The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 15, 1899, Page 2

Bl TE LXXXVII-NO. 1 FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, DE CEMBER 15 FALLSE RUMOR OF RELIEF OF PRICE FIVE CENTS, LADYSMITH FOLLOWS DISASTERS TO BRITISH ARMS: ———e Ambulances Under a Flag of Truce Collect: fthe Wounded and Dead While at the Scene of Meth-|: uen’s Defeat Comes News of a Minor Victory by French. LONDON, Dec. 14.--The War Office has received the following dispatch from General Forestier-Walker, at Cape Town: **General French wires under date of December 13, reporting a skirmish at 4 o’clock in the morning with 1800 Boers, who were advancing southward toward Nauuwpoort. The skirmishing continued all the morn- ing, the Boers lighting on a front of fourteen miles. The enemy retired with a loss of forty killed and wounded. Our casualties were one killed, seven wounded, including one o:ficer, and two missing.” esday, Dec. 13.—Ambulances ODDER RIVER, Wed started early yesterday morning under a flag of truce to collect wounded and bury the dead who fell at Ma- gersfontein. chope, who led lier General ade, was four Boers Brig the Highland Brig- in the chest and were found near the trenches. Several ken to the the trenches, shot wounded 3ritish hospital. and the immediate neighborhood of ches showed dead bodies all about. 1 side ot One wound- lent that their loss was terrible. vian contingent was destroyed. red from Boer ed Boer The whole Scand informe orresp: COrrespo Judging from i and from wounded prisoners t parts of the field the Boer losses must exceed destruction wrought by the naval guns was enormous, was passed along the Boer lines to pre- pare to retreat I. All confess that it was their great- est loss du ’ . & have returned to Modder River, owing the position held yesterday. CAMP, Wednesday, Dec. 13.—Firing can be orning in the direction of Colenso and an artillery is expected to-day X RUMORS due’ FALSE OF THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH nce was made and new works cons the Highlanders blundered in troops, taken altogether by uld have escaped terrible * British column ad- At night toward the enemy's the dark surprise, 1o ¥ LONDON. Dec. 1518 seems as if every precauti oess W by G ve been taken to gu: against e mobile foe. In- E s if the mercy line the qua which the High 1 they came closest solid e clear to the the ure i position my there from the i 1 l‘('ll sh . advance ard Kimberley a might be « na ® the . r t and * reinforcements to the Cape as | ¢ n this connection it is stated that the | 4 t be mobilized Im- n S ghth division will | $ be formed and rve. L ¢ By Sunday four battalions of the Sixth | ¢ Division will have while the Y troops of the Fifth Dis now at sea, ought to have begun landing at the Cape by this time. As to the rumor of the rellef of Lady- smith, it created a scene of tremendous excitement on the Stock Exchange, where the effect of Gatacre's and Methuen's re- en felt most severely. The to be circulated on the ex- change yesterday afternoon that Buller and Cleery relieved Ladysmith and taken 10,00 prisoners freely stated th celved in Edindy eral Buller had & on the enemy This caused a wild outburst of enthusi- asm. Brokers yelled, flung their hats in the alr, sang and cheered. A firmer tone | ¢ beca noticeable, but it lasted only a Q little while, as the news agency Wwas | ¢ oficlally informed that the War Office | § had received no information respecting | . the rumor. It is said now that the re- | port was got up by a cliqgue who m-m!f endeavoring to stop the slump in South ¢ African shares o The British Je nounced that cted a decisive defeat P ebe b e bebebe e s at Ma L4 ersfontein are | [ K32, of which more than 75 were In the | Highland Brigade. Of the officers fifteen | 9 were killed and forty-seven _wounded, | while six are missing. About 5000 British were engaged, so that 10 per cent were > killed or wounded. The Highland Brigade, | ¢ with 700 men down Ot of its strength of | [ 3000 to 3500, lost 20 per cent. ! Magersfontein appears to be ‘another case of superior Boer strategy or inex- cusable neglect by the British to fully feel the position of thelr oppongn 1though s b 4 fuller accounts of the battle would seem 10 support the theory that the repulse was | { due rather to accident than to any fault| | on the par: of the generals or men. Sull| ¥ there is much to be explained | The Boer position had been heavily | bombarded on Sunday, but we do not proved the salvation of the Infantry. - know that the intrenchments had been| & thoroughly examined. It is probable that @. | ‘The promptness and celerity with which the batteries have gotten into positio | @ ¢ IR 4 - J | } | IRy ® | of : [t 4 : o e & Burghersdorp, Cape Colony, on General Gatacre’s Line of Advance. : * This town lies forty miles south of the Orange River, on the line of the East London and Bloemfontein Railroad, : ® ear Albert Junction, where a branch leaves the main line for Aliwal North. After Stormberg Junction it was General S 's next objective point. Its population M0 people, as well as that of the rather thickly settled country @ & around, is of Dutch extraction and largely in sympathy with the Boers. The Stormberg Mountains are shown in the dis- PY ; tance to the east and south. ? Qo v ivcoiesosioceitssedei Geiebeieiebeiriebr rDed oD METHUEN'S DEFEAT MAKES _ THE BRITISH SITUATION MOST ASHINGTON, Dec. 14.—Major W. A. Simpson, the smith. It is possible that Methuen's force has to depend for its supplies upon rallway transportation from the south. He n in South Afri reports that he is Intrenching, but t would seem to be a “The result of Methuen's fight on the Modder thing for him to do unless his communications are well River makes the British situation rather difficult. 1. Reports are very meager, but are sufficient to show that t *“Troops are steadily arriving from England, and it may be British attacked the Boers in strong pdsition and were re- that the line of rallroad in his rear is well protected, and tha pulsed. Methuen reports the rs as 12,00 strong. It would reinforcements are on the way. If such be not the « be interesting to know whether he had such information be- Wwould seem to be part of prudence to fail back. The near- forehand, or whether he learned it by the strength of their est British force is that of Gene French’'s, near N y. resistance. If he knew it beforehand he should not have at- poort, about 155 miles to the southeast by via De Aar, tacked, provided his own force numbered, as is generally sup- and Gatacre is about 100 miles still farther to the east posed, not more than 11,00. For one army to attack another “To effect a junction /of these forces would mean a long f equal, or superior strength, behind earthworks, and of good Step backward for Methuen, or a move to the west of ( g material, is suicid acre, thus uncovering the railroad from Stormberg Junction Methuen could not expect to be successful in his advance back, and leaving Northern Cape Colony in possession of the ss he was superfor in numbers, and this he do Bc not apy to be. If he did not know the strength of the Boers before- he British have already lost much prestige. and a decided hand, he has given stiil &nother instance in th retrograde movement would have a bad morale effect. With campaign of the error of going into action without thorbugh the forces under the command of Methuen, French and Gat- reconnolssance. in other ways obtaining accurate informa- @acre at present, any forward movement seems out of the tion as to the enemy’s strength and position. It would question, and they will do well to hold their own. that the experience of White at Nicholsons Nek and ( Everything seems now to depend upon what Buller can do near Stormberg Junction would have proved of val Whether In Natal, he can hold his own is a question. He has a single line of railway behind him. He is about fifty miles north of Orange Contrary of what was thought at the beginning of commander-in-chlef, is now in Natg militia nd the fact that foreign 4 y LRI gf attaches recently arrived e gone to Durban, have |~!"T and 120 miles from De Aar -’""C“:"L 3 still further indicated that Natal.is the country where the © be cut off from his communications would be much principal operations of the campaign are expected to take more serious for him than it was for General White at Lad Boers. The classical method of storm- escort. They were ordered to shell a a shot to-day, but have kept a dead si- ing an intrenched position is first to| bombard heavily and just before the as- | sault pour in a perfect storm of shells. | { Then fmmediately the Infantry go for- {ward. In the case of Magersfontein, the | Boers were given a night to recover from farmhouse tive miles east of the enemy’ position, which was occupied by the | Boers, who had frequently fired on our patrols from it. Notiing Hkely to bring ! on a general engagement, however, was to be risked. lence along thelr strong lines on the hills north of the Tugela River, including Groblers Kloof, We could see bodies of mounted mien riding about and wagons breaking over the hills to their camps. Yet the Boers must and clearly did see the shock and demoralization whicn the | The force proceeded within two miles of [ our forces. An attempt was made (o |terrific artillery bombardment must | the farm. The artillery, escorted by & |draw them by sending men close to the | have caused. troop of carbineers, went forward and |river, but it failed. Meanwhile no word of an advance in | shelled the bullding. After shelling for | Evidently the enemy desires to mask rce comes from General Buller, put | some time the carbineers surrounded the | their battery until our infantry begint to commander in chief appears to be| house and found the body of Sergeant|move. Firing still continues from Bul. Ing a xreat deal of scouting. He in-| Freeman inside. They were about 10 |wana against Ladysmith. tends to know all about the Boer traps | make prisoners of nine Boers there when e B before he starts. | from the Boer main position the “long - opened fire, necessitating retire: | DET@ILS OF THE Our troops withdrew steadily un- | | Tom™ | | heavy shell fire, the carbineers BRITISH TROOPS DRIVEN BACK BY FEARFUL BATTLE sticking closely to their guns. ‘ The Vaal Kop expedition found that tne | AT MAGERSFONTEIN | Boer position had been evacuated and the | LT | THE “LONG TOM’? | Dt M b o Bl aiiit i | X S Details gathered here by a representative k. i b RO e, 22 | BOERS MASK of the Assoclated Press among the wound- publ ¢ ‘this dispatch is prohibited. | ed British and Boers gave some idea of All ris] served in the United States and BATT ERY FOR the desperate nature of the fight at DON, Dee. 15.—The Dally Telegraph | Magersfontein. The Highlanders did all that the most gallant troops in the hes this dispatch from its spectal ‘ THE INFANTRY e could do, but it was impossible to face correspondent the terrible fire of the Boers. The Britich ARUNDEL, Cape Colony, Tuesday, Dec. | [Special Cable to the New York Herald. Copy- | artillery again saved the situation and ¢ two expeditions, one to selze| right, 189, by James Gordon Bennett. Re- | yided the honors of the day with the | Vaal Kop, the scene of y affair, publication of this dispatch is prohibited. | Scots. The batteries worked for hours All rights reserved in the United States and 1 the other to punish Lieutenant Collis' | Great Britain.] under a galling rifle fire. ants, matters have been pretty brisk | According to the Boer stories, it was im- for this column. The latter force, which| LONDON, Dec. —A special corre- | possible for the burghers to have escaped | was under command of Major Sprot of | spondent of the Daily Telegraph sends | fearful loss. One Boer prisoner sald a the Sixth Dragoon Guards and Carbineers, | this dispatc single lydadite shell killed or wounded over | CHIE day, Dec. 1 that happens. comprised the Inniskillen Dragoons, th | Carbineers’ section of the Royal Horse | Artillery, with mounted infantry as an ) 2Y CAMP, via Frere, Tues- vs the unexpected The Boers have not fired seventy and that two other shells burst over two bodies of Boers esconsed behind the range, doing fearful damage. All RACING INTO ACTION AT PEPWORTH HILL. “The British artillery again saved the situation” From the London Dalily Graphic. (Modder River Dispatch.) L ad ® | DIFFICULT IN SOUTH AFRICA )’ the campaign, the larger part of the British forces, with the | Dee. 12— | orld | n and the accuracy with which the guns have been served have again, as at Pepworth Hill and Stormberg Junection, Disastrous Battles at Magersfontein and at Stormberg Have Cost Great Britain’s Invading Forces Al- most a Thousand ' Men—Here is the |- Startling Record: ONDON, Dec. 14.—A revised list of the total casualties to the British troops at Magersfontein places the number at 832. There were fifteen officers killed and four wounded and in addition five are missing, and one is known to have been made prisoner. The War Office has received a message stating there were 650 casualties among the non-commissioned officers and men of the Highland Brigade at Ma- gersfontein. The brigade lost ten officers killed, thirty-eight wounded | and four missing. | The following list of officers killed and wounded has been received: KILLED. Highland Brigade— General Wauchope, Lieutenant Colonel J. H. C. Coode, Captain Elton, | Lieutenant Edmonds, Captain J. R. Clark, Lieutenant Cox, Captain Cowans, Captain Lamberton, Lieutenant Colonel Goff, Major Robinson, Captain Wingate, Lieutenant Cowie. | WOUNDED. | Colonel Kelham, Captain Berkeley, Major Duff, Captain Fether- stonbaugh, Captain Noyes, Captain Wolfe-Murray, Captain Richard- | son, Captain Campbell, Captain Gordon, Captain McNab, Lieutenant | the Hon. W. C. Baillie, Lieutenant Scott and Lieutenant Waterhouse. | Many of the above mentioned officers are dangerously wounded. | The following officers mostly sustained unsevere injuries: Lieutenant | Wauchope, Major Cuthberson, Captain Cameron, Lieutenant St. J. Har- | vey, Lieutenant Berthon and Lieutenant Tait, who was formerly tha | amateur golf champion. | MISSING. | Captain the Hon. Cumming-Bruce, Captain McFarlane and Lieu- tenant Ramsey. The Marquis of Winchester of the Coldstream Guards was killed; Captain J. Sterling, Lieutenant Codrington and Major the Hon. W. B. Lambton of the same brigade, were wounded, and of the rank and file six were killed and forty-six wounded. Twelfth Lancashires—One killed, eighteen wounded. | Ninth Lancers—One killed, nine wounded. Second Seaforths—Missing: Major K. R. Mackenzie and Captain Brodie, field artillery; twenty-one wounded. surgeon major was taken prisoner. e Mounted Infantry—XKilled: Major Milton and Major Ray. GENERAL GATACRE’S LOSSES. The War Office has received from General Gatacre the following list of casualties furnished by a correspondent who was permitted to visit the Boer camp with the chaplains and is believed to be reliable: | Second Royal Irish—Ten killed, thirty-two wounded. First East Lancashires—One wounded. s Second Northumberlands—Twelve killed, twenty-seven wounded. All the above wounded are prisoners. agree that the Boers fought throughout | hill for the purpose of observations. All with the utmost gallantry. Their sharp- | the members of the picket were either | shooters seldom missed the mark. killed, wounded or taken prisoners. A Seaforth Highlander says that while - LORD BERESFORD TALKS, he was lying wounded on the field he saw a Boer of typical German appearance, | 4 £ ~ faultlessly dressed, with polished top | LONDON, Dec. M.—Speaking at a boots. a shirt with silk ruffles and a cigar | Unionist meeting in Hackney, London in his mouth, walking among the ant | | hills picking off the British. He was auite | alone and it was apparent from the fre- quent use he made of field glasses that he | was singling out officers. | Another wounded Boer says that a lyd- | dite shell fired on Sunday fell in the mid- | dle of an open prayer meeting held to of- | | fer supplications for the Boer arms. | be | All the wounded are full of praise of the | treatemnt they received from the medical | | department on the battlefield. | While the Guards were advancing on the | plain which the Boers were shelling from | | the adjoining ridges they encountered and cut up a strong Bo this evening, Rear Admiral Lord Charles Beresford said that he long ago told the Secretary of State for. War, Lord Lans- downe, that the Government was not sending enough troops to the Transvaal. “Large reinforcements to all our auxil- laries for fighting,” he continued, “must dispatched immediately, and more ships must be placed in commission .n order that Great Britain may be preparcd for eventualities, The Boers are a mo- bile force and they have heavy, modern artillery. We need more quick-firing guns. “I must say that T have never thought that we are sending out enough men. When once it known that we had to | send an army corps I told Lord I downe—as far back as November 2 he would not be sending enough fire department In ne when it is thought that four engines are needed to cope with a conflagration, it is a wise plan to sead eight. The War Office shquld have acted on the same principle. “This war is one of the biggest upon which we have ever embarked, owing to the surrounding political circumstances, and If necessary every mother's gson of us must go to the front. British pluck and money will win and then, with equal rights for all, the Briitsh flag must gy over the whole of South Africa.” Aaebucsant e NEUTRALITY OF GERMANY. BERLIN, Dec. 4.—In the Reichstag to- day, referring to the Transvaal situa- tion, Herr Richter said: ‘““While the sym- pathies of Germany are with the Boers, the Government must remain and is re- maining neutral. That is a great progress compared with the telegram of some years ago. The war has proved that | Great Britain's sea power has been much overrated and that nothing could be ac- will complished with it. Germany again become an anvil, but her business to be a hammer. The estimates were eventually referred to the budget committee. The House will reassemble January 9, 1900. s e 5 = LOYAL FARMERS ARMED. LONDON, Dec. M.—Lord Methuen's check, following General Gatacre's ree pulse, says the Cape Town correspondent of the Daily News, has made a most de- pressing effect upon the loyalists, who ars by no means a growing body. They are filled with dark forebodings. Dutch dis- affection is rapidly growing. A large sec- tion is restless and would need but little persuasion to join the Boers. There are disturbing reports from the eastern dis- tricts of Cape Colony, where many secret meetings have been held. The imperial authorities are arming the loyal farmers in the Stetterheim and Kenroad districts. 7 e SKIRMISH NEAR COLENSO. LONDON, Dec. 4.—A dispatch from Frere Camp, under date of December 12, says there was a slight skirmish Monday near Colenso bridge between a company of Bethune's mounted Infantry, under Captain Erskine, and about 200 Boers. Captain Erskine's men were escorting some engineers who were