ess. Only three men, he
declared, were hit on the Boer side; one was killed, one was hit in
the arm, and he himself was the third, getting his face grazed by a
bullet, of which he showed us the scar. He stated that the first to
reach the top ridge was a boy of twelve, and that as soon as the
troops saw them they fled, when, he said, he paid them out for
having nearly killed him, knocking them over one after another 'like
bucks' as they ran down the hill, adding that it was 'alter lecker'
(very nice)."

A complete and reliable narrative of affairs on that fateful day in
the ridge below Majuba was given in the _Army and Navy Gazette_. It
is here reproduced, as it shows the finale from the point of view of
an eye-witness of one of the most lamentable fights known in British
history. The correspondent says:--

"As our mysterious march on the night of the 26th February began,
two companies of the 60th Rifles, under the command of Captains C.
H. Smith and R. Henley, were detached from General Colley's small
column, and left on the Imquela Mountain. These companies received
_no orders_, beyond that they were to remain there. The rest of the
column then marched into the dark night on their unknown mission,
our destination being guessed at, but not announced. The road was
rough, and at some places little better than a beaten track, and
the men found it hard to pick their steps among the loose stones
and earth mounds. But all were cheerful and ready for their work.
The ridge at the foot of the heights was reached at about midnight,
and here the column made a brief halt, to allow of one company of
the 92nd (which had lost its touch) coming up. Here one company of
the 92nd Highlanders, under Captain P. F. Robertson, was detailed
to proceed with Major Fraser, R.E., to a spot about one hundred
yards distant, General Colley himself giving the order that they
were to remain there, 'to dig as good a trench as time would permit
of,' and further to select a good position to afford cover for the
horses and ammunition, &c., that were to be left in charge of the
detachment. They were also desired to throw out sentries in the
direction of the camp, also a patrol of four men, with a
non-commissioned officer, to watch the beaten track along which we
had just come, and to act as guides for a company of the 60th
Rifles expecte