CAPE COLONY AND SoUTH AFRICA. 



Ill 



large re-enforcements were sent out to Africa from 

 Europe. The Brat detachments of imperial troope 



took over two weeks in reach the scene of the con- 

 flict. When they arrived the rebels retired into 

 tiie Matoppo hills.' There the commissioner Arm- 

 strong and the American scout Burnham pene- 

 trated the cave of the Matabele priest Mlimo. who 

 had great influence over the people, and shot him 

 while he was saying his incantations. The Mata- 

 beles began to mass on the Shangani river, north of 

 Buluwayo and on the Kami river, in the west. 

 Some of the most active of the volunteers, and 

 some of the first to fall were American prospectors, 

 such as Thomas haddocks. A. R. Hammond, and 

 Robert White. The British Government, in conse- 

 quence of the raid of Dr. Jameson into the Trans- 

 vaal, had not only transferred back to the Crown 

 the administration of Montsioa's country and other 

 districts of Bechuanaland. but had taken away the 

 command of the Matabeleiand and Mashonaland 

 police and military forces from the Chartered Com- 

 pany. The Rhodesian horse volunteers were dis- 

 banded in the beginning of April and replaced by 

 the Buluwayo field force. 400 strong. There were 

 about 1.000 volunteers enrolled. Sir Richard E. R. 

 Martin was appointed administrator of the police 

 in Bechuanaland. Matabeleland. and Mashonaland. 

 When Col. Pluiner arrived and reorganized the 

 volunteer forces, reducing the pay to 5s. a day, only 

 300 rejoined, while 600 left the country. Volunteer 

 forces were raised in Cape Town, Kimberley. and 

 Johannesburg. The natives then closely invested 

 Gwelo. and held the whole country except a space 

 of a few miles about Buluwayo. The party of Mr. 

 Selous was repelled by the natives, and later Gif- 

 ford's horse suffered a defeat and ('apt. Brand and 

 his troop of 130 men were surrounded by 1.500 Ma- 

 tabeles, but cut their way out. Mangwe pass, south 

 of Buluwayo. was occupied and fortified to hold 

 open the road to Mafeking. Lord Grey, who was 

 appointed administrator of Rhodesia to succeed 

 Dr. Jameson, arrived at Mafeking on April 13. 

 Major-Gen. Sir Frederick Carrington was appoint- 

 ed to the supreme command of all the forces. The 

 Portuguese Government granted permission to 

 transport war supplies by way of Beira. Buluwayo 

 was seriously threatened by 4.000 rebels encamped 

 on both sides of the Umgusa river, not 3 miles from 

 the town, when Capt. Napier on April 23 occupied 

 good artillery positions and drove the enemy up the 

 river with a loss of 150 killed. Capt. Macfarlane's 

 column on April 25. with the aid of friendly Mata- 

 beles. successfully resisted an attack of the rebels, 

 who advanced in force with both wings thrown for- 

 ward in Zulu fashion for an enveloping movement. 

 The British troops retired at first to draw the rebels 

 within range of the machine guns, which when 

 they opened fire created havoc in their ranks. 

 The Mataheles continued their attacks, advancing 

 sometimes within half a mile of the town and 

 facing the sorties with unabated courage. On 

 April 2? they were scattered in all directions, but 

 later returned to their positions. Lord Grey ar- 

 rived and took control of affairs. Mr. Rhodes re- 

 lieved Gwelo. and Sir Richard Martin and Col. Plu- 

 mer arrived with re-enforcements at Buluwayo 

 before the middle of May. The Matabeles retired 

 and raided the western and northern country, burn- 

 ing kraals and grain. Mr. Rhodes won a decided 

 victory at Movene. The Martini-Henry rifle, which 

 at first had been discarded for the Lee-Metford reg- 

 ulation pattern, was adopted again for the use of 

 the Chartered Company's troops, owing to the latter 

 beinjT deficient in stopping power. Arms and ammu- 

 nition reached Buluwayo in large quantities. The 

 difficulty of transport, owing to the deaths of trek 

 oxen from rinderpest, was almost as serious a mat- 



ter as the native revolt. The Chartered Company 

 tried to get natives to take the place of oxen. 

 When Gen. Sir Frederick Carrington arrived to 

 take command of the field operations the rebels 

 had abandoned the siege of Buluwayo. It was esti- 

 mated that 50.000 people, a third of the Matabele 

 nation, were in often rebellion, with a force of be- 

 tween 10.000 and 12.000 fighting men, many armed 

 with firearms, and all possessing the long assegai 

 for throwing and the short stabbing assegai, which 

 is used with deadly effect at close quarters. There 

 were five impis and numerous small bodies that 

 acted as scouts and took part in cattle raids. The 

 impi that threatened Buluwayo had retired 60 miles 

 to Ntaba Zikambo. Another of 2.000 men guarded 

 the Tuli road toward the Matoppo hills : a third, 

 about 800 strong, was southeast of Buluwayo: a 

 fourth. 2,000 strong, was on the northwest : and a 

 fifth, having 2.500 men, was near the Shangani 

 river. The uprising was general throughout a dis- 

 trict extending 250 miles from east to west and 200 

 miles north and south. The number of white sel- 

 lers murdered, not counting those killed in action, 

 was nearly 300. The regular troops having been 

 stopped at Mafeking. the work of hunting out and 

 punishing the rebels had to be performed by the 

 English and Boer forces that had been raised in the 

 colonies, men inured to the climate and familiar 

 with savage warfare. Of such troops Sir Frederick 

 Carrington had under his command about 3.500 

 men. consisting of the Buluwayo field force, Cecil 

 Rhodes's Gwelo regiment from Salisbury, and the 

 relief column brought by Col. Pluiner. Col. Plu- 

 mer's men on May 26 drove the impi that was en- 

 camped within 15 miles of Buluwayo back into the 

 Matoppo hills, and later engaged the impi in the 

 southeast, and after three sharp fights compelled 

 them to retreat with heavy losses. Col. Napier's 

 column and the force of Mr. Rhodes joined on the 

 Pongo river and attacked the rebels on the Shangani 

 and sent flying columns into the hills, one of which 

 was hard pressed by the Ingobo impi. On June 6, 

 after Sir Frederick Carrington had assumed com- 

 mand Col. Spreckley and Lieut. -Col. Beal defeated an 

 impi near Buluwayo, killing 150 men. and captur- 

 ing some Martini and repeating rifles. The Ma- 

 shonas between Umtali and Salisbury began to rise 

 after a meeting of chiefs on June 9. Police were 

 overpowered and white settlers murdered. Mata- 

 bele chiefs and Makalakas supposed to be friendly 

 also joined the revolt. The Portuguese authorities, 

 who at length had suppressed the protracted rebel- 

 lion in their own dominion and captured the chief 

 Gungunhana. loaned weapons and ammunition. 

 Imperial troops were moved up from Mafeking, 

 and the forces recruited in Mashonaland were 

 sent back to defend their own homes. The Cape 

 Government offered re-enforcements, but Lord Grey 

 thought that the 769 whites in Mashonaland. with 

 800 re-enforcements on the road, were sufficient 

 to meet all emergencies. Sir Frederick Carring- 

 ton would like more men. but they would increase 

 the difficulty of transport and food supply. All the 

 Mazoe district rose. Patrols brought in women 

 and children with frequent losses, and Salisbury 

 begun to laager as Buluwayo previously had done. 

 At least 150 persons were murdered. Some of the 

 Mashona native police joined the rebellion, killing 

 their officers. In Matabeleland the campaign re- 

 laxed, as the rebels. lacking supplies, retired into 

 the forests. Capt. Laing routed a large body of 

 rebels in the Belingwe mountains, killing the chief 

 :<iba and 250 of his followers. On July 5 Col. 

 Pluiner delivered a severe blow to the Matabele 

 rebels, who recently had chosen Lobengula's son 

 Nyamanda to be their king. With 740 men he sur- 

 prised in the night a large camp at Tabas Amamba. 



