The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-02-10
AND RECROSSTHE TUGELA
GERMAN CORRESPONDENT SAYS
BUTLER HAS AGAIN FAILED.
MCDONALD FALLS BACK TO MoDDER RIVER
British Armored Train Makes a Sortie From
Chieveley Toward CoIenso, But Under
Heavy Fire From the Beers is
Forced to Withdraw.
Forced 10 Withdraw.

London, Feb 10.-4:20 a. m.-London
General Butler has failed again. These
statements were passed by the British
censor at Alden and are read in the light
of Mr. Balfour's announcement in the
Commons that General Butler is not
pressing his advance.
Mr.. Winston Churchill wires that Vaal
Krantz was impracticable for the guns
which were needed to support a further
advance His cablegram leaves General
Butler on Tuesday night sending Il fresh
brigade to relieve the tired holders of
Naal Krantz.
The descriptive writer's with General
Butler were allowed a rather free hand
again in explaining the ugly position
which the British held and the natural
obstacles which had to be overcome. So
it is easy to infer that with Boer riflemen
and artillery defending them, these hills.
ravines and jungles have not been over
come and thus the public is prepared in
advance for bad news.
Heliograms from Ladysmith. dated
Monday, describe the effect General Bul-
ler's eannonade had ON the worn ga1-ri-
son. Hope ran high that the long period
of inactivity and tedium was drawing to
a close. The crash OF guns was almost
continuous for ten hours, and at times it
seemed as if as many as twenty shells
burst i'm minute The Beers, prepar-
ing always for the possibility of defeat,
were driving herds and sending long wag-
ON trains toward the Drakensberg passes.
Intense darkness and silence followed,
broken only by frogs croaking and the
occasional blaze of star shells, surround
ing the town with a circle of light to pre-
vent the unobserved approach of the enc
my. "A series of British mines. laid for
the Beers. exploded accidentally, shaking
and alarming the city and camp
General MacDonald's retirement puz-
Zles the military cOmmentOrS. The theory
that finds acceptance as that 1T was order
ed by Lord Roberts and that both Gener-
al Buffers and General MacDonald's op-
Craticns were by the direction of the
rommander-in-ch i'm order to occupy
the Beers at widely separated points, so
they would be unab BILE to transfer any
norton of their forces to oppose the pro
iected central advance. Mr. Charles Will
liams. a military writer who is under
Lord Wolseley says that beyond doubt
the most authoritative opinion in London
regards it as probable that an endeavo1
will be made to force the line on the
Orange River before Wednesday next
Possibly by Monday.
DIR. Leyds has issued i'll Brussels q
statement for publication in England IN
which he says he is convinced that the
101or n
plblcs have arms and ammunition. II
the Mauser cartridges give out the BoefS
he asserts, will fall back upon Martini
Henry rifles. for which they have a sup
ply of ammunition that is practically ul'
eXhaustible.
A special dispatch from Spearman
Camp dated yesterday tFriday) noon
says that owing to the Boer cross hrt
and the impossibility of intrenching Naa
Krantz. General Buffers force withdrew
The Financial News, which publishes
this dispatch suggests that General bui-
Ter has not actually recrossed the 1Wgela