The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-26

hope I never shall be again; and then to
add to it all they peppered US with shot,
,thell and those beastly one-pound Maxim
tNordenfeldt shells and Mausers until we
had retired we'll out of range.
But poor Tommy was simply grand.
Our troops went through with it all. They
never hesitated one moment, never fiinched
On they went with destruction and death
and agony all around them. I shall never
forget he sight. A man was hit, but on
he line went; shell fell between two men
at six PAGES. but or they went. A shell
blew POOR captain of the Connaught RAN
gers 10 bits. a subaltern of the Inniskill-
ings close by looked back, but could see
absolutely no trace Of his comradc left, and
I see he is reported as missing, as they
could not find him, and yet on went the
lines.
MY own company was most light heart
ed. One soldier, who used to be the quar-
termaster's storeman at Chatham, was in
front of me while we were once ordered to
turn in file to the left and wheel to right
to double about half a mile to the right
flank of the guns, and when a bullet
whizzed very close to him he began to play
antics and skip about laughing and crack
ing jokes the while. The bullets were as
thick as bees and had several close to my
head. Directly we halted and lay down
showers of bullets came. 1t 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, don't know
how we got through all that without one
of us getting hit. L think God must be
good to us to-day L was much impressed
by what this man said.
ITO show what a good fellow Tommy
is. when near camp felt very i'll. my legs
were giving way, and L had a pain in my
back Ghe sun, and no food since a. nl.)
so one of the company asked leave to fall
out and rush off TO the railway, where he
had seen a train from Frere with water.
There was a great crowd Of men there
jostling for water and yet he came back
with his own canteen full of water for me
to drink. Really their actions make them
ell beloved to me. 1 am ve-y fond of them
all. And under the most trying circum-
stances in which our idiotic gen.
erals unnecessarily placed us. I did
my best to save all fatigue
could. 1 always halted where the
grass was the longest, where there was
any little rise or where there was a
'nullah' If possibly could. Yet, of course,
I was only subordinate to the major.
He fortunately is a very sound man. full
of common sense and thorough soldier
so we all had the greatest confidence in
him.
Cannot we get the best men for every
billet yet? We do get some, but not all.
Social qualities still rule the day. 1t
should not be so. Where do social quail
tiles come in on a day like Friday? One
instance of jobbery amongst many. 1 will
give you. Now 1 have made signaling a
life study; so I know bit about it. On the
night before the battle, 1 was sitting with
three or four other officers of various reg
iments. A great fiat-neaded crutch and
and toothpicked style of idiot passed me
and said something as to he wondered who
was signaling I saw his rank (subaltern)
and mug and took him in at once as a
four-letter-man. So / determined to watch
and listen. They were signaling from
weenen, twenty-seven miles off, with hello
graph. He tried to read, but could not.
The Beers called them UP from Umbul-
wana and asked who they were (well they
might.
This fellow stood with his mouth open
looking on and wondering what it was all
about and / asked who he was, and he told
me he was signaling officer on the staff,
that he came from the Royal Horse
Guards and wanted a medal and soft
job. Oh said 1, 'tnen L was not far
wrong
II can assure you all of us earned our
wretched sleep at Colenso; but to make a
frontal attack with the whole army, just
like an Aldershot field day. was simply
rot"