CHAPTER ELEVEN.
Several moons had passed since I was brought to the Zulu country, and mylife had been monotonous. I had been sent with messages twice to theTugela river to a chief there, who was suspected of not being tooobedient to the Great Chief. He was a fine young chief called Cloko,and was a great sportsman. On the last occasion that I visited him hewas preparing for a hunt against the hippopotami, which were in a lakenear his kraal. The water in this lake could be let out by digging awaya sand bank, which had been accomplished when I reached the kraal. TheZulus had provided themselves with heavy, barbed spears, to which somethick wood was attached. A rope made of grass was fastened to the iron,so that if two spears stuck in the hippopotamus he could be held byseveral men pulling in opposite directions.
The Zulus call this animal _imvubu_, and several were known to be in thelake. Some logs were fastened together to make a raft, and two Zulustook their stand on this with their spears ready for use. As the waterin the lake drained away the _imvubu_ were seen among some reeds nearthe shore. They were carefully approached by the men with the spears,and when quite close the spears were hurled at the largest animalvisible. The hippopotamus rushed at the raft open-mouthed, but anotherspear was hurled at him which made him turn and try to escape; but fiftyZulus now held on to the rope, and his progress was stopped. Thestruggle was now very exciting. Several Zulus closed with the animaland drove their assagies into him, even through his thick hide, which inmany places was nearly two inches thick. The fight was sometimes on theshore, sometimes in the water; for the animal was so powerful that evenfifty men could scarcely stop him when he rushed away. At last,bleeding from a hundred wounds, the monster was dragged on shore, andwas soon skinned and cut up. The hippopotamus is the fattest animal inAfrica, three fingers thick of fat covering his flesh. He is very goodeating, tasting something between pork and beef. I carried away a largepiece with me as a present to the Great Chief, who was fond of thisfood.
I saw several hunting scenes whilst I stopped at this kraal, which Iwill relate now, though they occurred at intervals. One was thedestruction of two bull-buffaloes which had taken up their residence ina ravine near some corn-gardens, where they did considerable damage.This coming to the ears of the Great Chief, he ordered one of hisregiments to go out and kill them. I obtained leave to see the_inyati_, as they call the buffalo, killed, and a grand sight it was.
In a dense ravine, where the trees and bushes grew very thick, thebuffalo lay concealed. The first work, therefore, was to drive them outof this stronghold. It was dangerous work, because in this thick bushthe Zulus could not spring away from the charge of a buffalo as theycould in the open country; and the animals, knowing their strength insuch cover, would not readily be driven out of it.
A hundred Zulus were sent into the bush to drive the buffaloes to thefar end, where, it was thought, they would leave the cover in order togallop across a small open piece of ground towards a forest beyond. Onthis open ground the attack was to be made, and in the following manner.The main body of the Zulus were lying down three deep, and in twolines, in the direction of the sides of the ravine. They were partiallyconcealed by the long grass which covered this ground. As soon as thebuffaloes left the ravine, it was expected they would gallop betweenthese two lines. Then the Zulus at each end of the line wheeledinwards, and the buffaloes were inclosed in a circle of warriors. Aboutone hundred men were scattered beyond these two lines, in order to stopthe buffaloes if they broke through the circle.
It was with great difficulty that the animals were driven through theravine. They clung to the cover very tenaciously, and several timescharged at the men who were driving them; but these men, beating theirshields, and getting behind trees, escaped from any damage. At last thebuffaloes came to the edge of the bush, sniffed the air suspiciously,and then dashed forward across the open.
The crouching Zulus rose to their feet, wheeled round in front and rearof the animals, and hurled their assagies at them. In an instant thebuffaloes looked like porcupines, each quill being represented by anassagy. Lowering their heads, they charged the body of men, one animalgoing forward, the other attempting to regain the ravine. The courageof the Zulus was now shown. The men in rear of the buffaloes rushedforward; two or three held the tail, others clung to the hind legs, andin an instant with their sharp assagies hamstrung the animals, when theywere soon despatched with assagies. This was not accomplished withoutdamage. Two Zulus were killed, and several were so knocked about thatthey could not stand.--Stout poles were cut, and the carcases of thebuffaloes were carried in triumph to the chiefs kraal.
In order to keep his warriors fit for warlike expeditions, the GreatChief sought every occasion of sending parties into various districts,when he heard there was anything to be done, especially connected withdanger.
Soon after the buffaloes had been killed, news was brought to the chiefto the effect that near the Pongola river there was a very large lion,which was very fierce. When the Great Chief heard this he smiled andordered Inyovu, one of his chiefs, to come to his kraal. On Inyovucoming the Great Chief said:
"Inyovu, near the Pongola there is a very large lion. I want the maneof that lion to wear over my shoulders, and his teeth I require for anecklace. Take your regiment and bring me the lion's skin and teeth._Hamba_." ("Go.")
I asked the Great Chief if I might go with Inyovu and see the lionkilled. He consented, on condition that I did not go into too muchdanger. He said several men were sure to be killed, but I must not beone of them.
It was a ten days' march from the chiefs kraal to the Pongola river,near which the lion was said to live. We carried with us bags ofmealies, but there were several buck on the way which we managed to killwith our assagies and knob-kerries. The plan we adopted was, to sendlook-out men in front, and when they saw any antelope these were watcheduntil they lay down in the long grass or among the bushes. The Zulusthen surrounded the buck, and gradually closed in on it, forming at lasta close mass of men; knob-kerries and spears then settled the question,and a feast was the immediate result. There were very few Caffres inthis country, and only a few wandering Bushmen, who fled at ourappearance; but there were elands, koodoo, buffalo, rhinoceros, zebras,hartebeest, and several other animals. Elephants also were plentiful.We heard from the few Caffres who lived here that the lion could beheard to roar nearly every night, and that he lived in a rocky ravinenear a small stream that ran into the Pongola. He was said to be veryfond of zebras, and to live almost entirely on them; so that where thezebras lived, there the lion was sure to be.
I asked Inyovu how he intended to kill the lion. He replied, "Firstfind out where he lies down by day, then surround him and assagy him.It will cost perhaps forty men," said the chief; "but we must obey thechief, and take the skin and teeth to him."
"Suppose you fail?" I inquired.
"We must not return without the lion," said the chief. "If we did, theGreat Chief would order fifty men to be assagied, and send anotherregiment to do the work; so we must kill this lion."
Inyovu never seemed to have the slightest doubt or hesitation aboutcarrying out the orders of his chief. He was told what to do, and hemust do it. He had above 1,000 men with him--too many, he thought; butthe Great Chief liked the regiment to work together, and always to be insufficient numbers to ensure success.
Inyovu now sent out several parties of ten men, in order to look out forthe spoor of the lion and to listen for his roars at night. What hehoped to do was to come upon the lion after he had made a grand supper,and when he would be asleep; for then he might be mortally wounded ordisabled before he could damage any of the Zulus. Instead of having agreat dance, as was usual before an encounter with dangerous animals, weall remained quiet, scarcely speaking even above a whisper, as welistened for the lion's roar.
It was some time before daybreak that a runner from one of the look-outparties came to the chief and informed him that the lion had killed aneland just about sundown, an
d had dragged the land into some long grassnear a small pool of water, and had been feeding on it during the night.The place was watched by several men, so that the lion could not escapewithout being seen.
A few low whistles were given by Inyovu to bring his men together; and,guided by the runner, we quietly wended our way to where the lion wasresting. We were met by some of the men just as it was getting light,and from a hill near we were shown where the lion was concealed. Ourparty was then divided into four, and each of these worked their way outon the plain, so as to surround the lion.
Great care, however, was taken that no men went to windward of the lion;for, so sensitive is the smell of these animals, that if fast asleepthey would at once awake if a man passed several assagy-throws' distanceto windward of them. I was much struck with the silence maintained bythe large party of Zulus: not a sound was audible, not a foot fall heardas the men closed in on the den. A wave of the arm by the chief wassufficient to direct his followers where and how to move. Since thosedays I have seen the soldiers of most nations when being reviewed, and Ihave been struck with the noise which seemed necessary both in shoutingwords of command and in the rattle of accoutrements, all of whichappeared to tend to confusion, and to interfere with watchfulness;making a surprise by such troops appear impossible; so that I comparefavourably the Zulus, for some purposes, with the best Europeansoldiers.
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To be able to advance to within a few yards of a lion without wakinghim, is a performance which requires the greatest skill; but it wasaccomplished, and before the lion could spring to its feet, twentyassagies were buried in its body. The powerful brute, however, althoughbleeding from its many wounds, sprang forward and struck down one of theZulus. But, quickly as the lion moved, the Zulus behind him followedwith equal rapidity, and assagy after assagy was buried deep in thelion's body. After vainly tearing at the spears that were sticking inhim, the lion sank to the ground and was instantly despatched.
Only two men were wounded--neither very badly; a result due entirely tothe careful manner in which the lion had been crept on. Inyovu told methat if the lion had been aware of our approach, he would have chargedbefore he could have been speared; and that thirty or forty men wouldhave been killed to a certainty before the lion was rendered harmless.
The lion was soon skinned, his teeth and claws extracted and takencharge of by Inyovu. The flesh of the lion was eaten after a verylittle cooking, and was much appreciated by the Zulus, especially theheart, the eating of which is supposed to give great courage andstrength.
Our return journey was quickly accomplished, and we were received by theGreat Chief at his kraal. Inyovu gave a description of what he haddone, both in getting the news and stalking the lion. He went throughall the movements most graphically, creeping along very slowly, and thenshowing how he hurled his assagy at the lion, and how the lion chargedand struck down one man. It was a very good description, and anylistener must have had as good an idea of the scene as though he hadhimself been present. The Great Chief received the lion's claws andteeth, and gave them to his wives to make into necklaces and armlets forhim.
The Great Chief possessed twenty wives, and none of these was allowed todo any work in the fields like the wives of the common men. They passedtheir time in making bead-ornaments, forming and ornamenting snuff-boxesfor the chief, grinding up tobacco (which grew here) into snuff, and incollecting news with which to amuse the Great Chief when he was atleisure.
I was surprised at the amount of news which was brought to the chiefskraal. Some of this was confidential, and was not told to any oneexcept to the chief himself; but plenty of news came which we about thechiefs kraal heard of.
I heard that the Umzimvubu Caffres, among whom my lot had been firstcast, had lost many men in their fight with the white men, and hadbrought back very few cattle; and that it was probable that a fightmight occur between the Amakosa and my old tribe. I also heard that afew white men had built huts near Natal Bay, and were living there,trading with the Caffres in those parts. This last news caused me tothink once more about trying to escape and rejoin my own people. TheGreat Chief was very angry when he heard that white men had come toNatal. He said they would supply the Caffres there with guns, and that,by-and-by, they might become strong enough to resist him. He calledseveral of his counsellors, and inquired whether they did not think hehad better "wipe them out" at once. The men the chief consulted weredivided in opinion; the older men were in favour of prudence, andletting the white men rest; but the younger were for attacking the menat the Bay of Natal at once, and so getting rid of them. I listened toevery word I could hear at this meeting, because it seemed like hearingthe decision of a jury, whether my people were or were not to bedestroyed. I had several ideas about what I should do in case it wasdecided to attack the white people; for it seemed unjust that theyshould be attacked and killed without any warning, and I could notreconcile myself to the thought of remaining quiet and not giving somewarning to the white men who were living at the Bay.
For several days the chiefs were talking about the affair; and I noticedthat, whenever they did so, I was sent on a message to a distance, sothat I could not hear what was talked about. I also found that none ofmy companions ever said a word to me about the men at the Bay; so Iguessed that this was the order of the chief, and that I was not to knowwhat was being done about the white men. I watched carefully everyproceeding, however, of the chiefs of the different regiments; and Isoon found that preparations were being made for a great expeditionsomewhere; and as there was no tribe with which we were at war, I feltconvinced that it must be the white men against whom this army was to besent.
From a few remarks I heard, I became certain that the white men at theBay were to be surprised and killed; and consequently determined to tryand warn them, and if possible make my escape at the same time. Itwould be a great risk, and if discovered I should be assagied at once.It was evident that there was a suspicion that I could not be trustedwhen an attack on white men was intended; otherwise the subject would bespoken of to me by some of the young chiefs. So I pretended to knownothing about the proposed expedition, and went my journeys the same asusual, and when asked for the news I usually said there was none. Itwas always the habit of the Zulus, when I visited any place, to at oncesay, "_Chela pela s'indaba_" ("Tell us the news"), and the news theyliked best was about proposed expeditions of the army against othertribes. So, when I told them there was no news, they looked surprised;for rumours had reached them that some expedition was preparing.
I discovered after a time that at the next full moon the expeditionwould start. The army was to assemble near the Tugela river, and make arush on to Natal, slaughter the white men, and return as quickly aspossible to the Muse Umkulu or Great Kraal. Having gained thisinformation, I decided on my own plans. Whenever I was sent on amessage by the chief, I carried with me an assagy of a peculiar shape toshow that I was journeying on the business of the chief. Those who sawthis assagy were bound to give me every assistance, to supply me withfood, and obey my orders. So I was a great man when I carried theassagy, and was never stopped or even delayed.
One evening, just before the full moon, I received the chiefs orders totravel to the kraal of a chief named Inyoko Umkulu, who lived near thePongola river, and tell him to send some leopard-skins to the GreatChief. Now the Pongola river was in the opposite direction to that inwhich the army would travel to Natal; so I at once suspected I was sentaway to prevent my seeing the army leave. I made my plans at once.
At daybreak I started, and travelled till the sun had risen threehand-breadths above the hills, going towards the Pongola, then I turnedand travelled towards the Tugela river. I saw but few Zulus as I went,and those I did see dared not stop me when I showed them the assagy ofthe chief. From what I have since learned of the distances, I find Imust have travelled at least fifty miles a day. So on the third day Ireached the Umganie river
near Natal, and saw the houses of the whitemen.
On entering the first house I came to, I saw a man with his wife and twochildren, all of whom looked at me with surprise; for they recognised meas a white boy, though I wore the tails and carried the shield of aZulu. When I spoke to them in English they were still more surprised,and soon became alarmed when I told them a Zulu army might be upon themat any moment, and unless they could escape they would all be assagied,as I knew the orders that were given to the chiefs, who led this army.These people inquired who I was, and how I happened to be with theZulus. I gave them a brief account of my shipwreck, and the life I ledafterwards, but urged them to lose no time in doing something for theirsafety. The man at once went to the other huts, and all the whitepeople were soon assembled to hear my tale. Some disbelieved me, butthe majority were at once for making things safe--a proceeding which wasfar easier than I had imagined. Collecting plenty of food, and takingeverything of value from their huts, they placed these on board a smallschooner that by good luck was in the bay at anchor. Several boats werethere also, and by aid of these the people could be conveyed to thevessel. Notice was sent to all the Caffres, of the expected arrival ofthe Zulu army; and they assembled on a range of hills west of the bay,where there was a very thick wood, and where they could oppose best thetrained warriors of the Zulu army.