Major General A.W. Drayson
"The White Chief of the Caffres"
Chapter One.
I was born in the city of Delhi, in Central India, where my father held a command as major in the old East India Company’s service. I was an only son, and my mother died shortly after I was born. I resided at Delhi until I was ten years of age. Having been attended as a child by an ayah, and afterwards taught to ride by one of my father’s syces, I learned to speak Hindostani before I could speak English, and felt quite at home amongst black people.
My father, Major Peterson, had a brother in England who was a bachelor, and an East Indian merchant, and supposed to be very rich. I was named Julius, after this uncle, who was my godfather, and who was much older than was my father, and who, although he had never seen me, yet took great interest in me, and mentioned me in all his letters.
It was just before my tenth birthday that my father received a letter from my uncle, which caused a great change in my life, and led to those adventures which I relate in this tale. In this letter my uncle wrote, that from his experience of India he was certain that I could not be properly educated in that country; that at my age the climate was very trying; and that consequently he wished my father to send me home, in order that I might be placed at a good school in England, and eventually sent either to Addiscombe or Haileybury, according as I chose the military or civil service of India. The expenses of my education, my uncle stated, would be undertaken by him, so that money need not interfere with the question. Young as I was I saw the advantages of this proposition, and being by nature ambitious and fond of adventure, I was pleased at the prospect of seeing England. After a little hesitation my father consented to part with me, and I and my father commenced our long journey from Delhi to Calcutta. In those early days of my youth there were no railways in India; there was no Suez Canal, and there were no steamers in the world. To reach England we embarked at Calcutta in what was termed one of Green’s ships—that is, a fine East Indiaman, a full-rigged ship of about 1,000 tons—and having sailed down the Hoogly river, commenced our four months’ voyage, round the Cape, and from thence by Saint Helena to England.
I can remember Delhi as it was in those days—its fine old fort, the fortifications round the town, its long street, in which were the bazaars and jewellers’ shops. Many of the little native children to whom I used to talk in my childhood were probably among those who, during the Mutiny, were the murderers of my countrymen. Localities on which I have sat with my ayah, and took my first steps, have since then become famous as the places where our soldiers have fought and conquered against overwhelming numbers. Though I have passed through many strange scenes, I still remember Delhi, for it was my birthplace, and it has ever had a charm for me on that account only.
After a journey of nearly a month we reached Calcutta, and were received as guests by a friend who lived in Fort William. I was astonished at the sight of the ships that were anchored close to the fort, for I had no idea that any vessels could be so large. As the Madagascar—the ship in which I was to sail—was ready for sea, we stayed but a few days in Calcutta. I was placed in charge of the captain, bid my father good-bye, promised to be a good boy and to do everything my uncle wished me to do, and commenced my voyage to England.
On the second day after leaving Calcutta we entered the Bay of Bengal, and with a fair wind sailed merrily over the dancing waves. During a few days I was sea-sick; but I soon recovered, and was then much interested in watching the sailors when they went aloft to take reefs in the sails, or to take in a royal or studding-sail. There were several passengers, and of all ages, many of whom, knowing that I was alone, were very kind to me. There was one young lady about eighteen, who was my special favourite, and who used to tell me stories as we sat on deck in the evening. I called her Constance: I did not then know her by any other name. Altogether, there were five ladies on board; for in those days more ladies went to India than ever came back. Then sanitary precautions were not as well-known as they are at present, and fever and cholera claimed their victims in the Land of the Sun. I will refer only to those with whom I was afterwards associated; and these were Mrs Apton, a widow, and her daughter, a girl about twelve years old.
Our voyage continued, without anything remarkable occurring, until three days after we had passed the Mauritius, when it became calm, and for three days we merely drifted helplessly on a calm sea. On the fourth day it became dark and gloomy; there were no actual clouds, but the sky was nearly black, the sun was invisible, and the captain and his officers looked anxious, whilst the passengers gathered together in groups, and talked in low tones.
I had noticed that the captain had gone several times into the cabin and looked at a long wooden instrument that seemed to interest him much, and which I have since learned was a barometer. By means of this instrument and the indications in the sky, he knew that a storm was coming. In the days of sailing-vessels a storm was a more serious matter than it is in the present days of steam. A lee shore is now not a matter of such extreme danger; for a steamer is not at the mercy of the winds, though she cannot escape the fury of the waves.
Darker and darker became the sky, whilst the ship was stripped of all her sails except one on the fore mast and one on the mizen, and every one was watching anxiously for the first burst of the expected storm. It was about the hour of sunset when the gale began, and we ran before it for a few minutes, the sea as yet being calm. Suddenly the wind chopped round, and before the ship could obey her helm she was taken aback, the foresail flattened against the mast, and in another instant the mast snapped like a twig, and fell on deck. The passengers, at the commencement of the storm, had been ordered below so as to be out of the way of the sailors, and it was merely from the reports that the mates occasionally brought us, that we knew what was happening on deck. The sea soon rose, and the ship lifted and fell, just as though she had been a small boat. During two days the gale continued; but no fears were entertained for the vessel’s safety until a tremendous sea, striking her astern, carried away her rudder and left her a helpless log on the water. The sky had been so completely overcast since the commencement of the gale, that neither the sun nor a star had been seen; consequently no observations could be taken to tell where the ship was; but the captain considered that she was west of the Natal bluff, and about fifty miles from the land. The currents in this part are, however, so variable and run sometimes with such force, that it is difficult, without observations, to ascertain a ship’s position.
The night was pitch dark, and every one in a state of great anxiety. No one had undressed, all the passengers being huddled together in the principal saloon. It must have been shortly after midnight when we heard a great noise on deck, shouts and running about, and then came a crash and a shock that made every sailor and passenger aware that a great catastrophe had occurred.
I was lying on one of the fixed sofas, and was sent flying across the cabin, and was considerably bruised; but the pain I experienced I scarcely thought of, as my alarm was so great to hear the terrific rush of water which struck the vessel, poured over her, and deluged the cabin. Two or three times the ship rose, and then, with a crash of smashing timbers, came down again, and was once more deluged with water. “We have struck on a rock!” was the cry (such was the fact), “and shall all be drowned.”
As though satisfied with its victim, the storm ceased as suddenly as it had risen; but the sea continued to break over us all night, and every minute we expected the ship to break up. Had she not been a strong teak-built ship, she would probably have gone to pieces long before morning; but the sea gradually went down as the tide receded, and we at length saw that day was breaking. By this time some of the most daring among the male passengers removed the hatch that had been placed over the gangway to keep the water out, and ventured on deck, when the full extent of our disaster was visible. The ship’s masts had all fallen, and of the captain and crew only five sailors remained; the others had been washed overboard, or had been killed by the falling masts. The ship had struck on a ledge of rocks about half a mile from the shore, and had then been carried over this into a sort of bay inside. As the tide fell, this ledge acted as a sort of breakwater, and fully accounted for the sudden decrease in the force of the sea as the tide went down. Between the ship and the land there was comparatively calm water, spotted here and there with black-looking rocks just showing above water.
Knowing that when the tide again rose we might again be exposed to the heavy seas which were still running, the sailors at once called upon the passengers to help them to construct a raft; for every boat had been either smashed or carried away, and several small dark objects moving rapidly through the water showed that sharks were ready to seize on any human being, who ventured into their element.
A raft was soon constructed, and the females were first conveyed to the shore. I followed on the second journey, and then the raft went backwards and forwards, conveying to the shore some provisions, clothing, valuables, two or three guns and pistols, with ammunition, a large sail to serve as a tent, and other articles that might be deemed necessary.
The men worked till past mid-day, when the tide rose, and with it the wind, and it was no longer possible to make use of the raft. We were all, however, busy on shore, making a sort of “lean-to” out of the sail, cooking provisions, and searching for water; and we thus passed our first day, the wind again blowing a hurricane. We lay down to rest that night, thanking God for our escape; for although our future was uncertain, yet we were better off than were the poor fellows who had been washed overboard, and by this time had probably been eaten by sharks.
On the following morning there was no sign of the wreck, but the shore was strewn with her timbers and cargo: the latter, when not utterly spoiled by the sea-water, were collected and piled up near our tent.
During the morning the men had been talking together as to what was best to be done. It was hoped that some ship would pass the coast, and that by aid of a flag which we had saved from the wreck, we could signal to the ship, and thus be relieved from our position. One question which could not be decided was on what part of the coast we had been cast. Some of the sailors thought we were near Saint Lucia Bay, east of Natal, others that we were nearer the Great Fish River. Of inhabitants or houses we saw nothing, but at night we heard the cries of animals, some of which I recognised as made by jackals, for round Delhi there were hundreds of these animals which used to serenade us at night. We were fortunate in finding water: an excellent clear stream ran into the sea within a few yards of where we had landed. We also found oysters firmly fixed to the rocks, which were very good. Some fish-hooks and lines were among the articles saved from the wreck, and rough fishing-rods having been cut from the trees, several fish were caught, which we fried in our wood fire. Thus we had no fear of starving, and though our position was not pleasant, none of the party despaired. To me, I must own, the conditions were not unpleasant, I had read and heard of shipwrecks and adventures of different kinds, and being by nature gifted with a hopeful and fearless constitution, I rather enjoyed the whole thing; for I was too young to think or feel deeply for the loss of the captain and crew, who had been drowned. In fact, like most children, I was thoughtless, and did not reflect enough for the disaster to impress me much. I had kept beside Constance all the time we were on the raft, and sat beside her in our tent. I felt very happy with her, and used to gather flowers for her, as many grew close beside where we were stopping. To me it seemed like a picnic, such as we used to have sometimes in the cool weather at Delhi, but it was of longer duration.
The men had been talking about the possibility of travelling down the coast to find either Natal, where there were a few traders, or if we were west of Natal, to reach the Cape Colony, and then get some vessel to come up the coast and rescue the females and the remainder of the men. But the difficulties of the journey were unknown: they had no idea of what rivers or other obstacles might be in the way; and so four days passed without any move being made; and although a sharp look-out was kept, no vessel was seen.
Chapter Two.
It was on the fifth night after we had landed from the wreck, that one of the sailors who was out with his gun, trying to shoot some monkeys that he had seen in the trees, reported that he had seen some black men in the distance, but did not think they had seen him. He did not like to show himself to these men, for he did not know who, or what they might be. None of the party knew much about the natives on this coast; there was some kind of belief that they were Caffres or Hottentots, but whether these people were inoffensive and friendly, or the reverse, no one really knew. When I think of what happened, and now that I know the character and habits of the tribes in South Africa, I am surprised at the reckless indifference that was shown by the sailors and male passengers of our party, in not taking such precautions as should always be taken in a strange country.
I had slept under the canvas each night near the ladies of the party, whilst the men had selected various places near, on which they had made a bed of grass; and by sticking a few branches of trees in the ground, they had made a covering so as to keep off the dew, which fell very heavily each night. Thus the men were separated, whilst I and the females were all together.
It was towards the morning, although no signs of daylight appeared, that I awoke suddenly, with the feeling of some danger being near. I could not tell what it was, but it seemed like a dream in which I had escaped some danger. I could not get to sleep again, but lay listening and afraid to move. I must have remained in this watchful state about a quarter of an hour, when there was a noise as of men moving through the grass and bushes, the sound of blows, two or three groans, and then all was quiet again. I crawled along the ground to where Constance was lying, and found her awake and trembling. I whispered to her, “What is it?” She said, “I don’t know, but keep quiet.” We were afraid to move, but I could hear my heart beating, and it was as much as I could do to prevent crying out. We seemed to be hours in this state before the first signs of daylight appeared, and the objects round us could be seen. Day breaks quickly in those latitudes, and we were soon able to see what to us was a most astonishing and alarming sight. Seated on the ground and looking like stone figures, there were about forty black men. They had been sitting in a circle round the tent in which I and the females had been sleeping. They were each armed with some short spears, a large knobbed stick, and each had a black and white shield, which he held in front of him. My surprise was great on first seeing these men, and I called to Constance, who was asleep, to look at them. I could see none of the sailors or male passengers, and wondered how it was they were not showing themselves anywhere. As soon as Constance and the other ladies sat up to look at the black men, they became alarmed, and asked each other what it all meant. But they were not left long in doubt as to what to do, for a very tall black man rose and made a speech in a language none of us could understand; and then, signing to the females to follow him, he strode off towards the north, and away from the sea. By this time we were all much frightened: we did not know what had happened, but we supposed the men had been taken inland, as we could see no signs of them. We did not hesitate about following the man who had spoken, for the other men closed round us and shook their sticks at us if we hesitated about moving.
It was not till I had been many months in this country and had learned the language that I heard all that had taken place on that eventful night; and it may aid the reader to better understand our position if I now describe those details which were afterwards so graphically described to me.
Our ship had been wrecked on the coast of South Africa, about midway between Natal and Algoa Bay, and not far from a river termed the Umzimvubu, Imvubu being the native name of the hippopotamus, several of which animals are inhabitants of this river. The natives in this part were a branch of the great Zulu nation, but independent of the Zulus. They were sometimes called the Amapondas, but they were more pleased to be called Amazimvubu. This tribe was ruled over by a chief called Inyati, or the Buffalo, and was strong enough to be feared by the Amakosa tribes to the west, and respected by the Zulus to the east. In their habits they resemble the Zulus, and were given to use the short stabbing assagy in preference to the light assagy used for throwing by the Amakosa. They lived in huts similar to those of the other South African Caffres, and were great cultivators of the soil, growing mealies or Indian corn, a smaller grain called m’beli, pumpkins, and sugar-cane. They were lovers of cattle, and a man’s riches consisted of herds of cattle and of wives.
I learned that the second day after we had been wrecked we had been discovered by these people, who had then set a watch on us; and it having been discovered that the men possessed firearms, and that there were women belonging to the party, it was decided that an attack should be made on the men during the night, and by surprise. Every detail of our camp was known to these people. By concealing themselves in the bush they had noted where each man lay down to sleep. Two Caffres had then been told off to assagy each individual, and to do it so quietly that no alarm should be given. Every plan was so well arranged that, at a given signal, each man had been stabbed dead at once, and his body carried away and thrown in the water. The females, it was known, slept under the canvas, and they were not to be touched. I, being always with them and having long curly hair, was supposed to be a little girl, and so was spared; and when it was known that I was not a girl, I was allowed to live as I was so young. All these details were described to me by a young Caffre who had been present at the massacre, and whose first adventure had been at this affair.
We had walked for some hours along narrow paths that sometimes led through bushes, at others over hills and down valleys, and at length reached a collection of huts, which I afterwards learned was named must, or, as the Dutch and English call it, a kraal. At this kraal several men, women, and children came out to look at us, all seeming much amused at our appearance, and especially astonished at the long hair of the ladies, for the Caffres have only short and woolly hair.
We were given some milk at this kraal, and I observed that the Caffre who had spoken to us when I first awoke seemed to be giving orders to all the men, and when they replied to him they often said “Inkose.” I tried to make these people understand me by saying a few words in Hindostani, but they could not understand me and shook their heads. On my repeating to them the first word I learned, viz., Inkose, they nodded, and pointing to the large Caffre, said “Yena Inkose” This, I afterwards learnt, meant “He is the chief.”
We continued our journey during three days, resting at night in the kraals; and we saw thousands of Caffres, who were all alike, and who all seemed equally surprised at our appearance. At length we reached a kraal that was far larger than any we had hitherto seen, and on nearing which the Caffres came out in crowds and shouted “Inkose” and shook hands with all the men whom we had first seen. I and the three ladies were shown a hut, into which we had to crawl on our hands and knees: we then laid down, for we were all very tired and footsore. We were given some milk and some Indian corn boiled, but we saw no meat, these people apparently living entirely on corn and milk.
Mrs Apton and her daughter sat crying in the hut, and exclaiming that we should all be killed and probably eaten; but Constance seemed very brave and said that, considering how we had escaped from the wreck, we ought not to despair now. We all talked over our probable future, and tried to guess what had become of the men of the party. The Caffres had managed their slaughter so quietly that it was not till I could speak the language that we discovered what had happened to them. On the first night at this kraal the moon was full, and all the men belonging to this village and also those from several near it assembled, and, lighting a large fire, sat in a circle round it, and sang songs the whole night. We could not sleep in consequence of the noise, and we did not feel certain that we were not going to be killed and roasted at the fire, for we knew so little of the Caffres that we believed them to be cannibals.
It was just at daybreak when a Caffre came to the kraal and beckoned me to come out, saying “E-zapa” which meant “Come here.” Thinking I was to be taken out and roasted, I clung to Constance and cried; but the Caffre dragged me away, and led me to where there were some dozen men sitting apart and talking. When I was dragged to where they were sitting, I was made to sit down, and a long conversation took place, two men seeming to be arguing with each other: one was the Inkose who had captured us, the other I had never seen before.
Had I then known the subject that was being discussed between them, I should have been more frightened than I was, but luckily all was settled without my knowledge. When the men of our party had been assagied, the orders were to spare the females; and I was supposed to be a little girl, as I was always with the ladies. The Caffres, however, soon found out that I was a boy, and the question now was whether I should be assagied or allowed to live. The chief was in favour of my being allowed to live, and determined to take me as his adopted son; whilst another chief recommended that I should be put to death. It took some hours for the council to talk over the matter, but at length it was decided that I was to be allowed to live, and was at once to be brought up as a Caffre.
Chapter Three.
Immediately the council broke up I was taken by the chief Inyati to a kraal about ten miles distant from that in which Mrs Apton and her daughter and Constance were stopping. I took a fancy to Inyati, and tried by signs and a few words which were a mixture of English and Hindostani, to ask him where I was being taken to. He seemed to understand my meaning, for he smiled, gave me a pat on the head, and gave me a knob-kerrie and an assagy to carry. Upon arriving at the kraal Inyati called out “Inyoni,” “Tembile,” and two Caffre boys about my own size came running towards him. Inyati spoke to them for some time, evidently about me, as he pointed to me often; the boys listened with great attention, and when he had finished, one of the boys repeated, apparently word for word, what he had been told. The chief nodded, and then walked away to one of the huts, whilst the boys put out each a hand and shook hands with me and beckoned me to follow them. They took me out about a mile from the kraal and towards a herd of cattle that were grazing on a hillside; we then sat down under the shade of a tree, and the boys commenced talking to me. I shook my head to show them I could not understand, and said, “Caffre humko malum ney,” which is the Hindostani for “I don’t know Caffre.” Somehow I thought that, as the boys were black, they would understand Hindostani better than they would English. They talked together for some time, and appeared very earnest in some argument. They then sat down beside me, and, pointing to the assagy that I still carried, said, “Umkonto.” I at once understood that they were going to teach me to speak Caffre, and being anxious to learn, I was much pleased at their intention. I repeated the word “umkonto,” which I now knew meant an assagy, until I said it just as they did. They then pointed to the cattle and said, “Incomo,” spreading out their hands so as to indicate all the herd. They then pointed at a chestnut-looking cow and said, “Imazi-e-bomvu,” then at a white cow and said, “Imazi-e-molope.” I learnt these words very quickly, and then, seeing a bird, I pointed at it, and looked inquiringly at my companions. They at once said, “Inyoni,” which I knew meant a bird, and one of the boys, pointing to himself, said, “Igama’s am Inyoni,” which I knew meant, “My name is Inyoni.” The boy then said, “Igama’s arko,” and pointed to me. I knew he was asking what my name was, so I said “Julius.” They both tried to repeat the word after me, but it seemed more difficult for them to say “Julius” than it was for me to repeat Caffre words after them. Being anxious to learn useful words, I made signs of eating, and then of drinking. The boys were wonderfully quick at understanding; and, pretending to eat, they said “ejla,” and then, pretending to drink, said “posa.” The sun was shining, so I pointed to it, and was at once told that it was “Ilanga.” The boys then patted their stomachs and drew them in as if they were empty, and said “Lambili, funa ejla”; this I understood meant, “Hungry, I want to eat.”
Note: A Caffre chief who rebelled against us some years ago was called by the English, Langerbelali. The name really was Ilanga-liba-leli, which means, “The Shining Sun.”
During this first day I learnt about forty words in Caffre, and as I afterwards found that about five hundred words enables me to speak in most languages, I was able in a fortnight to understand nearly all that was spoken, and also to make known what I wanted to say.
When the sun was near the horizon, the two Caffre boys collected the cattle, and drove them home. I aided them in this work, and tried to whistle as they did, but this I could not accomplish for some days; the cattle, however, seemed to be more afraid of me than of the Caffres, so I was a great help to them in driving the animals home.
On our reaching the kraal, the cattle were driven into the centre, where there was a circular space fenced round with tall upright poles. The men belonging to the kraal then milked the cows; for this I found was the men’s work, no woman being allowed to milk them. I was taken into a hut where there were two little girls about my own size, who laughed at me, but would not speak. These girls were the sisters of Inyoni and Tembile, and one of them, although black, was very pretty. I was given a bowl of milk and some boiled Indian corn; and being very tired I soon fell asleep, and slept until disturbed shortly before sunrise by the two boys, who made signs to me to go with them and drive the cattle out to their grazing-ground.
During the next day I learned the Caffre for the numbers from one to ten. One they called munye, two was mabili, and ten ishumi. I also learned that some of the fruit in the bush was good and some bad. One fruit that these boys were fond of and was very good, they called Martingula; it grew on a tree something like the English holly and was about the size of a plum. It was red in colour, and varied very much in flavour: we found plenty of these trees, and ate a good deal of the fruit. The boys explained to me that whatever a monkey ate a man might eat, as monkeys knew quite well what was fit and what poisonous for food. Each day I became more apt in speaking Caffre, and as I heard nothing else spoken, I used to think in Caffre, and thought it a very pretty language. My young companions were light-hearted, and very kind, and quite unlike English boys, who too often chaff or bully a strange boy, especially if this boy belongs to a strange nation. But the young Caffres amused themselves for hours each day in throwing an assagy at a mark. The mark was a large hard fruit, in shape and size like an orange. It was placed on the top of a stick, and the boys threw at it from a distance of forty paces. I was very awkward at first, but having learned how to hold and throw the assagy, I became at the end of a week as expert as they were, and being stouter and stronger, I could throw the assagy to a greater distance. I also practised throwing the knob-kerrie, which did not require so much skill, but which I soon found was a very useful weapon, as quails in hundreds soon visited the country, and I and my companions used to knock down twenty or thirty quails a day with these sticks, and we used to make a fire and cook them, and found them excellent eating.
My first great sporting achievement was in killing a duiker, a small antelope that was found in bushy or stony country. This animal, which the Caffres termed Impenze, was very cunning, and could conceal itself in long grass in a wonderful way. I possessed very good sight, and rarely missed seeing anything that was to be seen, though I had yet to learn how to properly use this sight. We were sitting watching the cattle one morning, when I obtained a glimpse of an object moving in some long grass about a hundred yards from where we were. I did not say anything to my companions, but got up, and making a circular course, went quietly up to a rock which overlooked the grass in which I fancied I had seen the moving object. As I peeped over the stone I saw the impenze, standing broadside to, and about twenty yards from me. I had my assagy all ready to throw, and sent it with all my strength at the buck. The blade of the assagy went right through the buck’s neck, and though it did not kill him, it prevented him from moving quickly through the grass and bushes, as it remained fast in his neck. I jumped down quickly and struck him with my knob-kerrie, and killed him with two or three blows on the head. The two Caffre boys had now joined me, as they saw I was attacking some animal. They jumped about in a state of great excitement when they saw the dead antelope; and then taking a good look all round, they told me to keep quiet, and not to tell any one about this buck having been killed. Inyoni at once skinned the buck and laid out the skin on the ground, pegging it down with mimosa thorns. The two boys then procured two sticks about a foot long, and of dry wood; these sticks they selected with great care. Placing one of these on the ground, Inyoni held down the ends with his feet, and then holding the other stick upright, he worked it round and round between the palms of his hands, and pressed it on to the second stick. Tembile relieved Inyoni when the latter was tired, and so they went on, turn and turn about, until the sawdust produced by this friction began to smoke and then to catch fire. A wisp of dry grass was then gathered, the sparks put into this, and the wisp swung round at arm’s-length, when it very soon began to blaze, and in a few minutes we had a capital wood fire. With our assagies we now cut up the buck and fried it over the fire, and had a great feast, eating about half the animal. The remainder we concealed on the branches of a tree, for we knew that if we left it on the ground, a jackal or leopard would find it, and we should get nothing on the following day. I was told by my companions that if the men knew we had killed this buck and had not carried it to the kraal, we should all be beaten; so I must keep the secret, for my own sake as well as theirs.
Our life was very simple and quiet; and I have often thought in later years, that the life led by these Caffres was perfect freedom and luxury, compared with the slavery endured by business men in cities. A Caffre who possessed a hundred head of cattle might have acquired these by his father giving him a cow and a calf when he was a boy. Cattle increase in almost geometrical rates. Thus a cow and a calf would probably become in ten years fifty head of cattle, and the young Caffre would be a man of independent fortune. As soon as a Caffre possesses cattle, he purchases a wife, and the limit to the number of his wives is only drawn by the amount of cattle he possesses. A young good-looking girl is purchased for from eight to ten cows. These are not always paid at once, three or four being given at the time of marriage, and the remainder paid in a year or two afterwards. A wife among these people is not a matter of expense only, as it is with civilised nations; but is a profitable investment, as the wives work in the mealie gardens, do the digging and the sowing, and at the time of harvest gather in the crops. If then a man possess three or four wives, he cultivates a large piece of ground and has plenty of corn, pumpkins, and other grain, and also has cows from which he obtains milk. The men never drank fresh milk, which they call ubisi: this they consider only fit for women and boys. They placed the fresh milk in large gourds made from dried pumpkins, and which contained about two quarts of milk, which was kept for some hours exposed to the sun; the gourd was then shaken, and again allowed to rest; in about three days the milk turned and became lumpy, and had a tart taste about it, and was really meat and drink. When in this state it was called amasi. This amasi and boiled mealies were food enough for the Caffres, meat being eaten only about once a month, when some wedding took place, or a hunting expedition was successful. The Caffre men did very little except milk the cows, which they never allowed the women to do, go out hunting, and have dances, and long talks in their kraals. I should like to know what more pleasant life could be passed by any man in a civilised country than this. Had I been older or more experienced when I was living among these people, I should have been more surprised than I was at the absence of all those wishes, and anxieties, which form the principal desires of men and women in civilised countries. These Caffres had no desire for more than they possessed, except as regards cattle, and thus afforded an excellent example of the proverbs that “He who curtails his wants increases his income,” and “He whose requirements are less than his means of supply, is the only rich man.”
I was so fully occupied with the work that was drawn out for me by the Caffres, that I had not thought with much anxiety about my late fellow-passengers. I wished, however, to see Constance, and now that I could speak a little in the Caffre language, I asked where she was, and when I could see her. My inquiry and wish seemed to puzzle Inyoni, who told me she was well, but that I must not see her yet, as the chief had so ordered it. So, during six months I never saw a white person, and by that time I was to all purposes a regular Caffre boy. I could speak the language well, I could click out the proper clicks at right words, could throw an assagy better than any Caffre boy of my size. I could run faster than other Caffre boys, though I could not keep it up so well, but for a quarter of a mile I was very fast. I knew nearly every cow’s name, and could whistle and drive a herd of cattle like a Caffre. The one thing from which I suffered was the tenderness of my feet. My boots had been worn out long since, and my feet, from having worn shoes all my life, were very tender; but each day they became harder, though I often had to stop and sit down when I had trodden on a sharp stone. My only suit of clothes was worn out, but I had made a set of what the Caffres considered clothes, but were merely strips of goat’s-skin about a foot long, fastened to a leather strap round my waist. This absence of dress I found caused me to be too hot in the warm weather and too cold in the early mornings and in the cold weather; but I hardened under the conditions, and soon did not mind it.
There was an amusement that I and my two companions carried on which I afterwards found very useful. This was to procure two or three straight canes about five feet long: one end of these we used to cover with clay, we then stood opposite each other, and danced and jumped about, and then suddenly threw these at, each other, using them like an assagy. At first the Caffres used to hit me at nearly every shot, and I never touched them; but after considerable practice I became as expert as they were, and could spring on one side so as just to avoid the blow, or throw myself down, or turn the spear aside with my shield, which was an oval-shaped piece of ox-hide. At about thirty paces from each other we could never hit one another, and then we closed in till one of us was hit. We used to keep a score on a stick of the number of hits against each of us, a notch in the stick being the mark. In after years, when it was a matter of life and death, the training and practice I had gained in my boyhood was of vital importance to me in avoiding an assagy, when one was thrown at me, and my dexterity in throwing one soon became known among the tribe with which I lived. The things I could accomplish with the assagy were the following. I could throw an assagy sixty paces, which, for a boy, was very good, but two or three of the men could throw the same assagy ninety paces. At forty paces I could hit a mark as big as a man’s head about every other shot. I could throw the assagy either overhand or underhand, quivering it at the same time. If thrown overhand, the hand was held above the shoulder, and the arm from the hand to the elbow was vertical when the assagy left the hand. When thrown underhand, the back of the hand was down, and the arm from the hand to the elbow was horizontal when the spear left the hand. This underhand throwing was very effective in taking your adversary by surprise; for if you jumped about quickly and made feints, pretending to throw overhand, then suddenly throwing underhand, he very often could not dodge quickly enough to escape the weapon.
I never left my hut without one or two assagies and a knob-kerrie in my hand; for close to our kraal there were leopards, hyaenas, and other animals that were very dangerous.
There was one accomplishment that I had acquired from my companions that I had thought about night and day, and which I found very fascinating. This was “spooring,” as the English and Dutch in South Africa call it; that is, telling by the footprints what animals have passed over the ground, when they passed, and at what pace. This study is quite an art, and I occupied many months in arriving at even a superficial knowledge of the subject. Although I of course had no opportunity of learning arithmetic or any of those things that boys learn in English schools, yet I had my brain exercised by such studies as spooring and the observation necessary to enable me to practise the art. To spoor well it is necessary to know many things that appear at first sight to have nothing to do with the question. One of the things to learn was to break off branches of various sizes from different trees, to place these in the sunshine and in the shade, and then to notice how long it took for these leaves and branches to look withered or otherwise. The smaller the branch the sooner it withered, and in the sun it withered sooner than in the shade. Then some trees, the wood of which was hard, would look fresh for a long time, whereas soft wood would soon show signs of withering. If the day was moist or wet, the branch that would dry on a sunny day would look fresh after the same interval of time. I used to take great pleasure in finding out these things, and Inyoni and Tembile used to break branches in the bush one day, and then take me to see them afterwards, and get me to guess how long a time had elapsed since they broke them. Of course we knew nothing about hours, but we used to point in the sky and say, “The sun was there yesterday, or to-day, when you broke this off the tree.”
In this part of Africa the dew falls very heavily, and I found that the dew fell most just after the sun had set. This was a great aid in telling the time that had elapsed since an animal had passed over the ground, for we could tell whether it was after the dew, or before the dew had fallen. The footprints of the various animals I learnt after some time, for it was not very easy to tell the difference between a large black bush-buck’s footprint and that of a wild pig. Also it was sometimes difficult to distinguish between a wild buffalo’s footprint and that of one of our cattle; that is, if the buffalo was a young one. After a few months, however, I had gained much experience, and could tell the footprints of the following animals, all of which were to be seen near our kraal:—The hippopotamus, called imvubu by the Caffres, the buffalo, the large black bush-buck, the red bush-buck, and small blue bush-buck, the reit-buck, duiker, leopard, hyaena, the ratal, and many smaller animals. I acquired the habit of watching the ground as I walked along, and noting what spoor there was on it, and could thus discover what animals were in the neighbourhood; and I soon thought myself very clever as a spoor-finder. But I had yet much to learn, and soon found that, compared with my Caffre companions, I was blind and unobservant.
The principal event that proved to me how dull I was, led to my rising at once to a first place among the Caffres. It was during a warm day that we had entered the bush near the ground where we watched the cattle, and were sitting in the shade talking, when Inyoni, who was looking anxiously at a tree near, got up and walked to the tree and examined the trunk. He then called us and pointed to some marks on the tree; and at length, stooping on the ground, picked up two or three small hairs. Both the Caffre boys examined these and then said a leopard had been here during the night and had climbed the tree. The marks on the tree were from his claws, which he used just as does a cat in climbing. We did not like to follow the spoor, as leopards are very savage; but we went away from this place and sat down under the shade of some rocks at a short distance, and the boys told me stories about the leopard.
During that night I thought a great deal about leopards; and I remembered, in a book that my father had given me soon after I learned to read, that there was a picture of a trap that some one had made to catch cats. Now, the leopard is only a large cat, and is very like one in its habits, and the idea occurred to me that we might make a trap to catch the leopard. I thought over this scheme, and the next day talked to the boys about it. They were quite willing to try, so we set to work at once. The method we adopted was this. We cut down a great number of straight branches, about ten feet long and about two inches thick; these we stuck firmly in the ground in a circle, just as we used to construct a kraal. Peeling off the bark from some mimosa trees, we made a sort of rope, and bending the tops of these branches together, we fastened them firmly, so as to make a circular hut. After many days, we had so bound these together that, with all our united force, we could not separate them in the slightest degree. We then cut a small opening in this hut as a doorway, and we had a part of our trap complete. The most difficult part to make was the door itself. This we made by constructing a door the same as you make a hurdle, and we made two of these doors, and then fastened them together to make them strong. This door we made inside the hut, because we wanted the door to be bigger than the doorway. Having completed this door, we made out of buckskin a longish string, and fastened this to a stick in the centre of the hut; this string held the door up, but when the string was loosened the door slid down between two stout posts, and it was necessary to lift the door in order to get out of the doorway. All this being arranged in about a week’s time, we next had to procure some bait, and were lucky in getting a guinea-fowl, which was a bird common in the bushes round our kraal. This bird we knocked over with our knob-kerries, and dragged it along the ground to the trap, and then fastened it to the string inside the trap. The Caffres told me that the leopard was so strong that he would force himself out of the hut if he had time to do so. We therefore agreed to keep watch in a tree near on the first night, and if the leopard came, to run to the kraal and give notice to the men. We did not tell any one at the kraal what we had done; for, to speak the truth, we had not much confidence in the success of our trap, and we did not like to incur the risk of being laughed at. Our success therefore was as unexpected as it was complete.
Having driven the cattle home to the kraal, we ate some corn and drank some milk, and then ran back to where our trap had been constructed, and climbed into a large tree, from which we could obtain a good view all round. It had not even become dark when, as we sat silent and motionless in the tree, we saw the leopard come through some long grass and creep towards our trap. It crouched for some time near the trap and seemed to be listening, and then slowly crept in. In half a minute the door dropped, and the leopard was trapped. In an instant Inyoni descended the tree and ran off to the kraal, whilst I and Tembile remained up the tree. We could hear the leopard moving about inside the hut, but whenever he did so we called out, and he was at once silent, and appeared as if he were afraid of making any noise.
In what appeared to be a very short time Inyoni came back, and with him about twenty men, among whom was the chief. They were all armed with five assagies each, and one of the men carried a piece of wood that was on fire. The Caffres came up very quietly, and then surrounded the hut, remaining about ten yards from it. In a few minutes dry wood had been collected, and seven or eight fires were made round the trap in which the leopard was a prisoner. Sometimes the leopard would roar and tear at the side of his cage, but on hearing the Caffres outside he would become quiet again, and so the night passed. Soon after daybreak many more Caffres came to us, for the news had spread to the villages round, and when the sun rose there were more than a hundred Caffres round the trap. The chief now gave his orders, and the men obeyed him just as soldiers obey an officer. He directed one Caffre to go to the door of the trap, and with a long pole push up the door; all the other Caffres stood in a semicircle round the doorway and about fifty yards from it, each with an assagy in his hand ready to throw. No sooner was the door raised a few inches than the leopard rushed at the stick, scratching and biting at it furiously. The Caffre then retreated, and the leopard struggled at the small opening and succeeded in getting half out. The chief then shouted “Bulala!” and about forty assagies were thrown at the leopard, nearly a dozen of which entered its body. In spite of these wounds the animal struggled out of the doorway and sprang at the Caffres in front of him. A shower of assagies were again hurled at him, but he succeeded in reaching one man, whom he seized by the leg with his claws. In an instant, however, the other men closed in: there was a struggling mass of men, and then a shout of “Yena gofile” (“he is dead.”) I rushed up to the crowd, and there was the leopard covered with blood, his lips drawn back showing his teeth, and his limbs extended as they had been in his last spring. I jumped about with delight and excitement, for this was the first leopard I had ever seen killed, and it was by the aid of my trap that he had been secured.
The legs of the leopard were tied together, and a long pole was then inserted between them, and he was carried to the kraal, the men singing songs as they accompanied his body. Two men immediately set to work to skin him, they then extracted his teeth and claws. Of the use they were going to make of these latter I at the time was ignorant, but in a few days I learned their value. All the principal men from the neighbouring kraals were invited to come to our village in the evening, for the Caffres intended to eat the leopard, the flesh being supposed to give a man courage and endurance. A very small piece of meat could be spared for each man, as there were more than a hundred men assembled. They all sat in a circle on a piece of level ground outside our village, a fire being lighted in the centre, at which the leopard, cut up into pieces, was being toasted. Many songs were sung by the men, the chorus being shouted by all. This chorus was very little more than “Ingwe gofile, Tina shiele, Yena shingarner, Yena gofile:” which meant, “The leopard is dead, We have struck him, He is a rascal, He is dead.”
We sat several hours singing songs that were extemporised by the best singers, and occasionally drinking Itchuala, a sort of beer made out of corn, and then we all retired to our huts and slept. Three days after this the same men assembled at our kraal in the evening, and I was told by the chief to come to the meeting. I did not know what it was for, but I found all the Caffres looking at me, and the young girls seemed to regard me most attentively. I thought perhaps they intended to eat me, though I had seen nothing since my capture that frightened me. When the men were seated in a circle, the chief stood up, and, going into the centre of the circle, made a long speech, which was to this effect: “This white boy I prevented from being assagied; some of you wished to kill him, but I said, ‘No—he shall be as my son, let him live.’ You agreed, and he lives. Though his skin is white, his heart is the heart of an Umzimvubu. He can throw an assagy well. He thinks, and it is he who made the trap that caught the leopard. I ask you, men, does he not deserve the necklace of leopard’s claws? Shall he not be a young chief? Say, men, what you think.”
There was immediately a shout of consent, and the chief, calling me to him, gave me a necklace made out of the claws of the leopard, which he fastened round my neck, and immediately the men shouted, “Inkosana!”
“He is a young chief!”
I have, since those days, heard of men who by deeds of valour have gained the Victoria Cross, or by good service have received honours from their sovereign; but I doubt if any of these felt more pride and gratification than I did when I received this necklace of leopard’s claws from the hands of the chief. I immediately felt a craving for opportunities of distinguishing myself, and wished for another chance at a leopard or at some other savage animal, in order that I might prove my courage, as ably as I had shown my skill in designing and constructing the leopard-trap.
Chapter Four.
There was a great change in the behaviour—of the Caffres towards me now that I had been made an Inkosana. Before this dignity had been conferred on me, there was a kind of watch kept on me; but now every Caffre, man, woman, and child, seemed to regard me as one of themselves. I was now always given amasi to drink instead of ubisi, the former being considered suitable for men, the latter for women and children. Finding myself a person of greater importance, I one day asked Inyati if I might go and see my white friends. He hesitated for some time, and at length said: “To-morrow at sunrise you may go. Inyoni will show you the way; you will reach their kraal when the sun goes down. Stay one day, then return.”
I told Inyati I would do as he told me, and on the following morning I started with Inyoni on the journey. I had never asked what had become of the men and sailors who had been saved from the wreck. At first I did not ask because I did not know a word of Caffre, but afterwards I did not do so because I saw that the Caffres seemed disinclined to make any answers to my questions. Now, however, I was alone with Inyoni, he told me all the details of the massacre. He told me how we had been watched for two days, and it was found that the men had firearms; so they were all killed. On my inquiring why they were killed, Inyoni told me that many moons ago some white men had come on the coast, and had landed and had carried off some men and women from a kraal; that when the Caffres had assembled to get back their friends, the white men had fired their guns at them and had killed several Caffres, and then escaped in their boats. So that the chiefs had agreed that, if ever white people came again on the coast, they were to be watched, surprised, and the men assagied. From what I afterwards learned, I believe the men who thus visited the coast were slave-hunters.
We passed several kraals on our journey, at most of which the people came out and spoke to us, and every one who saw my necklace at once addressed me as “Inkosana.” At least a dozen times Inyoni gave an account of my leopard-trap, and how we had killed this leopard, and I found myself looked at with envy by the boys and admiration by the girls, whilst both were very friendly, and usually walked with me for some distance on the journey.
The sun was several times its own diameter above the horizon when we reached a kraal in which, so Inyoni told me, one white woman was living. I entered this kraal, and Inyoni telling the head man that the chief had allowed me to come to visit the white woman, I was shown a hut and told I might go in. On entering this hut I saw Constance, who at once caught me in her arms and kissed me, expressing great delight at seeing me, as she feared I had been killed. I soon told her all that had happened to me, and that I was well-treated and not very unhappy. She listened to all I had to say, and told me she was very glad to hear so good an account, but that she was utterly miserable and wished she were dead. I tried to cheer her by giving her hopes of a better future, but she assured me it was impossible that we should ever see our friends again, and that if she did not marry one of the chief’s sons they intended to kill her. We sat talking the greater part of the night, and the next morning went for a walk, the Caffres appearing to take no notice of us, though I could see one or two boys go on the hill-tops and sit down, evidently to watch us. We sat down under the shade of some euphorbia trees and talked over our prospects. Constance could tell me nothing of Mrs Apton or her daughter; they had been taken away to some distant kraal, and for a long time I heard nothing of them. I passed the whole of my time with Constance, and promised to come and see her again; then, bidding her good-bye, I started at daybreak on my return to my own kraal.
Although I was living among a race of black people who would be deemed savages, and who had slaughtered my companions who had been shipwrecked on the coast, still I felt a sort of home-feeling on rejoining my kraal and on meeting Inyati again after only three days’ absence. Now that I knew about the male passengers and sailors having been assagied, I talked to several of the young Caffres about it; and their remarks were so sensible, and seemed to me so reasonable, that I must here repeat them.
They said that only twice had white men come on their coast. The first men who came made signs of friendship, and were well received. They stayed two days on shore, and then enticed several young men and maidens to go with them to the shore, where they captured them and carried them to their ship. Resistance was of course offered by the men, and several were shot, also two females were shot. On hearing of this treachery, all the chiefs along the coast met in council, and agreed that, if any more white men came to the coast, the people were to retreat, and a watch was to be set on the white men, and they were to be surprised and assagied before they could shoot anybody. Seeing our shipwrecked men on the coast, the Caffres concluded that we had come on an expedition similar to that of the former visitors, and so they had attacked us. They admitted that when they found there were women among the party they hesitated, but having received the chief’s orders to attack us, they had no choice but to obey. “Now,” they said, “we must keep you always, for if you went back among white people, you would tell them we had killed your companions, and then an army of white men would come and attack us.”
There was no doubt it was by a mistake that my fellow-voyagers had been killed, but when I heard the Caffres’ explanation I could not think them very wrong. We, in fact, had suffered for the sins of some slave-hunters, who might or might not have been English.
I explained to the Caffres how we had been shipwrecked and had escaped on rafts, and how they would have received presents had they been kind to us, and had they forwarded us to the nearest English or Dutch town. They admitted that such might have been the case, but now, having killed the white men, they said they must keep the thing quiet. I told them, that even now, if they forwarded me and the three ladies to the Cape Colony, they would be rewarded; but they shook their heads and said, “When you go among your own people you could not help telling them we had assagied your people, then an army come here and kill us. No, we keep quiet.” It was useless my assuring them that I would not tell any of my people that the men had been assagied. The Caffres smiled and replied, “You don’t know yourself. Now you believe you not tell, but when with your own people you could not help telling. Don’t think of going away—that never be. You will by-and-by be Caffre Chief here.”
All these conversations were of course carried on in the Caffre language, and I have endeavoured to give as nearly as possible the meaning in English of the various words. In consequence of hearing nothing but Caffre spoken, and also having to express all my meaning in the same language, I could now speak it as well as the Caffres themselves, and so was able to learn all the views that the Caffres had on various matters. In thinking over in after-life these days of my early experiences, I have come to the conclusion that these people were a strange mixture of common sense, very acute perceptions, and also very childish in many things. As regards what we term science they were of course completely ignorant, so much so, that, child as I was, I knew more than they did. For example, a great argument had been going on in our village once during several evenings. I had heard in my hut some of the words, and distinguished the word inyanga used very often, this word being used to signify the moon, and also a month. A Caffre counts his age as so many moons. Thus a Caffre boy who was one hundred and twenty moons old would be nearly twelve years of age, and if he lived to be nine hundred and thirty moons old, he would be about seventy years. I have since wondered whether this was the way that the people in the East formerly counted their ages, and were therefore said to live to nine hundred years of age. For if, as it has been suggested by some modern explainers, this great age was given to the ancients in order that they might people the world, it seems that they sadly neglected their duty. For Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years before he devoted himself to this duty, and Lamech lived also one hundred and eighty-two years before he had a son. A Caffre who was one hundred and eighty-two moons old would be about fourteen years old, and as these people come to maturity very quickly he would be quite a young man.
After several long arguments the men at length appealed to me, and the question was this:—“Is it the same moon that comes each month, gradually grows larger, and then gets small again? or is it a fresh moon that is born each month, gets full-grown, and then dies?”
I told them it was the same moon, and they then asked me for proof, which I was quite unable to give; and so, although my statement was considered of some value, yet it did not convince the opponents of the theory about a different moon. They argued the subject during several evenings, and at the end of the discussion the result was not very dissimilar to that which occurs among a certain type of scientific men: each party remained of the same opinion with which he commenced the inquiry. From what I could learn, I found that those who asserted that it was a fresh moon born every month, had the best of the argument, and seemed to be most reasonable. There was, however, a peculiarity about these arguments which I always thought of in after years when I could compare them with the discussions and arguments in the civilised world on various questions. The Caffres always seemed to desire truth, and to argue for the purpose of eliciting it. They would admit the soundness of an opponent’s reasons, and sometimes allow that these could not be answered. They never indicated that their object was to prove themselves right and their opponents wrong, no matter what was the result.
Inyati, talking to me afterwards about the moon, said, “Your white people believe it always the same moon.”
“Yes,” I replied, “they know it is the same.” Inyati said, “I have often found that what is true cannot be made by words to appear to be as true as something else that is false. Talking is no good.”
Finding that Inyati now talked to me on many occasions, I took the opportunity of asking him one day what had become of the things that they had taken from the men; for I knew there were some guns and other things which might be of use. He told me that most of them were buried in a hole near a kraal some miles away; and that the people were afraid of these things, thinking that they might blow up and kill them. I told Inyati there was one thing I knew of amongst these which would be of great use if we could find it, and I could show him what to do with it. I described this to him, and he then told me that this and a few other things were at his kraal, and he would show them to me. That evening he took me to his kraal, and lifting up a wicker door, he showed me several articles in a hole below. I there saw what I wanted, and took from the hole a pair of opera-glasses in a leather case. I then went with Inyati to a little hill near, and seeing about two miles off some Caffres, I asked him who they were.
He said they were too far off to recognise.
I then adjusted the glasses for my focus and told him the names of the Caffres, whom I knew, and then handing him the glasses showed him how to use them.
I never saw greater astonishment than that of Inyati when he looked through the glasses and perceived distant objects as plainly as though they were near. He never seemed tired of looking, first at distant then at nearer objects. He asked me what I called them, and I said in English, “opera-glasses.” He shook his head at this, and then said in Caffre, “I shall call them ‘bring near.’” He went back to his kraal and seemed deep in thought, and every now and then looked at the glasses, which he preserved with the greatest care.
On the following morning he assembled all the men, and had a council. He told them that I had shown him the use of a thing that was like “tagata” (witchcraft); and that this thing, though quite harmless, was wonderful. He said that people and things at a distance were instantly brought close to you, and you could almost touch them with your hand. At first the older men seemed inclined to disbelieve, but Inyati said, “What I tell you, that I can show.” There was one old man who had the reputation of being a rain-maker, and was called Amanzinina, who would not believe what Inyati told him. This old man had always disliked me, and was one of those who had expressed the wish that I should be assagied. He said that I might practise witchcraft, and that this thing which made people come near was and could be only due to witchcraft; as it was impossible to be anything else. He suggested that the glasses should be burned, and that if I were burned too it would be all the better for the tribe.
Inyati answered him; but a great many of the men who were afraid of Amanzinina, agreed with him as to burning the glasses, though they said that I might be spared. At first I felt disposed to laugh at the nonsense spoken by this old man, but when I found how important his remarks were considered by the men, I was somewhat alarmed. Inyati, however, answered Amanzinina well, and said that I had nothing to do with this “bring near”; that it was made by white men, just as Caffres made assagies; that it was a thing which white men used everywhere; and that I, having seen men use it, knew what it was for, and that witchcraft had nothing to do with it. After a time the chief convinced all the men except Amanzinina, who would have nothing to do with the glasses, and would not even look through them.
The astonishment shown by the men when they looked through the glasses was quite equal to that which had been displayed by Inyati: they thought it wonderful, and several of them, seeing people at a distance, put their mouth to the glasses and shouted, believing that this would make their voices heard. They could not understand why it was, that if they could see people close, by aid of the glass, they could not also make them hear. At length, however, these glasses were looked on as a valuable treasure, and Inyati never went out without them. People came from great distances to see them, and every one was equally surprised at their use.
It was now the time when the crops of mealies and other corn were coming up, and a circumstance now happened which enabled me to judge of the manner in which these people, among whom I had cast my lot, would fight against an enemy. From a village about ten miles from us, news was brought that two bull-buffaloes, very savage and cunning, had taken up their quarters in some thickly wooded ravines near the corn-ground of the village. Each night these buffaloes used to come from the bush, break through the fences, and eat the young corn. This meant a famine for this kraal, for the people depend on mealies for their food during the year. Aid was wanted from our kraal and from others in order to hunt these buffaloes and to kill them. In two days the hunting party had been assembled, and consisted of about five hundred men, armed with assagies, for the knob-kerrie was no use against a buffalo. I obtained permission to join this party, and we had assembled in the evening at the distant kraal, and were to hunt on the following day.
It was decided that there should be a great dance performed by the warriors before we attacked the buffaloes. There were two kinds of dances practised by these Caffres, one before a war was undertaken, the other before a hunt. The dance was performed by the men, who formed in a circle, and stood three deep. The dance consisted merely of stamping on the ground, first with one foot then with the other, keeping time to a song. The effect of about five hundred heavy feet striking the ground at the same instant was grand, and the shouts of the men became louder and louder, as their excitement increased. In the centre of the ring one or two men would occasionally dash about, quivering their assagies, and pretending to throw them; then, almost falling on the ground, they would suddenly spring in the air, dart from side to side, and rush forward making movements of stabbing an enemy. The proceedings of these men were carefully watched, for they were known as the quickest movers and fastest runners in the tribe, and their skill in dodging an assagy was such that no man ever had a chance of hitting them in the games they played with blunted assagies. The dance lasted about two hours, and we then lay down to sleep, some in the huts and others on the ground.
At daybreak we all got up, and having employed a short time in sharpening our assagies, we assembled in groups to receive our orders.
The buffaloes were known to be concealed in a dense ravine about two miles from the kraal. There were two parts of this ravine whence the animals could escape, and it was decided that they should be driven towards that end nearest the kraal. About one hundred men were told off to go round the top of this ravine and to enter at the far end, so as to drive the buffaloes before them. About twenty boys were placed round the top of the ravine, whose duty it was to watch the buffaloes and to give notice where they were in the bush. I was told to go with these boys, but I begged Inyati to let me go with him and to join the party who were to attack the animals when they were driven out into the open country. With a smile Inyati consented, and asked me if my assagies were sharp. I showed them to him, and having felt them he nodded his approval, and then assembling his men we marched off to our station.
When we had reached the top of the ravine, we were placed in a semicircle and then concealed ourselves. A party of about a hundred men then took up their position near the top of the ravine, and their duty was to run between the buffaloes and the ravine immediately they broke cover, so as to cut off their retreat, and thus to prevent them from breaking back, and dashing through the beaters. Everything was done in silence; a wave of the arm by Inyati was sufficient for an order, his hand held upright halted the whole party. Since then I have seen English soldiers at drill, but I never saw better discipline than I saw among these Caffres. When we were all placed in the positions allotted to us, a shrill whistle was the signal that all was ready, and the men at the far end of the bush advanced, beating the bushes and making a noise so as to frighten the buffaloes, and make them retreat from the ravine in the required direction. The boys on the top of the ravine soon saw the animals moving through the bush, and signalled to us, imitating their movements. It was amusing to see how well these boys acted. Two of them pretended to be buffaloes, and when the buffaloes moved on they moved; when the buffaloes stopped and listened, the boys stopped and imitated every movement, twisting round and round, just as these animals do when alarmed.
Nearer and nearer came the buffaloes, but there was not a movement among the men who were waiting for them. When the animals came near the edge of the bush they seemed to become suspicious, and we could hear them sniffing the air and snorting, though they did not move for some time. The boys did just as they saw the buffaloes do, and we thus knew all about them. Suddenly we saw the boys rush forward in our direction, and almost at the same time the buffaloes charged out of the bush. Inyati whistled shrilly, and in an instant a hundred men dashed in between the buffaloes and the ravine, and cut off their retreat, whilst the other men who had hitherto lain down sprang to their feet, in front of the animals. No time was given to the buffaloes: the men closed all round and assagies were hurled at the animals, and in a few seconds they were covered with assagies, just as a porcupine is with quills. The buffalo, however, is a powerful animal and dies hard; so, although badly wounded, they turned, one towards the ravine, and charged at the men there, the other came towards where I was. The buffalo that went towards the ravine was met by a shower of assagies, but he dashed straight on, and knocked over three or four men, and escaped into the ravine. The other, putting its head down, came at me, I suppose, because my white skin attracted his attention. The Caffres jumped right and left as he came close, and left me standing alone. The men called to me to jump, but I waited till the buffalo was within a few yards of me; I then held my heavy assagy by the wooden end, and sprang on one side so quickly that the buffalo missed me; when swinging my assagy round, I struck the animal on the hind leg just above the hock, and hamstrung it, so that it could only move on three legs. Before it could turn and charge again, the Caffres had closed round it, and had stabbed it in so many places that it slowly sank to the ground, giving a loud moan as it did so.
I was greatly excited at this scene, and hurled my assagy at the animal, burying it deep in its side; and then danced about and shouted with delight as I saw it fall, the Caffres being equally pleased. From down the ravine we now heard shouts from the men, who announced that the other buffalo was down and dead. Two of the men whom the buffalo had knocked down were much hurt, but they were helped home, and in a week were quite well again; for these people recover very quickly from even most dangerous wounds.
The buffaloes were quickly skinned and cut up, the meat being carried to the kraal, where fires were lighted in every hut, and the flesh roasted, and boiled in large earthen pots. The whole of the afternoon and evening was passed in feasting, whilst songs with choruses were sung. I was frequently mentioned as the young white chief, for my performance was thought highly of, the fact of hamstringing the buffalo having greatly contributed to the success of the affair, and my quickness in escaping from the buffalo’s charge being also a performance much appreciated by the Caffres.
The opera-glasses which Inyati had brought with him caused the usual astonishment when shown to the people at this kraal, and a chief there offered to buy them for five cows, but Inyati was not willing to sell them, as he said there was nothing like them in the country.
We returned home the next day, and I once more resumed the usual daily routine at our kraal.
Chapter Five.
It was nearly twelve moons after our fight with the buffaloes, that some strange Caffres came down to our village, and had several long conversations with Inyati. I soon heard what these talks were about, and I ascertained the following facts:—
Considerably to the north of our village, and about five days’ journey from us, there were some high mountains called the Quathlamba Mountains; these mountains broke in spurs, and spread out like fingers of a hand till they came down to the plains. On these plains some of the tribe of our people had kraals and cattle. Within the past two moons some Bushmen had come down to the ravines and rocky precipices near these kraals, and had stolen the cattle. It was impossible to catch these Bushmen, as they could scamper up the rocks like baboons, and when they reached a position safe from the range of an assagy, they would sit and chatter at the Caffres who had followed them, hurl great stones down at them, and if near enough would discharge poisoned arrows, which were so deadly that if one hit a man he was sure to die. These Bushmen were so feared, and their attacks had become so daring, that the Caffres had come down the country to try and procure aid to drive these people away. The difficulty of punishing them was great, and Inyati pointed out that, if the Bushmen were so quick and active as to scamper up the rocks like baboons, he did not see what was to be done. These conversations used to take place in the evenings, and I listened to all that was said, and began to think of some plan by which to outwit the Bushmen. Suddenly I thought of something which I was surprised had, never occurred to me before. So on the following morning I told Inyati that, if he could help me, I thought we could drive off these Bushmen. He called me into his hut, and I then carried on with him the following conversation. I said:—
“When the white men were assagied some of them had long iron instruments that we call ‘guns:’ where are they?”
“Hidden.”
“I know how to use them, and if you could get me two of these I would go with you and our people, and kill some of these Bushmen.”
Inyati said, “Do you know how to use these things? Because once we did have a gun, and it went all to pieces, and killed the man who held it.”
“He put in too much powder.”
“Perhaps, but we have feared to do anything with such things since.”
When in India I had often seen my father clean and load his guns, and I knew all about them. I knew too that the captain had a double-barrelled rifle, which had reached the shore on the raft. If I could procure this and some ammunition, I knew I should astonish the Bushmen if they gave me a chance. I explained to Inyati that if I could get one particular gun, I would be able to kill the Bushmen.
Inyati said very little, but on the next evening he brought me the rifle and a large bag of ammunition. The rifle was rusty and dirty, so I set to work to clean it; the women being all afraid to come near the weapon, whilst the men were at first very cautious. Inyati now had faith in me, and sat down beside me whilst I explained to him the use of the weapon and how to pull the trigger. The powder was in a large flask, and was quite dry, as were also the caps; and I found forty bullets in the bag, so I had plenty of ammunition. I told Inyati that this gun would kill a man at a distance more than ten times as far as he could throw an assagy. He shook his head at this; but I asked him if I had not told him truth about the glasses, and he would find I was true about this gun.
I was very anxious to go against the Bushmen, for now that I had seen the buffaloes killed, I was like a tiger that had tasted human blood, and felt a longing for such exciting scenes as those I was likely to experience, if I went against the Bushmen.
Inyati sat thinking for a long time without speaking, and at length said, “We will go.” He then walked to his hut, and shortly afterwards sent messengers to call his people together, informing them that on the morrow we would start for the Quathlamba Mountains.
About fifty men assembled at our kraal at daybreak on the following morning, each man armed with five assagies, and a knob-kerrie, and provided with a shield made of ox-hide. The shields might be useful against a Bushman’s arrows or against an assagy, but were useless against a bullet. We each carried a bag of Indian corn, and several boys who accompanied us also carried bags of corn. I afterwards found out that if Inyati succeeded in driving off the Bushmen, he was to receive a reward of cattle from the people he had assisted, and they were to be bound to help him in any expedition that he undertook against his enemies.
Our journey was over a beautiful country well watered with little streams, and with plenty of fine trees. We found that a buck, called by the Caffres “Umseke” (the riet-bok), was plentiful here, and we surrounded and assagied two or three of these every day, and so had plenty of meat during our journey. On the fifth day we reached the nearest kraal of the tribe who were being plundered by the Bushmen. These kraals were situated on an open plain near some wooded ravines, the mountains being about five miles from them. The people received us with shouts, and gave us amasi and plenty of corn, and we then held a council of war.
From the information given at this council, I learned all about the Bushmen. There was a perpendicular rock about a hundred times the height of a man, on the top of which the Bushmen would assemble and defy the Caffres; to ascend this rock there was a narrow ravine, like a cut in the mountains that only one man at a time could ascend. The Bushmen guarded this, and had large stones ready to drop on the men who came up, and their poisoned arrows to discharge from their bows, so that it was impossible to attack them there with any chance of success.
The Caffres saw no means by which they could kill the Bushmen, as the rock could not be climbed, and was too high for an assagy to be thrown to the top from the plains below. I, however, thought this just the place that would be suitable for my plan; so, after the council, I told Inyati I had heard all that had been said, and everything was just as I wanted it to be. The only thing I feared was, that the Bushmen might come down from their rock and attack me in the plain; but if I had a hundred Caffres with me they would not do this.
As is usual with Caffre expeditions, we started before daybreak, guided by a Caffre who knew the way; and by the time the sun had risen and the mist had cleared from off the plains, we were within sight of the Bushmen’s rock. Inyati here took out his glasses, and after looking at the rock for some time, informed us that there were ten or more Bushmen on the top of the rock looking at us. We advanced quickly till within about four throws of an assagy from them; at which distance we were told, their arrows could not reach us. The Caffres then called to the Bushmen, and asked why they killed the cattle. The Bushmen danced and yelled, and fired two or three arrows at us, all of which fell short of us by many paces. Seeing a large ant-hill a little nearer the rock, I moved up to it; and, resting my rifle on the top, aimed at the group of Bushmen on the hill. Having taken a good aim I pulled the trigger, and when the smoke of my rifle cleared away I saw a Bushman tumbling down the rock, whilst another was lying on the ground kicking, evidently badly wounded. The other Bushmen were so astonished that they gathered round the man who was on the ground, and looked at him, thus giving me another good shot. I fired again, and another man fell down the rock quite dead. The remainder of the Bushmen did not wait for anything more, but retreated at full speed, climbing up the rocks like baboons, and evidently frightened. We waited some time and then the Caffres rushed on to the two men who had fallen and stabbed them with their assagies. They were, however, quite dead, but Caffres like to make sure there is no shamming. The bows and arrows of these men were taken, and also some lion’s teeth and claws that they wore; for these little Bushmen will kill lions with their poisoned arrows, and also elephants.
The Caffres then all came round me and looked at my rifle with evident signs of admiration. The distance at which I had killed the Bushmen was to them a subject of profound astonishment, and also to see that the bullet had gone completely through the men.
Our return to the village was a triumphant march, the men dancing, singing, and brandishing their assagies. Inyati walked beside me carrying the rifle, and asking me questions about the gun; how often it could be fired, how far off it would kill, and how it was made. I was the great hero of the day, child as I was, and these men now looked up to me as to a chief. Our reception at the village was most enthusiastic; men, women and children danced round us, shouting and singing. Unless one had been persecuted as had these people, it would be difficult to realise the importance of such an event as killing two of their enemies. The people at this kraal assured us that the Bushmen would now desert the country. They were very superstitious, and wherever a Bushman died or was killed, that place was at once deserted, as it was considered unlucky; so they felt certain that the Bushmen would now leave that part of the country. Some of the Caffres who had been out with me described to the people at the village how I had fired, and how the Bushmen tumbled down the rock. They were capital actors, and imitated the Bushmen very well. A young ox was killed for a feast, and we had a great supper, many songs, and a large dance; and on the following day returned towards our kraal, which we reached in seven days—a longer time than we occupied on our journey from the kraal, because now we drove with us ten cows, the reward given to Inyati for his assistance.
Chapter Six.
A few days after our return from the expedition against the Bushmen, Inyati called me one morning to his hut, in which were two of his counsellors. He then told me that I was raised to the rank of a counsellor, and that he intended to give me three of the cows that he had received from the Caffres, for freeing them of the Bushmen. He said that Caffres, as young as I was, were never made counsellors or had the privileges of men; but the two things I had done, viz., trapping the leopard and shooting the Bushmen, were so extraordinary that the tribe had agreed that I was to be made a chief. The rank which a chief holds among these people is of more importance than any civilised men could understand. The rank gave me command and authority over all men who were not chiefs. I could order them about, make them do work for me, whilst I need do nothing. I thanked Inyati for what he had done, and said I hoped to again show him what my rifle would do, in case there was any occasion for it, and that I believed I could kill an elephant or a lion with it, as easily as I had killed the Bushmen. He replied that “we should see.”
On leaving Inyati I took my assagies and walked out to the hill where my late companions Inyoni and Tembile were watching the cattle, and sat down with them, telling them of my having been made a counsellor and chief. These boys were quite excited at the news and very pleased, and we sat talking some time, till we noticed that the cattle were alarmed by something and seemed uneasy. We ran up to them, and then saw quite a small calf on the ground, and something shiny all round it. In an instant I saw it was an immense snake, as thick as my body. Seizing an assagy, I drove it into the snake’s head, and then, withdrawing it, stabbed it again in the body. The snake uncoiled itself, and came at me; but Inyoni, coming behind it, threw an assagy at it and pinned it to the ground, whilst Tembile drove another spear into it. Seeing my chance, I went close to the monster and stabbed it in the head two or three times, and thus killed it. As soon as we saw it was dead we cut some sticks, sharpened the ends of these, and pegged the snake straight on the ground. It was then longer than the three of us, and was a giant among snakes. The Caffre boys told me there were several such snakes about, and that they would kill and swallow a calf. They knew no other name for it than “Inyoka m’culu” (“the big snake.”) They said these snakes ate only about twice each moon, and after eating slept for many days, and were sometimes then killed by wild pigs and leopards. They said that, many months ago, a Caffre boy was sleeping near here, and whilst asleep one of these snakes came to him, coiled round him and killed him. Before the snake could swallow him, some men came to the place and killed the snake, but the boy had been dead some minutes before they arrived. They described how this snake attacked anything. It first crawled slowly along the ground till near its prey, or waited in long grass, or in bushes, till some animal or bird came near. When close to the animal it wished to capture, the snake lunged rapidly at it, seized it with its teeth and dragged it to the ground, at the same time coiling round the animal and compressing it in its folds. Even a riet-bok could be thus killed by the snake. The reptile then slowly gorges its prey, and remains torpid many days.
Although this large snake was a terrible creature to look at, it was not as dangerous as several other snakes that were common near our village. The most dangerous of these was the puff-adder, which the Caffres called “m’namba.” This snake I have seen about four feet long, and as thick as a stout arm. It is a sluggish, dull animal, very brilliantly coloured, its body being speckled yellow and black, which makes it look like dead leaves, so that you might tread on it without seeing it, unless you were always on the look-out. This snake has a practice of throwing itself backward and striking with its poisonous fangs anything that is following it. To be bitten by the m’namba is certain death, no case ever having occurred of a man or any cattle having been bitten and having lived after it. Our old rain-maker had some little bits of wood that he called mutt, some of which, he said, would prevent a man from dying when he had been bitten by a snake; but I never heard of a cure by this means. Some of his medicine was, however, wonderful in its effects, as I once experienced. I was very ill and had a bad fever; so old Amanzi came to me and gave me a small pill of wood, which I bit and ate. In a few minutes I broke out in a perspiration, and then went to sleep, and slept for nearly the whole of the sun’s course round the earth (a whole day), and when I woke I was quite well. Caffres are very seldom ill: they eat so little meat, are so much out of doors, and take so much exercise, that they rarely suffer from bad health. The climate also is very healthy, so that the people were strong and robust.
It was about two moons after our expedition against the Bushmen, that I was out one morning with Tembile and Inyoni, on some hills near, in search of riet-bok, when we saw two strange Caffres coming towards us. These Caffres, we knew by the “esikoko” (the ring on the top of their heads), came from the east, near the bay of Natal. Having given them the usual salutation, we said, “Chela pela s’indaba” (“tell us the news”), when they told us that a large herd of elephants was coming down the country, and had done much damage to the corn-gardens of the Caffres on the way, breaking down the fences, eating and treading down the corn. They said there were two bull-elephants, very savage, in the herd, who ran after any man they saw or scented; and that three Caffres, near the Umlass river, had been killed by these elephants.
A herd of elephants visiting a country where the inhabitants are as defenceless as were these Caffres, is a serious matter. Assagies were little or no use against elephants; and if a regular attack was organised against them, in the same manner as we had attacked the buffaloes, we should probably have ten or twenty men killed, and after all not kill the elephant. The corn-gardens, on which we depended for our store of food, might be destroyed; and then there might be, if not starvation, at least great scarcity of grain. So that to prevent the elephants from coming our way was considered most important. There was a great council held the evening after the news was brought; and it was decided that we should send some men towards the east, to find out when the elephants came near us; and on their approach we were to light fires in their track and make noises, so as to try and make them travel in another direction. To turn them back would not have been a proceeding pleasant to the Caffres east of us, but yet we should have liked it, as it would rid us of the animals.
There was nothing talked about during the next week besides the elephants, and I learned much about these animals and their habits from the Caffres. These elephants, I was told, came down the country each year: they did so when the umbrella acacia had its young branches and shoots; for on this tree and several others the elephants fed. In its wild state the elephant lives almost entirely on the branches of trees. These it breaks off with its trunk, eats the smaller branches, and grinds the larger to pieces so as to extract the juice from them. It is at night that the elephant usually travels and feeds: by day, especially if it be very hot, he remains quiet in the bush—so quiet, that you might be within fifty yards of a herd of elephants and not know they were there. If, however, a man disturbs the herd when they are thus at rest, the animals will very likely charge at him, and hunt him through the bush just as a pack of hounds will hunt a fox. At this time of year the elephant bulls, cows, and calves, all keep together; but later on the bulls separate and sometimes travel alone. When thus alone, the bulls are very savage; and if two bulls meet in the bush a terrible battle ensues. The Caffres consider that a bull-elephant is a match for 100 Caffres, and even then the animal may get the best of the fight.
I was much interested in these accounts of the elephants, and began to think how I could manage to kill an elephant; for it was my ambition to do so.
The Caffre name for an elephant is inglovu, and the words inglovu and ama inglovu were frequently heard during the next few days; for the expected arrival of the elephants was a most serious incident in the daily life of these people; and forty moons ago the elephants had suddenly travelled into this country and had destroyed all the crops of the Caffres near this village. It was all done in one night, and on the morning the people discovered that their yearly crop of corn had vanished. The season was too far advanced to sow again; consequently they were compelled to buy corn and to purchase it with cattle. So that their loss had been very severe.
Taking the first opportunity of speaking to Inyati, I inquired what he intended to do in order to protect his fields and gardens. He replied that the only thing to do was to light fires round the gardens, and to assemble and shout. I inquired why he did not dig a great ditch round his gardens; but he replied that it would take too long, and that the elephants could manage to cross almost any ditch that could be dug.
He also told me that sometimes pits had been dug for elephants; and some years ago an elephant fell into one of these pits, and had been helped out by other elephants; so that it was no use attempting anything against them, as they were as clever as men. That night I thought over every plan by which I could kill an elephant, and at length an idea occurred to me; but I kept my thoughts to myself, as I intended to try by myself if I could not kill one of these enormous animals. Great preparations were made by the Caffres for the arrival of the elephants, quantities of dead wood were gathered in heaps in readiness for large fires to be made when the animals approached our gardens. Several pits were also dug and covered with a hurdle, on the top of which earth was thrown and grass carefully laid. These pits were placed in the old paths of the elephants, because it was known that these animals always followed in their old tracks whenever they revisited a country, and though these tracks were overgrown, or obliterated, yet the instinct, or knowledge of locality of the elephants was so great, that they would travel miles through the bush, and then come out into the open at exactly the same place at which they had come out of the bush some thirty or forty moons previously.
The Caffres told me that the elephants did not understand any man getting up into a tree; that if they were chased by an elephant they climbed a tree, and, although this tree was not big enough to place them beyond reach of an elephant, yet the animal never seemed to think of pulling the man out of it, or of pulling down the tree. This information was of great value to me in carrying out a plan that I was forming in my head.
It was about half a moon’s time after we first heard that elephants were coming our way, that we discovered their traces within five miles of our village. There was a marsh about five miles from us, formed by the overflow of one of the rivers, and in this marsh the elephants had rolled in the mud, and had then returned to the bush. In this bush there were several large trees, hung over by creeping plants and very easily climbed. Having followed the track of the elephants into the bush for a short distance, I noticed a tree that was covered with mud about the stem, and as high as I could reach with my assagy. This was caused by the elephants rubbing themselves against the tree after they had rolled in the mud.
Although the elephant is a thick-skinned animal yet he is much worried in hot weather by flies and mosquitoes. So, to escape in some measure from these pests, he rolls in the mud, and this mud sticking to his hide, forms a coating over him, which defends him to some extent from the mosquitoes. When he passes a thick tree he leans against this and rubs himself, and thus rids himself of a portion of the mud, and spreads it more evenly over his body.
Having selected a tree, I thought at first that I would tell Inyati what I intended doing, and would ask him to accompany me when I carried out my plans. On second thoughts, however, it occurred to me that if I were successful and Inyati were with me, I should do everything, but he would get the honour, because he was a man, I only a boy. So I asked Inyoni and Tembile if they would accompany me in an attempt to kill an elephant.
They replied that to go near these elephants was very dangerous, and that perhaps I did not know how very likely I was to be killed, so that they hardly liked to go for fear I was trying to do too much. I said they might trust me, as I had thought a great deal about what was to be done, and that by my plan there would be very little danger.
From information I had gained from the Caffres, I learned that the elephants usually drank every other night, and that unless disturbed they would drink at the same pools of water. I hoped, therefore, that if I climbed the large tree that I before mentioned, I might during the night or early morning, find the elephants under this tree, when I should have a chance of trying my plan upon them.
My plan was as follows:—The Bushmen that I had shot were armed with a bow and two kinds of poisoned arrows. One kind were made of reeds with a bone end, and were used for shooting small game; the other arrows were stronger, and had a barbed iron end, covered with poison. The barbed end fitted into a stout reed out of which it could be easily pulled. The reason for this arrangement was, that if the arrow struck any large animal such as a lion or a buffalo, the lion would scratch at the arrow and pull it out, and the buffalo in rushing through the bush might do the same. If, however, the reed end of the arrow were pulled, or rubbed off from the animal, the barb containing the poison would remain in its body, and so enable this poison to enter the circulation of the animal, and eventually to cause its death.
If I climbed a tree, and the elephants came underneath it, I could fire an arrow into the back of any one I selected, and by this means I hoped to kill one, if not more elephants. I explained all this to Inyoni and Tembile, and they agreed with me that it was a very good plan and likely to succeed. So having obtained the arrows and a bow, we three started for the tree when the sun was two hands’-breadth above the horizon, and was going down. Before we entered the bush we walked in the wettest parts of the marsh, so that our feet and legs might be covered with mud, when we should not leave any scent from our tracks; for the elephant is very keen-scented, and would avoid any place where the scent of a man was strong. These elephants, however, were not much afraid of man, because in this part of the country guns were not used against them, and they were accustomed to see men run away from them. So that the elephants had it all their own way.
We climbed the tree without difficulty, and having broken off the branches that intercepted my view, I seated myself on a stout branch, high enough to be beyond the reach of an elephant’s trunk. Inyoni and Tembile were close beside me, and held the case containing the poisoned arrows. It was nearly full moon, but clouds occasionally made it rather dark in the bush, though not so dark as to prevent me from seeing anything beneath me.
The night came on, and the moon had gone over about half its course, when we heard a branch broken at some distance from us; and shortly after, the bushes made a rustling noise as though a gust of wind had shaken them; and then I saw something white and shining, and around this white object loomed a black mass. I almost immediately recognised the white object as the tusks of an enormous elephant, and the animal itself was the black mass. I took one of my arrows from Tembile, and fitted it to the bow, and waited for this elephant to come close to me. I was acquainted with the elephant in India, and was not surprised to find how quietly it walked in the bush: its steps made no noise, and the only sound audible was the slight rustling of the leaves as the animal moved along through the bush, and an occasional blow through its trunk as it sniffed the air around.
Careful as we had been to cover our feet with mud, still we must have left some scent; for the elephant came on very slowly, blowing through its trunk and shaking its great ears as it listened for some sound. At last it strode forward and came exactly beneath me, and, aiming at its back just clear of the backbone, I discharged one of my arrows with all my force. Immediately the elephant felt the prick of the arrow it gave a sharp cry and moved rapidly forward. It then stood still, listening, and apparently watching for some enemy, but it could not see us in the tree. After a short time it gave another and different cry, and immediately several other elephants, some large, some very small, shuffled along under the tree. One of these was a very large elephant with great tusks, and as it passed I sent an arrow into its back, which caused it to cry out just as the first had done. We counted about forty elephants in the herd, among which were three very large bull-elephants with large tusks. The herd went through the bush to the watering-place in the marsh, but did not return by the same path that they had followed on going to the marsh. So we did not see them as they came back.
As soon as it was light we descended from the tree, and found ourselves very stiff after sitting so long on the branches. After moving about a little we got all right, and then agreed that we should follow the trail of the two elephants that I had hit with my poisoned arrows.
The first thing to be done was to examine the feet-marks of these two elephants. Now the under part of the foot of an elephant is not smooth, but is marked by several small cracks; consequently when the elephant treads on soft ground, it leaves a kind of plan or map of its foot. The plans of no two elephants’ feet are exactly alike, so that when you have once studied the plan of a particular foot, you can recognise the footprint when you see it in another place. It is just the same with the inside of the thumb and top joint of each person’s finger. The grain of the skin makes a sort of pattern, and it rarely happens that this pattern of each finger is the same; and it still more rarely happens that the fingers of two people are alike. Having examined several good impressions of the two elephants’ feet, we went quickly out of the bush, walked along the edge of the marsh, and then entered the bush again at the place where the elephants had re-entered it. It was easy to follow the elephants along the path they had made as they first entered the bush, for along this they walked one after the other; but when we had gone some distance into the bush, we found that the elephants had separated, some going one way, some another. They had also stopped to feed, and had broken off some very large branches from their favourite trees. We now set to work to follow the footprints of the two elephants that I had struck with the arrows. It was very difficult at first, as the ground was very hard, and covered with dead leaves; so that we could not obtain a good impression of the feet for some time, and we were puzzled at first. At length we found an ant-bear’s hole in the ground, and near this the elephants had trodden on the loose earth, and we then recognised the footprints of the largest elephant that I had hit. We followed this elephant very cautiously, for he had separated himself from the others—a sign, as my companions said, that “Inglovu efar” (the elephant was ill), especially as it was evident he had not eaten, there being no branches broken along his track. After following the track during about a quarter of the day, we came so close to the elephant that we could hear him. Sometimes he would make a low rumbling sound, at others he would blow through his trunk, and then knock his tusks against the stem of a tree. All these acts were indications of his being very uneasy, and I hoped the poisoned arrow had begun to do its work. We sat down in the bush listening to the elephant, and ate some of our corn; for I had determined to follow this elephant for days, if possible, in order to find whether he died or lived. The elephant stood quiet in the bush about as long as it took the sun to move ten times its own diameter in the sky, and then it again moved slowly forward, selecting the densest parts of the bush to move through. About every hundred paces it stopped, and remained quiet for a little time, and then moved slowly on again. All these proceedings delighted my Caffre companions, who declared the elephant was very sick. During the whole of the day we followed this elephant, and when the night came we ascended a tree, and slept a little; but as we could hear a leopard calling in the bush, and several bush-pigs were under the tree, we were mostly on the watch. The night was fine, though there was a heavy dew; and though we felt it very cold we did not like to go down on the ground to light a fire for fear of the leopard. As soon as it was light enough to distinguish the tracks, we again followed our elephant. He had travelled during the night, but had gone very slowly; and we saw some marks on the stem of a large tree that showed the elephant had leaned against this, as though he could scarcely stand.
We had moved through the bush very quietly and slowly, stopping every now and then to listen, and also to look all round us; for if we had come on this elephant very suddenly he might have charged us, and, before we could have escaped, he might have caught us and probably killed one of us. Tembile told me that when an elephant caught a man, he pushed him to the ground with his trunk, and then either knelt on him or thrust his tusks into him, and also would push him down and get him between his front and hind feet, and kick him backwards and forwards till he killed him. So, with this description of the elephant’s proceedings, which I afterwards found was quite correct, we thought it best to be very cautious in our approach to the animal.
The sun had risen its highest in the sky, when we sat down to rest and to listen; for we knew that we were close to the elephant, as the footprints were quite fresh. We talked in whispers and avoided any noise, whilst we were on the alert for any sound that should indicate the whereabouts of the elephant. As we sat quietly thus waiting, Inyoni pointed upwards, and gave a grunt of delight: we looked up and saw a vulture slowly circling in the sky and nearly above us. “Elephant going to die,” said Inyoni; “vulture knows it.” We immediately followed on the elephant’s tracks, and, after advancing about two hundred paces, we heard a noise in front of us, and saw the elephant lying on its side, whilst every now and then it swung its trunk about and struck the bushes, thus making the noise we had heard. The elephant was dying, its vast frame overpowered by the subtle poison of the Bushman’s arrow. We kept at a short distance from the animal and watched it, as it gradually got weaker and weaker, and at length lay motionless. We then went close up to it, and found that it really was dead. It was a monster with great tusks as big round as my thigh, and as it lay on the ground it was far higher than I was as I stood up.
“The other elephant must be dead too,” I said, “for I hit that also with an arrow.”
“Yes,” replied my companions, “and we shall find that too: perhaps vultures will show us where it is, if we watch.”
We now agreed that Tembile should go as quickly as he could to our village, and call all the people to come and cut up the elephant, whilst Inyoni and I kept watch near it. So Tembile started off, whilst we who remained agreed to sleep turn and turn about, as we were both very tired.
I had a good sleep, and then Inyoni lay down whilst I kept watch. I could not keep my eyes from the dead elephant which lay a few paces from us. It looked such an enormous creature, that I could hardly believe its death had been caused by so trifling a wound as that given by the small arrow; but the poison used by the Bushmen is powerful beyond belief, and they kill all animals with their arrows.
As I sat listening for any sounds of the approaching Caffres, I heard a slight crack in the bush, then another and a louder crack; and I knew these noises must be caused by elephants, for the Caffres glide through the bush without making any noise. I awoke Inyoni, and we were soon convinced that the elephants were approaching us. My companion was alarmed, as he seemed to think the elephants were hunting us in order to revenge themselves on us. We crept through the bush to a large tree, and climbed this quickly, getting up so high that no elephant could reach us.
We had reached our place of safety, when we saw the first elephant approaching us: this was a cow, and it was following the track of the bull that was now dead. After this cow came about forty other elephants of various sizes. They came along with a sort of shuffling gait, stopping every now and then to listen and sniff the air, and then to move forward again. When they came to the spot where we had sat down, they smelt the ground, and then raising their trunks sniffed all round. Their attention, however, was soon attracted to the dead elephant, which they approached and touched with their trunks, several of them uttering sharp cries as though they wished to wake him. After a few minutes, however, they seemed to know that he was dead, as they moved away from him and stood looking at him, whilst they flapped their great ears and seemed very uneasy. Suddenly, as though suspicious of danger, the large cow-elephant uttered a shrill trumpet and dashed off through the bush, recklessly smashing the small trees and branches in her course. She was followed by the whole herd, and we could hear them as they forced their way through the underwood, the sounds becoming fainter and less audible until all was again quiet.
We remained in our tree, for we could not tell whether more elephants might not come, and on the ground we were in danger. All was quiet, however, for a long time, until we heard the slightest movement of some leaves; and then we saw Tembile, followed by Inyati and all the men and boys of our village. We whistled to them, and, descending the tree, told them what we had seen. We talked in whispers and then went up to the dead elephant and examined it. The reed portion of my arrow had been broken off, but the barb containing the poison was buried deep in the elephant’s flesh, and thus the poison had circulated rapidly and had caused the monster’s death.
Inyati with his assagy at once cut out this barb and a large portion of the flesh round it, and he then said we might safely eat the remainder of the animal, which would not be affected by the poison.
A scene was then commenced which I shall remember to my last day. About twenty Caffres set to work at the elephant, cutting the flesh off, and piling it in heaps near the animal, by the aid of hatchets; the tusks were cut out of the elephant’s jaws, and were so heavy that one man could only just lift one. It took a comparatively short time to cut the animal to pieces, and to take off all its flesh, which was then divided into portions, the boys being given small weights to carry, whilst the men took larger and heavier weights. We then commenced our march through the bush, and before sunset we reached our village, at which we were received with shouts of rejoicing by the old men and females. Notice had been sent to the next village that another elephant was supposed to be dead, and the men of that village had watched the vultures, and had succeeded in finding the second elephant lying dead in the bush, and had cut this one up in the same manner as we had done with the first elephant I had killed. Elephant’s flesh, although tough and unsavoury, is still eaten greedily by the Caffres. They are so fond of their cattle, and like to see a large herd near their kraals, that they will not kill an animal unless on some special occasion, such as a marriage, or a victory; so that a feast of flesh is a rare treat, and there is not usually any complaint about the toughness or want of flavour of the meat. As it was usual to have a great dance and general feast when any such event as slaying an elephant had occurred, invitations were sent to all the kraals near, to invite the neighbours to partake of the elephant’s flesh.
Before the evening on which the feast was to occur, there had assembled nearly all the Caffres from ten miles round. There were some fine fellows among them, several young men six feet high, and as active as leopards, who could run ten miles without stopping, and who could walk from sunrise till sunset without tiring. They all brought their assagies, and shields, as well as their knob-kerries, and were dressed in their dancing dresses.
News was also brought us about the elephants. There was now no fear of their destroying the gardens, as they had again taken up their residence in the forests about Natal. This was good news to all the Caffres about us, and was celebrated by one of the largest dances I had ever seen. There were more than a thousand men assembled, all in full war-costume, each with a shield, a knob-kerrie, and five assagies. They danced and ate, and danced again and ate again, during the whole night. To me was given the honour and glory of having killed the elephants, and I had to enter the centre of the ring of men, and describe and act the whole scene. I told how we climbed the tree; how I heard the elephants coming; how I sent my arrow first into one then into the other elephant; how these elephants paid no attention to so small a thing as an arrow, fired by me, a boy; but how this arrow was stronger than the elephant, and at last killed him. I went through all the movements of creeping through the bush on the track of the elephant, sitting down to listen, and at length seeing the elephant. I then lay on the ground just as did the elephant, and swung my arm about to imitate the movements of the animal’s trunk, and at length died just as did the elephant.
The shouts and dancing after this performance were of the most exciting description, and lasted for a long time. When, suddenly, a very old chief came into the centre of the circle, and raising his arm to command silence, spoke in a loud clear voice words of which the following is a translation:—
“My people, we have been delivered from the elephants; the elephants that have often destroyed our corn, and brought us to starvation. And how have we been delivered? Not by two hundred warriors armed with assagies, many of whom were killed by the elephants; not by digging holes, and the elephants tumbling into them; but there have been two large elephants killed by our white companion who came out of the sea. He alone thought out of his own head how to kill the elephants, and though very young, has the mind of an experienced chief and the courage of a warrior. We have held a council and have decided that he be from this time forth a chief, and that he be called ‘Umkunkinglovu.’ What say you, men?”
A tremendous shout was given by the assembled crowd at the termination of this speech; and then one of the oldest warriors came into the ring, and placed round my neck a necklace made out of leopards’ claws, whilst all the men called out “Inkosi!” The dancing and feasting were then continued till the first sign of daylight appeared, when we all retired to our kraals to rest.
On the following morning I met the old warrior who had put the necklace on me, and sat down talking to him. He was very anxious to hear where I had come from, and was much interested in the accounts I gave him of India. He was puzzled to know how it was possible that our ships found their way over the sea. There were no paths, he said, and the waves were always altering their shape, so that he could not tell how they got on. I told him that the men found their way by the sun and stars, but this he could not comprehend. After some time I asked him to tell me all he knew about his own people, and where they came from. He thought for some time, and then gave me the following account. Spreading his two hands on the ground he lifted the little finger of his left hand and said, “That me.” He then raised the next finger and said, “That my father.” He then raised the next and said, “That his father;” and so he went on, to the thumb of the left hand, giving father after father. “All these lived here,” he said. Then he raised the thumb of his right hand, and said, “That father lived in Zulu country, and quarrelled with great chief there, and came down here.”
“But how did those other fathers live?” I enquired.
He raised four more fingers, and pointing to the last said, “That father live other side of the sun.”
By this, I have since learned that he meant the other side of the equator, or up near Somali.
“That father and all his people have great fight; too many people there, so they come down slowly, and at last live in Zulu country. Those fathers had strange animals that they used to ride on, and which went as fast as an ostrich, but all these died as they came down country.”
I understood from this that he meant his people formerly owned horses.
“Then,” he continued, “we break up, some stop one place, some another—we come here.”
The old chief thus made out ten fathers, and, taking four generations for a hundred, it made out that, about 250 years previously, the Caffres must have resided not far from Nubia.
Two days after our feast all the Caffre visitors had gone home, and we had settled down again to our usual quiet life.
Chapter Seven.
I must now pass over three years of my residence amongst the Caffres; for although I had several adventures with wild animals, and my career was full of interest, yet the events that occurred were very similar to those which I have already related. The free, independent life I led, the perpetual outdoor exercise, and the fine climate, had so agreed with me that I had grown to be quite a young man. I was strong for my age, tall, and very active. There were only two Caffres in the country who could run faster than I could; and although I could not throw an assagy as far as some of the Caffres, yet my aim was good, and several times I had hit a running buck with one of my assagies, when the animal was forty yards from me.
It was at this date that news reached us which caused the greatest alarm. The Zulu country was about three days’ journey from us, that is, about 140 miles. The chief who ruled over the Zulus was named Chaka. He was a man never satisfied unless he was at war with some other tribe; and as he had trained a very large army to fight skilfully, he always gained a victory over those he attacked, and consequently was able to appropriate the cattle of the tribes he had conquered. Of all the chiefs in South Africa none were as powerful, and as much feared as Chaka. For he would not always wait for a cause before he attacked a tribe. It was provocation enough for him if another nation were rich in cattle. He considered that no one ought to be rich but he. So he would assemble his army, often without letting them know what he intended them to do. Then he would march off, and suddenly attack and destroy a tribe who had no suspicion that anything was intended against them.
The Caffres who lived near Natal Bay, and the Umlass river, were always on the alert. For they feared Chaka, and suspected that he would attack them some day.
Our tribe near the Umzimvubu were on very friendly terms with the Caffres near the Umlass, and it was agreed that if Chaka attacked them we should help them, and send as many fighting men as possible to aid them. We knew that if the Caffres near the Umlass were eaten up, it would only be a matter of time before our turn would come. If we allowed Chaka to attack each tribe separately his victory would be easy, but if we joined we should give him some trouble. The probability of Chaka coming down to attack us was a subject often discussed in our kraals, and also the best plan of defence. We knew that we should be outnumbered, and that therefore it would not do to meet his warriors in the open country. We must endeavour, by skill and stratagem, to make up what we wanted in numbers. With this end in view our men were always practising throwing the assagy, and the knob-kerrie, and also constantly running long distances, so as to be in good training. It was fortunate that these precautions had been taken, or our own tribe would have been destroyed.
One day the news was brought us that Chaka was assembling his army, and it was believed that he intended attacking the Caffres near Natal. The news was shouted from hill to hill, and spread rapidly over the country. A council was called, and on the same day that the news had arrived, about five thousand men had assembled near our kraal, each armed with assagies, knob-kerries and shield.
There was a great deal of talking amongst the chiefs, and the plan to be adopted for defence was long and eloquently discussed. It was decided that our little army was to travel at once to near the Umlass river, and join with the people there. The coast near the sea was densely wooded, and in many places was hilly, whilst several rivers twisted about amongst wide reedy banks; and amidst such country we should have a better chance with the Zulus, than we should have in the open country.
Before we started on our journey, I spoke to Inyati, and asked him to let me have twenty men whom I should select, and also that all the guns should be given over to me and my men. I had managed to get possession of a small barrel of gunpowder that had been saved from the wreck, and also some lead. This lead I melted and dropped into water, so as to form small pieces of lead like slugs. I made up nearly a hundred rounds of cartridges, with the aid of small skins cut from buck and other small animals; and with these precautions, I fancied I could do a great deal when it came to a fight. Among those I selected for my little company were Inyoni and Tembile, who I knew would follow me anywhere; in fact all the men I selected had full confidence in me, for never before had any boy (as I really was) done as much as I had.
Our march was commenced on the second day after our council, and we presented a formidable appearance. There were about five thousand men, all fine-looking, active fellows, full of confidence, and, in spite of the formidable reputation of Chaka’s warriors, ready to meet them in battle.
It occupied two days to reach the Umlass river, where we were met by some hundred chiefs, councillors, and head men from the villages near.
The plan that had been adopted for our march was to send on in advance a number of women and boys, each carrying a large basket full of mealies. These were deposited at the end of our first day’s march. The women and boys then collected as much corn as they could procure from the villages near them, and went on another day’s march, so we had plenty to eat on the journey.
The chiefs at the Umlass were very glad to see us, and were quite astonished when they beheld me. They asked all sorts of questions about me, and treated me with the greatest respect. I knew quite well how to behave with the dignity of a chief, and I soon impressed the visitors with my importance. They had heard of the power of my guns, and seemed terribly afraid of them, and looked at them with great awe. I told them that I could easily kill a man at the distance of three throws of an assagy, a statement that Inyati corroborated.
We heard from these chiefs that Chaka might come down upon us any day, and that he would try to surprise us; but that men were on the look-out beyond the Umganie, and runners were placed at various points to convey the news and signal when the enemy came in sight. The army of these Umlass Caffres was concealed in the bush along the coast, and amounted to nearly 8,000 men; whilst the cattle had been driven westward, and concealed in places from which it would be most difficult to drive them.
Our army was placed on a hill west of the Umlass river, which river opens into a wide bay near the mouth; and to attack us on this hill would entail great loss on the enemy.
We lay down to rest after our march, and slept; for it was a practice among these Caffres to sleep as much as possible before any great work, as they seemed to think that men could lay in a stock of sleep which would be of use to them two or three days afterwards. I am inclined to believe that this idea was correct, and that by sleeping a great deal during three or four days, we can go the next three or four days with scarcely any sleep.
The third day after our arrival at the Umlass, runners came from the east bringing the intelligence that the Zulu army, as numerous as a flight of locusts, had crossed the Tugela, and were spreading down the country. Quick as were the movements of this army, the Caffres in the country were equally rapid in their movements, and more than 3,000 men joined us, and several thousand cattle were driven across the Umlass river, and secreted in the bushy country to the west of it.
Umnini, a chief who lived near the head of Natal Bay, had the chief command of the whole army, whilst Inyati had command of the men who came from the Umzimvubu district. There had been several consultations between Umnini, Inyati, and other chiefs, as to the best method of defending the country, and a plan was arranged which was well thought out and carefully planned.
The course which it was thought the Zulus would follow, was on the open country about five miles from the coast; they must, however, pass through a portion of the bush near the Umbilo river at the head of Natal Bay, and it was here that our attack was to be made. Our plan was, to allow a certain portion of the army to pass through the bush; then to dash in, and separate this portion from the main body; keep the main body at bay whilst our men attacked those who had passed into the open beyond the bush.
During the various walks I had taken about the country, I had discovered a place that I at once selected as one suitable for my small party of twenty, in case we had to make a stand. It was a solid piece of ground like a rocky island in the middle of a large vlei or marsh. The marsh consisted of water and soft mud, so deep that a man would sink nearly to his shoulders in the mud. The island was surrounded by this mud for nearly 100 yards, and so was beyond the cast of an assagy. To secure a pathway to this island, I employed my men in cutting branches of trees and placing these in a line from the firm ground across the marsh to the island. It required a great many branches; but we worked hard, and at length made a foundation on which we could get to the island without sinking above our ankles. We had intelligence of the movements of the Zulu army, and knew just where they were each hour of the day; but our own army kept so carefully concealed, that not a man could be seen.
The Zulus evidently thought they were not likely to meet much opposition, and did not take the precaution of sending forward small parties to examine the ground in front, and feel for their enemies; so we hoped to surprise them.
All our arrangements were made to attack the Zulus when they had crossed the Umbilo river, which they did shortly after daybreak. They marched on, singing war-songs, and beating their shields, and entered the bush country; and when about 2,000 were out in the open beyond, about a thousand of our warriors rushed on the line, cut it in two; and half the party facing about, prevented those who had passed from retreating, whilst those who had been stopped found themselves unable to advance. With a shout that could be heard for miles, 5,000 of our warriors rushed out from their concealment and closed with the Zulus in the open. In spite of their discipline and training, the Zulus, thus overmatched, were soon broken and their slain covered the ground. The loss on our side in this encounter was small, though several men were wounded. In the meantime the fight in the bush-path was severe: not more than four or five men could stand abreast, so the numbers on the side of the Zulus were no great advantage. Our object was to prevent those behind from helping the party we had cut off in front. In a battle it is impossible for one person to describe what takes place in all parts of the field, so I will now confine my description to what occurred to my own party.
I believed that the Zulus were not acquainted with the fact that we had any firearms with us; and, consequently, that they would be much surprised when they heard the report of our guns, and saw the effect of our shot. I believed that, instead of beginning to fire at the early part of the battle, it would produce more effect if I waited until some critical period, and when, perhaps, our own side might require some special assistance. I had not very long to wait for such an event, as a large party of the Zulus had worked their way through the bush, and had formed up so as to attack our forces in rear, and at the time when they were broken and scattered after their victory over the two thousand Zulus. Seeing this party assembled, I called on my men to follow me, and ran down to within about two assagies’-cast from them. They awaited my coming, looking surprised to see so small a party attempt so daring a proceeding as to approach so close to them. Suddenly giving the word to my men, we turned and ran towards our island in the marsh, as though we were afraid. The result was just what I expected—the Zulus came full speed after us. All my men were splendid runners, so we reached our causeway and were on the island before a single Zulu had arrived at the edge of the marsh. The Zulus were not aware how soft and deep the mud was, nor did they know that the narrow causeway we had made was the only means of reaching the island; consequently several hundreds rushed into the vlei and were completely pounded, unable to advance or retreat. One of their leading chiefs, however, had seen where we had run across the vlei; so, assembling his men, he came over the causeway at a run, followed by some two hundred men. I allowed him to come almost within an assagy-throw’s distance, and then, aiming carefully with my gun, I shot him dead. Four or five other shots were fired by the men with me, and as many men fell dead. The result was that a panic seized these men, and they retreated; but our own people had now formed up, and were charging on the Zulus, and a terrible slaughter ensued. The men in the vlei were knocked on the head with stones or knob-kerries, and a second disaster befell the Zulu army. In the meantime, the Umlass Caffres, led by Umnini, had driven back a large force of Zulus, which had attempted to work round outside the bush and to outflank us. These men retreating, as also the few who had escaped from the first attack, led to a general rush among the Zulu army, who were not certain but what they might be attacked by a much larger force than their own. They knew they had been surprised, and they saw that our plans had been well arranged. This, together with the fact that our people possessed firearms, spread such alarm that they could not be made to attempt another attack. Our people followed up the retreat as far as the Umganie river, killing a large number more of the Zulus—and our victory was complete.
That night we had a great dance and a great feast, amidst which songs were sung descriptive of our various deeds during the day. We had placed our spies at different commanding positions, so as to give early intelligence in case the Zulu army recovered itself and again attacked us; but they did not attempt to do so, for they had captured several cattle up the country, which they drove into Zululand and claimed a victory over us. We heard that our tribe was the only one that had ever been able to stand against the Zulu army.
We had not gained our victory without loss, for the part of the Zulu army that we had cut off, although outnumbered, yet fought well, and killed more than two hundred of our men, whilst five or six hundred were wounded. The rapidity with which the wounded recovered was marvellous—a result due, I suppose, to their having lived almost entirely on vegetables and milk, and always being out in the open air.
Although there was much rejoicing on our return, there were also laments, because some of our bravest young men had been killed, and their relatives showed just as much regret at their loss as do the English when they lose a friend.
The scenes through which I had passed during my residence among these Caffres, had produced upon me the same effects as though I had lived three or four times as long. Although I was at an age when English boys are engrossed with tops, hoops, and marbles, and look upon a performance at football or cricket as something to make a boy famous, yet I had trapped a leopard, had killed an elephant and had now been engaged in a desperate fight and had aided to win the victory. These stern realities had aged me, and I felt confidence now both in myself and in the weapons I could use: I sat in the circle with the warriors, and had, after the battle, spoken before the assembled people. With the Intombis (young girls) I was a great favourite, and as some of these were very pretty, I liked to sit talking with them.
The life I now led was such as any boy might envy. I cannot imagine any of the pastimes, amusements, or excitements of civilisation that can compare with that which can be obtained in a life of nature. In the first place the climate was very good, never very cold and never very hot. Rains occurred in the autumn, but they were soon over and my kraal kept me dry. I had now several cows which supplied me with milk, ubisi, sweet fresh milk, and amasi, sour milk (like junket), which I preferred. What are now called mealies (Indian corn) were also plentiful, so that there was no want of food. These mealies we used to bury in large holes near our kraals. The holes were dug about ten feet deep, and about six feet in diameter. A fire was then lighted at the bottom, and from time to time we plastered the sides with mud, and then dried this with more fire, and so made a hard and dry hole; we buried the mealies in this and then arched the top of the hole by means of hurdles and turf, so that the water when it rained ran off the sort of roof: our mealies then kept dry and could be dug out when required. By means of various traps and snares that I set, I had caught several buck in the bush, and also some guinea-fowl. I clipped the wings of the guinea-fowl and kept them in an enclosure I had made of reeds, and now they had become quite tame, and I always had plenty of guinea-fowls’ eggs. Quail, too, used to come to this country in thousands during the autumn, and these we used to knock over with our knob-kerries. I had got quite accustomed to the absence of clothing; in fact, even now, I often feel uncomfortable and in a kind of prison when I have clothes on. I had killed several monkeys, out of the skins of which I had made myself tails to wear round my waist, and also round my neck. When the sun was very hot I carried some large banana leaves, which protected my head from the sun, and served as a parasol. Now, considering that I had no want of food, had nothing to do which I did not like, could go out hunting whenever I chose, was not bothered as boys are in civilised lands, I ought to have been very happy. I was happy; but I could not get over the feeling that I was away from my people, that my father must think I was dead, and my uncle, who intended being so kind to me, must also have given me up as lost. The ship in which I had embarked at Calcutta would be put down as one among the many “not since heard of.” I saw no chance, however, of ever again rejoining my relations; and, though I thought frequently of every possible chance of doing so, I could see no likely means of success. These Caffres had spared my life and taken me among them as one of themselves. They had behaved well and kindly to me, had rewarded me fairly for what I had done, and gave me the rank of a chief. If I eventually rose to be the paramount chief in this country I should be a king in a way: I should have the power of life and death over my subjects, and I thought I might be able to teach them many things which they now were ignorant of. When, however, I thought of their laws and customs I found it difficult to imagine what I should teach them to make them better than they were. I knew very little about religion, and did not feel equal to trying to teach it, because the chiefs were always reasoning about things that were told them, and did not understand believing things on faith.
There was one subject that I was anxious to speak to these chiefs about, but had always felt some hesitation. Now, however, I determined to inquire from them why they had killed all the sailors and men who had been shipwrecked. For, although these Caffres were warlike people, yet I knew they were just, according to their reasoning, and would not kill men in cold blood, unless with some end in view.
One evening I was sitting in my kraal, grinding down some nails to make points for some arrows, when an old chief named Inguana came to my hut and sat down beside me. After some conversation I asked him why his people killed the white men who were wrecked. He then told me that some years ago a ship came to nearly the same place, and about forty men landed and made friends with the Caffres, and stopped some days. At length they prevailed on several men and women to go on board the ship and kept them there; they then came again on shore and gave many men something to drink which made them insensible. These men they carried in boats to their ships: some men woke and resisted, and they were shot. Then the ship went away, and the Caffres never saw their friends again. So when they saw the men on shore from my ship, they feared them and thought similar acts would be committed; so, keeping a watch, they caught them asleep and assagied them. The proceedings of the former visitors showed they were slave-catchers, and thus their acts caused the death of the poor sailors who had escaped from shipwreck. Similar proceedings often happen in various parts of the world; some white men behave badly to the so-called savages, and then harmless visitors suffer for the acts of these rascals. From what I had seen of these Umzimvubu Caffres, I did not believe they would kill white men without a cause, so I was glad I had been able to hear why they had slaughtered the sailors. The Caffres themselves thought that the sailors were probably the same as those who had carried off their relatives, and so determined to surprise them before they had an opportunity of taking any more prisoners. When I told them that the men they had killed were harmless and in distress, they really seemed sorry for their acts.
Chapter Eight.
One of the Zulu chiefs who had been killed in our battle near Natal had a headdress of ostrich-feathers. This headdress was considered a great curiosity, and our principal chiefs divided these feathers amongst them, and on great occasions wore them in their head-rings. I heard that, on the plains under the Quathlamba Mountains, ostriches were to be found; so I was anxious to make an expedition there, in order to try and shoot or trap these birds, and so procure a large supply of feathers. On talking this matter over with the chiefs, they told me I must take a large party with me, as Bushmen were numerous there, and it would be dangerous to visit that country unless well-armed and in numbers. I, however, told the chiefs that three or four of us armed with guns were a match for any number of Bushmen. This statement the chiefs did not deny, but they said that if the Bushmen crept on us at night, they might hit us with their poisoned arrows, whilst we could not see them. I answered, however, that sport without some danger was only fitted for women, and that I had already proved that I could take care of myself.
After a very long talk it was agreed that I, with twenty men whom I should select, were to journey up country, and try our luck against the ostriches. I chose the best men with whom I was acquainted, and also my two young Caffre friends. We carried five guns with us and about twenty rounds of ammunition each. So that we were a formidable party as regards strength, though few in number. Our daily journeys must have been about thirty miles, as we walked from sunrise to sunset, and very quickly. We had no want of food, for there were plenty of antelope in this country, and we used to spoor these, to where they had lain down in the reeds or long grass; we then surrounded the spot where they were concealed, and closed in on them; when they jumped up to make off, we either assagied them, or knocked them over with our knob-kerries.
After eight days’ walking we came to the plains where we expected to find ostriches, and I now made use of my glasses to scan the country round. There was plenty of game in these plains, herds of the impovu (elands) and other animals, and water was also plentiful, as numbers of small streams flowed from the ravines of the Quathlamba into the plains, south and south-east of them. So that we considered this country very suitable for kraals, as there was plenty of grass for cattle and the soil was well-suited for growing corn.
We worked our way over these plains till we came to the rising ground at the foot of the mountains, which we ascended, and could then obtain a good view of the surrounding country.
As we were sitting on the rocks looking in various directions, we heard a noise above us, and saw a large rock rolling and bounding down towards us. Instantly we jumped behind rocks and so protected ourselves, and the rolling rock bounded over our heads. On looking up we saw two Bushmen standing on some crags about 150 yards from us: it was these men who had loosened the rock, in order, if possible, to crush some of us. They shrieked at us, and shook their fists as if defying us; they thought themselves safe, as they were far more active on the rocks than Caffres, and could easily keep out of assagy-range; but they little knew how we were armed, for they had probably never heard the report even of a gun. Resting my gun against a rock, I took a steady aim at the Bushman and fired. The man instantly fell, rose again, and waved his arms, and then dropped dead. His companion instantly bounded off up the mountains as fast and as active as a klipspringer.
We ran up the rocks to where this Bushman lay, and the Caffres drove their assagies into him to make sure he was not shamming; he was, however, quite dead. On looking round we saw a well-worn path leading to what appeared a solid wall of rock. On approaching the rock we found a hollow which had been scooped out and formed into a cave, and this was evidently the Bushmen’s home. On entering this cave we were surprised at the multitude of things inside. There was a lion’s skin, and a necklace formed out of his teeth, two more formed out of his claws; three leopards’ skins; several skins of elands, which were arranged so as to form a bed. In one corner were about a hundred ostriche’s feathers, whilst nearly a dozen ostriche’s eggs filled with water were round the cave. There was also plenty of dried meat, evidently eland’s flesh, and a number of poisoned arrows. Here then we had come on a treasure, for the leopard-skins and the necklaces, were much valued among our tribes. All the animals whose skins had been found in this cave, must have been killed by the Bushmen with their poisoned arrows, showing how daring and skilful these men are with their tiny weapons, for to kill a lion they must have come to within at least forty paces of him. We secured all these articles, and then called a council of war to decide whether we should stop in this country in order to kill ostriches or return with what we had obtained. We at length decided to return; for we had seen no ostriches, and as they are the most keen-sighted and fastest of animals, we might wait many days before we even saw one. Eland, however, were plentiful, and we saw a large herd of them on the plains; so we divided our party into four divisions—three of these were to go round on the opposite side of the elands, whilst those of the fourth party, who had guns, were to lie concealed by some rocks, and the herd was to be driven up to us. Our plan succeeded well, and the herd came to within about an assagy’s-throw of us before they knew of our presence; so that we fired each two shots before they got out of range, killing three elands. This supplied us with plenty of meat; so we had a great feast, and dried enough flesh to last us on our journey back.
On our return to our kraals we were received like heroes who had won a great battle. Our feathers were the envy of the whole tribe, so I gave several to the various chiefs, and it was agreed that a chief might wear as many as he liked, the head man of a kraal might wear only one, and no lower man might wear any. We thus made a division in the rank of men, which is of great importance even with men as uncivilised as were these Caffres.
Among the men at our kraal there was one called Ebomvu, because his skin was redder than most Caffres. He was the Rain-maker of the tribe, and was much feared, because he was considered a wizard. Now the power which these wizards had was very great. They were believed by most of the men in the tribe to be able to foretell events, to produce rain in time of drought, to tell who had bewitched cattle, or men, and made them ill, and they used this power very often to get rid of any person who was not agreeable to them. The Rain-maker was a dangerous man, and I had soon learnt that, unless I was friendly with him, he might proclaim that I had bewitched somebody, and then probably all the power of my friends could not save me from being killed.
I saw one case where an old man who had made an enemy of the Rain-maker, was killed by the people, and as the proceedings then adopted were similar to those usually practised, I will give a description of what occurred.
A cow belonging to the head man of a neighbouring kraal died during the night. There was no doubt in my mind, on looking at the animal, that it had died from the bite of a snake, probably the m’namba umculu, or great puff-adder. Ebomvu, however, told the owner that the cow had been bewitched by some enemy who wanted to serve him an ill turn, and that this enemy he would smell out. In two days after the cow’s death Ebomvu commenced his proceedings. He assembled all the principal men of the kraal, and also those of the kraals near; and then, entering the cattle enclosure, went to the spot where the cow had died, and told the men to dig. Several men set to work digging up the ground, and discovered the end of a cow’s horn, on which was scratched a mark like a cow’s head. Ebomvu seized this and smelt it, shouting, “Nuka, Nuka” (“It stinks.”) He then moved slowly out of the kraal, holding the horn in front of him, and going first in one direction, then in another, until he reached the huts where the old man lived to whom he was an enemy. Here he went on the ground and crawled on like a dog, smelling the ground like a hound. He entered the hut of the old man, and pointing to a corner told the men to dig there. They turned up the ground, and found a horn just the same size and shape, as that which they had discovered in the cattle enclosure, and on this horn were the same marks as those on the horn first found. This was considered positive evidence that the cow had died from being bewitched. So a council of all the chiefs was called, and the case was tried. The evidence of the finding of the two pieces of horn was given, and on being examined the same marks were seen on each. So the old man was ordered to pay a fine of five cows to the man whose cow had died, and five cows to the chief himself. Had it been a man who had died instead of a cow, the old man himself would have been killed, and all his cattle taken by the chief.
I was much afraid lest the wizard should accuse me of “tagata,” as they called witchcraft, so I always made friends with him, and gave him presents, and used to sit and talk with him whenever I could. I gave him several fine ostrich-feathers, with which he was much pleased, and he told me I should some day be the great chief of this district.
Chapter Nine.
Shortly after my trip in search of the ostrich-feathers, an event occurred which obliged our people to call a meeting of the whole tribe. There came to our country some Caffres belonging to the tribes which lived west of us, and on the banks of the Kei river. These tribes were the Amakosa, the Amaponda, and others. Beyond them were the white men, consisting of the English, called the Umlungos, and the Amabores, as the Dutch farmers were called by the Caffres.
Between these white people and the Amakosa, there had been a sort of war going on for some months. The Caffres had been unable to resist the temptation of seeing fine fat cattle grazing near them, and but carelessly watched. The young Caffres especially were excited by such sights, because many of these wished to purchase a wife, and as the price demanded for a wife was ten cows, they were unable to buy the girl they were fond of. If, however, they could manage to drive off ten cows from the white men they might purchase a wife at once. Now in India, I remembered, it was just the reverse: there a father had to give a large sum of money to get his daughter married, so that a man who had several daughters was simply ruined in consequence of the money he had to give for his daughters to get husbands. Consequently, in India it became a general practice to kill female children as soon as they were born, as a matter of economy; whereas here, in South Africa, female children were a source of wealth to their fathers.
When the white men found their cattle had been stolen, they formed a party and started on the spoor, and if they caught the Caffres who had stolen them they shot them as if they were hyaenas. Fights consequently took place between the Amakosa and the white men, and several had been killed on both sides. These events led to war being declared against the Amakosa by the English, and this war had just commenced when the visitors came to our country.
All the principal men of our tribe having been assembled, we formed a large circle about four deep on some open ground near my hut. We sat down close together and remained silent whilst the two Amakosa stood in the middle of the ring to address us, which they did in the following manner:—
“Chiefs of the Umzimvubu!—We come as speakers from the Amakosa, to ask you to help us against the white man. We have lived for many generations on the banks of the Kei and in the Amatola Mountains. We once owned the land down to the Great Fish River; the Fingoes were our slaves, the Hottentots were afraid of us. The white man has now come, and on small pretences has taken our land, and made us give them hundreds of cattle. Our young men have been shot down like dogs; but at last we have quivered the assagy in our defence, and in our bush and in our mountains we are strong. We want your aid in two ways: first, to let your young men join us; and, secondly, that you will let us drive our cattle into your country, so that the white man cannot capture them. For this we will pay you cattle, giving you one in every ten. Your men are brave, and can fight as we heard they did against the Amazulu. If we are eaten up, the white man will soon come to your country; so we are a strong fence against them, and you should help to strengthen that fence. I have spoken as our chiefs have told me.”
The two Amakosa then moved from the centre of the circle and sat down among our chiefs. There was a silence of several minutes, during which each of the intending speakers was reflecting on what had been said. That we should receive one in ten of the cattle that we took care of was a tempting offer to many, whilst several of the young men were pleased at the idea of encountering the white man, and showing their bravery. I crept round the circle to where Ebomvu the Rain-maker was sitting, and whispered to him, “What do you think of this?” He replied, “I have not yet obtained the right thought!” I said, “The white men have all guns; they are in thousands; and if we join the Amakosa, they may come and attack us, and then, would the Amakosa help us?” Ebomvu nodded, and took a large pinch of snuff; and then, seeing that no chief came forward, he walked into the centre of the ring, and stretching out his arm addressed the chiefs.
Since that time I have heard among civilised nations many so-called orators, but I can fairly state that I never heard greater eloquence than I did from Ebomvu.
He said: “Men of the Umzimvubu!—Our visitors from the Amakosa have asked us to help them against the white man, who is encroaching on them. They also ask us to take care of their cattle, so that the white man, if he enters the Kloofs of the Amatola, may not carry off their cattle. They tell us that it is to our advantage to join them against the white man; for otherwise the white man will soon push against us. And if we take care of their cattle they will give us one out of ten. Now when anything is done between two tribes it is done because of friendship and brotherhood, or because of trading one with the other. Although we are friendly with the Amakosa, yet they have not treated us like brothers. They have been hard with us in trade: the knives, spearheads, and other things they obtained from the white man, they would not part with to us except for high prices. So we must look at this matter as trade, and I cannot see that we gain much advantage by sending our young men to be shot down by the whites. We should be fighting for the Amakosa; and we are asked to do this because, perhaps, by-and-by, the white man may want to fight with us. So we are asked to do now what would be very bad for us if we had to do it by-and-by. Then we are to protect the Amakosa cattle, and to receive as reward just one in ten. This is not enough: the Amakosa are hard at a bargain, and I think we are required to give much and receive but little.”
Ebomvu then sat down again among the principal men, a murmur of “Di’a vuma nawe” (“I agree with you”) being uttered by the older chiefs, whilst loud cries of “Hi, Hi, musa” were uttered by the younger men.
After a little delay a young chief, who had fought well against the Amazulu, stepped into the centre of the circle, and raising his shield and assagies, said, “Listen to me, men of the Umzimvubu. I am for war. I think we ought not to sit down like boys or women, and let our friends, the Amakosa, fight alone. We are strong and we know how to fight. If we join the Amakosa we shall share in the spoil; we must have our share of the cattle, of the guns captured, and we may also procure some of those animals on which men ride. Shall our tribe be termed a tribe of cowards? I say, let us join the Amakosa, and dip our assagies in the blood of the white man.”
A tremendous shout was given at the termination of this address; and it was evident that, as far as numbers went, there were more in favour of war than there were against it. This was an example of what took place among civilised nations. If the majority of an assembly are emotional rather than intellectual, a man who appeals to the emotions gains more adherents than the speaker who talks sound sense. Consequently, when another young chief spoke in favour of war, it was decided that we should join the Amakosa and fight the white man.
What I was to do I did not know. I felt that, although I had become a regular Caffre in habits and thoughts, yet I was an Englishman; and if I fired and killed a white man, I should be guilty of murder. I thought a great deal about this matter; for though I had nothing to complain of in my present life, yet I longed to see my father again, and to let him know I was not dead. I knew that, lost as was the ship in which I had left Calcutta, there would be no records of her ever found. I alone could tell the tale, for the ladies who had been saved had become the wives of Caffres, and they told me that now they must live and die as they were, and could never again return to civilisation.
I had great doubts whether the life I now led was not the one which most men in cities toiled for all their lives. Boy as I was, yet I had rank, I was a chief; I had cattle, the great wealth in this land; I had a gun and ammunition; I had always plenty to eat; I wanted no clothes, I could wrap myself in an ingubu (blanket or kaross) made of jackals’ skins, which kept me warm in the cold nights; I had no work to do that I didn’t like. There was plenty of game to shoot or trap; and, except during a short rainy season, the climate was as fine as any in the world. What more pleasant life than this could I lead anywhere? In England I should be at a school, having to learn a lot of things in which I took no interest; perhaps, if I did not work properly, I might be caned, I, who was now a chief, and if any man struck me should probably use my assagy against him. There were two sides to the question of returning to civilisation. I had read also that my uncle passed seven or eight hours a day in a dark office in London, in a place crowded round by other houses, so that you could scarcely see the sun, and where there were so many men that you scarcely ever breathed anything but second-hand air. Still, there was the longing always coming over me to see my father, and to tell him that I was happy, and if he did not mind I should prefer remaining where I was. But the war-spirit had broken out, and every one, even to the smallest intombi (girl) was dancing about, singing war-songs. As was the custom with these tribes, a great war-dance was arranged; all the fighting men, in full war-dress, assembled from miles round. We mustered more than five thousand fighting men, besides about three thousand boys able to throw an assagy, and assist at critical moments, when the enemy were broken or too powerful at any particular point.
I shall always remember the war-dance which now took place; it was a sight only to be seen in the wilderness, and where civilisation has made no progress. The men assembled formed a ring three and four deep, and sat quietly on the ground for more than an hour, each with his shield in front of him. At a given signal we all started to our feet, with a shout; then, imitating the movements of an old chief who entered the centre of the ring, we beat the ground, first with one foot, then with the other; then, jumping in the air, came to the ground with both feet at once, making the earth shake as we did so. After we had continued these proceedings for some time, a young bull was brought into the ring and turned loose, three young chiefs entering at the same time. They shouted and beat their shields, so as to alarm the bull, and then closed on him, hurling their assagies at him. The animal soon became savage and charged at the young chiefs, and a regular bullfight occurred; but so active were the Caffres, and so well did they back one another up, that in a few minutes the bull was so terribly wounded by assagies that it sank to the ground and died.
Four bulls were killed in the same manner and by different sets of young chiefs, the circle of warriors all the time singing their war-songs and dancing and beating their shields. During two days these festivities were kept up, and then the leading chiefs met in council to decide upon the plan of operations. I soon began to observe that several of the chiefs regarded me in a manner different from that in which they had formerly done. They were not unfriendly, but they were silent; and I feared that some enemy had been at work who was jealous of my rise and progress. I was rich for so young a chief, as I now possessed fourteen cows and several calves; but I did not think I was rich enough to be accused of witchcraft, and my cows taken from me. I had but to wait a few days before I learned why this change in manners had taken place. One evening an old chief sent for me to his kraal for a kaluma (talk), and on my entering his hut I found two other chiefs there. They offered me snuff, and Itchuala, and then the old chief said:—
“Umkunkinglovu! we know you are brave and can fight well, and we should have liked you to lead a division of our men; but we have thought that, as you, although a Caffre at heart, are still white, you might not like to fight against white men. We don’t know about white men; we don’t know who are friends, and who enemies. We, the Umzimvubu, fight against the Amazulu, though we are both black. Do you white men ever fight one against the other?”
“Yes,” I replied, “when nations like your great tribes disagree they fight.”
“Then are the people at war with the Amakosa of your tribe?”
“Yes, they are.”
“Then you would not like to fight against them?”
“No; I should be a rascal to do so.”
“We thought it might be so,” said the old chief, “so we are going to leave you in charge of the tribe, to take care of the cows and the young people, until we return.”
“I should like to speak about this war,” I said; “may I?”
A nod was the only answer.
“This war,” I said, “will probably bring great trouble to the tribe. You have been misled by the Amakosa; for the white men against whom you are fighting are powerful, and if they require them can bring ten men to your one. You with assagies only cannot defeat them, for they are all armed with guns, and are good shots. They can wear you out; for they can destroy your crops of corn, and capture your cattle, or worry them so that they cannot feed. You have little to gain, and all to lose. Why do you go on this expedition?”
The three chiefs sat silent for a few minutes, and then the elder said, “We believe the Amakosa. Their chiefs say the white men are not numerous, and are very slow—that in spite of their guns, which are not much use in the bush, the assagy has gained the victory; unless we fight the white man, he will march on and will soon want our country, and we shall be wiped out. We are now bound by promise to fight, so it is no use now thinking any more about it. Besides, the Amakosa tell us that the white men employed to fight are not allowed to fight as they like or could, but are bound up with straps and tight clothes, and are made to wear red blankets round their bodies, so as to be easily seen and therefore easily shot. They have to carry a number of things also, which prevent them from running fast, and tires them when they walk. So an Amakosa warrior feels he is better able to fight than a white soldier, who cannot move through the bush, as the thorns hold him by his clothes; so that he cannot shoot, and is easily assagied.”
I endeavoured to convince these chiefs that it was no use fighting against the English; but they listened patiently, and then said that, when I left my friends the whites, I was too young to be able to judge correctly of numbers and strength, and that I should see them return with many guns and plenty of cattle.
Chapter Ten.
Nearly all our fighting men had left our country, whilst I remained with the very old men, the young boys and the women. I did not like remaining inactive in this, way, yet I could not have fought against my own people. I felt very dull and lonely; so took my gun and wandered in the bush, following the old elephant-paths, and looking out for a buck or a leopard. Left to myself, I was accustomed to sit in the bush for hours, meditating on my past life, and on my probable future. Lately, a strange longing had come over me to return to civilisation. The novelty of my wild life had worn off, and the Caffres were not the companions to me that they had been when I was younger. Their aims and ambitions were limited. To eat abundance of meat, to possess abundance of cattle, to have four or five wives, was the looked-for happiness of the men. Anything that required mental exertion they seemed incapable of. They could with difficulty count beyond ten; they knew nothing about other countries, or the habits of other nations. They believed the Zulus the most powerful nation in the whole world, whilst the whites they regarded as foolish people with wrong ideas.
Reflecting on my condition, I began to consider how I could make my escape from the Caffres, and rejoin my own people. I knew that if I could reach England I could make myself known to my relatives, could communicate with my father, and should have fair prospects even if I returned to India. This was quite a change in my ideas, from what I fancied some months previously; but solitude seemed to have given me a clearer view of things as they really were, and I now thought over every plan by which it might be possible to reach some English settlement, make myself known, and thus be enabled to rejoin my relatives.
Several days passed, during which I scarcely spoke to any of the Caffres. I felt depressed and out of spirits—perhaps a presentiment of what was coming. I had received no news of the army that had gone to join with the Amakosa against the British soldiers, and so could not learn whether or not they had been victorious. Half a moon had passed since the army left, and the old men began to be anxious for news; still none came.
It was early morning, the sun not having appeared, that, as I lay rolled in my jackal-skin kaross in my hut, I heard the voices of men in my kraal. These voices were low, and subdued. Thinking it was our warriors who had returned, I jumped up and crawled out of my hut. It was not yet light enough to see clearly any objects except they were very near; but before I could rise on my feet, I received a blow on my head, which stunned me, and knew no more till I came to my senses, when the sun was nearly overhead. I then saw a sight which astonished me. Seated in our kraal were more than a hundred Zulu warriors, watching a fire at which one of our young bulls was being roasted. They were all in full war-costume, and I saw that many of their assagies were stained with blood. I tried to rise, but found that my hands and legs were tied, and that I could not move. The Zulus, seeing I was sensible again, called to a chief who was sitting at a distance, and pointed to me attentively, and then said—
“Who are you?”
“I am an Umlungo who has been kept among these people,” I replied, “and they have made me a chief.”
“Where do you come from?”
“I came in a ship which was wrecked on the coast; all the men were killed except me.”
“When do you expect your men to return?”
“I don’t know; they have gone to fight with the Amakosa against my people.”
“Why did they not take you?”
“I could not fight against my own tribe.” The chief waited for a short time, looking at me attentively, and then said, “You will return with us; attempt to escape, and twenty assagies will be in your body.” He then turned away, and walked to his seat outside the circle.
I was struck with the dignity and manner of this chief. He seemed one born to command, to be self-possessed, calm, and decided. He walked like a chief, and I could easily understand how it was that the Zulus were so powerful if they possessed many men like this one. I felt being tied, as it was very painful. So I spoke to one of the men near me, and said that, if the chief would unfasten my arms and legs, I would promise not to attempt to escape; but if I remained tied, I should not be able to move when they did unbind me. The Zulu carried my message to the chief, who nodded, and the young Zulu came and unbound me. I rose to my feet, but felt very sick and giddy from the blow I had received from the knob-kerrie on my head, and was obliged to sit down again. The chief then called me, and I went over to where he sat, and he asked me if I was hurt. I pointed to a lump on my head where I had been hit. He felt my head, and said, “That is nothing.” He then inquired how many guns had been taken by the warriors who had gone with the Amakosa.
I told him eight; and, thinking it better to deal fairly with him, I told him that in the thatch of my hut there was my gun.
He immediately sent a man into my hut to search, and shortly my gun was brought out. The chief examined this carefully—a gun was evidently new to him—and I explained how it was loaded and fired. He was much interested in all I said. So, being anxious to gain his favour, I told him there was something else more wonderful still that I could show him. He told me to bring whatever it was. So I brought him my field-glasses, and, adjusting them for a long sight, I placed them in his hands, and told him to look at some cows about half a mile off. He raised them to his eyes, and instantly started back with astonishment. He examined them carefully, and seemed more surprised as he looked again through them. I then made him look through the glasses the opposite way, viz., through the large glasses, and to look down at his feet. His legs then appeared about twenty feet long, and he was more astonished with this than even with the fact that distant objects were brought nearer by the aid of the glass. He called several of his men to look through the glass, and laughed at their surprise.
The chief now told me that I was to return with them to the Zulu country, when they drove off our cattle. He made no secret of how he came here. He said that an impi, or army, had been sent against some of the Basutos; that when they were returning they heard that all our men had gone with the Amakosa to the westward. So they came down to our country to take some cattle and carry off some of the young girls, and that on the morrow they intended to start on their return journey. I found they had killed several of our old men, but as there was no one to resist them, they had easily gathered together the cattle they required.
On the following morning we started on our journey, and I found that over a thousand men had come down to our country, whilst the main body of the army were up to the north-east and numbered several thousand. With the exception of the women, I was the only prisoner they had taken. The Zulus rarely take prisoners, they kill their enemy; but, seeing that I was white, and therefore not a Caffre, they had spared me.
Our march was carefully made. About half a mile in front some dozen men, who were good runners, kept a look-out, and signalled to us every now and then to let us know that all was right and no enemy near. We had about a hundred cows and young bulls with us, which were driven along in our midst. Not a boy or female of our tribe was visible: they had all retreated to the bush and concealed themselves. The kraals were empty and most of them burnt. I felt very sorry for my old companions, though they had gone to fight against the English. It seemed, however, like a punishment to them, to be thus attacked at home when there was no reason why they should go out and fight against those who had never done them any harm.
Our march was first nearly northwards, till we came near the Quathlamba Mountains. We then went east, crossed the Umzinyati river and the Tugela, and entered the Zulu country.
I was surprised at the number of cattle I saw in the Zulu country. Thousands of beautiful cows were everywhere to be seen; and the grass was finer and better suited for grazing than down near the Umzimvubu. Our small army was welcomed with shouts by crowds of Zulus who turned out to meet us, and who looked on me with great surprise. When they found I could speak their language as well as they could, their surprise was greater; and they at first would not believe that I was not an Albino, or white Caffre, such phenomena being sometimes seen among them.
I was taken to the kraal of the chief who had captured me, and who was called Inklanzi, the meaning of which is a fish. This name was given him because he was a very good swimmer, and could stop for a long time in the water. Inklanzi told me that on the following morning I was to be taken to the Great Chief, who perhaps might order me to be assagied; so I must be careful how I behaved.
I slept but little that night, for I feared, from what I had heard, that the Great Chief of the Zulus, merely for his amusement, might like to see how I died.
On the following morning I was called by Inklanzi to go with him to the chief’s kraal. It was the largest I had yet seen. There were at least five hundred huts, the Great Chief’s hut being much larger than were the others.
Round the chief’s hut there were always about thirty men on guard, for every great chief feared being assassinated. It was also the law that, whenever any chief came to talk to the Great Chief, he was, on approaching to within an assagy-throw of the Great Kraal, to stop and shout “Inkosi” three times. If he heard no reply, he was not allowed, under pain of death, to advance. If he was told to “come,” he must still shout “Inkosi,” until he reached the hut. This plan prevented surprise; for no stranger could even approach the hut without incurring the penalty of death, unless he shouted to announce his arrival.
Inklanzi, after shouting “Inkosi,” was told to come; so he and I went to the hut of the Great Chief. We waited outside for some time, silently listening for orders to enter. At length a loud voice from inside said, “Is the white boy there?”
“Yes,” replied Inklanzi. “Bring him in,” said the same voice. We entered the hut, and on seeing the chief I made him a low salaam, the same as do the Hindoos, and said “Inkosi.” The chief looked at me for some time, and then asked Inklanzi if I spoke Zulu. On Inklanzi replying “Yes,” the chief said, “Where do you come from? Tell me your history.”
I commenced by telling the chief that I came from far away in the direction that the sun rose, and where men rode upon elephants, and where houses were so high that, if your brother were on the top of the house and you were at the bottom, you could not recognise him. I gave other descriptions of India, to which the chief listened for some time, and then exclaimed, “Amanga” (“You are lying.”)
“It is true, chief,” I said.
“Go on,” exclaimed the chief.
I then told him of our voyage, of the ship being wrecked, and of the men being assagied, whilst I and some women were spared.
“Where are the women now?” inquired the chief.
A glance at Inklanzi showed he was in terror, and I guessed the cause. So I said, “I don’t know; I think they are all dead.”
Turning to Inklanzi the chief said, “Why did you not bring those women?”
Inklanzi replied, “We searched everywhere, chief, and we only heard they had all died.”
“If those women are alive, you shall be knob-kerried for not bringing them.”
“Did you fight against my men near the Umlass?” inquired the chief.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Can you throw an assagy?”
“Yes, and I can run.”
I was proud of my running, for among the Umzimvubu there was no man could beat me for a short distance.
The chief shouted for one of his guard, who approached crawling on his hands and knees.
“Bring Cachema,” said the chief.
The man jumped up, and rushed off to obey his orders. In a few minutes, the Zulu called Cachema rushed up within an assagy’s-throw of the chief. He then stopped and shouted “Inkosi” three times.
“Come here,” said the chief to Cachema. “You must run with this white boy and show him how to run.”
I looked well at Cachema, and had never seen a finer specimen of a young man. He was tall—six feet at least; his legs were large compared to his body, but muscular and well-shaped; his skin shone like satin; and, as he moved, there was an ease and grace just as we see in a leopard. I feared I should stand no chance with this man; but I was in excellent condition, and I saw that he failed in one respect, viz., that he was flat-footed, whilst I was very high in the instep, and had therefore more spring than he had.
The chief said, “You two run to that tree, touch it, and run back here again. I will give a cow to whoever wins.” Cachema looked at me with surprise. He seemed to consider it absurd for me to attempt running with him, as I was smaller and younger. We took each other’s hands, and when the chief said “Hamba” (“Go”) we started.
The tree was about two hundred yards away, and the ground over which we ran was hard and firm. I got the best of the start, and managed to keep just ahead of Cachema till we reached the tree. I knew from experience that most Caffres could run a mile at the same pace as they could run a few hundred yards, their wind was so good, and they never tired. So I did not run at full speed to the tree; but, after touching it, I came back as fast as I could run. I expected every instant to find Cachema rush past me. I dared not look round to see where he was, but continued at my best pace, and rushed past the chief several yards ahead of my opponent.
I then returned; and, making a salaam in Indian fashion, said “Inkosi.”