A LETTER FROM THE FRONT.

Evening Star, Issue 11725, 7 April 1902, Page 8

A LETTER FROM THE FRONT.

Trouper Crofton Umbers, of the Scottish Horse, has written to his parents and other members of his family a number of tetters, from which the following extracts are taken : No. 13 General Hospital, Johannesburg, February 2. I ha.ve some good news for you this time. I was operated on again on Thursday (January 30). and this time the doctors succeeded in extracting the bullet, which, as I anticipated, proved to be a Mauser, and is intact, and looks as if it has been bronzed. Ibis is due, no doubt, to its long stay in Lhe home I kindly afforded it. I "was X-rayed again, and the doctor had the object more clearly marked off in my leg. My innings in hospital will soon be ended, for now that the bullet is out of my log there is nothing to wait for but the heating up of the cut, which will be right before you read this. In. a few days I will be out of bed, and a few days later out of this show altogether. I would have sent the bullet home, but I hope to bring it home myself soon. I have alro-a small piece of the Martini-Henry bullet that struck me in the side. The bullet broke, and tie greater part of it passed underneath my arm after it hit me. These two small curios must compensate me for the loss of the Boer relics, etc., which I had in my kit on the column. Altogether I was photographed six times with the X-rays. In the Natal ' Witness' a few days ago I saw that the Eighth New Zealand Contingent were about to sail, and that the Ninth were to follow next month. I suppose some friends of mine have joined one of the contingents, and I would not be surprised to come across some of my old chums here. The war may be at its "last chapter now. hut the new men will find plenty of hard tighting still, as the remaining pages are tnrned over. I am glad to see New Zealand is keeping up her practical patriotism, ajid tbewign tl>e smallest colony, has sent the most men. ... If I had been still on the

veldt I would doubtless have signed on for a while longer, but now that I have been in hospital so long I might jifcst as well come home and get thoroughly fit before I go fighting again. Young Moon has just been in to see me, and he told me he wrote to you some time ago a.bout me. Be is a nice" fellow, and eornes from Balkirat. He and I were very chummy out with the column. I forgot to tell you that Major BramJey, who succeeded to the late Major Murray's command of the 2nd Scottish Horse, was killed some time ago. He did not live long to enjoy his command. . . • The Marchioness has been round" twice lately, and she brought ni« some writing paper, etc. She was very <dad when she he;u-d that my operation had been successful, and she is waiting for mc to go to her convalescent ramp at Belgravia.

Johannesburg, February 5. Tn less than two months' time 1 expect to leave this place for New Zealand, and already 1 have a message from a Mel-bourne*-bov to take to hi* home. If you heard of mv being hit before you received mv letter you would doubtless hear of me as" lieing " slightly wounded," for I ihmK I wits reported as such. It should have been " severely wounded,'' but if you all learned that von would bo pretty sure to think that I was in a dangerous condition, or at least crippled. But you know now that I will not be lame; in fact, I will be none the worse soon, I so that l don't mind telling you now that I was. ■■severely wounded." Lord. Kitchener passed here the other day in his .train but I could not get a glimpse of him There are eighty wounded men of General Brace Hamilton's coming into this hospital m a will arrive, I think, in a few days. It wiU perhaps be sent to the regiment first, like the letters, and I must thank you very much for sending me such a fine gift, whtcn riieAing to look forward to, emeoally when the box contains letters, I thougnb that perhaps the first news you received of my being hit would be from my own letter. In a casualty list the men are classified as follows:- Dangerously, severely, and sJio-htly wounded I came under the 'severely' lot, but was reported as ' slightly' on account of it not being known at first "that the bullet had remained in my le<r However, the mistake, was for the cood. for 'severely' could easily be interpreted as dangerously by an ,-unxious pa«mtI am very much impressed with your kind words, and feel confident that if a loving father's and mother's prayers will bring down protection on their son I am indeed in «afe keeping-. I believe I was the oidy New Zealander wounded in the light. I do not know personally either of the two Dunedin men you spoke of. Mr Eotheringham, remount officer, was at Middelburg in the remount department, but I have not heard of Corporal Eraser at all. 1 have decided upon coming home for a while at least. I am afraid Twill not be fit for riding for a time yet, and most likely I will leave Cape Town in ApriL Thank you very much for that poem 'Farewell to the General.' I have shown it to several Tommies, who think it is splendid. I knew that Dnnedin would take first place as usual. JAfter referring to the leception by New Zealand of General Sir Hector Macdonald.] . . . Lieutenant Easton is on the staff at Johannesburg, and Sergeant Morley is still with tlie column. You have had already a pretty good account of Brakenslaagts from me, so I won't write any more. I see you mention De Wet as the mau who attacked us—a mistake of someone's. The Boer commandants who were there were Botha, Groebler, Prinsloo, Opperman, Trichard, and others less important. Colonel Benson was in charge of the. column, and had only had command for six months. He belonged to the ltoyal Field Artillery. Major Murray commanded the Scottish Horse. As to my general health, I have not felt better at any time since I have been in the country. Yet 1 have not experienced the slightest symptoms of enteric, and J. trust to God tliat 1 never will. . . .

Surgeon Major-general Wilton has been round this afternoon inspecting the hospital. There has been some heavy fighting round about here the Lost few days. Yesterday morning we heard heavy artillery firing" hi the direction of the Klip River. The Scottish Horse have been doing a Jot

of good work lately. . • *. I thank those people who so kindly sympathised with you on my account. ... 1 am allowed up now, and all is plain sailing. I walk with a slight limp, but it is gradually leaving me, and will disappear altogether in a few days. We had a terrible storm here bust week—-a regular hurricane. The air was black and hot, and the storm burst upon us with an awful roax. I expected to see cr marquee go up in the air every minute, but luckily nothing worse happened than a fewbell tents being blown down, February 18.—I enclose a photograph of our officers, which I got from the ' Navy and Army.' My squadron officer is Captain .Murray, and my troop officer Lieutenant Fims. The New Zealand boys have been doing some, fine work. If was they who captured De Wet's last gun?r—a 15-pounder and a pom-pom. The Boers are getting stirred up properly now, and have received more fatal blows the last few weeks than they have at any other time of the campaign. One by one their leaders are being captured or killed. The 15-pounder that the New Zealanders captured from De Wet was the one taken from Colonel Firman on Christmas Day. We had a distinguished visitor round to see us yes-terday—Major-general Oliphant. I hear he is going to relieve General Methuen. . . . Both the guns that we lost have been »*•

captured. The weather ha* been very hot here lately, bub we are very cotnfortobk. The odes of the marquees are always taken down on a hot day, so it is nice and cool inside.

Scottish Horse Convalescent Camp, Befijravia, Johannesburg, Feb. 27. I left hospital two' days and went by train to our depot in Johannesburg. Yesterday they sent me up here to the convalescent camp. I will be sent down to Cape Town in a few days. One of our fellows in the tent here—Trooper Grierson, son of General Grierson, of Gibraltar—who wars recommended for the V.C. for attempting to take a message into camp for Colonel Benson at Brakenslaagte, tells me ie knows the Rev. H. M. Umbers, Continental English chaplain at Calais (France), and I presume the reverend gentleman is that relation of yours of whom I remember hearing you speak. Grierson, who has been awarded eorporal's stripes, knows him very well, and he is going to write and tell the Rev. H. M. about me. When I arrived at the depot on Tuesday I found your box of Christmas gifts awaiting me, and I am pleased to tell you everything was hi perfect condition. However, the letters were hardly legible, the ink of the pencil having got damp. I mnut thank you very much for the trouble you went to in making up such a fine case of " scoff." EveryHirrjg in the box is lovely. I have it up at the camp now, and we are living like lords. The camp is sitnated in a pretty Elace in Belgravia, which is one of the ill suburbs. We have a splendid view of Johannesburg and all the valley. Johannesburg is gradually resuming its original form. It seems very funny walking about the lighted streets at night and seeing the shops, eta Lord Kitchener 1 * Johannesburg house is just a few yards from our camp, but at present the Commander-in-Chief is at Pretoria. The nert letter of mine will most likely be from Cape Town. It is a hard job to get away when your time is up. The Marquis keeps hold of you as long as he can. I will have to touch him up if he doesnt get me out of this place soon.

The Marchioness of Tullibardine, who takes a most kind and active interest in her husband's soldiers, has again written to Mr Charles Umbers about his son. She says: "He has been raiher unlucky, as, after having been up and about, he had to go back to bed again, as his leg was troubling him, aud the doctors had some difficuty in finding the bullet. This, however, they finally succeeded in doing, and then extracted it, and since then your son has made steady progress. I see hhn about once a week, and to-day, on going to the hospital, found him out of bed once more, and looking much better. I am very sorry he has had such a long spell of hospital. It is very unfortunate, but he will, I hope, soon forget ulxyut thai if kis -wound leaves no permanent effect on hia leg—wliich I don't suppose it wfll do," The young Marchioness is ehief of her husband's con valescent camp, and, as Trooper Umbers says, her "boys" are delighted at. having so kind and beautiful a "commanding officer " to cheer them up while in hospital.