Stairs thought the missionaries were hostages, and said Msiri referred to them as his 'white slaves'. See letter of William Stairs Letter to Frederick Arnot, 29 December 1891, reproduced in: Arnot, R. S. (1958). "F S Arnot and Msidi", Northern Rhodesia Journal, III (5), 428−434. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
Fabian 1998. However, Dr Moloney confirmed that Bodson was killed by a musket ball not a spear, and de Bonchamps wrote that Bodson told him before he died that he had shot Msiri, and had then been shot.
Mwami Msiri, King of Garanganze. Retrieved 8 February 2007. The purpose of this history page is to portray the current Mwami Mwenda chiefs and their founder, Msiri, in a heroic light. Three out of the five Europeans returned to Europe. Stairs reached the lower Zambezi but died there of malaria.