Show SEVERAL S IARP FIGHTS Boers and Britons Clash in I Orange River Colony i iI I HEAVY LOSS TO BOTH SIDES I j Heaviest Engagement Occurred on tho Oth lust afc T felkop 800 Boers Surprised tho Advance Guard Unden Col Damaut British Casualties Casu-alties Were HeavyCol Damaiit Was Dangerously Wounded and i Two Officers and Twenty Men Were t Killed London Dec 3Lord Kltchcner in a dispatch from Johannesburg dated Saturday December 21st sends reports of sharp fighting In the Orange River and Transvaal Colonies Two hundred mounted infantry in the neighborhood of Beginderyn were divided into pnr ties and were searching forms when they were attacked by 300 Boers and forty armed natives under Commandant Comman-dant Brit The Boers charged determinedly deter-minedly In overwhelming numbers Beyond the fact that the British casualties casu-alties were severe no details have been received Lord Kitchener also reports that during Gen Deweta attack on the British force commanded by Gens Dar nell and Campbell at Lungberg December 18th the Boers charged bravely and fought desperately for several hours Dewet was driven off with the loss of twenty men There were twelve casualties on the side oC the British ENGAGEMENT AT TAJ EraOp On December 20th M Botha with SOO Boers surprised Col Damanff advance ad-vance guard at Tafelkop Orange River Colony The Boers rushed a kopje commanding the main body anti the puns but Damant relied his men and drove the Boers from tho kopje The British casualties were heavy Dam nt was dangerously wounded tWQ officers and twenty men were killed and three oflicers and seventeen men wero wounded The Boers left six dead on the field and dispersed The British pursued the enemy and cap tared t a number of prisoners including Commandant Koytcr Later tho Boers under a flap of truce asked penulBslon to remove their dead They admitted having I buried twcntysovon men BRITISH FIGHT DESPER TEL YIn Y-In the light nt Tafelkop the Boors dressed na British yeomen engaged In j a splendid race with the British In an uttempl to first gain the crest oC the kopje Tho Boors gained time summit first and opened a heavy lire on tho single troop of Damants Horse which took part in the race for the kopje These troopers took advantage oC tho J llttlo cover available immediately be low time Boers iintl fought until ail but four of them were killed or wottptled By that time reinforcements ofj Da mants Horse came up and charged and captured the kopje SMITHS FORCE ATTACKED In the eastern part of the Transvaal Colony Col Mackenzie attacked Commandant Com-mandant Smiths force of Boers at Lake Banagher December 20th killing six and capturing sixteen of them Commandant Smith escaped FIGHT AT ELAND SPRUIT A force of Boers during the night of December 19th attacked the British post at Eland Spruit but they were driven off leaving eight men killed Including Commandant Krl2 Field Cornet Mahon who was wounded and three other wounded men worq also I left on the field Other wounded Boors were carried off in blankets The British Hi Brit-ish casualties were seven men Jellied and six officers and eighteen men wounded NO PEACE AT PRESENT No further details have been received re-ceived here of the lighting in South Africa The news received convinces the newspapers that It is hopeless to expect peace In the immediate iuturo That this Is also the Government understanding un-derstanding of the situation is apparent appa-rent from the fact that between now uml January the troops prooppulntf from home and from the colonies aggregate ag-gregate 15000 men |