"THE SEVENTH."

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 259, 9 November 1901, Page 5

"THE SEVENTH."

AN UNEVENTFUL MONTH

Writing from Newcastle, South Australia, on September 20th, our correspondent with the Seventh New Zealand Mounted Eifles says: Our column entrained at Vereeniging on the 4th of September for Paardekop, via Elandsfontein. Vereeniging is about thirty-five miles from Elandsfontein, on the Cape line, Paardekop being about 110 miles from Elandsfontein, on the Durban line. It would be almost impossible to describe the confusion and difficulties of entraining a column, but one can gain some idea of the work necessary to truck about eighty waggons, some weighing five or six tons, with teams of 18 oxen or 10 mules to each; also guns, horses, water-carts, Cape carts and the innumerable other accessories of a column. The last trainload reached Paardekop on the 9th, and we left there that daj r, "trekking" in a southeasterly direction towards Wakkerstroom. This is the roughest "trek" we have had as yet, all the way through mountain ranges. Sometimes we had to cross three or four drifts a day, and it was no tmcommon occurrence to see fifty or sixty oxen tugging at one waggon stuck in a drift, or going up a steep part of a hill.' In one place the waggons had to be let down with ropes "manned" by about fifty "Tommies." The weather almost throughout was wet and cold, and at times when in the highest part's of the hills we were completely enveloped in clouds or mists. We passed W&kkerstroom (a garrison town of about fourteen miles from the line) on the 18th. From there we worked towards the line again, reaching Volkrust on the next day. We then moved to Charlestown, a few miles down the line. This is the border station between Transvaal and Natal. Here we entrained again for Newcastle, where we are now camped ready to "trek" out as soon as our orders come.