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BWH ^WWHJ'"'!?' "fmi' '■«»Bir"»v"l«'»:

'SSBS'ffSStli

THE MATABELE REBELLION

The whole of this work,
paper, printing, and bind-
ing, is British production.

Cloth, illustrated, cr, ^vo, is.
Edited by P. E. ASTOX.

THE

RAID ON THE TRANSVAAL

BY DR. JAMESON.

In this book will be found a
most interestinj; account not only
of the late Raid on the Transvaal
by Dr. Jameson, but a!so a very
clear description of the circum-
stances which led up to that
celebrated expedition.

^ilAJOR D. Tyrik. Laino.

THE

Matap^le Rebellion

1896

WITH THE BELINGWE FIELD FORCE

MAJOR D. TYRIE LAING

LONDON

DEAN & SON, -LIMITED

160A, FLEET STREET

^ S/Aj

%Q,^'^^

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter I. .

)»

II.

III. .

IV.

>»

V. .

VI.

VII. .

VIII.

IX. .

))

XL .

>»

XII.

XIII. .

I'AliK

• 7
15

• 30
46

. 68

• 97

. 128

• 149
166

. 185

203

CONTENTS

Chapter XIV.

II X V .

XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.

. 211

223

. 238

255

. 268
281

. 300
316

PAGE
. 211

223

. 238

255
. 268

281

. 300
316

INTRODUCTION

"|\ T Y purpose in writin.o; this book is to
iVl tlischciro-e a duty I owe to the officers,
non-commissioned officers, and men of the
Belin<rwe Field Force, lately under my
command, by placing- on record their share
in the quellincr of the Matabeleland rebellion
of 1896.

Firstly, to the men of Belingwe, who
gallantly stuck together, held their position,
and the district in practical subjection, untii
Mr. Rhodes was enabled to send a force to
the relief of the beleaguered garrison and
who afterwards marched out, aided to
subjugate the rebels, and restore order.
Nothing could be more striking and plea-
sing a feature to me than the behaviour of
the enrolled volunteers, and that of many

INTRODUCriON

men of different nationalities, amono-st whom
I have much pleasure in mentioning Lieu-
tenant Malcolm McCallum and Sergeant
Douglas, Americans of the very best stamp ;
Descalzie, an Italian, and several others,
who might have lain under our protection,
but preferred to share the duties of their
comrades in misfortune. They voluntarily
and cheerfully joined in the hardships, which
they so nobly helped to lighten. I thank
them now for all the assistance they rendered
so willingly, and shall ever remember with
pride that such good fellows placed them-
selves under my command.

The behaviour of the volunteers, under all
circumstances, was worthy of every praise.
Their work was hard and trying, rendered
all the more difficult by their having to sleep
in the new earthworks in a tropical country.
Most of them suffered from fever in conse-
quence. Still they did their duty without
a grumble, and never once questioned the
authority of their officers. I appreciated
their valuable assistance, and shall ever re-

INTRODUCTION

member them with gratitLide and pleasure.
Their loyalty made everything so much
easier and saved the lives of every one in
the Belingwe garrison. Where all did so
well, it would indeed be invidious to mention
names, but I cannot pass without mentioning
Mr. A. J. Wilson, the late Quartermaster of
the Belinjrwe i^arrison, as all the fever-
stricken men will remember. Before we had
a doctor, Mr. Wilson's presence was seldom
absent from the hospital, and to him all of us
are indebted for many kindnesses. For the
others, I can only say I was proud to be one
of them.

Our Cape boy servants, too, behaved
splendidly, and as they had all been in the
service of white men for years, were a most
valuable addition to the garrison. Being, as
a rule, good shots, they were armed, and did
their duty in turn with the white men, whom
they emulated, and assisted in the very best
manner. To show that they were to be
trusted. I may mention that two of them
rode through with despatches from Belingwe

INTRODUCTION

to Gwelo, which enabled Mr. Rhodes to send
us the much-needed reinforcements.

Secondly, to Captain Harman Hopper
and the twenty brave fellows who volun-
teered to follow him from Victoria to march
to our assistance, strengthening us by their
numbers, as well as brinoinjr with them a
much- wanted supply of ammunition and a
Maxim gun. Little has been said or heard of
Captain Hopper up to the present, but I feel
certain that of those who are indebted to him
and his companions, the men of Belingwe
will always be glad to recall his name and
those of the men who followed him. I am
also sure that none of the uarrison will ever
forget the pang of pleasure and relief that
shot through their breasts when Hopper's
advance-guard appeared on the crown of the
ridL>"e, about a mile east of the Belinij^we
fort.

Lastly, I must pay a tribute to the men
who, under orders of Mr. Rhodes, marched
from Tuli, under the command of Lieutenant
Yoni>e, for the relief of Helin^we. Of this

■I

■^
■^

INTRODUCTION

party I desire to make particular mention
for the following reasons — namely, that, with
the exception of about thirty of them, who
belonged to Rhodesia, the remainder had
come from all parts of South Africa, with
the simple, and, I ma^ say, heroic intention
of assisting" their distressed fellow-country-
men in Rhodesia. Many of them, to my
own certain knowledge, had left lucrative
businesses and employments. Some of them
had abandoned all they had in different parts
of the country to throw in their lot with us,
not for what they could gain but simply
because they wished to give a helping hand
to those in much need of it ; and right nobly
and willingly did they perform their self-
allotted work. Most of them were sports-
men, good riflemen, and good horsemen,
imbued with a loyalty and patriotic sense of
duty which reduced discipline to pleasure
and elevated my command to an honour.

When the relief of Belingwe was com-
pleted and all the different parties fused
into one, it formed rvhat might be called a

INTRODUCTION

truly Imperial force, composed as it was
of members from every part of the British
Empire — England, Ireland, Scotland,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Natal,
Cape Colony, and India. All had their
representatives, even the Free State and
Transvaal furnishing a quota ; and I must
not forget to mention that Germany, Sweden,
Russia, and Italy had representatives in the
force.

Of course, amongst such a mixed assem-
blage there were a few who did not quite
conform to the necessary rules until these
had to be forcibly explained. Three very
good men, I am sorry to say, had to be
discharged on the march. They mistook
insubordination for independence. Yet,
when there was so much good in the
column, the little leaven of dissatisfied
spirits had not the slightest effect, and
altogether we got along admirably.

Their loyalty to the Queen and to the
Chartered Company was proved through-
out, and although the column has been dis-

INTRODUCTION

banded and its deeds are now relegated to
the past, I believe that there is one who
remembers that there was such a body of
men, and to him, the Right Hon. C. J.
Rhodes, the Officers, Non - Commissioned
Officers, and men of che Belingwe Field
Force, I dedicate this work. In doing so
I wish to thank them all for conforming to
my wishes and orders, and enabling me
to be of slight service to the cause of civi-
lisation and the expansion of the British
Empire.

As my personality was to a considerable
extent affiliated with all the moves of the
Belingwe Field Force and garrison, I trust
that, under the circumstances, the perhaps
too frequent use of the personal pronoun
will be excused.

lis-

iii

CHAPTER I

Apprisal of rebellion — Meeting in Belingwe Hotel —
Appointment of officers— Construction of defences-
Disloyalty of native police — Looting of the "Great
Belingwe " camp— Narrow escape of miners— Volun-
teers to their rescue.

THE first intimation we, at Belingwe
had of any real danger from a rebellious
rising of the natives in Rhodesia was on the
morning of the 26th of March, 1896.

About 7.30 a.m., whilst at breakfast, Mr.
A. J. Wilson and myself were surprised by
a visit from Mr. S. N. G. Jackson, the
Acting Native Commissioner at Belingwe,
who appeared rather excited. After having
been asked to take a seat, he explained to
us that he had just received, by a native
police runner, a letter from Mr. Fynn,
Acting Native Commissioner at Inseza,
which he handed to me. It was as
follows : —

THE MATABELE REBELLION

'• Sir, — I regret to have to report to you
that the whole of the Cunningham family
have been brutally murdered, and also
Maddocks, manager of the Nelly Reef.
Two of his miners got off, severely cut
about. These two miners tell us that
about thirty natives came up to their camp
in a friendly way and sprang upon them
with kerries and battleaxes. This happened
the night before last, between six and seven.

" All the Europeans in this part of the
district have concentrated here, as things
look very serious as regards the natives.
All the natives have cleared out of their
kraals, probably fearing that the murders
having been committed in their district they
will be blamed.

"It is hard to say whether this organi-
sation has been general throughout the
country, which I fear is the case. We have
received no commimication from either
Buluwayo or Filabusi yet.

" I would advise you to see Captain Laing
and get all the prospectors to concentrate at

3rt to you
am family
and also
illy Reef,
verely cut

1 us that
iheir camp
ipon them

happened
ind seven,
•art of the

as things
[6 natives.
It of their

2 murders
strict they

lis organi-

ghout the

We have

om either

itain Laing

centrate at

i 1

APPRISAL OF REBELLION

the Belin^we Store, until we can c^et further
news. We expect some one over this
morning from town.

" One of the murderers was shot by the
police I sent after them. They came across
five of them, all with guns, and that these
men were Maholes I cannot believe. That
the gang were composed of Matabeles — I
should rather think they were Matabeles.
*' Coach has not arrived yet.
" I have the honour to be,

" Yours obediently,
/'(Signed) H. P. Fvnn, A.N.C."

After discussing the situation for a few
minutes it was decided to send out informa-
tion to all the outlying camps, as soon and
as quietly as possible — Jackson sending out
his two mounted white police and several
native police, and I despatching my engineer,
Edwin Vallentine, who happened to be at
hand at the moment, on one of the company's
best horses, to call in all the miners working
for the company, and all others on his route

r ■

THE MATAHELE REBELLION

to cind from the different camps. His instruc-
tions were to ride as hard as possible, see
the men at the various camps, tell them to
take their bandoliers and rifles, j^o to the
different works and order the natives em-
ployed to put all provisions and lii^ht stuff
into the company's wagons, all the heavy
and less damageable material down the
shafts, bring the ropes away, inspan the
wagons, and get back to headquarters camp
as quickly as possible, fetching as many
natives as they could with them, but under
strict surveillance.

I strongly advised Mr. Jackson to disarm
his native police at once, but he had great faith
in their loyalty and demurred ; and as I was
not then quite sure of the position, I did not
think it advisable to interfere with one of the
Chartered Company's officials — especially
when he was doing his very best to assist —
although at the time I felt certain that the
native police would be on the side of any
rebellion in Matabeleland. I, however, came
to the conclusion to leave Mr. Jackson to

SIR FREDERICK ERANKLAND

»9

IS instriic-
sible, see
I them to
o to the
ives em-
ii^ht stuff
le heavy
[own the
span the
ters camp
as many
but under

to disarm
jreat faith

as I was
I did not
)ne of the
especially
J assist —

that the

e of any
ver, came

ckson to

carry out his own ideas for the time bein<^,
but made up my mintl to watch the police
under him very closely.

As soon as the messengers were sent off
I went up t(-) the camp of Sir I'Vederick
Frankland, Assistant Mining" Commissioner
of Buluwayo, which was (jnly about a hun-
dred yards from my house. Wilson went
over to the general store to warn the men
there and ir<-'t the ammunition and rilles in
readiness. Sir Frederick had only arrived
in BelinL>we, from Inseza, two days before
the outbreak, accompanied by his assistant,
W. C. Beaty-Pownall, and were enga^^ed
in inspecting the different mining properties
in the Belingwe district for the Chartered
Company. They were just about to saddle
up and go out for the day when I got to
their camp. I could see at once that they
had not heard (jf the native rising. I told
them what I had heard and had already
done. Sir Frederick was very much upset
when he learnt of the fate of the Cunninu-
ham family. He had been a guest at thc'r

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

house only a few days previously, and had
been all over the Inseza district, where most
of the murders had been committed, and
knew nearly all the people there. He and
Pownall at once decided to throw in their
lot with the Belingwe men, and volunteered
their assistance on the spot.

The disarming of the native police was
then discussed, and Sir Frederick coincided
with my opinion. We then rode over to
the police camp, unarmed, so as not to
cause any suspicion. Mr. Jackson had gone
off, leaving Mr. W. R. Wilson, his assistant,
in charge. W^e told Mr. Wilson we were
in favour of having the native police dis-
armed, and he thought it was advisable,
but would not do anything in^ the absence
of his chief We then decided to leave
matters as they were for the time being,
and proceeded to the general store, which
was about a thousand yards from the police
camp. Here we found all my compan\''s
employees busy getting their rifles and
ammunition readv for the men coming" in

MR. MALCOLM McCALHL\r

and had
ere most
ted, and
He and
in their
lunteered

jlice was
coincided
over to
s not to
had gone
assistant,
we were
oUce dis-
idvisat^o,
absence
to leave
e beini;'.
e, which
le police
ompan)''s
Hes and

)mnig ni

from the outlying camps. Sites were then
selected on which to erect two small
redoubts, to protect the store and cover
the defenders.

About 1 1 a.m. Mr. Malcolm McCallum,
manager for the *' Buluwayo Syndicate,"
rode up to the store to see me. He said,
" I have had notice from the police, and
have put my men on their guard, and have
come to see you and find out what is to
be clone." The situation was explained to
him, and he departed at once, to bring in
his men and supplies.

Shortly after midda\' my company's
wagon, with the miners from "The Bob's
Luck " and "Wanderers' Rest' and a Mrs.
M'tchell, came into camp. Mr. Mitchell,
who was in charge of " Bob's Luck," re-
ported that he had tried to carry out the
instructions sent, and had succeeded in
getting most of the mining plant under
cover before the natives deserted. This
they did at the very first opportunity, dis-
appearing in the bush in every direction.

THE MATABELR REIiRLIJON

\ '

James Low, who was in charge of the
"Wanderers' Rest," reported that the natives
worked well and i^'ot all the mining'' material
down a deep shaft, but when carry ini;' the
food stuff to a spot where the wai^on had
to pick it up, they waited a favourable
opportunity, destroyed most of it, and dis-
appeared in the bush. The above reports
left no doubt in niy mind as to the serious-
ness of our position. It appeared very
plain that all the natives had an idea of
what was ^'oin^' to happen.

Towards evening" Harrv Posselt, W.
Lynch, and C. F. W. Nauhaus, farmers,
who lived close to the Doro Mountains,
about twelve miles away, came into camp
and reported that fifty-six of their trek oxen
had been looted during- the previous nii^ht.

At 8 p.m. a meeting' was held in the
Helinowe Hotel, at which there were thirtv-
three present. This number was about ten
men short of what we had estimated to be
in the tlistrict at the time. Five of these
we knew were at the " Sabie," twenty-five

MEETING AT BELINGWE HOTEL

\ of the
e natives
■ material
yini;- the
io()n had
ivourable
and dis-
e reports
e serioLis-
Lred very
1 idea of

sselt. W.
f<irmers.
lountains,
nto camp
trek oxen
s nioht.
d in the
ere thirty-
aboLit ten
ted to be
\ of these
wentv-five

miles distant, and could not possibly be in
for another day. Two others were at a
camp about three miles away, who pooh-
poohed the idea of a native rising- ; the
remainder we expected were on their way
in. Some of the men present had walked in
eighteen miles, and it was very irratifying' to
notice the readiness with which most of the
men in the district had grasped the situation
and come in at once, to oive all the assistance
they could. The meeting" appointed me their
chairman. I read Mr. Fynn's letter and
explained all that had been done and what
had actually happened during the day as far
as my knowledge went.

As the commanding officer of the x'olun-
teers in the district addressing them, 1 said
that I would at once place them on an active
service footing. With regard to the burt>hers,
it was explained to the meeting that they
had been asked to concentrate solely for the
purpose of protecting life and property, and
that the camp, as far as they were concerned,
was purely a voluntary one. I asked them

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

to do what they thou^^ht best, under the
circumstances, and to co-operate with the
volunteers, for the mutual defence of all.
They unanimously agreed tcj place them-
selves under my command, and elected Sir
Frederick Frankland to be their lieutenant
and second in command.

A portion of the white men were then
detailed to superintend the erection of the
redoubts by about seventy natives, who had
been brought into camp. The natives
worked with a will when they were told
the white men knew all about the rebellion,
and that if any of them attenipted to escape
until the works were completed, they would
be fired on. They were also informed they
would be at liberty to \fp or stay with us as
soon as the works were finished. The moon
was just about two dnvs from beino- full,
and served us beautifully, and it was a
stirrini^ sight to see the natives hard at
work, under the white guards, who, on this
occasion, had a trying duty to perform,
namely, to keep a look-out for a possible

THE REDOUI^TS

nder the
with the
:e of all.
ce them-
ected Sir
lieutenant

ere then
)n of the
who had
: natives
vere told
rebellion,
to escape
ley would
•nied they
vlth us as
rhe moon
)eino' full,
it was a

hard at
3, on this

perform,
1 possible

enemy in front and treachery from the enemy
employed within. By the time the moon
went down, about 3 a.m. the following morn-
incf, the redoubts were so far advanced as
to offer ofood cover for the defenders. The
work was then stopped, the natives marched
into the store paddock, and sentries were
placed over them. A guard was mounted
and sentries put on wherever it was con-
sidered the best positions were. The
remainder of the white nien laid down close
to the earthworks, with their arms handy,
and patrols were sent round the cattle kraals
at in^^^ervals ; but nothing of any importance
happened. Thus, through the timely warn-
ing sent from Inseza by Mr. Fynn, most
of the men in Belinofwe were banded together
and in a position to protect thamselv^es and
public property in less than twenty-four
hours from the time the warnino- was
received.

The Acting" Native Commissioner and his
assistant slept at their own camp, about a
thousand yards from the position we had

THE MATABELR REBELLION

fortified. When niornino- Cciine they found
the native poHce had built a bush scherm
between their own quarters and those of
their officers. This rather damped Mr.
Jackson's belief in their loyalty. He came
in and reported the matter, and then he and
his assistant joined the other white men in
i^arrlson. The police were brought down
and placed under cover of one of the forts,
about a hundred yards away, but as
several of them had faithfully carried the
despatches entrusted to them, and had been
the means of advising many of the white
men, it was very difficult to decide what
to do with them. They protested that they
were not a party to the rebellion, and that
they wanted to be faithful to the white men.
They were strictly watched, but allowed to
keep their arms.

All hands were kept busy during the
27th. putting the finishing touches to the
forts and covering their approaches with a
strong abattis made of the large h(Jok
thorn and other trees.

srOD DART'S CAMP

y found

scherm

hose of

ed Mr.

le came

he and

men in

t down

le forts,

but as

ied the

ad been

2 white

e what

at they

id that

te men.

wed to

no-

Towards the eveninijf W. Sheldrake came
into camp just as the men were beino- told
off to their posts for the nio-ht. He re-
ported that Stoddart's camp at the "Great
I)('lini>vv(' " mine had been looted bv the
rebels, and nineteen trek oxen were missing".
He had had to run the gauntlet of the
rebels' fire as he was on his way to the
fort. Heri^qvist, his comrade, had i^one to
look after the missino- cattle. I felt very
much annoyed with these men for not
taking- the timely advice sent to them, and
acting in concert with the others. Had
they done so their camp and cattle would
have been saved, for they were the hrst
men Vallentine saw on his way out. It
was pure selfishness that kept them away
from the other men, and when it was
suggested that a part) should be sent out
to try and find Bergqvist. I did not think
it was proper that any lives should be
risked for him, seeing that he had had
the best chances of any at first ; and it
was only when a party of volunteers came

THE MATABELE REBELLION

to me on the morning of the 28th and said
that they wished to go out and endeavour
to find out what had happened to Bergqvist,
that I agreed to let them go. I admired
the sentiment that prompted the volunteers
to go in quest of their comrade. The
following men were allowed to depart,
namely, W. R. Wilson, H. Posselt, Cor-
poral Daniell, Corporal Le Vierge, H.
Paulsen, and C. Paulsen. They were
mounted on the best horses we had in
the camp, and left about 6.30 a.m. They
had not gone half an hour before Bergq-
vist came into camp and reported that on
the evening of the previous day he had
followed up the spoor of the missing cattle
and come up with them before sundown.
They were then being driven to the south-
west by a large party of armed natives,
who laughed at his vain endeavours to
drive his cattle back, evidently enjoying
his discomfiture. Although they were all
armed, they did not attempt to hurt him,
only driving the cattle along a little faster

THE PA TROL

and jeering at him when he gave up his
efforts to recover his oxen. The patrol
returned about i p.m., and reported that
all the provisions at Stoddart's camp were
destroyed and scattered over the veldt.

THE MATAHELE REBELLION

CHAPTER II

Contiiuuitiou of dctL-iicc works — Truachcry niid desertion
of iKilive police — Settinjf of dynamite mines —
Troopers I'osscit and Lynch volunteer to ride to
lUiluwayo with despatches — Are lired upon and
compelled to return — Meeting in hotel as to ad-
visability of shifting camp to Victoria — Departure
of Troopers Lyle and Luckhurst to Victoria foi'
ammunition and with despatches — Arrival of several
men from outlying districts — Muster roll of garrison
as on the 3rd of April, x'^vp.

THE defence works at the store were
still being carried on and improved,
and the men told off into two divisions^
No. I division for No. i fort and No. 2
division for No. 2 fort. A <^uard was
mounted at sunset, and six sentries posted
round the laager. The native police were
posted and had charge of the cattle, four
hundred of which were kraaled about a
hundred yards northwards from the laager.
They also had a few sentries posted out-
side the white sentries.

THE NATIVE SENTRIES 31

This brings us to the evenincr of the
28th. Shortly after sundown two shots
were fired by the police sentries. The
white sentries at once retired on their
forts, according to orders, and the forts
were manned. Mr. Jackson and Mr.
Wilson went immediately to find out what
the native sentries had fired at. The sen-
tries said they saw several Kaffirs moving
about in front of their posts, and that they
hred on them. Shortly afterwards the
Native Commissioner and his assistant
again went out to the cattle posts, and
returned to report that all the native
police, with the exception of three, had
deserted, taking with them twenty rifies
and ten rounds of ammunition per man.
Not long after this several signals were
heard by the white sentries near the cattle
kraal. I then took out a patrol of eight
white men, in skirmishing order, and got
past the catde kraal without finding any-
thing in the shape of a nigger. The
inside of the kraal was examined and

THE MATAIiELE RE HELLION

tw(j natives were found hiding. They said
they were hidinj^' from the police, and, on
bein<4" identified as herds, were allowed to
join the other natives in the compound.
I was under the impression that they were
placed inside the kraal for the purpose of
driving out the oxen when the proper
moment came, but as cnir sentrie.:> were
too much on the alert, the '^Jine had
decided t(j gcj without the cattle hv Li\e
time being.

The three native police who remained
were disarmed, but they could, or would, give
no information. Two days afterwards they
were allowed to go out to bring in some
mules from Posselt's farm, but, needless to
say, they never returned.

I am quite sure that many people who
may read this will think I was wnjng from
the beginning in not having the police
arrested and disarmed. At the time I felt
convinced I was wrong; but what otherwise
could any one have done when everything
is considered ? First, a native policeman

■J
C/5

■ ,|pi(|l) jnuj-!f,«i(p,i»|i|,«

i >

STRENGTHENING DEFENCES

brought us the warning ; then, after they
knew we were on our guard, they took our
messages to isolated white men— some of
whom were twenty-five miles away from
our laager- -and as we had no information
from outside, I think it would have been
very unfair to have treated them as rebels
until they proved themselves such.

On the 29th we still went on strengthen-
ing our defences, the cattle kraal was moved
close up to the laager, an abattis put right
round the whole place, and several dynamite
mines were set, to be fired by electricity
Luckily my company had three strong-
electric batteries and any amount of wire
and connections, which were of great utility
under the circumstances.

This evening H. Posselt and W. Lynch,
two of the troopers, who knew the coimtry
well, volunteered to try and get through, if
possible, to Buluwayo ,ith despatches, in
order to let the authorities know we were
all right in Belingwe, and to bring back all
the information they could in regard to the

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

rebellion. They left after dark, mounted on
tv.o of our best horses, and returned on the
morning of the 31st, just as the sun was

rismg.

They reported that they got as far as
the Inseza, which is about fifty miles west
of Belingwe, on the road to Buluwayo, and
found that place deserted by all white men.

A small laager had been formed at
Cummlngs' store, which had evidently been
attacked. There were several dead bodies
of natives lying about, but none of white
men. The brick walls of one of the houses
bore bullet-marks in many places. About
three miles beyond Cummlngs' store they
saw the bodies of a Kaffir woman and child,
both disembowelled. As they approached
the river, at the foot of the western slope
of the Inseza hills, they were fired upon
from the thick bush by a body of native
police, who were evidently stationed to guard
the drift. Posselt and Lynch were forced
to return. It would have been useless to
have gone further, as they would have been

MOUNTED PATROLS

overpowered. Luckily they got off clear —
Posselt only losing his hat. We were all
very pleased to see them back, and although
they had failed to accomplish their object,
we knew it was not their fault. The fact,
however, of their not being able to get
through made us think more seriously of
the position we were in, and very anxious
to know what was happening in other parts
of the province.

Every morning and evening mounted
patrols were sent out in different directions
to watch the approacnes, and patrols of Cape
boys were sent up and down the river-beds
every morning before the cattle were let out

to graze.

On the same morning, the 31st, the
mounted patrol caught a native hiding in
the bush, about three miles from the fort,
and brought him into camp. On being
questioned, he said —

" I am one of the cattle herds, who ran
away with the police from Belingwe. The
police ran away because the Maholes had

THE MATABELE REBELLION

raided Bergqvist's cattle. They went to
Um'Nyati's. The police wanted me to go
further with them, but I refused, and said I
wished to return to my master, the Native
Commissioner. At Um'Nyati's I heard that
all the white men in Buluwayo were to be
killed and also those at Inseza. I heard
that the Impi was to kill all in Buluwayo
first, and then come down this way and kill
all here, and then on to Victoria. I also
heard that ten white men had been killed
at Inseza and that the others were in
laager. I left here with four of us herd-
boys and five police. I do not know who
is supposed to be heading the rebellion.
Um'Nyati's people are at their kraal. They
are not armed. I ran away from the police
in the f'\ytime."

The information got from this bry proved
how very serious matters were, and did not
tend to make the men in the little garrison
of Belingwe feel any more comfortable than
they were before the lad arrived. In fact
this information had quite the opposite

A GENERAL MEETING

effect, and it was not long before I heard
rumours that several of the more nervous
men in laager had been discussing the
advisability of moving the camp to Victoria.
I called a general meeting in the store,
and explained to those present that I con-
sidered the position we held a very strong
and safe one, and that it was the intention
to continue strengthening it every day, and
in doing so I would be glad to receive any
suggestions from any one that might tend
to that end.

With regard to the suggestion to move
camp to Victoria, I said I was very sorry to
think that there was any one present who
had so little faith in himself or his comrades
as to insult them by insinuating that they
were not able to hold the position against
anything in the shape of an Impi of savages,
and that I was really surprised to learn that
any of the men were becoming alarmed ;
that it appeared to me quite evident that
the man who would advise the desertino- of
Belingwe did not know the difficulties that

THE MATABELE REBELUON

i '

lay before him on the way to Victoria. I
further pointed out that we were strongly
fortified, in a good position, with plenty of
water and provisions to last at least three
or four months. I also stated plainly that
if any man, or section of men, thought it
best to move, he, or they, were at perfect
liberty to do so, but once away from the
range of our forts they would have to look
after themselves, and that so far as the
volunteers and myself were concerned, we
would stay where we were, or if we were
forced to vacate we would take the road
for Buluwayo, because it was much more
easy to travel on than the one to
Victoria.

I also had the pleasure of informing the
meeting that two of their number, who knew
the different ways to Victoria, had volun-
teered to try and get through, and bring
about three thousand rounds of amniunition
— the only thing we wanted to make our
position absolutely secure.

The men were invited to speak their

NEW AERIVALS

minds freely and openly, and after consider-
able deliberation all agreed to remain where
they were.

F. Luckhurst and W. Lyle, the two men
who had volunteered to ride to Victoria for
ammunition, left after dark on two good
horses.

Just as the meeting ended, the signalman
reported several white men coming in from
the north. They were in the thick bush and
evidently scouting the store. As soon as
they saw white men moving about they
came straight up, and we were very glad
to welcome John, James, and Archie Cook,
Walter Laidlaw, and C. C. Pike, from the
" Sabie " district. The native policeman
had delivered the message to them safely.
They had started for the camp the follow-
ing morning, coming slowly, and taking by-
paths, in case of being surprised. They
were all very tired and glad to get into
camp.

On the ist of April I had all the dynamite
removed from the magazine, close to the

THE MATABELE REBELLION

Store, and put down a shaft, about one mile
away.

On the 3rd of April, shortly after day-
break, the sentry reported the approach of
a white man. This proved to be James
Stoddart, who had, on learning the serious-
ness of the rebellion in Matabeleland, decided
to come in from Victcjria, in Mashonaland,
to warn his men in the " Sabie " district.
His horse broke down before he had got
over the first thirty miles, and he had to
walk the remaining fifty, doing the greater
part of the distance at night. He was
surprised when he reached the " Sabie "
camps to find them deserted, but, nothing-
daunted, came on with the intention of
warning lielingwe, not knowing that we had
already been advised. When he came in
he was very footsore, hungry, and soaking
wet, having lain the greater part of the
previous night in the bush, on a small rise,
about a mile east of our position, watching
for any signs as to whether the store was
deserted, or inhabited by natives or whites.

.S' rODDA R T'S RE FOR T

He was very happy indeed when daylii>ht
came and he saw the white sentries on
their posts and the place in a state ol
defence.

After he had partaken of some refreshment
he made the followint^ report : —

" When I left Fort Victoria there were
about one hundred and twenty men, and
sixty women and children in laai>er. They
had between twenty and thirty horses, and
provisions for all, to last about six weeks,
and plenty of arms and ammunition. They
were still in telegraphic communication with
Buluwayo and Salisbury, and had received
the followino- inf(3rmation re the rebellion.
It was generally supposed that the rising
was oeiieral throughout Matabeleland, and
that one of Lobeni>ula's sons was at the
head of it. The headquarters of the rebels
was in the Matopo Mountains. Several
small patrols of white men had been sent
out from Buluwayo to help in prospectors
and others from the outlying districts. The
leaders of these patrols were Spreckly, George

THE MATABELE REBELLION

Grey, Gifford, Napier, and Selous. A large
patrol of about four hundred men was being
raised to go out and strike a decisive blow
at the rebels, if possible, and the Chartered
Company had ordered reinforcements from
the Cape Colony of five hundred men, and
Khama had offered his assistance. So far
the telegraph wires had not been tampered
with. About forty white men had been
murdered so far as could be ascertained at
present."

To us, in Belingwe, the information
brought by Stoddart was most acceptable,
because it showed us that, at all events,
our comrades in other parts of the country
were organising and defending themselves,
and preparing to strike a decisive blow.
Stoddart's report was read to a full-muster
parade at 8.30 a.m., and he received the
thanks of the garrison and three hearty
cheers for his gallant endeavour to bring
the tidings of danger to Belingwe. He was
unanimously elected a Lieutenant, and taken
on the strength of the garrison.

TfJE MUSTER-ROLT.

On the same parade the minutes of the
first meeting were read to those who were
not then present, and they were asked to
decide whether or not they would join the
garrison as effective members and stay
under its protection. All agreed to serve,
and forthwith joined the ranks.

The following is the muster-roll of the

Belingwe garrison as it was on the 3rd of

April, 1896 : —

I.
2.

5-
6.

7-
8.

9-
10.

II.

12.

13-
14.

15-
16.

17'

Capt. I). TyrieLaing

Sir Frederick Frankland, Bart.

I.ieut. James Stoddart

Sergt. W. Lynch

„ M. McCallum

„ A. J. Wilson

„ W. R. Wilson

„ S. N. Cr. Jackson

Corpl. Le Vierge

Corpl. Daniel!

Trooper E. Vallentine

„ J- I^ow

W. C. Beaty Fownall
„ A. I). Cameron

N. Posselt

C. Cremer

R. Douglas

Nationality.

Scotland

England

New Zealand

Cape Colony

America

Scotland

Natal

Cape Colony
, England
, Australia
. Scotland
. Scotland
. England
. Scotland
. Natal
, . Germany
.. America

THE MATABELE REBELLION

Nationality.

i8.

Trooper (i. G. Descal/ie

... Italy

19.

, A. IJ. Inverdale

... Scotland

20.

, M. Huband

England

, P. Levine

... Russia

, J. C. Mitchell

Cape (Jolony

, W.Miller

... Scotland

, J. A. McGilvray

... Scot'-i'^d

, C. F. W. Nauhaus ...

... Natj

, H. Posselt

... Natai

, C. H. Paulsen

Ameri-"!

, H. Paulsen

. . . America

, F. Luckhurst

England

, F. H. Snowdon

England

, S. Roodts

... England

, W. K. Warham

... England

, W. Sheldrake

... England

, J. C. Bushnell

Cape ("olony

, R. Bergqvist

Sweden

B. Yorke

... Engl Md

, John Cook

... Sec 1

, James Cook

... Scoii. .1

, Archie Cook

Scotland

, Walter Laidlaw

... Scotland

41.

, C. C. Pike

England

42.

, W. Lyle

Cape Colony

Sergt.-Farrier W. J. Clifford ...

... Australia

44.

Quartermaster F. J. Pope

England

d Mrs. J. C. Mitchell, wife of J. C

. Mitchell, who was

charge

of " Bob's Luck " mine.

To be added to the above, we had ten

ten

THE MUSTER-ROLL

Cape boys, who were armed and did duty
with the white men, and very useful we
found them. We had also fifteen Zambesi
boys, who were used as ciittle and horse
guards by day.

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

CHAPTER III

Capture of a native spy — Construction of automatic signal-
gun — Setting of additional dynamite mines — Mount-
ing guards and setting of night - watch — Arriv;<l of
despatch-bearers trom Buhiwayo — Return of Lyle
and Luckhurst from Victoria — Supplies aiKl cattle —
Parade of natives.

ABOUT 8 p.m. on the evening of the
3rd Sergeant Lynch brought in a
native prisoner, who had been caught inside
our outer Hne of defence. I questioned him,
and he willingly gave a glowit'ig account
of a journey he had just made from Bulu-
wayo. He had left there only three days
before with a message from W. Slade to
his partner West, whom he expected to be
in Belingwe, but, if not, he (the prisoner)
was to proceed to Gondogue and deliver his
message. He professed to be surprised at
linding us in laager, and asked the reason
why. He said the people in Buluwayo were

SLAVE'S REPORT

going about as usual, that so were the people
at Bembesi, as he came past, and at the
Inseza. He had heard there had been soine
slight disturbances among the Maholes at
Inseza, but that the native police had put
a stop to it. The self-confident effrontery
with which the prisoner answered all the
questions put to him might have put us off
our guard had Lieutenant Stoddart's state-
ment not been made before, but being in
possession of that it was quite easy to dis-
cern we had a very bold spy to deal with.
After putting a few questions as to Gifford's
huht I't Inseza and tellino- him that we knew
what had taken place at Bembesi, and that
the people in Buluwayo were in laager, he
was slightly nonplussed, and went away
quite dejected when he found that we did
not believe his story and that his visit had
proved futile.

From the time we had formed laager up
to the present the general defence works
had been continued daily, and the men were
drilled twice a day as well.

THE M ATA B RLE REBELLION

The fact of natives being able to get
through the outer fence and come close up
to the forts without being noticed suggested
the idea of an automatic sentry, in the shape
of a signal-gun, which was erected forthwith
on the top of the guard-room. It was con-
nected with wires to the outer fence, which
was divided into seven sections, each with
an indicator, which dropped and fired a gun
if anything attempted to force an entrance
or pull away any of the bushes of which the
fence was constructed. In about three days'
time this automatic sentry worked so well
that it was next to impossible to tamper in
the slightest degree with any part of the
fence or to get through it without first firing
the sional-oun. In fact it worked so well,
and we placed so much confidence in it, as
to withdraw the seven sentries who were
posted, previous to its erection, round the
laager inside the outer fence. This proved
a great boon to the men, and relieved them
from a large amount of night duty, which
had been very hard on them before, in

.'" "=^ «^

Bulawaye

THE NIGHT- WA TCH

I -1

consequence of many of their number being
down witri fever, caused by hard work
during the day and having to sleep in the
earthworks at night.

After this the men in each fort divided
the night-watch amongst them, which gene-
rally ran to about two hours for each man
per night. Three men at a time were on
duty, sitting up on the ramparts of the
redoubts, facing in different directions, the
only outside sentry being one on the river
bank, about twenty yards from No. 2
redoubt. The automatic sentry was always
on the alert, and considered it his duty to
turn out the guard, if only to a jackal or
wolf, should any of the latter, as they often
did, atter pt to come through.

The defence works had advanced so far
now that most of the garrison had thorough
confidence in bein^ able to repel any attack
the rebels in the district might make on the
position. Besides the earthworks and bush
fences, twelve dynamite mines had been laid
to command positions where an attacking

THE MATABELE REBELLION

force could get cover to concentrate before
charging. These mines were attached by
overhead wires to each fort, and operated
by an electric battery, used for blasting
purposes at the mines. We were the happy
possessors of three such batteries, strong
enough to explode a mine several miles
away, and they were so arranged that one
mine or all could be fired with one shock,
if considered necessary. It gives me great
pleasure to mention that the advent of the
Cooks' coming into laager was a great piece
of good fortune, for not only were they good
shots and all-round men generally, but two of
them, John and James, were qualified elec-
trical engineers. To them the arrangement
and setting of the mines was left, and they
worked at them every day until in all they
had twenty-seven placed round the laager
in every available position. The system
they adopted was so simple and complete
that any of the men could have fired the
mines as ordered without explanation.
It was considered advisable to mount

r'-'

MR. DUNCAN'S DESPATCHES

lappy

ihey
iger
Item
lete
Ithe

int

jruard every evenln<i^ about sundown, as
was done before the automatic sentry was
erected, for the sake of appearance^, in case
any of the rebel scouts might have been,
about and noticed our change of programme.
There was a full parade of the garrison held
at the same time, and the men were then
marched to their posts and the redoubts
manned. As soon as it was dark the night-
watch was set and the sentries recalled.

On the evening of the 4th, when the men
were on parade, the sentry on the look-out
reported two horsemen approaching on the
Buluwayo road. They were coming along
very slowly, but gradually increased their
speed as they got near to the fort. They
proved to be two Cape boys sent on with
despatches from Mr. Duncan, the Acting
Administrator in Buluwayo. Mr. Duncan's
despatch was very short. He trusted we
were all right, and requested me to bury
all the ammunition the men could not carry
and march to Buluwayo as soon as possible.

The verbal message given to the des-

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

patch - riders was most consoling. They
had been instructed to try and get to
Belingwe, and if possible to try and re-
cognise any of the dead white men, and
cover them up if they had time and an
opportunity.

The boys were very well treated and
petted by the men of the garrison. They
got ready and started on their homeward
journey at 6 p.m. on the evening of the
5th. They had travelled mostly during
the night on their way down, and intended
doing the same going back. By avoiding
the main paths and taking across country,
they hoped to be able to get in all right.
Every one wished them God-speed as bhey
started on their adventurous journey, carry-
ing a despatch from m^ to the Acting
Administrator at Buluwayo, describing our
position and showing the advisability of
our remaining in possession of Belingwe.

The following extracts from the despatch
above referred to may not be uninteresting
to some readers : —

THE DESPA TCHES

"We have eighteen men armed with
Lee - Metfords and a orood supply of
ammunition for same. The rest of the
men, with a few exceptions, are armed with
Martini- Henrys, the supply of ammunition
for which is. at present, limited to thirty
rounds per man. We are expecting- the
return of the two messengers we sent to
Victoria at any moment, but until they
return it is, of course, impossible to leave.
" I have written to you at this length
in order that you may thoroughly see our
position and then decide whether you still
wish us to march to Buluwayo. I should
point out to you that in the event of us
marching, in all probability the surrounding
tribes will rise, thinking that this is a
retreat. It will also be impossible for me
to bring the cattle, and their oainincr
possession of these would strenothen the
position of the rebels, as I hear that
Um'Nyati. a neighbouring chief, is at pre-
sent supplying arms and cattle to the
Matebele.

■'^

THE MATAhELE REBELLION

ii Ih

\%\

1 1

" In my report which weis sent to Vic-
torhi, and which I requested to be for-
warded to the Actinjr Commissioner at
Salisbury, I pointed out how highly un-
desirable I considered it to leave this
position. The mere fact of our staying"
here (although the smallness of our numbers
prevents us from taking the offensive) keeps
a large number of natives from joining the
main body of the rebels, and the geo-
graphical position is such that it would
form a o'ood base for the concentration of
any troops, from either Victoria or the
South, in which case we could give active
support to Buluwayo operations, being near
to Shamba and Filabusi. The country here
is easy to travel, and the majority of the
men are intimately acquainted with it. Had
I thirty more men here, horsed and fully
armed, I could send out patrols and keep
this district secure. On the other hand,
if the addition of our small force to those
already in Buluwayo would be of service,
I feel sure that the men under my com-

THE DESPATCHES

-;if
it

mciiul will cheerfully march In. In the
latter case I do not consider it necessary
that y(3Li should weaken your own strength
by sendini^ any patrol to escort us, as we
would travel lij^ht.

" I am in hopes you have already re-
ceived the news of our safety through
Victoria, and think it might be advisable
for you to cable to England the names of
the men here and of their safety.

" I may also mention that sickness has
prevailed in the camp, but am glad to
say it is easing off.

" I must draw your attention to the fact
that the value of private property at present
in our charge in this laager is close on

^10,000.

" I cannot close this letter without bring-
ing under your notice the very able assist-
ance I have received from Lieutenant Sir
Frederick Frankland, who has from the
beginning of my operations co-operated
with me most willingly and cheerfully,
sparing neither time nor trouble in the

THE MATABELR RRBELUON

daily work of the camp ; also from Lieu-
tenant Stoddart, who since he came into
camp has rendered me much valuable
assistance from his previous experience of
former campaigns. I must also add that
all the sertj^eants and corporals work faith-
fully and diligently, as well as the whole
of the men, who are very loyal, turninj^
out to their parades and drills without a
murmur, and thereafter proceeding to the
work detailed to them cheerfully."

The mere fact of our remaining- in laaj'er
kept a larL(e body of the rebels watching
us, ready to rush for the spoil when we
vacated, and equally ready to follow us up
and harass us at every available oppor-
tunity which might offer itself. We were
much better off in Bclingwe than we should
have been anywhere on our way to Bulu-
wayo ; in fact it would have been madness
to have attempted to reach Buluwayo. I
don't believe it would have been possible,
even if all the men had been fit to m
As it was, ten of them were (\'v^"*^ .»

DESPATCH-RfDERS* REPORT

n Licu-
iie into
aluable
Mice of
id that
: faith-
whole
uniintr
lout a
to the

laaorer
tchiiio-

Ml we
us up
)ppor-
were
hould
Bulu-
dness
o. I
sible,

fever, which would have compelled us to
carry them in very slowly. This would
have rendered our march all the more
difficult, and I feel certain, had we been
foolish enouorh to move, not a man would
have reached Buluwayo. In any event we
could not have (rone until we had news
from Lyle and Luckhurst ; but luckily we
had not long to wait for them. They
turned up about 4.30 p.m. on the after-
noon of the 6th, with 3,000 rounds of
Martini- Henry ammunition and a despatch
from Captain Vizard, who was in command
of Victoria.

The despatch-riders made the following
report, namely : That they left the
Belingwe laager on the evening of the
31st of March, and got about twenty-five
miles on their way to Victoria, when one
of their horses broke down. They off-
saddled for some time and went on again
about 2 a.m. the followino- morninor,
and walked on to the east bank of the
Lundi River, where they halted for a short

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

time, then walked on again to Goddard's
store, and from thence to Meeks, the mis-
sionary's, expecting there to get a fresh
horse, but as all his horses had been sent
away they had to walk the greater part
of the way, reaching Victoria on the 2nd
of April, where they at once handed their
despatches to Captain Vizard. They left
Victoria on the 3rd with four horses and
3,000 rounds of Martini- Henry ammunition.
At sunset on the evening of the 5th they
reached the Sand River, and off-saddled
their horses to give them a rest till the
moon rose. The horses were knee-haltered,
and Lyle had just started to gather some
firewood, when two lions made for, and
scLtttered them. Lyle, as soon as he saw
what had haj)pened, made for the horses,
and succeeded in catching two of them.
These Luckhurst held, whilst Lyle again went
after the other two for some distance, but
did not get up to them. They had stam-
peded on the road back to Victoria. The
lions did not s^ive chase but hunti' around

A FULL PARADE

the spot where the other horses were ; that
they cooked some food and coffee, and
waited until the moon rose, and then put
all the ammunition on to the two re-
maining horses and resumed their march
on foot, between 2 and 3 a.m., getting to
Belingwe about 4.30 the same afternoon.
The natives they met on their way were
Mashonas, and at that time friendly.

At 5.30 p.m. a full parade was held, and
the despatches which had been forwarded
by Captain Vizard, were read to the men.
Those from the Administrator contained a
brief account of all he knew about the
rebellion, its supposed cause, the efforts then
being made to put it down, and concluded
with congratulations to myself and the gar-
rison of Belingwe for holding our own,
giving me an entirely free hand to do what,
was considered best, either to hold the
position or retire on any other one, until the
Government were in a position to send
us aid.

When the men were dismissed they

^■^e^OB— Bf=

THE MATABELE REBELLION

cheered the two despatch-riders heartily,
and praised them for the plucky manner
in which they managed to get the ammuni-
tion through. The men, having now plenty
of ammunition, felt more confident than ever
of holding their own, and were very anxious
to get out and try to have a brush with any
straggling parties of the enemy who might
be about, but, further than the ordinary
patrols, I would not consent to any party
going out to loT)k for adventure. We all
knew very well that our position was closely
watched during the day from a hill called
Fondoque, about one and a half miles from
our laager. The camp fires of large parties
could be seen at night about eight miles
to the north of our position, and often
the ashes of a small fire were discovered at
the back of one of the hills close up to
the forts by the morning patrols. This
proved that the scouts of the rebels were
always on the prowl. My plan was to leave
them alone, until they got tired of waiting for
us to vacate our position, and I concluded

PREPARA TWNS 63

that then they would be sure to come and
try to rush us out of it. I was very much
averse to small parties goincr more than
a mile or two from the laager, in case they
might get cut off by a large body of the
enemy, whose favourite mode of fighting
is, if possible, to surround isolated bodies
with overpowering numbers and annihilate
them. I often had to tell the n^'en, when
they came to me for permission to go out,
that they had only to wait until the enemy
got tired of watching us doing nothing, then
they would have plenty to do. We could
not afford to lose a man until they made
their attack. When that came off we should
want all our strength, and that behind the
walls of the redoubts and mines, for I fully
expected them to attack our position in great
strength.

By this time the defences were as far
advanced as was really necessary, and the
men had little to do during the day except
their inlying picquet, the sentry of which
was posted on a platform erected on the

THE MATABELR REBELLION

top of the laroe Iron store, and a command-
ing position, from which a very good view
of the surrounding" country was obtainable,
especially with the aid of a very good pair
of field-glasses, which were commandeered
for the purpose from Trooper Snowdon.
The only other duties were the ordinary
camp fatigues, bringing in wood, &c. The
water was pumped up from the river every
evening, and three iron tanks, four feet
square each, were always kept full. So far
as rations were concerned my garrison was
very well off. There was an abundant
supply of bread stuffs, and we had a large
troop of cattle, over four hundred head, to
start with, many of them being young
Matabele oxen, most of them in good con-
dition, and, as good luck would have it, the
dreaded rinderpest had not reached them.
We had also sixteen horses, twelve of which
were in very good condition and up to
despatch-riding on an emergency. \Ve had
a plentiful supply of mealies for them, with
good grazing along the banks of the river,

c
c

nimcincl-
(xl view
tcii liable,
:3od pair
mcleercd
nowdon.
ordinary
:c. The
^er every
our feet
So far
-ison was
abundant
' a laroe
head, to
young
ood con-
vc it, the
;d them,
of which
d up to
We had
■lem, with
he river,

EXCITEMENT WANTED

just under cover of the guns. The only
thing- the men wanted was work, or some
excitement to break the monotony of a
garrison life. The despatch from the Ad-
ministrator had set our minds at rest as to
the ultimate end of the rebellion, and know-
ing the worst had happened with the murders
at Inseza and other parts, any anxiety we
had felt for the security of Buluwayo and
other towns was dispelled when we knew
that our comrades were organised and hold-
ing their own, at least, against the rebels.

As soon as the heaviest works were
completed, principally for the purpose of
saving our provisions as much as possible,
and to get rid of what would have proved
a very dangerous element in our midst in
case of an attack, and likewise for the
purpose of carrying and explaining a pro-
clamation to the neighbouring tribes, it was
decided to parade all the natives who had
been kept to assist in erecting the fortifica-
tions, and explain to them that their services
were no longer required, that they were at

THE MATABELE REBELLION

''\:\

liberty to go home if they wished, or to stay
with us if they were afraid to do so. Native
Commissioner Jackson and his assistant
accordingly paraded the natives, explained
the position, and gave them to distinctly
understand that they were at full liberty to
go or stay, but that those who elected to
go, if found about the camp after that night,
would be treated as rebels, and that those
who elected to stay would have the pro-
tection of our laager as long as they deserved
it, but if any of them were found attempting
to escape, or holding communication with
any natives outside, they would be treated
as spies. About seventy boys decided to
leave at once, and about twenty-five decided
to remain.

Knowing the localities from which most
of the boys came, we were in a position to
judge of the loyalty, or otherwise, of their
kraals, and we came to the conclusion that
there were very few loyal natives to the
west, south, or north of us. The natives
who had decided to go were instructed to

INSTIWCrWNS TO NATIVES

inform all the people in the districts they
pcissed through that if any of them wished
to communicate with us, they were to
advance along the main roads unarmed,
but that if any of them were found in the
bush near our position they would be treated
as spies and shot, unless they could prove
they were there for a purpose friendly to us.

if>-

THE .)/A TAUELE REBEUJON

CHAPTER IV

An ;il;irni— Caittuie of a si\v — Cmirt-niartial and sentence —
Desertion of tliree natives — Attacic by Matabele — Kn-
jfa^enient and reeoveiv of cattle — Treachery of natives
in camp — Trial and sentence on three — Remaining
natives expelled from the camp.

ON the evening" of the 9th, shortly after
chirk, the nioht-watch had not been
set, and most of the men, except the llyini^
sentries and oiiard. were at their evening
meal, when he sentry on the river post
challenged rapidly, and then alarmed the
forts. Captain Frankland and myself hap-
pened to be in our mess-room, quite close to
the post. We both rushed out to ascertain
what was likely to happen. The sentry re-
ported that he had seen several Kaffirs crawl-
ino- alono-, under cover of the fence of the
cattle kraal, and pointed out the position.
By this time every man was at his post and
all ready. Mr. Jackson, Captain Frankland,

CAPTURE OF A srV

antl myself went up to the place indicated,
with our revolvers ready, but at first could
not see an\thiiio\ The bottom of the fence
was under shadow and \'ery dark. By mere
chance I ha|)pened to observe something;-
move close to my foot, and orderetl it to
stand up. It proved to be a Kaflir, whom
we at once laid hold of. At the same time
several others jumped up and ran off. taking;-
good care to run between the men in the
forts and ourselves, thereby pre\'entinLi' us
from usin^- our hrearms, for fear of shooting-
each other. They g'ot under cover of the
shadow, and the next thing- we heard of them
was from the Cape boy sentry. Hans, chal-
lengino- and firing-. Immediatelv afterwards
the signal-gim on top of the guard-room
went off. 'Jliis was caused by the rimaways
breaking- through the outer fence and disturb-
ing the signal wires. The alarm was com-
plete by this time ; even the sick men were
in the forts, with their rifles ready for action.
The last we heard of the runaways that
night was when they got about five hundred

THE MATAIiELE REBELLION

yards away. They then commenced to
sij^nal by whistling", which was answered from
several directions, showing- clearly that there
were others of the same tribe about. Then
all was (iLiiet.

The runaways left their arms where thjy
were first discovered. The following- morn-
ing' the prisoner was tried by court-martial.
At first he would not give any evidence
either in favour of himself or against his
confederates. On being asked if he knew
he had forfeited his life, he said, " I know
that, and am sorry you caught me. I came
from Wedza's, and so did those with me. He
was going out to meet some more of his
men. Wedza wishes to take away all cattle.
Other Kaffirs leave your laager at night with
information, and some do it through the day.
I have been very unlucky. There are a lot of
our people watching Belingwe, to get it when
you white men are all dead. There will be
quite enough of them to eat up all of you
white men." The prisoner was condemned
and shot.

THREE NATIVES BREAK AWAY

7»

Whilst the rncMi were at their mitklay
meal three other natives broke away and i^ot
off. They were not fired on. The Ca[)e
boys tried to run them down, but failed. It
was not worth while sendint"' horsemen after
them. I would have been very i^lad if they
had all gone, for it was impossible to tell
whether they were spies or loyal. The mere
fact of the natives tryini^ to go off in this
manner led us to believe that they knew
something of importance was likely to hap-
pen soon and they did not wa.it to be with
us when it did take place. This made every
one more alert than ever, and several shots
were fired the following evening by the flying
sentries, but most probably at wolves or
jackals. The signal-gun also went off on
the night of the iith, but I was unable to
ascertain the cause.

Sunday, the 12th of April, like all our
Sundays, was a lazy day — no drills or
fatigues to do by either whites or blacks —
and was spent by most of us with a book or
some other amusement to pass time. Very

THE MATABELE REBELLION

probably the Sunday's midday meal was a
heavier (3ne than those of other days, and I
daresay that by 2 p.m. most of the men not
on duty were taking a siesta. Sir Frederick
Frankland and myself were preparing to do
the same at about 2.30 p.m. when the sentry
on the look-out alarmed the garrison and
reported that the cattle posts were being
driven in by a large bod\' of Kaffirs. We at
once jumped to the ramparts of the nearest
redoubt and saw that the sentry's report was
too true. The cattle had been urazino- about
a thousand yards to the south of our position,
close to some small hills, thickly covered by
bush, anci at first sight these hills seemed to
be one mass of Kaffirs, all rushing towards
the cattle. Sergeant McCallum and Corporal
Paulsen at once got out the two emergency
horses, which were always kept ready saddled
and bridled, aiid rode off to assist the cattle
guard. They did very good work on their
horses urtil we were able to get the other
horses in and saddled up. Luckily they
happened to be close by, as we had had

A TTACK n V MA TABELR

them driven into the l.iajrer every day at
noon and let out again at 2 p.m. They
were in, saddled up, and mounted in less
than five minutes. By this time there was
quite a fusilade going ow all round our south
and west front, and the bullets were whizzing
high over the forts. All the dismounted
men, sick included, were in the forts.
Leaving Captain l*Vankland in charge, with
instructions to keep a sharp look-out to the
north and east, and to commence fire at once
if any oi ihe enemy showed uj) in those
directions, to draw our attention to the
laager in case of a general attack, I rode off
with nine mounted men to assist the cattle
guards. By this time the rebels had succeeded
in breaking up the cattle into small herds
and stampeded them away to the east and
south. When we came up to where Sergeant
McCallum and Cor[ioral Paulsen were, they
pointed out the direction in which the largest
body were driven. This \7ab Hone when we
were going at a good hana-gc.uop and under
a heavy fire from the surrounding hills at

t''!l

THE MATABELE REBELLION

the back of the police camp. The line, in
skinnishinij^ order, wheeled to the left, and
went straiiiht for the rebel fiohtin''" line,
those in front breaking" away before a shot
was fired at them ; but the horsemen soon
got close up and shot a few from their
saddles. As the hill at the police camp was
passed three men halted, took cover, and
returned the fire of the rebels, Vvho at once
left their position and retreated rapidly to
the north. Lieutenant Stoddart, with two
men, did the same, whilst the men in the
centre came on with me to an open flat
which was immediately in our front. As
soon as we cleared the bush we saw several
herds of cattle only a hundred yards or so
in front of us being driven as hard as they
could go, but as they were being driven
away from their usual grazing ground they
were trying to break back again. When the
men with me saw the position they all
seemed to yell at once, and this drew the
attention of t-ie rebels in front on to us.
They evidently had never thought that the

RETREAT OF REBELS

soon
their

they

riven

they

white men would attempt to get throiii^h
their fighting Hne, and as soon as they saw
us coming down on them they became a
confused mass, fired off their rifies in every
direction, at anything or nothing, and made
lor the dense busli, about five hundred yards
in front of them, as hard as they could go.
Before they got to it we were well in amongst
them, a id had a certain amount of sa*'"''-
faction before we retired from a heavy fire
which was opened on us from the bush
already -^lentioned. By this time Lieu-
tenant Stoddart, with the men who remained
behind to watch the flanks, came up, and
'■ r> w more shot.' were fired by ourselves
into the bushes. Whilst this was going on
I had time to look up and down the valley,
and for a mile on each side the rebels could
be seen retreatinor as hard as thev could for
the bush in front of us. Presentlv the order
was oiven from a hill about two hundred
yards in advance of us for the rebels to con-
centrate. I then thought it advisable to
retire, with the cattle we had recaptured.

THE M ATA B RLE REIiEUJON

as quickly as possible, to the forts, from
which we had iKjt heard any firiiii^" wc^rthy of
mention. As soon as we commenced to
retire the bush and hillsides, which we had
just left in our rear, oot quite animated, and
a brisk but very harmless riHe fire was sent
after us, some of the rebels beinL^' so anxious
to o'et in their shots that they were firing
from the top of the F(jndoque hill, a (^ood
mile away. We succeeded in ^ettlnjr back
to the forts with 190 cattle, out of about 380
head, and durino- the nit>ht a lot of milch
cows came back to their calves. We lost
about one-half of what we had that morning
and most of the young cattle were taken by
the rebels.

When we got back, which we did Vvithout
further trouble and no Ic^ss on our side, our
comrades had been having a ver\^ anxious
and excitable time. I hey had htard and
seen most of the firin"', and had a lot of
shots over them, but only got in a few in
return. They could not open fire while we
were in sight, and when we got out of sight

CONOR A TULA TIONS

rinno"

()■

'ood

they had chances but did not take them,
because we might have been in their line
of fire. However, they did their duty, and
were delighted to see us all come back
again. Captain I'^-ankland was on the
platform on top of the roof of the store all
the time, and had a splendid view of the
whole affair until we got behind the hill at
the police camp.

The natives in our laaoer were most
effusive with their congratulations, which
were cut short by one of tlie white men
reporting that he saw several of them sig-
nalling in the direction of the cattle shortly
before the attack commenced. He watched
to see who they were signalling to, but
saw nothint*- but cattle herds, and conclided
ai the moment that they were signalling to
some of tnem to come home for food. They
were all ordered into the compound, and
those that had been guilty of signalling
pointed out. On being questioned, (Mie said
he came from M'Posi's ; another, who had
evidently lost his presence of mind, said he

nill-l

THE MATABELE REBELLION

came from Godhlwayo, as also did the other
two. They admitted that this boy had told
the truth — the three of them came from
Godhlwayo and knew and were connected
with the rebels — Godhlwayo being- the place
where the rebellion originated. They were
all tried, condemned, and shot. After this
every native in the laager, except those that
came from the Zambesi, Cape Colony, or
Natal, was turned out of it at once. They
all went willingly, except one very big
Basuto, who said he would rather be killed
by us than by the rebels ; he was an
utter stranger among them, knew nothing
of the rebellion, and was an enemy to their
race. He was allowed to stay, and was
very faithful all through.

The men of the garrison had now some-
thing to talk about for the next few days.
The monotony that had bored us all was
broken up for a time, and we were all
rather glad we had got our first big job
over, and watched, more keenly than before,
for the next.

THE ZAMBESI BO YS

'g'

their
was

(jine-
lays.

was
: all

job
f' )re,

The rebels at the first onset fought well
for the cattle. McCallum and Paulsen shot
three (jf them before we came up. One
horrid-looking old witch-doctor was at the
head of the attacking party. At first he
had only a battle-axe and charms, and
laughed at the white men, .' >'ing they
could not harm him, and that they had no
shot that could kill him. He had three
bullets before he dropped. After that his
followers seemed to lose a lot of their clash
and became rather an easy prey for us for
a short time. I have little doubt that had
we been foolish enough to go on they
would have made a new plan and attacked

us agam.

The Zambesi boys, who were with the
cattle, behaved very well, and did their
utmost to save them until we came out to
their assistance, by heading them off to-
wards camp. One of them, through force
of habit I suppose, or perhaps to show his
zeal, marched into the laager, whilst the
tight was at its hottest, with a week-old

I.' " 1 1

THE MATABELE RE BELLI ON

calf on his back. Another one was missini^
after the fight and put clown as dead.
Some of the white men went out with
his brothers to look for his body where
he was last seen, and found it after a lon^-
search, in the bottom of a dry water creek,
covered up with orass. They had some
difficulty in gettin*^ it out. When, how-
ever, they did, and it found it was in the
hands of friends, the body came to life
again, and by the time the camp was
reached the supposed dead one was quite
lively.

One of the rebels, who had his position
on the top of the hill close to the police
camp, seemed to have charge of a ritle of
no ordinary calibre. He directed all his
fire over the laager, and at regular inter-
vals of about five minutes sent a missile
over the heads of its defenders. This
practice, after a while, became rather
amusing to some, irksome to others, and
frightened a few. Corporal Paulsen in-
formed me it took three men to work this

.s missin^L,^
as dead,
out with
ly where
er a l<)n<4
ter creek,
lad some
len, how-
as in the
le to life
rimp was
was quite

position
le police
a ride of
d all his
lar inter-
i missile
s. This
e rather
lers, and
ilsen in-
^ork this

I A

■li

','ii

id :

I i I

WORKING THE GUN

l;liii, cind whilst they were in the act of
loacliii,^- it the last time he shot one of
their number, the other two immediately
decampin^i^^ taking- the piece with them.

m Vi

^..

'/a

<rA

.■>'

c<^

y^/

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

lA^IIIIM IIIH

I4S

1112

.u m

I.I

2.2
2.0

1.8

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

1.25 1.4 11.6

•4

►

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

L^.

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

CHAPTER V

Stronj^ patrol goes out — Discoveries on recent batticlicld —
Arrival of despatch-bearers from Victoria — An alarm —
Despatch-bearers come in contact with large body of
Matabele and narrowly escape — Accident to a trooper
— Deaths of Trooper Bergqvist and Mrs. Mitchell —
Fever in camp — Death of Beaty-Pownall — Lieutenant
Stoddart and Trooper Posselt volunteer co ride to
Buluwayo with despatches — Arrival of despatches
from Mr. Rhodes.

i !

11 nil

ON the morning of the 13th, with the
strongest mounted patrol we could
muster, I went out in hopes of being able
to gather some information as to the direc-
tion the rebels had taken, or whether they
were still about, and also to bring back any
stray oxen we might drop across. On the
previous afternoon, shortly after the fight,
a very severe thunderstorm passed over the
district, drenching everything and oblitera-
ting all tracks of the rebels and cattle, and
making it impossible for us to get any

PATROL GOES OUT

information as to their movements. The
patrol made a big" detour and came round
by Stoddart's camp, " The Great Belintrwe,"
down past " McPhee's camp," home along
the " Bob's Luck " road, and across the
field where we had the skirmish the previous
afternoon. I then understood, for the first
time, that the rebels had got a greater fright
than we thought. For a mile beyond the
point wh'"*'"^ we 'eft off pursuit the veldt
bore evidenc of their very hasty retreat.
Blankets, great-coats, food, and arms had
been dropped, to enable the owners to run
with more freedom to the friendly cover
of the bush-clad hills. They had been so
thoroughly surprised that they did not dare
to venture into the open to get back their
property, even at night. They even left
their dead on the field, a thing I had never
known the natives of Matabeleland to do
before when there was the least possible
chance of getting the bodies away. Among
the articles they abandoned were several
police great-coats and bandoliers, full of

f '

T//E MATABRI.R REBKLIJON

ammunition, blankets, and provisions. Each
man had evidently carried about from 5 lb.
to 6 lb. of raw meat and about 5 lb. of
mealies. All the dead had a piece of ox-
fat tied to their throats. This I afterwards
learned was fat taken from oxen killed by
the "M'limo" and given to each man, after
it had been " Umtigatled " (bewitched), to
fender the man impervious to harm from
the bullets of the white man. Amonijst the
dead left on the field was the before-men-
tioned witch-doctor, dressed up in all the
pa»*aphernalia necessary for his calling, and
a most hideous brute he looked, even in
death, which, as a rule, modifies the expres-
sion on the face of most natives.

During the forenoon of the 14th two of
Chebi's boys arrived with a despatch, dated
the 8th, from Captain Vizard, Victoria. The
following information was obtained from
these boys : —

" We were given the letter by the white
chief at Victoria, and were told to try and
get here with it and to find out whether the

ARRIVAL OF DESPATCH-BEARERS

Each

5 lb.
b. of
f ox-
A^ards
id by

after
d), to

from
St the
;-men-
11 the
and
en in
xpres-

;wo of
dated
The
from

white
-y and
ler the

white men were alive or dead. We have
been seven days on the road. We have
had to come slowly and carefully, because
it is difficult to tell who are friends or foes.
Most of the way we travelled at niijht. At
Marandella's kraal we were told that the
natives of this district were banding together
to immediately attack Belingwe. The chiefs
Wedza, Buschelli, Mapanzula, Mazezeteze,
Impopote, and Senda have risen, and are
being led by a band of Matabele from
Godhlwayo, who are headed by Maduna,
the son of Marqua, Lobengula's sister.
These forces are located somewhere between
Wedza's and the Bungwe Mountain, and
their instructions are to wipe out Belingwe.
The attack was to have taken olace some

days ago, during the afternoon. All the
cattle which have been stolen from the
farmers in this district have been taken to
the Matopos, by way of Shamba. A great
many of the Matabele women and children
are hidden away in the Impatini Mountains.
The Impi that is gathering here has instruc-

![ T

; r

THE mataiu:lk re belli on

tions to march on Victoria as soon as they
have wiped out Belingwe, and treat that
place in like manner before returning.
These are the orders of the ' M'llmo,' who
lives in the Matopos. We do not know
the strength of the attacking force, but
Maduna has about three hundred Matabele
with him, and his party have been killing
white men all over the country by Inseza
and Filabusi. Um'Nyati has not left his
kraal, but all his men are armed. The
only chiefs who are remaining faithful are
Chebi's and those between him and Victoria.
Indeema has destroyed all the white men's
houses, &c., at Selukwe."

The boys could give little more informa-
tion, and expressed a wish to be allowed to
depart as soon as possible. They said they
did not consider Belingwe a safe place when
an Impi was ready to attack it. They were
then informed the place had been attacked
two days previously and the rebels beaten
off. This information surprised them a
little, and they advised us strongly to march

THE CATTLE AND HORSES

for Victoria before the rebels had time to
re-fo.-m and make another attack. They
were quite sure we were mad to stay any
longer when we had a chance of getting
away.

A despatch was written and handed to
them, and they left at 4.30 p.m. About
half an hour after their departure the inlying
picquet gave the alarm and reported the
rapid approach of several natives and a
considerable shouting" from others in the
bush behind the police camp. The cattle
and horses were at once turned into the
laager, the forts manned, and several shots
fired close to the approaching natives, two
of whom at once showed friendly signs by
holding their hands up. The remainder
disappeared into the bush. Our horsemen
advanced to meet the natives, and found
that they were the despatch-bearers, who
reported that they came into contact with
a large body of Matabele, some of whom
had on police great-coats. They were evi-
dently examining the ground over which the

THE MATABRLE REBELLION

m \

skirmish took place. When they noticed
the despatch-bearers they gave chase, and
pressed them so hard that the boys had to
throw away their bkmkets, in one of which
the despatches were rolled up. They were
rewritten, and the boys left again after dark
by another route.

The presence of the Matabele increased
our anxiety, and every precaution was taken
to repel an attack, if necessary, during the
night, all the men sleeping at their stations,
but nothing occurred.

On the 15th a boy came in from Gon-
doque with a letter from a Mr. Carruthers
to Mr. Lyle, asking him to forward a rifle
and ammunition, and asking for information.
Gondoque is about seventy miles south of
Belingwe. To have given the boy a rifle
and ammunition meant trivino- it to the rebels,
so he left with a letter only, to Carruthers,
telling him to try, if possible, to reach
\'^ictoria direct, from where he was, as
M'l ipi's natives were friendly. He suc-
ceeded In getting to Victoria.

BE A T Y-PO WNA LL SI/0 f

Nothing" of Jiny con.sc(|uence happened
until Sunday, the 19th, at 12.30 p.m., when
it "as reported to me that Trooper W. C.
Beaty-Pownall had been shot by accident.
Trooper Roodts had taken up Serj^eant
McCallum's Winchester repeater, and was
showing- the action to some comrades, when
the rifle went off. The bullet, grazing" the
back of Trooper Yorke's left hand, entered
the left leg of Beaty-Povv^nall on the inside,
and, travelling obliquely down, passed out
on the other side. I at once set to and
stopped the bleeding, bandaged the leg up
in splints, and had Pownall placed inside
the airiest room in the laroe store. I then
asked if there was any one among the men
who knew anything about surgery, but found
I was the only one present who had even
been taught in that line, and I am very sorry
to say that the short course of field surgery
that I went through whilst at Gibraltar was
not sufficient to enable me to save the life
of this brave young man. Had he been
shot in action on the previous Sunday, when

THE MA TAHELE REBELLION

he did brilliant service, his case would not
have been so hard, but to be laid out by an
accident was too had. He was a splendid
fellow, and a i»-reat favourite in the uarrison.
The first thin*^ he did, after being put to
bed, was to pray that his unfortunate com-
rade who caused the accident should not
be punished in any way ; and his wish was
adhered to.

Next Sunday, the 26th, Trooper Bergqvist
died. He had been sufferin<r from fever for
some time previous, but on that morning he
reported to me that he felt all right again.
He had a cup of bovril and a little meat at
lunch, and shortly afterwards he was ob-
served by Sergeant W. R. Wilson outside
his wagon retching and gasping. Sergeant
Wilson sent at once for myself and Lieu-
tenant Stoddart, but Bergqvist expired before
we could assist him. Death apparently
resulted trom suffocation.

That same day Mrs. Mitchell, wife of
J. C. Mitchell, contractor, died. She had
been ailing for some time, and fever had

BEA'GQI//srs DEATH

not

weakened her considerably. The shock she
got on hearing of Ber^^qvist's sudden death
upset her nervous system entirely, and she
never recovered, Sunday seemed to be the
special day for crreat misfortunes, since for
three runninjr we had had fighting, accident,
and now two deaths. These facts did not
tend to make the life in our little camp very
cheerful, and I believe I felt the position as
keenly as any one, and looked anxiously
every day for the relief. F'ever again had
set in among the men, and sometimes as
many as seventeen were unfit for duty.
With no doctor present this was very un-
pleasant, 'A'\A it was rendered doubly so by
the constant growling of some of the more
selfish of the men.

On the morning of Monday, the 27th,
Robert Bergqvist and Mrs. Mitchell were
buried in a small clearing about a hundred
yards from the fort.

On the 28th, I am sorry to say owing to
the growing discontent amongst a certain
class of the men, I had to parade the whole

U .

r//E MA TAIiELE REBELLION

and warn thcni that if any one was found
clfjliberately shirkin<^ his tluty, or in any way
tryinjj^ to upset the discipline of the j^arrison,
they would be put back for a court-martial
and tried as soon as any stranj^e officers
came into camp, and I warned them of
the penalties.

On the mornin<^ of the 28th Rcaty-Pownall
asked me to amputate his leg. I had looked
after him as well as I could, and cleansed and
bandaged the wound twice daily. Every-
thing else that could be done by his comrades
was cheerfully fulfilled. From the beginning
I was certain a doctor would have amputated
the leg at once, and was in hopes that, as I
had in several despatches asked for a doctor,
one might turn up at any minute. But as
day after day went past without bringing the
required aid, I knew from the outward ap-
pearance of the leg that poor young Pownall
had not lono- to live. When he asked me to
cut off his lei{ I felt certain he also knew
what was likely to happen. I formed a
board, composed of Captain Frankland, Lieu-

J)EA TH OF PO IVJVA LL 93

tenant Stoddart, and Orderly-room SerL-eant
A. J. Wilson, to examine P(mnall, and
decide what was to be done. In their pre-
sence he proposed the amputation of his
leg. The board asked him if he fully under-
stood what he proposed, and whether he
thought he could stand the operation. He
answered that he thought he would, and
begged that it might be done, to give him
the last chance. He said he knew the lower
part of his leg was dead, and that his life
could only be saved by cutting it off. The
board decided the amputation should take
place. It was performed at once, and ap-
parently successfully, the patient bearing up
very well all the time. For the next two
days he appeared to be recovering, the leg
healing nicely, but on the morning of May
2nd he succumbed, without pain; having slept
well the previous night, he never awoke.
This was one of the heaviest blows our little
garrison had to sustain. Beaty-Pownall was
buried with military honours, beside the
other victims of the rebellion.

THE MATABRLK RRBETJJON

On the 1st of May Lieutenant Stoddart
and Trooper H. Posselt volunteered to
try and ride throu(»-h to Buluwayo, with
despatches and brines back information as
to the general disposition of the rebels and
whites, we at Belingwe being entirely igno-
rant of the true position and very anxious
to ascertain what had been done, or was
likely to be done, to reduce the rebels.

Stoddart and Posselt left with three of
our best horses, to try a hazardous ride,
at 12.15 midnight. It is always safest
to travel at nii^ht and avoid the main
footpaths and hide during the day when
dealing with natives on the warpath.

May 4th brought two boys with de-
spatches from Victoria — one from Mr.
Rhodes in answer to mine of the 14th
ultimo, thanking me, and congratulating
the men of the Belinixwe parrison for
the determined stand they had made
against the rebels, and finished by saying
that he (Mr. Rhodes) would be glad to
assist in every way, and adopt any sug-

DESPATCHES FROM MR. RHODES

gestions we could send him, and that he
would very probably be .close to Gwelo
by the loth. This was the most pleasant
and interesting information we had yet
received, for we all knew Mr. Rhodes
would keep his word, and that relief
would soon be sent if possible. The
despatch-bearers also brought the follow-
ing information in regard to the rebellion :—
That they had heard of several big
fights between the white men and the
rebels, near Buluwayo, in which the
white men had always got a little the
best of the battle. They also heard that
we had defeated the Godhlwayc^ Impi
when they attacked us. That the rebels
reported that they took away all our cattle,
killed nearly all our horses and four
white men during the engagement. (This
was the sort of reports the rebels always
kept circulating in order to incite the
lukewarm ones to rise.) That the Impi
was now in Belingwe. camped close to
the main road near Senda's kraal. That

T//E MATABELE REBELLION

they did not intend to attack again, but
only to keep a close watch on the road
and cut off any small parties of whites,
and keep up communication between
M'Patini and the Matopos. That
M'Patini was full of unreaped grain,
which the rebels wanted for food. That
the Impi was composed of ten scherms of
about fifty men each. That Echlolodhlo
was now the Induna in command and
Endende was second in command, and
that Maduna had gone to the Matopos.

'■■\

DESPATCH SEN7- TO VICTORIA

CHAPTER VI

Departure of native runners with despatches to tlie O. C.
Victoria and Mr. Rhodes — Narrow escape of two
Cape hoys sent to (iwelo — Lieutenant Stoddart and
Trooper Posselt get to within twelve miles of Buluwayo
— Are hotly pursued and compelled to return — Arrival
of Captain Hopper's relief party from Victoria — Native
runners bring important despatches from Mr. Rhodes.

THE despatch-bearers left a(>ain the
following mornino- at daybreak with
the followincr despatches for the Officer
Commanding Eort Victoria, and for Mr.
Rhodes : —

" Fort Bklinowe,

''May 4, 1896.
"Sir, — I have the honour to inform you
that your despatch dated 28 th April
arrived here this morning.

" All the men here are very pleased to
know that their services are appreciated
by Mr. Rhodes, yourself, and others, and

T//E MA TABELE REBELLION

send their sincere thanks for congratu-
lations.

" Re reinforcements. — Unless it is in-
tended by the authorities to take active
steps against the enemy in this district,
it is not necessary to send reinforcements.
I believe that the present garrison is
capable of holding this position against
2,000 rebels if they give us the chance.
I don't suppose they will ever be in a
position to send the above number

agamst us.

" I enclose a copy of my last despatch
to Buluwayo, also a copy of a statement
made by a Matabele spy caught by our
cattle guard. We had great difficulty in
getting any information out of him. At
first he pretended to be a fool, and it
was only when he found out that he was
a prisoner, and to be treated as a spy,
that he came to his senses.

'• I also enclose a letter for Mr. Rhodes,
contents of which please wire to him, as well
as the Belingwe despatch and your own letter.

DESPATCH TO MR. RHODES 99

''Re ammunition.— We are still well sup-
plied, but if not inconvenient to you, could
do very well with a few thousand rounds of
M.-H. and Lee Speed. We are not stron^r
enough to send for them.

"Very sorry to have to report the death
of W. C. Beaty-Pownall. from the effect of
bullet wound, on Sunday the 2nd inst. I
have the honour to be, &c.

"(Signed) D. Tvrie-Laing,
" Capt. Commanding Belingwe.

"To H. HOITER.

"Capt. Commanding Victoria."

" Fort r3KLiNGWE,
'' May ^, 1896.

"C. J. Rhodes, Esq., Gwelo.

" Dear Sir, — I have the honour to
inform you that your wire dated 21/4/96
got here this morning, with despatch-
bearers from Victoria.

"The men of the garrison wish me to
convey their thanks for your kind recognition
of their services, and all trust that you will

lOO

THE MATAHELE REBELLION

1 1
i

give them the chance of reducino- the rebels
of this district to proper order, when you
have had time to make your arranoements.

" I have enclosed a copy of the despatch
forwarded to the Administrator at Buluwayo
on the evenino- of the 30th ult. Very pro-
bably you have already had it wired to you
from Buluwayo. You will see by it that I
think a j^ood patrol working in this district
would help, to a considerable extent, to put
down the rebellion. Knowing that men and
horses are very scarce I asked for thirty
mounted men only. If reinforcements are
beino- brouoht from the south I think it
would be better to send them to Belinovve,
which appears to me to be a more conve-
nient base, under the present circumstances,
than Victoria, as it is one hundred miles
closer to the strongholds of the enemy, it
would save the marchini^ of men to Victoria,
and the counter - marching- of them to
Belingwe, and prove a great saving of
time and energy.

" The wagon road from Gondoque to

i|^ •

hi
I

DESPATCH TO MR. RHODES.

loi

I)f

% •!

Belin^we leaves the Victoria road about
two miles on the Victoria side of the middle
drift road, and was made last year by a road
party formed by my company. Mr. Lyle
came along it from Gondoque, about a
month ago, and reports it in good order.
The only difficult part is about twenty miles
south of Belingwe Peak, where a very nasty
pass, through the granite formations, has to
be got through. This pass is about four
miles long, but only difficult at one point,
which is an elbow about thirty yards long.
The pass is not half so difficult as the
Mangwe pass, which you will rer icnl^er.
The distance from Gondoc^ue tt) Belingwe
fort is about sixty-five or seventy miles
by the wagon road. The distance from
Gondoque to Victoria is about ninety-three
miles, from Victoria to Belingwe about
ninety miles, making a total of 183 miles.
Any party coming from the south to operate
in the field would save 1 20 miles by coming-
direct to Belingwe. Should it be considered
advisable to order a party by the route

102

THE MATABELE REBELLION

suggested I would advise them not to
come to Bclingwe fort, but to take up a
position on the open Hats to the south of
Belingwe Peak, where they woukl be clear
of all bush, and have lots of water and grass
for their horses and cattle. They would
also be in command of the main line of
communication between Godhlwayo and
M'Patini. If you send in a party, my men,
who are thonjughly acquainted with this
section of Matabeleland, from here to
Gwanda, and all the intervening country to
Buluwayo, will be found yery valuable as
scouts.

" If you don't consider it advisable to send
a small force through this way from the
south, and can spare a small, well-mounted
patrol from either Gwelo or Victoria, I feel
certain they will do very good service.

" From Gwelo to Belingwe is about ninety
miles, and the best road is via Selukwe, and
then on to the Belingwe road, from there to
Wedza mountain, which is about eighteen
miles from here. Most of the Selukwe men

DESPATCH TO MR. RHODES

'03

would be able to point out the road, which
is comparatively easy. There are no diffi-
culties on the road between Victoria and
Belinirwe."

(By this time the loy^dty of Chebis and his
men was assured and the road was safe.)

" If you do send a patrol and can spare a
small field-orun it would be of great ser-
vice.

" Any small patrol, of say fifty, coming
from Victoria, or Selukwe. could travel li«rht
and get provisions here, to serve until other
arrangements can be made. It might be
advisable to send an officer, junior to myself,
in charge, but it is all the same to me. I
wish to do what I can for the best, under
any circumstances.

"If active measures are not intended in

this district and I can be of service elsewhere

I shall be very glad. Trusting that success

is being met with by your patrols everywhere,

• " I am, &c.,

" D. Tvrie-Laing,
"O. C. Belingwe.'

I04

IHK MATAliELE RE HE J J JON

To make doubly sure I decided to send off
two despj Itch-riders, o\\ horseback, to meet
Mr. Rhodes at Gwelo. Two Cape-boy
drivers volunteered to \fo. Harry Pick, a
very reliable and intelligent boy, knew the
road well, and also several bypaths. He
and Sej)teml)er. his comrade, were mounted
on two i^ood horses, and left after dusk.
They »^()t through in three days, but had a
hard struj^'i^le, and were all but ca})tured by
the rebels close to Selukwe. Beino- mounted,
however, they manai^ed to get away, after
shooting seven of the Heetest and mcxst
persistent of the rebels.

On the same night at 1 1 p.m. Lieu-
tenant Stoddart and H. Posselt returned
to laager. They reported that they got to
the coach stables at Thabas Indima at
8 a.m. on the 2nd inst., where their ad-
vance was stopped by a large body of
Kaffirs, mostly armed with rifles, who at
first attempted to encircle them. That
they (Stoddart and Posselt) retreated and
attempted to pass through to Buluwayo by

FAIL TO RHACH lUfA'VVAYO 105

Selous road, but were hotly pursued, and
as the bush all alono- their route was full
of Kaffirs they were compelled to turn
back on the road to Belino-we. That at
Graham's store they saw the remains of
a small laaoer, which had apparently held
ab(Hit sixt\- men. and there were si^ns of
an enoao-ement, empty cartridoe-cases lyino-
about. They further repc^rted that they
saw no fresh tracks on the road from
Buluwayo to Gwelo. That they o„t as
far as the west bank of the Inseza on the
ZrA inst., and had to hang about there
all day and shift their position three times,
owing to some Kaffirs getting round them.'
That late in the afternoon they noticed
smoke signals sent up from the kraal on
the northern side of the drift, and after
dark a large beacon fire on the Bembesi
hill was answered all along the Inseza
range. They had to wait until about
II p.m. before they got across the Inseza
River, and it took them three hours before
they got through the line (.f kraals on the

\ 1

io6

THE AfATAnELE REBELLION

\ I

east bank. They also reported that the
kraals were inhabited by women and chil-
dren, and that work was bein<j^ carried on
in the lands adjoininj^ these kraals. Cum-
ming's iron store at Inseza had been burnt
down, and his sixteen donkeys killed. The
coach stables at Malomachopie were intact
as they passed by, but were burned down
when they returned. They saw a few
si<rns of cattle having been moved along
the country, but at several places along
the route they noticed tracks where large
bodies of Kaffirs had crossed their path.
They were of opinion Buluwayo was en-
vironed by the rebels, but as to whether
they were close up to the town or only
holding the approaches at a distance of
about twelve miles, they were not in a
position to say. That" Thabas Induna was
full of Kaffirs, and they heard the report
of a seven-pounder before they came in
contact with them there.

On the morning of the 6th at 7.15 a.m.
two boys came in with despatches from

THE RE LI El- PARTY

\<yi

Captain \\. Hopper, who had come on
from Victoria with twenty mounted men,
one Maxim 5^1 m, and two Scotch carts,
carrying provisit)ns and 15,000 rounds of
Martini - Henry ammunition. I could
scarcely credit the news ; it seemed almost
too i*"ood to be true that assistance should
come so soon. Nevertheless, it put new
life into the Ljfarrison, and even the sick
men got (Hit and tried to catch sij^ht of
the column of dust indicating" tl^'e approach
of our friends. I at once sent Captain
Frankland with several mounted men to
assist Captain Hopper and his party to
cross the Umchinowe River, which had a
very bad drift unless one knew it well.
I also sent on fresh oxen to pull in the
carts. We had been told that the Victoria
oxen were suffering from rinderpest, and
as we were then still free from it in
Belinowe it was thoucfht advisable to take
precautions to remain so if possible. Ac-
cordingly fresh spans with fresh trek gear
were sent forward, and the sick oxen sent

io8

THE MATABELE REBELLION

away to leeward of the laager a few miles.
They were visited every day until it was
discovered that they were all more or less
affected, then the order was (j^iven to
destroy them ; they were first shot, and
then burned by heavy bush fires.

Captain Hopper's advance - guard ap-
peared on the crest of the rise about a
mile north of the fort, towards 12.30 p.m.
It was a great pleasure to mount and ride
out to meet them, and that all the more
so when I found that he and most of his
men were old campaigners who had taken
part in the first campaign, and most ple^^ed
of all was I to learn that Dr. Anderson,
of Victoria, accompanied him. Captain
Hopper laughingly said that he had come
to fetch me out, but as Captain PVankland
had informed him that I did not in^^md
to leave for a few weeks yet he thought
it would be best to rest his men and
horses for a few days if I would kindly
have him and his men as guests. We
shook hands very warmly on the sugges-

WELCOMfNG NEW-COMERS

109

tion, and I assurtJ him that as lono- as
there was a bite and a sup to be divided
m Belingwe he and his followers were most
welcome to it. He then irave the order
to march on to the fort, which was manned
by the Belingwe men, who showed their
appreciation of the new-comers by wel-
comino- them with three lusty cheers.

The followino; are extracts from the
Belinowe garrison orders relatino- to the
arrival of Captain Hopper and his men,
which may not be uninterestino- to my
readers : —

" Fort Belingwe,

" 7-5-96.
"The following officers, non-commis-
sioned officers and men, having arrived
from Victoria to assist in the relief of
the garrison, are taken on its strength
from this date until further orders :

Captain Harman Hopper Sergeant Perry
Lieut. F. R. Caldecott „ Weale

Surg. -Lieut. W. Anderson „ Tate

Sergeant-Major Nolan Corjwral Mcp.artland

1 lO

THE MATABELE REBELLION

Corporal Clark

Trooper Potgieter

„ Halkett

Carruthers

Trooper Noakes

Sou they

„ Wray

))

Forbes

„ O'Reilly

(loddard

„ Hillier

Whi taker

„ Van der Walt

Berry

" The Officer Commanding Fort Belingwe
wishes to take this opportunity of thanking
Captain Hopper, Lieutenant Caldecott, Dr.
Anderson, and the gallant tellows who have
accompanied them to the relief of the
garrison, for their noble conduct. He
wishes them to understand that he tho-
roughly understands and appreciates the
kind, generous, and brave sentiments which
induced them to undertake their perilous
journey, and he sincerely trusts and feels
certain that their stay here, whether it
be a short or a long one, will be made
as pleasant for them as circumstances will
permit."

We were now able to do some patrolling
and drilling. The Victoria men had brought
first-class horses, most of them salted. Our

MR. RHODES' DESPATCH

II I

morning" patrols went further out, and small
scouting parties were always on the prowl,
but the natives had evidently left our imme-
diate vicinity for the time being, as none
of them, or any trace of their recent
presence, could be found, within an area
of twelve miles.

The morning of the i8th brought two
despatch-runners, with a most important
despatch from Mr. Rhodes. It was as
follows : —

" Please send several separate runners,
each with the following message, to Laing,
Belingwe, begins. Please ride down to
Tuli to meet column coming in, a portion
having instructions to detach themselves
from Victoria column and place themselves
under you, and to be led in by you to
Belingwe, via Gondoque, to act under you
as you deem best. Ends."

This was an answer to mine of the 4th of
May, and proved that Harry and September
had got through to Mr. Rhodes, and that
we had not relied on him in vain. About

1. 1 m

111 U'

112

T//Jt J/ATA/iE/.Jt RE HELLION

two hours after the arrival of the first de-
spatch, the first copy came, and the second
one reached us towards evening, so that
,the despatch-runners had all done well.

PREPARING TO START

113

CHAPTER VII

Captain Luing proceeds to meet and take command ol the
Tuli column — Entrance to the Mapelabana hills —
Scouts come upon KatTns who are insolent — A prisoner
is captured — Indaba with M']-*osi's son — Suspicious
sounds at M'Posi's kraal.

I AT once set about arran^ini;' to <4'o out
to meet the Tuli column, picked out
fifteen of the best horses, and asked for
fifteen volunteers to ride them. They were
soon found, of course. Every one wanted
to go, except the sick. The Maxim was
mounted on a strong- set of springs and
fresh harness attached, as we had a rough
C(juntry in front of us, and niight have to
travel fast. The stnjnger springs enabled
us to put on a larger supply of ammunition
and provisions than we could have taken on
horseback. The Maxim was drawn by lwo
smart mules, with two horses as leaders, and
everything was ready to .'tart off at sun-

:i ^1

114

THE MATAIiELl': REBELLION

1 1

till

down. Captain Frankland was left in
command of the garrison. We left Belingwe
at 6 p.m. just as the sun was sinking, and
by ten o'clock we were camped for the
night close to the foot of the Belingwe Peak,
some eighteen miles south of the fort. The
latter part of the journey Wci gone over
very cautiously, because it was on a small
bush-covered hill in this vicinity that we
believed the rebel Impi lay. To have gone
any further that night would have been
rashness. We therefore camped close to
the ed<ife of an old working" on the " Zelan-
dia " mine, which I estimated would cover
both our horses and ourselves if need be,
and the old dump heap would serve as
breastworks. The night wore on and
nothinLT came of it. We were all on the
watch at daybreak, but saw no signs of the
Impi. The order to saddle up was given,
and before the sun was two hours high we
had got another twelve miles on our way,
and passed what I thought at the time the
most dangerous part of our journey, until

ON THE WA y

'15

the Mapelabana portion of the Matopos was
reached. There were a few sitrns of an
Impi, but as they were several weeks' (^Id.
I was half inclined to believe that it had
gone to another part of the country. Several
fresh footpaths leading from the mealie-fields
to the wood slopes of the Belingwe moun-
tain, led me to conclude that the natives had
hidden away in the bush and krantzs and
were still in the neighbourhood. The party
halted in a good position and breakfasted
about 8 a.m. The march was resumed
again at lo a.m., and by twelve o'clock noon
we got to the top edge of the incline leading
into the Mapelabana hills. There we found
a lot of M'Posi's men and women thrashing
corn. Our advance scouts were right on
to them ere they noticed us, as they were
workino; anions^ the rocks. At the first
glance it seemed as if they were barring
our passage. It was impossible t(j tell, at
first sight, whether the sticks they were
usinsj' to beat out the corn were not rilles.
The men were therefore at once formed

■t 11

J 1

It!

5) ■
I*, i

ii6

'/'//£ M ATA B ELK REBELLION

into skirmishing order, with the Maxim in
the centre, and stood ready, whilst three of
our best Kaffir linguists rode forward, and
called out to the people. For a few minutes
their replies were insolent, and two of the
men advanced a sh(jrt way, until they saw
the line of skirmishers. They then beat a
rapid retreat and gave a general alarm,
which sent the whole lot off helter-skelter
into the bush. One man who was not so
smart as the others was made a prisoner.
On being questioned he infornied us that
the Impi was still at Belingwe, hid in the
mountain, and that they were collecting
grain all n^und the district. He said the
natives in front were all peaceful. They
never saw us until they heard the men
calling to them. Then they thought there
were only three, but when they saw so many
whites with rifles and horses, they knew we
were on the warpath, and, being frightened,
ran away.

I learned that the chief IVITosi was at
home, but very sick. His son, however, was

l«

A PRfSONER

117

)

: I

about. I was inclined to believe that this
native thought the information he oave
was true. He further stated that M'Posi's
tribe were faithful to the white man. I also
believed this statement, because Carruthers,
who was with the patrol, informed me that
the people at a kraal close by had warned
him not to come to Belinuwc, because it was
surrounded by rebels, and ^"ave him food
to take him back to Gondoque. He j^ot
back there, but with a very hard strut^^le,
having" had his rille stolen from him while
he was drinking" out (jf a gourd handed to
him by a native at a kraal some fifteen miles

furth

er on

th;

ui where we were, ant

1 th

chased for ten miles by a l)and of rebels
with assegais, all of whom he managed to
elude in the bush, as it became dark — the
bush in this part of the coimtry bei

i>" ''oou cover

rather dense and affordin

After i>ettinLZ' all the information the old
native seemed to be able to give, the patrol
advanced again, and got (jn to the down-
ward slope towards the Mapelabana range

THE MATAIiRLE REIiEUJON

1 1

. .1:

iiiul M'Posi's uoroe. The track now became
very steep, and was Hanked on each side
by thick bush, and although the natives
appeared friendly their sudden disappear-
ance made me rather suspicious, every
precaution having' to be taken to avoid
an ambush. Up to this point we had
advanced rapidly, doinj^" a crood six miles
an hour ; but now our proi^ress was ren-
dered slow, iwing to the more difficult
surroLindinj^s. I don't know how the others
felt, but I had that eerie feelinL>" about me
that makes one expect to see an enemy
at any moment. It was not at all pleasant,
and I was very okul when I noticed an
open space in t'ront, just somethins^ like
one of our parks at home, with two large
ant-heaps covered with bush in its centre.
There I decided to halt for a short time
to give the horses a rest and drink. We
took up a position between the two ant-
heaps, with the Maxim in the centre, and
the advance and rear-guards extended on
both sides, the Maxim being our main

If A I. TING

119

body. The horses were off-saddletl and
led down to the rivulet about two hundred
yards away, by one-half of the men, fully
armed. The other half remained to i^Liard
the Maxim and lii>ht fires, to co(jk a little
water for coffee, to refresh all hands.
While these arrangements were <'()in<'- on
I sent for H. Posselt, W. Lynch, W. Lyle,
and Carruthers, all of wh.)m were thorough
Kaffir lini^uists, farmers and cattle traders,
in the very district we were then in.
They were thoroui^hly well known and
personally acquainted with all the natives
in the vicinity, and I asked them what
opinion they had formed as to the loyalty
of M'Posi's tribe. They were all inclined
to frive M'Posi the benefit of any doubt
and say he was loyal, althou^^h at the same
time they were puzzled at the behaviour
of the surrounding- natives. The fact of the
latter having- disappeared so rapidly looked
rather suspicious and showed signs of guilt,
because it is pretty well known that when
a Kaffir is in the right he is always

lao

THE MATABEl.E REBELLION

i
1;

ready to show it by comini;" up to any
whitt; mans encampment unarmed and in
a very free-and-easy manner. Here we
had no such thiniif, for althouiili our halt
was only of about an hom-'s duration, no
Kaffirs approached nearer than live hundred
yards, as far as we kn(nv, and those that
did appear on the surroundiuLi" hills were
all armed in some manner. Shortly after
the order was given to prepare to march
the chief M'l\:)si's son made his appear-
ance, coming u[) the side of the streani in
a very uncertain manner. H. Posselt went
out to meet him unarmed, and after a
short indaba, induced him to come up to
our camp. Posselt introduced him to me,
and 1 questioned him as tcj the opinions
and loyalty of his father's followers. He
said they had heard many contlicting re-
ports as to what was going on and that
they were under the surveillance of the
Impi, lying close to Belingwe Peak. That
his father was loyal but at present very
sick, but would be glad to come and talk

\ i

INDAliA WITH .-\rPOSrS SON

131

hat
ery
alk

to iiic the f(jll()winn' morning, aiul that we
would be (iLiite safe where we were. Posselt
said to me in Eni>lish that this man was
his servant for a lon^;" while, and that he
knew him well, but believed he was tellinjj^
lies then, whether to make us feel com-
fortable and allay our suspicion or not it
was impossible to say. I then told Posselt
to tell the youno- chief that 1 believed his
storv and was i>lad to learn his father was
loyal, and that when the proper time came
I would not forj^et to speak of his loyalty
to the Head Chief of the white men. That
1 would be u^lad now if he would u'o and
tell his father and all the men of his tribe
that they need not be afraid of us, as we
had no intention of harming' them in any
way. I also asked him to thank Lusena
(a petty chief whose kraal was situated in
a very strong" position ab(3Ut six hundred
yards away) for giving Carruthers good
advice and thereby saving a white man's
life. He replied, " I understand and will
obey; stay safely, white man." Posselt

122

THR MATABELE REBELLION

i;|:

II \

answered for me, "Go in peace." He im-
mediately went, and after i^ettino- away
about three hundred yards he called out
to the natives on the slopes of the sur-
roundini^ hills, " All rioht, j^o home ; the
white men have no desii>"ns ai^ainst us."
He went on a little further antl was joined
by several others, and after a short confab
they disappeared, and all others in sight
withdrew.

I felt we were in an awkward position, but
knov/ino- that the natives had ])een taken by
sur{)rise I imderstood they would not decide
on action until they had had an indaba
amongst themselves and made a j)lan of
attack. This would take them a nioht at
Ic^ast, and until they had made a plan we
were com[)aratively safe. Orders were given
to march at once and take every precaution
to guard against a surprise. Every man's
rifle was loaded and the Maxim belt fitted
ready for action. The track from this point
turned sharp to the left and through an
avenue of dense bush, down a rouph incline

THROUGH THE GORGE

123

of about 30°. for the distcince of about half a
mile, then sharp to the ri<j^ht into M'Posi's
LToroe. This (ron»e was about two miles lony-,
thickly wooded, with hioh, solid i^ranite cliffs,
tvvo hundred yards apart, and about three hun-
dred feet hiufh, on either side. A small stream
trundled its way throuoh the centre. Here
and there the perpendicular cliffs on either
flank were broken and small canyons led off
at rii>ht angles on both sides. It was an
ideal place for an ambuscade, but with the
exception of a strong' Kaffir i^uard at several
intervals on the rido-es watching- our move-
ments, we iifot through without any incident
worthy of mention. We ^ot out of the t;or;;e
and camped (making- everythinij^ as safe as
]X)ssible for the nioht) aloni;side a laroe ant-
heap, which was levelled in the centre and a
space cleared for the Maxim on to[), with
a slight breastwork, or rather shelter trench,
all round it. The men were formed in two
lines at two paces' interval — the advance-
j^uard facino- the front and the rear-^uard the
rear. The horses were picketed to a rope

124

THE MATABELE REBELLION

I;' !

Stretched between two trees in the centre. A
space for the fire was left between the horses
and the men — the ant-hill and Maxim were on
the flank and a stiff thorn fence was thrown
up all round. I may mention here, that
every officer and man carried a small service-
able hatchet, attached to his saddle, and they
proved most useful implements. With their
assistance it did not take the men who were
in camp half an hour to fix up a very secure
position.

When we encam[)ed I was very pleased to
see the women from M'Posi's kraal come down
for water to the stream, within a hundred
yards vt{ where we were, yet was surprised
that none of the men came near or were to
be seen about anywhere. This made me feel
uneasy, and if it had not been that our horses
were in want of rest I believe I would have
marched a^ain after a short halt. As it was
we had done a oood forty-five miles and had
o(jt throuoh what was considered the most
difficult part of our route without firino- a
shot. I was very glad to notice thcit the men

ENCAMPING

125

:1 to
^vvn
red
sed
to
"eel
scs
ive
as
ad

a
en

got quite cheerful round the bivouac fires —
each section of four by themselves — their
heads all in line with the saddle, sitting on its
pommel, at the (juter end, to serve as a slight
shelter, if necessary, with the ritle and ban-
dolier on top of all, ready at a second's
notice. The old instincts of the soldier com-
menced to warm my heart again and I almost
wished, as I believe all that were with me
did, the rebels would show and have a try.

We were very lucky in having first-class
weather and a moon nearly full. Under
such circumstances as these night in our part
of South Africa is nearly as bright as day.
and an object, such as a man or horse, is
quite discernible two hundred yards away.

We had everything snug before sundown,
and shortly after the horses had been {^^^
and the men hatl eaten their slice of bread
and bully beef and washed it down with a
draught of coffee and stretched themselves
out for the night, Captain Hopper and myself
were having a quiet chat on the top of the
ant-hill. aloni>side the Maxim, when our

r\ ~^-

! ill

126

77//'; MATABELE REBELLION

111 t

attention was drawn to M'Posi's kraal by the
sound of many voices, evidently in alterca-
tion. This put us very much on the watch,
and presently we were advised of the ap-
proach of several natives, talking loudly,
with the intention of lettintr us know of their
approach. I sent Posselt and Lynch out,
armed with their rifles, in the direction in
which the natives were advancing, with
orders to lie down about fifty yards out,
challenge, and find out what was wanted by
the natives. This was done, and the ad-
vancing party answered at once that they
wanted to speak to the white chief.

The party were ordered to halt where
they were, about two hundred yards off,
and for two of their number to advance
unarmed. After a short consultation they
ai^reed to do this, and two advanced, one of
whom was the young chief we had met at
our midday halt, and the other his brother,
a younger man, who had travelled as far as
Kimberley and worked there as a domestic
for several years. He had only returned

A YOUNG MAN FROM TOH^N

127

-bout a fortnight. h.kI was decked „ut i„
- tncky yachting .suit, . nice straw hat and
•spoke the English language fairly well.
« ,uite proud of his clothes and h^
EnglKsh and I was very glad that his vanity

let out the knowledge of our language befo
-entered on the husine.ss they hll .::

128

THE MATABELE REBELLION

CHAPTER VIII

I ! '

Another incl;ib;i with M'Posi's son — He is suspected of
lying — Kxti;i precautions taken— The patrol marches
at daybreak — Arrival at Dooboolelo's kraal.

THE youni;- chief commenced by saying
that his father. M'Posi, sent greetinj^f's
to the white man, and that he was very
sorry he was not able to come down and
speak for himself, but that he trusted his son
would be taken as his niouthpiece, and that
whatever he said or promised would be as
if he, M'Posi, had done so in person. I
thanked the youn^ man. and asked what
further he had to communicate. He an-
swered, " ]\Iy father wishes me to inform
you that he is very ^lad the white men have
got away from Belingwe, because the IMata-
bele are now seeing nothing but blood, and
it is death to live in open spaces. My father
trusts that you will not waste any time in

ANOTHER INDABA

129

gettinir from this, for he is certain that the
Impi, lying" on the bush-covered slopes of
Belingwe, has seen you pass to-day, and you
may depend upon it they will soon be on
your trail, but your horses ^^'ill soon take
you far beyond their reach. My father
trusts you will take his advice, he being a
very old man, and of much experience with
the Matabele, because when their eyes see
only blood there is no reasoning with them,
and if the Impi comes here and finds you
amonijfst is we also will have to suffer."

I replied, " Yes, I see what you mean,
and understand the position; but your father
does not. You must not think we are leav-
ing Belingwe for good. We are only out
to see what your father and his pecjple are
doing, and others like them. I shall be
back here again before a new moon comes
round, and I shall judge of your father's
loyalty by his actions. Before I come to
the Nuanetsi River, on my return journey,
I shall expect to find two wagon-loads
of grain lying there. If I find them, then

11.

'l\

130

T//E MATABELE REBELLION

1 1

I will know that your people are our friends,
but if the grain is not there you will be
treated as enemies, if you come in our way.
Now you must go back and tell your father
what I have said, and also disperse the crowd
of people we can see from the ridge along-
side your father's kraal. To-morrow morn-
ing, before the sun is so high (pointing-
to a place in the sky indicating about
8 a.m.) I expect you to send down at least
two bags of mealies to feed our horses.
Of course I will pay you for every bag of

gram.

■ ! !

He said, " I will carry your instructions
to my father, and you will have the
grain."

We parted company with the usual salu-
tations. As soon as they had gone one
of the interpreters, who had been sitting
down beside me watching, said, " Captain,
these niggers are false ; they are lying."
I asked Posselt what he thouP"ht. He
replied, " I also think they mean treachery,
sir." When the envoys got away about four

EXTRA PRECAUTIONS TAKEN

III

:ing
|ain,

iHe

lour

hundred yards they called out to the natives
clustered round the kraal to go away. This
they did, but during the night the sentries
reported several times that the buzz of many
voices could be heard occasionally. An
hour before daybreak the following morning
the horses were {(zA and every man set t(j
watch his immediate front, till there was
enough light to see the surrounding country.
Then the horses were saddled, and we
marched off at a brisk canter, which was
kept up on every bit of favourable ground
for three hours. This brought us in the
vicinity of Dooboolelo's kraal — ^the people
who had tried to murder Carruthers. When
we were about three miles from the head
kraal, we left the main track, cut a drift over
one of the many small streams in the vicinity,
and keeping well under cover of the thick
mimosa bush, with which the country was
covered, approached the kraals cautiously.
We found the natives were all on the alert,
but evidently taken by surprise. They
very probably expected us to keep the

t; :i

J li

-I if

13:

7^//i5: MATABELE REBELLION

main track. VVe camped about three hun-
dred yards away from their kraals, which
were situated at the foot of a hioh oranite
hill, in a strono- position, amonost hu.cre
boulders and thick bush.

A BRUSH WITH THE ENEMY

133

CHAPTER IX

A slij^ht brush with the enemy — Dooboolelo's kr;uils
attacked and destroyed — Another prisoner captured —
Airival at Gondoque — M'Tipi's people — West's store —
Indalia with Unicheti and M'Kati, two of M'Tipi's
sons — Unicheti promises three hundred fighting men —
Lions aliout — Fresh spoor of horses are discovered.

BEFORE siirhtiiig their position our
riyht tlcinkin<r files had a brush with
a small number of the enemy, and killed
one of them. His arms were a rifle and
three very sharp assegais. As soon as the
camp was in order, Posselt, Lynch, and
Carruthers went forward to communicate
'vith the people at the kraals, and asked
the chief to come down and speak with me.
This the chief declined to do, and defied us.

e oave him an hour to consider, while v/e

were havinu' breakfast. At the end of that
time he was still defiant, so his position
was attacked and his kraals destroyed. All

\ 1 1

' ! 1

;

II'

III;

1 ; i

11 . :

!■

■ i
1

'34

T//E .^ FATAH RLE REBELLION

the kraals under him were treated in the
same manner as we went aloni^.

The name of this chief was Dooboolelo.
He was a Maholi, and honorary chief of
one of the old Matabele , nents diirin<'"
Lobenoula's time. It was tne duty of this
chief and his followers, who were all located
along- a narrow fertile strip well adapted for
the cultivation of mealies. Kaffir corn, &c.,
to keep a store of i^rain always on hand,
to supply the wants of his regiment when
necessary. It was Dooboolelo who ordered
Carruthers to be chased an*^' killed, and as
he was the first chief I \ come across
on the march who could be proved a rebel
I decided to chastise him and his followinj^'.
He was. however, too clever for us, and all
his people except two were out of harm's
way, in the covers, aloni^side his own kraal.
As we had no time to waste we left them
there and continued our march, destroying
several krctals under his sway as we pro-
ceeded. We camped for the night about
seven miles north of the Nuanetsi River, and

ANOTHER PRISONER CAPTURED

'35

I in
•Q-

iUt

lid

as oil the previous nij^ht, made our positi* »ii
as strong as possible ; but except for the
occasional howl of a wolf or jackal our
slumbers were undisturbed. Daybreak the
following' mornino- found us all ready for
the march again, and ea-'^r to get on. We
reached the Nuanetsi River, made a good
drift, and halted for breakfast on its south
bank by 9 a.m. During the march the
advance party surprised and ran down an
armed Kaffir, who declined to give us any
information as to the movements of the
natives of the district. He was a fine, strap-
pinj4 fellow, and had the appearance (jf
bein^ a Matabele of good blood, and spoke
their i.iiiguage fiuently. He was accused
of being a Matabele spy, but denied the
accusation very emphatically, at the same
time admitting he had served for many years
in one of the Matabele regiments ; having
been captured in his youth and made a
slave, serving from the day of his capture
till the white men took Matabeleland three
years previously, and when his regiment was

136

T///t MAT/IBELE REBELLION

broken up he made his escape, and came
back to live with his own people again.
M'Ti])i's people he was sure would corrobo-
rate his statement if asked to do so. The
men offered him so'^.l^ preserved meat, but
he would not eat. He said he knew the
white men suspected him, and probably they
wanted to pcjison him, and he would not eat
until the white men had found out he was
not a spy.

We marched again at 12.45 P-ni., and
reached Gondoque at 3 p.m. Gondoque
is on the main road from Tuli to Victoria,
and seventy-two miles south of Belingwe.
The natives in this district are of Uie liasuto
race — a very strong tribe under M'Tipi,
and generally known as M'lipi's Kaffirs.
They have always been very loyal to the
Chartered Company and friendly to the
white men ; but nevertheless I looked for-
ward with a considerable amoimt of anxiety
to an interview with M'Tipi or his repre-
sentatives. All the people on our line of
march in this district (led on our approach,

AT GONDOOUE

137

but, with the exception of two old men, they
were all unarmed, and the latter handed
over their rifles at once on being asked to
do so by the adv^ance-guard. They also
consented to guide us by a shorter path than
the cart-njad to Gondoque. We followed
them and found they were quite right. We
halted, formed a camp, and sent for the
neighbouring chiefs, only one of whom
turned up that evening, the remainder not
being at home. At Gondoque we found
Mr. West's storekeeper still there, but his
supply of provisions had almost disappeared.
This was a disappointment, for the men of
the patrol had travelled with as little im-
pedimenta as possible, and had taken only
enough rations to last until they could reach
Gondoque. believing that once there we
would be able to get supplies. As all traffic,
however, had been stopped for some time,
Mr. West had not been able to obtain any
footl-stuffs from Victoria. All he could
furnish us with was an ox or two and a few
bags of mealies. The latter were very ac-

t[;

S M

r'j I

•38

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

ceptable for the horses and the men also,
for they had to boil them and use them in
lieu of bread for the next few days.

Early on the morning of the 22nd,
M'Kati, one of M'Tipi's sons, came down
to speak with me. We had a short indaba,
and he left to send off messengers to bring
the other chiefs together. As soon as
M'Kati left I moved the men up to West's
store and formed a camp. The verandah
round the store provided excellent shade,
and the men made the best of their stay to
rest after the rapid march A^e had made.
The grass close by was very good, and the
horses made the most of it. Altogether we
were comfortably off, and only wanted in-
formation as to the movements of the
colimin we were looking for to set us com-
pletely at rest.

M'Kati knew our prisoner, said he was
one of the tribe and a good man. He was
released at once.

About 8 a.m. Umcheti, the eldest son of
M'Tipi, turned up with a small following.

M'TIPrS PEOPLE

139

He said he had not heard of any column
coming up from TuH, and he volunteered
to send off six of his young men to look
for it and brinijf back information. This
was at once done, the runners taking a
despatch from me to the officer commanding
the Tuli column.

On the 23rd we remained at Gondoque.
A great many (jf the natives came from the
surrounding country and brought presents
of mealies, potatoes, &c., to us. This
assured us to a certain extent that they were
friendly, but we could gain no inf(jrmation
from them, either about the column we
expected to meet or the rebellion. This
made me rather uneasy, and inclined to
mistrust them altogether.

On Sunday, the 24th, three of M'Tipi's
sons, with a following of about seventy
men, turned up, unarmed. Umcheti, the
eldest, represented his father, and said that
he had been instructed by the latter to
come and u'reet the white chief and offer
the services of M'Tipi and his followers.

I40

THE MATABELE REBELLION

Ri>

\
I /

H .

He said, " The white man knows that my
father's people have been friendly to the
white pe(3ple. We have kept the roads
open, and have always given food and catlle
to the white man when passing through our
country, and when the white man went into
Matabeleland to fight the Matabele Impis
two years ago we also wished to give
assistance, and you know that a party of
us went with five policemen as far as
Godhlwayo's, and brought back the coach
mules which the Matabele took from this
district. We were very much annoyed
then because the white men would not let
us fight, so that we could prove our
loyalty. We have all looked at the induna
in charge of the white men here now, but
we do not kn(jw him, or remember ever
having seen him before, although we know
several of his followers" (here Umcheti
poiiued to Posselt, Carruthers, Lyle, and
several others) "and we are glad that
they remember us and know that we are
speaking the truth, and they will tell their

UMCHETI OFFERS HELP

141

chief that they know us, so that he may
understand we are loyal. Harry " (i)oint-
Ing to Posselt) "has told me you are
very angry with my father's people because
they have not given you any information.
It is not their fault. They were ordered
not to say anything until the chiefs came
to have a proper indalxi with you, and
now we have come, and our instructions
are to tell the white chief all we know and
give him all the assistance in our power."
I thanked Umchcti, and asked him to tell
me everything he knew about the rebellion
and what had taken place in Matabeleland.
The first part of his story was pretty much
what we had heard from Buluwayo and
Victoria, and was not of special interest.
He introduced his brother M'Kati, saying,
"As my brother is more active than I,
being younger, he may have a more
interesting narrative for you." M'Kati took
his seat in the centre of the circle and said,
"This boy, Tshaleja, and several others of
my tribe have been away for some days

■f/i

142

THE MATABELE REBELLION

\\ i«

scouting and watching' the movements of
the Matabele in the district to the north of
our own councry, that is the Weza district,
and they tell us there are two small Impis
south of Belingwe — one in the Weza and
Mapelabana about two hundred strong.
They are collecting cattle and grain and
trying to force the natives there to take up
arms against the white nian. They have
also ordered all the grain to be reaped and
stored for them at different places in the
Weza range 'A hills towards Inyamandi's
kraal. Inyamandi, as you must know, is a
Maholi and an agent of the Matabele, and
his people are dangerous to the white people
at present. The other Impi is close to
Belingwe. It is much stronger, and had a
great many women and children with it,
most of whom have come from Godhlwayo
and thj Lower Inseza. There are also a
great many Matabele women located in the
hills close to M'Posi's. The hills they are
located in are called 'Sibua.' These women
are there for the purpose of gathering grain

M'KATPS STORY

'43

and storinij^ it at convenient places in case it
should be wanted by the lar^e Impis who
are n(jw in the Matopos. There are two
of them — one on the hills close to the Tuli
Buluwayo road and the other further west
and close to the Palapye Buluwayo road.
The Matabele say these Impis will flight the
columns of the white men and beat them
if possible, but if they are beaten instead
one Impi will retreat down the Guai River,
and get into the thick thorn bush country
where the whites will not be able to follow,
and the other Impi will retreat by Shamba,
through the Mapelabana, Weza, and Inya-
mandis, and on to Gazaland. This Impi
will take all the cattle, because they will
live in Gazaland, and this is the reason they
have their women and children already along
this probable line of retreat. You have
now been told all we know about the
Matabele and their intentions. We have
not heard of any Impi of white men coming-
this way, but believe that there is one
coming when the white man says so."

|l 'i! '

144

THE MAT An RLE REBELLION

I I,:

If 1

J ^

n i

I ag"ain thanked the chiefs and their
followers, and told them I would make a
good report of them t(^ the head chief of
the white men, and finished by saying that
when the column came up I would want
three hundred of their young men to go
with me and fight the Matabele. Umcheti
said, "The three hundred men will be
ready, armed with the rifles they had
received from the great white chief several
years ago when the white man first passed
through this country, but as their ammuni-
tion was finished I would have to supply
that." I promised them all the ammunition
they would want and the indaba ended.

The chiefs and several of the older
men stayed with us for some time conver-
sing \ ith the men. The young men went
off at once towards their different kraals,
shouting their war-cries and having mimic
battles with each other on the way,
evidently delighted at the prospect of
havino- a chance of tryino^ their strcnoth
with their natural foes, the Matabele.

their

OUR RUNNERS RETURN

145

:^^

The runners who had been sent on to
meet the Tuli cokinin hatl not returned
or sent Ijack any messasj^e. It was (juite
evident the cokunn was at k'ast thirty mik's
off, and I theret(^re ck'cickd not to wait
any longer at Gondo(|ue, and j^ave orders
to march at 5.45 p.m. The moon was
nearly full and the night cool, so that
marching" was much more comfortable
during the night than through the day.
Takinu" the old coach road from Gon-
doque to Tuli we got along at a smart pace
for about three miles when the pole of
the Maxim carriage broke short off. This
brought us to a halt until another was cut
from the bush and fitted. This (){)eration
delayed us about an hour, and whilst the
repairs were going on, two of the runners
turned up. They reported they had been as
far as Goma, about thirty miles ahead, but
had not seen or heard of the column we
were expecting. Moreover, they had over-
taken two Basuto police, belonging to the

Chartered Company's service, who had

14^)

THE MATAIiELE REBELLION

i 'I

Ll!!

been sent out from I'uli, to scout the
country as far as M'Tipl's, and they
denied any knowledj^e of a cohimn of
men coniiiiL^ towards us. They said all
waj^'ons and men were sent on from Tuli
by the Semokwe roatl to Huluwayo. The
day before they left Tuli, thirty waj^ons and
a lot of men had left for Ikiluwayo by
the route mentioned. This was rather dis-
heartenini>" information. I was very much
afraid that circumstances had occurred in
other parts of the country sufficient to
cause the Tuli-Victoria column to be
sent in another direction. I was rather
sad over this, but determined to march on
to Tuli, if need be, and perhaps arrange
there to get another column to go into
Belingwe.

We reached M'Tijji's at 10.15 P-""'-* ^nd .
bivouacked for the night. Starting off
again the following morning before day-
break we arrived at " iln'c River
shortl) after 8 si d there to

rest the men a.ul gi c the horses the

AT liUIiYR RIVER

•47

benefit of the jj^ood jrnizlnj^ alonj^ the
river banks. On the march I was sur-
prised to find most of the native kraals
deserted and no sitj^ns of natives about.
This made us suspicious, and naturally a
sharj) look-out was kept. We marched
on aj^ain at 4.45 [).m., the horses beinj^' in
very <^n:)()d form, but the men rather out
of sorts. The boiled mealies were not
airreeinu" with them, and I was afraid the
bad water we had to use alono- the nnite
would cause dysentery. I remembered that
the same feeding' occasioned a great deal
of illness amongst the men on the Bubye
patrol towards the close (3f the 1893 war.
I was therefore mcjst anxious to get to
Tuli or meet the column, so that the men
miiiht have a chanoe of food, and had
proposed to make three long marches
during the night, ex|)ecting to be within
thirty miles of Tuli by daybreak. The
country we were marching through was
covered with thick bush, and the onlv
signs of human beings about, except

8* I

148

THE M ATA BE I. K REBELLION

ourselves, was the spoor of what we
presumed were the Hasuto police, who
had been carefully followed up by a pack
of lions from the Hubye River. This was
a source of speculation and amusement for
the men. The offchance of comino' up
with the pack helped to break the mono-
tony of the march. However no lions
made their appearance, but towards sunset
the advance files si^^nalled the halt, and
one came back to report the discovery of
fresh tracks of horses on the rqad in front.
This was much more interestinLT.

i, ti

S/CNS OF APPROACHING COLUMN

149

CHAPTER X

Approach of the Tuli cohimn — Our advuiicc I'lks arc
challcnj^cd — Tlic cohiinn is met — Captain IJrabaiit
arrives with despatches from Karl (Irey — Setoulsi's —
Scarcity of water — Reorganisation of force — " May " —
Stren<<th of cohimn.

I RODE forwiird with the :idvance files and
f(jund that two horses had crme alono;'
from the \v\\\ direction as far as the point
where we were and the-n they had turned
back a_i;ain. It at once occurred to nie that
the scouts from the advance party of the
column had been as far forward as this, but
what distance they were m advance of the
column it was not possible to jud^e.

Our march was resumed at once, and was
continued until 6.45 p.m., when I decided to
halt for a time. I had ridden ahead with the
advance files the i^reater })art of the way
from the point where it was observed that
the horses had turned rouiid. and when we

I50

THE MATABELE REBELLION

halted to close up we thought we could hear
noises in front, but they were so indistinct
that we were inclined at first to put them
down to our imagination. Nevertheless, we
were induced to advance a little further, and
soon became quite certain that there were
people a short way in front of us We pro-
ceeded cautiously for another half-mile, and
could then see camp fires, and felt certain we
had struck the advance of our relief column.
I had just instrLicted Trooper Mitchell to
ride forward a little way and challenge to
draw the attention of their sentries in case
of accident, when we were surprised by a
challenge, in good English, from behind a
large ant-heap on our left fn^nt, and by
a second challenoe from the bush on our
ricrht front. We, of course, answered in the
usual manner, and then our friends, eight in
number, showed themselves. They were all
round us in skirmishing order, and it was
just as well we were friends. They had
been out digging in the dry river-bed, close
by, for water, and had heard us before we

MEET THE SCOUTS

151

our

in
all
Iwas
jhad
llose

had heard them. Not expectincr to meet
any one, they at once sent word l^ack to
camp, had their horses in, and took to the
bush in order to tind out who we were. The
sergeant in charge reported that the scouts,
twenty strong, under Mr. Natrass, were
encamped there for the night, and were
making water-holes for the horses and mules
of the column to drink at when they arrived
the following morning. The column was
laagered up about eight miles behind. This
was, indeed, very pleasant inforniation, ar.d
by the time it had been delivered my patrol
had closed up, and we marched on to the
camp with our comrades. I was very pleased
to see a ureat many well-known faces amouLi"
the scouts of the column — faces I had seen
in .several tight corners before — and I believe
the hearty greetings which passed between
old comrades in both parties sent a glow
of enthusiasm through the hearts of all who
were present. h'or myself, I scanned the
sunburnt countenances of the advance party,
.shown up, as they were, by the glinurering

:1 -

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

lii^'ht from their camp fires, with a more
intense interest, I beHeve, than any one else.
To me they were more than old and trusty
comrades. They were the men I had been
ordered to meet, command, and lead to the
VA\i[ of the campaign: The thouL^ht passed
through my brain as I watched them cooking*
and handino- round a liberal share of their
rations to the men of my patrol, that if
these were a fair sample vA the men com-
posing- the relief column, no matter what
hardships were in front of them they would
prove equal to overcoming' them, if it were
possible, and I wished from my heart then
that I mioht be enabled to lead them care-
fully and successfully, without sacrificing" any
of them unnecessarily.

Many were the questions asked and an-
swered round the canip fires that evening',
and many a strono" expression escaped the
lips when the brutal slaughter of some old
pal was related. The nun'ders of women
'ind children were commented upon, and
condemned in anythini^ but modest terms

WITH THE COLUMN

153

by all, and it \ as very evident that the
dearest wish of every one was to meet with
and punish the murderers.

Ab(3Ut an hour after our arrival Lieutenant
Yonoe, accompanied by Captain Brabant,
rode in and reported themselves. Lieutenant
Yonoe was in charge of the column. He had
little to state further than that the column
had been delayed at Tuli three days over the
original time fixed for startino-, and that the
horses and mules were sufferinir very much
and dyini;' from horse-sickness. Captain
Bralxmt had just ridden from ruluwayo via
Manovve, Semokwe, and Tuli, with de-
spatches from Earl Grey, the Administrator.
The despatches simply L;ave me the entire
command of the column with instructions to
use it to the best advantage in (|uellin<4- the
rebellion. Captain Brabant was to remain
with me and hel[) to organise any native
levies I mi^ht wish to have employed. I
was delighted to have Brabant with me,

cause,

I bel

leve, ,.wi

thout

exception,

one of the best leaders of native troops i

154

THE MATARELE RETiEIJJON

i:l

Soulh Africci. He had proved himself such
on many occasions, and diirino- the 1H93 war
was invaluable.

Away from despatches, his narrative of
what had been done and was beini;- done
was most interestini^ information, eagerly
soui^ht after, and very acceptable to iis who
had been caged up so long in Belingwe.
The list of those murdered and missino" was
much greater than we anticipated, and left
an impression on every mind anything but
amicable to the rebels. To say th'it we were
shocked would be putting it very niildly.
Disgust took the place of surprise, and
revenge was the most natural sentiment
under such revolting circumstances. Captain
Brabant was very tired, having ridden 270
miles in less than nine days, picking up fresh
horses and rations wherever available along
his route, which was anything but a con-
venient one. After Lieutenant Yonge had
rested his horse for a time he rode back
atifain to brino- on the column the followini>'
mornini*'.

A J' SKTOUrSI'S

155

On the morning- of May 26th the reHef
column arrived at Setoutsi's, where I took
over command from Lieutenant Yonijfe. The
strength was about 130 white men, 70 Cape
boys, 150 horses, 25 wagons, and 350 mules.
The latter, thanks to " Doel " Zeederberg,
were in lirst-class order. The horses were
a very mixed lot, and not in very good
condition. The wagons were loaded with
provisions and munitions of war, and eight
of their number were under orders for Vic-
toria for the g'arrison there. The horses and
mules had suffered from want of water during
the march on the day previous to reaching
Setoutsi. At this point the dams made by
the advance party had collected enough to
water them all well.

After takino- over command I decided to
rest that day and organise the force. Three
mounted troops were formed, namely, Maxim
Troop, under Colonel Hopper, with Lieu-
tenant Stoddart ; A Troop under Lieutenant
Yonge, with Lieutenant Ikites; B Troop under
Lieutenant Beisly, with Lieutenant Hell.

] 1

156

r//Ji M AT A BE I. E REBEUJON

■w

r^ach of the above troo|)s were about thirty
strong. The remainder of the white men
formed an infantry or laaij^er troop. The
Cape boys, some seventy stron^^', were also
formed into a laaj^er troop Hnder Lieutenant
Donald Campbell, with Lieutenants Howe
and Moore. Lieutenant W. Lynch was ap-
pointed chief of the scouts. The remainder
of the force was told off to conduct the
eight wagons to Victoria under Captain
Sporssell.

Lieutenant Chi vers was appointed re-
mount officer, and Lieutenant Lichtenstein
("Jumbo") Quartermaster. Mr. H, Posselt
was appointed Lieutenant to assist Ca[)tain
l^rabant with the native levies, and Troopers
Carruthers and Sol. they were attached to
their staff.

On inspection of the men I found I knew
a great many of theni. They had come
from all parts of South Africa to render
assistance to their countrymen in distress.
Many had given up lucrative employment in
the Transvaal and elsewhere to answer the

COLUMN ON 77 fE MARCH

'57

Ccill for aid. -.md, takino- them all in all, they
were a first-class lot to look at, and I had
every confidence they would do the work in
front of them well.

Captain Brabant, Lieutenant Posselt, and

Trooper West rode ahead on the afternoon

of the 26th to M'Tipi's to find out what was

going on there and gather the feeling of the

natives now that they had had time to think

over the prospect of a fight with the Matabele.

On the morning of the 27th the reorganised

column, with the Victoria convoy in front,

marched from Setoutsi, and reached the

Bubye River in the first trek. The column

marched again during the afternoon, and

laagered for the night on the west bank of

the Umqu(}e River.

On the following morning, the 28th.
M'Tipi's was reached and laager formed by
8 a.m. I resolved to remain here lonp-
enough to give the men some drill and
musketry practice, whilst the M'Tipi con-
tingent was being got ready.

The Victoria convoy marched on ai

! U

ii IJl

158

TFfE MATABRI.E RR HE I.I. ION

■ ffl

; nil

1 ,

i ,'

i .

■ij

' 1

tliirino- the afternoon, but before this took
plcicc Captain Brabant had returned and
reported that he beheved the M'Tij)! natives
loyal and very friendly but disinclined to
take the field ; that he had not pressed this
point on them, and that as the indunas were
comino' to have an indaba with me shortly
perhaps an understanding^ would be arrived
at then. That the natives were very friendly
was evidenced from the fact that the women
and children brought down presents of food,
&c., to us, and chatted quite freely, apparently
not in the least alarmed. This led me to
believe that the men meant well, because if
they had intended mischief the women would
have been kept well out of the way.

Shortly after Umcheti came up with several
minor chiefs, the |)rincipal one of whom was
a man named " May," who had served with
the British in Zululand, Hasutoland, and also
at Sekonis. He spoke English, and remem-
bered Sir Garnet Wolseley and Sir E. Wood,
and most of the principal officers. Umcheti
said, " rhis man will represent me, as 1 am

NATIVES VERY FRIENDLY

159

too old to g'o to the front myself. He will
lead (jiie hundred of my youn^- men, but
M'Kati, my brother, will have the supreme
command of all M'Tipi's men under you."

I thanked Umcheti, and said, "Where are
your brother and the other chiefs, and where
are the three hundred men ? I expected to
find them here, according' to y(uir promise
of last Sunday."

He answered, "As soon as you ^ive the
order for them to come here I will send for
them. M'Kati is now at his kraal ten miles
away waiting- your orders. He will come at
once, and by the time he is here all the
others will have come. They will all be
here before midday to-morrow."

I auain thanked Umcheti and i>ave the
necessary orders, and at dusk that evening
on the top of every hill a beacon fire was
lit and answered by others from every hill
in the district for a good ten miles around.

The followin^r mornini,^ the men were
paraded shordy after sunrise for skirmishing-
drill, and aoain at i i a.m., when ball cart-

'iv

^ !<

! f

I Go

THE MATAliELE REBELLION

rldi^^c was served out to them for rifle priic-
tice. A larj^e rock ljackL;roun(l was fixed on
to fire up airainst. aiul smaller ones pointed
out to fire at. The different troops were
j)ut through a practical skirmish, and the
shootin^^ was very j^ood. On the whole I
was quite satisfied with the performance.
Whilst this work had been goini^ on M'Ti[)i's
men had been rolling" up in small detach-
ments from every direction, all of them
armed, the "greater portion with Martini-
Henry rifles, and the remainder with the old
Enfield of different patterns, assegais, and
battleaxes. The fighting men kept away
by themselves, and were a fine lot of ycjung
warriors. They were very quiet and orderly,
and seemed to take no notice of anything
outside their own lines. With them came
many others of all sorts, from the grey-
bearded, limping old man down to the child
in arms. The women and children brought
presents of potatoes, milk, &c., to the men,
and showed any amount of friendliness.

About 2 p.m. M'Kati turned up in full

(

f 1

A STRANGE INTER VIE IV

i6i

war-paint, which consisted of an old frock-
coat, a very old silk hat, and a strong"
walking-stick. He wore the happiest of
smiles, and altogether seemed to be in the
best of humours. He re{)orted that all of
his nien had not turned up. but that they
would be present before the sun set. 1
asked him how he and his followers liked
the idea of hghtin^- the rebels. He answered,
" If you will only let us fight when we get
to them, you will be able to form your own
opinion as to our likes and dislikes. All
I can say at present is that my people and
myself have every reason to hate the Mata-
bele. They have been our mortal enemies
for years, and we only wish to have the
chance of paying them back in part for
the harm thev have done us on several
occasions." I replied, " V(Ty well, M'Kati.
1 shall do my best to let you and your
followers have full satisfaction, but vou must
keep 'iii-S" young men of yours imder firm
control, olherwise they may spoil our [)lans.
Captain Brabant will draw ammunition for

1 62

THE MATABKLE REBELLION

your men and they must be ready to march
at daybreak to-morrow."

Towards dusk a council of war was held,
to decide upon the best route to take for
Belinowe. There was every reason to
suppose that the rebels would have blocked
the route which we came by, as it was the
only route used by the white men to get in
with their wagons through the Mapelabana
Mountains (which to my mind are an ex-
tension of the Matopos). The Basuto chiefs
said they knew of another easier and more
direct nuite. along which wagons had already
i^one to Helini>"we, and that it would be
shorter and cjuicker to strike straight {\^...
where we were for Belingwe. The native
continoent would cut the trees down and
clear the way where necessary. This sug-
gestion appealed to me as being a good
idea to work on, and that for two reasons.
It would shorten our march by about twenty
miles, and as the new route would be about
tweWe to fifteen miles east of the old one,
the chances were that we would be close to

APKATI

163

Is.

the worst part of the country we had to
pass through, before the rebels knew of our
intention. They were ahnost certain to
watch the route we had come by, expecting
us to return that way. It was then arranged
that M'Kati should send off about twenty
of his most intelligent young warriors to act
as scouts and spies- They were instructed
to get in contact with the rebel spies if
possible, obtain all the information out of
them they could and misinform them as to
the movements of the column — in fact, if
they found it possible they were to deny any
knowledge of a column ccMiiing in that way
and were to lind out if the Matabele or their
allies knew of a convoy of wagons being
sent on to Victoria. If so, they were to
exaggerate the strength of it and not lose a
minute in sending back word to me if they
f^und the Matabele meant attacking it.
M'Kati said he felt certain there were no
Matabele spies among his peoj)le, and as
his country extended to the banks oi thv"
Nuanetsi River, which was about thirty miles

164

THE M ATA B RLE REBELLION

north of our present position, he was sure
no Matabele would be found south of it,
and that they would be it^norant of our
movements until we were in si<>ht of the
river. He concluded by sayino-, " My
father's men have all been warned to keep
their eyes open and their mouths shut, and
where the Matabele are concerned you can
depend upon them follov/in^- the advice of
their chietV

Everything was ready for the march now.
Lieutenant Lynch and his scouts had gone
on in front with a li<>ht wa^on to mark out
the way and select convenient places for
laaoerinj^. He was acc{)m])anied by Captain
Brabant and about Fifty of M'Tipi's men.
The remainder of them, close on three
hundred, stayed with the column.

I ■

•>

TJIE COLUMN

>n I

i6s

The streno-th of the c(ilumn as it now
stood was roLio-hly as follows :—

Staff

Officers. N.C.O.

Maxim 'l>oop 2

A Troop ... 2

B Troop ... 2
Laager 'I'roop

(including hospital)

Cape boys ... 3

Scouts I

Remount ... r

28
28

20
6

Horses.
8

30
29

4
10

-Mules.
4

224

••I 3 (-sick) 35 (sick) 20

14 180 148 248

Sixteen wagons for transport.

Native contingent

White- Officers. N.C.O.'s Men.
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1 66

T//E MATAIiELE REBELLION

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CHAPTER XI

Coliiinii marches from M'Tipi's — The Umchimc River and
Sekombi's kraal — Indaba with Sekombi — M'Posi's men
and two hundred Matabele he in wait for the patrol
— Capture of a prisoner — The scouts have a short
skirmish — Mapelabana pass got through siifely —
M'Tipi's men score a victory.

THE march from M'Tipi's commenced
at 6.30 a.m. on the morning of
Saturday, the 30th of May. Lieutenant
Lynch and the scouts kept a ^ood trek
ahead for the first two days, making' a
road and selecting favourable watering-
places. So far nothing had happened to
indicate the presence of the enemy.
Several of the native scouts had come
back from different directions, and reported
that up to the points they had been to
there were no sii>ns of the Matabele.

The first march, on the morning of June
I St, brought us to the banks of the Um-

mmmBUiVS

^EKOMnrs NARRATIVE ,57

chime, about three miles to the east of Se- /
kombi's kraal. Sekombi came into laac^er
with M'Kati and gave the following- In-
formation -- namely, 'M am related to
MTipi by marriao-e, and live inside his
territor>. I and my people are loyal to
the white man. We will do what we can
to prove our loyalty, but don't wish to
leave our kraals now, because the Mata-
bele are close by and watchino- us. Yester-
day five of their scouts came close up to
my kraal, but they would not enter. They
were armed with Martini-Henry riHes and
cisseg-ais. They inquired for information in
regard to the movements of the white men
to the south. My people told them that
the white men had all passed on to Tuli.
They did not stay any longer, but went
off to the northward in the direction of
M'Posi. Some of my young men have
been over to M'Posi's kraal. M'Posi is
working with the Matabele, about two
hundred of whom are staying with him.
They have blocked the pass that you came

1 68

THE MATAHELE REBELLION

throu^'h, and intend to surround y(ju in it
when you 5^0 back. If you had vvrdted
another hour the niornino- you left M'Posi's
kraal your party would have been sur-
rounded. You were followed until the
rebels heard the Maxim firing" at Dooboo-
lelo's kraal. This astonished them, because
they did not know you had a Maxim with
you, and they decided to wait for your
return, in the hopes of beinjj^ able to i^et
an advantage over your party. They have
set traps at several points alont^' the road,
but as you have come this way you have
avoided them. So far, I don't think — in
fact I am certain — they know your column
is here ; we did not know until this morn-
ing. We saw M'Tipi's scouts yesterday,
but thought they were only looking for
information for the tribe. In these war-
times scouts are always going and coming.
I told you before, I cannot let my men
leave their kraals, as our position is not
strong, and as the Matabele are on the
watch. If they found out we were assi.st-

ino-
Wh(

THE COLUMN MOVES

you they would be sure to attack
have

169

us.

len you nave passed on, all 1 and my
people can do will be to keep a strict
watch to the westward and let you know
li the Matabele intend attacking- from that
side. This my people can do without
drawino- the attention of the rebels on
themselves." 1 then oave the chief per-
mission to 00. He did not waste a
mmute, and was very soon (uit of sight.
M'Kati lauo-hed when he went, and said,
" lliat man is much more afraid of the
white man than of the Matabele. Al-
thouo-h he is married to my father's sister,
1 do not trust him, althouoh I believe he
has told the truth, especially about tlie
position of the rebels. I believe myself
they will be close by M'Posi's, expectino-
the column to come that way. They will
be sure to know to-ni-ht that the column
is comino- this route, and I am afraid we
will have to fio-ht throuo-h the other pass."
The column moved on again towards
evening, and laagered on the north bank

',' <>

I70

TffE MATAHRLR REBELIJON

of a small stream called " Matope," about
fourteen miles south of the entrance to the
pass. This ni<4ht the sentries were doubled,
but nothiui^" of any importance occurred.

Before marchint'" the followinu' mornin<>"
the country was well scouted by mounted
men and natives. I was anxious to locate
the rebels if possible, and 1 would have
been i^lad if they would have attacked us
on the Hats, although the latter were rather
thickly covered with bush. Just before
startini^- three of the natives came in and
reported that they hac^ been close up to
M'Posi's, and that all his people, with
about two hundred Matabele at their head,
were aw^aitin^" the column. They had heard
of it, and expected it to come through
MTosi's pass. That several of their com-
rades were still watchino" MTosi's, and
would come in as soon as the rebels made
a move. I decided to march on towards
the new pass, and sent a strong patrol in
the direction of M'Posi's to draw the at-
tention of the enemy, if possible, on to it.

APPRO AC If OF Tlfli [MP I \^\

The column moved forward at 8.30 a.m.,
crossed the Weza rani^e, and laagered up
aj^ain at 9 a.m. until such time as the
scouts came back. When they returned

orted they had

aa seen no si^iis o

they reported tney
the Impi. We marched on attain about
three miles further, and oot on to what I
considered a very L;"()od position, laagered
up, and decided to show the rebels where
we were by sending" out small patrols to
destroy, by fire, all the kraals in the
vicinity. By doint;' this I h(jped to pro-
voke an attack. I was anxious to have
an enj^a^ement before going into the pass.
To a certain extent the ruse was success-
ful, and brcAight the Impi down from the
hills about three miles to our rioht. Our
native scouts, when they saw the tires lit
by the column, set fire to several kraals
close up to the position held by the
enemy, and afterwards had to run hard
to return to the laager. The Impi came
on, with the intenti(Mi of fighting, but
gave up the idea when they found out

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172

THE MATABELE REBELLION

that instead of twenty white men, they
had a lar<^e column to attack.

On the morning of the 3rd, after scouting
the country in every direction, the column
marched straight forward again at 8 a.m.,
across the Nuanetsi River, and laagered on
its north hank, about two miles south of
the entrance to the pass.

The country we passed through during
the mornino-'s march was one vast mealie
garden, the greater part of which was still
unreaped. The crops were very luxuriant,
and would prove of immense value to who-
soever could reap them. It was, therefore,
evidently part of my duty to stop any of
this "Tain from beinu" carried to the rebels
in the Matopos. The laager was formed
in a very strong position, and I did not
intend to move from it until I had had a
brush of some sort with the rebels. The
scouts came in shortly after laager was
formed and reported the road in front very
difficult and that the ridges of the hills were
lined by Kaffirs. I was still In hopes the

llii.

REBELS IN SIGHT

173

enemy might attack, and sent out word to
the Cossack post and horse-guards to retire
at once if the enemy showed any inclination
to fight. Towards midday the outpcxsts
reported a strong body of natives assem-
bling on the top of a large flat hill about
two miles east of our position. Field-glasses
were brought to bear upon this spot, which
at ^^r'^t had about three hundred natives on
it in oi '•'". Before sundown their numbers
had increased, until the hill was quite black
from one end to the other, but it was impos-
sible to estimate the number oi people on it.
U then appeared to me that the rebels did
not intend attacking us in laager. They
evidently wanted to pounce on us in some
difficult part. Of course the large numbers
we had seen during the day made the
sentries more vigilant than ever, and as
most of the men had had a good day's rest,
very few slept during that night. I noticed
this from the fact that I went round the
camp frequently during the night. I hiid

pre

vious

ly, h

( )wev

er, formed an idea that if

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174

r//A' MATABELE REBELLION

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the natives had meant to fight they would
not have shown up at all until they com-
menced to attack, and in this idea M'Kati
coincided with me. He said he thought
they wanted to frighten the white men by
their numbers, but did not want to come
near the guns. The position we held was
one that could be seen from some distance,
and towards morning I decided to send on
a mounted troop and the native contingent,
under Captain Brabant, to make a feint on
the position held by the rebels. A Troop,
under Lieutenant Yonire, and the native
contingent w^re accordingly detailed for this
purpose, and left at about 4 a.m. They got
close up to the rebel position, but more
than half an hour too late to catch them
at rest. M'Tipi's boys tried to rush the
enemy, but the rebels, seeing the horsemen
behind, elected to retreat after firing a few
sht)ts. M'Tipi's boys followed them up for
some distance, took (3ne prisoner and a few
cattle and sheep, which they brought back
with them. The prisoner, on being ques-

RECONNOITRING

175

tioned, said, " The Matabele had left about
sundown the night before, and gone on to
Belingwe Peak to bring on the Impi lying
there to block the pass, and that the natives
of Mapelabana were all loyal." This latter
statement we knew to be untrue, as the men
had reported that the huts where they had
been to were full of stores belonging to
white people, such, for example, as boxes
of tea, bags of sugar, candles, &c., and in
one was a chest full of white woman's
wearing apparel.

Whilst the sham attack was going on
the scouts were in front trying to find the
pass, but were unsuccessful. As soon as
the mounted troops returned I went with
a party of ** B " Troop, mounted, to recon-
noitre the pass, taking two of M'l'ipi's boys
along with us. They succeeded in finding
the proper path, and I was very glad to
notice the old spoor of a wagon which had
passed probably the year before. The road
was easy enough, but lined on either side
by rugged granite hills covered with thick

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176 r//E MATABELE REBELLION

bush. When we had ufone about five
miles, and could almost see the other side
of the hills, we were startled by shots on
our left. This was the scouts on the left
flank engaged with some Kaffirs, who took
to the bush after a few shots were fired.
A little way ahead of where we were I
could see the valley open out un<^il it was
nearly a mile broad. This was encouraging,
and I determined to march the column in at
daybreak the following morning. Accord-
ingly on the 5th it started at daybreak, and
took three and a half hours to reach the
open valley sighted the night before. There
we laagered in a good position, with one
flank up to the rocks, and open ground in
front, rear, and right tlank. The scouts had
come in contact with a few^ natives, but they
took to their caves, saying that the Matabele
had <>one on to Belinuwe. The scouts
had been two miles further ahead than
the point where the column halted, and
reported difficult roads, but more open
flats.

M'POSI

177

As soon as the horses and mules had had
a drink and the men had had time to make
a cup of coffee we marched on again. Half
of MTipi's boys were sent on in front, and
the remainder, on the right and left flank,
manned the rocky hills on either side of our
route, and we succeeded in getting through
the pass without firing a shot. This was
much better fortune than any of us antici-
pated. The column marched on about two
miles north of the pass, and laagered for
the night in open country, with good grazing
for the cattle and good water for all. It was
a great relief to my anxious mind to see the
column safely laagered in the open flats at
the southern end of the Belingwe Moun-
tains, and, as we afterwards learned from the
prisoners captured, good fortune favoured
the column to a most valuable extent in this
way.

I learned that M'Posi had not taken any

active hand himself in the ransacking of

the miners' camps in the Belingwe district,

although se\'eral of his followers were with

178

THE MATAHELE REBELLION

;

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thf3 rebels, but as they were in the minoritj^
and without a leader the {)th<.r sections led
by their chiefs, namely, Wedza, Mapelabana,
and Um'Nyati, Senda, and Selemba, took
advantaL(e of the circumstances and sent
M'Posi's men back with scant courtesy
and less loot. This, happily for us, led to
dissension amono- the rebels in the M'Patini,
when it came to a matter of fiijfhtinir the
white column. M'Posi, beini^ the principal
local chief and responsible, as I have already
mentioned, to the Matabele for the actions
of his tribe, was very much incensed against
his neighbours who, under the old rdgime
of Lobengula, were subordinate to him
under all circumstances. When we passed
through his territory, followed up by a body
of about two hundred Matabele, he decided
to work in conjunction with them and destroy
us it possible, on our return, without the
assistance of the neighbouring chiefs, who
were threatened with a severe chastisement
as soon as the white men had been driven
out of the country. The Matabele leaders

'•t-

illr:

MATAIiELE DECISION

'79

had taken a prominent part in all this, and
it was only when they f(jund we had chanj>ed
our route that they discovered their blunder,
because when it came to the point of war,
M'Posi's people were more pleased than
disappointed to find that their neij^hbours
who had treated them so badly were likely
to suffer more from the white column than
themselves ; and when the Matabele urcred
them on to attack the column, durinj^ the
afternoon we fired the kraals alono- the Usza
valley, M'Posi's men would only come as
far as their own boundary.

When the Matabele found that M'Posi
was obdurate, they decided to let him stay
and look after his own land, and sta'ted
off to the westward to raise the men
belonging to Mapelabana, Senda, and others,
but as they were limited to time, and as
the threats they had sent on a few days
before still rankled in the breasts of the
people they now wanted to assist them,
they practically failed to get up an organisa-
tion sufficiently enthusiastic to tackle the

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180

r/j^^" M ATA HE I. E REHEI.IJON

column. They did, however, succeed in
<j^atherino- about five hundred men together
on the top of the hill close to Senda's, but
as none of the head chiefs turned up the
greater part of the Matabele decided to
rush back to Belingwe as soon as possible
in order to obtain the assistance of the
remainder of the Impi lying there.
They left about ten of their number
with the force that Captain Brabant and
Lieutenant Yonoe attacked, on the mornint)^
of the 4th, and we were subsequently told
that nine of them were killed by M'Tipi's
men in a narrow pass which they were
trying to defend. While Senda's men were
driving some cattle and sheep away, M'Tipi's
men managed to cut off their retreat and
put an end to them and a few of Senda's
men who were with them defendinof the
pass. Only one of M'Tipi's men was killed.
He was shot through the head ; but this
was considered a very trivial affair by his
comrades, who succeeded in capturing a
good many cattle and sheep, as well as all

M'KA 7TS SA'flX

i8i

the rifles and ammunition of the Matabele
and those with them. When they returned
to camp they were very elated with their
success and did a war-dance in front of
the laager, rushing up to where a few of
the white officers were sitting, and shouting,
''Now the white induna knows we can
fight and beat our enemies."

Trooper Anderson who, during the
excitement of the attack, had gone on
with M'Tipi's boys and kept with them
all through the pursuit, reported that
M'Kati showed great skill in handling
his men and sent the party that cut off
the disorganised rebels by a circuitous
route under his son who knew every inch
of the country. When the movement was
complete the rebels were fairly hemmed
into a narrow gorge between two perpen-
dicular walls, from which it was impossible
to escape. They were rushed by M'l^ipi's
men from both ends, and the fight did not
last more than a few minutes. I was, of
course, delighted with the result, and would

■ r

I'i

■ I
[■ft

182

TlfE M ATA BE I. E RE HELLION

have been more so had I known that the
report carried to the Impi at BeHn^i^we was
very much exagj^erated. The mere fact of
nine out of ten Matabele being killed would
give credence to any amount of exaggera-
tion, and this, with the disinclination of
Mapelabana to come out of his caves,
led the leaders of the Impi to decide to
remain where they were until a more favour-
able opportunity for their operations occurred.

Mapelabana's people all stayed in their
caves until we passed, and in detached
parties on the hills flanking the pass when
the column was clearing it. A few shots
fired by the flanking parties sent the rebels
off under cover. After the column had
laagered, the rebels showed up in mass on
top of a hill well out of range.

I should have been glad indeed to have
known all this beforehand, as it would have
relieved me of two days' great anxiety.

The whole success of the undertaking
in front of the column deoended on its
being got through the western Matopos

SUCCESS ASSURED

183

without accident. The provisions and
ammunition were absolutely necessary for
success, and had they been lost the column
would have been like a white elephant ;
but, thank Providence, the worst was all
over, and now I felt confident of success.
As this was really the first opportunity
I had hc.d, I watched the behaviour of the
officers and men I had under me very
closely, and I am g-lad to say it was such
as to give me absolute confidence in every
one. They all did their duty in the most
careful and deliberate manner, and when
a few shots were fired from the Hanking
parties on the heights, just as the column
cleared the gorg«, it was a pleasure to
see the rear-guard, who were in a very nasty
position at the time, at once discard their
horses and take cover in the bush facincr
the rear. The officer in charge knew that
the horses would only prove an incumbrance,
and that they could not get away except
towards the column where they would be
captured, M'TipI's boys, who were in the

184

THE MATABELE REBELLION

rear-oruard, also doubled back and took
up their position in line with the white
skirmishers, but there was nothing for
them to do on this occasion.

> ^

RELIEF OF BEUNCWE GARRISON

185

ok
ite
fur

CHAPTER XII

Relief of Bclingwc garrison — Muster-roll of new garrison
— Death of (Quartermaster Pope — Arrival of Captain
(ieorge Cirey with despatches from Mr. Rhodes — Several
of the Victoria men return — "May" has an indahawith
Mapelabana — M'Kati's son locates the rebel Impi —
Description of Helingwe Mountains — Plan of attack on
Selemba's stronghold.

I NOW considered the hardest part of our
trek was over and that we should be
pretty well able to arranc^e matters to suit
ourselves in future. It was my intention,
first of all, to relieve the garrison at Be-
lingwe with men from the relief force. The
men who were there were nearly all pi ds-
pectors, and had a thorough knowledge of
our own district and the country generally
and would be of infinite service in the field.
I therefore gave directions to move the relief
party forward with enough rations to keep
the garrison going until the field force had
reduced to order the rebels in the district.

1 86

THE MATABELE REBELLION

On the morning of the 6th the column
moved forward about six miles and formed
what was to be a permanent laager until
the relief of the garrison was effected. The
position chosen was a small granite hill,
which used to be Selemba's (a Maholi chief)
headquarters, his own kraal having been
built on the top of it. The laager was
formed hard up to this, with the hill for a
base, the wagons making three sides of a
square and the hill the fourth side, with the
native contingent occupying a good position
on its southern extension. The position
generally was a strong one, with plenty of
water close by and any amount of food for the
horses and mules in the surrounding mealie
gardens, which had only been partiallyreaped.

That afternoon four waijfons were loaded
up with provisions for the new garrison, the
relief party told off and placed under the
command of Lieutenant Stoddart, who was
promoted to the rank of Captain, to take
command of the garrison and forts of
Belingwe for the time being.

THE NEW GARRISON

187

The relief party to form the new garrison
at Beli'\gw'e consisted of the following
office non-commissioned officers, and men,
viz. : —

Captain Stoddart
Lieut. McCullam
Lieut. & Q.-M. Wilson
Sergt. Douglas
Sergt. Coats
Corp. Duffy
Corp. Nasii
Trooper Randell
,, Grant
„ McLeod

Nickliss

Skews

St. Aubyn

Beavor

Horwitz

Logan

>»

Trooper McLellan
Tannahill
Stone, C;. W.
Reece
Wilks
Stone
\Valsh
Lyons
Jansen
\Voest
Coutts
Laing
Carlsen
Palmer
Levin
Luckhurst

>>
>>

;»

This party moved off at dusk, accom-
panied by a few men of the Victoria patrol,
who had decided to go back to their homes,
the idea being to move during- the nii^ht so
as, if possible, to avoid (observation. The
convoy got to Belingwe the following after-

i88

THE MATAHELR REBELLION

liV-

■t

1 • i. ■

noon without accident, a distance of some
twenty-five miles by road to the north of
our position. The first night we were in
laager at Selemba's I sent for the three chiefs
of the native contingent and gave instruc-
tions to M'Kati to keep his men scouting
the neighbourhood constantly and carefully,
until they located the exact position of the
impi, and, if possible, they were to find out
what it intended doing, but on no account
were they to expose themselves. M'Kati
said, " I understand what is wanted. My
men will be instructed and will do their
best."

Leaving Captain Hopper in charge of
the laager, I started the following morning
before daybreak, and rode on with a small
party of horsemen to Belingwe, for the
purpose of arranging the relief of the garri-
son there. We got there before the convoy
which had preceded us the previous evening.
It did not take long to make the necessary

All the men of the old
;|)t five volunteered to join the

arrangements

DEA TH OF MR. POPE

189

of
ing
lall
the

field force, and were happy at the idea of
leaving what had been more a prison than
a home for them for the past ten weeks.

On my arrival Captain Frankland reported
the death of Mr. T. J. Pope, the quarter-
master of the garrison. This was very sad
news to me, as it made the fourth victim out
of our little lot who had succumbed to pri-
vations caused by the rebellion. Captain
Frankland further reported that the health
of the men generally had improved greatly
under the supervision of Dr. Anderson, who
had pnjved himself a first-class man, and had
succeeded durintr the short time he had been
at Belingv/e in getting all the fever-stricken
patients on their feet, many of them fit for
duty. This was most welcome news. Cap-
tain Frankland also reported that Captain
George Grey had ridden through from
Inseza with despatches from Mr. Rhodes,
one of which was practically my commission.
This document is so characteristic of the
founder of Rhodesia that I insert it.

[

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the

I90

THE MATABKLE REPELLION

.1- f

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" Near Rixon's Store,
''May 25, 1896.
" Mv DEAR Laing, — We got your de-
spatches all right at Gwelo, and we accepted
all your suggestions. We instructed Vic-
toria to send you runners telling you to
go down and meet the Tuli column and
bring it to your place, via the Gondoque
road, you taking command. In case the
runners did not reach you, we instructed the
Tuli column to go, via the Gondoque road,
to you, and when it reached you, you to take
command. It had instructions to detach some
m.eal and some necessaries to Victoria with
an escort. Its strength is about 150 mounted
men with sixteen mule wagons. These
would reach you, less the escort and wagons
with meal for Victoria. Your instructions
are to do what you think best, to assume the
defensive, and do the most harm you can
to the natives around you. If after doing
that, you think the best plan is to work up
in the direction of the Filabusi and Bembesi,
do so ; but these matters are left to your

rir

MR. RHODES'S DESPA TCH

191

up
)esi,
^oLir

judomient. We have every confidence in
you, and do not want to tie you in any
direction.

" Grey, who brings this, will tell you
all the news. The only thing that you must
bear in mind is, that y(ju take command and
do the best you can.

" Harry reached us all right. I did not
send him back, as I thought wires from
Victoria were quicker.

" You may think that the best plan is to
work through the Filabusi and Molungwana
to the Matopo, where we are eventually
going ; if so, do so, but if you do, I suggest
you take a few mule wagons with you for
sick, wounded, and food. This plan of going
on long journeys with only horse patrols is a
mistake. You can't fight on empty stomachs,
thouofh I acrree that too many wagons
hamper action.

" I can say no more, but thank you for
all your good work.

"If you can, let me know what you are
doing, but for goodness' sake don't risk

^^^■^i^^^wKW^

19:

THE M ATA n ELK RE HELLION

despatch-riders and horses. You will want
every horse you have got. The nimble
native you can use as a foot-runner.

" Yours (Signed),

"C. J. Rhodes."

iii

I m

The new garrison marched in about
1 1 a.m., and the old one marched out about
I p.m., the wagons being loaded with the
men's kits and mealies for the horses and
mules, a good supply of which was still
left at Beh'ngwe.

I had to arrange for the return of all the
Victoria men who wanted to go back to
to their own district, and four of the old
Belingwe garrison who v/ished to accompany
them, fifteen in all. They marched on the
afternoon of the 9th, with one wagon and
sixteen oxen to carry their kits, rations, and
ammunition, under the command of Ser-
geant-Major Nolan, who was promoted to
the rank of lieutenant to undertake the
command.

Sergeant Weale, late Assistant Native

THE CONVOY

"93

)ld

ive

Commissioner, Victoria, was also appointed
a lieutenant, and sent off during" the niirht
to get through to Chebi, who was still
loyal and anxious to support the white men,
with instructions to raise as many of his
followers as possible, and bring them down
to reap the corn in the fields of the Impatini ;
but owing to the rebellion breaking out in
Mashonaland, Chebi and several loyal native
tribes were needed to act aj^ainst the rebels
in their own more immediate neighbourhood.
As soon as all the necessary arrangements
were made, I rode off with a mounted party
to catch up the convoy, which had left to
join the field force under the command o\
Lieutenant Caldecott. We got up to it
shortly after dusk, and I was pleased to
notice that the men were in high spirits,
although many of them were weak from the
effects of fever. They were all very happy,
and behaved more like a lot of schoolboys
out for a holiday than men who would pro-
bably be in action within twenty-four hours.
Most of them had suffered physically while

194

T//E MATARELE REBELLION

shut up in Helingwe, but the first short
march, aiicl the pleasure of anticipating a
meeting with, and punishing, the rebels for
the hardships and deaths they had caused
amongst the whites, had instilled new vigou/
into them. On the morning of the 9th
myself and party rode on in front of the
convoy and reached the laager about i a.m.,
where everything was found to be in perfect
order.

Captain Hopper reported that M'Tipi's
scouts had not yet quite located the exact
position of the rebel Impi, but had seen
scouting parties from it, which they believed
they had managed to evade, although the
enemy were very vigilant and always on the
prowl, coming from and returning to the
bush-covered slopes of the mountain, which
was about five miles from our position.

The short rest and good feeding in the
Kafifir gardens had already made a marked
improvement on the horses and mules. The
latter especially were in much need of a rest,
as they had had very hard work all the way

MAPELABANA

195

Up. What were left of them now were in
prime condition lout tired. We had lost a
great many from horse-sickness. The mules
seemed to suffer more from this dread
disease than the h(^rses did, although the
latter had not all come through it.

The Cossack post reported the approach
of the Belingwe convoy about midday.
They were about five miles off, and moving
slowly, as the wagons were heavily loaded
with mealies. The convoy reached the
laager about 2 p.m.

Shortly after this Captain Brabant came
and reported that M'Kati's boys had located
the Impi. but as the principal men had not
returned M'Kati was not in a position to
give a good report of the situation or
strength of the enemy. " May," the induna
of Umcheti's boys, came in and reported
that he, with a small party, had gone back
to the Mapelabana pass, and had succeeded
in getting the natives there to talk to them
from the hills. Mapelabana himself came
down to within speaking distance, and said

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196

T/IE M ATA n ELK REBELLION

he wanted to "konja" — that is, "surrender" —
to the white man. " May" said, " All rijrht ;
you had better come into the laaoer and do
so." Mapelabana answered, " No, I cannot
do that, because my heart tells me that the
white chief will kill me for the part my
people and myself have taken in the re-
bellion ; but I will do what I can to put
matters ri(rht and keep my people quiet, and
this pass will be open to the white man. I
will also send t^rain and sheep as a token
of submission. If you come back to-morrow
morning you will find the first lot left on the
rocks at the entrance to the pass." " May"
replied, " You had better send back all the
cattle you took from the white men." The
answer was, '* I don't have any of the catde.
They were divided between Wedza, Um'-
Nayati, Senda, and the Impi which is lying
at Belingwe. The most of the cattle are
at Senda's. All Senda's men and a great
many of Um'Nyati's are there guarding
them. They are kept in the valley close to
the Nuanetsi River, and I don't think the

rilK IN DA HA

197

white man will j^ct them out, the country
being too difficult. The cattle have to be
driven up the river-bed into this valley. I
don't want to help the white man, and I
don't want to fight with him. I wish to stay
in peace here with my people. We will live
like rock-rabbits in our caves until this
trouble is over. I don't know anything
about the strength of the Impi at Belingwe,
but I think the white man will find out all
about it before full moon."

" May" informed me that towards the finish
of the indaba Mapelabana was rather in-
clined to be insolent, and taunted M'Tipi's
men for helping the whites against their own
colour. To finish up, he said, " I have told
you to tell the white man that this pass is
open to him, but you Basuto dogs will never
go through it again. Your wives will very
soon he widows." "May" was very wroth
with Mapelabana, and his indignation was
a source of much amusement to the other
members of the native contingent, most of
whom were young men.

^IF

198

THE MATABELE REBELLION

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Towards sunset M'Kati's son came back
with a few others from a scoutini^ expedition,
in which they had been most successful.
"They had located the exact position of the
Impi, but could not give any idea of its
strength. They were quite sure, however,
it was equal in numbers to M'Tipi's con-
tingent, and had a great many women,
children, and cattle with them. The scouts
said the position held by the rebels could be
pointed out from the top of one of the small
hills close by the laager. I at once went off
with them to the point indicated, and, with
their description and the aid of a pair
of good field-glasses, was able to sketch
what afterwards proved to be a very useful
plan of the rebel Impis stronghold. After
this had been done, I asked M'Kati what
he thoui>ht our chances were of making- a
successful attack on the rebels' stronii["hold.
He said, " I gather from the scouts that the
rebels have picked out a very formidable
position, which they have strengthened by
building stone walls all over the cliffs, behind

THE BELINGWE MOUNTAINS

199

which they intend to take cover and fight
the white man. They live in the gorge
underneath the cliff, and have erected tem-
porary huts for their wives and children, and
kraals for their cattle and sheep. This gorge
is covered with thick, heavy bush. The
rebels have cut down a lot of the latter, and
made strong scherms all round the place.
My men think it will be hard to beat the
rebels in this place, but the easiest way
would be to get on the hills behind and
attack from the top."

A short description of the Belingwe Moun-
tains will give an idea of the position.

The southern end of the Belingwe moun-
tain in the centre of which the rebel Impi
was located forms a high, rugged ridge, the
crest of which varies in height from 800
to 1,200 feet above the level of the fiats.
The rock formation of the mountains is a
hard slate, tilted on edge, the measures of
which are almost perpendicular. In many
places this formation stands out bold and
rugged, forming precipices varying from lo

200

THE MATAliELE REBELLION

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to 200 feet in height, standing tier upon tier
above each other, with Httle flat spaces at
their respective bases.

I may here mention that the position
pointed out by the scouts was a kloof situ-
ated at the foot of a perpendicular cliff, on
the southern slope of the south end of the
Belingwe mountain. The foot hills, which
trended away from the bottom of the cliffs
to the flats, were very steep, long, and
covered with trees, and a very heavy under-
growth of all sorts and condition of creepers,
many of which were very thorny, and in
places forming interv/oven masses, which
could only be got through after the chopper
had been used freely. Of course there were
paths cut out from the flats to the stronghold,
but I concluded they would be well guarded
and perhaps rendered more inaccessible than
the virgin forest to an attacking force.

By the time M'Kati's scouts had explained
and pointed out all they knew the sun was
getting low, and in doing so had cleared the
peak of Belingwe, which up to the present

PLAN OF ATTACK

201

had cast a shadow all along the line of cliffs.
Now the slanting rays shone right on to the
slope and lit up the points we were most
interested in observing. This was real good
fortune, and it enabled us to decide on the
spot, our line of action. Captain Sir F.
Frankland (now staff officer of the column),
Brabant, and Lieutenant H. Posselt, were
present during the indaba, and before we
left our dispositions were made.

Captain Brabant, with the pluckiest lot
of M'Kati's boys, about one hundred, were
to ascend the spur to the right of the rebel
position, and, if possible, get into the works
made by the enemy. Lieutenant Lynch
was to lead the greater part of IVLTipi's
boys up the gorge, straight on to the posi-
tion, whilst the white men and Cape boys
were to be led by myself up the left spur
of the mountain and, if possible, the works
on the left Hank of the enemy's position,
occupied by the Cape boys under Lieu-
tenants Donald Campbell and Howe. All
this had to be done during the night, and

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202

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

. .i

the positions occupied before daybreak the
following morning. This was our plan of
attack and, as good fortune would have it, it
was almost executed to the letter.

When we got back to camp the sun was
all but down, and the night-watch set. I
at once sent round for volunteers to attack
Selemba's stronghold. Every man wanted
to go, so a party from each troop had to
be selected by their troop officers. The
detachment from Belingwe volunteered to
a man, and they were allowed to go along
with detachments from the Maxim Troop
under Lieutenant Caldecott. One from A
Troop, under Lieutenant Bates, and another
from B Troop, under Lieutenant Beisly, the
whole making about eighty white men.

Lieutenant Donald Campbell had about
thirty of his best Cape boys with Lieutenant
Howe to assist him, and Captain Brabant
about 250 of M'Tipi's boys, with Lieutenants
Posselt and Lynch and the white scouts to
assist him in leading them.

THR ATTACKING FORCE

203

CHAPTER XIII

Parade of attackin<^ force at midnight — March at 12.15 a.m.
— A council of war — \Vaitin<^ for the word " All through "
— Description of the march to get into position.

THE attacking force was ordered to
parade at midnijrht, the white men
mounted. The remainder of the column
was placed under the command of Captain
Hopper, with instructions to hold the laager
until the attacking" force returned. This
force paritded at twelve midnight, when the
plan of attack was explained.

Orders were lifiven that there was to be
no talking or smoking on the march, as the
whole success of the attack depended upon
being able to get into the enemy's defences
on the hill without their knowledge. If this
were accomplished, the rebels would be in a
bad position.

The march commenced at 12.15 ^•"'^m ^iid

!04

THE MATABELE REBELLION

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about an hour brought us to the first part of
really thick bush, at the foot of the Belingwe
slopes. Here the mounted men gave up
their horses — Sergeant Burnett being left
with ten men to guard them. They were
not very well pleased at being left out of
the fun. I considered, however, that their
duty was a most important one, for if the
attack proved a failure, the safety of our
horses would be very necessary for the
preservation of all, if we had to make a
hurried retreat. A short halt was then
ordered to give the footmen and M'Tipi's
boys a rest. Then the ascent of the first
foot hill was commenced. Another hour of
silent marchino" throuo^h dense bush brousfht
us to the point where the attacking force
was to divide into three divisions, climb the
steep slopes, and surround the enemy's
position. All necessary arrangements
having been made, the parties separated
and moved away from each other a short
distance, and lay down to rest and listen
for any sound that might serve to betray

A COUNCIL OF WAR

205

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any movement of the enemy's (Kitposts.
The only audible sounds that reached us,
however, were the cry of the nicrht-hirds,
the occasional howl of a wolf, or the baying
of a pack of jackals. There was not the
faintest indication of the presence of an
Impi, not even the barking of a dog, and
it appeared that up to the present our
approach had not been detected by our
foes.

While the men were resting, the ofiicers
met and held a council of war, at which
it was decided that no signals were to be
made until Captain Brabant had got into
position. His party having furthest to
go, it was reasonable to expect that the
other divisions would be in their ^ippointed
places before him.

As soon as he was ready he was to
cause the 'Alert" to be sounded, and
then wait for my bugler to sound the
" Advance" and " Commence firing."

We wished each other God-speed, and
took command of our respective divisions.

2o6

THE MATA/iELE RE HE IJ JON

and moved off in different directions ar
silently as possible. I led the white men
and Cape boys, Captain PVankland being
next in command. For the first half-hour
we skirted along the foot of a gentle slope,
where the bush was not very thick, ren-
dering our progress comparatively easy.
Then we had to ne^"otiate the crossin^f of
a very steeply banked donga, which was
covered with very thick bush and heavy
undergrowth. Hatchets had to be brought
into use, and a passage cut through this
tangled mass. The bottom of the donga
being reached eventually, the scramble
for the top on the other side commenced,
and the bank was gained, after close upon
an hour's hard work. The Cape boys were
now placed in front and in single file, and
laid down to wait for the word from the
rear that all were through. The intense
darkness added to our difficulties, but I
believe proved our best friend on the
whole. We were now on the spur which
we had to follow to get to the position

ADVANCE OF THE GUIDES

207

we inlended to occupy before attackiiifj,
but we had still a good mile and a half of
stiff hillside to climb over, rendered very
difficult by a heavy growth of Mahobo
trees, whose great leaves had commenced
to fall and cover the ground with a thick
carpet, which slipped away from under our
feet on the slightest provocation. After
a short but very tedious lapse of time, the
word was whispered from the rear '' All
through," and then we moved on up the
hill under the direct guidance of two of
M'Kati's sons, who did their duty in a
most admirable manner, and succeeded
in getting us on the top of the first
ridge, where we could then see the watch-
fires of the enemy. The latter, of course,
we intended to avoid. Here we again
halted for a short rest, and listened for
any sounds that might betray the where-
abouts of our friends or enemies ; but not
a sound or sign reached us. Meanwhile
our guides had gone forward under cover
of the bush, and got close up to the first

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208

r///i M ATA HE I. K RRnEI.IJON

watch-fires, which had been deserted.
The j^uides were now at a loss, and were
not able to form an opinion as to the inten-
tions of the enemy. They said the out-
post might have heard our approach and
gone back to report, or they might have
gone back to headquarters, thinking that
all was safe.

I did not like the absence of the rebel
outposts nor yet the silence. I was afraid
that the enemy knew what we were up to,
and that very probably they were already
arranging a surprise for us. The order
was sent back to be more on the alert
than ever, and if attacked, the men were
at once to lie down, the Cape boys facing
the front, the Maxim Troop to the right, A
Troop to the left, and B Troop to the rear.

After the first ridge was passed, our
advance became more easy. The slope
was not so steep, and we had got out of
the Mahobo on to bare soil which gave
a much better foothold. This continued
until the top of the next ridge was

if J)

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THE GUIDES REPORT

209

<:^ained. Our oruidcs now reported that we
were very close to the position we wanted
to occupy, but as the intense darkness was
so deceptive they would like to go forward
with only one white officer to make sure.
This I agreed to at once, and Lieutenant
Howe, a very intelligent and trustworthy
officer, went with the guides. After what
was to me a very anxious half-hour, they
returned as quietly as they left. Howe
reported that we were within 400 irds
of the kloof. He had been quite cl up
to the position held by the enemy and
believed they were altogether off their
guard. The only signs of life to be heard
were the movements of the cattle and
goats inside the enclosures. He was con-
fident the Impi was asleep, and so were
the native guides, one of whom had
advanced and got into the first breast-
work, on the lower edi^e of the krantz.
This was very exhilarating information
and not a minute was to be lost before
we made sure of our position. The

1 1

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T//E MAT ABE LE REBELLION

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darkness was already showing signs of
giving way tO the first glimmer of day-
break, and Brabant's bugle might be
expected to sound within the next half-
hour.

'I (
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. _. ^

DISPOSITION OF TROOPS

It I

HAPTER XIV

Disposition of troops-Before the battle-Description of the
engagement-Taking of the enemy's position-Prisoner
taken disguised as a woman— Treachery again displayed '
— War-dance by native contingent.

T lEUTENANTS Donald Campbell
-L' and Howe advanced with the Cape
boys, with instructions to man the first
breastworks, facing the main exit from the
gorge in which the Impi lay, and to hold
it at all hazards; it being very desirable to
keep the enemy out of the krantz, and
away from the stone breastworks which
they had erected at every place of vantage
We again advanced, and whilst Campbell
and Howe were posting their men the
Maxim Troop was extended along the ridge
facing the enemy's position. B Troop then
prolonged the line to the right, with

212

THE MATABELE REBELLION

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their right flank thrown forward to form a
half circle. A Troop's turn came next,
but they could not be found, and it was
then discovered that nearly half of the
white detachment had diverged and gone
astray. Captain Frankland had evidently
noticed this while I was busy getting the
others into position and had gone off to
try and find the stragglers. Sergeant
Halkett was sent off to try, if possible, to
guide them up to where I was in time to
form into position before Brabant sounded.
This I am glad to say was accomplished,
and the cause of the straggling cleared up.
One of the men, overcome with fatigue, had
fallen asleep, and when the last advance
took place had failed to pass the word on to
the rear. The officer in charge acted very
wisely. As soon as he found he was not
in touch, he halted and listened, and was
guided by the sound made by those in front
to advance towards us. Luckily he got up
in time, and his troop extended in rear of
the fighting line to act as a support, or to

•

BEFORE THE BATTLE 213

engage any of the enemy that might attack
from the left flank, for we were not certain
there was not a division of the Impi lying
in the adjoining gorge. So far all had gone
better than I had anticipated, and I felt
pretty secure and certain of success. All
that was wanting now was Brabant's signal
to establish absolute confidence. The men
were ordered to lie down but to keep on the
alert. They were all very tired, some of
them almost knocked up. My sergeant-
major, a fine athletic young fellow, who had
had more than a fair share of the work to do,
came to me just as evervthing was com-
pleted and said " I am dead beat, sir, I must
lie down for a short time." Captain Frank-
land was also very much exhausted, having
had a lot of extra work to do.

I believe nearly all the men were in a
similar condition. However, all the climbing
had been done and it was yet a good half-
hour to daybreak, which would give every
one a beneficial rest. Frankland and I sat
down together, to talk over matters, hut

214

THE M ATA B RLE REBELLION

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neither of ur> could keep from nodding, so
we had to get up and move about.

I was now beginning to grow anxious
about Brabant. It was high time he
sounded, to iiet us know his whereabouts.
Daylight was coming in rapidly, and objects
at a distance of fifty yards were becoming
quite distinct. Campbell sent down to say
he had manned the first breastwork and had
thrown a line of skirmishers across the main
footpath from the gorge. Silence reigned
supreme, and I hardly ever remember a
more beautiful daybreak. As daylight
became stronger the line of skirmishers
grew more distinct, and many irregularities
could be noticed. I decided to wait for
Brabant before correctinof them. It was
quite plain that most of the men were
fast asleep, stretched out face down, with
their rifles clasped in their right hand and
a few loose cartridges in the left, all ready.
Many of them had stripped off their jackets
and* only waited the word to advance. I
was pleasantly, and perhaps I may be

THE BUGLE SOUNDS

:i5

pardoned for saying proudly, contemplating
the scene, when, welcome sound, from far
up the mountain on the other side of the
gorge c?me the first note of the bugle from
Brabant. The buoler must have been a
little nervous, because his first attempt at
sounding a call ended in a most discordant
wail, but, evidently recovering himself, the
next blast brought the "Alert" ringing
clearly across the gorge. Frankland and
myself burst into a hearty laugh, and anxiety
fled from me. The men all jumped to a
kneeling position, and kept an anxious and
expectant watch to their front.

After the last sound of the bugle had
echoed itself out along the krantz on either
hand, silence again took command, but only
for a few seconds. During that short period,
however, it was very distinct, all eyes and
ears bping fixed on the g(jrge in front.
Presently from the thick cover of the bushy
slope a buzz as of many voices commenced
to reach our ears. This gradually increased
until it was quite an uproar, and then it

lii

2l6

THE MATABELE REBELLION

subsided, when the distinct calls of two or
three chiefs could be heard giving orders
and shouting, "The white men are coming!
Make for the krantzes ! "

I now (^ave orders io advance the skir-
mishing line fifty yards, to correct intervals,
and to lie down under best available cover.
This was done and a second similar advance
made, which brought us to within two
hundred yards of the bush scherm of the
enemy. Just as the fighting line took up
position for the second time, a volley of
musketry was poured from the first breast-
work, and the Cape boy skirmishers opened
fire all along their front. Another volley
from the breastwork and then comparative
silence. Lieutenant Campbell now sent
along word that the breastwork had been
rushed from the bush by a large body of
rebels, but that he had driven most pf them
back into the bush again, and from where
he was he could see large numbers of the
enemy scrambling up the rocks to get to
the stone walls they had meide to

\(r\

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.:^P

THE BATTLE

217

behind. I concluded that now it was time
to make a general attack. Accordingly
the ''Advance and commence firing" was
sounded, and responded to by a cheer from
all sides. The sun had now made its ap-
pearance, and everything seemed to be in
perfect order, and from the position I took
up about the centre of the line of white
skirmishers I could see all that was happen-
ing.

Brabant's men now opened fire from the
krantzes opposite, and M'Tipi's main body
emerged from a large patch of bush, and
advanced rapidly over an open space of
about two hundred yards and halted when
they got in line with our right. M'Kati and
" May " shouted out, " What are we going
to do now.? Are the white men afraid to
advance .? " This caused a laugh along the
white line. One of the white men answered
that we were not afraid to advance, but
would not like to go in before the Basutos
were ready.

As our advance was converging I now

2l8

THE MA TAB RLE REBELLION

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pushed forward the Cape boys on the left
into the bush, and supported them with the
Maxim Troop, ordered a few rounds to be
fired, and moved the whole line forward
about thirty yards. Halting the white
skirmishers where they had a good view of
the krantz over the tops of the trees, our
advances roused up M'Kati's men, and after
firing a volley into the bush in front of them,
they charged it in a body in a most gallant
manner. They were checked at the fence
for a few seconds, but the rifle fire from the
Cape boys cleared the front, and very soon
Cape boys and Basutos were out of sight in
the thick bush. Then the rattle of musketry
with a mixture of savage yells was all that
could be heard, but it was soon evident the
rebels were not holdino- their own. The
attention of the white skirmishers was drawn
to the krantzes, upon which large numbers
of the enemy wore seen swarming, firing
their rifles at anything and covering their
retreat by a shower of large stones, not
being at all particular whether they struck

VICTOR Y

219

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k

friend or foe as long as the individual made
good his retreat and got in behind a stone
barricade, from which fire was opened, but
did no harm worth speaking of, and as they
were surrounded on three sides and exposed
to a cross fire from good shots under cover,
they soon gave up attempting to return our
fire. It was, moreover, amusing ev **y now
and again to see one of their stone walls
commence to move down the cliff; solid at
first, but shortly to become a scattered
shower of huge stones which went crashing
to the bottom of the cliff, doing far more
damage to themselves than to the attacking
force.

At the end of an hour resistance was
practically finished. The white men were
kept in their position, and Brabant's men
moved off to the right, and getting on top
of the mountain, advanced alono- the ziofzae
on to the breastworks. As they approached
some very exciting hand-to-hand encounters
took place on the cliff, in which assegais,
battleaxes, and shields played a prominent

230

THE MATAIiELE REIiELLION

■ V

part. The attack virtually ended in a proper
Kaffir fashion, the white men and Cape boys
having been drawn back and not allowed to
enter the enclosure. By nine o'clock the
position was taken and the Impi which had
contributed to organise the bands that com-
mitted so many cruel murders amongst the
white people in the Lower Inseza and Fila-
busi districts was practically disbanded.

M'Kati and his people captured a good
many oxen and sheep and about a hundred
women and children, nearly half of whom
were Matabele from the Inseza and Pllabusi
districts. One man, disguised as a woman,
was taken prisoner, and although he was
very cunning, his little trick was discovered
by the Basutos at once. He was reported
and pointed out to me. I advanced to
interrogate him, but one of the young
Basutos got excited, having noticed what
he took to be the shaft of an assegai under
the sheepskin, he shouted out, " Be careful,
N'Kos, he will kill you," and advancing with
his knobkerry he made a stroke at the rebel's

BURIAL OF THE DEAD

icr

head, which the latter cleverly parried and
dashed off throu^^h the crowd of women and
children, only to fall a victim to a Martini-
Henry bullet, which put an end to his flight
and existence.

M'Kati was highly delighted at his success,
and it was most amusing to see him leading
the war-dance, in an old frock-coat and
bowler hat, with a rille in one hand and a
bunch of assegais in the other.

The enemy's loss was not estimated ; it
would have taken too long to find out in
the thick bush, but it was pretty severe.

Our loss was trifling, considering the
work undertaken. Paul Zandvogle, a Cape
boy, was killed. Captain Brabant and a
few others slightly wounded. A few of
M'Kati's boys were killed, several wounded,
one severely.

As soon as the Basutos had destroyed
the enemy's stronghold, we buried our
dead, and retired, getting back to our
horses by lo a.m., all very tired after the
trying night march and excitement. I

222

THE M ATA DELE REBELLION

' 1

noticed that many of the men went to
sleep in their saddles on the way back.

We reached the laager before noon, and
found everything correct. The men were
at once dismissed *^d went to rest.

The wounded— .riend and foe alike —
were handed ovei to the care of Dr.
Anderson and his staff.

i !

THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN

223

CHAPTER XV

WK.t,-Se„A.. ,.s„io„-An attack decided „pon-

cncounter and it. res„lts-TI,e enen.y take to

I .r caves and beg for n.ccy-Cain is found-

pollti™: '"■" '"'^^ ""-■"'K-Ti.ey desert their

ry '^""■■se every one was dellfrhted
V^ with the result of our attack on
Selembas, and for myself I must say I
was pleased beyond all expression with
the manner in which all ranks behaved in
acfon. I had had every faith in the n,en
of the column before, and now it was
confirmed. My only wish was to be able
to provide them with more work as soon
as possible, and to restore law and order.
Orders were given to M'Kati to inter-
view the women and children, and find
out as much as po.ssible from them about
the movements of the rebels everywhere

Ill

1 *

224

THE MATABELE REBELLION

He did not get much information from the
prisoners for some hours, but at last one
elderly woman came to him and said she
was willing to tell all she knew.

The narrative was interpreted to me
as follows : —

" I with about fifty other women and
children and perhaps thirty men arrived
at Selemba's the evening before last. We
came from the Lower Inseza, which has
been visited by a very strong body of
white men, who have scattered everybody
and destroyed all our kraals. Most of our
young men have gone to the Matopos.
Only a few came with us. They were all at
Selemba's this morning. They were led by
Meshlointombi, who was amoni^ the first
killed. Selemba had his own following,
about one hundred men ; and the Mata-
bele, under Gota Monzie, about four
scherms, probably two hundred men and
a few petty chiefs with a small following
each. They were all taken by surprise,
and never expected the white men to get

i!il!

BE9

and
*ived

has

Dody

our

■,l

1 '

THE CAPE BOYS

225

up to them during the night. The sen-
tries had al! come back when the night
got very dark, thinking it was impossible
for any one to come up the stronghold
except by day, when they would have been
seen a long way off. We should all have
then got into the cliffs behind the breast-
works, where you would have found it
very difficult to have beaten us. Nearly
all our leaders were shot at first while
trying to get to the breastworks. I have
told all I know."

The women and children were handed
over to his charge, with orders that they
were to be well treated and cared for.
M'Kati said, " I promise you they will
have the same treatment as our own wives
and children."

The Cape boys, under Lieutenants D.
Campbell and Howe, did splendid service.

The men from Belingwe were now dis-
tributed among the troops already formed,
and what was afterwards known as the
Delingwe Field T'orcc was constituted,

. : !

226 TffE MATAHRLE RE HELLION

The distribution was roughly as follows

I:!

'-'m.

>-,;

'|-< f

1, (

I >

mi!

Ill Coniinaiul. X.C.O. and Men.

Maxim Troop Capt. Hopper Lt. Caklecoll 30 niounled infantry

A Troop Lt. Yonge ,, Bates 25 ,,

B Troop ,, Beisly ,, Bell 2') ,,

C Troop ,, Jackson 30 infantry

Lieuts. D. Campbell, Howe, and Moore 70 Cape hoys — Infantry.

On the afternoon of the loth, " May,"
with a party of M'Tipi's boys, was sent
off to scout the neighbourhood of Senda's
position, with instructions to remain in the
vicinity until the arrival of the column.

Towards evening a messenger vvas sent
back from "May" to say that Senda's people
were defiant, and had strengthened a natu-
rally strong position by every available
means, and challenged the white men to
take them out of it. The scouts could not
find any trace of the cattle formerly re-
ported by Mapelabana, and thought it was
most probable they had been removed to
some other part of the country.

On the afternoon of the nth the column
moved up to within two miles of Senda's

A MOUNTED PAh'T)

22 7

Stronghold, and laagered up in a good
position.

I rode on towards Scula's with ji small
mounted party, under Lieutenant lieisly,
to make a reconnaissance, and try, if pos-
sible, to find (Hit the designs of the enemy.

The position the rebels held here was a
high granite hill, with a small oval-shaped
ball top, about a mile long, and five hundred
feet high, the slopes of which were covered
with a jumbled mass of high boulders piled
on top of each other, in all sorts of fantastic
shapes, forming large spaces (^r cavities,
which were termed caves.

It was quite possible to move about
amono; these rocks and <^Q.i from one end
of the hill to the other without exposing
oneself. To add to the physical strength
nature hatl provided a luxm-iant growth of
thorn scrub, which grew up and intermingled
with the rocks, forming an almost impene-
trable barrier through which the rebels had
cut numerous footpaths, which zigzagged
about amonii the rocks from one end (jf

228

THE MATAUEI.E REUELIJON

i
ilH

ffi

i'li

ill

\ \

the position to the other. These footpaths
had all been blocked by larj^e thorn-trees
and made next to impassable. A thickish
bush covered the Hats up to within about five
hundred yards of the hilltop, then there was
an open space which had been cleared and
cultivated. Our party rode on to the ed^e of
this open space, and then aloni»" it for about
half a mile, keeping- a sharp look-out in case
of eettino" cut off, but we learned afterwards
that the latter event was not likely to happen,
it being the intention of the rebels to keep to
the rocks. With the exception perhaps of
about ten natives perched on the top of the
highest rock, evidently as sentinels, there
was no sion of the position beino- occupied
by a force of rebels. There was scarcely
a sound to be heard except now and again
the bleat of a o()at. The rebels kept per-
fectly quiet.

After ridinq- along and examining the
situati(^n as closely as a pair of good field-
glasses would enable me to do, I turned
towards our laager, not at all sanguine of

\:\-

nVS UL TING rilREA TS

f)f

being- able to inflict much harm on the
rebels at Senda's, but decided to make an
attempt on the morrow. It apj^earcd very
evident that a nij^ht attack was out of the
question and would only lead to disaster,
therefore any ideas I had of making one
were abandoned.

Durini>- the ni<'ht the rebels made a con-
siderable noise, but whether it was to
impress us with their numbers, or whether
they were moving out and in, I never
learned, but probably they were strengthened
tluring the night by recruits from the sur
rounding hills.

The following morning, shortly after day-
break, Captain Hopper, myself, and a small
niounted party, rode forward again to recon-
noitre the [)osition from a different point of
view. On our approach the sentinels com-
menced to blow their horns, and we could
see a distinct commotion all about the hill-
side. The natives seemed to be everywhere
about, and commenced to shout insulting"
and defiant threats to us.

' \\

I: •

t, .

is t

'm ■

to 1

230

TZ/Ji MATAIiELE REBELLION

It was now quite evident that they were
in force, and meant fighting if their position
was attacked.

I decided therefore to move the laager on
to a small rise, about five hundred yards from
the foot of the hill, and nearly opposite to its
centre. This would bring the greater part
of the hill under fire from the laager; and
the centre part, which seemed at present
to be more thickly populated, would be
within easy range of the Maxim. The
laager was moved up accordingly on to
the desired position.

As soon as laager was formed, the Cape
boys, under Lieutenants Campbell and
Moore, were sent off to the right, so as
to turn the left flank of the enemy's
position, and, if possible, to climb a good
way up the ridge and attack downwards
on the centre. As soon as they were
ready C Troop was extended and advanced
on the centre, to within two hundred yards,
where they had a fairly good view. It was
of no use going closer up as the rocks and

THE ASSF.GAIS 231

bush obstructed the vision. The Maxim
gun was trained to work over them, and
had a splendid field, varyin<( from five him-
dred to a thousand yards. M'Tipi's boys,
under Captain Brabant and Lieutenant
Posselt, were sent off to our left Hank, to
attack from the enemy's ri^ht, in a manner
similar to the Cape boys on the left.

Before they were marched off, about fifty
of them were armed with three dvnamite
assegais each. These assegais were so
constructed that when they were thrown
they always fell point downwards. A de-
tonating cap, with a French nail fixed into
it, then caused an explosion. They were
dangerous weapons, and only the boldest
men would handle them, after they were
shown the effect produced by the ex-
plosion.

Captain Brabant and his lieutenants re-
ported that the men armed with the dyna-
mite assegcus were so confident of the
efficiency of their arms that it was very
difficult to keep them back. It was most

11 y

\v »

'!i;

232

yV/A- MATAnEI.Ii REBELLION

amusing" to sec the bearers dash forward,
throw their assegai, and dodj^^e behind a
rock, with a diaboHcal expression on their
faces, to listen for the ex|)losion. and then
dash out auain and discharge another. I
am not aware that ;iny actual damaoe was
done by these assegais, but the moral effect
on the enemy was indescribable.

M'Tipi's boys had not been in action on
the left half an hour before the rebels
i^ave way and vacated the left (lank
of the hill ; many of them succeedin*^' in
escaping to the hills behind.

Every arrangement for making the attack
was completed by 1 1 a.m. Then the "Com-
mence tiring" sounded. M'Tipi's men were
the first to open fire. They had come
rather unexpectedly on a party of the
enemy, who were guarding a large number
of sheep and goats on the right of the
position. This, of course, led to a short
encounter, which ended in a grand success
for M'Tipi's boys. The firing on the right
caused a commotion amone the rebels in

fa; ! f ,

THE ATI'ACK

233

he
)cr
le
jrt

ht
in

the centre. Many of them clanil)eretl up
the rocks to see what was ^oinj^ on, and
exposed themselves to the fire of C
Troop and the Maxim. Then the Cape
boys commenced to attack downwards from
the left flank. This evidently upset the
philosoph)' of the defenders, who hei^an to
yell and move al^out rapidly amongst the
bush and rocks, letting- loose their rilles
and blunderbusses, but doini^" no harm. A
few potle<^s were sent over the laai^er,
but they only served to amuse the men by
their peculiar musical accompaniment.

All we had to do now was to watch the
development of the attack, which was, owin^'
to the difficulties to be overcome, very slow.
At times the rattle of riile fire was very
sharp, but often died away to a dead silence,
starting off a^ain suddenly when some fresh
nest of rebels was struck.

The skirmishers of C J'roop were almost
always eng'aged aloni;" some part of their
line, only firing- when they saw the rebels on
the move. After a time they got used to

I! I

i '

Mi:

■ i

' ■ 1 1

234

yy/Zf MATAnELE RE n EI. LION

the passes, or <^an<^ways, which seemed to
be the main Hues of communication between
different parts of the rebels' stronghold, and
as soon as a party of natives appeared they
were saluted with a shower of bullets.

This sort of thintj^ went on for about three
hours, the Cape boys and M'Tipi's men
gradually working to the centre, clearing
everything in front of them and destroying
all the rebels' huts and stores.

By 3 p.m. the position was taken. All
the rebels remainin^f had yonc to earth in a
cave under a high boulder, which was be-
tween 100 and 200 feet long by 50 broad.
A large party located themselves there, and
kept firing from that point of vantage.
Lieutenant Campbell called on them to sur-
render and give up their arms, but this they
refused to do. He then sent to the laager
for dynamite, a few charges of which put an
end to their firing, and although they would
not come out '^ ^w ,ive themselves, they
sent up ail -heep and goats, and

a very 1 inble iitreaty to be spared, pro-

■f i:

All

ANOrifEK INDABA 235

niising not to interfere with the white men
any more.

As soon as this was reported I went over
to the cave and held an indaba with these
people, who were evidently far down under
the huo-e rock. They said they O^mX not
know where Senda was. They th(juirht he
was in a cave on a hill, or that he had per-
haps escaped. That the cattle had all been
taken off on the approach of our column,
but that all the sheep and goats would be
sent down if the white men would draw off
a little way.

The man who did the talkino- wound
up with an appeal for mercy, which I
promised would be granted, provided their
promises were kept. The attacking party
was then withdrawn. Lieutenant D. Camp-
bell reported having seen forty rebels dead ;
Captain Brabant that on the first brush a
good many fell on both sides, but he could
not give any numbers. The loss sustained
by M'Tipi's men was trifling, and they
treated it in the most offhand manner,

;: 4)5 .

236

THE MATAIiELF, REHELLIOM

( ■

liiij

beiiii^ much more delighted with their
success than interested in their losses.
They were to be seen strai^glin^^ out of
the njcks, laden with all sorts of loot.
Amoni^' the Cape boys a few had sustained
slight injuries, but no deaths occurred.
There were no casualties amoni;' the white
men.

As soon as the attacking" force withdrew,
armed fatigue parties were sent in to bring
away as much grain as possible and destroy
the remainder. Nearly all tlie grain found
was in the husk, it being harvest-time, and
the reaping little more than commenced.

The rebels kept their promise to a certain
extent and sent down about twenty goats
and sheep from different parts before night
set in.

The laager remained where it was during
ni^ht. The followiuLi' morning a search
party was sent into the hill. On their
return they reported that the position was
deserted. This practically ended the attack
and the breaking up oi the rebels at

T/fE CATTLE 33^

Senda's. I was sorry the rebels still held
the cattle, but .\^^,,\^,X to let them keep then,
for the time bein.cr and push on to where the
■services of the column would be of more
benefit to the public welfare.

238

THE MATABELE REBELLION

'; I

CHAPTER XVI

M'Tipi's men return to their homes — The enemy attack
them in a gorge — Um'Nyati's stronghold found
deserted — March to (iukiwayo — Destruction of kraals
en route — Narrow escape of column from grass lire —
Discovery of grain hidden in the bush — The remains of
the Cunningham family ar6 collected and buried.

A COUNCIL of war was now held to
decide upon the course to be fol-
lowed with M'Tipi's men. So far they had
proved themselves most valuable, and had
done excellent work, especially as scouts,
and the information they had brought in
had led to a s^reat success at Selemba's.
Their work in the Mapelabana pass was
also most beneficial to the welfare of the
column, and altogether they had shown
themselves to be a loyal and valiant lot
of natives. The amount of loot they had
collected, and the wish to keep it, made
them anxious to get home. This wish was

M'KATPS RETl'RN

239

r attack
found
if kraals
ss fire —
mains of
uricd,

lelcl to
be Fol-
ey had
id had
scouts,
irht in
mba's.
s was
of the
shown
nt lot
y had
made
h was

hinted to me by Captain Brabant, and
confirmed by Lieutenant Posselt. I came
to the conclusion that it would be better
to part with them on good terms. I was
all the more anxious to do so because I
now contemplated a march through the
Lowf^r Inseza, Filabusi, and on to lUiluwayo,
and because the continued presence of three
hundred natives would have been a great
draw on our supply of provisions. I there-
fore sent for M'Kati and told him he was
at liberty to march back home or to come
on with the column. He decided to o-o
back, and Captain Hopper, with twenty
mounted men, went back with the native
contingent for a distance of about five
miles, until they were nearly through the
Mapelabana Mountains. The passage at
this point becoming somewhat difficult for
horses, and there being no signs of any
rebels about. Captain Hopper left them and
returned, destroying a few kraals on his
way back. Three of our white scouts
were sent on with M'Kati's men to (jfo

240

THE MATABKLE REBELLION

fl r

as far as Is'Iknombo's, to try and get a
hundred of his boys to act as guides, herds,
&c. They returned on the i6th instant
without any, and reported that as M'Tipi's
fellows u'ot towards the end of the o-on>'e
(which they were about to enter when
Captain Hopper left them) they were set
upon by a large party of rebels, who
attacked them on the Hanks, After a
very severe encounter the rebels were
defeated with severe loss. M'Tipi's men
lost a few. Sergeant Wilson said M'Kati
behaved splendidly, and practically saved
his men by his coolness and bravery. He
was the last man to leave the pass, and
all his dead and wounded were borne off
the field. They saved all their cattle and
sheep.

M'Kati sent messengers to Is'Iknombo,
but was not satisfied with the answer he
received. Fie advised the white scouts
not to go near him, and sent an escort
back at night to guard them through the
pass. This was our last communication

THE PATROL RETURNS

241

•>
erds,

istant

Tipi's

o-oro-e

when

re set

who
fter a

were
s men
M'Kati

saved

s, and

rnc off

Itle and

inombo,
Iwer he
scouts
escort
loh the
Inication

with M'Kati, who was certainly one of
the finest specimens of a Kaffir chief I
have ever come in contact with.

On the 1 5th inst. the column moved
northward towards Um'Nyati's stronghold,
and laagered up on the west bank of the
Nuanetsi river.

On the following morning two wagons
were sent back with an escort to Bolingwe,
to brino" on orain for the horses and mules.

Captain Hopper, with Captain Frankland
and thirty-six mo"nted men, were sent off
to try and find out Um'Nyati's strength.
The patnjl returned during the afternoon.
Captain Hopper disconsolately reported
that Um'Nyati, after fortifying his position,
had decamped, leaving nothing but empty
scherms, stone breastworks, and huts, all
of which were destroyed by the patrol.

Um'Nyati's spoor went in the direction

of Shambo, but as the column was now

to march by that route, I decided for the

present to leave him alone.

On the 17th despatches were sent off

242

THE MATAliELE KEliELLIOM

R' ?

' n

\ t

iftil

to the Administrator, detailing the work
done by the column.

As I had now no native contingent I
arranged to send off Captain Brabant,
alono" with Lieutenant H. Posselt and
Trooper Southey, to endeavour to raise
about five hundred of Chebi's boys and bring
them into the M'Patini district, for the
purpose of reaping the crops, and thereby
kee[)ing the rebels from benefiting by them.

Whilst waiting for the return of the
• 'Tain wa<»()ns from Beiini>we, the men
were exercised in skirmishing on horseback
and defence c^f the laa^"er.

On the afternoon of the 19th the wagons
returned with thirty-six bags of grain. This,
with what we expected to pick up on the
way, I reckoned would ration the horses
and mules until Buluwayc^ was reached.

On the morning of the 20th the column
marched from the west bank of the
NuanetsI along Cunningham's trading route,
in the direction of Shambo. The reason I
had for takinu' the trade route was because

HIGI/ SPIRITS

243

le,

it led to all the principal kraals between

Belingwe and the Lower Inseza. The

horses and mules were fresh after the two

days' rest and good feeding on the

banks of the Nuanetsi. The weather was

simply delightful, it being now mid-winter.

The men were in high spirits and looked

forward eagerly to having a slap at the

arch-rebels in the Inseza. The country

we were passing over was open, undulating,

and well-watered. Um'Nyati's spoor weis

discovered by the scouts. He had only

gone a few miles in the direction of Shambo,

then turned sharp off to the northwards,

having evidently made for the bush-covered

hillside of the Dora Mountains, where

I thought it best to leave h-ni umnolested

for the time beini>", trusting'' to his natural

greed and love for cattle to Hnd him and

them at some more convenient tinie in

the near future.

I may here mcnition that up to the present

the dread rinderj)est had not taken hold of

the Helinirwe district.

1 1

244

THE AfATABELE RE/iE/.IJON

n ?

\ ■ ; '

f I

;4-. t

J! I

We advanced by easy stages, doing about
fifteen miles per day. Everything in the
shape of Kaffir kraals, &c., en route were
destroyed, most of them being deserted on
our approach.

Nothing of any consequence happened
until we got to the westmost part of the
Shambo Mountains. There the presence of
a considerable body of natives was indicated
by sleeping scherms for about three hundred
men, and fresh spoor showed that they had
been in use but lately. Only one native,
however, w:'s seen, and he was far up the
slopes of the mountain, keeping perhaps a
close watch on our movements. The scouts
were lucky in capturing a few young cattle
and sheep here, which were rolling in fat.
We left Shambo behind on the afternoon of
the 2 1 St, and laagered about five miles
further on, on the Lower Inseza road.

All the spoor of cattle, &c., we came
across went westwards towards Godhlwayo,
from which, on the afternoon of the 22nd,
we could see a large and very dense column

,;;|: {

FIRE

245

iyo,

nd,

mill

of smoke ascendinj^. I was in hopes this
was the result of the work of one of the
Buluwaytj cokimns. If so, I conjectured
that our task woukl be made lighter, and
that we might have the L^ood fortune to drop
across an Impi retreating- over the tlal.,.

Towards evenin*'' on the 22nd kiaoer was
formed on a kirge grassy plain, a good fifteen
miles broad, lying between the Shambo and
Tandodzie ranges. The weather having
been particularly good for several weeks
made everything as dry as possible, and on
this particular afternoon the wind was strong
and from the east. Shortly after the laager
was formed and the cattle turned out to graze,
the quarter-guard sentries reported several
small columns of smoke about two or three
miles away to the windward. At the first
glance there did not seem to be anything
very particular about this, but as I watched
I noticed others springing up. It was at
once evident that the llats were being pre-
meditately set on fire for the purpose of
endeavouring, if possible, to destroy the

246

TIfK MATAIiliJ.li RK UK I. LI ON

1 1 .

I-.

column. It wiis (jiiite plain that there were
a threat many hands at the devil's work, for
what at first were only a few columns of
smoke soon increased into a dense black
clf)ud, nearly three miles long, advancinjj^
rapidly, and i^rowini^' denser every second.
The sioht was very appalling, and frightened
me more than anything' I had ever seen
before. There was not a moment to be lost.
I'he grass all over the flats was at least
three feet high, and as dry as matchwood,
and the stiff breeze blowing was brinoinLT
the fire down on us at a great pace.

The bugles at once sounded the "Alarm "
and " Horses in." The men were equal to
the emergency, and rushed out to get
branches of trees, &c. A circle of fire, about
a hundred yards out from the laager, was
started, and kept in check on the inner side.
In less than a quarter of an hour a good
big band had been burnt round the laager.
This was accomplished not a moment too
soon, for a roaring mass of llames, about
three miles long, twenty yards broad, and

FORWARD AGAIN

:47

jut
id

thirty feet high, swept past our ])()sitioii, with
a noise like a river in flood. I lad the laager
been enveloped in that enormous llame not
a thing would have been saved. As this
lire-storm passed the faces of the men ex-
pressed their feelings beyond any doubt.
Every one knew we had had one of the
narrowest escapes possible. The horses and
mules in the laager were huddled up to-
gether, all (Quaking with terror. A sigh of
relief escaped from every one when the
danger passed us and rolled on, destroying
everything it came in contact with. Our
enemies had all but scored against us. Yet
luckily all the harm they did by their dia-
bolical attempt was to rob our p(jor cattle
of a good feed.

The column moved forward again on the
morning of the 23rd inst., antl as it was now
Hearing the Lower Inseza district, one of the
most populous and fertile in Matabeland, and
being the locality in which the first actual
signs of the rebellion were discovered, native
kraals became more numerous. The scouts

!48

THE MATAIiEI.E REIiELI.ION

i. f

and the advance and llankin<4- parties had
lots of works to do, burning' and destroying
everything that was hkely to afford shelter
or be of the least service to the rebels.
There were a few signs of natives having
been about lately, and towards the end of
our second trek a large, well-beaten track
was crossed, along which it was quite evident
a great traffic had recently been carried on.
Several of the scouts were sent along this
path to try and discover the whereaboutr. of
any rebels that might have happened to be
close by, and one of our flanks (James Cook)
in following up a small footpath, which struck
him as being very new, found a large quantity
of grain, hidden away in the thickest part
of the bush, about a hundred yards to the
left of where the wagons of the column would
pass. This grain was all stored in grass
baii's, each of which contained about two
ordinary sacks full of grain. The bags were
all sealed with clay, and covered with flat
stones. This was a most welcome and
valuable discovery in more ways than one,

^^^minmmmm

A WELCOME D/SCOl'EA'V

249

because it not only enabled us to replenish
our stock of food for the horses and mules,
but it reduced the rebels' store to a very
considerable extent, and showed us very
plainly that they had still a line of communi-
cation open to Inseza, aloni; which we mij^ht
llnd similar stores of ^rain. After loadin^f
up our wai^ons with the L>rain the column
moved forward a^ain, and laagered up for
the ni<4"ht on the west bank of a n^ky spruit,
about one and a half miles east of Cunning-
ham's farmsteadint^'. Some of the scouts had
been forward as far as the latter and re-
ported its utter destruction, and also that
the remains of the familv were still un-
buried.

The scouts employed in followinii; up the
" grain track " (the name oiven to the lars^e
path discovered during the afternoon's
march) reported that they had seen a few
Kaffirs on the hills, watchini»" the movements
of the column, and that, at the sand drift
of the Inseza River, quite recently a large
quantity of cattle, goats, men, women, and

MHNMiiini

250

THE MATAUELE REBELLION

children had crossed over, going to the west-
ward — i.e.^ towards the Matopos.

The column nioved forward early on the
morning of the 24th, and laager was formed
up within a hundred yards of the ruins of
Cunningham's farmsteading. As soon as the
halt was ordered I went forward with several
officers to examine the ruins, and I may
safely say it has not been the lot of many to
behold a more niekuicholy. heartrending, and
revolting spectacle.

The Cunningham family consisted of an
aged father and mother, a son, and several
grown-up daughters. The son was a married
man, and his wife and children were with
him. The family party, so far as I could
irather from the men who knew them, con-
sisted of nine persons, all of whom had their
home at " Kildare," the name they had given
the faim. They were attacked about mid-
night on the night (T March 24th, and bru-
tally murdered by a band of rebels, who used
knobkerries, assegais, and battleaxes to do
their devil's work. The roofs of the various

'^ ■ .4,

THE CUNNIIVGHA.\fS

huts, in which the unfortunate family had
been sleeping-, had then been set on fire, and
to a certain extent had consumed the bodies.
It was impossible to distinguish any of them.
We could only judt^e by the size of the
bones whether they were those of an infant
or adult. It was evident that in one room
one woman and three children had perished
together — the children havino- evidently been
killed in the arms of their mother — for the
four heads and the bones of the finders of
four persons were all together in one little
heap. In two adjoining rooms the remains
of what were probably two men, v/^^re found
in one, and those of two women in another.

I was afterwards informed by a prisoner
that one of the young girls, aged about seven
years, escaped unhurt. In' some means un-
known, on the nii'ht of the mur»ders, and tiot
down to the banks of the Inseza River, which
ivas cibout five hundred yards away, and
lived there for a few diiys until discovered
by a party of Kaffir women, who had come
to reap the grain growing in Cunm'ngham's

I 1 : -

IIP

iiH

252

T/fE MAI'AHELR REBEL!. ION

fields. These women cau^■ht the child, and
one of them, with a degree of cruelty that I
trust has seldom been equalled, held the poor
child's head on a large stone with one hand,
and with the other picked up another stone,
with which she, infernal fiend, smashed the
child's head to pulp.

The slight olance I had at Cunninoham's
was too much for me. I went back to the
laager very sad indeed, and asked the men
to go as soon as they had breakfasted and
gather the remains of all the bodies, and
place them in an iron box, so that they could
be buried. The men did not ,.^.1: for break-
fast, but set to at once, and, with the
assistance of Dr. Anderson, every particle of
human bone to be seen was picked up and
enclosed in a box. Captain Hopp^n read the
funeral service, the remains being interred
about 1 1 a.m., about fifty yards to the east of
the homestead. A large pile of 'tones was
raised over the grave, every man of the
column contributing his stone to the pile.

The Cunninghams were proverbial for

THE C UNNINGHA MS

253

eak-

thc
e of
and

the
rrcd

lof
was

the

for

their kindness and hospitahty, and their
home had always offered a hearty welcome
to the wayfarer or stragolini^ prospector who
might have happened to be about after dark.
Many of the men of the column were inti-
mately acquainted with the family, and they
were very much affected. Captain TVank-
land had ben their guest about ten days
before they were murdered, and spoke in un-
measured terms of their kindness to him.
He had lost his way, but had the extreme
U'ood fortune to reach their homestCcd after
nightfall. A very slight glance at the faces
of the men around the grave, whilst the ser-
vice was beino' read, would have convinced
the most casual observer that mercy would
be the last thing the rebels might expect to
get from them.

Several watches and articles of adornment
were recovered from the ruins and [)laced in
a small box for the purpose of being con-
veyed to Huluwayo, and there handed over
to the authorities.

Durino- the afternoon I took out a stronir

1
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g'riW i Tw

254

THE MATABELE REBELLION

I f

mounted patrol and destroyed several kraals,
which were located in the hills to the south.
At one kraal a dead body was found, but it
was impossible to say whether it was that of
a white or black man. A bullet had passed
throuiih the skull. We were inclined, how-
ever, to think it was the body of a Kaffir,
who had met his death at CunninL{ham's or
somewhere close by.

After destroying- several large kraals,
every one of which had been deserted
some time, and all grain taken away, I
followed up the footpath we passed the
night before, until it crossed the Inseza
River. There was fresh spoor on it of
both Kaffirs and cattle, the latter probably
pack oxen used for carrying grain, <&c.

I hctd now become convinced that this
path was the one most in use between
this part of Inse/a and the Matopos, and
decided to f(.jllov/ it up as closely as pos-
sible with the column, in the hope of finding
more stores of grain and perhaps dropping"
across a foraging I m pi.

1 1

COLUMN CROSS THE INSKZA

255

CHAPTER XVII

Captain Frankland and party encounter a small hodv of
rebels at Croft's store-A patrol .^oes to their
assistance-Grain is found and sheep and ^oats
captured-Thc enemy try to entrap the cohunn-A
brush with the enemy-The Umzingwani River and
Wier's store is reached.

"T"HE mornincr of the 25th the column
^ crossed the Inseza River, and makinn-
a trek across the country to the westward,
about a mile to the north of the oraln path,
had not gone far before it struck the spoor
of a lar^re column which had preceded us.
I decided to follow this spoor until it
crossed the grain p^,th, and then to make
after the latter aoain.

Sir Frederick Frankland. who knew the
district we were in very well, was
anxious to take a small scouting party to
the south, about two miles, to ^-\\\i\ out
what had happened to Croft's store. I

fWW

r: I

256

r//E AfArA/iELE REnELLION

allowed him to take four of the best
mounted men, with instructions to under-
take no risks and to get back to the
c(jlumn as soon as possible.

We had to make a long march because
water was not very plentiful, and after
doing about seven miles the Buluwayo
Filabusi road was struck. The column
n(3W changed direction and marched along
that road to the south. Shortly after we
got on the road the scouts reported rebels
on the hii>h iJ^ranite hills in front and on the
right flank, but only in small parties. Not
long afterwards shots were heard in the
direction of Croft's store. It was evident
Frankland had come in contact with a
party of rebels. The firing increased
rapidly and I became rather anxious,
being afraid that perhaps Frankland's
party had been cut off, but as they were
well mounted there was every chance (jf
their getting back, even if they had to
make a detour. I could not send back to
their support without halting the column,

FRA M<I.A A7>'S PA A' /' J '

^57

best

nder-

the

and .'IS it was tlicn niarchiiiL*- thmuuh thick
Ijush and no water liandy it was unde-
sirable to halt. The natives on the i^^ranite
hills to our ri^ht were numerous, l)ut did
not make any attempt to molest us,
although we ccjuld see plainly the)- were
all armed. At last water was reached,
at a place where a fairly good |)osition
was selected and laager formed, the Cos-
sack post sent out. and everything got
ready to repel an attack. The rebels on
the hills kept moving round to our right,
and shortly afterwards commenced to fire
at the sentries from lonsjish ran'>e, making"
fairly good shooting, but killing no one.
I now became most anxious about brank-
land and his party. An occasional shot
from his direction showed there was still
somethin*'' doin<»'. The column had marched
about ten miles during the morning, but in a
circular manner, and this had again brought
us to within about two miles of Croft's store.
Presently two of b'rankland's part)' rode in
and reported that they had come across a

!58

THE MATAliELE RE HELLION

small party of rebels on a little kopje, which
they pointed out. The rebels had taken to
the rocks, where Sir Frederick intended
keepino- them until a strong- party could be
sent on to collect the grain and cattle the
natives had stored there. I at once ordered
out a patrol of thirty men and a team of
mules to bring" back a cartload of grain,
there being a Scotch cart at Croft's store.

1 went off to assist F'rankland, leaving
Hopper in charge of the laager. I half
expected he would have had a fight before
I got back, but as the kopje was not far off,
if such had been the case we should have
heard the firing as soon as it commenced.

Our progress to the kopje was not inter
ru[)ted, and when we got there we found Sir
P'rederick and his two men all riyht. The
place was at once surrounded, but we could
not get at the Kaffirs, who had taken to the
cover formed by the disjointed rocks on the
highest part of the hill. We, however, got
at their main store of grain, which was a
large one, although of not much use to

GOOD GRAIN

259

US, bcino' principally Poco, a small class
of Kaffir corn, rather like mustard-seed,
and very bad feeding- for horses and mules.
We did succeed in j^ettini;' a cartload of
good orain, and destroyed everything' else.
This position was entirely a depot for
storing provisions from the surrounding
districts, and had been garrisoned by about
three hundred rebels, whose sleeping and
defence scherms were still there. These we
destroyed, as well as the huts of three
large kraals,, all of which had been occupied
very lately. We also succeeded in cap-
turing about fifty sheep and goats before
makin<>" for the laager, which we reached
in safety.

Captain Hopper reported that he had sent
ix small party round the foot of the hills to
dislodoe the rebels, wh(j were firing- at the
sentries when the patrol rode off. He also
reported that he had had no trouble since
midday, as all the rebels had disappeared.
This fact, with the information we had got
from the Kaffirs in the caves at '* Freddie's

!6o

THE MATAHRl.E RE HELLION

iii

kop," led me to believe that we were now
on the heels of a retreatini^' Impi, which 1
decided to follow up if possible.

Our laaij^er was formed within two hundred
yards of the j^rain path which still went
straii>ht for the Matopos. This the scouts
followed up for a mile or so, reporting' that
they could not get any further because the
rebels were in force on the hills beyond, and
that it would not be possible to follow the
path with the wagons, as it went in between
the granite hills, through a very narrow pass,
which was guarded by rebels. This was
getting much more interesting, and looked
like business, with every prospect of a brush
with the rebels.

The column moved on to the south the
following morning and halted about three
miles from the hills. The scouts were sent
away to the westward and to the south of
the hill for the purpose of finding out if it
\yas possible to get the column through in
that direction. They returned and reported
that the only impediment would be the

THE PROGRESS OF THE COLUMN 261

thick bush, and that they had seen no
rebels.

I decidetl to try alonj^ the south ed^;c of
the hills and marched aj^ain at i p.m. in
double column of wagons, with a partv of
dismounted men carryinj^ axes to clear the
bush in front of each. We had not i^'one
more than two miles in this direction before
it became apparent that the movements (jf
the column were closely watched from the
hills. On the hill nearest to us, alon^" the
base of which we had to pass, many natives
could be seen on the sky-line. They were
much disturbed and soon disappeared over
a rise. Shortly after, some stray oxen, in
an excited state, were rounded up by the
scouts, who reported that others were beini^-
driven on in front. This accounted for the
commotion amon<'- the niiiiiers on the hill.
The progress of the column had been
retarded by the thick bush which, however,
now became more open and the country
more accessible as we got past the shoulder
of the first hill, which terminated in a deep

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262

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I i'\

THE MATABELE REBELLION

gorge. On the other side of the gorge a
long, flat hill, composed of smooth granite
and covered with patches of dwarf scrub,
rose and trended away to the westward.
Behind this flat hill a high peak rose, on top
of which a large body of rebels were perched,
watching our progress, and perhaps from
their point of vantage were directing the
movements of others, who were not yet
discovered by us. After passing the gorge,
which had a thickly bushed entrance. Lieu-
tenant Beisly, who was in charge of the
main body of the rear-guard, sent in to say
that a small troop of cattle were being
driven across our line of march into the
gorge, and asking for permission to take a
few of his men to capture them. I sent him
instructions to do so, and halted the column
with the intention of waiting Beisly's return.
As soon as Beisly moved off a large body
of rebels showed up on the flank of the hill
which we had just passed, and made for the
sides of the o-onj^e as fast as they could.
The old game was being played witii us.

HOPPER AND THE REBELS

263

The cattle were the hire. I at once sent
Captain Hopper off with one-half of the
Maxim Troop to assist Beisly, to capture the
cattle if possible, and guard against an
ambuscade. At the same time laager was
formed without outspanning the mules, and
the "Halt" and "Alert" sounded to put
the advance and flanking parties on their
guard. This had hardly been done before
a rattling volley of musk«-try was hred from
the gorge, followed immed;: • y afterwards
by several others. Hopper and the rebels
were engaged, at the same time, on the flat
hill on our right flank. The rebels now
commenced to show up, dodging from one
clump of bush to another, and in a sort of
general irregular advance. All this looked
like the commencement of a fight. The
" Retire " was sounded, the picquet lines
stretched between the wagons, and the
infantry and Cape boys extended round the
laager, at which the enemy were now
directing their fire. Captain Hopper's party
got back simultaneously with the advance

264

THE MATAHELE REBELLION

It:. ■^!li

aff.

S-'i-;

(

:-4,

*«

f'l jf

i<^ i '!«

■» -i

and flanking parties. Lieutenant Yonge
with A Troop mounted, was ordered to
advance in skirmishino; order a^fainst the
hill on our left flank. His instructions were
to engage the enemy and then gallop back
to laager, to draw the rebels on to it if
possible. This he tried three times, but the
enemy would not leave cover. He was then
ordered to make a stand a^rainst them at
about two hundred vards from the foot of
the hill. The Maxim was trained and
opened on the clump of bushes, wherever
the whereabouts of tl e ni^uers was dis-
cernible by the smoke from their rifles.
This had the desired effect, and very soon
cleared the slope of the hill immediately on
our flank, and gave the skirmishers some
good practice as the rebels retired from
cover to cover. Scouts were then sent out
to the front, left flank and rear, for the
purpose of ascertaining if the rebels had any
force in the bush surrounding our position,
but so far as we could learn they had not.
The march was atrain resumed, and for two

HOPPER AND THE WOUNDED 265

hours a drcppincr fire Was kept up on us
from the hillside. This kept the rioht Hank
eng-aged all the time, but little damacre was
done by the rebels. Whether our fire had
done any damage it was impossible to say,
but it had kept the enemy at bay. The
party that Hopper encountered had lined
the bush at the entrance to the o-orge and
fired three volleys, which Hopper returned
and cleared the entrance. He at once g-ave
the order to retire, when he discovered he
was just at the entrance to a deadly trap.

Out of his party he had one man— W.
Potgeiter -wounded through the thigh, one
horse shot dead and three wounded.

I congratulated Hopper on the excellent
nianner in which he got his wounded and
dismounted men away from the conre

Towards dusk a fairly gt^od position was
selected to laager in for the night and a thick
thorn-bush scherm cut and set all round it.
The rebels still hung about (m the hill, ex-
changing an occasional shot or two with our
outposts. Needless to say the watch was

n:..

266

T//E MA TABELE REBELLION

it-fT

very much on the alert all night, but nothing
happened further than that one of the sentries
reported having seen three natives make a
detour round the laager. Morning came but
did not bring the expected attack. The
bush was carefully scouted in front, rear, and
left flank, but no signs of the enemy being
in any strength the column was moved
forward again.

Shortly after marching the rebels showed
up on the hill to our right, and the rear-
guard was engaged in a slight skirmish, but
this did not delay the march. Captain
Prankland went back and strengthened the
rear-guard with the Cape boys. The rebels
were only playing a harassing game, which
lasted nearly two hours. Then they took to
the hill on the right, and disappeared over
its crest to the northward. Thus ended our
experience in the "Glass valley."

Still cutting our way through thick bush,
the column continued its march until the
Umzingwani-Buluwayo road was reached,
about a mile south of Wier's store on the

HALT

267

Umzingwani River, Here a halt was made.
We found the rebels had wrecked the store,
and killed everything they could lay their
hands on, in the shape of man and beast.

ftl

268

THE MATABELE REBELLION

CHAPTER XVIII

M '

Kcbcl Iiiipis still hovcriii}^ about — Column arrives close to
Huluwayo — The mythical Impi — Ik-lin^we Field Force
hospitality — Inspection of column by General Carrin^-
ton and Karl Cirev — The column is ordered to " Fig-
Tree Camp " aiul the Matopos — Arrival of several un-
attached volunteers — Attack on Matopos postponed —
Column ordered to advance on Inugu,

WR marched again at 2 p.m. taking" the
main road for Buluwayo. After
crossing the river we came upon the laager-
ing ground of a large column— "Spreckley's,"
I believe.

The "grain track" was again crossed, still
keeping straight for the INIatopos. Along it,
probably the same day, had passed a large
party of men, women, and children, cattle
and sheep, all going towards the Matopos.

I did not think it advisable to follow up
the path any further. The retreating rebels,
if they wished to, would reach cover of the

Vrf

still

ifAKlJKUrEjX liEACHED .^f^

Matopo hills bef„re I could stop them, and if
they wanted to ^u the column they knew
where to find it.

The harassinj.- attack they ha<l made on the
column yesterday and this mornino- only
meant to retard it tmtil the women and
children were o„t out of the way. for as
soon as the rebels had accomplished this
they left us alone.

I was determined to make for Ruluwavo
as fast as possible.

On the evenint; of the 27th the Maku-
kupen drift, on the Umzingwani River, was
reached, and laa-jer formed on its south bank.
During the afternoon march, small parties of
the rebels had been observed on our tknks
but well out of range. I was told afterward.s
that there was an Impi on either flank of the
column with orders to attack if circumstances
were favourable. As the column which had
preceded us took the Makukupen road to Ijtilu-
wayo, I decided to march along an old pros-
pector's road which runs alonu the south bank
of the Unizingvvani River. This 1 thou.du

»7o

THE MATAIiELE REBELLION

would orivc the column a chance of breakini^
fresh oTcjiiiul until the Tuli ruacl was reached
and brino- it in closer touch with the Mato-
pos. All the kraals aloni;- this route were
deserted, and we destroyed all that came
within our line of march. Many fresh spoors
were observed, all leadino- to the Matopos,
and a few niu^^o^ers, presumably rebel scouts,
were still hoverinii^ about on the kopjes on
our Manks.

The Tuli road was struck in due course,
and the column passed over the northern
portion of the i^round, where Captain
Brand's Gwanda patrol had had a stiff
engagement some weeks previous.

The skeletons of his horse and several
mules, and a few bodies of what we took
to be rebels were lying about. I did not
then know that Brand had to leave his
dead, otherwise I would have caused a
closer examination of the remains to have
been made ; but as most of the bodies
were lying close up to the kopjes, where
it was most likely the rebels would attack

If-'
lis;

nULl/lVAVO

271

akin.ijf
ached
Mato-
; were
came
spoors
itopos,
scouts,

)jes on

course,
orthern
;^aptain
a stiff

Iseveral
le took
id not
[ve his
ised a
have
bvodies
where
attack

from, and a i^ood way from where the
horse and mules were lyinj;-, I felt certain
the remains were those of rebels.

On the evening of the 29th the column
laagered at " Dawson's " store on the
Umzingwani, twenty-three miles south of
Buluwayo. All day the rebel scouts had
been oftener reported than on previous
days, but large bodies of them were not
observed.

On the evening of the 30th the column
laagered on a small spruit about four miles
south of Buluwayo, and on the morni.ig
of the 31st it moved up to within two
miles of the town. I rode in and reported
my arrival to General Carrington, who
received me very kindly, congratulated me
and the column for the work done, and
gave orders for the column to rest for a
few days.

During the afternoon the column moved
close to the "Eureka" mine, where good
water and grazing were plentiful, and laagered
up for a rest. Here we remained for the

272

'/•///'; MATAHEI.h: NEnF.l.l.n^N

next ten days, iloini; a lot of small patrols,
mostly in the direction of Thabas Indiina,
where the spectre of a hu^e Ijnj)i always
hun<r round.

Although my men tried hard, b<Jth night
and day, to get a glimpse of it, the sight
was denied them, l)ut was reserved for
the vision of a few more favoured mortals
who never lost a chance of lettin^r the
whole country know when they had seen the
Impi on the warpath, and by their reports
succeeded in keeping the inhabitants of
the town in a nervous state of excitement,
and gave the men who had the work to
do a heap of extra marches, presumedly to
keep them from getting rusty. The men
of the column and myself were indeed
very glad when this mythical Impi took
up its quarters on the brickfields, which
were on the other side and much closer
to the town than ourselves. But with all
this the most of the men had time to go
to town on leave and stand a treneral treat
to many of their old comrades. The

patrols,

Intluna,

always

h ni^ht

le sii^ht

^^ed for

mortals

int( the

leen the

reports

lilts of

tement,

vork to

edly to

le men

indeed

ji took

which

closer

vith all

i to go

al treat

The

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t'i

In, I

J
I'

•

-aij

1 ,'

}ii

^j<-

ill

■-T

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|-'

•iS

ai
'J

. V»«*<«lWw*'*»^**.^^HMr-' .•(*c.-'.»i'.*i(.^.

•} f

HOSPITALITY

273

following account of that happy occasion
is taken from the Rhodesiau Weekly Revieio
of July I I, 1896 : —

"BELINGWE V. V. HOSPITALITY.

■A

■r.

■A
<

a:
'A

■A

"It was a merry band of guests and hosts
that gathered round the festive al fresco
board of Captain Laing's famous little
force last Saturday night, in the light of
a oiu'antic hontire which reminded one of
the Eve of St. John in the north of
France. Speech and story followed in
quick succession while the ample fare was
being consumed by the light of an in-
geniously contrived chandelier made of
whisky cases. By the side of each guest
was his own individual candle, and great
was the fun at each man's effort to make
his candle last the longest. After the
Queen's health had been j)roposed and
received with patriotic cheers, Captain
Napier spoke in feeling terms of Bulu-

wayo's admiration of the Belingwe Field

i I

274

THE MA TAB RLE REBELLION

Force and its gallant commander, while
Mr. Holloway spoke a few words in eulogy
of Captain Hopper and the merry men
who followed him to join Captain Laing.
The 4th of July, which date it happened
to be, was an excuse for drinkin^r to the
health of America, coupled with the name
of the genial 'Jumbo.' After dinner an ad-
journment was made to the silvan concert
hall, around the blazing Fire, and there,
under the sway of M.C. Donald Campbell,
a right pleasant little entertainment followed,
finishing up with the chairing of Captains
Hopper and Laing by their enthusiastic
followers, after the toasts of Mr. Rhodes
and Dr. Jameson had been cheered with
three times three. The guests at that
Saturday will long remember the hearty,
genial hospitality and good fellowship
tendered by the Belingwe Field Force."

In the morning the force was inspected
by General Carrington, who praised in no
measured terms the bravery of Captain

EARL GREY

while

eulogy
y men

Laing.
ppened

to the

name

an ad-

:oncert

there,
npbell,
lowed,
Lptains
isiastic
Rhodes
I with
: that
learty,
(wship
:e."

3ected
in no
:iptain

^75

Laing and his men, and his appreciation
, of their gallant conduct.

The column was also inspected by General
Carrington and Earl Grey, the Administrator,
b(nh of whom highly praised the force and
thanked them fur the work done. The
following account of diat event is also
taken from the R/iodcsian Weekly Review
of July I I, 1896 :—

" INSI'I-X'l'lON BY EARL (;REV.

"On Tuesday, ;th July, Earl Grey, the
Administrator of Rhodesia, inspected the
Belingwe Field Force at their laager. He
afterwards addressed the troops as follows :—
Captain Laing, officers, and men ol the
Belingwe Field Force, I am proud of the
opportunity which you have t(j-day given
me of thanking you on behalf of the
Government, whom I represent, for your
brave stand at Belingwe, and the services
you subsequently have rendered. When
in the greatest peril. Captain Laing and
his force refused to come in, and under

ii :

«;

P.iv ?,

: «■%

yy/A' MATABELE REBELLION

a Hag made by one of the j^arrison (Captain
Franklaiid designed the flag and Trooper
Huband made it) taught the enemy that
Britons still know how to fight. I am
told that many of you have shown quite
a talent for inventions and devices that
have added to the discomfort of our
enemies, and that, under Captain Laing,
you are prepared to give further proofs
of your bravery. This chance will be
given you as soon as General Carrington
can make the necessary arrangements for
your departure to the Matopos. I am
pleased to say a victory has been won at
Tabas I'Mamba by Cohjnel Plumer's column,
where some severe fighting has taken place.
A police force is in process of formation,
and patrols will be sent out from various
centres to scour the disaffected districts.
Again thanking you for the pleasure it
has given me to inspect you, I shall await
with confidence your return from the
Matopos, and the re-advent of peace and
prosperity to Matabeleland."

III

.J-i \

OFF TO FICr-TRFF CAMP

177

'^5'

and

On Sunday the 12th of July, at noon, an
orderly from the General rode into the
laager and handed me a note, which ordered
my column oft" to Fig-Tree Camp.

The column marched at 3 p.m.. passing
through Buluwayo and taking in provisions
there, then on again in the direction of
Matabele Wilson's farm. As it was impera-
tively necessary for us to get to Fig-Tree
"s soon as possible. I selected about seventy
of the best mounted men, three wagons for
provisions and ammunition, an ambulance
wagon with Dr. Anderson and a staft" of
hospital orderlies, and made a forced march
for Fig-Tree, which we reached the follow-
ing evening at 5 p.m. There we found
Mr. Fergusson, A.D.C. to General Carrino--
ton, and two half troops of the new M.M.P.,
the men of which had formerly been in
Giffords Horse and Grey's Scouts, and a
nice hardy serviceable lot they were. They
were now A and F Troops M.M.P., under
Lieutenants Chesney and Carney.

Having discovered that the Impi which

278

THE M ATA B ELK REBELLION

fii

! 11

:.^^.

was about to attack Fig-Tree and ravish the
district was composed of the same material
as the one whicli \\v\\\si about Thabas Induna
and the brickfields of Buluwayo, an arrange-
ment was made to remove the officer who
had discovered it to a place where his powers
of observation would be more appreciated
and free scope given to his faculties of imagi-
nation. A new man was put in his place,
and the police and my men moved on about
three miles east of Fig-Tree to a position
more favourable for our principal purpose,
and where Qood water and orazlnii^ were
procurable.

On the 14th of July I received orders
from the brigade office to take command
of the M.M.P., join my force with them,
and be ready to march at the shortest notice.

On the 1 5th I received instructions and
plan of attack for operations in the Matopos.

On the T/th a detachment of Infantry,
under Lieutenant Butters, and an artillery
detachment with seven-pounder and Norden-
felt, arrived, along with several volunteers

'1 ^"^ f

STRENGTH OF THE WHITE FORCE 279

unattached, one of whom, Mr. Percy Hare,
had a letter of introduction to me from Cap-
tain Frankland. This young fellow, like
many others, had left England on the news
of the outbreak of the rebellion, and hurried
out to take part in subduing it. He and
mostly all of them were fully equipped at
their own expense, and were dying for a
fight. The strength of the white force now
mustered was —

Belingwe F. F. 70 Officers and men mounted

M.M.P.

Infantry

Artillery-

Hospital

Cape Boys

»>

dismounted

>»

Total 187

To be added to the above there was a
contingent of about twenty natives (friendlies)
under Lieutenant McDonald.

On the 1 8th I got a wire from head-
quarters saying that the attack planned to

28o

THK M AT A BE I. K RE HE I. LI ON

kl.

take place on the morning of the 19th had
been postponed.

On the 19th I received despatches by-
rider, orderino- an adv^ance on Inuoii, with
orders to attack at daybreak on the 20th,
and turn rebel Impi out of their positions,
and then proceed to cut off the retreat of
the rebels from the Cheleli valley, and join
Colonel Plumer's column by that route, if
possible.

:•:.' 1!

9th had

AfANC// TO INUGU

281

:hes by
;u, with
e 20th,
)sitions,
reat of
nd join
)ute, if

CHAPTER XIX

Miuch to Imij^ii- Dispositions of forces— The battle of
Imi^u— A fresh attack— List of killerl and wounded—
The cohniin moves for the Chelcli valley— Advance of
a fresh Inipi.

T^HE column war marched forward at
J- 7 ^-ni-. and reached Chawncr's Camp
at 9 a.m., where it halted for an hour to
refresh men and horses. Marchinir on airain
it got close up to Inuou before noon, where
we laagered up. Scouting parties were sent
out, one under Lieutenant McDonald with
natives, and the other under Lieutenant
Fergusson, with Mr. Hare and a few men.
Both parties returned andVeported that there
were no signs of the enemy. The natives
brought back a little girl prisoner, but she
coukLgive no information further than that
the men were all away, she did not know
where. After some deliberation I decided

282

THE MA TAHELE REBELLION

|;;

Ijh,

■ j

ii-;-

to move the laager forward under Inugu.
The class of country we had to advance
through now was most difficult and dan<rerous
for an attacking force. It verged into a
narrow valley, on both sides of which ran a
line of rugged hills, more like cairns of huge
boulders, rising from two hundred to five
hundred feet. The space between them
through which we had to pass being covered
with thick bush, which helped to render
the task more difficult for man and beast.
However, by dint of perseverance, a good
deal of whip-cracking, some language more
forcible than elegant, and a sharp look-out
to every quarter, the column was got through
the narrowest and most difficult part of
the ooroe before nitrhtfall, and laa^fered
with its right flank close up to the rocks at
the foot of Inugu, in a thickish bit of bush,
which screened the position from front and
half the rear, leaving an opening of about
two hundred yards from half rear round the
left flank and half the left front. The sentries
were posted, and the men laid down in

A BET OF A ''SAX PENCE"

283

r Inugu.
advance
miLrerous

I into a
:h ran a
of hug-e

to five

II them
covered

render
beast,
a (rood
e more
)ok-out
b rough

irt of
igered
)cks at

bush,

t and

about

d the

ntries

ni in

skiimishing order all round the laager, about
twenty yards in front of the wagons, their
rifles ready. The native contingent was
laagered about 150 yards in front, close up
to the rocks and surrounded by a scherni.
Every precaution was taken to guard against
a surprise, and I believe every man present
expected an attack. According to the story
of our native guides we were just in the
position the rebels wanted us to get into,
it being their intention to cut off our retreat
and kill us off at their leisure. For myself I
felt certain that if there was any fight left in
the rebels, they would show it here, but to
make an absolute certainty of having an
attack I had a bet of a " saxpence " with Dr.
Anderson. It was always safe to bet with
the Doctor. He invariably lost. Yet he
was all the more ready to take the bet
because he had had little or nothinuf to do
except bandage veldt sores since we left
Buluwayo. I am, however, very sorry to
say that before twelve hours had elapsed
he had more than enough to do, but he was

m '

ifriiTl'

liii

284

T//E MATAHEl.E KEIiEI.LIOX

equal to the occasion, and did his duty most
thorouj^hly thnmi^houi ilic action, which
afterwards was acknowledi^ed and a):)prc-
ciated by all.

1 >urin»r the nii^ht I don't suppose I
slej)t more than half an hour ; there was a
^ood deal of wind blowing, and the sky
slightly overcast. Occasional drifting clouds
shut out a view of the sky, but it was
never very dark. Several times the sen-
tries reported having seen natives fleeting
about on the rocks above our position, but
no alarm was given. About 4 a.m. the
men stood to arms, and as it was com-
mencino- to ^et li^ht the mess orderlies
were allowed to fall out and make coffee,
the fires being inside the line of skir-
mishers. The "Boot and Saddle" was
sounded at 5.30 a.m. By this time objects
were discernible at about a distance of
fifty yards. The last note had hardly left
the bugle when a rifle shot was fired from
our rear, and a bullet whistled harmlessly
over the laager. Immediately after the

:Jf«*4-i4-

liity most
11, which
d appre-

ppose I
"e was a

the sky

^ clouds

it was

:he sen-

tleetino-
ion, but
.m. the
s com-
rderlies

coffee,
f skir-
was
objects
ice of
lly left
1 from
ilessly
:r the

''S7'AN/) TO AAW/S!"

285

shot came the battle-cry and yells that are
the inevitable accompaniment of a Matabele
chartj^e. ' I dropped the cup of coffee which
had just been handed to me by our mess
cook, and shoutin^- "Stand to arms,"
rushed as quickly as I could to the rear
face of the laager. 1 found the men all
ready at kneeling position, and Sergeant
Money had his Nordenfelt ready for action.
All were anxiously watching the rapid
advance of a yelling mass of rebels who
were evidently vieing with each (jther to
get to the laager first, sending out deafen-
ing shouts to cheer themselves on and
frighten us, firing off their rifies as they
ran. To me the sight for a second was a
bit awe-inspiring. I called to the men to
keep steady, and not to fire on the picquet,
the men of whom were rushing towards
the laager on the left of the attacking: force,
discharging their riiles into the mass as
they came along, and doing their best to
alarm the laager and stop the rebel charge.
The order was given to commence firing,

286

THE MATARELE REBELLION

%kt

I i!

and the first volley from the rear face put
a check on the rapid advance of the enemy,
and allowed our picquet to g^et in safely.
The rebels halted about forty yards from
the laager, sat down, and waited to be
strengthened from the rear, at the same
time pouring a hot and rather deadly fire
on the laager. The first two minutes of
this killed two men and wounded one close
to where I was. The brunt of the attack
fell upon the infantry troop under Lieutenant
Butters, and I) Troop under Lieutenant
Bell, which had been wheeled round half
left to facilitate their fire, as there was no
attack from the open ground on our left
(lank. All this time our men had been
keeping up a steady fire on the increasing-
mass of rebels, who now commenced to
show signs of charging again. This was
indicated by the peculiar "burring" sound
made by the Matabele befjre making a
rush. Sergeant Perry had run the seven-
pounder round and was loading with case
shot when the second charge took place.

r;..:

m»^imm^time!-

■ face put
e enemy,
n safely,
rds from
I to be
le same
adly fire
inutes of
•ne close
e attack
eutenant
SLi tenant
ind half

was no
our left
id been
:reasing
iced to
his was
sound
kinu- a

seven-
:h case

place.

BL'TTERS'S EXAMPLE

287

The rebels got up to within twenty yards
of our fighting line before they were
checked. Just at this moment a very un-
fortunate occurrence happened. One of
the men lost his head for the second, and
rising up, shouted, "Are we to get back
to the wagons } " He had hardly got the
words out of his mouth before he was
shot through the head. The men of the
fighting line, not knowing wh(j gave the
order, rose up and looked round. The
order was given to advance ten yards, lie
down as flat as possible, and keep up the
fire.

Lieutenant Butters set a brilliant example
to his men. He dashed forward the number
of paces mentioned, revolver in hand,
shouting to them, " Come on, boys, we will
soon dust them out of this."

At this pass I also noticed that the first
man to dash to the front was the young
volunteer Percy Hare. He rushed up to
within ten yards of the enemy, who were
wavering a little, and sat down on his knee

i>| !

li i I

li!

288

T//E MATABELE REBELLION

and commenced firing into them. The
men, as soon as they understood what was
wanted, dashed forward, and lying down
llat took up the fire. Simultaneously a
charge of case shot from the seven-pounder
was sent right into the teeth of the enemy.
This rather upset their j)lan of attack and
their equanimity, stopping their fire for a
few seconds. Hut again they commenced
to gather. A second and third shower of
case shot from the seven-pounder, the
steady grinding of the Nordenfelt, and a
shower of bullets from the rifles had the
desired effect. The attack from the rear
was broken. I'he rebels scattered and took
refuge in the bush and rocks on our right
flank. This at once broui^ht them on to
the fire of E Troop and the M.M.P., who
were on the left rear of the laager.
Lieutenant Carney had his men well in
hand, and poured in a steady fire, which
made the rebels seek shelter elsewhere.

A slight lull now took place, and I had
time to go round the laager and rearrange

li!

i*^

The
lat was
■ down
)usly a
)o under
enemy,
ck and
I for a
menced
Dwer of
er, the

and a
lad the
le rear
id took
rii>ht

on to

, who

aa^er.
ivell in

which

re.

I had

r range

■/:
■r.

II:!'

ni . !

ANOTHER ENGAGEMENT 289

details. I had very little to do in this
respect, as the troop officers had their men
m good order, and Lieutenant Fergusson,
A.D.C., had been about m every direction
rendenng very valuable assistance.

Time flies rapidly in a fight, but up to
the present I don't suppose we had been
over ten minutes engaged and the worst of
the battle was yet to come.

Whilst the attack on the rear had been
^omg on the men on the front faces had
not been idle-in fact, the rebels had so
arranged that their heaviest attack should
be delivered from the front. The party
attacking from the rear were to make a great
noise to draw our attention in that particular
direction, whilst the main attack would rush
in on us from the front. This they did
attempt, but the fact of their first having to
deal with the native contingent somewhat
spoiled their plans, although the latter did
not make anything like a good stand. Still
they acted as a buffer, and by the time the
enemy had dealt with them Hopper had his

;iiii

290

THE MATABELE RE BE U JON

Maxim trained and the men on the front
faces thoroughly in hand, and opened a
steady and destructive fire as soon as the
friendlies cleared the front. This they did
by rushing out in the open ground on our
left and lying down, afterwards gaining the
laager and packing themselves away under
the wagons in huddled masses. I never
hope again to see such an abject lot of
human beings.

The fight now developed into a rifle duel.
The rebels had taken cover in the rocks and
kept up a lively fire for an hour and a half
or two hours, doing a considerable amount
of damage to men and animals. Our men
returned the enemy's fire whenever they
could locate the position of a few to any
certainty on the rocks. Those in the imme-
diate vicinity of the laager were eventually
cleared, and Lieutenant McDonald, assisted
by Sergeant Wilson, Troopers Nauhaus and
M. Robertson, a volunteer attached, were
ordered to occupy them with the native con-
tingent. They had a great deal of trouble

the front
opened a
)n as the
they did
id on our
lining the
/ay under
I never
ict lot of

rifle duel.

rocks and

ind a half

le amount

Our men
ever they
2w to any
the imme-
eventually
Id, assisted
uhaus and
:hed, were
native con-

of trouble

THE SE VEN.PO UNDER .^ ,

in getting the friendlies to move from the
cover of the wagons where the thickness of
their numbers had made them a good target
^or the rebels, causing them a heavy loss
At last I gave them the option of getting
into the rocks as ordered, or of being shot
by the Cape boys. This had the desired
ettect. They decided to choose the least
of two evils, and went for the rocks in
fairly good style. After they were once in
they did really good work, perhaps through
sheer desperation, but to my mind they we're
chiefly inspired by the gallant behaviour of
their white leaders. Their occupation of the
rebels' central position caused the latter to
shift about and expose themselves to the
rifle fire from the laager, and it now became
evident that the rebels had lost their vantaoe
The seven-pounder was employed in shellL
wherever a party of rebels were seen to
congregate. Sergeant Perry handled his
gun splendidly, and made some excellent
shooting. By about 8 a.m. the rebels had
virtually given up firing, and I gave the

',ii-

292

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

order to inspan with the intention of movinjr
forward to the entrance to the Cheleli valley,
when Lieutenant McDonald reported the
rapid approach of a fresh Iinpi from the
left front. I sent him back with instruc-
tions to keep the position held by the native
contingent on the rocks, and had the Maxim
and seven-pounder trained on the edge of
the bush, through which the fresh Impi was
advancing. They soon made their appear-
ance, coming on in very good style. They
crouched clown on the edge of the bush with
their shields in front of them and com-
menced singing a war song as they waited
for their reserves to close up. They certainly
looked well, and we could enjoy the sight all
the better from knowing the game was now
in our hands. Their leader, a fat old
Cumulo, came up at last, and the war song
stopped as he commenced to interrogate the
rebels on the hill. Many of my men knew
what he said. The rebels on the hill
shouted to him that they had been very
badly beaten and did not want to fight

hii,

aHsttiWrtii^ mi mtmmwmmmmmiiyimi

THE NFAV IMP I

293

movin<^
[ valley,
ted the
(yni the
instruc-
le native
; Maxim
edge of
Impi was
r appear-
e. They
bush with
md com-
ey waited
J certainly
sio-ht all
was now
fat old
war song
ogate the
-len knew
the hill
een very
t to fight

any more, and advised the chief to be
careful. A slight commotion could now
be noticed in the ranks of the new Impi.
I gave the order to open fire. The seven-
pounder sent a shrapnel right into their
centre, and Hopper stirred them up with
a shower of lead from the Maxim. The
new Impi burst and scattered in every
direction ; the greater part of them going
straight back. The remainder rushed to
take cover in the rocks, but finding them
occupied on top did not go very far.
They clustered on top of a large fiat stone
under a Marula-tree, making a beautiful
target for another shrapnel, which was
landed in by Sergeant Perry in a splendid
manner. This was evidently all they
wanted. They were now helpless, and
rushed for the fiats, exposing themselves to
the rifie fire of our white skirmishers. The
party that had fied backwards had now
massed under a tree about eight hundred
yards away. The top of the tree could just
be seen from the laager, and our directions

ft''

294

THE M ATA HE I. K RE HE I. LION

were *goX. from the leader of the native con-
tingent. They had a good view from the
hillside. The first shell burst rather high
and did not do much, if any, damage.
The next one burst about twenty yards
from the tree and sent the rebels flying
again. They never halted until they got on
to the bush-covered slopes of the hill about
a thousand yards away. Here the shells
found them, and they soon disappeared over
the ridge of the hill.

Thus ended the battle of Inugu, the
stiffest fight I have ever been in, and I
believe the only laager fight which occurred
during the rebellion. Our force was just
sufficiently weak to encourage the rebels to
attack it and sufficiently strong to beat them
off thoroughly. Throughout the engage-
ment all ranks behaved in a most excellent
manner and relieved me of a great deal of
anxiety, for I must confess that during the
first hour and a half I was at a loss to
know what the upshot was to be. When
the fioht was at its worst I had time to

mmm*^.^r^i&xiimi^iimm$im»^mmfimir^^

DOCTORS AT \]'ORK'

295

ive con-
rom the
ner hit;b
damage.
ty yards

ils flying
sy g'^t on
hill about
the shells
sared over

nugu, the
in, and I
occurred
was just
rebels to
beat them
e engage-
t excellent
:at deal of
during the
a loss to
,e. When
lad time to

stand by the hospital wagon for a few
minutes and watch Dr. Anderson and his
assistants at work. At that time he had
over thirty dead and wounded lying in his
enclosure. The wounded white men bore
their sufferinofs manfullv, never utterin"" a
groan or showing the slightest signs of fear,
whilst the wounded friendlies were howling
in a most dismal and disheartening manner.

This was the first time I fully realised
the position and my own responsibility as
officer commanding, and I was glad that it
was not possible for the men in the fighting
line to see much of the hospital enclosure.

I watched with pleasure and satisfaction
the demeanour of the men brinirint";" in the
wounded, and was glad to observe that as
soon as they laid down a wounded comrade
they at once ran back to their respective
places in the fighting line, and took up the
firing without making a remark. Dr. Ander-
son seemed to be oblivious of everything,
except a devotion to his duty. He took the
men as they came ; bandaging them and

'- ]

296

77//f J//i TAnKLE RKHELLION

passinjr on to the next, with a few cheerint^
words to each, lie certainly proved himself
the right man in the ri^ht place, and is
deservino- of all praise.

The flight at Shan^ani and Hembesi,
durino- the conipaiij^n of occupation in 1893,
were, in my opinion, mere flea-bites com-
pared with Inu<»"u.

The following is a list of the killed and
wounded : —

Killed

Corp. J. Hall ..

1} Troop

• • • • • •

Trpr

P. Bennett

E Troop M.M.B.

»»

• • • • • •

W. H. Bush

)) J)

Severely

wounded

Serg.

C.H.Halkett

Maxim Troop
Belingwe F.F.

>»

M. Eadie ...

FTroopM.M.P.

Trpr

1). Dick ...

Belingwe F.F.

T. Judge ...

>> >5

J.R.Toulson

5) )»

)»

C.O.Morgan

Died July 23rd

Slightly

wounded

A.M.Stewart

>) )>

))

C. Sell ...

M.M.P.

F. H. Miller

Coi-p

. (^ S. Roger

Belingwe F.F.

The native contingent had fifteen wounded
and twenty-seven killed and missing.

^ \

iTTTPPf^^n^pipm

chccriiii''
d himself
, and is

Beinbesi,

in 1893,

tes com-

illcd and

roop
oopM.M.P.

im Troop
:lingwe F.F,
oopM.M.P.
igwe F.F.

I >»

) )»

I July 23rd

LP.

ngwe F.F.

wounded

THE KILLED AND WOUNDED

297

We al.so lost nine horses, which were
killed or died of their wounds, and had
two wounded, with three mules killed and
mree wounded. After the fresh Impi was
fairly routed the order was ^rjven to inspan,
and the column moved forward to try and
Ret to the entrance of Cheleli valley, which
our native ouides told us was only a short
way ahead now, and the way to it throuL,di
fairly easy country. The last part of their
information proved tolerably correct, but as
they were never able to point out an en-
trance to the valley 1 am certain they were
at fault as to its whereabouts.

The column advanced along a valley
running parallel with Cheleli, about half a
mile broad, banded on either side by a line
of rugged hills, and halted at 10 a.m. with
its left flank up against a rocky kopje, v\^here
the valley had narrowed down to about a
hundred yards wide. There was a little
water here, and it was decided to breakfast.
The friendlies were

posted

on the hills on

either side, and Cossack posts put out.

298

THE MATABELE REBELLION

!i!

i'^

f,;:i

Laager had not been formed more than
half an hour when the friendHes and Cossacks
on the left flank reported the advance of
an Impi up Cheleli valley. This Impi came
on rapidly, and joined with part of the de-
feated one, which had followed the line of
hills Oil our left, picking up stragglers as
they went along, keeping the hills between
themselves and the column. When they
were joined by the new Impi they halted,
and after a short time both Impis moved off
rapidly in the direction of Umshamo.

The column moved forward again at
1 1 a.m., and laagered up about eight miles
further on, well past the centre of this part
of the Matopos. Our guides had failed to
point out an entrance to the valley, and as
the position we now occupied was a good one,
I decided to halt there for the night. From
the hills on our right a good view of the
country to the north could be obtained.
The scouts and native continorent were sent
on to watch for any movements of the
enemy. About 3 p.m. they reported a largf

THE GRANITE RIDGES

299

re than
ossacks
iiice of
pi came
the de-
line of
;Iers as
etween
n they
halted,
/ed off

body of rebels marchinj^- over the hills from
Cheleli valley towards Fynn's farm, and
shordy after another lot with cattle, women,
and children moving- in the same direction.
These I took to be rebels retreatin^r in front
of Colonel Plumer s attack.

They all crossed over and disappeared
behind the granite ridges, about three miles
to the north-west of our position, before
sundown.

am at
: miles
is part
iled to
md as
)d one,

From
of the
ained.
2 sent
f the

largf

3op

THE MATABELE REBELLION

CHAPTER XX

I >

[} ^:

' j

« 1

;

• 1

■ ■:»

^1^

il'^

Biiri;il of the dead — Dislnisl in the native guides — The
column counter-marches to Chawner's canip — Arrival
of Colonel Baden-Powell and two squadrons — Column
ordered to proceed to Belingwe with provisions —
Relief of t^arrison — Attack on Mazezetezc — Mondi's
position found deserted — Return of column to
Bclingwe.

AS soon as the laager was formed and
in a good state of defence, the bodies
of our comrades killed in action that morn-
ing, which were brought along on the
wagons, were interred in one grave, and a
large cairn of stones erected on the top of
it by the men of the column.

At 8 p.m. three star-shells were sent up to
indicate our position to the other column, but
they were not answered.

I spent an anxious night, and made certain
the rebels would attack again, unless they
had been routed all round. The men stood
to arms as usual before daybreak, but no

CM A IVNER'S CAMP

301

cles— The
— Arrival
—Column
^visions —
— Mondi's
olumn to

led and
2 bodies

morn-
on the

and a
; top of

nt up to
|mn, but

certain

iss they

li stood

but no

rebels showed up. Shortly after it was light
enough to see well patrols and scouting
parties were sent out in all directions, each
returning to report that no rebels were to be
seen, or any signs of them. The guides
were again questioned as to the entrance of
Cheleli valley. They said that the entrance
was now only a short way ahead to our left.
The column moved forward again about one
and a half miles, when Lieutenant McDonald
rode in and reported that he had lost all
faith in the native guides, who, he said, were
leading us astray, either from fear or design.
I saw it was futile to go further under the
circumstances, and the condition of our
wounded men had to be considered. They
could not be got back too soon to a place
where they could rest and be well looked
after. I halted the column and called the
officers together, explained the situation, and
decided to return by the road we had come
in. The column counter-marched at once,
and shortly after sundown reached Chawner's
camp and laagered up for the night.

302

THE MATABELE REBELLION

Jr. V'

ill,!.

'ii W\ i!

From the time the rebels were observed
disappearing over the hill to the eastward,
on the afternoon of the 20th, we had only
seen two niggers, and they, just as we left
the Inugu gorge behind us, fired on a fora-
ging party and fled. As we passed over the
battlefield on our way back, many more
dead bodies of the enemy were seen lying
about. In all probability they were the
bodies of wounded men who had got out of
the rocks and endeavoured to reach a small
rivulet to drink. One wounded man had
hanged himself.

The friendly indunas were ordered to
count the enemy's dead as we returned, and
between them they reported having seen
ni.iety. I presume this was a fairly accurate
report.

We had scarcely been more than an hour
in laager at Chawner's camp, before the
sentries announced the approach of a large
body of men and horses from the direction of
Inugu, and presently a bugle sounded the
general salute. Shortly afterwards Colonel

COL ONEL BA DEN-PO WELL

303

)served
stward,
id only
we left
a fora-
3ver the
,y more
iw lying
/ere the
jt out of
1 a small
nian had

iered to

■ned, and

nir seen

accurate

an hour
;fore the

a large

■ection o

ded the
Colonel

Baderr- Powell rode into laager and asked
who we were. He had been sent out with
two squadrons to look for my column, the
absence of which had somewhat 'disturbed
the peace at headquarters. He told us of all
that had taken place with Plumer's column,
and that after their fight they had gone back
to Usher's No. 2. This expkiined why our
signals had not been answered on the even-
ing of the 20th, and made me feel very
thankful that my column was clear of the
mountains. I had an idea that once in the
hills we were to stay there until the rebels
went out.

Colonel Baden- Powell took a few notes of
our engagement, and returned to head-
quarters at once, taking the two squadrons
with him. Before leaving he arranged to
send an ambulance wagon and doctors to
assist our wounded.

The followiuLT mornino" about i i a.m. the
ambulance wagon arrived under mounted
escort, along with Ur. Sutcliffe, who came
to assist Dr. Anderson with the wounded.

304

THE MA TABELE REBELLION

'./fi i,

After they had all been properly attended
to, the column marched on to Usher's
No. 2, arriving about 3 p.m.

I rode on a little in front as we neared
headquarters, and met Captain Beresford
with a squadron of horse coming to look for
us, and render any assistance that might be
required ; luckily none was required.

On arriving in camp I met General
Carrington, who congratulated the column
and me on our successful enoaoement.

The following day the column moved
towards Buluwayo, leaving the M.M.P., and
F Troop R.H.V. at headquarters.

Our instructions now were to take pro-
visions on to the garrison at Belingwe as
fast as possible.

On arrival at Buluwayo I met Captain
Frankland, who had, after fixing up our
depot at Matabele Wilson's farm, marched a
party of forty to join Plumer's column, and
was engaged in the attack on Babyaan's
stronghold. Frankland had been very busy
in Buluwayo, and with his usual push had

attended
Usher's

e neared
Beresford
) look for
miirht be
;d.

General
e column
ment.
1 moved
VI. P., and

take pro-
ling we as

; Captain
>• up our
narched a
lumn, and
Babyaan's
very busy
push had

AN/)/a.\S( )N A.Vn CAMPHELL 305

got all the wagons in good order and loaded
with provisions for Belingwe. A day's rest
was necessary to give us a chance of over-
hauhng everything, and the shoeing of the

horses seen to. Then we were ready to

start.

I was glad in a way and very sorry in
anotlier, to liave to part witli two of n,y best
officers, in Suryeon-Captain Anderson and
Lieutenant Donald Campbell. As a doctor
Anderson was perfect, and I don't believe a
better leader of Cape boys could have been
found than Donald Campbell proved him-
self to be. They were both pro.noted-
Ur. Anderson to the position of District-
Surgeon of Buluwayo, a.id Campbell to that
of ch.ef of the detective staff of Rhodesia.

On the morning of the 26th of July the
provision c.ivoy was ready, and the c.lumn
marched for lielingwe. We had instructions
from the brigade officer to laager up near
Thabas Induna and scout the vicinity as
another Impi had been reported hovering
about in that direction. "

i! :*

iff?

HI'

(1 I

." r i '

;o6

V'NE MATAliPJJl REHELIJON

On the 27th I signalled back to the
brigade office, "No signs of Impi," and
marched on, reaching " Denendeen " on the
the evening of the 28th, where I again com-
municated with the brigade office, twenty-
seven miles, by heliograph. On the evening
of the 29th the laager was formed on the
east bank of the Inseza River, fifty miles
from Buluwayo.

On the ^oth the column crossed the
Inseza hills and laagered on their eastern
flank. On our way through. Lieutenant
Campbell, who was in charge of our sig-
nalling staff, tried to get into communication
with Bembesi by heliograph, but failed,
owing, I believe, to a heavy haze.

Towards sundown on the evening" of the
30th two despatch-riders caught up the
column bearing despatches from the brigade
office with instructions to keep a sharp look-
out for any retreating rebels from the
Matopos.

On the 31st I sent seven wagons, with
an escort of infantry under Lieutenant

-« JtiMMatKilEUbJMVi*

7Y^ HE I. INC, WE

307

to the
)i," and
" on the
ain com-

twenty-
i evening
d on the
iftv miles

3ssed the
ir eastern
Lieutenant
our sig-
nunication
,ut failed,

|ing of the
It up the
le brigade
jharp look-
from the

rons. with
iLieutenant

Caldecott, to relieve Belingwe, and moved
the mounted men in the dusk, under a large
hill, where we would be fairly well hid, and
gain a good view of the surrounding country.
We laid there for two days scouting the
country in every direction, but the rebels
showed no signs of being anywhere about.
The whole country for miles round had been
burned by grass fires and there was no food
for the horses. I had therefore to move
forward again on the 2nd towards dusk, and
on the evening of the 3rd laagered up at
Posselt's farm, twelve miles from Belingwe,
and ninety-five from Buluwayo. Here the
grazing was excellent, with plenty of good
water.

I now made up my mind to leave the
column and ride on to Belingwe, with a small
escort, to see how matters were with the
garrison there. I started on the morning of
the 4th and found on arrival that Lieutenant
Caldecott had got his convoy safely through
and that the men of the garrison were all
right, and not in want of provisions as we

3o8

TlfE MATAnEI.E RE HE I.I.I ON

'i ;

had been led to believe. All this was very
satisfactory.

On the 5th the s^arrison was relieved by
men from the field force. The relieved
garrison joined the field force the same
evening.

The following day all the farriers set to
work to overhaul the horses, and see to the
shoeing of them, and of the mules.

The column had a holiday which they
spent in a shooting competition, troop against
troop. The Staff put in the best shooting
team, and Sergeant Lawrence, of 13 Troop
made the highest score.

Captain James Stoddart, who had been in
command of the garrison at Belinofwe, re-
ported that all was (juiet in the district,
except at Wedza's, Mazezeteze's, and Mondi's,
where he believed the rebels held strong
positions.

I decided to march a force against Maze-
zeteze and Mondi, and on the morning of
the 7th, leaving Lieutenant Yonge with A
Troop in charge of our depot at Posselt's

MAZEZE TE/.ICS HILL

was very

lieved by

relieved

the same

ers set to
see to the

;s.

^hich they
Dop agahist
pt shooting
f B Troop

lad been in
[Ungwe, re-
Ihe district,
nd Mondi's,
lield strong

ainst Maze-

Imorning of

ige with A

I at Posselt's

309

farm, marched a patrol of fifty mounted white
men, E Troop, Captain Stoddart's infantry,
and thirty Cape boys, towards Mazezeteze's.
After crossing the Umchingwe River, the
scouts were sent on to Mondi's, and to-
wards sundown the patrol laagered within
about two miles of the latter and about the
same distance from Mazezetezes. The
scouts reported that the rebels at Mondi
were in large numbers, but did not show
signs of any antagonism. They contented
themselves with watching the movements of
the scouts in an indifferent sort of manner.

On the mot-nin"' of the 8th the column
moved forward again and laagered close up
to the south end of Mazezetezes hill. About
7 a.m. the order was given to have break-
fast and prepare to storm the positic^n, a
granite hill about two miles long, a mile
broad, and in some parts five hundred feet
high. The top rocks were crooked, the
open fissures forming what are generally
known as caves, in which the rebels are
very expert in finding protection from any

*1 '

f :

! ,

J. J.

310

T/Z/i AfArAnEIJC RE HE I. LION

c'lttackincr force, usinjr all the natural advan-
tajres such positions afford for dealing a
blow in return.

Whilst the men were having breakfast,
the rebels showed up very boldly on t
most prominent parts of the hill and shouted
down to us all sorts of defiant abuse.

As E Troop, under Captain Stoddart,
had been pent up in Belingwe for over six
weeks, it was only natural that they were
anxious to have a brush with the enemy. I
sent Captain vStoddart and his men round
the south end of the mountain, with ins'"''uc-
tions to storm the kraals and driv he
rebels out of the position on that side.
Captain Frankland was sent off with a few
mounted meii to watch the operations and
send in reports as they proceeded. Lieu-
tenant Beisly was sent with B Troop mounted
half-way up and about five hundred yards
away from the east flank of the hill, to cut
off any rebels who might retreat to the bush-
covered slopes of the Bungwe hills, which
ran parallel to, and about three miles east

■l . !

aclvan-
laling a

reakfast,

on '
I shouted

Stoddart,
over six
hey were
;nemy. ^
icn round
:h ins^»-uc-
driv ^e
hat side,
ith a few
litions and
d. Lieu-
p mounted
red yards
[hill to cut
the bush-
ills, which
miles east

.V TO/) DA A' rs A D VA NCR

3>'

of, Mazezeteze's. Lieutenant Howe with
twenty Cape boys was sent to cut off the
retreat on the north end of the position.

As soon as \i Troop disappeared round the
southern end of the field, the seven-pounder
was sent out, and Serj^^eant Perry ^'om-
menced to shell the positions where the
most of the rebels were to be seen. The
shells soon made them take cover, and very
shortly after a sharp rattle of musketry
announced that P3 Troop was engaged.
This lasted for about a quarter of an hour
and then a large column of smoke rising
from the side of th ■ hill, on which H Troop
were at work, show d that the hrst kraal
had been taken and eu stroyed. This again
was followed by a few more clouds of smoke
and then the rebels could be seen retreating
toward the north end of their position
assisted on their way by an occasional shell
from the seven-pounder. Information was
sent round that the southern portion of the
hill had been cleared, and that Captain
Stoddart was advancing to attack the

312

THE MATABELK REBELLION

f; t

|ii

Is*

northern portion, where the rebels had all
located themseK js and were compelled to
stay and fioht it out, seeing- that the base
of the hill was surrounded by a linj of Cape
boy skirmishers. The rattle of rifle fire
announced the attack of this portion of the
enemy's position, Shortly after midday
Captain Frankland rode in and reported that
the rebels had all been driven into the
northern end of the hill, and that without
the aid of the seven-pounder it would be
impossible to take them out of the posi-
tion. One man, Trooper Woest, had been
shot dead, and was still lying close up to
the caves.

The gun detachment were sent forward
at once, and Sergeant Perry shelled the
caves in rotation, until the rebels were
shifted from one to another of them, and
finally went to earth. Trooper Woest's
bodv was then recovered.

A linguist tried to get into conversation
with the rebels, offering them their lives
and liberty if they surrendered. After many

lad all
lied to
le base
•f Cape
fie fire
\ of the
midday
•ted that
nto the
without
vould be
:he posi-
uid been
se up to

; forward
iUed the
els were
lem, and
Woest's

iversation

leir lives

Ifter many

A XrOUNTKD PATROL

3J3

vain endeavours the attempt was i^iven up
as the rebels never replied.

It was now almost sundown and the troops
were ordered back to the laatrer — E Troop
very much fagged with their hard day's work.

The following morning Trooper Woest's
remains were interred about eight hundred
yards west of the south end of Mazezeteze's
mountains and a laroe cairn of stones erected
over his grave to mark the spot.

A light mounted patrol was sent round
the mountain to try and get in touch with
the rebels, but during the night the latter
had retreated towards the MTopoti Hills,
taking the women and children widi them.

The column then moved to the south-east,
in the direction of Mondi's position, which
was found deserted. The action against
Mazezeteze had shattered Alondi's faith.
He and his following had gone to Wedza's,
where I decid'^d to let them stay. All the
kraals here were destroyed and the column
moved to the Umchingwe River and laagered
for the niiiht on its north bank.

THE MATABELE REBELLION

ii %

ife I;

The following" mornincr a drift was made
through the river-bed, by which the column
crossed, reaching Posselt's farm by midday.
Here Lieutenant Yonp-e had nothinof of
importance to report, as no rebels or any
signs of them had been seen by his patrols.

On the iith the column marched south-
east in the direction of Belingwe Peak.
Scouting parties were sent out to see if
Um'Nyati had returned. He had not, and
there were no fresh sic>ns of the rebels about.

On the afternoon of the 12th the column
laagered up at A. Little's camp, about five
miles south-west of Belingwe, where the
wagons were dismantled and the men put
on to repair them.

By the morning of the 19th the wagons
had been overhauled and the horses re-shod
and everything got ready for another march.
• While the men had been busy repairing
I took advantage of the halt, and with a
small patrol, which consisted of Captains
Hopper and Frankland, Mr. Percy Hare,
and a few mounted men, visited some of

was made
be column
y midday,
lothing of
ils or any
is patrols,
led south-
rwe Peak,
to see if
d not, and
;bels about,
the column
about five
where the
e men put

A//N/NG CAMPS

l^l

the pnnapal fining camps in the district.
Stoddarts camp at the "Great BeMnowe "
had been looted and destroyed by fire, as
we as the can,ps at " Bobs Luck " and
Wanderers- Rest " „,ines. The dan,age
done to „,achi„ery alone at the " Bob s
Luck mine amounted to about /,,ooo.
Many of the s„,aller mining camps had not
been destroyed, and the claina pegs and
beacons were ail intact. No fresh spoor
of rebels was to be seen anywhere.

the wagons
rses re-shod
ither march.
sy repairing
and with a
of Captains
Percy Hare,
ed some of

THE MATABELE REBELLION

CHAPTER XXI

Departure of column for Huluwayo — Attack on Tandod-
zic's position — Sudden disappearance of tlie reliels -•
Lieutenant Wilson, with convoy and despatches, joins
column at " Finj^er Kop" — Surrender of chiefs in
l}elin<4\ve district — Death and burial of Serj^eant
Perry— Arrival of column at Buluwayo — Address by
Earl (irey and disbandment of cohnnn.

ON the mornino- of the 19th the cohiniii
again moved in the direction of Buki-
wayo, but by a new route ; the intention
beinu' to maive a new road from BeHnirwe to
Inseza, throui^h the bush-covered flats close
to the Umchingwe River, and to make that
rivv^r, which is a most chfficult one to cross
with wagons, fordable, by opening out
several drifts at different points. By
doing this the rugged country to the
north, I took it, would be made more
easy of access from the main road, which
ran about five miles to the south.

on Tanclod-
thc ichc'ls -•

latches, joins
of chiefs in
of Serj^eant

—Address by

he column
n of Hulu-
i intention
lelingwe to
flats close
niake that
le to cross
snintx out
Dints. By
ry to the
nade more
oad, which
h.

Lieutenant Yonoe was left with a detach-
ment of mounted men and a Nordenfelt at
Posselt's farm, with the horses and mules
that were unfit for work.

On the 25th Tandodzie's stronghold was
to be attacked, but the first two shells
stopped all resistance. The rebels in sioht
(there were only about thirty of them)
took to their heels and disappeared in
the bush.

On the evening of the 26th the column
laagered on the open flats on the east bank
of the Shangantopi spruit, where we had again
to deal wuh a grass fire, which the rebels
had arranged for our annoyance. It was
not such a violent one as the first, but it
destroyed all the grass in the district.

On the 27th we laagered at "Finger
Kop," about five miles east of Inseza.'^to
wait for Lieutenant Wilson, (luartermaster
of the Belingwe garrison, v ho. with a small
convoy of wagons and eleven men. was, at
this point, expected with grain and provisions
for the column.

Pf r l.:'J^l

318

r///: MATABELE REBELLION

- t:

-M- f !

11/ ■'f«i
if '

j;j!

liili i^

. , .._Jf!li

I) U ■ ';: r 11

On the morning of the 28th Wilson
turned up and reported all quiet on the road
between Belingwe and Inseza. He brought
information from Lieutenant Caldecott, who
had been left in charge at Belingwe, and
Lieutenant Jackson, Acting Native Com-
missioner there, to the effect that six native
chiefs had come in to surrender. Jackson
was instructed to accept their surrender, and
send them back to their kraals, with orders
to keep their arms for the purpose of en-
abling them to help the white man against
the other rebels, if necessary, and to keep
the garrison at Ijclingwe posted as to the
movements, of any of the latter in the
district.

The chief;: said the action against Maze-
zeteze's had made them decide to surrender,
and that as many of our shells had done
great havoc in many of the caves, the natives
in the district were convinced that the white
man was more than able to beat them, and
now wished to make peace rather than be
killed. Wedza, they said, was still in his

itete

A STRONG FRihVTrER

319

Wilson
the road
J brouy;bt
;cott, who
owe, and
ive Corn-
six native
Jackson
ender, and
vitVi orders
)Ose of en-
lan against
ul to keep
as to the
er in the

linst Maze-
surrender,
had done
the natives
Lt the white
them, and
[er than be
still in his

cave, and Mondi's people were in one of the
adjoining hills, but as these two tribes were
at loggerheads over some cattle they would
in all probability fight with each other very
soon.

Um'Nyati had taken all his people into the
Mapelabana Mountains, did not wish to fight
any more, and was afraid the white men
would catch him.

Mr. Jackson had instructions to send
peaceful messages to all, and to try and
establish a feeling of confidence between
white and black in that district.

I thoucrht it best to allow Wedza and
Mondi's people to settle their own affair,
knowing full well that, with the other natives
in the district friendly, they would be quite
harmless.

I was aware that their position was strong
— the strongest in the country. Before the
rebellion broke out I had often been at
Wedza's, and knew it well ; but as their
followinir was a small one — Wedza's about
forty and Mondi's about fifty fighting men — I

i|r;jf;; :.,^,.-,^..^„ -

320

THE MATABELE REnEI.I.ION

I til ,'• f

y f;-

always believed they were just about so evenly
balanced as to keep each other in order.
They never did any harm in the district
after the column left, but owing, I believe,
to conHictini;' rumours and reports being
sent to headquarters, Colonel Baden- Powell
was sent against Wedza, with a force of
hussars, 6v:c., and the remainder of the
Belingwe P'ield Force. After two days' hard
work Wedza's stronghold was destroyed.
An account of the takinof of Wedza's was
forwarded to me by an officer of the
Belingwe Field Force who was present, but
as he had not seen so much of the fitJ'htiniJf
as Colonel Baden -Powell, who has so
thoroughly and brilliantly described the
whole affiur in his admirable work, I do not
think it necessary to publish my officer's
report.

The column moved forward again on the
29th, but before doing so we had a melan-
choly duty to perform. Sergeant Perry, who
was in charge of the gun detachment, had
contracted enteric fever, some two days

DEA TH OF PEKR Y

32 f

SO evenly
in order,
e district
1 believe,

rts being
en- Powell
a force of
IX of the
clays' bard
destroyed,
edza's was
jer of tbe
present, but
he fighting
has so
cribed the
k, 1 do not
ny officer's

rain on the
Id a melan-
Perry, who
|:hment, had
two days

before, and unfortunately had succumbed to
it early in the morning. Perry was an
excellent soldier, and his goodness of cha-
racter in every respect had endeared him to
every one of the column. His sudden death
cast a gloom over all. His remains lie under
a Marula-tree, about i ']0 yards south of
" Finger Kop," and his grave, like all others
who had gone before him, was covered with
a laroe cairn of stones.

The column marched on after he was
buried, and laagered up at the ruins of
Cumming's store, in the Inseza hills. Here
we halted for the greater part of the day.

It was here that Colonel the Hon. Maurice
Gifford had his first fight after the rebellion
broke out, the marks of which were still
quite visible. As Gifford had to bury some
of his dead under fire, their graves were not
very well finished, but our men put them all
to rights ere we marched on again.

On the 13th we crossed the Inseza range

of hills and laagered at the foot of the

western slope. Whilst here Captain J. Warrick

322

THE MATAIiELE REBELLION

■|' V

fill

ii i' :

came up with a detachment of poHce from
Bukiwayo, with orders to establish a post at
Rixon's farm, on the Ir.seza. Warrick tokl
me all about the peace negotiations going on
between Mr. Rhodes and the rebels in the
Matopos. This was pleasant information,
and on hearing" it I determined to march the
column straight for Huluwayo.

On the ist of September I left the column
in charge of Captain Hopper, about sixteen
miles from Buluwayo, and rode on to report
myself, taking a small mounted escort with me.

Captain Hopper brought the column in
slowly and laagered on our old camp ground
two days later.

On arriving at Buluwayo I reported myself
to the General and Administrator.

They were both glad to hear of the
column's safe arrival and that the natives in
the Belingwe district were suing for peace.

Before the column got in arrangements
were made for disbanding a portion of the
officers and men. Captain Hopper was
ordered back to the Inseza district to try and

GENERAL CARKINC, TON'S ORDERS

323

:e from
post at
•ick toUl
roing on
s in the
)rmatioii,
larch the

le column
at sixteen

to report
rt with me.
:olumn in

np ground

ted myself

ir of the
natives in
hr peace,
[angements

lion of the
lopper was
to try and

brinij' some of the rebels who were lurkin<>"
about there to reason, but he had all his
march for nothing, as no rebels were to be
found.

After Captain Hopper marched for Inseza
I applied to the G. (). C. for permission to
resign and take up the duties of my com-
pany, the work of which was very much in
arrear in every department.

General Carrinoton was most kind and
considerate under the circumstances, and on
my promising to look after the affairs of the
column when it came to be disbanded, he
told me that he would accede to my request,
and forthwith the followint'- General Orders
were published : —

"Extracts from General Orders by Major
General Sir Frederick Carrington, K.C.M.G.,
commanding forces. Headquarters' Office
Buluwayo, September 7th :

" 3. A portion of Captain Laing's Be-
lingwe Field Force will be disbanded from
the 7th inst.

324

THE MATABELE REBELLION

V! I

.'1

M i!

hi' ■ i

" 4. Captain Lainij^ retires from his com-
mand and is j^iven the rank of honorary
Major. The General Officer commandini
wishes to place on record his hi^h apprecia-
tion of the excellent services rendered by
this officer during the late operations."

" Extract from General Orders. i8th Sep-
tember :

"I. The following officers of the I^elingwe
Field Force resign their appointments from
the 7th inst. inclusive : Captain James Stod-
dart, Lieutenant A. J. Wilson, Lieutenant
Malcolm McCallum."

Captain Hopper's patrol got back from
Belinpwe and Inseza districts on the evenin<>
of September 29th, and orders were issued
for the disbanding of the column next
day.

About 1 1 a.m. on the 30th of September
all that remained of the Hf^in* I' i

Force, except the detach mc >v ng

marched into Buluwayo and p.iradef in front
of the Administrator, Earl Grey, who re-

F.A RI. i '.RE 1 ".V A DDR ESS

325

lis com-
lononiry

iipprccla-
dercd by
ons.
1 8th Sep-

: BeUn^^we
lents from
imcH Stod-
Lieutenant

back from
the evening
^ere issued
Ikimn next

Septemhrr

ng .
Ide' m front
.y, who re-

ceived them most cordially, and addressed
them on behalf of the Chartered Company

in the following" words

" Major Laino', Ca[)tjiin Hopper, Captain
Franklancl, Officers, Non - commissi(jned
Officers, and men of the Helin^we I'ield
Force, this is the second time 1 have had the
pleasure of addressino- you, and thanking-
you on behalf of the Company which I
represent, for the j^allant conduct you have
displayed in the field on all occasions durini,^
the rebellion. I stand by what I have
already said to you, men, when I first had
the pleasure of meeting you, when you
passed through here on your way to the
Matopo Mountains; that if every district had
stuck together and defied the rebels as you
did, the rebellion would nc\er ha\ c reached
the dimensions it did. You are being dis-
banded, and to me this is a sure sign that
the rebellion is at an ii\\(\ ; the force of this
fact is brought home forcibly to me, when I
see your old commanding officer, standing

I li a" ij.ni

":l

i I

1 !

( ■

326

7^//^ MATABELE REBELLION

here without his uniform, and you can retire
proudly on laurels that have been bravely
won. You have made your district of Be-
lingwe famous, and the white men respected
by natives in every part of it. You will now
adjourn with me to the Chartered Hotel
where we will drink to the future prosperity
of Rhodesia and success to its inhabitants in
years to come. But before doini^ so I will
read to you the General Order for disbanding
you.

|: I

Miii'^ii

*' ' BULUWAVO,

" * September 30, 1 896.
" ' The (jeneral Officer commandino-, in
disbandiiio" the Belingwe Field Force to-day,
wishes to convey to Major Laino-, Captain
Hopper, and the remaining v)fficers. non-com-
missioned officers, and troopers of the force,
his hioh a[)preciation of the service they
have rendered during the rebellion, of the
gallant conduct they have on so nicUiy occa-
sions shown on the field, especially in the
action at Inugu Mountain, on the 20th July,

\\ y

:an retire
1 bravely
ct of Be-
respected
I will now
■ed Hotel
prosperity
Lbitants in
so I will
iisbanding

VAVO,

X 1896.
binding", in
rce to-day,
r. Captain
. non-com-

the f(3rce,
rvice they
on, of the
[Vc\ny occa-
ally In the

20th July,

CONCLUSION

-i of ,he h,-,h sense of du.v which Z
^- ^ co„sp,cuous Hn.>„. .„ ,„„, ^,
out the campai^o-n. ^

" ' By Order.

{^i^nit^X) C. II VvvvAN,
Captam.
• ^"■^'"^'•= Major, Staff Officer in chief"

Earl Grey then called for three cheers for
the Be n,we Field Force-a call which w.s
-ponded to heartily by the bystand rs

':^v'''"'r "'""""■"''-' ^-h-ed toi:

the Corps disband

one":; ?; ''"' ''''"'' ' - ■•-"^-c. to

aft'wards. '" '''"'''''' ''-'" ^^ -

As soon as the men had had some hVbt
refresh„,e„t they handed in all their en .fip

ment,and weredismissed;and thus ate ,
fon but brilliant career, the Belin^e ^ ,
I-orce became a thin, of the past.

I I Jl

n-i]-^-i

-t-, •_; ^ — /^" eO-**t**v^ff

VNWI.V BROTHERS, rRI.NTEKS, WOKIXG AND LONDON.

Lt ^x^

^^ ''^^u^€4m ., >y

^*tU4t>^

LONDON.