month's .sleep would do them good. They were all in rags. One of the boys was but the other day, and on his return said; he had seen a lion. I can't sleep since with fright. We are. on guard every night over the horses with loaded Carbines and fixed bayonets. One of the boys fired two shots the other night at some fellow who was hangingabout; but he missed him. We have great fun-with th,e ponies when they stampede. They go over" wire' fences, tents,; and ..practically; .anything ithat comes in their way. We have a great time rounding them up. The English Yeomanry run for their- lives. They 1 are good fellows but know nothing about horses.