THE NATAL FRONTIER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2397, 8 February 1900, Page 24

THE NATAL FRONTIER.

DURBAN, January 30.

Most pathetic 'heliograms have been re- | • ceived from Ladysmith. The soldiers and j townsfolk crowded the ramparts of the ' town, watching and waiting for the coming of the relief force. January 31. A. heliograph message received from Ladysmith states that the garrison are not despondent, and are calmly awaiting General Buller's next move. They still possess many* weeks' supplies. February 1. In the Spion Kop engagement the British casualties in the flanking movement i amounted to 1379, including 204 killed, ! 552 wounded, and 82 missing. * i Delagoa Bay reports that the Boers are ; Bending huge quantities of timber and sand ] bags to dam the Klip River and flood , Xiadysmith, in order to force the garrison ! trader the shell fire. February 3. Lord Dundonald . reconnoitred in the neighbourhood or Hongerspoort without . molestation from the enemy. -. | The British shot a corporal of the Ir- , regulars at the Spion Kop engagement for , shaking hands with an acquaintance in the enemy's lines. > General Buller's corps is being served • with double rations. General Joubert's presence in the Upper j Tugela district is taken as an indication | that he expects a renewal of the attack. The Morning Leader affirms that General Buller has begun a fresh movement with the intention of turning the Boers' position at Onderbroek and Grobler's Kloof. News has been received that a British flying column has reached Northern Zululand. It consists of experienced colonial scouts, and will probably harass the Transvaal line of communication above Ladysmith. One thousand Boers, with three gun«, are in the vicinity of Vryheid. LVryheid is the head laager of the commando which cro3sed the Buffalo River into Natal, near Dundee. The flying column would have to proceed some 30 or 40 miles north of Rorke's (Drift to carry out its intention of harassing the lines of communication, as it was reported recer tly that there was a fairly strong force about IRcrke's Drift.] February 4. Four native deserters report that in the recent fighting on the Tugela five Boer field-cornets were killed, seven guns were disabled, and the total casualties were 1000. | The Boers are very despondent. February 5. Colonel Thorneycroft reports that when Spion Kop was surprised a native who was warning the Boer picket to waken was bayoneted. Trenches have been dug on the roads leading to Ltidysmith along the line of the British advance. A Ladysmith heliograph message says : — '' Elated on Saturday at hearing General Buller's guns actively booming. The enemy are massing near the town, and bringing guns on to Surprise Hill. We are quite ready if attacked. All well. There are a few JBoers north-east of the town." Two inhabitants who escaped from Ladysmith have arrived at Pietermaritzburg. They reported that there are sufficient provisions in the town for a considerable time. Fresh meat is supplied daily.

CAPETOWN, February 1. General Buller retains his hold of the various drifts across the Tugela. LONDON, January 30. Further details are to hand relative to the battle of Spion Kop. Fighting of the most desperate character took place throughout the whole day, the battle for the greater portion of this period being fought in a thick mist. Boer riflemen defended the edge of the plateau that concealed a very strong defensive position that lay farther back on the tableland. 'J'he enemy's guns commanded the whole of the ground which the British had to traverse, and, as they .possessed the exact range, "they were able to pour in a fearful fire upon the British regiments. The whole scane formed a perfect Inferno. The battle surged backwards and forwards all the day through. Mr Bennett Burleigh, of the London Daily Telegraph, declared that at the close of the battle the British had secured the whole of the commanding position, and commenced to strongly entrench themselves. Sir Charles Wairen's force, in crossing the open ground, lost heavily. The Boers, who are under the command of Louis Botha, made frantic efforts to subdue the British attack. The enemy repeatedly rushed into the open, pretending to flee, with a view to drawing out their opponents. Some of the British were captured through failure of ammunition. The naval guns lent valuable aid. The British artillery was much less advantageously placed than was that of the Boers, whose mass of guns took the British completely by surprise. An incomplete list of casualties at the battle of Spion Kop on Wednesday, the 24th, is as follows : — General Warren's division : Killed, 24 officers and 32 men. Wounded, 21 officers and 120 men. Missing, 6 officers and 2 men. General Lyttelton's brigade : The Cameron Highlanders and the King's Rifles sustained 154 casualties altogether. Colonial Blomfield, of the Second Lancashire Fusiliers, was severely wounded and taken prisoner. j A Renter's message states that Lord Dundonald recrossed the Tugela on Saturday . General Lyttelton's brigade occupies its original position (at Potgieter's Drift, north of the river). January 31. i The Capetown correspondent of the Daily Mail cables that General Buller oh Monday read out to Sir Charles Warren's forces the Queen's message expressing her admiration for the behaviour of her troops during the past trying week, and at the successful accomplishment of their trying march. The General then told his men that they ought not to think that because he had retired from the northern side of the Tugela River therefore all the work done was of no avail. In his opinion, they had gained the key of the road to Ladysmith, and there he hoped to be within a week. At the conclusion of his address he called for cheers for the Queen. Further details of the battle around Spion Kop show that when, the enemy

were aware that the British held the highest part of the mountains, the Boers, from an invisible position on the lower ground, opened a terrific cross fire with smokeless powder, shrapnel shell, and rifles, which swept clown the British, who kept steadily advancing ; but after enduring this file for two hours, accompanied by the heaviest shelling of the war, they were compelled to retire. The enemy's artillery inked the British on all sides, and the -latter, for a long time, were unable to locate their guns, but they ultimately .silenced several of the enemy's, otherwise it would have been impossible to remain in their position. As the day wore on the British again pushed forward, and by the evening they held the hill. What induced its abandonment is still a mystery. The British guns remain on Mount Alice, which j commands Potgieter's Drift. Our losses in the assault on the hill were chiefly caused by shell fire. They total about 500. Spion Kop was a real shell trap. Our mountain guns and smaller naval guns did not arrive until the evening. The men were so crowded on the summit that, they had no room to extend, and so little cover and the improbability of . being able to hoist their guns, joined to the untenability » of the position, are believed to be the reasons for the Britisli withdrawal. The doctors report an awful artillery carnage. The additional casualties preceding the capture of Spion Kop, the chief of which happened on the 21st (Sunday), are as follows: — Killed, 24; wounded, 294; missing, 7. The following regiments suffered most : — " The Border Regiment, the 2nd West Surrey, the 2nd East Surrey, the 2nd West Yorkshire, and the 2nd Dublin Fusiliers. February 1. Colonel Thorneycroft ordered the retirement from Spion Kop. General Buller exonerates him from blame, and declares that he directed the defence with conspicuous courage and ability, under a loss of at least 40 per cent, of his force. His conduct throughout was admirable. The Boers admit they had 53 killed and 120 wounded. % The Scottish Rifles charged brilliantly at Spion Kop, assisting the Lancashire Brigade when checked by a withering fire. The Knles carried two tiers of trenches. The Boers abused the use of the white flag, and fired a volley at Colonel Thorneyeroft before he was able to regain shelter. He had a marvellous escape. Other examples of treacherous trickery are recorded during the fight. Mr Winston Churchill states that the army has entire confidence in General Buller. The troops are exasperated, but not despondent, and are resolved to try again. February 2. Two hundred and fifteen British were missing after the battle at Spion Kop, chiefly belonging to the Lancashire Fusiliers. lur Bennet Burleigh, the war coi'respondent, states that the Boers were in the oct of abandoning Spion Kop when the British retirement induced them to return. General Buller had detached a force to create a diversion next day before hearing of the abandonment. The news that General Buller in his speech on Monday to the troops under General Warren stated that in his opinion they had gained the key of the road to Ladysmith, and there he hoped to be within a week, has been confirmed. February 3. Definite statements are made at Durban that General Buller has crossed the Tugela River. Some allege that he has gone in the direction of Acton. Homes, others east of Zwartskop. The Times declares that these statements aro premature. The War Office is silent with regard to General Buller's movements. Mr Winston Churchill declares that all will be staked on the coming battle. The spirits of the troops were never higher. The Times announces that the Ladysmith garrison are resigned but determined. The Daily News says that the Boer reinforcements are being detrained before Ladysmith. The Daily Telegraph, declares that had Ladysmith fallen during the attack on January 6 President Kruger would have visited Europe to petition the Powers to save the Rep\iblic. The injuries received by General Woodgate at Spion Kop consist of a wound over tho eye, caused by fragments of a shell.