ad in the cannon-concert, and seemed to make himself very
unpleasant to the enemy.

The whole day was mainly a battle of big guns. My headache grew
unbearable, and I was very feverish. General Botha had meanwhile
arrived with reinforcements, and towards evening things took a better
turn.

But I was temporarily done for, and again lost consciousness, and was
taken to the ambulance. Dr. Shaw did his best, I hear, for me; but I
was unconscious for several days, and when I revived the doctor told
me I had a slight fracture of the skull caused by the bursting of a
shell. The injuries, however, could not have been very serious for ten
days after I was able to leave my bed. I then heard that the night I
had been taken to the hospital, the British had once more been forced
to retire across the Tugela, and early in the morning of the 7th of
February our burghers were again in possession of the kopje
"Vaalkrantz," round which such a fierce fight had waged and for the
possession of which so much blood had been spilled.

So far as I could gather from the English official reports they lost
about 400 men, while our dead and wounded numbered only sixty-two.

Taking into consideration the determination with which General Buller
had attacked us, and how dearly he had paid for this third abortive
attempt, the retreat of his troops remains as much of a mystery to me
as that at Spion Kop.

Our "Long Tom" was a decided success, and had proved itself to be
exceedingly useful.

The Battle of "Vaalkrantz" kopje was to me and to the Johannesburg
commando undoubtedly the most important and the fiercest fight in this
war, and although one point in our positions was taken, I think that
on the whole I may be proud of our defence. About two-thirds of its
defenders were killed or wounded before the enemy took that spot, and
all who afterwards visited the kopje where our struggle had taken
place had to admit that unmistakable evidence showed it to be one of
the hottest fights of the Natal campaign. All the trees were torn up
or smashed by shells, great blocks of rock had been splintered and
were stained yellow by the lyddite; mutilated bodies were lying
everywhere--Briton and Boer side by side; for during the short time
"Vaalkrantz" had been in their possession the English had not had an
opportunity of burying the bodies of friends or foe.

I think I may quote a few paragraphs of what Dr. Doyle says in his
book about this engagement:--