South Africa and the Boer-British War Part 30

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE LAST STAND OF THE KHALIFA'S STANDARD BEARER. A thrilling incident in the late Soudan war. "That one man, alone, was standing alive, holding his flag upright a storm of lead sweeping past him--his comrades dead around him."]

October 10th, the Boer war ultimatum was received. Sir George desired to withdraw the troops from Glencoe, but the Governor of Natal said, "Such a step would involve great political results and possibilities of so serious a nature that I determined to accept the military risk of holding Dundee as the lesser of two evils. I proceeded in person to Ladysmith on October 11th, sending on Lieutenant-General Sir William Penn Symons to take command at Glencoe.

"The Boers crossed the frontier both on the north and west on October 12th, and next day the Transvaal flag was hoisted at Charlestown. My great inferiority in numbers necessarily confined me strategically to the defensive, but tactically my intention was and is to strike vigorously whenever opportunity offers."

Sir George states that it was Sir W. P. Symons' intention to make a direct attack on the enemy's position under cover of a small wood and of some buildings, and continues:

[Sidenote: Symons' Death and Victory]

"At 8.50 A.M. the Infantry Brigade were ordered to advance. The ground was open and intersected by nullahs, which, running generally perpendicular to the enemy's position, gave very little cover. At 9 A.M. Sir W. P. Symons ordered up his reserves, and advanced with them through the wood at 9.15 A.M. At 9.30 A.M. the Lieutenant-General was, I regret to report, mortally wounded in the stomach, and the command devolved upon Brigadier-General Yule.

"About 11.30 A.M. the enemy's guns were silenced and the artillery moved into a range of 1,400 yards and opened a very rapid fire on the ridge over the heads of our infantry. This temporarily brought under the enemy's rifle fire, and enabled our infantry to push on. The ground in places was so steep and difficult that the men had to climb it on hands and knees; but by 1 A.M. the crest was reached, and the enemy, not waiting to come to close quarters, retired."

The loss of a detachment followed, and Sir George says:

"The Boer force engaged in this action is computed at 4,000 men, of whom about 500 were killed or wounded. Three of their guns were left dismounted on Talana Hill, but there was no opportunity of bringing them away."

[Sidenote: Elandslaagte and Engagements]

In his account of the Elandslaagte engagement, Sir George details the fight and closes:

"Our men worked forward in short rushes of about fifty yards. Many of the Boers remained lying down, shooting from behind stones until our men were within twenty or thirty yards of them, then sometimes ran for it and sometimes stood up and surrendered. These latter individuals were never harmed, although just previous to surrendering they had probably shot down several of our officers and men.

"At length the guns were reached and captured, and the end of the ridge was gained, from which the whole of the enemy's camp, full of tents, horses and men, was fully exposed to view at fixed sight range. A white flag was shown from the centre of the camp, and Colonel Hamilton ordered the 'cease fire' to be sounded. The men obeyed, and some of them moved a short distance down the hill towards the camp. For a few moments there was a complete lull in the action, and then a shot was heard, which was followed by a deadly fire from the small conical copje to the east of the camp, and by a determined charge up hill by some thirty or forty Boers, who effected a lodgment near the crest line within fifteen or twenty paces of our men, who fell back for a moment before the fierce suddenness of this attack. Only for a moment, however, for our fire was at once reopened, and, reinforced by a timely detachment of the 1st Battalion Devons.h.i.+re Regiment, they charged back, cheering, to the crest line, when the remnant of the Boer force fled in confusion towards the north.

"The 1st Devons.h.i.+re Regiment charged with fixed bayonets, and the cavalry squadrons went through and through the retreating enemy. Sir George White estimates the Boer losses at over 100 killed, 108 wounded and 188 prisoners."

[Sidenote: Closing in of Ladysmith]

The close of the General's report is full of significance:

"Reverting to my action at Rietfontein on October 24th, I may mention in general terms that my object was not to drive the enemy out of any positions, but simply to prevent him crossing the Newcastle road from west to east and so falling on General Yule's flank. This object was attained with entire success, the enemy suffering severely from our shrapnel fire, which was very successful in searching the reverse slopes of the hills on which he was posted. Our own loss amounted to one officer and eleven men killed; six officers and ninety-seven men wounded, and two missing. The details of this action, as well as the various plans and returns, which should accompany a despatch, will be forwarded later; but I am anxious that this report should be sent off at once, as it is very doubtful whether any communications by rail with Pietermaritzburg will remain open after to-day."

[Sidenote: Defences of Ladysmith]

The story of constructing the fortifications of Ladysmith is very handsomely told in a letter dated November 21st:

"The defences were incomplete, and it was felt that the enemy, if determined, could make an impression upon every section. Probably the civilian population had not realized this, but it was obvious to those concerned in their construction; and if it had not been for the moral effect of the naval guns it is doubtful if the defences would have been finished in time to meet the a.s.sault when it was made. The devotion with which the sailors drew and returned the enemy's fire while all other troops were engaged in building breastworks stands unprecedented.

The first three days their guns had little or no parapets, and the men had to stand to in the open. The luck of the British service was with them, for, though the ground round the guns was furrowed and plowed in every direction, no appreciable damage was done to any group. With the naval gunners drawing the fire it was possible for the men to work at day on some of the posts. But on others nothing could be done except at night, and the men, as soon as they were relieved from holding the crest lines, were forced to exchange rifle for pick and shovel and to spend the night intrenching. But each twenty-four hours that the Boers delayed the a.s.sault saw the safety of Ladysmith increase, until, by November 7th, those responsible for the line of defences were confident that we could hold our own. But after the experience of November 9th, the Boers have made no further attempt to reduce Ladysmith by storm.

[Sidenote: A Narrow Escape]

There were eleven miles of defences. This early incident of the siege is told:

"Colonel Ian Hamilton and staff, including Lord Ava and Colonel F.

Rhodes, escaped a serious burst by a few moments. They were about to have breakfast when a sh.e.l.l from the Peppworth battery entered the plinth of the house and, pa.s.sing into the cellar, burst under the breakfast table. The force of this explosion drove the floor planks of the room through the ceiling and roof."

The famous war correspondent, G. W. Stevens, who died of fever in Ladysmith during the siege, gave at a dash a diagram and picture of the city that will be memorable for British valor and the tenacity of the Boers, and the proof that the former are as fierce on the offensive as they are firm on the defensive, and Ladysmith will be fixed in history as a spot that was for months the pivot upon which events that effected the destiny of nations turned. This paragraph is an outline drawing of the correspondent whose reputation was won in adventures of hardihood, personal bravery in going to the fire lines where history is made, and a rare talent for rapid and vivid pencillings by the way:

[Sidenote: Surroundings of Ladysmith]

"If the reader will bear in mind what a horse's hoof inverted looks like, he may get a mental picture of Ladysmith and its surroundings--the heels of the horseshoe pointing eastward, where, five miles off, is the long, flat top of steep Bulwaan, like the huge bar of a gigantic horseshoe magnet, The horse's frog approximately represents a ridge, behind which, and facing Bulwaan, but separated from it by broad stretches of meadow, with the Klip River winding a serpentine course through them, between high banks is Ladysmith town. Between the frog and the horseshoe lie our various camps, mostly in radiating hollows, open either to the east or west, but sheltered from cross fires by rough kopjes of porphyritic boulders that have turned brown on the surface by exposure to suns.h.i.+ne. Bushy tangles of wild, white jasmine spring from among those boulders with denser growth of thriving shrubs, bearing waxen flowers that blaze in brilliant scarlet and orange."

[Sidenote: Preparations for the Siege]

_The Natal Witness_ has contained striking accounts of the situation in Ladysmith. "The people cut off in the town, having been notified that Joubert would begin the bombardment in a day or two, sought places of safety. The Royal Hotel people flitted to the deep, rocky ravine through which the Port road runs towards the camp. In the bottom of the ravine, with precipitous banks on each side of the high stone viaduct, used once for the conveyance of water to the town, towards the mouth of the ravine, a well-protected little camp was formed, and here the Royal continued to cater for such of its guests as thither went.

The Railway Hotel closed. Mr. and Mrs. Chisnall, of the Crown Hotel, did better than the others. They kept their hotel open, and, not too much afraid of sh.e.l.ls, which never came, continued to do their best for their clients, despite shrinkage of supplies. Along the bottom of the ravine, already referred to, were numerous tents, people--men and women--took up their abode amongst the trees and rocks, and several individuals found holes amongst the rocks on the sides of the ravine into which they could stow a few of their possessions, and crawl into, themselves, when the sh.e.l.ls began to whistle overhead.

[Sidenote: Caves Excavated for Families]

"In the clay banks of the ravine caves were excavated. Many of these places showed there had been no lack of energy and ingenuity employed in their preparation. Narrow entrances opened into cavities large enough, some of them, for a dozen people to stand upright in at one time, and into these interiors had been brought bedding, seats, food and cooking appliances. Some folks, less energetic or less apprehensive, contented themselves by scooping out the banks so as to have a few feet of covering over their heads. Into one of these scooped-out terraces were set two long garden seats, and on these the father and mother and a big family of little children intended to sit in a row when the sh.e.l.ls began, with their backs firm against the earthen wall behind, and their eyes upon the Klip River below. Within a distances of less than half a mile between twenty and thirty such places had been prepared.

"Monday, November 7th, the bombardment began. Early in the morning Boer sh.e.l.ls were whistling overhead, banging and cras.h.i.+ng as they reached the earth, from end to end of the town. There is a glorious uncertainty about Boer sh.e.l.ls. Whether their erratic course is due to deliberation or merely the result of poor gunnery, I cannot pretend to decide. But the fact remains that the sh.e.l.ls from the Dutch positions fell in the most unexpected places.

"Some fell near the camps by the river, and some caused considerable alarm to the cave-dwellers by alighting near their cool retreats.

Others, again, went far over Ladysmith, striking the bare hills, causing a loud report and a cloud of dust, and that was about all.

About 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the sh.e.l.ling was heavy. Shrapnel came from Umbulwan, and the sh.e.l.ls bursting over the town; the bullets, iron segments and shot rattled on the housetops at times like hail.

From 4 o'clock to 4.20 twenty-two sh.e.l.ls came from the Boer guns, but taking the entire day the number of sh.e.l.ls would not average one every two minutes."

[Sidenote: Town Hall Struck]

"Sh.e.l.ling by the enemy's smaller guns started before 8 o'clock (November 22d), but the backyards of houses in the vicinity of Port road west, was the designation of the missiles. "Slim Piet" chimed in after breakfast, with no respect for the Red Cross. After sending a few into the centre of the town, he succeeded in striking the right wing of the Town Hall, which has all along been the office of the town clerk. The bomb--a 94-pounder--entered the roof, crashed through the ceiling, and thence against the back wall of the wing. Here it encountered a well-constructed stone wall about two and a half feet thick. The resistance was tremendous, but a portion of the wall gave way with the explosion, which wrecked the inside of the office, smashed every pane of gla.s.s, and threw splinters in every direction. The most remarkable thing about this was that at the moment several soldiers belonging to the Hospital Corps were engaged at breakfast under what was considered the friendly shelter of the wall. When the part.i.tion wall gave way they were literally covered with the falling debris, and many received bruises and scratches, but not one was severely wounded.

[Sidenote: Patients Removed]

"A huge cloud of dust rose high above the building, intermingled with the smoke, which issued forth from the windows. About fifty patients were inside the Town Hall at the time, and these were immediately removed into a large excavation adjacent to the building. A stone weighing about seventy pounds was thrust from the wall a distance of about 100 yards. The "Powerful" men's reply to this bomb of "Slim Piet's" was a plugged sh.e.l.l, which had the desired effect of silencing him for a few hours. The other Boer guns kept taking hot shots. One of these from Lombard's Kop struck and exploded on the top of a partially built house, which was being used as the kitchen for the Natal Police Field Force. Trooper Duncanson, who was at work there, was. .h.i.t on the right side by portions of the sh.e.l.l, and died almost immediately. Then there was a cessation until dusk, when "Long Tom"

sent half a dozen sh.e.l.ls into Ladysmith very close to the Town Hall.

"Night cometh on apace," and soon all was wrapped in darkness. The elements went to war; thunder and lightning, rain, and a half gale prevailing. Heaven's artillery seemed to mock the puny thunders of man's more deadly weapons. The Boers started firing at 10.40 P.M., and our guns, which must have been trimmed and ready, responded with alacrity.

"To date (25th November), the Boers have on three occasions sh.e.l.led the town and camp at night. In the quietness of the night the noise of the sh.e.l.ling--the firing of the guns and the bursting of the sh.e.l.ls--was awful in its volume and intensity."

[Sidenote: Midnight Bombardment]

A Ladysmith letter gives a thrilling account of a midnight bombardment: "To be awakened at midnight by a shower of ninety-four pound sh.e.l.ls was a painful shock to the opinion we had formed of the good nature of the Boer Commander. Many people would not believe it, and concluded that they were victims of nightmare. But steel sh.e.l.ls, with a bursting charge of melinite, do not encourage delusions.

"By the time half a dozen had rent the sky with terrific crash the town was awake, and silent figures in undress were flitting like uneasy ghosts about gardens and verandas. This was a new and unpleasant experience, very trying to the nerves. It had taken several days to get accustomed to sh.e.l.l fire between dawn and dusk. At first the flight of a sh.e.l.l turned one's thoughts to the caves in the river bank.

But, after a time, when one began to realize how little damage was done, the instinct of Fate--more common among men of the East than of the West--a.s.serted itself. The light of the sun and the presence of a crowd gave a sense of security. Everybody, unconsciously it may be, puts the question, "Why should a sh.e.l.l hit me rather than another?" In the solitude and shadows of the night this confidence in destiny is a sorry support. Each man thinks himself the sole target of the enemy, and feels that every sh.e.l.l is aimed at the pit of his stomach.

[Sidenote: An Awe-Inspiring Cannonade]

"The night was dark, and a solemn stillness was in the air, when suddenly the hills burst into intense and lurid life. The long black ridges kindled under a bright red flame. Then come the fateful moments. Scorching the deep blue sky, the sh.e.l.l rushes onward in seemingly interminable flight. During the day, amid the stir of life, this invisible, death-laden progress sounds short and sharp, like an arrow from a bow. The suspense is brief. But at night it sweeps alone like a meteor from horizon to zenith, and descends in a hissing curve like a white-hot bolt plunging into a fathomless sea. A second later and earth and air and sky are rent with the crash of bursting steel; a tongue of flame leaps upward, and the great amphitheatre of hills seethes with steel bullets and fragments of sh.e.l.l. For several nights the enemy kept up this awe-inspiring cannonade. The only result was to disturb one's slumber, and to drive women, children and a few nervous men to the caves."

[Sidenote: Ladysmith Hard Pressed]

January 6th the Boers made a desperate rush to storm Ladysmith, and the last heliographic message received at 3.15 P.M. by Sir Redvers Buller consisted only of the words, "Attack renewed. Very hard pressed." The sunlight then failed, and only a "camp rumour" that the Boers were defeated at 5 P.M., with a loss of 400 prisoners was forthcoming. At 2 P.M. on Sunday, another message reached Frere Camp with the news that the attack had been "repulsed everywhere with very heavy loss."

[Sidenote: Attack in Force Repulsed]