The Wilmington daily Republican., 1900-03-01
GIN. BULltR'S VICTORY:
His Forces Capture Pieter's Hill
After a Desperate Conflict.
THE HEAVY BRITISH LOSSES.

Thirteen Thousand, Buffers At
tempts to Relieve White Alone
| Costing Four Thousand Mem.
London, March IA dispatch from
General Butler yesterday anpounced
the capture by his forces of Pieter 4
Hill. Eighty prisoners were taken,
The successful storming of Pieter's Hill
by the British was done after several
attempts to take this strong position
had been made without success. Fri
day evening the Inniskillings tried to
rush the hill, but the Boer fire was SO
destructive that the front half of the
company fell, almost to a man. The
British reached the crest of the ridge,
but were not able to drive the Beers
out at that time.
The victory was the result Of a smart
piece of work. The Beers were taken
by surprise. General Barton, with two
battalions of the Sixth brigade and the
Royal Dublin Fusiliers, crept down
the bed of the Tugela river to a po-
sition mile and half below General
Buffers camp. The Beers did not per-
ceive the movement. At this point the
precipitous cliff, 500 feet in height,
was stormed and the Beers placed at
a considerable disadvantage. After
this partial victory had been achieved
strong force under General Warren
advanced up the hill and drove the
Beers entirely from their Notifications.
A dispatch to The Daily Mail from
Pieter's Station, dated Sunday, Feb. 25,
and describing the IL days continuous
fighting of which the attack upon Rail-
way hill by the Royal Inniskillings
Fusiliers was one of the supreme mo-
ments, says: "The 1nniskillings joined
the column with "a officers. They
have five left. That tells the tale. No
map, no penned account can give an
idea Of the difficulties of these hills and
ridges, which succeed each other like
waves in heavy sea, one giving way
only to another. Each can be en-
filaded, and until one is taken it is
impossible, even with the keenest
scouting, to know what fortunes lie
beyond it. The military problem
changes as the column advances, each
kopje refusing to give up its secret
until the advancing troops have touch
ed its crest"
General Buffers tidings come weight
ed with his long list of casualties. His
losses in the four attempts to get Gen
eral White out aggregate 1000.
The rapidly growing casualty lists
are being classified as quickly as pos
sible. They show that up to yester-
day morning the total number of
casualties was 1884, Of which 2,319
were added during the last fortnight.
Ten Of the eleven Scotch regiments lost
about 1850 men, and eight of the Irish
regiments 1000. Then come the
Gloucesters and Northumberland
while of nearly 200 colonials the Royal
Canadians lost 121 and the Victoria
mounted contingent 26. The casualties
are classified thus: Killed, 1898;
wounded, 6,S3S; missing, 3,173; dis
ease, $3.50.
Winston Churchill, in dispatch
from Colenso dated Tuesday, says:
"The condition of the wounded who
were unattended on the hillside Sum
day was so painful that General Butler
sent flag of truce to the enemy and
it was arranged that throughout Sum-
day military movements should con-
tinue on both sides, but there should
be no shooting.
This truce terminated at dusk. The
Beers then resumed furious musketry
attack on the British left. The at
tack was repulsed. Fighting continues
vigorously. We shall see who can
stand 'bucketing' best, the British or
the Boer."
Mr. Churchill goes on to say that
there Is abundant proof of the Beers
using large proportion ofihegal bull
let's, no fewer than five different kinds
Of exploding or expanding bullets hav-
ing been found. He also asserts that
the Beers are mploying-armed Kaff1rs,
and he adds:
II have always tried to be fair to-
ward the Beers, but after making
every allowance it must be said that
they show when in stress very dark,
cruel and vengeful underside of char
acter."
A dispatch to The Times from Co
lenso says: Before Sundays armis-
tice many of the British wounded had |
been left out for 36 hours. The Beers
gave them water"
Spenser Wilkinson, commenting on
General Buffers operations, says: ut |
hardly seems as though Tuesdays at
tack had covered more than an ad-
vanced position, covering the Boer
main lines of investment, or that the
Beers have abandoned any part of
those lines. Otherwise General Butler
and Sir George White would have met !
the same night The next attack ought, Z,
one way or the other, to be decisive.
The moment seems opportune to point
the necessity of sending General Bull
Ter reinforcements."
In dispatch from Paardeberg, dated
Tuesday, Feb. 27, staff correspondent
says: "On my first visit to General
Cronje's camp | was admitted inside
even before the British guard. At
every ten PAGES came upon the swol-
len carcasses of horses or mules taint-
Ing the air. 1t seems impossible that
thousands could have endured such a
Prightful stencil. The river banks were
with trenches such as
mad never been seen before in warfare.
These were really underground dwell
ings. Unless shell was to drop
straight down into the opening it
would not reach the interior. Flat
projectiles would be bound
70 fail to reach them. The Beers were
ying or sitting on the ground. Their
aces were haggard and wan"
Kcntucky's Dual Leg is1ature.