Curtis Brown

“ I would say that all the trails leading to this cave have been worn and beaten down several inches or more in depth by constant travel this year. The dust on all the trails is an inch or more in depth, showing that this was the great Konza place for the whole country. The Kaffir information by which Mr. Armstrong was enabled to discover the movements of the M'limo was obtained under strict bond of secrecy never to betray their names to the white Government or anybody, as it would mean absolute and certain death to all of them. ”

“ It was at the suggestion of this high priest that on a certain night when the moon was full, every servant was to kill his master, and every white man, woman, and child was to be exterminated throughout the whole of Rhodesia. ”

“ Just as M'limo had finished his dances in the smaller crevices and pathway leading to the main entrance, and was starting into the main cavern, I shot him with a Lee-Metford rifle, killing him instantly. We left his body at the entrance to the big cave. He is a man sixty years old, with short cropped hair. ”

“ IT is safe to say that the experiences of Major Frederick Russell Burnham, the American scout, would make one of the. most fascinating books that could be wished for by those who love tales of adventure. Good old-fashioned hair-breadth escapes have been scattered by Fate with a lavish hand all through the exciting story of his life -a story not yet half told, let us hope. ”

“ When one is in a tight place, his only hope usually lies in doing the unexpected thing. And I was planning to do something that wasn't expected. We kicked a hale in the fence around the king's hut, and before he knew what had happened, the four of us were in his presence and my rifle was covering his heart. ”

“ The M’limo had promised the warriors that the while man's bullets should be turned to water, but artfully added a proviso that all the loot taken from the white man should be brought to him, otherwise his charm would not protect them. ”

“ He begged and implored the king to abide by the treaty, and was so evidently frightened, not for his own safety but for that of the king, that Latea, who had looked into the mouth of my rifle calmly enough at first, began to weaken, and finally ordered off his warriors who were covering our men in the camp beyond.
"The expedition had many minor adventures after entering the Mashaklumbwa country. The mineral grants were located on a large copper field whose ores carry both gold and silver. They are now being worked by a company. Rhodesia is a wonderful old country. ”

“ There was only one room in the hut, and when some of the Boers decided to come and sit inside, the scout had to jump for a pile of skins in one corner and lie motionless underneath one of them for two hours, while one of the Boers sat so close that he could have touched Burnham without rising from his seat.
The incident illustrates one of Major Burnham's maxims. "Invisibility," he says, .. is immobility; but," he adds, " it is not easy to remain motionless unless you can keep an eye on the man you wish to avoid. ”

“ He would even surrender the lucky nugget of gold, that he has carried for years in his pocket as a sort of talisman, before he would give up that letter which testifies in Lord Roberts's own handwriting to the Commander's belief that no other man in the force could have accomplished the same work in South Africa, work demanding "the training of a lifetime, combined with exceptional courage, caution, and powers of endurance." ”

“ Baden-Powell, who was then stationed in Bulawayo, and had recognized a kindred spirit in Burnham, had counted on going with him in this expedition, but other duties claimed B.·P.'s attention, and the scout and Armstrong set out alone on horseback in June of 1896, three months after the time set by the M'limo for the massacre. ”

“ We found thousands of mortars the ancients had used in crushing quartz, and there are many great ruins built of granite blocks, the walls being often fifteen feet in thickness, beautifully laid without mortar. ”