El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-11
Wauchope's Death Cry
Echoes Through England
Today
STIRS Up THE NATION
Was Taken Into "a Butch
er Shop" BY Command
Of High Officers And
Left There

LONDON, Jan. 11.-In letters bear
ing on the Modder river fight pub
lished here today, Sergeant Gray, O
Blackwatch. says:
"Wauchope, no doubt, went out tt
find death when such a disastrous hrs
opened. He had previously shouted Il
the: Argyll Highlanders: Don't blame
me for this. / received my orders ant
had to obey them With proper
handling we could have cleared the
Beers out in two hours. As it was, we
were taken into q butchers shop an6
left there.".
Many interesting sidelights are
thrown on the conflict in South Africa
by the many private letters now being
received by the folks at home from the
troops at the front. Many interestipg
incidents, some amusing and some
pathetic, are told of in these COM
munieations, and such news is general
1y all the more Interesting from the
fact that the writer did not intend 1t
for publication.
A nurse who went out to the Cape
from Pietermsritzburg, says that one
of the wards of which she was in
charge is called the bullet ward, and it
is full of men who have been shot with
bullets. One poor fellow was shot
through the arm, and while waiting to
be carried off the field was shot
through both legs. The wounded men,
she writes. worry the doctors every
time they come round to let them 60
to the front almost before they are fit
to be about.
A Wakefield curate's son writes:
1 saw lancer who pitied an old Boer
becSuse of his gray hair and whiskers.
The lancer said that when he pushed
him out of the way he could not give
him the thrust because at the moment
he thought OF his old father. Well,
the lancer got five yards or so past
him, when the old boy aimed and fred
at his preserver.. but the bullet missed i.
A comrade, who saw the act, rode
back, and thrust tbs Roer through the
heart with his lance, giving him
second thrust to make sure.
the friends of Lieut.. Stirling, an officer
in the Kings Royal Rifles. He gives
some terrible par ticulars Of the Talana
hill engagement, in which Colonel
Cunning fell. He says that the British
artillery mistook his regiment for the
Beers and began firing on them. Col
onel Cunning, who was close to the
writer, stood up ands houted: "Stop
that firing" In another moment he
was seen to fall dead. probably. ac-
cording to the lieutenspt's letter, from
the effects of the British artillery
fire.
Another incident of the Tslsna hill
fight is related in letter from Private
J. Gavin, slso of the Kings Royal
Rifles. The writer ssys: There was
one of the Beers Irish brigade who gave
himself up to US. He said to me and q
Dublin :fusilier man that he was an
Irishman. No sooner had he said it
than the "Dub' put his sword into him
to the hilt.
Commenting on this incident, "War
Against War" which is the publica-
tion recently launched by w. T. Stead
as an organ of the peace movement,
says: "That this Dublin fusilier is a
murd derer who deserves to be hanged
will not be denied by anyone. The
man had surrendered. He was killed
in cold blood because he was an Irish
man in arms against Britain
CLEARING THE WAY
MODDER RIVER, Jan. 11.-British
pickets are using bill hooks in system
stically cutting away patches of brush
wood in front of the Boer lines. The
work Ia risky and is only done when a
good opportunity offers. Thus far
there have been no casualties among
the men detailed for the work. The |
demolition of farm houses between the |
forces has also commenced. These |
preparations are taken to mean that |