Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-02-15

exchanged, and the Beers retired
leaving three wounded In our hands
The enemy lost two killed. Our losses
one trooper wounded"
That Is an unmportant enough para
graph, don't you thlnk2 II Is copied
with certain alterations from q wire
dispatched to the Daily Mail
And yet, you may not believe It, but
Il Is nevertheless fact, that that min
or engagement was once a big battle
II was a British disaster, II was bOer
defeat. II was the capture Of two OF
our guns, and the killing OF two boef
commandants. Also II was an evenly
matched fight with casualties running
70 three figures ON both sides, II was
all these things, at various times ana
I'm various localities In Maril2bufg
Il was reverse and bad reyerse'
In Pretoria It was a victory and great
victory. johannesburg had heard 0l
II, and Krugersdorp knew the number
OF guns taken and the battery which
had lost them
sIFTED FIRsS, THEN SENT.
7 went to find out all about this great
fight, and after reducing the evidence
by comparative examination, ! sent a
wire something like that above, ana ]
fancy IL Is about correct,
The fight occurred on q Monday ana
the first news was from blockhouse
IN view Of the mountain near which
the fighting took place The corporal
I'm charge Of the blockhouse telephoned
Heavy firing In the direction OF Rool'
berg" Now there are two Roolbefgs
as indeed there are twenty q am using
fictitious locality for obvious rea'
sons), and the commandment OF the
nearest garrison jumped 70 the conolu-
sion that II was a Rooiberg near which
Bothat was known 10 be, and whither
columns were Fastening Immediately
he wired that Botha was engaged. The
mistake, however, was soon discovered
and rectined, and that incident Ds far
az those chiefly Interested were con-
oerned, was closed. But what time
the little rallslde garrison had been
nstir with the news that Botho was
heavily engaged the johannesburg
train had passed through the station,
Only n few minutes II stopped but
Atkins on the platform had impaired
his exclusive information to such OF the
passengers AZ were interested, and the
train moved on, bearing In addition TO
passengers and baggage, quite car
load of stories OF "the great fight" TO
Johannesburg came the rumor, and II
trickled into the railway carriage In
which / was making my way TO Pre-
toria.
"A big thing; a very big thing, I've
heard" said my travelling companion,
an officer In an Irregular regiments
we've lost--I don't know how many
and two guns I'm told. They lost
Just as many as we did, II not more.
Commandments Marais and Du Plessls
oaptured.-so / understand"
You see, he had got hold Of the even
" matched story. The Complete re-
verse" yarn | heard from an lrate sub
altern Of militia, who told me his faith
er was an NJ, T.. and would see about
H. lie was very young subaltern,
and his clothes were quite new.
where did you hear OF it?'
That question generally elected one
reply.
"Oh, fellow told me, don't you
know. He heard Il from a passenger
on one of these trains who saw the
fight"
LAMENTATIONS OF MIR, ATKINS,
All this looked sound enough, and all
though the nearest intelligence officer
knew nothing about the engagement, |
prepared to get nearer TO the scene Of
operation. Officially, Johannesburg
knew nothing, as did Pretoria and
Vereenlging; but none the less there
seemed every possibility Of It's truth,
and II was worth looking into. 1t was
somewhat OF shock 10 discover that
the news had come by the Cape train
and not, as had Imagined, by the Ma
tai mall which crosses the country in
which Botha Lsualy operates, Botha
seldom goes south TO the Natal line
but anyhow there was nothing to pre-
vent him doing the unusual thing il
he felt 80 inclined. A few minutes az.
ter the thought occurred TO me, an Of
flcer hurrying past stopped 10 tell ms
that Botha had crossed the Natal line
and was engaged south. So the STORY
grew more feasible, and resolved OF
moving south towards Vereenlglng,
passed the garrison post whence tn,
story had emanated. | passed thl
blockhouse that had reported the firing
and all unknowing Of the irony OF /
| passed the handful Of men who hat
been engaged; and 20 | reached Yer
eeniging. Vereenlging knew the trutl
of the matter. for this station posesse
real intelligence officer. | was toll
the true story OF the great battle,
and how the mistake had arisen; an
got back to Eandsfontein station 4
time TO hear a veritablc Bill Adam
Of an Atkins telling an admiring circl
the story Of the Battle OF Robbers
lie had been one OF the patrol and ha
brought the slightly wounded men int
Elandsfonteln by means Of conyen
lent train that happened to be comm
the right way Now the way Atkln
told his story was not as | told II
the telegram which heads this column
Nor was II told as the wildly eXaggei
ated stories that first reached me wer
told. This Is the story as Il fell froi
Atkins lips and taken down by me,
ERE was them" said Atkins, ind
eating them" with the butt OF h
rifle on the station platform, "and thei
was us"-''us" being by welghlr
machiue-"The captin, e says, ] thin
we've got 'em now. me lads. All
want now Is the man to volunteer TO e
round the back OF the kopje and see
they've got any one awaitin' be'lnd
give ny ell az soon as we move on zen
1 want % gpZ a trugtWOrthy rcliah
man, e sez-one that knows Is doot
and It an ole soldier, e seq; none
your three months service boys,
seq. An Sergeant Jones-thats m
sergeant--'e SEE, Send Barker q sc
'e's a good soldier e ses-that's n
name" added Atkins modestly
THE END OF THEIR TAILS.
81 deNsay." said a sarcastic llstene
And ala you go2"
'I did" replied Atkins, and"
81 s'pOse your face frightened 'em
suggested the intorrupter.
"Shut up. Go on, cocky." TIL
from the audience.
well, | crawls and creeps a-'idi
behind bushes and rocks, TN ] gifts %
side the kopje, an when looks rour
there was their nlbs a slttin' watt
for the captln TO come on Nigh ,
seven 'undred, I should say As 500
as J sees 'em | nips back TO the capt.
an / SEE, There's about eight 'undr
al 4 . II