The San Francisco call., 1899-12-22

war correspondent, supplies full account
OF the annihilation of the armored train
c0nuhsSnt at Chieveley, wheh winston
Churchill was captured The train. IL ap-
pears, with the exception Of the engine,
lender and two trucks. was badly wrecked
by the removal of fishplates. and the sew
enty-two Icen OF the Dublin Fuslecrs
ana the ninety-five men Of the Durham
LiSht Infantry. TO say nothing of live
bluejackets from the Tartar, were thrown
out. Captain Haldane of the Gordon
Hlghlanders, who commanded the rarty.
rallied his bruised and shaken men end.
amid hail of bullets from the Beers be-
gan TO clear the line, while others were
pouring deadly volleys into the alriost
unseen Beers. hidden behind the rocks
about 1893 yards of, The bluejackets
bravely commanded by their petty OFF,
Ger, VINO was the Incarnation OF coolness,
got their oeven-pounder into action. They
sent in two, If not three. well-aimed sh ellis
az the Beers. several hundred of whom
lined the hllls. But just then shot from
the enemy's three-pounder or field in
hit the snail naval seyen-pounder.
Knocked gun and carriage on TO the veldt
and wounded several OF the seamen. But
the men were not whit beaten.
The Pail Mall GaZette's correspondent
describes Winston Churchill's conduct on
this occasion as follows:
A party Of volunteers consisting princi-
paily OF plate layers. etc, led by Winston
Churchill, who behaved throughout with
most heroic courage, succeeded in placing
the rails Mr.. Churchill had previously
assisted in carrying in no less than twenty
men under a terrible fire. Some idea Of
the accuracy of the enemy's fire and Of
Mr.. Churchtlls courage may be obtained
by narratlng the fact that Boer shell
burst in front Of Mr.. Churchill. killing
two men on each side Of him. Our wound
ed were dotting the veldt on each side.
The continued rifle fire and the weird
sound OF the quick-firers added 10 the hor-
rors Of the situation. At last the line was
clear and the engine, with one carriage
or the armored train, was enabled to re-
turn TO Frere. leaving Captain Haldane
and party iercely engaged. The Beers
gave IL q passing salyo of shells, hitting
the tender and nearly derailing the train
a second time"
The Daily Graphic's correspondent de-
scribing a visit TO the hulk of the Pencil
ope at Somers Bay, where the Boer pris-
oners are confined. undertaken in the
company Of Colonel Stowe. the United
States Consul General, writes:
The majority Of the prisoners are
told me they thought the war would be
picnic; that they would rush Natal before
the imperial troops would arrive; that
England would be involved in foreign
complications, and that they would be
able 10 dictate terms from PietermaritZ-
burg and Durham. They thought to View
the Cape peninsula as conquerors, not
from a prison ship. Colonel Schiel steps
with difficulty. His wound in the thigh is
nearly healed, but he still requires the use
of a stick. Schiel is a typical soldier OF
Observation-Disclosures hair. cropped close,
aggressive military mustache, shrewd
mistakably active. but tending to stout
ness. AS to bearing, he Is genial man
of the world. He introduced us TO some
OF his brother officers, including Captain
cosmopolitan of kindly expression and
modest mein. who told us that he was
born in Holland, educated in Germany
and had sister in st. Louis