Reuter’s Telegrams.
THE TRANSVAAL WAR.
LONDON 25th. Novr.—The British losses at Belmont are stated at 48 killed, 146 wounded, and 21 missing. The losses include four Officers killed and 21 wounded and are chiefly Guardsmen.
50 Boers were taken prisoner, including the German commandant and six Field Cornets.
The British Infantry are said to have behaved splendidly and were admirably supported by the Artillery and the Naval Brigade, carrying three Ridges successively. The Victory is a most complete one. It is stated that the enemy fought with the greatest courage and skill.
This Extra was Issued Daily—Eighty-four Mexican Dollars per Year.
The Gordon Scouts.
Chapter Twenty-Six.
The Gordon Scouts were a detachment made up of volunteers from the Eighteenth U. S. Infantry. They were under direct command of Captain W. A. Gordon and Lieutenant A. L. Conger. The captain lost health and was sent home; thus the troop was, for about a year, under the command of Lieutenant Conger. It would not be proper for me to tell of the wonderful expeditions and the heroic deeds of the Gordon Scouts. No one was more generous in praise of them than General Del Gardo, now governor of the Island of Panay. He told me often of his great esteem for my son and of the generous way in which he treated his prisoners and captives. Surely men were never kinder to a woman than these scouts were to me; they most affectionately called me Mother Conger and treated me always with the greatest respect and kindness. I hope some day the history of this brave band of men will be written, with its more than romantic campaigns and wonderful exploits, marches, dangers, and miraculous escapes. Few men were wounded or disabled, notwithstanding all the tedious marches in most impenetrable swamps and mountains, with no guide but the stars by night and the sun by day, and no maps or trusted men to guide them. I recall the bravery of one man who was shot through the abdomen, and when they stopped to carry him away he said, “Leave me here; I cannot live, and you may all be captured or killed.” They tenderly placed him in a blanket, carried him to a place of safety, and, when he died, they brought him back to Jaro and buried him with military honors. He was the only man killed in all the months of their arduous tasks.