After an hour of
this tortuous climbing the cave suddenly opened before them, and
they beheld Umlimo. Burnham recognized that to take him alive
from his stronghold was an impossibility, and that even they
themselves would leave the place was equally doubtful. So,
obeying orders, he fired, killing the man who had boasted he
would turn the bullets of his enemies into water. The echo of the
shot aroused the village as would a stone hurled into an ant-heap.
In an instant the veldt below was black with running men, and as,
concealment being no longer possible, the white men rose to fly a
great shout of anger told them they were discovered. At the same
moment two women, returning from a stream where they had gone
for water, saw the ponies, and ran screaming to give the alarm.
The race that followed lasted two hours, for so quickly did the
Kaffirs spread out on every side that it was impossible for
Burnham to gain ground in any one direction, and he was forced to
dodge, turn, and double. At one time the white men were driven
back to the very kopje from which the race had started.
But in the end they evaded assegai and gunfire, and in safety
reached Buluwayo. This exploit was one of the chief factors in
bringing the war to a close. The Matabeles, finding their leader
was only a mortal like themselves, and so could not, as he had
promised, bring miracles to their aid, lost heart, and when Cecil
Rhodes in person made overtures of peace, his terms were
accepted.
Pages:
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189