NEW ZEAL ANDERS AT THE FRONT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11749, 3 September 1901, Page 5

NEW ZEAL ANDERS AT THE FRONT.

VVII ri IKE PTiTH CONTINGENT. THE i.!Tcn.:niu:-ia fight. GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION. iNTFP.VinW WITH .-vX auckl.ANPLii. [FK:v orn OWN" conjPKsroyDEXT.l London", duly 26. Yesterday I met Corporal Davidson, of Auckland, one of the 1 ifi -now Zeal; rui Contingent, from which ;:fterward the Ist New Zealand Battery of th« RHc<iesian Field Force was made up. Cor pur il Davidson had had the wheel of a guii-carriag> pas? over his kiife, which necessitated his lying up. when he had no fewer than 12 stitches put into his leg. He tells me* however, that he feels little effect from tii« injury now, though at times a weakness makes itself apparent. In the course of conversation he told me something of his experiences since lie and hia comrades landed at l-eira on April 28. 1900, up to June of this year, when they left South Africa for England. J tell the story exactly as it was given to me. " Alter landing at lieira," said Corporal Davidson, " and after staying titer.'; for about three weeks, as nearly as I car. recollect, we took train for Bamboo Creek, where we remained for live days. Burin;-; that time we lost several men, belli tnun enteric and from malarial fever. After that we were moved to Murandellas, where, after staying a week, we took over the 15-poundei battery of the 11. A. We then marched for 26 days to Bulawayo; then •we were ordered to Fort Tuli, but only got as far as Mumlugulu. There we received orders to return to Mafeking, and ! on arrival there we joined General Carrington's column." Corporal Davidson then went through the engagements at Malm ana, Ottoshoop, Zeerust, and Elands River, details or which you have had Jong ago. The latter engagements were on August. 6, when Bombardier Robinson, a New Ze.ilandei, was among the wounded, though fortunately his wound was only slight. " After about 7£ hours' fighting," said Corporal Davidson, "we had to retire on our right, flank on to a kopje, and tight a rearguard action all the way. Then ws stayed at Zeerust some two or three hours, and General Carrington burned the provisions and everything. We returned to I Mafeking and were refitted wit-b a convoy, | and then came out again as fax as Zeerust, joining Lord Met linen's column. Here we | were split up, part oi us goinj, to Lord Metliuea and part to General Earl Douglas. At Wonderfontein we had ? five or six hours' engagement, but our casualties were only slight. At the lead mines we captured a number of waggons and cattle, a lot of ammunition and rifles, and 33 prisoners. At the Limpopo we had a stiff engagement, lasting about 15 hours, but that was all mixed up. We then retired to Mafeking. and next had to take a convoy through to Lichtenburg. I " About five miles from Litchenburg,' 1 continued Corporal Davidson, " the Boers opened fire on us with a nine-pounder, firing four shots into our convoy, but doing no harm. We came into action on a smalt kopje, and after a great deal of difficulty we discovered where the. enemy and tho gun were situated—syds from the road, behind a small bush. We drove them from there and followed them up until we came to the borders of Litchenburg. Here wo were met by a cross musketry lire, and after about four hours' delay we Lad to retire on our right flank, opening lira again on to two kopjes and the surrounding buiili—it was heavy scrub country near here. I was in charge of sub-division No.6, and three of my horses were shot, one severely, and it ultimately died. We retired again for three miles and a-hah, to the back of De la Rev's farm, when we received news that Lieutenant Wilson and two companies of men had been cut off. Captain Major, who wa-; in charge of us, went back with tho No. 5 gun to relieve him, and they had a stiff time, but Lieutenant Wilson cut his way through. " Captain Money, with two companies, j in one of which I was in charge of a 15- ! pounder, was left on a bush kopje norths j east, in the direction of De la Key's farm, ! when the Boers opened fire with theii 15pounder. We silenced them, however, with three shots, at a range of 4000 yds. Having retired to our right, we advanced about three and a-lialf miles on to a bush kopje, and there waited till two o'clock next morning, when relief came from Mafeking. Between eight and nine o'clock we marched into Litclienburg, and found all the Boers had cleared out in the night. "We had only been there two or three days, however, when the enemy began to get troublesome again, and continued sniping at the pickets and outposts ; and here Paget's Horse and the Imperial Yeomanry did good work. People can say what they like about them, but they did, though their officers did not turn out so well perhaps as they might havo done. You couldn't tell where the Boers were. You would go out, see nothing, and then when you came back were sniped." "What of the attempt to retake the town r'

"At half-past three on Sunday morning. March 3, Ihe Boers opened lite, and the order was at once given to .stand to arms. This was done in a few seconds, and a compound wa3 ma.de of tinned stuff, biscuits, preserved meats, and oats. They kept up » continuous firing till half-past three in the afternoon, when our quartermaster— Scottwent down for an ambulance for John Beck, one of the Fifth New Zealand Contingent, who had been shot, and who died a few days after. Quartermaster Scott was fired at when going down foi the ambulance, but they missed him. They, however, shot him aa he was coming back with it, and he died a few days later, bloodpoisoning setting in, after the amputation of his leg." '"And the Boers shot the quartermaster as he was going with an ambulance for Beck?"

" They did,'" was the reply. " Our garrison was then about 450, composed of the Ist Northumberland Fusiliers, the Fifth New Zealand Battery, the 3rd Imperial Yeomanry and Paget's Horse, a few of ft/he Kimberley Light Infantry, and some details. The Boers got in between our pickets and our centre, and at about four o'clock two Boers came with a white flag to ask Captain Money ii he would give in. Captain Money refused, saying he would not surrender so long as one man was living. So they opened fire on us again, and also on the hospital." " On the hospital?" "Oh, yes. They gave it 'fits.' It had to be covered with blankets, all the doors had to be kept closed, and it was impossible for anyone to walk about ;k.u' it. Well, after ?<uou' 17.J- hours' fighting our loss was 20 killed aid 37 wounded, including two officers. • The next morning we gathered the dead. It, was a terrible sight, and no mistake which [ shall never forget. The Boers, as nearly as .'.as been found out. lost 170. Five days lai jr they were found in willow and fruit tree? and on the tops of hous<-'-\ where they had been killed by ou: -lirarnt!. .41! the trees were destroyed afterwards, for they had been used by the enemy, and we could not see them." " They seemed to have plaved low down?" " A

" Yes ; they did :>.s much mischief as thev could. At "Ncer<r>ann's house, intn which, after a time, r. volley ivsi p«t, oui trenches vera close to the buildinc Th: Boer trenches too vers near-— practical oniv a, few yards away. Well, the people in the house, though they were supposed riot tbe fighting, kept throwing stones at our men in the trenches. The men no* knowing what struck them from above and behind, jumped up, to be at once picked off by the Boei-s opposite. It was done for that purpose. In that way we lost five men in one trench. " Eighteen wore buried in one grave.'' proceeded Corporal Davidson. " They were sewn ia their blankets, and buried just as they were. But a fine stone has been erectec to the memory of the me* who fell: there, including John Beck, a driver of thoNew Zealand Battery, and Joseph Brown, a Taranaki man."

After this tragic story came the narrative of the relief of the gallant band who held the town, and the subsequent pleasant journey of the men to the Cape and to England, where they are being made much of# as they deserve..