Part 10 (1/2)

”But I'm talking of the Boer War. Well, my battery of six guns was sent up into Natal, with about 870 men, mostly of the 58th Regiment and the 60th Rifles, with a few of the 2nd Scots Fusiliers and a Naval Brigade, all under Sir George Pomeroy Colley. We joined hands at Newcastle, some thirty miles south of Laing's Nek, and marched up there on January 26th, forming camp at Mount Prospect, three miles from the slopes of the Drakenberg range, where the Boers were known to be in force.

”Now I am not going to tell you every incident of the engagements we fought. The memory of three successive defeats is too painful, but to make matters clear to you I will just mention each in turn.

”Laing's Nek was the first, and on that fatal day we marched out of camp and up the rugged and zigzag road which leads to the pa.s.s of that name.

On either side of us some 1500 Boers were posted, and we attacked those on the right. Our gallant boys of the 60th Rifles and the 58th Regiment marched directly against them, whilst we with the guns and the 'tars'

with their rockets were posted in the rear. It was a one-sided conflict. We had only stones to fire at, while our poor lads, many of them, like myself, mere youngsters, were out in the open, without cover of any kind, and wearing white helmets, which were simply a series of bull's-eyes for the enemy.

”I shall never forget that morning. The sun came up over the mountain peaks, making them look like golden pinnacles. Then, pa.s.sing down the green elopes of the hills, it lit up the valley, with its dusty road, and its little farmhouse nestling on the left at the foot of the steep incline. And there, moving across the gra.s.s in regular order, and with the rays flas.h.i.+ng from their helmets and rifle-barrels, were our brave fellows, many of them marching to their death.

”Well, well, such things must be, I suppose! England has not done all the glorious acts for which she is famous without a deal of suffering and much loss of life.

”When our troops started up the slopes a perfect hail of lead was poured into their ranks, and every bullet, mind you, was directed by an unseen hand, and by a hand which, backed up by a steady eye, never failed, even from the back of a galloping horse, to bring down the swiftest deer that ever ran.

”But though many of our gallant lads fell, the remainder reached a ridge, fixed bayonets, and prepared to charge. They were met by a murderous fire, which almost decimated them, and the same fate befell a squadron of the 1st Dragoon Guards, who charged the enemy's flank.

”The Boers pressed forward immediately, and we were forced to retire.

”That was the end of that engagement. We sent in a flag of truce in order that we might gather our wounded, who were unmolested by the Boers, save in one instance, when a cowardly ruffian was caught in the act of shooting a helpless soldier, and was promptly bayoneted by one of the injured man's comrades.

”We were now in a pretty tight hole. Surrounded on all sides by the Boers, our supplies were cut off completely. But on February 8th we moved out of camp back towards Newcastle, from which town a convoy was to set out to join us. It never started, but we were ignorant of that, and, pus.h.i.+ng forward, crossed the Ingogo River, which runs transversely across that portion of Natal. The guns remained on the other side, and were at once at it hammer and tongs, throwing shrapnel at the Boers, who were strongly posted opposite to us.

”It was the same old tale again. There wasn't so much as a hat to be seen, but every tuft of gra.s.s, every mimosa bush and stone sheltered a keen-eyed and stout-hearted marksman. Yes, my lads, I will give them their full due. They were roused to desperation in a struggle for independence, and they were in their element. Themselves in shelter, save from our shrapnel fire, which searched their hiding-places, they aimed steadily and coolly at our boys, with fatal results. For six long hours we stuck to it, and then retired, dragging the guns with us, for most of the horses had been killed.

”It was our second reverse, and we returned to camp dispirited, drenched with rain, which had been falling since the afternoon, and thoroughly exhausted, leaving our wounded under the red-cross flag in charge of the army surgeons. Our infantry behaved n.o.bly in the face of insurmountable difficulties, and it was no fault of theirs that they were beaten.

Opposed to us were a host of men, wholly undrilled and unused to modern warfare. Yet they showed the greatest foresight and cunning in the selection of their trenches, and no one, not even the most experienced veteran, could have improved upon their tactics.

”It was a hot day for us at the guns. We were well within rifle range, and long before the action was over every one of us had been shot. I had a bullet through my shoulder, but was able to get away with the others, though most of my comrades were killed. But to show you the pluck of our brave fellows, when all the gunners were helpless, some of the infantry manned and served the guns in spite of the heavy losses they sustained.

”It was a nasty reverse, but not the worst we were to suffer. In a fatal moment our brave general decided to make a night march and occupy the crest of Amajuba Hill. With 545 men he set out at nine o'clock, reaching his destination only as the dawn was breaking. When the Boers saw our fellows there, they were on the point of bolting, but they rallied, and, das.h.i.+ng across the open ground on their wonderful little ponies, were hidden out of sight at the base of the hill long before we could punish them. Then commenced a conflict for which there was but one ending. Our poor fellows were too much exhausted by their long march and arduous climb to entrench themselves, and the slopes below the summit were not occupied by skirmishers, for whom there was ample cover.

Instead, we manned the edge of a shallow depression which formed the summit of the hill, and every man of ours was sharply defined against the sky. Below, seated behind the rocks, the Boers picked them off one by one, and soon the whole hill was surrounded. Foot by foot they pushed upwards, and at last with one final rush carried the position.

”That was a bad day for all the poor Englishmen out there, and ever since it has been an evil day for all our countrymen. It is a smudge, my lads, upon a slate which has seldom known one before. Our poor fellows behaved n.o.bly, but they were helpless; the position which, if entrenched and manned by a sufficient force, should have been impregnable, was untenable, and those of the troops who survived the last onslaught ran for their lives as Englishmen have seldom been known to do.

”But there! The mention of it sickens me. We were beaten after a gallant fight, so I will make an end of the matter.

”By this time General Sir Evelyn Wood, who had conducted a share of the operations in Zululand with such great distinction, had reached Newcastle with a relieving force, and hoped to have it substantially increased in the course of a few days. Meanwhile an armistice was agreed upon for eight days.

”At the termination of that period there is little doubt that this able leader would have outflanked the Boers and gained a signal success, but he never had the opportunity.

”All the Dutchmen in Africa were hotly incensed at England's action in attacking this small state, and in Holland there was the same feeling.

The Orange Free Staters, too, were ready to join with their brothers, and indeed had already helped to a large extent with men and money.

After a short extension of the armistice, a peace was made, one of the terms being that England should hold suzerain power over the Transvaal and control its foreign affairs, and another, that Boers and British should have equal rights.

”Meanwhile I must tell you that our garrisons in the Transvaal had been invested by the enemy and had gallantly resisted. And it was at these attacks that the most outrageous use of the white flag was made. Our men were lured on by its demonstration, and shot down mercilessly when they showed themselves.

”When the war was over, our troops were withdrawn, leaving the Boer and British settlers face to face, distrustful of one another, and holding themselves apart.

”Hosts of our countrymen, attracted by the wealth of the Transvaal, had settled there and invested their money, and these were specially bitter at the manner in which they had been left to the tender mercies of the Boers.