The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1900-03-02
.C'RONJE DIES HARD
HEMMED IN ny THE BRITISH nm
FIcHTs sTUBDORNLY.
Asks for an Armistice to hurry hts
Dead and Receives a Reply to
Flight to q Finish or surrende.
Unconditionally-H Replies That
He Was Misunderstood ansl In
tends to Fight to the Death--The
Battle Goes On-Doers Are Draw.
ing Their Forces Together to At
tack Roberts.

London, Feb. p. - Gen. Cro,,ie ii
seemingly making his last stand. He
is dying hard, hemmed in by Rrjtish
infantry and shells from fifty guns
falling into his camp. In the ihirtl day
of the fight the Boer chief asked for
an armisticc to bury his dead. i
"Fight to finish or surrender uncon-
ditionally," was Lord Kitchener's re-.
ply. Gen. Cronje Immediately sent
back word that his request for an
armistice had been misunderstood, and
his determination then. us before. was
to fight to the death. The battle went
on. This was the situation of Gen.
Cronje Thursday evening, as sketched
IN the scanty kilograms that have
emerged from the semi-s'lcnca of
South Africa. Officially Lord Roberts
wires that he has scattered the adj
vaEced commanders or rainforcemcnts
That were striving to reach Gen.
Cronje. 1t is regarded rs singular that
Lord Roberts, wiring Wednesday,
should not mention the appeal for an
armistice on the previous day and also
that the war office should withhold
good news. if it has any. Without
trying to reconcile even the scanty'
materials at hand. it seems piain that
Gen. Cronic is in Il bay. and even 4
desperate situation. and that the Brit
ish are pressing their advantage While
the attack on Gen. Cronie proceeds
there is
Race for Concentration
between the Beers and the British.
The engagement with Gen. Grantees
five to eight thousand intrencl,c,l mem
is likely 10 become an incident in the
battle between the masses. The scat
tered fragments of Boer power are
rapidly drawing together l., attack
Lord Roberts. Will Cron.i, bc able to
hold out until the Boer masses appear,
or, if he does, will they then he able to
succor him? The British ara facing
the Beers ON ground where the arms,
tactics ard training are expected to
give them the advantage ever the
Beers. Gen. Butler, according to a
dispatch from Chieveley. dated on
"Wednesday. finds the Beers in posi-
tions north of the Tugela largely rein
forced This seems strange. ::
The war office. for the first tine. has
given out IN official compilation Of the
British losses. The total is 1l.oGS to-
Feb IL. This does not include, there.
lore. l-Ofu lioDeftS' recent losses nor
the Wiltshire prisoners. The press as
sociation learns that the British losses
ut Koodoes Rand was TOO.
Three thousand fresh troonS will en-
bark for South Africa to-day The
relative position OF the comhatants is
likened to chess players, one eff whom
from time to time adds pieces to the
board, Willie any loss to til" adversary
is irreplaceable.
News FROM Kimberley.
London, Feb 24--The war office has
issued the following from Lord Rob
erts. dated Thursday:
"Methuen reports from Kimberley
that supplies of food ana forage are
being pushed OIL as fast as possible.
There will be enough coal to start thel
De Beers mines in ten days. BY this
means great misery will be allpviated.
Hospital arrangements there reported
perfect. He hopes pr:cska and the
adjoining country will soon be settled.
Beers Expelled From, "a flopic.
London. Feb. 24.-The Times las the
following from !'aarseborg, dated Feb.
u: I'VE have expelled 500 Bears from
an isolated kopje about Il mile south
east of Gen. Cronjs's lager