Show BATTLE IMPENDING new york jan 5 A dispatch to the new york tribune from london says the clubs were crowded last evening until midnight since there was a general impression that the crisis of the war had come with a battle impending on the tugela this ferlinc of suspense was strengthened by bulletins rc ailing vigorous shelling of the doer yesterday morning with lyd dito and the destruction of entrench with minor incidents such as the shifting of the positions the stampede atam pede of their horses and constant outpost brushes in the newspaper offices there was a sheaf of unimportant dispatches relating to the adventures of thorney brotts scouts on the upper tugela admission of boer deserters that general army was suffering from lack of food the trail of traction engines tor transport service the destruction 0 a large gun at colenso by a shell from a naval gun and the escape of six horsemen from ladysmith Lady smith during a two of whom were fantastically reported as dr jameson and ool rhodes these were trifles light as air in comparison with the momentous conflict which was known to be imminent general buller since his defeat has called into natal every battalion and battery upon which he could lay hands and has stiffened his force in every way practicable tor a supreme effort to break through the boer lines of de icuss and relieve ladysmith Lady smith even the stoutest hearted englishman has been to hold his breath until the issue of the battle is known pubic anxiety has not been deeper than the feeling of suspense among military nen they have described the boer defensive position sixteen miles in length with relays of horses behind it by which the forces could be rapidly concentrated al any point that might bo strongly attacked as something unique in military history there never was anything like it and ordinary tac acs and strategy studied by the staff college have provided no expedients for regulating a scientific attack on a swollen river with concealment of the positions boer occupation of two points on the southern bank and tee extension of their line until it was hardly practicable to turn it and the remarkable mobility of the dutch force has increased the difficulties of a most formidable enterprise the most veterans have added that while this new defensive system with long range guns in concealed trenches and thousands of horses under saddle had been successful when attacked at a point of greatest resistance it might prove weak and vulnerable at the point of least resistance the boers adapting themselves to british tactics lad devised a most ingenious scheme S defense it might prove unexpectedly weak if the british generals in turn bould adapt their attack to dt with any degree of flexibility while colenso remains the center of interest operations have proceeded elsewhere which serve to indicate in teased mobility and improved tactics ou the british side the dutch forces have made a belated effort to follow up their victory at by an advance upon colento and Cypher gat but general gatacre sent infantry and battery to relieve the cape police and tho irish rifles and both villages after a brisk artillery fire the two dutch commanders which had skirmished with the outposts and ad danced on the british camp retreated when the shells began to burat among them general Gat acres official report shows that the police have retired from dordrecht Dord recht and taken a position on the indge ahne and that a company of mounted infantry had reconnoitre to eska while this skirmishing is en a adall scale there is evidence diat gatacre is alert and vigilant and baat ills scouting work is well done have been sent from be aar to general french who is still covering about Co lesberg and apparent to cut off tua ie treat of the boers to the railway bridge having already blocked the passage to the road bridge over the orange river A heavy artillery fire is reported but the result of the fighting is indecisive as general french avoids a frontal attack and Is content to hold a strong position and continue to bewilder and harass the enemy without striking heavily with his mounted force london jan 5 there is no complete news from the front but the silence which has decender dec ended on general bullers force at the tugela is believed to bo the prelude of another attempt to reach ladysmith Lady smith in the meanwhile the extraordinary tenacity the boers are displaying around Co lesberg where they even assume the offensive tends to detract from the success gen french is supposed to have achieved the latest news of col pitchers Pil chers raid shows that some of the first accounts considerably exaggerated its effect on tho boers and their sympathizers while it is true he successfully drove a couple of hundred rebels from sun killing or wounding thirty and capturing forty three col pitchers Pil chers immediate evacuation of douglass seems to prove that he had information that was sufficient number of boers la the neighborhood to make his position unsafe indeed there is reason to that only the dispatch of the i cavalry brigade from the modder river prevented the force of six hundred men sent by general bronjo from attacking col pitchers Pil chers column and as soon as jahe cavalry returned to the modder riv cr general cronies Cron jes troops re occupied sunnyside Sunny side according to the advises advices from Sterk the boers have completely retired from thal neighborhood of molteno but gereral gatacre docs not appear to bavo pursued them as the reinforcements from Sterk have returned there general Gat acres report ot the molteno affair confirms tho associated pi ess dispatches showing it was mere ly a determined attack on ft police out akst which was successfully repelled was no british casualties A dispatch just received lut dated december 26 confirms the report of alie british sortie from that place which was announced from pretoria december 30 the mateling Mat eking dispatch says there was a bonio today with a TIOW to capturing the boer earthworms earthworks earth works but it was unsuccessful the borrs brero crowded with boers awaiting the and a hill ot hll lets forced the to retire killing and wounding a number the art ih storming sparty numbered eighty men of which number 21 were killed and 33 wounded london jan 5 it la rumored at cape town that col baden powell has again defeated the boers at london jan 5 A dispatch from cape town dated today says the prize mccurt has released the british steamer mashona captured by the british gunboat partridge early in december with american flour said to be intended for the boers on board but ordered her cargo to be warehoused pending a trial of the case arensberg Rens berg thursday jan 4 the boer attackers numbered a thousand men the dragoons cut their way through the boers who were forced to retreat by a heavy artillery and musketry fire london jan 5 the war office this afternoon published a dispatch from cape town dated wednesday jan 3 saying that in reply to general franchs frenchs Frenc hs special request that the household cavalry a battery field artillery and the first battalion of the essex regiment have been dispatched to reinforce him temporarily jan 5 the restlessness of the zulus Is increasing many of them are on the verge of starvation and there have been several instances of looting stores it is feared the magistrates will not be able to restrain the much longer it is stated that they are anxious to attack the boers |