The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-10-24
ENaLANp.s BEST SCOUT.
He Is a Fighter from Texas Engaged In
the Matabele War.


Wherever you go you find the Ameri
can, and he is never in the rear ranks.
The best scout in the Matabele war
an American, Durham, Texan, whe
wears Texan sombrero and rides
Texas saddle He fights for the pleas
ure of fighting. Ills education and hrs
natural powers of inductive reasoning,
says an English newspaper corresponds
ent, raise him at once to high rank
among the scouts of this or any other
country" Burnham's eyes are the won.
der of all beholders. They are small.
rowing, blue eyes. Women fall in love
with them. Cecil Rhodes says they can
see right through mountain when
Matabele is on the other side of it. An.
other correspondent declares the sim
envy little mamie is only Ave feet
four in height-to be a veritable pocket
edition of Hercules. Then he adds,
most impressively: 'And withal he is
modest and truthful" which is some
thing wonderful and unaccountable in
South Africa.
Burnham's greatest feat was the
shooting of M'limo under circumstances
that would have done credit to Davy
Crockett. M'limo was the great witch
doctor of the Matabele. He started tbs
rebellion, saying that he could turn
away the bullets from Uncle Hiram
Maxim's patent music box into water
If his fellow countrtymen would only
bring him presents in return for the
favor. His throne was in cave which
was the center of pilgrimages for the
natives far and near. Durham deter
mined to kill him. The British officers
laughed at his attempt as fools
Grand" But he enlisted the assistance
of a sturdy young Englishman named
| Armstrong. and they started for
| M'iimo's cave. The hills were fairly
| swarming with natives, and Bnrnhan
and Armstrong travelled by night and
slept by day. They led their horses, SC
as to make as little noise as possible,
and also to keep them fresh, as they
knew after M'limo had been killed Il
would depend upon their horses wheth-
er they would be able to return to the
! lager or not
When they arrived in sight of the
cave they found hundreds of natives
about, but were Disguised to find that
| Mlimo himself was not there, being two
or three miles away. They sent the
negro servant whom they had brought
with them to tell the witch doctor that
/ some natives were waiting for him with
great quantities of presents. Then, like
the good scouts they were, they moved
on some distance from the place where
they told the servant they would wait
for him, so as to be on guard in case he
played them false. But in doing so they
ran plump into body of kaffirs. Hal
the kafiirs been Matabele the two scouts
would have been killed then and there
Burnham pretended they were in grea,
fear of M'limo and wanted to make him
presents. The Kaffirs persuaded the
Matabele to leave the scouts alone until
liMlimo came and decided what Shout.
be done with them. So they started
down the road from the cave to meet
M'iimo. When they met him Burnham
saw that if he shot M'limo the Who'll,
crowd of natives would be on them in
minute. After going through =
long orgy, M'limo invited them into !.
cave alone and told the natives to cIeai
out. No sooner were they in the cave
than Durham sent a bullet through
M'limo's skull.
Eve didn't wait 70 lay the bcd,
out" says Burnham, ''but we ran fo
our horses with all our might. The mig
gers followed and shot al. us repeated
by, bet their aim was bad. We put on
2 horses TO it for all they were worth
1t seemed to me that our horses jumped
over some rocks as high as their heads
and it is a wonder to me that they didn'
break their necks and ours into the bar
gain" Though the killing of M'lim
did not have the effect that was ex
pected. this detracts none from Burn
4 = l.. 4 y