THE MATABELE WARS. 73» amount ofammunition thatwasintheirpossession has neverbeen satisfactorily explained.

at night, and by day the country round was watched by lookouts on the highest buildings and mounted patrols in the neighbourhood. Large bodies of Matabele were camped close to the town, and the settlers were not strong enough to disperse or completely drive them off, but on April 22nd, and again on the 24th, sorties were made from the laager, heavy loss was inflicted on the enemy, and they were thus forced to keep at a respectful distance. With a view to keeping communication open with the south, fortified posts held by small Happily for the white men the rebels showed very littleinitiative and no power ofcombining their operations. Though some thousands gathered near Buluwayo, they never ventured to attack it. Stranger still, they made not the slightest attempt to cut off communication betweenBuluwayo andthe south. They might easily have occupied the road, or even attacked the coaches, but they did nothing of the kind. The rumour current at the time, and apparently RESIDENCE AT BULUWAYO USED AS A HOSPITAL.

well founded, was that their wizards had told them that if they left the road open the white men would retreat along it and abandon the .country to them. They only once cut tlae telegraph wire, and when it was repaired made no second attempt tointerrupt it.

garrisonswere alsoestablished onthecoach road.

Meanwhile efforts were being made to send relief to the settlers. Mr. Rhodes had just reached Salisbury from Beira, whenthe newsof the insurrectionreached that place. He at once started off with 150 Volunteers to assist the little garrison that was in laager at Gwelo. After relievingGwelo he was topush on to Buluwayo, and reinforcements would be sent on to him from Salisbury. Colonel Plumer, an Imperial officer who was on the Bechuanaland Border, was at the same time authorised to raise at the expense of the Chartered Company a force of about 500 mountedriflemen, who wereto march to Buluwayo by the coach road from the south. Plumer had a number of regular officers placed at his disposal by General Goodenough, who commanded the troops in South Africa, ror Ae recruitingof his corps he had to depend hr;; North of Buluwayo the coach road was soon closed, the last coach that ran being attacked andhaving a verynarrow escape onMarch 28th.

At Buluwayo an improvised fortress had been constructed that was now safe against anyattack the Matabele could make. The women and childrenhadbeen collected in the large market house. Around it a bulwark of waggons and barricades had been constructed, with openings for themachine guns. Beyond this againthere was a wire entanglement. Some adjoining houses were loopholed to serve as outlying forts to thecentralcitadel. Outposts wereinposition