THE FIRST CONTINGENT AT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11715, 24 April 1900, Page 5

THE FIRST CONTINGENT AT

' In response to, repeated requests that at any rato sonic..portions of his son's letters migjit bo published in the newspapers for the benefit of tho general public, Mr James Robin, of tlio Octagon, has kindly placed at our disposal the last letter ho received from Major Robin. AYe are'• sure that the public, who take a deep genoral interest in the work of the British troops, and a particular interest in the movements of!the New Zealanders, will appreciate Mr Robin's kindly action in the matter. We have made the following extracts from the letter": —

" Kimberley, March 2, 1900. -".-.,.. . As we start on the move again very soon, I must gra^p the chance to send a .line, as tho next move will make it very difficult to get correspondence or to send it. AVe—l refer to all the cavalry and mounted force-^.have had, a good rest here, ancl if you could have seen tlie horses you would have said 'Not bel'oi-'e it was time.' I must leave some dozen horses here, as they are unfit to go on, and trust to get remounts further on. The horses are now- very scarce and difficult to get, and when one has to scramble for them, as remount, transport, and postal departments ore pretty well upside down, it is a chance what you get.. The ponies of the country aro just worn out, and very full of points, hat nags, etc. Tho ones captured from the enemy are all poor, and cannot carry the heavy weights we havo to put on them on long marches. . .. . Opinions here say that the war may, end soon. Of course, it will be a very long affair after the actual war ends, and large numbers of troops will lie required to fix up the country—to garrison tho main towns and points, to disarm small roving independent parties, and- generally to bring the country to its proper place. Of course, one can hardly think they would keop the colonials—l mean the Australians, tho Canadians, and the New Zealanders—for this police sort of work after the actual big part is over. They have raised'very, large bodies of African Horse, such as Kitchener's Horse, Roberts's Korsc, Nisbel's Horse,. Diamond Fields' Horse, African Light Horse, etc., and added to the police force. These, being supposed to know the people in the country, would likely be keot for the after part of the business. : . . 'The taking- of Cronje and his men, with 650 more at Paardeberg on the 27th February—just fancy, that is the anniversary, and held as a Boer holiday, of the battle of Majuba Hill, ISSl,—it must seem an omen of bad decree to them,"as thoy are very superstitious.: ... I have had several letters from Dunedin, but not a line from any of you since about the 10th or 12th of January. Of course, I know you havo written. . . . AA 7e aro getting a- little restless. It seems strange not to hnve heard the sound of rifie-firing or of cannon for five days or so, but I guess Mr Boor has got some left somewhere waiting for us. Tlicy seem an awfully ' down' lot, or they would recognise the position they are _ in. From outside they only hear what their field cornets or commandos toll tham, and in their laagers tho different commandos or regiments are kept apart ancl aye not allowed to communicate with each other, except through the field cornet. The leaders know^ that once these Boers get to hear the real facts off they will go and never turn up again. It would have dono your heart good last week to see them run as we occupied Dronlield and Macfarlane's, and covered Riverton, nortli of Kimberlev. They threw away their rifles, and all hamper, and really. travelled quicker than our artillery shells. They say that most of the men ivho run like that mako for their homes, and will bo found smoking their pipes, and. later on, claiming compensation from the Imperial Government for loss of cattle, etc. . . . My horse, good old Kony, is standing splendidly, but the rainy season is now on, and they say the horse sickness, soon starts; but if it is as much exaggerated as alt else is here, it wont much matter. This Africa is a. fearful place for what we now.term 'South African fact,' because you cannot believe one word of them. Now, dear people, keep up your spirits, and pray for the boys in this hard and stern war, and look hopefully' to the time, through the mercy of God, to bear them back agaiu. Oh, we are so ragged and-tattered and torn; but I am premised 90 now jackets aud pants today, and I hope they will soon arrive. We start oft" on Monday morning for a march somewhere, and hopo that the rosult of it will be lo finish off the Free Staters. . People said, before we started, that there would be no need of colonials, but now the expert people, here cay that if it had not been ior the colonials the war would have mado nuieh sadder reading. However, please tell our ii-iends lhat the contingents from the colonies are stiil in it, hut that now, as we havo to take a place in. big brigades and divisions, the possibility of hearing aliout them will be less, as tho honour goes to tho brigade "or to the division. ... I make a point of writing this long lettor. because from now there may be no post office for some time."