Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-01-13

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credit Of their generals.
but II was In the material which
formed the commando that they failed.
They could not do more than they actu-
ally did with the men under their COM
mand. Already jealouses had sprung
up between the generals, the men ac-
cused each other OF cowardice, and the
threat of physical force had, II rumors
were true. to be held over them more
than once.
THE one-pound Maxim gun was the
most effective weapon used by the
Beers. The five or six pound-shots fired
in one second while the gun was trav-
ersed had more moral effect than the
steady discharge Of shrapnel or the or
binary fifteen-pounder at half-minute
intervals. One man not far from me
had both thighs blown off as he sat, by
one Of these little shells landing on the
ground between them, but there is no
question that the moral effect was, as
rule, greater than the practical re-
suits. No gun was more cordially dis
liked by our men than this new weapon,
that was usually christened Bong
bong bong the patent of which In 1892
was offered to and declined by our gov
eminent"
or the lessons to be learned from
Modder river, this correspondent says:
1T should be impossible in any future
war for the officers TO retain their
swords, and 1t will be worth while for
the war office TO construct some light
carbine that can be carried by them, in
stead OF the weighty rifle served out to
the men,"
The conduct OF the marine naval brig
ade at Grams Pan Is a source Of I'M
ending praise from all correspondents.
The Times representative at that bat
tie writes: "The naval brigade adj
yanced in extending order, but in con-
verging upon the position TO be taken
they unconsciously found themselves
closed in, and the formation attempt
ed the ascent. The fire directed upon
them was terrible, and, distinguished
by their swords, the officers were first
to fall. Col. Ethelstan was mortally
wounded fifty yards from the first slope,
and one by one the rest fell as they
advanced, many with two or three bull
let wounds"
1.-THE slaughter was appalling; "a
watch the gallantry displayed was Use
less. under the pltiless iron hail that
was but slightly checked by the redou-
bled ehelllng Of the reinforced battery.
with a cheer the Yorkshire men
by a curious coincidence they had been
conveyed from Mauritius by the very
men TO whose help they now came-ad-
yanced under q tremendous fusillade to-
ward the crest OF the Sanger. OF course
they lost heavily, but their open forma-
| ton and the impossibilty OF dlstin-
gushing officers saved them from the
concentrated fire that had deprived the
naval detachment OF their leaders, and,
| little by little, the thin line OF men
crawled up 10 the top.
THE storming line was now so near
| the crest that the guns could only be
| directed upon the Beers enfiladlng the
position from the spurs Of the kopje
| on the left, and almost In calm Lieut..
| s. c. Taylor, closely followed by Lieut.
| Jones OF the marines, reached the outer
works OF the Sanger and made their
way over.
| "In the next half-mlnute fifty men
| tumbled over and Immediately rushed
| forward 20 clear the position In the
rear. This was, however, stubbornly
| held for quarter Of an hour more, per-
| haps as q screen, more than anything
else, to cover the retreat Of the Beers,
| Above, the hilltop was almost dripping
with blood; not boulder escaped It's
splash OF crimson, and the innumera-
bic splinters and chips OF stone blocks
Indicated the terrific nature Of our fire,
Most OF the dead or wounded Beers
were carried off-the more severely
wounded were found in their hospital
a quarter Of a mile away-but here and
there a dead man proved that here the
| Transvaal had sent its men down for
the first time TO meet the oneoming
| column"