TROOPERS' LETTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 289, 5 December 1900, Page 5

TROOPERS' LETTERS.

CA ILTAIG-N EXPERIENCES HARDSHIPS OF SOUTH AFRICAN WARFARE. The following are interesting ex- ; tracts from - letters from Lydenburg, Eastern Transvaal, from Trooper Edwin Gubb, of Port Albert, son of Mr B. Martin Gubb. Trooper Gubb is a. member of the South African Light Horse: —I wrote last from a place called ''Hell's Gate," and a fitting name for it too. Our camp was alongside the highest point in the Transvaal, over SOOOft. It is by far the roughest country I have ever seen, and all the way from there to Pilgrim's Best it is the same. It is wonderful that they can get transports and big guns about in such counutry at all, but they do get them along somehow. We went from Hell's Gate to Spltzkop, stayed Acre two days, and then went to Glynn, Lydenburg, where we camped a week, and we were sorry to leave the.re, too, as we had a real good time that week. We commandeered a lot of Boer provisions that we found stored away in some farm houses, besides • buying stuff at a store in the place, so Tor once \vc had plenty to eat, and when we left we carried away hs much flour, sugar, rice and maize meal as we could take with us. We reached Pilgrim's Rest on the. 27th September, and did not. get. our blankets that night until.after 12, and wo had to be up at 2 o'clock next morning, so we only had a little over an hour's sleep, those that had any. Wo (one squadron of L.11.) left camp at 3 a.m. next morning, and climbed some terrible steep hills, leaving our horses for two hours up a narrow bit of a track, and we got to the top of the range soon after daybreak, and GAVE THE BOERS'A GREAT SURPRISE. They went scampering off in all directions. They were on the look out for us, but not at that point. I suppose they thought we could not get up there. Anyway we upset their plans completely. If they had had half a. dozen men on the top when we went up we could never have got there at all. As it was they lost the position altogether, as once we got up they could not get us down agan. The whole of our brigade came up the hill later in the day, not by the way we went, of course, but by a. good road leading up. Lord Dundomild reckoned if we hadn't got up when we did it would have cost him a hundred or two men to have taken the position, as it was very strong. The Boers were very nearly losing their transports again and two pom-poms as well, but we were not strong enough —only 100 men. They left a part of their force behind to tight us, and the rest got the convoy and guns away as quickly as possible, and by the time our reinforcements came up the waggons Were miles away. We had a sharp fight for a little while, but without casualties. We saw 300 Boers, and how many more there were I don't know. We did not turn in that night either till twelve o'clock, so we had a long day of it (twenty-two hours), and we were nearly done up. We stayed in camp next, day, and the day after that started back for Lydenburg. On the Ist October we arrived at Kruger's Post at about 2.30 in the afternoon. We went into camp and turned our horses out to graze, and had just made ourselves comfortable when boom went a Long Tom, and a shell went whizzing.over our heads and struck the ground 50 yards' beyond us. We waited to see where the next, would land, and we hadn't long to wait either. It dropped about twenty yards short of the camp, and the next one after that right in amongst us. Then, as soon as they got. the range they opened up with two more guns—a high velocity and another Long Tom—and tl:,?y popped the shells in fast and furious. In five minutes from the first shot we got the order to leave the camp independently, but before then they had killed one man and wounded four badly. One of them died the next night and another can't live long. It's wonderful that more men don't get struck with these shells. There were pieces flying about in all directions, and shrapnel shells bursting over our heads. The Boers managed their guns splendidly, and the shells burst beautifully. Well we took shelter in some* farm houses, which we knew they would not shell, as there were a lot of Boer women and children in them, and only five hundred yards to go to them. We stayed there till dark) then went back into earnp, lit fires and started cooking our suppers, but no sooner than we got things going again nicely than boom again. Our fires showed up in the darkness and made us a splendid target, and of course they had the exact range, so could shell us as well in the dark as in daylight. We extinguished all fires and lights immediately, and it was a pity too as I had a billy full of green peas on the fire cooking, and also a. billy full of rice. However we had to finish cooking them next day. The horses were all taken out of camp as soon as possible until things wc,*j quiet ag - ain; then we brought them back and saddled up and shifted camp a mile or two, and got out of their reach. It was only the S.A.L. Horse they shelled beyond putting an odd shell or two in among the other regiments. It was a lovely night to see the

SHRAPNELL SHELLS BURSTING in the dark, but the next instant when the bullets and bits of shell went whistling by it didn't seem near so lovely. However <as usual I came out of it all right. When I went back to get my saddle the last time I found a big hole within six yards of it, where a shell had buried itself and exploded. The next day instead of attacking them as we 'expected Buller took us all to Lydenburg, and left the Boers there. They are 3000 strong and under Erasmus. That was four days ago,and we have been doing nothing since, but I think we move to-morrow. My horse took sick" a couple of days ago, and ,has been "cast," i.'c., pronounced unfit for duty and sent to the horse hospital, and as we have no remounts it will mean that I shall have to walk until we get some or until I can commandeer one as we go along. There are a good many .walking already, so I won't be alone. There is a little "bush" between here and Pilgrim's Rest and scrub about on the hills. It was quite a change to see a bit of bush. You can travel for hundreds of miles and not see trees of any sort except those that. have been

planted round houses, etc., in the Transvaal. We have great difficulty in getting- enough wood 1o boil our tea billy very often, and more than one Boer house has had the inside knocked out to cook with, Of course the houses themselves are all built of stone or brick, but the doors are made ! of wood and the verandah posts, etc;; The fencing- posts are generally slabs | of stone or else iron bars. Sometimes we come to a fence with wooden posts, and if we are within two or three miles of where we expect to camp we soon get them off the wires and carry them along-, but since we came to Lydenburg- first, nearly a month ago, we have generally managed to make a. fire somehow. There is plenty of good water up in this hilly country. I expect you will wonder where I got my writing paper from. Well this I took out of a Dutch post office, and the paper I wrote to you on last I commandered out of a Ihrtch railway station. 1 am to-day on what we call "grazingl guard." Every squadron turns its horses out to graze separately, a.nd four men have to look after each lot. There isn't much work attached to it, or I should not have- been able to write you this letter. I am SITTING OX THE VELDT WITH MY PAPER ON AN ANT HILL, and the horses are standing all round. The weather is getting .very hot here already. 1 don't know what it will be like in another couple of months. Oranges and lemons grow fine in' the valleys about time. I had some fine ones th<> other day. In "act, I think anything will grow in some of these valley. Soldierjs' Inejfeitute, Pretoria, 16th October.-kfust a few lines before I post this. I wrote the above in Lydenburg . Thence we went to Maehadudorp, handed our horses and saddles to General French, and entrained for Pretoria, where we have been for four days. General Bulletr lias left for home. Tie made us- a splendid speech before leaving, and so did Lord Dundonald. We were pur into open trucks, "t in a truck, ami were a day and a half reaching Pretoria, travelling very slowly. We were fired on while in the train by the Boers, but. no one was hit. We were properly sold on reaching Pretoria when told that we were to have fresh horses, and were to be sent after De Wet, as we all thought we had finished, and were going to get our discharges. But it seems we are in for another month or so of it. General Roberts addressed us yesterday, and asked us 5f we would stop and' help finish the- war. He gave us a lot of soft soap. Anyone that was sick or had urgent business to" attend to could leave, but ho wanted the rest to stay, so I stayed, of course. We are to rest here a week, Pretoria 1s a very pretty place, but rather dusty. Living is very dear here. 1 have just paid :;/ for my dinner, and then didn't get much of a feed.