Baron Frederick Lugard was an able commander employed by Sir George Goldie to advance the Niger companies' control in West Africa. So successful was he that during the scramble for Africa Lugard was named high commissioner of northern Nigeria. The area of one million square miles in territory over which he ruled was mostly unexplored by the British and, according to "The British Empire" by Stephen Sears, there were territories within where even the wheel was unknown.
One story during his travels through the hinterlands tells of an incident involving a poisoned arrow. The best source that describes the attack in detail is "The Passionate Imperialists: the true story of Sir Frederick Lugard, anti-slaver, adventurer and founder of Nigeria" by Rory O'Grady "Lugard took the lead and tried to straighten the line of his soldiers when suddenly he felt something strike him upon the back of the head. As gunfire was continuing wildly all around, he concluded it was a graze from a bullet fired from one of his own men. He tried to remove his pith helmet he had been struck by an arrow, which had gone right through the cork and pierced his skull. One of the Hausas tried to wrench the helmet off, unsuccessfully, and it was finally Lugard’s hunter, Mallum Yaki, an expert in jungle craft, who managed to cut off the helmet, but was still unable to remove the arrow from Lugard’s head. By now Lugard had sunk to the ground, with Mallum trying with increasing force to remove the arrow. At one point, Lugard was being dragged along the ground by Lum in a desperate attempt to remove it. Finally, Mallum put his foot against his master’s head and gave one mighty tug. This time he was successful, but to his horror he found a piece of skull also attached to the arrowhead. The only consolation for Lugard was that it was not barbed, but the iron tip had penetrated his skull by twenty millimetres; far worse it was poisoned, and they had no idea what the poison was. Mottram found one antidote he had been given which looked like sawdust and applied it to the wound. Mallum gave him another by chewing on a lump of something and stuffing it into the hole. Another hunter came up with a piece of root which Lugard chewed as the glutinous paste turned his saliva to jelly. All this time the fighting was still raging, and Lugard was shouting instructions to keep going forward. Wrapping a cloth around his head, he struggled to his feet and ordered his men to advance. Eventually the attackers were forced back into the village. He gave the order to cease fire and to keep the caravan moving. Out of this chaos, Bio, his trusty guide appeared, most agitated, and produced several more antidotes of equally repellent taste, which Lugard agreed to take. He halted Bio swiftly when he started chanting various long-winded, magical incantations! They had to retreat from this hostile area as quickly as possible, and marched another thirteen miles in stifling humidity before setting up camp, exhausted. Lugard collapsed onto his bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep. To everyone’s amazement, he awoke the next morning refreshed, with no ill effects from the wound and more astounding, none from the antidotes, one of which must have saved him. He had been completely outnumbered that day, but the enemy did not have rifles. When they saw him rise after being hit, they must have thought he had magical powers on his side." Lugard living on beyond this incident was alone miraculous the fact he lived t the age of 87 was positively supernatural, especially since poison arrows at that time in Nigeria were ubiquitous.
