loaded up in quite a cheerful frame of mind, for we had not lost a man,
whereas I could count more than fifty dead and wounded Matukus. The only
thing that damped my ardour was that, stare as I would, I could see no
column of smoke upon the mountain crest.

"Half an hour elapsed before any further steps were taken against us.
Then the attacking force adopted different tactics. Seeing that it
was very risky to try to rush us in dense masses, they opened out into
skirmishing order and ran across the open space in lots of five and six.
As it happened, right at the foot of the koppie the ground broke away a
little in such fashion that it was almost impossible for us to search
it effectually with our fire. On the hither side of this dip Wambe's
soldiers were now congregating in considerable numbers. Of course we did
them as much damage as we could while they were running across, but this
sort of work requires good shots, and that was just what we had not got.
Another thing was, that so many of our men would insist upon letting off
the things they called guns at every little knot of the enemy that ran
across. Thus, the first few lots were indeed practically swept away, but
after that, as it took a long while to load the gas-pipes and old flint
muskets, those who followed got across in comparative safety. For my own
part, I fired away with the elephant gun and repeating carbine till they
grew almost too hot to hold, but my individual efforts could do nothing
to stop such a rush, or perceptibly to lessen the number of our enemies.

"At length there were at least a thousand men crowded into the dip of
ground within a few yards of us, whence those of them who had guns kept
up a continued fusillade upon the koppie. They killed two of my bearers
in this way, and wounded a third, for being at the top of the koppie
these men were most exposed to the fire from the dip at its base. Seeing
that the situation was growing most serious, at length, by the dint of