Mafeking : $b a diary of the siegeBaillie, Frederick David
History
Mafeking : $b a diary of the siege
Baillie, Frederick David
Mafikeng (South Africa) -- History -- Siege, 1899-1900; South African War, 1899-1902
He is better than the Boer at the
Boer’s own game, and never will I hear a word against the Baralong.
However, Silas was then engaged in conjunction with our own men in
collecting them. He collected them where they had no water, and then
the question resolved itself into the Boer showing himself and getting
shot or gradually starving. If the Baralongs had been fighting the
fight and time had been no particular object, they would probably still
be shooting odd Boers, but it is obvious that those dilatory measures
could not be pursued by ourselves, and that we had to finish the fight
by nightfall. Our men were accordingly sent down to round them up;
there were thus in all three parties of Boers in the town, one, nearly
three hundred strong, in the B.S.A.P. fort, sundry in a kraal by Mr.
Minchin’s house, others again in the kopje. The kraal was captured in
an exceedingly clever manner. Captain Fitzclarence and Captain Marsh
worked up to the walls, but knowing the pleasant nature of the Boer,
instead of storming the place or showing themselves, they bored
loopholes with their bayonets. The artillery under Lieutenant Daniels
also had come up to within forty yards. There was a slight hesitation
on the part of the Boers to surrender. The order was given to the gun
to commence fire. The lanyard broke, but before a fresh start could be
made the Boers hastily surrendered. Captain Marsh, known and respected
by the Baralongs, had great difficulty in restraining them from
finishing the fight their own way, and small blame to them for their
desire. They had had their stadt burned. Odd Boers had been bolting at
intervals, and had mostly been accounted for. The question next to be
settled was as to the possession of the B.S.A.P. fort. Our men who were
captive therein, and indeed the Boers and foreigners to whom I have
since talked describe our fire as extraordinarily accurate. Eloff had
great difficulty in keeping his men together, and as one man at least
was a deserter of ours, it can’t altogether be wondered that they did
not wish to remain. Our firing, as we had more men to spare, became more
and more deadly, and at last now they decided to surrender. Some
hundred broke away and escaped from the fort, in spite of Eloff firing
on them, but their bodies have been coming in ever since and many will
never be accounted for, because the bodies of men with rifles may be
possibly put away by the Baralongs, who are always begging rifles we
have been unable to give them. Eloff accordingly surrendered to Colonel
Hore. The other party in the kopje had made several unsuccessful
attempts to break out, Bentinck and his squadron always successfully
heading them, but as it got dark, and our men had been fighting from
before four, it was decided to let them break out and just shoot what we
could. The Baralongs had some more shooting too. As each successive
batch of prisoners was marched into the town absolute silence was
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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