We fell back to a donga which we held for a little while, and
then as we saw that there we should presently be overwhelmed,
withdrew gradually for another two miles or so, keeping off the
Zulus by our fire. In so doing we came upon the remains of the
rocket battery near the foot of the conical hill I have
mentioned, which had been destroyed by some regiment that passed
behind us in its rush on the camp. There lay all the soldiers
dead, assegaied through and through, and I noticed that one young
fellow who had been shot through the head, still held a rocket in
his hands.
Now somewhat behind and perhaps half a mile to the right of this
hill a long, shallow donga runs across the Isandhlwana plain.
This we gained, and being there reinforced by about fifty of the
Natal Carabineers under Captain Bradstreet, held it for a long
while, keeping off the Zulus by our terrible fire which cut down
scores of them every time they attempted to advance. At this
spot I alone killed from twelve to fifteen of them, for if the
big bullet from my Express rifle struck a man, he did not live.
Messengers were sent back to the camp for more ammunition, but
none arrived, Heaven knows why. My own belief is that the
reserve cartridges were packed away in boxes and could not be got
at. At last our supply began to run short, so there was nothing
to be done except retreat upon the camp which was perhaps half a
mile behind us.
Taking advantage of a pause in the Zulu advance which had lain
down while waiting for reserves, Colonel Durnford ordered a
retirement that was carried out very well.
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