1900 - Diary of the siege of Mafeking by Edward Ross
Saturday, 3 March
5.15 a.m. Big Ben, having been removed by the enemy from her eastern position in the night, was found to be reimplaced at their big fort on what is termed the eastern heights, having been placed there for the express purpose of shelling our position at the brickfields, which they commenced doing at about 5.30 and continued until nearly breakfast-time, sending in altogether 36 of her huge projectiles. A piece of one, most unfortunately, and I am afraid mortally, wounding Sergeant-Major Taylor, Cape Boy squad. A very useful man, and who has been two or three times mentioned in despatches. Two other men were slightly scratched also, but beyond this no other damage was done.
During and under cover of this shelling, the Boers worked like niggers to finish a trench they had been making, and which they thought would stop our further work, but with all this expensive movement on their part, the Colonel points out, they are now in no better position than they were before.
During the shelling our Nordenfeldt and snipers kept poppying [sic] away at them, giving them a good hot time.
In the afternoon, and just as the enemy were about to commence shelling again, their gunner who was sighting the big gun was seen to have been shot by one of our snipers. There was a great fuss going on up there, and Red Cross flags were stuck up over and about their fort. They then brought down a spider and a pair of horses, but it could be seen the wounded man was evidently too badly hit for this sort of conveyance, and a stretcher could be seen coming down from their big laager and eventually about a dozen men carried him away. Their big gun did not fire again during the day, and towards evening they could be seen rigging up the shear-legs preparatory to again removing her. Where to, oh where this time? This is the second time she has been driven from the eastern heights. Good old snipers!
The natives have been doing good work again cattle lifting. Two of our Baralongs went out, engaged themselves as servants to the Boers and waiting their opportunity cleared back in the night, bringing with them 43 fine head of Boer oxen. The enemy spotted them at daylight just as they were nearing our outposts and turned on their high-velocity Krupp and 1pound Maxim, this time managing to hit something, seriously wounding 8 of the cattle, which, however, were managed, with one exception, to be brought in, but had to be immediately slaughtered.
The Boers are supposed to have received a new gun (9-pounder) and have placed same at Game Tree. They have managed to get the range of the women’s laager and have put two or three shells into it.
A party of B.S.A.P. snipers were pushed out last night under cover of darkness, into what is known as “Cook’s trench” on the east front, and when daylight appeared, one of the staff who happened to be up at the Nordenfeldt, thinking these men to be the enemy, ordered our gun to open on them and kept this up for some considerable time, when our poor fellows had to rig up a white flag and come out to stop them. What with our men shooting them from behind and the enemy giving them beans from in front, they were not in a very enviable position, in fact they had about the roughest time possible. Somebody got hauled over the coals for it.
Inspector Marsh has been temporarily relieved from the honorous [he] duties of "in charge at the brickfields”, Duke Williams being now in command. It must be a severe strain on any officer down there, as they are kept at it almost night and day with very little opportunity to snatch even a few moments’ sleep. The corner is too warm. The cord is strained to its greatest tension out there, and something I am sure will soon happen; either B.P. will give the Boers another bayonet charge, or the enemy will endeavour to drive us out. The latter is not the most likely of the two. And all this is going on at a distance of between 1 200 and 1 600 yards of tire town.
Some of the warning bells posted in different parts of the town are in charge of natives, who take all sorts of fits and starts as to when they should ring the bell or how many times it should be rung; besides this there are many other little private bells being rung all over the place, consequently we are often at a loss to know if the main bell is ringing its warning for loading, or its sighting, or even its firing bell. Some of those niggers get sworn at to such an extent that perdition is already definitely arranged for them.
Poor Sergeant-Major Taylor died of his wounds.
