Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-06-06


there was little work for them. He had
stationed two brigades of cavalry north
of Pretoria and General Hamilton's col
umn to the west had not a. >empted to
concentrate his forces since the Boer
commanders were not strong.
After few hours of maneuvering the
capital was left defenseless. The forts,
constructed at the expense of the mine
owners and strengthened during the war,
were abandoned, the Creusotes and
Krupps and the famous Long Toms
which were to render Pretoria impreg-
nable were taken east to the mountains
and the capital of which President klu-
gers burghers had boasted would be de-
Tended for month after month was sur
rendered after single feeble engage
ment.
The facility with which Johannesburg
and Pretoria have been taken leads many
military men to suspect that there has
been a secret understanding between
President Kruger and the British govern
ment by which the war will be brought
to an end without any unnecessary loss
of life and wasteful destruction of prop
erty. The theory while plausible, cannot
be proved; since neither President Kru-
ger nor Lord Roberts will admit that
there has been any secret intrigue or that
the closing scenes of the war have been
pre- arranged in any sense. The safer
generalization is that the Beers have
fought gallantly against the resources of
mighty empire and have been finally
overwhelmed by superior numbers and
energy and that Lord Roberts has
worked out an intricate problem in the
dynamics of war. He has known just how
much force was needed in the advance
line and what kind of force and how to
protect his line of communications most
effectively by operations on the eastern
flank under General Rumble.
The campaign may now be said to have
ended west of the line drawn from Pre-
toria to Ficksburg. General Hunters di-
vision is reported to have entered Litch-
tenberg; Lord Methuen will probably turn
up at Potchefstroom and Generals Bad
en-Powell and Darlington will occupy
Zeerust and Rustenburg. The occupation
of Pretoria will probably dishearten the
Free State forces and the Bethlehem,
Harrismith and Vreede districts will be
gradually overrun by General Rundle's
forces. The remaining operations of the
war will be restricted to the Lydenberg
district, to which the force still holding
Laing's Mex must retreat through Err
melo.
There are many signs that the strug-
gle will end in the course of a fortnight
and the details of the surrender of Pre-
toria, communicated by Lord Roberts at
midnight, support this view From Lord
Roberts report 1t appears that the
Beers were driven back fairly into Pre-
toria in Mondays engagement and that
the surrender of the town was demanded
General Botha proposed an armistice for
settling the terms of the surrender, and
Lord Roberts replied that there could be
no conditions. General Botha decided
against any attempt to defend the town
and the civil officials arranged for the
entry of the troops during the afternoon
as had been done at johannesburg. The
wives of President Kruger and General
i Botha remained in the town and no at
tempt was made to remove the British
prisoners to Waterfall. All the prisoners
will be specially released and the stand
made In the Lydenberg district Is not
likely to be serious.