Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-22
AT A FEARFUL COST
England Defeats the Beers, but Pays
Bloody Penalty for Its Victory.
PlTlFUL SLAUGHTER IN BRITISH RANKS
twenty-five Per Cent of All Those Killed
Were officers.
TROOPS BEHAVE WITH GREAT BRAVERY
Pause Not for Shot or Shell, but Press On
ward in the Charge,
RooPS BEHAVE WITH GREAT BRAVERY
FIERCE FIGHTING FOR EIGHT HOURS
One Squadron of the Eighteenth Hus-
snrs and IL section of Mounted
Infantry still on the
Missing List.

MISSING List.
Copyright, 1899, by Press Publishing Coz
LONDON, Oct. 21.-(New York World Ca
blegram-Special Teegram.) 1.-The victory
over the Beers near Glencoe, Natal, yester-
day was obtained at a fearful cost. The
British routed the enemy, but they lost
eleven commissioned officers killed, including
Sir William Penn Symons, the general COM
manding, and twenty one wounded. There
were also thirty one noncommssioned Of
ficers and men killed. and 15l wounded.
General Symons died today of the wound he
received yesterday while leading his men
where the fighting was the hottest.
Extremely grave official news respecting
the battle was given out today at the war Of
flee. Up to p. m one squadron of the
Eighteenth 1ussars, numbering lG0 men, and
a section of mounted infantry, are missing.
They went in pursuit of the Beers after the
fight yesterday They have not returned to
camp and it is feared that they were drawn
into trap and either killed or captured 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 be either captured or killed.
The battle at Glencoe, even as official re-
ports admit, was no skirmish, but a 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 spells and
/ to reform their ranks.
The British artillery displayed astonish-
| ing craftsmanship. This soon silenced the
| Boer guns on the top of Tallana hill and then
| the order came to charge. The Kings Rifles
| and the Irish Fusileers led the charge with
! great glory to themselves and to their coun-
| try. The fire was fast and furious in their
face, but they never faltered. The men
dropped by dozens and the officers fell, too,
but the line kept on just the same, pausing
| only to lie down and fire by voleys in eX-
| tended order. They never lost an inch.
! Beers Show Great -Nnlor.
The Beers fought valorously, but they
! could do nothing with the inspiring advance
of the English regiments. When the first
OF the charging line reached the hilltop
! the Beers fed, leaving their dead and
wounded behind.
The British troops behaved with great
gallantry and at no time were beyond the
control of their officers. But the slaughter
in their ranks pitiful. The percentage
of officers that fell was far in excess OF
that Of the enlisted men. About per cent
OF the troops engaged were officers, yet 25
per cent Of the dead were officers Among
the wounded they numbered 16 per cent.
In other words five times as many officers
were wounded as enlisted men, in propor-
ton to their numbers and more than three
times as many wounded. The explanation
is simple. The officers followed the tradi-
l,;r 90 tho nrg,i iDt
take advantage of cover, while they were
ordering their men to do it. This valiant
and inspiring conduct cost them bitter losses,
but 1t helped win the day. They stood be-
hind their men when the ranks were lying
down, and thus made themselves targets for
Boer sharpshooters, and they stood out in
the open while their men were behind
trees rocks and bits of fallen timber.
The cream OF the British forces in South
Africa was engaged. General Symons'
column included the Eighteenth Hussars,
the Natal Mounted volunteers, the First
battalion of the Leicestershlre regiment.
the First Kings Royal Rifles, the Second
Dublin Fusieers, the Devonshire regiment,
the Dorsetshire regiment, several companies
of mounted infantry and three field batteries,
also 1000 men in all They were opposed
to force at least twice that number and
perhaps more.
Irish Heavy Losers.
The Irish regiments lost the heaviest, for
they were in the thickest OF the battle and
fought with great galantry. The Fusileers
lost eighteen killed and seventy wounded.
The Hussars had seven wounded and the bat
teries one killed and thres wounded. The
Kings Rifles had eleven killed and sixty
eight wounded, The losses OF the other
commands were comparatively trivial.
General Redvers Buffers last order before
leaving England for the seat of war this
week was telegram to Sir George Stewart
White, commanding in South Africa, for
bidding any British advance pending the ar
rival Of tho army corps now enroute.
The number and importance of engage
ments for the next four weeks will depend
upon Boer aggressiveness. The defeat at
Glencoe will curb the impetuous burghers,
the war office feels, but others expect them
to return to the fray with redoubled ardor
before the arrival of General Buffers corps.
General Butler plans to have four divisions,
each a little army in itself, and each capable
OF meeting the full strength of the Beers.
This plan Is regarded as perfectly feasible,
because he will have 80 900 men. With three
of the divisions he will invade the Trans
vaal at different points, leaving the fourth
to hold Natal.
There is a growing feeling here that the
war will eventually resolve itself into a
guerrilla campaign much like that OF the