Mafeking: A Diary of a Siege Part 3

17th, Sunday. We had a handicap polo tournament. Here are the teams and the result from _The Mafeking Mail_:--

No. I.--Colonel Baden-Powell (Captain), Captain Gordon Wilson, Captain Singleton, Lieutenant Hon. A. Hanbury-Tracey.

No. II.--Captain Lord C. Cavendish-Bentinck (Captain), Lieutenant-Colonel Walford, Major Anderson, Lieutenant Mackenzie.

No. III.--Lieutenant-Colonel h.o.r.e (Captain), Captain Sandford, Captain Vernon, Lieutenant Bridges.

No. IV.--Major G.o.dley (Captain), Major Goold-Adams, C.B., C.M.G., Captain Fitzclarence, Lieutenant Moncreiffe.

No. V.--Major Baillie (Captain), Captain Marsh, Captain Cowan, Lieutenant Paton.

*Match.* *Goals scored*.

1 Colonel h.o.r.e ... ... ... 1 Lord C. Bentinck ... ... . 1 2 Colonel Baden-Powell ... . . 0 Major G.o.dley ... ... ... 1 3 Lord C. Bentinck ... ... . 1 Major Baillie ... ... . . 1 4 Colonel Baden-Powell ... . . 0 Colonel h.o.r.e ... ... ... 1 5 Major G.o.dley ... ... ... 0 Major Baillie ... ... . . 2 6 Lord C. Bentinck ... ... . 0 Colonel Baden-Powell ... . . 1 7 Major G.o.dley ... ... ... 1 Colonel h.o.r.e ... ... ... 1 8 Major Baillie ... ... . . 0 Colonel Baden-Powell ... . . 1 9 Lord C. Bentinck ... ... . 1 Major G.o.dley ... ... ... 0 10 Major Baillie ... ... . . 1 Colonel h.o.r.e ... ... . . 0

Total goals scored.

Colonel Baden-Powell's team ... . 2 Captain Lord C. Bentinck's team . . 3 Lieutenant-Colonel h.o.r.e's team ... 3 Major Baillie's team ... ... . . 4 Major G.o.dley's team ... ... . . 2

Colonel Baden-Powell's team had a Captain who played an excellent game.

Major Baillie was decidedly the mainstay of his team, not only by the unerring accuracy with which he hit the ball, but also on account of the verbal a.s.sistance delivered unceasingly in stentorian tones to his side.

We are now making great preparations for Christmas, which we are apparently condemned to spend here. Church services as usual.

18th. A quiet day; except on the western front, where their five-pounder keeps pegging away; however, no one takes any notice of it, as our new gun-pit is not yet completed. To-morrow we hope to have another lively morning. The Boers have been drilling, apparently practising an attack formation, somewhat late in the day, however, and not of much use now, as they could not get in if they tried, and they are not likely to make the attempt. As I before said, Colonel Baden-Powell has collected some thirty lances and armed a troop with them, so that, if the enemy depart hurriedly, we may be able to speed them on their way. Went sniping in the evening; they fired the one-pound Maxim and a good deal of musketry fire. Our troops in the advance trenches had quite good shooting all day.

19th. As I antic.i.p.ated. The Boers' _reveille_ was sounded for them at 4.30 a.m. by our seven-pounders, which made excellent practice on the brickfield trench. Their big gun repeated its performance of Sat.u.r.day harmlessly. We shifted them from their trenches and turned Maxims on them, while the Nordenfeldt at long range volleys pestered their big gun. Their one-pound Maxim fire was wild, but they slew an inoffensive jacka.s.s. This lasted until about 6, and was very pretty. At about 7 Creaky began to fire at Cannon Kopje, but without effect; she shot straighter in the morning; and at about 9 our seven-pounders began again, but the enemy would not be drawn, and now only occasional dropping shots come idly from both sides. On the western front our seven-pounder silenced the five-pounder at Game Tree fort. On the eastern front the race-course trench much annoyed the gun under Major Panzera, with volleys, till kept under by the convent Maxim and our one-pound Maxim. These two artillery fights cannot much impress the Boers with the extraordinary value of the much belauded ten-tonner, and must destroy her moral effect, for whichever of our guns she fires at immediately returns her fire. However, she has annoyed us quite enough and done sufficient damage to life and property, but if we had only had a gun which could have reached her properly, we should have knocked her out long ago. A duel between our Nordenfeldt and Creaky began this afternoon, and has since been of daily occurrence, amidst the laughter and applause of the spectators. No sooner has the big sh.e.l.l struck, than crack, crack, comes from the Nordenfeldt. Indeed, of late the little gun fires when the smoke from Creaky's muzzle appears, and gets off its three shots before the arrival of the sh.e.l.l, which the gunners of the monster do not seem to appreciate at all. It is a regular case of dignity and impudence with the laugh on the side of impudence. In the evening Captain Sandford silenced the Boer gun on the western front.

20th and 21st. Quiet days.

22nd. Quiet, but furious musketry fire at night, bullets flying everywhere.

23rd, Sat.u.r.day. Fairly quiet.

I broke my head taking a fall at polo, which we now play two or three times a week; it is a new experience going to and from the polo ground under fire.

24th, Sunday. Owing to siege exigencies it was deemed necessary to hold our Christmas on the Sunday, as the Boers' religious festival is held on New Year's Day. All creeds held their ordinary Church services. Lady Sarah Wilson and Mr. B. Weil had organized a Christmas tree and tea for the two hundred and fifty children of Dutch and English parentage who were in the town. Brakes were running to and from the laager, filled with children, shrilly cheering and waving the Union Jack, the most effective one run by poor Captain Vernon, who was killed within forty-eight hours. The children seemed thoroughly to enjoy themselves, and great thanks are due to the organizers of the fete and their a.s.sistants, for everyone was pleased to see the children enjoy themselves. For the adults, sports were held, and a cheerful Christmas Day was pa.s.sed.

Christmas Day. All creeds held their usual Christmas services though under some difficulty, as everyone was on duty, though the Boers kept Christmas as Sunday; yet it was no certainty to commence with. The Rev.

Mr. Weekes, the Church of England clergyman, had to play the harmonium, as well as conduct the service.

26th. The myriads of locusts which had lately devastated our grazing grounds, already insufficient for the large number of cattle in and about the town, had rendered it imperative that some steps should be taken to raise our close investment sufficiently to obtain an extended field for grazing secure from attack or raid. This was sufficient reason for action in itself, but in addition, the approach of our forces to Gaberones in the north, made it advisable to prepare to open up the line and endeavour to join hands with them, and thus by extending our perimeter and line of forts to throw additional work on the investing force, and so prevent reinforcements being sent to the commandoes acting against our troops north and south; nay, we even hoped to draw reinforcement from these commandoes to a.s.sist in maintaining the strict investment which the Boers deemed it so necessary to retain around Mafeking. Accordingly, Colonel Baden-Powell decided to attack Game Tree fort, which commands the line to the north. And now, before going further with an account of the fight, let me say that in spite of great secrecy, as to the time or place of attack, the Boers, through treachery, were forewarned and forearmed as to our intentions. The garrison was doubled, and the fort from an open earthwork turned into a block-house with three tiers of fire, while the line was broken in the night between the fort and the town, preventing the efficient co-operation of the armoured train. On Christmas night, at about 11 o'clock, the chief of the staff, Lord Edward Cecil, collected the correspondents and told them of the intended attack, advising them to rendezvous at 3 o'clock, with the headquarters at Dummie fort. The plan of attack was as follows:--C squadron, Protectorate Regiment, were to take up a position during the night near the railway to the west of Game Tree fort, supported by D squadron, under Captain Fitzclarence, and the armoured train with a Hotchkiss and Maxim, under Captain Williams, B.S.A.P. The right flank being protected by the Bechua.n.a.land Rifles, under Captain Cowan. The whole of the right attack under Major G.o.dley.

The left attack being composed of three seven-pounder guns, one cavalry Maxim, and one troop, Lord Charles Bentinck's A squadron, Protectorate Regiment, under Major Panzera, with the other two troops in support, the whole left attack being under Colonel h.o.r.e. The Dummie fort lay midway between the two attacks. The wait from 3 o'clock seemed interminable, but at 4.28 the first gun fired, and then our seven-pounder sh.e.l.ls burst merrily over the fort. The infantry commenced volleys and the Maxim joined in. The armoured train was stopped by the broken line some half mile from where it could have efficiently co-operated, and the squadrons commenced their attack from the railway line, D being escheloned some three hundred yards in the rear of C. From the Dummie fort the attack could be perfectly seen, as it advanced rapidly across our front. The rushes were well made, and the charge in perfect order, the leaders racing in front of their men right up to the fort, where the firing for a while ceased, and then broke out again with renewed vigour. From where I was, I thought the attacking squadron had secured the position, and, from the slowness and deliberation with which the men retired, that the supporting squadron was falling back to its lines, as, with the smokeless powder, we could not see our men firing, and the sound was drowned in the rattle of Boer musketry. This, alas, was not the case.

Captain Vernon, who had been wounded in the advance, led his men most gallantly up to the work, to find it with three tiers of loopholes and an iron roof, the bushes in front concealing this until right on to the fort. Here he and Lieutenant Paton and fifteen men fell, and his sergeant-major mortally wounded. Captain Sandford had been shot twice just short of the work, but called on his men to charge. These were the last words he spoke, and only four of the men of his troop were not placed _hors de combat_. Captain Fitzclarence had also fallen wounded, before reaching the work, but I am glad to say is doing well. With this spirit shown by the officers and responded to by the men, small wonder that we may be proud of the attack, even though unsuccessful in obtaining possession of the work, and that the Boers afterwards seemed more depressed than ourselves. They knew the men they had to deal with.

Corporal Cooke got on the roof of the work, and had four bullets through his tunic, but was untouched. Mr. Paton and Sergeant-Major Paget were shot whilst firing with their revolvers through the loop-holes (the Boers still speak of Paton's courage), and so were many men. After the retirement, the stretcher parties went out, and the Boers a.s.sisted in succouring our wounded, and behaved on the whole very well, though some young roughs got out of hand and plundered the dead and wounded. Their leaders behaved exceedingly well, and did their best to restrain them.

I went up there and a more ghastly collection of wounds could not be imagined, mostly shot at the muzzles of the rifles in the head, and in some cases with large Boer bullets. Death must have been instantaneous.

The field cornets told me they had been expecting the attack, and the rapidity with which reinforcements arrived--the presence of General Snyman, and several leaders, and the destruction of the line, together with the increase of the garrison, tend to endorse their statements.

Our wounded were all wounded in front, some of the men retiring backwards so as not to be shot in the back. Sergeant Barry, mortally wounded, sent word to his mother that he had three wounds all in front.

Our force was under one hundred actually attacking. The Boers when reinforced about four hundred. Our losses killed or since dead: Captain Vernon, Captain Sandford, Lieutenant Paton, twenty-one rank and file; wounded: Captain Fitzclarence, twenty-two rank and file; four prisoners.

The men retiring were quite cool and willing to have another go--smoking and laughing in some cases, but in the majority bitter and angry at not having got in. British troops have certainly performed as fine feats of arms, but no more determined attack with inferior numbers against an enemy armed with modern rifles in a strong position has ever been pushed home, or a more deliberate and gallant retirement under heavy fire been made. The enemy were much impressed, and said they had never seen such brave men, and though we failed in taking the fort, the action has resulted in the enemy daily strengthening every work, and upset them greatly, as they hourly antic.i.p.ate a fresh attack, and gusts of musketry break out from, their lines at night, for no apparent reason. Indeed, the rapidity with which their white flags were hoisted on the arrival of our ambulances make me, in my own mind, absolutely certain that they were prepared to contemplate surrender, and in any case they will certainly not be able to spare men from this place to a.s.sist their retiring commandoes. Altogether their rash and insolent advance into British territory has placed them here, as elsewhere, in about as unpleasant a position for irregular troops as can well be imagined. In the evening we buried our dead.

The Protectorate Regiment, after a life of four months, and a strength of four hundred, has now suffered one hundred and ten casualties. It has accordingly had to be re-organized from four squadrons into three.

On no occasion has it been engaged without distinguishing itself, and I think in its last action, though repulsed, it has, if possible, distinguished itself most.

What I have said about the contemplated surrender of the Boers has since been confirmed by what I heard on my journey south towards Vryburg.

Keely, now Resident Magistrate in these parts, had been taken into camp about this time to swear neutrality; and the Boers made no secret of their intention to surrender the fort; but they were kept up to the mark by one determined man, who, lying behind an ammunition box, swore he would blow out the brains of the first man who offered to surrender. It was at this man that Paton was firing through a loophole with a pistol when he was shot. n.o.body else on our side seems to have spotted the individual in question, hence the Boers, on our retiring, continued the fight.

27th, 28th, and 29th. Desultory sh.e.l.ling, sniping, and occasional wild firing from the enemy by night. We hear cheering native rumours from the south.

31st, Sunday. Sports, &c., driving compet.i.tion, horse-show. I won hack compet.i.tion.

January 1st, 1900, New Year's Day. We had antic.i.p.ated a quiet day, as this is a Boer festival. I presume they thought we antic.i.p.ated this, for they commenced early with a heavy bombardment and experimented with incendiary bombs, which however were of no success. A valuable member of the garrison, one of our few carpenters, Slater by name, was killed.

2nd. Our usual sh.e.l.ling, and a niece of a Baralong chief killed in the stadt, amongst others. In the evening Mr. Hamilton, _Times_ correspondent, gave the staff and the other correspondents a most excellent dinner, which we all thoroughly appreciated, at Riesle's Hotel. How so good a dinner could be served after about four months'

siege is indeed extraordinary.

3rd. The quick Q.-F. Krupp was moved to the north-west of the town, and fired on the western forts, amongst other places into the women's laager, killing two children, one Dutch, one English.

4th. Typhoid has broken out in the women's laager. I suppose we may consider ourselves lucky it is not more prevalent. The usual sh.e.l.ling goes on.

5th. Enemy quiet, with the usual sh.e.l.ling, which is terribly monotonous.

6th. Boers rather vicious to-day, and the usual Sat.u.r.day's spar all round at sundown. Runners went north and south.

7th, Sunday. In the early morning heavy musketry fire from the Boers, quite contrary to their usual custom. Sports, Christie Minstrels, and a comical turn-out compet.i.tion.

8th. Rained hard. Sh.e.l.ling went on as usual, and my usual sniping ground destroyed by four sh.e.l.ls, and the occupant fatally injured, Shrapnell fired over the women's laager.

9th. From now onwards we may a.s.sume a very heavy sh.e.l.ling every day.

Two whites and two natives injured while tampering with a hundred pound sh.e.l.l, one white since dead.

10th. Mrs. Poulton, born a Dutch woman, shot through the head and killed, also a few natives; this woman's sister at the commencement of the siege expressed the wish that the streets of Mafeking might run with English blood. This charming lady, named Hammond, created so much disturbance at the commencement of the siege that she was put under restraint; her daughter has since been severely wounded. Curses, like chickens, come home to roost.

11th. Usual day of sh.e.l.ling.

12th. A Boer attack on Fort Ayr. They galloped wildly fifty yards in advance of their trenches, about one thousand five hundred yards from Fort Ayr, and indulged in a fantasia, but never came any nearer. Their guns, however, five, twelve, and one hundred pounders, shot very straight and sh.e.l.led for two hours. Our casualties, one man wounded, since dead.

13th. Big gun did not fire, enemy very quiet; expect they are running short of small arm ammunition.

14th, Sunday. Great excitement caused by disappearance of Creaky, many rumours. She was seen in at least six different places, but we all hoped she had taken a fond farewell.

15th. Creaky actually discovered about two miles down the Malmani Road.

She had apparently been moved by our persistent persecutions, and we thought she had been moved into a worse position for her. We have materially changed our minds, at any rate, at the eastern end of the town, where she fires regularly at meal times, mostly hitting hotels.

She commenced firing at 11 o'clock.

16th. Dislike the sh.e.l.ling more since I have fever; one sh.e.l.l struck auxiliary hospital.