The Boers seem to have anticipated an easy and an early success at Mafeking. The resources of the place were small; the garrison all told did not exceed 1,200 men, and was ill provided with artillery. But there was a large accumulation of stores and ammunition, which would at least enable the defenders to hold out for some months. Cronje had under him 4,000 or 5,000 men with good artillery, and had all the resources of the Pretoria arsenals and magazines behind him. He could draw guns of the heaviest calibre if he wanted them. [Illustration: BOER COMMANDO CROSSING ALIWAL BRIDGE.] [Sidenote: Attempts to capture Mafeking.] [Sidenote: OCT. 17-31, 1899.] On the 14th the enemy were engaged by the garrison, with an armoured train supporting, and were driven back with some loss. On the 17th the Boers began to shell the town with small field guns, but caused no loss. A few houses were slightly damaged, a dog was killed, and that was all. On the night of this day, as the Boers were pushing their trenches dangerously near the British lines, a sortie was brilliantly executed by Captain Fitzclarence with sixty men. He stormed the enemy's position at the point of the bayonet, and did great execution amongst the Boers, who were taken wholly by surprise. Various little sorties took place during the next few days, and Cronje gave courteous notice that he intended to bombard. At the same time he cut off the British water-supply. [Illustration: BRITISH PRISONERS SEIZED AT VRYBURG. The three armed men who are standing up are typical Boers of the district. Their prisoners are--Hellawell, of the London _Daily Mail_ and the _Cape Times_, in the centre; Townshend, of the _Bechuanaland News_, on the left; Lelyveldt, a compositor, on the right of the group; and a native guide.] On the 24th the Boers placed three heavy siege guns in position, and with them shelled the town, while the smaller weapons kept up a heavy fire. Three bedrooms were wrecked, the gas plant destroyed, and the town set on fire. Next day the bombardment was resumed, and the enemy massed for an assault, compelling the little British force to leave the bomb-proofs and line the trenches. Day after day these experiences continued till on the 31st an assault was actually delivered upon Cannon Kopje, an outlying hill protected by a small fort. The Boers advanced under cover of the fire of four 15-pounder field guns and of a 5·9-inch siege gun, but were repulsed after a long and desperate struggle, in which the little garrison suffered severely and lost the services of Captains Marsham and Pechell, both of whom were killed. [Illustration: [_From a sketch by a British officer, brought through the enemy's lines by a native runner._ PLAN OF MAFEKING, Showing the British and Boer lines and the spots where fighting took place during the early days of the siege.]