It was during this march that I first witnessed the effects of extreme
thirst on men, however well disciplined. It was, as I have said before,
the hottest day I ever felt; not a breath of air, and the sun enough to
knock you down. The men were suffering dreadfully, and falling out by
sections, when about eleven or twelve o'clock they caught sight of some
water carriers with their mussacks full, so that they knew water could
not be far off. All discipline was pitched to the devil in an instant,
and the men rushed from the ranks for the water more like mad devils
than anything else--nothing could stop them; the mounted officers
galloped in amongst them, and threatened, but to no purpose; nothing
short of cutting them down would have stopped any of them. In the midst
of this, General Willshire, at the head of the brigade, hearing a row
and looking round, saw the greater part of the 17th (they being in front
on this day) scampering across the country like a pack of hounds; not
knowing what was the matter, he galloped up to the colonel and demanded
an explanation, when, seeing what was the cause, he made the best of it,
called a halt, and every one immediately rushed to the wells, the
scenes at which were most ridiculous, fighting, pushing, knocking down
&c.
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