Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-11-09
.SORTIES WERE SUCCESSFUL.
British Claim Substantial Victories
Over Beers.
COLENSO BRIDGES STILL UP.
War once at London Maintains Its
silence-Troops Due to Land at Cape
Town-Great Britain Places All Her
Hopes Gen. Butler.

farm, near LadySmith. The hottest
engagement was on George Tatham's
farm, on the Orange Free State side OF
Bester's. The British drove the Beers
back to their camp. The enemy suf-
fered great loss, and thirty mounted
Beers were captured.
The fighting was resumed yesterday
Friday), the Beers firing from Nosd-
wathshana hill, near Pepworth's farm.
Again they were driven back with loss
on their camp.
The Beers have torn up the culverts
of the railway near Peters Station
and have burned the wooden portions.
No damage has yet been done at Co
lenso. The houses, stores, railway and
iron bridges remain intact.
The messenger says he heard that
and that the volunteers were leaving.
Much regret is felt at the unneces-
sary alarm being created. at PETER
maritzburg, when there is no need for
/. The Natal naval corps, with guns,
will return to Pietermaritzburg today
to reassure the inhabitants.
London, Nov. S.--If the war depart
ment is in possession of any fresh
news from Ladysmith, 1t is carefully
concealing 1t from newspaper CORE
spondents. All officials have been ST.
lent since last Thursday, and, so far
as the public Is concerned, no tidings
have come since Whites pigeon post
message on Friday. The situation in
that vicinity, as near as can be fig
ured out here, is as follows: Gen.
White is apparently holding his own,
Notwithstanding the continued fire of
the big guns planted on the hillsides.
and the cavalry sortie at Bester's
shows the British are following up
every chance to prod Joubert's forces
In return for his persistent harassing
of Ladysmith.
The Beers, it is suspected, are still
moving a part of their forces south
ward even beyond Colenso. That they
will be heard from in the vicinity OF
Pietermaritzburg soon is not unlikely.
The British claim they have a strong
force composed of volunteers, regulars
and a naval brigade, at this point we'll
able to meet any attack the Beers may
make. However, the same claims have
been made regarding Colenso and 9TH
er points, so the statement must neces-
sarily be taken with few grains of
salt.
A Daily Mail special from Pieter-
frl, 10 do C, Lat tho
residents of Estcourt, the largest town
between there and Ladysmith, have
been recommended to leave, and there
are unconfirmed rumors afioat of a
fresh engagement at Elandslaagte,
with severe Boer losses.
The war Office is pinning slight
hopes on retaking Colenso from the
Beers, and the reported movement OF
Joubert's forces toward Pietermaritz-
burg indicates that the Boer force Is
divided, a part stringing along the
railroad to prevent reinforcements
reaching White and part remaining in
front of Ladysmith, thus weakening
er, is extremely slight.
One of Reuters Durham dispatches
distinctly states that the force invad-
ing Colenso is composed of 5000 fresh
Free State troops. A further evidence
Of the heavy artillery possessed by
Beers is conveyed in adyices that
Cronje is Smelling Mafeking with a gun
weighing ten tons, although the same
report claims the gun is too unwieldy
to be of any service to the Beers,
Moreover, it is quite certain the Beers
are bringing up still more big guns
from Pretoria.
The war office thought it had def
mite estimate of the number and size
of the Boer guns, but it seems it was
all guesses and considerably off. 1t
also discovered that only recently the
Beers were supplied with special
Schneider carriages, rendering
the transportation of big guns far
easier than was supposed.
Taking in the whole south African
fighting ground, the British position at
present is far from satisfactory.
Great Britain, however, has still one
large, able-bodied hope in Gen. Butler.
Things are expected to be different
when the First army corps gets into
the field with Gen. Butler at the head,
for a powerful attack on Pretoria.
This move, it is argued, might have
the effect of calling in the whole Boer
army in defense of the capital and
bring about one big engagement. to
settle the whole difficulty in a single
battle.
Yet it does not take great
amount of figuring to see that
even Butler with his $4,000 men
has a pretty tough task ahead
of him With White isolated at
Ladysmith, the Beers in control Of
the only railway, Durham, Ladysmith,
Mafeking, and Kimberley besieged, the
Free-Staters pouring across the
Orange river, the Beers invading Zulu
land. the Basutos on the verge of TAX
ing a hand In the war, and the upris-
ing OF Dutch threatened more and
more in Cape Colony, Gen. Butler will
have a number of places to take his
troops, and the situation in each dis
trict is almost equally urgent. II has
been suggested in several quarters
that the best plan for Gen. Butler to
follow Is to relieve al these places
and then concentrate his expected
forces. This makes 1t rather uncer-
tain ut present just when Gen. Butler
will get started on his campaign.
The first transports. with 3.40o men,
are now due at Cape Town, but owing
to the severe storms on the eastern