ver and over again
to make their way to the trenches in spite of the menace of almost
certain death. Valiantly they held their ground, availing themselves of
such cover as there was, bushes and scrub that were dotted here and
there, and returning to the deadly greetings of the Mausers no mean
reply. At this time the avalanche of buzzing, whirring, death-dealing
lead was enough to make the stoutest heart quail, but the officers were
seen marching boldly forward, and where they led--veritably into the
jaws of death--there their loyal Highlanders followed. Meanwhile, so
soon as it was light enough to see, the artillery had come to the
rescue, and so remarkable were its performances that even the enemy
confessed that on this day they had suffered greater loss than at any
other time during the war. The howitzer battery was placed directly in
front of the position, and poured forth a terrible fire over the whole
face of the hill. Lyddite shells sped snorting into the trenches, and,
with a terrific detonation, shot up the earth in clouds. One destroyed a
laager on the kopje, others did fearful execution, striking the hard
rocks and boulders, and spreading devastation far and wide. But still
the enemy failed to budge from their strong entrenchments. The 62nd and
18th Field Batteries, under Majors Grant and Scott respectively, took up
a position behind the Highlanders, sending shell after shell into the
enemy's position with such amazing accuracy that the Boer numbers were
considerably thinned. During this feat they were assailed with a
scourging storm of lead from the whole line of intrenchments. The Boers
displayed more than their ordinary courage, standing upright in their
trenches, and sometimes advancing, the better to aim at the aggressive
"men-women," as they called the kilted warriors, though at other times
they completely hid themselves and fired wildly, in consequence of
holding their guns above the level of their heads. The Brigade,
nevertheless, advanced to within 300 yards of the enemy, where they
pluckily held their position in the teeth of galling fire for some
hours. Both their tenacity and their dash were astounding, for the
volleys of the enemy were accurate and persistent, and sufficiently
deadly to demoralise the most veteran troops in the world. The Boers,
having been reinforced during the engagement, their number had now
mounted to some 18,000 men. Eye-witnesses have described this, his
fourth fight, as quit