New-York tribune., 1908-10-11

ID
base of this hill # It was held hy GH5-lic force
Il was. IN fact. the key to the situation. W. were
s4diIIu. up for a start toward 1t uu the morning
after the capture IF the hu-Slr<. when 'Hr signal
corps. stationed ON the mountain top, began mo
frantic wl-WIggiuG
4 Bocr ott,,r came e.,llopinl up q, me They
are signaling u Ills. Colonel ne SAID eEstediy.
THAT about SIX hundred English horse have just
a1,rc.lrci ON the road from Dundee They evidently
mean To- occupy the hill beyond the mountain We
must have It They've got the start ON us. but YOU
have good horses. the best In camp Do YOU think
The least we can do j., 70 try." I answered.
Then ! shouted out orders to- my men that made
them lump. and IN uvc minutes We were tearing
down the slope for the road that curved round
the. coveted hill We had about three miles To go.
and We went ON a run. Ny Irishmeu had learned
10 ride 10y this time and | did not spare them
They did not desire 10 be spared Everyone "t them
had become wild man. Every instant expected
10 see hurscmcu from the south climbing up the
hillside but We drew nearer and nearer, and It was
still bare Reaching its northern base IN about
fifteen minutes from start Spurrct our pant
ing horses up until about halfway 20 the
top. Then we scrambled round to the southern
side uuslInging our rifles, ready tor the enemy
There they were. gdllopiug along the road below
in an extended line, not more than tve hundrci
Yards away Those IN the lead drew rein So hastily
that horses behind came upon them pcllmcl We
greeted them with dcrIsivc yclls and "a shower ot
bullets. and, whirhng, they went flying back to
Dundee.
The occupation of this hill prevented the English
from moving northward. In bands of a hundred 0r
two the Beers took possession OF the other hills
that overlooked Dundee from the north and west.
We had the ldnCcrS of IN these directions. and
they seemed afraid to- 60 I" the east. evidently
thinking that the Beers under Lucas Meyer. with
whom they had already had a tght would bc wait
ing for them As a matter of fact. this command
was nftccu miles away. An day had great sport
shooting ut the hor~crucu with the gEStc cuIuG huct
as they sailed forth companies of several hundred
the rest would race back to town When night came,
"a night of heavy clouds that mLicIt very dark -
Colonel Nulc who ON the death ot General Penn
Syuon, in the fight with Lucas Never. had assumed
command. took ms six Thousand huCcrS out OF
Dundee through pass TO the south, and escaped
to- Ladysmith. thirty miles away. This mdStcrly
retreat of six thousand well trained CJvdrymcu
before "a thousand undrillcd Beers and Irish
the Colonel the rank of Major General He left he
hind him about two hundred wounded officers
and men. thrty-uiuc uuhuricd dead. and enough
food and ammunition to supply our command Tor
many months.
1t now became our business to follow ON to Lady
smith. There had been other fights, of course.
Lucas Meyer, for instance had been driven back
Erasmus. who had no talent commander. had
failed t" appear with expected rc'nt"rcements-
And General Koch. good man hut poor soldier.
commanding hundred Beers. had met General
French with about two thousand British cavalry
the open vcdt fifteen miles from Idysrnl,h.
and had fought battle To the death, losing
killed and wounded and i'll prisoners more than
half his men. and receiving mortal wound himself
But in regard to engagements which did not
| cannot now concern myself. it not being my pur-
pose to attempt any general record of the war but
merely to outline some OF my own experiences and
a few of the exploits of my wild Irishmcn.
A Lost Opportunity
one windy day late in October we came in sight
- ot the roofs and spires of LadysmIth, lying at
a distance in the valley. On a hltopvc stopped to
discuss various ways and means of thrcshing the
much superior force that had been gathered IN
| was asked if l would undertake to blow up the