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Deep Water Bay. As usual they were left behind, would fire the trains and join very strong in artillery, here, however, his (Tanghorne's) men as they retreated. for once we had the advantage, onr 40-Burning his barracks, Furney and his gun pounders on the Tytam Road breastworks ners had taken their stations on the hills at The enemy pressed to the crushed their fire. By 10 a.m. every rack inidnight.
and hill from Quarry Bay Gap to Poktolum assault with great vigour suffering heavily, was belching forth fire and smoke like so losing fully 400 men before they realised many angry volcanes, still the assault crept that without artillery brought against it Our vant-our position was practically impregnable. upwards, ever closer-nearer. age of position was more in seeming than Ourloss by musketry fire from the hills above reality the rugged nature of the ground was comparatively trifling. Soon after 10, was as favourable to the assailants as the however, the enemy managed to get two 9. assailed, our real time to have smitten pounders up the hills, and then the situa- the foe was whilst landing, and that we tion changed. In half an hour we lost five had been unable to do, Their numbers and thirty men killed, two Maxims wero were bound to tell, and our line was too disabled, and the walls were breached in long. The defence had also been severely several places. Our men had made some handled by the ships before the enemy had very pretty practice, and more than one lost a man; but our time came now, the French artilleryman had been knocked ships had to cease their fire, for fear of over at 900 and 1,000 yards on the crest of hurting their own men, and besides had the hill. After Smith had signalled in landed most of their orews,-now, how-answer to Tanghorne's orders that he had ever, for every one of our men hit three of fired the mines, and he and the corporal the enemy were going under; unfortunate. had been soen to leave the forts, our peo- ly they could afford them, we could not. plo left the redoubt with the remaining Still our men were in good fettle; the Maxims in rear covering the retreat. enemy had been six hours landing, climb
The forts blew up with tremendous ex- ing, fighting. We had lain still and break-plosions, breaking the chaius and sinking fasted, and now hungered for vengeance; some of the ships that had barred the pass. cost what it might we meant to have one Smith and Brackenbury fired Shaukiwan good blow for home and country.
as they came through to join Tanghorne, The assault on Yardhill's position had who also burnt Quarry Bay as he fought been repulsed with crushing loss both in his way back, losing heavily. Tanghorne, guns and men. After the resistence of the with one Maxim, made his last stand at Swift and Ruttler had boon overcome, about Tsatszemui Police Station, where they were a thousand of the enemy pushed on along finally all slain. Previous to this, how- the Shaukiwan Road till, close to the junc-ever, he had sent Narshall and half-a-dozen tion of the Sywan Road, their progress was men ahead to fire the Langkat oil depot When Buzzard and Rook- barred by heavy fire from the redoubt on at Whitfeild.
the Oil Nulloy's Hill. The redoubt was manned shank from Stonecutters saw by 100 of the Home Guard, under Capt. Depot at North Point blazing, they re- Tanghorne and Laster's battery of machine alized that the defence was forced to the on Kellett's guus.
Furney had withdrawn his men East, and opening fire from Lyeemoon, heaving mined the galler-Island exploded the Magazine in a few ies and arranged with Tanghorne that if the minutes, after which they continued firing redoubt had to be evacuated, Sergt. Smith at the North Point Rond whenever bodies and Corporal Brackenbury, whom he had of the enemy appeared, materially retard-
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ing the final storming of Tsatszemui Station. | command, however, that involved no res After this time it becomes impossible to ponsibilities-there were no orders to give, give any connected account of the battle or every man was fighting like a fond--there rather series of separate combats.
were no reinforcoments to send anywhere, and if there had been, there were no roads Yardhill held his own bravely till he was killed shortly after noon-his position the hills in the saddle behind High Weat to send them by. The enemy next crossed being by that time completely surrounded, the line having been broken between i Quarry Bay Gap and at Middle Gap. Up every ridge and spur the enemy swarmed with, it must be admitted, the most reck- less gallantry. The attack from below was successful, as it so often is when the as- sailants are prepared for an unlimited ex- penditure of life to attain their object, despair. There was no attempt made by the enemy to descend to the town, they realized that the stubborn foe on the heights had to be exterminated.
The prize --a costly one-lay below, but the victor'a
and circled down in rear of Rordon's position-not, however, without heavy loss from the fire of Belcher's and Victoria Batteries. Soon every point of the hills was circled with fire, where our men wore dying, fighting hopelessly but unflinchingly with the sullen ferocity of
and we claimed the sacrifice to the uttermost tittle and fraction. General Morblon waxed very rueful afterwards when he saw the gaps in the European garrison of
Indo China,'--there were more gaps than grasp was not on it even yet. About 3 garrison, and he had only gotten in ex-p.m. the firing in Pokfolum ceasing, the change a mountain deluged with blood and silence of the Western batteries told Huz- zard and Rookshank that they were in the a blazing town.
hands of the enesty, whereon they opened The attack crept up by more weight fire, first on the batteries, speedily dis- of numbers; where one of the enemy mounting the heavy guns, then they burst dropped, hydra-loaded a score sprang up; open the dam of the filter-beds, letting a where one of ours fall (some husband, torrent of water pour down the hill. Next father or brother who forty-eight hours bo- they destroyed Kennedy Town hospital, fore had been at a desk) there was none to which was untonanted, wrecked the market, fill the breach. What we lacked in mum-and ruined the Tytam conduit, knocking bers we made up in desperation and sullen away all the arches on Bowen Road, and fury.
Some curious instances of the Berserk '
fury, or running amok as they call it in the Straits, occurred. Quiet, kindly men suddenly appeared to go mad, or were tired of waiting for death, jumped the parapets and dashed in amongst the men, roaring (possibly some old ancestor who had taken possession of them shouting his battle ory), escaping a heavy fire, and were not cut down till after doing great execution.
continued firing on any bodies of the enemy that were visiblo descending to the town. The coal and kerosine godowns at the eastern end of the town were blazing, as were also the Godorus at West Point, About 5 p.m. the men-of-war came through Lyeonoon, but were met off North Point by such a fire from the Stonecutters bat- teries that they were glad to retreat
the Descartes having to be besched in Shaukiwan to prevent her sinking in deep water. By sunset the blazing General White had been taken down town was in the hands of the enemy, about 11 mortally wounded and the supreme though firing was still going on here and command had devolved on Yardhill. A there on the hills. Yet was the colony not