The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 9, 1900, Page 1

Buller Must Soon Move to the| the Beleaguered Town or the Eight Thou-| sand Defenders Relief of SAN FRANCISCO, RIVES BACK YTHFE BOERS, TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 1900. BUT LADYSMITH'S PERIL, GROWS Will Compelled to Surrender. During the Fierce Fighting Recently the Imperial Troops Routed the Enemy,’ Once at 1 Point of the Bayonet, and | Joubert’s Men Are Reported to Have| Lost Heavily. ONDON, Jan. 8.—The War Office has published L the following bulletin from Genera! Buller: ‘FRERE CAMP, Jan. 8. —The foilowing is ir'om; White, dated 2 P. M, 'yesterday: °‘An attack was r’'s Camp and Wago st cour ments on Wagon Hill were enemy and reraken by us. 7:30 P M. e and energy. d on my position, but was chicefly agsinst; n Hill. The enemy was in strength, and has pushed the attack with the| of the intrench-| Some three times taken by the The attack continued until One point in our position was occupiasd by | the enemy the whole day. but at dusk, in a very heavy rainstorm, they the the ton vons, led The troops have have behaved excellentiy. service they have service. were turned out of this position at| point of the bayonet in a most gallant manner by i by Colonzl Park. Colenel lan Hami commanded on Wagon Hill and rendered vaiuable had a very trying tims and They are eclated at the rendered the Queen. 1e enemy were repulsed everywhere with heavy loss, greatly exceeding that on my side, which will be reported as soon as the lists are completed.’ ”’ DON. of suspense vesterda ~that Ge ded in be: tack atng sent a shudder ng hundreds. to enthusiastic reli official telegram chronicling tt of wild rumors 4 into notkt ng words, passed to the official re- port, w is the only news re-|ers. ceived f ttle raged Unless General Buller can for seventeen h 1 It began at | shortly give help, Ladysmith 2 quarter to 2 o'clock Saturday |garrison must succumb in the\ mon 7 dic g in the evening. Some | trenchments onI were taken three | v the Boers and as often ed by the defenders. One point of the British posi- | n, which General White does! ify, was occupied by the | luring the whole day, but} I Hiall T 1 tk by i at 1 under cover of a| heavy rainstorm, the Devonshire | Regiment succeeded in turning 9. — After| |such an them out at the point of the bay- onet. Possibly, as the Devon- stationed at Help- n Hill, east of the camp, it res were that position that was the scene of their exploit. The chief Boer attacks were directed at Caesar’'s Camp and Wagon Hill, which were defend- ed by the Manchester Regiment and Gordon Highlanders. Com- ng from the south, perhaps by way of Fourcs Spruit, the Boers assaulted three times e greatest obstinacy and or, sometimes obtaining a foothold, ain ng back before the bayonet charge. Meanwhile the latter, as com- mando after commando came up ym Colenso to reinforce the fighting lines, gradually spread over the whole circle of intrench- ments, including the great Boer fori hout doub Mount on Isimbulwana and Lombard’s It is possible that Com- ant Joubert had at least 20,000 men. While White has breathing spell, the of his situation is by no means lessened. In fact his position is shown to be more critical than the official reports and newspa- per dispatches had previously in- dicated. The mere circumstance that| attack could be made and pressed home with the ut- most determination proves that the Boer forces in Natal have be- obtained a seriousness | come something more than| groups of armed men; that they are an army in a true sense, ¥ to assaail as well as to de- To have recaptured the posi- tions from which they had been ousted at the bayonet point is an uevement that was not e pected of these Transvaal farm- 1 not end till|end. There are no instances in| recent wars where a besieged | and surrounded force has suc- ceeded in extricating itself by its | own efforts. As is well known, the British | positions at Ladysmith are bvl the town| nature weak. Both | and British camp are open to al- most every point, and the long- range guns of the Boers are able to play with terrible effect upon the defenders up to the actual Be | mmm e il IHIIIIIMIII | | fll\lllll!fl L Hl = L T T bflfl‘.lmll!llUflflllll!lJli!flli‘UIIW”II” T moment of storming. The gar-] rison has been for some weeks | on short rations and has suffered | | from disease. The chief point, | however, is the supply of am- ! munition at White's disposal. | Seventeen hours of almost con- tinual fighting must have made| heavy inroads upon his magazine BOERS . stores. o force can stand unlimited | punishment, especially when/| |its rations begin to run short,| and it remains for Buller to throw a great force across the { Tugela to relieve the town. If he gives the Boers time to recover from their unsuccessful attempt to make a fresh attack upon Ladysmith, the probabilities are that the British prisoners in Pretoria will have their number doubled. General Buller did not seize the opportunity in the absence of a great part of the Boer force from his front to make a vigor- ous attack on either Colenso or the positions upon his flanks. He was content with a demonstra- tion, and shelled the Boer lines | The British army of relief lost a | great opportunity, probably Mhrrmgh lack of transport and| | water, which has compelled Bul- ler to divide his force and station a large part at Estcourt, twenty- | five miles from the front. It is | a question whether he will be al-‘ | lowed another such chance. If he | i is not, and the difficulties on the Tugela prove insuperable, would | {it not be best to transfer the| larger portion of it, possibly to the west? Such are some of the serious | problems which Commander-in- Chief Roberts and Lord Kitch- | ener will have to face when they | set foot in South Africa to-day. T 1SOME GERMANS PREACH ‘ WAR ON GREAT BRITAIN | BERLIN, Jan. 8.—It is not expected that | the speech from the throne at the open- | ing of the Prussian diet will contain mat- | ters of special interest and the Reichstag will reconvene without ceremony. From an absolutely reliable source, however, the correspondent of the Associated Press learns that Emperor Willlam will make | an tmportant and sensational spcech to- morrow night at the century festival of the Berlin Technical High School. His Majesty's remarks will be political, deal- | Ing especially with the naval quéstion, and will touch upon the sensation of the hour, namely, the seizure of the German | vessels by British warships In South Af- | rican waters. In confirmation of the statement cabled the other day that the Emperor has be- come thoroughly aroused over the con- tinuance of British action in this respect the correspondent is informed that he yes- terday told Geheimrath Miessner, in tones of deepest indignation, what he had just heard on the subject from Count von Bulow, adding: “Welche scmach.” Court circles here relate a number of | details showing his Majesty's change of mind as to Great Britain's policy and the reports that England has sent out new and more stringent instructions in refer- ence to searching vessels going to South Africa are recelved everywhere with in- | tense dissatisfaction. TIVF RUNNER HOTLY PDR&UED BY o BRINGS NEW. LAD>SM 1T H QTR0 VRCRORNGROR ORONCITONON QORNGNY HONONON AN IMMENSE INCLOSURE FOR BRITISH PRISONERS BRUSSELS, Jan. 8.—A private letter from Pretoria says that in order to accommodate prisoners of war who are crowding into Pretoria, an immense inclosure has been constructed to the north of the town in three long streets named Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. Tom. GRONROING HORORONON ONOLOR g i The Forelgn Office this evening author- | 1zed the following statement: “Germany recognizes the right of search | within certain specific limits. Among the | | points enumerated In the protest filed in London is one contending that England has exceeded those limits. No answer has yet been received as to this protest.” On being asked whether it was correct that joint action on the part of the pow- ers In the matter of seizures was under way a high officlal of the Foreign Office replied that such action ought to be taken if the seizures did not cease. He admitted that Russia was asking such joint action in regard to the interruption of telegrahp- fc communication with South Africa, but he denied formally the report that Ger- many had sounded Washington about the feasibility of such joint action. This dement! was subsequently corrob- orated upon inquiry at the United States embassy. The foreign official ended the interview with this significant assertion: “Germany will not be content with the mere liberation of the steamer General and the other vessels seized by British warships, but will demand indemnity in those and similar cases.” The question of the seizures will come up in the Reichstag as soon as Count von Bulow has expressed a willingness to answer an interpellation, which the conservatives will plan possibly for the opening day of the session. At any rate, before the end of the week an extended reply will be elicited from the Foreign Secretary, who will review events from the outset until those of more recent oc- currence. It is also expected that he will divulge the terms of the secret treaty with Great Britain. The Deutsche Tages Zeitung expects that a turn in Germany’s foreign policy will date from the interpellation and re- ply. The excitement about the seizures is in- tense throughout Germany. The colonials, the pan-Germans and the anti-Semites are pushing a vigorous propaganda. Their representatives are stumping the coun- try and preaching a war against Eng- land. The Berlin Neuste Nachrichten publish- es a communication advocating the seiz- ure of all British vessels in German ports as an act of revenge. Other papers talk The Boers played an amusing trick on the Englsh at Lady- smith. The latter think they destroyed the Creusot cannon Long The truth is that the Boers removed the cannon and substi- tuted the trunk of a tree, which was smashed by British shells. 8 : g % g !!U!Hfl IN_)% N mwnmn R l o/é - .Oa - caasa®® flfl, ° Se DISASTROUS MOVE NEAR COLESBERE % OB ROLOLION OO0 S . : § : SO about the “unbearable humiliation of the Foreign Office.” At the same time the officfal organs and a large section of the more influential pa- pers mildly continue to preach modera- tion. The Berliner Post says: “It be- hooves us to keep our sentiments in check.” BALFOUR TALKS OF WAR AND MAKES EXCUSES LONDON, Jan. 8—Arthur J. Balfour, First Lord of the Treasury, delivered his annual address to his Manchester constit- uents this evening. An immense audience gave him an enthusiastic reception. Mr. Balfour contrasted the conditions of last year, when the Fashoda incident had been | honorably closed and the peace conference | had been at The Hague, with those of to- day, when, he said, England had become d In the “‘greatest war of the gen- eration. “It is true,” he continued, *“that the Government knew the situation contained elements of peril, but it is not true that tev regarded the war as anything itke inevitable. If {t be asked why the Gov- ernment, knowing the Transvaal was in- creasing its armaments, did not protest, the melancholy reason rests in the Jame- son raid, which gave the Transvaal a chance to say it was arming, not for ag- gression, but for seif-protection. Thus we are criticized for doing too little by those who a year ago attacked us for doing too much.” The speaker sald he belleved the events which prevented mobilization last August had done more good in uniting all parties and all parts of the empire than if Great Britain, and not the Transvaal, had issued the ultimatum. “Even the tactical misfortune at Lady- smith or the extent of the Boer invasion of British territory,” said Mr. Balfour, “is not such as need by itself frighten even the most timid.” In defending the artillery equipment he id: ‘Do not believe vour soldiers are sent to the fleld with a worse gun than France or Germany would use in simflar circum- stances. The guns supplied to Sir George ‘White were intended for a mobile force, not for the defense of a beleaguered fort. nght that General | ings and lines of oo Graphic Story of the Defeat of General Buller While Trying to Cross the and Advance Ladysmith. Tugela River to the Relief of British Troops and Their Officers Alike Dis- played Unusual Bravery, but They Could Neither Overcome Annihilating Fusillades Fired by Hidden Boers. Nor Withstand the the LO™DON, Jan. 9.—A rumor was current here last Buller had crossed the Tugela River, captured twelve guns and was marching on | Ladysmith. ONDON, Jan. 8.—The first ondent graph's corres| 1t appe the battle ers drawn up by C Clery provided for the efficient support of the artillery . and Gener forces in an unte L with the artille t of the guns a y o Briefly this seems to be the story nr the ol- Tugela River. But t umns there continually ery of the unexpected intr the awful fusillade from hidc l»n Boers and such as has seldom marked h battle fields. rough gmm! gallantry Briti: h force nee at daylight and how m absolutely unmolest- their adve vers left t burst an awful upon the batter- The rattie of crash of Boer musketry ies and advancing Infantry. | the Mausers swelled and was maintained as one continuous roar. From the bulld- trenches south of the river and from the river bank itself the Boers fired at our gunners and footmen and from the trenches on the northern side of the Tugela River and Fort Wylle | and elsewhere they sent out a hurricane | of leaden hail, and bullets venomously | | rained on the ground in all directions, aising puffs of dust and tearing through | the alr with sgrill sounds. Few have ever | seen so heavy and so deadly a fusillade, | | but neither the British gunners nor the infantry hesitated or winced. Cannon were wheeled into position, although many of the horses and men were shot down ere the maneuver was completed, and our indomitable soldiers walked erect and straight onward. Not e Rome in and with alacrity stepped forward to do their duty—'Glory or the grave.' Anglo- Saxon soldiers always advance that way. I asked an American who had seen war- fare in Cuba and Manila if his own coun- | trymen gen did and he an- | her palmiest ever possessed more | devoted As the gladiators | marched proud ’l.nl‘l iling to meet death, | so our soldiers, doomed to die, saluted, | narvelous, but waste- ser walked the soldters s until with 400 yards 5 lying down . but there was lit- hing to at Brigade had driven the Boers bank the Tugela. They found that had planted the ground with wire. Even in the bed of the barbed wire was laid down. Into the water went the Dublin Inniskillens. but it was dammed the r Borderers and Connaughts, Boers had here or- They . rm"l many a of ammunition and accouterme: was drowned. It was a desperate serfous situation. The attack on the right was making no pro- gress and hearts of the men had reached an apparent impasse. But there were furfous and angry Irishmen who had determined to get across somehow By dint of scrambi from rock to rock and swimming a number won the other side. Yet most of them found that they had but passed ross a winding spruit. The Tugela still lay in front and all the while the murderous fire of cannon and Mauser crashed and comrades fell welter- ing in their blood. “In the meanwhile Colonel Long bad lost s guns and Generals Buller and Clery ith their staffs and escorts had ridden to the scene. The spouting hail of iron and lead sputtered and snapped and the dust puffed more than ever. Lord Robe: with Captains Schofl and Congrove, volunteered to ride out and endeavor save the two field batteries in the open. Readily other volunteers were fou Corporals from the line, men and drivers of the ammunition wagons taking spare teams galloped out, and men and again began f: ng on every side. Y. Roberts’ horse was blown up with a shel Congrove was hit by a bullet and his clothes were ¢ field alone valley to agged awa; tempt was made to res gun, but the Boer fire was incessa; withering. At 4 the battle was ove: “General B abandoned the and retreated.” ress. The course of the war has reveal ed | the necessity for guns less mobile but of greater range, nd these are being put out abundantly.” After extolling the sea transports and the ready response of the reserves, he de- clared that the Government had given the generals an absolutely free hand; that the war ne in defense of our Afri empire,” and that, through good and evil fortune, they would pursue it unswerv- ingly to the end, so that h war should ever be waged in S Africa again. In conclusion Mr. Balfour ridiculed the foreign prophecies that the dissolution of | the British empire wa< about to begin. ANTI-BRITISH COALITIDN patch dealing at some length with the questions of the seizures of German ves- sels by British warships, says: “It cannot be denied that the idea of an; anti-British coalition is very popular | here. Hopes are now placed in Russia. | Without being pessimistic, I must say that the present juncture is extremely critical. As matters stand, only the fact| | that no power wishes to take the initia- tive prevents such a coalition from bgm; brought about.” PASADENA MAN ON } LORD ROBERTS’ STAFF PASADENA, Jan. S—Frederick R. Burnham of this city, whose fame is ex- tended over all Europe and America be- | cause of his record in South Africa, has | been appointed to the personal staff of | Lord Roberts, chief of the English forces | in the field against the Boers. The honor {18 no more than a just recognition of Burnham's ability and bravery as a fighter. Burnham was Jameson's most valued and able aid in the expedition | against the Matebeles in 1884, when Mate- | beleland was opened up to the white peo- | {DEA IS VERY POPULAR | LONDON, Jan. 9.—The Berlin corre-| | spondent of the Daily News, in a dis- | ple. Throughout the campaign Burnham Idls'.ll'lg\xlshe(i himself for his fighting | qualities. Another remarkable achievement of his was the exploration with a small party of | Americans of a part of Africa that had | never before been entered by whites. | Stanley had failed to penetrate from the | north, Livingstone had died in an at- tempt to enter from the east and a Ger- man party had been massacred In trying to get in from the west. Burnham and the party that he led succeeded in enter- ing from the south after great dangers and hardships, and each member of the party received a degree of honor for the achievement. Burnham has been in Alaska for the pun year or two. l PRO-BOER MASS | MEETING AT SEATTLE SEATTLE, Wu!:—l_ln. 8.—A great pro- Boer mass-meeting was held here in the armory to-night. Speeches were made byl | storm by Colonel R. H. Lindsay and feature of the even was a dress made by Rev. Paul & Huntsyille, Wash., who claims to be a grand-nephew of Oom Paul. Resol s bitterly d the course of he British 1 great enthy a were passed with - FURTHER DISASTER WOULD BE DANGEROUS NEW YORK, Jan World from London say vailing here is vividly trated by the following from the Observer, ordinaril the staidest of Union journals: “The Government has two courses open to it—it could prepare for the coming landing their passengers and replacing them with effective men, or they can drift. Drift being the habitual policy of the elderly and obese, that course will probably be pursued in this case. Further military disaster will ex- cite the public feeling to a revolutionary height. The Queen will be left face to face with her people and a committee of public safety will become the only alter- native of the present Ministry. The ex- penditure of millions on guns is a panic expenditure, as the appointments of Rob- erts and Kitchener were panic appoint- ments.” The above was written before French's reverse was known, by which the Boers completed their record by defeating every British general sent against them. The situation undoubtedly is very grave. It is rumored that Parliament will be summoned before the end of this month. A dispateh to the The panic pre- |MORE MEN AND GUNS TO BE RUSHED FORWARD LONDON, Jan. 8 —England is preparing armaments, and twenty-two transports will be on the way to South Africa dur- ing the present month. According to the programme 25,000 additional troops and seventy-two guns will soon be afloat. The Government has ordered Vickers Sons & Maxim, Ltd., to manufacture as many 47-inch and 6-inch quick-firers as can be turned out until otherwise notifled. S GREAT BRITAIN TO GET GUNS IN ITALY LONDON, Jan. 9—The Rome corre- spondent of the Daily Mail says: It s reported here on good authority that Great Britain has ordered a number of guns at the Terni Foundry and that Senor Broad, manager of the foundry, has prom- ised to deliver them with the utmost ex- pedition. PRESIDENT AGAIN ASKED TO INTERVENE BERNE, Jan. 8.—The executive commit- tee of the Internationa. Peace Soclety has sent a telegram to President McKinley asking him to Intervene with a view of ending the war in South Africa.