The Delta independent., 1899-10-27
GREAT LOSS OF LIFE.
MANY BRITISH OFFICERS KILLED
oess sAsrDshoossss Get n TAs.F Wosk
-fhSeght That Bosss Nay Bs PAa-
ning . Strategic Move.

LONDON, Oct. 2I-GenernlS White
and French attacked Elandslaagte, q
BOer stronghold, Saturday afternoon,
and silenced the enemy's three guns
and carried their position. British cav
airy are In pursuit Of the Beers, who
left their position and retreated.
The victory over the Beers near
Glencoe, Natal. yesterday, was obtain
ed at u fearful cost. The British rout-
ed the enemy, but they lost eleven
commanding officers killed, Including
Sir William Penn Symons. the general
commanding. and twenty-One wound
ed. General Symons died to-day of
the wound he received yesterday while
leading his men where the fighting was
hottest.
Extremely official news respecting
the battle was given out to-day at the
war Office. Up TO Z p. m. the squadron
Of the Eighteenth Hussars. numbering
no pursued the Beers after the fight.
They have not returned to camp and
II Is feared they were drawn into a
trap and killed by the enemy.
Besides these two bodies OF troops
there are thirty-three enlisted men
missing from the various commands
in the fight. They are believed to lie
either captured or killed.
The battle at Glencoe ns even official
reports admit. was no skirmish. but 4
battle that lasted eight hours. The
fighting was fierce.
The Beers displayed remarkable
courage when once driven from their
cover by the advance Of the British.
who paused neither for shot nor shell,
but kept ON and on. merely stopping
FOR breathing spell or to reform ranks.
The British artillery displayed aston
ishinE marksmanship. This soon ST.
lenced the Boer guns on the top Of Te-
Ian hill and then the order came to
charge.
The British troops behaved with
great gallnntry and at no time were
beyond the control OF their officers.
But the slaughter In their ranks was
pififui. The percentage Of officers thar
fell was fnr In excess OF the enlisted
men. About ; per cent. Of the troops
engaged were officers. yet - per cent
Of the dead are officers. Among the
wounded they number 10 per cent.
In other words, FIVE times as many
officers were killed as enlisted men. In
proportion to their numbers. and more
tlRn three times as many wounded.
The explanation Is simple. The on
GERS followed the tradition Of the En-
giish army and refused to take advan-
tage of cover. while they ordered their
".
spring conduct cost them bitter losses
but II helped them win the day. They
stood h-hind their men when the ranks
wcrc lying down and thus made them
selves targets for Boer shsrpshooscrs.
and they stood In the open while their
men were behind rocks and bits Of
fallen timber.
Cape Town. Oct - 800 p. MT II
now definitely known that Glencoe
wns attacked yesterday by the Boer
main northern column under General
Joutrrt. Our forc,-s are cnirenchei In
q good position. The situation therv In
not yet fully cleared up.
1000 r. ma dispatch hns Just ar
rived announcing that the BorrS arr
Smelling Dundee. east NJ Glencoe. at
long range. but that their fire II in
effective.
Kimberley. Oct. 3-nBy dispatch
rider from Orange river.,-This is the
sixth day Of kimh-ricy's Investment
by the enemy. An nrniorrSi train went
out yesterday and found the Beers
stiii In tn. direction Of spytfontein.
Their position L. believed to H. strong.
Two dispatch riders to Mafeking. Mr..
Stnplrfon and Mr.. Harding. were cap
tur'sl by Beers October 18th.
Morc spies have arrived. Two Eng
ii.hmcn who Ind ,--.n imprisoned by
the Bocr- escaped last evening and
havc just arrived here.
The local trndc-mcn are proving their
loyalty by nm agreement to keep down
the pricr of foodsiun-.
Care Town. Oct. .3.-ft T. rumorcd
here this morning that Barkley wc~;.
northwest 81 Kimberley. has hsen sur
rendered TO the Bos.r~ without firing n
shot.
Probably the Bcrr movement was
rurbci by the defeat nj Glcncpr. hut Il
seems rra .ounblc to believe. Judging
from the determination and fanaticism
% the Bocr forces. that they win socn-
er or later. any wny brfor. Buffers
corl,- take the field. r~surn to the ncld
with rrssoubicd axgrcssivencsa In =
Desperate attempt TO brcak the hack
hose Of General whites forr~~. hsv-
ing previously cndcavorcd to weaken
u by fcins and nank movements.
such a .uppo~ition rcGarsiing the
Ro-r pisns .. bss~si uTroo the t-lief
fhRt CommRndnnt Gcn~ral Icuh-rt's
main objective is TO break up or rout
General Whites command hrforr the
British rrinforr~m~uf~ arrive. Ru; Z,
i- possible the willy Borr rruerai has
carefully concealed ~trntcxy which he
intepsis to carry out In an unexI--ct~,i
direction and that the attack uIon
General white on Friday was merely
intended to deceive the British as to
the main objective. Reliable new.
from the uorr~ i- - hard to secure In
I<pnsiou that u is impossible to predict
with any degree of certainty what the
next few weeks arr likely to bring
forth.