Fighting the Matabele

Front matter

FIGHTING THE MATABELE RACKED HIS CROWN WITH IT." Fighting the Matabele BY J. CHALMERS WITH SIX ILLUSTRATIONS BY STANLEY L. WOOD LONDON BLACKIE & SON, Limited, 50 OLD BAILEY, E.C. GLASGOW AND DUBLIN CONTENTS Chap. page I. Buluwayo, 9 II. In the Matopos 16 III. Umslapa's Treachery, 24 IV. The Fight 35 V. The Half-caste's Fate, 46 VI. Foiled! 57 VII. A Death-struggle, 65 VIII. The Attack on the Farm, 83 IX. A Ride for Life, 97 X. A Hard-headed man, 107 XI. The Warrior's Warning, 117 XII. The Cattle Robbers, 137 XIII. Against Heavy Odds, 158 XIV. A Timely Rescue, 173 XV. Scouting Adventures 194 XVI. Storming a Stronghold, 205 XVII. In the Jaws of a Lion, 214 XVIII. Captured by the Matabele, 232 XIX. A Deed of Blood 239 XX. Entombed in a Koppie, 249 XXI. Lost in the Forest, 254 XXII. A Desert Duel, 265 XXIII.

Out of the Dilemma, ILLUSTRATIONS. Page "Cracked his crown with it", . . . Frontispiece 200 "He again managed to get me by the throat",. . 81 "Sprang forward like the wind", 157 "Came with a tremendous impetus against the door", 184 "Come on, come on! here they are!" 202 "Kneeling down aimed carefully behind the lion's shoulder"

Chapter I. Buluwayo

AM one of the thousands whom the magnetic influence of " Africa and golden joys" has attracted of late years to the southern portions of the Dark Continent, — finding, I am bound to say, like the majority of my compeers, a good deal more Africa than golden joy. Not but what I have had considerable luck in gold-seeking and mining, but my gains have, for the most part, had a vexatious trick of vanishing bodily down the bottomless pit of speculation. It was while engaged in this unremunerative pursuit that I met with the adventures narrated in the follow ing pages. At the beginning of the year 1896 I, with two companions named Robertson and Mac kenzie, was knocking about Matabeleland on the look-out for ore, with only poor success on the whole. Robertson and I became separated from Mackenzie, who had returned to Buluwayo to obtain some tools we were in need of, those they were intended to replace having fallen accidentally into a tremendously deep pit or chasm, Robertson having a startlingly narrow miss of following them.

I managed to grip him by the arm and the hair as he was going down, and held on like death to a dead nigger, till Mackenzie, who was a very big, powerful man, came to my aid, when our united exertions restored our imperilled mate to terra firtna. All the thanks he presented me with was saying I had nearly torn his scalp off. Mackenzie was absent for some while, and we were beginning to wonder what had become of him, when we received a message telling us to join him at Buluwayo at once, as he had some important news for us. As the district we were in seemed to have very little inclination to re ward enterprise, we lost no time in following his instructions. Buluwayo, as everyone knows, was the " capi tal " of Lobengula, from which that obese and bloodthirsty potentate was permanently kicked out in '93, and now forms a centre of operations for the rough-and-ready work of pioneer ing and civilizing in general.

Not much of a town so far, and very much more useful than ornamental; a few streets and blocks perhaps a BULUWAYO. 11 couple of miles long by half or three-quarters broad. The architecture has very little of the imposing, none of the buildings boasting more than a single story (though every one has a verandah), and being composed of such unpre tentious materials as brick, tin, and what is called " paper ", a wire-wove stuff, sent out from England, so that you may take your house out ready-made practically, and put it up when you get there. Naturally such structures are not very much worth taking care of, and not one that I can remember had anything in the nature of a garden; in fact the inhabitants generally are much too busy as yet to be neat or orderly, and instead of flower or tree, the only things which they deposit on the vacant ground are broken bottles, rags, empty tinned -provision cans, and every other variety of refuse, of which there is always a very plentiful crop.

Smarter and better-kept residences, however, are begin ning to be erected outside the place; "villas", as their owners call them. Mining offices, stores, and public-houses form the bulk of the buildings in the town. Arrived at this striking emporium, we sought Mackenzie at the "bottle-store" (Anglice, "pub") where he had established himself; about the best in the place. His important news was that he had come across a Matabele gentleman who had generously offered to show him, in return for a rifle and a bandolier of cartridges, a rich gold-reef in the Matopo Mountains, southward of Buluwayo. This man, whose name was Umslapa, he had met, in company with several others, some of whom had guns and others not, while journeying toward the town for the tools. Mackenzie had taken the proposal into consi deration, but said he could not decide upon it until he had consulted his "mates".

The savage then said that he would meet him at a spot and on a day named (the former close outside the town), to get his final decision. To this Mackenzie had agreed, parted from the man, and despatched a messenger to us upon arriving at Buluwayo. We three talked the matter over long and earnestly. Mackenzie expressed himself inclined to go in for the adventure — " But ", said he, " my chief difficulty is, that giving or selling arms to the natives is prohibited. How about that?" "Will he take nothing but a rifle?" we asked. " No; a rifle he wanted and a rifle he meant to have, or else I might go and find the reef myself." " What if it's simply a dodge to get hold of a gun?" I suggested. "Maybe that — there's that risk, of course; but you know that many fellows have had rich reefs pointed out to them by these Matabele men, BULUWAYO. 13 who, of course, know the country thoroughly.

It is also true that many of them have been pointed out in exchange for rifles and cartridges, just as this chap proposes to us." This being the case, and taking into con sideration that in any case there was not much law in the land as yet, every man going pretty much " on his own ", as the phrase is, we at length decided that we could not afford to be better than our neighbours. Therefore we resolved to keep tryst with Umslapa, Esq., and enter into a solemn league and covenant with him touching the rifle and the gold-reef. This we did, I should say, without the faintest idea or suspicion that any hostile rising of the Matabele was in the wind. It yet wanted three days to the time fixed between the savage and our friend. They soon passed, however, and on a fine afternoon we walked off for the place of meeting — a "koppie", or immense mound, a mile and a half, or rather more, beyond the most northerly precinct of Buluwayo.

We waited about, but nobody came. Evening fell, and we were still the only com pany on the spot. " Are you sure you have made no mistake about the locality ?" we asked Mackenzie. He was certain that he was not in error, and gave his reasons, which I cannot remember, nor is there any need to, as the event proved him right. After we had waited and smoked a while longer, and the moon was beginning to rise, a gigantic form was seen approaching, and proved to be that of the expected negotiator. Truly he was a grand-looking savage, one of the finest physical specimens I have ever beheld, and I have the very best reasons to remember him as long as I live. He was, as we afterwards found by measuring him, six feet and four inches in height, and his build in proportion was magnificent. I cannot bestow any praise on the charms of his facial expression, for it was decidedly fierce and cruel; but this we thought nothing of, as a fierce expression is far more the rule than the exception amongst these men.

Umslapa had been one of Lobengula's war riors, and bore about his massive person some ineffaceable memorials of the campaign of '93. According to his own statement he was one of the band who slaughtered Wilson and his men beyond the Shangani. He could talk a sort of broken English, and as Mackenzie, who had been a considerable length of time in the country, knew a good deal of the native dialect, the work of communication was easy enough. We sat down on the scattered stones side by side in the moonlight, and proceeded to business. The conference was not a long one. Umslapa repeated his previous asseveration that he knew of a rich deposit of gold in the Matopos, and BULUWAYO. 15 was prepared to point out to us the locality if we would give him a rifle and a quantity of cartridges. He did not, he said, want a blunder buss, or a used-up elephant-gun, but a proper rifle, the real article, and no mistake; a "go again" one, he hinted, would receive the pre ference, by which he meant a repeater.

Asked if he had disclosed the locality of the gold-reef to any other white men, he replied that he had not, but that it was known to many of his tribe. Finally, we expressed to him our willingness to accede to his proposal, the rifle to change hands after the auriferous ground had been indicated. This disappointed him; he had expected to get the gun at once, we to depend on his good faith for the rest. This idea, we assured him, could not on any account whatever be entertained; we did not doubt his honour, but the proposition was unbusiness-like and one-sided. He gave way when he saw that we were firm on this head, muttering between his teeth something which I suspect would be unfit for inclusion in a polite dictionary of the Matabele tongue. We agreed to meet him on the same spot in two days, which would give us time to prepare for the journey.

This arranged, we separated. Our singular customer glided from the spot with a rapid, noiseless step, we standing watching his towering figure until it disappeared. He was not armed, except that he had a knobkerry, or huge native club, slung round his waist.

Chapter II. In The Matopos

THE Matopo Mountains lie some twenty miles to the south of Buluwayo. So we decided to go on foot, with a mule for our bag gage, as once inside the range, horses would only be in the way. Moreover, our guide, philosopher, and friend, Mr. Umslapa, would not be mounted, as the Matabele rely solely on " Shanks's nag " as a medium of locomotion. Our next idea was to get hold of somebody who knew the mountains, so that we might not be altogether at Umslapa's discretion. Accor dingly, at dinner we interrogated the man who waited on us, which function he condescended to perform whilst smoking a pipe. Asked if he knew of anybody who could guide us through the mountains, he said he did not, but would make inquiry after dinner. The said inquiry resulted in the discovery of a guide in the person of a half-caste Kaffir lad, about eighteen or nineteen years of age, one of the hangers-on of the place.

" Well," said Robertson to him, " you know (M45S) the Matopos, do you ? Can you take us about in them, and show us round?" If self-praise be no recommendation, we as suredly ought to have fought very shy of Watty, which was the lad's name, his answer being to the effect that his qualifications as a guide were peculiar and unparalleled; and his knowledge of the Matopos so complete that what he did not know about them was not worth knowing. Moreover, he went on to assure us that his personal character was beyond reproach. We were, in fact, left to understand that it was of a very unusual description from his concluding remark : " There's something noble about me, sir. "Something noble is there! You keep it carefully out of sight, then," said Robertson. Certainly the announcement was surprising, for a more ignoble individual, to judge by ap pearances, I had not up to that moment met.

"We're glad to hear it, my lad," said Mac kenzie, " as we expect to find a gold-mine in the mountains, and a man with something noble about him will be above stealing any." " Never steal, sir," said Watty; ''there's some thing noble about me." This remarkable and apparently baseless as sertion, I may observe, he was in the habit of constantly repeating, in season and out, in a manner which might have led one to suppose Ap (11453) B that he was not " all there ", had he not shown in many ways that he had all his wits about him. He could speak both English and Dutch. The quaint peculiarity I have noticed caused us to nickname him "The Nobleman". Unfortunate nobleman! It was an evil day for himself on which he boasted of his knowledge of the Matopo Mountains. Nevertheless, his answers to the questions with which we tested him appeared to indicate a considerable acquaintance with the locality.

We accordingly engaged him at the remunera tion of a shilling a day, though to start with he had had the assurance to demand five. We celebrated our last night in Buluwayo, — the eve of our expedition, — with a banquet, of which the staple was tinned meat, fresh beef being anything but easy to procure, as cattle far and near were dying in thousands from that mysterious scourge the rinderpest. We had also a couple of bottles of very tolerable port wine, in which we drank success to our enter prise. Under the influence of the genial bever age Mackenzie made what he declared was his first speech, adding on the following mornino that it should also be his last. This new departure was made in proposing prosperity to our native land, we being al) three "brither Scots ". As Umslapa had prudently made the second appointment for evening, we did not trouble to start early.

As on the previous occasion he kept us waiting till after nightfall, but there was a brilliant moon, so we set forward at once and travelled during the greater part of the night, over the undulating veldt, partially covered with bush. Umslapa took care before starting to ascer tain that we had the promised rifle. We showed it to him securely strapped amongst the baggage on the pack-mule. He made another attempt to obtain it at once, and turned decidedly sulky upon this proving unsuccessful. He ceased to sulk, however, in time, and on one of our halts became quite communicative as to his ex periences in the war of 1893. Amongst other things he said that the British laager and its defenders would have been overwhelmed in a night attack, if our men had not shot fire-balls at the stars to call down their gods to help them in the darkness.

We could not imagine at first what he meant by this, but made out at length that the "fireballs" were rockets, pro bably sent up as recall signals to patrols when darkness came on. The Matabele had put this strange construction on the otherwise, to them, inexplicable phenomenon, and the rockets would thus appear to have prevented their impis from attacking during the night, when their assault would, of course, have been most dangerous. Umslapa's account of the destruction of Wilson's ill-fated party, — their being cut off by the flooded river, their fighting to the last while their ammunition held out, and then meeting their fate standing up singing " God save the Queen ", — tallied with the account already pub lished. We were not long in reaching our destination, the nearest point of the Matopos being, as I have mentioned, only twenty miles from Bulu wayo.

This mountain-range is some fifty or sixty miles in length, by about twenty across. The mountains are not of extraordinary eleva tion, but are very intricate and difficult to scale — immense granite rocks, some of which are carved in the most fantastic forms, towering over profound gorges thickly grown with bush. We arrived in time to see a splendid sunset behind the multitude of pinnacles, which rose in dark masses from the yellow face of the veldt, some dome-shaped, some conical, some spiral, some composed of huge boulders piled succes sively one upon the other as if by giants at play. We camped for the night on the bank of the Umzingwane river, near its western end. On the following morning we held a council before again moving forward, and Umslapa was required to state explicitly the locality of the gold-reef.

He replied that it was in the Tuli gorge, in the bed of a small tributary of the Tuli river. Watty professed himself well ac quainted with these localities, but we still re quired the Matabele to go forward with us, and point out the exact position of the gold deposit. There was some more haggling about the handing over of the rifle, and it was finally agreed that it should be placed in Umslapa's hands at the conclusion of that day's trek. Again we set out, striking eastward through the range from the spot at which we entered it. Down we went into the deep, dark hollows, where the daylight became suddenly obscured, as if heavy thunder-clouds had passed between us and the sun. Here and there a shallow spruit, or stream, crossed our track, with a curious gleam through the deep shadow; sometimes we crossed them, sometimes followed their sinuous course as it wound through the stony valleys.

Sometimes the way rose over lofty precipices, where the eye grew dizzy with gazing into the depths below. High above the ravines the hills towered grandly, seeming to throw their rugged crests against the deep-blue sky. Umslapa held on his way with unfailing precision, and the " nobleman ", whom we ques tioned from time to time in whispers, declared that we were on the right track for the Tuli river. We frequently saw the native kraals perched on the heights overhead, but of course we directed Umslapa to avoid them, which he always seemed able to do. I believe that previous to the campaigns against the whites these mountains were never used as fighting positions by the Matabele. Lobengula used the Famona valley as a safe place for his women and cattle during warfare. We halted in the middle of the day to eat and rest.

After two hours spent thus, we went on again for another four, when we prepared to camp for the night. Questioned as to how far we were now from our journey's end, the Matabele said we would arrive on the following morning, and claimed the fulfilment of our pro mise that the rifle should be given to him that night. We saw nothing else for it but to hand it over. We thought that as he had proved trustworthy so far, he would carry out the rest of his contract. His reason, he told us, for wantingr the g-un beforehand was that we might <J CD O refuse to give it to him when he had shown us the gold; and why, he argued, should he trust us implicitly when we showed such obvious want of faith in him ? Having got the gun he inspected it carefully, and would have fired a shot to test it; but this we firmly resisted, as the report might have attracted any of his compatriots who should happen to be prowling about in the vicinity, a thing we had every desire to avoid — with very much better reason, in fact, than we at that moment suspected.

We camped in a little circular hollow of the hills, like a cup or bowl, where there was a little stream, and a good deal of short grass. Our fire burned brightly, and we made our tea — laced with brandy — ate our "cookies", and smoked our pipes with a serene sense of re freshment and comfort, which in all probability we would not have felt in nearly so large a degree if we had had any inkling of what was in store for us in the very near future. No such suspicion, however, crossed our minds, and we sought our night's repose in a high state of bodily and mental satisfaction. Needless to say we always kept a night-watch, and it is also unnecessary to remark that we did not invite Umslapa to take a turn at it while we slept. To do him justice, he did not trouble us by volunteering for the duty, because if there is anything which these natives like more than another it is a good night's rest.

On the night in question it was Robertson's first watch, and my turn next. He woke me shortly after midnight, and after seeing that I was fully awake, rolled himself up in his blanket and began to snore.

Chapter III

umslapa's treachery. I LIT my pipe, and, rifle in hand, began to march up and down to keep myself warm, for it was not later in the year than the middle of March, and the nights were decidedly cold. All around me the circle of hills loomed dark against the starlight. The red glow of the fire gleamed over the recumbent figures of my com panions, their heavy breathing mingled with the far-away mysterious voices of the solitude, — inarticulate, impossible to define. I was well accustomed to the eeriness of such situations, and the dreamy solemnity of thought which they naturally arouse. When tired of walking to and fro, I sat down on a boulder by the side of the stream, and smoked and pondered on, now and then casting a searching glance on every side to make sure that no danger threatened. I had always, when keeping watch, made a point of maintaining a guard over Umslapa, in order that he might play no tricks on travellers, even if inclined to attempt it — and we felt by no means sure that he was not.

On this particular night I kept my eye on him more closely than usual, because, having received the promised rifle, there was only the fear of our rifles to restrain him from decamping. The giant lay somewhat farther from the fire than the others, but to all appearance he, like them, was plunged in profound slumber. I had been on guard for about an hour and a half, and was beginning to look out for the signs of dawn over the mountain-tops. The fire was getting low, and I stepped across the stream let to obtain a fresh supply of brush to keep it going. I was returning with my arms full, when I was startled by noticing what looked like the crouching form of a man pass me at a short distance. I rushed back to my post, and threw a hurried glance at the spot where the Matabele had appeared to be sleeping.

It was vacant. Our fears were realized — the rascal had deserted! I threw a handful of light bush on the fire, and a vivid flame sprang up, illuminating the circle of the little hollow in which we were camped. I grasped my rifle, and gazed keenly round. The fugitive was plainly visible on the other side of the spruit, making off rapidly, his body bent nearly double to escape observation. "Come back!" I roared. "Come back, you scoundrel, or I'll fire!" He took no notice of the shout. Never stopping for an instant, he continued to glide rapidly away; in a few seconds more he would dis appear among the hills. I hesitated no longer, but levelled my rifle and drew the trigger. The report resounded like a thunder-clap in the confined space, and amidst the profound silence of the night. The smoke hung around me for an instant, obscuring my sight; when it cleared away the savage was not visible.

I sprang forward on the line of my aim, hoping to find that he had fallen on being hit. No such thing; I had either missed him altogether, or only wounded him so slightly that he was able to continue his course. The sound of the shot had roused Mackenzie and the Kaffir, and a few words sufficed to put them in possession of my reason for firing it. We continued to search for a while, but that it was useless was soon evident — our treacherous guide had got clear off. There was nothing for it but to stay where we were till daylight came, and then take stock of our situation in council. Mackenzie took his turn of guard for what remained of the night. I lay down again in my blanket, and was soon asleep, notwithstanding my chagrin. Mac aroused me about seven. We called up Robertson, and commenced the preparation of breakfast.

It was a fine, sharp, clear morning; a haze of mist, gilded by the rising sun, floated over the mountains, with the bright blue dome of heaven far beyond. Robertson now heard for the first time of the melancholy occurrence of the night. " Do you miss anybody, Robbie, my boy, out of the caravan?" asked Mackenzie, as our com panion rubbed his organs of vision and stretched himself. "Miss anybody!" said he, looking about; "what do you mean? Why — yes — where the devil—" "Yes, where is the devil?" said Mackenzie. " Cleared out last night. We've been sold — done brown, and may follow our noses back again as soon as we like." "Rascal cleared out, has he? And what fools we were to give him that rifle! Hasn't left it behind, I suppose?" " He's left nothing behind but his spoor (trail), which you'll find over by those rocks; and precious little use it would be to follow it, I suppose."

We gave Robertson the details of the affair, and we discussed our position over breakfast. There was only one conclusion to draw — that we had been " done brown ", as Mackenzie had said, and might as well look for the philo sopher's stone as for any gold-reef on the Tuli river. Fools indeed we agreed we had been in giving up the gun; Umslapa's eagerness to possess it before doing what he professed to be able to do ought to have warned us. No doubt he was far enough away by this time, and therefore it would be no use attempting to follow him, although Watty proclaimed his ability to run him down by his spoor. "You'd be more likely to lead us farther astray, I think," said Mackenzie; "and perhaps we should have you taking French leave next." Watty was highly indignant at the insinuation. " No, never — no, no, no!" he exclaimed, with violent deprecatory gesticulations.

" Never de sert — I'm not traitor — never do that — there's something noble about me!" " Well, the point is whether there's anything about you that'll take us back out of these hills. Can you do that?" "Certain; easy; get shilling a day for do that. Better go, too. P'raps Umslapa come back for other guns with more Matabele." We agreed that there was some likelihood in this; but on the whole the risk of the thing did not seem to us very great, and we determined that, having come into the Matopos, we would not leave again without trying whether any trace of gold was to be found in them. Suffice it to say that we spent four days in unsuccessful prospecting, cursing Umslapa pretty freely the whole time. How much longer we would have gone on I cannot say, but our operations were destined to have a sudden and disagreeable termination.

On the evening of the fourth day from the unceremonious departure of the Matabele gentle man who was the cause of our being in those regions, we had camped near the Tuli river, or what Watty — who undoubtedly earned his diurnal " bob ", proving very useful to us — de clared to be the Tuli river. (It should be borne in mind that my knowledge of the topo graphy of the range is extremely hazy, and that I cannot answer for the accuracy of our Mata bele and Kaffir guides as to locality.) The scenery around us at this particular point, which I have good reason to remember, was of a remarkable and striking character. We were on a little plateau in the mouth of a semi circular opening, walled in by lofty cliffs, just above the river, whose sluggish waters flowed past so near to us that the flame of our camp fire threw its wavering red gleam over the dark ripples beneath.

Through this chasm flowed a tributary, which rolled out to the river round the shelf on which we had established ourselves. It came leaping down from a higher level at the inner side of the semicircle of cliff, a fall of about sixty or seventy feet. The volume of water was con siderable, and the continual noise of its fall reverberated through the hollow recesses. The most singular feature of the scene was a natural causeway of rock leading up from our campingplace right over the summit of the cascade, winding up round the circle of the sheer precipice. Our after-supper pipe smoked, we prepared for repose. I had the first turn at mounting guard. It was about half-past ten o'clock when I went on duty, so to speak, and the other three were soon asleep. I do not know whether it was the influence of the wild and savage spot, or one of those vague and unaccountable pre sentiments that sometimes warn us when danger or misfortune is near, but I well remember that on this night I experienced an unaccustomed feeling of depression which amounted almost to anxiety.