At Dargai, October 20, 1897.

Otago Witness, Issue 2289, 13 January 1898, Page 52

At Dargai, October 20, 1897.

Under the heading Sir B'iwiu Arnold coa f r'ibatoa 13 verces to tl.e D<*ily Telegraph. Tb.3 ffill'isvp'g are the Ja=t six :—: — "Men of the Gordon HigMandcis," Coloael Mathias loudly cries, "The General's oid»rs are to take At any needful saciific^ Yonder position ! Hu we'll make it. The Gordon Highlanders will take it 1" To skirl of p : pes and gle^m cf blades Tlv glorious Iwnd l«ai>--; joyous forth, Drowning the muskets on the hill With slogan from the North. .S 1 ay, thea ! Death's eelf, hell's self gives ground When Gordons to the battle bound ! Fierce, splendid, faithful, stream our Scots To ligh f some, homely Highland liltToo swift for f.tte, too bold to foil, Rush Miskin, plume, aod kilt. The fifty yards of fire ar-j passed ; The savage li'Jge is gained at l-<st ! Down from the emptied eangars fly Thos-J rebel hordes. The fUniing hill Is cleared, the grim position seized, As was the General's will. The Colon'-l's simple wor.l did make it — "The Go;don Highlanders will take it." D-ar brothers of our blood ! The ch>-er3 Which hailed you conqu^rore as ye came 'Mid glad hatt-i lions we'eotninjr y-nx D'j-,yn marching from that hill of flame. Esbo it, British homes to-day, From north to south, from Thames to Tay. Folks say your earliest files were raised In benni<« town of Aberdeen, Where lads King George's guinea took, A Ducbs'sa's lovely lips between.* 7 Scots of the Gordon Highlanders, The count) y's ki&s is yours like hers.

* Alluding to the story that the beautiful Duchess of Gordon offered each man willing to join her hmband's new regiment a kiss and a guinea.

A HEROIC PIPER,

An incident which exemplifies the spirit that animated 'he Gordon Highlanders during ths famous charge by which they carried the Dargai heights is reported. Iv the lead of the charge ■were the regimental pipers, one of whom, while crossing the zone of fire, was snob through both ankles. He nevertheless continued piping, sitting where he fell, amid a perfect hail of buliets.