The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-12-22
How the Irish FusiIiers Fought After
the Mules Had Stampeded and
Aroused the Boers.
HORRORS OF ELANDSLAAGTE
DEAD OF BOTH ARMIES FOUND
STREWN ABOUT IN GROUPS.
Winston Churchilrs Bravery When
the ArmOred Train Was Attacked
at Chievely-The Boer Prisoners.
OF the Associated Press.

.
| LONDON, Dec. 13.-Letters from British
officers and soldiers fighting in the Trans
| vaal and lengthy descriptions from war
| correspondents that filter into print
| through the mails TEEN with thrilling and
| pathetic incidents. Writing to his mother.
| a young officer of the Manchesters, wound
| ed in one of the first engagements. relates
| that while he lay at night on the hillside.
expecting to die, bleeding from a wound
| in his thigh and shivering with cold. there
stumbled over him a Tommy of my COM
pany named Rogers" This Tommy"
quickly whipped off his own overcoat.
placed it around the boy officer, and. lying
down, put his arms around him and for
the rest of that long. cold night kept him
beautifully warm"
The Times correspondent gives graphic
account and explanation of the British
disaster at Nicholson's Mex, where Carle-
toms column. consisting of six companies
of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, four and a
| half companies Of the Worcestershire
Regiment and No. ID Mountain Battery,
surrendered 1.-TWO hours before day.
break" says this correspondent, while
| the column was In an inclosed country,
either shot was fired or bowlder rolled
| into the battery. The mules stampeded and
easily broke away from their half-asleep
drivers. They came back on the Glouces-
| tershire Regiment, the advance party Of
whom fired into the mass, believing in the
darkness that 1t was an attack. This add
ed to the chaos. The ranks were broken
| by the frenzed animals and they dashed
| through the ranks of the rear guard, car
rying the first and second reserve ammu-
milton animals with them. 1t became
| hopeless panic. The animals, wild with the
shouting and the turmoil, tore down the
| mullah into the darkness and the last that
| was heard of them was the sound of am
| munition boxes and paniers as they were
splintered against the powders.
1.-THE hubbub of these few minutes was
| sufficient to have alarmed the enemy. By
| a strenuous effort the officers succeeded
| in getting the men again under control,
and when daylight came they seized the
| first position which presented itself, and
| which was about two miles short of the
| original goal. They were forced to take
advantage of the first kopje, as Boer
| scouts were all around them, and the day
| was ushered in with desultory firing. 1t
| chosen, and the men were in sorry
plight All their reserve ammunition was
gone, and though they had saved pieces of
| the screw guns, they were not able with
| these pieces to patch up a single mounting
From earliest daybreak Boer scouts
were reconnoitering, and about o clock
mounted Beers could be seen galloping in
| small groups to the cover Of the hill west.
| Strong parties of mounted men took posi-
| tions on the far Size of the two hills COM
manding the kopje from the east. About
o'clock these two parties had crowned the
| hills and opened a heavy fire at short
range right down upon the plateau. Our
| men made plucky attempt to return this
fire, but it was impossible. They were un
der cross-fire from two directions, flank
and rear. The two companies of Clouces-
| tershires holding the se,f-conta;ned ridge
were driven from their shelter, and as
they crossed the open on the low plateau
were terribly mauled, the MEN falling in
groups.
"The Beers at the west had not yet de-
clared themselves. but about two hundred
| marksmen climbed to the position which
the two companies of the thoucestershires
had just vacated. These iSoers raked rhe
plateau, and it was then that the men
were ordered to take cover on the steep
reverse of the kopje. AS soon as the
enemy realized this move the men on the
| western hill teemed onto the summit and
opened upon our men they lay on the
slope. They were absolutely hemmed in
| and what had commenced as a skirmish
seemed about to become a butchery. The
grim order passed around, Fix your
bayonets and die like men, There was
the clatter of steel, the moment of sus-
pense and then the cease fire. sounded
Again and again it sounded, but the Irish
Fusiliers were loath to accept the call and
continued firing for many minutes. Then
it was unconditional surrender and the
men laid down their arms"
The correspondent at Ladysmith Of the
same paper, describing the battlefield of
Elandslaagte, realistically details the
horrors of war. He writes: 1.-The battle
field as it stood on the Sunday convened
sufficient proof of the severity of the fire.
The wounded had been removed by day
light, but the burial parties had not ar
rived TO perform the last duties TO the
dead. The men lay there as they had
fallen, sad. pathetic tribute to the cour-
age of the British soldier. We followed
this tragic trail-Highlanders Manchesters
and mounted volunteers lay indiscrim-
| inately grouped. Then solitary figures
under the stones showed how little the
cover had availed them. There were places
where wire fences had impeded the ad-
vance. Here the carnage had been great,
and one brave fellow stopped In death cut