The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-01-18

lHN NIppiuN ttffi llOllAGh hNthhirf bhN Ahf
brushing Of their feet IN the veldt grass
and in the deep drawn breaths Of the
marching men.
so onward they wenn Then out Of
tho darkness rife rang a herald Of dis
aster. soldier had tripped In the dark
ness over the hidden wires laid down by
the enemy In second, in the twinklng
Of an eye the search lights Of the Beers
fell broad aud clear az the MONDAY sun
on the ranks OF the doomed Highlanders.
/ Then 1t left the enemy concealed in the
! shadows OF the frowning mass of hills be-
! hind them. For brief moment tho Scots
seemed paralyzed by the suddenncss of
/ their discovery for they knew that they
4 were huddled together like sheep within
g,mshot OF the enemy Above the coufiis-
ION rolled the voice of the general, STEADY
men, steady. and like an echo to the
veterans, cut came the crash OF nearly a
! thousand rifles not fifty PAGES before them.
/ The Highlanders reoed before the shock
| like trees before the wind. The best, their
lbr6Vest, fell in that wild hail OF lead.
General Wauchope was down. riddled by
bullets. yet gasping, dying bleeding from
every vein. the Highland cheftain raised
himself on his hands aud knees and choered
his men forward.
Men and officers fell IN heaps together,
The Black Watch charged and the Gordons
and the Seaforths with a yell that cheered
onward to death or destruction. The ac-
cursed wires caught them round the legs
until they houndered like trapped wolves
and all the time the rifles OF the foe SANG
the song OF death In their ears. Then
they fell back, broken and beaten leaving
1900 dead and wounded Just where the
broad breast OF the grassy veldt mets uto
the embrace OF the rugged African hills,
ana an hour later tho dawning came Of
the dreariest day that Scotland has kuowu
for generation past. or her officers, the
flower of her chiyalry, the pride Of hnr
breeding, but few remained TO tell the
tale, sad tale truly but one untainted
with dishonor or smirched with disgrace
for up those heights. under similar CIV
cumstances oven brigade OF devils could
scarcely have hoped TO pass. All that NOR
tai man could do the Scots did they trlei.
they falled-~they fell and there is nothing
, left US now but 10 mourn for them ana
ayenge them.
IAN that tateful day our men lay close
to the Boer lines under blazing sun.
over their heads the shots of friends ana
, foes passed. without ceasing All day long
inc battle ragged Scarcely could Se see
4 the loe-ail that met our eyes Was tho
4 rocky heights that spoke with tongue ol
A hames whenever our troops drew near
n Once our guards made brilliant dasl,
n at the trenches and, like torrent, their
= resisiless yalor bore all before them
q ~ Nll uth AuSH dNcHBc the NlauBnlcr OF tnc
a Scots. Out of their trenches che guards.
4 men tossed the Beers as men In English
! harvest fields toss the hay and the hu-
q man streams were plentiful where the
\ British guardsmen stood. Then they fol
back. for the fire from the heights about
them fell thick az the spume of The surf
!, on an Australian rock-ribhed coast But
"a the guards had proved to the Beers that
~ man TO man, the Briton was his master.
= In vain all that day Methuen tried bN
II every ruse he knew TO draw the enemy
y yanly the Lancers rode recklessly to in
y duce those human rock Implies to COM
=, out. Cronio knew the mcttle OF our mel
y, and with an ironlc laugh he stayed within
w his native Businesses but death sat eve
y al his elbow, for our gunuers dropped III
- lyddite shells and shrapnol all along hi
:, lines unti the trenches ran with bloc
y and many OF his guns were silenced Il
~ the valley behind his outer line OF hill
e his dead lay piled in hundreds and III
y slope of the hill was charnel hous
y where the wounded all wrthed amidst tn
- mass OF the dead a CHASTITY tribute {
J, British gunnery. When at 80 p. IN. Q
y, Tuesday We drew off to Modder River t
~ report. we left nearly 5000 dead an
O. wounded II grim old cronie's men as
~ token that the lion Of England had bare
~ HIS teeth In earnest"
N, The last mails from tho Cape broucl
re numerous accounts OF Magersfontein, ~
~ none 80 NlNlu AZ TINS,
he Julian Ralph. In the Daily Mail ver
n bluntly writes Of The Highnndcrs ate
h. The first volley from the hidden trenches
Is They turned ana ran, literally colHdn
he and climbing over one another in thel
II confusion \ chaplain forward In IN
rs, ranks was knocked down and tramplsd
= as brave a man as any. yet one who de
no clared that there lived no man who woul
u have behaved differently II had been a
et II the earth had opened aud from clel
M that ran - far as our men reached. ny
" had belched and shot swept the veI5
~ The fever OF fright lasted only while II
AZ men ran 600 yards aud then they r15alnc
SOME measure OF order"
sy Says Inc Times correspondent of II
h same occurrence; Back they came in
n wave that no officer could stop From
e. point OF vantage ON the Horse artillel
~ hill enc could see them swarming M
he bees over the veldt until they were almo
10 out Of range and the guns were left o
Al In the open with no one TO support thef
4. II was perhaps the most unpleasant sis
~. thnt British soldier of. today has tT
ne heheld--lt was certainly sight never
ed. be forgotten II was difficult 10 say VIII
lp- would happen mex, until Major EwAi
fY. lptikeulei nHloF OF Inc tttEhlAnuefS, fO
hi mp with an order from the eommapd,
err officer. which was almos' an entreaty.
md the effect that all he asked OF the His
al land brigade was TO hold The position uh
IN dark. So riddled and so scattered was I
VAS brigade that Ewart had actually no 9th
- officer with him 70 help him to give /
order to the scattered men. and n, "
glad to have the assistance OF Co'or
Dawney. who was not here as sold
hut as civilian, surveying the battle
inc the Horse artillery hIll.'
,rt-
~ The minister, Russophile newspap
at phiIllppols, publishes letter fro
"a bulgarian now serving in the Transya
army. II is dated Farmerskopje. Nat,
!. December ~, and is in these terms; 90,
W you imagine that ! should write you fru
IND South Africa. whereas yon thought me
,dv be in Chicago. | am now In the o
has trenchmenis with the Boer army hefo
q Lady smith ~ soon as war was feclar
] made up my mind TO go as q vountn
aie and At New York presented myself TO 1
~ Dutch committee there. who paid my e