INCIDENT IN A SOLDIER,S LIFE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 4462, 3 October 1883, Page 4

INCIDENT IN A SOLDIER,S LIFE.

No. 20.— RELIEF OF FORT WHITE. '[FROM " THE BUDGET."] ~ Dckixg the month of January, 1851, all was cxcite.ment and bustle at King Wil]iam?srTowtt^> Tlie. triiops in garrison consistetfoHhTeEkiuadrons of Gape-Mdiintct} Rifles, a battery of artillery, one Company Royal Sapp-prk and Miners, the Gth and 73rd Regiments, with a small force of Fingoes and native levies.. Drill instructors were busily engaged -in disciplining the irregttraf^j-'and^'oacasioniJly 1 we 'would be turned out in the middle of the night by some false alarm, o'rj other, and invariably had to lay out in extended order round £he town. • t sn?6tfi particular night the sentry thrown out from the guard at the Lunette at the river prjfssjng a"t c 'th6)]Q\ver end of the main street caused by' his foolish conduct the whole of 4he troopsto be turned out in a heavydowriponr of rain, and we had to raraam "extended around the town the whole of that nigbl in 1 the "rain.' It happened this way ; ,the, sentry fancied he heard the Kaffiaf crossing the Drift, and presently, tj?,qujsht, he saw.the advance ones coming" ToVardßnim. He inimediately fired at rr what .he, supposed to be a KaffiK, "i> apd - ' directly- * afterwards heard a great splashing in the river. The guard, turned jgut. fhe alar%sounded \yith the result I have mentioned, l^ext morning, shortly after daylight,it was ascertained that imftead'&E 'shooting- 1 at Kaffirs he had fired at a large black pig, and its dead carcass tyyiat theedge of the water;'J)ut sdgaietimes the enemy would be bold enough to fire long shots into tbe camps, but I do not rememher tha^ Anyone was hurt.. This. contfildeoTi tip -the SOtb January, Jwhen' it became absolutely necessary that Forts Whjfevand j Cox f liojjld ]>c jrajieyed } .and rations turown into those garrisons, the inbn of which had been on less than ,half nations for some ( fitne,'and"if not relieved' would soon be starved out. On the afternoon of the 30th January is'o r squadf6ns of Cape Mounted Rifles paraded in patrol order, and we're' inspected by Sir Harry Smith. He hajcj>a kindly word for those men whom he recognised, as having been of y the party who escorted him "from Fort Cox, add said to-udß/ l '.&li! I am. glad to see. the. third stripe.o^.^QriSjarm." I had in the interim been 'promoted to -sergeant. ' After' inspecting both. , squadrons he rode to the front and tSaicKhe -felt'"- sure that he should heara-good, jiceount of us, on our return, th'at'we~'ha ll d i been"selected4b' assist in a most dangerous duty. 1 -Next mo.ning at daylight we rode down to the sqi'are in front of the Star Fort,. and there we saw *a force of infantry, levies, and Eingoes; .and about forty mule wagons ; also, a detachmdnOfoval rArtilleryr Artillery ancUtwo field pieces. The »v)flry^w%re^ordered k t6-take the advance guard and tbe rear guard, the infantry' guarding' the : supply wagons. The Fingoe's and levies being thrown, out to the right and left. The column consisted of 2,000 men, arid was under the command of Colonel Mackinnon, C.8., of the Cold- • stream Guards* r Tbe advance sounded after crossing the rivVr, and we took the road to Fort Wbito^.The advance guard skirmished through the mimosa bushes, and the Fingoes and Levies" searched the bush right and left of the column, but no fighting of any consequence took place until we bad gofr about six miles from King William's T^tsq, whea.we/had_to resist an attack made on our rightpnd_r,ear. Some of tbe levies, not having been «bder fire previous io this, becoming alarmed", gave way, "arid^rusbecl pell-mell among the wagons, and kept i~p a promiscuousjh're for somo time before it could^bj^^pgßjd by theLoificers. _ Four of their number was killed either by the Kaffirs of their own men ; some of the mules were hit, and this caused a halt. One troop of tho C.M.R. was ordered to drive off the enemy, which it did by ex-tending-anS among them, using their double-barrelleoLcarbines with great effect. The dead and wounded .mules hay- ' ing been out^pannid;" afresh- .start was made, and. the rear-guard was engaged until we'^reache'd the'Debe Flats, where we halted in the open for breakfast, which consisted pn-.thia occasion of a .hard, black bipoijit, m piece . of_. fat, salt port, and ,a drink of water;- *. It waa extremely hot, and the troops-aufiered very , much . from their salt diet, ■^bilstutlji'feakfast, large-b odies of the-.eneiny could .be seen getting, in advance of us to take possession of the Debe Neck, and on a hill near the Taban Dodo mountain., Sandillahhimself could be seen mounted onCol.Mackinnon's cream-colored charger, which had been captured at the Boomah'Pass.KThb artillery wasjplaced in the- front of. tbe wagons and the Cape Mounted' Rifles tookthe advance guard along the Flats. On hearing the Debe Neck the action 1 commenced, and the 73rd Regiment was led by Colonel Eyre against a very ' strong body of Kafßrs, who were posted among rocks and boulders on our left, and dislodged them after a smart fight. The CM. Rifles were thrown out indifferent directions,' and soon were in the thick of the, fight, and driving ,the enemy Defore them. The guns came into action, and firla several 'shells with good effect Meanwhile, the provision wagons moved slowly along, and ultimately got through the Neck with the loss of one driver, who was killed on his wagon-box. The troops were engaged to the right and left of the wagons, and after getting through the Neck had withstand a heavy attack made on the rear by the whole force of the epejny in the hope of capturing some of the Tragbns, but were not successful. About six men were killed in forcing the passage through the neck, and many were woundedi"' Kaffirs followed us to near Fort White. Whilst passing through the neck; the remains of .those of the 45th Begiment-who'were'kiiletl on the Christmas Day were still lying on the road, but some had been burnt. We ultimately arrived at Fort White a little before sundown, and laager was formed with the wagons opposite the Fort gate, and we were all very glad to be able to take a rest. We found that the garrison at this place had that day been reduced from half rations to four ounces biscuit and biz ounces salt pork, and they were much overjoyed at the arrival of the convoy with rations. Strong guards were mounted during the night and double sentries thrown out, but the laager was not attacked. A little before daylight on the morning of the 31st, the wagons destined for Fort White were moved inside the Fort and we were ordered to feed our horses and to take our breakfasts before saddling up, which we did, partaking of fried salt pork and hard biscuits with a little coffee. '