The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-11-20
FIGHT AT LADYSMITH.
Boers Attacked City ON All sides wer
Driven Back with Loss.

Beers Attacked City ON All Sides Were
Driven Back with Loss.
Durham. Natal. November ~. 6atur-
day The Times of Natal. publishes the
following. dated wsdn ssday, November
10, from its special correspondent at
Ladysmith:
"Ths enemy made . dstermin cd attack
on Thursday. November O Apparently
all the Beers forces participated. Their
artillery opened at = q. m, pouring In
shslls thick and fast upon the British po-
sitions. although with no great effect.
They adopted the unusual tactics Of ad-
vancing under oover Of their uns 10
positions on the ridges and kopjes adja-
cent to thoss occupied by the British
troops ON the left OF our oamp. Continu-
ing their advance the Beers crept up
ufipg every available bit Of cover. Our
Infantry opened with Q steady. warm
and aocarate fire. which beat back the
enemy, Notwithstanding q display Of
tsnaoity Of purpose equal to their desper-
ate stands on previous occasions. The
Boar attack was most elaborate on all
sides Of the town.
The main attack, however. was made
bstwssn the Bree state and Newcastle
railway lines, BY . column composed
chiefly OF johannesburg volunteers. A
brigade Of the Kings Royal Rifle corps
made . splendid defense. The Beers were
repulsed but soon rallied and returned
to the attack. Again the British fire
which was very hot, forced them to retire.
They had made deep trench In front OF
the British lines, and while withdrawing
for their horses, they lett this unguarded
whersupon the Kings Rifles advancing
at double quick, occupied the trench.
TEis smart movement was not seen by
the enemy, who soon returned with the
horses. Carefully ressrvlng their tire,
tho Kings Rifles allowed the Beers to
advance almost to the edge Of the trench
and then poured volley aft,r volley into
the astounded Beers, who turned and
fed from an awful hail OF bullets. bolt
ing across the open. where the artillery OF
the British poured In terrible and efYec.
tive shell fire. The enemy lost heavily.
"Mean while another section Of the
firing heavy shells. Our guns, ooncen-
trating upon IL, soon silenoed this wea-
pom, the enemy's artillery men fleeing
head -lGng. The Peers thsn advanced In
forcs with view Of repairing the mortar
but our artillery shslled aud scattered
them right and left. Fighting was all
over at II o'clock.
promptly at noon, General White
ordered salute Of 81 guns In honor of
the birthday Of the Prince Of Wales. As
the cannon doomed, cheer after cheer
rang out from the troops, and = scene Of
enthusiasm, probably without parallel In
history, followed.
At Caesars Camp, which protects the
towns on the Southwest. the Manchester
regiment held the position. Descending
under cover of the British guns for some
distance on the further side of the hill,
they detected several hundred Beers hid
ing in the ditch, ont Of the way Of the
British shells. They poured volley after
volley into the enemy, scattering them
widely and infiicting heavy loss.
"The Beers were driven hack at every
point, with loss estimated at 800 men.
Nothing important occurred until Tues
day, November IA, when a strong foros,
chiefly cavalry and artillery, reoonnoiter.
ing came upon the enemy near the
Colenso road and drove them back to
their main positions. Our shell fire was
most effective and Is believed to have in
hicted considerable damage. Our own
loss was one man.
D,"That same day q Boer killed
trooper Of the Natal mounted rifles, who
was sleeping IN his tent. All our men
Are ht. we'll and In good spirits. 1t Is
reported that the lyddite is terrifying
he Beers who have TO be driven to their
gun positions by revolvers pointed at
their heads.
nLadysmith IL able to hold out for
months. On the other hand. It Is re-
ported that dyssntery is making havoc in
the enemy's camp"
NrIrnDUk