University of Virginia Library

Lord Gifford, V.C., has communicated the following to Reuter's Agency:—

“The Hon. Maurice Gifford writes by this mail a graphic account of how Major Wilson and his party met their fate in their plucky attempt to capture Lobengula. Mr Gifford obtained the information from an Induna of the Insuka Regiment, who was present at the engagement. The account is briefly as follows:—

“‘On Major Wilson and his party returning with Captain Borrow's reinforcements to the King's scherm in the morning, they were received by a volley from part of the Inguba and Imbisu regiments, who had orders to take up their position on the road by which Major Wilson and his party would return. On receiving the volley, Major Wilson retired into the bush towards the river, but he found his party surrounded on all sides by natives numbering from 2,500 to 3,000 at the very least. The orders from the Indunas to their men were that on reaching Major Wilson's party they were to shoot the horses first. This order the Matabele proceeded to carry into effect, Major Wilson's party keeping up a heavy fire all the time. The horses which Major Wilson had tied together in a ring were soon all shot. The Englishmen then lay down behind them, and kept up a steady fire, with such good effect that they succeeded in driving off the Matabele for a short time; but reinforcements arriving from across the river, the attack was again renewed, and, as far as Mr Gifford could gather from the Induna, the fight must have lasted some three hours. A number of our men were seen to be wounded, and their ammunition began to run short. Then the natives gradually crept up closer, shooting any one they could. The Induna describes Major Wilson most accurately by his dress and the hat he wore, and states that he was wounded in several places and covered with blood, whilst another wounded man stood by his side loading rifles and handing them to him. Major Wilson and his men fought desperately to the very last. The Induna said, that as the supreme moment came, the English-men, who were still able to rise, stood shoulder to shoulder, took off their hats, and joined in a song, the kind of song that he (the Induna) had heard missionaries sing to the natives. The Matabele then rushed up, and whilst the men were singing what we suppose to have been ‘God Save the Queen,’ they were overwhelmed by the natives and assegaied. The Induna estimated that the Matabele lost eight to every one of the 34 white men killed, and said that Lobengula's warriors lay round the dead white men like grass.’”— Cf. The Times, March 13th, 1893.