The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-03-10
AT MAGERSFONTEIN.
TEN MENTO ONE COULD SCARCELY
HAZE C.iPTURED THE POSITION
New Chapter In War Tnctics-HuudrrJs
of Men Who Have Fought Mt Modder
Terrors OF the South African Fight.

| AS compensation to the inhabitants
of beleaguered Mafeking for the many
duli days we have had lately, yester-
day December 81 was replete with in
cidents and crowded with a constant
succession of events Of more than or
binary interest. We have had our days
OF activity, when the boom Of our ar
tillery and the rattle Of musketry have
| impressed into few brief hours the
| full measure of martial excitement we
have endured our days of lonesome and
| firing idleness when the hot winds OF
the Kalahari Desert have swept eddies
of whirring, biting sand across the
trenches, when the pitiless sun has
spent its energies upon the heat
stricken garrison But yesterday we
had new experience of the elements.
1t was reconnaissance in force by
nature 1t came, it swept everything
rbefore it, and it left us drenched with
rain, surrounded by small lakes of mud
streams of water. and without dry
garments to our names When the mis-
chief was complete the deluge ceased,
SIGNS OF STORM.
When dawn broke in the morning
across the sky there gloWered the haze
of heat. which, in Africa, as elsewhere,
denotes a more than usually tropical
day. To those. however, who knew the
signs of the sky the fleeing masses Of
black cloud, low down upon the horiz-
on, foretold a day of evil tempest.
Slowly the rising wind drove them to-
gether until shortly before noon, clouds
were punched high up across the sky
and over the Boer lager. From where
we were in the town it was quite ap-
parent that the temporary center of the
storm was almost above the implace-
ments of the enemy's artillery. Before
the breeze had increased the Beers had
thrown few shells into the town, but
presently, as the force of the gale
struck the town, it was evident that
the rain-flled clouds were discharging
their contents upon the extreme limits
of the veldt, For an hour or two the
Beers received the full effect of the
storm, and but few drops of rain fell
into the town, as the wind swept before
its path the debris of the veldt, por-
tons of broken trees, Of scrub, and
bushes.
TOWN CATCHES IT
The deluge quickly left the southeast.
concentrating a little beyond and over
the town. Possibly the wind carried
with it rainspout, since the effect of
the streaming water was as though
from somewhere in the sky buckets
were being emptied on to the place
beneath. The veldt was quickly food |
ed, the dried-up spruits were soon
charged With forming cataracts. Mafe- |
king itself lay under water. the earth |
works around the town We're swept |
away, trenches and bombproof shelters |
were choked with eddying streams, |
everywhere was ruin--destruction and |
complste chaos reieaed until the storm \
had spent itself Down the activity |
UPON which Cannon Kopje is placed |
there rolled the surging tide, carrying |
with it the stores of the fort, the blan- |
kets Of the men, the bodies Of struggl- |
ing animals who If they succeeded in
coping with the force of the stream.
were dashed to pieces upon the rocky |
faces of the hill.
AT THE WOMEN'S LAGER.
The women's lager, which has |
hitherto rested in snug seclusion at the
base of the hills forming the western
outposts, was In a few minutes flooded |
with the offpourings from the SHUTS of
the veldt, while the trenches were
quickly submerged or silted with the
refuse of the torrent. A cart which
went to the assistance of the inmates
of the lager found itself waterbound
through the tremendous force Of swift
ly flowing cataracts In the town
cellars Were vacated, and
the people. discarding their shoes and
stockings, made their way from point
to point by padding and fording the
footpaths across the streets. Market
square was a sheet Of running water,
rising with such rapidity that it SEEM
ed that the houses bordering the square
would be Inundated
DRIVEN FROM THE DE,FENSES
From Market Square upon two sides
the roads make something of a descent
and down these slight inclines columes
of water, yards in width and some feet