Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1900-02-23
|. EASEL. .
Receipt Of News From Paarde-
berg Relaxes the Anxiety
Of Britons
AS to the Situation at the Front.
Arrival Of Beers From
Lad ysmith
Still Causes Some Apprehe hension.
Butler Blamed For Being
Slow.


been caused here by the receipt Of the
news from Paardeberg, showing that
Lord Roberts is PERSONAL u superintend-
ing the operations, and though it is
dnfcnlt5to grasp the real situation, it is
generally thonght Lord Roberts is grad
ually Tightening his grip on General
Cronje's forces. IN spite Of the appar-
ent failure Of Sunday attempt to storm
the Boer position, it is evident that
General Cronje is not merely laagered
in the ordinary acceptation of the term,
but occupies q carefully prepared and
entrenched position previously
made ready with the object Of stenming
the prospective Brit tish invasion Of the
Free State. After failing to dislodge
General Cronje, and in spite Of great
bloodshed on both sides, Lord Roberts
seems to have contented himself with
shelling the Beers Monday and Tues
day. He apparently contemplated q re-
newal Of the assault tuesday afternoon.
but after a reconnaissance, he decided
to content himself with shelling the
Beers, which he was still doing when
Paardeberg advices were sent OFF at 6
o'clock Wednesday evening. S5
En- The fact that the Beers from Lady
smith have already arrived IN the
neighborhood of Paardeberg causes
some apprehension, but reinforcements
of guns and men are also reaching Lord.
Roberts and it is not thought that the
TransVaal and Free State railroads Will
be able to transport hurTiedly the great
number of men and horses
III From the available information re-
ceived here, it appears that Lord Rob-
erts completely surrounds General
Cronje with artillery, thus releasing
the other. arms, Of which, military ex-
perts assert, he has plenty to defeat all
reinforcements of the Beers as they ar
rive in detail. The fact that General
Cronje asked for an armistice points to
great losses, as well as indicating that
he recognized that his hope lies in se-
curing delay in order to allow Boer re-
inforcem6nts to create diversion in
Lord Roberts rear.
An additional list Of casualties sus-
tanned by the British troops during the
retreat from Rensberg, Feb. 15, shows
that IA men were killed, that 15S mem
bers of Wiltshire and Worcestershire
regiments are missing, the latter fact
confirming the Boer reports that num-
ber of prisoners had been captured by
them. sS
n Butler Blamed for Hardness.
~ General Buffers apparent tardiness
and failure to prevent the Beers from
slipping round to assist General Cronie
creates no little comment. The relief Of
adysmith is now taken to be matter
of course, and is likely to be announced
before the end of the week, but it is
quite within the probabilities that severe
fighting will occur previous to the re-
lief, while the detachments to be sent
by General Butler to reinforce Lord
Roberts subsequent to the relief are
likely to meet with strenuous resistance
in the passes Of the Drakensberg, in
which fairly powerful burgher forces
remain ~. s3s, 3 e 5i
8 Boer reports say General Joubert' s
nerves are unstrung, and that he no
longer exercises the chief command.
q A dispatch from Sterks Spruit, dated
Wednesday, Feb. 81, says:
ssThe prominent rebels in this district
intend to surrender, and the Stormberg
rebels viii shortly lay down their arms.
There have been many eulogistic ref
erences to the speeches of Laurier and
other Canadians on the subject Of the
losses of the Canadians in South Africa,
concerning which, curiously enough,
there is not single word, official or
otherwise known or published here, ex-
cept that two officers We're wounded.
Did Not Lead Riot.
WILLIAMSBURG, KY, Feb. 2233 2233 Organ
izer George W. Purcell OF the United
Mine Workers has been acquitted Of the
charge Of leading a riot. Purcell, ac-
companied by 200 others, went to Proctor
mines to organize d union. He was met
at the edge of the cofnpanyis IS land and d