Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-07
THE FRONTIERS OF NATAL.
Some Places That Will Enter Into the
Campaigns Plans.
From the London Standard.

From the London STANDARD.
The part of Natal upon which military
interest is now centered is the northern ex-
tremity OF the colony, the Kip river dis
trict. 1t may be described as a promon-
tory of British territory jutting about
hundred miles to the northward of the
more compact portion of Natal, a hundred
and twenty miles wide at its base, and end
ing in a point at Charlestown, the most
northerly British settlement, where the
frontiers Of Natal the Orange Free State
and the Transvaal meet. From Charles
town our boundary on the west follows the
crest of the Drakensberg mountains, which,
rising like a great blue wall from the I'M
dulatjng terracelike country of Natal, run
almost due south, and separate the colony
from its western neigTbor, the Orange Free
State. The DrakensbeTSs vary in height
from six thousand to eleven thousand feet.
They are crossed by several passes. which
it is necessary to mention. as the Orange
Free State may attempt to raid into Natal
from the west if the Dransvaal troops, now
said to be in force upon the northeastern
frontier. make a forward movement from
that direction. A traveller exploring the
Drakensberg range from north to south
would first come to Botha'S pass, over
which runs a main rOad-gOOd as roads go
in Natal. He would then see Muller's and
the Tandjes coils, over which the tracks are
said to be Indifferent. Next comes the
most important military feature IN the
mountains. Van Reenen's pass, which is
traversed not only by a good main road,
but by the railway from Natal to the Or
ange Free State. Further to the south
again are two more depressions in the
mountains, across which roads or paths
have been carried, practicable for mounted
infantry, if not for guns. The Orange Free
State is chiefly composed of great rolling
plains. excellent for the movements of
mounted troops.
At the extreme north of the colony, a few
miles to the south of Charlestown, spur
from the main range of the Drakensbergs
is thrown eastward. completely blocking
the entrance into the TransVaai from Ma
tai; the road over it is crossed by the
Iang's Mex pass, spot which England
has too good cause to remember The pa
rent mountains themselves continue to run
northward a short distance into the Trans
vaal. and then suddenly sink into the plain
which. broken only by few Isolated hills
forms the greater part of the country.
From the north the eastern frontier follows
the windings of the Buffalo river in
soutbeasterly direction as far as Wants
Drift a crossing over the Buffalo a few
miles from Rorke's Drft-the scene of the
gallant exploit of Chard and Bromhead
who in 1879, with a handful of men, sue
cessfully maintained their post against sew
eral thousand Zulus throughout a whole
night.
There are several places where the Buff
falo can be crossed between Wants Drift
and Cha rlestoWn. Following the map from
south to north, the important are
Landmarks Drift, leading to Dundee, the
important coal field near which a large por-
ton of the troops at present in Natal are
concentrated: drift over which passes the
road between Newcastle and Utrecht where
a considerable body of Beers are said to be
in lager and third, connecting the coun-
try about Iaing's Mex with the Dutch town
of Wakkerstroom The railway line from
Durham to Johannesburg runs through the
center of the Kip river district, of which
the boundaries have been above described.
Toe ,1s,.a no
smith, where another considerable portion
of our troops encamped; Glencoe June
ton where short branch line leads to
Dundee and Newcastle From Newcastle
the line runs through Ing6go, where COlIey
encountered the Beers for the second time
with the result we too well know. 1t tun-
nels under Laing's Mex where he received
his first defeat, and it skirts the eastern
slopes of Majuba HILL where this most
hapless of generals saw his British troops
routed by Boer farmers.
To express any definite Views about the
position or strength of the enemy-for so,
after the ultimatum of today, we must de-
scribe the Boers-Would at present be fu-
tile. There not materials upon which
to form clear opinion: but this much aD-
pears proven There are bodies of Trans
vaal Beers collected at Voiksrust a town
within mile or! two of CharlestoWn, on
our northern frontier There are also
troops at Wakkerstroom, some ten miles to
the east of CharleStoHn, and at Utrecht
another town about twenty miles east of
Newcastle: and, rs has already been men,
toned, there is a camp at Vryheid threat
ening Dundee. A reserve is said to have
been formed or to be in process of forma-
tion at place named Standerton, a rail-
way station on the line to Johannesberg,
close to the border Of the Orange Free
State and about forty miles northwest of
our extreme northern frontier. 1t is about
thirty miles due north of the town of
Vrade. which is about the same distance
from Botha's Pass.
AS it has been decided-and wisely de-
cded-by our generals to relinquish any at
tempt to hold the country north of Dundee,
the Beers will doubtless occupy the Laine' S
Mex position, and possibly advance down !
while a thanking force may attempt to ha-
rass the troops intrenched in the neighbor-
hood of Dundee. Commanders from the
Orange Free State are also said to he
threatening Van Reenen's Pass and the
two smaller coils by which the mountains
are crossed to the south of It