Our Boys at the Front.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 9, 11 January 1901, Page 3

Our Boys at the Front.

INTERESTING DETAILS OF THE

CAMPAIGN

In a letter to his father, Captain Thomson, the harbormaster of Gisborne, his son James writes as under from Klerksdorp, [the date being November 25:

Dear Father,—Just a few lines to let you know where we are at present. We arrived hero from Elands river on the 18th with General Douglas, who is with Lord Methuen. They work hand and hand through the country. Elands river is where we went to relieve Colonel Hoare with four hundred men. He had a rather exciting time of it, losing 68 men killed and wounded. He also lost all his horses and oxen for the want of water. The Boers had him surrounded on all the kopjes, and shelled him all day. The Colonel had to make shell proof fortifications by means of boxes of biscuits, bags of sugar, and tins of bully beef. It was a terrible sight to see broken biscuits and pieces of horses mixed with Long Tom shells. I might say all this was tho fault of our late general, who in the first instance took us to relieve Colonel Hoare, and after getting twenty men wounded and one killed he had the fight won, but he gave the order to retire, leaving 400 men to the mercy of the enemy. Carrington had with him 2000 men. lam sorry to tell you I was one of them who had to obey the order and retire with the others, but thank God, we have a general now who will never retire, but advance every time. He Baid no general ought to think of retiring with such fine fighting men as the New Zealanders are. We lost a few men, but there is plenty of us left yet, apd not afraid to meet the same fate as our mates that fell at Malmani or Magato Pass, where they tried to stop our march, thinking it was Carrington who was in charge. We spoke to DeWet with lyddite, for Lord Methuen does not want any to take back with him. We left General Carrington on September Ist and joined Lord Methuen, who we like well, for he is full of fighting, and this is what we,came for. We have just received word that wo join General French in the course of a few days. I see by the New Zealand papers that. the war is all over. Just tell anyone that thinks that to come over here and they will say different. DeWet is still on the go. He has only 50 men left now.

Under date Klerksdorp, December 11,1900, Trooper Rodgers writes a very interesting letter to a Gisborne lady. Some extracts will be given from the letter in our next issue..