r it. Heights that had seemed the goal, became the
resting-place of the stretcher-bearers, until at last no part of the hill
remained unpopulated, save a high bulging rampart of unprotected and open
ground. And then, suddenly, coming from the earth itself, apparently,
one man ran across this open space and leaped on top of the trench which
crowned the hill. He was fully fifteen yards in advance of all the rest,
entirely unsupported, and alone. And he had evidently planned it so, for
he took off his helmet and waved it, and stuck it on his rifle and waved
it again, and then suddenly clapped it on his head and threw his gun to
his shoulder. He stood so, pointing down into the trench, and it seemed
as though we could hear him calling upon the Boers behind it to
surrender.

A few minutes later the last of the three hills was mounted by the West
Yorks, who were mistaken by their own artillery for Boers, and fired upon
both by the Boers and by their own shrapnel and lyddite. Four men were
wounded, and, to save themselves, a line of them stood up at full length
on the trench and cheered and waved at the artillery until it had ceased
to play upon them. The Boers continued to fire upon them with rifles for
over two hours. But it was only a demonstration to cover the retreat of
the greater number, and at daybreak the hills were in complete and
peaceful possession of the English.

These hills were a part of the same Railway Hill which four nights before
the Inniskillings and a composite regiment had attempted to take by a
frontal attack with the loss of six hundred men, among whom were three
colonels. By this flank attack, and by using nine regiments instead of
one, the same hills and two others were taken with two hundred
casualties. The fact that this battle, which was called the Battle of
Pieter's Hill, and the surrender of General Cronje and his forces to Lord
Roberts, both took place on the anniversary of the battle of Majuba Hill,
made the whole of Buller's column feel that the ill memory of that
disaster had been effaced.

II--THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH

After the defeat of the Boers at the battle of Pieter's Hill there were
two things left for them to do. They could fall back across a great
plain which stretched from Pieter's Hill to Bulwana Mountain, and there
make their last stand against Buller and the Ladysmith relief column, or
they could abandon the siege of Ladysmith and slip away after having held