Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1900-01-05
I0RlE o. B l|l!lll II.
Incidents on the Battlefield 81
Glencoe and Elandslaagte.
= T. =. ~ !t,s2 - No.
SENSATIONS UNDER SHELL FIRE.

Colonel Chisholm Received His
:; Death Wonnd-Gordons Proud~ o1
Dnrsai-Queer Effects of Wounds.
=, Letters from South Africa still fell
the stories of the battles Of Glencoe
ana Elandslaagte. A general account
OF these engagements you have already
had. but there are many details and in
cidents which make good reading. saws
the London correspondent of the New
York Sun.
A private in the Kings Royal rifles
in letter to his parents describes his
feelings under fire as he went with his
regiment up the now famous hill Of
Talana: Il can tell you it was a very
funny sensation indeed, standing there
with shot and shell flying all over you.
out we got the order to advance, and
then the worst time came for we We're
within rife range then, and there was
about 700 yards OF open ground to
cross with absolutely no cover at all,
and the bullets did fly around. felt
rather frightened at first, but it soon
wore off. and then felt very desperate
and did not care much what happened,
and that was what most of us thought
when we compared notes after"
The correspondent of the London
Morning Post gives the following &C.
count of his feelings when under fire
for the first time at Elandslaagte He
was under cover with some troops,
waiting for the advance, and says:
'This was my first experience Of rife
fire, as it was the whole forces first
experience Of modern shell fire.
found that my strongest instinct was
curiosity. II a shell fell near me, /
always went to the spot to see what 1t
had done. When the rifle fire was
heavy, l. found 1t almost impossibIe to
keep cover. I felt that I must, simply
must. l;ft up my head and see what
was going on. AL the same had
rather been under such shell fire as the
Beers put into us than under their rife
fire. The swift whistle of the passing
bullet is not a pleasant sound. Its fu-
rious 'phphtt' as 1t falls into the
ground. is rather quaint. What / dis
like most of all is the ricochet The
bullet that ricochets comes for you all
ends up with grim, uncivil 'bzzz' that
is distinctly annoying. Perhaps my
sentiment in this matter has been
strengthened by observation of the
clean wounds made by the Mauser bull
let In full fight and the nasty. holes
that result from the contact OF the rico
bullet with the human body ].
g. The following incidents OF the ct c M
Ing Of Talana hill are told by the same
correspondent: 1T was a sight never,
to be forgotten to see what the British
soldier could stand. One of; the 'Dubs,'
shot through the left leg and both
arms, shivering. with cold and soaked
by rain, being helped slowly down the
hill, jocularly asked his two comrades
not to let him go, as having no arms to.
protect himself he was sure to fall on
his face and spoil his beauty. Imme-
diately after the hill was taken many
:Boer ponies were captured, many of
them with all, equipment and even
Mausers strapped on to: the saddles,
and 1t was a :comical sight to see Tom
my: careering round on Boer mounts
over ground which even the Boer
would have picked his way carefully.
There is no doubt our shell fire must
have disconnected the Beers. An Off
Ger of the 'Dubs' placed his helmet on
his sword and placed it above the stone
wall. 1t was Immediately pierced by
six bullets. Contrast this shooting with
the double across the open to the home
stead: below Talana hill. when only:
four men dropped. Il -.
). Zone Of the Kings rifles was in the
act Of picking of Boer. He had just
pressed the trigger when q Boer pop
ped his head up directly in front, with
the result he got the bullet through his
head, 1T was quite an accident. sir.
You see, I was aiming at the other
man. said the Kings rifles man ~ he
showed me the corpse" ,<,,< p.
Here are a few stories OF the battle
OF Elandslaagte told by. the CORE
spondents Of the London Post. and
Standard: ''In the few minutes at my
disposal may relate how one Imperial
Light horse man was absolutely para
lyzed with fear. Come on. Don't be
. coward said Major, Sampson. The
man tried. His heart and will were
good enough. but he failed physically.
Soon afterward Sampson saw him
rushing to the front with all his might,
blood pouring from a wound on his
face. Where are the Boers?' he cried.
Let me get at themv Another Light
horse man did not know he was wound
ed lin the abdomen until the next day.
He thought that the slight pain he suf-
Tered was due to drinking beer on an
empty stomach after the fight was
over e. sa@,.<s*S 1T .ss5s Il !, / sS}
zone Dutchman was found moaning
and crying under a thorn bush. I'm
dead! I'm dead!' he cried. It's that
dreadful lyddlte. He was told that no
lyddite had been used In the battle. 20
know twas lie said, because / read
It in The Standard and Diggers' News
"a quaint reason. He was examined
and q punched all over and found to be-
not SO much as scratched. n know, he
q ~..A%4 y = 1855