The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 29, 1900, Page 1

be the Lib = o taker The Call LXXXVII— VOLUME NO. 60. SAN FRANCISCO, MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 1900. PRICE FIVE CENTS. FIFTEEN HUNDRED BRITISH DEAD LEFT ON THE SPION KOP FIELD Crushing Defeat of General Buller's Army Followed by Its Retreat Across the Tugela River—Some of Warren’s Men Hoist a White Flag and Surrender to the Boers. BOE R HEAD LAAGER, Ladysmith, Jan. 25, T p. m.—The British dead leit on the battlefield yesterday num- bered fifteen hundred. LONDON, Jan. 28.—General Buller’s dispatch to the War Office states that Spion Kop was abandoned on ac- count of lack of water, inability to bring artillery there and the heavy Boer fire. casualties. by another route. The Boers say the British lost 1500 killed Wednesday. Boers also claim that 150 of the Engiish troops surrendered at Spion Kop. @oieit e iedeiettiedtisdedebedesdedeie oied oo i BULLER DESCRIBES THE DEFEAT AND RETREAT Says the British Soldiers Fought With Great Gallantry to Hold Spion Kop and Finally Retired in Good Order. ONDON, Jan. 27. Camp, S ay, January “On rests of the h West Ladysmith t The enemy west to th \.-uthe“l a “tual south 1 the south. “On the night of January its perimeter was too large and wat y dry season, ren drove From then to January Id a strong position on a range of small kopj oss the plateau from through Spion Kop to the left bank position ern slopes were so er supplies were a difficutl On January 23 I assented to as evidently the key to the —Following is the text of General Buller’s dispatch, , 27, 6:10 p. m.: back the 25 Acton Homes, 1eld was perfectly tenable, y. 22 3 he attacked Spion Kop, but er, which he had been led was found very deficient. dated Spearman’s -nemy and obtained possession of the soutnern d extending from the line of Acton Homes and Hongerspoort to the he remained in close contact with the enemy. , stretching from the north- S but did not lend itself to an ad- steep that Warren could not get an effective artillery posi- his attacking Spion Kop a large hill—indeed, a mountain bosition, but was far more accessible from the north than found it very difficult to hold, to believe existed in this extraor- “The crests were held all that day against severe attacks and a heavy shell fire. Our men great gallantry. 1 would especially mention the conduct of the Second Cameron and the Third King’s Rifles, who supported thé attack on the mountain from the steepest d in each case fought their way to the top, and the Second Lancashire Fusileers and Sec- on lesex, who magnificently maintained the best traditions of the British throughout the v of Jan Thornycroft’s Mounted Infantry, who fought through the day ¢ VW ngside of them 1 Woodgate, who was in command at the summit, having been wounded, the of- ficer who succeeded him decided on the night of January 24 to abandon the position, and did so before "I re Spion Kop was aise wely T« ito v.'r" drawing the train, and by 8 a. m. ren’s camp at 5 a. m. on January , January 27 (S the Tugela without the luv of a man or a pound of stores. The fact that the force Jess than dence of the morale of t mule transports across !he river, should withdraw from actual touch—in some cases, a thousand yards apart—with the enemy in a manner it did, eighty-five yards broad, 5 and decided that a second attack upon less and that the enemy’s right was too strong to allow me to force it. aw the force to the south of the Tugela. Accord- At 6 a. m. we commenced with- Saturday), Warren's force was concentrated south of the lines were is, I think, sufficient evi- 1e troops, and that we were permitted to withdraw our cumbrous ox and with twenty-foot banks and a very swift current, unmolested is, I think, proof that the enemy has been taught to respect our soldiers’ fighting powers.” PPt e 090 e e et eieiedededoedededodoeieiededoioed &v@&@‘—@,yol BOERS CLAIM THE BRITISH THREW DOWN THEIR ARMS Burghers Retake Spion Charge, Kop Capturing a Portion of in a Gallant Its Defenders and Routing the Rest. B MODDERSPRUIT, UP- PER TUGUELA, Wednesday, Jan. 24., midnight, via Lourenzo Marquez, Thursday, Jan. 25— Some Vryheid burghers from the outposts on the highest hills of he ‘Qpiun Kop group rushed into the laager saying that the kop was lost and that the English had taken it. Reinforcements were ordered up, but nothing could be done for some time, the hill be- g enveloped in thick mist. At dawn the Heidelberg and 1 contingents, supple- mented from other commandos, began the ascent of the hill Three spurs, precipitous projec- Carol tions, faced the Boer positions. Up these the advance was made. 7 first terrace of rocks. Scaling the first hill the Boers found that the English had | |improved the opportunity and | entrenched heavily. = Between the lines of trenches was an open veldt, which had to be rushed under a. heavy fire, not only from rifles, but of lyddite and shrapnel from field guns. Three forces ascended the three spurs co-ordinately, under cover of fire from the Free State Krupps, a Creusot and a big Maxim. The English tried to rush the Boers with the bayonet, but their infantry went down be- fore the Boer rifle fire as before a scythe. The Boer investing party ad- vanced step by step until 2 OER HEADQUARTERS, | The horses were left under the|o’clock in the afternoon, when a white flag went up and one hun- dred and fifty men in the iront trenches surrendered, being sent as prisoners to the head laager. The Boer advance continued on the two kopjes east of Spion Kop. Many Boers were shot, but so numerous were the burgh- ers that the gaps filled automati- cally. Toward twilight they reached the summit of the second kopje, but did not get further. The British Maxims belched flame, but a wall of fire from the Mausers held the English back. Their center, under this pressure, gradually gave way and broke, abandoning the position. The prisoners speak highly of the bravery of the burghers, who, despising cover, stood against the{ S e e T g o i S S S A A A A A . S kR B S ¢ B e e o e e e e e o SRR The Some sald that fifty two hundred horses spot to.Parl feat here, pired “Long Tom." name all their heavy guns), Nek route. again and sent by ._,@ B = S SO skyline edges of the summit to shoot the Dublin Fusileers, shel- tered in the trenches. Firing continued for some time and then the Fusileers and the Light Horse, serving as in- fantry, threw down their arms and rushed out of the trencHes. The effect of the abandonment of Spion Kop by the English can hardly be gauged as yet, but it must prove to be immense. An unusually high proportion of lyddite shells did not explode. SR, BOERS SURPRISED IN THE NIGHT ATTACK SPEARMANS CAMP, Friday, Jan. 26— About 2 o'clock -~ the morning of Janu- ary 24 (Wednesday), when heavy clouds rested upon the kopjes, the main point of the Boer position, Tabanyama was storm- ed by the British Infantry under General Woodgate. Our force crossed over a ra- vine and climbed the mountain side steadily, getting within thirty yards of the enemy’s first line of trenches. The Boers, who had been asleep, decamped, leaving everything behind, and the Brit- ish, with ringing cheer, climbed to the summit. & BuEsTING OF A'SHELL EROW LONG TOM”WHICH PASSED TH..OUGH THE ROYAL HOTE INCIDENTS IN THE BOMBARDMENT OF LADYSMITH. millimeter Creusot gun which has been hurling its pound suells into Ladysmith from the heights of Isimbulwana mountain has been a most troublesome neighbor to the beleaguered Boers have been able to emplace such a heavy piece of ordnance on such an inaccessible position has caused much wonder and been varlously an of oxen were required to haul it up; in team did the work. A Frenchman writing from the says that able-bodied and strong limbed men accomplished the s they did at Volksrust, where the piece was first mounted. The same day on which the limit of President Kruger's ultimatum with a companion piece, left Pretoria by rail for the put in position to prevent the expected passage of the British by the Laings On the investment of Ladysmith the guns were brought down rail to within tweive miles of the hauled by oxen to the foot of the mountain on which they were to be placed, the last stage of the work being done by men. number of men, aggregating in weight half as much as the number of oxen or horses which would be required, will perform such a pilece of work much the shortest time, as they are more sure-footed and will pull continu- ously and all together, starting and stopping at the word. LADYSMITH AMNG IKILLED DR.STARKS. ninety-four- garrison How the explained. others that ex- (the Boers nick- frontier. and was “Mrs. Smith" town, and thence Experience has proved that a in B R R S R S R SO Sy R R R R WHITE FLAG-HOISTED BY BRITISH SOLDIERS LONDON, Jan. 28.—The follow- ing dispatch has been received in London from Pretoria, dated Janu- ary 2, via Lourenzo Marquez, Jan- uary 28: “The Government is advised that, after heavy fighting near Spion Kop, some British, on the kop be- ing stormed, hoisted a white flag. One hundred and fifty prisoners. God be thanked, although we also had to give brave and valuable lives.” PR S TS S S Y D i s R R R DR SR S S The Boers opened fire from several points, but it was apparent that they had been taken completely by surprise, ana their resistance was dispirited. The west- ern crest of the hill was soon won and | the infantry crept aloong the top of the hill. At daybreak, however, the Boers from 4 high point on the extreme east sent a withering fire among the British, which momentarily staggered them. The Boers had the range fixed to a nicety, and their artillery sent several shells right to the top of the crest, forcing the infantry to take cover. A Boer Nordenfeldt also was worked with great precision. The British held the position against great odds. At 10 o'clock strong reinforce- ments were sent up the hill and advanced in skeleton formation, the enemy being driven back to the extreme point. ,0.,,¢¢¢¢¢,,¢¢44¢¢¢¢ > .oe»«@o@o@w»’@oaov:«@oaoa»o@u?ro/-,\o@ > e ebeD ei e i | | | | | | It | | | | | British General Buller gives no list of > e e e eie L R e O T = RS S & His whole force withdrew south of the Tugela River, with the evident intention of reaching Ladysmith It is belicved here this includes the wounded. The D R e = ) Qi v v0 e 00 i eiedeied +20 00 ed edeieiedededeidedede LADYSMITH GARRISON LEFT WITEOUT HOPE Buller’s Defeat Means That It Must Surrender or Fight Its Way Out. Special Cable to The Call and the New York Herald. Copyright, 1900, by James Gordon Bennett. ONDON, Jan. 29.—General Buller's dispatch stating that he had with- drawn his forces to the south bank of the Tugela and accounts of the fighting at Spion Kop on Wednes- day, which reached here through Boer | sources, show the British reverse in all its serious aspect. Ladysmith's relief is as far removed now as when General Bul- ler first started to General White's assist- ance, and it may yet be necessary for the garrison, abandoning sick and wounded, to | make a last sortie and try to fight its way through the Boer cordons. General Buller has signally failed in his attempt to turn the Boers’ position, and with the force at his command cannot hope to outflank them in another direc- tion, as the mobility of the Boers enables them to change front at any moment. If, then, the only chance is a frontal attack, he is no better off than he was at Co- lenso. Should he decide on a total aban- | donment of the Potgleters Drift move- | ment, it would be a confession that the rellef of Ladysmith is impossible. This is one of the many points which is left ob- scure in General Buller's dispatch. It is now known that Spion Kop was, as first reported, the key to the Boer posi- tion. When the British attacked on the night of Tuesday they secured one kop, but in the morning discovered two others commanding tue one which they held. These positions the Boers reinforced and then began an attack and counter-attack. the British trying to capture the other kops and the Boers defending them, while at the same time trying to retake the one which they had lost. What had a great effect on the result was the fact that the hill on the British side was very steep and difficult of approach, whereas on the Boer side it sloped gently. This hampered the in reinforcing the detachment which had seized it. The British appear at once to have in- trenched themselves strongly and fighting of a most desperate description continued all of Wednesday. The battle seems to have oscillated along the northern slope, now the British and now the Boers at- tacking. Then came the end. The Boers wers smashing the British with a heavy shell fire and cutting them down with a deadly hail of Mauser bullets. while there ap- pears no indication that the British had been able to get artillerv up. The Boers took some of the British trenches, accord- ing to their account, capturing 150 men, while others fled According to General Buller's report, the British held their p. fon until nightfall, when, General Woodgate having been wounded, the officer who succeeded him decided to abandon the position. Who the officer was and what were the reasons which led to this decision we are left with- out knowing. General Buller has met a tremendous defeat. His attempted turning movement for the relief of Ladysmith has proved a disastrous failure, and he has been forced south of the Tugela. After the abandonment of Spion Kop during the night of Wednesday to Thurs- day the British commander decided that a second attack on the kop was useless; tbat the Boer right was too strong to be forced, and that the best course was to withdraw. Aceordingly General Warren's divislon was moved back over Trichards Drift, which it had crossed over a week before. The retirement occupied ffty hours and General Buller takes pains to point out that it was effected without the loss of a man or a pound of stores. That | the Boer forces made no effort to impede this crossing of a broad and swiftly run- ning river with precipitous banks is con- strued by the British commander to mean that the enemy had suffered so severely during the previous fighting that they were in no hurry to resume. Nothing is sald respecting General Lyt- telton's brigade, which crossed Potgie- ters Drift, but it is to be inferred that it will not remain long on the north bank of the Tugela, even If it has not aiready been withdrawn. Boer repors recelved via Lourenzo Mar- quez give more detalls of the struggle for Spion Kop than do any British dispatches yet to hand. Special dispatches tend to confirm the impression that the capture of the height by the British on 'huldgy night was no surprise to the Boers, man only being found on tlo attacking Jven o BN TRt no