Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-28
He Has Hard Task To
Relieve LadySmith.
JOUBERT IS REINFORCED
British Have Captured 800
More PrlSOners-The Irish
Troops Were Lei
Into a Trap.

London, Feb. 2S-The war Office has
received the following dispatch from
Gen. Butler:
Headquarters, Landwanik, Feb. %, 5
a. m.-Finding that the passage of Lam
gewatches Spruit was commanded by
strong entrenchments, I reconnoitered
for another passage on the Tuge1a One
was found for me below the Cataract by
Col. Sandbach, Royal Engineers, on Feb.
25. We commenced making an approach
thereto, and on Feb. 26, finding 1 could
make the passage practicable, crossed
the guns and baggage back to the south
side of the Tugela, took up the pontoon
bridge on Monday night and relaid it at
the new site, which is just below the
present marked cataract. During all
this time the troops had been scattered,
crouching under hastily Instructed
small stone shelters, and exposed to a
calling shell and rifle fire. Throughout
they maintained the most excellent
spirits.
TUESDAY Gen. Barton, with two bat
talions of the Sixth Brigade and the
Dublin Fusileers crept about a mile and
a half down the banks of the river and
ascended an almost perpendicular cliff
of about 500 feet, assaulted and carried
the top of Pieters hill. This hill to a
certain extent, turned the enemy's left
and the Fourth Brigade, under Col. Nor
colt and Eleventh Brigade, under Col.
Kitchener the whole under command Of
General Warren, assailed the enemy 8
position which was magnificently car
ried by the South Lancashire regiment
about sunset. We took aabout 60 pris-
Oners and scattered the enemy in all di-
rections. There seems to be still con-
siderable body of them left on and under
Bulwano Mountain.
Our losses, hope, are not large. They
certainly are much less than they would
have been We're 1t not for the admirable
manner in which the artillery was served
especially the guns manned by The Roy
al naval force and Natal Naval volun-
teers."
2:4O p. m.-General Buffers account Of
the tremendous resistance he is encount-
ering in his efforts to reach Ladysmith
has brought public interest with a sharp
turn from complacent contemplation of
Roberts victory to a realization of the
serious conditions still existing in Natal.
Though Buffers lengthy dispatch is
construed as victory bravely won, the
commander of the forces in Natal has SO
often reported similar victories without
achieving his main objective that the
public has learned to contain it's jubila-
tion until Ladysmith is actually relieved.
while the long list Of casualties invaria-
bly, following and the apparent gain by
PyY11 ic 1yya VIC anyo tod vxyit n n
anxiety which temporarily rob his par
tial success of its acclaim.
However it is a generally accepted be-
lief that Butler is determined to reach
Gen. White this time, and though the
stages are disappointingly slow the ma
ton confidently awaits the relief of those
5000 bes;eged troops. Buffers report
shows there is urgent need of Roberts
drawing off the Beers from Natal to the
Free State. That he will do so and likely
is doing so, by marching on Bloemfon.
tein. Is regarded as almost certain by
military critics here.
With the additional 600 Beers reported
prisoners at Kimberly. 1t seems that the
number of men captured by Roberts
near.y reaches 5000.
The afternoon papers comment on the
nero OF hanQ3narS aCnleVGInenI, laying
special stress on the gallantry of the
Canadians who, according to the Paar-
deburg special, were actually fighting
hand to-hand nthe Boer trenches when
Cronje surrendered, though this scarcely
agrees with Roberts dispatch
The Queen has telegraphed Butler az
follows:
"I have heard with deepest concern the
heavy losses sustained by my brave
Irish soldiers, and I desire to express my
sympathy and admiration of the splen-
did fighting qualities they have exhibited
throughout these trying operations"
Roberts has forwarded an additional
list of British casualties during the three
days fighting at Paardeberg. showing
twelve ki.ied. eighty-two wounded and
four missing and including seven officers
and four Canadian priyates wounded.
sos p. m.-The war Office has received
the following dispatch from Lord Rob-
erts:
"Paardeberg. Feb. 2S.-Cronje with his
family left here yesterday. in charge of
Major General Prettyman aud under es-