Artillery could command it from half a dozen hills.

Whoever placed it there was neither strategist nor humanitarian.

It is like the bottom of a frying-pan with a low rim.
The fire is hot, and sand is frying.

But, indeed, the whole of Ladysmith is like that.

The flat-topped hills stand round it reflecting the heat, and in the middle we are now all frying together, with sand for seasoning.