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130 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
arrangement was to dig a large square hole about
3 ft. deep in the ground, with perpendicular walls,
and with steps leading down to the floor.
Where the soldiers slept the ground was covered
with mealie-stalks and husks, while in the central
part the floor was hard-stamped earth. This was
roofed in under waterproof canvas sheets, laced
together, with the ends buried in the earth. These
bivouacs are excellent in a country where there
is little snow. They are snug and warm, and well
ventilated. In the perpendicular sides the soldiers
dug out small square niches wherein to stow their
rations and personal belongings. The whole ar-
rangement was neat and ingenious, and the lucky
fellows who stayed in one were very comfortable.
Later on, when the real winter set in with snow
and bitterly cold gales from the north, even these
arrangements had to be improved. The canvas
roofs were taken away, and roofs of mat-covered
timber with a thick layer of earth on top substi-
tuted ;
the dug-outs were made deeper and the walls
thicker, to give more protection against the cold.
I also saw other inventions. Several
“
houses
”
were built of empty beer-boxes filled with earth
and set in clay, and one of the smartest dwellings
was made up of large brass-ornamented Chinese
cupboards, looking quite elegant and imposing.
The soldiers in the advanced trenches fared
very differently. The siege parallels, where they
were quartered, were some 8 ft. wide, so there was
room enough to put their shelters against the wall
of the trench and have a footpath along them ;
but the men were, of course, very cramped, and
had little opportunity of walking about, and the
different camp arrangements were very difficult to
carry out. In addition there was the stench of
putrefying corpses. This pervaded everywhere.
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