ABYSSINIA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 33, 22 June 1868, Page 3

ABYSSINIA.

TEE DECISIVE BATTLE IN AEO f 4EE VALLEY. (li'rom the np-H-lal correspondent of tlio Timcuot India,) : Camp nmconn Maodala., ■ / > •, ■! April U. i Early on tho morning oil Good Friday, tlio first brigade, under oomnmnrt of General Hohnoidor, and accompanied by Sir Charlcu Stavely, loft tho camp on tlio heights of Wmlola, wlioro it had spont a miserable night in mud and rain, nnd boforo the dcucont Into th'o Xioflbllo ravine, Again Theodoifo'fl ofienijon profited by hit labour, finding a road which required comparatively little to rendor It nil that wnii neeonnary. The right bank of llio ravino In equally an ntcop and olono as U\o lijeddft j but it muiib hivvo prcftuntod loss difJlciilty to Jlln Majesty thim -the descent from Dalantiv had done, Inuioad ot having to how )»j« way through rockn of oxtromo liiU'dnodß, or to avoid thorn by dangerously Hfoep gradionlH, ho had in this ciuo only rptton banalt to deal with, Spade and pickaxo—lf tho kit of the Abyiwlnljui ploneor inoludcit flush Implements—alone wore noccsHiiry to throw anldo tlio alroady soml-dotachod columns of tlio formation! JJroud and tolerably good in tho flnit Instance, a fow hours' work sorved to /111 up tlio track* loft byTlicodoro'fi mortarp, to mako a gradient lens steep, or a turning lons acuto. hy eight o'clock tho bilgado had renehod tho rivor, which Into heavy ralnn had nwolled to respectable dlmfinflipriß—tlirco hundred foot Across, by two or thico feet deep. ITord thoro wan nono i so, dlvc/illn'g thomaolvos of nolher garmentfl, tho woldlora sprang jnorrily Into tho tawny watora and wadod through in nomothlng approaching martial order, although tho Hinooth ■ round fltones in tho rlvor'd bed rendered eomploto fltcMdlncflflin tho ranks oxooedlngly dllllcult of attainment. Toilets adjusted on tlio other flido, a ntart wan immediately nindo for tho camping-ground among the IiIIIh boyond— tho Innt ci\inj> b.oforo tho aswault on Magdala. Tho route to bo followed by thin brlgado lay ovei* hlllfl and cliffs rondorod almost impftHflablo by a BuperabuniJanoo of rook and jungle altogotlinr Abyssinian, Not that, It wan abnolutoly nccetmnry to adopt thin vouto, for a lovel and cany, route led up tho valley, even unto tho buna of Jfrihlai but it was conflldoro I advisablo to turn this pans and have it wccuroly hold, boforo allowing mulcn with ammunition and baggago to proceed along it— a precaution ol! which flubfiequontoventwnliowod tho wisdom, Colonel Phnyro had been do* •patched beforehand with ploneors and flappers to nolaot a alto for tho camp— which Hito wan to bo boyond tho range <)C tho gunn on li'ahla—- and to hold tho [)MR, Bonding Intimation to fllr Kobort! Napfov. Wfloon an tlio toller iwrfc oS hla Instructions bail boon compiled with. How Oolonol I'hayro oxo- ] mutid tlio Important duty aoaignod to him Iho sequel will show, At ten o'clock on tho namo day, tlio second brigade., undor General Wllbyi and accompanied by tlio Commandor-ln-Ohlof and head quarters, loft tho Wadola plateau, reaching tlio bottom of th« ravlno about noon. Thoro Hit' Hoborfc anxiously awaitod tho mlofllvc from liln Houtonanfc which should allow tho battoriea nnd baggage to proceed} for the blnolc masses of olotiddvoWmiiftlntf tlio mountain topo like; (V pall, tho roll of tho ihundor , and the pelting rain, proolalmod tho noivr; appoach 10 darknoßs. JJy-ftnd-by tin officer | gullopod in with a dcopatoli from Qoncrftl Htavoly, announolnn thivt Colonel I'hayro reported tho pup to ba hold, irnving given tho order to advanoo, If fn ISxoollonoy rode on by tho hill iraok in ordor to uncertain for hlmnnlf what had boon done in fronl, and to fiuperlntcnd arrangcmcntH for Iho night, not Intending to roturn to tho Bchlillo till tho mornlnK, Theno piano wore dcotlncid nover to be put into execution, for a whole ocrlcs of blunders had bcon committed through neglect and contravention of ord(;r«— blunders whloh might Ijivyo coflt tlio ftfrny deal 1 . Tlio pans wn» not held—lndeed, tlio Sapporo who wcro t<> hold id wora nowlioro vl»ibloj tlio enmplng ground noloctod wan -not a defouHlblo position, and it was within viuigo of Thoo:)oro'fl gnnfl I Blr Robo.rfc Naiilcr w<t« confounded. IIIh Mitjcoty wri'i jublmiU, mid had already hnrauguod lil« men, Kjiouklng 1,0 tlicin of pillage and filatigbtor. liiimcdluio mca» Htirofl woro takon to rotrlovo llip terrible blunder, for tho matohot wore ftlroady glimmoring ovor tho lino of gutm on the outwork of Kahla, About four o'clock In tlio nftornoon thortOHOVon gunii opened Jlro, pointed flhlclly at tho group around tho.commander-lu-cliiof. To retire was hnpOH«ll)lo > llio mountain train battery ond nivval brigade wore already at the head of tho pami, and four or live thounand iwmod AbyHßlnlanii, mooing many laden mtiloii and but few mon, wore dCHccudlng rapidly from JMlangco, bent on plunder, Tho Punjab ploncora were hurried ofi 1 to support tlio battery } rocket (i were mndo to piny merrily on tho advancing crowd i and tlio cry wan raticd for tho 4i.ii Klng'o Own. Kxhuu«lcd an the men of tho •lib woro, for they had (tinted nothing alnoo flvo o'clock in tho morning, and hud had iv Bovorn march, thoy nprang up with 11 filiout, throw down their great, otiatn nnd other miporIluouii kit, and advanced ut tho double. Down tho hill thoy wont, through a narrow ravine, on debouching from which they foi-nnid Into fiklrnilflhlng order, and advanced to wllhfu a hundred and fifty yiu'dit of the. < lunny. Their ' nupport cotifllntod ol! tlio loth Company of Koyitl KngirifiorH, tho Uoloooheoti, and Bai>por», Tlio on tho loft hnd by lbl« tlmo dlncovcrod what wero tlio coiitonlu of llioie nniloloado which had ho oxoltod tliolr cupidity ) thoy lm<l mudo lh'> woful mlfltnko of. tti:ly.U\fj( tlio scorpion l>y tlio tail. Under covor of (ho flro of half-a-do/xn of tlio baggago guard who had oomo up, nnd of tho i'lonioni, (Jolonol I'tnn had {julckly got hiH guiiH Into play, and wiih keeping up a dcatnu!* tlvo flro upon that part of. the iilll'Olilc wlioro tho crowdH woro donee. Whllo the lino wiih being formed tho Abyanlnlano cumo on

with great courogo— horsomon and footmon, npoarmon and carabineers in ono confused masSi Unablo to stand against tlio torrlblo fire of; tho Snidors. from wliloh volloy after volley win laying thorn dotrn In heaps, thoy tried to turn. tho ilank of tho lino, ru»hliig up thohill in orowdfl for this pnrposo'i but Colonol $ Cameron wheeled part of lila men to tho right, and theso, with tho Eitglncore and JklooohocH, drove thorn back, purfluing clowly. Tho battlo had mdanwhilo been genoral all along tho Arogco Valley » tho mnoßOfl on tho left had been well thinned by nlioD, rookota, and email nhot ; tho Abyßsiniani) wcro In rapid rotroat $ and tho blood of tho Pimjabocfl was fairly up. Tired of using tho ramrod and wanting powder. Ohamborlftin'fl heroes had flxod bayonets ami charged with cold otool, with which they woro doing foarful execution, haying penned thoir antagonists into ono oC tho vavlnoa running down from tho heights of Solassio and Fahla. Tlio battory, too. had been divided, part bolng nont in pursuit on tho left, part on tho right, uml part retained in its original position. Given tho range, which its ofllcors judgo with grout accuracy, those stool guns can do destructive work at irtOO or 2(100 yards— -a fdofc which was indisputably proved on tho 10th inttt,, and yesterday at tho storming of; Magdalu, Though tho ground was not well nulled for rocket practice, theso missiles producod, by tholi' norclty, noise, and destructive" ness, tlio graatcflfc oonatcrnation whenovor they foil. Somo of them were directed at li'alila, from which the guns wcro kcoplng up a continual but harmless firo. and ono passed within two ynrdu of tho king, who, on admitting to tho onptivos next morning that ho had boon boaton «t la«t, declared tlio infornal and incomprehensible machine to bo tho great causo of his dofeat, Wlion tho rout bocamo general, and tho butchery wn» about to bo ronowed with doublo vigour, a movo having boon ordered by Goncrrvl Sehnoidor which would have out ofTthorotroAt o£ a largo portion oil Thcodoro's army, Blr Charles Htayoly gave ordors to winy tho work of carnugo, as Sir Hobert Nnplcr had iHfluod inntructions not to pursuo too far, and to bo nparinpr.of ammunition, Tho approach of night, and tho uncertainty ft«i to what tho morrow might bring forth, led to the issue of this order j but Utoro i« not tho slightest doubt that two bourn of daylight would lirvo noon ihrGO-fourtho of tho Abysiiniann either dead or driven away to tho tondor mercies of tho Gallaa among ItilU to tho eastward. As it was, not moro than half tho army re-on-tcrcd Mngdula that night. Tho Abyssinian loss cannot havo been less than 1500 killed and 1,000 wounded j for nUhougli many bodios woro carried o/T during the night nearly 40ft corpses wet'O counted no*t duy. Tho Kngltoh Imd only ono omeor, Captnin Roberts, <>i! tho 4th, and sovonteon men w<;Uit<lod-- two sovoroly. Thoconfloquoncos of tho torriblo blunder committodby Colonol J?hayro, through wantoi caro, and dlnrogard of pooltlvo lnstruotloiw. woro thus happily avci'tod by tlio piosoncip of Iho eotnmundor-ln«ebiof, tho timely nrrlviu of Dio bi'lgado, and tlio fact that tho mountain bnttory hoadod tho bnggngo' tmln, It U Imponsiblo. howovor, to over-esllmato tho /jft-avity of tho rjsk ho culpably iuourrcd \ for ns It was, tho bnttory wim within an nco of being taken, and part of tho baggago itself was only fluvcd by tho onorgy of tho oiflcora and pluck of Iho mon oonntitutlng tho guard, Two parties o£ about a do/,cn mon fiUwsoßHfully defended a couplo oil KO«.'K<JH through which tho Abynsinlaiifl Bought, tp forco their way, and which communloatod dlrootly with tho pruw.-now crowded with larlon anlmivlo. Had tho bugRngo boon aUackcdin tho .dark, it io diflloult to nay wluvt low inltfht not havo boon sus* ta-inod, or what might not havo bucn tho rofliilt of Thoodoro'H temporary HuccoflH, Vlowod noxt morning, tho Arogco valley was full of thofso Hlckoiung scones which are inseparably iwsooiutod with tho idea of a bntlio'flolu. 'Iloro, both levelled at tho muno inonuiitt, if not by tho Bamo ball, lay tho horao and hid rider • tlioro tho ono had been taken and tlio othor loft, ])ccp Hlultifl of blood miirkod tlio track oil tli« wounded «« their laot faint effort had been oxpomled in tlio <iU<)Mj)t to rortdi tlionmbn and live, or to gain tlio flholter of a friendly bush to dio. Theodora'/) eommnmlor«in»oliiof) and tho most valiant mim in his army, could bo dlstlnguinlicd from among tho othor fallen knights by tho flpondour of bin atliro. All could rc«ognl«o at once tho gaudy ohirt which had been tho orlilammo of tho Abyfloiniiin hordes the night beforo, caufiing ito weuror to be mintnkon for Thcodoro himself, fttul making him iho mivvlc for ninny a ballot. Oabrl was ! among Iho flrst to full on tho right, Boven knights who followed him, and who attempted to curry oft bin body, bolng laid in n heap around him.' Buroly it was hotter that the valiant and gonorouo, if any such thero wcro In tho army of Theodorue, should fall early In tho frny, rather than llvq to bo stung with tho tuunti of their master, or to mourn over tho tfitofortunofl of tho three dayo that followed. On tho loft, whoro tho lMonoora hud boon at work, tho (load lay thickest, Along the ravines whore tho bayonet charflo was niftdo, men and horses were hcapou in tonn and twdntlflfl, In domo casea sword and bayonet had fintshod what tho bullet Imd left but Imlf done) all that lay tlicro had been dcivd a long llmo boforo tho morning, On tho right, whoro tho firing had been at longer ranges, tho tulo o£ dead was not bo groat, and moro wounded men lay around, awaiting without murmur or repining tho approaching t<;rmlimtlon of their miflV-rlni/o, l[uii<lrc<li had also be<ii» carried away into tho nmhti during Iho night. Tho rookots mid ulicll, too, loft abundant tostimony that tho conutornutlou ami dismay tboy had cnupcd among tlio Aby«fliiiian«i woro fnr from groundless, Many a charred must) and mangled heap shewed how torrlblo wan tho havoo, how awful the duutli thoy carried whorovor thoy sped. A week has not yet olapHod, yot Iho filcck wolves and greedy vulturcu havo deprived iho field of much of its horror, giving it the ap* pcaranco which it will long retain—a placo of »kullo, ' '

Tho second brigade, whioh was tobavo remained on tho Boshilo till tho morning, was summoned to tho front when tho eortlo was mndo | but tho battlo was won and night ovor all bororo it arrived. ;'& -inoro misora« bio night it would bo dlfflouU toconcely*. Most of tho regiments had been without 'food or water since daylight, had been marching or fighting all tho timo. and saw no prospect of rclfof untilitho morning, Yet not Afcrumblo could bo heard from one end of tho bivouac to tho other; tho. mcnMay down on tho'cold damp ground,* lv, wot clothos, and awaited jmtlontly tho. arrival of tho moon, when an attompt would bo mndo to find water in tho adjoining ravlno, or till the dnystar should rlw, when it migtit be possible to proouru broivlcfasjt. Many might bo seen licking tho damp fltonofl ag thoy lay on tho ground, in tlioir vain attempt to alfovinto their burning thirst. Tho lightning's flash, und tho glare of torches on tho hillfl o£ Islungeo and Kclasslo nbovo fthowod that all wag excite* tucut and bufltlo there. Thcodoro had left lits floveu guns on Fuhla, whither hid soldiers would not roturn to fetch them ; so the position of Bovcral others had to be changed, in onlvr the more cflfcettiftlly to comiußnd tlio road, Hut grout as were tho preparations for a renewal of tho combat nude during tho night, and atom tho edict forbidding all manifestations of grief, Thcodoro could not lildo from himself tho fact that ho had now to do with a stronger than he, and that ho had that afternoon heard tho din of battlo for tho first timo. Tho Sniders and tho atocl guns had completely cowed him, and he betook himself to tho house* of the captives to opcak of reconciliation. Yet, severely punched and humbled as ho hnd been, ho never for ono moment d roamed of any furthor departuro from his proud position as "king of king?, 1 ' feu., than to enter into allianco with his conquerors. Submission or surrender was a depth of misfortune and Ignominy from which his prido revolted— pride which coat him his lifo.