The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1900-02-01
THE BRITISH REVERSES.
Call For Men to Face the Bullets
Of the Beers.
NEARLY A WHOLE DIVISION LOST
According to British Omcial Reports.
which Are Certainly Not Overesti-
mated, the Dead, Wounded and Pris-
r. Oners Amount to O,S23.


oners Amount to 0.523.
London, Jan. 30.-History pauses for
time In South Africa. 1t is one OF
those unsatisfactory pauses that are
nearly as trying to British nerves as a
sequence OF reverses, and apparently 1t
Will terminate only when Lord Rob-
erts gives the word for the forward
movement into the Free State, which,
according to the most cheerful view, he
will be unable to do for fortnight.
Whether he will permit General Bull
Ter to make another attempt to relieve
Ladysmith is quite outside the Knowl-
edge even of those closely connected
with the war Office. With the troops
due to arrive next month he may think
himself strong enough to try two large
operations. Combining the forces un-
der Generals Methuen, French and
Gatacre and adding to lnem the arriv-
ing troops, Lord Roberts would have
10000 for the invasion OF the Free
State, with 10000 to $4,000 guarding
communications, and 10000 trying to
rescue Ladysmith.
The thing on which everybody seems
agreed Is that more men must go to
the front. There are now 22,202 men
and 1856 guns at sea, and there are H.
OO0 infantry and 5000 cavalry, includ-
ing 5000 yeomen, practically ready to
embark. Therefore the government,
without doing more, can place at the
disposal of Lord Roberts 10000 addi-
tional men and l55 guns. The further
purposes of the war Office are supposed
to embrace somewhere in the neigh
borhood of $4,000 more men. AS the
indication Is that candidates will be
rather scarce the war Office will issue
orders for those reservists who were
found unfit at the previous mobiliza-
tiOn examinations to report for fur
ther examination. Applicants for
cavalry service are still freely offering
as yeomanry.
General Bullers operation has cost
9l2 men. so far officially reported,
within ten days. Applying to the 2OU
Spion KOp casualties reported yester-
day the rule of proportion, the losses
OF officers indicate probably $40 casu-
alties yet to come. The total casual
ties of the war, compiled from official
reports. are 9,523. nearly division.
or these 2.4S6 are killed. 4,S11 wound
ed and the rest prisoners.
The aggregate British home troops
In South Africa number 10000, the
Natalians 7,158 and Cape Colonials
21,000.
A special dispatch from Frere Camp.
dated Friday last, says regarding the
repulse at Spion Kop:
"The ridge held by our men was
faced by a number Of strong little
kopjes at all ranges, from which the
Beers sent q concentrated nre from
4 their. rifles. supported by q Maxim
NorSehfeldt and q big long range gun.
What with the rifles, the machine
guns and the big gun, the summit was
converted into perfect hell. The
shells Exploded continually in our
ranks, and the rifle fire, from an abso-
lutely unseen enemy, was perfectly ap-
palling. The unfinished trench on the
summit gave very questionable shell
ter, as the enemys machine guns were
80 accurately trained upon the place
that 16 shells fell in the trench in a
single minute. Mortal men could not
permanently hold such position. Our
gallant fellows held it tenaciously for
"a hours and then, taking advantage
Of the dark night, abandoned it to the
enemy"
General Buffers latest dispatch to
the war Office on Sunday last stated
that Spion Kop was abandoned on ac-
count of lack of water, inability to
bring artillery there and the heavy
Boer fire. His whole force withdrew
south Of the Tugela river with the evil
dent intention Of reaching Ladysmith
by another route. General Butler
speaks exultingly Of the fact that his
forces retreated across the Tugela
without losing man or a pound of
stores. The fact that General War
ren's force captured Spion Kop after
Easily defeating the small Boer gar
rison" according to Buffers dispatch
at the time, and that the Beers have
recaptured 1t, would indicate that it
was only another Boer trap set for
the enemy. The reports Of losses in
the Spion kop battle are conflicting,
q Boer report giving the British dead
at 1,500. This is doubtless an exagger-
alton.