The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-05-31

| He was a tall bony. soldierIy fellow
with the stripes Of a sergeant on hi
arm; and the number Of the regimen
| on his cap prom3ted me 10 ask hin
| whether he had been in the recent
/ compaign n Egypt. where the British
square was attacked by the Fuzzy
| wuzzies"
| The mans eyes glowed Indeed
| then. I was, sir he replied. Il was
in the front Of the line that day
why, in that case" said |, you
must have seen Burnaby.'
| He Strengthened up instantly, as il
on parade, and stared at me with a
sort of fierceness. Did you know
hi1n?" he said: and went on immedi-
ately. Il saw him, strand I saw him
when he died."
We went into executive session forth
with. and the sergeant told me his
story Burnaby had Joined the ex-
petition, having been assigned to no
command, but for the sake of adven-
ture. and for the sport of the thing.
He soon became the favorite of the
officers. and the idol, of the rank and
file. His experience in campaigning
in wild countries, his quick percep-
lions, sound judgment, and cool dare
devil courage, made him a valuable
and stimulating companion.
On the day of the battle. he assist
ed in choosing the position for the
British force, and in forming the
square. When the Fuzzy wuzzfes
charged. and, in spite of the fire of
the infantry, engaged in hand to hand
fghting with parts of the British line,
Burnaby stepped to the point where
the attack was f1ercest. and with his
drawn saber fenced with the native
spearmen He didn't try to kill none
of 'en, sir" said the sergeant, being
there unofficial, as I might say, though
he had chance enough, as I could see,
being only about fifteen PAGES to his
right; but he just stood there and
played with 'em, as man plays with
boys, parrying the thrusts, and some
times taking on two or three of 'em
at once; and he was laughing, in a
quiet way he had, all the time. 1t was
Just pastime for him, you could see
that.
by and by, my mate, that was
standing next me, got prodded through
the stomach by one of those devils;
and it made me that mad that, in
place of giving the fellow the bayonet,
I dubbed my rifle and dashed his
head open. I'd stepped a bit forward
to do it; and as I stepped back, l look
ed round toward Burnaby. big
blackamoor. pretty near as tall as he
was. had made a thrust at his face,
and Burnaby's sword had sent the
spear up in the air. Just then, as his
arm was raised, fellow who'd been
crouching down close to him gave
iab upward with his weapon and sent
the point right through Burnaby's
heart He was dead before he fell
and so was the fellow that killed him,
for Phil Bowman, private in the
ranks, gave him a kick that broke his
jaw, and then pinned him through the
neck with his bayonet. But Burma
by was dead; and if we'd killed every
Fuzzy wuzzy in Egypt, it wouldn't
have made up for him."
This account of the young hero's
death, though differing slightly from
some of the stories, has the credit due
to an eye witness at close quarters |
It seems a life thrown away; and
yet the example of such a man helps
to inspire the spirit in British troops
that has made their far flung battle |
line victorious all round the world.