178-855: The Second Matabele War , also known as the First Chimurenga , was fought in 1896 and 1897 in the region later known as Southern Rhodesia , now modern-day Zimbabwe . It pitted the British South Africa Company against the Matabele people, which led to conflict with the Shona people in the rest of Southern Rhodesia. In March 1896, the Matabele revolted against the authority of the British South Africa Company. The Mlimo (or M'limo , or Umlimo )
356-471: A 1922 referendum . In view of the outcome of the referendum, the territory was annexed by the United Kingdom on 12 September 1923. Shortly after annexation, on 1 October 1923, the first constitution for the new Colony of Southern Rhodesia came into force. Under this constitution Sir Charles Coghlan became the first Premier of First Cabinet of Southern Rhodesia and upon his death in 1927 he
534-644: A Freemason , he rose to become a Thirty-Second Degree Mason of the Scottish Rite . During the 1880s, sections of the American press popularized the notion that the West had been won and there was nothing left to conquer in the United States. The time when great scouts like Kit Carson , Daniel Boone , and Davy Crockett could explore and master the wild and uncharted Western territories was coming to
712-656: A missionary family living near the small pioneer town of Tivoli (now gone), about 20 miles (32 km) from Mankato . His father, the Reverend Edwin Otway Burnham , was a Presbyterian minister educated and ordained in New York ; he was born in Ghent, Kentucky . His mother Rebecca Russell Burnham had spent most of her childhood in Iowa , having emigrated with her family from Westminster , England at
890-486: A protectorate . Queen Victoria signed the charter in 1889. Rhodes used this document in 1890 to justify sending the Pioneer Column , a group of white settlers protected by well-armed British South Africa Police (BSAP) and guided by the big game hunter Frederick Selous , through Matabeleland and into Shona territory to establish Fort Salisbury (now Harare ). In 1893–1894, with the help of their new Maxim guns ,
1068-726: A volunteer infantry division for service in France in 1917 shortly after the United States entered the war. A plan to raise volunteer soldiers from the Western U.S. came out of a meeting of the New York-based Rocky Mountain Club and Burnham was put in charge of both the general organization and recruitment. Congress gave Roosevelt the authority to raise up to four divisions similar to the Rough Riders of 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment and to
1246-822: A "soldier of fortune", as Richard Harding Davis later called him, Burnham began to look elsewhere for the next undeveloped frontier, feeling that the American West was becoming tame and unchallenging. When he heard of the work of Cecil Rhodes and his pioneers in southern Africa, who were working to build a railway across Africa from Cape to Cairo , Burnham sold what little he owned. In 1893 with his wife and young son, he set sail for Durban in South Africa, intending to join Rhodes's pioneers in Matabeleland and Mashonaland . Burnham, along with his wife and son,
1424-515: A "wonderfully able scout", and nicknamed him " Sherlock Holmes ." Baden-Powell considered Burnham to be "the greatest scout alive." The seal on the Burnham–Baden-Powell letters at Yale and Stanford expired in 2000 and the true depth of their friendship and love of Scouting has again been revealed. In 1931, Burnham read the speech dedicating Mount Baden-Powell , California, to his old Scouting friend. Their friendship, and equal status in
1602-446: A British Crown Colony. Until 1924, the region was administered by the British South Africa Company which had conquered it from various chieftains and Lobengula; facts often neglected in 21st century history lessons. However, the legacy of leaders such as Kaguvi, Mapondera and Nehanda was to inspire future generations. Soon after the outbreak of the war, Baden-Powell was assigned to Matabeleland as chief of staff to Gen. Carrington and it
1780-548: A brilliant outdoorsman who had organized a small scouting section in his regiment, written a book called Reconnaissance and Scouting (1884) and served in India, Afghanistan, Natal and Ashanti . Burnham, meanwhile, was General Carrington's Chief of Scouts. Frederick Russell Burnham: Explorer, discoverer, cowboy, and Scout. Native American, he served as chief of scouts in the Boer War, an intimate friend of Lord Baden-Powell. It
1958-470: A close friend of Taft from Yale and a U.S. vice-presidential candidate in 1908. On October 16, the day of the summit, Burnham and Private C.R. Moore, a Texas Ranger, discovered a man holding a concealed palm pistol standing at the El Paso Chamber of Commerce building along the procession route. Burnham and Moore captured and disarmed the assassin within only a few feet of Taft and Díaz. After
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#17327904010022136-648: A close. Contemporary scouts such as Buffalo Bill , Wild Bill Hickok , and Texas Jack Omohundro , were leaving the old West to become entertainers, and they battled great Native American chiefs like Sitting Bull , Chief Joseph , and Geronimo only in Wild West shows . In 1890 the United States Census Bureau formally closed the American frontier , ending the system under which land in the Western territories had been sold cheaply to pioneers. As
2314-448: A compass or map, how to discover nearby dangers by observing animals, and the many techniques for finding potable water. So impressed was Baden-Powell by Burnham's Scouting spirit that he closely listened to all he had to tell. It was also here that Baden-Powell began to wear his signature Stetson campaign hat and neckerchief , like those worn by Burnham, for the first time. Both men recognized that wars were changing markedly and that
2492-539: A corn field and fled for her life. Once the Sioux attack had been repulsed, she returned to find their house burned down, but the baby Frederick was safe, fast asleep in the basket with the corn husks. The young Burnham attended schools in Iowa. There he met Blanche Blick, whom he later married. The Burnham family moved from Minnesota to Los Angeles, California in 1870, in search of easier living conditions soon after Edwin
2670-513: A court of inquiry was later appointed to investigate the assassination. Although several writers have commented on the outcome, the official report itself has been lost. Referring to the court's report, Harley writes, "The finding of the Judge (Watermeyer) was that the native killed was the Chief Priest of the M'limo. Whether there was another occult personage associated with the M'limo deception
2848-548: A gold watch, and a share of a 300-acre (120 ha) tract of land in Matabeleland. It was here that Burnham uncovered many artifacts in the huge granite ruins of the ancient civilization of Great Zimbabwe . Matabeleland became part of the Company domain , which was formally named Rhodesia , after Rhodes, in 1895. Matabeleland and Mashonaland became collectively called Southern Rhodesia . In 1895, Burnham oversaw and led
3026-460: A group of Boers hiding on the banks of the river, toward which the British were even then advancing. Cut off from his own side, Burnham chose to signal the approaching soldiers even though it would expose him to capture. With a red kerchief, Burnham signaled the soldiers to turn back, but the column paid no attention and plodded steadily on into the ambush, while Burnham was at once taken prisoner. In
3204-618: A large majority of candidates of the Responsible Government Association and it became clear that BSAC rule was no longer practical. Opinion in the United Kingdom and South Africa favoured incorporation of Southern Rhodesia in the Union of South Africa , but, by forcing the pace of negotiation, the Southern Rhodesians obtained unfavourable terms and the electorate backed Responsible Government in
3382-401: A letter of appreciation from the board of the British South Africa Company after the verdict was rendered. As to the identity of the man assassinated and his role, there is much confusion. In June 1896, Father Prestage, captain van Rooyen, Hans Lee, and Armstrong met at Mangwe with "Several hundred natives assembled to hear the statement made by witnesses that Gotani the man shot by Burnham was
3560-551: A living by hunting and prospecting. Burnham also worked as a cowboy, a guard for the mines, a guide, and a scout during these years. In Globe, Arizona , Burnham unwittingly joined the losing side of the Pleasant Valley War before mass killing started, and only narrowly escaped death. He had no stake in the feud, but he was drawn into the conflict by his association with the Gordon family. According to Lott, Burnham
3738-515: A major role in the rebellion, notably Chief Mashayamombe , who led resistance in his chieftaincy in Mhondoro, south of the colonial settlement of Salisbury barracks (now Harare ). He was amongst the first chiefs to rebel and the last to be defeated. He was supplied by many of the surrounding districts, such as Chikomba (then Charter). Other chiefs who played an important role included Gwabayana, Makoni, Mapondera , Mangwende and Seke. The company
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#17327904010023916-476: A minority of elected seats, through which the BSAC had to pass government measures. As the company was a British institution in which settlers and capitalists owned most shares, and local black African tribal chiefs the remainder, and the electorate to this council was limited to those shareholders, the electorate was almost exclusively white settlers. Over time as more settlers arrived and a growing number had less than
4094-668: A period of interim British control following the Lancaster House Agreement in December 1979, the country achieved internationally recognised independence as Zimbabwe in April 1980. Initially, the territory was referred to as "South Zambezia", a reference to the River Zambezi , until the name "Rhodesia" came into use in 1895. This was in honour of Cecil Rhodes , the British empire-builder and key figure during
4272-497: A railway bridge, an ideal location to disrupt the trains, but was immediately surrounded by a party of Boers. Burnham instantly fled and he had almost escaped when his horse was shot and fell, knocking him senseless and pinning him under its dead body. It was night and he was already far away when his horse was shot, so the Boer troopers apparently did not check to see if Burnham had been injured or killed. When he awoke hours later, Burnham
4450-688: A scout practically his entire life in the United States when he went to Africa in 1893 to scout for Cecil Rhodes on the Cape-to-Cairo Railway . As Chief of Scouts under Major Allan Wilson , Burnham became known in Africa as he-who-sees-in-the-dark and he gained fame in the First Matabele War when he survived the British equivalent of Custer's Last Stand , the Shangani Patrol . During their joint scouting patrols into
4628-400: A white-dominated government led by Ian Smith . After a long civil war ensued between the white (until 1979) government and two African majority, Soviet Bloc -aligned 'liberation movements' ( Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army and Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army ). The Salisbury government, realizing the situation was untenable, and facing strong international pressure, concluded
4806-971: Is an Eagle Scout and was the United States Army 's Soldier of the Year in 2003. After convalescing, Burnham became the London office manager for the Wa Syndicate , a commercial body with interests in the Gold Coast and neighboring territories in West Africa. He led the Wa Syndicate's 1901 expedition through the Gold Coast and the Upper Volta , looking for minerals and ways to improve river navigation. Between 1902 and 1904 he
4984-513: Is long after the event in a letter written in 1935 by John Coghlan to a friend, John Carruthers, that "a very reliable man informed me that Wools-Sampson told him" that Gooding had confessed on his deathbed that he and the two Americans had not actually been dispatched by Wilson, and had simply left on their own accord. This double hearsay confession, coming from an anonymous source, is not mentioned in Gooding's 1899 obituary, which instead recounts
5162-466: Is now called scoutcraft , the fundamentals of Scouting. Both men recognised that wars in Africa were changing markedly and the British Army needed to adapt; so during their joint scouting missions, Baden-Powell and Burnham discussed the concept of a broad training programme in woodcraft for young men, rich in exploration, tracking , fieldcraft , and self-reliance. It was also during this time in
5340-523: Is problematical, for with the death of the Chief Priest, the M'limo deception also died." But historian Hugh Marshall Hole writes, "On their return they were greatly applauded for having achieved their dangerous errand, but some time later, when it was found that Mlimo was still at work, an official inquiry was held, with the result that the whole affair was exposed as an elaborate hoax." In contrast to Hole, historians Mary and Richard Bradford, Mary Clarke, Peter Emmerson, and Jack Lott all agree with Harley that
5518-587: Is the sufficient and heroic figure, model and living example, who inspired and gave Baden-Powell the plan for the program and the code of honor of Scouting for Boys." With assistance from Baden-Powell, the BSA published his biography: He-who-sees-in-the-dark; the Boys' Story of Frederick Burnham, the American Scout. The BSA made Burnham an Honorary Scout in 1927, and for his noteworthy and extraordinary service to
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5696-568: The Rhodesia Herald in 1944 that once Commandant Piet Raaff took over command from the disgraced Major Forbes it was greatly due to Burnham's good scouting that the column managed to get away: "I have always felt that the honours were equally divided between these two men, to whom we owed our lives on that occasion." For his service in the war, Burnham was presented the British South Africa Company Medal ,
5874-761: The Arizona Territory in the early 1880s, he was drawn into the Pleasant Valley War , a feud between families of ranchers and sheepherders. He escaped and later worked as a civilian tracker for the United States Army in the Apache Wars . Feeling the need for new adventures, Burnham took his family to southern Africa in 1893, seeing Cecil Rhodes 's Cape to Cairo Railway project as the next undeveloped frontier. Burnham distinguished himself in several battles in Rhodesia and South Africa and became Chief of Scouts. Despite his U.S. citizenship, his military title
6052-574: The Boy Scouts of America (BSA), summarized Burnham's historical relevance to Scouting: "There is an especial significance for those of us in Scouting in this man's list, for he was engaged for this work by Lord Baden Powell, who was then connected with the British Army in Africa, and who had unbounded admiration for the scouting methods of Frederick Burnham. So these two pioneers, each of whom
6230-567: The Hwata dynasty on Alice Mine. This was followed by the medium Nehanda Nyakasikana capturing and executing Mazowe Native Commissioner Pollard. Other religious figures who led the rebellion included Kaguvi Gumboreshumba , who was active in the Goromonzi area and Mukwati , a priest of the Mwari shrine who was active throughout Mashonaland. In addition to the mediums, traditional leaders played
6408-677: The Internal Settlement with black nationalist leaders in March 1978. A general election a year later resulted in the creation of a unity government, which in December 1979 concluded the Lancaster House Agreement , whereby Britain resumed control of the country for a brief period before granting independence to the renamed Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980. On 7 October 1964, the Southern Rhodesian government announced that when Northern Rhodesia achieved independence as Zambia,
6586-596: The Matobo Hills , Burnham explained his woodcraft scheme to Baden-Powell, some aspects of which appear in both the programme and the code of honour of Scouting for Boys. Practised by frontiersmen of the American Old West and Indigenous peoples of the Americas , woodcraft was generally unknown to the British, but well known to the American scout Burnham. These skills eventually formed the basis of what
6764-478: The Matopos Hills near Bulawayo, a region that became the scene of the fiercest fighting between Matabele warriors and settler patrols. It was also during this war that two scouts of very different backgrounds, Burnham and Baden-Powell, would first meet and discuss ideas for training youth that would eventually become the plan for the program and the code of honor for the Boy Scouts . The turning point in
6942-738: The Northern Territories British South Africa Exploration Company expedition that first established for the British South Africa Company that major copper deposits existed north of the Zambezi in North-Eastern Rhodesia . Along the Kafue River , Burnham saw many similarities to copper deposits he had worked in the United States, and he encountered native peoples wearing copper bracelets. After this expedition he
7120-598: The RMS Dunottar Castle . The American scout was prospecting near Skagway, Alaska , when he received the following telegram in January 1900: "Lord Roberts appoints you on his personal staff as Chief of Scouts. If you accept, come at once the quickest way possible." Cape Town is at the opposite end of the globe from the Klondike, so Burnham left immediately departing on the very same boat that had brought him
7298-541: The Transvaal Republic in the ill-fated Jameson Raid . This left the country nearly defenceless. The British immediately sent troops to suppress the Matabele and the Shona, but it cost the lives of many on both sides. Months passed before the British forces were strong enough to break the sieges and defend the major settlements, and war raged on until October of the following year. The Mlimo planned to wait until
Second Matabele War - Misplaced Pages Continue
7476-543: The Union of South Africa and, from 1961, the Republic of South Africa ). This southern region, known for its extensive gold reserves, was first purchased by the BSAC's Pioneer Column on the strength of a Mineral Concession extracted from its Matabele king, Lobengula , and various majority Mashona vassal chiefs in 1890. Though parts of the territory were laid-claim-to by the Bechuana and Portugal, its first people,
7654-725: The Western Union Telegraph Company in California and Arizona Territory . On one occasion his horse was stolen from him by Tiburcio Vásquez , a famous Californio bandit. At 14, he began his life as a scout and Indian tracker in the Apache Wars , during which he took part in the United States Army expedition to find and capture or kill the Apache chief Geronimo . In Prescott, Arizona , he met an old scout named Lee who served under General George Crook . Lee taught Burnham how to track Apache by detecting
7832-468: The Zambezi Gorge. This situation caused some embarrassment for the Zambian government later when it was a "front line state" in support of insurgents into Rhodesia in that its major source of electric power was controlled by the Rhodesian state. With the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia no longer in existence, in 1964, Southern Rhodesia reverted to the name Rhodesia (see next section). In 1965, Rhodesia unilaterally declared itself independent under
8010-431: The Zambezi River . The region was informally known as South Zambesia until annexation by Britain, at the behest of Cecil Rhodes 's British South Africa Company (for whom the colony was named). The bounding territories were Bechuanaland ( Botswana ), Northern Rhodesia ( Zambia ), Portuguese Mozambique ( Mozambique ) and the Transvaal Republic (for two brief periods known as the British Transvaal Colony ; from 1910,
8188-464: The "Bushmen" (or Sān or Khoisan ), had possessed it for countless centuries beforehand and had continued to inhabit the region. Following the colony's unilateral dissolution in 1970 by the Republic of Rhodesia government, the Colony of Southern Rhodesia was re-established in 1979 as the predecessor state to the Republic of Zimbabwe Rhodesia which, in-turn, was the predecessor state of the Republic of Zimbabwe . Its only true geographical borders were
8366-423: The BSA's highest honor, the Silver Buffalo Award , in 1936, and remained active in the organization at both the regional and national level until his death in 1947. To symbolize the friendship between Burnham and Baden-Powell, the mountain beside Mount Baden-Powell in California was formally named Mount Burnham in 1951. Burnham was born on May 11, 1861, on a Dakota Sioux Indian reservation in Minnesota , to
8544-510: The BSAC and the black tribes, Acts of Parliament delineating BSAC and Crown Lands, overlapping British colonial commission authority of both areas, the rights of the increasing number of British settlers and their descendants were given secondary review by authorities. This resulted in the formation of new movements for expanding the self-government of the Rhodesian people which saw BSAC rule as an impediment to further expansion. The Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council election of 1920 returned
8722-408: The BSAP defeated the Ndebele in the First Matabele War , a war which also resulted in the death of King Lobengula and the death of most of the members of the Shangani Patrol . Shortly after the disastrous BSAP Jameson Raid into the Transvaal Republic , the Ndebele were led by their spiritual leader Mlimo against the white colonials and thus began the Second Matabele War (1896–97) which resulted in
8900-445: The British Army 25th (Frontiersmen) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers ; however, as Commander-in-chief , President Woodrow Wilson refused to make use of Roosevelt's volunteers. Roosevelt had been an outspoken critic of Wilson's neutrality policies, so even though Roosevelt had made several attempts to come to an agreement with Wilson, the President was unwilling to accept any compromise. In an astute political maneuver, Wilson announced to
9078-445: The British Army needed to adapt. During their joint scouting missions, Baden-Powell and Burnham discussed the concept of a broad training program in woodcraft for young men, rich in exploration, tracking , fieldcraft , and self-reliance. In Africa, no scout embodied these traits more than Burnham. In his first scouting handbook, Aids to Scouting (1899), Baden-Powell published many of the lessons he learned from Burnham and this book
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#17327904010029256-434: The British expansion into southern Africa . In 1888 Rhodes obtained mineral rights from the most powerful local traditional leaders through treaties such as the Rudd Concession and the Moffat Treaty , which was signed by King Lobengula of the Ndebele people . "Southern" was first used in 1898 and dropped from normal usage in 1964, on the break-up of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland . " Rhodesia " then remained
9434-480: The Bulawayo Field Force, under such figures as Selous and Frederick Russell Burnham ; these rode out to rescue any surviving settlers in the countryside and went on attack against the Matabele. Selous raised a mounted troop of forty men to scout southward into the Matobo Hills. Maurice Gifford , along with 40 men, rode east along the Iniza River. Whenever settlers were found, they were quickly loaded into their wagons and closely guarded on their way to Bulawayo. Within
9612-402: The Company administration. Rhodes is buried alongside the 34 company soldiers killed in the Shangani Patrol and Jameson was buried there also after his death in 1917. Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked, self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa , established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of
9790-427: The Governor for royal assent . However, no royal assent was granted to the Bill. Section 3 of the Southern Rhodesia (Annexation) Order 1923 provided that Southern Rhodesia "shall be known as the Colony of Southern Rhodesia" and the Southern Rhodesia (Constitution) Act 1961 and the Order-in-Council which followed it both referred to it as such. The country's name had been agreed previously by both Southern Rhodesia and
9968-440: The Klondike having played no part in the war. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt regretted this as much as Burnham and paid him a great tribute in his book. The Second Boer War (October 1899 – May 1902) was fought between the British and two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State , partly the result of long-simmering strife between them. It was directly caused by each side's desire to control
10146-505: The M'limo of the Matabele." Harley states that "At (the Watermeyer) enquiry, Father Prestage from his knowledge of the Umlimo and the power he exercised was able to supply authoritative information which greatly assisted the enquiry." But chief native commissioner Taylor's 1899 report, written three years after the event and after Armstrong resigned from the company over unrelated grievances, says that "Armstrong by threats and bribes caused certain natives to perjure themselves and to swear to what
10324-431: The Matabele quickly by capturing Lobengula at his royal town of Bulawayo , and so sent Burnham and a small group of scouts ahead to report on the situation there. While on the outskirts of town they watched as the Matabele burned down and destroyed everything in sight. By the time the company troops had arrived in force, Lobengula and his warriors had fled and there was little left of old Bulawayo. The company then moved into
10502-542: The Matabele spiritual leader, was credited with fomenting much of the anger that led to this confrontation. He convinced the Matabele and the Shona that the settlers (almost 4,000-strong by then) were responsible for the drought, locust plagues and the cattle disease rinderpest ravaging the country at the time. The Mlimo's call to battle was well-timed. Only a few months earlier, the British South Africa Company's Administrator General for Matabeleland , Leander Starr Jameson , had sent most of his troops and armaments to fight
10680-399: The Matobo Hills that Baden-Powell first started to wear his signature campaign hat like the one worn by Burnham - the hat was made by the Stetson Company, and that style was called the "Boss-of-the-Plains", or "B-P" for short. It was here that Baden-Powell acquired his Kudu horn, the Matabele war instrument he later used every morning at his experimental boys' camp on Brownsea Island to wake
10858-454: The Matopos Hills; when he died in the Cape in 1902 his body was brought to Bulawayo by train. His burial was attended by Ndebele chiefs, who asked that the firing party not discharge their rifles, as this would disturb the spirits. Then, for the first and probably the only time, they gave a European person the Matabele royal salute, "Bayete" though this should be considered alongside the fact that from 1898 onwards Ndebele chiefs were paid agents of
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#173279040100211036-476: The Matopos. Burnham and Armstrong travelled by night through the Matobo Hills and approached the sacred cave. Not far from the cave was a village of about 100 huts filled with many warriors. The two scouts tethered their horses to a thicket and crawled on their bellies, screening their slow and cautious movements with branches held before them. Once inside the cave, they waited until Mlimo entered. Once Mlimo started his dance of immunity, Burnham shot him just below
11214-434: The Mexican government. I know Burnham. He is a scout and a hunter of courage and ability, a man totally without fear, a sure shot, and a fighter. He is the ideal scout, and when enlisted in the military service of any country he is bound to be of the greatest benefit. —President Theodore Roosevelt, 1901 During this period, Burnham was one of the 18 officers selected by former U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt to raise
11392-414: The Ross family living nearby were similarly killed in their newly built home. With few troops to support them, the settlers quickly built a laager of sandbagged wagons in the centre of Bulawayo on their own. Barbed wire was added to Bulawayo's defences. Oil-soaked fagots were arranged in strategic locations in case of attack at night. Blasting gelatin was secreted in outlying buildings that were beyond
11570-408: The Scouting movement, Burnham was bestowed the highest commendation given by the BSA, the Silver Buffalo Award, in 1936. Throughout his life he remained active in Scouting at both the regional and the national level in the United States and he corresponded regularly with Baden-Powell on Scouting topics. Burnham and Baden-Powell remained close friends for their long lives. Burnham called Baden-Powell
11748-453: The Second Boer War (1900) On June 2, 1900, during the British march on Pretoria, Burnham was wounded, almost fatally. He was on a mission to cut off the flow of Boer gold and supplies to and from the sea and to halt the transportation of British prisoners of war out of Pretoria. He scouted alone far to the east behind enemy lines trying to identify the best choke point along the Pretoria – Delagoa Bay railway line. He came upon an underpass of
11926-399: The Second Matabele War In March 1896, the Matabele again rose up against the British South Africa Company administration in what became called the Second Matabele War or the First Chimurenga (liberation war). Mlimo , the Matabele spiritual leader, is credited with fomenting much of the anger that led to this confrontation. The colonists' defenses in Matabeleland were undermanned due to
12104-406: The Shangani Patrol, and hailed Wilson and Borrow as national heroes. Their last stand together became a kind of national myth , as Lewis Gann writes, "a glorious memory, [Rhodesia's] own equivalent of the bloody Alamo massacre and Custer's Last Stand in the American West ". The version of events recorded by history is based on the accounts of Burnham, Ingram and Gooding, the Matabele present at
12282-400: The Shangani River had swollen and there was now no possibility of retreat. In desperation, Wilson sent Burnham and two other men, Pearl "Pete" Ingram (a Montana cowboy) and William Gooding (an Australian), to cross the Shangani River, find Forbes, and bring reinforcements. In spite of a shower of bullets and spears, the three made it to Forbes, but the battle raging there was just as intense as
12460-474: The Southern Rhodesian government would officially become known as the Rhodesian Government and the colony would become known as Rhodesia. On 23 October of that year, the Minister of Internal Affairs notified the press that the Constitution would be amended to make this official. The Legislative Assembly then passed an Interpretation Bill to declare that the colony could be referred to as Rhodesia. The Bill received its third reading on 9 December 1964, and passed to
12638-416: The Southern Rhodesians. Accordingly, Britain granted independence to Northern Rhodesia on 24 October 1964. However, when the new nationalists changed its name to Zambia and began tentatively at first and later in rapid march an Africanisation campaign, Southern Rhodesia remained a British colony, resisting attempts to bring in majority rule. The colony attempted to change its name to Rhodesia although this
12816-656: The Taft-Díaz summit, Burnham led a team of 500 men in guarding mining properties owned by Hammond, J. P. Morgan , and the Guggenheims in the Mexican state of Sonora . Just as the irrigation and mining projects were nearing completion in 1912, a long series of Mexican revolutions began. The final blow to these efforts came in 1917 when Mexico passed laws prohibiting the sale of land to foreigners. Burnham and Hammond carried their properties until 1930 and then sold them to
12994-744: The United Kingdom, and it was therefore outside the powers of Southern Rhodesian institutions to amend them unilaterally. Notwithstanding the Governor's lack of assent to the Interpretation Bill the United Kingdom's Colonial Office was, by 1965, officially using the name "Rhodesia" in British Government-issued Gazettes of the period (for instance see: The 1965 Queen's Birthday Honours of 12 June 1965). The Rhodesian government, which had begun using
13172-471: The United States, where he became involved in national defense efforts, business, oil, conservation, and the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). During World War I, Burnham was selected as an officer and recruited volunteers for a U.S. Army division similar to the Rough Riders , which Theodore Roosevelt intended to lead into France. For political reasons, the unit was disbanded without seeing action. After
13350-773: The Universities of London and Birmingham. In 1971 UCR became the University of Rhodesia and began awarding its own degrees. In 1980 it was renamed the University of Zimbabwe . In 1953, with calls for independence mounting in many of its African possessions, the United Kingdom created the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (or the Central African Federation , CAF), which consisted of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Zimbabwe , Zambia , and Malawi , respectively). The idea
13528-577: The Yaqui valley for mineral and agricultural resources, Burnham reasoned that a dam could provide year-round water to rich alluvial soil in the valley; turning the region into one of the garden spots of the world and generate much needed electricity. He purchased water rights and some 300 acres (1.2 km ) of land in this region and contacted an old friend from his time in Africa, John Hays Hammond , who conducted his own studies and then purchased an additional 900,000 acres (3,600 km ) of this land—an area
13706-507: The Zambezi was the subject of separate treaties with African chiefs: today, it forms the country of Zambia . The first BSAC Administrator for the western part was appointed for Barotseland in 1897 and for the whole of North-Western Rhodesia in 1900. The first BSAC Administrator for the eastern part, North-Eastern Rhodesia , was appointed in 1895. The whites in the territory south of the river paid it scant regard though, and generally used
13884-514: The age of three. In the Dakota War of 1862 , Chief Little Crow and his Sioux warriors attacked the nearby town New Ulm, Minnesota ; Burnham's father was in Mankato buying ammunition at the time, so when Burnham's mother saw Sioux approaching her cabin dressed in war paint, she knew she had to leave and could never escape carrying her baby. She hid Frederick in a basket of green corn husks in
14062-404: The amount of land required to own a share in the company or where in trades supporting the company as workers, successive activism resulted in first increasing the proportion of elected seats, and eventually allowing non-share holders the right to vote in the election. Prior to about 1918, the opinion among the electorate supported continued BSAC rule but opinion changed because of the development of
14240-402: The back of a galloping horse. Even after his faction admitted defeat (the feud would begin again years later), Burnham still had many enemies. During this time he met "a fine, hard riding young Kansan, who I had met on an Indian raid and whose nerve I greatly admired." The young Kansan, who had been swindled by an unscrupulous superintendent of mines, had a plan to rustle cattle and horses from
14418-487: The battle (particularly inDuna Mjaan), and the men of Forbes' column. While all of the direct evidence given by eyewitnesses supports the findings of the Court of Inquiry, some historians and writers debate whether or not Burnham, Ingram and Gooding really were sent back by Wilson to fetch help, and suggest that they might have simply deserted when the battle got rough. The earliest recording of this claim of desertion
14596-560: The battles at Driefontein (March 10, 1900), Johannesburg (May 31, 1900), Paardeberg (February 17–26, 1900), and Cape Colony (October 11, 1899 – May 31, 1902), in addition to the cross of the Distinguished Service Order , the second highest decoration in the British Army, for his heroism during the "victorious" march to Pretoria (June 2–5, 1900). The King also made his British Army appointment and rank permanent, in spite of his U.S. citizenship. Burnham received
14774-515: The border into Mexico. But tensions rose on both sides of the border, including threats of assassination, so the Texas Rangers , 4,000 U.S. and Mexican troops, U.S. Secret Service agents, FBI agents and U.S. marshals were all called in to provide security. Burnham was put in charge of a private security detail, 250 men hired by Hammond, who in addition to owning large investments in Mexico was
14952-504: The boys and to call them together for training. In 1901, Chief Kadungure Mapondera , who had in 1894 proclaimed his independence of company rule, led a rebellion in the Guruve and Mount Darwin areas of Mashonaland Central . He led a force of initially under 100 men, but had more than 600 under his command by mid-1901. He was captured in 1903 and died in jail in 1904 after a hunger strike. In his will, Rhodes directed that he be buried in
15130-400: The cave, they waited until Mlimo entered. Mlimo was said to be about 60 years old, with very dark skin, sharp-featured; American news reports of the time described him as having a cruel, crafty look. Burnham and Armstrong waited until Mlimo entered the cave and started his dance of immunity, at which point Burnham shot Mlimo just below the heart, killing him. Burnham and Armstrong leapt over
15308-586: The colony ceased to exist when the new country of Zimbabwe became independent at midnight on 17 April 1980. List of chief justices of Southern Rhodesia: Frederick Russell Burnham Major Frederick Russell Burnham DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to the British Army in colonial Africa , and for teaching woodcraft to Robert Baden-Powell in Rhodesia . Burnham helped inspire
15486-746: The colony's formal name in United Kingdom constitutional theory: for example, the Act passed by the United Kingdom Parliament declaring the independence a legal nullity was entitled the Southern Rhodesia Act 1965 . Following the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement , the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Southern Rhodesia Constitution (Interim Provisions) Order 1979, establishing
15664-578: The commanders. Some writers also describe Armstrong as young and moody and claim that he too expressed doubts about the identity of the man killed, but only after the assassination. Initially, the company declined to review the matter and Burnham left Rhodesia on 11 July 1896, a week after the Bulawayo Field Force disbanded, to return to the United States and later joined the Klondike Gold Rush . However, at Armstrong's insistence
15842-477: The country and increased settlement. In addition, a decision in the British courts that land not in private ownership belonged to the British Crown rather than the BSAC gave great impetus to the campaign for self-government. In the resulting treaty government self-government, Crown lands which were sold to settlers allowed those settlers the right to vote in the self-governing colony. The territory north of
16020-415: The court of inquiry favoured Armstrong. Emmerson cites an 1899 report from chief native commissioner H.J. Taylor as evidence that Watermeyer ruled in favour of Armstrong. Mary and Richard Bradford studied Taylor's 1899 report, and Hole's correspondence, and they suggest specific errors made by Hole in his interpretation of Taylor's report. Clarke and Lott both point out that Armstrong was given a gold watch and
16198-409: The day, settlers could go to homes and buildings within the town, but at night they were forced to seek shelter in the much smaller laager. Nearly 1,000 women and children were crowded into the city, and false alarms of attacks were common. Although they kept up their siege, the Matabele made one critical error: they neglected to cut the telegraph lines connecting Bulawayo to Mafeking . This gave both
16376-508: The dead Mlimo and ran down a trail toward their horses. The warriors in the village nearby picked up their arms and searched for the attackers; to distract them, Burnham set fire to some of their huts. The two men escaped and rode back to Bulawayo. Shortly after, Cecil Rhodes walked unarmed into the Matabele stronghold and made peace with the rebels, ending the Second Matabele War. With the Matabele wars over, Burnham decided it
16554-574: The death of Mlimo, Cecil Rhodes walked unarmed into the Matabele stronghold and persuaded the Matabele warriors to lay down their arms. With the war in Matabeland effectively over, the Bulawayo Field Force disbanded on 4 July 1896. With regard to the regular forces under Carrington, Hensman writes "As the rainy season approached and peace was arranged in Matabeleland, the forces, or a considerable portion of them, were moved up into Mashonaland". War broke out on 17 June 1896 at Mazowe with an attack by
16732-465: The defence perimeter, to be exploded in the event the enemy occupied them. Smashed glass bottles were spread around the front of the wagons. Except for hunting rifles, there were few weapons to be found in Bulawayo. However, the settlers did have access to a few working artillery pieces and a small assortment of machine guns. Rather than wait passively, the settlers immediately mounted patrols, called
16910-533: The difficulty in distinguishing friend from foe that marks irregular warfare." While there appears to be no clear consensus about either the identity of man assassinated in the Matopos or his role, historian Howard Hensman states "With the downfall of Wedza and shooting of the M'Limo in a cave in the Matoppos by the American scout, Burnham, the Matabele rebellion may be said to have come to an end." Upon learning of
17088-723: The east, both in Mashonaland ; and Lord Grey and Col. Plumer (of the York and Lancaster Regiment ) from Kimberley, 970 kilometres (600 mi) to the south, via Mafeking . The southern relief forces were nearly ambushed on their approach to Bulawayo, but Selous discovered the whereabouts of the Matabele and the Maxim guns of the relief forces drove back the attackers. Not long after relief forces began arriving in Bulawayo, General Frederick Carrington arrived to take overall command along with his chief of staff, Colonel Baden-Powell . With
17266-487: The events as generally recorded. Several well-known writers have used the Coghlan letter, as shaky as it is, as clearance to create hypothetical evidence in an attempt to challenge and revise the historical record. All of the officers and troopers of Forbes' column had high praise for Burnham's actions, and none reported any doubts about his conduct even decades later. One member of the column, Trooper M E Weale, told
17444-470: The extermination of nearly half the British settlers. After months of bloodshed, Mlimo was found and shot by the American scout Frederick Russell Burnham and soon thereafter Rhodes walked unarmed into the Ndebele stronghold in Matobo Hills and persuaded the impi to lay down their arms, effectively ending the revolt. A legislative council was created in 1899 to manage the company's civil affairs, with
17622-407: The fight that followed, Burnham pretended to receive a wound in the knee, limping heavily and groaning with pain. He was placed in a wagon with the officers who really were wounded and who, in consequence, were not closely guarded. Later that evening, Burnham slipped over the driver's seat, dropped between the two wheels of the wagon, lowered himself, and fell between the legs of the oxen on his back in
17800-419: The first week of fighting, 20 men of the Bulawayo Field Force were killed and another 50 were wounded. In the First Matabele War , the Matabele had experienced the effectiveness of the settlers' Maxim guns , so they never mounted a significant attack against Bulawayo even though more than 10,000 Matabele warriors could be seen near the town. Conditions inside Bulawayo, however, quickly became unbearable. During
17978-622: The founding of the international Scouting Movement . Burnham was born on a Dakota Sioux Indian reservation in Minnesota, in the small village of Tivoli near the city of Mankato; there he learned the ways of American Indians as a boy. By the age of 14, he was supporting himself in California, while also learning scouting from some of the last of the cowboys and frontiersmen of the American Southwest . Burnham had little formal education, never finishing high school. After moving to
18156-418: The frontier, including the vital lesson that "it is imperative that a scout should know the history, tradition, religion, social customs, and superstitions of whatever country or people he is called on to work in or among." But the scout who was to have perhaps the greatest influence on Burnham during his formative years was a man named Holmes. Holmes had served under Kit Carson and John C. Fremont , but he
18334-507: The heart, killing him. The two men then leapt over the dead Mlimo and ran down a trail towards their horses. Hundreds of warriors, encamped nearby, picked up their arms and started in pursuit. Burnham set fire to the village as a distraction. The two men hurried back to Bulawayo, with warriors in pursuit After the assassination , overseas press hailed Burnham and Armstrong as "heroes of the British Empire". But in Rhodesia, sections of
18512-562: The highest awards of any American who served in the Second Boer War. Following his investiture, the British press hailed him as: "The King of Army Scouts". Burnham was already a celebrated scout when he first befriended Baden-Powell during the Second Matabele War, but the backgrounds of these two scouts was as strange a contrast as it is possible to imagine. From his youth on the open plains, Burnham's earliest playmates were Sioux Indian boys and their ambitions pointed to excelling in
18690-687: The highest loss ratio of any constituent element, colony, dependency or dominion of the British Empire forces during World War II. Additionally, the Rhodesian pilots earned the highest number of decorations and ace appellations of any group within the Empire. This resulted in the Royal Family paying an unusual state visit to the colony at the end of the war to thank the Rhodesian people. Economically, Southern Rhodesia developed an economy that
18868-491: The ill-fated Jameson Raid into the South African Republic (or Transvaal), and in the first few months of the war alone hundreds of white settlers were killed. With few troops to support them, the settlers quickly built a laager in the centre of Bulawayo on their own and mounted patrols under such figures as Burnham, Robert Baden-Powell , and Frederick Selous . The Matabele retreated into their stronghold of
19046-613: The instigator and active participant in the operation, "was an authority on the Native, his language, customs and mentality", according to fellow native commissioner E. C. Harley. Armstrong was also a major in the Mangwe Field Force, and Selous describes him as young, but "shrewd and capable". Selous and Harley say that Armstrong was in command at the Mangwe laager, although Baden-Powell and other sources name van Rooyen and Lee as
19224-450: The lore and arts of the trail and together they dreamed of some day becoming great scouts. When Burnham was a teenager he supported himself by hunting game and making long rides for Western Union through the California deserts, his early mentors were wise old scouts of the American West, and by 19 he was a seasoned scout chasing and being chased by Apache. The British scout he would later befriend and serve with in Matabeleland, Baden-Powell,
19402-459: The low proportion of British and other white citizens in relation to the larger black populations. Additionally, by incorporating the tribes within the Federation as potential citizens, the Federation created the paradoxical situation of having a white elite owning most of the land and capital, whilst being completely dependent upon cheap black labour. The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
19580-529: The lucrative Witwatersrand gold mines in the Transvaal. Field Marshal Frederick Roberts , one of the British Army 's most successful commanders of the 19th century, was appointed to take overall command of British forces, relieving General Redvers Buller , following a number of Boer successes in the early weeks of the war, including the Siege of Mafeking , in which Baden-Powell, his small regiment of men, and
19758-498: The massive rebellion spread, the Shona joined in the fighting, and the settlers headed towards Bulawayo. Within a week, 141 settlers were slain in Matabeleland , another 103 killed in Mashonaland , and hundreds of homes, ranches and mines were burned. A particularly tragic case occurred at the Insiza River where Mrs. Fourie and her six small children were found mutilated beyond recognition on their farmstead. Two young women of
19936-451: The military commander, General Carrington, who called in his chief of staff, Baden-Powell. Carrington instructed Burnham, Armstrong, and Baden-Powell to leave that very night to "Capture the Mlimo if you can. Kill him if you must. Do not let him escape." Intervening news of enemy movements near Bembezi forced Baden-Powell to go there instead, so Burnham and Armstrong proceeded on their own to
20114-735: The most successful smugglers along the Arizona–Mexico frontier. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral had occurred only a few months earlier, but as Tombstone was a boomtown attracting new silver miners from all parts, it was an ideal location to hide out. Burnham assumed several aliases and occasionally he delivered messages for McLeod and his smuggler partners in Sonora, Mexico. From McLeod, he learned many valuable tricks for avoiding detection, passing coded messages, and throwing off pursuers. Burnham eventually went back to California to attend high school, but he never graduated. He returned to Arizona and
20292-540: The name "Rhodesia" in a narrow sense to mean their part. The designation "Southern Rhodesia" was first used officially in 1898 in the Southern Rhodesia Order in Council of 20 October 1898, which applied to the area south of the Zambezi, and was more common after the BSAC merged the administration of the two northern territories as Northern Rhodesia in 1911. As a result of the various treaties between
20470-485: The name of the country until the creation of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979. Legally, from the British perspective, the name Southern Rhodesia continued to be used until 18 April 1980, when the Republic of Zimbabwe was promulgated. The British government agreed that Rhodes' company, the British South Africa Company (BSAC), would administer the territory stretching from the Limpopo to Lake Tanganyika under charter as
20648-403: The new name anyway, did not press the issue. The Unilateral Declaration of Independence , adopted on 11 November 1965, was in the name of "Rhodesia", which remained unchanged by the declaration of a republic in 1970, the title of the republican constitution of 1969, like the constitution before it, being "Constitution of Rhodesia". While the new name was widely used, 'Southern Rhodesia' remained
20826-523: The night of 29 March, the first full moon, to take Bulawayo by surprise immediately after a ceremony called the Big Dance. He promised, through his priests, that if the Matabele went to war, the bullets of the settlers would change to water and their cannon shells would become eggs. His plan was to kill all of the settlers in Bulawayo first, but not to destroy the town itself as it would serve again as
21004-692: The odor of burning mescal, a species of aloe they often cooked and ate. With careful study of the local air currents and canyons, trackers could follow the odor to Apache hiding places from as far away as 6 miles (9.7 km). During the Apache uprisings, the young Burnham also learned much from Al Sieber , the Chief of Scouts, and his assistant Archie McIntosh , who had been Chief of Scouts in Crook's last two campaigns. Burnham learned much about scouting from these Indian trackers, who were advanced in age and fading from
21182-666: The offices of Governor and Deputy Governor of Southern Rhodesia, filled by Lord Soames and Sir Antony Duff respectively. The new Governor arrived in Salisbury on 12 December 1979, and on that day the Parliament of Zimbabwe Rhodesia handed power over to him by passing the Constitution of Zimbabwe Rhodesia (Amendment) (No. 4) Act, declaring that "Zimbabwe Rhodesia shall cease to be an independent State and become part of Her Majesty's dominions". After elections in February 1980,
21360-548: The often unjustly administered laws of the land." Burnham decided to reject the offer of the young Kansan (who followed through with the plan and was later killed), and that he needed to leave the Tonto Basin . Judge Aaron Hackney , editor of the local Arizona Silver Belt newspaper and a friend, helped him escape to Tombstone, Arizona with the assistance of Neil McLeod—a well-known prizefighter in Tombstone and one of
21538-407: The one they had left, and there was no hope of anyone reaching Wilson in time. As Burnham loaded his rifle to beat back the Matabele warriors, he quietly said to Forbes, "I think I may say that we are the sole survivors of that party." Wilson, Borrow, and their men were indeed surrounded by hundreds of Matabele warriors; escape was impossible, and all were killed. Colonial-era histories called this
21716-466: The overall building of infrastructure than the other two members did. Southern Rhodesia, recognising an inevitable dissolution of the Federation, was quick to use federal funds in building its infrastructure ahead of the others. A key component of this was the building of the Kariba Dam and its hydroelectric facility (shafts, control centre, etc.), which was situated on the Southern Rhodesian side of
21894-482: The patrol found the king and Wilson sent a message back to the laager requesting reinforcements. Forbes, however, was unwilling to set off across the river in the dark, so he sent only 20 more men, under the command of Henry Borrow, to reinforce Wilson's patrol. Forbes intended to send the main body of troops and artillery across the river the following morning; however, the main column was ambushed by Matabele warriors and delayed. Wilson's patrol too came under attack, but
22072-401: The press that he would not send Roosevelt and his volunteers to France, but instead would send an American Expeditionary Force under the command of General John Pershing . Roosevelt was left with no option except to disband the volunteers. He never forgave Wilson, and quickly published The Foes Of Our Own Household , a harsh indictment of the sitting president. These relentless attacks helped
22250-453: The press were sceptical about the assassination of the Mlimo. It had been a mistake on the part of British military intelligence to think of the Mlimo and the high priest, or prophet, in the Matopos as one and the same. Based on British Army reports, Carrington believed that the Mlimo was a central authority and that "his orders fly about from one end of the country to another with great rapidity". Historian Terence Ranger writes that "Carrington
22428-418: The rainmaker (Iwosana) of the tribe ( Makalanga ) who was Hobani or Tshobani (Sindebele), fourth son of Banko's family." In 1994, Mary and Richard Bradford state that "Burnham may have shot an innocent man, but if so, there was no premeditated plan. He was acting under orders." The Bradfords further remark, "If Jobani was innocent, he was a victim not of Burnham but of white misconception of the M'limo cult and of
22606-548: The ranch's cattle was shot and killed. However, see Footnote #6 of Eduardo Obergon Pagan's "Valley of the Guns: The Pleasant Valley War and the Trauma of Violence". Once the killing started, he felt he had to join a faction as a hired gun, although it put him on the wrong side of the law. In between raids and forays, he practiced incessantly with his pistol; he learned to shoot using either hand and from
22784-558: The relief forces and the besieged Bulawayo Field Force far more information than they would otherwise have had. Several relief columns were organised to break the siege, but the long trek through hostile countryside took several months. Late in May, the first two relief columns appeared near Bulawayo on almost the same day but from opposite directions – Cecil Rhodes and Col. Beal arriving from Salisbury , 430 kilometres (270 mi) north-east, via Fort Victoria , 282 kilometres (175 mi) to
22962-497: The remains of Bulawayo, established a base, and sent out patrols to find Lobengula. The most famous of these patrols was the Shangani Patrol , led by Major Allan Wilson and the man he chose as his Chief of Scouts, Fred Burnham. Jameson sent a column of soldiers under Major Patrick Forbes to locate and capture Lobengula. The column camped on the south bank of the Shangani River about 25 mi (40 km) north-east of
23140-412: The rivers Zambezi and Limpopo , its other boundaries being (more or less) arbitrary, and merging imperceptibly with the peoples and domains of earlier chiefdoms of pre-colonial times. The British colony was established de jure in 1923, having earlier been occupied, constructed and administered by the British South Africa Company and its sub-concessionaires who were mostly British subjects. In 1953, it
23318-440: The road. In an instant, the wagon had passed over him safely, and while the dust still hung above the trail he rolled rapidly over into the ditch at the side of the road and lay motionless. It was four days before he was able to re-enter the British lines, during which time he had been lying in the open veld . He had subsisted on one biscuit and two handfuls of "mielies" (i.e., maize). I take this opportunity of thanking you for
23496-479: The royal kraal for the newly reincarnated King Lobengula . The Mlimo decreed that the settlers should be attacked and driven from the country through the Mangwe Pass on the Western edge of the Matobo Hills , which was to be left open and unguarded for this reason. Once the settlers were purged from Bulawayo, the Matabele and Shona warriors would head out into the countryside and continue the slaughter until all
23674-519: The same person. Over the years, historians have postulated several more names for the man assassinated and his role. In 1966, Ranger hypothesized that the man assassinated was not from the Matopos at all, but rather a "loyal" priest of the Kalanga tribe from the Southwest of Matabeleland, and Ranger quotes an 1879 report from a missionary, Joseph Cockin, that states that the priest from the Southwest
23852-425: The settlers were either killed or had fled. However, several young Matabele were overly anxious to go to war, and the rebellion started prematurely. On 20 March, Matabele rebels shot and stabbed a native policeman. Over the next few days, other outlying settlers and prospectors were killed. Frederick Selous , the famous big-game hunter , had heard rumours of settlers in the countryside being killed, but he thought it
24030-569: The siege broken, an estimated 50,000 Matabele retreated into their stronghold of the Matobo Hills near Bulawayo. This region became the scene of the fiercest fighting between the settler patrols and the Matabele. By June, the Shona kept their promise and joined the fighting on the side of the Matabele. But lacking a clear leader similar to Mlimo, the Shonas mostly stayed behind their fortifications and conducted few raids. Military intelligence at
24208-571: The siege of Bulawayo, these two men rode many times into the Matopos Hills on patrol, and it was in these hills that Burnham first introduced Baden-Powell to the ways and methods of the Native Americans , and taught him "woodcraft" (better known today as Scoutcraft ). Baden-Powell had written at length about reconnaissance and tracking, but from Burnham he learned many new dimensions such as how to travel in wild country without either
24386-562: The size of Rhode Island . Burnham together with Charles Frederick Holder made important archaeological discoveries of Mayan civilization in this region, including the Esperanza Stone . In 1909, William Howard Taft and Porfirio Díaz planned a summit in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, an historic first meeting between a U.S. president and a Mexican president and also the first time an American president would cross
24564-503: The superintendent and sell them to Curly Bill ( William Brocius ), an outlaw with whom he had indirectly been in contact. Both men were broke at the time, and the job sounded easy. But Burnham had always rejected the life of a thief and even as a wanted man, he did not view himself as a criminal. Burnham began to see that even though he joined the feud to help his friends, he had been in the wrong, that "avenging only led to more vengeance and to even greater injustice than that suffered through
24742-515: The telegram. In an unusual step for a foreigner, Burnham received a command post from Roberts and the British Army rank of captain. Burnham reached the front just before the Battle of Paardeberg (February 1900). During the war, Burnham spent much time behind the Boer lines gathering information and blowing up railway bridges and tracks. He was captured twice (escaping both times), and also temporarily disabled at one point by near-fatal wounds. Burnham
24920-413: The time at night. Burnham also learned survival skills from Holmes, such as where to find water in the desert, how to protect himself from snakes, and what to do in case of forest fires or floods. A stickler for details, Holmes impressed on him that even in the simplest things, such as braiding a rope, tying a knot, or putting on or taking off a saddle, there is a right way and a wrong way. The two men earned
25098-454: The time thought that capturing the Mlimo would be the speediest way to end the war. The location of the Mlimo's cave had been disclosed to the native commissioner at Mangwe , Bonar Armstrong, by an unnamed Zulu informant. Armstrong immediately brought this information to the Chief of Scouts, Burnham, and the two men presented it to the administrator of Southern Rhodesia, Earl Grey . The administrator instructed them to present this information to
25276-488: The townspeople had been besieged by thousands of Boer troops since the conflict began. Roberts asked General Frederick Carrington , who had commanded the British forces in Matabeleland three years earlier, whom he should appoint as his Chief of Scouts in South Africa. Carrington had selected Burnham for this role and advised Roberts to do the same, describing Burnham as "the finest scout who ever scouted in Africa." Roberts sent for Burnham soon after arriving in South Africa on
25454-435: The valuable services you have rendered since you joined my headquarters at Paardeburg last February. I doubt if any other man in the force could have successfully carried out the perilous enterprises on which you have from time to time been engaged demanding as they did the training of a lifetime, combined with exceptional courage, caution, and powers of endurance. — Lord Roberts , Commander of all British troops fighting in
25632-532: The village of Lupane on the evening of December 3, 1893. The next day, late in the afternoon, a dozen men under the command of Major Wilson were sent across the river to patrol the area. The Wilson Patrol came across a group of Matabele women and children who claimed to know Lobengula's whereabouts. Burnham, who served as the lead scout of the Wilson Patrol, sensed a trap and advised Wilson to withdraw, but Wilson ordered his patrol to advance. Soon afterwards,
25810-571: The war came when Burnham and Bonar Armstrong, a company native commissioner, found their way through the Matopos Hills to a sacred cave not many miles from the Mangwe district , to a sanctuary then known only to the Matabele where Mlimo had been hiding. Not far from the cave was a village (now gone) of about 100 huts filled with many warriors. The two men tethered their horses to a thicket and crawled on their bellies, screening their slow, cautious movements by means of branches held before them. Once inside
25988-796: The war, Burnham and his business partner John Hays Hammond formed the Burnham Exploration Company; they became wealthy from oil discovered in California. Burnham joined several new wilderness conservation organizations, including the California State Parks Commission . In the 1930s, he worked with the BSA to save the big horn sheep from extinction. This effort led to the creation of the Kofa and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuges in Arizona. He earned
26166-504: The world of Scouting and conservation, was honored in 1951 with the dedication of the adjoining peak as Mount Burnham . Burnham's descendants followed in his footsteps and are active in Scouting and in the military. His son Roderick enlisted in the U.S. Army and he fought in France in World War I . His grandson, Frederick Russell Burnham II, was a leader in the BSA and a Vietnam War veteran. His great-grandson, Russell Adam Burnham ,
26344-735: Was British and his rank of major was formally given to him by King Edward VII . In special recognition of Burnham's heroism, the King invested him into the Companions of the Distinguished Service Order , giving Burnham the highest military honors earned by any American in the Second Boer War . He had become friends with Baden-Powell during the Second Matabele War in Rhodesia, teaching him outdoor skills and inspiring what would later become known as Scouting. Burnham returned to
26522-516: Was a localised problem. When news of the policeman's murder reached Selous on 23 March, he knew the Matabele had started a massive uprising. Nearly 2,000 Matabele warriors began the rebellion in earnest on 24 March. Many, although not all, of the young native police quickly deserted and joined the rebels. The Matabele headed into the countryside armed with a variety of weapons, including: Martini-Henry rifles, Winchester repeaters , Lee-Metfords , assegais , knobkerries and battle-axes . As news of
26700-612: Was able to muster reinforcements from the Cape Colony , and with the war in Matabeleland ending, Gen. Carrington was able to concentrate his forces in the Mashonaland region; the Matabele rebels there retreated into granite kopjes in the Matobo Hills . With no central command to oppose him, Carrington was able to bring Maxim guns against each stronghold in turn, until resistance ended. Nehanda Nyakasikana and Kaguvi Gumboreshumba were captured and executed in 1898, but Mukwati
26878-540: Was about 6 million. In the 1940s, the founding of a university to serve central African countries was proposed. Such a university was eventually established in Salisbury , with funding provided by the British and Southern Rhodesian governments and some private sources. One condition of British funding was that student admission should be based on "academic achievement and good character" with no racial distinction. University College of Rhodesia (UCR) received its first intake of students in 1952. Until 1971 it awarded degrees of
27056-598: Was almost certainly over-estimating the centralization (of the Mlimo)", and that "Baden-Powell and other reporters tended to run the various shrines in the Matopos into one". Frederick Selous believed that the head priest of the Mlimo lived in the Matopos, but that "there are other priests, or so-called Umlimos, in other parts of the country through whom they believe that the commands of the Almighty can be conveyed to them." Burnham had carried out his instructions from Carrington and, like Carrington, he relied heavily on Armstrong and military intelligence for his information. Armstrong,
27234-436: Was alone and in a dazed state having sustained serious injuries. In spite of his acute agony, Burnham proceeded to creep back to the railway, placed his charges, and blew up the line in two places. He then crept on his hands and knees to an empty animal enclosure to avoid capture and stayed there for two days and nights insensible. The next day, Burnham heard fighting in the distance so he crawled in that direction. By this time he
27412-404: Was appointed Deputy Sheriff of Pinal County , but he soon went back to herding cattle and prospecting. After he went to Prescott, Iowa to visit his childhood sweetheart Blanche, the two were married on February 6, 1884. He was 23 years old. He and Blanche settled down soon after in Pasadena, California , to tend to an orange grove but soon Burnham returned to prospecting and scouting. Active as
27590-429: Was born in London and had graduated from Charterhouse , one of England's most famous public schools . Baden-Powell developed an ambition to become a scout at an early age. He passed an exam that gave him an immediate commission into the British Army when he was 19, but it would take several years before he was engaged in any active service. When the two men met in 1896, Baden-Powell was an army intelligence officer and
27768-494: Was dissolved on 1 January 1964. However, it was expected that only Nyasaland would be let go, whilst the remainder of Rhodesia both north and south would be united. Although Northern Rhodesia had a white population of over 100,000, as well as additional British military and civil units and their dependents, most of these were relatively new to the region, were primarily in the extraction business, had little landed interests, and were more amenable to allowing black nationalism than
27946-489: Was drawn into the conflict by his association with the Fred Wells and his family; Money states that it was the Gordon Family. In his memoirs, Scouting on Two Continents, Burnham never gives the name of the family, but in the undated manuscript he mentions his friendship with young Tommy Gordon and his family from Globe. Burnham claimed to be involved in the Pleasant Valley War ( Scouting on Two Continents , Chapter III, "The Tonto Basin War", in which one of two deputies taking
28124-420: Was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society . Later, the British South Africa Company built the mining towns of the Copperbelt and a railroad to transport the ore through Portuguese Mozambique . Burnham is the finest scout who ever scouted in Africa. He was my Chief of Scouts in '96 in Matabeleland and he was the eyes and ears of my force. — General Carrington , British Army commander during
28302-405: Was employed by the East Africa Syndicate, for which he led a vast mineral prospecting expedition in the East Africa Protectorate (Kenya). Traveling extensively in the area around Lake Rudolf (now Lake Turkana ), he discovered a huge soda lake . Burnham returned to North America and for the next few years became associated with the Yaqui River irrigation project in Mexico. While investigating
28480-415: Was first captured during the fighting at Sanna's Post in the Orange Free State. He gave himself up in order to obtain information on the enemy, which he did, and then he escaped from his guards and succeed in reaching British occupied Bloemfontein safely after two days and nights on the run. The second time he was captured was while trying to warn a British column approaching Thaba' Nchu . He came upon
28658-545: Was here that he first met and began a lifelong friendship with Frederick Russell Burnham, the American-born Chief of Scouts for the British. Baden-Powell had had an interest in scouting from his days at Charterhouse School , and his second published book, in 1884, was "Reconnaissance and Scouting". Working with Burnham was a useful experience for Baden-Powell, not only because he had the time of his life commanding reconnaissance missions into enemy territory, but because many of his later Boy Scout ideas took hold here. Burnham had been
28836-442: Was indifferent as to the source of the gunshots and by chance it was a British patrol that found him. Once in Pretoria the surgeons discovered that Burnham had torn apart his stomach muscles and burst a blood-vessel. His very survival was due only to the fact that he had been without food or water for three days. Burnham's injuries were so serious that he was ordered to England by Lord Roberts. Two days before leaving for London, he
29014-440: Was later used by boys' groups as a guide to outdoor fun. At the urging of several youth leaders, Baden-Powell decided to adapt his scouting handbook specifically to training boys. While Baden-Powell went on to refine the concept of Scouting, publish Scouting for Boys (1908), and become the founder of the international Scouting movement, Burnham has been called the movement's father. James E. West , Chief Scout Executive for
29192-510: Was merged into the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland , which lasted until 1963. Southern Rhodesia was renamed Rhodesia and remained a de jure British colony until 1980. However, the Rhodesian government issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965 and established a fully independent Rhodesia , which immediately became an unrecognised state . In 1979, it reconstituted itself under majority rule as Zimbabwe Rhodesia , which also failed to win international recognition. After
29370-469: Was named Umkombo. But in 1967, Ranger states that Jobani (or Tshobani) had been the high priest in the Southwest and that "They obtained from the indunas of the Mangwe area affidavits that the dead man, Jobani or Habangana, had been the High Priest of the Mwari and the chief instigator of the rebellion." In 1976, Lott said that Ranger relied on "the American scholar Richard Werbner " for his assessments, and that "recent research has confirmed that Burnham killed
29548-427: Was narrowly based on production of a few primary products, notably, chrome and tobacco. It was therefore vulnerable to the economic cycle. The deep recession of the 1930s gave way to a post-war boom. This boom prompted the immigration of about 200,000 white settlers between 1945 and 1970, taking the white population up to 307,000. A large number of these immigrants were of British working-class origin. The black population
29726-422: Was never captured and died in Mutoko . The rebellion failed completely and did not result in any major changes in BSAC policy. For example, the hut tax remained in place. The territories of Matabeleland and Mashonaland had become known as South Zambesia , and both the Matabele and Shona became subjects of the Rhodes administration. It was only 25 years later in 1924 that the entire region became officially named
29904-476: Was not recognised by the United Kingdom. The majority of the Federation's military and financial assets went to Southern Rhodesia, since the British Government did not wish to see them fall into the hands of the nationalist leaders, and since Southern Rhodesia had borne the major expenses of running the Federation. With regard to the latter, however, Northern Rhodesia was the wealthiest of the three member states (due to its vast copper mines) and had contributed more to
30082-475: Was not true". Taylor includes in his report an affidavit by "one Jonas, head messenger at the A.N.C's office at Mangwe," who says, "I swore on oath that Jobane was the M'limo, I knew I was lying at the time, I have never received any cattle from Mr. Armstrong but he paid me the five shillings." Taylor also states in his report that "Dshobane, (was) the supposed Mlimo" assassinated, however, he does not make it clear if "Jobane" and "Dshobane" are different spellings for
30260-449: Was old and physically impaired when he met Burnham. He had lost all of his family in the Indian wars and before he died he wanted to impart his knowledge of the frontier to the young Burnham. The two men traveled throughout the American Southwest and northern Mexico, and Holmes taught him many scouting skills, such as how to track a trail, how to double and cover one's own trail, how to properly ascend and descend precipices, and how to tell
30438-449: Was on some of his exploits demanding great courage, alertness, skill in surmounting the perils of the out-of-doors, that the founder of Scouting based some of the activities of the Boy Scout program. As an honorary Scout of the Boy Scouts of America, he has served as an inspiration to the youth of the Nation and is the embodiment of the qualities of the ideal Scout. —27th Annual Report of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) (1936) During
30616-423: Was promoted to the rank of major, having received letters of commendation or congratulations from Baden-Powell, Rhodes, and Field Marshal Roberts. On his arrival in England, Burnham was commanded to dine with Queen Victoria and to spend the night at Osborne House . A few months later, after the Queen's death, King Edward VII personally presented Burnham with the Queen's South Africa Medal with four bars for
30794-420: Was seriously injured in an accident while rebuilding the family homestead. Two years later, Edwin died, leaving the family destitute. Burnham's mother and three-year-old younger brother Howard returned to Iowa to live with her parents; the 12-year-old Burnham remained in California alone to repay his family's debts and ultimately make his own way. For the next few years, Burnham worked as a mounted messenger for
30972-465: Was succeeded by Howard Unwin Moffat . During World War II , Southern Rhodesian military units participated on the side of the United Kingdom. Southern Rhodesian support for the Allied war effort was based on a mixture shared kinship and identity with Britain and support for democracy. Southern Rhodesian forces were involved on many fronts including the East and North African campaigns , Italy , Madagascar and Burma . Southern Rhodesian forces had
31150-424: Was time to leave Africa and move on to other adventures. The family returned to California. Soon after, Fred traveled to Alaska and the Yukon to prospect in the Klondike Gold Rush , taking with him his eldest son Roderick, who was then 12 years old. On hearing of the Spanish–American War , Burnham rushed home to volunteer his services, but the war had ended before he could get to the fighting. Burnham returned to
31328-467: Was to have such immeasurable influence in restoring the old traditions of American youth, met in Africa, years before the Scouting movement was ever thought of." Burnham later became close friends with others involved in the Scouting movement in the United States, such as Theodore Roosevelt, the Chief Scout Citizen, and Gifford Pinchot , the Chief Scout Forester, and E. B. DeGroot [sic! ], BSA Scout Executive of Los Angeles. DeGroot said of Burnham: "Here
31506-426: Was to try to steer a middle road between the differing aspirations of the black nationalists, the colonial administration and the white settler population. The CAF sought to emulate the experience of Australia, Canada and South Africa – wherein groups of colonies had been federated together to form viable independent nations. Originally designed to be "an indissoluble federation", the CAF quickly started to unravel due to
31684-444: Was trekking the 1,000 miles (1,609 km) north from Durban to Matabeleland with an American buckboard and six donkeys when war broke out between Rhodes's British South Africa Company and the Matabele (or Ndebele) King Lobengula in late 1893. He signed up to scout for the company immediately on reaching Matabeleland, and joined the fighting. Leander Starr Jameson , the company's Chief Magistrate in Mashonaland, hoped to defeat
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