The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-04-18
In SOUTH AFRICA.

BLoEMFoNTEIN April 11-General
Gatacre has been recalled. He will re-
TURN Immediately to Euglsnd. SIR
Herbert Chermside has been promoted
10 command of the Eleventh Division.
General Gatacre's recall gives credence
to the story that Wepener, which Gen
eral Brabant has been holding, has
Deon evacuated owing to General Gaia
cre's delay in conducting relief to that
place.
LONDON, April IA dispatch to
the Daily Mail from Brandford, dated
Monday, says: yesterday Gen. De
Wet inflicted the third defeat of the
British within a week at Meerkatsfon-
TEN, killing and wounding 600. He
captured 300, with IL wagons, losing
five Beers killed and nine wounded"
Boer reports seem to indicate that
Lord Methuen is advancing from Bos-
hof toward Hoopstad. 1t is bold and
apparently dangerous move since, al
though it turns the right flank of the
Boer position at Brandfort, it puts
Lord Methuen's force between what
ever garrison there may be at Bloem-
hof in the Transvaal and the Brandfort
force.
the correspondent of the Times at
Lorenzo Marques says: "Trustworthy
refugees assert that the Beers recently
obtained at least thirty pieces of ar
tillery, some of large calibre, which
were brought overland as machinery
from a West African port. Eight of
these guns were despatched to the
Free State a week ago. The Boer Of
ficials openly boast that they have sue
ceeded in smuggling ammunition
through Portuguese territory"
NEW YORK, April ia contract 10
buy 10000 to 80 900 horses for the Brit
ioh government was about completed
in this city Tuesday. The horses are
for cavalry regiments and the artillery
service in South Africa, and they viii
cost several million dollars. This il
the largest single order of the kind evel
placed in this country.
The horses must conform practically
to the United States army's strict re
quirements in size, breed and sound
ness. This limits the choice practi
cally to the breeds reared in the pro
ducing centres of Kentucky, Indiana
Illinois, Missouri and Iowa. Buffalt
has been selected as the point of in
spection where the horses will b.
brought by the ,ntractors who will &C
as the British governments agents
When accepted at Buffalo, the horses
sufficiently rested, will be shipped t.
this city and loaded on transports ii
lots of about 1000 each.
Further particulars of the fight q
Elandslaagte state that when the Boer
commenced Smelling, the British wer
drilling and one private was killed an
another wounded before the soldier
were withdrawn from the range. The
: the naval brigade opened fire and dreV
a heavy Boer fusilade and two of th
cruiser Phyilomel's gunners were xii
ed, the naval gunners stuck to thei
positions, however, and the Beers ur
masked six guns, including hundre
; FOUNDER and shells fell In all the Brit
ish camps. After three hours OF bon
bardment the Boer FIRE slackened an
the burghers were cleared from tn
: kopje on the right when the BIRTHS
shells lit on the spot occupied by the
;, gun. Another command was see
,, moving toward the British left appa,
emily with the intention of fsnkin
them bat the British shells forced theI
to retire. The British advanced picl
: cts and continually sniped, but only
q few casualties were reported.
Gen. Gatecre's return to England
accepted as being in the nature of n
n call, though no reason is given for i
\ and it will be associated on the publ
a mind with his lack Of success. Rol
\ erts criticised his management of tn
+. Stormberg attack. Possibly Gatacre
9 having arrived an hour too late to re-
cue the Reddersburg force may hav
d decided his return. Gen. Rumble, seen
I ingly, succeeds Gen. Gatacre and a.
# cording to the dispatches from Bloen
t fontein, the command of several bri,
AIDES are about to be changed.