We used to ride morning and evening on the flat country
which surrounds Mafeking, where no tree or hill obscures the view for
miles; and one then realized what a tiny place the seat of government of
the Bechuanaland Protectorate really was, a mere speck of corrugated
iron roofs on the brown expanse of the burnt-up veldt, far away from
everywhere. I think it was this very isolation that created the interest
in the siege at home, and one of the reasons why the Boers were so
anxious to reduce it was that this town was practically the jumping-off
place for the Jameson Raid. So passed the days till October 13, and then
the sword, which had been suspended by a hair, suddenly fell.
On that day Major Gould Adams received a wire from the High Commissioner
at Cape Town to the effect that the South African Republic had sent an
ultimatum to Her Majesty's Government, in which it demanded the removal
of all troops from the Transvaal borders, fixing five o'clock the
following evening as a limit for their withdrawal. I had delayed my
departure too long; it was extremely doubtful whether another train
would be allowed to pass South, and, even when started, it would stand a
great chance of being wrecked by the Boers tearing up the rails. Under
these circumstances I was allotted comparatively safe quarters at the
house of Mr.
Pages:
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87