the morning after the battle. An armistice was
understood to exist, but the naval gun, in ignorance of it, opened
on our extreme left. The Boers at once opened fire upon the Horse
Artillery, who, recognising the mistake, remained motionless and
unlimbered in a line, with every horse, and gunner and driver in his
place, without taking any notice of the fire, which presently slackened
and stopped as the enemy came to understand the situation. It is worthy
of remark that in this battle the three field batteries engaged, as well
as G Battery, R.H.A., each fired over 1000 rounds and remained for 30
consecutive hours within 1500 yards of the Boer position.

But of all the corps who deserve praise, there was none more gallant
than the brave surgeons and ambulance bearers, who encounter all the
dangers and enjoy none of the thrills of warfare. All day under fire
these men worked and toiled among the wounded. Beevor, Ensor, Douglas,
Probyn--all were equally devoted. It is almost incredible, and yet it
is true, that by ten o'clock on the morning after the battle, before the
troops had returned to camp, no fewer than five hundred wounded were in
the train and on their way to Cape Town.

CHAPTER 10. THE BATTLE OF STORMBERG.

Some attempt has now been made to sketch the succession of events which
had ended in the investment of Ladysmith in northern Natal, and also to
show the fortunes of the force which on the western side of the seat
of war attempted to advance to the relief of Kimberley. The distance
between these forces may be expressed in terms familiar to the European
reader by saying that it was that which separates Paris from Frankfort,
or to the American by suggesting that Ladysmith was at Boston and that
Methuen was trying to relieve Philadelphia. Waterless deserts and rugged
mountain ranges divided the two scenes of action. In the case of the
British there could be no connection between the two movements, but the
Boers by a land journey of something over a hundred miles had a double
choice of a route by which Cronje and Joubert might join hands, either
by the Bloemfontein-Johannesburg-Laing's Nek Railway, or by the direct
line from Harrismith to Ladysmith. The possession of these internal
lines should have been of enormous benefit to the Boers, enabling them
to throw the weight of their forces unexpectedly from the one flank to
the other.

In a future chapter it will be recorded how the Army Corps arriving from
Eng