The New York herald., 1879-07-02

skeletons that ratified to the touch. Here lay
corpse with a bayonet jaInned INTO the mouth m
to the socket transxing the heaa aud mouth loot
into the ground. There lay form that seem ~
costly curlei in calm sleep, turned almost its
Most. however lay dat on the back, with the arnlS
stretched widely out and hands clenched noticed
one dead man under wagon. with his head on
saddle Tor pillow and tarpaulin drawn over hiin
as II he had gone 10 sleep and died So
DURSFoRD's FINAL RESTING PLACE.
III a patch OF long grass. the night flank OF
the camp. lay Durntord's body the long IN ustache
still clingng to the withered skin of the Cap
tain shepstone recognized him at once. and identi-
hed him yet further by rings on the finger and
knife with the name on it in the pocket. which
relics were brought away. Durnford had died
who had fought it out around their chiot
to the bitter end. A stalwart Zulu. covered
by his shield. lay at the Colonel's feet. Around
him. almost in ring. lay about dozen dead
men. half being Natal Carabineers rddled by assegai
stabs. These gallant fellows were easily identified
by their comrades who accompanied the column.
Poor Lieutenant Scott was hardly at all decayed.
Clearly they had rallied round Durnford in last
despairing attempt to cover the flank of the camp.
and had stood fast from choice. when they might
have essayed to fly for their horses. Close beside
the dead at the p ket line gully traverses the
PAGES beyond this the ground of the battle
before the troops broke from their forma-
dead lie very thickly.. In one place nearly
fifty of the Twenty fourth lie almost touching.
if they had fallen III raying square. The line Of
struggling rush back to camp is clearly marked by
the skeletons all along the front Durnford's body
wrapped in tarpauin and buried under heap
OF stones. The Natal Carabineers buried their dead
comrades roughly The gunners did the by
theirs. Efforts made at least to conceal all the
bodies Of the men who had not belonged to the
Twenty-fourth regiment These left
touched by special orders from General Newd
gate. General Marshall had nourshed a natural
our dead who so long have lain bleaching
at Isandula, but it appears that the Twentyfourth
wish to perform this Office themselves thinking it
right that both battaions should be represented and
that the ceremony should be postponed till the
end OF the campaign. II vain Marshall offered to
convey burial party OF the regiments, with tools
from Rorke's Drift in wagons. One has sympathy
with the claim of the regiment to bury its own Dead
but why postpone the nterlnent till only few loose
bones can be gathered? As the matter stands the
Zulus, who have carefully buried their own dead,
who do not appear have been very numerous. will
come back tomorrow to find that we visited the
place. not to bury our dead but to remove batch OF
wagons.
MEMENToEs OF A DISASTER.
Wandering about the desolate camp, amid the sour
odor OF stale death, sickening. CHANGED on
many sad relics-letters from home, photographs.
journals, blood stained books, packs of cards.
Lord Chelmford's copying book, containing i'm
preston Of his correspondence with the Horse
Guards was found in one OF his portmanteans and
identified in kraal two miles off, Colonel Harness
was busi!y engaged collecting his own belongings.
Colonel Glyn found letter from himself to Leuten-
ant Melvill, dated the day before the Tight. The
ground strewn with brushes. toilet bags, pickle
bottles and unbroken tins Of preserved meats and
milk. FORCES and bellows remained standing ready
for the recommencement of work. The wagons III
every had been emptied and the contents rified
Bran lay split in heaps Scarcely any arms were
found and no ammunition. There were few stray
bayonets and assegais, rusted with blood. No hre-
arms 1 shall offer few comments on the Isandula
position. Had the world been searched for
position offering the easiest facilities for being
surprised none could have been well found to sur
pass it. The position seems to offer premium on
disaster and asks to be attacked. In the rear
laagered wagons would have discounted its defects
but the camp more defenceless than an English
village Systematic scouting could alone have just
fled such position, and this too clearly cannot
have been carried out. l much wish we had re-
manned on the ground long enough to remove every
evidence of the combat, bring back destroy all the
wagons, and construct redoubt in the neighbor.
hood to be held permanently by strong detachmen,
of infantry The moral effect of this would,
think have been great and l should have been
pleased had cavalry brigade carried out more ex
tended operation and 1T least have chevied the Zuus
out of the Umquoto Mountain, but Marshall was
under engagement with Newdigate to risk little and
to join him early in anticipation Of speedy advance