A BOER SHARPSHOOTER.
R. Caton Woodville.] By permission of H. Graves & Co.
[Oct. 30, 1899.
From the column on the left no news had arrived. About six heavy firing was heard in its direction; an hour later came the crash of a furious fusillade, in which the growl of the Maxim could plainly be heard. To this quarter was shortly afterwards seen moving a very strong commando of the enemy. It was observed pouring down a far-off hill "like a colony of ants on the march." The roar of firing on the left grew louder, and the battle broke out with renewed vigour over all the wide sweep of the quadrant. The Boer guns opened once more; it was clear that the enemy had been strongly reinforced. They showed all round in such strength that the Imperial Light Horse on the left centre had to fall back, and the British artillery in this quarter changed position slightly to meet the oncoming foe. A heavy fire checked the Boer advance, but could not defeat it; to prevent the main British force from being cut off from its left, our troops were thrust forward, battalion by battalion, until every available man was in line. Two British batteries pushed forward into the open and dosed the Boer 40-pounders and other guns on Pepworth Hill with shrapnel so effectively that they almost ceased fire.
On the right, however, fresh Boer weapons were each minute coming into line, and the artillery preponderance hitherto on our side was threatening to pass from us. The enemy's automatic 1-pounder guns were particularly annoying, directing their stream of small but deadly shells upon our guns and our infantry. Yet so splendidly was the British artillery handled that once more it got the better of the foe, checked the counter-attack on the right, and was paving the way for an infantry assault upon the Boer position at Farquhar's Farm when suddenly the most disquieting news arrived from Ladysmith.
White withdraws to save the town.
This was an urgent message from Colonel Knox, in command of the town, to Sir George White, stating that the enemy appeared to be on the verge of making a determined attack on Ladysmith and the British camp from the north. Without doubt the Boers advancing in this quarter were the commandoes which should have been held back by Carleton's unlucky column. General White could do nothing but retreat; there was only a mere handful of men in Ladysmith. But to withdraw his forces from a pitched battle, in the presence of a vastly superior enemy, was no easy task.
John Charlton.]
Oct. 30, 1899.] Heroism of the Field Artillery.