The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1899-10-12
WAR IN TRANS
VAAL NOW ON
The Campaign Actively Be-
gun BY the Beers.
Concentration of the South African
Troops on the Buffalo River.

London, Oct. 12.-All kinds of rumor,
are telegraphed from South Africa. re.
garding the Beer movements. Apart
from the advance of the Volksrust AND
Van Reenan commanders, reports have
arrived Of the concentration Of the Ut
rctch and Vryheid commanders towards
the drifts along the Buffalo river. cas-.
Of Dundee.
One Of the special correspondents ait
Lady Smith expresses the opinion that
a Boer commando Of some 200 men Wis
1ted New Castle on Tuesday, made pur-
chases and then withdrew. These he
suggests may have given rise to the
reports regarding the occupation Of
Laingsnei.
Official confirmation of the announce
ment that the Orange Free State
burghers have entered Natal by way
Of Nanreenans pass is at hand. It
leaves no further room for doubt that
acts Of war have already been com
united and that the campaign has be-
gun.
News Of an invasion on the northern
border is also generally accepted as re-
liable. 1t seems Improbable, therefore,
\
on and RocT can long be delayed if in
deed it has not occurred already.
This mornings dispatches furnish
ample details of the situation on the
frontier and enable a clearer exposition
of the military status. 1t now seems
that the Beers intend to act in two col
umnS. those from the TranSVaal work
ing from the north and those from the
Orange Free State working from the
west with the object of keeping the
British forces at Lady Smith and Dun
dee occupied, while parties of Beers slip
past TO destroy the bridges along the
railway forming the line of communica-
ton between the British at Durham,
Natal, the advanced base of Pietermar-
itzburg and the front.
1t is regarded as possible the Beers
viii attempt to occupy EstcOurt, where
there are only 100 men of the naval
brigade and the news that the Beers
are raiding Zululand in the neighbor
hood of Eshowe is taken as a confir-
nation of this possibility.
An easy road connects Eshowe and
Estcourt through Greytown and Pam
poenek and from Graytown it is also
IN easy reach to Nowpick to the south |
II the bridges along the Umgenie river (
were destroyed this would increase the |
difficulty Of reinforcing the British.
However, it is still suspected that the ]
entire BOer concentration on the from !
tiers of Natal may be merely an elab- /
crate feint to draw off attention from !
Mafelling. which many experts regard /
as the real objective point of the Beers. /
A successful dash there would give the
Beers great prestige with the disaffect /
ed Afrikanders in Cape Colony
Colonel Baden PowelIs movement al +
Mafeking this morning is held to indi-
cate that he is not prepared for sharp
lighting, but probably expects it at
that point.
Five of the leading South African
firms in London nave subscribed $4,000 |
each to the lord mayors fund for the t
relief of the refugees. The directors of
Sir Thomas LiptOn's company have de-
cided to acquiesce in suggestion ca
bed by him from New York that all re-
servists on the company's pay roll be
given half pay during their absence,
and be reiEstated in the company's en-
ploy after hostilities are ended.
Hiram $. Maxim, chief engineer and
director Of the Maxim Nordenfeldt
Guns & Ammunition company, Ltd, in
an interview today says:
so far as I am aware the Beers pos
sess thirty MaXims, but the British
could not fear the Boer artillery, which
has always proved a source Of weak
ness rather than strength TO the burgh-
ars."
After warmly approving armored
trains and pointing out how useful
they had been TO Americans in the
Philippines, he said:
The Beers remind me of the people ,
If the southern states of the American ,
lnion. They are excellent marksmen,
md as good fighters as can be found
anywhere in the world. However. none
aver fought better than the southern
rs, and yet they lost. Just so will !
England vanquish the Beers. If YOU
want to know what the English-speak- !
nE races can do. look across the At !
autc and see what America has done" ,