LETTERS FROM "OUR BOYS."

Evening Star, Issue 11147, 24 January 1900, Page 4

LETTERS FROM "OUR BOYS."

The following letters, dated Arundel, 21st December, 1899, written by the late Sergeant Gourley, have a melancholy interest ■i writing from a place about 659 miles from the (Jape, with nothing but dust and racks around \Vv trained HU! miles, and rode the rest, \ye detrained the horses at Naauwpoort, where we stayed about a week. We then rode on, bivouacking one night on the way here. It is all right sleeping outside. I very often take it on. Of course it is quite a luxury to take your clothes off, as under the present circumstances we never know when we will bo called out. I am very glad to say that the Boers are not very fond of attacking in the dark. We are about 3,000 strong here, all mounted men with the exception of the Koyal Horse Artillery and one regiment of infantry. The New Zealanders compare most favorably with the regulars. In fact, I must own I am greatly disappointed with them, and the majority are not no to much as riders. We can heat them had, and the authorities reckon us the very best at reconnoitring and patrolling. It is very rare that a party of us go out without bringing something homo. One paper here called us the “white-haired bovs of the British Army,” and said that we never thought of getting home without a prisoner, orsomething of the sort. People said that we would never get to the front. u ell, 1 can assure you that that is a mistake, as we have been very much in it since arriving here. I tell you, it is no joke when it is simply raining bullets all around you. It is surprising how soon you get used to it. M , o, mav, while out, we were attached to the Koyal Horse Artillery, and were shelled by the Boers. They fired some thirty shots at us without doing any harm. The furthest from us was not more than fifty yards, so yon sec there was not much room to spare. It was a most peculiar feeling at first, hut you soon get used to it ... I, a hi going to ride a pony commandeered from the Boers. My hoys collared about thirteen this morning while out as a special escort to General French, Just fancy, Monday will be Christmas Day ! I don t know what sort of a dinner we will have. So far our allowance of food is half a loaf (21b loaf) and lib of meat a day, with tea or bblfceat breakfast, and tea-not much for a man when he is sometimes ten or more hours in the saddle ; hut still we live through it all. Africa is the worst country I have been in—nothing hut dust. 1 have not seen a blade of grass since I arrived. . . . General French is in command here. He is a fine general and fond of fighting. We left Naauwpoort at 5 a.m. on the 2nd, and got as far as Hartebeestfoutem farm during the day. The 6th Dragoon Guards arrived, some 600 strong, and our boys assisted them to debark their horses—in fact, our boys did it all. The colonel who was in command shook hands with one of my lads for getting into a truck where four horses were down and getting them out. He said he was “ j "ian he had ever seen amongst horses, and did not know what they would have done without him. . . . There arc plenty of Boers about here. The number is supposed to be oMin 4 we have a force °f only 2,90(1. Nevertheless, we can keep them at a distance. The only bit of real bad luck I have had since I left home took pltice last Sunday, when my horse, which I had named Mac, died. He had done real well on the boat, hot as soon as be landed he went clean off his feed. About two days before he died he started eatmg, and would cat anything he could get, and somehow he must have got told of something which poisoned him. It is & great loss to me, as I nave not got another yet, as the remounts left are no good. One day last week all hands had to saddle up at 11.30 p.m., when we were to go to a certain place and take some Boers prisoners. The r*ew South Wales major wne in charge. Just before daylight Major Hohin declined to go any further—and a good thing too, as the road we had to go was through a gully, and, as it happened, the place was overrun with Boers. It is certain

that some of us would not have got back. Anyhow, we were destined to have a lively liiDe that day, as while we were crossing thedes-rt we were tired upon by the Boors, and the bullets just showered about us. Luckily no one shot. One fellow bad bis burse shot in j * another (TrumiHiter Johnston) ° ij 13 knocked off’with one. So far as I could s«»e, none of our fellows seemed to flinch. • Wo got back to camp that dav at ‘I !10 p;ni., after some fifteen hours in the saddle. We were sent to attack a farm supposed to be inhabited by Boers. When we got there we found the place empty, so some of my division commandeered two turkeys. One they gave to the otficers; the other they cooked and stuffed. It whs a real tivaL • Yesterday was the anniversary of Majnba Hill, and I can tell you wc were kept at it strong. Tim Boers kept annoying ns the whole day. There was only one death - that of a captain in the luniskilling Company. Of course, whenever there is any fighting going on the ambulance is always about, but w« never seem to trouble. The only thing that troubles the lot is to get at the Boers.

The following extract are taken from a letter dated Arundel, December 18, written by Trooper Macpherson to Dr Macpherson, of Dunedin : tVe have had the proud distinction of being made an escort brigade attached to the Royal Artillery one of the moat important positions in General French’s column. We got the artillery into position before daybreak. Our long-range guns nave not arrived. It was two howitzers that came up yesterday. One gun shelled a farmhouse, and we wore ordered to and engage the enemy on a kopje about X,2i:o yards away. After being at the kopje a few minutes the general ordered us to retire, and again to advance to the position. In the meantime the Boers had occupied the kopje within 100 yards of our house, and opened a tcrrifiC-fire. We rushed into the scant cover of the fruit trees and hedges, but the Boers’ tire was awful They poured in about fifty thots to our one. It scorned incredible that none cf us were hit until we were ordered to reeite. Part of rny ba< dolier was shot away, and a shot went through my water bottle. . . . One of our men rushed back through the thick of it to pick up a man who was crushed by his horse that was shot dead. A lot of our hur.-es were wounded, but we only lost one. Sergeant Grant, who was dose to me at the house, said to me: “ By the Lout. Mac, if half of us get out of this we are lucky ; and he is one <»i the rosiest men we hay. I cliil not mind the rille lire .so much as their shells from thiir " Uonfr Tom.” When we were clouding tire R.H.A. wc could see the smoke from the iioer puns four miles away, and then for fiffe i -n or twenty seconds yon are wondering if the shell will fall in amongkt the crowd. It ni-ide me feel as if my “inwards were crawling up into ray neck.” Yon hear them coming like a syren wh stle, anil if they puss over yin duck your head down n fter they have passed. Th< y come so last that we have no t me to duck until thev are over ns. Sixteen shcl's fell in front of us from twenty to lift}-yards muons; hit I think only two of them bur.-t. They did no damage ; init, ny gad, they make one feel uncomfortab c. \\ hen we retired out of range with the R.H.A., General French crinu up and said : Major UoMn, ollicers, and men of New Zealand,—Words cannot express my thanks and the high esteem in which 1 hold you Tom- courage and coolness surprises me,” etc., etc. We were forced to retire from the position, but our rule fine from the house killed a good many, fhe second shot I tired emptied a saddle, lie had just mounted for same purpose or other, and I got a dandy shot. He put his arms up and fell back over, am) the horse came over the top of the kopje. 1 don t think any of my other shots did anv good, although I bred twenty-six rounds. The R.H.A. ‘‘ r c must have done considerable havoc. their shells were bursting in splendid positions. Our ambulance waggon has gone out to try and get lirautord s body, and we may get some fuller particulars of the Goers* loss when it returns.

. . Dec Hollerith tu ‘ ‘ L, a . nl , ,n f ' er S Cs, >t Hazlc't’s division. Incre are thirty-two ot ns, and I feel suie that everyone of them will Stick together. Ha/.lett is ou«<u the best in the world, ami we would do anything for him. General French has given ns two days rest, which our horses badiv require. Uencral \\ arren is coming to assist us with about ■ . .'(linen,principally infantry, and I suppo ewhen we get our long range gnus up we will make an advance or get cut to pieces. It is quite impossible to estimate the strength of the enemy, bufc the number is very between nc e and and their position is very stromr. A lot of .the New Zealand contingent are bad with diarrhon, and five or six are at the .base hospital in Do Aar, with minor accidents. Tins is a beautiful dav. It reminds me of a winters day in Sydney. It is just warm enough tn go about in one’s undershirt mterday evening the sun was clouded with locusts, and then we bad a shower of rain which lasted about ten minutes. Our tent whs infested with all sorts of insects lust night, including scorpions and centipedes. I turned out and slept with my friend the mule conductor on one of the waggons. A storekeeper from Naauwpoort has just come into comp with a load of stores. He rarue to the New Zealand camp first, and we bought him out in about half an hour He must have sold ±*3oo worth. Our tent got £S worth, and there are only six (if us in a tent I am with the farriers. I have to make up any meiliciues required bv the horses, llitre are fourteen men in all the "other tents' They are packed like fish in a tin. . . . Sergeant Hazlett’s division has commandeered 4,000 sheep, 450 head of cattle, and a lot of horses and mules, so we will have a bit coming to us for blood money when the trouble is over.