Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1900-01-17
WARINSOUTH AFRICA
CRITICAL SITUATION REPORTED
AT LADYSMlTH.
Reports Say the Boer Onslaught of SAT-
urday Resulted in killing or wound-
ing Nearly One Thousand British and
About Two Thousand Bnrghers.

About Two Thousand BurGhers.
The defeat of the Beers Saturday in
their desperate assault upon Gen. White
in Ladysmith has not greatly relieved the
South African sitsation from the British
standpoint. Terriile losses on both sides
are reported as The result OF the iieree
battle. While nothing official has becd
given out as to the British casualties,
summary of them has been receivtt IN
London. in which it il stated that they
amount 10 twelve officers killed and thir-
ty wounded. and 500 men Of the rank aud
file killed and wounded That is heavy
percentage In force which probably
cannot muster moro than $500 nj for
duty. The Boer losses were placed by
the same report ut between 1000 and
1900 Aianifestly there must be a good
deal Of conjecture about the latter hg-
ures. yet it must be remembered that me
fighting lasted for seventeen hours aud
that the Beers were attacking intrenehed
positions. Ii these figures are correct
they show very clea1ly the determined
nature of the lighting.
At this writing no movement Is report
c5 from any direction in South Africa.
All the columns are inactive and appar-
eatly waiting directions from the new
commander-in-chief. Ladysmith is still
besieged by the Beers and Butler, with
his immense army of $4,000 me.s, is un-
able to relieve it, Kimberley still re-
mains hard pressed by the enemy, and
Gen. Methuen cautiously remains in his
fortified camp to the south of the Modder
+l,~ afraid ~
tions against the Dutch. Mafeking, in
British Bechuanaland, is surrounded by
Boer forces and the latest sortie of the
British ended in a repalse, which cost
the besieged dearly. La northern Cape
Colony Gems. French and Gatacre are
unable to obtain any important adyan-
tage over the Beers. The reported cap
ture of Colesberg by Gen. French has
turned out to be untrue and one OF his
later reports is an admission of defeat
in which 157 men we.e killed or captured.
Gatilcre, after his disastrous experience
at Stormberg, warily keeps out of Boer
traps by remaining practically inactive.
Thus while th. British are justly proud
of Gen. Whites heroic defense OF Lady
smith. there is nothing in the general
situation that is encouraging. Every
where the British are held Mt bay and
although in the campaign thus far they
have lost nearly 5000 men they have ac-
complished practically nothing. In no
place have the Beers been pressed back
from British territory. The eian of cam
paign of Butler has prosed so far . com
plete failure
1t would be unwise to conclude, how
ever, that this condition will long remain
so. Humanity speaking, the Beers can
not long withstand the tremendous ar
mics that Gems. Roberts and Kitchener
will soon be sending against them and
the result will be that they will be beaten
back into their own territories, where the
fighting will be of even more desperate
character than any hitherto in this cam
paign.
A Desperate Fight.
The desperate fighting Mt Ladysmith
Saturday disabused the British and the
world generally of highly erroneous
opinion. 1t was held at while the
Beers fought well from cover they We're
not trained enough to attack an entrench-
ed enemy. But they conchlsyely proved
on Saturday that they are equally brave
and adroit in attack as in defense. For
nearly seventeen hours they hurled them
selves against the British positions, chief
ly at Caesars Camp and Wagon Hill,
and though repulsed they returned again
and again to the attack with ipdomitabe
bravery. Three times the Beers captur-
ed the British entertainments at W. gon
Hill and as often they were driven out at
the point of the bayonet. One position
they occupied all day until late in the
afternoon, when amid heavy storm they
were driven out by the bayonet.
Whether Butler can relieve Ladysmith
may we'll be doubted. Since his defeat
at Colenso. or the Tugela river, few
weeks ago he has not so far as known
taken a single step to retrieve his disas-
ter. Even when Gen. White signalled
him Saturday that he was hard pressed
the most Butler could do to help him was
to order a demonstration at Colenso,
which a London paper remarked had as
much effect as ordering "a display of
fireworks"
1t is expected, however, that Butler
will attack the Beers soon and is merely
waiting to have every available gun and
man ready That he win need all of his
$4,000 troops Is certain If he makes a
frontal attack he will have TO cross the
Tugela river, the fords of which are un-
der Boer guns and the approaches to
which are defended y barbed wire en-
tanglements. Even the river bed con
tains harbed wire Then before him lie
a series of entFenchments, solle sixteen
miles long, nearly as strong as the works
of PleYna, where the Turks so galiantly
held at bay the Russians. Defending
these entertainments are men as brave
and ablr as any in the world, for under
the training OF European officers the
Beers are now disciplined army. 1t is
easily apparent that the task before Bull
Ter is not an easy one
In other parts of South Africa the war
situation has undergone no material
change. The nature of the fighting in
northern Carc Colony, where Gen.
French is operating, is Of & slt -mish-
ing nature and no serious engagement
may be expected there for the present at
least. Later. when Gems. Roberts and
Kitchener formulate their plans, it is
probable that a strong force win be sent
up the railload from Port zabeth with
the object of invading the Orange Free
State. A strong British force in that re-
gion would call many Of the Free Staters
from Natal to defend their own soil