Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-15
British Are Anxious For
Any Kind of News.
GEN. BULLER'S FORCES
Are Scattered Over a Very Wide Front,
SE4
The Movement of Ge- er-' War
ren--News From Al. Is
Strictly Censored.

Roberts enigma, N change in the sit
u%ation." does nothing to allay public
anxiety or to explain the mystery sur-
rounding General Buffers movements on
the Tugela, and, though there is a dis-
position to regard the dispatch as dis
posing Of Saturdays adverse rumors, the
week has opened in a state Of suspense
almost equal to that of last week.. be-
cause it is recognized h a failure In
General Buffers present attempt would
seal the fate of Ladysmith.
Presumably nc change in the situa-
ton" refers to previous dispatches sent
to the war department which have not
yet been revealed to the public. Except
the announcement of the seizure of Pot
~tieter's drift and of the advance of Cen
eral Warren there has been no news
from the Tugela. A ray of hope is in the
fact that the anne silence prevails on
the Boer side. Thus it may perhaps be
not yet met a serious check.
If the announcement of General War
ren's movements be correct, it is evil
dence that General Buffers forces ara
spread over a wide front-perhaps 25
miles-and in the event of a sudden fall
of the river, his operations might be full
Of danger. 1t is believed that General
Butler has no good survey maps of the
district. This will add to his difficulties.
General Warren's advance probably
NEAR an attempt to seize Hlangwane
hill, the main post of the Beers south OF
the Tugela. Upon the success or failure
of these operations depends the whole
future Of the campaign. Until the re,
suit is known Lord Roberts will be un.
able to decide how to dispose of the tSv0
divisions and the reinforcements now ar
(, irving. tWF
The news from other points is ofssno
great Importance. Boer accounts telEsof
another sortie from Kimberley on jan
uary 9, in the direction of Mapfer's dam.
with a brisk exchange of firing, but nc
result. A heavy defamation was heard
pm January 8 within Kimberley.
A dispatch to the Daily Mail from Mod
der river, dated January 10, givess a
rumor that Kimberley is being bonn
barded. g. :
Bastard's Mex, mentioned in Lord Rob-
erts' dispatch as the locality of recon
noissance, is northwest of Colesberg. z
Doubts are beginning to be raised
whether it will be possible to get to-
gether anything like 1000 yeomanry.
%plicants satisfy the standard Of riding
and shooting. A large number of officers
from the Egyptian army have just left
Cairo for South Africa to replace those
killed and wounded.
London, Jan. ia special dispatch
from the Hoofdt lager at Ladysmith,
dated January 8, via Lorenzo MARQUES,
describing the assault on January 6 upon
Ladysmith, says:
1.-THE British made no attempt to hold
the first line of b~reastworks, but made
an exceedingly stubborn resistance at the
next row. Every inch was stubbornly
contested, n conspicuous bravery was
displayed on both Sides.
after 10 o'clock the British artillery
first opened and then a terrible individ-
ual contest ensued for the possession of
Platt-rand ridge. At noon a thunder
storm interrupted the battle, lasting two
hours. Although the burghers succeed
ed in ultimately gaining possession of
most of the British positions on the vest
ern side of the Platt-rand, they were
finally obliged to retire from most of the
ground they occupied. The British were
most strongly entrenched, their redoubts
being successfully lOop-holed, and the
enemy were so close that guns were fire.
quently fired at arms length. The hor-
ror and bewilderment of the scene could
scarcely be described. The operations
were continued The next day Sunday
oi d SiHdlIcT SCdlc, OuI IL Is reported tnat
as a result of one of the forlornest hopes,
many ammunition wagon trains were
captured.
London, Jan. ia dispatch to the
Times from Lorenzo Marques says: The
British consul has issued q notice warm
ing British subjects against existing for
service with the Beers. trading with the
republics or reasonable conduct in the
Transvaal. Herr Pott has protested
Tho vnmnm Mnfhnr