livered by the Boers during
the war there is certainly none more remarkable than this one. At
two o'clock in the morning of a moonlight night De Wet's forlorn hope
assembled at the base of the hill and clambered up to the summit. The
fact that it was Christmas Eve may conceivably have had something to do
with the want of vigilance upon the part of the sentries. In a season
of good will and conviviality the rigour of military discipline may
insensibly relax. Little did the sleeping Yeomen in the tents, or the
drowsy outposts upon the crest, think of the terrible Christmas visitors
who were creeping on to them, or of the grim morning gift which Santa
Claus was bearing.

The Boers, stealing up in their stockinged feet, poured under the
crest until they were numerous enough to make a rush. It is almost
inconceivable how they could have got so far without their presence
being suspected by the sentries--but so it was. At last, feeling
strong enough to advance, they sprang over the crest and fired into the
pickets, and past them into the sleeping camp. The top of the hill being
once gained, there was nothing to prevent their comrades from swarming
up, and in a very few minutes nearly a thousand Boers were in a position
to command the camp. The British were not only completely outnumbered,
but were hurried from their sleep into the fight without any clear idea
as to the danger or how to meet it, while the hissing sleet of bullets
struck many of them down as they rushed out of their tents. Considering
how terrible the ordeal was to which they were exposed, these untried
Yeomen seem to have behaved very well. 'Some brave gentlemen ran away at
the first shot, but I am thankful to say they were not many,' says one
of their number. The most veteran troops would have been tried very high
had they been placed in such a position. 'The noise and the clamour,'
says one spectator, 'were awful. The yells of the Dutch, the screams and
shrieks of dying men and horses, the cries of natives, howls of dogs,
the firing, the galloping of horses, the whistling of bullets, and the
whirr volleys make in the air, made up such a compound of awful and
diabolical sounds as I never heard before nor hope to hear again. In the
confusion some of the men killed each other and some killed themselves.
Two Boers who put on helmets were killed by their own people. The
men were given no time to rally or to collect their thoughts, for
the gallant Boers barged righ