IN PRAISE OF NEW ZEALANDERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 105, 4 May 1900, Page 5

IN PRAISE OF NEW ZEALANDERS.

A gunner of the 6th Battery of the Royal Artillery, writing- on the way from Slingersfontein to the Modeler, to the old folks at Home, says:—"Up to now we have had the New Zealanders with us, as escort to the guns, and a finer ]ot of fellows I never set eyes on. "We had to leave them at Rensburg, and they were very sorry, and so were we too. They would do anything for us, and give us anything. They think we are marvellous atour guns. I expect you read of the bit of a chai'ge the Yorkshire and New Zeakinders made a week or two ago. The Yorks would h#ve been cut up had it not been for the New Zealanders. One of thel fellows was like a madman amongst them, dashing from rock to rock with his bayonet, and fairly cutting them up." KIPLTNG "YARNING" IN HOSPITAL. Writing to his father, Private Richardson, of the. St. John Ambulance, stationed* at, Wynberg Hospital, says: "While I am writing this Sir Alfred Milner is going over the hospital. This morning we had Rudyard • Kipling- in our ward, by special request, the men being very anxious to see him, as they call him their champion. It was qxiite a. surprise, his visit, as a lady happened 'to be in our ward last week giving some of the patients Kipling's works, and they told her what a lot they thought of him, so she wrote to him and he came. He passed a, joke and spun a yarn, which pleased the men immensely." BULLER'S DUMMY CAMP. While Bullet's army was attacking

Spion Ivoj) and other heights on the. north bank of the Tugela, Spearman's Camp, which he had just vacated, kept up the pretence of being occupied so that the Boers might be unprepared for any attack. A private of the Border Regiment writes home as follows: "The division moved off quietly by night, leaving eight men, a sergeant, and a quartermaster behind, with orders to make as much ado in. this dummy camp as if the brigade was there. The Dubiins" drummers were bellowing all sorts of calls, blowing defaulters in when there was none. It was a grand idea, and the Boers Thought all Culler's army was in camp." SOMETHING AWFUL AFTER THE BATTLE IX A STORM. Private W. Jackson, of the Ist Border Regiment, wrote from Spearman's Camp. 2nd February, 1900: "L think by the time you are reading this, Ladysmith will be relieved and we will be well on the way to La ings Nek, . .

1 for one won't bo sorry when the war is over, as it is not all fun, lying" on tin* hills night after night without an.v cover over us, and we were all glad to get back in camp again. It is terrible to see a battlefield after dark, when the lightning1 is playing" over the faces of the dead and wounded. The Maxim and Xordenfeklts do terrible work amongst our men. eating up the ranks something awful. 1 see by the papers that they are sending out volunteers. 1 think they will find it is not so easy as they think. All our reserve men that have come outare sorry they came, as it is no Egyptian walk-over."