The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-03-22
From the Narrative Of an Eve witness ]

"Over the storm of the battle;-
The roar, and rumble, and rattle;
The cannons' sullen growing;
The cheers, the shrieks and the bowling;
The voice OF our brave commander,
Rose clear as trumpets, and grander,
Save the c0l0rs, ladsp-and-tben-
A tempest Of Zulu men,
Out from the flame and smoke,
With a shrek Of triumph broke,
And swept us down like grass.
"Then, out from the surglng mass;
The living, the dead and the dyirg;
The wounded, moaning and crying;
The teams and the struggling cattle
Twoyouths with faces beaming,-
Our col0rs about them streaming
Into saddles sprang,-and,- then
Right amidst the Zulu men,
Swift as flash did leap,
With the rowels gashing deep,
And sturdy British cheer.
Down the hooves fell sharp and sheer
In the Zulu's wondering faces,
Like hail which the tempest chaseS;
And they broke and scattered bowling;
While onward the lads went bowling;
Ger billows Of shields upheaving;-
A terrible pathway cleaying;-
Cleaving with swords which sung,
But like lissome adders stupg.
While round them like waSps, which flash
Did the assegais dash,
And sting, and scathe, and slay.
SAINT George! But tne ZuluS lay
Twenty thousand right before them,
Like bullocks to bruise ana gore them;
But they spurred and slashed disdainful
OF perils or gashes painful;
Till before them, the sands were cleaning,
And, behind, the Zulus screaming,
Yet they Stacked not spur nor rein,
But stretched on across the plain;
Leaving the mountains gray,
Ana the Kraals far away,
On the sunsets smoky marge.
"Down the valley long and large,
Where reposed the RANT river,
Like an arrow in its qulver;
Over dreary cactus levels,
Where cicadas hold their revels;
And the pasternS torn and bleeding
Falter,-on, and onward speeding
Adown TO the Drift where lay
The English camp, that day,
Where assuaged may be the pain
OF their wounds, and they may gain
Sorely needed rest and cheer.
"But stay! What is that they hear?
'Tis surely the din OF battle
Blown up from the Drift,-the rattle
And rumble, like far away thunder.
But brief was the time to wonder,
For, sudden, the valley was teeming
With Zulus shouting and screaming.
And. again, their sabres bright
Left and right did swing and smite,
AS down to the river wide
They galloped side by side,
With faces like the dead.
"Down to the river they sped,
q And over the banks went flying
Into the water, dyeing
The waves with their blood :-Ah! never
Made mortals grander endeayor.
For the coiling waters round them,
Like cobras hampered and bound them.
Yet they reached the hither side,
In their saddles swaying wide;-
All so weak, that, ashen lipt
Coghlll from his saddle slpt,
And fell upon the plain.
"Then, dazed and faint with pair,
Melville got him down to render
Needed help and solace tender;
While the night fell chill and dreary
On the world, and 'miserere,'
Moaned the frogs In shadowy places;
And, upon the ashen faces
Oftne youtts. so brave and fair,
The stars did sadly Stare
Through wells of smoke and mist,
Which subdued their joyous glst,
And dimmed them as with grief.
"Thither, after time but brief
Came xe-'twas in calmful weather.
Found them lying dead together;
sleeping sweetly, calmly, Whitley,
With our colors cleaning brightly,
Wrapped about them.-THAT WAS GLORY!
Ayel and long shall ring the story
OF these English youths, who bore
Their colors through score
OF thousand savage men;
AEd, having saved them, then
Wrapped them round their bodies, proud
Thus to wear them for shr0lid."
The boys then marched out of the Pint
treet and the girls out of the West stree
formed square with the flag poll
n the centre, and two Of the lads, Marshal
Leighton and Freedom Waterhouse, raised
he flag admist the cheers OF the school.