Part 10 (1/2)
”But I'uns was sent up into Natal, with about 870 iment 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, so's Nek, andcamp at Mount Prospect, three e, where the Boers were known to be in force
”Now I aeht The memory of three successive defeats is too painful, but to make matters clear to you I will just 's Nek was the first, and on that fatal day weroad which leads to the pass of that name
On either side of us soht Our gallant boys of the 60th Rifles and the 58th Regiuns 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, sters, 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 ene The sun caolden pinnacles Then, passing down the green elopes of the hills, it lit up the valley, with its dusty road, and its little far on the left at the foot of the steep incline And there, ular order, and with the rays flashi+ng from their helmets and rifle-barrels, were our brave fellows,to their death
”Well, well, such things lorious acts for which she is fa 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 fro down the swiftest deer that ever ran
”But though e, fixed bayonets, and prepared to charge They were met by a murderous fire, which almost decimated theoon Guards, who charged the enemy's flank
”The Boers pressed forward immediately, and ere forced to retire
”That was the end of that engageather our wounded, ere 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 ht 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 ere ignorant of that, and, pushi+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 ha shrapnel at the Boers, ere strongly posted opposite to us
”It was the saain There wasn't so rass, every mimosa bush and stone sheltered a keen-eyed and stout-hearted ive thele for independence, and they were in their element Themselves in shelter, save fro-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 ca since the afternoon, and thoroughly exhausted, leaving our wounded under the red-cross flag in charge of the areons Our infantry behaved nobly 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 ht 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 ithin rifle range, and long before the action was over every one of us had been shot I had a bullet through h most of my comrades were killed But to show you the pluck of our brave fellohen all the gunners were helpless, souns in spite of the heavy losses they sustained
”It was a nasty reverse, but not the worst ere to suffer In a fatal ht march and occupy the crest of A his destination only as the daas breaking When the Boers saw our fellows there, they were on the point of bolting, but they rallied, and, dashi+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 co Our poor felloere toomarch and arduous climb to entrench themselves, and the slopes below the summit were not occupied by skirmishers, for whoe of a shallow depression which formed the suainst 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 countrye, my lads, upon a slate which has seldom known one before Our poor fellows behaved nobly, but they were helpless; the position which, if entrenched and nable, 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 ht, 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 arht 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 Dutchland's action in attacking this s
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 arland should hold suzerain power over the Transvaal and control its foreign affairs, and another, that Boers and British should have equal rights
”Meanwhile I arrisons in the Transvaal had been invested by the eneallantly resisted And it was at these attacks that thewas made Our men were lured on by its demonstration, and shot down mercilessly when they showed themselves