The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 21, 1901, Page 6

THE SUNDAY CALL. O HIS is the diary of a San Francisco who lived through the 124-day sicge of Kim-~ man berley as one of the besicged. It is a changcful story to follvw. See how it swings off in the begin~ 1d hobeful d at the £ face of tl {e is wid vake and interested in the warfare that is begimung around | nuch so as a boy might 1 some new gamie that is hot and me “When the Boers come they wwill receive some se packets they never dre > he writes. 11 is a great j hink of the recep- tion in store for them. The symptoms of sicge interest him hugely. He enjoys telling news of the destruction of the water llowance that the Such hardships are great fun when they are new and when one knows that they will not last. They will make fine tales to tell in the future. And to think of the surprise packets awaiting the Boers! The hooters are interesting, too. The danger signals, the advance in prices—all have their picturesque side. Then, November 7, “the ball has opened.” That promises to give a zip to things, and it is with some disappointment that he records the tame fact that “the stores are cpen and everybody is calm and goes about work in the regular way.” He adds, “There is no excitement, and you would not know war was on but for the boom of guns and the martial aspect of the place.” Then with the eagerness of the small boy ogoin, “We have very few good guns, but if the Bocrs will only oblige us by coming within range there zvill be some funerals on their side.” Not with brutality, but with the tingling pride of warfare he records later several men killed and wounded on the English side, end tells how Major Pegkman was shot through the thigh ahd Alfred Mill- borrow was struck in the funny- bone. “I wish some of our Cape Tomwn friends who appear to think be- cause we have taken our siege phil- osophically that a siege is rather an agreeable experience than otherwise could change places with us for a day or two.” But there is a chuckle of delight up his sleeve as he writes it, and you are still sure that the experience couldn’t be bought of him for love or money. On through November, while the Boers are sending in their ulti- mata, there is still plenty of cour- age, but its varnish of flippancy begins to rub off. Shells are fall- ing faster and nearer by this time. By the last day of November all but the courage is gone. The jokes, the eagerness, the hope—all are for- gotten. The 29th is the blackest i the the ks and the °s are mg on. : C TRED S (ZAA\/(;; AND FAr7ILY day since the big fire in the nine, he writes, and he goes on to desciibe the funerals of twenty-one men, for which even the mineral <water wagons had to be used as hearses. ‘Worse and more of 1t” on De- cember II. By the 13th matters are des- perate. “A deep gloom is cast cver the place.” Then all the miscrable details of slow suffering. Food rises to impossible prices and gives out. In its absence disease sets in, the miserable, slow forms of discase that follow in the wake of war and slay strong men and render mo glory in the death. Lord Methuen only a dozen miles away and yer no relief. “The water supply is only on two hours per day and the gardens are all dead.” “It is pitiful to see men, women and children waiting their turn for their quantum of meat in the morn- ing — four ounces per day for adults and two for children; two- thirds of that is bone.” “We are always hungry now.” “The Bders have mounted ten big guns about the town and we daily expect a bombardment ihat will make us tired of living.” And because General French and his “merry men” bring relicf, it comes out all right in the end, as everybody knows. But “the siege lasted 124 days and we have all had enough to last a lifetime.” SARAH COMSTOCK. T wmre fairlv in the thick of it and have had all communica- tion cut off for over e week. The wires are cut and the line pulled up in both directions ard Boers in evéry direction. The O. F. S. have formally declared Griqualand West part of the O. F. S. and have hoisted their flag at Riverton, Windsor- ton, Klipdam, etc., and at all the stations from Vryburg to the Modder River. The latter bridge has been Gestroyed and we are waiting for them to come and taka Kimberley. When they como they will receive some surprise packets that they never dreamt of. We have a force of about 4000 armei men here, including chout 650 regulars (Lane Rifles and Artillery), lots of ammu- nition and Lee Metfords, about twenty- four seven-pounders of our own and Max- ims galore, as well as the guns of the 1 regulars. The mines are shutting ddwn. The water works' have been destroved at the river by the Boers and we are on an allowance at present. Tpe De Ecers Companv are doing the thing properly and are raising 1000 mount- ed men to march on Ifloemfontein when the regulars come up in numbers and that will be in a very short time. The Da Beers Company have busit a eonning tow- er af an enormous height on their new head gear b e big compound and the imperial officers are. up there day and night signaling with flags and helio- graph. The companv has also what are called hooters Instead of whisties, and they can hoot enough io raise the dead. On the eleventh cf this month on the first approach of the Boers ihe alarm was giv- en at 1 o'clock in the morning, and there was hell to pay all that night (or morn- ing). Everybody was in a panic and we had a lively time of it. It appears that a false alarm was. arranged for that time but the public genera'ly did not know it. About 2:30 the Boers apveared in the d3- tance and there was anotier blast. The denger sigral is flying constantly now from all the different points and every oue is on the “qui vive.” Business, of course, is ‘at a standstill and likely to be for some time. The groc- ers, on account of tho siege, raised their prices to a point that placed the necessar- ies beyond the reach cf the ordinary man, but the military authoritics (we are under martial law now) promptly had them brought back to the normal prices. Paraffin ofl went from 17s to.£3 2s 6d, and people who bought in (to make a corner) at 40s a case nad expected to sell it at £5 feel sore now. You can buy it at 17s, but the authorities have limited the quantity to be sold to Individuals, We had a large shipment of furniturs just before the siege, that arrived in P. E. and T advised Collins to wire to have it put in bond just in time, or it may have been knocking about the veldtenow. The Colonial Boers are on the job and the whole country, as far as we can learn, is in a state of insurrection. I don’t know when this letter will reach vou, as we may not have the postu:l arrangements in order for months. I krow you are in- terested In Kimberley and I will add to this letter from time to time and when you get this I shall be pleased to hear from you. Sydney Richards is here and says Mr. Vogl is sticking to Johannesburg. Gussie Bonas went to Cape Town with the Diamond -syndicate. and is stuck there. < % October 26.—We had a couple of battles lately with the Boers, and in the last one killed their commandant and between twenty and thirty Boers, only six miles from Kimberley. Our water supply will only last about three weeks longer as . things are, but we have had good rains and all the tanks are full. Our loss so far has been five killed &nd eleven wounded. There are about 600 or 700 Boers about here, but we have them in sight and will deal with tlem before long. November 2.—Still in a state of siege. Two cr three days ago a party of our patrol went out and were shelled, but the shells fell 300.yards short. The Boers have us properly, and provisions are getting Under the martial law the supplies are all regulated by the commanding officer, Colonel Kekewich, and he is the boss of the show at present. Rhodes is still here and living at the sanatorium, up near Currey’s house. This bullding has a platform on the roof and commands a view of the whole country on all sides. All the camps and conning towers are connected with telephones. The Public Gardens are barracks:; in fact, the whole place is my idea of a be- sleged town. We have “ad communica- tion with the outside world by means of dispatch riders lately, but now even tius is stopped and we do not expect to get any more news for some weeks. The sanitary wagons and oxen have been captured by the Boers, but we have made another plan. Wesselton mine, which contains an unlimited supply of pure water, is connected with our system and we have no fear of running -out of water. s November 7.—The ball has opened. We are surrounded and the shells have been flying into Kimberley by the dozen this morning, but landed principally in soft ground in Newton and did no damage. One dropped In Bulfontein road and another in Jones street: We expect to have four Boer batteries playing on us this afternoon. They have long-ranga guns and are out of sight, but seem to have our range ail right.” Rhodes passed the store a few minutes ago and he looks twenty vears older than when you last saw him. The stores are all open and everybody is calm and goes about work In the regular way. Shells passed on both sides of Collins’ house just now, and it is get- ting very warm. There is no excitement and you would not know war was on but for the boom of guns and the martial aspect of the place. - ‘We have very few good guns, but if th Boers will only oblige us by coming within range there will be some funerals on their side. Little we thought when in the old “Handy House years ago that Kimberley would ever be shelled by the Boers. Kimberley is pretty certain to be a military station after this business is over. I am perhaps a little premature, but I have no doubt as to the issue. An- other big gun fired. I expect to get orders to close up soon. This is written July 11, 1899, between 1 and 2 o'clock. November 11, 1 p. m.—Shelling com- menced this morning again about 5:30. Be- tween forty and fifty shells were landed in hdre. A lot fell at the reservoir fort; five in the Kimberley mine; one struck Fisher's old bakery on Barry street: an- other the Gresham bar (formerly Bayliss’) the next in front of the Presbygerian church; another in front of the convent, which knocked a Kaffir woman’s head off. Tais last one was a very powerful one and the pieces rained on the Baptist church and Schuler’s house. Up to the present time we have only lost about seven men and perhaps twelve or fifteen wounded. The shell - that struck the “Gresham’” went through the roof and ceiling and burst in the bar, de- molishing the whole show. Nearly the whole town visited the place this morn- 4 . ing, and Brown, tne proprietor, did a big businces. The cannons have commenced again. Wednesday, November 15. — Fairly quiet up to yesterday, when our fricnds sent us another joblot of shells. It start- ed just at 1 o'clock. The first one burst in front of Joe Bodley's tobacconist shop. The next went through St. Cyprian Church, another at the back of Hill & Paddon’s, next one in the store reom of the Queen’'s Hotel, where it killed two cats and disturbed groceries and crockery all over the place. We had one close to us. It fell in Harvey's studio and made an awful mess of the place. There have been many miraculous escapcs, but no deaths fromi them so far. It .was a strange coinci: dence that when the one exploded in front of Bodley’s, Rhodes was only about fifty yards away in a cab. It is getting very warm about here, and we are expectinz another fusiilade socn. We had a big dose this morning between 5 and 6 o'clock. One shell dropped into Mr. O'Leary’s yard on Sydney street. Thursday, November 16—The shelling commenced at 5:30 this morning and con- tinued for half an hour from three points. No damage from the shelis. A party of about 990 of our mounted men went out at 3 o’clock this morning and engaged the enemy. We lost thres or four men and had nine wounded, among them Major Peakman. shot through the thigh, and Alfred Millborrow, struck in the funny bone with a plece of shell. We have been besieged for overe a month now, and there are no signs of help arriving. The coin is geiting short and De Beers can’t pay their men in the regular way. The majority will have to wait a month. There Is plenty of coln, but it has found its way into other chan- nels and no fresh supply is forthcoming. The mines are not working at all. Ev- ery inch of Kimberley is fortified. This place has a circumference of about twelve miles. We are not wasting any ammunition, and to tell vou my opinion, 1 don’t think we can afford to. The lat- est is that the military have called in all the meal, flour, sugar and rice, and it is stored in Hill & Paddon’s. Nobody lights any lamps in the night. Fancy the Central bar with only one e e R 3 MRS RISCUM WANTED NO G5 SAN FRANC/SCO. LY [7 7 Z, ADE w M&L‘/e/ candle alight at 8 last evening. No drink to be.sold to natives. All bars closed and all' who are non-combatants to be in the house at 9 o'cleck. The Boers are all around in thousands and we ex- pect another dose of shells soon. It will be as dull as ditch water #hen the siege is over. Friday, November 17.—Our latest Cape Town advices were dated November 8. We last heard from Mafeking on the 3ist of October. What a multitude of interesting events may have happened during that in- terval. Mafeking has no doubt had more fighting, but you probably know more about it than we do. I wish some of our Cape Town friends, who appear to think because we have taken our siege philosophically that a slege is rather an agreeable experience than otherwise could change places with us for a day or two. Yesterday was the thirty-third day since railway and telegraphic communica- tion was cut off, and the shells whistling and bursting within a few yaras of us in Dutoitspan Road, has, to say the least, a demoralizing effect on our nerves. You hear them come whistling toward vou and have no idea where they will strike till they burst and send a hail of iron all over the roofs. The Boers commenced firing again to-day at 12 o'clock but did not do much damage. = Saturday, November 18.—Yesterday af- ternoon we sent out about 1500 mounted men to the other side of Beaconsfield to engage the enemy, and they had a duel at long range. Joe Bodley was shot through the leg, but I believe there were no others wound- ed on our side. .Perhaps an unknown numbe# of Boers were killed and wounded but we don’t know anything about their losses. An incessant fire was kept up for over two hours, and somebody must have been hurt. As the Boers get the D. F. (Ad- vertiser) every dav the news is sup- pressed, as the censor regulates the out- put of printed news we know nothing ex- cept what is in everybody’s mouth. Among the products of tnis siege are: First—The ‘“‘romancer,” who knows every- thing that is going on and elaborates and embellishes every ui-bit he hears. Seec- ond—The alarmist, who spreads the report ' = — (0~ VATIVES SELLING that the Boers are 10,000 strong, and have half a dozen forty-pounders ready to play on Kimberley to-morrow, and that 200 wagons of ammunition have arrived for the Boers from Free State. Third— The man who ha 1St come over from the Boer lines, but in reality has not been cut of Kimberley. Fourth—The damned liar, who saw one of our shells enter the mouth of one of the Boer's cannons thres mi off. He saw it with glasses, and don’t you fc The fifth, sixth, sev- entk e seen our rellef, 5000 ¢ it! to 10,000 men hting their way up from Modder River. When our boys were out on Thursday morhing a shell dropped near a crowd, and the feilows immediately dropped off their horses to get pieces of the sheil as sou- venirs. This was in the midst of a heavy fire of artillery and rifle fire, and shows you how cool the; cumstances. can be under such cir- ‘hen the shell dropped In front of the Catholic church at 5:40 In the morning there should have been about 500 people killed. Every man you speak to says he was there. My second son, Dud- 1 slipped out of bed at 5:30 and was in front of the Baptist church, where it ex- ploded, and said there were very few peo- ple in sight. He stopped about there till they brought the ambulance and took the woman who was killed away. This shows the amount of liars that have cropped up since the siege commenced. Pecple are getting “ratty” and are be- ginning to see “things.” Verily we have fallen on grievous times and “we don't know what minute will be our next.” Con- fusion to the e 7, but who are they? A question I wiil leave to you to answer at your leisure. Verb. sat saplentl. Sunday passed quietly, barring a heavy thunder storm. The Boers have sent In several ultimatums within the last few weeks to the effect that if we don't sur- render within twenty-four hours they will shell the town. They have sent in already a large quantity, but they consider them “flukes,” as they say those shots were in- tended for the forts and redoubts, but if that was the case they had better alm at the town in future and they may hit our fortifications, which would be preferable to having them land in Dutoitspan Road. Monday, November 20.—The Boers are still with us and are preparing to bom- bard from all sides. I expect, from what I hear, that we will have it hot at day- break to-morrow. I am anxious to get some pleces of shell, but not in my bedy, to send to my friends. If I can get some goca specimens T will forward you a plece, also some to our friends, S. G. & Co., as [ know they as well as you are interested in the fate of Kimberley. You can show them this letter if they would care to read it. Seventy-five per cent of our Jewish pop- el el @ "BITY, BUT MERELY TO BE TOLD OF HER HUSBAND’S BRAVERY. killed in the famous charge of the Ninth Infantry at Tientsin, is really responsible for the title of Frederick Palmer's “The Ways of the Service” which the Scribners will publish early in April. A false report that Liscum had led his regiment into an impossible position had been circulated. After Palmer’s re- turn from the rellef of Peking, Mrs. Lis- cum’s card was sent up to his room at the Nagasaki Hotel. “Well, it's hardly a pleasant task,” he said to a friend (an officer), “to tell as de- voted a wife as Mrs. Liscum how her hus- band was killed.” THE wife of Colonel Liscum, who was ““Oh she will be a good deal cooler than you are,” was the response. “If's not the way of the women of the service to weep on an occasion like that. They keep their tears for their rooms.” Mrs. Liscum’s grief-stricken face told Wwhat she had suffered. Though her voice was quavering she was composed and her eyes were dry. “Your husband’s conduct could not have been more courageous. His death was such as a soldler would have chosen,” /Palmer began. e ““Of course he was brave’ she replied. “That is taken for granted with an officer of the regular service, What I came ashore from the transport to ask you is If my husband, who has been in the army from boyhood, took men Into a flank fire.” Palmer told her how he had heard a British geferal assign her husband to a veritable slaughter pen, and he made plans of the field showing her how coolly and scientifically the colonel had set about extricating himself when he fell. “I knew it was impossible. General Mac- Arthur said it was,” she replied. “But he Wwas not there and you were. I wanted the facts. I knew that they would show that my husband had never led his regiment nto 2 cul de sac.” 4And then tears of pride glistened in Mrs. Liscum’s eyes.