TOPIC:

1900 - Mafeking siege day 177 (81%). Colonel Dalgety isolated at Jammersberg Drift, near Wepener.
1901 - Blood arrives at Middelburg to carry out operations against Viljoen.
1902 - Ian Hamilton arrives at Klerksdorp to command operations against De la Rey.

In Mafeking:

We were awakened by the big gun, which kept on all day. Smitheman was again lucky He went up to lunch at the kopje, and then they began shelling that, so he had had most of the pleasures of Mafeking compressed into three days. They pall, however, after six months. He seemed to think we were having a harder time than he anticipated, and it is very interesting to have an outside opinion, because we are so thoroughly used to it that we do not know whether it is a bad time or not, being only convinced of two things—that the place can't fall, and that wre will not get hit by a big shell if we can help it. Smitheman returned to Plumer to-night.

1900 - Diary of the siege of Mafeking by Edward Ross

Saturday, 7 April

Enemy commenced shelling us with Big Ben, 15-pounder and smaller gun at about 7 a.m., keeping it up for some considerable time; sent in about twenty 94-pounders alone, the only casualty being a native boy who had a slight flesh wound in the leg caused by a splinter.

A lot of Fingoes, about 30, went out the other night under the guidance of another native who said he knew where there was a big clump of Boer cattle. This latter afterwards proved to be a Boer spy and left the Fingoes into a trap. They got surrounded by the enemy, cut off entirely, and out of the whole crowd only four returned to impart the information; they say, however, they accounted for 9 of the enemy.

From the diary of Lance Corporal Luke Gormley, 1st Royal Scots, at Wepener

Apr 7th, 1900

There is a report that the Boers have got us surrounded. We are in a rather bad plight as we are so few in numbers and little rations to hold out with. Our outposts are firing at the Boers and we are digging trenches round the camp.