THE PATRIOTIC FUND.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 10589, 24 February 1900, Page 8

THE PATRIOTIC FUND.

The patriotic sport* yidded £1146. THE QUEENSLAND THffiD CONTTNGENT. BRISBANE, Febrw-r 23. t}» swearing In of the Third €X»___«ot mas' hem completed. ' > it NEWS BY THE MAIL. THE FIGHTING AT SPIONKOP. THE CAUSES OFTHE RETIREMENT. t__ -or • HOBART, February 23. I be Waxmato, winch has arrived here. brought Cape fife* up to the 2nd of February vnd these gire further vivid particulars of the bpionkop battle. After taking and i»u__g fcp_-_op, the n__en__t wwW-

ried out s-xessfully. The _ope enjoyed who. the brave fellows were in possession of Tab-uyana range, with the' King's Royal Rifles c-ccupying Spionkop, was rudely"scat*'' tered when the latter were ordered to retire. Closer inspection found the',whole of Sir Charles Warren's division making for Tri____t?s drift. Tbere had been the-soiind of guns and other arms during the night, but it was never anticipated that there was anything serioui s'm. connection therewith. Thus tbe five days' battle Was almost thrown away. The reason for the retirement was because tbe position was open -to tire shell And rifle fire of the enemy from different quarters, and the exact locality cdukl' not be ascertained because of the smokeless powder, added to which was the general cleverness of tbe Boers in concealing the gun trenches. HEROISM OF THE KING'S ROYAL - RIFLES. . ; . Nothing during the war equalled the splendid achievement of the King's "Royal Rifles in taking Spionkop. The regiment advanced in skirmishing order. No par- ' ticular notice was taken at first of the spots. of kharlri, because the interest centred- in General Warren's division at the top ,of • Tabanyana, fighting hard, who- were being j severely shelled by the Boerifc /- The men crept up nearer to the kopje, and when they j were half-way up, the Boers realisedthe danger and opened fire on the" intrepid in- - vaders. >.___ ' /. ' As the steeper became the hill, the: men, scrambled up on their harid%-atodJ_nees, the; men who were a long distance j down the steep declivity.. t_e3ipre the._n.en i reached the top the Boer fire< became very j severe. On arrival at tlie top.. the . men found some sort of shelter, but continued to receive shells and buJhjts frofif ~thft, concealed shelters. From 4to 6-in.- the after- . noon it simply ramed shells. When the King's Rxryal Rifles weiib clinib- ! ing Spion Kop, one man was shot in the leg I but continued to crawl towards sheCtor.; jtox--I other shot struck him in the.shoulder, and , he fell till stopped by a boulder, when an-. ! other *hot killed him. An officer states that the same Boer fired the three.facts.;. ,*.,. " On arriving at the top Colonel Riddell j exposed iumse_ to findl whore .the .shells ' J came from, and was- shot dead. .' 'Major-j j General Woodgate was shot over the left : eye early in action, biit is s_U'.alive.- ■ Gap- ! tain- Murray, after being wounded> in- four places got uo to lead his men, and . wasi killed. ■ " . '~- * j ; The Boers admit their loss at Soion Kpp to be 151. '..,- j ../•■; ' ,| A CROWDED HOSPITAi;. ' j A telegram from M-ritAburg, ■ .dated Janucry 31_t, states that tbe arrival oi the wounded from the Spion Kop e_gagemerit so completely filled tho beds in tb» Parliament | House Hospital, that', convalescent cases are being temporarily accocamodated in the billiard-room to meet'the pre-rffffc' Nearly | 300 patients are now entered for treatment in the hospital. The majority- oCme- from j the irregular corps, -Thorneydfoit _ mouhtled infantry heading the roll wit-. sixty-Six.