The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 25, 1899, Page 1

Page views left: 0

You have reached the hourly page view limit. Unlock higher limit to our entire archive!

Subscribers enjoy higher page view limit, downloads, and exclusive features.

Text content (automatically generated)

Y e ——— This Paper not to be taken from | the 1 ‘..‘\r.‘il'y-“" Call VOLUME SAE\T FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1899. PRICE FIVE CENTS. BRITISH FORCES NEAR ILLADYSMITH IN DESPERATE STRAITS AR NOW ‘ L R O o AT i g O O S o O R e R § & ~ b . Gen. Yule': flas: cdesimneid : b ® doned. Beoth Dundee; : B¢ + and Glencoe and Re-|: ¢ tires Protected by Ar-|} : |* * tillery Sent by VW aite. i 3 g 1 e S i€ : W ar Office at London Conceals\f}' - i the True Situation; but It s it f*@ ; 2 i . iy 1 Y2 r Certain the Invading Boer|: Lt&'fi‘m,ymbgi‘ Forces Occupy the Strategic|i Z==—n Positions in Natal. $ ONDON, Oct. 25.—The latest War Office dis- |} a patch seems to realize the worst fears ? Frreem General Yule has abandoned not only Dun-|] dee, but Glencoe also, and so far as present newsi: would indicate, he has neither joined General|’ White nor reached Ladysmith. Genperal White's |{ ‘“successful action,” announced in Parliament|¢ by Mr, Wyndham, seems to resolve itself intoa|, f— o mere engaging of the Free State troops, while|; ST : : & : ; General Yule is slipping southward. s = % —~ 3t It is evident from the official dispatches that|? b both Commandant General Joubert’s columnon]|+ THE BATTLE OF ELANDS LAAGTE‘ ¢ the Dortb and tbe Orqr)ge Free State troops on . “The Devonshires held the enemy in front, while the Manchesters and Gordon Highlanders turned his left flank.”—From General Sir George Stewart White'sreport to the War Office. P D¢ the west now occupy strong positions and that 8+oceoe0+0406+0906+0006990+0404640+0+00000 o D R D AR D G AR BT o o et 0008 nothing hinders the Boers from following up General Yule’'s retirement and getting around Ladysmith from the southeast, Until reinforce- ments arrive it seems that General White is obliged to concentrate on Ladysmith SITUATION: IN:- NATATL, IS YEI BISQUIETING it is believed that the Government have other [ .ondon Papers Criticize Wolseley’s Summary STEYN SEIZES SLICE OF BRITISH TERRITORY The Orange Free State Annexes That Part of Gape Colony North of the Yaal River, diSp}’tiihesf,tctzEa?f;"eo?%éet;bfg;’ publisned ir.| and Compare It to Statements Made by the Choate’s residence immediately after the ban-| Spanish When Santiago Fell. quel to General Harrison and proceeded to the *o‘ PN UMD SADIPUE GO ADEI PP S0 S S S0 D S S SIS S S S S5 S SR S SHES S5 & War Office, where, even after midnight, there was issued a proclamation annexing that part of Cape Colony which is north r de“'?bl‘? acllv‘l"ty. many visitors calling (0 m'r % 1 ONDON, Eng., Oct. 24.—The Colonial Office has received a cable- quire for information, among them a sister of | k I—l gram stating that President Steyn of the Orange Free State has | Sir Archibald Hunter. llowing is the dispatch from General Sir George Stewart White to the Marquis of Lansdowne, Secretary of State for War, 1 s received last evening at 11 o’clock and posted at the War Office soon after midnight: LADYSMITH, Oct. 24, 9 p. m.—Information received terday showed that the Boers had established themselves in siderable numbers in an exceedingly strong position west of road leading from Ladysmith to Dundee. 1 also had n that the Dundee force, formerly commanded by Gen- Symons, and since his wounding commanded by General , was falling back on Ladysmith by way of the Helpmak- Beith and the valleys of the Waschbank and Sunday 1 was expected to report at Sunday River Valley to- 1 therefore moved out with a strong force to cover the 1vement of Yule's column. The enemy was discovered about miles out of Ladysmith in a position of great natural , west of the road. When he saw that preparations were against him he opened fire with one gun with great il 1l art lery soon got into position and the gun was si- Our troops were ordered to occupy a strong ridge, pa- y's position but nearer to the road. I coniined to occupying him and hitting him hard enough to pre- <ing action against Yule’s column. Numbers of the en- fled to the west and the firing had practically ceased at 2 to the ene he Cape Town correspondent of the Dally Mall, telegraphing at 9:45 p. m. has performed a brilliant strategical movement. ith, leaving Glencoe empty, he has effected a . of Sir Stewart White, slightly to the north in a position to offer battle. I belleve the first rge Free State force which entered Natal by way of Tintwa Pass, ince been harassing Ladysmith. The military authorities decided heir forces the two generals would be better able to cope with By a swift junction of his of Ladysmith attack will be 1 time than by having two small detachments to oppose sim- : Boer forces. Accordingly, after defeating the Free State d offer battle to Commandant General Joubert. now_separate the two Boer forces, hence the need for The two sections of the Boer hree to one. Hard fighting is fident and there is much enthusfasm. side of Ladysmith was a mere brush. The losses on cant. It was merely an artillery duel, in which the Boers » worse.”" together outnumber in at a very early NS e S Map of Country Above Yule’s Line of Retreat From Dundee, Ladysmith, Showing General R +e44tttt e g D R S o R e e e o LONDON, Oct. 24.—The British military authorities hope tohave the wireless telegraphy in operation in South Africa within three weeks, when, it is hoped, the difficulties ex- perience from the cutting of wires will be obvlated, as it will only be necessary to establish communica- tion with a point where the ordin- ary wires are intact. B R R ek o S ONDON, Oct. 24—The Parliamen- tary Secretary of the Foreign Of- fice, George Wyndham, in the House of Commons to-day an- nounced that Field Marshal Lord | Wolseley, the commander in chief of the i forces, sums up the situation'in Natal to- day as follows: “General Yule has fallen back to effect a junction with Sir George Stewart White. He camped yesterday evening about six- teen miles south of Dundee, without see- eI e e ing anything of the enemy during the march, and it has since been reported that ‘all's well on the Waschbank River.’ “General White fought a successful ac- tion with the Orange Free State force to- day on the road betweeen Ladysmith and Newcastle and should join hands with General Yule this evening. General Yule reports that his wounded are doing well. The Boer wounded on our hands are treated just as our own and I have every reason to believe the Boers will treat any of our wounded in their hands in a simi- larly humane manner.” Mr. Wyndham added: *“I may remind the House that the Transvaal is a party to the Geneva convention.” Lord Wolseley further says: “I have also recelved from General Walker at Cape Town the following mes- sage: ‘The last message from Kimberley October 22, at 2 p. m., reports all well.’ " ReplyIng to a quesuon as to what ar- rangements had been made to employ civillan doctors to assist In the care of the wounded in South Africa, Mr. Wynd- ham sald he was glad to take the oppor- tunity of announcing that Sir William MacCormack, the distinguished president Railroad Bridge at Waschbank, Destroyed by Boers. B o O S O Y of the Royal College of Surgeons, had in- timated his readiness to accompany Gen- eral Sir Redvers Buller's force and place his great skill and ability at the disposal of the army medical authorities. Mr. Wyndham said: *“We have not hesitated to accept this patriotic offer.” The War Offlce this morning attempted to explain the summary of the situation in Natal, furnished by the commander in chiet of the forces, Field Marshal Lord Wolseley, to the House of Commons yes- terday. His statement {s now sald to have created unnecessary alarm and it is asserted that what the official note called General Yule’'s “retirement” would be more accurately described as a ‘“change of position for tactical reasons,” and that the alarm for the safety of the wounded is not justified. It is further explained that the wounded could not be moved, but the fact that they had to be left to ‘their fate while the British forces,made a strategic movement to the rear shows the suspense of the House at the absence of subsequent news is amply justified and that the heavy fighting on Friday and perhaps Saturday is perhaps a prelude to still sterner work. In some quarters the view is taken that the second attack of the Boers has actually occurred and was s0 successful thai General Yule's with- drawal was imperative and urgent to the extent of compelling him to leave his hos- pitals in the hands of the Boers, while the more sanguine express the opinion that General Yule, far from retreating, has in reality advanced to meet the at- tack threatening Glencoe, leaving Dundee behind, safely sheltered from a Boer assault. In the absence of authentic news, there are a number of contradictory rumors afloat, but the most reasonable interpreta- tion of the various reports seems to indi- cate that there was some artillery prac- tice at Glencoe Saturday and Sunday, but no fighting at close quarters, As, however, communication between Glencoe and Ladysmith, which was thought to have been restored by the Brit- ish victory at Elands Laagte, has again been broken by the destruction of the railway bridge at Waschbank, north of Ladysmith, and between Elands Laagte and Glencoe, the difficulties of the British commander-in Natal, General Sir George Stewart White, in reinforcing Glencoe have been enormously Increased, and un- B T S e S e e et ) G e e o R e o SR oA Shcos S o o ei e ebebebebebebedetee@® til the British forces at Ladysmith and Glencoe are reunited and the main body of the Boers is brought up, the situation must remain disquieting for the British. The afternoon papers here sharply criti- cize Lord Wolseley’s summary of the Natal situation. They say it has a dis- tinct resemblance to the statements of the Spanish Ministry when preparing their countrymen for news of the disaster at Santiago. This, however, is probably an overstrained view. There is no denying, however, the great suspense and anxiety existing, which has been increased by the report in circulation, purporting to eman- ate from official quarters, to the effect that the Boers have secured the services of 13,000 natives. The vague and varied estimates of Boer losses and the absence of any official in- formation on the subject are also arous- ing misgivings as to whether the beaten enemy suffered proportionately to the dis- | astrous losstg of the victors. One of the most disquieting storfes comes from Lady- smith. It is to the effect that an English- man, who arrived there from Dundee on Sunday evening, after escaping through the Boer lines on the previous night, said the enemy was then shelling the camp and town with heavy guns, while the shells of the British were unable to reach the enemy's batteries. Consequently, the man is said to have added, the camp was shifted a mile or so, in order to be out of the reach of the Boers, who were firing on the magazine in the town. News has at length been recelved direct from Colonel Baden-Powell, dated Mafe- king, October 15. It confirms the state- ment that in the armored train fight the British had two men killed and fifteen wounded, including Lieutenant Lord Charles Benedict of the Ninth Lancers, slightly wounded. The Boer loss was es- timated at fifty-three killed and many wounded. 4 The latest advices from Kimberley, un- der date of October 21, said the Boer at- tack was still pending, and that large Boer forces in the neighborhood had de- stroyed big sections of the railroad line north and south of the town. Many fu- gitives from neighboring villages have been imprisoned by the Boers. Several ladles, hearing their husbands had been captured, visited the Boer camp and were courteously recefved. Thelr intercession for their husbands was successful and of the Vaal River. and is apparently in consequence is a week old. This means Griqualand West and Bechuanaland, of the Free State forces having seized the railway and all stations north of Kimberley except Mafe- king, unless Mafeking has fallen since the last news from there, which the reunited familles have arrived at Kimberley. The prisoners report that they were well treated. According to runners who have arrived at Kimberley from Kuruman, British Bechuanaland, | the resident magistrate there has recently | presided at a council of the native chiefs. He advised them not to participate in the war. The natives expressed satisfaction | at the magistrate's planations and | promised to remain quiescent. A dispatch from Pretoria, dated Octo- ber 20, indicates that the Rhodasians, un- der Colonel Hoover, at Fort Tuli, on the Transvaal border, are taking the offen- sive. They have attacked a Boer patrol at Rhodes Drift, but apparently not much damage was done on either side. The | Boers say that they lost three horses. Germany has sent to follow the British forces in South Africa her military at- tache in London, (‘anin Baron von Lutt- witz, who married Miss Mamie Carey of Cleveland, Ohio. SIS S For the Wounded Boers. CAPE TOWN, Oct. 24—A private tele- | | GENERAL GROBLER, Commander-in-Chief of the Orange Free State Forces. } & ! 3 ; gram from Delagoa Bay says a man who has just arrived there from Johannesburg asserts that the Transvaal Government has appropriated 850 ‘beds in private houses in Johannesburg for wounded troops from the front. The Boer organs, according to this in- formant, are doing everything to min- imize the Boer losses, and all sorts of misstatements and misrepresentations are employed. COMMANDANT CRONJE ADVANCING ON KIMBERLEY LONDON, Oct. publishes this d correspondent: DE AAR, CAPE COLONY, Oct. 23— Commandant Cronje, who has twice been repulsed at Mafeking, is stated to be ad- vancing on Kimberley and to be com- manding men, stores and_ munitions of war in British ory. He has left a small command investing Mafeking. Free —The Daily Telegraph spatch from its special e o e Sl e e s ol e e e e o ] B e B o o o S ST S i S o S o o 2 o o ol a2

Other pages from this issue: