Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1900-12-28
HANGS IN THE BALANCE.
Points Upon. sssasS1yvass
hlch the Question of
the Rebellion of Cape
Colony Rest.

| ~
London, Dec. 26.-The position o
Cape Colony is hanging in the balance
According to the Morning Posts Cap
Town correspondent, everything de
ponds upon the quantity of ammnni
ton In possession of the disloya
Dutch residents. 100 of whom hav
joined the Beers in the Philiptowl
district alone. Energetic measure
have been taken to stem the invasion
but there is unquestionably DANCE
that parties of Beers will get through
into parts of the colony and gradually
raise the whole Cape in rebellion. Re
endorsements can arrive none toe
soon.
Most of the dispatches from Cap.
Town describe the raiders as doing lit
tie harm and as being rapidly enclosed
by Lord Kitchener's combination. Lore
Kitchener is in the heart of the disaf
fected districts. He has the advantage
OF being personally acquainted with
local conditions. Last March he super
vlsed the suppression of the rising
which occurred then. He is bringing
down thousands ofstroops from the
north. Civil railway traffic has been
suspended largely in all parts of the
colony, and the movements of both the
Beers and the British are almost un
known in Cape Town.
The Cape Town correspondent of the
Times telegraphs that scarcely any
Cape Colonists have joined the nyad.
ers.
London, Dec. 2e.-The English Christ.
mas comes this year with holly ane
mistletoe, but with no rue. The .worl
In South Africa is unfinished hut there
is no sense of humiliation in the unex
pected reverses, and no bewildermen1
over the holding up of the British ARMY
at the three points of attack and thu
fallure to accomplish the relief of the
starving garrisons. The news from the
theater of war is meager. and what
there is points to gradual breaking
down of resources in the Boer resist
ance, II is mainly a problem of re;
mounts and relays Of horses, The in
fantry cannot bring the war to close
by sitting tight on the railways and III
the chief towns. The Boer guerrilla:
must be hunted down, and this can be
done only by supplying the mounted
force with droves of horses for riding
hard and fast over the veldt. The wa,
Office has never been able to compre.
bend the necessity for PURCHASING
horses on an unprecedented scale for
operation In South Africa.
No intelligence has been received
from Kitchener recently, and private
advices indicate that railway and tele.
graphic communication between Cape
Town and the north has been suspend.
ed, partly by the operations of the Boo,
raiders. and partly by the heavy rains
and this fact may account for the
silence of the wires. Considerable anx.
iety as to the situation in Cape Colony
is still said to prevail in military circles
in Cape Town, but here there is thefull.
est confidence in the ability of Lord
Kitchener, who is now on the spot. to
crush the marauding commanders
The Beers are not in sufficient strength
to seriously interfere with the British
lines of communication. and any dam.
age that they may have done to rail.
way and telegraph lines will no doubt
be quickly repaired.
Cape Town Dec. 26.--Regular rail.
way service between Cape Town and
DE Aar has been restored. The report
of the destruction of bridge south
of DE Aar turns out to be incorrect:
only culvert was damaged. Trains
are running from De Aar to Kimber-
ley irregularly. There are considera.
BILE delays elsewhere as the result OF
heavy rains.
I London. Dec. 26.-Lord Kitchener.
telegraphing to the war office, under
date of Naauwpoort. December "a, re.
ports: "Thorneycroft's mounted in.
fantry have occupied Britstown with.
out opposition. The Beers retired to
the north In the direction of Prioska.
They will be followed up.
Z Wellington n. D.. Dec. 26.-The gov
eminent has asked the governor, the
earl of Ranfurly. to inform Mr.. Joseph
Chamberlain, the secretary of state for
the colonies, that it does not wish the
New Zealand contingent In South
Africa to be diminished. that drafts
will be forwarded to fill the ranks, and
that additional mounted ma Il i t. =
sent. ,,ra.t 10
Good %
Omaha, Neb..4
snow made =