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The Siege of Mafeking Be gan on . the 13th of Oc tober, 1899, tand Has Las- Ed One Hun dredM Fif ty-Five Days Up to This or 15,000. It is generally believed that this extensive posi tion is only a bluff, and that the Boers' object is, merely to try to gain time and cause the << British advance to pause. As has been often pointed out reconnoissance in that rugged country is • very difficult and dangerous. The de lay of the British at this -point may be of great- service to the Boers, who are desperately en deavoring jto .assemble the rem nants of their forces in the hope that/they may yet be able "to stay the British advance. SUCCESS DUE TO ROBERTS' PERSONALITY LONDON, March 17.— Spencer Wilkin son- reviews the war news • for the past week ¦ for the ! Associated Press as fol lows: 1 -' •.. { ' -¦ : ' ¦:*'¦*"¦ ?:'.:-; .-.'•¦ '¦*, ,!."Th« great secret of w«r U personality," Napoleon said. .. "In, war. the big thing Is not men, "but man,",- and the sudden change' In the state- of the South African war is due ,to the presence and power of one man— Lord Roberts. Seven years , ago I- spent .' many . weeks | with hi* in India, accompanying him as his guest on his last tour of inspection of the Indian ar mies. I saw for myself h0w. 200,000 men wor shiped him. Since his return from India there have been' influences strlvirig , to • keep him in the background.' The disasters of the winter gave him his opportunity, 'and now the world sees what he has made of. it. , . . • ' ,' .When! Sherman set out . to : march through Georgia he asked .General- Grant for' an.; old chum — Cavalry .Officer. "Wilson, ¦. I think— and whin Wilson came- he sat ; up half the night talking to Sherman, »w"ho, before retiring, said: "Wilson, I'll tell you'where . Grant ' beats | all the rest of us.'. He 'don't care a damn for what he can't see the enemy doing, and it scares me like hell!"/ , .V, - : •¦, ¦,¦, ¦ . . : Roberts is Just like Grant. He is too big to be disturbed- at anything,* and. he quietly does Just- what he means 'to do. / Accordingly hla movements have knocked the Boers - out ' of tlme.\ ¦ ¦¦ : ;¦ •-.'¦• : . '. '¦:¦ ¦ ,' • .' ';\-> * Dreyfontein turns out, by the losses on both sides, to have been one of the hardest , fought actions . of . the war. ~, It . has finished the j Free Staters. -'¦- ¦ - ; • ¦¦¦; . ~. • •¦ ' -: • v ' ',•"- - ' Roberta entered ' Bloemfontein on Tuesday, and the ¦ result has been the j complete collapse of Free' State resistance. * '¦¦¦.. •>' .¦:..' • '-. » * The' railway' opened .without difficulty to the Orange ' River, the' rebellion . in ! the ) Cape 'col lapsed, I the' Free Staters , turning round whole- Bale. - Meantime the Transvaal j Boers j solemnly declare , that they , have . made . Blggarsberg : im pregnable, *, but Buller has no need* to' run his head ' against^ Blggarsberg. g Lord ! Roberts, : by advancing.* along v the v Vaal River, ''would turn Blggarsberg, and the Boers must: then be be tween, two armies.', • , : The Transvaal , Boers ; may . fight on In the hope of j foreign j intervention. .They j have '- no other ' chance, as either British army outnum bers them I and they, cannot ¦ escape, | beinar be tween two flres. except by 1 perpetual retreat. - ,' 'But though. I - can « see ' no ' chance I for • them except through Intervention I expect the Trans. vaal Bn«r> will flo-ht. until the ' lapt. as. their animosity, to the British Is deep and rooted. pit 1000-Ci vilians arid 7500 Natives. equipment of the forces recently opposed to Clements,- Gatacre and Brabant will speedily be cap tured. Apparently the men of these commandoes, which prob ably consist mostly of disloyal colonists with a leaven of Free State Boers, are already tired. of fighting. It is therefore thought likely that the number obeying Steyn's summons to Kroonstad will be very limited. \ There is practically no news from Natal, >-et itvwould .not be safe to' infer that nothing, is .being done there. Nobody, here .would be surprised to- hear that the Boers had been driven from their lines along the Biggersberg Range and had been forced to break up in flight for Laings Nek. -The . Biggersberg 'works are reported to be extensive and as hardly to' be held by less than wearisome even ' to the cosmopolitan financiers who are , so largely responsible for the .whole tragedy. . Events .Involving prompt action may- easily 'happen in other quarters of the- worlo- where the in terests of .Great Britain -ire far more vulnerable .than the issues in South ' A frica, while the shameful inaptitude. which brought, about . this unnecessary, war must dally become clearer and. clearer to Englishmen,' ln spite of all the sophistry of adroit debaters." . . .- » • ¦ • ¦ • ' COLONISTS IN ARMS CONTINUE TO SURRENDER BURGHERSDORP, Cape Colony, March 17.— Colonists who have been In arms con tinue I to surrender. .' Commandant Dor iriehel's forces'; have, sent; for some one to come and accept their ' surrender quickly.' They appear to be afraid of Commandant Olivier, who," it is understood, threatens to; shoot Dormehel if he surrenders. A number of rifles have -been stacked Vat Herschel, - but their . ownership > has .not been traced. At Barkley West 200 disloyal persons have surrendered to the Justice of the Peace and 250 more have given up their arms and ammunition at Herschel. DUNDONALD'S PATROLS HAVE A SKIRMISH . LAD YSMTTH. March 16.—LordDundon ald's; cavalry patrols • reconnoltered ¦ the Free" State border of Natal to the The British Force Con- N sists of About 600 Men. There Were Besides in the Place When the Siege Be- De Beers. Pass, where a "slight skirmish occurred, in which ; . two British were wounded. The Boers were also encoun tered in some strength, at Van Reenana Pass and Tiritwar Pass. Kaffirs arriving here report that the Boers are manifesting a vindictive spirit under defeat, and that many kraals hith erto respected have been burned. A number of ambulances attached to the Boer forces . were found . near Modder Spruit, having been abandoned by the Boers because, they were unable to keep pace with the retreat. They were brought into camp, where the wounded were cared for. Transports were subsequently sup plied and the ambulances were sent io the Boer lines. • -.-.;•. . ONLY THE TRANSVAALERS WILL GO TO ST. HELENA " LONDON,* March 17.— A dispatch to tha Exchange" Telegraph Company from Cape Town, dated 'to-day, says it has been de cided to send only the Transvaalers to St. Helena, the authorities finding it difficult to prevent conflicts between the Free Staters and the Transvaalers. Colonel Schiol. who was captured in Natal In the early part of the war. has a special sentry at his door to prevent him from doing himself bodily violence. • Captain Johnson and Third. Officer Bolt ege of the steamer Mashona. captured by a ¦ British cruiser and subsequently re leased, were drowned In a gale last night. Four others were drowned .and a boat's crew from the Cheshire is missing. ALL CONSULS CO-OPERATING. PRETORIA. Thursday, " March 13 (via Lourenzo Marques,' Friday, March 16).— The United States Consul. Adelbert Hay. has not received a reply from the United States since he asked for its good offices in behalf of the Boers t.oward peace. Sec retary of State Reitz has received a dis patch from Washington saying that the war was the subject of friendly negotia tions with- the" British" Government and containing an expression of the Presi dent's earnest hopes for peace. . All the Consuls are co-operating for the general good of the whole community. DEPARTURE DELAYED. C*APE,XOWN. March 17.— The departure of the transports with the Boer prisoners for St. Helena has been delayed on ac count of the fact that many Boers have been sick with various infectious dis eases. The authorities are striving to com plete the j isolated hospital . by Wednesday and the transports will probably sail that day. - ¦¦ ..... OLIVIER EVACUATES. BURGHERSDORP. March 17.—Com mandant Olivier evacuated his position on a hill in front of the British during the night. . Several Boers of his force have surrendered. ' Dr.'Dewet, a member of the Cape.Par liament, and his brother have been ar rested." , : . . . BOER DEFENSES COMPLETED. GLENCOE, March 15, via Lourenzo Mar ques, March 16.— The Boer defenses along the ¦ Biggarsburg have been completed and are said to render the positions im pregnable. ; Intervention hardly seems likely, as the Brit ish • navy is an unknown quantity; and .the) British nation is quite determined . The. fate. of Maf eking is uncertain. All re cent reports show that despite the great hard ships the Harrison will -hold out: that the be sieKers are crowing tired and ; timid, and that relief ' movements ' are ' in progress ; north and south, but the news Is Indefinite. . ¦ - '. ? l . WHITE SAYS WAR WILL BE PROTRACTED v NEW YORK, March' 17.— 1n his article on -.'."The • Policy -oor. r Mediation," which serves as an introduction to "The* Story of the, Boers," '.which .will be published during the: coming week under authority of 'the Bouth African republics, Montagu White, "formerly 'Consul General ; of 'the Transvaal- at :' London,' discusses -the pos sibility •of mediation on the part .of the United "ttates and- prophesies a-long con tinuance of the war.' Mr.- White says: ' '"With regard to,the contention that the United States,' though willing to use:lts friendly ; offices, cannot intervene ..unless requested • to do so-by both/belligerents, It" may be arguedthat if the two,combat ants •, jointly/ desire peace .they can dis-. pense with the services of a mediator, and settle ". the * matter between /themselves. To remain passive jUntll such* a'contin gency, arises i and , then offer ; to mediate would be a 1 * cheap and tawdry act of be nevolence. ;•• The ¦ essc nee rof mediation is that' a* friendly neutral should act spon taneously.' and" on , Its ,' initiative. -- VThe end of -.the.war'is not yet insight. The | defensive- campaign : is likely to -be less dramatic than" the events of j the last few months,' but It ? £5 be protracted ana British, soldiers . arresting \ a suspected farmer | in Northern '¦ Cape. Colony. From • Black and : White. ; WILL MAKE SOMEjVEXAMPLES OF REBELS. Once a Week in Peace or War Comes the British Soldiers' Pay Day. Gentler weapons than ball and bayonet are now to be used In the concilia tion of the people of the Orange Free State. The 60,000 soldiers with whom Lord Roberta fought his way to their capital are to be armed with an agent whose power the British Government well know and appreciate— gold. The British commissaries are to pay cash for everything had from the burghers, as also are the soldiers, under heavy penalties. Once a week, at home or abroad, "Tommy Atkins" gets his money— averaging say J3 80 per week for the non-commissioned officers and soldiers— a sum whose expenditure will go far toward reconciling the burghers to the presence of their conquerors. LQXDON, March 18.— The force under General Pole- Carew which was sent by Lord Roberts to join hands with Gatacre and Clements has ac complished its mission, having reached Xorvals Pont. General Gatacre is reported to be as far north as Springfontein. This was the chief item of war news yesterday and added to the re joicing here in honor of St. Pat rick's day. It is evident that the resistance of the Free Staters south of Bloemfontein has com pletely collapsed. Even to the northward the Boers are showing little apparent activity. The bridge across the Modder River has been found untouched. It is thought probable that within a week Lord Roberts will be able to commence the march northward to carry the .British flag into Pretoria. When any, military man is asked how long he thinks it will take to capture the Transvaal capital he will venture no opinion except that even' day is bringing the Boer downfall nearer. Although the correspondents are not permitted to wire any details as to the movements of troops it is clear enough from the hints let drop in more than one message that im portant steps are in progress. News is expected soon that the little towns of Ladys Brand and Wepener, close to the Basuto land border, have been occupied by the British mounted troops and that, the whole country, be tween them and Bloemfontein is being closely watched by patrols. In this manner the march north ward of any organized body of Boers will' be effectually pre vented. It is also counted on with con fidence here that the guns arid COLONEL BADEN-POWELL, the Hero of Maf eking, on the Lookout for Relief. While a lenient and conciliatory policy has been inaugurated by Lord. Roberts'toward 4 the people of the Orange Free State, those of Cape Colony who have taken up arms will -be dealt with 'as rebels against .their Queen." Already as fast as the British troops have reoccupted the disaffected districts of Cape Colony' those ;- susjpfeted '-, of - rebellious acts or sympathies have been arrested and senV to Cape . Town - for confinement and - trial at a later day. . ? . . . .. The first beset and the last relieved will be. the story of the siege of Ma feklng: if the long-expected and yet delayed succor reaches the little band of defenders before their last ration Is gone and their last shot has been tired. For 155 days "now have Colonel; Powell and 'his gallant "six hundred" held their, own. against, heavy odds.* Colonel Plumer.,wlth relief from Rhodesia, • was but thirty miles away, on -.the north "when last heard from bn March 3. and may reach the place In time. The Kimberley column, which has not. as far as reported, yet crossed the Vaal River.' may. however, get there before him, led perhaps by Kitchener himself. • RESISTANCE OF FREE STATERS SOUTH OF BLOEMFONTEIN HAS COLLAPSED. Within a Week |M|S|^g^|^^v||p^&b^^@f^j^^^^||iffii|i|||^ the March Northward to Garry the British Flag Into Pretoria. 3f P Siege of Mafeking-Ske^li^lVlap; of ißber and British Lines.^ - (Prom : a ' sketch by a, ; British officer sen t by a native runner , to'; Buluwayo. Reproduced from " the London Graphic.) ...,'.. Pages 13 to 1 '4 -":-i - ; - <•* k VOLUME LXXXVII-NO. 108. PRICE FIVE CENTS. SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, MARCH 18, ¦ 1900-^THIRTY-TWO PAGES. Pages 13 to 22 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL