in,
painted green and tied round with scrub, stood unperceived among the
clumps of bushes which surrounded the town.

On October 24th a savage bombardment commenced, which lasted with
intermissions for seven months. The Boers had brought an enormous gun
across from Pretoria, throwing a 96-pound shell, and this, with many
smaller pieces, played upon the town. The result was as futile as our
own artillery fire has so often been when directed against the Boers.

As the Mafeking guns were too weak to answer the enemy's fire, the only
possible reply lay in a sortie, and upon this Colonel Powell decided.
It was carried out with great gallantry on the evening of October 27th,
when about a hundred men under Captain FitzClarence moved out against
the Boer trenches with instructions to use the bayonet only. The
position was carried with a rush, and many of the Boers bayoneted before
they could disengage themselves from the tarpaulins which covered them.
The trenches behind fired wildly in the darkness, and it is probable
that as many of their own men as of ours were hit by their rifle fire.
The total loss in this gallant affair was six killed, eleven wounded,
and two prisoners. The loss of the enemy, though shrouded as usual in
darkness, was certainly very much higher.

On October 31st the Boers ventured upon an attack on Cannon Kopje, which
is a small fort and eminence to the south of the town. It was
defended by Colonel Walford, of the British South African Police, with
fifty-seven of his men and three small guns. The attack was repelled
with heavy loss to the Boers. The British casualties were six killed and
five wounded.

Their experience in this attack seems to have determined the Boers to
make no further expensive attempts to rush the town, and for some weeks
the siege degenerated into a blockade. Cronje had been recalled for more
important work, and Commandant Snyman had taken over the uncompleted
task. From time to time the great gun tossed its huge shells into the
town, but boardwood walls and corrugated-iron roofs minimise the dangers
of a bombardment. On November 3rd the garrison rushed the Brickfields,
which had been held by the enemy's sharpshooters, and on the 7th another
small sally kept the game going. On the 18th Powell sent a message to
Snyman that he could not take the town by sitting and looking at it.
At the same time he despatched a message to the Boer forces generally,
advising them to return to their h