The Irish standard., 1901-06-08
THE SOUTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN.
Fresh news of disaster to the British
in South Africa has cast the jingoes of
Great Britain into Mysteries. Follow
ing the publication of a long list of
casualties in the London Times came
the saddening intelligence from Kit
chener himself that the Beers are at
lacking the British right and left with
fatal results. 1t appears that the Brit
ish are no longer chasing De Wet, but
are menaced in every direction by their
vigilant foe, and that instead of push
ing on the campaign with vigor they
have enough to do to defend their gar
risons from attack. The Beers under
Botha, De Wet, Kritzinger and Della
rey are ubiquitous and pounce on the
British when least expected. 1t was
only recently that Delarey inflicted
severe loss on the British at Vladfon-
tein, a fortified post in the Transvaal,
within fifty miles of Johannesburg and
eighty miles of Pretoria. The attack
by the Beers brought on one of the
bloodiest battles of the whole war, in
proportion to the numbers engaged.
Kitchener sends the following report
of the battle:
con our side 1850 men and seven
guns were engaged. The force was re-
turning toward the camp at Vlakfon-
tein when the enemy, under cover of
veldt fire, rushed on our rear guard,
consisting of two guns Of the Twenty
eighth Battery, 23O men Of the Seventh
Imperial Yeomanry and 100 of the
Derbyshires. The Beers temporarily
captured two guns, but when the re-
mainder Of our force came into action
the enemy were driven off, the guns
recapturcd and the Boer positions oc-
cupied. Our losses were six officers
and 115 men wounded and one officer
and seven men missing. Surgeon Cap
tain MILFORD and four men have since
died from their wounds. Forty one
Beers were found dead on the field. Re
Inducements are being sent"
Another dispatch tells of an attack
on Willowmere in Cape Colony by 100
Beers, where the fight lasted nine
hours. No casualties are given, but it
Is said the Beers were "beaten Off"
The suppostion is that many Briton
bit the dust during the engagement.
The latest dispatch forwarded by
Kitchener is to the effect that James
town in Cape Colony was taken from
the British after four hours fighting
by General Kritzinger and his merry
men. Though the butcher of Omdur-
man tries to make little of the Boer
victory, one Of the correspondents says
that the surrender Of the town gives
Krtzinger a fresh supply of the sinews
of war.
1t is suspected that Kitchener's dis
patches have been doctored at the Lon
don war Office and that the bad news
has been suppressed. A Boer report is
to the effect. that on May 2 the Brit
ish were routed near Pretoria, losing
46 killed, so wounded, GOO prisoners
and six guns. The war office evades
reply as to the accuracy or otherwise
of the report by saying that no official
information has been received.
According to British reports the
Beers have not yet thought Of uncon-
ditional surrender. They appear to be
rs determined us ever to fight to the
bitter end. They have killed up to the
last of April 14.07S and wounded
1920. In the hospitals there are
1897 soldiers Of the king. There are
yet some 100000 British scattered over
n vast territory, and Kitchener is ask
ing for reinforcements. There remain
about $4,000 Beers under arms. While
they are led by such men as De Wet,
Delarey, Botha and Kritzinger the end
Of the campaign is far off. At the
present time the British are getting the
worst Of it.