MAftCH TO ULUNDI. 
153 
was roused by e< Guard turn out \” and the 58th rushed in to man the 
laager. They were all sleeping outside, and ran into their places. 
I saw none run beyond the parapets, and the gunners stood at once to 
their guns. I went round the laager with Lord Chelmsford, and 
found it all manned. It turned out that a sentry of the 21st, posted in 
long grass, heard someone approaching, and challenged, but receiving 
no answer, fired. The persons he heard were two N.N.C. officers 
returning from visiting their outposts. The shots alarmed the H.N.C., 
who rushed, assegai in hand, over the 24th Regt., and as the natives 
always sleep without the few clothes they wear by day, the 24th 
naturally thought them the enemy, and ran in too; a few men of the 
picquet ran in, and a few were afterwards tried by court-martial. In 
the other column a similar scare took place, and also a few European 
soldiers had to be tried by court-martial. Ho firing took place except 
the shots from the sentry; soon after we had lain down a slight alarm 
took place, but there was no firing. 
July 2nd .—A dull morning. We heard of Sir G. Wolseley having 
gone to join Crealock’s column. About noon we moved forward, and 
joined our laager to Wood’s, close to the river, and we built a small 
stone redoubt on the hill above our laagar, which itself sloped towards 
the river. I placed two guns of H/6 here. 
July 3rd .—I took the two 9-prs. out of the redoubt, as it was to be 
built up closer, and we were to take the guns on, of course. About 
noon H/6 took up a position commanding the ford across the river, 
and about 1300 yds. from a wooded hill from which the Zulus had 
been firing at us. We saw large bodies moving about on the opposite 
side, where the country was quite open, and we fired a shell into a 
donga where we saw a good many, and another shrapnel into the 
wood, where we saw a good deal of smoke. Buller and his mounted 
men crossed the river below the camp, and came round the rear of the 
hill, and soon cleared the enemy out of the caves and bush. I heard 
after that six bodies were found where our shell had burst. The 
mounted men charged round out of sight, but we soon heard heavy 
.firing, and the mounted men returned in twos and threes over the hill. 
I fired one shell to check the pursuit, and they got back to camp, 
having lost two or three killed. We soon returned to camp, and 
orders were given for us to advance to-morrow without baggage, only 
a day’s tinned meat and biscuit. About 10 the Zulus began to make a 
dreadful noise, the singing being of a most weird nature; and although 
3 miles off, it sounded quite close. Some thought this meant an imme¬ 
diate attack, and all our horses were brought inside the laager; it 
turned out, however, that the Zulus had received a large reinforcement. 
July 4th.—Battle of JJlundi .—The division roused (without bugle 
sound) at 4, the reveille sounding as usual at 5.15. We crossed the 
White Umvoloosi at 6.40, the mounted men having previously scouted 
all round. Five companies 80th led, then a company R.E., 10/7 and 
11/7 R.A., and the 13th Regt. in fours on the right, the 90th in fours 
on the left, then N/5 N/6, with four-companies 58th on the right, six 
