Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1899-12-21
A B0ER VICTORY.
Burghers Whip Methuen's Army
at Magersfontein.
Desperate Assaults made by English
Troops on the Enemy In Trenches
Were Unsuccessful-Losse on
Both Sides Were Large
Other War News.

l
seventy-two British prisoners were
taken at Stormberg.
In the fighting at Modder river sun
day evening Gen. Cronie maintained
| his position and captured 50 British
soldiers.
The Beers captured three British
guns in the engagement with Gen.
| Gatacre's force at Stormberg. The
sortie at Kimberly on Saturday was
an attempt to take the Boer position.
London, Dee. 13.--The war office pub
| fishes the following dispatch from
Gen. Butler: Dispatch from Gen.
| White, dated December II, says: Last
night Col. Metcalf and 500 of the Sec
ond rifle brigade SORTED to capture a
Boer howitzer on a hill. They reached
the crest without being discovered,
drove off the enemy and then de-
| stroyed the howitzer with gun cotton.
| When returning Metcalf found his re-
tirement barred by the Beers, but he
forced his way through, using the
bayonet freely.
London, Dec. 14.-Each important
battle seems to bring a worse reverse
for the British, and the papers this
morning sorrowfully admit thai Gen.
Methuen's check at Magersfontein on
Monday is the most serious event the
war has yet produced.
1t is estimated here that Methuen's
| forces amounted to 1000 men. No
reliable estimate of his losses has yet
been received. They are believed to
have been at least 450.
Julian Ralph, describing the battle
at MagersfOntein. in a dispatch to the
| Mail says: The Beers were in
trenched at Magersfontein, four miles
north of Mod1er river. At dawn
Monday the Highlanders. advancing
across the veldt, were suddenly sub
| jected to a murderous fire from the
| trenches about 200 yards in front. The
| greater part of the fearful loss of the
day was thus suffered in a minute.
Startled and overwhelmed, the brigade
retired quickly, but soon rallied and
retained its position. This was on
| the left. On the right the guards
| brigade advanced across the trenches
and fought an invisible foe for II
hours. At II in the morning the Cor
| don HighlanderS were sent forward.
| The Beers allowed them to pass one
| line of trenches with artillery, and
| then enfiladed them. We rakcd the
Boer trenches with artillery through
out the day. The fighting only
ceased with nightfall"
| The British casualties included Gen.
Wauchope, the Marquis of Winchester,
major of the Coldstream guards, who
was killed, and Col. Downham of the
| Gordon Highlanders, who was mortal
ly wounded. When the Highlanders
met the murderous point blank fire Of
| the Beers about 200 were moved down.
| The Black Watch regiment on reform
| ing was able to muster only 160 men.
| The Beers lost heavily in the trenches
and also in the wire entanglements
when they came into the open in an
attempt to make a flank attack on the
British. The terrific British artillery
fire provoked no response except from
the Boer rifles until nearly o'clock
in the afternoon, when the Gordon
Highlanders formed to renew the at
tack on the entrenched kopie.
The enemy opened with a heavy
shrapnel fire as the British advanced
and it was found physically impossible
to take the Boer trenches. The Brit
ish got within 200 yards, but could not
| get nearer. 1t was here that Col.
| Downham fell. The Beers had had
free recourse to barbed wire entangle-
ments, which offered great obstacles
even after the damage inflicted by the
British artillery fire. Tuesday morn
| ing both sides occupied the positions
they held before the battle.
London. Dec. 15.-The war Office is
still without news from Ladysmith
other than that already published.
The general belief is that the large
Boer forces Gen. Methuen encountered
at Magersfontein were partly drawn
| from Natal. and that Gen. Butler will
strike blow before these have time
| to return.
A revised list of the total casualties
to the British troops at Magersfontein
places the number at S32.
The war Office has received the fol-
lowing dispatch from Gen. Walker, at
| Cape Town: Gen. French wires under
date of Decembe 13. reporting a sllir-
mish at o'clock in the morning with
| 1,s0O Beers who were advancing south
ward toward Naauwpoort. The skir-
mishing continued all the morning,
Beers fighting on a front of Ii miles.
| The enemy retired with loss of 40
killed and wounded. Our casualties
were one killed, seven wounded, in
cluding one officer and two missing"
Modder River, Dec. 15.-Ambulances
started Tuesday under a flag of truce
to collect the wounded and bury the
dead who fell at Magersfontein.
Gen. Wauchope, who led the High
| land brigade, was found dead near the
trenches, shot in the chest and thigh.
A few wounded were found near the
| trenches. Several wounded Beers
were taken to the British hospital
| The side of the hill and neighborhood
of the trenches showed dead bodies all
about. One wounded Boer informed a
CORE ,pondent that their loss was ter
rible. The Boer losses must exceed
700. The destruction wrought by the
| naval Guns was enormous. Word was
passed along the Boer lines to prepare
| 10 retreat AZ nightfall.
| ---
Four Trainmen Killed.
Allentown, Pa, Dec. i4.-PassengeT
train No. Is on the Jersey Central
railroad. eastbound, due here at S:5