It now became a real busy time for the engineers, because, besides the improvement of the defence the lodgings also had to be built for the 6 battalion reinforcements which were immediately requested from Java and in which I was assisted by my officers in the most commendable way. Although now and then a shortage of building material existed we were still allowed to taste the satisfaction that upon their arrival all the lesser military could be accommodated under a roof; all kinds of material was used; even for the crossbeams of some barrack rooms sections were made of Decauville material.
