THE RHENOSTERKOP AFFAIR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXIII, Issue 18, 19 January 1901, Page 1

THE RHENOSTERKOP AFFAIR.

WHERE TUB NKW Kir A. LANDERS WI« HONOUR. SPLENDID BKHAVIOUIt UNDKIt DOT FIEI. The following is an abstract of an exceedingly intixestiog account which appeared iu WedttttdttyV livening fost of tbe fl jht et Rbeno l totkop : After describing the advanc* to flh»'ro9terkop 1 where tbe Coirs held a ridgo of bit's stretching noma six miles 8n alrtost impugnable natural fortress—the Post's spuitl correspondgoos cn to say that at five o'clock in tbfi morniog General Pa;et advanced oo the los'tion. H« himself I'fld the right fl*nk with the West It ding and Munster Fasiliers. Tho centre win occupied by Oolenel Hick* nun, and ths left) flaiik by the New Zoiland bccoid Contingent «ud the Third Contingent (the Rough Riders), oud the Queensland Bushmen. THK KEY OK THE POSITION. Colonel Cradock hold the key of the position, leing opposed by the balk of thrt enemy who were very persistent ia tbi ic fffjrts to work round oa our left flank. Oar ol j *cb waq to torn their flank, ar.d the Now Zealander* ad-> vuiccd, under ! eivy fire, to within 400 y irds o{ the p jfi'-.ioo, whore thay were forced to ha't aDd take corer, which consisted of a few aot hills only, tbe fl it being porfrt.t'y harren. Oat gans wore boomirg awtiy at a range of 1000 yaid), but failed in their atiempto to dislodga tho enemy. At 5.30 the Boers vei-o rair.foicad, and advanced under over of their gans, cumins a genei al retirement, tbu Botw pouring in a hot fire all day, Tiny coud te plainly i istinguiajud, without the aid if glassu;', carrying their wounled i. w lying and dodging about amoo/ oho rocks, TLoir gun-i wcr) c'o ng sj did p<ac'i)(s. Jiuvn; got sl»u tbuga. One shell land'd right behind our t;ur s without barstiog. Hal it burst it »oc!d h:uc ;cude a mo;:s of oar gatnar. TUB NKW ZKALANDKOB UNDI'.R FlHtt. i'lie Now Z ami d =rp, under M. jir Ji>w4»y. wore being htn-liei ly l.Vptu:.? Criwtbft'f, Chnvtor, l>'o>n and Liiuts. Tacker, lljss, F.'zl erbtrti, Cameron, Banks, Moitgi uiorie ikfd Sonm< r\i le. Tl.oje i ffi.erj weie ' x - joa»d tj a cactinuoas hail of bullets 111 the day, as they bad to const intly pt.s) akng their lines. I heuid we i IH-jfir ri'ijjirk: -"I wou'd go w the d'vil 'o command a b.dy of ar n l.ko that." The rit-tit-tit tat-'.at of the ballets nnd tbe bouniiu(» of tho 12 aud 15sunders weut io m»ko «p a tinrible tim . It lot iub i if all tho d; u Otis of hell weie let ow. To expose oneself mean instant d ath, go the men lay mill and fiie' for I f i and victory. THK CMrUALTIES, The firi-t nan hit »» Farrier S igt. Smith, of tbe S' ond Coitmgi-nt, who was si ot through the sWuiich »•; hj» wan advancing through the £ror t link of the filing line. I!u was ai u: ea carried to the rrar. but, died shortly Bftorwards, snd was buried at Br.ml<linrt<t Spirnit. Ho was a fin' 3 ftilwurt ft'liii*., well likni and rcsp' ctid, anri resl giit Poor Oj panhtiui wmh nnxt hit. Ho «aa sitting' r.Bir Oapti'iu Or.iw.,liayr nnd Lent. Moutgoiner e when h bullet ft und him and liii.l him ]o»> inn; on/, tt'io«j p h tbe srcmncb. > f h-- X- ><md Oontiufiorili, brmey ruMt nil up and curried Oppouhi-iu: out of t,!io (loitwut iflho firr, only to gat hit ] inuelf. Hil l , of thi'Si.cnr d Kttnid'd to O ptiin Ocav , wini »•« w uiM'ed in tbe htomacb, U' de-b ii yli e, 'j h.'U, setin< IJf.tS .1.! F i-crow <irrp, ha ran In jli.t.i, ;: )i *nd ilfi hi.' l.ft for I'Yr. yii.Mi kai nhot, ■ y tliioni;lt bub biju. S?,r» geant Heudrroii!) at i n c lilltd tha bruacb, aud eiriio l liiil out ( f tie z'ine i f tiro. At f h-- sanw t.iu.o Oorporul iStevcus, regp.rdicof the rain t f hallct-i, was g-iiui; h,tckv an!;' und forwards carrying aiiii»iniiti.or, r,;ch firne rep'onW.ieg il.»- four boys. SKRGEAST iiUSriJCr.S lIK.'.'I'II. Thp day wan ils nggiii" •.»»«• iiy tlomg when d >v n tbn lir.r c-.ir.i* ih>. sad m-srs ■if nnoiher Ciimi-.uir f .:;«n ; thi" lima it) whs fiii'M !', ..f tbe Third, «h .• wr-8 si ot thiou: h ilh its'it.-u.<l. r, rtii'l «.iit uiidor i.'.e ri»hi; -n-i. jle diiri in.m-oiVxly ]fo i.aly spoke & ffiw worr'ti thft last of w'lioh wtro " I'm don!' f'ii- ibi; t.hxei" T.jor Hnesoll was «.'iie of i;i!su mm who lift New Ze."l >; il - l.iti'Mir nti ii, and tho brA»e»t i f ibo i ri>"\Vb.n! h-..-d luck h** 5i nl f < xii hh'-. 1 r!c fevtr at KroonsUil, ncov, ivt 1 jmH.lt.iij, worked lii.i vay i > Fr< >m.!, >4<iC ln-ing pi'upi r'y >■ <>!', ilruv.: Ih. .idfi'nyj onrl), bei'ji; captiii' u by tin t .

an evehjgntfu '•bsrated °* Wft £ hl was i paniedthJr rejl ' BCMm j,g r jijP*ew >*landof3l) Rootantld and, on returning, wa JWittack of colia, and the doctor njtfß to inra't i him home, bat jßsell would not go, preferring to go the (root, wit h the Bad result defcribed. Hid relatives and friends may ' indeed ha proud of him. He died not only »v soldier, but a hero, KILtiRD AND SOHMKRVILLB WOBITOSD. A°ain cam« the dread niwj, Thi time it wsa'Hyde, a North Islander of the Third Con indent, shot throngl •the head. 8h rtlv afc?rwarda Lieutenant Soumfrville was tern mtiring 4rs way out t f the firing i-m with a teoken arm. He was hit whi'st looki'S though bii at a socti , n < f the k pja oppo'itjs where he had been potti .gats Boers all the morning. He was lowering his g'a4«*w, ba* in l located one of the eoemy, and had his turtridgn in his hand ht. "Corporal Prion, of tbe St O md, at once Tan to assistance, and under a h.ayy fire bandaged op his arm with a handkerchief. Witti his arm hanging limp, Lieutenant ftimmerrille wslVed bsok a few yartfs and met Twislecon, of the Stcooci, an Australian, who dressed faii arm properly. Even then the bnllets were raining round, and an orJerly though t'rss'y gilloped up to Lieutenant Sommerviile with a message, txjoscd his lose to view of tbe enemy, and conceutrati.-a the fire on <the place wkere4jieat>euaut Sammtr■ville was lying. For a few minutes the ground was ploughed up all round with bulkts, bun fortunately without doing mora harm.

A CBARQR aocboss the plat. Very heavy fire *« now heard op the right, *nd tha West Ridings and Monster Fusiliera olurged acresi thu flab, only to ba swept down by the fnsilade of bnllet:, Again they g-*l-Uatly charged, only to retire again witb their Colonel thot and sixfy m*n lees ia the ranks. It looted as if the day was going to go badly with u<, but British puck told the tale, and with bull-dog tenacity the whole line bald their ground. The Bushmen, on the extreme l<fi flank, were in h< t corcor, and volley after volley coald be beard in that direction, MOBS NEW ZRALANDHRS HIT. However, our attentions were con6ned to our own men; who wore •dropping all ioard, Li«otenan< Mrntgomerie was now hit whilst retiring his men over a 'mail ridge, the bullet going right through bis hip, He drooped, then got up and ran for about 50 yards and lay down. Knub--1 >y, eeeing him, brought cp a horse and assisted Montgomeria to mount, ftlodtgomerie at once rode to the ambnhnoe. In his section he had two killed and sevan wounded. We had now lost three officers out of four in the Second Contingent, Lieutenant) Banks being the only officer left. The men kept up their fire, not the least daunted by the .'036 of their officers. Each man was his owm officer. Corporal Davtreaux was talking to Oaptaia Crawshaw, when all of a sudden he fell over, A slight thud told the tale, Devereaux wss shot clean throagh the hrart. Ho never uttered a sound, death being instantaneous. Brown was the n*xt man ihit. A piece of shell found him, out \ c dieting a wound on the thigh. Shortly after the news ctme along the line that I/.eutenant Tucker was shot through the thigh, at 5.30 in the morning, whilst isanii'g orders to his men. Dr. Godfray at cnoe went to his assistance, only to receive a bullet through his knee. It was Corporal H igenson's (of the Third Contingent) turn next. A bullet hit his bandolier straight in the middle of the chest glanced ofl a cartridge and through hi-! right breat, and out of his back under his shoulder. The cartridge in the bandolier saved his life otherwise be would have been shot clem through the body like poor Oppenheim. Goldetone was fhot through the forearm, the lu'let p?netratin» a cartridge in his b »ndo!ier, and falling down inside his shirr. He still has the bullet. S«rgeans Streft was then bowled over witb a bullet throagh big right side. By tbh time the New Zealand lines were pretty thickly strewn with d'ad and wounded, but tlure were more to count yet. Corporal Clews, Trooper, SwanstOQ, of the Second. Troopers J*. B. Anderson, Stewart, Wood, Dykej Hawthorne, all dropped in quick succcs ion. All this time our guns wern plugging lead into the Boer position, doing vety little damage, as they were firing from behind a kopje ever it into the enemy. The last man kil'fd on the New Zealand side was Trooper Jennings, who was shot through the head whilst in the act of firing. <Vhen fcuad he had 204 empty cartridge cises alongside bim, showing how g*!lant'.y he fought. Ho was killed instantly. The ant-hill in front {f him was riddle! with ballets. When found he bad his r.fl'! in bis hard, v,-:ia one cartridge in the breach Trcoper Ysrusll, who is ordeily to Dr. Godfray, in going up tc fe - ? the doctor after hs was fliot, got a bullet through the tunic, passing right through across his without him Ho coolly reioarked in his slow manner of tpaaking My woord, bat tha wur close, worn't it!" Browtt, who was woandfd with a piece if shell, got two bullfita through hie he!me*, two through his water-bottle, and two through his bandolier. VISIT T.'l TUB Jioiirt POSITION. General went up next day and saw the Boer position ia company with Colonel Cradock. He found the rocks whitsW3sbed with bu'Hs and splash.id with bitoi, showing what good shooting our boys did. A grave' was found containing 30 dead Boers, and a Kaffir said they carried away number 3of dead ard wounded. General Paget congratnlnt-pd Colonel Cwl«.c-V on the g»l'*nisry (if 'he New Zonlniulf.rr, *mi mentioned th?m in j Ht -pa chns.