On Friday night, December 8th, Sir Archibald Hunter took out
from Ladysmith a force composed of a hundred Imperial Light Horse, a hundred Carabineers, and about four hundred Border Mounted and Natal Rifles, and a field battery—which, however, never came into action —and made a most successful attack on the Boer position on Lombard's Hop Hill. Our force left Ladysmith at about 10, and got to the base of the hill at 2. They managed to slip past some of the Boer sentries in the darkness, and were nearly at the top when they were challenged by a Boer. When no reply was given the sentry fled crying, " Willem, Hans, Marteens, fly; the rooineks are upon you." The Boers round the guns fired a few volleys and then fled, and the guns then became ours without further opposition. They consisted of a big Creusot gun—said to be the famous ' Long Tom '—a 41 howitzer, and a twelve - pounder. All these were destroyed with gun - cotton, and an automatic gun was carried off. The breech of the big gun was carried off by the Imperial Light Horse, and will become a memento of that gallant force. Our loss was practically nil. General Hunter, than whom there is no abler or braver officer in the British Army, is to be warmly congratulated, and so are the troops who followed him so well. But this was not a solitary feat of arms. On Sunday night the same operation was repeated by Colonel Metcalfe, of the 2nd Rifle Brigade, with five hundred of his men, who seized Surprise Hill, and destroyed a 4.7 howitzer mounted on its summit. Unfortunately, how- ever. on his return Colonel Metcalfe found his way barred by the Boers, and through them our men bad to fight their way, literally at the point of the bayonet. We lost one officer and eleven men killed, and three officers and forty-one men wounded. Six of our men, who remained behind with the wounded, were made prisoners.
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