WITH THE FIFTH CONTINGENT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12531, 19 June 1901, Page 2

WITH THE FIFTH CONTINGENT.

THE FORCE IN THE FIELD.

SURPRISE VISIT TO A LAAGER.

THE FIRE TRACK.*

A SECOND-GIBRALTAR.

BOER CAVE-DWELLERS.

THE FIFTH COMING HOME, (By FRANK WILKIN.)

NAAUWPOOBT, April 27, ISOI

My last, letter took you a« far as Welverdeiud, oil the Johannesburg—Klerksdorp railway lino. We pushed ou next day to Randfoutein, and camped there two days, pending the arrival of fresh stores from Krugersdorp. Our force —consisting of Scottish Horse, Imperial Light Horse, tnree squadrons of Fifth New Zealanders, Worcester Infantry and two 15-pounders, a pom-pom and howitzer, about 800 all told accompanied by the convoy escort, then moved on parallel with, the line to a point about six miles beyond Krugersdorp. The convoy Was Jpagered, and that same night, the mounted men, to the number of about 400, accompanied by a shrapnel gnn and a pom-pom, left camp at 1 a.xn. to pay a surprise visit to the Hekpoort Valley, at the foot of the rugged Magalieshurg mountains, where a small band of Boers were reported to be laagered. ROUGH COUNTRY—A RUDE AWAKENING.

The Hekpoort Pass, even less inviting than Oliphant’s Nek, had! to be negotiated in th© dark, and after hours' of stumbling, scrambling and swearing, the troops at daybreak found themselves in a flourishing little settlement located on the hanks of a stream. The .first house visited provided a capture in the person of a Boer asleep in his bed, and immediately after the alarm was raised, and scattered rifle shots were sent amongst our men. The pom-pom was put in action, when from some houses, about 100 yards ahead of the New Zea-: landers fifteen armed Boers dashed out, and crossing the stream made by a circuitous road for the mountains at full gallop. A FRUITLESS CHASE.

Instantly our three squadrons, headed by Major Ponsonby, set out across country to intercept them—an easy enough task, seeihingly, by the look of the place—but unexpected and tantalising obstacles -cropped up everywhere, arid’ after crossing the stream twice, which had to be negotiated in single file so much ground had been lost that the chime was abandoned as hopeless. The fugitives headed straight for thh precipitous mountain ahead, where they joined rhe laager securely ensconced on the crest. The whole valley was systematically searched, and the residents, mostly Women and children, placed under arrest, and taken back to the convoy in captured waggons. Six Boer prisoners were taken. Snipers attempted to make ■ matters unpleasant, hut they found pom-pom shells rather unpalatable.

Much loot fell to our lot on this trip, and after the men had possessed themselves of every thing that caught their fancy, the houses and contents were destroyed by fir©. . ' ; : The primary purpose of this expedition was frustrated by the fact of the small laager we were after having been withdrawn’the previous day from the valley to the main stronghold above. As it was, if we had had only a reliable guide, we should have assuredly snapped up our fifteen friends who got away so easily. One of them, we afterwards learnt from the women, was a well-known, commandant, whose capture would have proved a fin© feather in our caps. ■A : MOUNTAIN FASTNESS.

It was in .this valley some months ago that General Clemente’s column was cub up by the Boers, who are , still laagered away up on the heights- They , also inflicted’ a defeat upon another column which essayed to carry them position later on. Our force made no demonstration agaiqst them, General Dixon contenting himself with laying waste the agricultural tracts below, from which the garrison are supposed to draw their food supply. The enemy’s position here struck us as being an ideal stronghold, as safe from storming parties as Gibraltar. A sheer drop of 100 or 200fb leads down to a steep slope quite bare of cover, into the valley, and an advancing enemy could be raked, sniped, and generally demoralised from any of the rugged and inaccessible spurs that run out. from the main ridge, long before they were engaged with the actual garrison. The pass itself presents an impassable barrier with a few, resolute men holding it. ’ . ATTACK ON A CONVOY. ' s Upon returning to the convoy the force moved off in the direction of Naauwpoort, sweeping the country at the foot of the mountains on route. The convoy, which had brought our supplies from Krugersdorp, new separated from us and returned to the base. The Boers were evidently on the watch for this, for in about two hours they had the escort bailed up, and engaged in a heavy rifle duel. We moved in that direction and the firing ceased. A FIERY TRAIL. On resuming our march we destroyed everything that would burn, tour wake being usually enveloped in smoke, and many prisoners were taken. “ IN DENS AND OAVES OF THE EARTH.” The country now traversed abounded in caves and huge fissures, and the confiding “ Jackeys,” who trusted to these as secure hiding places, were rudely shocked when cheeky colonials dropped on them. One of these caves had, as an entrance, an ordinary looking hole in the earth. It was overgrown by a large tree, and! might have taken weeks of diligent search to discover. One of our chaps lighted on it, and Major Brown, a transport officer, accompanied by : Jimmy Turnbull, of the Otago Squadron, dropped down and lit a match. They found themselves in a large chamber, but what interested them more was the sight of six Boers, kneeling down, with their rifles pointed at the intruders’ breasts. The match was at once blown out, and the Boers were informed that if they fired or made trouble in any way they would be blown up by dynamite. This was too awful even to contemplate, and six trembling prisoners,, at once came out and laid down their arihs. A good quantity of household goods were stored away in the rear of this cave, and some rifles and ammunition, .all of which went to make a fine bonfire. There is some talk of Turnbull receiving the D.S. medal over this exploit, and we all wish him success. In other caves much spoil and many prisoners, and in some cases money, were found, and the New Zealanders, who conducted all the exploring parties, were in great feather. BACK TO NAAUWPOORT. After a three days’ trek, tendered endurable by the presence of a few snipers, wc reached Naauwpoort again, not having had a casualty in fourteen days’ travel through hostile country. The horses did not fare so well, however, many of them Buffering from the effects of bad spills in the rough country and cuts and abrasions, A YEAR AT THE FRONT. We have now • completed a full year’s service in South Africa, and the men, having been at various times deluded into the belief that they were going home immediately, decided to line up and get some definite and official , information as to the length of service they- were likely to undergo in the future. Major Ponsonby, onr commanding officer,, met m'ost fairly, and, knowing nothing himself on the subject, he promised to get a message sent through to Lord Kitchener, reminding him that our term of service was uja, and asking .whfiA were likely to

go home. The message was heltographed in yesterday, and to-day an answer came, statino- that we would return by the ship which brought the Seventh, expected to arrive in the first week of May. This was hilts to us, and that night we were very jubilant. ". A COMPLIMENT, n In connection with this telegram, an indirect compliment was paid to us, which appealed more forcibly than, all the fulsome stuff which has been said and 1 written, both here and elsewhere. General Dixon, our commander, intended taking the column to Ha.rtebeestefonteiii, to participate in some heavy \ fighting reported from that direction. When he heard that, some one hundred and_ fifty New, Zealanders were going • home, and could hot accompany him, he abandoned the expedition, saying that he would not go without them. Taken numerically, the subtraction of this body of men from a column would be an insignificant circumstance, tcio small to cause inconvenience, and we think ourselves no small potatoes in consequence. Free and easy soldiers. We must certainly have been a sad thorn in his side in many respects, for all the cherished customs and traditions of, the British Army that we saw no use for were 'mischievously set at naught. A servile manlier before- a superior officer, exacted in the English regiments, was an unheard of offence amongst us, and a salute was generally accorded as a reward for good behaviour. When a trooper felt himself imposed upon lie did not submit and nurse his grievance, but promptly “rousted” with all his might. On the march or in camp, it was common for a sudden and unexplained cheer to go up, and anyone inquiring the cause from any of the” English regiments would be told that it 1 was those New Zealanders again. No one else would dare to do it. When I say Jail this I do. not wish you to get the idea that, wo wei-e intractable or mutinous. On the contrary, oiir duty was carried out to the very letter, but we simply declined to be reduced to the level 'of our regular compeers—wellwound machinery. Respectful treatment our superiors always received, except in rare instances, where the officer 'had forfeited lias right to such by reason of cowardice. Apparently, this was satisfactory, for there have never been any complaints that we know of. We could never stand the military police at all, and many an exciting brush with these gentlemen Will be recounted when the boys get back again. ! THE FIFTH’S OFFICERS. For qur own officers we entertain the highest regard, and with one or two unimportant exceptions, we consider them the bravest men and best officers who ever left New Zealand. With such men to command them, any regiment could make a name for themselves out here. Colonel Newall and Dr Thomas are especially dear to us, the latter officer having been absolutely indefatigable, in his attention to the .men right through. To his treatment 'many a trooper owes his life, and before we disband we hope to present both him and our Colonel with substantial tokens of esteem. . NEWS OF THE FOURTH. To-day, April £}B, Major Ponsonby informed us that it had been reported that General Babington’s column was surrounded at Haftebeestcfontein, and needed relief. The Folxrth New Zealand was with this column, and Major Poiisonby had promised General Dixon that the Fifth would go with him to the relief, as it was only right they should. It is but a short trek to the scene of action, so it will not make "any difference to us at all, really. The men with sick or unfit horses will be left behind. At twelve o’clock to-day three men were sent away with th© convoy to Krugersdorp, in charge of the New Zealand sick horses.' J was one of them, my horse having come to grief in a barb wire entanglement, so I will miss the fighting, if there is any. A DISAPPOINTMENT. Krugersdorp. We are having a fin© rim© here, all on, our own. Coming through on the trek a yeomanry captain interested himself greatly in us, and his men being green to the work he invited us to quarter with- his troop on arrival at Krugersdorp, and lend a hand in licking them into shape. W© did not acquiesce all at once, but, on talking it over, we decided that it would bo pleasant to boss Tommies for a few days, and if we went with 'him it further struck us that wo might be able to spring a permit for a trip to Johannesburg, end also get an. outfit of new clothes from has bountifully supplied stores. Accordingly, when we arrived, we approached him and, representing that our detail quarter© were over-crowded, asked to be quartered with his men. He smiled in a pleased way, and in our hearing instructed! th© Sergeant-Major to put us on the books of the, regiment for rations and duty. -“Duty!” We stared at on© another in a helpless sort of way, and when ive learnt that eighty-six men were required for guard! and picquet duty every higlit out qf a total strength oi a little over one hundred men, \v© felt positively sick. It was too late to do anything that night, but next morning we tossed up who should walk ove© to the detail camp and persuade the non-eom. in charge to com© up and insist on oiir joining the details. We were happily delivered just as they were thinking about what guard w© should! be put on, and sine© then our lives have run in peaceful grooves, undisturbed by thoughts of manual labour or duty. During the time the regiment was away around! Naauwpoort Corporal Ashby, of B Squadron Fifth New Zealand, who had been left behind at Krugersdorp with the details, contracted enteric fever, and died, after a short illness. He was buried at the Krugersdorp Cemetery.