Daily inter mountain., 1899-11-25
Account of Strange Battle
OF ElandSlaagte.
B0ERS HELD THEIR POST
Until They Were Compelled to Retire
From a BayOnet Charge-It Was a
Half Hour of the Most Terrible
Slaughter. "a

London, Nov. 25.-G. w. Steyens,r one
of the South African war correspondents,
sends the following vivid account of the
| strange battle of Elandslaagte, which did
not begin until nearly O'Clock in the
afternoon. t.,
Our guns he says, "moVed to posi-
ton toward the right of the Boer guns.
which opened fire, but the German gun
ners know their business and their third
or fourth shell pitched into a wagon with
a team of eight horses. 1t was full of
shells. We held our breath for an explo-
sion, but when the smoke cleared only the
near wheeler was on his side and the
wagon was still whole.
Our batteries bayed again and the
Boer guns We're silent.
The attack was to be made on their
front and left flank The Devon regiment
formed for the front attack, and the
Manchesters on the right, while the Cor
don Highanders edged to the extreme
, rightWard, with the long boulder-frec
! led hill above them. The guns flung
shrapnel against the valley, while the
cavalry We're in leash, straining toward
, the enemy's flank.
IL was about d quarter to 5, and it
seemed curiously dark. No wonder, for
as the men moved forward, before
them the heavens opened. From the
eastern sky swept a sheet of rain With
the first stabbing drops the horses turn
ed their heads, and no whip or spur
could bring them up to it, 1t drove
, through the mackintoshes as blotting
paper The air was filled with the his
sing.
! Under foot you could see the solid
earth melting into mud and the mud
flowing away in water. 1t blotted out
hill, dale and the enemy in one gray
curtain Of swooping waters. You would
have said that the heavens had opened
to drown the wrath of man. and through
it the guns still thundered and the khaki
columns pushed doggedy on.
'ihe infantry came along the boulders
and began to open out. The supports
and reserves followed. Then in twink
ling on the face of the one-oled hiu
burst loose that other storm, the storm
of lead, blood and death In the first
line down behind the rocks they were
firing fast, and the bullets came Ticking
round them. Men stopped and started
staggered and dropped Imply as if the
string had been cut that held them up
right.
] ''The line pushed on. A colonel fell,
shot in the arm. His regiment pushed
1 on.
.'They came to a rocky ridge 20 feet
+ high. They clung to cover, firing, then
! rose and We're among the shrill bullets
! again.
"A major was left at the bottom of
| the ridge, with his pipe in his mouth
and a Mauser bullet through his le.
/ His company pushed on. Down again
I fire again, up again, and on.
Another ridge won and passed. and
| once more hellish hail of bullets beyond
! More men Were down, but more men
pushed into the firing line. More deat tn
| piping bullets than ever. The air was
! a sieve of them They beat on the
SHOULDERS like a million hammers. They
/ tore the turf like a harrow.
/ another ridge crowned and another
Welcoming, whistling gust of perdition
! pushed into the firing line. Half the
officers We're down. The men puffed
and stumbled on another ridge, God
| would this cursed hill ever end 1t
was sown with bleeding and death be-
hind edged with singing fire before.
! On, and now it was surely the end
"'rhe merry bugles rang like a coci,-
crow on a fine morning to fix payonets.
| "The staff officers rushed shouting
from the rear, imploring, cajoling, ours
/ ing ,slamming every man who could
move into the line, but it was line
no longer, it was a surging Wave #
] men.
! THE Devons, Gordons Manchester
and light horse were all mixed. Suba,-
/ terms We're commanding regiments
soldiers We're yelling advice to their
| leaping, killing, fallins-all drunk with
!