Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-01-07

Correspondence Of the Associated Press)
LONDON, December 30.-The men
were crowding round the engines in
line offering the drivers fabulous
prices for a cup of water" writes the
Globe correspondent describing the
close Of the battle at Enslin," but it
was useless. The drivers had been
threatened with court martial if they
supplied any, as there was a great diff
iculty in keeping a sufficient supply
for the engines. | saw one soldier ly-
ing fiat on the line under an engine
catching a few drops in his mouth from
a steam pipe"
Such extracts as this from the mailed
descriptions of the fighting in South
Africa give some faint idea of the con-
ditions under which it is being carried
on. Belated as these letters are by
the time they appear IN English papers
they throw much needed light upon the
campaign, so barrenly repeated over
the censored cables.
The heat that drove British soldiers
to drink gratefully from the exhaust
pipe of an engine after seven hours
fighting at Enslin, where they lost 179
killed and wounded, has proved
A Serious Factor
in the care of the wounded.
Surgeon Makins, formerly of st.
Thomas hospital, writes under date of
the field hospital at Orange river:
During an eight days stay some 600
wounded men were passed through the
hands of the royal army medical army
corps here. In one night alone 300 pa
tients arrived from the fight at Mod
der rive. nYesterday the thermomez
ter REGISTERED 10 degrees Fahrenheit7n
some of the tents. The journey from
here to the base hospital at Wynberg,
which takes twenty-eight hours, m
phasizes the difficulties due to the i'm
mems length Of the line of communica-
ton.
"The immense majority Of the
wounds have been inflicted by the
Mauser or Lee Melford bullets and a
small proportion by Martini bullets and
large projectiles. A wounded Boer re-
ferred to the LIE Metford as
"G~entIemanIy Bullet,
and this remark is equally applicable
to the Mauser. The wounds made by
them are small, clean and little dis
posed to suppurate. Those bullets met
with have been little deformed unless
they have struck stones before entering
and | have seen no single instance
which would suggest the use of either
fiattened or so-called explosive bullets
among the wounded here"
From M~afeking, under date of Octo-
Der 22d, the Times correspondent in
that beleaguered place vividly describes
a night sortie by Captain F~itzclarence
with ffty-fve men Of the protectorate
regiment, and Lieut.. Murray with TWEEN
ty-five men of the Cape police.
Shortly after II o'clock" writes this
correspondent, Captain ~Fitzelarence
and his men started on their perilous
undertaking. In the faint light Of the
night We could see their figures silent
ly hurrying across the veldt. In the
blue haze of the distance a black blur
buttoned the person OF the enemy and
it seemed that al any moment the
hoarse challenge of the Boer outposts
would give the alarm. The men crept
on slightly in extended order, holding
themselves in readiness for
The Supreme Moment.
The silence was intense. The heavy
gloom, the wistful listeners OF the yeldt
at night, the shadowy paths in the
bushes, all seemed to heighten the ten
sion Of ones nerves. In a little while
our men were within a few yards OF
the enemy; then furtively each fixed his
bayonet to his rife and as the blades
rang home upon their sockets the gal
liant band raised a ringing cheer. In
stantly the Boer position was g~alvan-
lied into activity, figures showed every
where, shots rang out, men shouted,
horses stampeded and the confusion
which reigned supreme gave to our
men n vital moment in which to huri
themselves across the intervening
space. Then there was a loud crash,
for as it happened, many of our men
were nearer the intrenchments than had
been anticipated, and their eager charge
had p~recipisated them upon some sheeIs
of corrugated iron which the Beers had
torn from the grand stand Of the a c
course for protection from the rain.
With our men upon the parapet Of the
trench a few rapid volleys were fired
into the enemy, who taken completely
by surprise were altogether democrat
lied. Those in the first trenches seem
ed to have been
Pefriied by Fright.
Where they were, there they remained,
disabled with bayonet. knocked sense
less with the rifles butts, or shot dead.
Capt Fitzelarence himself, with mag
nifcent gallantry and workmanship,
killed four OF the enemy with his
sword, his men plying their bayonets
strenuously the while. This was the
first trench and as the fight grew hot
ter. some little memory OF Their earlier
boasts inspired the Bocrs To make a
stand. They fought well. Command
A~% unkln &~4l - nm~1-