CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
I remained on board ship this day, talking with the captain and sailors;the former was anxious to get his water casks filled, and also toprocure some fresh meat and vegetables. I was able to tell him where toget fresh water: to get this it was necessary to pull up to the head ofthe bay to where the Umbilo river ran into the harbour. The water ofthis river was very good, and at low tide was not affected by the saltwater that entered the bay. I told the captain he must be verycautious; because, as the boat would be seen as it proceeded to theriver, an ambuscade could be arranged by an enemy without anydifficulty. The captain said he would take his pistols, and the menwould be armed with guns and handspikes; so he did not fear a few nakedniggers. I suggested to him that we should row up the bay whilst it wasdark, and get to the river before daylight, fill the casks and thenreturn; by so doing, no spies could be aware of the boat having left theship, and when it returned it would be too late to ambuscade us. Thecaptain, however, said that this was making too much fuss about thematter; and, supposing after all no Zulus were near, we should havetaken all this trouble for no reason.
"If," I replied, "Zulus are here, and we don't take this trouble, weshall all be assagied or made prisoners."
It was no use, however, talking to the captain. He was one of thosedull men who never can see a danger before it really occurs; andprobably would have gone and sat down in a mealie garden to eat hislunch in an enemy's country, and so have been surprised and assagied;whereas, had he selected a wide open space, he could have seen an enemyapproach, and could either have retreated, or prepared for defence.Englishmen, however, are never fit for bush warfare with savages, untilby long experience they have been taught what to do, by the savagesthemselves.
It was some time after sunrise when the captain and four men started inhis largest boat with his barrels to procure fresh water. I went withhim to show him where the Umbilo river was situated, and took with me adouble-barrelled pistol and ten rounds of ammunition. I cautioned themall to converse in very low tones, because voices are heard from thewater at very long distances, and it was not advisable to give anenemy's ears the chance of discovering us in case he was so situated asnot to be able to see us. I felt certain that if any Zulus were nearthe bay, they would keep watching the ship, and would have seen the boatleave, and would make their plans accordingly. It took us a long timepulling to the river, and I had scanned every part of the country to tryand discover some sign of an enemy: not that I had much hope of seeingone, even if he was there. We reached the mouth of the river, andtasted the water, which was quite fresh. I suggested that we shouldexamine the bush a little way, to see if there was any sign of theZulus; for if they attacked us when we were busy with the casks, weshould be taken at a disadvantage.
"There are none of your niggers here," said the captain, "never fear;let's get our water without more delay." So the barrels were filled,and placed in the boat, and we were preparing to re-embark, when arustling in the bush near us attracted my attention. On looking round Isaw three or four Zulus crouching behind some bushes and watching us.Pointing my pistol at them, I said to the captain, "Zulus are here, getinto the boat at once." I would not fire for two reasons: first, if Idischarged my pistol, I could not reload again before they could closewith me; secondly, I knew that a Zulu would retreat to some cover whenhe saw a pistol pointed at him; and there would thus be time for us toget into the boat.
I hoped that when the captain knew that all my caution had not beenwithout cause, he would get into the boat as rapidly as possible, and wemight then easily have pulled beyond the range of an assagy, for no mancan throw an assagy well when he is among the bushes. The captain,however, instead of following my advice, shouted "Hurrah, we'll wallop'em!" and before I could stop him, he had called to his men and hadrushed into the bush where the Zulus had been watching us. It wasuseless to follow him. I called out to warn him that he was going todestruction, but he made no reply; and I at once ran to the boat andpushed off in it, so as to keep a short distance from the shore, andthere waited to see what should occur. I soon heard the report ofpistols and some loud shouting from the sailors, but not a sound camefrom the Zulus, who when in the bush like to keep their position secret.Soon, however, the shouts ceased, and I heard a groan, then another,and soon all was quiet. I knew too well what had occurred: the captainand his men might possibly have shot two or three Zulus; but then, whentheir pistols were unloaded, the Zulus had closed with them and hadassagied them. I pushed the boat a little farther from the shore, andwaited on the chance of some one of the party having escaped, and ofthis one reaching the shore; but in a very short time I saw four Zuluscome to the mouth of the river and beckon to me. They made signs for meto come on shore, and pointed into the bush behind. I at once knewthat, in my sailor clothes, they did not recognise me; so I called outin English, "What do you want?"
"He cannot speak Zulu," said one of the men. "We must get the boat, andthen we may get on board the ship in the night."
I then heard them arrange a plan: which was that six of their men wereto run down in the bush to where the channel was very narrow, throughwhich channel I must pass. They could then, by swimming, get before theboat and hold on to it; and either get into it, or drag it on shore. Asailor, such as they supposed I was, they did not seem to think able todo them much damage. The Zulus sat down on the shore and took snufffrom their small snuff-gourds, and no one unacquainted with the coolproceedings of these men, would have imagined that they had just beenengaged in a deadly combat.
I spoke to them a few words in English; and then, taking out the oars,began pulling the boat down the bay. Luckily the tide had not yetturned, so the stream was with me. The boat was heavy, and I was notaccustomed to using the oars. So I had great difficulty in moving theboat. I managed, however, to make it travel through the water. I couldnot help being amused at seeing how calmly the Zulus watched me. Theymade no attempts to stop me, because they knew that they could then donothing effectually, and that if they did attempt to do anything itwould merely excite my suspicions. I knew it would be of greatadvantage for me to conceal my identity; for, if they knew that they hadto deal with one who had been trained in their own school of warfare,they would take extra precautions, to prevent being taken at adisadvantage. The narrow channel through which I had to make my way wasabout half a mile from the river, and as I approached this I kept acareful watch on the shore. In the boat were two pikes--very goodweapons for close quarters, but no use against an assagy; for the lattercan be thrown and will pass through a man at forty yards' distance. AsI approached the channel, I saw the bushes near the shore moving morethan they would do if the wind alone had acted on them; so I knew whereto expect the enemy. I then saw four Zulus slip quietly into the water;and, keeping all but their heads under water, make their way to thecentre of the passage where the boat must pass. I went on with myrowing until I was within an assagy's-throw of these men. I then pulledthree or four strokes rapidly, so as to give the boat considerablespeed; and, dropping the oars in the boat, crouched down and seized oneof the pikes. All was quiet with the Zulus: not a ripple in the watershowed their presence, whilst not a man was seen on the shore.Suddenly, standing up, I found two of the Zulus within a yard of theboat. With my pike I thrust at one of these, and drove the pike intohis throat; the other had just placed a hand on the bows of the boat,and had partly raised himself out of the water. A second thrust, inthis man's chest, sent him back, and he sank--I fancy to rise no more,as the blood gushed out of his wound as I withdrew the pike.
At the same instant two assagies flew close past my head, and I saw twoZulus up to their middle in the water and preparing to cast otherassagies at me. Dropping into the bottom of the boat, so that only myeyes were above the bulwarks, I seized my pistol and aimed at thenearest Zulu. As I pulled the trigger he was about to cast his assagy;but it never left his hand, as I hit him in the chest and he sank in thewater, rose again and floated down the stream. The
other Zulus made forthe bush and concealed themselves from view.
I again loaded my discharged barrel, and, taking the oars, pulled asfast as I could towards the vessel. The report of the pistols had beenheard by the sailors on board, and they were on deck looking out. Theyhailed me as soon as I came near: and when I told them that I believedthe captain and the other men had been killed, they were astonished, forthey also seemed to think that the captain, with his pistols, was morethan a match for any number of "niggers."
I told them that the Zulus were not men to be despised, that they werebrave in every sense of the word, and that they were clever in all thearts of bush warfare, and would most probably try to capture the ship;so that we must be prepared for them, and must keep a careful watch allnight. Had the wind been suitable, the sailors would have left theharbour at once, but there was a heavy surf on the bar, and the wind wasblowing in the harbour, so we could not get out.
After I had been some hours on board, I found the sailors talkingtogether in low tones and looking at me very suspiciously. I had noidea what this meant, but after a time two of them came to me and toldme they suspected me of being in agreement with the Zulus, and havingled the captain into an ambush. I told them it was not my plan for thecaptain to go on shore for water; and if I had been friends with theZulus, how was it I had shot them, and killed one of them with a pike?The sailors replied that they had no proof I had done so, and they wouldrather not have me on board. I told them that, if I had not come onboard, they would have gone on shore fearlessly, and would all have beenkilled by the Caffres, and their ship taken. This argument produced noeffect on the sailors; who, like all ignorant people, considered that noamount of reason or facts were as powerful as their own prejudices.They had somehow conceived the idea that I was in league with the Zulus,and could not perceive how differently I should have acted had I beenso. They had, however, made up their minds to get rid of me, and toturn me out of the ship; and though I begged hard to be allowed to stayand go with the ship to Cape Town, they would not hear of it. Theyseemed to consider they were very generous not to string me up to theyard-arm, for having been concerned in what they called "the murder" oftheir captain and shipmates. They would not allow me to keep thepistol, but gave me a knife; and then, making me get into the boat, theypulled ashore, and there left me.
When I found myself once more on the land, alone and unarmed, I began tothink that the Caffres were better than the white men. It was inconsequence of the ignorant obstinacy of the white men that they hadfallen into ambuscades and been slaughtered. This style of proceedingseems common among white men, as was shown during the Zulu war; where,in spite of all that has been written about the Zulus and Boers, theEnglish commanders acted just as foolishly and recklessly as did thecaptain of the little ship, and the disasters which occurred might havebeen avoided by any one acquainted with the Zulu style of warfare. Itwas true that I was unarmed and without food, in a country where behindevery bush there might be an enemy; but I did not feel as helpless aswould a man who had lived all his life among towns and civilisation. Icould construct traps for animals, I knew what roots and berries weregood to eat, there was plenty of water to drink, and I might find someweapons. Besides, it was possible that another ship might come to thebay, the captain and sailors belonging to which would not be asself-sufficient as were those I had just left. I might still remainconcealed in the bush for a long time, and probably might make my waydown to the Umzimvubu tribe, and live the remainder of my life as achief. The white men I had seen were not of a class to impress me muchwith the advantages of civilisation. The Caffres, it was true, werecruel in some ways, and had quite different ideas from the whites; butthere was something very pleasant in their wild life, the simplerequirements of existence, and their love of reasoning from facts.White men had their sciences, about which I knew little; but none ofthese could follow the spoor of a horse for miles over a hard-soiledcountry, nor could they distinguish the footprint of a hyaena from thatof a leopard; and if any of them happened to be left alone in the bushas I was, surrounded by enemies, and without weapons or food, they wouldcertainly starve or be captured.
The dress that had been given me by the captain was a blue flanneljersey, blue trousers, and a jacket. To be seen in this dress at anydistance by a Zulu would have been fatal, for he would have recognised awhite man's attire. I therefore cut up the jacket to make "tails,"which I hung round my waist. I kept on the jersey because it made melook dark-coloured, but I dispensed with the trousers. People who haveworn clothes all their lives do not know how imprisoned a man feels inclothing, when he has been accustomed to live without any. When I hadon a jersey and a jacket I felt as though I could not cast an assagy;and as to running with trousers on, it was simply impossible. When Ihad divested myself of my unnecessary raiment, I felt much more as if Icould take care of myself than I did when I was in sailor's clothes.The weather was warm, but the nights were chilly. I had become soaccustomed to be without clothes that I suppose I was like anEnglishman's face, which he never covers with clothes even in thecoldest weather.
I did not long remain on the beach, but made my way into the bush to athick part where there were some large trees; I then sat down to thinkwhat should be done. I knew there would be great danger in attemptingto make my way down to the Umzimvubu; and, once there, I could notexpect to get away in a ship, as no ships ever came near the coast atthat part. I believed it possible that when the news reached Cape Townthat white men had been murdered at Natal, some soldiers might be sentup in large ships, either to revenge the death of the murdered men, orto obtain particulars of the massacre, so if I remained near the bay Ishould stand the best chance of getting out of the country. I supposeit was on account of my white blood, if I may use the term, that made mewish to go again to civilisation, as also the desire to see my father.For there was much to attract me among my old companions. If I returnedto my old residence, I should at once take my place again as a chief andhave everything I wanted. My companions of years would be again withme; and I should rest, as it were, on the laurels I had won in myvarious adventures. I had already discovered that white men did notseem to value or even understand the qualities I possessed, whilst mybeing unable to read or write well was looked upon as indicatingignorance. When I lived among youths of my own age in England, Ibelieved I should be laughed at because I did not know as much of booklearning as they were acquainted with. My books had been the forests,the plains, the rivers and mountains, and the skies above us. To readfrom the signs on the ground what animals had travelled over it, andwhen they had travelled, was an interesting book to me, and quiteintelligible. To know the time at night by the position of certainstars was also a page that was intelligible; but how should I feel whenasked to read from a printed book, and found myself laughed at as adunce? I had already seen that white men were suspicious of me, andacted on these suspicions alone. Considering all these points, I feltquite undecided whether to again join the Umzimvubu Caffres, and liveall my life as a Caffre; or wait on the chance of some ship coming intothe harbour, and of being able to get a passage to Cape Town or England.
Although much pre-occupied with these thoughts, I did not neglect thenecessities of the present. I must make myself secure from the possibleattacks of two forest enemies, viz., snakes and leopards. I must sleep,and when asleep I might be seized by a leopard, or be coiled round by arock-snake; for there were, I knew, rock-snakes in this bush at leastthirty feet long, and to be seized by one of these monsters would becertain death. There was no time before dark to build a kraal, so I cutdown branches and brushwood, and arranged this in a circle round thespot on which I intended to pass the night. I cut also two sticks, onehaving a large knob at the end; the other, which was very hard wood, Isharpened so that it was like a spear. This was the best I could do inthe short time before it came dark. I then lay down and listened tohear what might occur near me.
I soon heard some rustling in the bush, which sometimes came near
andthen went away to a distance. This might be caused by a buck, but itmight be a leopard. It was so dark that I could see nothing. Thenights in Africa are darker than they are in England; and when I held myhand up I could not see it, though it was not half a yard from my eyes.It is difficult to imagine anything more exciting and trying to thenerves than to be thus alone in the bush during a dark night; when youknow that dangerous animals are near you, and when noises indicate thatthese animals are aware of your presence, and are examining you to seewhether you can be safely attacked. To sleep was impossible; I did notlike even to lie down in a position of rest, but crouched on the groundwith my sharpened stick ready for use in case I was attacked. Towardsdaylight, however, I could resist the desire to sleep no longer; and, asall seemed quiet round me, I lay down and was soon in a sound sleep.
When I awoke, the sun was many times its own size above the horizon, andwas shining on the trunks of the trees around me. I ascended one of thetrees, from which I could see the masts of the ships in the bay. Thewind was blowing from the south-east, and as long as this wind continuedthe vessel would not get over the bar. I knew as long as this shipremained in the harbour the Zulus would not leave this part of thecountry; they knew the stupid character of the English sailors, and theyalso must be aware that they could not leave until they had procuredfresh water. Having descended the tree, I procured some fruit andberries; and, making my way to the edge of the bush, I procured somefresh water, of which I drank a large quantity, for I did not think itsafe to move about in the bush, and did not wish to have to come againto the water during the day. On my return from the _vlei_, I heard arustling in the bush near me; and, becoming instantly still, I heardsome animal creeping away. Being desirous of knowing what the animalwas, I moved cautiously to where I had heard the noise; and at only afew yards from me came on the carcase of a red bush-buck which had beenonly lately killed. There was a mark on the buck's neck which I knewindicated that a leopard had been its destroyer; but little of the buckwas eaten, so I knew I had disturbed the leopard at its feast. With myknife I cut several strips of meat from the back and hind quarters ofthe antelope; and, wrapping these in some large leaves, I fastened themround with strips of bark, and was then provided with food for at leastthree days.
On again ascending the tree to look out, I saw a boat leaving the vesselwith some sailors, and I could see casks in the boat; so I knew theywere going to the shore to procure water. These sailors, instead ofgoing up the bay, had seen a small stream of water running down the sideof the bluff, and had determined to get their barrels filled from thisstream. It was certainly a safer place than the Umbilo river would havebeen, and I saw the men fill several casks and return in safety to theirship. Soon after a change of wind took place; and, the sea goingrapidly down, the surf on the bar decreased, the sailors set sails onthe vessel, and she glided out of the harbour, and, crossing the bar,was soon lost to view behind the high land of the bluff.
I was now once more alone as regards white men, but I might besurrounded by enemies; so after looking all round the country as far asI could obtain a view, I descended from the tree and sat down toconsider what to do. Suddenly I heard a human voice--it came from theshore outside the bush. Listening attentively, I heard the Zululanguage spoken; and as the men spoke loudly, their words weredistinctly audible.
"The ship has left now," said one of the men, "there is nothing for usto wait for."
"He must have gone in the ship," said another.
"Yes, his people must have taken him with them. He was very cunning:dressed like a white man, he deceived us at first, and he must haveheard us speak of the plan for capturing the boat at the narrows. Iknew him when he rose in the boat after shooting Copen."
"He has escaped us," said another Zulu, "but we have killed four whitemen, and have their small guns to take to our chief." "_Hambani sihambi_" ("let us be going"), said a loud voice, and I could hear thetread of the men as they moved along the beach.
I remained motionless while the sun travelled about ten times its ownbreadth, for I knew enough of the Zulus' cunning to be aware that thisconversation might be carried on in various places, as a trap to throwme off my guard, in case I was concealed near enough to hear what wasspoken. I then crept through the bush as stealthily as a snake, andexamined the beach, and saw a long distance off a party of about fortyZulus moving along the shore towards the Umganie river, which was thedirection of the Zulu country. I remained concealed until it becamenearly dark, and then made my way down to the entrance of the bay, wherethe channel was very narrow. The tide was low, and no current wasrunning in either direction; so I swam across the channel withoutdifficulty, and made my way up the bluff to my old kraal, which I foundhad not been burnt or destroyed. There were several excavations made bythe sea on the shore side of the bluff--sort of caves, in fact--and toone of these I made my way; and, having lighted a fire in this cave,cooked the whole of the antelope's flesh and made a good meal, whilst Ireserved a large quantity for future use. The light from my fire couldonly be seen from the sea, and there was no chance of any Zulu getting aglimpse either of the fire or its smoke. I found several small fish inthe various pools which had been left by the high tide, and these Iintended to cook and eat on the morrow, because fish will not last freshas long as will flesh, especially when the weather is very hot. Havinghad a good meal I felt fit for anything.
There are probably some people who would feel unhappy if they were alonein a wild country, without clothes, weapons, or a stock of food; but Ihad been trained in a rough school, and having, at least, two days' foodwith me, I was far from feeling in a bad way. There is always somethingpleasant in knowing that, on one's own exertions only, one's success orfailure really depends. Half the pleasure in life is lost when we arehelped to everything by the hands of another, our independence is gone,and we become too often dissatisfied and idle. Not only did my dailyfood depend on my exertions, but actually my life was in my own hands:any incautious act, such as showing myself on the beach or bluff, mightlead to my being attacked by the Zulus. It was necessary to thinkbefore I did anything, and my daily habits were therefore the result oflong consideration.
I had a wish to visit the Umbilo river, to see whether any of theweapons belonging to the captain remained on the spot where he had beenkilled. I knew this was a dangerous expedition to make; but everythingI did was dangerous now, for I could not tell who was my enemy, or whereI might meet one. I decided that any expedition I might make ought tobe undertaken towards evening; because, if I should be seen by the enemyand pursued, the darkness of night would soon prevent them fromfollowing my spoor, and I should get a good start of them duringdarkness. If I could procure some weapon, even an assagy, I should feelmore able to defend myself against some possible assailant. As soon asthe sun approached the western horizon I moved along the beach towardsthe Umbilo river, which I reached just as there was light enough to seesurrounding objects. I found the bodies of the captain and his men:these had been mutilated by the Zulus, and the clothes of all of themhad been carried off. I looked carefully over the ground and among thelong grass, for anything that might have been dropped, and was delightedto discover a double-barrelled pistol, which I knew belonged to thecaptain. It was unloaded, and had evidently been fired very recently.Near the pistol I found a small leather bag, in which were tenball-cartridges, the bullets from which fitted the pistol. Beforefinding this I was only a match for one enemy, but when my pistol wasloaded I knew I was equal to three at least.
I had no desire to pass the night near the dead bodies of the sailors,so I made my way through the bush towards the beach, where there wererocks and hollow places, amidst which I could find a secureresting-place for the night.
I had slept for some time when I was roused by a noise not far from me.It was a loud grunt or roar--I could not say which was the proper term.So I listened with the hope of gaining more information. My pistol inmy hand, I crept to the opening of the cleft in the rock, in front o
f mysleeping-place. The breakers on the shore before me were sparkling witha thousand stars, for the sea-water here is very phosphorescent, and,consequently, made objects between me and these breakers quite distinct.I thus saw the form of an enormous animal standing near the shore, andrecognised it as that of the _imvubu_, which is the Caffre name of thehippopotamus. If I had only possessed my bow and poisoned arrows, Imight now have tried them on this monster, and probably might have beensuccessful in driving an arrow through his thick hide; but to fire athim with my pistol would, I knew, merely be wasting a bullet and acharge of powder. Besides, I could eat but a small part of the_imvubu_; and as the vultures would be sure to circle in the air abovewhere the carcase of the monster was to be found, any Caffres in theneighbourhood would notice these, and would come to see what wasattracting them. At present I wanted to remain concealed, and to thinkwhat was to be done in the future. I lay on the ground watching the_imvubu_, which every now and then gave loud grunts, and opened hisenormous mouth, as though gaping after a long sleep. The monster thenmoved along the beach; and, as I found on following his spoor in themorning, he had his home in the Umlass river, about two miles from whereI had slept.
When the first signs of daylight appeared, I made a meal of oysters; andthen ascended the high land to examine the surrounding country and seewhat was going on. I soon noticed vultures circling in the air, nearthe head of Natal Bay, and knew that these birds had been attracted bythe bodies of the captain and sailors, whose bones they would pick, andleave but little for the hyaenas and jackals.
As soon as I saw no indications of men anywhere I walked on the highland near the sea, keeping a little on the side next the sea, so that Icould not be seen from the land side. Every now and then I ascended tothe ridge, just high enough to see over it, and then examined thecountry to discover anything going on near me. I should have found theopera-glasses very useful here; but my eyes had been well-trained, and Iwas not likely to fail in seeing anything unusual within one or twomiles of me. People who have not been accustomed to use their eyesmuch, especially in a wild country, do not know how the sight can becultivated. It is a case of eyes and no eyes. One man will see thespoor of animals and signs of different kinds, whilst another will notnotice one of these things. A snake, for instance, I never missedseeing, and was as unlikely to put my foot on a snake without seeing it,as some men would be to put their foot in a pool of water.
I walked on towards the Umlass river, sometimes through thick bush,sometimes on the open ground, but saw no indications of men havinglately passed over the ground. There were some old kraals here, butthey had been long deserted; but some mealies were growing near thekraal, where the gardens had been, and some of these I gathered and ate:though they were rather tough, still they were good for food.
Not having slept much on the previous night, and the sun being now highin the heavens, and giving great heat, I decided to sleep for awhile. Itherefore examined all the ground for about the distance of twoassagy-throws from me, to see if there were any signs of snakes near;for I did not wish to sleep where it was likely a poisonous snake mightcrawl over me, or a large rock-snake become familiar. Seeing no signsof snakes, I lay down under the branches of a large euphorbia tree; andthere, in the shade, I was soon fast asleep.
When I awoke, it was because of some noise which had disturbed me; and,upon glancing round, I saw some twenty or thirty men, armed withassagies, standing round me. At first I thought they were Zulus, but,on a second look, knew they were men of the Umzimvubu tribe; and I then,to my delight, recognised my old friend Inyati, and near him mycompanion Inyoni. At first they did not recognise me, but believed Iwas one of the sailors from the ship who had escaped the Zulus. When,however, I called Inyati by name, and he had looked at me close, he wasastonished and delighted to find it was me. Inyoni shouted and dancedas though he were mad. Having sent four men in different directions tokeep watch and prevent a surprise, we sat down on the grass, and Irelated to the men all that had happened to me since I had last seenthem. My journey from the Zulu country down to Natal, Inyati said, waswonderful; whilst he laughed at the ignorance of the captain andsailors, in allowing themselves to be caught in so simple a manner bythe Zulus. I felt rather small in being caught asleep by Inyati and hismen, so I asked him how he had discovered me.
He replied that he and his men had kept under the ridge of the hill, soas to examine the country, without themselves being seen; that with hisglasses he could see everything a long way off, and he had seen me justbefore I lay down. He and his men then crept up to where I wassleeping, and had just surrounded me when I awoke. I informed Inyatithat I believed no Zulus were now west of the Tugela; and that, unless alarge army came to attack our tribe, none of the Zulus would come toNatal, as their object of driving away the white man had beenaccomplished.
Inyati then asked me what I was doing, or intended to do.
Thinking it unwise to tell him I wanted to get away in a ship, I repliedthat I was making my way to my own tribe when he and his men surprisedme.
Being satisfied that no enemy was near us, it was agreed that we shouldhunt, and procure some flesh for a meal. The spoor of several buck hadbeen seen, principally that of the _impenzi_, or duiker, as the smallantelope is called by the English. This buck lives in the country wherethe bush is not thick, but is scattered, and where rocks and long grassafford plenty of cover. The manner by which we secured these antelopewithout firearms was simple and effective. The spoor of the animal wasfollowed until it was certain that the buck was concealed in a smallclump of bush. This bush was then surrounded, the Caffres being all atsome distance from where the buck was crouching. The circle of Caffresthen closed in rapidly and silently; and when only a few yards from eachother, stones were thrown into the bush. The duiker then started out onthe side opposite to that from which the stones had been thrown, and wasmet by a shower of assagies, one or two of which usually hit it. If itwas missed, it would attempt to escape on the opposite side, whenanother shower of assagies assailed it. By this means three duiker weresoon killed, and we then lighted a fire, and enjoyed a feast of venison.
There was much news which Inyoni told me that was interesting. One ofthe English ladies had died: I could not find out which, but Inyoni saidshe was not very young. He also told me that elephants had again comedown near the kraal in which I had lived, and that there was a lion notfar off. He was very anxious to kill this lion, not only on account ofthe honour that would attend the performance, but also to obtain anecklace of its teeth and claws. He suggested that when I came back tothe kraal, he and I might make an expedition and shoot this lion.
After the escapes I had passed through among the Zulus, and the mannerin which I had been treated by the English sailors, I felt quite at homeamong my old companions, and thought, as I have often done since, thatthe so-called savage is superior in many ways to the imperfectlyeducated Englishman. The Zulus and the Caffres on the south-east coastof Africa were what would be called gentlemanly men if they had residedamong civilised beings. They were most considerate in all theirproceedings one to another, and there was a ready acknowledgment ofsuperiority when this had been demonstrated; whereas, amidst so-calledcivilisation, men too often attempt to claim merits which they never didand never will possess, and thus to claim to command when they are onlyfitted to obey. I soon discovered that my adventures and escapes hadraised me in the opinions of my old companions. They addressed me nowalways as _inkosi_ ("chief"), and listened with great attention to all Isaid.
After we had finished our meal, two Caffres were sent on to thehill-tops to keep a look-out, and the remainder of our party lay down inthe shade and slept, till we felt ready to start on our journey down tothe Umzimvubu country.
I felt quite safe now that I had so many armed and watchful men with me.We walked on over the hills and through the bush, occasionally stoppingfor an hour or two, to hunt duiker or red bush-buck, both of which wereplentiful about this part of the country. We nev
er neglected keepingwatch whilst we were hunting; because, knowing how rapidly the Zulusmove, and how fond they are of surprises, we never were certain that aparty of these men might not be concealed somewhere and might suddenlyattack us. Had the commanders on the English side, during the late Zuluwar, been as well acquainted with the habits of these men as we were,such disasters as befell us would have been guarded against or avoided;but it seems as though men were selected for that war because they knewnothing either of the Zulus, their country, or language, but becausethey had crammed successfully at the Staff College.
When we arrived at the first kraal in our own country and among our owntribe, I was welcomed with shouts and congratulations by the men, andwith pleasant smiles by the females; and certainly for a time I feltvery glad that I had not sailed in the ship from Natal Bay, but wasagain among my friends who knew me, and where my past acts had caused meto be respected and admired. There are few things--as I have found inafter-life--so painful as being among strangers, where the past of whichwe may be proud is unknown, and unthought of, and where we occupy thesame position as though in our previous career we had acted like foolsor rogues.
The White Chief of the Caffres Page 15