File:South Africa and the Transvaal War (1900) (14766010782).jpg

Identifier: southafricatransv1v2cres (find matches)
Title: South Africa and the Transvaal War
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Creswicke, Louis
Subjects: South African War, 1899-1902
Publisher: Edinburgh T.C. & E.C. Jack
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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Complete Machine Gun Detachment of Mounted Infantry.Photo by Eldridge, Colchester at what they imagined to be some dauntless Britons who dared todefy them. Efforts to signal to Ladysmith by heliograph still continued tofail, at least to reach those for whom the display was intended,though the Boer heliograph graciously acknowledged the com-munication. It answered jocosely, Will be with you to-morrow.The British reply was monosyllabic! The pigeon-post mediumwas resorted to, and by this means those outsiders struggling forits relief were informed that with Ladysmith all was well. The process of pigeon postal communication was exceedinglyinteresting. Mr. Arthur Hirst, who at the onset of the war hadstarted a loft of the best Yorkshire racing pigeons at Durban, settledhimself at the Intelligence Department Headquarters, Ladysmith,and from thence sent out his intelligent birds. Of these he had 118
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GENERAL SIR GEORGE STEWART WHITE, V.C., G.C.B., THE DEFENDER OF LADYSMITH. Photo bj « indow « Grove, Lond Estcourt some 200, all of which were trained by himself and his assistants.His early experiments were most successful. He despatched thirteenpigeons to Durban, a distance of 200 miles, yet they arrived safelywith messages within five hours. The birds were returned fromthence for more work. After that time Mr. Hirst continued train-ing a hundred young birds to travel from the seat of war to Lady-smith, and great interest was taken by all who began to understandthat news of the outer world would shortly be very limited indeed. On the 14th the Free State troops took up a position on a smallkopje whence a British battery strove to rout them. There wassome smart cannonading, till the British were forced to fall back onthe town. Their day assault over, the Boers tried a new experi-ment, that of a midnight attack. All the Afrikander cannon simul-taneously opened fire on the town, turni

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