Mr. Rochfort Maguire, who was
then staying with Mr. Rhodes at Cape Town, used frequently to telegraph
us news from there. One day he would report President Kruger was
climbing down; the next, that he had once more hardened his heart. And
so this modern Pharaoh kept us all on tenterhooks. The drilling and
exercising of the newly recruited troops were the excitements of the
day. Soon Colonel Plumer[16] arrived, and assumed command of one of the
regiments, which was encamped on the racecourse just outside the town;
the other regiment had its headquarters at Mafeking. Colonel
Baden-Powell and his Staff used to dash up and down between the two
towns. Nearly all the business men in Bulawayo enlisted, and amongst the
officers were some experienced soldiers, who had seen all the
Matabeleland fighting, and some of whom had even participated in the
Raid. Others who used to drop in for a game of bridge were Lord Timmy
Paulet,[17] Mr. Geoffrey Glyn, and Dr. Jameson. To while away the time,
I took a course of ambulance lessons, learning how to bandage by
experiments on the lanky arms and legs of a little black boy. We also
made expeditions to the various mining districts. I was always struck
with the hospitality shown us in these out-of-the-way localities, and
with the cosiness of the houses belonging to the married mine-managers.
Pages:
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83