The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-07-23
PRIVATE HENRY HOOK.

PRIVATE HENRY HOOK.
On Jan. 20, 1876, Private Henry
Hook, with his company, under Lieut..
Bromnead, was stationed at Rorke's
Drift to guard the ford and hospital
and stores. He thus tells his gallant
story:
Between 3 and 4 in the afternoon,
when I was engaged preparing the tea
for the sick at the out-of-door cooking
place, just at the back OF the hospital
for I was hospital cook-two mount
ed men, looking much exhausted and
then horses worn out, rode up to me.
One was III his shirt sleeves and With
out a hat, with a revolver strapped
round his breast; the other had his
coat and hat IN. They stopped for
a moment and told methat the whole
force on the other side Of tho river
had been cut up and that the Zulus
were coming on in great force. They
then rode off. I immediately a to
the camp close by and related what I
heard. We we're at once fallen in and
set to work to strengthen the post by
loopholing the windows Of the build
ings and to make breastworks of bis
cult boxes aud mealie bags. About
half ar hour latter the Zulus were seen
coming round a hill and about twelve
hundred yards off. We were then told
off to our posts. Twas placed in one
OF the Orr rooms OF the hospital.
About this time Capt. Stevens and all
his men except II native and two
Europeans, non-commissioned Off
GERS, deserted us and went off to Help
makalr. We were SO enraged that we
fired several shots at them, one of
which dropped a European non-com-
mlssioned officer. From my loop
hole lsaw the Zulus approaching in
their thousands. They began to fire,
yelling as they did SO, when they were
five hundred OF six hundred yards off.
They came on boldly, taking advan-
tage of ant hills and other cover, and
we were soon surrounded. More than
half OF them had muskets or rifles. I
began to fire when they we're 600
yards distant. managed to clip sew
eral Of them, for I had an excellent
rifle and was a "marksman." Irecol-
lect particularly one Zulu. He was
about four hundred yards off, and
was running from one ant hill to an
other. AS he.was running from cover
to cover I fired at him; my bullet
caught him in the body, and he made
a complete somersault. Another man
was lying below an ant hill, about
three hundred yards off, popping his
head out now and again to fire. 1
took careful aim, but my bullet went
just Owe his head. I thenlowered my
sight and fired again the next time he
showed himself. l saw the bullet
strike the ground in a direct line, but
about ten yards short. I then tooka
little fuller sight, aimed at the spot
where | knew his head would come
out, and when ne showed himself I
fired. | did not then see whether he
was struck, but he never showed
again. The next morning, when the
fighting was over, I felt curious to
know whether I had hit this man, so
l went to the spot where I had last
seen him. | found him lying dead,
with his skull pierced by my bullet.
The Zulus kept drawing closer and
closer and l went on firing. killing
several OF them. At last they got
close up and set fire to the hospital.
There was only one patient in my
room with q broken leg, and he was
burned and l was driven out by. the
lanes and was unable to save him.
At first l had a comrade, but he left
after a time he was killed on his way
t. the inner intrenchment. When
driven out OF this room I retired by a
partition door into the next room,
where there We're several patients.
For q few minutes I was the only
fighting man there. A. wounded man
OF the Twenty-fourth came to me
from another room with q bullet
wound in the arm. I tied it IN.
Then John Williams came in from an
other room, and made a hole in the
PARTITION, through which he helped
the sick and wounded men. Whilst
ne was doing this .the Zulus beat
in the door and tried to enter. I
stood at the side and shot and bay-
oneted several-I could not tell how
many, but there were four or five lying
dead at my feet. They threw assegais
continually, but only one touched
me, and that inflicted a scalp wound
which I did not think worth report
ing; in fact, / did not feel the wound
at the time. One Zulu seized my rifle
and tried to drag it away. While we.
were tussling ! slipped in a cartridge
and pulled the trigger-the n,uzzle was
against his breast, and he fell dead.
Every now and again a Zulu would
make u rush to enter-the door would
only let in one man at a time-but
bayoneted or shot every one. When
oil the patients were out excepting
one, who, owing to a broken leg could
not move, I also went: through the
hole. dragging the nnn aftor mo n.