A MIDNIGHT RIDE ON THE VELDT.

Evening Star, Issue 11454, 23 January 1901, Page 6

A MIDNIGHT RIDE ON THE VELDT.

!AN INCIDENT IN THE WAR. Private A. E. De Poitiers, of the 10th Hussars, who is a Newcastle nun, sends the following account of an exciting experijyjcncc 'while on outpost duty in South. KuAf rica : H It was the afternoon of the 12th Decemwber, 1899, that, our troop relieved the CaraSfhiniers on Yaal Kop to take up picket duty Jfor the next twenty-four hours. It was a j|terribly hot day, the sun shining down upon ||our helmets as though longing to burn us to jjfyi cinder. We ali felt more inclined for jjjjsluinber than the alertness required of us ||for one of the most precarious duties of a ijjcavalrymau on advanced post. The afterSnoon passed away quietly, nothing happen||hig in particular, except- the Boers firing EJjja. couple of shells, which fortunately fell a hundred yards short of the kopje upon jywhich we were posted.- As the sun sank ftbehind the neighboring rocks, casting flickering shadows upon the dusty veldt. I was =3duly warned to form one of'a- patrol whose laduty it was to walk about half a mile away our position. We had strict orders if to keep as far behind one another as possible, without losing sight of the man in ;Jtr n rit. As we started upon this rathe* jSnionotonous work, expecting every minute jSa bullet to rome whistling over oiir heads, jjjthe moon was shining in all its glory. lightMing up the vast wilderness, leading us to jgimaginc ourselves acting a part in some mili|pry drama, instead of tie stern realities of gjmodern war. About 11.15 p.m. another SUpatrol advanced out, completely intercepting ne from my own party. Waiting until they massed, I hurried forward at a farter pace. Inspecting to catch up on them, but could ind no trace of my comrades. Not knowng the exact spot where my picket lay. I nstantly knew what a task'l had in hand. To make matters worse, the moon sank out of sight, leaving the place in total darkness, it would be difficult to imagine my feelings. Picture yourself seated on a restive horse;not a breath of air to disturb the stillness of the night; away out on a part of the veldt, almost surrounded by the Boers, and the black sides of the kopje looming up i|inky black against the sky, like some gi--1 jjgantic fortress. "My horse,'missing its comjSpanions, began to neigh, and endeavored to Ijget away. Ah ! there they were. I ad- , Svaneed straight up to them, but what was «my dismay, instead of the troops, there was but rocks and bushes, which in darkness 1 had fancied were. men. Be- ' jsfore I had time to draw conclusions my : jShorse wheeled about, and started off at a , ifmad srallop, when something seemed to grip fjjfmy thiirli. I instantly clapped my hand on Mmv sword-hilt, and turned in my saddle, but cou'.d see or hear nothing, except the noise of my horse's hoofs going at a gallop over frocks, gullies, and ditches. Suddenly a iVJfwall, about four feet high, appeared in front !Sof n:e. It was built up of stones, from the Skopje; and my horse, never hesitating, gave 'pjone splendid bound, clearing it like a bird, 'fjj?which was a ma-rvellous thing to do considerHjing the rock-strewn ground. I was wonsEdering when the faithful beast, woold ease f||up. when suddenly she pricked up her ears,' Sjjand almost simultaneously the stillness of NJthe night was broken- by the sharp comlamand of one nf our sentries. By a snperHjhuman effort I managed to pull up and give Hgthe countersign, thus bringing to a condnHjsion the strange adventure which I have ISendeavored to lay before you.