Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-06-04
.DOERS NOT YET CRUSHED.
THEY YET HOLD PRETORIA, AND
HAVE EVEN TAKEN THE Of
FENSIyE IN ONE OCCASION.
MANY CONFLICTING REPORTS
REACH LONDON, VIA LOURENZO
MARQUES, OF SATURDAYS DATE.
They Are Evidently Little to be
Relied Upon-The English Sources
of News Are SinguIarIy Silent
Boer Rumors That the British
Were Beaten mt LindIey With
Heavy Loss-Pending Operations
by Roberts Can Only be Guessed
at.

LONDON, June 4, a. m.-There is
no direct news from Pretoria of later
date than Thursday evening. General
French's cavalry were then at Irene,
eight miles south of Pretoria, and fir
ing was heard there Lord Roberts
messages about secondary operations
elsewhere and the situation at johann
nesburg, dated at Orange Grove, a
farm four miles northeast of johann
nesburg, show that on Saturday at $40
p. M, he was twenty-five miles from
Pretoria.
The correspondents with Lord Rob-
erts have not got through line about
the operations about johannesburg Of
fetal messages continue to come
through, but press kilograms are held
up, probably to avoid their giving even
a hint as to what may be
The Pending Operations.
From the other side there filters
through Lorenzo Marques a mass of
statements, some contradictory, others
obviously improbable, but purporting
to be facts:
Passengers arriving at Lorenzo
Marques Saturday direct from Pretoria,
say that the capital was preparing to
surrender when they left Thursday.
The forts were dismantled. The Boer
guard at Komati Poort searched all
trains and turned back most of the
fugitives, among them deserving for
eigners who were striving to reach
neutral soil.
Immense Boer conveys of provis-
ions are between Pretoria and Maddle-
burf. Fifteen trains are sent daily to
Machadasdbran with supplies for Lyd-
enburg. Pretoria is pictured by the
refugees as in a state of
The populace are dismayed and the
British are expected hourly"
Some foreign attaches have arrived
at Lorenzo Marques to communicate
with their governments for orders to
leave, as they consider that organized
war on the Transvaal side is at an end.
Flying among the Beers are reports
that the British have been beaten back
at Lindley with heavy loss, that the
main attack on Elandsfontein failed
and Lord Roberts was forced to retire
to Klipsriyerberg, that the railway has
been cut behind him south of Vereen-
inging, and that provision train has
been captured.
Without crediting any of these Boer
bulletins everything from the field of
war behind Lord Roberts points to a
great effort last week to paraIyze his
advance by
A Bold Stroke
from the eastward at the railway north
of Bloemfontein. Unless four Boer
columns were in movement seeming
ly with this objective, there was a.
commando in front OF Gen. Brabant.
near Ficksburg, another faced Gen.
Rumble, near Senekal, a third occupied
Lindley and pressed toward the rail-
way, and fourth seized Hebron and
pushed toward Kroonstad. These op-
erations, assuming them to have beeo
independent, all appear to have fail
ed.
The revival of the Boer fighting now
er east OF Lord Roberts advance al
though frultless, is a symptom that
the Beers
Are Not Yet Crushed.
IN Gen. Rundle's attack on the en-
trenched Beers seven miles east Of
Senekal, May 29th, the British did not
see Boer all day, SO completely were
they screened. The British infantry did
not get within 1000 yards of their rifle
men. The 1S2 loss wired by Lord Rob-
erts were suffered by the grenadiers
and Scots guards while advancing over
a level from which the grass had been
burned. The Britishers in khaki were
a conspicuous target against the black
background.
Gen. Rumble withdrew his whole
force at shutdown to Senekal. having
succeeded in drawing the Beers from
Lindley, allowing the threatened force
TO get away safely. The Beers sent to
the British for medical help. saying
that Commandant Devilliers was SER
iously wounded. Gen. Rumble sent
doctor with bottle of champagne and
his compliments, as well as a message
that he would release all the Boer
prisoners at Senekal
The Lorenzo Marques correspondent
OF the Times telegraphing June 2,
says:
An Austrian who has seen seven
months active service in the Transvaal
declares that a large proportion of the
Burghers are deserving TO their homes.
The arrangements whereby the British
prisoners at Pretoria have been placed
under an armed guard with British off,
GERS pending the formal occupation of
the town, is ascTfbed to the good sense
and humane disposition of Gen Louis
Botha and the Transvaal war secretary.
both of whom have earned the pro-
found respect of all classes.
IT Is interesting to uUte that Lord
Roberts soldierly qualities are admir-
ed greatly by both Beers and foreign
ers Il seems that the Boer attack