ary for the British to reply with one or
more of their cannon and attempt to dislodge "Long Tom." After seeing the
flash of the British guns the burghers on the sandbags waited until they
heard the report of the explosion, then called out, "I spy!" as a warning
that the shell would be coming along in two or three seconds, and quietly
jumped down behind the bags, while the missile passed over their retreats.
It was a dangerous game, and the old burghers frequently warned them
against playing it, but they continued it daily, and no one was ever
injured. The men who operated the British and Boer heliographs at the
Tugela were a witty lot, and they frequently held long conversations with
each other when there were no messages to be sent or received by their
respective officers. In February the Boer operator signalled to the
British operator on the other side of the river and asked: "When is
General Buller coming over here for that Christmas dinner? It is becoming
cold and tasteless." The good-natured Briton evaded the question and
questioned him concerning the date of Paul Kruger's coronation as King of
South Africa. The long-distance conversation continued in the same vein,
each operator trying to have amusement at the expense of the other. What
probably was the most mirth-provoking communication between the two
combatants in the early part of the campaign was the letter which Colonel
Baden-Powell sent to General Snyman, late in December, and the reply to
it. Colonel Baden-Powell, in his letter, which was several thousand words
in length, told his besieger that it was utter folly for the Boers to
continue fighting such a great power as Great Britain, that the British
army was invincible, that the Boers were fighting for an unjust cause, and
that the British had the sympathy of the American nation. General Snyman
made a brief reply, the gist of which was, "Come out and fight."

[Illustration: GENERAL SNYMAN]

A British nobleman, who was captured by the Boers at the Moester's Hoek
fight in the Free State in April, was the author of a large number of
communications which were almost as mirthful as Colonel Baden-Powell's
effort. When he was made a prisoner of war the Earl had a diary filled
with the most harrowing personal experiences ever penned, and it was
chiefly on that evidence that General De Wet sent him with the other
prisoners to Pretoria. The Earl protested against being sent to Pretoria,
asserting that he was a war