Untitled

New Zealand Mail, Issue 421, 6 March 1880, Page 4

A staff officer who was present at the battle of Ulundi tells of a curious circumstance which accounts not only for the small loss of the British troops, who were there drawn up in square, but also to some extent for the far greater loss of the Zulus, who were armed with the Martini-Henrys taken at Isandula.

These weapons they had tried, and, having observed that the ballet went farther when they aimed with the sight up, they came to the conclusion that the sight was a contrivance which, when raised, made the weapon shoot harder. Accordingly, on the day of Ulundi they one and all put up the sights of the Martini-Henrys to the extreme range of 1000 yards, and fixed them in that position with wax. The result was that most of their bullets went clean over the square, and many of them are believed to have reached their own men who were coming down to attack the other side of it.

Of the three new single engine boiler Fairlie engines, lately imported for the Wellington and Masterton Railway, the third has just been put up at the workshops at Petone. She made her first run to Wellington on Monday, and it proved to be a very successful one. This engine, unlike the others, is fitted with heavy wing tanks, placed at the sides of the boiler, which will allow her to carry much more water, and also increase her “ adhesion ” by about two tons. It is thought that this will materially enhance the engine’s traction power, and if this should prove to be the case the other two Fairlies will be altered in a similar manner.

PAGE’S Cricket Bats, Balls, fcc. Footballs and Lawn Tennis. Manufactory—Kensington, London.

PERFECTION.—Mbs. S. A. A. Axlen's World’s Hair Restorer never fails to restore Grey Hair to its youthful color, imparting to it new life, growth, and lustrous beauty. Its actionis speedy and thorough, quickly banishing Greyness. Its value is above all others. A single trial proves it. It is not a dye. It ever proves itself the natural strengthener of the Hair (The genuine only in Pink Wrappers.) Sold whole sale by Felton, Grimwade, & Co., WellingtonKempthorne, Prosser, & Co., Dunedin and Auck, » and; and retail of all Chemists and Perfumers throughout the Colonies