The two hundred men of the 7th Hussars who have been taking part in the operations in Matabeleland and Mashonaland during the past year are quartered in huts about three miles from Bulawayo.

The huts are built by natives. The sides are formed of mud and sticks, and the roofs are thatched. The huts were not really water-tight, and on a stormy day, the camp has a most dismal aspect.

The officers’ mess house has a roof of galvanised iron, but in other respects is built in the same fashion as the other huts.

After a sharp storm, the mud gets washed away, and the walls often present the ruined appearance depicted in the accompanying sketch.

Officers and men bear the inconvenience very philosophically and are getting quite accustomed to this sort of hardship.

Related topics

  1. A short history of The 7th Hussars
  2. Timeline: The Second Matabele War, 1896-7