The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-12-30
LADY WILSON'S EXPERIENCE.
Her Adventures While Endeavoring
to Reach Mafeking.

to Reach Mafeking.
LONDON, Dec. pa War Office dispatch
from Col. Baden-Powell, dated Dec Il,
after announcing that Lady Sarah Wilson
had arrived safely and well at Mafeking.
adds that the bombardment and musketry
fire continue daily On all sides and that
the health and spirits of the garrison arc
very satisfactory.
MAFEKING. Dec "a (By native runner
to Mochudi. LADY Sarah Wilson is living
In bomb proof shelter of her own con-
struction, under the private residence OF
Mr.. Well. There she is enabled to exist
with some degree Of comfort, and IL she
chooses to spend part of her time in the
house her shelter is close enough to enable
her to make cover between the ring of the
warning bell and the arrival of the projec-
tile.
The correspondent of the Associated
Press in Mafeking. to whom she granted an
interview. was struck with the fact, on
entering her bomb-proof refuge. that she
Is unquestionably an old campaigner.
Even in this noisome. dark hole. dug under
tho ground. she manages to make herself
comfortable. She has whisky and soda.
Sarah's adventures were exciting, some
times amusing, and often spiced with con-
siderable danger. 1t was on a Thursday
that she lett Mafeking. She arrived at the
Zetlagoli Hotel that night. Before morn
ing she was aroused by the rattle of mus
kerry and the boom of guns. II was Cap
tain Nesbitt. of the Mashonaland mounted
police. now a prisoner in the hands of the
Beers, who was fighting desperately, un-
able to get back or to go forward, but
holding the wrecked armored train until
the last.
AS soon as daylight would allow Lady
Sarah pluckily rode to the scene of action
and photographed the wreck. Finding that
! her presence at Zetlagoli exposed her to
insults the Beers moved her to Mosuti
| where she enjoyed the hospitality of CO.
lcnial farmer By means of heavy bribes
she persuaded natives to carry information
| to Mafeking and extraordinary stories re-
garding her were circulated among the
Beers One was that she was the wife OF
an English general another that she was
| granddaughter of the Queen and had
| come to py upon the doings of the Beers
| and a third that she was the only male
i VI nidlchlHS, HdNliS tScdpeU
| the guise OF woman.
Lady Sarah visited Vryburg She was
driven there by young Boer, who passed
| her off as his sister. She found loyalists
who gave her official dispatches and news
| She stayed in the hotel all day and stole
| out by night to do shopping. On visiting
| the hospital she found that orders had been
| issued that no one should leave the town
| The gallant Boer had to answer some cur
| ious questions put by the Landrost before
| he could get permission for himself and
| his sister" to leave. They set out at 4
| O'Clock in the morning. in fear of being
| recognized, and got away safely.
| After the Beers discovered that she had
| been mixed up I'm dispatch running she
went to Commandant Snyman's camp with
a view of getting back to Mafeking, but
| Snyman refused to let her go to Mafeking
or even to Zetlagoli. He proposed send
ing her to Zeorust prisoner of war, or
as an alternative, to release her If Viljoen
| were given up by the British At first she
| refused to ask Colonel Baden-Powell to dc
| this. but finally changed her mind Lady
| Sarah gathered from her varied exper-
fences among the Beers that they are
| heartily sick of the war.