The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-10-13
beer CASUALTIES -FOUR HUNDRED
AsToNIsHMENT CAUSED BY PLAN
or ARCHBISHOP YORK
FOR HUMILIATION.
A Combined Invasion Of Natal. East
and West, Intended = English
Land Blue Jaekets-eritsin Fac
ing Heavy Deficit.

the sun from London says. All &C
counts Of the fighting at Fort italia.
including those from South African
correspondents OF the Sun, show that
. it was one of the most striking of
( tensive and defensive engagements
Of the war
The whole British garrison there
numbered only 900 men, with two if
teen-pounders and a Maxim gun An
outpost of eighty men. under Lieu
tenants Kane and LEROY, occupied
the summit of a hill out OF sight Of
the main camp. which was on the
slope of a hill
At about midnight 600 Beers
rushed the outpost. Their onslaught
was so sudden and fierce that for
twenty minutes only bayonets were
used. Overwhelming odds soon de-
cidei the position OF the outpost
Lieutenant Kane fell dead shouting
mo surrender" Lieutenant LEROY
was severely wounded and the whole
force was disabled. The main camp
was thus reduced to 220 men. The
Beers assailed it from all sides.
From about ! a. m. throughout the
remainder of the night and all the
following day the little garrison
withstood them until Z o'clock in the
evening. when the outlook seemed
desperate. The British had been with
cut water for many hours. the Beers
having cut off their supply, and their
ammunition was fast falling.
Suddenly the Boer fire began to
slacken, and soon after the attackers
I. 7 -
eralfBruce Hamilton was approaching.
as the Sun correspondent says. or. ac-
cording to others. in sheer despair Of
succeeding. Their retirement opened
the wav for the wounded commander
to withdraw his exhausted force.
which reached N'Kandhla in the
morning. Among the Beers killed
were Generals Opperman and Schultz
and Commander Potgieter.
According to a statement which
reached Durham from N'Kandhla the
British military surgeon who assembled
the italia in the morning to attend
the wounded there was made a pris-
oner by the Beers. who compelled
him to attend their wounded. Conse-
quently the British wounded lay I'M
succored during the day in the broil-
ing sun without water
The attack on Prospect seems to
have been only disastrous to the
Beers. The camp was well situated
for defense. and although the garri-
son numbered only twenty men, with
one Maxim. they withstood all at
tacks. notwithstanding the dashing
bravery of their assailants. The lat
ter withdrew without achieving their
purpose. and their dead were piled
around the fort. The British loss was
one killed and twelve wounded.
Casualties Very Heavy.
LONDON. Oct A dispatch to
the Times from Dundee SAYS that the
Beers attack on Fort italia proves to
have been a far bigger engagement
than could be gathered from the first
reports. The casualties on both sides
indicate the fierceness of the strug-
gle. The Boer casualties are placed
at over 400. The British prisoners say
sixty Beers were buried ON farms
and they assisted in carrying of sew
enty-fve wounded. The Beers in
formed the prisoners that thew ex-
pectei to find the Fort italia garrison
only Zoe strong The burghers lost
more men than in any previous action
this year.
There seems no doubt. says the
Times correspondent. that the Beers
intend combined invasion of Natal.
east and west. II is stated that Gem
eral De Wet ordered the burghers in
the northern precinct of Orange River
Colony TO concentrate at TaeIkop.
but up to now the only result OF the
movement has been the invasion OF
Natal by a small command. which
can be easily driven back. British
officers who recentlv were prisoners
say that General Rofha's men and
horses are in good condition. The
British prisoners have ben robbed OF
almost everything they possessed.
The main BODY OF the Beers is still
near the zululand frontier.