The times., 1900-04-01
A SKlRMIsH IN THE TRANsvAAL

! seemed 70 De losing thttS iuetFtr Va"h N"7
drawing nigh. but night was darkest. Tbs
cry OF the night bird had ceased and the
chirpinE Of the myriads Of locusts AMI
| crickets. which make an African night
lively. had also subsidized. There reisned
deathiy stiffness over the "veldt" Even
| the hyenas, which. with their shrill, uu-
earthly laughter. make night hideous. had
| sought their lair.
The sentinels. to whose vigilance was en-
trusted the safety OF the small body Of
| Beers who formed the advance guard OF
the army. began to feel the chill OF the
damp morning breeze. which penetrated to
! their very bones. and yet had the strange
effect OF making them drowsy
The camp was situated on plateau. in
the shadow Of some high table mountains.
and a heavy fence OF thornbushes had
been placed around it. this material being
near at hand. the whole surrounding couu-
try being covered with IT,
\ mist rolled wavelike over the ground.
and 1t appeared to the sleepy eyes OF the
man on guard as il the bushes trembIed
and moved. There was positively some
thing uHcanny about this hour OF the night
which preceded daybreak.
Strange" muttered Van wyck. one OF
the sentinels guarding the entrance to the
enclosure: I'D swear that there was 4
piece OF open ground some fifty yards be-
fore me, and now. with this uncertain
light and the clouds Of mist covering the
earth. it appears as If there were bushes in
that direction. too. Slowly he moved on.
thinking soon to be relieved and turned
his back to the bushes which had just at
! tracted his attention. And strangely. the
I bushes also seemed to move slowly. very
slowly. but still they moved Even the
high tufts of dry grass appeared to be
shifting their positions. What was the
meaning OF this? Was it only a play Of
the imagination?
There was a large rock nearby. and on
il Van Wyck sat down to rest his weary
limbs for just a few minutes. The bushes
continued to shift anf the tufts Of grass
to advance and one large tuft came up
| quite close to the inattentiye sentinel.
/ whose head had sunk on his breast and
whose weary eyes had closed. Suddenly
he jumped up and tried 10 shake the sleep
| out of his eyes. That wandering tuft OF
grass which had almost reached him stop
. ! ped in its movement. Then the BOer s
head gradually again sank down on his
! breast. and slowly the tuft OF grass crawl
; ed up behind him. until il suddenly drop
ped and from the ground rose a dark,
shadOwy form. u embraced the BOer
5 soldier. there was a gurgle. horrible
! sound as OF breaking bones. and all was
/ deathly stiffness again. The sentinel had
dropped from the rock to the ground
where the large form Of a Kaffir bent over
him plunging his assegai into the mans
heart. to make sure that he was quite
dead
, At the same time the report Of gun
! was heard from the other side of the
e camp which was followed by a second one
. ! from another quarter. The men In the en-
: closure who slept on their arms. quickly
= sprang up and grasped their rifles In
I moment the whole camp was astir. and 50
were the surrounding bushes From ev-
cry bush leaped a Kaffr. and with a blood
curding yell they united and threw them
selves on 10 the camp. But Western was
with his men. and brandishing his sword
he shouted with a voice that could be
heard above the din Of battle, Form
square boys, We are surrounded on all
Sides" md with the discipline Of we'll
/ drilled soldiers. the half-dazed men quick
" found their places. but not minute too
soon for the enemy was upon them
Regardless OF the thorn fence that tore
= / their flesh these blOOdthiTsty devils rush
| ed on Yelling like demons. But before
, the great bulk OF the Kaffirs had pene-
, trated the fence the Beers. al the word
. OF command poured a hail of bullets into
, their dense ranks thereby temporarily
checking their advance.
.Now. boys" shouted Western. load
y quick and fire steady
p On they came again. the swarthy war
p riors: on they came like an all-devouring
wave. but they rushed against a solid rock
and we're dashed back. bowling with rage
81 for again having raised their prey The
wave reeeded only TO come back again and
{ again. gathering strength each time. and
- already there were gaps in the square. The
brave Western threw himself IN the breach
a every time lighting with sword and re-
q ! yolver until his men had closed up He
e encouraged them by word and deed. and his
I men put up brave fight. But alas. what
{ I couId 15O men do against some 5000 picked
e warriors. fanatics. who threw their naked
d. breasts against the guns. regardless OF the
a death ;hat Iurked behind them
! The sun was rising. the clouds above
the mountain tops began to wear a pink
blush. and oh. most welcome sound. vol
- lev fired in the near distance was heard
{ The Kaffrs also heard iJ and knew that aid
? WAS coming to the white man. But tue
) black man wanted TO annihilate the white
man before help could reach him. and Sc
p ,bav pressed on all the heTcer and the
: ranks Of the Beers began to thin more and
: more. ,
Hold out. boys. hold out for only little
{ longer Our friends are near and we VIII
u vet win the day. keep these black devils
> engaged. so they DO not escape destruc-
tiop shouts Western as he rushed for
y r-4rd IN again cover a breach in the RANKS
with his own body. though weak from
! loss of blood from several wounds
The tramp of larger body Of approach .
! ! ing men was heard even above the DIN OF
. the furiously raging battle. The first rays
, Of the sun lit uD the mountain tops and
: | scattered the mists and showed 10 the
, brave but badly decimated fighting little
band a regiment coming to their succor
with fixed bayonets. for they dared nos
? use their guns for fear Of hitting their
| friends And the Beers. too. for the same
I reason. had to use their rifles in a differ
eut fashion they used them as clubs.
The rescuers came upon a run; for mo-
Z meut the Katirs. who were still in supe-
. -ior numbers Waverad but their Cheft8iu
collected his followers qui kIy. and threw
himself against the onrushing regiment ct
regulars This maneuvre Of the kdfiiI s.
n gave the Beers breathing time. ana West
\ eru graspiuz he situation. quickly gain
cred his men. and by a few rapidly eNe-u-
| ted moves ordered his sharpshooLerS 10
y, rake the dankS Of the enemy. The Boer5
couId also use their guns again. without
3 fear OF hitting their rescuers. and they did
en- with telling effect. More troops ar
rived and soon the day was decided IN IA
vor of the TraEsvaaj flag. A troup OF
cavalry. which had come up meantime. and
T. those OF Westerns men. vino were still