NEW ZEALAND CONTINGENTS AT THE FRONT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11440, 2 August 1900, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND CONTINGENTS AT THE FRONT.

MARCH FROM JOHANNESBURG TO PRETORIA. THE OCCUPATION OP THE' CAPITAL. ENGAGEMENT WITH BOTHA'S I FORCES: SOME NARROW ESCAPES. SERGEANT RUSSELL CAPTURED BY THE BOERS, [from our special war correspondent.] (By Telegraph from Wellington.) Shortly after the British prisoners had been released, after the occupation of Pretoria by Lord Roberts' forces, I sought out Quartermaster-Sergeant Borland, and Sergeant Harris, both of whom had been in the hands of the Boers since the Sannax Tost, engagement near Bloemfonlein. on .March 31, and learned from them the following interesting particulars regarding their experiences during captivity. THIS LIST OF THK CAH'URKI). As you already know. 17 New Zealauders were captured during their engagement at Sanniis Post on March 31. The prisoners consisted of Quartermaster-Ser- ' geant Berland. Sergeant Harris. Troopers Palmer, Valentine. Wyllie, Powell. Butler. Pope, Franklvn. Miller, Cussar, Prosser. Jewel, Cathcrall Waklic, Tarrant, and He'enan. The latter vas ill, and when captured was in the ambulance, and lie was left behind in charg.; of the Boer medical officials at Winburg, ; t> the Orange Free State. Miller also was in a poor state of health, and was placed in the hospital. ARRIVAL IN PRETORIA. We arrived in Pretoria on May 5, and were accompanied by the others, some 260, ! who had been captured at Saunas Post. I This made something like 3000 men in the enclosure north of Pretoria. We were placed under the usual guard, and though the Boers (did all they could for ns. I am certain that tliey did not treat, heir prisoners as well as we treated their men who had fallen into our hands. The, New Zealanders settled down to their new life in the most philosophical manner, and few complaints were made at first- Verv few of us had money, and there appeared to be very little prospect of receiving any. POUR THOUSAND PRISONERS. i Nothing of any comment occurred until | Good Friday, when we heard that General j Buller had achieved a brilliant victory at | Majuba. while we were also imformed that I another British defeat had been accomI plished by the Boers, and that 600 more j prisoners would arrive at Pretoria. The 1 following day 500 prisoners came into tamp I from General (latacre's Column. These I proved to be companies captured in the Southern Orange Free State, and all appeared tired. They had been forced to march 88 miles in four days; and in South Africa this is no light task. Other prisoners arrived, and (altogether there must have been close on 4000 prisoners in and around Pretoria. It was galling to see the selfsatisfied over-confident Boers gloating over I what they called their successes and our I defeats, but we knew tiwt our day was to I come, and this made our captivity much | lighter and less irksome than would have ' been the case, had we been fighting a los--1 ing cause. ' WRETCHED SANITARY AP.RANGE- ; MENTS. The sanitation in and around the camp i was vffrv bad, and many died from fever i that would not have arisen ban the or--1 dinarv laws of sanitation been olwerved. ' We met some of the Queenslanders uud i some of the New South Wales Lancet".; the . latter having been captured nest Slingersfontein on January 16. the day after our boys' gallant, defence in New Zealand Hill, | when poor Sam Gnurlay and Cnnrell were ' killed. | RESTIVE UNDER RESTRAINT. I 1 regret, to state that some of our men I did not behave as they should nave done, 1 and though a,s much as possible was done ! on their behalf, they did not appear satis- | tied, and were the means of causing some I unpleasantness. Tliov were scarcely to I blame, for incarceration under such circum- ! stances tried our tempers sorely. Easter | passed in splendid weather, and all we ! could do was to wish we were out of it all, j and with the New Zealand Contingent. APPEAL FOR FUNDS. We held a conference, and it was agreed t Mat it would perhaps be advisable to send a cable to the New Zealand Government, i explaining our destitute position, and askj ing for assistance. A subscription was , raised, and a message was handed in to j the Transvaal authorities, asking the Premier to endeavour to send some money for 1 the use of the New Zealand prisoners in I Pretoria. Some of the men grumbled at not getting decent clothes. But what could be done? THE CONFIDENCE OF THE BOERS. Day aftei. day dragged its weary length along, but no news came to camp as to the location of the British troop, and the Boers said again and again that our men would never cross the Vaal River, but we knew as much, if not more, of the British army than the Boers, and though each day added to mtr anxiety, we knew a day ot reckoning was near at hand. ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE. Nothing of importance occurred until April I 25, when some of the prisoners (not New Zealanders) were discovered endeavouring i to escape, and, of course, stronger guards were posted, and greater vigilance exercised. INFESTED WITH VERMIN. The sheds, clothes, and blanker of the i prisoners became infested with vermin, j Some of the Imperials asked that a larger ; amount of space should be given to each | man. but the Boer officers said that they i had had more prisoners than ever they ex- [ pertpcl to capture. The best possible sir- ' rangements had been made, and no im- ! provement could he effected. One Tommv said to a Transvaal officer, " I hope our people are treating Cronje and his men as you if rent ing the prisoners at Waterval," to which I he Boer, one of the Zarps, re- ■ plied, "If you are so foolish as to rush i into our amis you can't expect us to keep I you in palaces. As for Cronje, he has , gone to St. Helena, and is no further use j to us." I DEATH OF AN AUCKLAND I TROOPER. j We heard that Tarrant, who was not with ; us, had fallen ill, and was located at PreI toria Hospital, anil on April 25 we were , informed that he had died there from enI teric fever. He died on April 15, 16 days : uflei In ing ciptned. and was buried oil ' April 16. We all regretted to hear of tie 'Auckland lad's death, as he was. popular, 1 and never eon plaited during the whole of his illness. At the hospital they said he l v..u iuii-t patient, but grew weaker and nicer, though everything possible was done for him. NEWS OF THE BRITISH ADVANCE. On the 26tl> we were disappointed to | learn that Lord Roberts' column had only I advanced 20 miles north of Bloemfontein. ; but news of the movements of other columns, i and particularly that of General lan Hamd I ton. with which the New Zealanders wore then associated, and which was advancing . northward towards Winburg, could not be . obtained, and we did not know what to I think. Fort} add,timed i..: doners came in from the ho-pi'al. we! ah'Ul ,i down, the latter the result of recent captures, also camo to camp, and helped to swell the already large number of prisoners at the Waterval. THE FARE We heard that money had been sent from England for distribution among the prisoners of war, i;ltd this chirred us up a little, as we knew we had a chance of buyi ing some clothing, and a little extra food, for our supplies were not sufficient to keep ; a man in decent condition. Our fare consisted of ground maize, Boer meal, potatoes, of hr<>j4 oer e%. tea and and Jib

of tough meat twice a week, somewhat different from a square New Zealand meal, eh? FINDING THE RANGE. On April 27 we heard firing in the direction of Pretoria, and were informed that the artillery were practising finding the range, so as to enable them to give our troops a warm reception when they reached Pretoria, about the end of the year. WELCOME NEWS. - Welcome news came on the same day, for we were informed that the New Zealaud Government had cabled £100 for the Maoriland prisoners, and that an instalment of j £2 per man would be paid us. I can assure I you we were most grateful to the Government and the people of New Zealand for making such a hearty and prompt response to our appeal for assistance. I cannot tell you how useful the money proved. We were stuck completely, and our hearts were made much lighter when we knew that the Government and the jieople of our colony did not intend that the prisoners should lie | forgotten. " ALL 001 WELL." On the morning of Saturday, April 28, 33 j mote prisoners arrived, and were located | at Waterval. A clergyman visited the camp, and though he did not afford us much infor- I mat as to the movements of our troops, he cheered us by saying that all was going well, and if we knew the exact details as to the progress of the war, we wotikl shout for joy. £2 PER MAN. (hi May 1 we received £2 per man, as the first instalment of the money forwarded by the New Zealand Government. BOER WOMEN RIOTING. On the 2nd there was great excitement in Pretoria. The women, wives of the burghers, were almost rioting in t,he town, liecause they could obtain no information as to the fate or whereabouts of husbands Olsons. and bo great was the disturbance that the armed Boers were, called out to suppress the row. I don't know how the women were pacified, hut, presume that the officials told further untruths to blind the eyes of the women. WAITING FOR NEWS. Very little of importance occurred durini' the early part, of the month. We waited anxiously for news, and looked forward for the relied that we knew must come. Every man in camp received 2s 6d, part of a fund collected by a Miss Olives, for the prisoners. It was very good of the young lady, and she bad the thanks of every man in camp. Prisoners arrived at fairly regular intervals, but news of the advance of Lord Roberts' column gradually leaked out. and brightened us up considerably, (hi the 9th we "learned from some Rimington guides that Winburg had fallen, that heavy fighting luid taken jriace at and around Thabauehu, and that all these townships and districts had been occupied by the British forces. ANOTHER DEATH. On the 11th we learned thai Wyllie. who bad been sent into hospital, was verv ill. and low spirited, and that unless considerable improvement was effected in bis condition there was a danger of him succumbing. The. lad lingered on. gradually growing weaker and weaker, until May 19, when he died. The doctor said the cause of d-atli was tumour on the brain, but others said the symptoms were similar to enteric, and that there was some doubt as to the exact cause of Wyllie's death. He had only been in hospital two weeks, and we never thought he was so ill. We had a good turn out at the funeral. Nearly all the colonial corps were represented, aftd a bugler and piper also volunteered their services, and played suitable selections as we marched to I he grave. ft was sad to !<»«=<• another of our comrades, to be buried thousand l ' of miles away from relations and from New Zealand. WANT OF FIREWOOD. The following day the Boers hoisted a new Transvaal flag over the hospital, ami apart from this- nothing worthy of mention occurred, except that the prisoners, who had no firewood to keep heir fires alight and go on with their cooking, proceeded to tear up ihe sides and flooring of the outbuildings. THE KEN'S BIRTHDAY. As the Oueeu's Birthday approached there was a good deal of excitement among the prisoners, for an idea was prevalent that ' something sensational would lie doue on Unit » day. (hi the 20lb we heard that Lord I Roberts was only 70 miles from Pretoria, and | that the British troops were Hearing t.i:e | Vaal, while some had already crowed. NolhI ini; of note occurred until the May 23. wheu I the Boers placarded the prisons and IkosptI litis asking the prisouers In desist from making any hostile demonstration or hoisting Union Jacks or national flags. They must have heard something of the intention of the prisoners, for had this notice not been given flags of some sort, or other would have iVen hoisted and trouble caused. Wood wbs still very scarce, and there was a great rush when any arrived at our camp. The prison commandant called the prisoners together and informed it.hem that they would be liberated on parole, but as that involved a promise that we would not attempt to escape if opportunity offered, we declined to agree to his conditions, preferring to go on a« we had done m the past. Queen's Birthday was a splendid day. We went out into the paddock and sang the National Anthem. No Boers could have stopped that, and we also gave three rousing cheers for Her Majesty and the Royal Family. There was no doubt as to the loyalty of the prisoners. If seemed so strange coming from New Zealand, being captured by the Boers, and singing " God Save the Queen.'' near Pretoria on the Queen's Birthday. HOW THE MONEY WAS SPENT. After this eventful day things went on as before. Small instalments of money from Imperial and colonial funds were handed to us at various times, and we were enabled to send to Pretoria for groceries and other necessaries. I am sorry to say that many of the men, including some of the New landers, indulged in gambling. 1 am sure the money was not forwarded to the prisoners for that purpose. Gambling, however, was not general. FLYING RUMOURS. All sort. 1 of rumours reached the camp during the next few days, Some said that Lord Roberts had the Boers surrounded, others that be was to bombard Johannesburg and Pretoria, simultaneously, and that the Field Marshal had requested President Kruger to remove the women and children from both places. Provisions were running rather short in Pretoria, and this more than anything else, gave us hope, for we knew that when the Boers fell back on Pretoria and hurriedly drew all supplies, the British forces were not far off. Some of the civilians were released, at least they left, camp with the idea that they were to be sent back to ill" British lines, but whether they readied their destination, or were sent on to Lydenburg, we have not ascertained. THE FALL OF JOHANNESBURG, fin May ?8. the day on which we learned the New Zealanders were heavily engaged at Van Wyk's Rust, persistent rumours reached camp that Johannesburg had fallen, and was in the occupation of the British troops. The following day the same report came to hand. We scarcely credited the good news, but when we saw the Boers hurrying here and there, nil in a fever of excitement, loading furniture and packing up. as though preparing to depart, we recognised that flic British had seemed an important victory, and that Pretoria was threatened. Further orders giving permission to prisoner* to proceed to Pretoria and purchase provisions were cancelled from this date, the prison commandant slating that the Doers had met with a reverse, and had been driven front Johannesburg. PLACED UNl)liß BRITISH OFFICERS. At midnight on May 30, there was event excitement in our prison camp, 12 British officers arrived from Pretoria by train to watch over the prisoners, and keep them under control so as to preserve peace and older. 'Iliese precautions were absolutely necess.'.ry, for the prisoners were so excited at the prospect of release that they were scarcely responsible fur their actions. The I troops, we learned, this time from an authentic source, were advancing on Pretoria, and were very near the capital. MAD WITH JOY. j I think the prisoners vent absolutely mad I when they heard the news. Men rushed here and there, scarcely knowing what to do to show their joy. They shouted and cheered, and sang and shouted, and cheered 1 again, and even smashed up their bunks in i their delirious joy. There was such a scene : that order for some time was out of the question. NOT FIT FOR DOGS. The officers from Pretoria inspected our auartcrs, apd I Ijcßye cpve the Bony com- :

niandant and his subordinates a bad time. They expressed their disgust at the faulty accommodation afforded us, and told the Boer quartermaster that the place was not fit to keep dogs in, much less men and prisoners of war. BURGHERS IN FLIGHT, A large train went north from Pretoria loaded with civilians, who were evidently flying before the place was bombarded. On the 31st we heard guns firing in the distance, and knew that, at last the critical days had come. Rations were issued and wood supplied, and as bully beef came up we concluded that our rations had bean forwarded from the British camp. It was stated that all the foreigners in Pretoria who had been fighting with the Boers (consisting of Germans, Russians, Italians, and Frenchmen), were looting places of business and banks in Pretoria. Some looting, we afterwards ascertained, had been done, but not to the (Stent first- reported. President Krugcr was also reported to have left- for I vdenburg with all Government deeds and official documents, dsn with one million p-.iuids in cash, taken f;am banks at Johannesburg and Pretoria. ANOTHER NEW ZEALAND PRISONER. | On ./line 1 Trooper Scott, of the Second New Zealand Contingent, who was captured | near the Yaal River, arrived in camp, but i he did not li&ve a great deal to tell us, as ' the important events of which you have sent. I details to your papers in New Zealand ha/1 I not then occurred. On the same day we i learned that Trooper lleena-n, ruptured with us on March 31. and left at Winburg Hospital, had arrived at Pretoria Hospital. LAST DAYS IN CAPTIVITY, i Saturday, June 2, and Sunday. June 3, I were uneventful days. Service was held as 1 usual on Sunday, the colonel of the Royal i Irish officialint'. On the Ith we heard cani in matting in t lie direction of Pretoria, and | knew that the British were engaging the I Boers. A number of prisoners, principally j Dublin Fusiliers and Northumberland*, were : conveyed away by two trains, and great ex- | citement reigned in camp. Murray, a RiI mington scout, managed to elude the guard and esca|>ed from prison. Monday was an anxious day for us. We beard (be booming of (million, and realised that release was near, but on Tuesday the camp again went mad when we beard that Pretoria had fillen, and that Ihe British Lad occupied the town. No trains ran that day, telephonic communication with the town was cut off. No rations were supplied, and everyone was terribly excited. The Boer scouts were unusually active, and moved backwards and forwards, evidently anticipating an attempt to release the prisoners. RELEASED. I It was not until Wednesday. 6th. that we ! were released. At eleveu o'clook in the ; morning the British advance guard came in , siylit, and then what a scene! Cheer after I i lien was given. Men shouted, nnd jumped, ; and ran. The Transvaal flag was torn down, ; and »a,i soon in ribbons, and men laughed i ami cried like children. All went well until < about, one i'clork, when our scouts went on to the i ise north of the camp, where they were . find on. and then the Boers commenced to she'll the prisoners as they were being reI le.as"d. The hospital was also shelled, and j some casualties occurred, but altogether the ! damage done was slight. All the prisoners | were got away, and were shelled as they re- | tired We were marched about 10 miles, I with all our swags, and were subsequently ! picked up by a train and conveyed to a i camping place on the veldt, but near town, i We were very hungry, and dead tired, but i we were happy in the knowledge that our I days of captivity had ended, and that- we i were with our comrades once more. j Thus ended this interesting narrative. The , prisoners Ire still prisoners, and will not go i fnio action until the usual official inquiry is held, the reason of their capture, and all , circumstance* id connection therewith noted, when the official release will be made. The New Zealanders, however, are allowed to leave camp, and journey into town, or visit : their comrades, and appear to be in fairlv : good health, considering the hardships they had lieen compelled to undergo.