of the British army. Although armed with breech-loaders, and fully as
numerous as the assailants who had gained the crest of the hill, the
resistance offered was feeble in the extreme; had the troops charged the
Boers, the advantages of discipline and of their vastly superior weapons
would have been irresistible, and they could have cleared the plateau as
speedily as it had been occupied. The great majority, however, were
seized with a wild panic, and, in spite of the efforts of the officers,
thought of nothing but seeking safety in flight. A few stood and fired,
but how few these were can be judged from the fact that only one Boer
was killed, one severely wounded, and four slightly so; while half the
British force were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners, the remainder
managing to escape down the sides of the hill, and to join the force
left at its foot, or to hide in the bushes until night. Among the
killed were General Colley, Captain the Hon. C. Maude, Surgeon-Major H.
Cornish, Surgeon A. Landon, and Lieutenant Trower of the naval brigade;
eight officers were killed, and seven taken prisoners; eighty-six men
were killed, 125 wounded, fifty-one taken prisoners, and two missing.
The fight, such as it was, lasted five minutes. The force which had
been left at the bottom of the hill, under Captain Robertson, was also
attacked; but, being admirably led by that officer, fought its way back
to the camp with but small loss, the guns there assisting to cover its
retreat.

The boys had not accompanied the expedition, and from the camp had
watched the line of smoke round the hill, and had joined in the laughter
of the officers at the idea of the Boers attacking so tremendously
strong a position. Intense was the astonishment in camp when a wreath
of smoke suddenly rose from the summit, and when this cleared away, and
all was quiet, and it became evident that the Boers had carried the
position, it was difficult to say whether the feeling of dismay or
humiliation most prevailed.

With the defeat of Majuba Hill the war in the Transvaal virtually
terminated. When the news reached England, the government declared that
the honour of the British flag should be vindicated, and great numbers
of troops were sent out to Natal; these marched up the country, and were
in readiness to assault the Boers' position, when the English government
suddenly gave way, and granted to the Boers all that they demanded, the
sole provision insisted