Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-05-24
FIRST NEWS FROM MAFEKING.
Story OF the Last Fight of the Garrison
with the Boer AssaiIants.

4
| London. MAY 24-The first dispatch
from Mafeking. except brief one re-
| ceived yesterday from Major General
Baden-PoweH announcing the relief Of
| the place says the town was wild with
| joy; that many people vept as they
4 greeted their deliyerers, and that the
scene as thetroops traverSed the streets
| baffied description.
! Another dispatch, the third since re-
| lief, tells the story Of the last fight the
/ garrison made against the besiegers as
| follows:
'Mafeking, May Is. - The whole
| town is animated with keen sense of
| exultation over yesterdays victory,
| which was complete, decisive and far
\ reaching. The military position short
| ly after sunrise was extraordinary. All
the outlying works Of the town were
intact: the British had lost hardly any
men, and Yet three bodies of federals,
right inside the British lines had been
| surrounded, cut off and given an oppor-
tunity 10 surrender. which they had
declined.
"Commandant Sarel Eloff did not
realize that his supports had been
driven back. and he informed Il mes
scnger that the town was at his mercy.
Toward noon there was a Iull in the
fighting. Everybody at headquarters
went to breakfast, and the commits
sariat requisitiOned for ohrse sausage,
bread and water for the men Oh the
fighting line. There was no thought of
half ratiOns. Every one got all he
could eai
The British in the Staat, moving
from rock tO rock, gradually drew in
their circle around the federalS. whom
they corralled like cattle in a com
pound. Shortly after 4;3O Il white flag
was hoisted by the enemy and then,
amid ringing cheers. the first batch
Of Beers was disarmed and sent TO the
town. The erStwhile besiegers fur
nished an lnspiriting spectacle to the
tOwnSfOlh, themselves 50 long cOoped
up As the hungry, battle-Stained Beers
marched between the cleaning bayo-
nets Ok the British the British popula-
tion received them respectfully, but the
kattirs gave full rein to their enthusi-
asm in hOotS. yells and similar ex-
pTaSSlon Of delight. The prisoners
seemed glad the fight was over.
AS the afternoon advanced the
rrackl" OF musketry began again. con-
tlnuinS until nearly Z o'clock, when
Captain Singleton shouted Cease fire..
4 message had come from headquar-
tGrs to the effect that ElOn. his officers
and men. had surrendered and had laid
down their arms Internationally to
men had been Il prisoner of ElOm dur
ing most of the day. Shortly before |
this a fuSillade was heard. It WAS |
Eloff and the men who stood by him /
firing on their own de~ertcrS, eighty OF |
whom fed.
As the news spread by telephone to |
the SarriSOns of the various forts cheer !
upon cheer reSounded. In the town /
some one started God Save the Queen |
and the strains of the national anthem |
mingled for few minutes with the |
hoarSe shouting of the natives. Soon |
Captain Singleton and Colonel Hore |
approached. accompanied 10y Com |
mandant Eloff and his officers. The |
meeting between Colonel Baden Powell !
teristic
This is C0mmandant EIoff, sir"
said Captain Singleton.
Good evening. cOmmandant." said |
Colonel Baden Powell. Welcome
and have some dinner"
As the British had already captured /
12O prisoners. about all they could |
handle. Colonel Baden Powell sent
word To Lord Charles Bentinck to open
the way and to allow the scattered
remnants Of the federalS to be driven
from the Staat. In half an hour every
thing was over and in the mess roori
at headquarters the three Boer officers
We're dining. Nearly every mess in
town raked up somewhere hidden
store of liquor a bottle of champagne
in one place. n flask OF whisky in an
other.
The whole town Joined In the jubila-
tion singing, Cod Save the Queen
and other patriotic songs all night
long. The rank and file Of the BOer
prisoners were lodged mt Masonic hall.
Most OF them are JohanneSburgers.
They seemed i'm excellent spirits.
scrambled for the blankets issued.
wrote letters to their friends and