CHAPTER I 



UNEMPLOYED 



On the news of the outbreak of war, I was at 

 once anxious to persuade the authorities of the 

 South African Union to attack German South- West 

 by the road I had entered. No other English- 

 man, as far as I was aware, knew anything of the 

 country between Rhodesia and German South- 

 West, and I felt sure that even a small expedition 

 of the right kind would be of assistance to the 

 main work of the Union forces in the south. 



When I first discussed the proposal with Major 

 O'Sullivan, the Commandant at Schuckmansberg 

 — a fine soldier, who later on proved his worth, 

 and the trust his black police put in him during 

 the repeated German attacks on his camp at 

 Sasai — he at once saw my point, and agreed that 

 such a move might be decidedly useful. 



My next duty was to interview Colonel Edwards, 

 the Rhodesian Commandant-General at Salisbury ; 

 and, armed with letters from him to General Botha, 

 I then journeyed to Pretoria. Unfortunately 

 General Botha was away, but his chief intelligence 

 officer, Colonel Wyndham, seemed glad to meet 



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