We analyzed a sample of 26 background X-ray sources in a \sim 60 square degree field of the Large Magellanic Cloud observed with the ROSAT PSPC .
The sample has been selected from previously classified and optically identified X-ray sources .
In addition pointlike and spectrally hard sources with at least 100 to 200 observed counts have been used for the analysis .
We performed X-ray spectral fitting and derived total hydrogen absorbing column densities due to LMC gas in the range ( 10 ^ { 20 } - 2 \times 10 ^ { 21 } ) { cm ^ { -2 } } .
We compared these columns with the H i columns derived from a 21-cm Parkes survey of the LMC .
For 7 optically identified sources we find , within the uncertainties derived from the X-ray spectral fit , agreement for both columns .
For further 19 sources we constrain the LMC columns from the X-ray spectral fit assuming that the powerlaw photon index is that of AGN type spectra .
We derive for 20 sources gas columns which are within the uncertainties in agreement with the H i columns .
We derive for two background sources ( RX J0536.9-6913 and RX J0547.0-7040 ) hydrogen absorbing column densities due to LMC gas , which are in excess to the H i columns .
These sources - located in regions of large ( \sim 3 \times 10 ^ { 21 } { cm ^ { -2 } } ) LMC H i column densities - could be seen through additional gas which may be warm and diffuse , cold or molecular .
For 10 sources we derive upper limits for the gas columns additional to H i and constrain the molecular mass fraction to < ( 30 - 140 ) % .