BESIEGED LADYSMITH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11854, 4 January 1902, Page 2 (Supplement)

BESIEGED LADYSMITH.

HOW IT WAS PROVISIONED. The Celebrity ..." At Home" ' in. the World is Colonel Sir Edward • Willis Duncan. Ward, K. 0.8., -Permanent Secretary of State for War,/ at 5, Wilbraham Place, W. This ', is. the officer ..who Sir George White described as the best commissariat officer since Moses, ; and rhe is well known to Londoners in connection with the military tournaments, before the war, at the Agricultural Hall. After * inspecting : the host's curios from Ladysmith, the World's interviewer induced him to talk; about the siege, :■ and extracted some interesting facts, many of * which have. not '; been ■*'; published before. .The water supply was organised, and, to quote from the World's article, " As the ; siege .wore on ; and the food /supply; began to ''fail,'"' horseflesh•',was introduced > into the menu. . Great , care was : ; taken in; the selection of the horses for the, shambles not, as one might think, in order, to put the best horseflesh,/' oh the '■ table—but to | ensure that only those animals that showed I infallible signs of a speedy natural demise, [and 'hadn't a kick left in them'-should be ! slaughtered. : The ':' prime . cuts' .'■■ were con- 1 I verted into biltong or dried steaks, and I kept in- reserve, but the most of the .car-- ! case was made into 'chevril,'. and the feet into ' chevril jelly' for invalids. . - Colonel! Ward's //' chevril' factory was the most business-like of modern--concerns. There was no waste. When biltong '• and chevril l and jelly, had been extracted from the carcases, what v remained ' was pounded into an excellent paste, which was flavoured with spices found in store, and was much, appreciated, by many in garrison.' By his direction also two mills /were' taken over by the military authoi-ities, and the mealies which were collected from all 1 sides were ground into flour and meat. .; A sausage factory was set up also, arid turned out; a ! good ■ supply daily, and later on during the siege, when the oil required for the guns ran short, by some occult process ah ex cellent lubricant, which' wasdubbed heatsfoot oil, was manufactured. "The greatest want felt during the siege of > Ladysmith was milk for the invalids. On an average there were 2700 ) men of the garrison alone, consisting of about 9000 men, on the sick list, chiefly * from the deadly enteric fever. All cows were commandeered by him, an 3 the milk issued only on medical certificate. One : can : imagine / how. scarce the'-..' supply was when / milk could only <be spared for those seriously or dangerously ill. ; During the investment of Ladysmith the supply of coffee Svas the only one that never failed, and at the time, to 'the man in the street' in Ladysmith, it was a•" source of not a; little, surprise. The fact is that for a long, time; before the town : was relieved the supply of the genuine coffee' berry began to give out, and recourse /.was. had , to mealies, which, roasted .-;■' and ground, were used to adulterate the coffee ration. Sir Edward still holds that it exactly resembled the genuine thing, although * not ; quite so good as a Fortnum and Mason blend. The men of every rank and ! class in the town ' received:. exactly the same rations,' and! the only murmur heard proceeded from the kaffir camp on the introduction of horseflesh. The reason was that they believe no woman will ever look at a young - man who has / once eaten horseflesh ;• but hunger prevailed - over gallantry at : last and they gladly ate the food provided when nothing'else could be had."