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Ch. 20: The Mines Besieged

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THE MINES BESIEGED
295
on the 25th of January and following days caused many to build
" shell-proofs" for the protection of the women and children.
On the morning of the 8th
of February, at about eleven
o'clock, I was in the conning
tower, and noticed an im­mense volume of smoke
belched forth from a gun on
Kampfersdam tailing heap.
I remarked to those near
me that the Boers had
brought a " Long Tom"
against us at last. In a few
seconds the bang of the gun
was heard, followed a little
later by a sound almost
indescribable as the shell
came whizzing through the
air. It has been likened
not unfitly to the roar of an express train passing at full speed.
Then a cloud of red dust was seen where the shell had struck,
shortly followed by the crash of the explosion. In the vicinity
the air was filled with fragments of the shell or bullets of the
shrapnel, which flew on with a singing " ping, ping, ping." Twenty-five of these shells were fired on that day, many of which did not explode. One was brought in and measured, and found to be fifteen centimetres, or about six inches, in diameter. The " Long Tom " which was brought to Kimberley was a
Schneider gun which had been struck by a shell on the muzzle
Ch. 20: The Mines Besieged Page of 396 Ch. 20: The Mines Besieged
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