The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-02-13
BATTLE OF THE TUGELA.
Account Of the Bloody Fight by Brit
ish Army Officer.
Capt. Hensley, British Army. in Leslie's
NNonlyly

tCapt. Hensley, British Army, in Leslie's
Weekly
Mine was one of the leading compa-
, Mes AS soon as we came out of the riv-
or the bullets began to buzz. We had Il
green field. 400 yards across. as open
and fat as cricket-patch, to march
over before we could get any cover
Halfway across was a barbed-wire fence
and the Beers had got the range of that
and made things pretty hot. We haG
70 cut the WIRE ! had a small pair Of
cutters and was STOPPING down trying
TO cut the wire. my color sergeant stand
ing just behind me. holding it steady.
when a bullet went over my back and
killed him. poor chap. At the same time
Il bullet hit the toe of my boot. and
another man dropped close by. SO | made
! them all climb over the top. and then
/ we went at Il steady double to the edge
of the wood 200 yards where there
was another wire fence with Il small
stone wall on the far side
Il was the left company and two lines
| of advance were on the left by nullah
and on the right stone wall, which
protected them from the MaXim on the
right hill: SO most OF the ground was
dead from the top of the HILL The wall
was three feet high and ran parallel to
the Boer position about 100 yards from
! it. Our men on the right formed up
under cover of the wall We who had
the bad luck to get under the nullah had
Il hard time of it: il proved Il regular
| death-trap. The Beers had evidently
thought il would prove one of the points
of our attack and had told off their crack
shots. the Middleburgh burghers. to
watch it. When anybody showed himself
for a second, the bullets fairly sang about
him. The cover was only effective when
one lay fiat on his stomach. We made
rusheS. one ut Il time, from one little
side nullah to another. | had made Il
| run forward and. IL minute after, Per-
rear. one Of our subs. came up. The
| artillery were giving them beans on the
| top and Perrean said: We are giving
them AIajnba today, when !: whi2z.
tatEe Il bullet just Fast my head. over
my right shoulder l thought | was hit
and put my hand up. and at the same
! time I heard thud and Perrean stag
gered back saying. My God, they've got
me" He had been shot right through the
left shoulder. but afterward it proved TO
| be Il clean wound and not very serious
| He WAS very plucky about it and said,
| L wish they had left me alone till
got TO the top | had to 90 on. at once
| to make room for more men.
| 1t was suicide TO attempt to cross the
| open in face Of that awful hail of bullets
Just TO show you what the fire was like
! | made man put his helmet in the grass
which was two or three inches high. on
! the edge Of the nulah before it had been
! there three minutes there was hole in
| it.
! Il ought to tell You of one magnificent
| bit of pluck on the part of the Beers. the
most conspicuous | have seen them show
| As | told you. our men were under COW
| CT behind the wall. and when they climb
| ed over they had to cross space of about
| fifteen yards before they got under cover
of the elf. AS they came over the wall,
eight Beers in waterproofs which blew
| about like flags. stood up on the sky
| line. regardless or perhaps in contempt Of
our rifle fire remembering 1881. and
| fred down 1T our chaps as one would at
Il rabbit boiling down HILL Five of them
| went down almost at once OF course
i we had to be cautious for fear of hitting
our own men. but the remaining three
seemed to bear charmed life: yet they,
! too went down. shot. in time.
| Our guns began tattooS; all | can say
is | hope ] shall never be under fire like
that they poured into the top of that hill.
| seized the opportunity to get UP and
| run across to the next nullah fifty yards
en-, followed by forty or fifty men. There
were no shots fred at us from the top.
| which must have been Il perfect hell.
but they had good old plug at us from
the right hill. | made another rush and
got under cover of the wall and walked
UP along it and joined the rest. Muir
ray. the generals tSymonsl aidde-camp.
came along and said to me-
am the only one left Of the four
who dined together last night Then he,
toid me the general had been wounded in
the stomach; SherSton. brigade major,
shot dead and Col. Beckett, chief Of staff,
| was lying wounded over the wall.