Connected with these names was a country known as Rhodesia, lying north of the Transvaal, and it was always Golden Rhodesia, a land overladen with diamonds and gold. I made up my mind on that voyage to look up this C.J. Rhodes and his "pal," Dr. Jameson. One thing was certain in my mind, and that was that either these two men were really great men or monstrous rascals, and that Golden Rhodesia was either a marvellous land or a smartly advertised fraud. I said to myself: "I will investigate both the men and the new country before I am in South Africa many months." On arriving at Cape Town, a city that expired many years ago, I immediately went to Johannesburg, the Golden City of the Transvaal.
January 16th I beheld this lively, wonderful city that rested then and rests now on the greatest gold bed known in the world. Money was so plentiful that there were no poor men in the city and I was simply appalled by the very prosperity of the place. I had never seen anything like it before and shall probably never see anything like it again. Yet in this phenomenally prosperous city, I heard from the lips of everyone with whom I conversed, of that far more wonderful country lying far to the north, the land of Golden Rhodesia. Strange to say, however, I could not find anyone who had visited this country so heavily laden with gold.
First I will tell how Rhodesia received the name and became the property of the notorious Chartered Company.
In 1889, C.D. Rudd, R. Maguire and F.R. Thompson, aided by a missionary who knew a few Kaffir words, induced Chief Lobengula, of Matabeleland and Mashonaland, to sign a paper which was first interpreted to Lobengula and his Indunas, (sub chiefs) by the missionary. This fellow told them that the three white men had said in the paper that they would give the chief $500 per month, 1,000 rifles and 100,000 cartridges, for the right to put up a mill on a certain piece of gold bearing ground. Lobengula told them to bring the money, rifles, etc., and then he would show them the ground and they could mine it. The white men also agreed to give Lobengula a steamboat, to run up the Zambesi River. This missionary convinced Lobengula that there was nothing more in the paper, and he signed. By the document, he had given Rudd, Maguire and Thompson, all the mining rights of his whole domain; but, of course, he did not know it, as it had not occurred to him that possibly the missionary had lied. In a short time, Lobengula learned the truth and at once assembled his Indunas and called the white men to attend. He could get no satisfaction, so in April, 1889, he wrote the following letter to Queen Victoria:
To Her Majesty, Queen Victoria:—
Some time ago, a party of men came into my country, the principal one appearing to be a man named Rudd. They asked me for a place to dig for gold and said they would give me certain things for the right to do so. I told them to bring what they would give me and I would show them what I would give. A document was written and presented to me for signature. I asked what it contained and was told, that in it were my words and the words of those men. I put my hand on it. About three months afterwards, I heard from other sources that I had given by that document, the rights to all the minerals in my country. I called a meeting of my Indunas and also of the white men, and demanded a copy of the document. It was proved to me that I had signed away the mineral rights of my whole country to Rudd and his friends. I have since had a meeting of my Indunas and they will not recognize the paper, as it contains neither my words nor the words of those who got it. After the meeting, I demanded that the original document be returned to me. It has not come yet, although it is two months since and they promised to bring it back soon. The men of the party who were in my country at the time were told to remain till the document was brought back. One of them, Maguire, has now left, without my knowledge and against my orders. I write to you, that you may know the truth about this thing and may not be deceived. With renewed and cordial greetings, I am your friend,
Lobengula.
Rudd, Maguire, Thompson and C.J. Rhodes were all in the same Company, and working to the same end. They were determined to rob Lobengula of his country. The Queen took no notice of Lobengula's letter, but Rudd and his men knew that they could not swindle Lobengula without a fight. He was honest, and in earnest, and did not know that he was dealing with unscrupulous people. In the past, Lobengula and his father, Umsiligaas, had befriended Dr. Livingston and other white men who had ventured into their far away land, and had always in return been treated honorably; so they were not prepared for sharpers. The English boast of fair play and justice, but they give neither, unless forced to it.
Now I will tell how just the Queen was to Lobengula and how humane her subjects were to his people. Whether Lobengula told the truth or lied, in his letter to the Queen, made no difference, for the British Government on October 15th, 1889, granted a charter to C.J. Rhodes, Alfred Beit, George Cawston, A.H.G. Grey, Duke of Abercorn and Duke of Fife, as petitioners, under the corporate name of the British South Africa Co., commonly known as the Chartered Company.
The Charter having been granted under the impression that Lobengula had voluntarily given his country away, the Chartered Company must continue to keep the English people in the dark. C.J. Rhodes now employed and armed about seven hundred men, with the permission and approval of the High Commissioner. That everything might appear well on paper, he sent Jameson to Lobengula to get permission for this armed, christianizing force to enter Mashonaland. Of course Jameson soon returned and reported that Lobengula was delighted with this idea of such an armed force entering his country.
Now everything being made satisfactory to the outside world, by deliberate lying, the march began and was continued for four or five months, when the band of humanity lovers reached Mount Hampden, without the loss of a single life; and, having established Fort Salisbury in honor of their Lord, declared the Chartered Company Monarch of Mashonaland. The Company then hoisted its flag, bearing its motto of "Justice, Commerce and Freedom," and all set to work to spread civilization and Christianity. Sir John Willoughby, in the ecstacy of joy, now wrote for the benefit of the general public that the "Government in granting the Royal Charter, had secured 'Fairest Africa' to England and spread blessings of hope, peace and security, among all the nations of the land."
