The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-01-24

otoutly refused.
TWO days aftcrward the attack COM
mencrd. For three hours and half
700 Beers kept up continuous rifle
fire upon the little fort 1T range OF
500 yards. In her own chnrmingly
modest and simple narrative. Mrs.
Long thus describes her feelings when
She first found herself under fire:
Il must humbly confess that during
the first hour of the firing was dread
fully frightened and took refuge under
table for its imaginary shelter. Fa-
ther Walsh entering the hut at that
moment with his brcviary in his hand
~ look for mo. and. not finding me. rs
he expected. called me. lifted the tn-
bic cover and polied my head ont. say
Ing Here am, father" My position
struck me rs so ludicrous that burst
into q hearty fit of laughter. Not till
D. III. was l able to ascertain that.
Notwithstanding the terrible fire Of the
last four hours. not a man had been
wounded. My husband. knowing how
anxious l should be as to his safety.
looked In as often as he could to cheer
me-"
But she very soon ovcrcame these
natural terrors and got SO used to the
firing. even when the Beers brought
couple of cannon TO bear on the fort.
that she frequently sic. t right through
the cannonade.
What with tending the sick and
wounded and making sandbags. some.
times turning out as many as four
dozen Of them in day. Mrs. Longs
time was fully occupied. Think of
her there, one woman. little moro than
girl. alone among GO men fighting for
their lives against ten times their mum.
Der. What wonder that the men fought
like heroes with this daintily bred Eng
iish lady sharing all their dangers and
setting them an example Of patience
and courage and cheerfulness. She
admitted that ut first she felt the alb.
sencc Of any of her own sex keenly.
But the soldiers were so devoted to
her, SO delicate in their solicitude and
consideration for her, that she soon
lost the sense Of loneliness.
One day q strange messenger ar
rived. little black and tan terrier.
with a piece Of paper folded in a rag
tied round It's neck. 1t was q commu-
nication from some friendly townsfolk
Informing them that the Beers were
Quarreling among themselves, furious
with Dietrich Muller for being such
fool as to allow the English those five
days to complete their defenses and
adding as hint that the defenders Of
the fort were firing too high, which
hint, l need hardly say, was quickly
taken.
The garrison had nothing in the
shape Of gun with which to meet the
fire Of the two 6 Founders that the
Beers had in position. But one day
Mrs. Long suggested to one of the
army service men that the monkey"
Of an Abyssinian pump which they had
might perhaps be utilized. The ideG
was promptly seized upon and ingen.
iously carried into execution. and the
Beers were very much amazed when n
cylindrical shot weighing two pounds
six ounces, formed Of round crowbar
iron cased In lead, came crashing in
among them. "Mrs. Longs gun," as 1t
was christened, proved very valuable
addition to the armament Of Fort
Mary.
The huts were riddled through and
through with round shot and rifle bull
let's, and the escapes from death we're
SO miraculous thay Lieutenant Long
twice lad the men assembled for q
special thanksgiving service conducted
by Father Walsh. On one occasion O
cannon shot struck the wall within an
inch Of Mrs. Longs head and covered
her with dust and debris.
Another time the hut in which she
lived came down about her ears, and
her escape from being crushed III the
ruins was marvellous. But she must
needs, womanlike, go back to rescue
her "things" and expressed truly fem
inine sorrow to find her best bonnet
smashed as fiat as pancake and only
one cup, two saucers and couple of
plates left Of all her cherished crock
cry.
Meanwhile the men kept up their
spirits with music and dancing. "Hold
the Fort" with strictly local appiica-
ton, was favorite chorus, md the
men invented q version Of the famous
lingo song:
We don't want to fight. but. by lingo. II we do.
We've got the pluck. we've got the men and am
munition tool
We've fought the Zulu king and Sekekuni, too,
And the Beers shall never get into Fort Mary.
And they never did, though they tried
their utmost to drive out the gallant
defenders with cannon and rifles. and,
what was worse. "Greek fire. shot in
metnlllc tubes into the thatch OF the
roofs. Perhaps IL the Beers could only
have summoned up courage to make a
determined assault while the huts were
blazing and half the garrison occupied
in putting out the flames they might
have captured the fort. But they did
not care to meet the stubborn defend
ers Of Fort Mary hand to hand. So they
contented themselves with potting at
the gallant fellows who fearlessly ex-
posed themselves in their efforts to ex-
tinguish the fire. Those efforts were
successful. though they cost the lives
Of two brave men who could i'll be
spared.
But the garrison were not content
with standing only on the defensive.
They made Dlucky little NIGHT sorties