A RIDE THROUGH THE ENEMY'S FIRE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 6713, 4 June 1900, Page 4

A RIDE THROUGH THE ENEMY'S FIRE.

EXPERIENCE OF AN AUCK-

LANDER.

In a letter to his uncle, Mr J. Craw- . ford, Trooper N. Curtain, who is with b Company of the First New Zea--5 land Contingent, says :—" 1 haye had j a pretty lively time of it in South Afl "ea, in escaping the rifle fire and shells bursting. I have been at close quarcSHFft AUei' a fortnißht's shit?™ Thab »Dchu we got orders to shift camp and proceed to Bloemfon--10 ono inf on? waZ we were t0 meet 10,000 infantry, because the enemy rLf n ea a d™lng on towards BlocS SE: ES *£*»«• - tbe other way about I" 3, ,But lfc wa» I Tha ban „ h^e d»eyo^; we }?« i miles in the rear of ua. \Ve h& a n ?T, ; o'clock on Friday night aid % d : travelling all nignt over \e rv roulh country, reached the waterworks whioh SL BIT? teiß' a trfour Si: hthe morning. We then went ir»n pamn tn rat ourselves and horses *TheS ra SrSdSS^nS' 3,i° Wa^op^ loaSwUh camp just two hours/ whe n I was sTeli eSKn a tobigga^^S fired 3! shell right into our liApg, We were iS« to B 85ft ler np- Worses and £t away By the time waf were rea dy shells were dropping all r Lf S 1 officer mounted orj£^J^l

i Kindfef the enem/s guns. I .had his I 'spaiytterae with me, mdwaa cftrywg 1 'hwhwaketß on the saddle in front of me. 4-tot within about 10yds of our waggons-, which were pretty well in the frontbf the transport, when to my surprise, tt saw a lot of men'dogging' about a firmhouse, md behind stone walls, and about our transport talking to some of the men. By this time I learnt that they vere disarming our men, ana all of a sudden they opened fire on the transport, and two companies of Mounted Infantry and the Royal Artillery, thus causing a stampede among the horses. Men were dropping in all/directions. I myself hardly i/iew what to do— whether to suj*?nder and be taken a prisoner, or£y for my life. It did not, however, tJ&s me long to decide, for bulletß jere dropping all around me. Wheeling my horses round, I dug my spura/Tnto my own ' nag,' and rode thr^gh the enemy's fire ' for all I was wprth,' I did not stop till I was well /ut of range, and then I got off my horse to give him a ' blow ;' but I could only stop a few minutes, as the enemy were still advancing. I did not stop again until 1 got into Bloemfontein."