Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-07-09
On Which One of the Fierce Battles
With the ZuluS Was
Fought.
An English Officer RecOunts a Fray
in Which he Took a Lively
Interest
Daring Work of the Men in Throwing
up BreastwOrks in Face
of Death.

| Oy Ine cOHDlneQ FORCES OF Sir BartIe
Frere and the Colonial Cape Mounted
| Rifles.
Lieutenant Edward Hale. British of,
| fcer who participated in this engagement.
was interviewed recently. The following
account is therefore from the lips of an
actual participant in what was perhaps
| the fercest and bloodiest battle of the
whole campaign, and will be found to be
of interest
Picture to yourself, said Lieut.. Hale,
a gigantic mountain, the terminus of a
series of rocky and almost impossible de-
files into the heart of Zululand Carve
away three of its sides perpendicularly, as
with huge knife. and run deep river
almost completely around it, save where
on its remaining side a narrow but deep
slope, extending from the broad plateau at
the top TO the very foot, offers some little
chance of carrying the place by assault,
and you have pretty good idea of Moro
sis Mountain. On the broad plateau at
the summit, stretching for half a mile
back to where the gigantic precipices de-
the dark and swollen waters on the river,
Morosi had entrenched himself with near
| ly 1000 of his most devoted followers.
He had an abundant supply of good rifles
and plenty of ammunition, food, etc. Over
the northwest part of the plateau he had
built heavy wall for purposes of defence,
and behind this his sharpshooters sat all
day long and commanded the approach to
the mountains. Across the surface of the
slope several high swanzes or rough stone
walls had been placed at intervals of about
one hundred yards, the last or lowest one
being nearly level with the plain on which
our forces we're encamped.
LAS commander of the expedition, |
was particularly anxious to force Morosi' s
position with as little loss of life as DOS
sible. 1t was o'clock in the afternoon
when | ordered up the mortar battery to
make breach in the swanzes. The NOR
tar was an Anticipated thing dated 1902,
with homemade fuses of colonial manu-
facture, and bad fit at that. 1t had been
sent up to US from the Cape where
it had stood outside of the govern
ment house for don't know how long.
exposed to every kind of wind and
weather.
keeping out of range of Morosi's bull
lets, the shells from this oil mortar fell
short many hundred feet of the first
swanze.
~ sawEat once that that mortar must be
brought at least a quarter of mile near
er to the enemy in order to be effective,
and consequently within range of the
enemy's bullets William Townsend, a
dare devil in tn, rifles, volunteered to lead
in the building of shield behind which
to work the mortar. Selling huge stone
in his arms he ran rapidly forward with
it, zigzagging as he went, deposited it
and returned unframed, though repeated
attempts were made to kick him Off Two
other brave fellows repeated the trip, and
and got of scott free. The fourth reached
the shield, deposited his stone and was on
the way back when Zulu bullet reached
hi N and dropped HIM in the tall grass out
of sight. Notwithstanding this accident,
however, the men kept at work, and in
two hours had raised circle breastwork
four feet high. We lost two more men in
bringing up the mortar; but once beneath
the shelter Of the SHE d. it meant mischief
for the ZuluB
The very first shell we fred described q
| high curve in the air and exploded halt
way up the slope, knocking a big breach
in the center swanz3 There were six of
them) and routing whole troop of sharp
shooters concealed behind it, A sharp
cannonading which was kept up for the
next two hours, was so etfectua as to
breach every swanz9 in the hill by sun
down and as the night closed in | d
termined to carry the mountain by assault
| before the rising OF the moon.
| ''It was close onto 9 o'clock when the
men were called away. Pistols had been
looked to, and rifles and ammunition belts
Inspected an hour before, so there was no
| dol IN ctartipO II UOl1Iptn or Of
| tack, but there were plenty. as it was
| known tEat reward of 9500 had been
offered to the man lucky enough to get
| Morosi's head, by the Celonia government.
I'm the hush of the moonlight night the
men walked straightforward to the foot of
the slope, when the outskirt sentries of
Morosi, entrenched behind the first
swanze fired point blank into their faces
and fed up the mountain. Our force now
charged up the slope, the men, there be-
ing no longer any reason for concealment.
cheering Justify as they.approached the first
swanze. Rushing rapidly through thu
wide breach. and bayonetting few Zulu
fanatics who stayed behind to engage the
hated white men, they were next con-
fronted with solid wall of stone six feet
high, along whose unbroken extent no
breach at all was visible. As had my
self seen it knocked into flinders for half
its width, l could only conjecture that a
swarm OF Zulus must have repaired 1t
since shutdown, which indeed, turned out
to be the case.
There was now nothing to do but to
scale the wall, which our men proceeded
to do IN the face of scathing fire. l was
lnwardly praying that they had not had
time to build up the swanze further up the
slope, as to have to scale them near the
body where they could bring every gun to
tell, meant annihilation to the attacking
force.
The first thing when got on top of the
wall, found myself an excellent shooting
mark for score of Zulu rifles. To my
great surprise found myself In a second
or two on the upper side CT the swanze,
charging at the head of my men. Before
Us, deliberately picking off swanze, COM
pany of Zulus pluckiIy stood their ground.
The young moon, rising just at this mo-
ment over the edge of the southern ridge,
brought their bulky figures into strong re-
Lief against the rocky background. In
that weired light, trey looked gigantic. 10
charge upon such advsrsarles up hill, they
perhaps outnumbeTed our advance force
probably three to one, appeared to be lit
tie else than madness, but regardless Of
consequences we dashed forward with the
bayonet at the charge Few savages hav-
ing once had q taste of the bayonet will
willingly face it again, and these fellows
had had taste of this weapon in previous
encounters at Umeunmtatta and elsewhere. |
After some desperate fighting nalf-arm
distance they began to WAIVER. The Cape /
Mounted Rifles, recruited from some Of
the best families In the colonies, were the |
equal, physically, of any men | ever saw.