MAJUBA DAY
"Did you hear of that plucky action of Captain Philips, of the Royal
Engineers, last night?" an officer who had just ridden in from the
front asked Chris that evening.
"No; I heard that the Boers set up a tremendous musketry fire in the
evening after the truce was over, but no one that I have spoken to knew
what it was about."
"Well, we ourselves didn't know till next morning. The general idea was
that it was a Boer scare. They thought that we were crawling up to make
a night attack, and so blazed away for all they were worth. We found
out afterwards that Philips had conceived the idea that it was possible
to destroy that search-light of the Boers. He had learned from
prisoners that it was the last they had with them, and although we have
not made any night attacks yet, it was possible we might do so in the
future, and so he made up his mind to have a try to smash it up. He
took with him eight blue-jackets, crawled along in the dark beyond our
lines, and got in among the Boers. He had taken particular notice of
points he should have to pass, boulders and so on, and he found his way
there without making a blunder. There were plenty of Boers round, but
no one just at the search-light. The blue-jackets all understood the
working of their own search-lights; but the Boers have no electric
lights, you know, and work their signals with acetylene, and so they
stood on guard while Philips opened the lamp, took out the working
parts, whatever they are, and shut the lamp again. Just as they had
done so they heard four Boers who had been sitting talking together get
up. He and his party dropped among the bushes and lay there quiet while
the Boers came up to the lamp.
"'We are to keep it going to-night,' one of them said, 'for they may
take it into their heads to make an attack, thinking that after having
had a truce all day we shall not be expecting trouble, and they may
catch us unprepared. I expect our German officer in a few minutes; he
said he would be here about ten o'clock, for the rooineks are not
likely to move until they think we are asleep.'
"They moved away again, and Philips and his men stole quietly off, but
before they rejoined our fellows they heard a sudden shot, and in a
minute a tremendous rifle fire broke out. Evidently the German had
arrived and found the search-light would not act, and they concluded at
once that we were marching against them, and for twenty minutes every
man in the trenches blazed away at random as fast as he could load. I
should say that they must have wasted a hundred thousand cartridges. As
there was no reply they began to think that they had been fooled. Our
fellows were just as much puzzled at the row, and fell in, thinking
that the Boers might possibly be going to attack them. However, matters
quieted down, and it was not until the next morning that anyone knew
what it had all been about."
"That was a plucky thing indeed," Chris said; "though, as I should
hardly think we should attack at night, it may not be of much service,
for the Boers have long since given up trying with their feeble
flash-lights to interrupt our night signalling with Ladysmith,
especially as, now the weather is finer, we can talk all day if we like
with our heliograph."
Chris was just turning in when Captain Brookfield came to the entrance
of his tent. "I have just heard, Chris, that the pontoon bridge has
been successfully thrown across just below the cataract, and that the
troops are all crossing. I just mention it to you. I cannot get away
myself, but if I find you and your boys are--not here in the morning, I
shall say nothing about it. We certainly shall not be wanted. The
orders are out, and there is no mention of our corps nor any of the
mounted colonials."
"Thank you, sir! I am very much obliged." Chris went round to the tents
and told the others that they must be up an hour before daybreak and be
ready to start at once, as there would probably be another very big
fight. Then he told the natives, who were, as usual, still talking
together in their tent, that they were all going off very early, and
that chocolate must be ready at daybreak, and the water-skins filled,
as the horses would probably be out all day.
"Will you want anything cooked, baas?" Jack asked.
"No; we will take some tins with us. There is going to be another big
fight to-morrow; as we are all going, you can go too if you like. We
shall want you for the horses. Three of you can stop with them at a
time, and the others can go and see what is doing, and then change
about, you know, so that you can all see something. The spare horses
must have plenty of food left them, and must have a good drink before
we start."
They were all astir in good time. The natives had made some hot cakes,
and these they ate with their chocolate. Then they saw that the horses
had a good feed, and a stock of biscuit and tinned meat for themselves
was put into the saddle-bags, and when daylight broke they were across
the plain and arrived at the dip in the hills through which the pontoon
train had gone. Knowing where the cataract was, they were able to
calculate pretty accurately where they had best dismount. This they did
in a small clump of trees. Then each took a tin of meat and a couple of
pounds of biscuit in his pocket. "Now," Chris said to the natives, "you
had better all stay here quietly till you hear firing begin; then,
Jack, you can go with the two Zulus. You can stay and look on till the
middle of the day. When the sun is at its highest you must come back
and let Japhet and the Swazis go. At sunset you must all be here again,
and wait till we come. Perhaps we may be back sooner, and if so we
shall ride away at once; and those of you who are away when we start
must go back to camp at once if you find that the horses have gone when
you get here. Now let's be off."
They made their way up the hills, well pleased that there were enough
trees and bushes to shield them from observation. The roar of artillery
and the rattle of musketry had been going on for some time, but not
with the fury that marked the commencement of an attack. A fortnight
before it would have seemed to them that a great battle was in
progress, but by this time they were accustomed to the almost incessant
fire, and knew that although the cannonade was heavier than usual, no
actual fighting was going on. They met no officers as they went along,
nor did they expect to do so, for none of these would be able to leave
their regiments, as even were these not included in the force told off
to assault, they might be called upon later in the day. At last they
reached the top of a hill whose face sloped steeply down to the river,
and from here they could obtain a view of the Boer position, and of the
line of railway up and down.
To the right was Pieter's station, with a steep hill of the same name
rising close to it. To the left of this was another strongly-posted
hill, while beyond it was the scene of the fighting on Friday and
Saturday, Railway Hill, which had been rechristened Hart's Hill, in
honour of the commander of the brigade that had fought so valiantly. It
was evident that at these three points the whole of the fighting force
of the Boers had gathered. A heavy rifle fire was being kept up against
the British infantry, whose passage of the river had now been
discovered, and who were lying crouched behind boulders and other
shelter.
They now saw that the guns had all been brought forward during the
night, had taken up commanding positions, and were pouring a terrible
fire into the enemy's encampment at a distance of little over a mile.
The enemy's guns were replying, but at this short range the naval guns
were able to fire point-blank, and their shells ripped the defences
erected to shelter the Boer camp into fragments, and carried
destruction everywhere.
On a kopje about a quarter of a mile behind and above them General
Buller and his staff had taken up their position, and the lads kept
themselves well within the trees to avoid observation.
"See, Chris, there are some of our fellows creeping along by the side
of the river. They must be hidden from the sight of the Boers. I expect
they will be the first to begin."
All their glasses were turned upon the column of men. They were two
battalions of the eth Brigade and the Dublin Fusiliers, and these,
under General Barton's command, made their way down the river bank for
a mile and a half. Then the lads saw that they were leaving the river
and crossing the line of railway.
"They have evidently gone down there," Sankey said, "because that spur
just this side must hide them from the Boers on Pieter's Hill."
The column were lost sight of for upwards of an hour, and then they
appeared on the opposite crest, five hundred feet above the line; then
they were lost sight of again as they passed beyond the crest.
"That is a splendid move!" Chris exclaimed. "By working round there
they will gain the top of Pieter's Hill, and come down like a
thunderbolt upon the Boers."
The roar of artillery continued unabated. Clouds of yellowish-brown
smoke floated over the Boer entrenchments, lit up occasionally by a
vivid flash of a bursting lyddite shell. So terrible was the
bombardment that the rifle fire of the Boers against the troops
crouching behind their shelters was feeble and intermittent, as they
dared not merge from their shelter-places to lift a head above their
line of trenches. It was a long time before Barton's troops were again
seen. Doubtless they had orders to wait for a time when they had gained
their desired position, in order to allow the bombardment to do its
work, and prepare the way for the assault of the other positions by the
fourth and eleventh brigades. It was not, indeed, until the afternoon
that the lads saw Barton's brigade sweeping along to the attack of
Pieter's Hill.
The Boers saw them now, and could be seen leaping out of their
entrenchments, regardless of the redoubled fire of the artillery now
concentrated upon them, and climbing up the hill to oppose this
unexpected attack. But before they could gather in sufficient numbers
the British were upon them, keeping up a terrible fire as they
advanced. The Boers, however, fought sturdily. Many, indeed, had
already begun to make their way along the southern face of the hill,
either to join their comrades on the hill between Pieter's and Hart's,
or to escape up the valleys between them, and so make their way to
Bulwana, where a large force was still encamped.
"We may as well help," Chris said; "the general can but blow us up."
Delighted to be able to do even a little towards the success of the
day, the party at once picked up their rifles lying beside them.
"It is about a thousand yards, I should say, to the middle of the hill.
Take steady aim and try and pick them off as they leave their trenches."
The firing began at once slowly and steadily, and occasionally there
was an exclamation of satisfaction when a bullet found its mark. Five
minutes later a dismounted staff-officer came down to the trees behind
them.
"What men are these?" he asked; "the general wishes to know."
"We are the Johannesburg Scouts," Chris said.
"Are you in command, sir?"
"Yes."
"Then, will you please to accompany me at once to the general."
On arriving at the spot where the general was standing a little in
advance of his staff, the latter at once recognized Chris. "Oh, it is
you, Mr. King!" he said. "I was afraid some of the men had left their
stations. And what are you doing here?"
"We are trying to lend a hand to the troops over there, and as we are
all good shots, I think we are being of some assistance."
"You had no right to leave the camp, sir. I suppose you call this
independent service?"
"I do, general. I hope that we are affording some help here, and we
should not be doing any good in camp; and as we have been nearly out of
it through all this fighting, and there were no orders for the corps to
do anything to-day, we thought we might be of use."
"You did wrong, sir," the general said, his face relaxing into a smile
at the lad's defence of himself. "Well, as you are there, you may as
well stop."
"Thank you, sir!" Chris said, saluting, and then hurried off to rejoin
his comrades.
"He is a plucky boy," the general said to his staff. "I heard the other
day--though not officially, so I was not obliged to take notice of
it--that he, with the twenty lads with him, rode out to a place seventy
miles away, and rescued some farmers who were besieged by Boers,
defeated their assailants, killed and wounded more than their own
number, made the rest of them, still double their own strength, lay
down their arms, and recaptured nearly two thousand head of cattle they
had driven off. The news came to me from the mayor of Maritzburg, who
had heard of it from a friend who had ridden in from Grey town. He
wrote to me expressing his admiration at the exploit. I sent privately
to their captain and questioned him about it, intending to reprimand
him severely for letting them go; but he said that they had all
resigned, as they had a right to do, for they are all sons of
gentlemen, and draw no pay or provisions, and that he had therefore no
control whatever over their actions after they left camp. I told him
not to say anything about his having seen me, for that, as they had
returned, I should be obliged to take notice of the matter if it came
to be talked about. That young fellow who came here is the one who,
with three of the others, tried to blow up the bridge at Komati-poort.
He could not do that, but he played havoc with a large store of rifles,
ammunition, and six or eight guns. After that I could not very well
scold him." And he again turned his glass on the opposite hill.
Here the fighting was almost over, and in a very short time all
resistance had ceased. Some of the Boer guns on the next hill had now
been turned round, and opened upon the captured position, which took
their own in flank. An aide-de-camp was sent off to order some of the
guns to be taken, if possible, up to the top of Pieter's Hill, and
after immense exertions two batteries were placed there. As soon as
this was accomplished, orders were sent for the rest of the infantry to
advance. General Warren was in command, and the fourth brigade, under
Colonel Norcott, and the eleventh, under Colonel Kitchener, now moved
forward, taking advantage of what shelter could be obtained as they
advanced. At the same time a strong force of colonial infantry moved to
the right to attack the Boer trenches farther up the line of railway,
and were soon hotly engaged. The defenders of Hart's Hill, and the
position between that and Pieter's, opened a heavy fire as soon as the
British infantry showed themselves; but their morale was so shaken by
the terrific bombardment to which they had been subjected, by the loss
of Pieter's Hill, and by the rifle fire now opened by its captors, that
their fire was singularly ineffective. Many men dropped, but the loss
was comparatively much smaller than that suffered by the Irish division
when moving across the open on the 23rd.
Taking advantage of every shelter, the troops moved steadily forward,
maintaining a heavy fire whenever they did so, and winning their way
steadily. Colonel Kitchener's Brigade pressed on towards Hart's Hill,
which on the side by which they now attacked was far less formidable
than that against which the Irish had dashed themselves. It had never
entered the Boer's minds that they would be attacked from this side,
and their most formidable entrenchments had all been placed to resist
an assault from Colenso. Arrived at its foot, the troops were in
comparative shelter among the boulders that covered the slopes. Foot by
foot they made their way upwards, until at last they gathered for a
final assault, and then with a loud cheer scrambled up the last slope
and with fixed bayonets drove the Boers in headlong flight. A similar
success attended the eleventh brigade, who just at sunset carried the
centre position, and a mighty cheer broke out all along the line at the
capture of what all felt to be the last serious obstacle to their
advance to Ladysmith. On the right, the Colonial troops had driven the
Boers in front of them for nearly three miles, capturing entrenchment
after entrenchment, until they arrived at Nelthorpe station. The three
camps of the Boers contained an even larger amount of spoil than had
been discovered in those of Monte Cristo and Hlangwane. It seemed that
they had been perfectly confident that the positions were impregnable,
and had accumulated stores sufficient for a prolonged residence. It was
evident, too, that the wealthier men with them had preferred this
situation to the more exposed camps on the summit of the hills. The
amount of provisions and stores of all kinds was large, Great
quantities of rifle ammunition were found in every trench. Clothes of a
superior kind proved that their owners had been residents of
Johannesburg or Pretoria, and of a different class altogether from the
farm-labourers and herdsmen who formed the majority of the Boer army.
The haste with which they had fled, when to their astonishment they
discovered that the British attack could not be repulsed, was shown by
the fact that a good many watches were found on bed-places and rough
tables where they had been left when the Boers rushed to arms, and in
the hurry of flight had been forgotten.
The number of rifles that had been thrown away was very large. Among
the dead bodies found were those of two women, one quite young and the
other over sixty. It was notorious that women had more than once been
seen in the firing ranks of the Boers, and there were reports that
Amazon corps were in course of formation in the Transvaal, the Boers,
perhaps, remembering how sturdily the women of Haarlem had fought
against the Spaniards in defence of their city.
So complete had been the panic evinced by the headlong fight of the
enemy that the general opinion was that it would be some time before
they would again attempt a stand against our men, and that unless any
entrenchments higher up the valley were held by men who had not
witnessed what had taken place, and were commanded by leaders of the
most determined character, Ladysmith would almost certainly be relieved
within a couple of days, and the rescuing army would be thus rewarded
for its toils and sacrifices.
In a state of the wildest delight the lads returned to the spot where
they had left their horses, where they found that Japhet and the two
Swazis had arrived just before them. They and the Zulus were exhibiting
their intense satisfaction at the defeat of the Boers by a wild
war-dance. The party rode fast back to camp, for their spirits did not
admit of a leisurely pace, and they left the natives to follow them
more deliberately. The news had already been received in camp by the
return of officers who witnessed the scene from a point near to that
which the lads had attained, and its occupants were in a frenzy of
delight. The Colonial corps were especially jubilant. This was the
anniversary of Majuba Hill, the blackest in the history of the Colony,
and one that the Boers in the Transvaal and Orange State always
celebrated with great rejoicings, to the humiliation of the British
Colonists. Now that disgrace was wiped out. A position even stronger
than that of Majuba, fortified with enormous pains, defended by
artillery and by thousands of Boers, had been captured by a British
force, and although it was as yet unknown in camp, the old reverse had
been doubly avenged by the surrender on that day of Cronje and his army.
Late that evening an order was issued that Lord Dundonald with a
squadron of Lancers and some Colonial corps, in which the Maritzburg
Scouts were included, were to reconnoitre along the line of railway.
All felt sure that no serious opposition was likely to be met with; the
defeat of the Boers had been so crushing and complete that assuredly
few of the fugitives would be found willing to again encounter the
terrible artillery fire, followed by the irresistible onslaught of the
infantry. That evening, in spite of the scarcity of wood, bonfires were
lighted, and the Scouts gathered round them. Every bottle of spirits
and wine that remained in the camp was broached, and a most joyous
evening was spent.
"I shall be able to breathe freely;" one of the colonists, a man from
Johannesburg, said, "on Majuba Day in future. I have made a point for
years, whenever I wanted to do any business in Natal, to put it off
till that date, so that I could get out of the Transvaal. When I could
not manage it, I shut myself up and stopped in bed all day, though even
there I used to grind my teeth when I heard the brutes shouting and
singing in the streets. Still, to me it was not half such a humiliation
as surrender day. The one was a piece of carelessness, a military
blunder, no doubt; the other was a national disgrace. And though I saw
Majuba myself, it did not affect me half as much as did the abject
backing down of the British Government after they had collected an army
at Newcastle in readiness to avenge Majuba. We could not believe the
news when it came. The fury of the troops was unbounded, and I would
not have given a farthing for the lives of any of the men who were the
authors of the surrender, had they been in the camp that day."
"What were you doing there?" Chris asked.
"I had a farm near Newcastle at that time, and two of my waggons had
been taken up by the military for transport purposes. I was not on the
hill, as you may suppose, or I might not be here to tell the story. I
went forward with Colley. It was just the same then as it was at the
beginning here. There were plenty of colonists ready to take up arms,
but the military authorities would have none of them; they could manage
the thing themselves without any aid from civilians. They knew that the
natives had over and over again beaten the Boers, and what natives
could do would be, merely child's play to British soldiers. Sir George
Colley was a brave officer, and I believe had proved himself a skilful
one, but he knew nothing whatever of the Boer style of fighting, while
we colonists understood it perfectly, and could match them at their own
game. As it turned out, the British soldiers on that occasion did not,
and it made all the difference. If Sir George Colley had accepted a few
hundreds of us, who knew the Boers well, as scouts and skirmishers, the
affair would have turned out very differently; for, as you know, they
did not succeed through the whole affair in taking one of the places
held by our colonists.
"Well, we started from Newcastle, and the blundering began from the
first. It was but twenty-five miles to Laing's Nek. At the time we
started there was not a Boer there, for they were doubtful which line
we should advance by. That twenty-five miles could have been done in a
day, and there we should have been with our difficulties at an end; the
baggage and stores could have come up in two or three days, and then
another advance could have been made. Instead of that, six days were
wasted in going over that miserable bit of ground. The Boers, of
course, took advantage of the time we had given them to prepare and
entrench Laing's Nek. I don't think that troubled the military
authorities at all; an entrenchment thrown up by farmers and peasants
could be but a worthless affair, and would not for a moment check the
advance of British infantry. The consequence of all this was that we
got the licking we deserved. Their entrenchment at the crest of the
ridge was held by something like three thousand men. Colley had but
three hundred and seventy infantry, a force in itself utterly
inadequate for the work in hand. But, seeing some parties of Boer
horsemen riding about, he thought it necessary to leave a strong body
for the defence of his baggage, and accordingly sent only about two
hundred and fifty men forward to attack the place.
"Well, we among the waggons hadn't a doubt how it was going to turn
out. The one battery with us opened fire upon the entrenchment, but you
who know what their entrenchments are will guess that there was little
damage done; and when the soldiers went up the hill the Boers held
their fire until they were close, and then literally swept them away,
and, leaping over the entrenchments, took many of them prisoners. None
would have got away at all if a few mounted infantry, who had managed
to get up the Nek at another point, hadn't charged down and so enabled
the survivors to escape. One hundred and eighty out of the two hundred
and fifty were killed or taken prisoners. Colley at once fell back four
miles. The Boers on their part, making sure that they had got him safe,
sent a strong force round, and this planted itself on the road between
him and Newcastle, but before they did so some small reinforcements
joined us. Three or four days passed, and then we Colonials quite made
up our mind that there was nothing for it but surrender. Colley
determined at last to try and open the road back, and with about two
hundred and fifty men, with four cannon--two of them mountain
guns--moved out. Some sixty soldiers were left on a commanding spot to
cover the passage of the Ingogo. As soon as the force under Colley had
got to the opposite crest of the ravine through which the river runs,
they were attacked in great force. They took shelter among the
boulders, and fought as bravely as it was possible for men to fight.
The guns, however, were useless, for in half an hour every officer, man
and horse, was killed or wounded. However, the Boers could not pluck up
courage to make a rush, and the little force held on till it was dark,
by which time more than two-thirds of them were killed or wounded. A
lot of rain had fallen, the Boers thought that the Ingogo could not be
forded, and so, believing they would have no trouble in finishing the
little force in the morning, they were careless. Colley, however, sent
down and found that the water had not risen so high as to make it
impossible to pass, and in the darkness, covered by the blinding rain
that was falling, he and the survivors moved quietly off, crossed the
river, picked up the party left on the eminence commanding it, and
returned to camp.
"It was certain now that unless succoured our fate was sealed, but
fortunately Evelyn Wood came up to Newcastle with a column that had
been pressing forward from the sea. Colley, of course, ought to have
waited for him to arrive before he moved at all, and if he had done so,
things might have turned out very differently. But he made the mistake
of despising the Boers, and thinking that it was nothing but a walk
over. When they heard that the column had reached Newcastle the Boers
cleared off the line of communication, and Colley rode into Newcastle
and saw Wood. We felt that we were well out of a bad business; and were
sure that the Boers, who are no good in attack, however well they fight
behind shelter, would not venture to attack us, and that even if they
did so we could keep them off till help came. But Colley could not let
well alone. Instead of waiting till Wood came up and joined him, lie
thought he might make a good stroke on his own account, and so retrieve
the two defeats he had suffered; so when the 92nd Regiment came up he
determined to seize Majuba Hill.
"It was well worth seizing, for it completely commanded the Boer's
position on Laing's Nek, and had the whole force come up the Boers must
have fallen back directly it was captured. However, Colley decided not
to wait, and with about five hundred and fifty men and officers he
started at night. The hill was only four miles off as the crow flies,
but the ground was frightfully cut up, and it was not until after six
hours of tremendous work that they reached the summit. Two hundred men
were left at the bottom of the hill to keep open communications with
the camp.
"From a hill close to the camp we could make out what was going on.
Soon after daybreak we saw a party of mounted men ride towards the
hill, where they usually stationed vedettes. They were fired at as they
approached, and directly a turmoil could be seen on Laing's Nek.
Waggons were inspanned, and we thought at first that they were all
going to move off, but this was not so. They were only getting ready to
go if they failed to recapture the hill, and in a short time we could
see all their force moving towards it. Well, from where we were it
seemed that the force on Majuba could have kept a hundred thousand
Boers at bay, and so they ought to have done.
"For a time the Boers did not make much progress. With glasses, puffs
of smoke could be made out all along the crest, and among the rocks
below. The firing began in earnest at seven, and between twelve and one
the Boer fire had ceased and ours died away. We thought it was all
over, and went back to our waggons again. Soon after one o'clock there
was a sudden outburst, and the men with the glasses observed that the
Boers were close up to the top of the hill. A few minutes later it was
on the plateau itself that the firing was going on.
"Colley had not known the Boers. No doubt his men were completely done
up with their six hours' toil among the hills and six hours' fighting,
and I don't think a tenth of them were ever engaged, for Colley thought
it was impossible that the position could be stormed; so he only kept a
handful of men at the edge of the plateau and allowed the rest to lie
down and sleep. Certainly that was the case when the Boers, who had
been crawling up among the rocks and bushes, made their rush.
"Well, you all know what happened. The few men on the edge were cut
down at once. The Boers dashed forward, keeping up a heavy fire. Our
fellows jumped up, but numbers were shot down as they did-so, and in
spite of the efforts of their officers, a panic seized them. They had
far better rifles than the Boers, and had they been steady might still
have driven them back; but only a few of them ever fired a shot, and
but one Boer was killed and five wounded; while on our side eight
officers, among them Colley himself, were killed, and seven taken
prisoners. Eighty-six men were killed, one hundred and twenty-five
wounded, fifty-one taken prisoners, and two missing. A few managed to
make their way down the hill, and joined the party that had been left
there at the bottom.
"These were also attacked, but beat off the Boers, and, maintaining
perfect order, fought their way back to camp. You can imagine the
consternation there was when the hideous business became known. We fell
back at once to Newcastle, and mightily lucky we thought ourselves to
get there safely. Fresh troops came up, and we were on the point of
advancing again, confident that, after the lesson the Boers had given
us, things could be managed better. Suddenly, like a thunderclap, the
news came that the British Government had surrendered to the Boers,
given up everything, abandoned the colonists, who had so bravely
defended their towns, to their fate; and, with the exception of making
a proviso that the natives should be well treated--but which, as
nothing was ever done to enforce it, meant allowing the Boers to
enslave and ill-treat them as they had done before--and another
proviso, maintaining the purely nominal supremacy of the Queen, the
treaty was simply an entire and abject surrender.
"There is not a colonist who, since that time, has not known what must
come of it, and that sooner or later the question whether the Dutch or
the British were to be masters of the Cape would have to be fought out.
But none of us dreamt that the British Government would allow the Boers
to import hundreds of thousands of rifles, two or three hundred cannon,
and enormous stores of ammunition in readiness for the encounter. Well,
they have done it, and we have seen the consequences. Natal has been
overrun, and a considerable portion of Cape Colony. We have lost here
some ten thousand men, and half as many on the other side, and we may
lose as many more before the business is finished. And all this because
a handful of miserable curs at home twenty years ago were ready to
betray the honour of England, in order that they might make matters
smooth for themselves at home." Just as the story came to an end the
assembly blew in the camp of the Scouts, and on running in the men
found that Captain Brookfield had received an order to mount at once
and ride to join the cavalry under Lord Dundonald at the front, as a
reconnaissance was to be made in the morning. Five minutes later all
were in the saddle and trotting across the plain towards Colenso, as
they were to follow the line of railway up.