The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-01-26

served taking up a fresh position, our
held batteries poured in showers OF
shrapnel and the rapid movement of
the guns, followed by accurate shoot
The enemy were on the defensive
almost the entire day. save once, when
they attempted to outfiank our left and
were signally checkmated. They relied
almost entirely on rifle fire. A few
shells were fired from a heavy piece OF
ordnance, u these fell harmless.
w now occupy the lower crest OF
the left and are converging slowly,
but surely, to the Boer centre.
THE Boer loss is unknown, but must
have been heavy The killed and
wounded are carried away to the rear
rapidly.
Strong rumors are in circulation
that the Beers are retiring. The battle
will be resumed tomorrow"
HEAVY FIRING AT RENSBURG.
The Daily Telegraph publishes the
following dispatch, delayed by the CEN
Sol, from Rensburg, dated Sunday af-
ternoon:
Last evening about 9 o'clock the
Beers began firing furiously all along
their main position. Three tiers of
rifle fire were visible. The firing lasted
three quarters Of an hour The reason
for the alarm is not known here"
AN S,000-YARD RANGE.
A dispatch to The Daily Telegraph
from Kimberley, dated Friday, Janu-
airy 18th, says:
"A 2S-pounder gun christened Long
Cecil" which was manufactured at
De Beers workshops, was tried today
and fired accurately at a range of 5000
yards"
SWARMS OF LOCUSTS.
Sterkstroom, January 22.-Affairs
here continue quiet. Tremendous
swarms of locusts are passing over the
British camp in a northerly direction
and are destroying the grass on the
yeldt.
Command4nt Oliver threatens to de-
tain as prisoners of war any newspa-
per correspondents captured by his
forces.
EVERY INCH OF GROUND con-
TESTED.
London, January 23.-The Daily
Chronicle has received the following,
dated January 22nd, Ais o'clock p. m,
from Spearman'S camp:
THE Beers admit twenty-one casual
ties during General Lyttleton's skir-
mish on Saturday.
General Warren continues pushing,
though he is necessarily making very
slow progress as the Beers are runner
Gus and strongly ~entrenched.
Our infantry are working over par
allel ridges. with Lord Dundonald'S
cavalry lying well out on the left flank
and awaiting developments. The Beers
contest every inch of the ground. This
morning General Warren's artillery re-
opened fire, u the Beers did not reply.
and our fire became less hot. The ma
val guns in front nave been quiet. A
Boer prisoner who was brought in
boosted that it would take us three
months to reach Ladysmith."
NO NEWS OF YESTERDAYS
FIGHTING.
General Butler has reported nothing
of his operations on Monday and Of
fetal and press intelligence leaves III
British ~bivouaced Sunday night on the
ground that they won after two days
fighting. The war office turned every
body out of the Hobbies at midnight.
Military men assume that fighting
must have taken place and that it was
probably more severe than on the two
preceding days. General Butler would
not be likely to give the Beers leisure
to add to the elaborate entertainments,
to arrange their artillery and to cor
centrate their forces.
GLOOMY VIEWS.
The special correspondents Sunday
night were allowed to send the an
nouncement that the battle would be
almost certainly resumed the following
day, and hence official n popular
anxiety is at high tension. The British
military experts all share the hopes
of their leaders and, as SpenSer Will
kinson points out, they hesitate to say
a word that might be interpreted as
~unfavorable. Mr.. Wilkinson refers to
the ''cool judgment of German and
Austrian critics." which means that
the best judges look o General Bull
ler's enterprise a. a fOrlorn hope, as
merely a continual strain of fighting,
which may prove too much for the
physical energy of the troops engaged.
The Daily Chronicles military ex-
pert says: Even when a battle is
won in a single day, as a rule pursuit
is only possible when fresh troops are
available; but in this instance it is
not a question of mere pusuit, but Of
renewing an attack upon intrenched
positions, after a days hard fighting
and a night of lying on the battlefield"
Reinforcements aggregating 5000 or
more have reached Cape Town during
the last three days. 1t is uncertain
how these hav been disposed, but
probably most of them have been sent
to Natal, where it is believed General
Butler needs them.
FROM OTHER LOCALITIES.
The British in the other districts in
South Africa continue inactive.
Lord Methuen's $4,000 men remain
behind their works. General French's
1000 at Rensburg were reused on Sun
day by a general alarm that the Beers
were attacking, but it turned out that
there was no basis for this. General
Gatacre is Quiescent at Colesberg.
The discomfort of the colonial officers
n their diSagreementS with the reg
ulars are being inquired into by Lord
Roberts who asserts that he will give
the Cape Colonians each opportunities.
At Ladysmith the deaths from entric
fever and dysentery average ten a day.
Some fears are expressed that the gar
rfson may be so worn by privation n
disease as to be unable to do much in
the way of helping General Butler.
The war office a decided not to
send the Seventeenth Lancers, Eighth
Hussars and Seventeenth Dragon
Guards to South Africa, although mob
ilized. 1t is understood that Lord
Roberts does not see a way to get fod-
der for the English chargers. More
than that, the English cavalry are too