1900 - Diary of the siege of Mafeking by Edward Ross
Monday, 5 February
Was very pleasantly surprised at about 5 o’clock this morning to find our boy Oliphant had returned safely. He brought a large parcel of letters, telegrams and staff intelligence from the north, but no very late news. He nearly got shot this morning coming through the enemy’s lines, two Boers emptying their Mausers after him. He says the Rhodesia men at Crocodile Pools are working hard at the railway, repairing the line as they come down; they have met very little opposition coming down, but that the Boers have a very strong position at Aasvogel Kop, just this side where they at present are and will take a great deal of dislodging.
Big Bens, little Bens, Mausers, etc., being the usual course of events during the day, but towards evening were silenced by the approach of a very heavy storm, thunder, lightning and rain in galore. The latter, of course, makes things a little unpleasant for the time being, but what a godsend it is, filling all our tanks and giving us good pure healthy water to drink. If it had not been for the rain, sickness and dysentery would have been very prevalent.
One of the large shells today again burst in J. Winter’s garden, and a piece travelling right across to Bell’s house killed a native who was standing outside there. Nobody is ever safe from these floating death-dealing pieces; they seem to travel round corners and get into almost impossible places.
The Town Commandant (G.A.) is making it a bit stiff for our fort now. He has instructed our commandant to send a guard of 8 men every night to man the old C.P. fort (old pound) across the railway lines; this makes the corner very short of sentries and every man on the post will have to do duty, and that without very much intervals.
Sorry about the row between Miles and Early, it upset the happy home.
Although Oliphant brought in a big pile of stuff for the staff, including a lot of their English mail, he neither got pay nor thanks for it. Nor did I.
The ladies of the town have been making small Union Jacks and have presented them to the different outposts and trenches that have been successful in keeping back the enemy. These are to be used on Sundays only, and will be a very interesting memento for the officers receiving them.
A Board has been appointed to go into the matter of the hospital scandals. It has really been going on too bad. One of the patients who was very ill complained that the place was more like a music hall than a hospital, and the patients get no rest, day or night.
