The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-15
FutiIity of Fighting Quick-Moving
Beers with Infantry Pointed Out
by n British Omcers
GRAPHIC STORY BY A YOUTH
HOW BoER LAD ESCAPED CAP
TURE At ELANDSLAAGTE.
Prayed and Shot a Briton Each Step
vujoen-scenes at Pretoria.

| Correspondents OF the Associated Press
LONDON, Jan. 6.-Letters from the sol
ders fighting against the Beers are pub
| lished in large numbers and I'm many cases
are just as interesting as the accounts by
trained war correspondents.
medical officer under Lord Methuen,
describing the battle of Modder river,
writes: "A lot of the North Lancashire
men were horribly wounded. turned over
| a sergeant, black in the face, dead. One
man was brought to me who had been
struck by a shell fragment-face muti.ated.
throat cut and chest lacerated. oh. Godi
the sight was sickening; blood everywherei
Very few of our men being wounded. I
went out near sunset to aid the Highland
ers They had been lying all day under
| that frightful sun and their wounded were
| still there. No stretcher bearers could
| advance as they were all shot at. They
| shouted to me TO crawl on the ground as.
| though most of the firing was over, there
was still three or four Beers with express
| rifles and explosive bullets, who were under
| cover and who kept picking of our men,
Some men utterly collapsed. and all could
| do was to put pad to their wounds and
my whisky flask to their lips. ] then
crawled back to my horse and made my
| way to some ambulances two miles dis
tant to get their aid. I was under fire all
the time, bullets dancing around me. I
felt kind OF solemn disregard as had
been exposed to greater dapgeys before,
| In letter written TO his father from
Moot river on Nov. %, an osficer in the
| Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment,
says Against an enemy like the Beers.
infantry is useless. The Beers have spies
everywhere, and as they are well mounted
| they can move away hours before our in
fantry can get within striking distance.
| On the other hand, they will never attack,
and when we advance toward Pretoria
commandos will overrun the country loot
| ing and burning farms. The only people
who have a chance with them are the local
volunteers. II the government would only
| raise about 1000 volunteers and send out
| lot of mounted infantry who could work
| with the local volunteers. these isolated
Boer forces would soon be wiped out At
present We are helpless, as they make rings
| around u.s."
BOMBARDMENT OF KIMBERLEY.
| The special correspondent OF the Cape
| Argus thus describes the bombardment OF
Kimberley: what will probably be handed
| down in the annals of history TO Boer pos
terity as the bombardment of Kimberley
probably occurred on Nov. z. and IL ever
| the farcical element were introduced into
| such serious business as war, the puerile
| attempts to raze Kimberley can surely lay
claim to IL. The Beers had two guns
| mounted, one at Scholz Mex, trained on the
| Premier mine at Wesselton, range or
something like $500 yards, and the other
| on Spytfontein, quite 600 yards distant. A
couple of shots were fired between 5 and 6
| o'clock in the morning, but the Beers de-
sisted until about 10 o'clock, when one gun
at Scholz Mex, apparently a nine-pounder.
| firing a French shell. opened fire on Wes-
| selton. The fire. however. proved quite
Harmless, nearly all the shots falling in
the debris heaps, and our guns at Wessel-
| ton replying and quickly getting the range.
| induced the enemy TO cease firing. and
| they cleared off about noon. So little was
thought OF the Boer fire that the alarm was
not even sounded and business was car
ried on just the same Thus ended the
bombardment Of Kimberley. So little alarm
did it cause that men I'm the redoubts were
actually playing cricket and quoits while
! It was going on"
The following Is from letter from a
4
Guards, who is with Methuen's column. He
was at the battle Of Modder's river. and
says: During the afternoon some one
seemed TO have spotted me from the
| benches First a shot hit the side OF my
| boot and struck my rife just I'm front OF
my face, filing my eyes with dirt ana
| spIinters. rose UP little, when another
bullet struck the middle finger of my left
hand. had got on my knees when bull
| let struck me fair I'm the chest. the
buckle OF my hayersack, breaking through
| IL and causing a slight puncture OF the
| skin and bruising my chest. have been
! congratulated as being the luckiest beggar
| in my battalion"
A BoER LADS STORY.
From the Boer side come reports just as
| interesting. a lad OF seventeen wrote TO his
| mother after the battel OF Elandslaagte and
the letter is published in tho Journel dc
| Geneve as follows: Eve were on a kopje.
Our horses were behind 1t In a hollow. AZ
the infantry advanced against US we be-
| gan shooting. When il looked as II we
were going 10 be surrounded certain num-
| Der of men fell back TO another position
About a hundred OF US remained on the
kopje. But the fire OF the Maxims and the
otner guns became so violent that we with
drew a little TO find cover. The general and
| commandant, Vsljoen, rallied us and
brought Us back 10 the top OF the hill ana
advised US. TO get under shelter there a.
| much as possible. followed an officer with
a dozen others TO the right and viijoen led
the rest TO the left. The English were stu