Sunday 19^th November

It is stated that the Boers sent in a despatch asking for medical aid stating that they have about 400 sick & wounded lying in the compound at Kamfersdam but no notice has been taken of it.   Friday Nov 24th - Nothing particular has happened during the week with the exception of the Boers firing a few shots on Cattle grazing outside Kenilworth on Wednesday & Thursday a few mounted men went out to try & stop them & 2 of our men got badly wounded.  No doubt you will wonder how it is the Boers have been allowed to do all the looting, damaging bridges & that the troops don't stop them.   It is just this, before communication was cut off, Kbly just managed to get half a regiment of Regulars here & including all Regulars & Volunteers besides a new Corp started by Mr Rhodes & called the 'Kimberley Light Horse' of about 800 men (Willie & Ian Brown joined this) they manage to defend the town & stop the Boers from taking possession.  The Dutch would like to get hold of Kbly & Mr Rhodes but they are too late now.  We are so well fortified & this we have to thank De Beers Coy for, if the Boers had made an attack on Kbly some 6 weeks ago they could simply have wacked in.  It is now an impossibility for them to take Kbly they have tried to do what damage they could by shelling but their shells were no good.   They would not even have got so near as they have if we had have had more regulars here.   We dare not go out very far to tackle them for fear of them trying to come in on one side while our men were fighting on the other.