us as being the cause of their misery. Others occupied
themselves more usefully in driving their cattle. Altogether it was a
scene the like of which I hope never to see again.

The Natal kaffirs now had an opportunity of displaying their hatred
towards the Boers. As soon as we had left a farm and its male
inhabitants had gone, they swooped down on the place and wrought havoc
and ruin, plundering and looting to their utmost carrying capacity.
Some even assaulted women and children, and the most awful atrocities
were committed. I attach more blame to the whites who encouraged these
plundering bands, especially some of the Imperial troops and Natal
men in military service. Not understanding the bestial nature of the
kaffirs, they used them to help carry out their work of destruction,
and although they gave them no actual orders to molest the people,
they took no proper steps of preventing this.

When our commando passed through Newcastle, we found the place almost
entirely deserted, excepting for a few British subjects who had taken
an oath of neutrality to the Boers.

I regret to have to state that during our retreat a number of
irresponsible persons set fire to the Government buildings in that
town. It is said that an Italian officer burned a public hall on no
reasonable pretext; certainly he never received orders to that effect.
As may be expected of an invading army, some of our burgher patrols
and other isolated bodies of troops looted and destroyed a number of
houses which had been temporarily deserted. But with the exception of
these few cases, I can state that no outrages were committed by us in
Natal, and no property was needlessly destroyed.

On our arrival at Laing's Nek a Council of War was immediately held to
decide our future plans.

We now found ourselves once more on the old battlefields of 1880 and
1881, where Boer and Briton had met 20 years before to decide by trial
of arms who should be master of the S. A. Republic. Traces of that
desperate struggle were still plainly visible, and the historic height
of Majuba stood there, an isolated sentinel, recalling to us the
battle in which the unfortunate Colley lost both the day and his life.

I was told off to take up a position in the Nek where the wagon-road
runs to the east across the railway-tunnel, and here we made
preparations for digging trenches and placing our guns. Soon after we
had completed our entrenchments we once more saw the enemy. They w