Trooper Hawthorne.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9833, 4 August 1900, Page 8

Trooper Hawthorne.

We have been permitted to make thei following extracts from a letter written j by Trooper W. E. Hawthorne, at Pretoria, to his parents at Greenmeadows;— •« Since I last wrote from Bloemfontein we have had several fights. After leaving that town we marched to Kroonstad, where we joined the First and Second Contingents, in command of General Hut ton. We marched through a very rough pass on the 24th May. On the 26th we were in action on the veldt among the hills. Several of the Boers were shot, and the remainder retired very fast. In order to get away quickly they lightened their horses' burden by cutting their blankets off the saddles. It was in this struggle that Captain Chaytor waa wounded. On the 28th we were under a heavy shell fire. The New j Zealanders escorted the artillery. We lay all night in the firing line, and during the night there was a heavy frost; it even froze the water in my bottle. Lieutenant Berry's horse was shot through the neck while he was leading him. A shell burst at General Hutton's feet, but he was not injured. We had three guns of the Royal Horse Artillery, and they did good work, but the Boers had us in such a hole that we could hardly move. In the night our artillery retired and General Hamilton took up a position further away. In the morning he shelled them with the naval guns. We had another struggle on the 30 ih May with the rearguard of the Boers, capturing one big gun, seventeen waggons, and seven hundred and ninety prisoners. We camped a day, north of Johannesburg, where there was a good orange grove. On Sunday we left for Pretoria. We had one fight in a pass, losing half our horses. I got a Boer pony on the road, and it carried me to Pretoria. We are without horses. A renewal of clothes would be acceptable, for having to sleep every night in your day clothes is not very nice. Sometimes we have been without food for three days. We are having a good time now in camp. The Boers here wish the war was over. I would like to see more of the country before Igo home. We all deeply regret having to part with Lieutenant Berry. " Little Jack" is with us here. I have not heard where the Fourth and Fifth Contingents are yet."