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Show REBELS ARE DISPERSED. One of the Results of Colonel Pil-cher's Pil-cher's Victory at Douglas. London, Jan. 3. Lacking news from the main British camps in South Africa Af-rica whose future action can alone have an important effect on the larger issues is-sues of the campaign, the British public is making the most of Colonel Pilcher's miniature battle. Unbounded tribute is paia io ine pruwess ui me vnim-dians vnim-dians and Australians and graphic accounts ac-counts are published of the scenes at Douglas as the victorious entered that place. The representative of the Associated As-sociated Press, with the flying column, says: "The immediate result of Colonel Pilcher's Pil-cher's success is the entire dispersal of the rebels who have been governing j the country for the past six weeks." After Sunnyside was captured the I Torontos occupied the laager for the night and joined the main body the following fol-lowing morning, bringing the whole of the Boer , tents, wagons and loot, and leaving the Cornwalls in garrison at Sunnyside. The British force then started for Douglas, the Torontos bringing up the rear in wagons. In the afternoon the troops entered the town unopposed and amid extraordinary extraor-dinary scenes. The inhabitants were overjoyed and crowded about the sol1 diers, shaking hands with them and when they learned that their deliverers were Canadians . and Australians the enthusiasm became frenzied. There were deafening cheers as the troops traversed the main street and it was almost Impossible for them to make progress, the crowds being so eager to shake hands with the colonels. It appears that the Landdrost and all the mounted rebels evacuated the place on the previous night. The unmounted rebels are reported to be intrenched in the vicinity. Quantities of ammunition were captured and destroyed. A dispatch from the Modder river intimates that the Sunnyside prisoners will not be treated as prisoners of war but as British subjects caught in open rebellion. At the Modder river camp the conduct of the colonials is greatly admired and all are delighted that they have struck the first blow on the western frontier since the battle nf Magersfontein. It is believed the relief of Kuruman will quickly follow. From a source which has many facilities facili-ties of gaining inside news from South Africa, the Associated Press learns that Colonel Pilcher's occupation of Douglas is regarded as merely the first 9tep of General Methuen's carefully matured ma-tured plans to outflank the Beers. According Ac-cording to this-authority it is probably Colonel Pilcher ihi conjunction . with General Babington's force from the Modder river will proceed to the rear of those intrenchments which now prevent pre-vent Methuen from proceeding to Kim-beriey. Kim-beriey. . . Colonel Pilcher has only about forty miles travel before he achieves this end and if this understanding is correct an attack by, General Methuen and a determined de-termined effort to relieve Kimberley may be expected any day. |