Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1900-01-11
Beers Fire Repulsed an At
tack Upon a Fort.
SORTIE FROM MAFEKING.
BritOns Could Not Endure tho
Hail of Beers Bullets.
SEVERAL OFFICERS KILLED.
A Correspondent of the London Times
Who Witnessed the Fray Asserts that
the Beers Used Explosive Bullets,
Causing FrightfUI wounds.

London, Jan. 6.-The Times pub
fishes the following dispatch from
Mafeking, dated December 26: AT
dawn to-day Col Powell organized an
unsuccessful attack upon strong po-
sition of the enemy at Gametree, two
miles from Mafeking, from which the
Beers have been maintaining desul-
tory fire for several weeks. The rail-
way has recently been reconstructed
between the town and Gametree,
where the Beers had destroyed it, the
final repairs being made in prepara-
tion for the sortie. During the night
the armored train with Maxim and
Hotchliss guns and troops took up po-
sitions for attack from two sides.
"Emplacements were thrown up dur
ing the night, the orders being to at
tack at dawn and the artillery fire to
desist upon prolonged footing from
the armored train. At daybreak the
gnns opened fire and rapidly drew the
reply of the enemy, our shells burst
ing within effective range. Capt
Vernon gave the signal to cease firing
and to advance his squadron leading
off. AS our men engaged the position
with their rifle fire, it was soon
found that the strength of the fort
was greater than we had supposed.
The enemy concentrated such an eX-
ceedingly hot fire that the advance of
Capt. Vernon was almost impossible,
but with remarkable heroism Capts.
Sanford and Vernon, Lieut.. Patton and
Scout Cook, who guided the squad
rons. and a few men reached the
sandbags of the fort within 800 yards
of the fort. But nothing living could
exist there, since the ground was
swept by Mauser and Martini bullets.
The men who charged through this
zone of fire suffered terribly and in
following their officers to capture the
fort 20 men lost their lives. Capt. San
ford was the first to fall and Capt.
Vernon, already twice wounded, and
Lieut. Patton were killed at the foot
of the fort. These two officers, climb
iffg a ditch which surrounded the fort,
thrust their revolvers through the
enemy's loopholes only to be shot
themselves the next minute. Gametree
is surrounded with scrub which con-
tanned many sharpshooters, and their
accuracy of fire confused the men.
Being without commanders they
We're driven off at one point, but they
endeavored to scale the fort at others.
They found the position of the Beers,
however, almost impregnable. When
we retired under cover of the armored
train so many men had been wounded
that suspension of hostilities oc-
cured. We had almost completely
surrounded the fort, and had it not
been so well protected we would now
be in possession. The fort is circular
in form, with a wide interior and mar
row frontage, between and 7 feet
high, pierced with triple tiers of loop
noles and surrounded by ditch.
Il was permitted to assist in dress
Ing the wounds, a majority of which
appeared to have been caused by eX-
plOsive bullets, the point of entry be-
ing small, but the area of injury COW
ering a wide region. While the wound
ed We're being attended numbers OF
Beers left their intrenchments and
gathered around. They referred me
to the field cornet, who denied the
use of explosive bullets. He admitted
that at one time explosive bullets had
certain they had all been previously
expended and none could have been
used on this occasion"
No decisive operation is reported
from South Africa this morning, the
military activity being confined to
points of subsidiary Importance. In
the central theater of operations the
British apparently have secured no
substantial gains.
The question of contraband seizures
takes the paramount place in the
thoughts of the public, the possibility
that these may be made a preteXt for
continental intervention disturbing
official and private observers. The
governments purpose to enforce the
right of search has been set forth in
instructions sent yesterday by the adj
miralty to the British naval COM
manders in South African waters, Civ
ing them warnings to uphold the gov
ernment measures for suppressing the
importation of contraband by way OF
Delagoa bay.