The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-12-16
Attempt to Dislod.e the Enemy
Proves Futile and Terrible Slnugh-
ter liz the Result-Gen. Mcthuen He
ports, However,, That His Army
Maintains Its Position.

Dy llelQ aftlllcrS ana HoWltZer ai thiei i.
They shelled the position from daybreak.
and at lis l sent the Gordons TO support
the High.a brigade.
THE troops held their own in front of
the enemy's entertainments until dusk. the
position extending. including the kopie,
for a distance of six miles towards the
Modder river. To-day l am holding my
position and entrenching myself. had
to face at least 12.0G0 men. Our loss was
great"
Gen. Wnuchopc Killed.
London, Dec. 14.-The war office has
received the following dispatch from
Gen. Observation-Disclosures:
"Cape Town. Tuesday. Dec. 12.-Methuen
wires that Gen. Wauchope was killed i'll
action yesterday"
Maj. Gen. Andrew G. Wauchope. G.
B., C. NJ. G., entered the army in 1865,
was promoted colonel in 1888, served in
the Ashanti war, 1875; in the Egyptian
war, in 1882; in the Soudan expedition of
1854, and in the Nile expedition of
1SS4-S5. He was in command Of the
First brigade Of the Egyptian expedi-
tionary force in 1895. Gen. Wauchope
has been wounded four times, three
times severely.
Anxiety Was Justified.
| Gen. Methuen, as expected, followed
up his artillery attack with general
assault on the Boer positions Monday,
and his report shows that the anxiety
of the public regarding the result oc-
casioned by the ominous silence of the
war office was amply justified.
The engagement was evidently of con.
siderable magnitude, and the list Of the
killed and wounded will be proportion.
ate, without the compensation which !;
victory would have brought, if, indeed
the affair does not turn out TO be !;
more serious defeat than Gen. Mcthuer
admits. The llighlanders. ii is be
lieved, must have stormed the Beer pc
sition more than once. while the fac
that the guards were ordered TO support
the Highlanders' rear looks us though
the Beers may even have outtlanket
their attackers.
The Only Ray of Hope.
One report says that Gen. Cronje at
! tackled the British. The only compcnsa
ton the British have been able to dis
cover in the dishenrtcning story is il
Gen. Methucn's statement that Ii,
maintains his position close to tn
Beers, arousng hope that he will re
trieve the situation. 1t is apparcn
that the bombardmcih of Saturday ant
Sunday did not shake the Boers' girl
on their position, and it seems certain
that they merely withdrew their gun
nn1 NJ (ln,,,or l.,
Methuen INDUCED in the usual artillcr,
preliminarics Monday, and that whel
the British guns were obliged to ceas
firing, owing to the danger of hitting
the advancing troops, the Beers speed
lily rcoccupicd their trenches and over
whclmcd the 1liyhlanders with terri
bic fire, probably accompanying thi
and rear.
Alarm Felt.
Alarm is beginning to be expressed
in many quarters as to the situation o
Gen. Mcthucn. AS the Westminster
Gazette says:
"If England ever needed n victory 1t !
now, and 1t is to Butler. the soldier. strong
coo-headed and rctccnt, that the countr,
looks for this victory"
The other papers are abusing til,
government for it's "complacent OPP
timism," and inability to grasp tn
strength of the opposition il has to over
come in South Africa.
Considerable significance attaches tt
Gen. Methuen's statement that he is Ell
trenching himself, indicating fear tina
the Beers may follow up their advan
tage, adopt the offensive and attack him
Indeed, the gravity of the situation
from the British point Of view cal
hardly be overestimatcd. Gen. Me
thucn's long lines of communication tt
DE Aar are most vulnerable. Should
they be cut, Gen. Methuen will fine
himself in very tight place, if onl,
from lack of supplies.
News Affects stocks.
The news of the British reverse had
bad effect on the stock exchange, where
there was general relapse. Kaflirs ant
Rand mines dropped two and one-hal
points and De Beers dropped three
quarters. The latest advices from Gen
GataUe show that no anxiety is fel
for the safety of his remaining troops
who have been withdrawn to good posi-
tons along the railroad south Of Mol
tcno.
1t is said that Bushman's Hook is i'm
prcgnable. The Beers decline TO fur
nish the names Of the killed OF wound
cd. They say they buried the dead ant
are sending the prisoners to Bloom
fontcin.
DOcr Losses Slight.
The Boer loss on Sunday is reported
tohave been four killed and nine wound
ed. Probably this is correct, as no gen
uine attack was delivered by Gen. CAT.
acres troops, who were completely sur.
prised while in column.
The British apparently rushed up the
nearest hill, without orders or know.
ing where the enemy was. 1t also APP.
\, pears that the British were SO exhaust
ed that they were unable to accomplish
anything. They had been on the move
since four am. Sunday, travelling by
train, in open trucks, in the broiling
sun, to Molteno. After an hours rest
they proceeded on long march over the
most difficult unknown country.
Buffers Advance Begun.
Gen. Buffers advance in the direction