The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-03-03

Great Rr1tafn's Wars-DarinE of
an Athletic American Challenged
the Admiration of All Observers-
Soldiers Compelled to Meet
Storm of Leaden Missiles.
Correspondence of the Associated Press.
LONDON. Feb. 0.-"Strengthen us to
| acquit ourselves like men" That is an
extract from prayer written by the
archbishop of Armagh, which Lord Rob
erts has distributed to his soldiers in the
neld. Quoting from the full accounts Of
Buffers second attempt to relieve Lady,
smith and the bloody fighting at Spion
hop, the prayer was answered For the
| last few days, the London dailies have
| published for or five columns each Of
| mail matter from their correspondents at
the front. These show that the OPERA
lions which began on Jan. II and ended
with Gen. Butler once more going back
across the Tugela on Jan. Is, were far
more dramatic than could be imagined
from the cabled dispatches Men whose
ilves have been spent in describing fight.
ing of every kind In every quarter of the
! globe, declare Buffers move to have been
! one Of the most carefully planned and
interesting from military point of view
| that has marked the war history of the
world.
! Starting from Chieveley on Jan. II, Gen,
| Butler brought his forces slowly to the
south bank of the river. Only a favored
few knew what his intentions were. but
when within striking distance of the
| Tugela there developed, to quote Winston
fI1IynO htJJ l.,
| Of action:
Seven battalions, twenty-five guns and
300 horses under Lyttleton to mask the
Potgieter position: twelve battalions, thIr-
! ty-six guns and 1900 horse to cross five
miles to the westward and making a
turning movement against the enemy's
right The Boer covering army was to
be swept back on Ladysmith by a power
full left arm, the piyoting shoulder of
which was at Potgieter's, the elbow at
Triegard's drift and the enveloping hand
the cavalry under Lord Dundonald
| stretching out toward Acton Homes"
Every step was made as planned. The
Tugela was crossed with practically no
resistance on Jan. 20.
BOLD AMERICAN.
'The first position we took" writes the
Daily Mails correspondent, was Sugar
Loaf hill, on the left flank the honor of
the achievement being won by squad
ron, Of the South African light horse.
Their determination SO impressed the de-
Tending party that they lied, and when
| the squadron reached the summit the hill
| was deserted. Corporal Tobin especially
distinguished himself in the ascent, be-
Ing foremost throughout and. aided by
athletic physique, managed to reach the
summit some PAGES before his comrades.
to whom he shouted: Come on, there IS
no one here" Tobin is an American"
Tho men fought from kopJe to kop1e
and then, as the Times correspondent
writes, we were at Il deadlock There
has been four days fighting. The first
had been distinctly steady, we had forced
the enemy back from all his advanced DO
sitions; the infantry had fought splendid.
ly and our losses, considering the
strength of the position We were attacking
had not been great. Now, however, We
had come to his main line Of defense
Three days fighting had not improved our
position His was possibly stronger, for
lie had brought up more guns and i'm
proved his intrenchments. 1t was obvious
therefore that we could not hope for sue
cess in that direction and so the attack
on Sp10n hop was ordered.
According to another account tho at.
tack on Spion Kop, which was believed to
dominate the Boer positions was not de-
cided on until after a council Of war III
which Gen. Butler, while personally
favoring an immediate retreat across the
Tugela, allowed himself to be governed
by the entreaties of his subordinates On
the ascent Of Spion Kop, the Standard
correspondent writes:
SPION KOP ASSAULT.
1.-The night was intensely dark. The
troops We're led by the guides over rocky
ridges and through dongas, the men being
warned to make as little noise as posi-
BILE, so as not to attract the attention
of the Beers posted on the mountain
that lowered above. To the west the fit
full crack of rife fire showed that the
enemy there were sniping at our infantry
on the left front. Led by Gen. Woodgate
and Col. Bloodgood the men made the
periIous ascent. Slowly but steadily pro-
ceeding in single fle the officers leading,
the long lines crept up the hilE Ledge
after ledge was passed In silence, the or
der being that no shots were to be fired.
The work before them was to be done
with the bayonet. Col. Thornycroft now
pressed to the front and led the way.
The crest of the mountain, fully 1000 feet
above it's base, was reached about $3.50
o'clock in the morning of Wednesday,
Jan. "a. Far below could be seen the
lights Of the Aeld hospitals, dotted on the
plain The night signals on Three Tree
Hill hung like an arc Of light in the near
distance and told that all was well.
''trhe crest having been gained, the
leading files of Thornycroft's mounted In
fantry and the fusileers advanced along
the plateau. Bayonets were now fixed,
and the men went intently into the black
ness ahead. Suddenly. at o'clock in the
morning, when q third of the entire
length of the plateau had been cautiously
traversed, a Kaf1r was heard singing out
the alarm. A sentry challenged, and the
fusileers charged with cheer. An Of
ficer bayonetted the sentry The Beers
thereupon ciutched their weapons, fired
wild volley and bolted into the darkness
beyond.
THE first trench had been won without
the loss of a man on our side and the
column sent up a ringing cheer that peal
ed like a yell through the misty morning.
About ) o'clock a. IN. the second trench
was taken There the troops silently
awaited the grim work before them. About
8 o'clock. when the misty cloud over Spion
Eop melted away sufficiently. the Beers.
who were now crowding in thousands on
the ridge and IN hundreds behind the rock