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..-"'1 LETTERS FROM THE FRONT.

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-1 LETTERS FROM THE FRONT. HORRORS OF WAR. EXPERIENCES JFA WELSH SURGEON. The following extracts from a letter received by Or. Yaugban Roberts, BIaenau Festiniog, Nortb I Wales, Ïrom his former "¡si!!tant, who i9 now one 3f the assistants in the 9th General Hospital at Bloerafontein, be of iaterest as confirming 'n some respects some of the statements of Mr Burdett-Coutts. regarding inadequate provision for the wounded at the ft oat. The writer ref string to the hospital and its work says "This is the largest hospital in South Africa, and is entirely nnder canvas. It ia situated on a leval tract of ground about a mile from the town (Bloemfon- Sein). It consists of 96 large tents and above 200 smaller one, and this number is being daily added to. There ate above 2.000 patients in the hospital at present. including the wounded and men suffering from dysentery and enteric fever. The death-rate is very high-10 or 12 daily. The work is very hard: and no one can imagine the I hardships we have suffered. We were obliged to live foe a fortnight on only one bissuit and a little tinned meat daily without any tea. The water has been scarce as the Boers had destroyed the water works. We have to sleep on the ground w'th only a mackintosh under na and a blanket over as. It is very cold here at night, and I am obliged to sleep in my clothes and ovsreoat. We commence our work about 53C a.m, alld finish about 8.45 p.m. sach day. When on night duty I have to make the rounds of the tent3 and nothing can be heird but the moans of the unfortunate wounded. It is awful to hear them. There is not sufficient room in the tents for them to be comfortable as 12 or 14 are crowded into one tent. War ia a terrible and horrid thing to picture. The accounts related by those soldiers who have been through tb3 campaign from th9 commencement are almost incredible. All have had enough of the war. A Red Cross waggon came in a, few days ago with a. wounded lieutenant he had been shot in the eyes wounded in thigh. Both eyss had to be tpken out. and a piece of iron was also extracted from his thigh, but he is now re- covering. We havs 14 nurses on our staff, but one of them died yesterday of enteric fever, which is very prevalent in the camp, and at times the stench is unbearable. When the hospital was first opened we were very short of men to attend the sick. Each man had to attend about 80 patients, and of course it was impossible to do so properly, and consequently they were dying like dogs." WELSH WAITING COMPANY. LIEUT. J. C, GA.SHELL'S ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGE OUT. Lieut. J. C. Gaskell, of the Waiting Company of the Welsh Volunteer section, which, on board the transport Assaye, reached Cape Town on May 31st, and thence proceeded to Port Eliza- beth, has written a long a.nd interesting letter home describing the voyage from St. Vincent to Cape, a.nd in the coarse of which he says :— The day after leaving St. Vincent 1 was in- oculated, a very painless operation, and one with, in my case, very slight effect. I felt seedy and a bit sore near the soot where I had it done for a day or two, but soon got fit agxin. Since leaving St. Vincent concerts, boxing, and sports have been going on almost daily, but to-day we are Illore business-like etting oar valises packed, parading for inspection in marching order, and generaily- getting raady to disembark. We hope to get to Cape"Town about 8 o'clock to-morrow morning. The first we heard about the relief of Mafeking was at St. Vincent, and also of Lord Roberts's advance to Kroonstad. Of coarse we were all delighted to hear such splendid news, but in a beastly fuuk that we should be too late So see a, little service. I shall be glad to et on shore once more and have a, real good walk, as we haven't been off this ship ;3incG we left England on the Uth, and it is now May 30th, and we have seen no land since the 19th." Writing on June 3rd Liententant Ga^kell says "We have now been to Cape Town, landed about half our passengers, and are cn our way again for Port Elizabeth, East London, and Durban, some of Us having to disembark at each place. The Welsh get off at Port Elizabeth, I expect, to-morrow morning. The officers were allowed off the ship t Cape Town, and I availed myself of the oppor- tunity of seeing the place. It was rather strange coincidence that in dock at Cape Town next ship to onrs was the Greek. I now appreciate our luck in getting this boat. The Greek, I dare say, was very comfortable, but did not appear to have any- thing like the desk room for exercise, nor was she anything like as big as this ship, which was one of the largest, if not the largest, in the port. I have heard indirect news of the Volun- teer Service Company. We took on board about 20 men of the Welsh as Cape Town bound for Port Elizabeth one of whom had only left the regiment two weeks ago. He says, so my ser- geant telis me, that up. to the time of his leaving tiie VoJjuUieers had not joined the regiment.

COLONIAL. GOVERNORS IN CONFERENCE.

HIGH TREASON.

THE TRANSPORTS.

MERTHYR MAN'S BRAVERY RECOGNISED.

WAR FUNDS.

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