Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-08
NEWS RENDS VEIL or GL00M
Dispatches from Lndysmith Cause
the LonCon Public to Take
Good Heart Again.


LONDON, Nov. 7.-Tcnights welcome dis
patches from the front have rent the veil
OF gloom enveoping Ladysmith, showing
the British garrison not merely standing on
the dogged defensive, but executing series
CT brilliant sortes.
Accounts from different sources agree that
the laconc official description of Thursdays
engagement as IAN effective shelling OF the
Boer laager" was unduly modest II appears
that General Sir George Stewart White sent
force of cavalry and infantry to attack the
Beers at Tathams farm, near Besters, and
apparently achieved surprise, the Beers
ing caught on the open veldt and cut to
eces and their camp captured. Encour-
!, sed by this success, General White de-
cded to risk an even more important en-
gasement on the following day, which was
again justified by success.
Ladysmth had been isolated and a Boer
force had Intercepted the railway between
Ladysmith and Colenso. This force on Fri
day had descended upon Colenso and, as
shown by the dispatches from Estcourt, had
compelled hurried abandonment of Col
enso and a retirement of the British to
Estcourt General White had ascertained
that the Beers were attacking Colenso, but
he was not aware of the British retirement.
He had determined, therefore to attack the
Beers in the rear, thus hoping to achieve
the double object of drawing off an attack
on the weak garrison of Colenso and pos
sibly of reopening communication south
ward.
The Beers had advanced southwark until
they had occupied the hills north of the
Tugela river and dominating Colenso on the
other side of the stream. The hills slope to
a plain that reaches to the banks of the
Tugela.
General Whites division caught the Beers
in the rear and after the hills had been
shelled the British infantry stormed the po-
sition. Meanwhile the British cavalry swept
| around the hills and as the retreating enemy
descended into the plains with British bayo-
nets behind them and the river in front of
them, they were charged by the cavalry and
| seem to have perished almost to a man. The
British then returned to Ladysmith without
coming In touch with the Colenso garrison,
which had returned to Estcourt.
Sundays dispatch from Estcourt, however,
showed that an armored train had been
sent back to Colenso to repair the line and
the next news may possibly be of the resto-
ration of communication with Ladysmith.
While the British troops were thus engaged
in successful eudeavors to wipe out the Mich
olson Mex disaster the situation inside Lady
smith, as shown by an official dispatch from
the general at Estcourt, was most satisfac-
tory, encouraging a hope that Sir George
White may completely retrive his shaken
reputation and that his force may emerge
triumphant from the ordeal through which
1t is now passing.
ESTCOURT, Natal Nov. 5.--Sunday
Morning-An armored train went
| over the Tugea bridge yesterday
found Colenso intact and also found the road
and railway bridges strong. An Orange
| Free State force was sighted six miles from
| Colenso, on the Ladysmith side. 1t was
supposed to have been engaged with the
British forces from Ladysmith Thursday.
| The Beers suffered heavily. 1t is rumored
| that the Natal Dutch took part in the en-
gagement, siding with the invading Beers.
| LONDON, Nov. 7.-Such scanty intelli-
gence as is filtering from the front is gen.
orally accepted here as reassurng, although
! the later reports agree that the fighting
outside Ladysmith on Thursday and Friday
was much more severe than indicated by
| the official accounts. There is no longer
| such a disposition to jump at the conclusion
| that crushing blow has been inflicted on
| the Beers was shown before. British
contempt for the burghers has been mod-
| fed by defeat. The best informed are in
up of the Beers until further confirmation
| is received. But the mere fact that Gen
| eral White was enabled to undertake a
series of successful "Reminiscences is taken
as an indication that the Boer investment
has been relaxed by the withdrawal of
| portion of General Joubert's force south
ward While. however. the anxiety in re-
! gard to the immediate stress of Ladysmith
| Is allev1sted there is a widespread fear
| that the authorities are badly laundering
! and may find too late that the main expedi-
| tion will prove too weak to complete its task
| with safety and dispatch, as the Natal force
| has already admittedly failed to perform
| what was expected of it.
Trouble for War Omce.
The confession last evening of General
| Lord Wolseley, the commander n-chief,
| that the Beers were more powerful and
| more numerous than had been anticipated,
sufficiently explains the present happenings
and the war office will hereafter have awk-
ward questions to answer in regard to its
apparent colossal ignorance of the Boer
strength, which, both in numbers of men
| and excellence of artillery, is apparently a
| complete surprise to the British military
authorities. Mail news from South Africa
shows how inaccurate have been the esti-
mates of the Intelligence department and
! the government experts. 1t is CLEANED
| therefrom that a fair estimate of the Boer
| forces is as follows;
Around Ladysmith, 5000; traversng Zu-
luland, 1000; advancing on Burghersdorp,
5000; Colesburg, 5000; Kimberley, 1000;
| Mafeking, 4,50O, and on the northern Trans
vaal border, 1000. Exact information about
| the Boer artillery is lacking, but it is
| known that General Joubert's detachment
before 1t was reinforced. consisted of six
teen Krupp field pieces OF the latest pat
| tern and two heavy Creusot siege guns
which, but for the opportune arrival of the
| British naval brigade, would have rendered
| Ladysmith untenable.
| In connection with the naval guns most
! interesting and important experiment has
! been successfully carried out at Capetown
with 4,7-lnch gun, SO serviceable at Lady
smith. One OF the British cruiser Terri riDle' S
| guns, mounted on Scott travelling carriage,
was fired in the same way as a fed gun,
J with entire success. The Terrible, with a
| number OF guns, thus mounted, is on its
way to Durham and though the guns can
not now reach Ladysmith they may be OF
| great value in the defense of Pietermaritz-
! burg, which. 1t seems, will probably have 10
stand a siege. The arrival of the Terrible