The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-02-13
BRITISH LAUNDERING.
Crepe About Like Man In the
Dark.


Dark.
Chicago, Feb. IA special to the
Record from Victoria. B. c.. says:
A letter received by Mrs. A. A.
Humphreys of this city. from a cap
tain of a border regiment, since wound
ed at Spion Kop, gives a graphic
description of the loss of the British
guns at the Tugela river. The letter
was dated at Frere, December Il, and
in part says:
People hardly realize yet what a big
undertaking this is turning out to be-
Everything points to the Beers having
not less than sixty thousand men in the
field, with guns superior to ours in
range and little behind us in marks
manship, and until we get out a lot
more troops there is no likelihood of
our doing much more than hold them
in check.
They are undoubtedly following out
a plan of campaign which they have
worked out in all details in peace times
and they are carrying 1t out most per-
fectly.- They have spies everywhere
and are always prepared to meet any
move on our part almost before we've
begun. We are exactly the reverse and
never seem to know what they are do
ing nor how many there are of them
in any direction We won't trust
single colonial Cape Colonist)
we have a first class Typographical
map of the frontier of the TranSvaal,
but no military map of these parts and
no one KNOWS WHICH NIL COulilidlAlAS
another, or what lind of positions there
are on the other side of the mountains
facing us We are exactly like the
French in the FrancO-German War, with
excellent maps of the enemy's country
but with none of our own The Boer
positions are on all the high ridges and
hills. They extend for miles and COM
mand every bit of ground in front.
THE hills behind are prepared for de-
Tense. If they are driven back from one
position they don't have to go very far
to get behind a new line of resistance
Water is far from plentiful and the
transports scarce, so we have to STICK
pretty we'll to the railway. Butler has
a hard nut to crack in the Boer posi-
ton in front of us-COlenSO Hills de-
tending the river Tugela which we must
cross and which is only fordable in
places few and far between.
I'VE tried to do so last Friday and
had a battle. We were 20 900 strong, and
the Beers between 10, 900 and IA, 900. Our
brigade, Fifth, attacked on the left, but
our brigadier made an awful mess of it
and Butler ordered him to withdraw,
which we did after 123 were killed and
wounded. Something went wrong with
the right brigade and the officer COM
manding the Royal artillery advanced
his guns up to within 700 yards of the
Boer position and trenches long before
the infantry were at hand to support
him. The Beers allowed the guns to be
unIimbered and then poured such hail
of bullets that the teams of two bat
teries were killed in very short time.
When the gunners were shot down the
attack could not be carried out and
Butler had to give the order to retire
and ten guns had to be abandoned. Our
total loss was IVA and all for nothing.
Butler almost wept and was heard to
exclaim:
" My brigadiers have sold me-
I'VE shall have another division here
shortly and will then have 5000 men,
and as the Beers have been receiving
reinforcements they will number not far
from 10000 and all in splendid positions.
The shrieking and bursting of shells and
the roar of battle and the thousands of
Mausers, Lee Metfords last Friday was
something awful The heat, too was
dreadful but the men behaved splend-
idly