How “BP” Bluffed the Boers.

Manawatu Herald, 30 May 1903, Page 3

How “BP” Bluffed the Boers.

Speaking at a luncheon given in his honour by the Liverpool Junior Reform Club, General Baden-Powell „ told how bo bluffed the Boers at Mafeking. He said Mafaking was a very small affair. Ladysmith was a much larger job, and so was Kimberley, because of the numbers of people bad to be fed. It did not matter k much whether they were scuttled or not; but still they had their responiiblHtiea. The garrison adapted themselves splendidly to the conditions, and apart from that the Boers were lacking in confidence from the beginning. They didn’t like coming on.—(Laughter). They suspected dangers which did not exist. Before the war began he took care to lay down dynamite mines about the place, but they had no dynamite.— Loud laughter). Native gangs placed lit tiuf ground very carefully bags of land Sealed up; people were warned & Hutch and English that straying cattle took their own risks, and little M* flags were doited about like a gelt course. A Boer trench was pushed up rather close, and a night Ittkck was arranged, and two lights bClsted on a couple of masts gave the firoeps the line to take in the dark. The Boers were driven out of the ftrcioh with great slaughter, and after tlsfai it Was sufficient to hoist a touple of lights to have the Boers firing wildly in all directions. He nccaaianally went out to the advanced posts with a megaphone, through which ha gat* orders to an imaginary attacking force. “ Now, men, come •lug ; cema along," and the Boers bearing this were given many sleepless nights, and waited many millions of rounds of ammunition. It ti hard to remember all the things (hey did, but the whole thing was ** bluffing ” the Boers. An armoured waggon for use in the bush was dreawd up like a Christmas tree, but one day they rigged up a dummy, tba gqn consisting of an old piece of stove-pipe carefully adjusted with a boot lace. After shelling it with artillery the Boera attacked it on three sides,, bat finding it was a dummy, they could not be induced to make another attack, so of course a real gun was mounted and the waggon was used as a regular fort. For wire entanglements they had no Wire, but the men were instructed on leaving a (orl to jump over and creep beneath imaginary wires, and this did fast as well. Another trick was to order a few men to run away from a fott, and when the Boers came up, thinking the place was empty, they were received with volleys. The credit was due to the force who backed him up and enabled the bluffs to be carried out successfully, and also the women, who displayed the greatest pluck and endurance. Children could not really live on the food, and the men gave up their sugar and milk, when, sugar and milk was really food, to help to keep the children alive. On behalf of those men and those women who stuck it oat to the end, he accepted their hospitality.—(Loud applause).