Scouting on Two Continents by Frederick Russell Burnham

Author:Frederick Russell Burnham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Published: 2019-02-26T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XVIII—FORBES’S RETREAT

WE CAMPED that night of December 4th on the left bank of the Shangani River. We were still surrounded by the enemy. There was a decision of great moment before us. Should we retrace our route over the rough hill where the single shot had been fired on December 2nd, or should we follow up the unknown length of the Shangani River to a certain point south of the post of Inyati? There was a division of counsel, but the final choice was for the left bank of the Shangani. The river was in flood and could be depended on both for water and as a protection to our left flank, though its windings might nearly double the distance of our retreat.

It was also vital that some news of the present plight of the column be sent to Rhodes. Bain was too greatly weakened by fever to make the ride, and I was ordered to act as advance scout for the column up the river, so it fell to my friend Ingram and Billy Lynch, a noted colonial scout, to attempt to carry the word through the jungle and veldt to Rhodes at Bulawayo.

Only oral messages were given; for, if the scouts should be killed by Lobengula’s warriors, any papers found would be carried to the king, who had half-breed interpreters able to read English or even an ordinary code. The two famous horses belonging to the Bechuanaland Mounted Police and ridden, I believe, by Captains Coventry and Tanered, were again called upon to do this bit. These high-spirited animals, Brandy and Soda, were now emaciated wrecks, but seemed possessed with the indomitable spirit of their gallant masters. That night, at eight o'clock, a tropical storm of great violence burst upon us. Even our jaded horses began to surge on the picket lines, and every man had to stand by and hold his horse. Choosing the hour when the storm was at its height, the two scouts, Ingram and Lynch, passed out of our lines, leaving us with the hope that they would elude the enemy and make their way to Rhodes and Jameson in Bulawayo and that relief would meet us somewhere on the bank of the Shangani.

The next morning, we began our retreat. The terrible storm and the flooded river prevented an attack by the natives. We found at daybreak that they had withdrawn to some shelters and huts several miles away, leaving only a small force of young warriors to hang on our flank and rear. About two miles from our camp I found the hoof marks of our scouts, so we knew they had successfully passed through the lines of the enemy. This spoor was shown to Forbes and reported to the little column as a good omen. It cheered every one.

I followed up the tracks until they left the river, as the two scouts intended to strike almost due south for Bulawayo. Just where they entered among the larger trees, I saw the prints of two sandals over the spoor of the scouts.

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