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Show I British Loss at Potgieter's Drift. I London, Feb. 13. A revised list cf the British casualties at Potgieter's Drift from Feb. 5, to Feb. 7, shows; Killed, 26; wounded. 319; missing, 5. London, Feb. 14. The following dispatch dis-patch has been received at the war office of-fice from General Roberts: "Reit River, Tuesday, Feb. 13. Colonel Hannay, in command of a brigade brig-ade of mounted infantry, marching from Orange river to Ramah, had a slight engagement Feb. 11 (Sunday) with the Boers holding the hills and j threatening his right flank. With a detached part of his force, Colonel j Hannay detained the enemy while he ! pushed his baggage and main body through to Ramah. "The object of the march was successfully suc-cessfully carried out. Four men were killed, twenty-two wounded and thirteen thir-teen are missing. "Monday. Feb. 12, the cavalry division under General French seized the crossing cross-ing of the Reit river at Dekils Drift on the east bank of which the Sixth and Seventh divisions are now encamped. The casualties were two troopers killed and Captain Majesndie of the rifle brigade wounded. He has since died. One trooper was wounded. "The general commanding at Rens-berg reports that on Monday, Feb. 12, he was attacked in force by the Bcer3. Lieutenant Conyngham of .the Worcester Worces-ter regiment was .woirpdeid -and has since died. There .were', other casualties."' casual-ties."' - ' 11:45 p. m. The war office has issued the following message from Lord Roberts, Rob-erts, received this evening-: "Dekil's Drift, Feb. 1. 8:10 a. m. General French left thi-3 point at 11:30 yesterday morning with three brigades j of cavalry, horse artillery and mounted infantry, including several colonial con- J tingents, in order to seize a crossing of the Modder about twenty-five miles. Ho reports by dispatches dated 5:3."i p. m. that he had forced a passage at Clip Drift arid haa occupied the hills north of the river, capturing three of the enemy's laagers with supplies, whiie General Gordon of the Fifteenth Hussars, with his brigade, who had made a feint at !;o-:d;val Drift, four miles west, has seized it and another drift between it and Clip Drift, together to-gether with two mete laagers. "General Frem-h's performance is brilliant, considering the exc essive he tt and a blinding duststerm which rased during the latter part of the day. Owing to the rapidity of his movements. move-ments. General French met with but slight opposition, his losses being small. Lieutenant Johns, n of the Imiiskilling dragoons i.-' th,- only o!iicer reported severely wounded. "The Sixth division was last night on the north bank of the Riet at Water-val Water-val Drift and is movinsr ro siinrmrt the cavalry. The Seventh division is heiT and will n on this afternoon. "Four officers ati fjfty-thre- men had had to be sent last evening in the re-: re-: turning wagons to the railway lino, prostrated by heat and exhaustion." Feb. 1.1. 4:20 a. m. The British army, for the first time since the war began, is inside the Boer frontier. Lord Roberts, Rob-erts, with at least 40.O0O infantry. 7.0u0 cavalry and ir.0 guns. lias turned the Magersfontein lines, before which the British forces have been encamped for te-n weeks, and with half of his corps I he is already operating on Free State I territory. A battle has not yet been j fought, but large tactical advantages I huve been gai-ed. The relief of Kim-j Kim-j berley is within measurable reach, and I the way to Blof;mfontein is appreciably I easier. I Lord Roberts' dispatches, wired from ! inside the Free State, and on the Riet j river, left him Wednesday morning. His advance had not been opposed by the Boers in force. Their patro-ls melted away as the Kritish moved forward. The Boer army is likely to be felt in a j day or two, and a battle is conse.iuent-i conse.iuent-i ly imminent. I As to what forces Goneral Cronje has I now at his dispoil. and as to -where j he proposes making a stand against the invaders, no one here connected with the war office knows anything. The data for conceptions are wholly wanting. The forces immediacy at the disposal dis-posal of Lord Roberts are placed at I 50,000, in a general way. These figures j are revealed by the commands mvn- tioned in the dispatches as having been I added to the divisions known to be with Lord Methuen. Quite possibly. Lord Roberts has lo.Ono or 20,(100 more. It is now realized that the incidents at Rensburg have been :een out of all proportion. Merely skeleton lines were maintained there, while troops were being be-ing secretly and rapidly conctnt rated I on the Modder mer. The facility with ! which 30,000 men have already been ! sent beyond the rail terminus shows j that Lord Kitchener has been fully successful in organizing transport. I He is now f-uppnsed to he down the I line, sending forward more troops and i getting together more transport. About. five miles of ox and mule wagon trains I are estimated for each division, so that I Lord Kitchener, who is reputed to have more skill than a circus- manager in I handling field transport, has immense I labors in hand. ! The London morning papers . take ! rather sober views of the situation, but I are greatly pleased and hopeful of what : is to come. They have been fed, how-i how-i ever, on such a low diet of "British successes suc-cesses that they are disposed to cau-; cau-; tion and given to measuring develop--' ments with considerable reserve. They ! fully realize that serious fighting is yet to come. Lord Roberts' announcements make the minor operations in other parts of the field shrink. j The Dailv Telegraph has received the following, dated. Tuesday, from its spe- j cial correspondent at Frere: , j "On Sunday the Boers advanced down j the Ladysmith road toward Potgieters. j Three hundred horsemen, with others, proceeded to a point where they began to construct new rows of trenches at right angles to the road. This was about two miles north of the drift. "A party of Boers also crossed the Tugela, now very low, about six miles below Potgieter's drift, where they sniped the South African light horse, who repulsed them. "Several other skirmishes have take:j place, and the Boers are evidently anxious anx-ious about their positions. They have been throwing up defensive works from Trichard's drift and the Spion Kop range eastward to the Hlangwana and Monte Cristo hills, both on this side of tie Trgeia. ' j "They have also two, if not three, i wooden bridges spanning the Tugela in the bend, and a wire rope apparatus ! for the conveyance of food and ammunition ammu-nition across the river." A .dispatch to the Morning Post from Chieveley, dated Tuesday, confirms the report that parties of Boers have occupied oc-cupied the old British camp on Spearman's Spear-man's farm. The correspondent, who identified the wounded Lieutenant Churchill as the brother of Winston Churchill, says he was shot through the right leg. |