AN INTERESTING FIND After the bull-dozer had straightened out some of the property below the classrooms, a gang of boys was set to help with the weeding,and one ofthem, H. Wade, picked up what appeared to be a cartridge case. On Its being cleaned up. It wasfound to be the head of a swagger cane. On It Is a dragon crest, above which Is the royal crown. The Inscription runs: Princess Charlotte of Wales, The Royal Berkshire Regiment. This set up an interesting train of enquiry. How came a swagger cane under the ground at Botha's Hill? A letter to the Press brought several replies. The Royal Berkshlres were the old 66th Foot. They won honours In various wars. The dragon crest was gained as a result of feats In the China War, 1840. They gained further fame In the Crimea, at Kandahar, in Afghanistan, and In Egypt In 1882. They served throughout the Boer War, and In later World Wars. What Is, however, of greatest Interest to ourselves. Is that the 66th Regiment of Foot, also known by the names The Princess Charlotte of Wales Regiment, and The Royal Berkshlres, camped at Botha's Hill base camp In the Zulu War (1879). The swagger cane was probably carried by a red-coated soldier returning from the pub, which In this case was Padley's Hotel, at the foot of Botha's Hill; this was where postcarts changed horses, before climbing Botha's Hill, en route to Marltzburg. This Interesting find has therefore, apparently lain on our property, below the surface of the ground, for these 80 years, forming a fascinating link with the early days of Natal. THE SKELETON My family and I were spending a few days at the Bethesda Hospital at Ubombo, in the Lebombo Mountains (the "Ghost Mountains") In July. One evening after supper, a knock upon the door was followed by the entrance of an official carrying a bag with a skeleton In It! Our eyes popped! An Interesting story emerged. The local postman, off for a lonely hike Into the mountain peaks, had come upon the almost301
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTc3MDU5Nw==