MASSACRE IN MATABELELAND.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2444, 10 March 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

MASSACRE IN MATABELELAND.

Thk following extract, which we take from the weekly edition of the Cape Argus, of November 25, confirms the reports that have been current during tho past week with reference to the massacre, by orders of Lobengula, of the iuduna and body-guard, composed of one hundred and fifty Matabele warriors, which had been told off to accompany Mr Solous arid his party on their hunting expedition into Mashonaland :

Some particulars regarding the latest massacre of bis subjects by Lobengula, the Matabele king , , will, I take it, be read with interest by the readers of the Standard and Mining Chronicle, which is practically the only Johannesburg paper which is regularly received by interior traders in far away Molopolo'e and Bamangwnto.'and still further Gubulawayo and Ptindamatenka. Iu your issue of the loth ulr.. there appears a telegram from Mafeking, dated tho 12th, in which the total number of 000 perrons slain is chronicled. This is quite erroneous—l should say mero guess work. The first intelligence of tho carnnge was brought to 'Mangwato, by native runners, in tho incredibly short space of three days ; and the exact particulars were subsequently confirmed bv information from the king's kraals at Gubulawayo. Fred Selous, the celebrated hunter, with three friends recently from England (true British sportsmen) were away in Mttshonaland after big game, accompanied by a bodyguard of one hundred and fifty Matabele warriors under an induna. The duties of these men, Ostensibly acting as guidus, bearers, besters, and servants gencrallv, were to keep a sharp look out on the doings of the white hunters, to prevent their leaving tho actual hunting districts, and above all, to thwart their slightest attempt to prospect in the gold-bearinir region, or to meddle with the natural snr-

face of the ground. Lobengula always insists on providing the hunter with a number of these men, under the rrotoxt that he is performing a great service, for which it is moreover customary to make the king a suitable present, not as a mercenary quid pro if no, but rather as a token of respect, admiration, and gratitude all combined. On the present occasion Lobengula furnished an unusually large native retinuo to the adventurous Britons, us he shrewdly perceived that they were persons of note and considerable worldly possessions. Selous, himself, is a great favourite with his corpulent majesty, and of the other three, Jameson, was a persona grata who had won the king's goodwill on previous bunting tours. The romaining huntsmen, dipt. Fountain, Master of the Prince of Wales' foxhounds [?j and another, whose name has slipped my memory, were on their visit to Lobenguhi's territory, but their introduction was unimpeachable. The inordinate hankering after gold iu its native state proved too great a temptation to the new corners at least, if not to Selous and Jameson, both of whom should certainly have shown a little more wisdom; and, after a good spell of hunting, the whole party divided from their proper course, and proceeded towards the northern gold fields, discovered by Thomas Baines, the explorer. There they imprudently set to work prospecting the country they passed through, turning over every likely-looking rock or stone, and frequently doing a little business-like panning, with, it is said, dazzling results. It was the duty of the induna in charge to have put a stop to this sort of thing at once, and, indeed, to have frustrated all attempts to leave the hunting grounds. By acting contrary to the king's orders, he and his party courted the implacable vengeance of the all but omnipotent monarch. One of the Matabele, fearful of the consequences which upon discovery would surely attend their rash proceedings, sneaked away to Gubulawayo, and reported the facts to Lobengula, who instantly ordered out one of the regiments to administer the inevitable punishment for disobeying the king's commands, In due time the regiment singled out to do the deed overtook the hunting party, all unconcious of their terrible fate. The king's messenger summoned the guilty induna, and acquainted him with the object of his sudden appearance. On his part the unlucky induna called his one hundred and fifty warriors together, and made known to them the king's unalterable decree. Without more ado the fearful slaughter commenced, close to Selotis's wagons. Not a single man of the transgressing party uttered a cry, but accepted his fate unmurmuringly, with stoic calmness. Two spear thrusts in the body, and a blow on the head from a kerrie, and all was over. In this manner one hundred and fifty Matabele subjects of splendid physique received their quietus, and crossed the Stygian ferry to that happy hunting ground, which, like the Indian of the far west, they believe is the future of every brave man of their nation who dies unflinchingly, either in battle or by order of the king. It can be imagined that the white hunters were, as far as they knew to the contrary, in a nice quandary, although assured by Selous that no harm would come to them personally. They had, however, to witness the cold-blooded butchery of their late dark-skinned hunting companions, a sickening sight, which they were only too glad to track away from, leaving seven score and ten bodies to be devoured by the wild beasts and carrion abounding in the neighbourhood. The hunters were then escorted bacH into the heart of the territory assigned to them for the exercise of their sporting proclivities, and warned to be more careful for the future how they offended savage royalty. After their late experience, it is improbablo that they will ever again seek out the Mashonaland gold-bearing reefs, so long, at any rate, as such a proceeding is contrary to the express orders of the reigning king. So muuh for the last great massacre-extraordinary in Matabeleland. Those of an ordinary nature are so regular in their occurrence that no heed is any longer paid to them,