Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-07
MANY MORE SOLDIERS ARE needed
Everything Coming From South Africa at Present is
Strictly Censored of the Beers is Very
Good and Well Handed--Some Doubt as to the
Cause Of the English Withdrawing From Colenso
and Stormberg.


London, Nov. 7-Such scanty intelli-
gence as is filtering from the front is
generally accepted here as reassurng,
although later reports agree that the
lighting outside Of Ladysmith on Thurs
day and Friday was much more severe
than indicated by official accounts There
's no longer such disposition to jump at
conclusions that crushing blow has
been inflicted BY the Beers as was shown
before.
The British contempt for the burghers
has been modified by defeat. The best
Informed are inclined to discount the
stories of the cutting up of the Beers.
until further confirmation is received.
But the mere fact that White was en-
abled to undertake a series of success
full reconnoisances is taken as an indi-
cation that the Boer investment has
been relaxed by the withdrawal of a por-
ton of Joubert's force southwark. While
however, anxiety in regard TO the imme
date stress of Ladysmith is aleviated
there is widespread fear that the author
itles are badly blundering and may find
too late that the main expedition will
prove too weak to complete it's task with
safety and dispatch as the Natal force
has already admittedly failed to perform
what was expected Of it,
The confession last evening of General
Lord Wolseley that the Beers were more
powerful and more numerous than an
tlclpated sufficiently explains the pres
ent happenings. and the war office will
hereafter have awkward questions to
answer in regard to its apparent colossal
ignorance Of the Boer strength, which
both in numbers of men and excellence
or artillery is apparently a complete sur
prise to the British military authorities
Mail news from South Africa shows
how accurate have been the estimates
of the intelligence department and the
government experts. 1t is CLEANED there
from that a fair estimate of the Boer
forces is as follows:
Around Ladysmith. %. 900; traversing
Zululard, 1000; advancing on Burghers-
dorp, 5000; Colesburg, 5000; Kimberley,
1000; Mafeking, 4500, and on the north
ern Transvaal border, 1000.
Exact information about the Boer ar
tiliery is lacking, but it is known Jou-
bert's detachment before it was REIN
forced consisted of 16 Krupp field pieces
of the latest pattern and two heavy
Cruzon siege guns. which, but for the OPP
perfume arrival of the British naval
brigade, would have rendered Ladysmith
untenable.
Interesting news comes from the chan
mel squadron at Gibraltar showing pre-
NoutI~nS ASdiIIsl SNcHtudlilitS dlHlOSt
| unknown in European waters in peace
times. On the way to Gibraltar the fleet
spread out four miles apart and a sharp
outlook was kept for suspicious craft. At
Gibraltar extra sentries are posted a t
night at different parts of the ships,
with ten rounds of ball cartridges each.
Small guns on the upper deck and in
fighting tops are kept ready for immedi-
ate use, the ammunition being on deck,
a few men sleeping at the guns, search
lights are kept working, all boats are
sailed and not allowed to approach with
out permission of the officer of the
watch