Part 1
# The Red True Story Book ### By Unknown
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THE RED TRUE STORY BOOK
* * * * *
WORKS BY ANDREW LANG.
COCK LANE AND COMMON SENSE: a Series of Papers Crown 8vo. 6_s._ 6_d._ _net._
BAN and ARRIERE BAN: a Rally of Fugitive Rhymes. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ _net._
ST. ANDREWS. With 8 Plates and 24 Illustrations in the Text by T. Hodge. 8vo. 15_s._ _net._
HOMER AND THE EPIC. Crown 8vo. 9_s._ _net._
CUSTOM AND MYTH: Studies of Early Usage and Belief. With 15 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 3_s._ 6_d._
BALLADS OF BOOKS. Edited by ANDREW LANG. Fcp. 8vo. 6_s._
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BOOKS AND BOOKMEN. With 2 Coloured Plates and 17 Illustrations. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net._
OLD FRIENDS. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net._
LETTERS ON LITERATURE. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ _net._
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ANGLING SKETCHES. With 3 Etchings and numerous Illustrations by W. G. Burn-Murdoch. Crown 8vo. 3_s._ 6_d._
THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG. With 134 Illustrations by H. J. Ford and G. P. Jacomb Hood. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
THE RED FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG. With 100 Illustrations by H. J. Ford and Lancelot Speed. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
THE GREEN FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG. With 99 Illustrations by H. J. Ford. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
THE YELLOW FAIRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG. With 104 Illustrations by H. J. Ford. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
THE BLUE POETRY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG. With 100 Illustrations by H. J. Ford and Lancelot Speed. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
SCHOOL EDITION, without Illustrations. Fcp. 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._
SPECIAL EDITION, printed on Indian paper. With Notes, but without Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._
THE TRUE STORY BOOK. Edited by ANDREW LANG. With 66 Illustrations by H. J. Ford, Lucien Davis, Lancelot Speed, and L. Bogle. Crown 8vo. 6_s._
LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. London and New York.
* * * * *
[Illustration: 'IN THE BORGHESE GARDENS PRACTISED THAT ROYAL GAME OF GOLF.']
THE RED TRUE STORY BOOK
Edited by
ANDREW LANG
[Illustration]
With Numerous Illustrations by Henry J. Ford
London Longmans, Green, and Co. and New York 1895
All rights reserved
_INTRODUCTION_
_The Red True Story Book_ needs no long Introduction. The Editor, in presenting _The Blue True Story Book_, apologised for offering tales so much less thrilling and romantic than the legends of the Fairies, but he added that even real facts were, sometimes, curious and interesting. Next year he promises something quite as true as History, and quite as entertaining as Fairies!
For this book, Mr. Rider Haggard has kindly prepared a narrative of 'Wilson's Last Fight,' by aid of conversations with Mr. Burnham, the gallant American scout. But Mr. Haggard found, while writing his chapter, that Mr. Burnham had already told the story in an 'Interview' published by the _Westminster Gazette_. The courtesy of the proprietor of that journal, and of Mr. Burnham, has permitted Mr. Haggard to incorporate the already printed narrative with his own matter.
'The Life and Death of Joan the Maid' is by the Editor, who has used M. Quicherat's _Proces_ (five volumes, published for the Historical Society of France), with M. Quicherat's other researches. He has also used M. Wallon's Biography, the works of Father Ayroles, S.J., the _Jeanne d'Arc a Domremy_ of M. Simeon Luce, the works of M. Sepet, of Michelet, of Henri Martin, and, generally, all printed documents to which he has had access. Of unprinted contemporary matter perhaps none is known to exist, except the Venetian Correspondence, now being prepared for publication by Father Ayroles.
'How the Bass was held for King James' is by the Editor, mainly from Blackadder's _Life_.
'The Crowning of Ines de Castro' is by Mrs. Lang, from Schaefer. 'Orthon,' from Froissart, 'Gustavus Vasa,' 'Monsieur de Bayard's Duel' (Brantome), are by the same lady; also 'Gaston de Foix,' from Froissart, and 'The White Man,' from Mile. Aisse's Letters.
Mrs. McCunn has told the story of the Prince's Scottish Campaign, from the contemporary histories of the Rising of 1745, contemporary tracts, _The Lyon in Mourning_, Chambers, Scott, Maxwell of Kirkconnel, and other sources.
The short Sagas are translated from the Icelandic by the Rev. W. C. Green, translator of _Egil Skalagrim's Saga_.
Mr. S. R. Crockett, Author of _The Raiders_, told the tales of 'The Bull of Earlstoun' and 'Grisell Baillie.'
Miss May Kendall and Mrs. Bovill are responsible for the seafarings and shipwrecks; the Australian adventures are by Mrs. Bovill.
Miss Minnie Wright compiled 'The Conquest of Peru,' from Prescott's celebrated History.
Miss Agnes Repplier, that famed essayist of America, wrote the tale of Molly Pitcher.
'The Adventures of General Marbot' are from the translation of his Autobiography by Mr. Butler.
With this information the Editor leaves the book to children, assuring them that the stories are _true_, except perhaps that queer tale of 'Orthon'; and some of the Sagas also may have been a little altered from the real facts before the Icelanders became familiar with writing.
CONTENTS
PAGE
_Wilson's Last Fight_ 1
_The Life and Death of Joan the Maid_ 19
_How the Bass was held for King James_ 92
_The Crowning of Ines de Castro_ 99
_The Story of Orthon_ 105
_How Gustavus Vasa won his Kingdom_ 114
_Monsieur de Bayard's Duel_ 122
_Story of Gudbrand of the Dales_ 125
_Sir Richard Grenville_ 132
_The Story of Molly Pitcher_ 137
_The Voyages, Dangerous Adventures, and Imminent Escapes of Captain Richard Falconer_ 141
_Marbot's March_ 150
_Eylau. The Mare Lisette_ 162
_How Marbot crossed the Danube_ 175
_The piteous Death of Gaston, Son of the Count of Foix_ 186
_Rolf Stake_ 191
_The Wreck of the 'Wager'_ 195
_Peter Williamson_ 213
_A Wonderful Voyage_ 226
_The Pitcairn Islanders_ 238
_A Relation of three years' Suffering of Robert Everard upon the Island of Assada, near Madagascar, in a Voyage to India, in the year 1686_ 247
_The Fight at Svolder Island_ 252
_The Death of Hacon the Good_ 261
_Prince Charlie's War_ 265
_The Burke and Wills Exploring Expedition_ 324
_The Story of Emund_ 346
_The Man in White_ 354
_The Adventures of 'the Bull of Earlstoun'_ 358
_The Story of Grisell Baillie's Sheep's Head_ 366
_The Conquest of Peru_ 371
_LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS_
_PLATES_
_'In the Borghese gardens practised that royal game of golf'_ _Frontispiece_
_Just as his arm was poised I fired_ _To face p._ 10
_Joan in church_ " 24
_Joan rides to Chinon_ " 38
_Joan tells the King his secret_ " 42
_The English Archers betrayed by the Stag_ " 64
_The Coronation of Charles VII_ " 68
_'Instantly a gust of wind blew her off the rock into the sea'_ " 92
_'One man . . . stalked about the deck and flourished a cutlass . . . shouting that he was "king of the country"'_ " 196
_The Indian threatens Peter Williamson_ " 214
_'Another party of Indians arrived, bringing twenty scalps and three prisoners'_ " 218
_The savages attack the boat_ " 230
_'The madman dwelt alone'_ " 242
_King Olaf leaps overboard_ " 256
_'In the Borghese gardens practised that royal game of golf_ " 266
_'I will, though not another man in the Highlands should draw a sword'_ " 272
_'He galloped up the streets of Edinburgh shouting, "Victory! Victory!"'_ " 294
_Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo Huaco, the Children of the Sun, come from Lake Titicaca to govern and civilise the tribes of Peru_ " 374
_In one cave the soldiers found vases of pure gold, etc._ " 412
_WOODCUTS IN TEXT_
PAGE
_One of them lifted his assegai_ 17
_'The Fairy Tree'_ 20
_Joan hears the Voice_ 28
_Robert thinks Joan crazed_ 34
_'Sir, this is ill done of you'_ 37
_'In a better language than yours,' said Joan_ 46
_'Lead him to the Cross!' cried she_ 50
_'Then spurred she her horse . . . and put out the flame'_ 53
_Joan is wounded by the arrow_ 57
_'Now arose a dispute among the captains'_ 61
_One Englishman at least died well_ 63
_Joan challenges the English to sally forth_ 73
_'Go she would not till she had taken that town'_ 79
_Joan Captured_ 83
_Joan at Beaurevoir_ 85
_'The burned Joan the Maid'_ 89
_The Bass attacked by the frigates_ 97
_Ines pleads for her life_ 101
_'I will send you a champion whom you will fear more than you fear me'_ 107
_Orthon's last appearance_ 112
_Gustavus leaves school for good!_ 115
_'Lazy loon! Have you no work to do?'_ 119
_'Surrender, Don Alonzo, or you are a dead man!'_ 123
_'In the following night Gudbrand dreamed a dream'_ 127
_The destruction of the idol_ 130
_'Still he cried to his men, "Fight on, fight on!"'_ 134
_Molly takes her husband's place_ 139
_'As we approached we saw the pirate sinking'_ 143
_Falconer knocks down a bird_ 145
_Falconer returns to his companions_ 148
_'Then, drawing their swords, they dashed at the rest'_ 152
_Marbot's fight with the Carabineers in the alley_ 157
_Lisette catches the thief in the stable_ 164
_'I regarded myself as a horseman who is trying to win a steeplechase'_ 166
_Lisette carries off the Russian officer_ 169
_'Guided by the transport man he reached me and found me living'_ 172
_'"I will go, sir," I cried'_ 177
_'We had to saw the rope'_ 182
_'The Count leaped up, a knife in his hand'_ 188
_Gaston in prison_ 189
_'But now here sits in the high seat a thin stake'_ 192
_'He fleeth not the flame Who leapeth o'er the same'_ 193
_The Captain shoots Mr. Cozens_ 202
_Mr. Hamilton's fight with the sea-lion_ 205
_The Cacique fires off the gun_ 208
_Byron rides past the turnpikes_ 211
_The captain guarded by the mutineers_ 228
_The Pitcairn islanders on board the English frigate_ 239
_Old John Adams teaches the children_ 245
_Death of the supercargo_ 248
_'None will now deny that "Long Snake" sails by'_ 255
_Hacon casts his shield away_ 263
_'Go, sir, to your general; tell him what you have seen . . .'_ 276
_Escape of the Duke of Perth_ 281
_'In many a panelled parlour'_ 284
_'Och no! she be relieved'_ 287
_Mrs. Murray of Broughton distributes cockades to the crowd_ 289
_James More wounded at Prestonpans_ 293
_Crossing Shap Fell_ 301
_'Many had their broadswords and dirks sharpened'_ 304
_'The Prince caught him by the hair'_ 307
_The poor boy fell, mortally wounded_ 311
_The 'Rout of Moy'_ 315
_The end of Culloden_ 322
_'The advance party of eight started on October 29'_ 327
_Golah is abandoned_ 332
_'King, they are gone!'_ 337
_Death of Burke_ 342
_Besse introduced to the Man in White_ 355
_'Saw reflected in the mirror the white figure'_ 356
_'Sometimes he would find a party searching for him quite close at hand'_ 360
_Alexander Gordon wood-chopping in the disguise of a labourer_ 362
_Grisell brings the sheep's head to her father in the vault_ 367
_A Peruvian postman_ 381
_Almagro wounded in the eye_ 387
_Many of the Spaniards were killed by the snakes and alligators_ 389
_Amazement of the Indians at seeing a cavalier fall from his horse_ 391
_Pizarro sees llamas for the first time_ 393
_The cavalier displays his horsemanship before Atahuallpa_ 401
_The friar urges Pizarro to attack the Peruvians_ 404
_The Spaniards destroy the idol at Pachacamac_ 407
_WILSON'S LAST FIGHT_
'They were men whose fathers were men'
TO make it clear how Major Wilson and his companions came to die on the banks of the Shangani on December 4, 1893, it will be necessary, very briefly, to sketch the events which led to the war between the English settlers in Mashonaland in South Africa and the Matabele tribe, an offshoot of the Zulu race.
In October 1889, at the instance of Mr. Cecil Rhodes and others interested, the Chartered Company of British South Africa was incorporated, with the sanction of Her Majesty's Government.
In 1890 Mashonaland was occupied, a vast and fertile territory nominally under the rule of Lobengula, king of the Matabele, which had been ceded by him to the representatives of the Company in return for certain valuable considerations. It is, however, an easier task for savage kings to sign concessions than to ensure that such concessions will be respected by their subjects, especially when those 'Subjects' are warriors by nature, tradition, and practice, as in the present case, and organised into regiments, kept from year to year in perfect efficiency and readiness for attack. Whatever may have been Lobengula's private wishes and opinions, it soon became evident that the gathering of the white men upon their borders, and in a country which they claimed by right of conquest if they did not occupy it, was most distasteful to the more warlike sections of the Matabele.
Mashonaland takes its name from the Mashona tribes who inhabit it, a peaceful and, speaking by comparison, an industrious race, whom, ever since they first settled in the neighbourhood, it had been the custom of the subjects of Lobengula and of his predecessor, Mosilikatze, 'the lion,' to attack with every cruelty conceivable, raiding their cattle, slaughtering their men, and sweeping their maidens and young children into captivity. Terrified, half exterminated indeed, as they were by these constant and unprovoked onslaughts, the Mashonas welcomed with delight the occupation of their country by white men, and thankfully placed themselves under the protection of the Chartered Company.
The Matabele regiments, however, took a different view of the question, for now their favourite sport was gone: they could no longer practise rapine and murder, at least in this direction, whenever the spirit moved them. Presently the force of habit overcame their fear of the white men and their respect for treaties, and towards the end of 1891 the chief Lomaghondi, who lived under the protection of the Company, was killed by them. Thereon Dr. Jameson, the Administrator of Mashonaland, remonstrated with Lobengula, who expressed regret, saying that the incident had happened by mistake.
This repudiation notwithstanding, an impi, or armed body of savages, again crossed the border in 1892, and raided in the Victoria district. Encouraged by the success of these proceedings, in July 1893 Lobengula sent a picked company to harry in the neighbourhood of Victoria itself, writing to Dr. Jameson that he made no excuse for so doing, claiming as he did the right to raid when, where, and whom he chose. The 'indunas,' or captains, in command of this force were instructed not to kill white men, but to fall particularly upon those tribes who were in their employ. On July 9, 1893, and the following days came the climax, for then the impi began to slaughter every Mashona whom they could find. Many of these unfortunates were butchered in the presence of their masters, who were bidden to 'stand upon one side as the time of the white men had not yet come.'
Seeing that it was necessary to take action, Dr. Jameson summoned the head indunas of the impi, and ordered them to cross the border within an hour or to suffer the consequences of their disobedience. The majority obeyed, and those who defied him were attacked by Captain Lendy and a small force while in the act of raiding a kraal, some of them being killed and the rest driven away.
From this moment war became inevitable, for the question lay between the breaking of the power of Lobengula and the evacuation of Mashonaland. Into the details of that war it is not proposed to enter; they are outside the scope of this narrative. It is enough to say that it was one of the most brilliant and successful ever carried out by Englishmen. The odds against the little force of a thousand or twelve hundred white men who invaded Matabeleland were almost overwhelming, and when it is remembered that the Imperial troops did not succeed in their contest against Cetywayo, the Zulu king, until nearly as many soldiers were massed in the country as there were able-bodied Zulus left to oppose them, the brilliancy of the achievement of these colonists led by a civilian, Dr. Jameson, can be estimated. The Matabele were beaten in two pitched battles: that of the Shangani on October 25, and that of the Imbembezi on November 1. They fought bravely, even with desperation, but their valour was broken by the skill and the cool courage of the white man. Those terrible engines of war, the Maxim guns and the Hotchkiss shells, contributed largely to our success on these occasions. The Matabele, brave as they were, could not face the incessant fire of the Maxims, and as to the Hotchkiss they developed a curious superstition. Seeing that men fell dead in all directions after the explosion of a shell, they came to believe that as it burst out of each missile numbers of tiny and invisible imps ran forth carrying death and destruction to the white men's foes, and thus it happened that to their minds moral terrors were added to the physical dangers of warfare. So strong was this belief among them, indeed, that whenever a shell struck they would turn and fire at it in the hope that thus they might destroy the 'live devils' who dwelt within it.
After these battles Lobengula, having first set fire to it, fled from his chief place, Buluwayo, which was occupied by the white men within a month of the commencement of the campaign.
In reply to a letter sent to him by Dr. Jameson, demanding his surrender and guaranteeing his safety, Lobengula wrote that he 'would come in.'
The promised period of two days' grace having gone by, however, and there being no sign of his appearance, a force was despatched from Buluwayo to follow and capture him. This force, which was under the leadership of Major Patrick W. Forbes, consisted of ninety men of the Salisbury Column, with Captains Heany and Spreckley and a mule Maxim gun under Lieutenant Biscoe, R.N.; sixty men of the Victoria Column commanded by Major Wilson, with a horse Maxim under Captain Lendy; sixty men of the Tuli Column, and ninety men of the Bechuanaland Border Police, commanded by Captain Raaf, C.M.G., accompanied by two horse Maxims and a mule seven-pounder, commanded by Captain Tancred.
The column, which started on or about November 14, took with it food for three days only, carried by natives, and a hundred rounds of ammunition per man. After several days' journeying northward the patrol reached the Bubye River, where dissensions arose between Captain Raaf and Major Forbes, the former being of opinion, rightly enough as the issue showed, that the mission was too dangerous to be pursued by a small body of men without supplies of food, and having no reserve of ammunition and no means of carrying the wounded. The upshot was that Major Forbes decided to return, but was prevented from doing so by a letter received from Dr. Jameson, stating that he was sending forward a reinforcement of dismounted men under Captain Napier with food, ammunition, and wagons, also sixteen mounted men under Captain Borrow. The force then proceeded to a deserted Mission Station known as Shiloh. On November 25 the column, three hundred strong and carrying with it three-quarter rations for twelve days, took up the King's wagon spoor about one mile from Shiloh, and followed it through much discomfort, caused by the constant rain and the lack of roads, till, on December S, a point was reached on the Shangani River, N.N.W. of Shiloh and distant from it about eighty miles.
On November 29, however, Major Forbes, finding that he could make small progress with the wagons, sent them away, and proceeded with the best mounted men and two Maxims only, so that the actual force which reached the Shangani on the 3rd consisted of about one hundred and sixty men and a couple of machine guns.
At this time the information in possession of the leaders of the column was to the effect that the King was just in front of them across the river, accompanied only by a few of his followers. Under these circumstances Major Forbes instructed Major Wilson and eighteen men to go forward and reconnoitre along Lobengula's spoor; the understanding seeming to have been that the party was to return by sundown, but that if it did not return it was, if necessary, to be supported by the whole column. With this patrol went Mr. Burnham, the American scout, one of the three surviving white men who were eye-witnesses of that eventful night's work, which ended so tragically at dawn.
What followed is best told as he narrated it by word of mouth to the compiler of this true story, and to a reporter of the 'Westminster Gazette,' the editor of which paper has courteously given permission for the reproduction of the interview. Indeed, it would be difficult to tell it so well in words other than Mr. Burnham's own.
[Illustration: Sketch of Route of the Wilson Patrol and of the Scouts' ride back to Major Forbes _Drawn from memory by Mr. Burnham_
N.B. _Supposed distance of King's Wagons from Forbes Camp 5 Miles, windings by the Spoor might be a little more._]
'In the afternoon of December 8,' says Mr. Burnham, 'I was scouting ahead of the column with Colenbrander, when in a strip of bush we lit on two Matabele boys driving some cattle, one of whom we caught and brought in. He was a plucky boy, and when threatened he just looked us sullenly in the face. He turned out to be a sort of grandson or grand-nephew of Lobengula himself. He said the King's camp was just ahead, and the King himself near, with very few men, and these sick, and that he wanted to give himself up. He represented that the King had been back to this place that very day to get help because his wagons were stuck in a bog. The column pushed on through the strip of bush, and there, near by, was the King's camp--quite deserted. We searched the huts, and in one lay a Maholi slave-boy, fast asleep. (The Maholis are the slaves of the Matabele.) We pulled him out, and were questioning him, when the other boy, the sulky Matabele, caught his eye, and gave him a ferocious look, shouting across to him to take care what he told.
'The slave-boy agreed with the others that the King had only left this camp the day before; but as it was getting dark, Major Forbes decided to reconnoitre before going on with the column. I learnt of the decision to send forward Major Wilson and fifteen men on the best horses when I got my orders to accompany them, and, along with Bayne, to do their scouting. My horse was exhausted with the work he had done already; I told Major Forbes, and he at once gave me his. It was a young horse, rather skittish, but strong and fairly fresh by comparison.
'Ingram, my fellow-scout, remained with the column, and so got some hours' rest; thanks to which he was able not only to do his part of tracking for the twenty men afterwards sent on to us through the bush at night, but also, when he and I got through after the smash, to do the long and dangerous ride down country to Buluwayo with the despatches--a ride on which he was accompanied by Lynch.
'So we set off along the wagon track, while the main body of the column went into laager.