The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-08-05
BOTH WERE SURPRISED
BoERs At MAGERsF0NTErN No BET
TER INFORMED THAN BRITISH.
The "Remsrkablc Intrenchments'
end .DisappcarinE Guns~-The
Folly of British Tactics.

As more details are learned concerning
the defeat of the British at Magersfon-
TEN last winter the worse the case seems
TO be for Methuen and his officers. Doug
las Story, in the London Mail. repeats an
interview he had with a Boer adjutant
who throws much new light on the sub
ject. The point brought out is that Cronje
was quite as much surprised as Methuen
was. He says:
1--WE arrived in our positions at Mayors
fontein on the Friday afternoon. General
Cronje had intended making his stand at
Scholtz Mex, but was persuaded by General
De la Rey to risk an issue at Magersfon-
TEN. Naturally, our position was greatly
in need of Strengthening. but we had only
managed to deive one long shallow trench
in front of the kopje and reaching to the
point Of the hill when the British bonn
bardment commenced on the Sunday after
noon. We lay low and made no attempt
to reply. 1t was dark before the cannon
fire ceased. and we all of US got ourselves
to sleep. AS you understand. our position
stretched at right angles across the rail-
way. following the line of kopjes. On our
extreme left and TO the rear was the high
est knoll, and there General Cronje and
his half dozen adjutants had made their
headquarters. / lay a little I'm front of
them, near the end of the trench.
Very early on the Monday morning, i'm
complete darkness, we were awakened by
the sound of firing behind us. With diff
Guilty we could see some moving figures.
but whether they were our men or the
90, -
side me yelled out: Don't shoot, they're
Bissett's ostriches.' However, we did shoot,
and they came staggering past us. These
were the advance guard of the Highlanders.
who had marched clean past us, and were
only discovered by General Cronje himself,
who at once aroused mis- staff. These seven
men shot back the company, who had al
most succeeded in their design of captur-
ing the key TO our position-General
Cronje's observation hill.
Neither the general nor any one of us
had the least information to lead us 10 ex-
pect this attack The general alone seems
TO have been awake. AS for the rest of us.
we were startled out of our sleep TO shoot,
ana we fred very much in doubt as TO the
identity of our targets. Some Of the men
fell within twenty yards Of our trench, and
nearly all lay within three hundred yards.
Next morning, when we could venture out
of our shelter a little, L counted eighty
bodies on space no longer than an ordi-
nary dining room. Since that fight, 1 tell
you, have hated the mere sight of khaki.
1t was horrible"
1.-THE main body was maneuvring at the
time we learned of their presence, and we
simply riddled them. Oh, they were brave,
those poor Highlanders, One officer / heard
cry out: 'Hurrah, boys, we're amongst
them! Next morning 1 picked his body up
with seven bullets through it, / tell you, a
man can get terribly tired of killing!
BOERS WERE PREPARED.
''Well, all that part of the battle was over
just about dawn, and we could look out al
the horrible wreckage of khaki before us
Remember, we were the surprised force
rot the Highlanders, and we had made alb
solutely no preparation for their reception
The barbed wire trocha of which you have
heard so much, was simply Bissett's ole
ostrich fence which had been hauled about
and tugged about by our men till only on,
wire remained in it and many of the posts
We're gone. If 1T were obstacle TO any
one 1t was TO ourselves for it ran right
across our position.
About o'clock our right was assaulted
by an armored train, accompanied by =
force of cavalry. They were shot back by
cur men In the kopjes TO the right and LEFT
of the railway by our bom-Maxfm (Maxim
or the advancing train. After little thai
force retired, but not before il had sweep
the ground behind the kopjes where oul
these were killed by that fusillade.
About 10 o'clock we saw another at.
tack developing. All this time the British
war balloon had been rising and sinkine
sank the batteries clustered forth witt
fresh vigor. All that day the British cur
fire was marvellous. We calculated Their,
were thirty-six guns in action on the Eng
lish side: With US were only three gun.
under Albrecht, but from them only on.
shot was fired late in the afternoon i
was hopeless for us to compete with sucf
cannonading. 1t kept our pieces absolutel,
silent throughout the days fight.
'One big gun, posted beside a railwa,
cottage on the far side of the line. wa.
especially vicious When IL fired it mad,
the very hills tremble, and when it's pro
jectile arrived it seemed to nnzzle int,
the ground with the joy of an animal. Blu
IL was not so well served as the smaller
| guns. and we suffered much less at IL,
muZZle than at theirs.
THE WEAK SPOT.
however, about 10 o'clock. Lord Me
| thuen's balloon had discovered the veal
| spot in our position to the left. and thithe
| he dispatched a force 1 calculate to hay,
numbered from 1900 to 1000 men. Tha
was the place he should have attacked il
force in the early morning. The terrain
| offered no advantage to either side ]
was open and undulating, spSrsely broker
| with bushes and anthills. Sometimes tn
| British looked down on us, sometimes W
| looked down on the British. At places ~
| had as many as five men shooting. on
behind the other. under cover of a singh
| ant heap.
so soon as General Cronje recognize
the intention of the British general he dis
1 no FOL Cl xN~ffl f-r.lw
| the position. Two other adjutants wer
| sent farther along the line with men. Al
| those were burghers who had been laagere,
behind the kop1es and so far had not bee
| in the fight All of my men We're Ere
| Staters. We carried each man 12O cart
| ridges and received no refills during m
| day
THE fighting at this point was yer
| fierce, and some Of the British got With
/ hundred yards OF our position. Tn
| enemy searched US with their gun fire ;
| shrewdly that many Of their advance me
| were killed by their own shells. Bot
4 British and Boer lay fat on their stomach
and fired just as they had opportunity.
| "All this time out on the veldt som
| thousands OF yards away one could Sc
great waves Of khaki form themselves I
| dash against US. They would roll seem
| ingly irresistibly forward till they reache
| point about two thousand yards distant
| when they would WAIVER and break. Tim
| and again the British officers tried TO &c
them over that invisible line of danger In
| always vainly. The men could not com
/ forward TO where the blood stained khal
lay, and neither nor any other man VIII
| fought at Magersfontein need wonder =
their inability.