Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1894-04-20
NO FUN FIGHTING IN AFRICA.
A Troopers Story OF the Hardships
In the Bush when the Hunted
Turned Hunrsra.

A Troopers Story OF the Hardships
In the Bush when the Hunted
Turned Hunters.
lFron the London Daily Telegrsph1
Writing from Inyatl, Astabelelsrd, On
January l, q member ot Wilson'S party
says: Have Just received your letter. /
nearly yelled with Joy when received 1t,
as Ii lie such toss up when We ever get
our letters. We are all longing for pa
pers, As we hear that they are full of the
war. Will you get IS many illustrated
ones as you can collect, AID sand them, 90
they may reach me some day, and We
know nothing of what the press ssys
about usi You may see By this time that
Am alive. and heartily thank God that
am spared after what we have been
through. 1t dehss me trying to explain
on paper what We have gone through, and
only those who have had experience can
understand. / was one of the hundred
men sent forward to capture "Loben" on
the Shanghai river. We started with Eve
days rstions of meal On our arrival at
the kings krasl Major Wilson and thirty
men entered the krasl (or villsgel, think
ing they would easily take the king
They were, however, Immediately sur
rounded by Thousands of Mstsbeles. At
the same moment we discovered that the
| bush was black with them, and we ware
very coon hemmed In. We could see the
| major and bis men fighting desperately,
but were powerless to rescue them, ss vol
leys of bullets were poured into as. Ms
jor Wilson and his party have never been
heard of since, and there Is no doubt that
they were cut up to q man.
For ak whole DAYS We wsre absolutely
without food, and we had to take to eating
our own horses, owing 10 our being cut Of
By the blacks In the thick bush. Obi the
awful remembrance of that horrible time.
Most of US never mention Ii to one anoth-
er, IS 1t was like q horrible nightmare, and
1t will be many a long day before we shsu
regain our spirits. For days and nights
we never slept, and If we tried to light q
hre to cook our horse flesh we were imme-
distely fred on. There lie no doubt that
We should have been starved out and
butchered, az most of our horses had been
shot or disabled, IL 1t had not been for Q
fearful thunder storm, under cover of
which we made desperate rush, leaving
our gun csrrisges and sll our blankets,
capes, etc, behind Upon the few horses
we had We carried the wounded and sick
men. 1 shall never forget that night.
For twenty-five miles we marched
through the bush. The only thing thst
kept Us going was the knowledge that We
were marching for our lives. The next
day we came to q halt and found that the
niggsrs were still following us up. We
formed laager, and the commanding OFF,
Ger saw that he could do no more and that
there was nothing for it but to fight IS
long as we had strength. We cut our way
through the bush, while the niggers hlsEed
at Us with their elephant guns on either
side. At last they left Us, and just as we
had shot two horses and were drinking
their blood-as we had not had o morssl
for forty-eight hours, and had been fight
ing or marching all the time-we saw Mr.
Selous at the head of the relief party.
Some of our fellows really broke down
with 10Y. 1 am in good health, but some
of the men will never really recover, "a
the fatigue and hunger have shattered
their constitutions. Not few of as are
without shirts to our backs, myself inelu-
ded; boots made ont of saddle wallets,
and all are more or less In rags.