The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-13

little by little the thin line of khaki
Crawled up to the top
The stoTming line was now so near the
crest that the guns could only be directed
on the Beers enfilading the position from
the spurs OF the kopje on the left, and, al
most in a calm. Lieutenant S. c. Taylor.
closely followed by Lieutenant Jones, of
the marines, reached the outer works of
the Sanger, and made their way over. In
the next half minute hfty men tumbied
over. and Immediately rushed forward 10
clear the position in the rear. This was,
however, stubbornly held for quarter of
an hour, perhaps more as a screen than
anything else, TO cover~the retreat of the
Beers. Above, the hilltop was almost drip
ping with blood; not a bowlder escaped its
splash of crimson, and the innumerable
splinterS and chips OF ironstone blocks In
dicated the terrihc nature OF our nre. Moss
of the dead or wounded Beers were carried
off-fifty Of the more severely wounded
were found in their hospital, a quarter of
mile away"
DARING OF THE MARINES.
The Daily Telegraph's correspondent d.
iates on the daring of the marines: 1.-The
marines numbered 1884, he writes, land
every man was in the fighting line. four
yards apart. OF the total the number hit
was ninety-two-exactly fifty per cent. Not
a particle of cover was 20 be had, save
three small ant-hills, and the Beers had
accurately measured the ranges of those
from their position. One gallant fellow, de-
scribing the fire to an officer. said: Yes,
sir, the bullets came middling thick and
while actually making the ascent he re-
marked to his next man that IL was like a
blooming hailstorm. Each Of the three
companies hau only three officers. Two Of
these were soon hit, and the commanding
officer shot dead. Sergeants at once sup
- piled their places, and of these 20 per cent.
were hit. Four bullets went through the
clothes and helmet of one officer and a
fifth knocked away the magazine of his
rife. That was 'middling thick as Tommy
said"
zone detachment of sixteen marines"
writes the Standards correspondent, who
had got around the corner of the kopje.
away from the others. and were without an
officer. were not certain about the order to
clear the kopje. One OF the men shouted:
Let's at the DEVILS and they rushed to the
top, losing ten out OF their number in the
ascent"
Julian Ralph, writing for the Daily Mail
says: Let me describe the top of one of
the small hills in the Belmont engagement,
the one in storming which the brave Gren-
adiers suffered part of their fearfully heavy
less. On this kopje the Boer commander
had compelled the poorer men of his COM
mando IL live for weeks. / took 1t that
these were men of the servant and Ia
borer class. Their dead, whose untidy and
neglected bodies / saw seated the Brit
ish bullets and bayonets found them. con-
frmed this theory, Tor they were poorly
clad. ..nshaven, unclean and hungry-look-
ing. They were OF that class OF Boer whom
:, James Bryce describes as having started at
O seventeenth century standard and de-
terioriated for three hundred years.
knew, when I saw such men among the
dead. the wounded and the prisoners. how
Il was that white men could misuse the
white flag and mock the sacred purpose of
the Geneva cross The food, the dirt and
the extraordinary profusion OF cartridges
and cartridge wrappings. were all mixed to-
gether. but the earth and disorder were not
so offensive as the grimy, beastly condition
of the dead.
.Tf 1 could write steady for week (and
II there were no strict censorship as letters
mel, could not exhaust the list OF pecul-
iarities. eccentricities, anomalies and nov
elites OF this war waged against us by an
undisciplined force OF rebels who are SOL
diers by instinct and farmers or cattle
raisers for livelihood. But / could not in
all that week state more astonishing fact
than that, at some of these battles, the
better class Beers have come TO battle in
their carriages. like gentlemen driving 20
the Derby at home, and having done their
best, have retired In the same way leaving
their vassals 10 cover their retreat"
In a lighter strain. the Pail Mall Gazette's
correspondent at Frere Camp, under date
OF Dec. 6. described camp life: 1.-THE tedium
OF camp life here has been relieved by sur
prise visits paid 10 various Dutch farms
whose owners have been suspected OF com
plicity In the rising: No footing al
lowed. the orders being very strict on this
point. Despite. however. the strictness
with which these most necessary orders
nave Deen carried out. the return of some
raiding parties rather resembled Border
foray or the olden time. The verb to com
mandeer covers a multitude or petty lar
cenies''
From the Ladysmith correspondent OF tlis
Daily Chronicle comes a grim touch of be-
eieged misery; "Disheveled women are
peering out Of their dens IN the rocks and
: holes IN the sand They crawl In In the
evening light, shaking the dirt from their
| petficoats ard the sand from their bach
oeir; they rub the childrens faces round
Win the tails Of their gowns. They tempt