WAR MAIL NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 68, 21 March 1900, Page 5

WAR MAIL NEWS.

THE LAST LETTERS OF G. W.

STEEVENS.

OPERATIONS BY TELEPHONE,

The "Daily Mail" on Tuesday, Jan. 130, publishes an interesting" article from the pen of the late -Mr G. W. Steevens, describing- a visit to a conJ ning tower at Ladysmith:—"We come t,o what looks like a sandbag- redoirbt," he wrote, "but iv the eyes of heaven is a conningl tower. On either aide, from behind a sandbag apaulement, a 12-pounder and a Maxim thrust forth vgflant ; eyes. The sandbag- plating of the conning tower was six feet thick and shoulder high. The rivets were red earth, loose but binding-. On the parapets ■sprouted tufts .of grass, unabashed and rejoicing- in the. summer weather. Against, the parapet leaned a eouplo of men with the efean-eut, clean shaven jaw and chin of tthe ila.val officer, and half a dozen bearded blue* jackets. They stared hard out of sun-puckered eyes over the billowa of kopje and veldt. Forward we loloked down on the one 4.7; aft we looked up to the other. On bow ant» beam and quarter we looked out to the enemy's fleet. Deserted Pepworth's was on the port, bow, Gun Hill, under Lombard's Kop, on thft starboard, Bui wan abeam, Middle Hill; astern, Surprise Hill ; on t:hc> port quarter. Every outline was cut in adamant. The Helpmakaar Ridge, with its .little, black ants a-crawl on their Mil, was -crushed- flat beneath us. A eio-uple of. vedettes racing- over the pale green plain northward looked as if we comld jump on to their heads. We could have tossed a biscuit over to Lombard's Koip. The grail yelr low emplacements of their .four Mi bfg" piece on Gun Hill stood .up like a Spit-head fort. Throngh the big- tele* scope that swing's on its pivot in tlm centre of the tower yon coukl sea that the. Boers were loaning- round it dressed in dirty mustard colour. THE TELEPHONE BELL. "Left-hand Gun Hill fired, sir," said a bluejacket, with his eyes glued to binoculars. "At the balloon," and presently we heard the weary pinions of the shell* and saw the little puff o>f white be- ! low.

"King' up Mr Halsey," -said the captain. Then I was aware of a sort of tarpaulin cupboard under the breastwork of creepingl trails of wire on the ground; arid a couple of sappers; The coi'poral' dived under the tarpaxilin. Ting--a-ling--a-ling-! buzzed the telephone bell. The gaunt up-tcnveriivg 'mountains, the long, smooth, deadly guns—and the telephone bell! Where were we?. What were we doing'?

"Right-hand Gun Hill fired, sir," came the even voice of the bluejacket. "At the balloon."'

"Captain ■wants to speak to you, sir," came' the voice,of the sapper from under the tarpaulin. Whistle and rattle and pop went the shell in the valley below. . .

"Give him a round, both guns to gether," said the captain to; the tele phone. "Left-hand Gun Hill fired, sir," said the bluejacket to the captain. . • Nobody eared about the left-hand Gun Hill. He Avas only a. 4.7 howitzer. Every glass "was clamped on the big' yellow emplacement.

"Bight-hand Gun Hill is up, sir." Bang coughs the forward gun below us. B&ng-g-g coii'glis the after gun overhead. Every glass clamped on the emplacement. - .

"What a. time they take!" sighs ft lieutenant., then a leaping- cloud a little in- front to the right.

"Damn!" siglis a peach-cheeked midshipman, who—

"Oh. good shot!" f.or the second ha?, landed just over and behind tha epauleinent. "Has it hit tilie gun?" "No such hick." says the captain. "He wais ■dciwn in.goin ii.ro isecon-ds after we had fired."

THIS HANDFUL OF SAILORS THE

SAVING OF. IADYSMITir.

And the men hadall gone to earth, of course. Ting--'a-lmg-a-ling! Down dives the sapper, and presently his face reappears with, "Headquarters to speak to you, sir." What the captain said to headquarters is mot to be repeated by the profane. The captain knows his mind and' speaks it, As soon as that was over, ting'-u* ling- again. "Mr Halsey wants to know if he may tire again, sir "

"He may have one more," for shell is still being- saved for .Christmas. It was all quite unimportant and probably quite ineffective. At..first it staggers you to think-that moimtainRhaking' bang- can have no result, but after a little experience and thought you see it would be a miracle if it had. Tihe emplacement is a. small mountain in itself! The men. havo run out into holes. Once in a thousand shots you might hit the aetua* gun and destroy it, but shell is beingsaved for Christmas. Jf the natives and deserters are not lying, and the sailors really hit Pepworth's Long Tom, then the gunner may live, on his exploit for the rest of his life.'

"We trust we've killed a. few men," says the captain cheerily, "but we can't hope for much more." Ami yet if they never hit a mail, this* haivcTful of sailors have ;boen the saving- ni Laclysimth.