A STORY FROM SOUTH AFRICA.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1509, 31 January 1901, Page 46

A STORY FROM SOUTH AFRICA.

Air James- Barnes, writing in the ‘‘Daily Mail,” describes an amusing adventure which befell a, private of the City Imperial Volunteers. Ho succeeded "in “holding up” an army! Incideually it was the wrong army, hut it ail goes to show what a determined man can do. It was in the days of ihe extra zeal, and his blood was hot. Me v, as bold with the boldness of sheer ignorance, and he wes determined because he came of good old fighting stoc-k. He got on a kopje. Thai was . not much —the trouble often was to avows them. But this particular kopje stood out from the rest and commanded a fine view of the surrounding country. Soon he saw some figures in the open. Out; with glasses—mounted men in slouch hats! Slouch hats —Boers! So He got down behind a rock (being: a born scout and an intelligent man, he had left his hors© over the other side out of sight, and when ho thought they were near - enough he loosed off. They scattered (the first unexpected shot usually had that effect), and they rode to and fro and looked. So the C.I.V. set his sight again and took another pall at the trigger. Then the men took refuge in' a donga, and they fired back. So the lone shifted. his position and opened up with magazine fire. That settled it. Out they jumped, mounted their horses, and went tearing back. Now, when they had ridden some four miles, they met a smiling-faced man with a. red band about his cap, and they said proudly : “Have to report, sir, that kopje it, held in force, sir.” “Why, General So-and-so can’t be very far away in that direction.” “We were fired on by at least a dozen men, sir.” “Should say twenty, sir,” put in another. So up came the cow-guns and the little brown-gait ered sailors, and they lyddited the C.I.V .’s kopje at about seven thousand yards. And he, being a sensible man, went back to his own division, for he saw ho had made a mistake, and if he had not reported himself there would have been nothing said about it.