Our cannon now shelled the hill furiously.  The British ambulance tried to reach our wounded, but the fire was too hot.  This bombardment kept on for two days, when the enemy retired, whereupon we again took possession of the hill.  Two or three of our wounded were found to be still alive, but with their wounds in a terrible state of putrefaction.  Imagine their sufferings during those two awful days of heat, thirst, and exposure, to say nothing of the shells continually exploding around them.  They were brought into camp and ultimately recovered.  For all I know, they may be fighting still.  This little affair is known to the British as the battle of Vaalkrantz.

When they heard that their son had gone safely through the battle of Spion Kop an old Free State farmer and his wife came down to pay him a visit The son then accompanied his mother home, the old man taking his place for a few days.  One day some artillerists were engaged in their favourite pastime of burning out unexploded lyddite shells, when one of the shells burst, killing three men.  As fate would have it, the old father in question was one of the three.

Another peculiar accident happened on Spion Kop, whilst the rifles of the killed and wounded soldiers were being collected.  One of the rifles lay under a corpse.  Seizing the weapon by the muzzle, a young Boer attempted to draw it toward him.  The charge went off and lodged in his stomach, inflicting a fatal wound.  The soldier had been killed in the act of taking aim, and his finger had stiffened round the trigger.  The young fellow thus killed by a dead man was the only son of his widowed mother.

PIETERS’ HEIGHTS

When the British retreated from Spion Kop it was to move down to Colenso once more.  Taking the Boschrand, after a feeble defence, they were enabled to command our positions on the other side, and succeeded in crossing the Tugela unhindered.

Why we surrendered the river so easily and then defended Pieters’ Heights so obstinately is explained by the fact that, owing to the British advance on Kimberley, the idea had become general that we should have to give up Ladysmith in any case, and therefore our men were drawn back from the river preparatory to a general retirement.  Pieters’ Heights were held till everything was ready, and then the retirement was effected without even an attempt at pursuit by the enemy.

When the Pieters’ Heights fighting began I was ordered thither.  Going through the Klip River, our heavily laden waggon stuck fast.  We quickly obtained the loan of another span of mules and hitched them on in front, but the double team only succeeded in breaking the trek-chain.  There was nothing for it but to outspan and carry the heavy loads up the steep bank.  At this we toiled till midnight.  Too tired to catch the mules and haul the waggon out, we went to sleep, leaving that operation for the morning.