s, 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 grass, 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 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 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, dashing 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