The labor world., 1900-01-27
AT COLENSO
VIVID PEN PICTURE BY BRITISH IN
FANTRY OFFICER.
Saws Its Il Marvel to Him How Any
body Escaped the Hail of Shot
and She'll That the British Had to
Face From the BOers-TOmmy
H'
Heavy Fire.

LONDON. Jan. 17.-(Correspondence
Associated Press).-The following ac-
count of the battle Of Colenso, writ
ten by an infantry officer, was re-
ceived today by mail:
"How anyone escaped on Friday is
a marvel to me. We were nine and a
half hours under f.e, and it was like
a severe halstorms on a tin roof. I
could not put my glass up without
hearing .Phit, phit, phit!' From the
very first I saw it would be no go. Di-
|rectly after we got under fire cor
poral said to me: I wonder how many
Beers there are hidden in that wood
opposite along the Tugela?' 1 said: I
expect it is full of them, as Butler had
never shelled them at all.' I was
right. Two companies of the Twenty
third went and jolly soon came out
through us and exposed our four COM
panies to a doWnpour, and I do not
see how we escaped at all. Then 1
saw three companies of the Seventh
Fusiliers go into the left of the lost
guns, but they soon came out. Then
we were told off as escorts to the lost
guns, with the result that we retired
(when ordered to, and Tommy did not
like that work at &alD, and had six Of
ficers taken and over 100 men killed,
wounded, missing or prisoners, out of
a total Of 13 officers and 372 men with
which we started at a. m.
II never was in such a veritable fix
and hope never shall be again, and
then to add to it. all, they peppered US
with shot, shell and those beastly one
pound Maxim Nordenfelt shells and
Mausers till we had retired we'll out of
range. But poor Tommy was simply
grand. On the troops went through it
|all. They never hesitated one moment,
never flinched: On they went, with de-
struction and, death and agony all
around them. I shall never forget the
sight. A man was hit; on the line
VENT; a shell fell, killed two men at
six PAGES; on. the line went. A shell
blew poor captain of the Connaught
Rangers to bits. A subaltern of the
lnniskillings close by looked back, but
could see absolutely no trace of his
comrade left, and I see he is reported
as missing, as they could not find him,
yet on went the lines.
Ny own company was most light
hearted. One old soldier, who used to
be the quarteYmasters storeroom as
sistant at Chatham, was in front of
me when we We're ordered to turn into
file at. the left and wheel in to flank
the, guns, and when the bullets came
very close to him he began to play an
tics, skip about, laughing and crack
ing jokes the while. The bullets were
as thick as bees, and I had several
mighty close to my head. Directly we
halted and lay down, showers of bull
lets came. It was truly a one sided
game, as we could see no one to aim
at at all. Just before we lay down a
private behind me said: Sir I don't
know. hoWWe got through all that with
out everyone of us getting hit. /
think God must be good to us today
was much impressed by what this
man said.
! Cannot we get the best men for ev-
lery billet yet? We do still get some,
but not all. Social qualities still rule
the day. Where do socieal qualities
come in on a day like Friday?''