hind, lest the noise of the wheels should betray the design.
It was not until the leading companies at 3.30 a.m. were close to the
base of the hill to be attacked, that a loud shout and a scattered
fire of rifles from the right front broke the stillness, and showed
that the enemy had detected the advance. Major McCracken, who had so
organised the march of the Berkshire as to be ready for this, extended
his ranks to two paces interval, and, without awaiting his supports,
which had been delayed by the darkness, ordered the charge. Thereupon
the enemy's piquet fled, and the Royal Berkshire, just as day dawned
on January 1st, 1900, gained, without opposition, the crest of the
hill, henceforward to be known as McCracken's Hill.

[Footnote 262: Composition:--Inniskilling Dragoons, 10th
Hussars, ten guns R.H.A., one company M.I., with four
companies, 2nd Royal Berkshire regiment, under Major F. W. N.
McCracken, the whole under command of Lieut.-Col. R. B. W.
Fisher, 10th Hussars. Two days' supplies, went with the force
and half the infantry were carried in wagons.]

[Footnote 263: Order of march:--Point of M.I., half battalion
R. Berkshire, remainder M.I., 10th Hussars, R.H.A.,
Inniskilling Dragoons.]

[Sidenote: Jan. 1st, 1900. Colesberg is shelled whilst Fisher works
round the north towards the bridge road on Boer right, and Porter acts
against their left.]

This point being won, General French immediately despatched Colonel
Fisher on from the place, where he had halted with his cavalry, past
Coles Kop towards the north-west corner of the heights encircling
Colesberg, with orders to establish a squadron at the corner, and to
work round the northern face against the Boer right. In this duty
Fisher was only so far successful as to get his patrols astride the
track to Colesberg road bridge, failing to secure the hills commanding
the northern exits from the town. To distract attention from this
movement, and to clear the kopjes on McCracken's front, ten guns had
previously been placed opposite the western face of the Colesberg
heights, and as soon as it became light enough, these opened a heavy
bombardment. The enemy responded at once with field guns and a pom-pom
from higher ground, and for three hours the batteries endured a
galling fire of great accuracy, the Boer pom-pom especially
bespattering the line of guns with a continuous stream of pr