COLONEL MANSELL'S FIGHT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2728, 27 June 1906, Page 17

COLONEL MANSELL'S FIGHT.

DESCRIPTION OF N'KANDHLA FOREST. Details of Colonel Mansell'a fight on May 5 show that, while moving cautiously from Foif Yolinnd through the forest towards Ootcwayo's grave, the head of tlie column was charged by a small force of Zu'us. who attacked with the utmost fury aod desperation, and almost succeeded in I leaking into the column. They were reoened with a staggering fire, and. after =nr,"> m.mirc«' hard fighting, v/ere heat en of? vith a los= of at least 60 Zulus killed or wound, <] The remainder of the Zulu force. about 1500 'iron?, was held iv reserve while 200 d'-'uor^tl th" mam attack, but its men w-oio too much alarmed by tlie effects of the P>!\ti=h nflo fir^ to follow' up the- onslaught. Ttittrad of niakmp a ru c h they dispersed in all dn ct.ois into the forest. The 200 men who attacked were paiily armed with nflo;.

which they fired as they charged, while others wildly threw assegais. They displayed extraordinary bravery, rushing upon lines of kneeling riflemen or upon the weapons of those under cover till they could actually lay hold of the barrels of the rifles. Thu Zulu tactics viere the samo as those whi-jh they employed in the Zulu war The mam body foimcd their ccntTe with two boms on " either flank, 6o that their front was crescent-shaped. They attempted to envelop and outflank the British, but the speedy victory of the Natal troops prevented the development of the flank attacks. Tho Natal Pwl.cc. with the Nouguais a:u! Zululand Natl\c Police, behaved I with the r-ictcct possible courage. 1 The following description of N'kandhla is | civon by a correspondent at tho front — | Tho trees aie principally iron wood, yel- | low wood, stink wood, and esse-n wood, all I suitable and very valuable as timber for i waggon building, sleepers, etc., and as ! these woods arc white ant proof, and the i forest exiends ncaily 150 miles, the coim- ■ try has i>n undeveloped asset of immense v.ihie. In the shr.de of the dense forest subtropical undergrowth is luxuriant, and in many places it is quite, impossible to penetrate. The sun never reaches the fertile soil below, where at present fche decaying foliage awaits natural transit by «ummer rains to the rich valleys. Orchids innumerable cling to the rough trunks of tho yellow woods, and exquisite blooms poer aincngst tLe sombre shade for glimpses of sunlight. In dark recesses, in precipitous krantzes, baboons galore have foinied strongholds, and the hearse bark of their sentries penetrates for miles, pr-ceting tl;<? mornin~ sun, or notifying to other members of the herd the movements of iniruJors. In thoso same gloomy caves whole impis refuged during tho Zulu war in '79 and '£0. The honeycombed kloofs provided shelter for thousands of non-com-batants, and 6ince then warriors and women uncounted have availed themselves of the strategical advantages and safety afforded by the so unexplored depths. For yea i a, m-amba?, addovs, and pythons, and tho whole gamut of the reptilian order, l.avo made them their fjstness-ts, and^now the rebels are hiding there from the grasp o<: tlie long arm of civilisation, and creeping forth to attack as opportunity offers. In an open glade, amidst the densest jrlcom, lies Oetewayo's grave. The profane foot of a stranger has never desccr.ited the sanrcd ground in which his re~mains lie. A fence guards the pr-ecincts enclosing: sjme 10,000 eqnare yards, and it was on this -snace thai liimbaata, the other day, leJ his excited horde of followers in war dance. This episode alienated most of the symparhv that might have been evidenced by Dmizulu's follow c-rs.