Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-20
THE BATTLE
sDEsCR|BED
StOrming Of BOer Position
at Tugela River.
LOSS OF THE BIG GUNS
Was Not Due to Any Fear on
the Part of the PriyateS Of
the Artillery Corps.
BOER FIRE WAS HELD BACK
Until Their Foes Were Within a Few
Hundred Yards When a Leadly
Hail of Bullets Was Sent In--Gal-
lantry is Commended.

New York. Dec. "a QlspAtcil W elic
Herald from London gives the follow
ing account of the battle of Tusela, sent
to the London Daily Telegraph by it's
war correspondent:
The action which was fought today be-
tween the British forces and the Beers
was a very severely contested affair.
The losses on both sides We're heavy.
General Butler, who commanded. was
repeatedly under a deadly fire. Major
Hodges of his staff was killed, While
Lieutenant The Honorable A. S. Roberts
was wounded. Other officers had mar
row escapes, their horses being shot
under them.
The object of Buffers advance was to
force a passage of the Tugela, carry the
Boer entertainments and open uD the
road to Ladysmith across the ridges
General Harris brigade, comprising the
first battalion of Connaught rangers.
first battalion of Royal Inniskilling fusi-
leers, first battalion of the border regi-
ment and the first battalion Of the Royal
Dublin fusileers, was sent to ford what
is known as Bride drift, situated west
of DoornkoDsDruit.
1 VI . ~ Is etNA>' w sA~ SN~
ond battalion of Devonshire regiment,
second battalion Queens Royal West
Surrey regiment, second battalion West
Yorkshire regiment and second battalion
East Surrey regiment was directed to
proceed to Colenso and cross the river
near the iron bridge. General Littleton's
brigade, which was composed of the Sec
ond battalion Camarons, third battalion
Kings Royal rife corps, First battalion
Durham light infantry and First bat
TALON Rifle brigade, was ordered to sup
port either Hildyard or Hart as the occa-
sion might arise, while General Barton's
Union Fusiliers brigade, consisting of the
second battalion Royal Fusiliers, first
battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and Sec
ond battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers and
second battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers,
proceeded to the east of the railway to-
wards Mount DangWane to protect the
British flank and threaten that of the
enemy.
Dur cavalry and field guns were sta
toned IN either wing. The nava guns
were posted in a central position on the
West side of the railway While Colonel
Long with his artillery vert to the east
side of the railway on the right of the in
fantry. Hildyard sen ahead the queens
Royal West Surveys on the right and
Dragons on the left of his front, Whilt
General Hart pushed on the Inniss-
killings, C~onnaught rangers and Dublin
fusileers.
Gun front extended for a distance OF
about six miles. The Beers had evil
IDENTIFY fully extended their line. Their
extreme mobility almost gives them a
front in air. The guns We're booming
around LadysNnith when ours broke the
silence of Colenso by s~leliing the foot
hills north of Tugela i've and Fort Wi
ley. which stands upon a ridge near the
bridge. With skill and labor the Beers
hlai built walls and forts and had dug
successive trenches on the read COM
handing every line of approach from
Estcourt to Colenso.
The country is bare and generally undu-
lating, similar indeed to our downs. Our
troops therefore had to advance to Tu-
CELIA without any cover.
The battle commenced before 6 o'clock
in the morning, out the Beers made no
reply to the heavy cannonade which our
blue jackets directd upon them.
Few of the enemy was visible They
lay hidden behind their hill works. but
on our infantry and batteries and cavalry
nearing Colenso. a sharp musketry fire
was opened on them by the Beers from
houses on the river banks, behind which
many of the enemy had been concealed
for hours.
1t was twenty minute after 6 when the