CAPE COLONY AND SOUTH AFRICA. 



105 



ordered by Dr. Jameson to clear out of Mashona- 

 land within an hour. They obeyed as well as 

 they could, but before they could reach the 

 frontier, which was 80 miles distant, they were 

 overtaken by a troop sent in pursuit and were 

 slaughtered, although they followed out to the 

 last their king's instruction to make no resist- 

 ance. A short time afterward a Matabele fired 

 a shot of warning on finding a body of Bechuana- 

 land police invading his master's country. Lo- 

 bengula's explanations of these incidents were 

 declared unsatisfactory, but a temporizing dip- 

 lomatic correspondence was carried on while 

 forces were being collected to invade Matabele- 

 land on three sides. An armed force crossed 

 the frontier while envoys were treating with 

 Lobengula to gain time. Sir Henry Loch re- 

 quested him to send representatives to explain 

 his side of the controversy, and accordingly he 

 sent his aged brother, Ingubungubu, and two 

 other indunas, Muntus and Gambo's cousin, 

 Ingubu. James Dawson, a well-known white 

 trader, undertook to conduct them to Palapye. 

 When, on Oct. 9, 1893, they reached Tati, where 

 Col. Goold-Adams was encamped with the in- 

 vading column of Bechuanaland police, Dawson 

 met F. C. Selous, an employee of the company, 

 and went off with him to take tea, leaving the 

 envoys standing. Col. Goold-Adams, seeing 

 three strange Matabeles, ordered them to be 

 made prisoners, and they, suspecting nothing, 

 allowed their horses and arms to be taken, and 

 went with the guards until they perceived that 

 they were captives, when one snatched a bayonet 

 from a soldier's side, and after a struggle the 

 two younger ones broke away, but were killed 

 by rifle shots before they had run far. The old 

 man was kept bound overnight, and sent on to 

 Palapye ; but there were no further peace nego- 

 tiations, for the white forces were already closing 

 in upon Lobengula's kraal. Sir Henry Loch and 

 the Marquis of Ripon, after an investigation, ex- 

 onerated the persons' concerned in the killing of 

 the king's envoys, on the ground that Col. Goold- 

 Adams did not know of their mission, and that 

 if he had known of it he was bound, as a mili- 

 tary precaution, to prevent their escape, lest 

 they should give Lobengula intelligence of his 

 approach. Two other messengers of Lobengula 

 were killed in the same way. He sent message 

 after message to the Government, which had in- 

 sisted that all communications were to be made 

 to it, and not to the representatives of the char- 

 tered company, but to none of his inquiries as 

 to what was the complaint against him and 

 what were the British demands did he receive a 

 definite reply until the hostile forces marched 

 into his country and war was formally declared. 

 The whole campaign had been determined on by 

 the officers of the company long before they had 

 brought the imperial authorities to agree 'to it, 

 and the plans for the conquest of Matabel eland 

 had been worked out in July by Dr. Jameson and 

 Major Forbes. 



The chartered company obtained plenty of 

 volunteers on the agreement that each man 

 should receive 6,000 acres of land. 20 mining 

 claims, and his share of loot. The Bechuana- 

 land border police advanced from Tati accom- 

 panied by King Khama and 2.000 of his warriors, 

 who took part in the first encounter with the 



Matabele at Mangwe.. The Bechuanas then re- 

 turned to their own country, dreading smallpox, 

 and wanting to plow their fields, while the white 

 troops pushed on to Buluwayo. 



The Salisbury column, under Major Forbes, 

 started from Port Charter on Oct. 2, and on Oct. 

 18 was joined by the Victoria column, led by 

 Major Allan Wilson. On Oct. 25 their camp on 

 the Shangani was surprised at break of day, but 

 the attack was easily repelled with the Maxim 

 and other machine guns. There were five Mata- 

 bele regiments engaged about 5,000 men 

 armed with all kinds of firearms or with asse- 

 gais. They made three general attacks, and 

 were repelled with heavy losses each time. 



On Nov. 1 the Matabele attacked the British 

 again in greater force than before, at a place 

 called Imbembesi. They had been re-enforced 

 by the two royal regiments, but were beaten back 

 by the mitrailleuses, sustaining as heavy a loss 

 as in the previous engagement. The daring and 

 fortitude that they displayed would do credit to 

 any troops. 



True to his character of friend of the whites, 

 Lobengula protected the traders Fairbairn and 

 Usher, who were left in Buluwayo. After the 

 defeat at Imbembesi even the young warriors 

 who regarded their regiments invincible con- 

 cluded that they could not fight Maxim and 

 Nordenfeldt guns. Lobengula evacuated Bulu- 

 wayo with his whole army, taking the women, 

 children, cattle, and all portable possessions, and 

 fled to the northwest. When the Mashonaland 

 columns, 800 strong, occupied the town they 

 found it deserted. They were joined there by 

 the Bechuanaland border police. This body sus- 

 tained the most dangerous attack of the cam- 

 paign, on Nov. 2, at Umgwezi, where the line of 

 march was assailed by 2 impis in difficult bush, 

 but without serious losses. 



After the occupation Lobengula sent back an 

 induna with a box of gold, 1.000 in amount, for 

 he said that nothing but gold would stop white 

 men, and with the gold a message offering to 

 surrender on the condition that the killing of 

 his people was stopped. The envoy met two 

 troopers of the border police named Daniels and 

 Wilson, who offered to deliver the message and 

 the present, but who suppressed the offer of sub- 

 mission in order that they might keep the gold 

 for themselves. They were afterward convicted 

 of the theft and sentenced to fourteen years of 

 hard labor. 



On Nov. 14, 1893, Major Forbes, Major Wilson, 

 and Commander Raaf left Buluwayo with 300 

 men and 2 Maxim guns in pursuit of the king, 

 and followed his wagon spoor up to the Shan- 

 gani river, which the king had crossed only a 

 few hours before. Major Wilson and 15 picked 

 men crossed the river shortly before dark to ob- 

 serve the route taken by' the king and the 

 strength of his force. They passed two large 

 encampments, and as the men all fled at their 

 approach. Major Wilson, confident that his party 

 could escape on their horses if pursued, conceived 

 the plan of surprising the king and taking him 

 back a prisoner. Capturing a native and guided 

 by him, they passed seven other encampments, 

 and, coming up to the king's wagons, called upon 

 him to surrender. Hearing preparations for an 

 attack, they rode away. He expected Major 



