The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-02-17

the MOdder about twenty-five miles.
He reports by dispatches dated 5:35
p. m. that he had forced a passage at
Clip Drift and has occupied the hills
north of the river, capturing three Of
the enemy's laageTs with supplies,
While General Gordon OF the Fifteenth
Hussars, with his brigade. who had
made feint at Hondeval Drift four
miles west. has seized it and another
drift between it and Clip Drift, to-
gether with two more Iaagers.
General F'renCh'S performance is
brilliant. considering the excessive heat
and binding duststcrm which ragged
during the latter part of the day.
Owing to the rapidty of his move
ments, General French met with but
slight opposition. his losses being small.
Lieutenant johnson of the Inniskilling
dragons IS the only officer reported
severely wounded.
Ihe Sixth division was last night on
the north bank of the Riet at Water
val DRIFT and is moving To support
the cavalry. The Seventh division is
here and will go on this afternoon.
Four officers and ffty-three men had
had TO be sent last evening in the re-
turning wagons to the railway line.
Frustrated by heat and exhaustion
Feb. 10. APO a. m.-The British army,
TOR the first time since the war began,
IS inside the BOer frontier. Lord Rob
erts, with at least 10000 infantry. 1000
cavalry and $50 guns. has turned the
Magersfontein lines, before which the
British forces have been encamped for
ten weeks, and with half of his corps
he is already operating on Free State
territory. a battle has not yet been
fought, but large tactical ADVANTAGES
have been gained. The relief of Kim
berley is within measurable reach and
the way to Bloemfontein is appreciably
easier
Lord Roberts dispatches, wired from
inside the Free State, and on the Riet
river, left him Wednesday morning. His
advance had not been opposed by the
Beers in force. Their patrols melted
away as the British moved forward.
The BOer army is likely to be felt in
day or two, and a battle is consequent
ly imminent.
AS to what forces General Cronje has
now at his disposal. and as to where
he proposes making a stand against
the invaders. no one here connected
with the war office knows anything.
The data for conceptions are wholly
wanting.
The forces Immediately at the dis
pOsal Of Lord Roberts are placed at
so 1000, in a general way. These figures
are revealed by the commands men
toned in the dispatches as having been
added to the divisions known to be with
Lord Methuen. Quite possibly Lord
Roberts has 10000 or 10000 more.
1t is now realized that the incidents
at Rensburg have been seen out of all
proportion. Merely skeleton lines were
maintained there while troops were be-
ing secretly and rapidly concentrated
on the Modder river. The facility with
which 10000 men have already been
sent beyond the rail terminus shows
that Lord Kitchener has been fully
successful in organizing transport.
He is now supposed to be down the
line sending forward more troops and
getting together more transport. About
five miles of OK and mule wagon trains
are estimated for each division, so that
Lord Kitchener, who is Teputed to have
more skill than a circua manager in
handling field transport, has immense I
IabOrs in hand.
The London morning papers take
rather sober views of the situation, but
are greatly pleased and hopeful of what
is to come. They have been fed, how
ever. on such a low diet of British sue
cesses that they are disposed to eau
ton and given to measuring develop I
ments with considerable reserve They
fully realize that serious fighting is yet
to come. Lord Roberts announcements /
make the minor operations in other
parts of the field shrink.
The Daily Telegraph has received the !
dated Tuesday, from its spe-
cial correspondent at Frere:
"On Sunday the Beers advanced down /
the Ladysmith road toward POtgieters. |
Three hundred horsemen. with others 7
proceeded to a point where they began /
to construct new rows of trenches at
right angles to the road. This was
about two miles north of the drift
"A party of Beers also crossed the /
Tugela, now very low, about six miles
below Potgieter's drift, where they
5niped the South African light horse, /
who repulsed them.
Several other skirmishes have taken
place, and the Beers are evidently anX-
ous about their positions. They have
been throwing up defensive works from
richards drift and the Spion KOp
range eastward to the Hlangwana and /
Monte Cristo hills, both on this side of /
lie Tugela.
They have also two, if not three I
wooden bridges spanning the -Tugela in !
the bend, and a wire rope apparatus /
FOR the conveyance of food and ammu- /.
litiCn across the river
y dispatch to the Morning Post from |
dated Tuesday, confirms the /
report that parties of Beers have oc-
,upied the old British camp on Spear |
Identified the wounded Lieutenant I
Churchill as the brother of Winston .
Churchill, says he was shot through the /
right leg.
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