Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-30
LADYSM|TH
is ATTACKED
BY the Combined Boer Forces But the
British Garrison Has Held
Out.
A FLANK MOVEMENT BEING MADE
But As Yet the City is Safe the Boer Guns Were
Easily Silenced After Firing Only Seven Shots--
Critical Battle is Now Probably Being Fought-- The
Natives Are Showing Great Recuperatve Powers--
Kimberly and rlafeking Not in Present Danger.

men moving UP from the coast. The OBJ
ject of the British reconnaissance in force
from Ladysmith is readily explained by
military writer's for tc-day's London pa
pers. 1t was an attempt to draw the
Boer force. which had been twice at
tackled. into another engagement before
it could be heavily reinforced from the
main body under Joubert.
General White had not succeeded in his
purpose Saturday and while the war
office was suspected Of suppressng i'm
portant dispatches, the situa ton in Ma
tai was unchanged. BY the scanty
news received yesterday great battle
still seems imminent, since two large
Boer forces are reported near Ladysmith.
even if General White has not made a
determined attack on the enemy's posi-
tion.
| General Joubert is credited by more
! than one military writer with using Fa-
byan tactics at Ladysmith, where Cen
eral Whites force can be masked by an
, army of equal strength acting on the
| defensive and also with the bold man
| euver of overrunnng Natal with the re-
! mainder of his troops and striking at
!
, easy to believe that he will cut off his
/ own communication With Laing's Mex
! and march to the sea- as Sherman set
out from Atlanta for the coast, and there
| is one sharp line of divergence between
| the two military situations. Sherman
knew that he would have command of the
sea when he reached Savannah, but Jou-
bert at Durham would be exposed to an
attack from the British fleet
rumor has reached London that a
consderabl Beers force is moving from
, Vryheid on Melmouth in Zululand
whence the distance to Durham will be
something over 100 miles, bat this is a
! slender foundation for the theory that
| the Beers may repeat Sherman's STRAIT
! egy and make a bold dash for the sea,
i What they are more likely to do is to
! break off the communications of Lady
smith with the sea by sending a body Of
raiders from the Free State mount ain
passes to blow up the bridges over the
streams, which are nov swollen with the
rains. When this has b,en done and
every wire to the coast cut. Jouberts 5
| forces can be concentrated against Gem
eral Whites army and al! supplies and
reinforcements for Ladysmith be inter-
! cepted.
This is what some Of the shrewdest
| military experts are expecting. But
they are undertaking General Whites
vigilance and intelligence and are Civ
ing the Boer commanders more credit
for strategical skill, mobility and man
euvering than has YET been displayed.
| While General White is compelled to de-
fend Ladysmith and protec! his lines of
! communication with the coast General
. Joubert can operate in any direction in
| Natal without being exposed to a flank
attack and without having his retreat
| to Dutch territory eu: off. The best
explanation of General Whites second
reconnosan in force is that he sas-
poets General Jolberts intention Of
throwing large force between hIl and
his coast base and is eager to draw the
Beers into pitched battle near Lady,
smith and intiiet crushing defeat.
There is lit,ie new respecting the me-
mace of an uprising of black races against
the whites, nov fighting battle for su-
pranlaey. he Basutos, who have GO, 800
warriors, are reported 70 be l-ss excited
and more indifferent to tn- issue Of the
| white mems warfare. /, is this back
merace that sohers every ref citing Eng
l;shyaan whar he attempts 70 f5rscas:
the chances of ws-r in Africa.
i Little now appears IN print abol; naval
preparations. This is because the gov.
ernment learned from the comments o.
unwonted activity We're exciting suspj-