Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1900-03-01
LETTERS FROM eADEN-POwELt.
Commander at Mafcking Describes the
TOwn's Long siege.

Commander at Mafcki"g Describes the
Tow~'s Long siege.
London, Feb. 26.-Extracts from
Colonel Baden Powell's letters to his
relatives are published in al illustrated
weekly. He writes:
.Ilere sit in my bomb-proof on-
reau, writing these letters. Around
me is a telephone communication
with each one of my outposts. AT
each of these Outposts a telescope keeps
constant watch Oh the Boer outpo>ts
and guns. As soon as it is seen which
way their fire is about to be directed
the wire communications are set to
work and bell, with which each de-
fensive quarter is provided, clangs III
that part OF town where the shell Is
about to fall; and all i'll the open 60 10
the ground like rabbits. Generally
speaking, most OF us, unless duty takes
us out, keep pretty close during the
day: but we come out and take the air
at niuht. The Beers usually finish
rounding us toward evening, or just
send us few shells before the sun
goes down."
One thing Colonel Baden-Powell has
not neglected. lie has effectuallv
swept Mafeking clear OF all suspectc'
traitors. Those who are not outside
are shut up in particularly strong
quarters. He says:
81 have ~ prisoners, including the
late station master at Mafekiny, All OF
whom were rather more than suspected
of reasonable correspondence with the
enemy"
The paper goes on to say: Zone
dark night. a few weeks ago, kaff'r
stole away from the outpsts OF the lit
tie beleagured township. With the
subtitle instinct of those children of the
veldt, which has been lost to civilized
man, he made his way through the net
work of encircling trenches and laagers
and set his face to the north and Bulu-
wayo. lie carried couple of assegals,
few mealies and II pipe. The latter
may have seemed OF little Importance.
but in the stem of that pipe lay the
message from the cheerful. confident
chief, which, after journey to Deia-
goa Bay, gives to us at home those III
terestiny details of the resistance offer
ed by the town to the Boer siege"
He tells how, even at Mafeking. be.
fore war came to them, people were
ready to underestimate the character
of the hostilities likely to ensue, and
pooh poohed the necessity of making
any special provision against Boer artil-
lery. But Colonel Baden-Powell was
not the man to be swayed by such
ostrich.like conduct.
81 have come here to hold this
town." he said. Straightway, before
any enemy appeared on the horizon, ne
set about marking out the line of his
exterior defense works. and, with that
common sense which is the best test OF
the true soldier, ut once directed the
construction of ample shell-proof cover
against the guns which at that time
seemed so chimerical to the people OF
Mafeking.
each one of the outwOrks," he
writes, "all around the town was at
once provided with underground she'll
proof accommodation for the whole OF its
garrison. The town itself was divided
into three or four sections. each OF
which had it's own arrangements for
defense. In each, big mounds OF earth
have been thrown up, with good inter-
Tor apartments, all constructed OF the
handiest material, such as wall sup
ports and roof cross beams of railway
metals, with panelings and roofings OF
corrugated IRON"
He then tells us how he converted
the cellars OF several houses into safe
retreats of similar kind, and, by
means of banking huge mounds of earth
Immediately overhead. they rendered
good service to the garrison and the
inhabitants on the day when the Boer
artillery began to rain shot and shell
on the devoted little town.
But the perfect, machine like system
which holds sway at Mafeking is per-
haps the most interesting fact about
the siege. Go INTO any we'll known
opticians store and you will find the
men hard at work turning out as many
glasses as they can make in the short.
est possible time, chiefly telescopes of
great range, now urgently needed by
our troops in South Africa. The in
adequacy OF our supply at the front has
put us to serious disadvantage through
out the theater OF war. Not SO at
Mafeking. Her willy chief, from the
earliest moment, saw to that, and he
tells us how he has them in constant
use. In the center of the beleagured
town is a big traverse or mound of
earth. Inside this mound is the brain
OF Mafeking, Baden Powell
In Northern Cape Colony.
Arundel, Feb. 26.-ColOnol Hender-
cou,s canadian ~ tho Innicki1liuuS