enfilading its main battery, behind which, and in echelon with it, they
had apparently placed a howitzer.

Cannonading opened from many quarters soon after daybreak, the enemy's
fire being mainly directed against our naval guns, one of which,
however, devoted itself exclusively for a time to the Surprise Hill
battery where the Boers were preparing for action.

Before they could get many shots out of the new gun, we were pounding
away at it. Our first two shells fell short, but they were followed by
three others, clean into the battery's embrasure, with such obvious
effect that the big weapon inside must either have been dismantled or
put out of action. Since then it has not spoken, and the sailors
therefore naturally claim that they have silenced it for good and all.
An hour later the other naval gun--"Lady Anne" by name--silenced
"Puffing Billy of Bulwaan" for a time, and we have evidence that the
Boers must have suffered some serious losses before noon, when General
Joubert sent in a flag of truce, according to a custom which seems to be
in favour with him, whenever things are going a bit awry from his point
of view.

The Irish-American, who has been mentioned as having given himself up as
a deserter, described how the Boer gunners, terrorised by shrapnel fire,
had to be forced into the batteries under threats. But if the Boer
gunners are panic-stricken they have a curious way of showing it, for
some of them stood boldly on the parapets to watch the effect of a shot,
and the accuracy of their return fire does not betray much nervousness.
We are inclined to believe, however, that the Boer losses from artillery
fire have been greater than ours, partly because their shots have been
widely distributed in a speculative way with no particular object in