THE BOTHASBERG FIGHT

Otago Witness, Issue 2509, 16 April 1902, Page 26

THE BOTHASBERG FIGHT

GALLANT STAND P,Y NEW ZEALANDERS. F.ORD KITCHENER'S PRAI.SE. (From Oru Owv C'orrfspovdevt.) CHRTSTCHUROH, April 10. By the mail to hand this morning letter* from the front have been received, giving accounts of the Bothasberg battle, in winch tne New Zerlanders of the Seventh Contingent »o signally distinguished themselves. Mr Robert Hardie, manager of the Farmers' Cooperatne Ansociation, has just received the following from one of his sons, dated February 28: — I suppose by this time you have had full particulars of the cutting up of our regiment After leasing Heilbron we took part in a big sweeping movement, something similar to the last, and nothing of much importance took place until the night of the 23rd February. The right wing occupied a ridge about a mile from the left, each consisting of 100 men, and the left wing had their outpctsts out 100 yards apart and well entienched. About midnight the rounds of cattle and waggons were heard upproaching some two miles away, and in half an hour the Boero opened a hea\y fire on the front of tho tremlieb. and .sent about 300 men to the left rlunk of the posts, and todk the fir-t post. They then advanred along the other trenches in a half-circle, -and poured a deadly firo upon all side?, winch made our men's escape impossible. Although the odds were bix to one, our men never left their posts, and what were left of them kept firing away until their rifles were snatched from them by the The post on which my brother Bob was consisted of seven men, and only one man came out without being hit. In tho post in charge of which wns young Foster all but Foster were hint. ha\incr had (wo killed and tho reat badly wounded Not one post out of

the lot got off without ha\ing four or more casualties. In the morning at daylight the sight was terrible to ace our boys dead or wounded in all directions. Dead Boers were also strewn all about the place, they having had o\er 600 casualties. Our company (Canterbury were the heaviest losers, Captain/ Dickenson and Lieutenant Forsyth being killed and Lieutenant Collidge and Lieutenant Wilson wounded, and 10 men killed and 20 wounded. Bob received two wounds— one m the hip and the other in the leg, — but they were not serious, and when I found him in the morning he was very cheeiful and smoking a cigarette The fight lasted about one hour and ahalf, and great praise is given to our chaps for the stand they made against some 600 Boers. The pom-pom from the other column which had come up opened fire, hut in a ehort time eveiy man was shot, and some of our men took the gun ilk charge, and were nearly all wounded, andi what were left, seeing the Boers were likely to capture the gun, ran with it about 100 ] yards and tossed it over a small cliff into a donga, preventing the enemy from getting the gun aAvay. ! E\ery man who fell was at his post, and fought to a finish, and the Colonel says that there is not an Imperial regiment that would have done better work. i To-daj Lord Kitchener came from Pretoria on purpose to see our New Zealand men. and after lining us up told us that he had come to compliment us on the ; plucky stand we made against such odds. He said that our gallantry was a credit to New Zealand, and to all the British Army and Empire. The way the men fought and* remained in the trenches, he said, was ono of the pluckiest things in this campaign, not one man leaving his post ; and the way they had stuck to this tiresome and hard woi'k weu a credit to thorn. Lord Kitchener it. a fine "big man, and talked to the mert in a very familiar manner. Several of our men have been mentioned :n orders for the gallant way they stood by the pom-pom after all the gunner? had been killed.