Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-03-01


Advance to Ladysmfth.
LONDON, February 2s.-The war
office has received a dispatch from
Gen. Butler announcing that Peters
Hill, the enemy's main position, was
maxnifcentiy captured yesterday,
and sixty prisoners taken.
The Queen has telegraphed Gen.
Butler ms follows; 81 have heard
with the deepest concern the heavy
losses sustained by my brave Irish
soldiers, and I desire to express my
sympathy and admiration of the
splendid nGhting qualities they have
exhibited throughout these trying
operations"
LONDON, February 28.-The war
office has received the following dis
patch from Gen. Butler:
HEADQUARTERS HLANDWANI,
February 22.-Finding that the pas
sage of Langewachts spruit was COM
manded by strong intrenchments,
reconnoitered from another passage of
the Tugela. One was found for me be-
low the cataract by Col. Sanbach,
Royal Engineer, on February rs. We
commenced making an approach there
to, and on February 26, finding that /
could make the passage practicable, l
crossed the guns and baggage back to
the south side of the Tugela, took UP
the pontoon bridge on Monday night
and relayed it ct the new site, which
is just below the point marked catar-
act. During all this time the troops
had been scattered, crouching under
hastily constructed small stone shell
tiers and exposed to a CALLING shell and
rife fire, and throughout they main
tanned the most excellent spirits.
Tuesday Gen. Barton, with two
battalions of the Sixth Brigade and
the Dublin Fusiliers, crept about a
mile and half down the banks of the
river and assembled an almost perpen-
dicular cliff of about 200 feet, assaulted
and carried the top of Peters hill.
This Hill, to a certain extent, turned
the enemy's left and the Fourth Brig
ade, Col Kitchener commanding, the
whole under command of Gen. War
rem, assaulted the enemy's position,
which was magnifcently carried by the
South Lancashire regiment about sun
set. We took about sixty prisoners
and scattered the enemy in all direc-
tions. There seems to be still a con-
siderable body of them left on and I'M
der Bulwana Mountain.
"Our losses i hope are not large.
They certainly are much less than they
would have been were it not for the
admirable manner in which the artil-
Ter was served, especially the guns
manned by the Royal naval force and
the Natal naval volunteers.
Gen. Buffers account of the tremen-
dous resistance he is encountering in
his efforts to reach Ladysmith has
brought public interest with a sharp
turn from complacent contemplation
of Lord Roberts's victory to a realiza-
ton of the serious condition still ex-
listing in Natal. Though Gen. Buffers
lengthy dispatch is construed as a vic
tory bravely won, the commander OF
the forces in Natal has so often re-
ported similar victories without
achieving his main objective, that the
public has learned to contain its jubi-
lation until Ladysnith is actually re-
lieved, while the long list of casualties
invariably following any apparent gain
by Gen. Butler is always awaited with
dread and anxiety which temporarily
lob his partial success Of its acclaim.
However, it is the generally accept
ed belief that Gen. Butler is deter
mined to reach Gen. White this time,
and though the stages are disappoint-
ingly slow, the nation confidently
awaits the news of the relief of those
5000 besieged troops. Gen. Buffers
report shows there is urgent need of
Lord Roberts exerting every effort to
still further draw off the Beers from
Natal to the Free State. That he will
do so and quite likely is already doing
so by marching on Bloemfontein is
regarded as almost certain by the mil
itary critics here.
With the additional 600 Beers re-
ported prisoners at Kimberley it seems
that the number of men captured by
Lord Roberts nearly reaches 5000.
But for the surrender of Gen. Cronje
England would be shuddering over the
British reverse at Railway Hill, where
the lnniskilling Fusiliers were caught
in Boer trap and slaughtered. The
London Nails correspondent, under
date of Pieters, February "a, thus de-
scribes the engagement:
Last night. the Inniskilling Fusil-
iers mixed with some of the Dublin
Fusiliers, and the Connaught hangers.
attempted to carry Railway Hill! from
Peters. They were under a continuous
Ire, through which they passed mp the
heavy broken ground to tn, first Boer
trench. Half way UP the hill the Beers
retreated to the crest and then came