The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-05-08

| London, May s. APO a. m.-The Beers
are everywhere retiring before the
British except on the Natal frontier,
and at Mafeking to the inner circle Of
/ their defenses. They appear deter
mined not to fight until the Kroonstad
1 hills are reached. Lord Roberts is ex-
| pected 10 do another forty or fftv
miles and then wait for a time, in order
/ to bring up supplies and to repair the
] railway. There are one or two hints in
the dispatches from the front that he
may rest for a few days at SmaldeeI
General French's 10000 cavalry have
/ not been mentioned in the official or
unofficial dispatches for four days. It is
! by no means likely that he is idle, AID
the conjecture is that he is either de-
/ touring toward Kroonstad or raiding
] tbe Ladvhrand district.
/ Fifteen thousand British are now
! operating on the western frontier Of
! the Free State. As the deadlock at
I Warrenton has been broken ard the
! Beers are retreating, there is nothing
J formidable, except distance, between
/ WarrentOn and Mafeking.
| The most hopeful advices from Mafe-
| king of April p were that the garrison
would be barely able to hold out for a
month At that time the fever was
/ spfeading. According TO advices from
/ Maseru, Basutoland. several thousand
Free StateTs are north of Ladybrand,
where they have collected great herds.
Beers Have Supplies.
The district is rich in food for men
ana horses and the Beers seem resolved
not to move nerthWaTd. but TO be pre-
pairing to resist where they are. II
they are let alone they win menace
/ tkes lne Of cOHnauniee tons after ths
/ main British army has passed into the
TFansvaaI
Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener
personally directed the artillery in the
Vet river engagement Queen Victoria
VIII send a signed photograph to Colo
mel Kekewich. the hero of Kimberley.
Six thousand, four hundred and fifty
eight troops are now at sea on the way
to South Africa. No others are under
( orders to go, except as recruits to ill
up the losses of regiments at the front.
The LOurenZo MARQUEE correspond
ent Of the Times says: "Commandant
Snyman is so alarmed at the prospect
of having his retreat cut off that he
has appealed for permission to retire
northward from Mafeking to intercept
Colonel Plumer."
Lady Sarah Wilson wires from Mafe-
king, under date Of April %, as follows:
The situation is unchanged. The gar
rison is depressed at there being no
sign of relief, but is as determined as
ever to deprive the Beers of a crown
ing triumph on the western border
"A case of whisky realized $40 at a
rattle, and a pound Of flour was sold at
auction for two guineas."
In Camp at SmaldeeI.
Lord Roberts reports to the war office
in a dispatch dated Smaldeel, May s,
afternoon, as follows: We crossed
the Vet river this morning and are now
encamped at Smaldeel Junction. The
enemy IS in full retreat toward Zaed
river and KrOonstad. The turning
movement was made by the mounted
infantry just before dark yesterday.
1t was a very dashing affair. The
Canadians New South Wales. New
Zealand Rifles and Queensland mounted
infantry WED with each other in the
determination TO close with the enemy
Captain Anley of the Essex regiment
commanding the Third infantry battal-
ion. behaved in very gallant manner
me naval guns and the artillery
| made excellent practice. particularly
I two five-inch guns for the first time
I with this force. We captured a Maxim
/ and twenty-five prisoners. Our casual
| ties are very few-Only fifteen wound
/ ed, one killed and three missing"
/ The war Office has received the fol-
( lowing dispatch from Lord Roberts,
dated Smaldeel, May Z, 1885 a. m.
General Hunter. after defeating the
/ enemy May {. Joined hands with. Paget
/ near WaTTeckOn. The enemy left thir-
teen killed and wounded on the ground.
andw we captured several prisoners
( Our losses were slight. Hunter speaks
| in high terms of the gallantry Of the
/ yeomanTy under Colonel Maybrick.
THE enemy have retired from the
/ front OF Thaba NChu and the exceed
/ ingly strong position they held is now
! occupied by Rundle's division"
Lord Roberts is now nine miles north
of the Vet and sixty-three miles north
| of Bloemfontein Evidently he is not
letting grass grow under his feet, al
though the Beers seem equally anxious
to retreat towards Kroonstad, and are
40 doing.
A special dispatch from SmaldeeI
(Winburg road station), dated 9:45 >.
m. Sunday, May 6. gives details of the
occupation of WinbuTg by the British.
1t says:
News has just come here that Gen
eral Hamilton is giving the Beers no
| rest, and that they are falling back
hurriedly. He entered Winburg today
after brisk fight. in which the Beers
fell back so quickly that one of their
guns, in addition to a Maxim. was
abandoned
The same dispatch, describing the
crossing Of the Vett river by the Brit
ISL, says: THE BOer forces entrenched
on the opposite bank prepared to con-
test the crossing. Our guns were then
| brought into place and a terrific shell
fire was directed on the Boer lines At
the same time the Queenaanders, I'M
der a heavy fire. dashed across the
river and, advancing in the open, COM
pletely turned the BOer right.
1T was dusk, but nothing could stop
the gallant Australians. They pushed
on again. seized a commanding kODje.
and by brilliant NOV ements and con-
tinuOus rifle fire, drove off the enemy in
the darkness.
The first CLEAN of dawn this morn
ing found the enemy in full flight and
our men after them, and by o'clock
this morning we entered the important
strategic point"