San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-02-10
JAMESON FIGHT.
True Story of the South African Raid
Told in a Letter From Pretoria.

I0lQ IN IetIer L rOm iioVoiio'
1t is only now that the full de-
tails of Janesons disastrous fight
are coming through. Many of
these are brought by Captain
Thatcher, who fought with Jane
son, but managed to escape cap
ture. Letters from Johannesburg
itself show that when it became
known that fighting was likely, in
addition to the women and child
rem, hundreds of miners, mostly
Cornishmen, fled from the mines,
and out of the country. They
were hooted in the streets as cow
ards, and white feathers were
presented to them at the railway
station.
When the end came Captain
Thatcher threw off the role OF a
fighting man, and made his way
through the Boar lines declaring
he was a newspaper correspondent.
His story obtained credit, and he
took the first opportunity OF get
ting over the frontier. In the rail-
way train he was, however, recog-
nized by a detective, but the officer
proved goodhearted. and, instead
OF handing him over to the au-
thorities, helped him to escape.
Captain Thatcher says the Beers
were the first to open fire, from
their entrenched position, and they
kept up the fire during the night
when the moon sh0ne.
The men were exhausted enough
then, but next day when Jameson
tried to get round the Boer posi-
ton it was seen that the situation
was hopeless. The troopers were
dropping of their horses from ex-
haustion, following hunger; but
the most terrible cry was that for
water. 1t was this want that ham,
pered them almost from the start.
The Maxims became hot from
the continuous fire. There was no
water to cool them, and finally
they became jammed.
During one of Jameson's desper-
ate efforts to get though the Boer
lines, q score Of troopers were
Knocked over. Those that were
wounded in the thighs lay as they
fell, but still fought on, loading
and firing on the Beers as they ad-
vanced. They kept off a party OF
60 Beers until the end came.
y Two of the troopers after one of
Jameson's advance made a desper-
ate effort to rescue q wounded
comrade who had been left behind.
They failed in the attempt and
were captured by the Beers.
At the battle OF Doornkop two
men were about to fire at short
range when simultaneously they
dropped their rifles. Each recog-
nized the other. They had been
to school together and had been
seat mates.
A trooper fell terribly wounded
and soon cried for water. Ayoung
Boer ran toward him with his can
teen of water, when another
wounded trooper, thinking he was
coming to dispatch them both
dead.
DR.. Jameson, when he recognized
that he failed and had surrendered,
burst into tears, and cried for some
time like a child.
The troopers, maddened by pri-
vations and defeat loudly cursed
the Rand and all the people in it.
The Beers treated the prisoners
we'll. Directly after having had
food and water they lay down on
the battlefield and slept, or tried
to sleep.
The Burgher forces had occupied
a mining property as portion of
their defences, placing a battery
there which, however, was COM
pletely destroyed by the invaders.
Both Captain Coventry and Ma
jor Grey agree that the Lee Met
ford bullet is wonderfully clean in
its effects.-Pretoria, South Afri-
can letter.
The exposure to all sorts and
conditions of weather that lum-
herman is called upon to endure in
&La 4ffan nrnd.1aaE onunrn