Volunteer Items.

Feilding Star, Volume XIX, Issue 103, 28 October 1897, Page 2

Volunteer Items.

o Private W. E. Hancombe, one of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles who went to England, died on the return trip, of peritonitis, three days after leaving Colombo. His body was buried at sea. An Aucklander thus writes to his father from Assam on affairs on the Indian frontier:—" On the frontier all has gone- well with us, as it naturally would. We are teaching the Pathan tribes there the utter folly of fighting against us : yet as fast as one clan sub mita another takes the field, only to be hopelessly beaten and submit likewise. They do not even combine, but start np, fight a little, and then drop off the fighting stage, in a moat unaccountable manner. Many of our brave fellows have been killed, officers especially. Lieutenant Greaves' death is typical. He dashed in amongst 500 of the Swatis at the head of 80 of the Guides Cavalry, and was shot down at once. Lieuten* ant MacLaren went to bis rescue, and was also shot down with three bullets in hii body ; then Lord —^(whosename I could not make out), an A.D C, and to far only a carpet dandy, and Colonel W (whose name I forget) dashed in and bore off their comrades' dead bodies. Plnok, solid British pluck, is on all sides. Thank God there seems to be no end to it. They say the steady rush of the West Kent regiment on a position of the enemy double or treble their number in one of the engagements, over rocky ground and the slope of a hill, wax irresistible. The enemy never waited to face them, but bolted before ever a bayonet touched them." The Manchester Rifles* are reminded that Colonel Nrwall will inspect the corps this evening.