Show N PT IS SET Lord Roberts Has Set it Par and Tle toCatGh tile Boers I ABOUT READY TO DRAW A Krugers Forces Are Now Thinking < of Retreating COMMANDOS ON THE RUN Investment of Wepener i Said to Have Been Abandoned Advices from Bethany Say the Boers Are Unable to Retreat Northward Bc cause the British Strongly Hold AU Pvoads Diverse Reports Como from Natal One Asserting That the Doers Have Retired Beyond the IHggnr berg Range and Another Saying That Some of Them Arc Close to Ladysmith London Waits Confidently for Almost Immediate Announcement of News Favorable to the British London April 17 415 a mLo1 Roberts has spread his net far and wide to catch the adventurous commandoes com-mandoes that have been making1 mischief mis-chief In the southwestern part of the State The net has not yet been drawn In but at the headquarters of Lord Roberts the impression exists that the power oC the Boers is decreasing The Dally News correspondent has them fleeing to the southeast a Standard Stand-ard correspondent reports them fleeing J rllrn y i DI1 ofg UJ > q I npondent says that some arc going north and others south while a MornIng Morn-Ing Post representative says it Is not tl own what the Boers are doing SAID TO BE RETREATING Evidently l the feeling at Bloom foil loin Is that time dispositions of Lord Robertas men are such as to enable him to concentrate a large force repldly at any point The Boers being awaro oC this are presumed to be thinking now chieily of retreat The investment of Wepener accordIng accord-Ing to a special dispatch from Bloem fontein has absolutely been abandoned aban-doned According to a Bothany dispatch dis-patch the Boers are unable to retreat northward because the British strongly strong-ly hold all roads SITUATION IN NATAL Diverse reports come from Natal one asserting that the Boers have retired beyond the Blggarsbcrg range and another an-other saying that some oC them atc close to Ladysmilh London wails conlldenlly for almost immediate announcement of news favorable fa-vorable to the British HORSES DIE FAST Distrust exists however as to any rapid continuous advance toward Pre lorla chiefly on account of the lack of horses many of which die In the course of the long voyage Letters from the Cape say that the three days Journey by rail Is made In open trucks that the arrangements for feedIng and watering are Inadequate and that thu unfortunate animals breatf down rapidly rapid-ly In consequence of these hardships Despite the energy of Us buyers abroad the War otllce foresees much dIfficulty In supplying the enormous number of horsoa required HORSES REACH CAPETOWN A Capetown dispatch says nearly 5000 horses Juno been landed there since April 13th which indicates that every effort Is being made to remedy the great defect In tho British organization organiza-tion BOER ENVOYS AT TIlE HAGUE I The chief Boer delegate Fischer ac I cuiupanled by Dr Leyds visited tho President of the Dutch Cabinet today at tho Hague but lie doings of the delegates creates little speculation In EnglandWORST WORST OP WAR OVER Frederick Vllllers veteran war correspondent cor-respondent who arrived at Southampton Southamp-ton today from tho front said he believed be-lieved the worst of the war Is over but that the guerrilla warfare would continue con-tinue for some time BOERS CAPTURE CATTLE A bulletin Issued at Pretoria April 13th reports that the burghers captured live hundred slaughter oxen at Wepe net and Gen Froneman that day defeated de-feated the British causing them to fly In the direction of Wolvcrpoort apparently appar-ently over the Orange river Tho Irish American ambulance arrived at Pretoria Pre-toria April 13th FIGHTING AT JAM7 rERBERG I A dispatch from Brandfort dated Friday April lath says Fighting with Brabants horse at Jammerberg drift continues Commandant Petrus Dewet Is l reported to have engaged troops aunt from Bloemfonteln to Brabants assistance assist-ance There has also been a brush with the British column advancing toward to-ward Bellfonleln without dcWlvtt reo aulur sultiBOElt FORCES RETIRE A Lad mlth special dated yesttr I day says that natives report that the Boers In the Alandslaagto district have retired beyond Blggarsben This information Infor-mation lends to confirm the report that the Boer blew up three Important collieries col-lieries near Wes Nek cotupUUly 4stroying the same HAVE RAISED SIEGE rime lUownfonteln cornHmdnt of the DoU Telegraph lr a dispatch datiI yesterday say The Ikwrj hasv Lcd the iiIgt of Vcpeatr and have lrt ILt1x lilt A majority of them ha undoubtedly returned north with th exception of a body 01 about 6It vofl VWTt4 to be olnlf tlna1d S Jh DllY e o ha th t YH1S from Reddcrsburjr dated Friday Gen Chermslde saw the rear guard of the Boers disappear southeast In full retreat re-treat The enemy appear to be in strong force four miles east of Red dcrsburg They are falling back before be-fore our advance guard MAFEKTNG IS HUNGRY The Dally Mall has tho following rpm Lady Sarah Wilson dated nicking nic-king April 5th The pinch of hunger is beginning to be felt and relief seems more distant than ever Since March 31st there had been no shelling until today Commandant Snymau having I taken his burghers to bar Col Plumers road Yesterday however he returned and the bombardment was ronewedMo I day wllh splendid highvelocity guns tiring fourteenpound shells such as I had not been used since the first days I of the siege The military authorities soy the British artillery baa nothing to I compare with those guns I BOERS NEAR BLOEMFONTEIN The Bloemfonteln correspondent of 11 the Morning Post telegraphing Monday Mon-day says Small bodies of Boers are I I prowling around and arc ven coming I within eight or ten miles of Bloemfon teln Three Johannesburg zarps actually ac-tually entered the town one night and i escaped without being discovered WITHDRAWING PROVISIONS I The Boer demonstration yesterday I at Karce siding was designed to cover i the withdrawal of an Immense convoy I of provisions There Is no doubt that I the Boar incursion Into the southeast ern part of the < Free State was largely due to the need of replenishing victuals In the most fertile part of the country coun-try This explains why the enemy marched south with empty wagons Various important movements are occurring oc-curring which naturally It Is not desirable de-sirable to specify BOER REPORTS EXAGGERATED A dispatch to the Times from Male IcIng tinted April IClh confirming earlier ear-lier reports says After Col Plum ers repulse Commandant Snymaii sent a message Inviting Col BadenPowell to send out to collect the dead and wounded but when the ambulances > appeared the Boer commando Ito I-to allow them lo be l taken It was discovered dis-covered however that the Boers reports re-ports of the extent of the British casualties cas-ualties have been greatly exaggerated 1 HOPES OF KRUGER The Lour peo Marques correspondent of the Dally Mall telegraphing Sunday Sun-day April 15th says The tone C1r the Standard and Digger News shows that the Transvaal Government Is relying re-lying strongly upon American intervention Inter-vention Great results are expected from the campaign of Webster Davis and from the Presidential contest i While the semiblockade of Delagoa bay has not done the slightest harm toj the Transvaal II has enriched foreign firms at the expense of iulncd British ers BOERS LEAVE WEPENER The Bloemfonteln correspondent oC the Times telegraphing Monday says Time Boers who have been Investing Wepener arc reported to be moving > a southerly direction but the object of the move Is uncertain The Bloemfonteln correspondent of the Standard telegraphing Monday says The Boers are in full retreat from Wepener hugging the Basutoland border The Basulos are marching parallel par-allel with them along the frontier watchingeagerly for the slightest cnjj BrA croachmenr A correspondent of the Dally Tclc grqph at Lad smlth In a dispatch dated April ICth says The Boers are down again sit Dewdorp east of Lady smith I |