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
2nd. They began shelling later here to-day, so one’s morning’s ride was
uninterrupted, but they are, however, now in full swing again. Sergeant
Francis, B.S.A.P., died of wounds received at Cannon Kopje. Our usual
shelling.
3rd. We sent off runners north and south. In the morning the enemy
devoted his attention to the town. But in the afternoon our
seven-pounder and Nordenfeldt, east of Cannon Kopje, commenced firing on
the enemy, who were constructing a new trench, considerably in advance
of the old position of the big gun on the S.E. heights. Consequently
Creaky vigorously assailed them in turn, and the Krupp gun and the
one-pound Maxim galloped from McMullen’s farm to her assistance. The
big gun made very good shooting, but fortunately only one man was hit,
and he by a sand-bag hurled up by a shell aimed at the Nordenfeldt. The
Nordenfeldt gun detachment consists of two men, Privates Lowe and
Mulholland, both of the Railway Volunteers, and these two men have
served this gun for months daily, often under a heavy fire directed
entirely at them. At the same time our beloved relic of Lord Nelson was
engaged on the western front in bombarding the new fort in front of Fort
Ayr, being answered on that front and assisted by musketry and rifle
fire. The week, as usual, culminated in the customary Saturday evening
flare-up all round. The big gun was cleaned and oiled for Sunday, and
we thought it was all over till Monday morning. This, however, was not
the case. The Boers were unusually jumpy. They treated us to
incendiary shells till late, and kept up a heavy musketry fire at fitful
intervals during the night. They commenced constructing a new trench in
the Brickfields, and can plainly be heard working at it.
4th, Sunday. The usual quiet day. At Fort Ayr, while cleaning the
Maxim, it was accidentally discharged, and the Boers promptly answered,
so Mr. Greenfield, in charge of the post, strolled out to explain
matters, and was met half way by the Boer representatives, who talked to
him for a bit, gave him the latest news (presumably untrue), exchanged
little harmless chaff, and agreed to swap newspapers for whisky. The
newspapers, needless to say, contained flaming accounts of universal
Boer victories, which, here, one finds it somewhat hard to credit, and
they agreed to furnish similar papers next Sunday. It is curious to see
in the advertisement sheets advertisements from manufacturers, stating
themselves to be manufacturers to Her Majesty the Queen, to read the
London letter, and a column of society chit-chat in a paper published in
the capital of our enemy. However, it is an odd world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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