sire to attack a force which seemed ever ready
at all points and spied on them from balloons. The behaviour of the
commander was as tactful as his dispositions were effective; and, as a
result of these favouring circumstances (which the superficial may
ascribe to luck), he was able speedily to clear Bechuanaland of those
intruders[447].

[Footnote 447: Sec Sir Charles Warren's short account of the expedition,
in the _Proceedings of the Royal Colonial Institute for _1885-86, pp.
5-45; also Mackenzie's _Austral Africa_, vol. ii. _ad init_., and _John
Mackenzie_, by W.D. Mackenzie (1902).]

On September 30 it became what it has since remained--a British
possession, safeguarding the route into the interior and holding apart
the Transvaal Boers from the contact with the Germans of Damaraland
which could hardly fail to produce an explosion. The importance of the
latter fact has already been made clear. The significance of the former
will be apparent when we remember that Mr. Rhodes, in his later and
better-known character of Empire-builder, was able from Bechuanaland as
a base to extend the domain of his Chartered Company up to the southern
end of Lake Tanganyika in the year 1889.

It is well known that Rhodes hoped to extend the domain of his company
as far north as the southern limit of the British East Africa Company.
Here, however, the Germans forestalled him by their energy in Central
Africa. Finally, the Anglo-German agreement of 1890 assigned to Germany
all the _hinterland_ of Zanzibar as far west as the frontier of the
Congo Free State, thus sterilising the idea of an all-British route from
the Cape to Cairo, which possessed for some minds an alliterative and
all-compelling charm.

As for the future of the vast territory which came to be known popularly
as Rhodesia, we may note that the part bordering on Lake Nyassa was
severed from the South Africa Company in 1894, and was styled the
British Central Africa Protectorate. In 1895 the south of Bechuanaland
was annexed to Cape Colony, a step greatly regretted by many
well-wishers of the natives. The intelligent chief, Khama, visited
England in that year, mainly in order to protest against the annexation
of his lands by Cape Colony and by the South Africa Company. In this he
was successful; he and other chiefs are directly under the protection of
the Crown, but parts of the north and east of Bechuanaland are
administered by the British South Africa Company. The tracts