The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-01-07

u thia chare6 that the Boers lost very
heavily. So soon AZ this squadron reach-
"a the Beer position their movemsnt was
covered W the nAniing nrs Of the Cape
perplexitios Of the enomy. The calling hre
q the police disturbed them for some
tasna lonenr than was required In the ac-
tual rctirement OF the force.
Useless volleys Inte space.
ssrhe Beers had been unnerved BY the
onslaught OF the mon, and feature OF
ths hours which elapsed between the fnal
conflict and the advent OF dawn was the
heavy firing OF the enemy. who still con-
tinued dischArGing useless volleys Into
apaco. The loss to W In the encounter
had been six killed. ten wounded ana two
Of our men taken prisoners. but the grav-
ity OF the loss which the enemy sustained
can be most surely measured by the lact
that until q late hour this afternoon they
could not md the spirit to resume the
bombardment. II II said In camp here
that 100 Beers will have reason to remem-
Der the charge OF the protectorate resi-
ment.''
Conditions In Ladysmith.
Tho defense of the besieged at Lady
smith has been fully described by recent
letters. If the Beers continue to SO Close
" hem IN ana continuously lombard
WulIG y IOfC6Ss IHc OoSAcBSu PAohiAoC "
become fun fiedged cave jewellers, for. ac-
oordin~ to the Daily News correspond.
ent at Ladysmith. the prevalent tendency
there Is to burrow.
Burrowing Unaer Ground.
''Eoms people," writes the authority,
"having spent much time and patient la
Dor in making burrows for themselves.
ma life there 70 intolerAbly monotonous
5 that they prefer to take the chances above
ground Others pass whole days with
wtves and families, or In solitary misery
where there u not light enough to read or
work. scarcely showing head outside
from sunrise to sunset. They may be
seem troopane away from fragile tin-roofed
houses half an hour before daybreak. car
fying children In their arms. or cat or
i1onkey or Z goose, or Z cage Of Pct birds,
and they come back similarly laden when
the night gets too dim for 6Inners to 30
on shooting.
'sThere would be q touch Of humor in all
this II II were not 10 deeply pathetic In
+ it. close association with possible TRACE
dies One never knows where or ct what
hour stray bullet o. splinter VIII fall, and
II II pitiful sometimes to heAr cries for
Doliy from q prattiing mite who may her
self b fatherlsss or unotherless tomorrow.
We think a. little as possible OF such
things, putting them from ua with the
Hight comment that they happen daily
elsewhere than In besieged towns. and
make the best Of melancholy situation"
Now the Boers Marked Ranges.
OF the hard night at Modder river the
Globe correspondent says:
ION the plain were numerous white
4. crosses, which We subsequently discover
"a were marked ranges set out by the
both sides extended six miles, and there
was incessant fusiilads and cannonade for
twelve hours. The Beers we're never seen
BY us, none Of the officers and men to
whom have spoken since saw Bosr.
II Ii certainly marvellous how they al
ways manage to hide themselves"
Modder River . soldiers' Fight.
OF the same battle the Daily News cor
respondent writes:
''Moddsr river was an Alma. It was .
soldiers night. Crit, doggednsss and pride
Of caste made ~ masters Of the trenches.
For sixtsen hours the battle ragged. For
sixteen hours on a. barren plain the In
fantry advanced by short rushes In the
sweltering heat, to shoot and get shot.
For sixteen hours the artillery, innocent
Of that shelter which tacticians In books
lay down as absolutely necessary. pound
"a away at their invisible Zoe. The wound.
ed fell out and were in most cases left,
for the stretcher bearers did not dare to
enter the zone Of fire. Each wounded
man was made mark for the enemy's
rinsmen. The wounded were useful for
the Boers-they took sighting shots at
them and got the range perfectly"
Shortcomings OF the Artillery.
Among the many criticisms Of the Brit
ish artillery none has attracted more at
tention than that Of November II at
Ladysmith by the Standards war corre-
spondent. Is
Summing up. this correspondent says:
1.-THE disadvantages under which We
have labored have been demonstrated re-
peatsdly. At Elands laagte two officers
\ and two men OF the First field battery
were wounded at range beyond that at
which they could IRE snrapnel. Except
X n reconnaissance our ieid guns are USE
less NJ long as the siege lasts The Boer
ohrapnel Is fused for $500 yards, whereas
our fuse ceases to be effective at 400
yalds
IL Entirely Outclassed.
'The meaning Of this will be clear when
say that for LOO yarus, OF nearly three
quarters of mile, our artillery are ex-
posed to the fire of a practically invisible
enemy without being able to fire really
effective shot In self-defense. Our equip
mont IL unduly heavy. Our guns carry
too much weight. The double teams that
brought the Twenty-Hrst battery to
Glands laagte, distance Of fifteen or six
teen miles. had not an ounce left in them
This Is the first time the British army
has faced modern artillery. and the les
sons to be learned will DC of the greatest
value. Already we have discovered that
with the aid Of smokeless powder and
long ranges the enemy may be invisible
and that when he Is raining shells and
shot upon us. and that days may pass
without disclosing the position of some
of his guns and howitzers. The Boer
has an advantage II not In his Maussr
rife. which many experts IN our army now
declare to be more accurate and trust
worthy than the Lee-Mteford, at any
rate in the possession of field glasses"
IMPORTANT MOVE COMING.