stand up and snip through lines
of barbed wire when the Mauser bullets and the deadly shells of the
Pom-Pom gun are tearing up the soil around is perilous work. Some of
these entanglements had already been removed after the bombardment on
Sunday night, for E Company of the Black Watch and a company of the
Seaforths went forward about 7 P.M. in skirmishing order and pulled up
the iron stakes and knocked over three parallel lines of barbed wire.

Some of the Highland Brigade very sensibly withdrew towards the right of
the Boer position with the idea of outflanking and enfilading the enemy.
They succeeded for some time and actually captured some prisoners, but
were soon afterwards themselves enfiladed and compelled to retire. Eight
men of the Seaforths, however, when the frontal attack failed, retired
towards the left instead of the right and suddenly found themselves, to
their dismay, well inside the enemy's trenches! The Boers took away
their rifles but forgot their side-arms, whereupon one of the
Highlanders drew his bayonet, leapt to his feet and stabbed the sentry
who was guarding them in the neck. The whole eight then jumped over the
earthwork and decamped, escaping unhurt through the bullets which
followed them from the enraged burghers.

Many of our wounded lay on the ground from early morning till seven or
eight in the evening, exposed all day to the scorching rays of an almost
tropical sun. Some of the men brought away in the ambulances were, in
fact, suffering from sunstroke, in addition to their wounds, and, as was
said above, the bare legs of the three kilted battalions were terribly
burnt. The Boers were very kind to our wounded. They came out of the
trenches and gave them water. They did not in any case shoot at our
wounded men, but frequently shot at any one who came forward during the
fight to bandage the wounded. The slightest movement, however, of the
_bona-fide_ combatants in our ranks drew a hail of bullets from the
trenches. A Scotch sergeant, Gilham by name, a most kindly and
courageous man, noticed that a comrade near him had been shot through
the abdomen. He raised himself up from his recumbent position and began
to bandage the wounded man. "Lie down you ---- fool," said the friend;
"can't you see you are drawing the fire?" As he spoke a bullet passed
between Gilham's knees and struck the wounded man. Soon afterwards an
officer called out for a stretcher, so Gilham jumped up and put on his
best "h