THE STORMING OF SECOCOENTS. \\J 



body, and lay down under a bush to avoid the rays of 

 the sun. One of the enemy's riflemen made an uncom- 

 monly good shot from a distance of at least eight 

 hundred yards. The bullet whizzed close to my cheek 

 and cut up the dust behind me. It became apparent 

 that safety lay in proximity to the main body, for as 

 they were guarding a crowd of captives, the enemy were 

 afraid to fire upon them lest they should kill their own 

 people, so I rejoined the crowd again without delay. 



We shot a number of the enemy in this fight. Our 

 commandant, who led the advanced guard, accepted a 

 somewhat heavy responsibility in attacking this position 

 without support, for it was within a short distance of 

 Secocoeni's town where the main body of the enemy 

 were concentrated, and it was easy for the enemy to 

 obtain large reinforcements, which in such broken ground 

 would have overwhelmed us. 



Indeed, before the fight was concluded reinforcements 

 began to come up by a mountain path, but so quick had 

 been the movements of our commandant that the whole 

 thing was over before the enemy's reinforcements could 

 get into action, and they arrived just in time to see 

 columns of smoke rising from the burning villages in 

 the great valley like steam from a cauldron. The enemy 

 fought well, particularly a chief with a white shield whom 

 Grant shot. Unfortunately, after the affair was over, our 

 sergeant-major saw a kaross lying in the mouth of a 

 cave, and, being desirous of obtaining it, he stooped down 

 to seize it and drag it out. He was shot dead in the act 

 by a Basuto concealed within the cave. 



I was informed that a party of engineers went up 

 there and discovered another small outlet to the cave, 

 into which they dropped a heavy charge of gun-cotton, 



