1900 - Diary of the siege of Mafeking by Edward Ross
Thursday, 15 February
We lost the enemy’s big gun yesterday, but, although there was no reward offered, everybody was looking for it this morning, and she was duly found being carefully put up in a new emplacement about five miles due east of the town, and about five thousand yards east of our extreme outpost, Fort Ayr. This made the human town burrowers rather lively, as all our dugouts, bombproofs, splinter shelters, etc., had been built and made behind houses, etc., facing east, and with their outlets to the west; this of course left them quite open and unprotected from the enemy’s shells coming up from the west. In many instances entirely new dugouts had to be made, and in all other entrances had to be blocked up and new ones made facing exactly the opposite position, and, as no hangers-on in the way of natives are allowed about the town, this necessitated most of us setting to work ourselves with picks and shovels to get the work accomplished with the least possible delay. Nor did it take Big Ben very long to commence operations for about x i o’clock we heard her big roar and the bursting of her shells, but a good long distance away, eventually finding out she had been firing at the women's laager - two shells which did no damage - and into the native village (three shells, one of which killed three natives, two men and one woman); she again fired, this time getting closer to the town, the shell falling a little short of the railway station. We think this latter has been the object of her removal, so as to enable her to get at our shell factory, armoured train, etc., but she will have to do much better shooting than she has yet done if she wishes to damage these defences. They are fairly well protected. It is only a couple of days ago the mill was removed from its original building on the west side of the town up to the railway for protection from the shells, as it could be seen plainly by the enemy and they were aiming directly for it. It will now have to be removed back again. Unless the mill is properly looked after and taken care of, we shall be in a sad way if we have to hold out until the middle of May.
It is rumoured about town that the big gun is now unable to reach the centre and west portion of the town - at any rate she has not come so far yet - and that if they attempted to charge her heavily enough to do so it will soon put the gun out of action. I was under the impression she would carry seven miles easily. At any rate, if she does drop in town it will be at an angle almost straight up and down and woe betide any unlucky supposed bomb-proof she may strike. I’ll bet 6 to 4 she goes through anything yet built in the town. Some of them are very strong but many are only deathtraps. For instance, one built under the supervision of the assistant town military engineer (Adams) for the protection of the printing staff completely caved in after a Mauser bullet passed over it, luckily no one was inside at the time. What ho! Mr. Engineer, boss up.
Colonel Vyvyan told us this morning that our Cape Boys up at the brickfields had bowled over two of the enemy’s gunners on their 5-pounder. Good boys.
Big Ben gave us one more shell at about 6 o’clock and then covered himself up for the night.
The Boer snipers conscientiously wasted their ammunition and kept up their rifle-firing off and on all through the night, doing no damage except a few holes through galvanized iron roofs.
