The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-06-11
BOLD RAID MADE BY BoERS.
TORE Up TWENTY-oNE MILES OF
ROBERTS RAILWAY.

nelly ous
but Roberts Army VIII be De-
layed in Getting stores-BuIler Is
Now in Boer Tcrritory-He Has
Had Some Hard Encounters.
Beers Arc StiII Determined to
Fight to the Bitter End.
London. June Il. $50 a. m-The Beers
have torn up twenty-one miles of Lord
Roberts line of railway between America
Siding and Roodeval.
1t is a bold raid and vexatious, but it
does not dsquiet the military authorities
as yet for they expect Gen. Kelly-Kenry
to drive off the marauders and to reopen
the line.
The rapidity of the advance OF Lord
Roberts cannot have permitted him to ao-
cumulate large reserves of stores. There
fore an interruption of the railway, even
for a week must embarrass the army and
may bring the forward operations 10
standstill.
Nothing has been heard frcm Lord Rob
elts for thr5e days. This rad on the
railway, the renuous opposition to Gen.
| Rumble and the nimble escape of Com
mandant Botha's division have forced the
war Office observers to the reluctant con-
! clusion that The war is not yet over, al
though even the occasional civilian Boer
sympathizer cannot see how the Beers
will be able to do anything to change the
| result.
Butler In Boer Territory.
| Gen. Butler is in Boer territory. Dis
| patches of correspondents with him, filed
yesterday ct sunset, describe the corps
as camping at Gansoiei, c.ose to the poiot
where the frontiers of the Free state,
the Trarsvaal and Natal meet.
The British marched eight miles yes
| terday," says a Reuter- correspondent
| before enCount eriDg any opposition
| The Beers, who had one gun, withdrew
under heacvy ordinance fire to ridge
just ahead of the camp
| This long range, running skirmish will
doubtless be renewed this morning. Gen.
| Butler is expected to make rapid progress
| now and TO throw the weight of 20 900 men
| into Lord Roberts's Transvaal combina-
| tions.
The fighting on June s. in which there
were fewer than twenty casualties, was
kept up all day long by musketry and ar
tilery. The British attacking line, three
miles in length. made its way amid the
precipitous hills A Boer gun on Spitz-
kop fired shrapnel rapidly at range OF
400 yards at the British right flank, but
| every SncH was DuFleu IN the SFOuIu Uc
fore bursting. The defensive power OF
modern weapons seems less effective in
rough country than upon levels where
wide spaces can be covered with nat tra-
jectories
Gen. Runde's and Gen. Brabant's divi-
sions are still at Hammonia, in the Ficks-
burg district.
| Beers still Determined.
The latest intelligence from their head
4 kN.,t daFn .fV.
ed to fight TO the bitter end. They are
concentrating 1900 men around Bethle-
| hem. The country between them and
Gen. Rumble is mountainous, and resem-
bes Northern Natal in being exceedingly
difficult for military operations. Gen.
Rundles present lie is to prevent the
Beers getting past him southwark.
Maj. Wood of Rundles staff rode 10 a
Boer outpost on June 6, and announced
that Pretoria had been occupied by the
British How the Beers received this
news is not recorded. Altogether. 6Ot
Beers have surrendered to Gen. Rundle.
Gen. Hunters advance has occupied
Ventersdorp, 100 miles southwest of Pre-
toria This took place on June Z.
Gen. Plumer's column is on the Elan1s
river. northwest of Pretoria. The BRITISH
| are sending detachments right and left
to accept the surrenders of comma endoes
horses, cattle and forage and to overawe
the sparsely settled country. Thus far
only one small commando has been heard
Of a commando at Tailbasch.
Gen. Hunters immediate objective I:
Potchefstroom. This town and Rusten-
burg are the largest towns west of Jo-
hannesburg. 1t is reported that Potchef'
stroom is ready to submit.
Gen. Hunter has warned all burghers
that if the telegraph is cut behind him
he will send back and burn the house:
near the line.
The Dutch in Cape Colony appear tE
have split, a majority of the Afrikander
| bund being displeased by the unwilling
ness of Mr.. Schreiner, the Cape premier
to go the fun length of the proposed op'
| position to the British.