The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-24
BeERS CHECKED ON THE SOUTH
ADVANCE INTO CAPE COLONY, HE
THINKS, HAS BEEN
HEADED OFF
SOME SHARP ENGAGEMENTS
Were Fought Saturday without Any
Results Which Either Side
Could Well Claim as
Decisive.

LONDON, Dec. 23-The war office has
received the following dispatch from
Lord Kitchener, dated Pretoria, Dec. %:
''As far as it is possible for me to
form an opinion from the reports Of Of
ficers on the spot, L think the Boer
movement into Cape Colony has been
checked. OF the two forces that enter
ed the colony the Eastern is still north
of the Zoutpcnsberg range, while the one
that entered west appears to have been
turned on the direction of Brittstown
and Prieska. Our troops are getting
around both bodies and a special col
umn is also being organized which will
be dispatched immedia,el when 1 know
where its services are most wanted
The Beers have not received much as
sistance IN Cape Colony as far as my
information goes. We have armed some
of the colorists, who are assisting our
forces. Railway and telegraph COM
munication has been much interrupted
by the very bad weather.
de Wet is in the neighborhood Of
Senekal. Gen French, in conjunction
with Gen. Clements, attacked force un-
der Beyers, south of the Magaliesberg.
The Beers broke away in a southwesterly
direction towards Potchefstroom and
were followed by Gen. Gordon with'a a col
umn of French's force.
CLEMENTS FIGHTING AGAIN.
\ 46SI6TOdy evening ABOUT " ClOCh
Clements force was engaged south OF
OIphants mex, but do not yet know the
result
A later dispatch from Lord Kitchener,
dated Pretoria, Dec. q, says:
1.-The Western column of Beers occu-
pied Brittstown and cut the railway
south of De Aar Junction. The enemy
is being followed up.
Gen French has been in contact for
two days with the commandos of Byers
and Delarey, south of the Magaliesberg.
He is pursuing them The enemy have
lost considerably, and Commandant
Kreuse and others have been captured.
Gen. Colville engaged two separate
commanders Dec. 21 near Vlafontein,
with slight losses, the enemy retiring.
BLUE SUNDAY IN LONDON.
Lord Kitchener's dispatch, breathing
a confidence hardly justified by their con-
tents, is the only official news from the
seat of war, but kilograms from Cape
Town describe the situation in anything
but roseate hues. Without believing the
assertion of the Transvaal agency in
Brussels that 5000 Beers have invaded
Cape Colony, it is quite evident that the
invasion was a serious and Well-pIan-
ned affair. In connection with this,
correspondent sends an extremely inter-
esting letter dated Bethulie, Dec. l. de-
scribing Gen. De Wet and his doings-
HIGH TRIBUTE TO DE WET.
"De Wet has never been taken seriously
enough" says the correspondent, lit
is little use to pursue him, as he fights
a rear guard action and gains twenty
miles while he is being fought.
He is a born military genius whose
wonderful powers have kept up his phe
nomenal resistance
"Once he fails, the whole thing could
be crushed in a fortnight. He has every
single commando under his supervision
All his patrols and columns march ana
counter-march on his order. The forces
under his command have been reduced
by his strength of will to a properly o.
ganized army, moving at his word. The
sooner the British rid themselves of the
idea that De Vets forces are
mere rabble, wandering aimless-
ly the sooner they will grasp
the need of the determined effort which
is necessary to capture him.
CAPE MAILS ARE CUT OFF.
The Cape Colony cabinet had an i'm
portant sitting yesterday Sunday 1t
appears that the Beers have destroyed
a railway bridge ninety feet long about
twelve miles south of De Aar, and that no
Cape mails have arrived at Bloemfontein
for three days
Further anxiety has been caused in
cape Town by the discovery that during
the last two months, public bodies in out
of the way places have requisitioned sup
plies of dynamite. The colonial govern
ment is now endeavoring to recover pos
session of these explosives, and is re-
moving all stores of arms and amnuni-
ton from suspected depots.
Other advices from Cape Town repre-
sent the Dutch element in Cape Colony
Is greatly elated over the southward
of ba
the whole district west of Victoria viii
join the raiders.
1t is expected in Cape Town that the
force travelling. from zoutpan's Drift is
not noGy OF Beers but one of colonials,
fastening to join the invaders.
The Pietermaritzburg correspondent of
the Daily Mail says:
The Beers are active between Johan-
nesburg and Pretoria, exchanging shots
with the British outposts. and If is re-
ported that parties of Beers are bovertno
around johannesburg.