The wounded men were afterwards carried by the Boers with great care to Mr. Maas' farm, and the news was sent back to the Glen by a Kaffir.
Lieutenant Lygon's body was borne back on the following morning, and was buried near the small white kraal a hundred yards to the east of the railway bridge. The funeral, which took place at sunset on Saturday, was most impressive, the entire battalion attending the voluntary parade and lining the path between the camp and the grave.
Little comment is needed. Clearly the virtue that runs to a fault has here been to blame. The same unquestioning pluck that impels an officer in leading his men on the field of battle prompted this careless enterprise, with the miserable result we have recorded. We have lost—and the loss is the loss of the whole force—one of the best and most popular of our younger officers, and of the other casualties one at least may prove more serious than was anticipated; but at least it is a compensation to remember that, however unfortunate the issue, the quiet pluck and discipline of the army have been once more tried and not found wanting.
DON'T.
Advice to Looters.
BY H. A. GWYNNE.
Don't call on the Provost Marshal with a couple of live chickens on your saddle bow.
Don't attempt to carry off a grand piano on an ammunition waggon; it might be noticed.
Don't cook sheep's kidneys ostentatiously in camp; you may be asked where you found the sheep.
Don't load your horse with flannel petticoats when carrying a message to a general; flannel petticoats are not a part of military equipment.
Don't swagger about camp with an air of repletion when the force is subsisting on quarter rations.