The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-10-14
non THEY non 1t DlRGM.
viviA1y ~ . British OOeer-
Cases - A1le ouie1Ae-rhe Ger-
aonrs Fart IN the Great battle.

NooGD - 40hO O01c10eIA0 0Or~
Asnrs Fart IN the 0ssat hattie.
While We rat below Ia reserve CRY
came down OF More ammunition for the
Dorsets." The message was flashed down
accordingly, and soon three ammunition
mules appeared ct the foot Of the steep
climb about half . mile below IN, where
the track slirted the side Of . very precipi-
tous hill. The leading mule came to . very
bad bit OF path. did not like the look OF
II. jibed. backed. got his hind legs over
the edge. made frantic efforts 70 recover
his footing. was dragged down by the
weight Of the ammunition boxes. and rolled
over and over down out Of sight. The
second mule promptly followed his exam
pie. deliberately and without any fuss.
nearly dragging q driver down with him.
Transport officers and others familiar with
the ways OF the mule win tell you that
instances are not uncommon when mules.
weary Of carrying heavy loads over fright
ful tracks. grow sick OF life and purposeiy
commit suicide over the nearest precipice
This looked remarkably Ike an instance OF
It The third beast (which. by the way.
was not q mule. but long-legged weed
Of pony lot itself be coaxed along q lit
tie further, then took fright. reared up
close 20 the edge. fell backward and went
down head over heels after the mules, with
the last Of the Dorsets' reserve ammuni-
ton. Incredible - 1t may appear, both
the mules were got up subsequently, little
the worse for their fall. nor was any OF
the ammunition on this occasion left a.
present for the enemy.
Derbys. under Capt. Manxics. and C. under
Maj. WILLY. were ordered to relieve the
Dorsets In the firing line. covering the adj
vance or attempted advance through the
gap. They have our range all right"
said the Dorset officer whom Capt Men,
xfes relieved. a. he showed him . bullet
hole through his helmet Any man expos
ing himself for one moment there was i'm
nediately fired at. while the Afridis above
had made 80 excellent use OF cover that
not man among them was visible, the
smoke Of their rifles Offering the only guide
for the direction OF our are. Next b, D
and companies were ordered up 10 the
gap. had marched out of camp In the
rear OF the battalion. and e Immediately
preceded them. This order had been MAIN
tanned throughout. 20 that D went up frst,
followed at intervals BY q and B.
A. these companies scrambled up to
reach the point where the slope lessened,
nifty yards or 30 beneath the gap, they
came within view. for the nrst time at
close quarters. Of the enemy's position and
or the state OF things at the gap. Right
opposite. only three hundred and fifty
yards away rose line OF almost sheer cliff
four hundred feet above as. lined for q
length OF some four hundred yards with
an invisible enemy whose rifles and tezails
tmostly rifles) were al leveled at the rap.
Away to our right, out Of sight from this
spot. the Cliff took q sharp turn backward
ana became less precipitous, and 1t was
round this turn that the track eventually
followed led to the top The rap Itself
formed by the watercourss narrowing to .
funnel end At the top. was bounded on the
left by q large perpendicular piece Of rock,
and on the right by jagged. stony crest
with an impossible descent on the further
side But the most hopeless par. Of the
whole thing was the frghtfui block in the
gap. There must have been some three
hundred or four hundred men jammed to-
sefher there, several wounded among them
Right in the mouth Of the gap, ana plas-
tered against the rock on the left, SQUAT
ted a number of Gurkhas. oficerless dog
ged and suilen, thirsting to revenge the
slaughter Of their comrades.
Winning q Victoria Cross,
The heroism OF Col. Travers' gallant reg
iment. which bore the brunt OF the FIRST
assault and suffered more heavily than
any other regiment engaged. had not been
50 generally recognized as IL deserved. I'm
mediately behind them, completing the
block. was mass Of Dorsets So densely
packed were all these men, and SO In
numbered with wounded that until a line
through them was cleared las was done
for the Gordons). It was only possible for
any fresh troops to elbow a way through
slowly. one by one, and the continuous
n tn H.
rush (the only chance OF success, was
then a physical impossibiHty. Neverthe-
less. Capt. Smith, who commanded d
company. the first Of ours to come uu.
forced his way through the mass, and.
followed By his subaltern, Pennell and
thrse or four more men Of the company
who managed TO struggle through At short
intervals made dash across the gap into
the open. under a murderous hall OF bull
lets. Before he had gone more than a
few yards he fell, shot through the head,
and the men behind him were moved
down, Private Dunn being killed on the
spot and Private Pomberfh mortally
wounded Penne, not knowing hts cap
tain was dead. won a Victoria cross by
making gallant efforts TO carry him back
under cover. He got him some way with
out difficulty. and. seeing men lying on
the ground. called to them to assist No
Darsets lifted his head and answered
We are ali wounded. sir. except those
that are dead" Then. seeing that II was
hopeless. he placed poor Smiths helmet
over his face. the enemy's bullets vhiz-
King around him all the time and made for
the shelter OF the zap again. Another
small party. with lieut.. wav Jared no
better, Way escaped with bullet through
the edge 81 his putties Keeling. the color
sergeant. snd SpIck. a private OF d COM
pany. were both severely wounded almost
as scon as they crossed the gap Both
the men were subsequently awarded the
Distinguished Conduct medal. Way. for
unknown reasons. although his name,
with those OF other officers, was brought
forward, never was even mentioned In dis
patches.
Men grew disheartenei. Such Are could
he faced no more, There was a dreadful
psusN for o FUN half hour during which
the attack stood stili. A message was
flashed DOWN 20 Gen. Biggs that the troops