The age-herald., 1902-03-17
METHEUN HELD
 OUT ID THE LAST Describes the Fierce Attack ot
 0eIarey'S Forces DRESSED LIKE ENGLISHMEN Not Only Were They AttIred In Khaki Uniforms But Wore Many Brit ish Badges, and Were Hard
 to Distinguish.
DRESSED LIKE ENGLISHMEN

London, March 16.-The war department has received the following communication from Lord Kitchener at Pretoria:
 Lord Methuen has sent me staff off, cer with a dictated dispatch from which 1t appears that certain particulars pre- viously given are inaccurate. The rear screen of mounted troops was rushed and overwhelmed at dawn. There was a gap of a mile between the OK and mule con voys. The mounted supports to the rear of the screen. with General Methuen i'm mediately reinforced by all the available mounted troops and & section of the thirty-eight battery, maintained them selves for an hour during which the con- voys were closing up without disorder
 Tn the meanwhile two hundred in- fantry were being disposed by Lord Methuen to resist the Boer attack which was out, to the left of the rear guard. The Boers pressed that attack hard, and the mounted troops, attempting to fall back on the infantry, got completely out of hand, carrying away with them in the rout the bulk of the mounted troops.
 Two Guns Unprotected.
 TWO guns Of the Thirty-eighth battery were thus left unprotected. but continued in action until every man, with the ex- ception of Lieutenant Neshal was hit. Lieutenant Neshal was called on to sur render and upon refusing to do so was killed.
 Lord Methuen with two hundred of the Northumberland Fusileers and two guns of the Fourth battery then found himself isolated but held on for three hours. During this period the remain ing infantry, namely one hundred Of the Lancashires, with some forty mount ed men, mostly Cape police, who had oc- cupied the kraal near the wagons, also continued to hold out against the re- peated attacks of the Boers.
 By this time Lord Methuen was wound ed and the casualties were exceedingly heavy ongst his men, Their ammuni- ton was mostly expended and the sur render was made at about 9:30 o'clock in the morning.
 Party in kraal Held Out.
 '"The party in the kraal still held out and did not give in until two guns and a pompom were brought to bear upon them at 10 o'clock, making their posi- ton untenable.
 Tt is confirmed that most of the Boers wore our khaki uniforms Many also wore our badges. Even at close quarters they could not be distinguished from our c~Sn men.
 '"The infantry fought well and the ar tillery kept up the traditions of their regiment In addition to the forty mem bers of the Cape police already mention- ed, few parties of imperial yeomanry and Cape police continued to hold their ground after the panic had swept the bulk of the mounted troops off the field"
 Fighting Lasted Long.
 London, March 16.-Lord Kitchener has sent teegraphic dispatch showing that the fighting lasted much longer than was Tlpposed and confirms the belief that the disaster to General Methuen's forces was due to leaving too large a gap be- tween the front convoy and the rear. and to placing an insufficient screen behind the rear guard, which brought about a panic among the troops as a result of the Boer onslaught.
 Much resentment is felt here that the Boers wore British uniforms and badges but satisfaction is expressed at the latest accounts of the affair, indicating that the British troops behaved better than was supposed from the earlier reports.
 From other sources it appears that General Methuen was shot while riding to bring up the mounted troops, and that his horse was killed After the sur render General Delarey rode up and treated General Metuhen with the greatest courtesy and consideration. He ordered his return to Klerksdorp under the care of his own nephew and a medical officer
 Burghers Were Angry.
 According to the Klerksdorp corre- spondent of the Daily Mall the burghers were so angry at this that party of them went out and brought General Methuen back General Delarey however, over ruled the objections of the burghers.
 The correspondent of the Daily Mail pays a tribute to General Delarey's hu- manity and describes him as brilliant fighter and a born leader, who brings no bitterness or racial feeling to his task and who sternly represses any excesses on the part of the burghers."
 Further evidence of the ability of the Boers to penetrate the blockhouse lines Is contained in a dispatch from Heilbron, Orange River Colony, which describes how Commandant Mentz, the night of March 10 crossed the Heilbron- Wolvehoek line at Gottenburg. One Boer advanced firing his rife. Two pickets between the bloclxhouse returned this fire and killed the Boer and his horse. The Boers then cut the wire fence and drove in loose horses which broke down 200 yards of the fence. Mentz then dashed through the IL