FOUNDING THE PROTECTORATE 
io 5 
without food—the steamer floated off the sand-bank into deep water. The 
7-pounder gun was silently got ready by the Sikhs, and before the vessel 
steamed away, shells were fired in rapid succession into howling crowds of 
Makanjira’s men, who were dancing round camp fires, confident that a few more 
hours would see the Domira in their possession. 
The death of Captain Maguire took place on the 15th December, 1891. 
No news of it reached me until Christmas Eve, just at the time when I was 
expecting him to arrive for Christmas day. I left at once for Blantyre, which 
I reached on the evening of Christmas day, and there conferred with Mr. John 
Buchanan and Mr. Fotheringham, the manager of the African Lakes Company. 
The latter at once proffered his co-operation in meeting the difficult situation 
on Lake Nyasa. We both started for the Upper Shire by different routes, and 
reached Fort Johnston at the end of December. Here we found that the chief 
Msamara who lived a little below Mponda on the west bank of the Shire, had 
turned against us and with Zarafi had sent a force of men to attack Fort 
Johnston, and although nothing more had come of the attack but a few wild 
shots, he had nevertheless been raiding all round the Fort. 
The bad news had brought volunteers hurrying up from the south. Amongst 
them came Mr. J. G. King, from Port Herald ; Dr. A. Blair Watson ; the late 
Mr. Gilbert Stevenson ; and, a little later on, Commander J. H. Keane, R.N. 1 
Fortunately Mponda had remained loyal, and although for a few days the Fort 
and its garrison of wounded and exhausted men lay at his mercy, he had not 
only been neutral but had assisted to defend the place against Zarafi’s attacks. 
My arrival soon restored the morale of the Sikhs, who were literally in tears at 
the death of their commander, but the Muhammadan Indian soldiers had not 
rallied from the feeling of discouragement caused by this disaster. Soon after¬ 
wards they had, in fact, to be sent back to India, though there were men 
amongst them who had strikingly distinguished themselves. It must be 
remembered, however, that they were all cavalry men, and not used to fighting 
on foot, or on board a ship, and all things considered behaved as well as might 
be expected. The Sikhs, however, throughout all this crisis, never showed then- 
sterling worth more effectually. 
Another attack on Makanjira was impossible until we had got gunboats on 
the lake. So I decided to restore our prestige by subduing those enemies who 
were nearer at hand and more vulnerable, to wit, Msamara and Zarafi. The 
chief Msamara was captured and imprisoned in the fort, together with some 
of his headmen, whilst an enquiry was instituted into his culpability for the 
recent raids. I regret to say that whilst in prison he poisoned himself but 
it was fortunately done with the knowledge and connivance of his followers and 
consequently no slur was cast on the Administration for his death, his headmen 
themselves asserting that their chief had committed suicide because he believed 
he was going to be hanged, an eventuality, however, of which there was little 
probability. The war against Zarafi was a more difficult matter. I was able 
with the help of the volunteer officers and the Sikhs to capture all Zarafi’s 
villages in the plains with relatively little loss of men ; but to attack Zarafi 
in the hills was another matter. While on our way thither, all Mponda’s men 
who were acting as our porters ran away, and we were therefore compelled to 
retreat to Fort Johnston. Under the circumstances the flight of our porters was 
the best thing that could have happened to us, since we were embarked on an 
enterprise far beyond our strength, although we did not know it at that time; 
1 Afterwards made C.M.G. 
