The Washington herald., 1913-09-14
Two Soldiers Use Body Of
Matabele Warrior in Mouth
of Shaft as Shield Against
Desperate Natives.
trOn ths WA. word m,rnuin.

4H a. 'e OHSuesl RIVER, that small
party Of Raaf's horse were out forae-
ing.
Rations were very scarce with our coI-
umn. which was under command Of Mai
Gould Adams, so we used to Thoroughly
search the Matabele kraaIs to get sum-
piles Of grain. In those days the natives
were in the habit OF storing grain in
enormous pits under their cattle kraals
the entrance being through a narrow
shaft about three feet deep. You dropped
down through that and found yourself
in a vast cavern full of grain. At the
sides there would be big straw baskets
or big clay tubs in which we usually
found nuts arc beans
When I first struck one Of these under
ground granaries it seemed to me like a
kind of Ali Baba's cave. There was
very little fun about exploring il, though
II was all solid hard work. Our method
was to send down our thinnest man. He
would make sack Of his shirt and SO
send up the grain through the shaft.
Unhappily for me. was usually selected
for this task, as there was very little
spare flesh about me at that time The
grain gave out a kind of heat. and as
one worked at full pressure II was most
fatiguing.
Drops Into Pit.
One day our party had struck a large
kraal and after carefully going through
the huts for any stray MatabeIe we pro-
ceeded to the cattle inclosure. Here I
shed by tunic and rife and dropped
through into the pit A couple of feI-
lows were posted a short distance of to
keep watch, the remainder being at the
mouth Of the pit busy filling the nose
bags with the grain that sent I'D,
1 had been at work for about a quarter
or an hour and was thinking II time I
had rest, when all of a sudden bang.
bang! went the rifles. and 1 could hear
the Matabele yelling.
Stay where you are; the niggers are
right on us"' some one shouted down to
me. and then off they went. leaving me
alone. Above I could hear a terrific
racket-shots. yells, and the pattering OF
feet.
AS there was nothing to be done, and
1 could not get out of the cave without
assistance, / promptly retired to the
farthest corner and cuddled up behind
one of the grain baskets in case OF trou-
BILE, for had not even a Hnife on me.
By the amount of yelling going on the
Matabele seemed in force, and began to
wonder how things would pan out, and
whether our men would be compelled TO
retire. I knew they would return sooner
or later. but there seemed chance that
the interval might prove rather more ex-
citing than I wanted.
After a while. as I sat there, listening
intently, heard the Matabele at the
mouth of the pit. Fortunately. IT was
only light just under the entrance, the
rest OF the cave being in deep shadow.
Unless a very thorough Search was made,
therefore. I reckoned I should not be
noticed.
MntRbsIc on the Scene.
Suddenly, pIunk! down dropped a
Matabele into the grim pit. l crouched
back, hardly daring to breathe. for what
might happen II he discovered me was
not pleasant to contemplate. From where
! was hidden I could plainly see him-a
stalwart young warrior-but what 1 OBJ
served particularly was the fact that
he had a couple of most business-like
assegais, while had no weapon at all
The Matabele language is almost iden-
teal with the Zulu. and 1 was therefore
able to understand when the intruder
shouted up to his people that there was
no one in the pit. He then called to
them to reach down and pull him out,
but they told him to send them up some
nuts first.
SuIkily he made for one OF the baskets
near him and was soon busy at the very
game l had been occupied at l was
now feeling much more at ease as
recLoned that my unwelcome visitor
would soon leave.
Presently, however, heard yell from
the niggers on top. "Amakiwa.' (the
white mem, they shouted. and l could
hear the thud of their feet as they rushed
of. The yonng warrior, startled, made
a leap for the shaft, Dut there was no
one to help him up. for all his friends
had bolted. As he was struggling ha3d
to try and climb out I rushed and got
him round the waist. My word, didn't ne
yell, Evidently he thought the spirits
had got hold of him. l soon found
had caught A Tartar. for the beggar man.
aged to get an arm clear and jabbed me
down the back with one Of his assegais.
We rolled over and over. and at last
got him by the throat and started TO
choke him into insensibility, though ne
still struggled furiously.
Hears Familiar Voice.
Hurry up. HaIgh." came the cry. in
a familiar voice. "The uiggers are here
in hundreds, and there's not momedt
to spare
Help 1 shouted. I've got a fellow
down here, and If let go he'll stab me"
With that, down through the hole
dropped my chum. o'Leary. In an in
slant he had sized up the situation, and
gave the Matabele a crack over the head
with the butt end OF his Martini. which
effectively quieted him
We've got no time to waste" he said.
''Kneel down. so that 1 can reach the
top with my hands, then I'll be able to
pull you out"
I bent down. he got on my back. and
shouldered himself up through the shaft.
A second later he came down again like
a shot
Good heavensH' he cried. THE brutes
are back again, and they spotted me'
We were now in quite fix. l learned
from O'Leary that he had come back for
me alone, the rest having gone on as
hard as they could to bring up Raaf. so
as to attack the Matabele in force.
O'Leary had his rifle and about thirty
rounds of ammunition, also a revolver
and a few cartridges The revolver he
handed to me. We then retired to my
corner and listened.
There was a hot argument going on at
the mouth of the pit, but no one ventured
down. All the better for US, We thought,
getting nearer.
learned what It meant Down the shaft
another and another. In half a minute
the smoke was binding.
O'Leary kept his head well.
Put that stun out" he gasped.
Throw grain at It. Get It out some
how, or we're done for"
For the next few minutes we worked
IrTf ha NTak.a af.nN-~