How Maguire Poisoned the King's Water.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXIV, Issue 7693, 9 December 1899, Page 4

How Maguire Poisoned the King's Water.

Mr Frank R. Thompson, a member of the Cape Parliament and a well-known authority on all Sooth African native questions, has arrived in England from Capetown and the Transvaal. To a representative of the Daily News he gave son: 8 reminiscences of Lobengula in the early days when he (Mr Thompson) and Mr Maguire were holding the fort alone in Bnluwayo. 44 The concession had been signed," said Mr Thompson, 4 ' granting us the mineral rights of Lobengula's dominions, and Mr Rudd had gone down country, while Mr Maguire and I waited with Lobengula. We had to keep him and his Indunas in good temper to satisfy them about the genuineness of our purpose, and to spend money liberally in gifts. But one thing brought matters to a crises. Maguire would go and have a bath —an altogether strange and suspicious proceeding in Matabele eyes. Unfortunately the pool he selected for his dip was the King's own sacred drinking water. He stripped and got in, and he noticed that a number of the natives came up and sat all around the pool watching him. But he cared nothing for that. He had with him a tooth-brush, some cherry toothpowder, and eau de cologne, and he proceeded to clean his teeth. He cashed his mouth with some powder and spat it out, and then rinsed his mouth out with eau de cologne. The natives yelled their surprise ; and, before Maguire could do anything, they had taken hold of all his things and carried them off to the King. He came along to see me—well, with an absence of attire—and wanted me to fit him out; but I could do nothing, for I had but one pair of trousers. Soon the messengers came summoning us to the King. We found before him tha array of natives ready with their accusations of what this magician had done. He had poisoned the King's water, they said. First he had spat in the water, and lo ! it all became as blood (that was cherry toothpaste). Then he had turned his face up to his god, and had gone through an act of worship, addressing his god, 4 Ulu, uluj ulu !' (that was when he bad gargled Ilia throat with tho eau-de-cologne), and then he spat on the water and it became as milk. He was a sorcerer, a magician. Well, it cost us considerable trouble and expense to get over that bath and to get baek Maguire's clothes."